Week 7 Story: Wan Shi Tong's Library
Wan Shi Tong is he who knows ten thousand things. A wise spirit owl and the oldest librarian of the material world, he bestowed knowledge upon the earliest humans by sharing his vast library with the material world. However, humans evolved into fickle beings, and Wan Shi Tong quickly learned of their deceitful nature. He had hoped to preserve all of the world’s knowledge across time and geography to share with mankind, who were burdened with the cycle of death and rebirth. However, mankind did not share his sincerity. They abused his intelligence and trust to wage war and destruction. Wan Shi Tong was enraged by this and banned humans from his library, but continued to add to his collection to satisfy his own curiosity. His library is now an urban legend hidden deep in the Si Wong desert but is still one of the most sought-after destinations in the world, a treasure trove of priceless, untouched knowledge.
“I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things. You are clearly lost… I suggest you take your leave now, as your kind is no longer permitted in my study.”
“But why? Why collect all these books if you can’t share it with anyone?” The Avatar retorted.
Wan Shi Tong’s eyes narrowed at the boy’s remark. “That’s just it. The motive to learn should only be for oneself, but that is clearly a concept you humans have not learned yet. You only seek knowledge for your own benefit or for the sake of knowing more than someone else. You use it like currency, not that I’ve ever understood you humans and your desperate need for such a construct.”
The Avatar grimaced from the truthfulness of his accusation. He too, was in desperate need of information that might give them the advantage in ending a hundred-year war, not that Wan Shi Tong needed to know that. However, he felt justified in knowing that this information could help end a war, not start one.
“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’m Aang, and as the Avatar, I promise I won’t abuse your study. I heard you like donations to your collection so I brought this uh…” He frantically shuffled through his bag with his free hand and whipped out the first parchment he felt. “…this… poster?” Aang blinked twice while his wanted poster stared back at him, a bounty price plastered on his forehead.
After a moment of silence for Aang’s pride, Wan Shi Tong reluctantly took the scroll. “You’re not very bright, are you?” He responded.
Aang laughed nervously as he backed away from the owl. “I’ll just be going now, you know, to quench my thirst for knowledge! Thank you, Mr. Owl Spirit… Sir!” He quickly collected his bag and made a beeline for the maps and geography wing.
***
After hours of perusing Wan Shi Tong’s vast library, Aang finally acquired enough knowledge of the Fire Nation to bring to his allies. The Fire Nation had waged war on the rest of the world for almost one hundred years and had conveniently erased any trace of the Fire Nation from generations of world maps to maintain their elusiveness.
“…And who has the great honor of being targeted by our peace-seeking Avatar?”
Aang whipped his head around and came face to face with Wan Shi Tong, whose eyes were just as large as Aang’s head, and only inches away. “No one! I’m just – I just came across some cool pictures is all. I’d never seen any like them, so I… I was going to ask if I could borrow one?”
“If you’re going to lie to he who knows ten thousand things, you ought to try harder. You have betrayed my trust and abused my knowledge, like every human before you.” Wan Shi Tong slowly lifted his wing, creating a draft that quickly became a terrifying current.
“You’ve got it all wrong!” Aang shouted over the sound of the wind. “The Fire Nation kills countless people every day! We need this information, it’s the only way to stop them from hurting more people!”
“Countless others have come before you, including the Fire Nation, taking advantage of my vast collection to secure the strategic upper hand against other humans. You think you are the only ones who believe their fight was justified? How many will die for your cause? You came here to exploit their weaknesses, just like they did. Avatar or not, how are you any different from those monsters you fight?”
The wind force from Wan Shi Tong crumbled the ground beneath them, sinking the building into the sand. “You humans never deserved my gift and you’ve shown that you will not change.” Sand poured into the building from all sides, collapsing the ceiling and windows. “I’m afraid you may not return to end your human war, young Avatar. I will now be taking my knowledge back.”
Laos Folk-Lore: The Spirit-Guarded Cave, by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).
“I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things. You are clearly lost… I suggest you take your leave now, as your kind is no longer permitted in my study.”
“But why? Why collect all these books if you can’t share it with anyone?” The Avatar retorted.
Wan Shi Tong’s eyes narrowed at the boy’s remark. “That’s just it. The motive to learn should only be for oneself, but that is clearly a concept you humans have not learned yet. You only seek knowledge for your own benefit or for the sake of knowing more than someone else. You use it like currency, not that I’ve ever understood you humans and your desperate need for such a construct.”
The Avatar grimaced from the truthfulness of his accusation. He too, was in desperate need of information that might give them the advantage in ending a hundred-year war, not that Wan Shi Tong needed to know that. However, he felt justified in knowing that this information could help end a war, not start one.
“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’m Aang, and as the Avatar, I promise I won’t abuse your study. I heard you like donations to your collection so I brought this uh…” He frantically shuffled through his bag with his free hand and whipped out the first parchment he felt. “…this… poster?” Aang blinked twice while his wanted poster stared back at him, a bounty price plastered on his forehead.
After a moment of silence for Aang’s pride, Wan Shi Tong reluctantly took the scroll. “You’re not very bright, are you?” He responded.
Aang laughed nervously as he backed away from the owl. “I’ll just be going now, you know, to quench my thirst for knowledge! Thank you, Mr. Owl Spirit… Sir!” He quickly collected his bag and made a beeline for the maps and geography wing.
***
After hours of perusing Wan Shi Tong’s vast library, Aang finally acquired enough knowledge of the Fire Nation to bring to his allies. The Fire Nation had waged war on the rest of the world for almost one hundred years and had conveniently erased any trace of the Fire Nation from generations of world maps to maintain their elusiveness.
“…And who has the great honor of being targeted by our peace-seeking Avatar?”
Aang whipped his head around and came face to face with Wan Shi Tong, whose eyes were just as large as Aang’s head, and only inches away. “No one! I’m just – I just came across some cool pictures is all. I’d never seen any like them, so I… I was going to ask if I could borrow one?”
“If you’re going to lie to he who knows ten thousand things, you ought to try harder. You have betrayed my trust and abused my knowledge, like every human before you.” Wan Shi Tong slowly lifted his wing, creating a draft that quickly became a terrifying current.
“You’ve got it all wrong!” Aang shouted over the sound of the wind. “The Fire Nation kills countless people every day! We need this information, it’s the only way to stop them from hurting more people!”
“Countless others have come before you, including the Fire Nation, taking advantage of my vast collection to secure the strategic upper hand against other humans. You think you are the only ones who believe their fight was justified? How many will die for your cause? You came here to exploit their weaknesses, just like they did. Avatar or not, how are you any different from those monsters you fight?”
The wind force from Wan Shi Tong crumbled the ground beneath them, sinking the building into the sand. “You humans never deserved my gift and you’ve shown that you will not change.” Sand poured into the building from all sides, collapsing the ceiling and windows. “I’m afraid you may not return to end your human war, young Avatar. I will now be taking my knowledge back.”
Author's Note: This one is just a retelling of one of my favorite shows because it reminds me very much of The Spirit-Guarded Cave story. I felt a lot of similarities in how the two different forces are portrayed (the spirit and the human, which was a group of humans in the original story). My retelling maintains most of the plot from the original story but I just emphasized the spirit's reasoning because I felt this belief is often overshadowed and left unsaid. I definitely think the spirit's reasoning in this story is an extreme oversimplification of the Avatar's position in the war they are referencing, but I just wanted to highlight the story from a different POV (not the avatar). Ultimately, I thought both parties had truth and fault in their beliefs, and were simply doing what they felt was the best option for themselves.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI love this story. Right when I saw Wan Shi Tong, I thought, about Avatar the Last Airbender. When I read further I realized you were retelling the story. I love that! I completely agree that there was fault in both beliefs. Not everything is black and white. There are gray areas as well. I think Aang was justified in trying to use the knowledge to defeat the firebenders. I like how you provided insights to both sides. I would suggest maybe adding some more context in the beginning for those who've never watched Avatar before. Maybe some more knowledge on who Aang is and why the firebenders are bad.
Hey SV, you totally caught my attention when I read the line about the wise spirit-owl and librarian because I immediately thought of Avatar: The Last Airbender! It's a really good show, and has such a complex plot and characters, so I totally respect your choice in story. That said, I enjoyed the emphasis on the spirit's reasoning for not wanting to share their knowledge with humans. From a human's perspective, it would seem like the spirit is being selfish and causing unnecessary conflict, but they're literally an immortal being who have had to see the same behavior repeated over and over, so it makes sense why they wouldn't want to share. Nevertheless, I also agree with Aang and his reasoning since people are dying, and there's no reason a war shouldn't be ended. Overall, I enjoyed your story, and the conflicting emotions it provokes; it makes for a good read!
ReplyDeleteHi SV,
ReplyDeleteI loved this story, it reminded me of Avatar the Last Airbender just by looking at the name in the title "Wan Shi Tong". You really did a good job retelling it. I really liked also how you emphasized the spirit's reasoning for not sharing their knowledge with humans because they were immortal. Being immortal they could see repeated behavior over and over, which is something a regular human won't understand. Maybe for other reader who never read this story you should tell more about who is Aang. Overall, great story!
Hi SV!
ReplyDeleteWow! I loved this story and getting to read it. I thought you did a great job retelling the story and making it your own. I liked how you made the story lighthearted and added your own creative input on the story. I also loved this story because it reminded me of Avatar, which is one of my favorite movies. I think your structure of your story was great and kept readers interested. I also liked how you used multiple paragraphs to retell the story. Overall, I think you did a great job. I really enjoyed reading your story.