Xiangru leaves chengdu for capital 2

The characters were written in an ancient script,but the incredible thing about them was that they had nor been carved by any human hand; instead, they seemed to follow the natural grain of the wood. The carvers dared not lay chisel to this eerie pillar, but instead carved the words Ascension to Heaven Bridge on a stone stele. Although this was in contravention of the regulations at that time, the preternatural aura which had come to surround the bridge made the prefect waive the rules for once.

The young rider was perfectly at his ease as he trotted along. Not so his servants following him on foot, huffing and puffing. At last, one of them, named Puppy Carrier, called out, "Young Master, can't we have a bit of a breather when we get to the bridge?"

There is an interesting story behind this lad's unusual name

. The young man on horseback was Sima Xiangru, the only son of a distinguished Chengdu family, His father, Sima Gong, had once been a government official, and had retired to his native city. He had amassed great wealth during his career, but did not have a son to pass it on to. Not until he was in his forties did he succeed in becoming a father. The boy was the apple of his father's eye, and, as the custom was in those days that the more one valucd one's offspring the lowlier a name one gave him, in order to deter jealous deities snatching him out of this world for themselves, they called him Puppy. When the boy was three or four years old, he once saw his father riding a horse. At once, he burst into tears, and howled that he too wanted to ride a horse. Sima Gong was delighted, assuming that this was a sign that his son would achieve noble status in the future, as horse riding was a symbol of an aristocratic position. But Puppy was scarcely more than a baby; how could he ride a horse? As he was pondering whether to take the boy on the horse with him, a servant lad nearby volunteered to act as Puppy's "horse". It turned out that Puppy was delighted with his steed, and Sima Gong was impressed with the young servant's nimble wits. He asked the lad his name, and when the latter confessed that he did not have one, guffawed, "Well, you shall have one from now on --Puppy carrier!"

Sima Gong had meant this only as a joke, but, to his surprise, the servant lad kowtowed in gratitude for at last been given a name of his own.

Sima Gong's son was still being called Sima Puppy at the age of nine, and the growing boy found it irksome. Then, one day, while reading the "Story of Lin Xiangru, "he was so impressed by 1Lin's Courage and resourcefulness that he determined to model himselr on this hero, and as a first step adopted the name Xiangru.