『92 BC, Crossing the Hidaka Sea』[064] Yan Iron and Saka Iron
Chapter 3: Dorji of the Qiang Tribe
Section 4: Storm in the Inlet
[064] ■ Episode 3: Yan Iron and Saka Iron
"Dorji, I have heard talk of 'Yan iron' several times. Yan is the country you fought against, right? Is the country of Yan known for its iron?"
"Yes. Yan is a land of iron. In Yan, they make various things from molten iron. Pots, for instance. It is not made by hammering like Fuyo steel. However, while Yan iron is hard, it is brittle when made into a sword. Fuyo steel is better suited for knives and swords."
"Is that so... Hayate heard that thanks to that steel, the Xianbei could win even if they fought against Yan."
"Yes, Kurt thinks so. I think so too. If we were to strike each other with swords, the Xianbei would not lose to the Han soldiers. The iron is different."
"Iron made by melting and iron made by hammering..."
"Naoto, did you know that it was the Saka people who taught us about that iron made by hammering?"
"No, I did not. The Saka? What kind of people are they?"
"They are Persian people who crossed over from the west a long time ago. It is said that they brought iron and the way to make it to the north of the Mongolian plateau. At first, it is said to have been passed down to the shores of a large lake called Baigal. The ancestors of the Xianbei then passed it on to lands further east. In today's terms, the land of Yishen. That is not all. It was also the Saka who taught us how to ride horses."
"The Saka who taught us about iron and horseback riding..."
"It is said that the Saka are still alive today. They say there is a country where the Saka live to the north of Bactria."
"...Bactria. That is a dry land far to the west where the Joseph brothers were born. It is a place I have thought about visiting someday."
"Did you hear that from Joseph?"
"Yes. I learned many things from Joseph. Perhaps he even spoke about the Saka. I have a feeling he said that Bactria was originally a country of the Saka. It was when I had just arrived in Fuyo, so I could not hear it very well..."
"...The Saka might be the ancestors of us Qiang people. I have had that feeling for a long time."
"Because they also came from the west?"
"Yes. But that is not all. Both the Saka and the Qiang ride horses and are skilled with the bow..."
—The Saka use bows... Surely there is something else that only those who ride horses can understand...
"In the south and in the west, countries are fighting over land."
"...?"
"I have been told that since I was small. Every time such a conflict occurred, my grandfather led a cavalry unit to fight. And in the end, they were driven away."
"..."
"We Qiang people have always been caught between large countries, our people used as tools for war, yet we have somehow managed to survive. If there is something they want, people will try to obtain it even through conflict. That is what people are like."
"..."
"If you go north of the Khingan Mountains, there is a large stone on a hill with a good view, and cloth and string are wrapped around it. Because stones are placed upon stones, it is called an 'Obo'. The people of the north decide which way to go by looking at that Obo. When they are lost, they look at the cloth fluttering in the wind and follow it. They also offer prayers to the stone."
Long ago, the people of a country called Yin called us Qiang people 'sheep' and used us as sacrifices for divination. They would cut our throats and offer the flowing blood to the gods.
Before that, just like the cloth of the Obo, they would aim with a bow and arrow and divine good or bad fortune based on which way the victim fled. They would advance their army in the direction the sacrifice escaped. It is said that they would also dig up the graves of the Qiang people to take out their bones, and burn those bones to divine good and evil.
This is a story I was told many times by my grandfather when I was a child. My grandfather always told me, 'Dorji, even so, you must not hate the Han people.' He taught me, 'There is no Yin, and there is no Han. That is just what people are like.'"
"...Why does it have to be that way? Do people enjoy killing others?"
"Those with power choose and decide, and the weak follow. If you follow, you can survive. 'If many people live together in a country or on the grasslands, consider that to be a matter of course,' my grandfather used to say.
That is why the members of our clan are taught to ride horses and use bows and arrows from a young age. If we do that, at least we will not be used as tools for divination. We Qiang people have been doing that for hundreds of years. In the end, the country of Yin was destroyed when the Qiang people, who rode horses and shot arrows, lent their strength to the King of Zhou."
"...There are bows and arrows in Hidaka, too. However, there is no one who shoots them at people. I have never even thought that conflict was a matter of course. Dorji, am I wrong...?"
To Section 5, Episode 1 [065]
Return to previous episode [063]