Flower Girl: A Burton Family Mystery (16 page)

As we started to pile back into the Hyundai SUV we all heard a deep mellow grroonnggg sound, like a frog croaking, make that a giant frog, followed by a slightly different grrooonngg, followed by another and another, each slightly different tones.

"How far are we from this concert of the giant frogs, the museum, and the bell?" I asked.

Hamish looked at the odometer on the SUV and said, "Thirty kilometers, not forty miles, but that's still a pretty impressive distance for the bell's sound to carry."

As we continued, I couldn't help but notice a black 1,000 cc Yamaha, with a rider dressed all in black, pull out of the service area right behind the limo which was right behind us. We stayed in tandem for the next thirty minutes, until I lost them in the traffic entering Gyeongju.

"Considered a masterpiece of Unified Silla art, the Silla bell is unique among the bronze bells of Korea, having a small hollow tube near the dragon's head hook by which it is hung. The column the bell hangs on is said to be several centuries old. Yet, it still supports the huge bell. The tube absorbs high frequency waves, contributing to a distinctive tone each time the bell is struck. The result is a wide range of sound frequencies." Hamish recited all this as if reading a brochure. "Now you know a bit more about the 'grooongggg' we heard at the gas station on our drive into Gyeongju," Hamish concluded.

"It's huge," I said as we trekked to within a dozen meters of the bell which hung from its dragon's head hook with a striking log hanging beside it. I could feel it still vibrating. I resisted a compelling urge to touch it.

Reddy said, "It weighs just shy of twenty tons."

"Look at the flower patterns and the lotus reliefs," I said, adding, "and the reliefs of two angelic maidens."

"See the striking point. It's also a relief shaped like a lotus between two maidens," Rhyly said.

Sister Cerice smiled. "You are both very knowledgeable. Do you know what these maidens represent?"

"They are called Apsaras, meaning nymphs, female spirits of the clouds and waters in Buddhist and Hindu mythology. It is said that they are beautiful, have supernatural powers, and they can shape change at will, and that they rule over luck and the fortunes one might obtain. Fabulous dancers, musicians, caretakers, in the service of the gods, like angels," Rhyly replied.

"You are indeed knowledgeable," Sister Cerice said. "I have long wondered if the Wonhwa took their lead from these mythological women."

Rhyly asked, "I have read little of the Wonhwa. Someday will you tell us more about them?" Sister Cerice smiled and nodded.

I made mental notes of these artifacts that validated legends about women. Rhyly did the same but in a notepad, and we discussed them at every opportunity with Sister Cerice, with an emphasis on the Wonhwa and Queen Seondeok.

Hamish said, "Let's take a break across the street at the tea house, after we first check-in and visit the Hilton Hotel facilities."

Returning from the hotel ladies room, Rhyly asked, "I wonder what people did for facilities in seventh century Silla?"

"It's the Chinese inscriptions describing how and why the bell was cast that are most intriguing," Hamish said. "Sister Cerice, please tell Rhyly and Shannon the story behind the casting of the bell."

As Hamish poured us green tea from a ceramic pot with Apsaras decorating the matching cups, Sister Cerice began the story of the casting of the bell. "It was cast by the son of King Seongdeok; however, even more intriguing is the legendary tale of how the bell gained its voice. Legend has it that the first try at casting the bell was a failure. No sound came other than a dull thud when it was struck. The bronze bell was recast many times without success. The king that had first wanted the bell cast died and his young son took over with the help of his mother. The queen and the son carried out what his father had started, but still they didn't have any success.

"Years later, a monk dreamed that if a child was cast into the metal, then the bell would ring. The monk took a child from the village and had her cast into the metal. When the bell was cast and struck, it made a most beautiful sound," Sister Cerice said.

"Melting a young girl, that's rather gruesome," Rhyly replied.

"Perhaps!" Sister Cerice said, adding, "However, at several literary workshops at academic conferences, Dr. Sincere Kim Park has set forth the argument that the Emille Bell legend has been confused with legends of other bells, and that no girl was ever cast into the metal. He described the story as a work of modern fiction, dating no further back than a hundred years ago."

"He's trying to refute the contributions of a queen and a girl to the history of a national treasure, known by all as the 'Mommy Bell,'" I said.

"Exactly!" Sister Cerice replied.

"The Mommy Bell!" Rhyly said, adding, "No wonder male dominance feels challenged."

At the mention of one of the Parks, my thoughts once again drifted back to my first assignment and to my mother's grave.

Hamish got us some local bread to go with our green tea. "The bread is called hwangnam and it is stuffed with a paste made of red-beans," Hamish said. "How do you like it?"

"Was this bread available in Silla times?" Rhyly asked. "It's rather good."

"Not likely." Hamish replied, "It's only been around for eighty years."

Hamish had made arrangements for us to stay at the Gyeongju Hilton Hotel to support our tourist cover story. Sister Cerice stayed the night at a local convent. Our next stop in the morning was the national park where we planned to reunite. At Gyeongju National Park and some other national parks and historical places we planned to visit, local residents could enter for free. Tourists were charged a fee. We kept our tourists cover and paid the fees, except for Hamish and Sister Cerice.

Sister Cerice noted that a great deal of Gyeongju's heritage was tied to the Silla kingdom's support of Buddhism. We slowly drove by the ruins of ancient temples, Silla-era stone carvings of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas that decorated the mountainsides around and in the city, and tombs, particularly on the south mountain of Namsan. The traffic seemed to be thinning out and we stopped and spent an hour at the site of Queen Seondeok's tomb. Archaeologists had been digging there recently and their tents were still in use. We planned to return to the tomb the next day.

"What's in Gyeongju besides the Silla Bell?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm, almost giddy at the thought of actually seeing what I had been studying for weeks.

Sister Cerice says, "Evidence that not every female image has been destroyed."

 "Let's not forget the importance of our cover story as tourists," I said as I slung my backpack and three cameras over my shoulders. Reddy glared at me. I had blown our cover, at least with Rhyly who, however, didn't react. She was no dummy and I trusted her.

That night, after we finished our day of touring, Hamish asked us to drop by his suite in the hotel around 9pm. "I'll arrange for us to view several parts of the Queen Seondeok TV series. It's good background for tomorrow's visit of Queen Seondeok's tomb on Namsan mountain." We ended up watching four hours of the Queen Seondeok TV series. Hamish had the full set in his collection of DVD's; however, we skipped a few or we would still be watching. Rhyly asked if she might get a set for her research.

Sister Cerice began the next morning by reminding us that these movies and TV shows clearly illustrated that not everything contributed by Korean women had been diminished or deleted from historical records.

"Queen Seondeok is buried on Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju. We found this out in the TV series we watched last night at the hotel. However, Hamish, didn't you tell us earlier that you were raised by nuns on Namsan Mountain in Seoul?" Rhyly asked.

Hamish replied, "Very observant. Namsan simply means South Mountain. There are mountains to the south of both Seoul and Gyeongju. They are both spiritual places and tomb sites."

After entering Gyeongju National Park, I did not see the Benz nor the black motorcycle as we parked the SUV, laced up our hiking boots, and followed Hamish up a trail toward the center of Namsan Mountain. There are so many peaks and valleys that I would have gotten lost within twenty minutes but for my six direction training. The landscape was decorated with tomb mounds.

I glanced at Rhyly who said, "I hope Hamish knows the way back."

"Reddy can backtrack better than anyone. Don't worry," I assured her.

As Hamish pulled the SUV out of the calm of the parking garage into the bustling traffic of Gyeongju, setting off to see Cheomseongdae, Reddy told us, "The tower looks a lot like a large milk bottle or a larger version of one of those Vortac navigation direction markers pilots used to navigate by in America." Rhyly, being a pilot, immediately identified with the metaphor.

"You already know that Cheomseongdae means star-gazing tower; however, did you know that it is the oldest observatory in this part of Asia, dating back to seventh century Silla?" Sister Cerice asked. "Historical documents tell us that the tower was built during the reign of Queen Seondeok who believed in astrology as well as astronomy, probably influenced by the female shamans of her time."

"There's the milk bottle," Rhyly said with a laugh, pointing out the window of the SUV.

Sister Cerice said, "There are those who claim that it was not suitable for astronomical observation. Others posit that it was used for astrology rather than astronomy, though during that era there was little differentiation between the two."

"I wonder if Dr. Sincere Park is one of the doubters," Rhyly said.

"In addition to being influenced by the mudang and believing in astrology and astronomy, as well as Buddhism, wasn't Queen Seondeok the first queen of Silla and didn't she have a plan for conquering the other two Koruygu and Georgyu dynasties and uniting the peninsula?” Rhyly asked.

"The Queen also built other structures, often in the style of Buddhist pagodas. One story tells of a nine story wooden pagoda that was sort of a plan for conquering the peninsula. It was a wooden structure some eighty meters high and on each of nine stories of the Buddhist pagoda there was an inscription." Sister Cerice added, "Do you know what these inscriptions engraved into each story represent?"

"Each inscription is a name of one of the neighboring dynasties that border on Silla," Rhyly said as she scrutinized the inscriptions.

I added, "The name on each level appears to be of one of the neighbors of Silla whom the queen planned to conquer."

Sister Cerice replied, "Most impressive. Did you know that the queen planned to triumph over each of them, making the pagoda essentially a plan for conquering the peninsula?"

Rhyly laughed and said, "Tell us another story of Queen Seondeok's powers."

Hamish swerved to avoid a motorcycle rider all dressed in black, saying, "Sorry about that folks."

Sister Cerice continued, "Another story of the Queen's powers is said to have occurred in the year 647ce at the time of the first lunar month. It was said at the time that female rulers could not rule the country. Lord Bidam of Silla led a revolt against Queen Seondeok with that very slogan, "Female rulers cannot rule the country."

Rhyly and I simultaneously said, "Wow! I wonder what Hillary would make of that slogan?"

Rhyly added, "I hope he really stepped into the proverbial pile with that slogan."

Sister Cerice continued the story. "Legend has it that during the revolt a star fell. Lord Bidam's cohorts took it as a sign of the end of Queen Seondeok's reign. The general of the queen's royal army advised her to fly a burning kite as a sign that the star was back in its place." Sister Cerice paused for effect and Rhyly took the bait.

"Did the ruse work?" Rhyly asked excitedly.

"Ten days after the revolution began, Bidam and a number of his men were executed," Sister Cerice replied with a big grin.

"Nice trap." Rhyly grinned back. "I like the ending. Chalk up one for the Queen and for Korean women."

Soon the sun was setting on day three of the tour. Hamish continued his tour briefing as we left the first astronomical observatory in the Far East.

"The milk bottle, as you are wont to call it, was built by Queen Seondeok in the seventh century out of granite blocks. It and the Mommy Bell are two of hundreds of remains on Namsan Mountain from the Silla dynasty including tombs of Silla kings and queens from the seventh to tenth centuries. Other remnants and artifacts dot the landscape with Buddhist art, carved reliefs, temples, and pagodas. All are considered national treasures," Hamish said. "Sister Cerice says that Namsan is not only known for the Silla remains but also appreciated by many tourists for its natural beauty."

“I will carry this beauty with me," I said, as we departed Gyeongju for our final stop on our tour, the place of my mother's death.

We slowly wove our way through the traffic heading out of Gyeongju. Hamish stopped for gas at the entrance onto the Gyeongbu Expressway to Seoul.

I nudged Rhyly and whispered, "Is that flashy looking dude over by the souvenir stand the same guy from the service station we stopped at before visiting the Mommy Bell?"

"If the license plate on that Benz reads RG 22-N-78, it's the same dude," I said.

Rhyly was at a better angle and said, "Same Benz, and I'm pretty sure he's the same dude. If we see him again, let's tell Reddy. No point in getting paranoid yet. He's probably just another tourist."