A rapid falling over a "ledge" (Grand Canyon National Park)
Jack Andrews copyright 2001 may be only used in it's entirety with this notice and the notice "First published at" (below) clearly visible and this entire article must be unaltered unless specific written permission is granted by me. Permission is granted to link to this article from another web site - Jack Andrews
Mention of the Grand Canyon
The ancient Chinese document also states the there is a "Great Canyon" in the "Great Eastern Waste" beyond the "Eastern Sea". The author in the book I refer to elaborates, mentioning "The Sun and Moon Shan." "Shan" is a vast mountain system on who's "branches" (the mountain range) the sun and moon alight and rise. This seems to be a reference to the nearly contiguous mountain chain that stretches from Mexico to the arctic in Alaska and Canada. The sun rises and sunsets are likened to "flocks" of sun birds roosting in the branches. The "Great Canyon" (Grand Canyon, or "Great Luminous Canyon") is placed in relationship to the "Sun and Moon Shan" (the mountain range.)
Continuing along in the author's interpretation of the Chinese text, a "stream" flows through this canyon and the water eventually accumulates forming a gulf (the Gulf of California), which separates Baja California from mainland Mexico. The Chinese text states there is a "Kan Shui" (sweet river) running through the Great Canyon. The canyon has a mountain from which flows the "sweet river spring". (referring to the purity of the water) It is speculated that in the time of the ancient Chinese authors the Colorado river had it's origin high in the mountains northeast of the Grand Canyon proper. It then flowed down into the Grand Canyon and onward to the Gulf of California, as it does today.
As the river passes through the great Grand Canyon, it is referred to in the Chinese text as a "chu". (water shooting over a ledge) The many rapids of the Grand Canyon are cited as containing "a succession of ledges" and boulders over which the river "falls" and crashes it's way along.
A rapid falling over a "ledge" (Grand Canyon National Park)
A "Bottomless Ravine"
The book now refers to a poem mentioned in the Chinese text "Tsang-Shan-Wu", which says: "in the east there is a stream flowing in a bottomless ravine...in the canyon of the region beyond the Eastern Sea." The term used to refer to the ravine is "hoh" which can also denote "the bed of a torrent, or deep gully or "wadi" (sometimes "wady")... (in southwestern Asia the term "wadi" refers to a gully that remains dry until the water rushes in during the rainy season creating a river in the bed) This is similar to the historic situation in the Grand Canyon, before the water flow was controlled by the Glenn Canyon Dam. While the river never completely dried up as far as I know, it did get to very low levels in the driest summer months "Ta" in the ancient text refers to "great". "Ta Hoh" then, can be assumed to mean "Great Canyon". (Grand Canyon) The Chinese account also mentions "wu-ti" (no bottom). The implication here, although not mentioned directly by the author, is that the Grand Canyon, from several viewpoints on the rim can "appear" to be a deep "bottomless" ravine. At many points along the rim the Colorado river or "bottom" of the canyon, is not visible and it can lend to visions in the mind of a "bottomless ravine."
. - Jack Andrews copyright 2001 may be only used in it's entirety with this notice clearly visible
