Observations placeholder
March 260, China, exact location unknown - A child from Mars flies away
Identifier
028758
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Circa March 260, China, exact location unknown - A child from Mars flies away
Notes: At a time when the government of Wu faced critical dangers, during the reign of Sun Hsiu (258 to 263) the generals of border garrisons used to leave their wives and children (known as "hostage children") as pledges of loyalty. It was not unusual for a dozen of these children to play together. The record goes on:
A strange child suddenly joined the hostage children in their play. He was less than four feet tall, dressed in dark clothes, and appeared to be between six and seven years old. None of the other children recognized the newcomer, so they asked him, "To what family do you belong, that you should suddenly appear among us?"
"I came only because you seemed to be enjoying yourselves so much," was the reply. On closer examination, it was noticed that light rays from the stranger's eyes flashed brilliantly, and the other children began to be afraid. They asked him about his past. "Do you fear me, then?" he asked. "Don't. Though I am not human, I am the star-god Yung- huo (Mars) and have come to deliver a message to you: The Three Lords will return to Ssu-ma."
The children were startled, and some ran off to tell their parents. The adults arrived in haste to witness all this, but the visitor said, 'I must leave you.' So saying, he propelled his body upward and transformed himself. The children looked up and watched him rise to the heavens leaving what appeared to be a great train of flowing silk behind him. Some of the adults arrived in time to watch him drifting gradually higher. A moment later, he vanished.
Source: In the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period (222-280), cited in In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record, trans. Kenneth J. DeWoskin and J. I. Crump (Stanford University Press: 1996), 110. Note that Four years later Hsiu was overthrown; in 21 years Wu was put down, and the power fell to Ssu-ma.