Usurper of the Sun

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AT DUSK, THE third day of the third month, in the fifty-seventh year of the Empire of the Great Ming, a farmer entered a teahouse. Every year, on this auspicious day, villagers harvested shepherd’s purse, a weed of the cruciferous order. Setting down his woven bamboo basket, the farmer offered a bundle of the white flowers to Zōngyuan, the teahouse’s proprietor. Drying the grass in the shade and placing the shepherd’s purse next to a lantern distracted moths because the moths would feed on the grass instead of entering the flame. In traditional medicine, the weed was added to formulas to treat blurry vision and spots that floated before the eyes.

The farmer described a new star to Zōngyuan. He stated that the star had appeared next to Shen Xiù, the asterism of three stars that eventually became known to the West as Orion’s belt. Surprised, Zōngyuan followed the farmer out into the street. The stars shined dimly through the sand-filled air, with the last vestiges of sunset glowing crimson along the western horizon. Despite the dusty air, Shēn Xiù was clearly visible in the southern sky.

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