The year 1720 was the entry point for Jan Pottocki's Zaragoza Manuscripts, when the Gomeres family had already hibernated to the 52nd patriarch. The 52nd generation of Gomeles decided to live the life of a crane in the clouds after experiencing the most stormy of life. If he wants to do so, he must find a new generation of patriarchs for the Gomeles family, the 53rd generation. This was a deliberate choice, and the clans all believed that the Gomeles family could no longer live like this, and they hoped that the 53rd generation patriarch selected for them by the 52nd generation patriarch would exchange the wealth hidden by the first patriarch in the castle of the Gomeles Palace built by himself, and return the world status that the Gomeles family had, even better than before.
Alfonso, a young Spanish soldier who had distinguished himself in the Siege of Zaragoza, was appointed captain of the Walloon Guard by Philip V. From Zaragoza to Madrid, Alfonso can take a very safe road. In that case, it would take many more days to arrive in Madrid than to travel to the Mountains of Morena, which Alfonso could not tolerate, because he would swear allegiance to Philip V by appearing in the Wallonia Guard as early as possible. So, just cross the Morena Mountains? There are ghosts and monsters in the Morena Mountains, although it is only a legend, but once he decides to take the mountain road in the Morena Mountains, Alfonso is still quite afraid, and fear has really come. On his first night in the Mountains of Morena, Alfonso tasted the night from heaven to hell.
Although the author is a Polish nobleman living in the mid-to-late 18th and early 19th centuries, the book's Lector also states that the Zaragoza Manuscript was painstakingly completed by Jan Potocki in the last two years of his life (so the storyline of the second half of the book develops in a somewhat hasty manner), then the Zaragoza Manuscript was completed between about 1813 and 1815. The Zaragoza Manuscripts were not published "in its entirety" after completion, but several times in various title fascicles. A century and a half after Jan Potocki's death, the Zaragoza Manuscript was published in its entirety in 1989.
Why would such a novel, which brings together the author's talents, experience, knowledge and insights (called a novel, a simplification of the text of the Zaragoza Manuscript), have to wait so long to meet the reader in its entirety? The sentence printed on the back cover of the Chinese translation reveals a thing or two? That sentence says: Comparable to "Ten Days" and "One Thousand and One Nights". Since there are already Decamerons and One Thousand and One Nights, why should there be another Zaragoza Manuscript? In fact, the Zaragoza Manuscript is richer than the first two, so rich that just because of the notes in the book, it is worth carefully reading the more than 800 pages of the Zaragoza Manuscript page by page.
So, what do those notes teach the reader?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, those major historical events:</h1>
War of the Spanish Succession – the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty, the vacancy of the throne, the great war between the French Bourbons and the Austrian Habsburgs for the Spanish throne.
This note appeared on the third day of Alfonso's journey from Zaragoza to Madrid, and the keynote speaker was Alfonso. The War of the Spanish Succession took place between 1701 and 1714 AD, and six years after the end of the war, Alfonso embarked on a thrilling, exciting, sweet and bizarre journey to serve as a captain of the Walloon Guard. Why did Jan Potocki involve the war of the Spanish throne six years ago in the Zaragoza Manuscripts? Alfonso's father fought in the War of the Spanish Throne and was thus awarded the position of Lieutenant Colonel of the Walloon Guard, and was given the heart of a Miss Gomeres – how did the young Spanish officer Alfonso get the favor of the 52nd Patriarch of the Gomeres family? The author confessed on the 3rd day after Alfonso's departure, but we can only realize it after reading the 60th day of Alfonso's trip to Madrid - this is also the pleasure of reading the "Zaragoza Manuscript", in the tension comparable to a detective novel, the historical knowledge that we have never known or have forgotten is unconsciously spied by us.
Historical events of the same level as the "War of the Spanish Succession" appear many times in the notes of the Zaragoza Manuscripts, such as the rise and fall of the Umayyad Dynasty, the formation and historical role of the Imperial Circle, the trajectory of the Sicily Kingdom, etc., which are embedded in wonderful stories by the writer, and in terms of instilling historical common sense, the Zaragoza Manuscripts are entertaining and educational.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, those historical terms:</h1>
The Walloon Guard – an infantry unit created in 1537 by Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, recruited mainly in the Spanish Netherlands for the purpose of maintaining security within Spain, and later integrated into the Spanish Royal Guard.
This note appears on page 2 of the Chinese translation, when Alfonso, who had just been appointed, bid farewell to his relatives and a group of friends in Zaragoza. The main speaker is also Alfonso, through whom the author explains to the reader the background of the story of the "Zaragoza Manuscript", such as the Count of Oravide, santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route, the Holy Brotherhood, etc. in 1720 people are familiar with the names, place names, etc., through the accumulation of historical dust and smoke, few people know the meaning behind these names and place names, such as the ins and outs of the pilgrimage road, and a few non-Catholics can understand, from Santiago de Santiago in Spain to De Compostela, Why are so many people hiking in the middle of it every year?
Historical terms such as "Walloon Guard" appear more frequently in the notes of the Zaragoza Manuscripts than in major historical events: The Philosopher's Tower, the Salerno Medical School, the Jewish Ronin, the Virgin Teresa... Behind every historical term is a historical event, and the author always listens to the call of the story when introducing these historical terms one by one, which makes us have a strong sense of substitution when contacting these historical terms, and we master these historical terms in joy.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, those religious terms:</h1>
Antichrist – a biblical term. According to the Gospel of John, the Antichrist means "to replace Christ," denying Christ, denying that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, and denying that Jesus is incarnate. He called himself Christ, the Antichrist.
This note appears in the story of Alfonso's sexual encounter after staying at the Hotel Damaga on his first night. The author asked Amina, one of the two sisters, Alfonso's sexual encounter, to tell the story of the "Castle of the Palace of Gomeles", in fact, by ringing the bell to tell the reader about the relationship between Alfonso and the Gomeres family, but when we read the Zaragoza Manuscripts to page 21, we usually only have time to pay attention to the ups and downs of the storyline, and we do not pay attention to another important motif of the book, that is, the complex situation of the religious strife in Europe in the 18th century. In fact, it is difficult for non-believers to figure out the direction or back-to-back between several major religions in the world. However, Jan Potocki's super writing ability allowed him to promote the development of the plot at the same time, but also to explain the road map of the development of Judaism, Catholicism, Islam and other major religions, which made the reader very useful.
Religious terms similar to "Antichrist" are also found in the Zaragoza Manuscripts, such as the Nazarenes, the Tao, the Rabbi, St. James, the Sorcerer Simon, the Essenes, the Mags, the Sabids, the Jesids, the Imams... When reading the Zaragoza Manuscripts, when we encounter these religious words, we are amazed by Jan Potocki's vast knowledge and talent, and amazed at how he can present these very entangled knowledge in the most acceptable description in the dressing room.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > four, three books that the author specifically wrote into the story:</h1>
The Book of Zohar , the most basic document of the Kabbalah secrets , was written around the thirteenth century in the language of Morse ibn Shemto de Leon Arami , but was entrusted by the author to the work of Simon Ba Johai, the compiler of the Jewish code. The book also contains a number of appendices, including the Book of Secret Laws, the Great Commentary, and the Small Commentary. In addition, commentaries use the term "Council", which first referred specifically to a large council in Jerusalem and later to certain commentaries on the holy books relating to law.
Septuagint is a translation of the Greek Bible of the Old Testament that prevailed in New Testament times. This book is universally recognized by both Jewish and Christian adherents. In addition to the Old Testament of the Bible, which is in use today, the book also includes sub-scriptures and documents on Jewish life.
The Learning of the Sun God is a pseudo-scripture actually written by neoplatonist writers in the 4th century AD, under the name "Hermes the Great of the Three Faiths". The "Egyptian Prayer Book" is a partial paraphrase of the book.
Because I have not read the above three books, I can only copy them. The reason why I want to share the content of the three books to everyone word by word is because these three books have an idea: human thinking ability may not necessarily progress with the development of science and technology, so these three very old books will not be outdated, and it is worth our understanding.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > five, those everyday objects that may have been extinct:</h1>
Galls – is a gall produced by the parasitism of the galls of the larva trees of the genus Leptophyllaceae. Gallic acid is the raw material for making ink.
The bridesmaids are the elderly women who accompanied young girls and young women in Spain and other countries in the past, and were the supervisors of their behavior.
Foot filament – a strong bundle of fibrous fibrous that protrudes from the filament hole of the foot slightly near the center of the foot of a flap gill, with the shell matrix as the main component.
Darius – The name of the Achaemenid dynasty gold coins of Persia, minted since the time of Darius I. Weighs approximately 8.4 grams.
Doblon – is an ancient gold coin from Spain and Latin America.
Semi-mourning dress - refers to the black and white or lilac mourning dress worn after the period of filial piety. This mourning garment can also be worn when a distant relative dies.
Moroccan leather: Leather that is polished and hand-rolled on the grain surface in a damp state into a unique fine gravel pattern or pin needle pattern. Strictly speaking, Moroccan leather refers specifically to goat leather made only from lacquer leaf blend tanning.
Skuna – the currency of Italy from the 16th to the 19th century.
……
These imprints of past life, which may not be read in history textbooks, are sometimes more interesting than the main history, and even closer to the historical truth. The most joyful thing about reading the Zaragoza Manuscripts is to be able to read these imprints of life that have been dusted in the dust – if we do not study the history of European countries, these imprints of life are likely to be inaccessible to us for the rest of our lives. Jan Pototsky wrote these interesting details into Alfonso's "Sixty-Six Days" and made the story more exciting and historical.
The notes at the end of each page of the Zaragoza Manuscripts contain more than five of the above! For example, a large number of stories and characters in Greek mythology, just because Greek mythology has penetrated into the hearts of almost every reader who loves literature and culture, does not want to repeat it here.
What I want to talk about is the structure of the book. The story that Alfonso told or heard during his 66 days in the Mountains of Morena, everyone knows the genre that Jan Potocki carefully conceived and presented to us. A story stacked on top of another, and then freely extracted from the stack, I personally think, this is not easy. The last story is that the 52nd Patriarch of Gemeles helplessly confessed to Alfonso that the gold in the castle of the Palace of Gemeles has been mined, and only an empty cave remains in the castle - how do I think that jan Pottsky's hastily made this ending is very meaningful?