Celestial Spring Station has stood here since Emperor Wu of Han established beacon posts in Hexi, nearly a tho…
Celestial Spring Station has stood here since Emperor Wu of Han established beacon posts in Hexi, nearly a thousand years ago. All documents from the Western Regions once passed through this place. Now the barbarians run rampant, the beacons are destroyed, and the station is close to collapse.
With my failing strength, I dug a dry well three zhang deep and hid eight thousand scrolls within. I sealed them with oiled cloth and stone coffins, hoping they might endure for a hundred years.
Should a worthy person of later generations uncover this trove and see the cracked ink upon the pages, know that these are not rotted scraps of paper. They are the tears of garrison soldiers longing for home, the words of frontier merchants missing their kin, and the blood-bound vows of warriors.
If Heaven should take pity on this wish and allow the spring to flow again, may clear waters bear these scrolls through dark currents, past Yangguan Pass, and return them at last to Chang'an.
I write this in tears and no longer know my words.
Courier Zhang Zheng