391 Reading Report 2: Historical Evidence From The Ch'oe Pu

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Reading Report 2: Ch’oe Pu
Question 1
The religious beliefs of Ch’oe Pu are uniquely different from those of his companions on the boat. He is the only man on the boat who seems to have hope, and he believes that Heaven will prevent them from dying and allow him to go and mourn his father. All the soldiers that accompanied Ch’oe Pu in the boat lost hope in as soon as the fourth day on the ocean. As noted by Meskill, all the soldiers were sure they would die (32). Therefore, they preferred to wait and die rather than repairing the ship and bailing out water (Meskill 32). They were so hopeless that even being whipped could not get them to obey orders to bail water and repair the ship. Unlike Ch’oe Pu who was hopeful that somehow they would manage through the journey, the soldiers had completely given up hope. In the words of Chong Po, one of Ch’oe Pu’s staff, the soldiers are “obstinate, rude, rebellious, and cruel, and they take death lightly” (Meskill 32). From Chong Po’s words, the soldiers cannot be said to be as religious as Ch’oe Pu.
Another aspect that sets Ch’oe Pu’s as more religious than his companions on the boat is the act of prayer. As informed by Meskill, Ch’oe Pu joined his hands and prayed to the supreme being, Heaven, to see them through the journey (Meskill 34). In the prayer, he goes on to mention that he has not killed anyone nor done any wrong. It is his belief that Heaven is aware of everything that is going on in his life. Therefore, he begs heaven to reverse the winds and make the waves still. This act of prayer and believing that a supreme being can save them clearly shows that is more religious than his companions on the boat. While Ch’oe Pu was praying, his companions did not join him. Therefore, there exists a clear distinction between his religious beliefs and those of his companions. In the occasions his boat companions had lost hope and only saw death, he remained optimistic that they would complet...