Wonders in the Sky by Jacques Vallee Page B

recorded an interesting sighting in Chapter 369 of his Stories on the Bank of a Stream of Dreams :
    â€œIn the middle of the reign of emperor Jia You [1056-1063], at Yangzhou, in the Jiangsu province, an enormous pearl was seen especially in gloomy weather. At first it appeared in the marsh of the Tianchang district, passed by the lake of Bishe and disappeared finally in the Xinkai lake. The inhabitants of that region and travelers saw it frequently over a period of ten years. I have a friend who lives on the edge of the lake. One evening, he looked through the window and saw the luminous pearl near his house. He half-opened his door and the light entered, illuminating the room with its brightness. The pearl was round, with a gold-colored ring around it. Suddenly, it enlarged considerably and became bigger than a table. In its centre, the luminary was white and silvery, and the intensity was such that it could not be looked at straight on. ”
    The light it emitted even reached trees that were some 5 kilometers away and as a result these cast their shadow on the ground; the faraway sky was all alight. Finally, the round luminous object began to move at a breathtaking speed and landed on the water between the waves, like a rising sun.
    As the pearl often made its appearance in the town of Fanliang in Yangzhou, the inhabitants, who had seen it frequently, built a wayside pavilion and named it “The Pearl Pavilion.” Inquisitive people often came from afar by boat, waiting for a chance to see the unpredictable pearl.
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    Source: Shi Bo, La Chine et les Extraterrestres , op.cit., 26. The case is also mentioned by Paul Dong in China’s Major Mysteries: Paranormal Phenomena and the Unexplained in the People’s Republic of China (China Books, 2000), 69-71. Dong quotes from an article in Peking’s Guang Ming Daily of February 18th 1979, “Could It Be That a Visitor from Outer Space Visited China Long Long Ago?” written by Professor Zhang Longqiao of the Chinese department of Peking Teachers College. The actual account comes from the book “Meng Qi Bi Tan” (“Essays of the Meng Hall”) by Shen Kua of the Song Dynasty (960-1127).
    85.
    1067, Northumbria, England
Fiery sign revolves, moves up and down
    â€œIn this year, truly, several people saw a sign; in appearance it was fire: it flamed and burned fiercely in the air; it came near to the earth, and for a little time quite illuminated it; afterwards it revolved and ascended up on high , then descended into the bottom of the sea; in several places it burned woods and plains. No man knew with certainty what this divined, nor what this sign signified. In the country of the Northumbrians this fire showed itself; and in two seasons of one year were these demonstrations.”
    The original account, in Gaimar’s History of the English (in Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages . London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1889, Kraus reprint, 1966) runs thus:
    Many folks saw a sign
    In likeness of fire it was,
    In the air it greatly flamed and burned:
    Towards the earth it approached,
    For a little it quite lighted up.
    Then it revolved above,
    Then fell into the deep sea.
    In many places it burnt woods and plains.
    Source: C. E. Britton, A Meteorological Chronology to A.D. 1450 (London: H.M.S.O., 1937), 44. Britton comments: “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives the date of the return from Normandy as December 6 but does not mention the auroral appearances.” Also mentioned by Geoffrey Gaimar in L’Estoire des Engles solum la Translacion Maistre Geffri Gaimar , a 12th century manuscript.
    86.
    December 1071, Zhengjiang, China
Light rising from the river
    Scholar Su Dongpo saw a big light emerge from the Yangtse River, scaring away the mountain birds.
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    Source: Shi Bo, La Chine et les Extraterrestres , op.cit., 26.
    87.
    July 1085, Estella, Navarra, Spain: A great star, and the Holy