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K'inich Janaab' Pakal
Ajaw of Palenque
Pacal the Great
Reign	July 29, 615 – August 31, 683 CE
Full name	K'inich Janaab' Pakal
Born	(603-03-23)March 23, 603
Died	March 31, 683(683-03-31) (aged 80)
Buried	Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque
Predecessor	Sak K'uk'
Successor	K'inich Kan B'alam II
Offspring	K'inich Kan B'alam II K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II
Father	K'an Mo' Hix
Mother	Sak K'uk'

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (23 March 603 – 28 August 683)^[1] was ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque in the Late Classic period of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology. During a long reign of some 68 years Pakal was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture.

Name[link]

Before his name was securely deciphered from extant Maya inscriptions, this ruler has been known by an assortment of nicknames and approximations, common ones including Pakal (or Pacal), "Sun Shield", "8 Ahau", and (familiarly) as Pacal the Great. The word pakal means "shield" in the Maya language.

In modern sources his name is also sometimes appended with a regnal number,^[2] to distinguish him from other Janaab' Pakals that either preceded or followed him in the dynastic lineage of Palenque. Confusingly, he has at times been referred to as either "Pakal I" or "Pakal II". The reference to him as Pakal II takes into account that his maternal grandfather (who died in 612) was also named Janaab' Pakal. However, although his grandfather was a personage of ajaw ranking most recent inscriptional interpretations hold that he probably did not himself hold the actual rulership position over the Palenque city-state. When instead the name Pakal I is used, this serves to distinguish him from two later known successors to the Palenque rulership, Upakal K'inich Janaab' Pakal (ruled c. 742, aka "[K'inich Janaab'] Pakal II") and Wak Kimi Janaab' Pakal (aka [Janaab'] Pakal III), the last-known Palenque ruler who acceded in 799.

Biography[link]

Pakal ascended the throne at age 12 on July 29, 615, and lived to the age of 80. He saw expansion of Palenque's power in the western part of the Maya states, and initiated a building program at his capital that produced some of Maya civilization's finest art and architecture. He was preceded as ruler of Palenque by his mother, Lady Sak K'uk'. As the Palenque dynasty seems to have had Queens only when there was no eligible male heir, Sak K'uk' transferred rulership to her son upon his official maturity.

After his death, Pakal was succeeded by his son Chan Bahlum II. A younger son, Kan Xul II, succeeded his brother Chan Bahlum II. After his death, Pakal was deified and said to communicate with his descendants. Pakal was buried within the Temple of Inscriptions. Though Palenque had been examined by archaeologists before, the secret to opening his tomb—closed off by a stone slab with stone plugs in the holes, which had until then escaped the attention of archaeologists—was discovered by Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier in 1948. It took four years to clear the rubble from the stairway leading down to Pakal’s tomb, but was finally uncovered in 1952 [2]. His skeletal remains were still lying in his coffin, wearing a jade mask and bead necklaces, surrounded by sculptures and stucco reliefs depicting the ruler's transition to divinity and figures from Maya mythology. That the bones within the tomb are really those of Pakal himself is under debate due to the fact that the analysis of wear on the skeleton’s teeth places the age of the owner at death as 40 years younger than Pakal would have been at his death. Epigraphers insist that the inscriptions on the tomb indicate that it is indeed K'inich Janaab' Pakal entombed within, and that he died at the age of 80 after ruling for around 70 years. Some contest that the glyphs refer to two people with the same name or that an unusual method for recording time was used, but other experts in the field say that allowing for such possibilities would go against everything else that is known about the Maya calendar and records of events. The most commonly accepted explanation for the irregularity is that Pakal, being an elite, had access to softer, less abrasive food than the average person so that his teeth naturally acquired less wear [3]. Despite the controversy, it remains one of the most spectacular finds of Maya archeology. A replica of his tomb is found at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.

Carved lid of the tomb of K'inich Janaab' Pakal in the Temple of the Inscriptions.

Pacal's sarcophagus lid[link]

The large carved stone sarcophagus lid in the Temple of Inscriptions is a famous piece of Classic Maya art. The widely accepted interpretation of the sarcophagus lid is that Pakal is descending into Xibalba, the Maya underworld. Around the edges of the lid are glyphs representing the Sun, the Moon, Venus, and various constellations, locating this event in the nighttime sky. Below him is the Maya water god, who guards the underworld [4]. Beneath Pakal are the "unfolded" jaws of a dragon or serpent, which Pakal is escaping from, ascending towards the world tree. This is a common iconographic representation of the entrance to the underworld. Other examples of this imagery are found in sculpture on Monument 1 "El Rey" and Monument 9 at the Olmec site of Chalcatzingo, Morelos, on Altar 4 at the Olmec site of La Venta, Tabasco, and in recently discovered murals at the Late Preclassic Maya site of San Bartolo, Guatemala.^{[citation needed]}

Erich von Däniken's "Maya Astronaut"[link]

Pakal’s tomb has been the focus of attention by some "ancient astronaut" enthusiasts since its appearance in Erich von Däniken's 1968 best seller, Chariots of the Gods?. Von Däniken reproduced a drawing of the sarcophagus lid (incorrectly labeling it as being from "Copan") and comparing Pacal's pose to that of 1960s Project Mercury astronauts, interpreting drawings underneath him as rockets, and offering it as evidence of a supposed extraterrestrial influence on the ancient Maya.

In the center of that frame is a man sitting, bending forward. He has a mask on his nose, he uses his two hands to manipulate some controls, and the heel of his left foot is on a kind of pedal with different adjustments. The rear portion is separated from him; he is sitting on a complicated chair, and outside of this whole frame, you see a little flame like an exhaust.

Von Däniken's claim is not considered a credible interpretation by any professional Mayanist. For example Ian Graham responded, "Well I certainly don't see any need to regard him as a space man. I don't see any oxygen tubes. I see a very characteristically drawn Maya face"^[3]

José Argüelles' "Pacal Votan"[link]

Another example of this carving's manifestation in pseudoarchaeology is José Argüelles' identification of "Pacal Votan," of whom he claims to be an incarnation named "Valum Votan," who will act as a "closer of the cycle" in 2012 (an event that is also significant on Argüelles' "13 Moon" calendar). Daniel Pinchbeck, in his book 2012: The Return of Quetzalquatl (2006), also uses the name "Votan" in referring to Pakal. However, this name is not used for Pakal by Mayanist researchers such as academic archaeologists, epigraphers, and iconographers. Argüelles claims a connection between Pakal and the semi-historical Toltec figure Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, but this is not supported by archaeological or epigraphic evidence. New Age interpretations of Pakal's tomb are a cornerstone of contemporary Mayanism.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Tiesler, Vera; Cucina, Andrea (2004), Janaab' Pakal de Palenque: Vida y muerte de un gobernante maya, Mexico: UNAM, ISBN 978-970-32-1489-1, http://books.google.com/books?id=yaMuPdEF9k4C&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr 

External links[link]

• Drawings of the sarcophagus of Pacal the Great
• Photo of the sarcophagus of Pacal II
• Mesoweb's description of the discovery of Pacal II's tomb
• Michael Finley's "The 'Maya Astronaut,'" a discussion of Von Daniken's claims.

For other persons with this name, see Pakal (disambiguation).

Janaab' Pakal or Pakal I (died 9 March, 612CE) was a king of the Maya city-state of Palenque. Pakal means "shield".

Family[link]

His dynastic position is not entirely certain,^[1] though he may have been the father of Aj Ne' Yohl Mat. It seems that he never ascended to the high-kingship in his own right.^[2]

He was the father of Lady Sak K'uk', one of the rare queens regnant of Maya history. His wife was Yohl Ik'nal.^[3][4]

He should not be confused with his grandson, K'inich Janaab' Pakal, who during a long reign if some 68 years was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture.

References[link]

La Mascara is an EP by The Blackeyed Susans, released in 1998.

Track listing[link]

1. To Skin A Man (Kakulas/Snarski/Box) – 3:53
2. Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Oh No (The Blackeyed Susans) – 3:01
3. Come Ride With Me (Snarski/Blair/Luscombe) – 4:07
4. No Direction Home (Snarski/Luscombe/Dawson) – 3:09
5. Be My Medicine (Snarski/Kakulas) – 3:39

Personnel[link]

• Roberto Snarski - voz y guitarras acusticas y electricas
• Daniel Luscombe - guitarras electricas y acusticas, coros
• Hernan Box - teclados y secuenciador
• Felipe Kakulas - bajo y organo hammond
• Marcos Dawson - bateria y percusion
• Mateo Habben - clarinete
• Adan Hutterer - trombon

Yu Dafu
Born	(1896-12-07)December 7, 1896 Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
Died	September 17, 1945(1945-09-17) (aged 48)
Occupation	Short Story writer and Poet

Yu Dafu (simplified Chinese: 郁达夫; traditional Chinese: 郁達夫; pinyin: Yù Dáfū; Wade–Giles: Yu Ta-fu) (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years[link]

Yu Dafu's father died when he was three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy^[1] (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a short period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.^[2]

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the Chuangzao she 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works Chenlun 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of Creation Quarterly, editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the Hongshui literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war[link]

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works[link]

• Chenlun 沉淪 "Sinking" (1921)
• Riji jiuzhong 日記九種 “Nine Diaries” (1927)
• Guoqu 過去 “The Past" (1927)
• his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)
• his second novel?? (1932)
• Chuben 出奔 "Flight" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links[link]

• Works by Yu Dafu at Project Gutenberg