Today marks a big anniversary for fans of extra-terrestrial activity in Nanjing. It’s 130 years since that regarded as one of the biggest UFO sightings in Qing-Dynasty China. And it was captured too, in an exhilarating illustration by one of the foremost painters of the time.
Nanjing has its fair share of UFO sightings. But these days, they usually turn out to be a kite with flashing lights on it or overly-zealous authorities with their infrared surveillance drones keeping an eye on us.
南京有相当多的不明飞行物目击事件。但如今，它们通常变成了一只闪烁着灯光的风筝，或者是过度热心的当局用红外侦察无人机监视着我们。
Neither were the case 130 years ago today. For on 28 September, 1892, our city recorded China’s first-ever illustrated account over the appearance of an Unidentified Flying Object.
130 年前的今天情况也并非如此。 1892年9月28日，我市记录了中国第一部关于不明飞行物出现的图文并茂的记录。
Painter, Wu Youru (吴友如), recorded the scene in his illustration, “Soaring Scarlet Flame in the Sky” (赤焰騰空), that went on to become invaluable to UFO researchers, noted That’s Mags yesterday.
《That’s Mags》昨天指出，画家吴友如在他的插图《赤焰腾空》中记录了这一场景，该插图后来对 UFO 研究人员变得无价。
The scene depicts a crowd assembled on Zhuque Bridge, near today’s Laomendong, from where they could have an unfettered view of the night sky and the fireball which caused so much concern.
该场景描绘了一群人聚集在今天的老门洞附近的朱雀桥上，从那里他们可以不受限制地看到夜空和引起如此多关注的火球。
Wu included a description of the scene on his illustration. The Chinese is replicated below, followed by an English translation.
吴在他的插图中包含了对场景的描述。下面复制了中文，然后是英文翻译。
“九月二十八日，晚间八点钟时，金陵城南，偶忽见火毯一团，自西向东，型如巨卵，色红而无光，飘荡半空，其行甚缓。维时浮云蔽空，天色昏暗。举头仰视，甚觉分明，立朱雀桥上，翘首踮足者不下数百人。约一炊许渐远渐减。有谓流星过境者，然星之驰也，瞬息即杳。此球自近而远，自有而无，甚属濡滞，则非星驰可知。有谓儿童放天灯者，是夜风暴向北吹，此球转向东去，则非天灯又可知。众口纷纷，穷于推测。有一叟云，是物初起时微觉有声，非静听不觉也，系由南门外腾越而来者。嘻，异矣！”
“At 20:00 on 28 September, a fireball appeared suddenly in the southern sky of Nanjing.
9月28日20时00分，南京南部天空突然出现一个火球。
“Its shape resembled a gigantic egg and it travelled slowly from west to east. Clearly visible in the night sky, its colour was red, but it had no lustre. Hundreds of civilians stood on Zhuque Bridge, jostling for a good view, standing on tip-toe, craning their necks upward, while the fireball appeared to float slowly in the air.
“它的形状就像一个巨大的鸡蛋，从西向东缓慢地移动。夜空中清晰可见，它的颜色是红色的，但没有光泽。数百名平民站在朱雀桥上，争先恐后地踮起脚尖，伸长脖子，而火球似乎在空中缓慢漂浮。
“It lingered for the duration of a meal, fading little by little into the distance. Some said it was a meteor, but that would disappear in an instant. This ball’s movement, from its first appearance in the near sky to its final disappearance in the distance, was quite sluggish. It cannot have been a meteor.
“它在一顿饭的时间里徘徊，一点一点地消失在远方。有人说它是流星，但转眼间就会消失。这球从最初出现在近处的天空，到最后消失在远处，动作相当缓慢，不可能是流星。”
“Others said it was a lantern kite that children flew. But the wind was blowing to the north that night while that object was heading east. So it cannot have been a lantern-kite either. For a while, everyone nattered, but no one could solve the mystery. None of the theories made sense.
“也有人说是小孩子放的灯笼风筝。但那天晚上，风向是北风，而那个东西却向东飞去。所以它也不可能是灯笼风筝。一时间大家议论纷纷，却无人能解开谜团。各种说法都说不通。
“An elderly man said, ‘When it first arose, there was a slight noise which was hardly audible, like the buzzing approach of men darting across the South Gate. The sound was so soft that most people would have missed it’. He added that the object soared up into the sky from the southern outskirts of the city. It was so strange!”
“一位老人说，‘它刚出现时，有一种微弱的声音，几乎听不见，就像人们嗡嗡地穿过南门一样。声音很小，一般人都会错过。’他补充说，这个物体从城市的南郊飞上天空。太奇怪了！”
If you are out and about this evening, be sure to glance skyward. Those visitors from 130 years ago might fancy coming back for the anniversary to see how things have changed. And what a surprise they’re in for.
如果您今晚外出活动，请务必抬头看看天空。 130 年前的游客可能会想回来庆祝周年纪念日，看看事情发生了怎样的变化。他们会带来多么大的惊喜啊。
