Walkthrough

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Table of Contents

     * Abbreviations
     * Tomb Entrance
     * Plaza
     * Palace
     * Lower Level
     * Philosophy Realm
     * Sacred Mountains
     * Elixir of Immortality
     * Endgames
     * Maps
     * Shortcuts
     * Notes

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Abbreviations

   F: Forward (Fn for n repetitions)
   B: Back
   L: Left
   R: Right

     Click  the  mouse  button  to  skip  the  introductory screen and
proceed directly to the Options menu.

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Tomb Entrance

     At  the left side of the doorway of the cave-like room into which
you  have fallen, use the Interpreter function to identify the symbols
as Mercury. Click on the symbols; they turn white. Proceed through the
doorway  and  immediately  turn around. Turn the Fire symbol orange by
clicking on it. Go through the doorway at the north end of the hall of
soldiers.  Immediately  turn  around  and click on the Water symbol to
turn  it  blue. Turn around and move forward to the girded ball at the
end  of the segmented-floor room (failing to activate all three of the
doorway symbols makes this passage impassable).

   To gain access to the tomb complex, move the Separate symbol at far
   right into the open space beneath the large Door symbol. Proceed
   forward through the circular hole.


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Plaza

     Move  F  L F R F L F2 to enter the four-room building at the west
side of the plaza. Turn right and enter the northeast room. Zoom in on
the  five  colored  rods on the sculpted bench. Pick up each rod, move
left and place it in the appropriate hole in the statue:

     Man Statue

     The  statue's  eyes  light  up  when  the  colored rods have been
correctly placed.

     Exit  the  room,  move  R2 F R and enter the northwest room. Turn
left and zoom in on the Feng-Shui puzzle. The object of this puzzle is
to  move eight of the nine pieces at left into the empty grid at right
while  maintaining  a  center  house  image  that  is  the same as the
rightmost  (most complete) in the row of five shown at the bottom. The
solution  will  satisfy the requirements of Feng-Shui landscape design
as stated in the Archives:

     Feng-Shui Puzzle Solution

     Exit  the  room  and  continue  moving forward into the southwest
room.  Zoom in on the armillary sphere. Move forward until the writing
on  the  apparatus  is  visible.  Click  on  the  brown portion of the
mechanism to view a juxtaposition of blue and red spheres.

     Exit  the room, move R2 F R and enter the southeast room. Zoom in
on  the  compass on the floor. Click at the upper-right position seven
times  to  bring North to the bottom per ancient Chinese maps (see the
Cartography section of the Archives).

     Exit  the  room,  turn  left  and  pick  up  the golden Plate now
floating  above  the  tower  of cylinders. Head northeast to the large
spoon-shaped  statue  guarding the palace entrance at the north end of
the plaza. Put the plate in position on the south side of the statue.

     Proceed east and make note of a crossbow immediately north of the
eastern  footbridge.  Cross  the  bridge, turn left and zoom in on the
four  soldier statues along the north wall of the workshop. Pick up an
Arrow  from the pile on the ground. Move LF and release the waterwheel
brake.  Move  R  F2  and  load  the  arrow into the crossbow. Fire the
crossbow to start the river flowing.

     Move  B  R F2 R F and watch a toy boat be raised up by a conveyor
belt  connected  to a lower level of the tomb. Pick up the Bamboo from
the  boat, move B L F and use it to repair the broken viaduct. Move F2
R  F  R; you will then be halfway across the western footbridge. Touch
the  lamp  carving atop the post to cause the workshop at the east end
of the plaza to be illuminated by the large lamp.

     Move  R  F  L F2 R F to the workshop gate. Enter the workshop and
move  forward  to  face  a  conical  furnace.  There  are  a number of
optional-play  areas in the workshop, including making a dragon design
appear  on  a  loom, and revealing a secret message when the following
selections are highlighted in a 4 x 4 array of disks:

   X



   X

   X


   X


     Return  to  the  furnace near the workshop entrance. Pick up Coal
from  the  container  to the left and put it into the furnace. Pick up
Fire  from  the  glowing  area at right and add it to the furnace. Add
Iron  from the container in front of the coal hopper. Molten iron will
then run down the left channel to the mold; pick up the resulting iron
spoon.  Back out of the close-up and take the iron spoon to the statue
at  the  palace  entrance.  To open the gates to the palace, place the
spoon  on  top  of  the golden plate. Move around the spoon statue and
into the palace.

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Palace

     Move  F2  R  F  R F and observe the sequence of nine musical note
symbols shown on the staircase steps:

     Musical Note Symbols

     Move  F R F2 R F into the bedroom. Turn left and go up the stairs
into  the  cinnabar  room. Zoom in on the low red table containing the
incense  burner and plate of cinnabar. Pick up the cinnabar and put it
into the incense burner; watch mercury dribble out the bottom.

     Move  B2  L  F2  L  F3  L F into the Numbers Room. Zoom in on the
framed  disk  and use the Interpreter function on the writing for each
of three riddles. Provide the answer to each riddle by zooming back to
the  full  room view, picking up the appropriate numbered bar from the
table (numbered 1-6 left to right), zooming in on the framed disk, and
clicking  the  number  symbol on the riddle writing. The three riddles
and their solutions from the Archive are:

     RiddleAnswer  What  is  the  number  closest  to the heart of the
emperor?  6  What  is  the number of cardinal directions?5 What is the
number of objects that must be placed on the ritual altar? 2

     After  all  three  riddles  have been solved, the Numbers Room is
converted  to a shelf containing four objects. Pick up the golden tree
(Precious  Offering)  and take it to the Altar Room at the foot of the
stairs  by  backing  out of the object close-up and moving B L F R F R
F2.

     Click  the  Precious  Offering  symbol  on  the left-hand mirror.
Return  to  the  Numbers  Room  by moving B2 R F2 L F L F. Pick up the
stone  bird (Animal Sacrifice) and return to the Altar Room by backing
out of the object close-up and moving B L F R F R F2.

     Click  the  Animal  Sacrifice  symbol  on  the right-hand mirror,
causing  the  candles  and  incense  burner to be lit. Move L F to the
bells,  on which symbols are now apparent since both objects have been
brought  to  the  altar.  Click on the bells in the order given on the
stairs:

      - - - A B - -

-   C   D   E   -   -   -   -


  -     -       -         -

   Play Order: E D C D B A B D E

   A door opens, leading to a torch-lit staircase. Follow the staircase
   down to the lower tomb level.

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Lower Level

     At  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  you'll  find a glowing pool that
provides   a   shortcut  to  previously-visited  areas  in  the  game.
Immediately  after  passing  through  the  archway  at the foot of the
stairs, move F3 R F to avoid the (harmless) pitfalls behind the pool.

     Continue moving forward several times until you completely pass a
vertical  post  on the right side of the path. Turn right and note the
inscription  carved  into  the cave wall, referring to the feet, head,
and  right hand of Pangu. Turn left and move forward through the doors
decorated  with  chariots to enter the jade tomb room. By referring to
the  map,  note that the jade figure on top of the sarcophagus has its
feet  pointing west, its head pointing east, and its right hand facing
north. Move R F2 to the compass behind the sarcophagus.

     Rotate  the  compass  dial  to  the directions indicated above by
rotating  it clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise like a combination
lock:

     Click upper right twice
     Click upper left four times
     Click upper right twice

     The  sound  of a door opening is heard. Move L F2 to pass through
it  into  the Throne Room. Move F R B L and push the scepter to expose
an  exit  doorway  at  the  far end of the empty pool. Proceed forward
through  the  dragon-and-sphere  statue to this door. Open the door to
enter the sub-plaza level.

     Cross  the  footbridge and turn left at the water-cooled chamber.
Move  L  F  L F to bring up the folding-squares puzzle. This puzzle is
easier  to visualize once you discover that it is a flat 4 x 4 grid of
squares  folded  along  its  interior seams. Since no cuts along folds
have been made, it's possible to reconstruct the puzzle using a square
piece  of  paper.  For  those  wishing  a  more  direct  solution, the
following  sequence  of  eight  moves  can  be  used  (the  red square
indicates  where the white cursor should be placed before clicking the
mouse button):

Philosophy Realm

     Solving  the  folded-squares  puzzle  leads  you  into a new area
(apparently aboveground). Move forward and zoom in on the square well.
This well provides a shortcut to previously-visited areas in the game.

     Back  out  from the well, then move R F4 L F4. Wait a few moments
for  the  flying fish (representing mother-of-pearl) to jump up on the
dock and disappear.

     Move  B4  R  F15  and  you  will  be  facing  a  jumble of leaves
overhanging the walkway. Move R F and solve the Tangrams puzzle:

     Tangrams Solution

     After the Tangrams puzzle has been solved, move R2 F and click on
the  ginseng  root  to  make it disappear. Next, move B R F8 L2 F2 and
listen to the eight musical notes played on the gate (the sequence can
be replayed by clicking on the gate outside the red shield). Using the
notation

        A  B

        C
           D
        E

        F  G

   the solution is G C A C A E F B.

     Move  F3  to  the  telescope  apparatus. Zoom in on the telescope
sight  with  the  crosshairs  cursor.  Immediately drag the elliptical
bulge on the vertical bar about 80% of the way up. When the Big Dipper
consellation  begins to appear, generate software interrupts by moving
the  mouse  around,  until the constellation is completely centered in
the  circle. Then, rapidly click the mouse button several times in the
center  of the circle until the circle-and-dot cursor disappears. When
the  animation  completes,  you will have been transported to the next
realm.

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Sacred Mountains

     We  now  find  ourselves  in  a  mystical  realm, if the gyrating
compass at lower right is any indication. Turn right and pick up Gold.
Move  R2  F2 R to cross the hanging bridge to the middle mountain. Put
the  gold into one of the boats floating on the ice pond. Move L F and
pick  up  Cinnabar. Move B L and put the cinnabar into the other boat.
Move  L  F3  and  watch the animation on the model of the three sacred
mountains.  The  snow  on the model of the middle mountain disappears,
and so does the snow on the actual mountaintop behind you. Move L F3 L
B  R  F  and  take the now-exposed shortcut to the glowing pool on the
lower  level. Click on the sacred green fungus floating in the pool to
make it disappear. Take the shortcut to the plaza pool.

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Elixir of Immortality

     From  the plaza pool, move B R F2 L and watch the little red boat
brought up by the conveyor system. Pick up Gold from the boat and take
it to the furnace in the workshop by moving B2 R F2. Put the gold into
the furnace, followed by coal and fire from the adjacent piles.

     Pick  up  the  Gold Spoon from the mold connected to the furnace.
From  the close-up of the spoon, move forward to be transported to the
Throne  Room. For a quick game ending, move F L F2 L F to exit out the
door  with  the  bright  light.  Otherwise, move F B L2 F to enter the
circular Elixir Room behind the throne.

     If you have failed to obtain any of the ingredients necessary for
preparing  the  Elixir  of  Immortality, you can use the corresponding
portal to return to its location:

     IngredientTomb   Area  Location  GinsengTree-covered  walkway  in
Philosophy  Realm  Opposite  Tangrams  puzzle  MercuryCinnabar room in
PalaceMelted   cinnabar   in   incense   burner   Sacred   FungusLower
LevelGlowing Pool Jade

   Mother-of-PearlDock in Philosophy RealmFlying fish

     Once  all  elixir  ingredients  have  been  obtained,  the cursor
changes  into  the  Elixir of Immortality symbol. Exit the Elixir Room
through the circular opening back into the Throne Room.

     To give Hal Davis the elixir, move F L F2 L F from the throne and
read the endgame sequence.

     To  give  Qin  Shi  Huangdi  the  elixir,  move F R F2 L from the
throne, click on the sarcophagus, and read the endgame sequence.

     To give the elixir to the spirit of the Earth, move F R F2 L from
the throne, click on the floating crystal sphere, and read the endgame
sequence.

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Endgames

     1.  Hal  Davis,  chairman  of  Mega  Media, obtains the elixir of
immortality  and  commercially  exploits  the Xian site. Lots of wars,
environmental destruction and earthquakes ensue.

     2.  Hal  Davis,  chairman  of  Mega  Media, obtains the elixir of
immortality.  He  grows younger and richer off the spoils of a Chinese
civil war.

     3.  Qin Shi Huangdi obtains the elixir of immortality and becomes
the mysterious dictator Ying Zheng of a politically-reunified China.

     4.  Democracy  prevails in China, with no commercial exploitation
by Mega Media. World peace and environmental improvement follow as Hal
Davis lies dying. Obviously the "best" ending.

   Press Esc to skip the game credits and return to the Options menu.

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