Image: Rock of the Falling Flowers

Before Tree-ear journeyed to the King's Court, Crane-man suggested that he visit the "Rock of the Falling Flowers" in Puyo. This place, Crane-man said, was of great significance because it honors and applauds the loyalty and courage of the King's women. It was said that during the T'ang Chinese invasion, the King's army were away at war, and, by the time the King found out the T'ang Chinese were present, the army could not have arrived in time.

The King's women and a few guards were present and they protected the King until the end of their death at the cliff. The rock is named the "Rock of the Falling Flowers" because of the assorted colored silk dresses worn by the women who jumped into the air.
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This is a wonderful image to show students before reading a chapter in this book; it acts as a way for teachers to gauge and access what his/her students, even ELLs, may already know. On page 138 of Balancing Reading & Language Learning, Cappellini states "by tapping into their prior knowledge and language base rather than preteaching vocabulary, children can make their own connections which will help them while reading." Therefore, when students are given the opportunity to draw from their own background knowledge, it creates a learning bridge that develops a stronger bases for purposeful and interest in reading--especially with this image, because it contains such a richness of imagery that students can all engage and participate in.