China, exact location unknown — 840
Two “sacred lamps” astound the crowd
“Early that night, we saw a sacred lamp on top of the ridge, on the other side of a valley East of the terrace. Our whole group saw it and admired it. The light was about the size of a begging bowl at first, but it expanded to the size of a small house. Deeply moved, the crowd sang with full voice the name of His Holiness. Then another lamp appeared, near the valley. That one, too, only was the size of a rain straw hat at first, and then it grew gradually. The two lights, when seen from afar, seemed about 100 steps apart. They were shining ardently. At midnight they died, becoming invisible.”
Source: Ennin, Journal d’un voyageur en Chine au IXieme siecle, trans. Roger Levy (Paris: Albin Michel, 1961), 206. Case: W012