tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72026519085818957862024-03-14T00:14:48.374-07:00Chinese Folktales: "The White-Nosed Cat" and Other Tales From the Chinese-Speaking WorldChinese folktales, myths, legends, and proverbs translated, adapted, and annotated by Fred LobbFred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-73122718774308216932023-09-18T21:46:00.000-07:002023-09-18T21:46:55.522-07:00Now up on Amazon: Sly Fox Maidens and Some Friends: Folktales and Legends From China Translated and Adapted for Reader's Theater<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Hi, everyone!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm very pleased to tell you that my book <i>Sly Fox Maidens and Some Friends </i>is available on Amazon. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAL7ucT8FLsK4t5Y7Wf8Ekyz_YjSytGL_54H4_9SMaF5RscChPClmD0xzeAHNaT9A3Kd-YkLaiI42LpM5oeEvdKmRHJLwV0-sTGgcdtdGkkUVChZIltQtxD3rKK-MHDTAmcbXMO7Gt5CrWGsbrCwcw5uoeUvR9czBnd9ln47FtOLmx9uu7my6iRNXFSim/s4032/IMG-1089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAL7ucT8FLsK4t5Y7Wf8Ekyz_YjSytGL_54H4_9SMaF5RscChPClmD0xzeAHNaT9A3Kd-YkLaiI42LpM5oeEvdKmRHJLwV0-sTGgcdtdGkkUVChZIltQtxD3rKK-MHDTAmcbXMO7Gt5CrWGsbrCwcw5uoeUvR9czBnd9ln47FtOLmx9uu7my6iRNXFSim/s320/IMG-1089.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I've taken ten tales and adapted them for reader's theater. What is reader's theater? It is a story retold in a simple script form and designed to be performed without the need for costumes and props. Reader's theater scripts are perfect as classroom activities<i> </i>and allow everyone, even the shyest person, a chance to perform as a character in a fun and epic tale. No one is left out! The stories can also be read directly and enjoyed as they are. All the tales come with a pronunciation guide, a list of motifs, and cultural notes. </span></p><p>Please check it out!</p><p>All the best, </p><p>Fred Lobb</p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-36978620634736880722023-02-25T17:09:00.002-08:002023-02-25T17:09:56.079-08:00Hai'ou and Baijuan (Xisha/Paracel Islands) <p><b>Hello, everyone. It's been a while, and I hope all are well. I have the pleasure of presenting a Chinese-language folktale from the Paracel or Xisha Islands (西沙群岛), which, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, are 250 miles east of central Vietnam and 220 miles south of Hainan, China. It's a contested region of around 130 small islands currently under Chinese control, with China's governance disputed by claimants Vietnam and Taiwan. In any case, I'm not going to delve into geopolitical details regarding the Paracel Islands. I might hesitantly suggest that the tale below <i>might </i>be the first English translation of a folktale from this region. I sincerely welcome any reader or researcher to correct me if I am mistaken. </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Long, long ago, on the East Island (perhaps Lincoln Island), there lived fishing a couple well into their fifties. They were missing something that would have made their lives perfect: children of their own. You might say as a couple they were very happy together, but there was no denying that they were also very lonely and longed for the company of at least one child to call their own. </p><p>The reality was, though, they were past childbearing years, so they prepared themselves for a future without the joys of having a child or children. </p><p>One morning the husband and wife set out in their boat to fish. They cast their net nine times without so much as one fish. Then, at noon, they decided to cast the net one more time before calling it a day. Just as they did, a big wave hit their prow, rocking the boat. The couple quickly hauled in the net, which, this time, had a telltale weight to it. </p><p>Had they suddenly made a huge haul of fish? They hurriedly hauled the net back onto the boat and unraveled the net to see what they had landed. </p><p>What did they see? </p><p>A creature with the head of a fish and the armless body and legs of a woman, both covered with fish scales!</p><p>Before the dumbstruck husband and wife could speak, the creature said, "I'm a mermaid from the Southern Sea! I was out playing in the ocean when a malevolent dragon chased me, threatening to eat me. I swam from him as fast as I could and accidentally found myself in your net. Would you kindly help me return home? My mother is waiting for me back home right now!"</p><p>The mermaid then began to weep. </p><p>"Of course we will help you!" said the wife. </p><p>"Show us the way!" said the husband. </p><p>The mermaid guided them to the area where she wished to be dropped off. </p><p>Once she had reached the area and lowered herself back into the water, she turned to the couple and asked, "How can I ever repay your kindness? What would you like to have? Just tell me, and I will tell my mother. I guarantee we'll make you both very happy!"</p><p>"Well, since you asked," said the wife, "we are childless. What we want most in the world would be to have a boy and a girl as our children." </p><p>The mermaid nodded and replied, "All right. Note this spot and be here tomorrow at noon. Bye for now!" </p><p>And then she slid into the sea and was gone. </p><p>The next day just before noon, the couple arrived at the designated spot. The mermaid promptly arrived to greet the couple, and she placed two very large eggs onto their boat close to the prow. </p><p>While the husband and wife marveled at the huge eggs, the mermaid said, "Here are our gifts to show our deep gratitude to you both. My mother told me to tell you to keep these eggs hidden in the hold of the boat. Farewell!"</p><p>And with that, she was gone. </p><p>The couple returned to the island, moored their boat, and carefully placed the eggs in the hold. </p><p>That night the couple lay on their bed in their hut and listened to the sound of thunder accompanied by lightning. After one particularly loud <i>boom</i>, they soon heard the unmistakable <i>waa . . . waa </i>of babies crying. They rushed over to the boat, and there, down in the hold, were a pair of newborns, a boy and a girl, hatched from the two eggs! </p><p>With their long unfulfilled dream finally becoming reality, the overjoyed couple named the boy "Hai'ou," or "seagull," and the girl, "Baijuan," "white and graceful." </p><p>Hai'ou grew up to be a very strong, able young man and superb fisherman, and as for Baijuan, she became a very lovely young woman and one who was very capable of steering the boat. Both of them, along with their attractiveness and other pleasing qualities and talents, became the talk of the settlement, filling many with some envy but also others with happiness for the couple who were able to have children at such a late stage in their lives. </p><p>Eighteen years had now passed, and by this time the mother and father were no longer around. Hai'ou and Baijuan buried their remains on the island. The brother and sister took over their parents' occupation of fishing, with Hai'ou throwing out and pulling in the nets and Baijuan navigating the boat. They lived happy lives every day, even on those occasions when they would return to the island with an empty net. </p><p>Now, lording over the islands was a tyrant called by all Yu Batian(渔霸天), an obese bully whose girth and great fortune largely stemmed from his squeezing the money out of all islanders. In time Yu Batian caught a glimpse of Baijuan and decided right then and there to make her one of his wives. He sent one of his lackeys with gifts and a demand for Baijuan to marry Yu Batian the next day. </p><p>None of this went over well with Baijuan and Hai'ou. Baijuan kicked the gifts into the sea, and Hai'ou roundly insulted Yu Batian. </p><p>The tyrant's helper laughed and said, "Well, you can very well go ahead and kick the gifts into the water, but, mark my words, one way or another, my master is going to have you as next wife tomorrow. See you tomorrow!" </p><p>He then left. </p><p>Hai'ou and Baijuan, faced now with a threat they had never foreseen, both began to cry and shout in anguish until the tears just couldn't flow anymore and their throats had become raw with pain. It was now the evening, and suddenly they heard a woman's voice from outside address them. </p><p>"There's something you can do!" said the voice. "Go into the hold of the ship where you'll still find the eggshells from which you had hatched. Carry the shells to the front of the boat, climb into the shells, and kneel down, and the shells will rebuild themselves into unbroken eggs with you inside!"</p><p>The brother and sister went outside and beheld the mermaid their parents had met so many years before. </p><p>"Who are you?" asked Hai'ou and Baijuan.</p><p>"I am she who laid the eggs from whence you came," said the mermaid. "Now, act quickly!" </p><p>The brother and sister watched her slip back into the sea. They then did exactly what she had said. Once they had placed the shells at the front of the boat, both climbed into the shells. The broken shells flew up and reformed themselves into smooth, unbroken eggs, all without the slightest crack, with Hai'ou in one shell and Baijuan in the other. </p><p>The next day Yu Batian and his lackeys arrived at the hut where the brother and sister lived. </p><p>"Find them both!" thundered the tyrant. </p><p>His men searched the hut and scoured the grounds. They then climbed aboard the boat and scoured the small vessel.</p><p>One of the men called shouted to Yu Batian, "Master, they're nowhere to be found anywhere, not in the hut or on this boat, but there are two large eggs here right above the prow. Do you think it might be possible that they're somehow hiding inside these eggs?"</p><p>"Break those eggs open now!" screamed Yu Batian.</p><p>The men began hitting the eggs with clubs. Once the eggs began to crack, there was an earsplitting sound of thunder as fire and lightning burst out of the broken eggs, blasting everyone there, including Yu Batian, to smithereens. </p><p>Hai'ou's spirit became a seagull, while Baijuan became the beloved white parrot that flies over the east island and that guides the boats of the fishing families, enabling them to avoid any trouble lurking at sea. And the seagull? It always flies alongside the white parrot as a companion. You can still see them flying together to this very day!</p><p><i>from </i><a href="https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20220316A02LA900">民间故事:白鹦鸟和海鸥_腾讯新闻</a></p><p><i>The story follows a familiar course: a lovely supernatural woman appears; a local mandarin, king, despot, etc., decides to have her all to himself; supernatural aid is invoked; and the villain and his underlings meet a grisly end. </i></p><p><i>The name "Yu Batian" might be translated as "Fisherman who lords over all."</i></p><p><i>I am not sure in primarily which dialect this story has been told; knowing this would perhaps lead us to the tales on which this one is based. </i></p><p><i>The description of this particular mermaid was very interesting and perhaps, in my opinion, more startling than the way mermaids are usually depicted. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: B81, "Mermaid"; B300, "Helpful animals"; B375, "Release of animal (mermaid) by hunter/fisher"; D150, "Transformation: Person to bird"; D493, "Spirit changes to animal (bird)"; E613, "Reincarnation as bird(s)"; F420.4.4, "Water spirits are grateful"; F815.0.2, "Helpful water spirits"; Q40, "Kindness rewarded"; Q210, "Crimes punished"; cQ552.1, "Death by thunderbolt as punishment"; T542, "Birth of human being from an egg"; cT548.1, "Child(ren) born in answer to prayer." </i></p><p><b><br /></b></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-18585427179327866392022-09-24T20:35:00.002-07:002022-09-24T20:35:40.632-07:00Right to the Bone (Han & Hui)<p> There was once a young man who had married a young woman, but, unfortunately, shortly afterward both of his parents passed away. </p><p>Now this young man, not exactly the most handsome groom around, was addicted to gambling and drinking, and, at the same time, he was averse to working. He would often leave his wife for two or three days to attend gambling parties. </p><p>Probably needless to say, his wife was extremely upset over all this. </p><p>One day, the wife was out by the river doing the laundry. A hunter with a rifle slung across his back and with a dog in the lead approached. The wife could see his visage in the reflection on the water. </p><p><i>Oh,</i> she thought, <i>that is definitely one handsome man! To be together with a man like that, even for but a day, would be worth it!</i></p><p>She totally lost her interest in washing the clothes and instead just watched the hunter disappear into the forest. </p><p>She returned home and lay down on the bed, where she sank into a near coma-like state, not eating or drinking so much as a drop of water. This went on for days, and nothing passed her lips, not even herbal medicine that had been brought to her. She also began to lose her eyesight. </p><p>She called for her husband. </p><p>"Husband," she said, "my time is nearly up. After I go, don't bury me. Instead, place my body in the cave overlooking the cliff and have the entrance sealed up. In time, a man will come by the house and offer to buy my bones for a good price. Take him up on the offer. Do you hear me?"</p><p>"Yes," he replied. </p><p>And so it was done. </p><p>Three years passed by. </p><p>A stranger in the neighborhood showed up at the house and asked the young widower if he had any antiques to sell. The latter didn't have any because being the gambler he was, he had already long before sold off nearly all the belongings left to him by his parents. He did have <i>something</i>, though. </p><p>"I don't have any antiques," he said, "but would you be interested in buying some bones?"</p><p>"Human bones?"</p><p>"Yes." </p><p>"I might be," asked the buyer. "I'll tell you what. Do this: show me a finger bone and I'll let you know."</p><p>The widower went up to the cave, unsealed the entrance, and fetched one of his wife's finger bones. He brought it back to show the buyer. </p><p>When the buyer showed interest in this single finger bone, the widower asked, "How much would you pay me for the entire skeleton?"</p><p>"Three hundred ounces of silver."</p><p>It was a deal. When it came time for the buyer to take the skeleton away, the widower suddenly held up his hand to stop him from leaving. </p><p>"Just a moment!" he said. </p><p>"Hold on," said the buyer. "Are you trying now to back out of the deal? I gave you your silver, didn't I?"</p><p>"No, no," I'm not trying to back out of our deal. I simply wanted to ask why on earth anyone would want human bones. I'm just curious. That's all."</p><p>"I see. Very well. In my family, for the past seven generations, we have collected human bones to concoct a remedy for lovesickness. It's critical that the bones, like the ones I purchased from you, are the so-called 'engraved' bones." </p><p>"Oh? And what are these 'engraved' bones you are talking about?"</p><p>"Each person who dies while longing for another person has an image of that person engraved upon his or her bones. Here, take a look at one of these bones you sold to me . . ."</p><p>The widower took a look. Sure enough on the bone itself, he could see the faint outline of what appeared to be a man with what appeared to be a rifle on his back. </p><p><i>How could this even be?</i> thought the widower. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p>[刻骨] <i>See the post for 8/8/18 for full citation.</i></p><p><i>To "engrave the bone" </i>[刻骨]<i>means "to remember something indelibly." It suggests that the memory, love, or hatred for somebody or something is incised in that person's very being, something deep-rooted, if you will. We reveal a similar concept in English when we say of someone that "beauty is skin deep, but ugly/ugliness is to the bone." </i></p><p><i>Motifs: D1812.2.4, "Dying woman's (man's) power of prophecy"; F1041.1.4, "Death from longing"; M391, "Fulfillment of prophecy"; </i><i>T11.5, "Falling in love with (someone's) reflection in the water"; T15, "Love at first sight"; T24.1, "Lovesickness"; T81.2, "Death from unrequited love"; T211.4.1, "Wife's corpse kept after death"; T271, "Neglected wife"; W111.4, "Lazy husband." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-48141132138556543402022-07-29T18:40:00.003-07:002022-07-29T21:08:20.816-07:00The Phantom Postman (Hong Kong)<p> This story and its variants made the rounds back in the 1960s.</p><p>It was very late at night one evening. A fully uniformed mailman with a mailbag was seen walking down Queen's Road in the same manner as any postal carrier would in the middle of the day away from the former Wanchai post office.</p><p> His body language did not suggest he was off duty, relaxed, and now on the way home. No, carrying his mailbag, he walked down the street with the professional determination of one who has a job to do. </p><p>To see a mailman on duty so late at night was odd enough; this wouldn't be, however, the strangest aspect of the story. The most bizarre details were yet to come. </p><p>Some who passed by him on the street stated the mailman was devoid of facial features; others said his eyes emitted light. </p><p>Those who received mail late that night opened the ordinary appearing and properly addressed envelopes only to find, according to some sources, either a blank sheet of folded paper or a bill of paper money. It is said that most of these recipients of the letters regarded all this as some kind of prank. </p><p>Sadly, those who passed by him and saw his face and those who received letters from him would all have something in common--each individual would pass away within three days. </p><p>When news of this became known, it caused many, of course, to be greatly afraid. So, some unnamed residents contracted the services of a ghost catcher or exorcist from nearby Hung Shing Temple [洪聖廟] in Wanchai. The powers of the spirit that had manifested itself as a mail carrier were admittedly very formidable, and the holy man charged with ridding Hong Kong of this specter was unable to extinguish the menace completely. However, in the end, the exorcist succeeded in at least keeping the spirit at bay in some kind of limbo, thus making it unable to continue its rounds as long as he, the holy man, lived. </p><p>In time, the holy man passed away, and his son took his place in making sure the threat posed by the deadly being remained neutralized. According to one version, the son of the holy man said to the spirit, "Until the day I die, you shall not return to plague this area!" </p><p>At the time this is being written, the son of the holy man is still said to be alive, and so the frightful presence remains inactive . . . for now . . . </p><p>from </p><p><i>Fan Qicong & Shi Zhiming</i>. Xianggong Dushi Chuanshuo Da Baike 香港都市傳說大百科 [The Big Encyclopedia of Hong Kong Urban Legends], <i>Chunghwa Book Company, 2021, pp. 76-82.</i><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E4%BC%A0%E8%AF%B4%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E9%AC%BC%E9%82%AE%E5%B7%AE&sxsrf=ALiCzsbREp6OW53iYAjVmBp_uwSe5kvWxA%3A1659136566308&source=hp&ei=NmrkYsXaD6GC0PEPnMG1UA&iflsig=AJiK0e8AAAAAYuR4RgJXcgQtS-OMH-9qCyZlGTxHbjkO&ved=0ahUKEwjFzamtnZ_5AhUhATQIHZxgDQoQ4dUDCAk&uact=5&oq=%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E4%BC%A0%E8%AF%B4%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E9%AC%BC%E9%82%AE%E5%B7%AE&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BAgjECc6DgguEIAEELEDEIMBENQCOhEILhCABBCxAxCDARDHARDRAzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6CAgAELEDEIMBOgUIABCABDoICC4QgAQQsQM6CwguEIAEELEDENQCOgsILhCABBCxAxCDAToICC4QgAQQ1AI6BQguEIAEOgQIABAKOgoIABCxAxCDARAKOgYIABAeEBY6CAgAEB4QFhAKOgoIABAeEA8QFhAKOgUIABCGAzoKCAAQHhAIEA0QCjoICAAQHhAIEA06BQghEKABOgUIIRCrAjoICCEQHhAWEB06BwgAEIAEEAxQAFiXpgFgm64BaAhwAHgAgAHtAYgB7DOSAQYxLjM5LjWYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz">都市传说香港鬼邮差 - Google Search</a></p><p><i>Fan Qicong and Shi Zhiming suggest that the ghostly mail carrier might be a modern manifestation of a being from ancient Chinese mythology, the ghost courier, or psychopomp, that escorts the dead to the underworld. They specifically cite Ox-Head </i>[牛頭] <i>and Horse-Face </i>[馬面]<i>, two of the most famous examples of such couriers as possible inspirations.</i></p><p><i>Motifs: F159.4, "Demon guide on otherworld journey"; M341, "Death prophesized." </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-72457572098781930362022-07-22T17:46:00.000-07:002022-07-22T17:46:02.971-07:00The Legend of Guo Ziqi: A Case of Spirit Possession (Chaozhou) <p> Guo Ziqi of the Qing Dynasty came from Beimen in Jieyang County. He came from a scholarly family with a younger sister who was herself an accomplished writer. Ziqi himself was still in the process of preparing for his exams. </p><p>Ziqi decided to ask a well-regarded local fortuneteller about what his future would hold.</p><p>Now, the fortuneteller could foresee that Ziqi would become an official, but he did not outright tell the younger man that. Instead, the fortuneteller said, "If you really want to know what you shall do in the future, bump into your sister."</p><p>"Pardon me?" asked Ziqi. "Did I hear you correctly? I need to 'bump into' my sister?"</p><p>"That's correct, young man. Do so and your future shall be revealed to you. Good day."</p><p>That night, when his younger sister was bringing Ziqi's dinner into his study, Ziqi abruptly stood up from his desk, colliding with her and upsetting the tray of food, causing it to fall onto the floor. </p><p>"<i>GeGe</i>! How could you be so clumsy?" she said. </p><p>"Uh . . . it's the narrowness of this room that caused this to happen," he offered as an excuse. </p><p>"Oh, please!" she replied. "Eight men carrying a sedan chair could come through here without any problem!"</p><p>Then it dawned on Guo Ziqi. He would become a mandarin who would be carried by eight porters in a sedan chair!</p><p>In time, his essay passed and he became a <i>jinshi,</i> the highest level of candidate in the imperial exam system. He became a top official at the emperor's court in Beijing. Before long, he married a local young woman. </p><p>Flash forward now ten years. </p><p> A terrible thing occurred: Ziqi's wife fell gravely ill. A number of doctors were summoned, but not one could find a cure for the wife. When it appeared she was taking her final breaths, Ziqi ordered the purchase of a coffin and made the burial arrangements. </p><p>Almost immediately, his wife rallied and, to everyone's sheer joy, made a complete recovery! However, the strangest thing was that his wife now talked like Ziqi's young sister--same voice and mannerisms. Soon there came a letter from back home: Ziqi's young sister had passed away from an illness--the same time that Ziqi's wife had recovered from being ill. </p><p>Ziqi put two and two together. His wife's soul had been swopped, so to speak, for his sister's. </p><p>Ziqi requested a leave of absence and took his wife back to his old home in Jieyang County. </p><p>Once there, his wife, seeing the almond tree the late younger sister had planted and lovingly taken care of, remarked in Ziqi's sister's voice, "Look at that! It's been ten years since I last saw this tree, and it is as tall and sturdy as ever!"</p><p>Then, when Ziqi's wife came face-to-face with the memorial tablet for Ziqi's sister upright on a table, she suddenly fell ill. It wasn't very long before she passed away. </p><p>It is for this reason that in Chaozhou, ever since then, if an unmarried younger sister dies before getting married, her memorial tablet is not placed inside the home. Another location, perhaps inside a temple, is located for the tablet in case the spirit inhabiting a body sees her own memorial tablet. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Chaozhou Minjian Gushi 潮州民間故事 [Chaozhou Folktales];<i> pp. 43-44. (See 6/17/22.) </i></p><p><i>In his monumental book </i>Gods, Ghosts, & Ancestors: Folk Religion in a Taiwanese Village <i>(1975)</i>, <i>Professor David K. Jordan mentions that in some areas of Taiwan, families keep the altar (i.e., memorial) tablets of deceased unmarried daughters in seclusion in rooms where the tablets are not likely to be seen (p. 142). In the same book, Jordan provides the reason why these tablets are hidden away and why, at least in earlier times, the spirits of these unmarried females were wed in so-called "hell marriages" </i>[冥婚]<i>. Han Confucianist commentator Zheng Xuan </i>鄭玄 <i>(A.D. 127-200), writes Jordan, stated that deceased unmarried women, not leaving behind children, could not be venerated in ancestral rites; for any family member to do so "would . . . be a breach of proper behavior" (pp. 151-152). </i><i>(For a complete citation of the Jordan book, see the posting for 12/31/16.) Thus, this legend of spirit possession might be a contrivance to reinforce the need to isolate the tablets of unmarried daughters, just as many urban legends have risen up to reflect anxieties like stranger abduction, going to places where one had been warned not go, violating social norms, and so on. </i></p><p><i>This story and "The Tale of Duke Tiantou" (5/31/22) share an interesting motif: A character dies only after visibly witnessing proof of his or her death. Duke Tiantou, having been first decapitated and then with his head reattached to his neck, only dies when his mother reminds him that naturally an organism dies when it loses its head. Mrs. Guo (or the spirit of Guo's sister that inhabits her body), dies when viewing the memorial tablet to Guo Ziqi's sister. It is implied in both stories that the characters might have continued to live if they hadn't stumbled onto evidence that they should be, by all rights, already dead. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: C300, "Looking tabu"; C900, "Punishment for breaking tabu"; C920, "Death for breaking tabu"; E722, "Soul leaves body at death"; E725, "Soul leaves one body and enters another"; E726, "Soul enters body and animates it"; M312, "Prophecy of future greatness for youth."</i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-55943321469801839642022-06-17T17:40:00.004-07:002022-06-19T19:36:56.908-07:00Forest Vampire -- a Legend from Chaozhou, Guangdong <p> In a rugged, forested, and mountainous area called Leiling, someone had once left a coffin with a dead body inside. Into that body eventually entered some miasma, some airborne evil spirit, infecting that corpse, turning it into a <i>jiangshi</i>, a vampire. </p><p>And so, in the darkness of night, the vampire would venture out of its coffin and seek out humans who happened to be out in the forests of this hill country. It would appear behind them and envelop them with its arms, hugging and, thus, killing them, all this being accomplished in mere seconds. </p><p>Despite the ruggedness and remoteness of the terrain, more than a few people fell victim to this vampire.</p><p>Now, it so happened that a man in the area had arranged with another family for his son to marry their daughter. Early one evening, he had a bridal sedan chair carried by two porters show up at the bride's house to escort her to the home of the groom. The bride climbed up into the sedan chair, one of the porters closed the curtains to her compartment, and the porters picked up the sedan chair to head for their destination. </p><p>The path would take them through the forest. </p><p>Once in the forest, the porters suddenly felt the need to relieve themselves. They gingerly put the sedan chair down and headed off into the bushes to take care of nature's business. They came back to the sedan chair as soon as they could, hoisted the chair, and quickly completed the journey, arriving at the groom's house. </p><p>The groom eagerly came out of the house to greet his bride. He pulled back the curtains . . .</p><p>There sat his bride; from seven gaping holes in her lifeless pale body trickled blood . . .</p><p>What was supposed to have been a day of joy now turned into one of unspeakable tragedy. The family members and friends of the bride and groom had the two porters arrested and hauled into the <i>yamen</i>. The county magistrate heard the case. He knew that a vampire had been responsible for murdering the unfortunate bride. He also reasoned the two porters would not have likely killed the bride and then still delivered her corpse to the groom's family. He came to the conclusion that the vampire had killed her while they, the porters, had been preoccupied with relieving themselves in the bushes. </p><p>The county magistrate next had his men comb the area where the vampire had likely been. Its coffin was located, and the vampire was still inside it. The magistrate's men attacked the vampire with all the weapons they had. The vampire, though, as stiff as a log, extended its arms in an attempt to hug its attackers. </p><p>The magistrate ordered the men to destroy the coffin to prevent the vampire from having a sanctuary to which it could return. With the rigid vampire now on the ground and under the watchful eyes of some of the armed men, the other men burned the coffin. The vampire rose and turned towards a tree and embraced the tree. The magistrate then ordered the tree, along with the vampire, to be burnt as well. </p><p>The vampire would not plague this area ever again. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Chaozhou Minjian Gushi 潮州民間故事 [Chaozhou Folktales], <i>Chen Di, ed</i>.;<i> pp. 48-49.</i> <i>(See 7/22/07 for complete citation.) </i></p><p><i>One wonders why a bridal party would deliberately take a route through a part of the forest frequented by a vampire, but then again this is folklore, where ironies and inconsistencies with logic abound. Greater "truths," however, remain: the forest is a cold, unwelcoming place that is the home to beings whose very existence is adverse to humans. In addition, unburied corpses that are not provided the proper rites accorded to other decedents could very well be reanimated to curse any unlucky person who crosses their paths. </i></p><p><i>For another story about a vampire, see the post for 4/9/22. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: E20, "Malevolent return from the dead"; E250, "Bloodthirsty revenant"; E251, "Vampire"; cE363.1.1., "Ghost (vampire) substitutes for bride on her wedding journey." </i></p><p><i><br /></i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-8388575024573241562022-05-31T21:06:00.002-07:002022-05-31T21:08:27.006-07:00The Tale of Duke Tiantou (Jing)<p> Tiantou was a very energetic and studious young man, and he also happened to possess a remarkable thousand-<i>li</i> horse. Not only that but he knew a fair amount of magic tricks. </p><p>In time Tiantou married a wonderful, beautiful, and clever young woman. With her encouragement, he studied very hard for his examination. Her support--her delicious meals and her being available to help him by making sure that items like the lamp wick and inkstone were ready for use--enabled him to study well and to obtain the highest score,<i> zhuangyan</i>, thereby allowing him to become a noble at the emperor's court. </p><p>His future would be secure! He would now be known as "Duke Tiantou." </p><p>However, it would mean that he would have to leave his wife's side and live at court, where he would need to be constantly on duty. </p><p>Tiantou deeply loved his wife and could not bear to be without her, and so he would mount his thousand-<i>li </i>horse and fly off to the emperor's court before daybreak every day, secretly returning late in the evening. </p><p>All this was highly contrary to imperial orders; however, this is what he did, and for the time being, it worked very well. He got to be an official throughout the day and much of the evening and be with his wife in the early hours of the morning. </p><p>He took steps to make sure that no one at the court, especially the emperor, knew he was secretly leaving the palace each evening for fear of losing his head on the chopping block.</p><p>Before long, the young wife revealed to Tiantou that she was pregnant. Now, Tiantou believed he had all the more reason to make the risky late evening/early morning return trip home. </p><p>Tiantou's mother, now aware of her daughter-in-law's pregnancy, was still unaware of her son's completely illegal and dangerous nightly returns home on the flying horse. So, one day, she remarked to her daughter-in-law in a snarky tone: "Barren trees won't produce fruit."</p><p>Tiantou's wife mulled over her mother-in-law's words. She absolutely wanted anything but a "barren" marriage, so she contrived an idea to get Tiantou to stay with her, her child-to-be, and her mother-in-law. So, late that night, upon Tiantou's return, she fed him a dinner made up of his favorite foods: prawns, crab, and fish. She also plied him with rice wine as he eagerly devoured his dinner. </p><p>With dinner now over, Tiantou, as drunk as a skunk, staggered to bed without taking off his clothes. He was sound asleep as soon as he fell upon the bed. Once he was good and asleep, his wife pulled off his court boots, footwear issued to all members of the court, and hid them where he'd never find them. </p><p>Early that next morning, Tiantou woke up to the cawing of the roosters. He had gotten up too late, and his boots were gone! Where could they be? He looked everywhere for them, including under the bed. He tried waking up his wife, who, after what seemed like forever, finally turned her head, groggily denied knowing where the boots were, and suggested he buy another pair as she immediately fell back asleep. </p><p>Tiantou tried waking her up, but it was no use. Panicked, knowing that there would be a very real possibility that he could be executed, Tiantou went outside and smeared the darkest mud over his feet and halfway up his pant legs to mimic the appearance of wearing court boots. He also used his magic power to stop the sun from rising, thus silencing the roosters. </p><p>He climbed onto his horse and took off for the court. He landed, hid his horse, and rushed to the palace, allowing the sun to rise just before entering the court. </p><p>The emperor had noticed how strange it was that the sun had come up so late that day and shared this observation with a trusted councilor. </p><p>"Your Imperial Majesty," said the councilor, "a renegade is surely at work! Anyone who can stop the sun from rising and the roosters from crowing is a rebel and poses a danger to the court!"</p><p>The emperor mulled over this. He issued an order for his guards to find if any courtier had been engaging in suspicious behavior. When Tiantou showed up with his muddy pant legs and shoes, the emperor decided he had found the court traitor. </p><p>The emperor ordered his guards to take Tiantou out to the chopping block. Tiantou was thus beheaded. However, instead of that being the end of the story, he calmly got up from the ground, bent down to pick his head up, and repositioned his head back on his neck. He left the execution grounds, went back to his horse, and flew back to his home. </p><p>Flying back home, he spotted a boy herding cows not far from his house. He landed the horse and spoke to the boy.</p><p>"Say, young fellow," said Tiantou, "allow me to ask you a question."</p><p>"Sir?"</p><p>"That grass your cows are munching on. Once it's gone, it grows back doesn't it?"</p><p>"Oh, yes, Sir!" replied the boy. "It grows back as soft and munchy as ever!"</p><p><i>Good,</i> he said to himself. </p><p>He got back on his horse, took off, and continued flying until he saw below a young woman picking some wild onions. Once again, he landed his horse, dismounted it, and approached the girl. </p><p>"Young lady," said Tiantou, "I'd like to ask you something."</p><p>"All right," said the young woman, without bothering to look up.</p><p>"Those onions you're picking. They will eventually grow again, won't they?"</p><p>"Ha," she said, still not looking up, "what a silly question. Of course, they'll grow back! With some fertilizer and water, they'll grow back quite nicely, thank you." </p><p><i>Wonderful!</i> he said to himself. He was now feeling very happy and encouraged. </p><p>He got back on his horse and flew back to his house. He tethered his horse and entered the house. His mother, holding a dead chicken, was surprised to see him </p><p>"Son!" she said. "It's wonderful you're back already. We slaughtered some chickens for tonight's dinner." </p><p>She prepared to cut the chicken's head off when Tiantou asked a question.</p><p>"Mother, if a chicken's head is cut off, will it still live?"</p><p>"<i>Aiyo!</i>" said the mother, cutting her fingertip by accident out of surprise from the question she had just been asked. "When the head is cut off, Son, the chicken dies!"</p><p>As soon as Tiantou had heard that, he became very still. His head then fell right off his neck, and he collapsed upon the floor, dead. </p><p>Needless to say, Tiantou's mother and wife were deeply shocked and saddened. They had his body washed and wrapped in coarse linen before being placed in a coffin. A priest performed a ceremony, and the family performed three days of funeral rituals before having the body and coffin interred. </p><p>Tiantou was gone. Now, his widow would have to live in the dark, quiet house. A few nights after her husband's death, she saw him in a dream. </p><p>"My dear wife," he said. "Do this: slaughter a chicken every day for 360 days. Let each carcass soak in a tub. All of this will be helpful!"</p><p>The widow was about to ask him why, but Tiantou immediately disappeared. </p><p>She carried out the instructions her husband had given her in the dream. Nearly one year later, the tub was overflowing with the stinkiest, most disgusting maggots imaginable. The mother-in-law poured boiling water on the maggots to kill them.</p><p>That night Tiantou reappeared in his widow's dream.</p><p>"My dear wife," he said, "use the tub of maggots and chicken remains to fertilized the field in front of our house."</p><p>With tears in her eyes, the widow did exactly that. Within two days, two sturdy bamboo trees now grew in the field. </p><p>A few days later, who should come by the area but the emperor himself, riding regally in his sedan chair, taking an inspection tour. When the emperor and his party were passing the house, the handles of his sedan chair suddenly snapped, and he hit the ground, with his rear end taking the brunt. </p><p>"You idiots!" he shouted at the porters. "Fix these handles at once if you wish to keep your worthless heads!" Then, turning his head towards the bamboo trees in the field, he said, "Over there! In the field! There are two bamboo trees. Perfect! Chop them down and use them for handles. Hurry!"<br /></p><p>The porters did as they had been told, of course. With the sedan chair repaired, the party moved on. </p><p>"Perfect!" said the emperor. "Everything's just perfect for me! The weather, the views, the bamboo! Everything is just perfect in my land for me!"</p><p>The porters were taking the emperor across a narrow bridge, and just as the emperor had said, "Everything is just perfect in my land for me!", the handles of the sedan chair once again broke, and this time the emperor tumbled far down into the river below. </p><p>That was the end of the emperor. </p><p>All this happened on August 15 on the lunar calendar many, many centuries ago. The Jing people still honor Duke Tiantou on that date every year. </p><p><i>From</i></p><p><a href="http://ms.httpcn.com/info/html/20161120/PWPWAZTBKOAZ.shtml">京族民间有什么故事?京族民间故事大全_汉程民俗</a></p><p><i>The Jing (</i>京族 <i>or Gin or Kinh) people are ethnic Vietnamese who live in China's Guangxi Province. A friend from Vietnam told me that "Kinh" is the name Vietnamese people give to the majority ethnic group in Vietnam. For two other Jing tales, see the post for 5/24/14. </i></p><p><i>The lesson of this magic tale seems to be that there is a limit to one's power, whether it might be supernatural powers like Tiantou's or earthly, imperial power like the emperor's. For all his ability, Tiantou could still not prevent his own death. Here was a man with a flying horse who could conceal or otherwise stop the sun itself and even remain alive (for a while, anyway) after being decapitated. Yet, he also depended on his wife so that he could put all his energy to use for studying. One might add that Tiantou's very power, like that of a Greek hero, led to his eventual downfall. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: A721.1, "Theft of sun"; B41.2, "Flying horse"; D1810.8.2, "Information revealed through dream"; E321, "Dead husband's friendly return"; cE720.1, "Soul(s) of the human being(s) seen in dreams"; F961.1, "Extraordinary behavior of sun"; Q200, "Deeds punished"; cQ211.0.3, "Emperor punished for many murders"; Q411, "Death as punishment"; Q428, "Punishment: Drowning." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-74604073047468823872022-04-27T11:52:00.000-07:002022-04-27T11:52:11.724-07:00The Dog That Became a King (Dai)<p>There was once a cast-off mangy, hungry dog, so starved that his rib bones were clearly visible. The wondrous monk Laxi took pity on this dog and took him in, caring for him so that before long the dog became healthy and active once again. Not only that, the dog became incredibly brilliant while under Laxi's skillful and magical tutelage. </p><p>One day Laxi asked the dog, "If you could, would you like to become a person?"</p><p>"I don't only wish to become a person," replied the dog. "I would like to become the king!"</p><p>"Very well," said Laxi. "Come and jump through the hoop in my staff!"</p><p>The dog did so, and when he had touched the ground again, he instantly turned into a man. The man bowed and thanked Laxi. </p><p>Patting the man's head, Laxi said, "Your name henceforth shall be Maxi'xiang!"</p><p>Now, it so happened at this time that the kingdom of Menghuidihai had recently suffered the death of the king, and there were no suitable heirs to the throne. It would be an understatement to say the kingdom was in a complete uproar as to what to do. Councilors carrying lanterns went out into the night and combed the area, searching for anyone who could possibly become the next king. </p><p>Eventually, they came to the renowned Laxi for his help and suggestions. Maxi'xiang just happened to be with the monk, too. </p><p>"Gentlemen," said Laxi, "you need not search any longer. This is Maxi'xiang. <i>He</i> can be the next king!"</p><p>On the spot, Maxi'xiang provided an audition, if you will, by demonstrating his advanced ability, thanks to Laxi, in martial arts and by reading aloud ancient texts on the science and art of being a ruler. </p><p>The councilors looked at each other and nodded. <i>Yes</i>, they thought, <i>this is the right man for the job. </i>They escorted Maxi'xiang back to the palace, where he was thereupon made king. </p><p>So, Maxi'xiang had now become king and wore the regal robes and crown<i>. </i>He sat on the throne with councilors by his side, with everything at his bidding just by the snap of his fingers. </p><p>Yes, he had everything he could possibly want but one thing--a sense of security. He knew he had once been a dog, and he feared the day would come when this secret would be made known to everyone in the kingdom. But how could this secret ever come to light? Who could possibly give the game away? Only one name came to mind: Laxi! Laxi, the man who had saved his life and who had enabled him to become a human <i>and</i> king. </p><p>King Maxi'xiang decided then and there that Laxi had to die. </p><p>He issued an arrest warrant for Laxi on a trumped-up charge and ordered his guards to seize and to kill his former benefactor.</p><p>When the guards showed up at Laxi's residence, the wise and powerful monk was waiting for them. He came out to speak to them, and none of them, seeing him there before them, in all his powerful presence, felt able to approach him, let alone to kill him. </p><p>"Who has ordered you here to do me harm?" he asked them. </p><p>"The . . . king . . ." one of them answered. </p><p>"Well, you go back and tell your king that I still have plenty of magic power to teach him," said the monk. "Kill me now and that power will be lost forever. The day may come when the king will realize this and blame you for having killed me. So, go back and tell him I still have many things to teach him, which I will very willingly do. If he's not interested, you can always return here to carry out his order. You know where to find me."</p><p>The guards scurried back to the palace and told the king what Laxi had said about teaching him further magic. The king thought about what Laxi had told the guards. Yes, he decided, there was still a lot for him to learn. The only way he'd ever be able to defeat Laxi and thus preserve his legacy would be to learn all the magic powers Laxi had. Only then, with Laxi gone forever, would he be able to rule with confidence and the dignity supported by abundant confidence. </p><p>King Maxi'xiang left the palace and went directly to Laxi's home. There, he humbly apologized for his actions and intentions. Laxi just smiled. </p><p>"You were correct, Master," said the king. "I have still much, much to learn! Would you still graciously teach me <i>all </i>your powers?"</p><p>"I shall teach you if you are able to squeeze through the hoop in my staff," said Laxi. </p><p>"Hmm . . . all right . . ." said the king. </p><p>The king squeezed through the hoop and touched the ground, whereupon he instantly turned back into the mangy starving dog with protruding ribs. </p><p>And so, Maxi'xiang, once the king, was now again a dog. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Daizu minjian gushixuan 傣族民间故事选 [An Anthology of Dai Folktales]; <i>Fu Guangzi, Yang Bingli, Feng Shouxuan, Zhang Fusan, eds; Shanghai Wenyi Chubanshe, 1992; pp. 250-251.</i></p><p><i>For another Dai folktale, see the posting for 1/1/09. For another story about a dog that was transformed into a man, see 7/26/12. </i></p><p><i>The staffs carried by monks may have large loops at the top; however, the story implies that either the loop in this story is particularly wide and accommodating or Maxi'xiang, in both his animal or human form, is adept at squeezing through openings. (A Google image search for "monk's staff" will result in many photographs of different staffs with loops at the top.) </i></p><p><i>Laxi </i>(腊西) <i>is presented just matter-of-factly without any background information, leading me to believe he might be a legendary or cultural hero of the Dai people, someone without the need for an introduction. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: B211.7, "Speaking dog"; B300, "Wise Animal"; cD22, "Transformation: common man to exalted personage"; D141, "Transformation: man to dog"; D341, "Transformation: dog to person"; D1254, "Magic staff"; K2061, "Treacherous plan of hypocritical animal detected & prevented"; N848.0.1, "Holy man as helper"; Q261.1, "Intended treachery punished"; R165, "Rescue by saint (holy man)." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-39326579200460621452022-04-21T15:22:00.002-07:002022-04-21T15:22:55.902-07:00Moving Ahead (Han)<p> A young traveler, a man, was hurrying through the night, desperately searching for shelter.</p><p>By the path was a lone house seemingly with all the lanterns lit. From the house emanated the sounds of people laughing and the telltale sounds of an ongoing card game. </p><p>He decided to take a chance and ask for permission to spend a night. And so, in that past day and age when strangers could ask to spend a night in one's house, this young man knocked on the door. </p><p>"Yes? Who is it?" asked a voice from within. </p><p>"I'm just an exhausted traveler. May I request your permission to spend a night inside your house?"</p><p>The door opened and a man appeared. "Absolutely!" he said. "Please come on in." The man beckoned the traveler to enter and showed him to a room, passing by the table of merry card players. </p><p>The traveler lay down on the bed and quickly drifted off to sleep . . . </p><p>He hadn't slept for long when he suddenly woke up with a start to the sound of <i>sha</i> . . . <i>sha</i> . . . <i>sha . . . </i> Somebody was in the same room, which was now lit with a lantern. </p><p>He looked up and turned his head. </p><p>An incredibly beautiful young woman was seated at a vanity table, brushing her long hair. And then she lifted her head right off her neck and held it in her hands, all the while remaining seated in front of the mirror . . . </p><p>The traveler leaped off the bed and ran stumbling down the hallway to the table of card players. </p><p>"Hey!" he cried, interrupting the game. "I just saw something that scared the life out of me!"</p><p>"What was it?" asked one of the men at the table. </p><p>"I saw a woman who lifted her own head off her neck and held it in her hands!"</p><p>"<i>That</i> scared you? Really? Why, that's nothing!" said another at the table. "Take a look at this!"</p><p>One by one, each person at the table calmly lifted his head off his neck and placed the head right on the table. </p><p>The young traveler dashed right out of the house and didn't stop running until he had reached a street in a town far from the house he had just fled. Daylight was now breaking, and people were busily setting up their shops and stalls for the day's commerce. Someone must have noticed how he was out of breath. The traveler told this person about the solitary house with people who could take their heads off.</p><p>"Oh, <i>that </i>house . . ." said the man in the town, shaking his head. "That house is on land that used to be an execution field. You just encountered the headless ghosts that still haunt the area . . ."</p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Chinese Folktales, <i>pp. 148-149. (See the posting for 4/9/22.)</i></p><p><i>This story is very reminiscent of "Mujina," a story from Lafcadio Hearn's </i>Kwaidan. </p><p><i>The tale doesn't explain in which province all this takes place. An execution field would have been where people, of course, had been decapitated.</i></p><p><i>Motifs: E281, "Ghosts haunt house"; E402.1, "Noises caused by ghost(s)"; E410, "The Unquiet Place"; E411.10, "Persons who die violent or accidental deaths cannot rest in grave"; cE419.7, "Person with missing bodily member cannot rest in grave"; E422.1.1, "Headless revenant"; E422.1.1.3, "Actions of headless revenant"; cE422.1.1.4, "Headless ghost carries head under arm"; E577.2, "Dead persons play cards." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-41312325361020839032022-04-09T21:12:00.001-07:002022-04-11T19:46:47.157-07:00The Flying Vampire (Han)<p> Long, long ago, in a small village there lived a mother and her two sons. The father had died some twenty years before. </p><p>One day, a man delivered a letter to their home. The letter read: "Sons, I, your father, really need your help. I am the owner of a pharmacy in a town in Anhui Province. Business is really booming, but I need more help in the pharmacy, especially from people I can trust. Could you please come over and help me out behind the counter?" </p><p>Needless to say, the mother and sons were astounded. </p><p>"Mother, is possible Father is still alive?" asked the sons. "Every year, we visit the tomb and tidy it up. How could he still be alive?"</p><p>The mother didn't have an answer. After the three thought about it for a while, they came to the conclusion that someone was playing a cruel prank on them. By and by, they forgot about the matter. </p><p>Six months passed. </p><p>One day, a man from Anhui came to the house and presented the mother and sons with three hundred silver coins and yet another letter purported to be from the father. </p><p>"Sons," the letter read, "I waited and waited, and neither of you showed up. I am really desperate at this point, so I have entrusted a gentleman to deliver to you three hundred silver coins as a sign of good faith and as your first payment for wages. Please don't disappoint me! I am depending on you to come to Anhui to help me!"</p><p>"Mother," asked one of the sons, "how can you explain this now? We two kids were very small when Dad passed away. Is there any way possible that he could still be alive? Somebody is writing letters and signing them as our father, and now this person has delivered to us three hundred silver coins! Could he still be alive?"</p><p>"This has to be a joke!" said the mother. "When a person dies, that's it for that person's time on earth!"</p><p>The three then discussed the matter for what seemed like hours before the older brother said, "Mother, I have an idea. You still have some of Father's letters. Let's compare the penmanship in those letters to this letter that came with the silver coins. If our father really wrote this letter, the penmanship in this letter and the old letters should match!"</p><p>"Mother, Older Brother has a great idea!" cried the younger brother. "Let's do that!"</p><p>The mother agreed and fetched an old letter the father had written. The three compared the two letters. </p><p>The penmanship was a perfect match. </p><p>"Father . . . is still . . . alive . . ." said the older brother. </p><p>"I don't believe it," said the mother. "I remember things you don't, like his passing and burial. There's something really fishy about all this . . ."</p><p>The two brothers had already made up their minds to journey to Anhui and work with their father in the pharmacy. They began to argue that only one of them should go. </p><p>"I need to go! I'm the first-born son!" said the big brother. </p><p>"Excuse me but as the older brother you need to stay and look after our mother," the younger brother responded. </p><p>The mother observed this and knew it would be of no use trying to keep them both at home.</p><p>"You both can go if you must," she said. "After all, the letter requested the two of you to go. I shall be all right. I still can take good care of the home by myself. All of this is too extraordinary to make sense. So, all I ask of you before you leave is to take care and to be very wary in case some evil person is preparing to trick you!"</p><p>"Yes, Mother!" the two sons responded. </p><p>The next day they set off for their supposed father's town in Anhui. In those days, traveling was very difficult, and so it took the boys a month to reach the town. The evening they arrived, they passed by a Buddhist temple. They decided to ask the monk there if they could spend the night. The old monk inside welcomed them, showed them to their quarters for the night, and invited them to eat dinner with him. </p><p>They chatted during the meal and told the monk the purpose of their journey. </p><p>The monk became alarmed and said, "This all sounds very suspicious. I am certain a vampire is involved. If you go to the pharmacy unprepared, there's a huge chance neither of you will survive."</p><p>"What should we do, then?" asked one of the brothers. </p><p>"You should be all right there during the daylight hours," replied the monk. "If it's a vampire we're dealing with, he won't appear there in the daytime. It's way after dark that I am concerned about. You will be shown a bedroom in or near the pharmacy. You must not actually sleep there. I suggest you somehow get ahold of two fresh pigs that have been totally plucked of all their hairs. Some time before midnight, place the dead pigs under the blankets of the bed, dress them in your clothing, and then make sure you stay out of that bedroom for the rest of the night! If you find yourselves in danger, immediately return to this temple. I have methods of dealing with evil beings."</p><p>The brothers thanked the monk for his advice and help, spent the night in the temple, and early the next morning presented themselves at the pharmacy. They were welcomed by a senior employee. </p><p>"Is our father here?" one of the brothers asked.</p><p>"No, he isn't," replied the employee. "He doesn't really show up here in the day. He spends the day in his room in prayer and to study religious texts. You'll see him tonight. I've been instructed to see to all of your needs in his absence. I'll show you to your room, and you may let me and my assistant know whatever you need!"</p><p><i>Not present in the daytime . . . </i>thought the brothers. To them, this confirmed what the old monk had said. </p><p>"Could we have your assistant go to the market for us and purchase two pig carcasses that have been totally plucked?" asked the older brother. </p><p>"Of course!" the senior employee replied. "It's as good as done. Now, allow me to show you your room."</p><p>The brothers were taken to a room in the same building. Before long, the junior assistant arrived with two pig carcasses. Once the assistant had left, the brothers placed the pigs under the blankets of the bed and dressed them in their clothes. They then bided their time until nightfall.</p><p>"It's time to leave," the older brother whispered to his younger brother. </p><p>They exited the bedroom and hid in a nearby closet. From time to time, they looked through the crack in the doorway to see if anything was going on in the bedroom. They weren't totally sure that their father was now a vampire, but they remained wary just in case. </p><p>Around midnight, they heard a strange wind sweep through the building and sensed how this wind blew into the closed bedroom. They tiptoed to the closed door and looked through the crack. They saw inside the bedroom a frightful-looking being with a wild shock of long, bushy hair and long, crooked fingernails. The figure picked up one of the dead pigs dressed in clothing and ripped its skin off. He next tried to unfurl the pig's skin and stick it to his own body, but it refused to stick since it was not the skin of his own son. </p><p>With great anger and frustration, the wicked being violently searched through the room before literally jumping out of the room and going on a frantic search for his sons. </p><p>The two brothers, however, were long gone, having fled for the temple. </p><p>"Master! Master!" they cried. "Save us!"</p><p>The old monk was still up and rushed out to receive them at the entrance to the temple. </p><p>"Quickly make your way to the main hall and hide in there!" he told them. "I'll handle the vampire."</p><p>The brothers did as they were told as the monk headed for the gate. </p><p>Soon enough, the flying vampire appeared at the gate.</p><p>"Noxious creature," said the monk, "you have no business here! Pretending to read the sutras in the day while committing evil at night, you are here to harm your own two sons! They're under my protection! Now cease whatever you are trying to do!"</p><p>The vampire leapt towards the monk, his claws extended. The monk calmly stood his ground and spat at the vampire. The evil creature instantly dropped to the ground and dissolved into a puddle of coagulated blood and hair. </p><p>The vampire was no more. </p><p>"Boys," said the monk, having reentered the temple, "the danger is over. The vampire has been neutralized. You are free to leave!"</p><p>The brothers profusely thanked the monk and then returned to the pharmacy, where they took over as the owners. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Zhongguo minjian gushi 中國民間故事 [Chinese folktales], <i>Meng Zhongren, ed., Hanxin, 1994, pp. 140-146. </i></p><p><i>The traditional name for Chinese vampires is </i>jiangshi [僵屍] <i>("stiffened corpse"). The original story states that the dead father had somehow become a vampire twenty years after his death and that he could appear in the visage of an old wealthy merchant. Thus, this vampire could also shapeshift. It also explained early on that his plan was to kill his sons, drink their blood, and attach their skin to his body. The story does not explain, however, why the vampire had targeted his own sons or how the he was able to amass the sizable funds to purchase a pharmacy and hire assistants since he would not be available during the day. (Regarding the former point, in traditonal belief, the walking dead, revenants, are considered by their very nature to be inimical to anything good or decent, so perhaps a vampire who would kill his own sons is not such a big stretch.) Finally, the tale does state that one of the pharmacy employees was in on the secret that the boss was a vampire. </i></p><p><i>In his </i>Dictionary of Chinese Symbols<i>, Wolfram Eberhard mentions that spittle is a potent apotropaic weapon to ward off evil. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: D42.2, "Spirit (vampire) takes the shape of man"; D1001, "Magic spittle"; D1381.2, "Saint's (monk's) spittle protects fugitive(s) from attack"; D1402.14.1, "Magic charmed spittle kills"; D2050, "Destructive magic powers"; E220, "Dead relative's malevolent return"; E251, "Vampire"; E251.1, "Vampire's power overcome"; E251.3, "Deeds of vampires"; E261.4, "Ghost (vampire) pursues men"; E443.2.4, "Ghost (vampire) laid by priest (monk)"; E541.2, "Ghost (vampire) eats living human beings"; E557, "Dead man (vampire) writes"; K500, "Escape by deception"; K525.1, "Substituted object (pigs) left in bed while intended victim(s) escape(s)." </i></p><p><br /></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-46269224743657075622022-04-08T13:09:00.003-07:002022-04-11T19:45:44.848-07:00Ghost Maiden (Hmong)<p> Over in A'xiubangning, there was once a huge field, where every year around New Year's Day and several days after the Tiaohua (or "Flower Jumping or Hopping") Festival would be held. Young Hmong men and women would flock there to attend the festival, take walks in the moonlight, and perhaps find the love of their lives there. </p><p>Ruo'gai Sinilu was one of the young men who arrived to take part in this year's festival. A well-regarded, handsome youth and someone who was proficient at playing the <i>lusheng</i>, or bamboo flute, Ruo'gai was hoping to find his future wife on one of the upcoming evenings at the festival. </p><p>On the opening day of the festival, Ruo'gai was there, all dressed up in his finery, playing the flute as he had never played it before. The sweet sounds of his melodious flute went up the mountains and down into the valleys. No one who heard his music mistook it for anyone else's; all felt that this young man was destined for something great. </p><p>The beautiful spirit Niya Sigugashedi had also heard the sounds of Ruo'gai's bamboo, and unbeknownst to Ruo'gai, she had been in love with him for a number of years. At other festivals, smitten by his good looks, she had walked side by side with him as he performed and danced, and he had never been any the wiser since Niya Sigugashedi had always remained invisible. </p><p>And now here he was again--playing the flute while dancing with high steps. </p><p>Niya decided she would appear to him in human form and flirt and play with him a bit. If he liked her, she would commit to remaining in human form and, if possible, marry him. </p><p>So, Ruo'gai played and danced, and then spied coming towards him a most lovely young lady, maybe seventeen or eighteen years old, her loop earrings jingling, her silver necklaces shimmering in the dusk. </p><p><i>A goddess . . . ?</i> thought Ruo'gai. </p><p>The beautiful girl walked right up to him, smiling, and said, "Ruo'gai Siniliu! Nice to meet you!"<br /></p><p>Ruo'gai had fallen in love with her immediately before he had a chance to respond. </p><p>"Hello . . . Whose household are you from? And how did you know my name?" </p><p>"Hahaha! Ruo'gai, the well-known flutist and dancer? Are you joking? Even ghosts know your name."</p><p>"Then, young lady, you must be a ghost!"</p><p>"Ruo'gai," she responded with a smile, "in any case, you're not a ghost, and I'm no longer a living being. I'm Niya Sigugashedi, and I'm here to be together with you."<br /></p><p><i>Niya Sigugashedi, the beautiful ghost of Hmong legend! </i>he thought. He reached out for her hand, but she suddenly vanished into thin air. "Niya, Niya, where did you go?" he cried. </p><p>He played his flute, hoping its sounds would reach Niya, wherever she was. </p><p>Then, from the air itself, came the sound of someone making music with a leaf, the sound of a <i>mu'ye</i>, and, in the euphonious voice of a young woman, it said, "Ruo'gai, I'm at Dao'yue'ning, waiting for you! Come to me whether you love me or not!"</p><p>Ruo'gai instantly headed for Dao'yue'ning. Once there, he looked all over for Niya but could find no trace of her. </p><p><i>Yes</i>, he thought, <i>it must indeed be a ghost with whom I'm in love. </i></p><p>Playing the flute, he sang, "Niya! Niya! Where are you?" </p><p>Once again came the squeaky, high-pitched sound of<i> mu'ye</i> music, with a voice saying, "Ruo'gai! I'm by the Great Sea, waiting for you! Come to me whether you love me or not!"</p><p>After some time, Ruo'gai finally arrived at the Great Sea. Across the water, on the other shore, was Niya, apparently washing something. Her image in the shimmering water entranced him. </p><p>"Ruo'gai," she said, "you'll need to cross this water to come here. Here, come on over by walking on this cloth as a bridge." </p><p>She unfurled the roll of cloth, which then instantly turned into a stone bridge that ended right where Ruo'gai stood. </p><p>"Come on!" she said. "It's safe!"</p><p>Ruo'gai walked on the bridge and thus crossed over to be by the side of Niya. </p><p>"Let's become husband and wife," said Ruo'gai. </p><p>"I've loved you for a long time," said Niya, "and I'll gladly return to the world of the living just to be with you! Now, I'll need to let my father and mother know about our plans. There might be some trouble with them, but you'll need to meet them. Are you ready to go with me so that I can introduce you to them?"</p><p>"Let's go!" said Ruo'gai. </p><p>Niya took Ruo'gai deep into a long, dark cave. Along the corridors of the caves were mounds of bones, and on the walls hung human legs. Ruo'gai felt the hair on his neck rise with alarm and his teeth chatter as he proceeded deep into the cave. </p><p>Finally, they arrived at a chamber, and inside were Niya's parents, two old ghosts. The mother and father knew that this must be the man their daughter had fallen in love with and would wed. They also sensed that he was not wealthy but rather somewhat impoverished. They were deeply incensed that their daughter would love such a man, but they still put on a good show and feigned delight. </p><p>"Ah, Niya," said the father, "you've brought our son-in-law to be! We'll prepare your accommodations for tonight in the annex. Tomorrow shall be the big day with a special wedding banquet!"</p><p>"Thank you, Father and Mother!" said Niya, but she knew something was amiss. The giveaway was her parents' having them stay in the annex instead of one of the bedrooms. </p><p>Ruo'gai felt very happy about meeting the parents and believed they liked him. </p><p>Afterward, when they had left the presence of her parents, Niya turned to Ruo'gai and said, "Don't be so happy. You're marked for death."</p><p>Ruo'gai, who had been very pleased with his future parents-in-law, asked, "What do you mean? 'Marked for death' by whom? Your parents? They were very sweet and I enjoyed meeting them."</p><p>"You're too trusting. The main dish for the big dinner tomorrow shall be you!"</p><p>"We'll need to flee from this place," said Ruo'gai. </p><p>"Yes," said Niya, "we shall, but first wait here for a moment while I return home to collect a few items that I'll need."</p><p>Soon she returned with the following objects: three horse spoons, three chopsticks, and three spirit nets. The horse spoons would be talismans the ghosts found to be noxious and tabooed, something they would deeply fear; the chopsticks would be for obstructing the movements of ghosts; and the spirit nets would be for permanently entrapping the ghosts. </p><p>In the middle of the night, "when no chickens were clucking or dogs were barking," as they say, the pair fled into the darkness. Their escape did not go unnoticed. The little ghosts guarding the area reported this back to Niya's parents, who ordered the ghosts to capture the pair. </p><p>Niya had anticipated all this. Of course, no mortal could possibly move as swiftly as a ghost, so Niya threw a horse spoon behind them as they ran along the path, forcing the alarmed ghosts to take a very wide detour to catch up to them. Niya was aware of this and tossed another horse spoon behind them. This again greatly deterred the pursuing ghosts, allowing Niya and Ruo'gai to escape farther along the path. When she sensed the ghosts had once again become close to catching up, she threw down the final horse spoon. </p><p>Niya and Ruo'gai proceeded on while the ghosts had yet again to find a long way around the horse spoon. </p><p>Soon enough it became apparent that the ghosts were once again close to catching up. Niya took one of the chopsticks and tossed it behind them. Immediately, a lush virtual forest of asparagus stalks appeared between Niya and Ruo'gai on one side and the ghosts on the other. Now, if there's one thing that ghosts just love, it's asparagus. The ghosts stopped in their tracks, collected all the asparagus they could carry, and took the asparagus stalks back to their home. </p><p>Niya and Ruo'gai continued on, and soon it was time to discard another chopstick, leading to the sprouting of another asparagus "forest." This again sidetracked the ever-approaching ghosts, forcing them to pick as many stalks of asparagus as they could carry away. Niya was eventually forced later to throw down the last chopstick. </p><p>They continued and then realized the very speedy ghosts were not far behind them. This time Niya threw down all three spirit nets. This very act and the result of seeing three such nets facing them terrified the ghosts so much that they feared to continue their pursuit of Niya and Ruo'gai. The ghosts halted in their tracks. They turned around in great fear and fled back to from where they had come. </p><p>Niya and Ruo'gai reached the land of the living, and she re-entered life as a human. They married and both worked hard to build good lives for themselves and the children they had planned to have. Not long after, they indeed had children. Ruo'gai plowed the land and grew crops, while Niya spun and wove cloth. They lived good lives until, as it is said, "they grew old and white-haired."</p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Guizhou minjiangushi 贵州民间故事 [Folktales of Guizhou]; <i>pp. 97-101. (See 3/31/22 for citation.)</i></p><p><i>Here's a YouTube video of the Hmong</i> Tiaohua<i> Festival:</i> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGNyjZZZ9SI">苗族千人同跳芦笙舞过“跳花节” / Hop Flower Festival of Miao People in Guizhou, China - YouTube</a> </p><p><i>I had some difficulty with the Chinese transcriptions of Hmong names (Ruo'gaisinilu </i>若改司尼陆 <i>and Niyasigugashedi </i>尼亚司谷尕社笛<i>), and so for better or worse I mainly kept the first two characters for their names. In any case, a note following the story indicates that Niyasigugashedi is a legendary Hmong ghost renowned for her great beauty. There was no mention of Ruo'gai's parents in the tale. </i></p><p><i>This supernatural spouse folktale, unlike many others, has a happy ending. The "Great Sea" is not specified. It seems to suggest that Ruo'gai journeyed all the way to the shores of the South China Sea, though this "Great Sea" might very well be a large inland lake. The obstacle flight (i.e., the escape methods by which Niya and Ruo'gai evade the pursuing ghosts) reveals to us that ghosts have a deep, enduring love for asparagus. The spirit nets remind me of Native American spirit catchers. </i></p><p>Mu'ye<i> </i>木叶<i> music is created by one's blowing upon a single sturdy leaf, and it seems to be used, among other purposes, to convey messages of love and affection. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: D672, "Obstacle flight"; D1258.1, "Bridge made by magic"; D1980, "Magic invisibility"; cE322.1, "Dead wife returns and bears children for husband"; E384, "Ghost summoned by music"; E425, "Revenant as woman"; E461, "Flight of revenant with living person"; E470, "Intimate relations of dead and living"; E474, "Cohabitation of dead and living"; E480, "Abode of the dead"; E599.5, "Ghost travels swiftly"; F842, "Extraordinary bridge"; R200, "Escape(s) and pursuit(s)"; T91.3, "Love of mortal and supernatural person"; T97, "Father (and Mother) opposed to daughter's marriage"; T111, "Marriage of mortal and supernatural being." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-52539773064910326562022-03-31T15:57:00.017-07:002022-04-05T13:25:11.772-07:00In the House of the Weretigress (Hmong)<p><b>Note: This rather grim (pun intended) tale should perhaps be avoided by very young readers due to both language and violence. </b></p><p>A young woman was out tending to her flock of ducks and noticed one of her ducks had somehow left the flock and entered the forest. With the rest of the ducks secured, she set off into the forest to look for her lost duck. </p><p>She made duck calls as she searched through the woods. </p><p>"<i>Ga, ga, ga</i>!" she heard in reply to her duck calls. </p><p>She went deeper into the forest in the direction of the sound that resembled that of a duck--except it wasn't a duck that was making that call. No, it was an old tigress and her cub which had caught sight of the young lady from afar while remaining concealed in the thick bushes. The old tigress changed herself into an old woman and her cub into a small girl. She next conjured up a house in the clearing just behind her. </p><p>By the time the young woman had cleared the brush, the old tigress, now in the guise of an old woman, was sitting near the open doorway of her house, spinning cotton.</p><p>"Grandmother!" said the young lady calling out to the old woman, the tiger. "Have you seen a duck around here?"</p><p>"Oh . . . yes . . . " said the old woman. </p><p>“Where is it?"</p><p>"It's in the rice paddy in the back," the old woman nonchalantly replied, "eating fish shavings."</p><p>"Oh, thank you, Grandmother!" said the girl, turning around to head over to the rice paddy. </p><p>"No hurry! No hurry!" said the old woman. "You look tired. Come inside and rest a while. There are plenty of fish shavings out there, so let your duck eat its fill before you go get it!"</p><p>Well, truth be told, the young woman was a bit tired, so she accepted the invitation and entered the house. After resting for a bit, she said, "Thank you so much. I'll go get the duck."</p><p>"No hurry!" said the old woman. "Don't rush away hungry! Let me cook something for you."</p><p>"Well, I don't wish to trouble you . . ."</p><p>"It's no trouble, young woman! After all, we have to eat anyway, don't we?"</p><p>The young lady thanked the old woman, and before long she, the old woman, and the "girl" all sat down to eat. </p><p>During the meal, the young woman noticed something about the old woman and the child and thought, <i>How odd . . . Neither one seems to know how to use chopsticks . . . They're just picking up the food with their hands and placing it into their mouths . . . </i></p><p>After dinner, the young woman said, "I can't thank you enough for your kindness and hospitality. I'll go get my duck and be on my way home and not bother you further . . ."</p><p><i>"</i>Oh, young woman! Don't rush away!" said the old woman. "Look how dark it is outside! Spend the night! You can sleep in the same bed as my daughter here."</p><p><i>How nice this old woman has been to me even though we've never met . . . </i>thought the young lady. Well, truth be told, it was very dark outside, and she wasn't too keen on returning back to the village in the dark. </p><p>She agreed to spend the night. </p><p>"Splendid!" said the old woman. Turning to the little girl, the tiger cub, she said, "Little Sister, show Big Sister to the bed you two shall share tonight!"</p><p>The little girl took the young woman to the bedroom as the old woman continued to do more weaving on her loom. </p><p>The young woman had suspicions she couldn't rid her mind of, so as the "child" next to her slept soundly, the young woman felt the little girl's hand. </p><p>She pulled her hand back in shock--the little girl's hand was covered with fur!</p><p>She knew now that she was in the conjured house of a shapeshifting tigress. She stifled a cry of horror and gathered her wits about her. This is what she did: She took off her dress and slipped it on the soundly sleeping girl. She then slipped her silver bracelet onto the girl's wrist. She next took her padded cotton jacket, turned it inside out, ripped the lining, exposing the coarse cotton lining, and put it on. She then waited for what would come next. </p><p>It was now midnight. </p><p>Before long, the tigress, no longer in the form of an old woman, having put out the fire in the oven and extinguished the lamplight, crept into the room and climbed up on the bed in the dark bedroom. The young lady was aware of this and pretended to snore loudly. The tigress touched her, felt the cotton, and assumed she had felt tiger fur, thus assuring herself that this was her cub. </p><p>She next approached the side of the bed where her actual cub lay. She touched the dress the cub wore and felt the bracelet on her wrist; all this confirmed to her that the young person lying on the bed before her was the visiting young woman, her evening meal. </p><p>With a mighty bite, she devoured her own cub, which never woke up, and loudly munched on the flesh and bones. </p><p>The young lady just lay there in terror, wondering how she would ever survive this ordeal, but she knew she couldn't panic at this point. She had an idea. She mustered up her courage and asked softly, "Mama, what are you eating?"</p><p>"Oh, just some lice and fleas."</p><p>"They sound nice and crunchy! Give me some!" said the young lady. </p><p>"No. They're not good for someone your age."</p><p>The young lady continued to pretend she was sleeping. After a while, with the old tigress continuing to eat next to her, she asked, "Mama, what are you eating now?"</p><p>"Some soybeans."</p><p>"Give me some!"</p><p>"No, no. If you eat soybeans now, you'll get gas and let go stinky farts." </p><p>"Oh, please, Mama, let me have some too! I want some!"</p><p>This continued for a minute or so before the old tigress sighed and said, "Oh, all right! Here! What an annoying pain you are!"</p><p>She handed the young woman the remnants of one of the cub's paws. The young woman took the paw and made a big show of noisily pretending to devour it. </p><p>Minutes later, the young woman said, "Mama . . . Mama . . ."</p><p>"Oh, what is it now?" asked the old tigress. </p><p>"Mama . . . my tummy hurts . . . I need . . . to . . . poop . . ."</p><p>"Oh, I should have known this would happen! Go poop under the bed!"</p><p>"But . . . it'll stink . . ."</p><p>"Then go poop by the oven!"</p><p>"But . . . if Auntie, Uncle, or some visitor comes later and sees what I did. . . that would be . . . embarrassing . . . for us . . ."</p><p>"Then go to the corner of the house!"</p><p>"But . . . if I poop there . . . I'm afraid . . . a rat . . . might bite my bottom!"</p><p>"All right! All right! I'm losing my patience with you. Where do you want to go to poop?"</p><p>"The . . . doorway . . ."</p><p>"<i>The doorway</i>? You might encounter a bear there! No!"</p><p>The young woman thought and thought . . . Then, she remembered something. She felt in the pocket of her jacket. Yes, the long coiled rope she used for tying bundles of grass was still there. </p><p>"Mama! I got it! Here's a rope. Tie one end around my waist, and you can hold onto the other end. In case a bear or something comes towards me, I'll cry out and you can pull me in! What do you think?"</p><p>The old tigress grunted her approval and tied the rope around the girl's waist. </p><p>The young woman quickly went outside, untied the rope around her waist, and looked for a place to tether it. She spotted a tall rock. </p><p>"Rock! Rock! Please help me!" she whispered. "Let me tie the rope to you. If the old tigress calls out to you, answer back as I would!"</p><p>"Got it! Now hurry up and tie the rope and then get out of here as fast as you can!" replied the rock. </p><p>After fastening the rope to the rock, the young lady fled into the forest. </p><p>Minutes later, the old tigress yelled from the house, "Hey, are you finished with your pooping or not?"</p><p>"Not yet!" yelled back the rock. </p><p>Several minutes had passed when the old tigress once again cried out, "Aren't you done yet?"</p><p>"No, not yet!" yelled the rock. </p><p>After asking seven or eight more times, the old tigress asked, "What are you doing--pooping gold and silver? What in the world is taking you so long?"</p><p>When she heard no reply, she yelled, "All right, then! I'll have to get up and go see!"</p><p>She went outside and saw no sign of the person she had assumed was her cub. All she saw was the rope attached to the rock. She dashed back inside her house, lit the lamp, and scoured the interior. She returned to the bedroom, pulled back the heavy quilt, and beheld the remains of her devoured cub.</p><p>"Noooo!" she screamed. "I ate the wrong one!" She dashed back out to the forest, shouting and crying, "I should have eaten you as soon as I saw you!"</p><p>It was now daybreak when the old tigress arrived at the edge of the river. There, she spied the young woman in a small fishing boat rowing herself to the middle of the river.</p><p>"Maiden!" cried the old tigress. "Wait! Wait a moment for me!"</p><p>"Just come on over, Granny!" said the young woman. </p><p>"How? How do I 'just come on over'?" </p><p>"Do this, Granny--go and get the rope or a vine or something like that. Tie one end around your neck, and tie the other end to a rock. Toss the rock into the river, and you'll fly right over to me!" </p><p>"All right! Wait!" cried the tigress as she looked for something long and sinewy. Finding a suitable vine, she tied one end to a sturdy rock and the other end around her neck. With a mighty effort, she heaved the heavy rock into the river, launching herself into the river. </p><p>The young woman had nearly made it to the other side when she heard the <i>pudung </i>of a loud splash. She turned her head to see the tigress struggling on the surface of the water. </p><p>"Well, Granny Tiger," said the giggling young woman, "it looks as if your plans to eat me failed today!"</p><p>The old tigress merely gurgled a bit and then sank to the depths of the river. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p>Guizhou minjian gushi 贵州民间故事 [Guizhou Folktales], <i>Yen Bao & Zhang Xiao, eds. Guizhou Renmin Chubanshe, 1997; pp. 73-77. </i>Miaozu minjian gushi 苗族民間故事 [Hmong Folktales] <i>(See 1/13/09 for complete citation); pp. 330-337.</i></p><p><i>This tale seems to be a hybrid version of "Grandmother/Grandauntie Tiger" (or "Auntie Wolf," the Chinese version of "Little Red Riding Hood") and "Hansel and Gretel" (due to the magical nature of the house and the predatory cannibal or carnivore that resides within). For other versions of "Grandmother Tiger," see my posting for 6/15/18 and my e-book </i>Taiwan Folktales. </p><p><i>No parents are mentioned in this story. We might keep in mind the significance of who is and isn't in the picture--whether it is in a child's drawing or a fairy tale. Here, we just have the young woman, the old tigress, and the ill-fated cub in perhaps an extended metaphor for a young woman's navigating alone through the dangers in this stage of her life. The setting is the forest--a place of magic (sympathetic talking stones) and lurking danger--the place our ancestors were warned to stay away from. We also have yet again the flat and clueless personas of the traditional folktale/fairy tale characters who are unable to draw conclusions or to use common sense, a worldwide characteristic and perhaps a necessary abbreviated component in tales that are to be transmitted across boundaries and cultures.</i></p><p><i>Motifs: D112.2.1, "Weretiger"; F771, "Extraordinary castle (house)"; F800, "Extraordinary (talking) rocks and stones; G61, "Relative's flesh eaten unwittingly"; J1706.1, "Tiger as stupid beast"; K551.4, "Respite from death until toilet is made permit escape"; K891.3, "Monkey (tigress) tricked into jumping in water and drowning self"; cK1611.5, "Kid puts one of tigress's cubs in his (her) place; she eats cub"; K1810, "Deception by disguise"; K1810.1, "Disguise by putting on clothes of certain person"; K1822.4, "Tiger disguises as human being"; K1868, "Deception by pretending sleep." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-38526300320711382072021-10-22T16:48:00.001-07:002021-10-25T19:42:40.759-07:00The Snail-Shell Girl--a Hakka version from Taiwan<p> There was once a young man named Ah Bata who lived alone with his elderly mother in their cottage. </p><p>One day Ah Bata and seven or eight of his best friends went out to a rather large pond to bathe and just fool around as is the wont of young people. One of the boys found a rather large river snail. </p><p>"Hey," said this fellow, "look at this! Let's break it open."</p><p>"Good idea," said another. "Then we can cook it and eat it!"<br /></p><p>"No, no," said Ah Bata, "let's not do that. It has a life, so just leave it alone."</p><p>The others thought it over and just left the river snail where they had found it. They all then went back home. </p><p>The very next evening, late at night, Ah Bata dreamt a very lovely young lady came to him by his bed and said, "I'm here to chat with you." And then, in this dream, she stayed by Ah Bata's bedside, keeping him company until the roosters began to crow way in the early hours of the morning. </p><p>This dream continued every night. </p><p>All this seemed so real, yet Ah Bata had to believe it was too good to be true. He found himself unable to think about much else other than the beautiful young woman who came to chat with him all through the night. All this had turned his life so upside down that he was left largely in a daze all day long, and just within a few days he began to look haggard. </p><p>Now, none of this was lost on his mother, who asked, "What's going on with you? You really haven't been yourself for the past few days! Are you ill?"</p><p>Ah Bata was a filial son and didn't wish to worry his mother. "It's nothing, Mother!" he said, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry. I'm fine!"</p><p>His mother knew, though, that there was definitely something wrong with her son, especially since he seemed to be growing thinner and thinner. One day she paid a visit to the home of one of Ah Bata's friends who had gone to the pond with Ah Bata that day. There, she heard from him the story of the river snail. </p><p>The mother put two and two together: She believed her son was under the spell of the spirit of the river snail shell. This young woman was not a figure in a mere dream. This spirit was obviously visiting her son to express her gratitude for Ah Bata's being able to spare her from being harmed. </p><p>She went home and confronted her son. Ah Bata knew he could not trick his mother any longer, and so he admitted that he was visited nightly by some spectral being. </p><p>"All right, all right, my son," said the mother, "here's what you must promise me you will do. I will prepare some food to keep by your bedside. When this woman returns tonight, tell her she must eat some of the food. If she refuses, you must absolutely insist. Do you understand me, Ah Bata?"</p><p>"Yes, Mother."</p><p>That night, as expected, the young woman returned to Ah Bata's bedside, and Ah Bata in a very friendly and welcoming manner, began to converse with her, which made the young woman all the happier. The more they chatted, the more attracted they felt to each other. </p><p>After a while, Ah Bata said, "I have some food here. Please eat!" He offered her a spoonful. </p><p>"No," she said, "I don't wish to."</p><p>"If you don't eat anything," said Ah Bata, "I'm afraid that after this night, we'll no longer be able to be together." </p><p>She looked at him and saw that he was serious. She had no choice but to eat all the prepared food. Then, once the roosters had crowed, she left, apparently displeased. </p><p>However, she was back the next night. </p><p>After four or five evenings in which she was encouraged by Ah Bata to eat, the young woman now began to eat freely without being asked. In fact, she ate more and more each evening. </p><p>It wasn't very long before she returned again one night, an event Ah Bata's mother secretly observed. The mother then quietly and secretly stole away to the very pond where the snail shell had first been discovered. </p><p>Sure enough, there, lying by the pond was a large empty river snail shell. </p><p>She picked the shell up, returned home, and buried it near her cottage. </p><p>Very early the next morning, the spirit woman returned to the pond to reenter her shell--except there was no shell there! She scoured the area and was, of course, unable to find her shell. She gnashed her teeth; there was only one thing left she could do . . . </p><p>That night, the spirit returned to Ah Bata's bedside. </p><p>"Listen, Ah Bata, I . . . I . . . think . . . starting from tonight, I shall live here . . . and . . . soon wed you so . . . we can live as . . . husband and wife . . . "</p><p>"All right!" said Ah Bata. </p><p>Indeed, within a short time, they had married, and the spirit woman lived in the cottage with Ah Bata and his mother. She proved to be a loving and capable wife who eagerly did her share of the chores. </p><p>Five years later, there were now five little ones running around the cottage. </p><p>One day, while the young wife was out doing chores, the grandmother, Ah Bata's mother, was babysitting the children. They had become very rambunctious, wearing out the grandmother. She thought of something to quiet them down, something that might be so interesting to them that they would regard this object the grandmother would show them with fascinated silence. </p><p>The grandmother ran outside, quickly dug up the river snail shell of her daughter-in-law, and brought it back into the cottage to show the children. She was showing it to the children and explaining to them that it was from this shell their mother had come when their mother herself actually came back from working in the field. </p><p>Mortified that her shell had been hidden and that her identity had been thus revealed to her children, the young mother died right then and there on the spot. </p><p>Brokenhearted Ah Bata carried the body of his beloved wife and her snail shell back to the edge of the pond where he had first seen the shell. There, he buried her and the shell. </p><p>The five children grew up to be fine, filial young adults, and, despite his loss, Ah Bata felt he had been touched by good fortune.</p><p><i> From</i></p><p><a href="http://w3.uch.edu.tw/hakka/kejiaminjianchuanshuo.pdf">kejiaminjianchuanshuo.pdf</a> <i>(See the folktale section, pages 1 to 5.)</i></p><p><i>Hakka people (i.e., "guest families" </i>客家<i>) are Han people who are a linguistic minority in the provinces where they live in that they speak a dialect of Chinese that is largely mutually unintelligible with their neighbors. They may be the descendants of patriotic families that refused to live under foreign rule when Northern China was ravaged by invading tribes in past centuries. Consequently, their ancestors migrated to areas such as Guangdong and Fujian provinces and, later, Taiwan. Perhaps the most renowned Hakka was Sun Yatsen (Sun Zhongshan), the first president of the Republic of China, a man greatly respected on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. </i></p><p><i>For another Hakka tale, see the post for 1/12/17. </i></p><p><i>This is yet another tale that shows how a marriage between a mortal and a being from another realm is not likely to survive. For other such tales, see the posts for 3/19/08 (a version of this story from Fujian), 7/8/10, 8/4/17, 11/23/17, and 6/22/18, among others. </i></p><p><i>Tale type: 400C, Snail Wife (based on Professor Nai-tung Ting's classification)</i></p><p><i>Motifs: B650, "Marriage to animal in human form"; C31, "Tabu: offending the supernatural wife"; C31.9, "Tabu: revealing secrets of supernatural wife"; D398, "Transformation: snail to person"; F225, "Fairy (spirit) lives in a shell"; cK1335, "Seduction or wooing by stealing clothes (shell) of bathing girl/swan girl (spirit)"; L161, "Lowly hero marries princess (spirit)"; T111, "Marriage of mortal and supernatural being."</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-29164815663062176192021-08-26T17:25:00.002-07:002022-03-01T12:38:04.310-08:00Bus #260--a Taiwanese Version of "The Midnight Bus"<p>An urban legend has been making the rounds in Taiwan for at least a couple of decades, and it deals with a Highway Bus (公路公車) that appears on Yangde Road (仰德道) at midnight. Yangde Road takes one from Taipei up to Yangmingshan (陽明山), the mountain that looms over the north of Taipei, and it has been plagued by numerous accidents, including fatalities. It is a scenic road but with lots of twists and turns, both likely factors in causing many of the accidents. This bus is said to be totally dark aboard, though the headlights are reported to be on. </p><p>There is more than one version of this tale. Below are two versions: </p><p><b>Version One</b></p><p>A young woman had gotten off late from work at some place up on Yangmingshan. To her dismay, she discovered she had apparently missed the last scheduled Highway Bus, number 260, that was heading back to Taipei. This would be at around midnight. </p><p>Yet, to her amazement, at midnight, from out of the darkness a bus number 260 was driving to the bus stop where she stood. Overjoyed at her luck, she entered the bus from the rear. </p><p>It soon became apparent that there was no one else aboard but the driver and this young woman. The front and rear doors closed, and the bus headed down the mountain towards Taipei. </p><p>The trip was largely uneventful, though the driver would stop at each bus stop along the way, allowing the doors to open for a couple of minutes at a time and then closing despite not one other person's climbing aboard. </p><p>Finally, the bus arrived at the young woman's intended bus stop. She headed to the front to pay her fare. </p><p>She was dumbstruck when the agitated driver turned to her and said in a whisper: "Hey, this bus is not for living passengers like you . . . "</p><p>Perplexed, she exited the bus.</p><p>Days later, she related the incident to a friend who informed her that the bus she had boarded was one reserved solely for the "good brothers" (好兄弟), the euphemism used for the departed, wandering souls of the dead. </p><p>Her friend added that the very much alive bus drivers on that route all probably received "lucky red packs" of money (紅包) to avoid the inherent dangers that can occur with coming into contact with ghosts while driving bus 260. </p><p><b>Version Two</b></p><p>A young man attended Wenhua University, which is located on Yangmingshan. He got off from work on the campus late one night and hurried to the bus stop to take bus 260 to return to Taipei. He discovered he had just missed the last scheduled bus 260 for the evening, the midnight bus. </p><p>He was wondering if he'd be able to flag down a taxi at this time of night when, out of nowhere, another bus 260 appeared at the stop. The headlights of the bus were on, but the side and door lights were all turned off for some reason. </p><p>The student was in a hurry to get back to Taipei, so he boarded the bus without worrying too much about the switched-off or faulty lights. Once aboard, he noticed there were also no aisle or ceiling lights on, either. The bus was totally dark inside. </p><p>Another strange detail was that the bus would stop at each stop for two minutes even though no passengers had indicated the desire to get off. When passengers did get on, each one bore a totally expressionless face. Not only that but no one seemed to pay for a fare on the way out or to approach the driver to let him know about an intention to disembark. </p><p>All this was somewhat unnerving, but the university student tried to take all this in stride. It was difficult to remain aboard this bus, however. He began to feel more and more uneasy with each minute and couldn't wait to bolt off the bus. </p><p>Finally, he saw that the bus was approaching his destined bus stop. He went to the front to have his riding pass validated and to let the driver know of his intention to get off the bus. </p><p>The bus driver looked at him in shock and asked, "What do you think you're doing aboard<i> this</i> bus?" When the student explained to the driver how he came to be on the bus, the driver replied, "All right, all right, but make sure you never ever again ride on this bus!"</p><p>The student promised not to and left the bus at his bus stop. </p><p>A couple of days later, he had a conversation with a classmate who told him that that particular bus 260 was only for the restless spirits of the dead. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p><i>Yang Haiyan, Xie Yi'an, & Yuan Zongxian</i>. 臺灣都市傳說百科. [Encyclopedia of Taiwanese Urban Legends]. <i>Gaea, 2021; pp. 162-167; </i><a href="http://1000shadow.blog127.fc2.com/blog-entry-1831.html">東方有頂天 陽明山的260末班車傳說</a>; <a href="https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%80%AA%E8%AB%87%E8%BF%BD%E8%BF%BD%E8%BF%BD-%E4%BD%A0%E8%81%BD%E9%81%8E%E9%BB%91%E8%89%B2260%E9%80%99%E7%8F%AD%E5%B9%BD%E9%9D%88%E5%85%AC%E8%BB%8A%E5%97%8E-170011905.html">怪談追追追/你聽過黑色260這班幽靈公車嗎?</a></p><p><i>For other stories about buses and ghosts, see the posts for 8/6/12, 318/18, and 12/16/18. </i></p><p><i>My friends Tina and Jill, both having grown up in Taiwan, told me that they had long heard of this urban legend. Tina mentioned to me that the bus drivers who drive the dark buses with ghostly passengers are themselves alive, not ghosts, and received bonuses, the "lucky red packets" of money, to enable them to ward off the bad luck that invariably occurs when one comes into contact with the dead. These packets of money are also given by families of the dead to those who live next door to where a death occurred as a matter of courtesy. Tina and Jill also related that the administrators of the Highway Bus Bureau maintain that the buses drive with the door and side lights off to indicate that these buses are "out of service." It is possible that this urban legend has its origin when a driver driving an out-of-service bus scheduled for maintenance in Taipei saw a young woman at the bus stop near Wenhua University and felt sorry for her, knowing that she had definitely missed the last bus for the evening and that she would be very unlikely to get a taxi that late at night. So, disobeying instructions from his supervisor, he picked her up and allowed her to ride the strangely dark and totally empty bus back to Taipei. She doubtlessly related her story to friends, who then spread the story, and the story picked up exciting details along the way. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: E272, "Road-ghosts"; E581.4, "Ghost rides bus." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-37916134035824737812021-08-18T22:14:00.001-07:002021-08-18T22:14:36.365-07:00The Tale of the Fifth Sister (Hui) Part Two<p> So now Selim and Fifth Sister were happily married, and every day for them seemed to be a more joyful day than the one before. </p><p>By and by, First, Second, and Third Sisters each got married; only Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister's twin, remained unwed, largely because she had remained very, very picky and obstinate. However, Fourth Sister was not blind. She observed how Fifth Sister ate well and didn't lack anything and had a wonderful, loving husband for the bargain. She became very regretful that she hadn't agreed to marry Selim. This deep regret and building resentment against Fifth Sister led Fourth Sister to hatch a plan . . . </p><p>On a day when Selim would be busy working in the fields, Fourth Sister went to visit Fifth Sister. Fifth Sister joyfully embraced her <i>jiejie</i> and offered to make some tea. </p><p>"I'm not here for tea, Mei Mei," said Fourth Sister. "I thought it would be fun if I came over here to help you with your laundry!"</p><p>"Why, thank you, Jie Jie!" said Fifth Sister. "Let's gather up the clothes and go down to the river!"</p><p>And so down to the river they went. </p><p>During a break while washing clothes, Fourth Sister said, "Mei Mei, I wonder which one of us looks a little older. I'm slightly older than you, but I'm also single, while you're a bit younger but already married."</p><p>"You might look a bit older, Jie Jie, since your clothes are rather plain and of one color but mine have a flowery pattern," said Fifth Sister. </p><p>"Anyway, I don't believe I look older, but let's do this. We'll fill this bucket with water from the river, exchange clothes, and then see whose reflection looks older." </p><p>"Good idea!" said Fifth Sister. "Let's do that."</p><p>They filled the bucket and exchanged clothes. </p><p>As Fifth Sister looked down into the bucket, Fourth Sister came up from behind and pushed her into the flowing river below. </p><p>She then picked up the washed laundry and bucket and headed back to Selim's house. Selim didn't notice that wearing his wife's clothes was not his wife but instead her twin sister. </p><p>Life went on as before for a while . . . </p><p>Not long after, Selim carried some water back from the same river and told Fourth Sister about a marvelous lotus growing on the banks of the river. He told her how beautiful it was, and so Fourth Sister went to take a look for herself. She came across the lotus at the very spot where she had pushed her sister into the river. </p><p>The lotus, though, was shriveled up and not anything really worth seeing. She wondered why Selim had "deceived" her. </p><p>The next day, Selim returned with more water from the river and told Fourth Sister that the lotus had grown even larger and was more stunning than it had appeared the day before. Well, Fourth Sister could not resist going back to the river to take a look. </p><p>The lotus had shriveled even more than before. Irritated, Fourth Sister pulled the lotus up and took it back home to the outdoor oven and burned it. </p><p>The next morning Selim went to the outdoor oven and discovered a peach pit inside. He tossed it into the yard. Within a few days, a beautiful peach tree had grown in the yard!</p><p>Even more miraculous than that, every evening, after Selim and Fourth Sister lay down to sleep, a large, incredibly sweet peach would fly into Selim's mouth, which Selim would then eat. Nothing flew into Fourth Sister's mouth, so she insisted that Selim trade sides with her on the bed, thinking that the peach would fly only to what had been Selim's side of the bed. </p><p>Selim and Fourth Sister traded spaces, and that night Selim still enjoyed the taste of a luscious peach as he lay on the bed. And what, if anything flew into Fourth Sister's mouth? Just an acrid, bitter peach pit! </p><p>So while Selim was away one morning, Fourth Sister chopped the tree down and hacked it to pieces. </p><p>Selim returned and discovered his beloved tree had been chopped down. He gathered up the pieces of wood and deposited them in a corner of the yard. He then stood over the remnants of the tree as tears ran down his face and directly onto the pieces of wood. </p><p>Three days later, the pieces of wood had transformed themselves into a snow lotus! </p><p>Selim was overjoyed but also determined, to Fourth Sister's horror, to guard the snow lotus day and night. </p><p>The snow lotus grew and grew and soon began to take on a definite shape, that of a human body. Finally, it grew into a lovely young woman, Fifth Sister, who was now very much alive. </p><p>Fourth Sister must have witnessed this transformtion from the window of the house, for when Selim, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, turned to look back at the house and call Fourth Sister, he caught a glimpse of her fleeing off into the horizon. </p><p>Fifth Sister recounted how her own sister had pushed her into the river and then brazenly took her place as an impostor. Selim now understood everything. </p><p>In any case, Selim and Fifth Sister were overjoyed to be together again. Later, they went to Hassan's house to inquire about Fourth Sister. She had disappeared, they were told, and, indeed, Fourth Sister was never seen again. </p><p>Selim and Fifth Sister then decided to put the matter with Fourth Sister out of their minds, and they continued to live happily together. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p><i>Li Shujiang, ed.</i> 中国回族民间故事集 [A Collection of Chinese Muslim Folktales]. <i>Ningxia Renmin Chubanshe, 1988. Kindle Paperwhite. </i></p><p><i>This story is reminiscent of two other tales, "Da Jie" (see 7/4/07) and "The Bride of Sir Gentleman Snake" (see 11/1/11, 11/22/11, and 12/18/11). </i></p><p><i>The snow lotus </i>(saussurea involucrata) <i>grows on the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang and is used in a number of ways as a medicine. A lotus is a symbol of purity, for it springs forth from dirt and mire but remains untainted by its immediate surroundings, or, in other words, "pure."<br /></i></p><p><i>The peach is a very important and symbolic fruit in China. The peach itself is a symbol of long life and immortality and is closely associated with the god of longevity. Images of the god of longevity often depict him holding an enormous peach in either hand. Peach blossoms often serve as a metaphor for marriage, as peach trees have blossoms in the spring. </i></p><p><i>The Hui people or, as some of them call themselves, the Han Hui (</i>漢回)<i>are an ethnic minority who practice Sunni Islam. Their distant ancestors were Arab soldiers who fought for a Chinese emperor and/or Arab, Turkish, and Iranian merchants who plied the Silk Road and who intermarried with local Chinese women. The Hui are physically indistinguishable from their majority Han Chinese neighbors; the most obvious differences would be their adherence to Muslim dietary rules and their observance of some non-Han Chinese customs and holidays. They may also have surnames that do not occur among Han Chinese people. Their primary language is Mandarin or whatever the regional dialect (e.g., Cantonese, Hokkien) happens to be. In the past, when there was a lack of literacy among the population, the Hui remained largely literate by being able to write Chinese phonetically in Arabic letters. </i></p><p><i>Whenever I read a Hui folktale or legend, I always think back to my USC professor Dr. Henry Hung-Yeh Tiee (1921-2009), a Hui gentleman, who taught Mandarin. He was a very kind and patient man who always looked out for those of us like me who didn't have family nearby or in the States. He was also an excellent teacher and one who was devoted to his religion and who was proud of his Chinese identity. I'll always remember his making time to meet me when he returned to Taiwan in 1976 when I was living there. He certainly had many old acquaintances to look up but still reserved a generous amount of time for me. Many of us, myself included, would say of him, "His life was a blessing; his memory is a treasure."</i></p><p><i>Motifs: D212.3, "Transformation: woman to lotus"; D610, "Repeated transformation"; K22.12, "Treacherous sister"; K1911, "The false bride"; K1911.2.2., "True bride pushed into water by false bride"; K1911.3, "Reinstatement of true bride"; cK832.1.1, "Victim persuaded to look into well or pond."</i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-64644206039432612972021-08-17T18:05:00.003-07:002021-08-18T14:47:37.412-07:00The Tale of the Fifth Sister (Hui) Part One<p> There once was a poor old woodcutter named Hassan, left widowed with five daughters to raise, with the last two daughters being twins. The two little ones were barely a month old when Hassan's wife passed away. And so Hassan had to be both a father and mother to his girls. And this he did--making sure the girls always had food to eat and clean clothes and shoes to wear. </p><p>There was one other thing about Hassan. He certainly didn't have much in the way of possessions, but he did have an ax with an inlaid silver handle that he absolutely treasured, an heirloom that had been passed down to him. </p><p>It was now eighteen years later after the birth of the twins, and all the girls were now of marriageable age . . . except none was yet married. Each one was as lovely as a peony, yet they all remained single. </p><p>One day Hassan was out doing some work and happened to pass by his neighbor Selim's garden. The garden itself grew on the slope of a cliff. He saw some flowers growing on a branch on the edge of the cliff and decided to pick five flowers, one for each of his girls. </p><p>Leaning over to pick the flowers, though, he dropped his beloved ax down the precipice!</p><p>Rather than trespass on Selim's property, Hassan went to the door of Selim's house. </p><p>"Brother Selim! Brother Selim!" shouted Hassan. "My ax has fallen down somewhere into your garden!"</p><p>"Hold on a minute," replied Selim. "I'm putting my pants on!"</p><p>"Brother Selim!" shouted Hassan a few minutes later. "My ax is somewhere in your garden!"</p><p>"Hang on!" replied Selim. "I'm putting on my shoes!"</p><p>"Brother Selim!" shouted Hassan a few minutes later. "My ax--"</p><p>"Just a moment, please!" said Selim. "Let me wash my face!"</p><p>"Brother Selim!" shouted Hassan once again. "My--"</p><p>"All right, already! I'm here!" said Selim, opening the door. </p><p>Now, this Selim was much younger than Hassan, and while Selim did possess some property, thanks to his deceased parents, he was nowhere near a wealthy man. Thus, he too remained unwed since he was not considered to be an eligible bachelor for any family that wanted to marry their daughter "up." </p><p>Selim located the ax for Hassan; not only that, he also picked an especially beautiful flower and carefully wrapped it in a cloth. </p><p>"I have your ax," said Selim, "but just one moment, please. Now, Big Brother, please allow me to ask for the hand of one of your daughters in marriage! I've lived too long without a wife, and if you would consent, please consider this flower I wish to hand over to you a dowry!"</p><p>Hassan knew that Selim was a decent, straightforward sort of fellow, so he took the flower and accepted the proposal.</p><p>Selim exclaimed, "Salaam!" and handed over the ax to Hassan. </p><p>"Salaam!" replied Hassan, thus cementing the deal. </p><p>Hassan returned home and asked First Sister if she would consent to marry Selim. She said nothing and only pouted. </p><p>"That means 'no,'" said Hassan, now turning to Second Sister with the same question. All she did was grimace. </p><p>"All right," said Hassan, who next turned to Third Sister. She just frowned. </p><p>"Hmm . . ." said Hassan. "I know what that means." He asked Fourth Sister, who just glared at him. </p><p>"Very well," sighed Hassan. He waited for Fifth Sister, who was out washing the clothes, to come back in. He assumed she would reject the offer because Selim was a poor man. He was worried because he had already given his consent to Selim and certainly didn't want to renege on the deal. </p><p>Fifth Sister came in and saw the sour expressions on everyone's face. </p><p>"Why is everyone so glum?" she asked. And when Hassan explained how he had made an arrangement for one of the sisters to marry Selim and how her four sisters had turned down the deal, Fifth Sister laughed and said, "Dada! I'll marry Selim!"</p><p>"My baby daughter's not afraid to live in poverty?" asked Hassan. </p><p>"Oh, Dada!" said Fifth Sister. "All of us here in this area work hard by living off the land. There's no shame in that! No one here has ever starved to death!"</p><p>And so Hassan selected an appropriate Jumu'ah (the weekly day of worship, Friday) for the wedding day. Selim and Fifth Daughter were wed. Since they both were very energetic workers, the marriage got off to a great start as the pair eagerly worked together on their land to make better lives for themselves and to ensure they would have a strong, safe, happy marriage. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-47922677563693310142021-08-14T16:49:00.002-07:002021-08-18T15:41:19.209-07:00The Legend of the Seven Sisters (Hong Kong)<p><b>Note: Please be advised that this legend and its versions are not suitable reading material for children. </b></p><p>In North Point (北角) on Hong Kong Island, there is a street called the Seven Sisters Street (七姊妹道). The street commemorates seven young women who, as legend has it, died together many hundreds of years ago near this very area in an act of concerted suicide. </p><p><b>Version One</b></p><p>It is said that hundreds of years ago in what is now North Point there was a village of some two hundred or so individuals. In this village lived seven young women, all unrelated and of varying ages but bound together by a bond of sisterhood of sticking with each other through thick and thin, no matter what. </p><p>And so they were together every day and became known as "the Seven Sisters." </p><p>Then came the day when the Third Sister's father compelled her to marry a young man through an arranged marriage. It was no use for the Third Sister to refuse or to protest. The night before the wedding ceremony, the Seven Sisters, affirming their sisterhood slogans "We'd rather die than get married" and "We were not born in the same year or month or on the same day, but we choose to die on the same day and month and in the same year," walked hand-in-hand into the water and drowned themselves. </p><p>No traces of their bodies were ever found. However, when the tide later receded, seven stones, arranged in a line from small to large, could be seen in the harbor. Local people came to believe that the Seven Sisters' bodies had been transformed into these stones. </p><p><b>Version Two</b></p><p>In this version, there is no mention of a pact to die rather than face an arranged marriage. The Seven Sisters did still maintain a bond to live and to die together. Also of importance is the detail that the seven were orphans, which reinforced their dedication to each other. </p><p>One day the area they lived in, the village in today's North Point, was attacked by marauding bandits. The Seven Sisters took up arms to resist the invaders. However, it was a losing fight, and the village was occupied by the bandits. </p><p>The Seven Sisters were now prisoners in what had been their own village. </p><p>The bandit chief made it known that he rather fancied the Seventh Sister for her fighting prowess and would, in three days' time, take her as a trophy bride. </p><p>The Seventh Sister, along with the others in her group, made their decision to escape the village. And so, somehow, they fled from the village, at first eluding the bandits guarding the compound. The Seven Sisters hit the road out of the village that led to the sea, now with the bandits and their enraged chief in hot pursuit. </p><p>They ran and ran with the bandits in relentless pursuit, but soon there was no place left to go since the road ended at the sea. The young women scaled a rock on the edge of the water. "We were not born in the same year or month or on the same day," they defiantly shouted at the thugs chasing them, "but we choose to die on the same day and in the same month and year!" </p><p>With that, they held hands and leaped from the rock into the ocean below, where they drowned. </p><p>Seven days later, their corpses were found floating on the surface of the ocean, still holding each other's hands. By that time, all the bandits were already dead--either by suicide or some other means. </p><p>There is indeed a rock called the Seven Sisters Rock in the harbor. There is also the urban legend that swimming in the area might be treacherous for male swimmers as they might be pulled in by one or all of the Seven Sisters out of anger at men in general or to secure a male companion. </p><p><i>from</i></p><p><i>Shi Zhiming & Fan Qicong.</i> 香港都市傳說全攻略 [A complete run-down on Hong Kong urban legends]; <i>Zhonghua Shuju. 2019. Kindle Paperwhite. </i></p><p><i>The legend can also be found online: </i><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%E4%B8%83%E5%A7%8A%E5%A6%B9%E5%82%B3%E8%AA%AA&sxsrf=ALeKk00R-6im6PCoUtcGs3dTkCTQW72-RQ%3A1628911861176&source=hp&ei=9TgXYZuNCJi_0PEPv925qAk&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYRdHBezUIFH9cFLbrroH6pVR0ZTht1QP&oq=%E4%B8%83%E5%A7%8A%E5%A6%B9%E5%82%B3%E8%AA%AA&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6FAguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBEKMCEJMCOggILhCABBCxAzoRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QM6CAgAEIAEELEDOgsILhCABBDHARCvAToLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6BQgAEIAEOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARDRAzoFCAAQkQI6CAguELEDEJECOggIABCxAxCDAToLCC4QgAQQxwEQowI6BwgAEIAEEAw6BQghEKABUL15WJfYAWDC4AFoAHAAeACAAYoBiAGCEZIBBDcuMTOYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjb2-nGya_yAhWYHzQIHb9uDpUQ4dUDCAk&uact=5">七姊妹傳說 - Google Search</a>; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hkuls/posts/419317688241469/">(20+) 香港都市傳說 Hong Kong Urban Legends - Posts | Facebook</a>; <a href="https://www.hk01.com/%E7%86%B1%E7%88%86%E8%A9%B1%E9%A1%8C/381658/%E6%9D%B1%E5%8D%80%E8%A1%97%E9%81%93%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B-%E4%B8%83%E5%A7%8A%E5%A6%B9%E9%81%93%E5%82%B3%E8%AA%AA%E6%B7%92%E6%85%98-%E5%AF%A7%E6%AD%BB%E4%B8%8D%E5%AB%81%E6%89%8B%E7%89%BD%E6%89%8B%E9%BD%8A%E6%8A%95%E6%B0%B4%E8%87%AA%E6%AE%BA">【東區街道故事】七姊妹道傳說淒慘 寧死不嫁手牽手齊投水自殺?|香港01|熱爆話題</a></p><p><i>The second version is reminiscent of other stories dealing with water ghosts, particularly those that lure swimmers to their deaths. My ebook </i> Taiwan Folktales: Proverbs, Folk Sayings, and Folktales From Taiwan <i>(Books from Taiwan, 2011) deals with a couple of such stories. The second version might also beg some questions. The story, as Shi Zhiming and Fan Qicong point out, makes no mention of the other villagers once the village was occupied by the bandits. What had been the fate of the villagers? Had some at least escaped? Had they all been massacred or enslaved? And why was an announcement of three days needed? Shi and Fan ask why the bandit leader didn't simply seize the Seventh Sister that same day? These are surely rhetorical questions. These missing details are expendable so as to allow the story to unfold. Old legends have an uncanny way of editing themselves through the centuries. </i></p><p><i>Motifs: E642, "Reincarnation as stone"; E711.7, "Soul in stone"; Q200, "Deeds punished"' Q210, "Crimes punished"; Q240, "Sexual sins punished"; Q411.7, "Death as punishment for ravisher"; Q558, "Mysterious death as punishment"; T311.2, "Girl commits suicide rather than marry man she does not love"; cT326, "Suicide to save virginity"; T326.1, "Girls drown themselves to save their virginity"; T326.3, "Martyrdom to preserve virginity." </i></p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-8812947473216102292021-05-31T16:42:00.000-07:002021-05-31T16:42:29.317-07:00 A Love That Never Dies (Taiwan)<p> Note: This tale comes from the introduction to a book on ghost stories (see the information below "Notes"). No dates or exact locations were provided in the Chinese text. </p><p>This story occurred a number of years ago in the southern part of Taiwan, in Kaohsiung County, to be exact. </p><p>It seems a mother took her newly born baby boy out for a stroll in the nearby woods. While in the forest, the mother was suddenly attacked by a male assailant. In the words of the author, he first "humiliated" her, and then, to make sure there were no witnesses, he murdered the unfortunate woman, leaving the one-year-old alone but alive on the ground.</p><p>We now flash forward five years. The child, having been rescued from the forest, was now five years old. He went with his father into a department store. As soon as they both walked in, the boy focused on a male customer, and from out of his mouth issued a disembodied mature woman's voice, angrily bellowing, "You filthy conscienceless thug! Where have you been hiding out since that time?" </p><p>The boy then bit the stranger. </p><p>"He is the one who killed me five years ago!" the boy cried in the woman's voice, and he continued to scream at the strange man nonstop. </p><p>The stranger acted as if he had seen a ghost and tried to flee but could not with the five-year-old now clutching onto him. </p><p>All the commotion attracted, of course, lots of attention, and before long the police arrived. The man, the boy, and his father were all taken in for questioning. There was sufficient information to detain the man, and further investigation established that he, the customer accosted by the boy in the department store, had indeed been the killer of the boy's mother five years earlier. </p><p>All who were familiar with the case were naturally astounded that the voice of a dead woman would speak through her child. </p><p><i>Notes</i></p><p>from <i>Occult World</i> [靈異世界] by Ah Xiu [阿修]; Taipei: Xidai, 1996; pp. 6-7. </p><p>Once again I'm indebted to my good friend Tina for providing me the book containing this bizarre story. </p>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-62605673010530917182020-05-28T15:55:00.000-07:002020-05-28T15:55:23.285-07:00The Plague God Comes to Longdong (Han)This story supposedly took place long ago, during the Warring States Era (475-221 B.C.).<br />
<br />
It all started when the Jade Emperor sent a plague god down to the Longdong region in what is now Gansu Province.<br />
<br />
Shanhe Zhai was, at the time, the most prosperous, bustling town in the area; it was also, sadly, a place largely inhabited by people who would be found wanting in ethics and simple decency. The people of Shanhe Zhai engaged in all kinds of evil behavior, including thievery and outright banditry and immorality.<br />
<br />
Sickened by all the sinfulness he had witnessed, a local scholar launched a petition to the Jade Emperor for that god's intervention. Taking notice of the petition, the Jade Emperor decided to send one of the plague gods incognito down to the region to investigate the situation. If the level of wickedness warranted it, the plague god could spread a limited pestilence to end all the iniquity but only after all the innocents, the children, would be given pouches to wear to identify them as guiltless and thus exempt from being infected by the coming plague.<br />
<br />
The plague god, disguised as a scholar in white robes, arrived in a cloud, mistakenly landing in the wrong area, somewhere other than Shanhe Zhai. He then traveled through neighboring villages, observing the residents. In more than one village, he overheard the local children singing the same ditty:<br />
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Heaven is blind,</div>
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The gods' powers are blind,</div>
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Ghosts are blind on the road,</div>
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People's hearts are blind. </div>
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Before long, heaven will fall!</div>
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<br /></div>
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The plague god was incensed. "I had heard the adults here were evil, but even the children here are just as bad! Singing about gods' being blind and calling for heaven's downfall! Indeed!"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He considered the options and then decided to unleash three types of plague from the tube he carried in his sleeve: spring plague, hot-weather plague, and fall-flat-upon-the-ground plague. Surely, he thought, unleashing these plagues would be an acceptable way of carrying out the Jade Emperor's orders!<br />
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Before long, within half an hour, the three kinds of plague had done their job--no one in the immediate area where the plagues had been released was left alive. Good, innocent, bad--all had succumbed.<br />
<br />
Thinking his job done, the plague god climbed aboard a cloud and returned to the realm of the Jade Emperor, strutting into the chamber to give his report.<br />
<br />
The reception he was to receive was not anticipated. The Jade Emperor, fuming, knowing this plague god had harmed the innocent, ripped away from the plague god his plague tube. Then, he ordered his guards to behead the plague god.<br />
<br />
The Jade Emperor next hurriedly dispatched the longevity god down to the afflicted area. This god worked hard to restore life to all the innocent children, women, and men who had fallen to all the pestilence the plague god had unleashed. However, since the revived had been exposed to such an onslaught of disease, there could be no guarantee that any of them would remain immune to whatever germs or viruses were still lurking on the land. So, the longevity god supplied each of those whom he had brought back to life with a "purgative" small pouch and a "longevity lock" to wear which would then allow the wearer to escape a recurrence of the plague.<br />
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As a result of all this, the good, decent folk of the Shanhe Zhai and Longdong areas were spared the ravages of the plague. Now, the local children had a new song to sing about the living and those deservedly punished:<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The plague spreads death with a blind heart,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But peace now reigns below heaven.</div>
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And with the pouch that drives away pestilence,</div>
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Children will all live long lives.</div>
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The hearts of the blind are truly blind,</div>
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And those afflicted shall die.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Those who are now dead have no way to be saved,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
so the god of the dead shall pursue them. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
From those days forward, on the fifth of May on the lunar calendar, adults give children pouches that contain the following ingredients which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and which dispel disease: <i>xionghuang </i>(雄黄 realgar, a sulfide mineral), <i>cangshu</i> (苍术 atractylodes lancea), <i>xixing</i> (细幸 asarum, wild ginger), <i>baizhi</i> (白芷 angelica dahurica, or white iris), <i>dingxiang</i> (丁香 cloves), and <i>gansong</i> (甘松nardostachys jatamansi), as well as other natural items. They also give children the "longevity lock" (长寿琐), actually a medallion with very short metal chains hanging from it; wearing this is believed to allow the children to live long lives. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<i>from</i><br />
五月五日为啥戴荷包 <i>[Why people carry pouches on May 5th] in</i> 静宁民间神话传说故事 [Folk Myths and Legends From Jingning], <i>Wang Zhisan, ed.; Beijing: Chineseall.com, 2014 [Kindle Paperwhite]</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Coincidentally or not, the above custom of wearing pouches and medallions overlaps with the Dragon Boat Festival. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The original plague god </i>[瘟神]<i>was supposed to be the spirit of the legendary Emperor Zhuanxu's </i>[颛顼]<i> infant son, who, like his brothers, had died at birth. Each one then became a ghost. There are now five plague gods, one for each season along with one that is designated the "manager." Each one wears a robe of a different color: red, blue-green, black, white, and yellow; each carries a different item in his hand: a ladle, a jar, a leather belt and sword, a fan, a hammer, and a kettle. (See</i> 中华鬼神 [Chinese supernatural beings] <i>by Li Shaolin; Neimengu Chubanshe, 2006; Kindle Paperwhite.)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Jade Emperor </i>[玉皇 <i>or </i>玉皇大帝] <i>is the Daoist/Chinese folk religion anthropomorphization of heaven itself (This is according to the dean of Chinese mythology research, Yuan Ke; see his entry for </i>[玉皇] <i>in his</i> Dictionary of Chinese Myths and Legends [中國神話傳說詞]). <i>The story doesn't go into specifics about the Jade Emperor's having the plague god "executed." Is it hyperbole (e.g., "Wow, did you hear what Mom said to me last night? She just about killed me."), or is it meant to be literal? We don't know; the story doesn't say. In any case, tradition holds that there are five plague gods, not four. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The long white-bearded longevity god or longevity star </i>[寿神 <i>or </i>寿星] <i>appears very jolly and is very conspicuous with his extremely tall, bald head. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Motifs: cC941.4, "Plague for breaking tabu"; D1389.15, "Magic herbs (incense) protect from plague"; E50, "Resuscitation by magic"; E121.1, "Resuscitation by a god"; F493, "Spirit of plague"; Q200, "Deeds punished"; Q395, "Disrespect punished"; Q421, "Punishment: beheading"; Q552.10, "Plague as punishment."</i><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-72681038946397437202020-03-19T11:11:00.003-07:002020-03-19T13:19:22.405-07:00"Killing Ghosts": Four Short Stories From Ancient China<b>1. "This Place Isn't Big Enough for the Both of Us"</b><br />
<br />
Ji Kang was in his room plucking away at his zither one night when a ghost suddenly appeared.<br />
<br />
Its face was tiny, so Ji Kang didn't pay it any attention. Moments later its face and whole body instantly grew, and with the black robe it was wearing, the ghost kept blocking the light from Ji's lamp, interfering with his playing of the zither.<br />
<br />
Ji quietly extinguished his lamp, sighed, and said, "What a pity. I guess I'll need to fight this <i>chimei </i>over the light."<br />
<br />
The ghost heard this and was immediately dissolved into blood and water.<br />
<br />
<b>2. "I'll See You and Raise You"</b><br />
<br />
Over in Yangxi (a county in Guangdong Province), there was once a pavilion. In this pavilion, on the top floor, lived Song Daxian, who, one midnight, was playing around with the zither, strumming around, just as Ji Kang in the previous story had been doing. All of a sudden, a ghost with a fearsome rictus smile appeared. Of ghosts, it could be said this one was particularly hideous.<br />
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Song Daxian, however, paid it no mind and kept playing his zither. The ghost then abruptly left or, rather, disappeared.<br />
<br />
The ghost momentarily reappeared, this time clutching the head of a man. The ghost then tossed the head in Song's direction as Song Daxian continued to play the zither.<br />
<br />
Song Daxian stopped plucking the zither, looked down at the head, and happily exclaimed, "Great! I can use this as a pillow!"<br />
<br />
Once again the ghost departed, this time for a longer period, before finally reappearing. The ghost then grabbed Song's arm, and they began to struggle. Song Daxian got the upper hand, grabbed the ghost's waist and thereupon crushed it, killing the ghost.<br />
<br />
After that, there were no further appearances of ghosts in the pavilion.<br />
<br />
<b>3. "I'm Just a Fella, a Fella With an Umbrella"</b><br />
<br />
There was once a peddler named San Yi, and he was out late one New Year's Eve, hawking firecrackers on a street when a ghost with a huge head the size of a water basin decided to plague him, actually hoping to frighten San Yi to death.<br />
<br />
Now this San Yi was no fool; he could think quickly on his feet. So, he unfolded the umbrella he carried and covered his head and shoulders with it to protect himself from the ghost. He also twirled the umbrella around and around without stopping.<br />
<br />
Fed up that it couldn't unnerve San Yi, the ghost let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Unfazed, San Yi merely shrieked back in response, drowning out the ghost's noise. The ghost then bent over, and when it stood up again, it now towered over San Yi. San Yi took off his sandals and tossed them up into the air, higher than the ghost's head, juggling the sandals, making them fly by his face like shooting stars. Now livid, the ghost grew long bared his long fangs and shot out his long tongue. San Yi, lit a firecracker and threw it at the ghost, letting it explode in front of the ghost's face.<br />
<br />
This shook the ghost up. Knowing it had been bested, the ghost admitted to San Yi that he, San Yi, had won the contest. The ghost then adopted a respectful posture and formally asked San Yi to become San Yi's pupil.<br />
<br />
San Yi smiled and produced a section of hollowed-out bamboo, which, unbeknownst to the ghost, was loaded with firecrackers.<br />
<br />
"So, you want me to be your master?" asked San Yi.<br />
<br />
"Yes, yes!" said the ghost.<br />
<br />
"Then, do this, my pupil. Take this bamboo and bite down on it."<br />
<br />
"All right!"<br />
<br />
The ghost did so, not realizing the long fuse had already been lit.<br />
<br />
The firecrackers in the bamboo went off, blowing the ghost to pieces, causing it to turn into a small river of black water.<br />
<br />
<b>4. "Something-for-Brains"</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
There was a thin, wispy black ghost that would often annoyingly reappear in the house of Wang Yao, in Shanxi.<br />
<br />
What made this ghost so irritating was its habits of suddenly launching into singing that bordered on howling, mimicking human voices, and, most infuriating of all, tossing excrement into the midst of a dinner party.<br />
<br />
The Wangs had tried just about everything to rid themselves of this noxious spirit, all to no avail. They had also called in a Daoist priest who could supposedly capture such a ghost; that too failed.<br />
<br />
One evening, while Wang Yao was eating dinner, feces was suddenly flung into Wang's soup bowl.<br />
<br />
That was the last straw. However, Wang Yao was inspired to apply a different tack. Instead of becoming angry, he simply said aloud, "Whew. I can take dung suddenly appearing in my food. I don't mind that. I'm just afraid next time gold coins will land in my food!"<br />
<br />
That did it.<br />
<br />
The very next evening gold <i>and </i>silver coins rained down on the Wangs as they ate. This continued for a total of ten nights.<br />
<br />
And then it all stopped.<br />
<br />
Apparently, without access to any more gold and silver coins, the ghost moved on to somewhere else, never to plague the Wang household again!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<i>Notes</i><br />
<i>from Ghost Stories </i>[鬼故事] <i>Vol.1, compiled by Sima Paguang </i>司馬怕光<i>; Kindle Paperwhite. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The rather cheeky story titles are mine, of course. </i><i>The second and fourth stories can apparently be found in </i>Record of Searching for the Gods[搜神记] <i>by Gan Bao (?-336 A.D)</i>. <i>The first story comes from </i>The Annals of Ghosts [靈鬼志] <i>by someone surnamed Xun who lived during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (A.D. 266-420)</i>. <i>In any case, these four stories can be found in basically the same Chinese retelling all over the internet. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>These are four stories about the "laying" or exorcism of ghosts, though the first three stories deal with the outright killing of ghosts, largely bending the Western concept of what a ghost is. "Ghost" in Chinese </i>(鬼) <i>is an umbrella term that includes revenants, noxious spirits, demons, and such. One thing that seems worldwide is the notion that the hostile dead are tremendously gullible. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
"Chimei" (魑魅) <i>is a type of goblin or evil spirit. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Motifs: D2176.3, "Evil spirit exorcised"; E281, "Ghost haunts house"; E293, "Ghost frightens people"; E402.1.1.3, "Ghost cries and screams"; E402.1.1.4, "Ghost sings"; E446, "Ghost killed and thus finally laid"; E454, "Ghost is laid by giving it a never-ending or impossible task"; S139.2.2.1.6, "Heads brandished to intimidate foe."</i><br />
<br />
<br />Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-73569666266062080442019-08-01T14:04:00.000-07:002019-08-01T14:06:20.664-07:00What to Do and What Not to Do During the Month of Ghosts<br />
It's been a while since I posted anything because I've been busy with a writing project. However, I'd like to share with you a neat short article on the taboos related to the Seventh Month of the Lunar Calendar, the Month of Ghosts:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3756500">10 terrifying taboos to dodge during Taiwan&#... | Taiwan News</a>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-72259552573163108892019-04-15T10:44:00.000-07:002019-08-01T14:08:32.251-07:00"Thank you, Brothers . . . " -- Another Taiwanese Urban Legend From the Cold War<b>Many thanks to my good friend Tina for relating this story to me. She had heard it from others and had not read it in a book, making this an FOAF (friend of a friend) story or, in other words, an urban legend. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This story takes place during the rule of President Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi, 1887-1975), specifically during the crucial Battle of Kinmen in October 1949, one of the last actions of the Chinese Civil War.<br />
<br />
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) had landed on Guningtou (Kuningtou), one of the small islands off the coast of China and which were and still are held by Taiwan. The battle was bitter and fierce. A victory for the PLA would have meant a huge psychological blow to the Kuomintang (KMT) government on Taiwan and paved the way for the eventual landing of PLA troops on Taiwan itself. The soldiers of the Republic of China (ROC) army keenly understood the stakes involved and fought to preserve every inch of Guningtou.<br />
<br />
At one point in the battle, on a stretch of beach, the tanks of ROC army were used to roll over and crush the PLA soldiers. This in fact happened, and many ROC soldiers who found themselves engaged in hand-to-hand combat with PLA soldiers were also inadvertently run over and killed. How many ROC soldiers died this way? All we know is that there were many.<br />
<br />
By the end of October, the battle was over. The PLA force had been defeated, with most either killed or captured.<br />
<br />
The ROC army then set up observation stations along the beach on Guningtou manned by soldiers who remained on watch twenty-four hours a day.<br />
<br />
Then, something happened . . .<br />
<br />
ROC soldiers stationed on the beach began to request transfers; some tried to avoid going to the beach stations; others deserted.<br />
<br />
What was going on?<br />
<br />
A high-ranking officer interviewed some of these soldiers, and they all said the same thing: Ghosts haunted the beach at twilight. The officer thought this was a load of nonsense and went himself to the beach to see if there was any substance to these stories. He stood on a ridge overlooking the beach. After sundown, he witnessed whisps of luminous smoke gradually form themselves into human shapes, the shapes of men whose bodies had been twisted into unnatural postures, whose smokey limbs appeared to be maimed or ripped off, whose heads had been decapitated.<br />
<br />
The officer reported this to his superiors, who, in turn, reported back to the KMT government. The report reached the desk of President Chiang himself.<br />
<br />
Given the large number of men who were refusing to be assigned guard duty along the beach, President Chiang decided to fly to Kinmen and then take a boat to Guningtou. He needed to have a look just in case something was really taking place on the beach. He, along with his bodyguard detail, would see for himself what was going on. All those involved knew what this meant: If no ghosts materialized in front of Chiang, those being held for desertion, dereliction of duty, and spreading rumors of ghosts--all serious charges in wartime--would be summarily executed.<br />
<br />
President Chiang and his entourage arrived and found a vantage point above the beach to observe. The sun finally set but no ghosts had yet appeared. The president continued to watch and to scan the beach. Minute after minute ticked by, with the beach still empty of any kind of human presence.<br />
<br />
And then wisps of luminous smoke slowly materialized, hundreds of them. They finally took the forms of damaged, broken bodies seen earlier by other soldiers. The forms began to gather and verge on the area where President Chiang sat. They lined up in formation, facing the man who in their lifetimes had been their leader, and who was now observing them from above the beach. Those that still possessed what had once been in their lifetimes their arms saluted President Chiang.<br />
<br />
President Chiang stood up and said, "Thank you, Brothers, for your hard work and your ultimate sacrifice. I am pleased to tell you that the fighting is over. Rest easy."<br />
<br />
Chiang Kai-shek finished speaking and left with his men, shortly afterward returning to Taiwan.<br />
<br />
The ghosts were never seen again. The soldiers that had been arrested and were slated to be executed were spared.<br />
<br />
<i>For another urban legend of that era, see the posting for 6/19/11. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Motifs: E330, "Location haunted by non-malevolent dead"; E334.5, "Ghost(s) of soldier(s) haunt battlefield"; E421.3, "Luminous ghosts"; E421.5, "Ghosts seen by two or more people; they corroborate the appearances"; 422.1.1, "Headless (ghosts)"; E451, "Ghosts rest when certain thing happens"; E587, "Ghosts walk at certain times."</i><br />
<br />
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<br />Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-90102832255791719522019-02-04T19:53:00.004-08:002019-02-05T11:55:09.670-08:00The Mouse's Wedding Night--Two Versions (Han)<b>The upcoming Chinese New Year will be the Year of the Pig. However, very much associated with the new year is a fable known all over China and Taiwan, and it concerns an evening several days into the new year when two mice (or rats) have a grand wedding ceremony. As huge as China is, it isn't surprising that there is more than one version.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Happy New Year!</b></div>
<b><br />(1) A Version From Foshan, Guangdong Province</b><br />
<br />
It was the seventeenth evening of the New Year, and there was no moon out. The mice were busy, all making feverish preparations, for two of them were to be married this night. This is, in fact, the night every year the mice are supposed to marry, and it is a gala night of festivities that would normally attract the attention of any cat.<br />
<br />
And what of the cat?<br />
<br />
Every year special precautions--dangerous undertakings for the mice involved--have to be made to take care of the cat. On this evening, all the mice join together to make sure the night's event can go off without a hitch, to make sure the cat doesn't take advantage of a bunch of mice gathered conveniently together in one spot.<br />
<br />
So this is what the mice do. Being mice, they employ their natural talents to steal, in this case, several fresh fishes, along with an opened bottle of rice wine. Then, some other mice conspire to lead the cat to the fishes and the bottle of alcohol. How do they do so, you may ask? They leave a lucky red envelope on a path the cat is sure to take. The envelope will typically have the following words written by the mouse bride: "In celebration of the mice's wedding, three choice fishes and a bottle of rice wine for you, Brother Cat." Just beyond the red envelope sit the fishes and bottle of rice wine, an invitation for the cat to eat to its heart's content.<br />
<br />
A mouse spy observes the cat as it begins to eat the fishes. The spy then reports back: "The cat has begun to scarf down the fishes!"<br />
<br />
The spy returns to observe the cat drink the rice wine. As is usually the case, after the cat eats up its favorite food, it caps it off by drinking just half a bottle of rice wine, enough to plunge the cat into a nice drunken stupor.<br />
<br />
As soon as this brother mouse spy is sure he can approach the cat and stroke its whiskers, the spy returns to the gathering of mice to announce: "The cat's drunk!"<br />
<br />
The mice hear this and all laugh for joy and relief! Happiest of all is the bride, for she knows that on this very night she can indeed be married.<br />
<br />
The festivities can commence!<br />
<br />
With drums banging, gongs booming, and firecrackers exploding, the groom and his procession--a long, snaky line of kinsmen--arrive to pick up the bride.<br />
<br />
As for the cat, if the feline is still awake, the mice know the cat will be half inebriated, still too drunk to chase mice, and more interested in munching any morsels of fish that might have been overlooked.<br />
<br />
<b>(2) A Version From Taiwan </b><br />
<b><br /></b> A mouse father and mother once had a daughter on whom they absolutely doted. They wanted only the best for their daughter, and as she grew to early maturity, they began to consider possible matches for their her.<br />
<br />
"Only the best for our little girl!" the father said. "No ordinary mouse will do! We must find only the strongest, bravest, greatest future husband for her, mouse or not."<br />
<br />
"Yes, yes," said the mother, "but, who?"<br />
<br />
"I have it! The sun! Who or what is greater than the sun? Who is bigger and stronger than the sun?"<br />
<br />
The wife agreed, so the couple went out to the field to call out to the sun.<br />
<br />
"Mr. Sun!" said the father. "You are the greatest in the world! Therefore, we'd like you to be our daughter's husband!"<br />
<br />
The sun frowned and began to sweat. "Well, thank you very much for your high opinion of me and your wanting me to marry your daughter. In all honesty, though, I'm certainly not the greatest and have to decline the honor!"<br />
<br />
"But why?" asked the father.<br />
<br />
"Because the cloud is greater than I am! If the cloud comes out, he can totally cover me up and you won't even see me!"<br />
<br />
The father and mother looked at each other and nodded. They agreed that what the sun had said made sense. So, off they went to seek the cloud.<br />
<br />
Finding the cloud, the father looked up and said, "Mr. Cloud! We've heard that you are the greatest in the world! It is for that reason we would like to ask you to marry our daughter!"<br />
<br />
The cloud winced and said, "I thank you for the honor, but I cannot help you!"<br />
<br />
"Why not?"<br />
<br />
"I'm simply not the greatest! The wind is greater than I am. Every time he blows upon me, I disappear. You'd better ask him!"<br />
<br />
Disappointed, the father and mother thanked the cloud and went in search of the wind. Finding the wind, the husband said, "Mr. Wind! We've been told you are the greatest in the world! Would you kindly marry our daughter?'<br />
<br />
Hearing this, the wind, annoyed at the cloud for involving him in someone else's problem, responded, "Thank you for looking up to me with such regard. I am not, though, the greatest in the world."<br />
<br />
"Who would that be, Mr. Wind?"<br />
<br />
"Naturally, that would be none other than the wall!" said the wind. "Why, as soon as I hit the wall, my power crumbles! Thanks for your offer, but you'd be better off asking the wall."<br />
<br />
The father and mother, now even more disappointed and fretful that they would ever find the perfect mate for their daughter, went to speak to the wall.<br />
<br />
"Mr. Wall," said the father, "you're the greatest of all, and we need your help as parents!"<br />
<br />
"Please tell me what's on your mind," he said kindly.<br />
<br />
"We're at the end of our wits trying to find the perfect suitor for our daughter! We've asked the sun, the cloud, and the wind, with each telling us he is not the greatest. Now, the wind has told us to come to you. Only the greatest man will do for our daughter. Mr. Wall, would you please consent to marry our daughter?"<br />
<br />
The wall was silent for a moment and then said, "It's funny you should think I'm the greatest! There's actually something greater than I."<br />
<br />
"Oh, no," groaned the father, anticipating another quest to ask someone else. "Who?"<br />
<br />
The wall laughed. "Don't you know that I fear most of all you mice? You mice are the greatest! You can burrow into me, causing me to crack here and split there until I am in danger of totally collapsing! No, no, I'm not the greatest. How could I be if I remain in total fear of you! How could I ever be the greatest if you could completely wreck me, leaving me in pieces?"<br />
<br />
The father and mother laughed and hugged each other. They now realized the truth, thanks to their search and the words of the wall. They themselves--mice--were the greatest, the strongest. They put up posters announcing a competition for a mouse groom. The day of the competition would be the third day of the new year.<br />
<br />
On the day of the competition, male mice from far and wide came to the area to vie for the position of suitor. However, it began to rain, and the rain caused a flood which washed out the bridge, stranding all but ten mice contestants on the other side of the river.<br />
<br />
The competiton proceeded with the ten contestants. Eventually, the mouse parents were able to select a sturdy, dependable mouse as groom for their beloved daughter!<br />
<br />
The pair wed and remained devoted to each other for all their days.<br />
<br />
<i>from</i><br />
<i>Chen Qinghao and Wang Qiugui, eds., </i>廣東民間故事集: 中國民間故事全集, 3. [A collection of folktales from Guangdong: the complete collection of folktales from China, vol.3]; <i>Taipei: Yuanliu, 1989; pp. 100-102; </i><a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%80%81%E9%BC%A0%E5%AB%81%E5%A5%B3/2250858">老鼠嫁女(民间传说)_百度百科</a>; <a href="http://www.qulishi.com/article/201812/307508.html">老鼠嫁女的故事内容是什么?有着什么寓意?</a>; <a href="https://story.beva.com/23/content/lao-shu-qu-qin-5">老鼠娶亲 - 睡前故事 - 5岁儿童故事 - 贝瓦故事</a>; <a href="http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/8/2/20/n2017674.htm">民間故事:老鼠娶親 | 歲時禮俗 | 民俗文化百問百答 | 大紀元</a>; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3x4kM4AQa8">(5) 08老鼠娶親 - YouTube</a><br />
<br />
<i>The first version comes from Chen and Wang. The Taiwanese version is from the above YouTube link.</i><br />
<i>Interestingly, the Taiwanese version very closely parallels the details of the third Chinese joke from the 12/25/18 posting.</i><br />
<br />
<i>The Chinese language doesn't distinguish very precisely between "mouse" and "rat." Both are referred to as </i>laoshu, [老鼠]. <i>However, an informant from Northwestern China, one of my students, said that in his locality, rats were further distinguished as </i>haozi [耗子]<i> (i.e., "consumer," "waster," "one that gobbles up,"), though this too can indicate "mouse" as well as "rat."</i><br />
<br />
<i>Some areas (e.g., Foshan) hold that the seventeenth evening of the Lunar Calendar is the wedding night of the mice, while the tradition in other areas, such as Taiwan, have it as the third evening. Whichever evening it is, we are all supposed to hit the sack early so as to let the mice prepare and carry out the ceremony without interference or peeping from us humans. In addition, as V. R. Burkhardt suggests </i>(Chinese Creeds and Customs, Vol. 2; <i>Taipei, Dunhuang, pp. 43-44; 1977), offerings are left out as a plea or bribe to prevent mice/rats from depleting the family's larder for the rest of the year. </i><i>In Akira Kurosawa's 1990 film </i>Dreams, <i>there is a section titled "Sunshine Through the Rain," which is about the Japanese folk belief that foxes have their weddings and wedding processions in the forest on rainy but concurrently sunny days. All this is depicted through the eyes of a boy who sneaks off to the forest to see this phenomenon for himself. He thus breaks a taboo and is spanked by his mom and forced to write a letter of apology to the foxes to prevent future bad luck, just as some Chinese families might leave food out as a bribe to avoid trouble from mice/rats. My daughter's classmate, a young woman from South Africa, told me that in her native land such "sunshowers" indicated that the monkeys were having their wedding party in the forest. </i><br />
<i><br /></i> <i>Still other versions of the second tale have the bride's parents coming to the conclusion that the best, strongest candidate for groom would be the cat himself. The cat very willingly accedes to the request, with the story concluding in a predictably much less than happy ending for the mice. </i><br />
<i><br /></i> <i>Motifs: B280, "Animal weddings"; B281.2, "Wedding of mouse"; B299.3, "Animals (cat) discover liquor and get intoxicated"; C300, "Looking tabu"; C316, "Tabu: Looking at certain animal"; H310, "Suitor tests"; H331, "Suitor contests: Bride offered as a prize"; T132, "Preparation for a wedding"; </i><br />
<i>cT133.3, "Drummer beats drum before bride on way to wedding."</i>Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-91748693840421648012018-12-29T22:39:00.000-08:002018-12-29T22:39:05.687-08:00Snake Boy (Tsou/Zou)Long, long ago, a woodcutter was up in the mountain forests when he heard a very heartbreaking, plaintive cry, the cry of a very small child in danger or in pain.<br />
<br />
<i>Who in the world is crying up here? </i>he thought. <i>Whose baby would be up here alone?</i><br />
<i><br /></i> He tracked from where the cries were coming, and they led to a clearing. There sat a bawling infant, and coiled around this infant was a huge snake, the long forked tongue of which was licking the crying baby's head.<br />
<br />
The woodcutter had seen many strange things in the forest, but what he saw now made him absolutely shudder. He took a deep breath and carefully stepped over to within arms' reach of the infant. He slowly and ever so carefully bent down and lifted the child from the coiled snake.<br />
<br />
Holding the child firmly with one arm, the woodcutter used his free arm to shoo away the snake. The snake then slithered off into the forest.<br />
<br />
The woodcutter carried the child to his home.<br />
<br />
Once home, the woodcutter tried feeding him rice porridge, but the child wasn't interested or hungry. The woodcutter tried feeding him many other things but to no avail. Finally, the small child ate a plantain, and so the woodcutter decided to feed him just plantains, the only food he seemed to enjoy. The woodcutter discovered his little guest also liked yams, so the woodcutter added them to the diet.<br />
<br />
And so, having been adopted by the woodcutter, the child lived on plantains, bananas, and yams and grew into a strong, husky youth named "Snake Boy."<br />
<br />
Snake Boy, when he came of age, would accompany the adult men and the boys into the forests to hunt.<br />
<br />
One day he and a bunch of boys went out to hunt deer. He was the only one that afternoon to come back with something. So, he was able to catch a deer? you might ask. No, he came back with <i>three </i>deer--one under each arm and one draped over his shoulders.<br />
<br />
And then there was the head-hunting expedition, or what used to be called "grass mowing." Again, the local boys came back without nary a single head. Snake Boy, however, came back with a real warrior's load--the heads of two enemies.<br />
<br />
Snake Boy was not merely a great hunter and warrior. He was also a mature and dependable member of his village and demonstrated such qualities by watching over and guiding the younger boys.<br />
<br />
Thus, Snake Boy earned the love and respect of all the people--young and old--in his community.<br />
<br />
One day, Snake Boy and his friends were curing some meat jerky on a bamboo frame. From not too far off came the sound of a person approaching and calling out a greeting. Yet, no one could be seen.<br />
<br />
"What do you make of that?" asked one of the boys. "Some invisible person is out there!"<br />
<br />
"'Invisible person'? Invisible spirit!" said another.<br />
<br />
"A demon!" said still another.<br />
<br />
To show they were not afraid, all except Snake Boy laughed, the laughter of those trying to make a brave front. Snake Boy cocked his head and seemed to be trying to figure out what the voice was saying. He finally turned to his companions, and with a sad look, he said, "It's my mother . . . "<br />
<br />
<i>"Your mother? </i>What do you mean?" someone in the group asked.<br />
<br />
"Yes, my mother. She allowed me to grow up here with all of you for all these years, to be your friend, brother, companion . . . It's my mother calling me . . . My time here is up, and now I must go. How I hate to leave!"<br />
<br />
Snake Boy broke down in tears. As he cried, a huge snake crawled from the bushes over to the bamboo frame. The boys looked at the snake, and the serpent looked right back at them. Then, right before their eyes, Snake Boy immediately changed into a snake. His astonished friends jumped back as they witnessed Snake Boy and his snake mother burrow into the soft earth and disappear.<br />
<br />
He was gone, just like that! The boys who had loved and accepted Snake Boy as their very own brother were devastated. One, then another and another took out nose flutes and played some songs to express their sorrow and to comfort themselves.<br />
<br />
One day not long after, another strange incident occurred. The same village boys were out playing their nose flutes when suddenly they noticed they were now surrounded by dozens of snakes on all sides, slithering around, whipping out their long pink tongues.<br />
<br />
The boys were petrified at first. Then, one of the boys had a suggestion: attack the biggest snake, the one that seemed to be the leader. So, the boys hit the lead snake with their nose flutes, and the huge snake reacted by rearing up and emitting from its mouth long flames which made the boys retreat and which seared and then ignited the grass. All of the snakes there but one had no way to retreat and were thus burned up. Only one snake, a blue-green one, escaped with a burned tail.<br />
<br />
The boys survived this encounter, having escaped. They returned to find that the dead snakes had deposited many eggs in and around the area, and these eggs later hatched. The whole region was soon crawling with snakes, and to this day it still is.<br />
<br />
<i>from</i><br />
<i>Lin Daosheng, Vol. 1 (for complete citation, see 3/1/18)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Zou (or Tsou or Cou) are, like all of Taiwan's other indigenous peoples, Austronesians. They live in Chiayi, around Alishan and in other areas in central and southern Taiwan.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>This tale touches upon headhunting, though it is not the tale I had promised a couple of tales back that will enlarge upon the once widespread custom of headhunting. (That forthcoming story is a legend from pre-World War Two Taiwan.) A few words on headhunting, however. It was a custom found amongst all if not most of the tribes. It evolved as a means of protecting community territory and became a coming-of-age ceremony by which a young man could prove his worth to his community and enable himself to obtain a wife after having demonstrated his prowess in taking a head. Again, though, the legend I plan to present next year will focus on headhunting and discuss this practice in more detail. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>This story strongly reminds us of the difficulty in overcoming nature--wild nature or even one's own human nature. Snake Boy was essentially a "fish out of water" and, as such, was destined sooner or later to return to his one real home, regardless of his attachment to his friends. This is a common theme in indigenous Taiwanese myths and legends, that we are guests in the company of the wild and its denizens and vice-versa, even if these supernatural friends/spouses might appear in human form from time to time. And they, when they are with us, will never and can never tarry for very long among us forever. Furthermore, we might have expected the boys of the village, Snake Boy's childhood and adolescent friends, to have been more accepting of snakes in their presence. After all, one of the snakes they struggled against might have been their good friend, Snake Boy. But no, their fear of snakes still (probably unconsciously) triggered them to respond with violence against the snakes that appear before them, overriding any thought that their best friend was now a snake. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I hesitate fully to identify Snake Boy as a "culture hero" in that his single possible contribution to the world and human race--the proliferation of snakes--is only arguably creditable to him. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Motifs: cA511.2.1, "Abandonment of culture hero at birth"; cA526.2, "Culture hero as mighty hunter"; cA526.7, "Culture hero performs remarkable feats of strength and skill"; cB635.3.1, "Culture hero licked by deer (snake) mother"; D191, "Transformation: man to serpent"; D391, "Transformation: serpent to person"; T542, "Birth of human being from an egg (of a snake)."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<br />Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202651908581895786.post-61087148275981014872018-12-25T18:24:00.001-08:002019-02-03T23:20:24.754-08:00Three Jokes From China<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Merry Christmas!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>1. "Thank Goodness"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">There once was a fellow who was both poor and not very bright. To make ends meet, he once hired himself to the family of a man who was scheduled to be repeatedly beaten by a bamboo staff at the local <i>yamen</i>. This hiree agreed to stand in for the man sentenced to a beating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The family of the man sentenced first paid the hiree, the replacement for the beating, a nice sum of cash. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">With the cash on his person, the hiree entered the <i>yamen</i>, prepared to take his licks. However, before the beating commenced, he gave the <i>yamen </i>jailer entrusted to beat him all the cash, with the instructions to "go lightly" on him, and the jailer did so obligingly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Having now been beaten and now penniless, the man left the yamen and headed for the home of the family that had hired him in the first place. To their surprise, he got on his knees before them, kowtowing, repeating, "Thank you! Thank you! I'm so grateful to you!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Hold on!" said the startled head of the house. "What's this all about?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"I'm a thousand percent grateful to you!" cried the beaten man. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"How so?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Well," he replied, "if it hadn't been for the money you had given me, I'd have been beaten to death!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>2. "A Serious Tiger Match"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Out on the street, a man hard of hearing once heard the cry of a tofu seller hawking fresh tofu: "<i>Doufu!</i>" This gentleman, however, misheard the cry as "<i>Douhu!" </i>("fight between tigers" or "a tiger match, " like a modern bullfight). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">He rubbed his hands together in delight and thought, "Hot diggity! A tiger fight! I've got to see this!" He turned around to the passers-by and cried out, "Hey, everybody? Did you not hear? There's a match between a man and a tiger or maybe one between two tigers!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Wow! Where?" asked someone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Show us where!" cried someone else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Just then a seller of hot steamed plain buns appeared, shouting, "<i>Mantou!"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The hard-of-hearing fellow heard this as "To the south!" (<i>nantou).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Come on, everyone!" he said. "It must be this way, just south of here. He proceeded to lead a small gaggle of similarly bored people looking for excitement on a path headed south. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">On and on they walked until they reached the end of the path, a dead end in town where nothing was going on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Hey!" said one of the group. "Where's this tiger fight?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Yeah," said another, "there's nothing down here."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Not far away, a man was hawking garlic cloves: "<i>Dasuan luo!</i>"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The man with the hearing problems heard this as "Break it up!" or "Dismissed!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Oh, forget about it, everybody!" he said. "Looks like some killjoy already stopped the show and sent everyone away!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>3. "Tiger or Pussycat? Decide at Your Own Risk"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">A rather vain, imperious county magistrate had taken up painting and had just completed a painting of a tiger, of which he was very proud. He hung it up in his office and called in a <i>yamen </i>runner to look at the painting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Well," said the magistrate, "what do you think?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">This runner, notorious for being a shameless toady, exclaimed, "Beautiful! For the life of me, Master, I swear this painting of a tiger is so lifelike that the animal looks ready to pounce off the paper!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The magistrate, overjoyed, gave the runner ten silver coins, telling him, "Here, my good man!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day, he called in another runner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"What do you think of this painting?" he asked the runner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Oh . . . it's only a cat . . ." was the reply. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"A cat? Just a cat?"<i> </i>roared the magistrate with anger. "Who do you think you are?!" He then stepped to the doorway and cried, "Send another runner in here at once!" And when a runner appeared on the double, the magistrate pointned to the runner already in his office and said, "See that man? Give him forty strokes with a bamboo rod!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">By now the word had gotten out that any runner who wanted to avoid trouble would have to speak very diplomatically with the magistrate if asked about his painting of a tiger. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">A third runner, one who refused to flatter but one who also desperately did not want to be beaten, was called in for his opinion on the now infamous painting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"So, what do you think of the painting you see hanging here?" asked the magistrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"I'm too afraid to say, Master," the runner replied. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Afraid? Afraid of what?" asked the magistrate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Everyone is afraid of something, Master. I'm afraid of you."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Oh, really now? What do you suppose I am afraid of, young man?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Well, Master," replied the runner, "you would be afraid of His Imperial Majesty."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Very well. What would His Imperial Majesty be afraid of, then?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"His Imperial Majesty would fear Heaven."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"And what would Heaven be afraid of?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Heaven would be afraid of a cloud."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"And what would a cloud fear?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"A cloud would fear the wind."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Uh huh. What would the wind fear?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"The wind would fear a wall."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Oh? And a wall? What would a wall be afraid of?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"A wall would be afraid of a mouse for all the damage it could do."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Aha. So what would a mouse then be afraid of?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Well, Master, a mouse would most certainly be afraid of what you painted in that picture."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The magistrate was left thunderstruck.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>from</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">傳統笑話 [Traditional Jokes], <i>Folk Humor and Joke Collection Team, eds.; N.p.: Green Apple Data Center; N.d. [Kindle Paperwhite]</i></span></div>
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Fred Lobbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599086645715787315noreply@blogger.com0