Ghost Stories From Ancient China -- Series Six

(1) Old Li Chiu

In Northern Liang, there lived a man known as Old Li Chiu.

One night, Old Li, somewhat tipsy, returned home from town. He was accompanied by a shapeshifting ghost which had gleefully impersonated Old Li's nephew all the way back to the old gentleman's residence. En route back home, the ghost constantly berated Old Li for having drunk over his limit, much to the latter's indignation.

Once home and once the effects of alcohol had worn off, Old Li summoned his nephew, scolding him, saying, "I'm like a father to you! I'd expect you to be more loving towards me! How dare you lecture me about having drunk too much on the way home last night!"

The nephew, tears in his eyes, knelt before his uncle, and said, "There's been a huge mistake, Uncle! I didn't do that! I wasn't even with you. Last night, I was in town requesting the repayment of a debt. You can go ask the debtor if you wish!"

"Ha," said Old Li, "now I know what happened! Some ghost attached himself to me on my way home last night.Yes, I've heard of such occurrences before."

The next night found Old Li inebriated once again in town. He was armed this time, determined to kill any ghost that dared to bother him.

When Old Li's nephew, fearful for his uncle's safety arrived to escort the old man home, Old Li assumed the young man was the ghost reappearing to harass or menace him. Old Li then took out his sword and cut down the young man, his actual nephew, thinking he had successfully dealt with the annoying shape-shifting ghost.

from 

"Li qiu zhangren" by Lu Buwei in Guihua [Talks on ghosts], Li Mengsheng, ed. Shanghai: Shanghai Shiji Chubanshe, 2010;  p. 1.

This story, from the Age of Warring States (475-221 B.C.)  is one of the oldest--maybe the oldest--in which the Chinese character for "ghost" 鬼 appears. Previously, I had thought "The Tale of Uncle Ju" (see 3/26/09) held that spot. This tale, however, predates "The Tale of Uncle Ju" by at least several hundred years and seems to be in terms of theme and plot the clear forerunner of "Uncle Ju."  Perhaps not coincidentally, Li Mengsheng, in his survey of old Chinese ghost stories through the centuries, placed "Li qiu zhangren" as the first story in his anthology. The characters in this story, like those in the later variant "The Tale of Uncle Ju," live in an age when "ghost," "demon," and "vampire" seem undifferentiated and when a "ghost" may yet be "killed."   

Motifs: D42.2; "Spirit takes man's shape"; E332.2, "Ghost(s) seen on road at night."

(2) The White Bones

A certain Mr. Liu, over sixty years of age, a native of Heshuo (an area north of the Yellow River), was returning from visiting Shangfeng Temple (in Hunan Province) when he got caught in a downpour. It was getting dark, and he quickly needed to take shelter.

By the road he spotted a large tomb mound. There was an entrance, so he went in and fell asleep until the rain stopped.

When he awoke, he saw the entire interior of the tomb was completely illuminated by the moonlight which had crept in. The spotlessly clean glazed tiles of the tomb shone brightly.

And then, there, on the other side of the tomb floor from him,  Liu saw a skeleton--a complete set of bones from head to foot. Nothing else was there but Liu and the skeleton.

Liu slowly rose to his feet.

As he rose, so did the skeleton.

Then, the skeleton ran pell-mell towards him and embraced him. Liu exerted every ounce of energy he had to free himself from the skeleton, and finally he broke free, causing the decayed bones to fall apart onto the floor in a pile.

Liu fled the tomb. He told everyone he encountered about his adventure.

Such an occurrence is not at all that strange, he was told.

from "Bai gu" by Guo Yu; Guihua, p. 39. 

From the Song Dynasty (960-1229 AD).

What Liu did would have been unthinkable according to traditional culture. It would have been considered extremely bold and foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst. However, since there are characters like Liu, rash people who "push the envelope," we can thus have ghost stories, the results of their heedless actions--related by the very protagonist if he/she survives. No wonder he was told that "such an occurrence is not at  all that strange"! What had he been thinking?

Motif: E422.1.11.4, "Revenant as skeleton."

(3) Ghosts Don't Torment the Poor!

Luo Liangfeng, a man of Yangzhou, Jiangsu, spoke of how he could see ghosts.

He said he could see ghosts at sundown, when the streets would be absolutely full of these entities that are much shorter than the living. There they would be on streets, avenues and boulevards, their facial features blurred, congregating so that they would resemble a black shadow cast over everything. So many of them would be on the street that they would walk into and out from the walls along the way. Like living people, many of them would be observed chatting while walking along, while others would walk along without any visible emotion, and while still others might  find a living human to walk behind and to follow that person to wherever he or she may go.

These and other ghosts, according to Luo, always enjoy the noisy, bustling, popular spots favored by people, thinking apparently, in their ghostly way, that wherever there is a popular gathering place, there shall one find people, not so much, though, in the empty grasslands of shepherds.

No wonder scholar Yang Xiong (53 BC-18 AD) wrote, "Ghosts always peep on what the affluent are doing."

In actuality, humans and ghosts belong to different realms but must share the same physical space. Ghosts normally don't pose humans any harm unless they, the ghosts, are out for vengeance or just in the mood to do some haunting. Consequently, it is usually very difficult for a person to see a ghost.

Since most ghosts enjoy frequenting busy, prosperous areas and since most are unable to change their habits, they tend to stay away from the shabby, depressed locations visited by the poor. This is why we have the old saying "Poor ghosts don't drop in [for a visit]." How true.

from Zi bu yu in Gao shenme gui, Yuan Mei, ed. Annotated by Wang Yuan. Taipei: Guanxue She, 2004; pp. 8-9. 

Zi bu yu [What the Master (i.e., Confucius) did not discuss] is the ghost story collection of Qing Dynasty writer Yuan Mei (1716-1797 AD). "Poor ghosts" is a play on words, meaning either literally poor, possibly "hungry" ghosts or people who are impoverished. Of course, the conclusion reached by Yuan Mei, that ghosts prefer to flock near the prosperous and seldom ever go near those who are poor, is debatable. 

The description of ghosts on the street reminded me of a story in Zhongguo yaoguai shidian [Dictionary of Chinese goblins] by famed Japanese artist and chronicler of the bizarre, Mizuki Shigeru (Taipei: Zhenxing, 2004). That story is "Gui shi" ["Ghost market"]. The gist of that story is as follows: 

    A servant was on an errand away from town. Since the daytime weather had been 
   unbearably hot, the servant decided to travel at night. One midnight, while still on the road,
   the servant stumbled into a very bustling, humming marketplace crammed full of people buying
   food from stalls. Hungry, he bought a bowl of soup noodles, devoured it, and continued on his 
   journey. He completed his task and made it back home, whereupon he came down with a sickness.
   He vomited up a toad and coiled worms . . .  (pp. 42-43). 

Such is what happens when one, in traditional thought, interacts with ghosts. The servant had more than likely stopped by a ghost market in a desolate area of tombs where spirits appear and recreate the world they had known when they were alive, using the spirit money that had been burned for them to buy whatever is available in their realm. 

Chunwang & the Ninth Maiden (Han) -- Part Three

As the Ninth Maiden wept, she heard a man's voice singing from the bushes:

"There go the Maidens flying back up into the heavens!
And I? I've taken the peahen skin and wings of one of them.
I'm ready to return them to her without much fuss.
All I ask is for one thing in return--for her to call me her one and only."

From out of the bushes stepped Chunwang, bearing the skin and wings.

What a handsome young man, thought the Ninth Maiden. Who would have thought such a handsome one existed among the mortals! She liked what she saw, laughed bashfully and sang back:

"Young man, if you say you love me, you'll need to love me with all your heart.
Otherwise, I don't care if I died--I still wouldn't call you my man.
If you truly love me, then, please hurry and give me back my skin and wings!"

Chunwang promptly returned the skin and wings to the Ninth Maiden. Right then and there, from that day forward, they became man and wife. How happy were they? There's no need to ask--they felt pure joy being in each other's presence and nothing else in the world mattered.

Nine months later, the wife and husband had a pair of twins--a boy and a girl--both soft and chubby with creamy complexions, as cute as children can be.

It was now a full year since Ninth Maiden had come down to earth for good and married Chunwang.

One day Chunwang noticed her carrying a beautiful large hulu, a gourd shaped like our number eight ("8"), from out of their garden.

"And what do you plan to do with the hulu, my wife?" he asked.

"Today's my father's birthday," she replied. "I'm presenting it to him. That means I'll need to return to the sky.  But don't worry. I'll be back before dark, so watch the children for me while I'm gone!"

"Very well."

Ninth Maiden stepped upon the hulu leaf and flew away up into the sky and out of sight.

Well, night came but Ninth Maiden had still not returned. Nor did she return by the next morning, or the morning after that.

from Tan Daxian, pp. 60-61. 

The story in the original Chinese doesn't reconcile Ninth Maiden's earlier temporary loss of her bird skin and wings and resultant lack of ability to fly with her human guise and capability of flying away on a leaf. Nor does it suggest that once married, she remains donned in her peahen skin and wings outfit.

The hulu gourd, gourd bottle, or bottle-gourd is a Taoist (Daoist) alchemy symbol, sometimes seen depicted on the windows and walls of Chinese herbalist shops. In ancient times, Taoist adepts were thought to carry medicine or magic potions in their hulu gourds. In Taiwan, a modern expression goes like this: "What's inside your hulu?" In other words, "What are you up to?"

The Midnight Bus -- an Urban Legend From Beijing

A young man and an old man, strangers to each other, got on Bus 302, the midnight bus. The old man took a seat near the front, and the young man, a seat a few rows behind. Two other passengers sat in the front close to the driver.

Shortly after the bus left the stop, the old man turned around to face the young man in the back.

"What did you just say?" asked the old man.

"I didn't say anything," the young man replied.

"Yes, you did. I heard you. Don't lie. You said something about me."

"Excuse me but I didn't say anything to you or anyone else."

"Oh, now you're suggesting I'm lying or that I am hearing things. Is that it?" The old man's face was furious.

"I didn't say anything to you! Don't bother me!"

"Why, you little disrespectful . . . I ought to . . . !"

The old man got up and marched back to the young man and boxed his ears.

"Hey . . . !" yelled the young man.

At this point, the bus driver pulled over to the curb, put the parking brake on, turned around and said, "All right, both of you get off my bus! I'm not having any fighting while I'm driving!"

"But--" the young man began.

"Get off now! You heard me!"

The young man, followed by the old man, exited the bus. The bus took off, leaving the two alone on a deserted street when night is at its blackest.

"What the hell was that all about?" the young man asked the old man. "Why in the world did you start a stupid quarrel with me? Why did you hit me?"

The old man smiled and shook his head. "I just saved your life and mine."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you see the two passengers in the front?"

"Yes . . . well, not clearly. I know there were two people with their backs turned. So what?"

"Well," the old man continued, "I happened to see them more clearly than you did.  Below their waists there was nothing there."

"So . . . they . . . were . . . ?"

"Yes," said the old man, nodding. "Exactly."

The news media reported the next day that Bus 302 had disappeared some time after midnight. No trace of it or anyone on the bus was ever found.

Notes

For another version of this urban legend, please see the posting for 3/18/18.

I just heard this story told in English by my very good friend Professor Li Yang of Qingdao, Shandong, China, an expert on Chinese urban legends. This story is now making the rounds in China. His son Andre related another version in which at the very end, once the pair have been kicked off the bus, the old man tells the young man basically the same story, then adding that he, too, is a ghost, meaning, of course, the hapless young man is now in mortal danger. 

Chunwang & the Ninth Maiden (Han) -- Part Two

Chunwang now found himself the guest of the young hunter, Brother Deer. Brother Deer's family treated Chunwang with great courtesy and affection, feeding the young man plates of fish and meat and cups of rice wine with which to down the food. Brother Deer also took Chunwang along to pay respect to other members of the deer community.

Some time passed and Chunwang began to think of his mother. As much as he had enjoyed staying with Brother Deer and his family, Chunwang longed to return to his mother. And so, escorting Chunwang to the gates of his compound, Brother Deer handed Chunwang a basket and said, "Little Brother, take this parting gift. Don't look at it as just an ordinary basket. See what happens when you place freshly cut grass into the basket!"

With tears in his eyes, Chunwang accepted the gift and prepared to say farewell. However, Brother Deer had more words to say.

"Remember this: If you should ever encounter any problem and need my help," Brother Deer said, "don't hesitate to come this gate and shout: 'Maha! Brother Deer!' Do so and I shall immediately come!"

Chunwang returned home to his worried mother. He dutifully stayed by his aged mother's side for the next few days until it came time to cut the grass.

He was cutting the grass alone when he decided to use the basket Brother Deer had given him. As soon  he placed a few blades of grass into the basket, the entire basket became full of grass and the grass on the ground to cut became that much less. With the basket, Chunwang could now cut much more grass with much less effort! What a great boon this basket turned out to be!

In his free time, Chunwang kept in contact with Brother Deer and his family, often visiting their compound.

In his eighteenth year, Chunwang's mother passed away. He made the funeral arrangements and made sure they were carried out in a filial manner. Afterwards, he visited Brother Deer.

Brother Deer took one look at Chunwang and asked, "Little Brother, what happened? Your face looks so cloudy! You can tell me."

"Brother Deer, my mother has passed away, the person who had loved me and taken care of me since birth, the one person in my little home besides myself. Brother Deer, I shall not want to live alone . . ."

"Listen to me, my little brother. Don't be upset. I think I have the answer. Just about every evening, nine female immortals come down from the sky to the West River to bathe. Here's what you can you do. Hide yourself in the grass a hundred paces from the riverbank before they come down. Wait for them to take off their beautiful peahen skins and wings. You'll see that they are incredibly lovely maidens. Note which of the group is the one most beautiful. While they bathe, take the skin and wings of that maiden and hide it. She shall come out of the water and despair when she is unable to find her skin and wings. Meet her, introduce yourself, and return her skin and wings to her. She shall then become your wife! Now, leave quickly! You need to be somewhere!"

Chunwang thanked Brother Deer, grabbed a bite to eat,  and took off towards West River. Once there, he found a spot a hundred paces from the shore that was full of tall stalks of grass and hid himself there. Then, he watched and waited . . .

The dark grayness of early evening soon turned to the black of night punctuated by the brilliance of the silver stars overhead. Chunwang continued to watch and wait.

A star descended to earth!

Now gathered on the bank of the river were nine gorgeous peahens. One by one each discarded its skin and wings to reveal itself as a ravishing beauty. The last, the ninth, was the most beautiful of all, and she dazzled Chunwang's eyes.

Yes, she's the one, he said to himself.

The nine celestial maidens entered the river water and cavorted and splashed about, unaware of Chunwang's creeping over to pick up the skin and the wings of the ninth maiden. Grabbing the wings and skin, he slipped off to a safe location where the maiden's skin and wings could be safely hidden and never found. He quietly returned to the riverbank and once again hid himself in the tall grass.

Soon, the maidens finished bathing and left the water. One by one, each donned her skin and wings to return to peahen form--all except the Ninth Maiden, of course.

"Wait! Wait!" she cried. "Where are my skin and wings? Sisters, where are they? Have you seen them?"

One by one, her sisters flew away up into the sky.

The Ninth Maiden, without a stitch to conceal herself, covered her eyes and cried.

Notes

from Tan Daxian, pp. 58-59. 

Chunwang & the Ninth Maiden (Han) -- Part One

Long ago, there lived a hardworking, honest village boy named Chunwang. His household was small--just he and his widowed mother.

One day he and about eight or nine other boys were out together doing their chores, cutting grass and weeds.

One of the older boys said to the others, "Hey, let's go to the ravine and get some water!"

So all the boys except Chunwang left to draw some water from the creek that ran along the ravine. Chunwang continued to cut weeds.

Shortly after, he heard the voices of the boys from afar.

"Somebody get a rope!" cried one.

"I've got my sickle ready!" cried another.

"Quiet, now!" cried still another. "It looks like it's going to sleep by the road. Don't wake it up before we have a chance to catch it!"

Chunwang stopped what he was doing.

Hmm . . ., he thought, a wolf, fox or goblin wouldn't rest or sleep out in the open. Whatever they're after has got to be a good being, not a bad one . . . 

He left the field and quietly headed for the place, a nearby spring, where he had heard the other village boys. Sure enough, the boys were there. They appeared to be creeping up on a large deer, a beautiful buck with spots, a "plum deer,"  resting not far from the spring. Closer and closer they approached the deer.

"Get up, Deer, and run!" shouted Chunwang at the top of his lungs. "Quickly before you're captured!"

The deer woke up and, in no time, it fled the area, way before any of the children got close enough to it.

The children were incensed. They turned on Chunwang and mercilessly beat him, pummeling him over and over, until he just lay on the ground, bruised in a heap. The children then left and went back to their homes.

The children were now long gone. And Chunwang? He just lay stunned, every bone in his body in utter agony. He cried out for help, for anyone who might be near but no one responded. In any case, he couldn't pull himself up; the pain was too great.

Evening fell and now he heard all the many weird, sometimes seemingly unearthly but always scary sounds of night--the howling, screeching and whistling of restless forest animals on the move.

Chunwang cried and cried.

Then, he heard someone approach.

A woodcutter! The young man had heard the boy's sobs and found him. The  young woodcutter helped Chunwang up and led him to his own cottage nearby.

What kind of place is this? thought Chunwang, seeing the strange metal lion's head that served as a knob for the gate.

The woodcutter could tell Chunwang was reluctant to go through the gate, so he turned to the boy and said, "Look, you don't have anything to worry about!"

"I . . . I . . . don't?"

"No, you see, you and I have already met today."

"We did?"

"Remember you warned an exhausted deer buck about those children who were ready to do it harm? I am that deer! Now, let's go inside so you can rest and eat."

Notes

from Tan Daxian, Zhongguo minjian tonghua yanjiu (Studies in Chinese fairy tales). Hong Kong: Shangwu, 1981; pp. 57-58. 

First part of a folktale collected in Yishui County, Shandong Province. 

The Princess Who Married a Dog -- a Taiwanese Aboriginal Myth From Mainland China

for my friend Rick Matz, who's more than once given me much appreciated encouragement

It's been said that the Bunun people originally came from the Chinese mainland. 

Ages ago, a Chinese emperor had a very beautiful daughter. This princess, however, one day came down with a horrible skin disease: her entire body was covered by huge oozing, itchy red boils. These painful and ugly sores tormented the poor princess day and night. She stayed in her room, and at night she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. All day and night long, her cries pricked at the hearts of her parents, the emperor and empress, who by this time had called on every doctor and shaman in the land to help their daughter--all to no avail. 

The emperor and empress cried too, knowing they were unable to help their daughter and seeing her condition grow worse and worse. 

"Enough of this!" cried the emperor. "I shall find a way to cure our daughter!"

This is what he did: he ordered proclamations put along all the roads. Each proclamation read: "Anyone, be he beggar or otherwise, who can cure the Princess of her skin ailment shall have her hand in marriage."

The emperor and empress then waited for someone, anyone, who could come to the palace and cure their daughter. 

A whole month went by, and not one person came to the palace gates with a proposed cure. Where were all these doctors, healers, shamans and herbal masters? Were they afraid to show up? Nobody had an answer. The emperor and empress felt as despondent as ever.

Finally, someone or, rather, something showed up--a stray dog with a torn-off proclamation in its mouth appeared at the gates. One guard was of the mind to kill the dog on the spot, while another felt the dog should be led into the palace. Then, the emperor could decide what to do with it. 

The second guard prevailed, and he brought the dog past the gates and into the palace. Once inside, however, the dog bolted from the guard and scampered down the hallway until it reached the princess's room. It hopped onto her bed and began licking her all over, especially her boils. 

When the licking had stopped, the boils had all disappeared . . .

The guard then summoned the emperor, who was, of course, amazed.

The dog was given shelter in the palace for the night.

The next day, the emperor went to his daughter and said, "What this dog did is amazing, but we need to get rid of it."

The dog was right by the princess, and its eyes glowered at the emperor.

"Ah, Dog," said the emperor, "you performed a great service. Please don't misunderstand. It's just that you are not a human. If you can in the next thirty days turn yourself into a young man, you may marry the princess."

The dog immediately scrambled out the palace and headed for the mountains. The emperor ordered some guards to follow the dog, which they did, after going up the mountain and passing through a forest. They observed the dog enter a cave. The guards then made camp and took turns watching to see if the dog left the cave.

On the morning of the twenty eighth day, they spotted a figure leave the entrance of the cave. It had the full figure of a man--the arms, legs and trunk. However, it still had the head of a dog. The dog had become a dog-man, nearly the full man required by the emperor to marry the princess.

The dog-man spotted the guards watching him and shouted, "Why are you spying on me? I still have two more days left, so leave this place!"

The dog-man charged towards the guards, who were shocked and frightened. The guards then fled down the mountain.

The guards returned two days later and crept towards the cave. They poked around a bit but no one--neither man nor beast--was around.

Meanwhile, at the palace, the emperor had just concluded an assembly of his subjects. Everyone in the audience was filing out of the assembly room. One young man, however, appeared to be in a deep sleep in his chair. The palace servants tried rousing him but on he slept. A guard was called, and he rushed over to wake up this young man. The guard succeeded in awakening the fellow, who immediately leaped out of his chair and ran out of the assembly room and down the hall to the princess's room.

The guard entered and found the young man and the princess in a loving embrace. Don't ask how or why, but the princess knew this young man had once been the dog that had licked her skin free of boils. The guard
could not, of course, slay someone the princess was embracing, so he summoned the emperor.

"So, you're finally a man now, Dog," said the emperor. "Very well. You may, as I promised, marry my daughter, only you both will need to leave immediately and never ever return to this place!"

The emperor gave his daughter some time to pack her belongings. Then, the princess and her husband fled the palace. Not far behind them were guards who were given the order to murder the young man.

The princess and her husband, evading the guards, made it to the coast, where they took a small boat and, just the two of them, crossed the Straits all the way to Taiwan itself. They landed at what is now called Lugang (Lu-kang), "Deer Harbor." There, they settled down and had many children. These children then became the first Bunun people, the ancestors of those on Taiwan today.

Notes

from Li Fuqing [Boris Riftin], Cong shenhua dao guihua: Taiwan yuanzhumin shenhua gushi bijiao yanjiu.  [From myths to ghost stories: a comparative study of Taiwanese aboriginal myths]. Taipei, Zhenxing, 1999; pp. 322-324. 

The Bunun live primarily on the southern half of Taiwan.


Our best friend in the animal kingdom is as linked to us in world folklore as in real life like a shadow. Hence, we can read stories from all around the world about canine ancestors, as in the story above, or canine stand-ins for us like Old Man Coyote of North America. No one should take stories about a canine ancestor to be denigrating. Some of these animals represented honored totem-like figures. For example, the Mongols of centuries past would tell the story of either the yellow dog-man or sometimes the blue wolf that somehow impregnated Alan Qo'a/Alan or Alan Gua, the female ancestor of the fearsome Genghis Khan. Other Mongol tribes claim descent from camels, bulls, and lions. (See "The Importance of Animals in the Religion of the Turks and Mongols: Tribal Myths and Hunting Rituals" by Jean-Paul Roux in Asian Mythologies, Yves Bonnefoy, comp. & Wendy Doniger, trans.; Chicago: University of Chicago, pp. 325-326.)  

The above myth was told to sinologist and Chinese folklore specialist Boris Riftin by a seventy five year old Bunun man, Quan Shaoren. Stories of marriages between princesses and dogs and the subsequent founding of new races are not limited to Taiwan. In his Myths of the Dog-Man, David Gordon White discusses European folktales from Germany, Ireland, Russia and other nations about princesses marrying dogs with the subsequent founding of new races. In addition, he writes about the ancient Germanic Lombards, who supposedly had among their warriors dog-headed soldiers. The very symbol of the Lombards was an image of a dog. (See Myths of the Dog-Man by David Gordon White; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991; p. 61.)


Other than this story from the Bunun, at least two other aboriginal tribes on Taiwan, according to  Ho Ting-jui,  have similar stories: the Sedeq and the Ketagalan. Still other Asian groups with stories of dog ancestors include the Li tribe of Hainan, some Hmong groups, the Vietnamese Yao, and the Manipur of India. (See A Comparative Study of Myths and Legends of Formosan Aborigines, 2 Vols. by Ho Ting-Jui; Ph.D. dissertation; Indiana University, 1967; pp. 75-78.) 


Motifs: A522.1.1, "Dog as culture hero"; A1611, "Origin of particular tribe(s); B421, "Helpful dog"; 
cB601.2, "Marriage to a dog"; cB631, "Human offspring from marriage to animal"; S247, "Daughter unwittingly promised to dog rescuer"; T68, "Princess offered as a prize." 

Dogs -- a Legend & a Pourquoi Tale from China

Amber (1996?-2012)

We'll love and miss you forever, Amber

(And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV)

Dedication: These two stories are dedicated to my beloved older dog Amber, who left this life today, March 6, 2012.

Amber was a big dog. In her prime, she weighed over 90 pounds. We adopted her from the street as a stray when she was already full grown back in 1998.

I guess most dog owners rave about their pets, regarding their abilities, their keen intelligence, and so on. I won't be an exception. Of all the dogs I've ever owned or encountered, Amber had the sweetest disposition. Everyone who met her instantly loved her. She never asked for much in this life, just some companionship and a short walk. Too often I failed to grant either of her modest wishes. Now, of course, it's too late. I'm left just with an empty backyard, some fur here and there, her empty bowls and dishes, and a huge cavern in my heart.

I'm very grateful to God for allowing us to have Amber in our lives all these years.

(1) Lu Yan and His Dog  (Han)

Lu Yan was from Shangdang, Shanxi Province.

One day, while he was out for a walk, he came across a stray dog as thin as kindling, obviously starving and near death. Lu Yan pitied the dog and took it home to raise it as his own.

One evening, after some heavy drinking, Lu Yan  collapsed on his bed and fell into a deep sleep. He was awoken by his dog's loud barking into his ear. The dog also strongly took hold of Lu's sleeve as if to pull its master off the bed. 

Lu Yan, groggy, was forced to stagger out of bed.

As it turned out, the neighboring house had caught fire, and now the fire had spread to Lu's house. His dog had been barking and pulling his sleeve to rouse him from his sleep to save his life! Thus was Lu Yan and his loyal dog able to escape the inferno.

Notes

from "Yi chuan jiu ju" by Di Xin in Fojiao tonghuaji zhi er (Zhongguo zhi bu) [Buddhist stories for children, Vol. 2: China], Zhu Fei, ed.; Taipei: Putishu Zhazhishe, 1975; p. 44. 

(2) The Reason Why Dogs and People Get Along  (Han?)

One day, long before dogs became our best friends in the animal kingdom, a dog was roaming up in a mountain ravine. As he looked and moved about, he began to do some thinking.

Well, I've got my limitations, this dog thought. There's no doubt about it. What I need to do is partner myself up with some other animal, and together we can each bring something to the table. 

Before long, the dog spotted a rabbit darting through the ravine. 

Aha, there we go, thought the dog, and he sprinted after the rabbit, finally catching up to it.

"Say there, Rabbit," said the dog, "let's be friends and partners! What do you say?"

"All right," said the rabbit.

That night, after the first day of their partnership, they both lay down to go to sleep. Suddenly, the dog heard something, and, as you know dogs are wont to do, he started barking his head off. 

"Hey, hey, hey, Dog!" whispered the jittery rabbit. "Stop it, would you? You keep doing that and the wolf is sure to hear us and find where we are! Then, we'll both be in big trouble." 

The dog saw how frightened the rabbit was and thought, So, he's afraid of the wolf. That's the animal I need to team up with, not a timid rabbit!

The next day, after some searching, the dog located the wolf and approached this bigger animal.

"Wolf, I have an offer for you! How about you and I become partners and friends?" asked the dog.

"Fine, Dog," replied the wolf. "Let's be friends and partners."

So the two new friends and partners spend their first day together, and when night fell, they prepared to sleep. Suddenly, the dog heard something.

"Wang! Wang! Wang!" Dog barked. 

"Hey, Dog!" hissed the wolf. "Stop that immediately! Are you out of your mind? Do you want the leopard to find us and eat us?"

Hmm, thought the dog, this wolf is just as afraid of the leopard as the rabbit is of the wolf. Why spend my time with Wolf? It's the leopard I need to find!

So the dog ended his alliance with the wolf and sought out the leopard. Deep in the mountains, he found the large cat.

"Leopard, greetings!" said Dog. "How about you and I become friends and partners?" 

"Why not?" replied Leopard. "Let's see how it goes."

The two had just spent their first day together and were now ready to lie down for the night when suddenly Dog heard something and began barking like mad. 

"Dog! Dog!" whispered Leopard. "What do you think you're doing? You want to get us both killed? Your barking is going to lead the tiger here!"

Huh, thought Dog, this leopard is as scared as they come! What a waste of time! First thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to join up with the tiger . . . 

And so the next morning, the dog said goodbye to the leopard and went to see the tiger.

"Hello, Tiger!" said the dog, finally locating the tiger lurking on a hillock. "How about if we join forces? You know, become partners and pals?"

"Hmm," said the tiger, "all right. Let's do so . . . "

And so the dog now became the tiger's companion and ally, sharing everything alike. Then came their first night together. It was close to sleeping time when the dog, hearing a noise somewhere off in the bushes, started barking.

"Whoa, whoa, Dog! What on earth?" asked the tiger in hushed tones. "Do you realize with all that racket you're making you're going to attract the attention of the hunter?"

"The what?"

"The hunter," continued the tiger, "the man! He hears us and we're as good as dead!"

So, thought the dog, even the tiger fears something, the hunter! What am I doing here with the tiger? It's the man I need to be with. 

That morning, the dog bid the tiger adieu and headed out to search for the hunter. Later that day, the dog descended the mountain and came upon a village. There were people everywhere! He spotted one man in particular and approached him.

"Hey, Person, " said the dog, "why don't you and I become partners and friends?"

"Ha, ha," replied the man, "sounds fine to me!"

The man than gently stroked the dog's legs and patted his back. The dog, of course, was overjoyed to receive such affection.

That night, the man showed the dog to the eaves of the veranda, where earlier he had prepared a nice bed of soft rice straw for the dog.

"Dog, here's where you can sleep! Good night."

The dog found the rice straw to be nice and warm, and there he spent a very good, comfortable night. Then, very early that morning, the dog heard something and began his customary barking. The dog's new friend came running out.

"Dog, what's going on? Are you afraid of something?" the man asked.

"Y-Yes, actually," said the dog. "I'm afraid of something but I don't know what."

The man laughed, patted the dog, and said, "Dog, as long as you have me, you have nothing to fear."

Well, that calmed the dog down and he went back to sleep. A few hours later, he awoke and again began to bark. Once again, the man came outside.

"Poor dog, you must be hungry!" said the man. "Let me show you where you can get something to eat. How does some rice with meaty ribs sound to you?"

Of course such a meal sounded very good to him, indeed!

This man is so wonderful, thought the dog. He's not afraid of anything, and he takes wonderful care of me. He's the best partner of all! I'm sticking with him!

And so from that day on, dogs and people have been partners and good friends, even though most, maybe even all dogs have never quite learned to give up their habit of barking at night!

Notes

from Minjian chuanshuo [Folk legends], Liu Xiaolu, ed.; Shizhuangshi, Hebei: Hebei Shaonian Ertong Chubanshe, 2004; pp. 170-171. 

Pourquoi stories or just-so stories purport to explain the origin of some phenomena such as why turtle shells have ridges or why dogs and cats seem to hate each other. Those that explain the origin of the heavens, earth, sun, and so on fall into the realm of myths, while those like this simpler tale are categorized as folktales. 

Motifs: A2493.4, "Friendship between man and dog"; B210.3, "Animals (dogs) and men spoke the same language."