作者：杨贤玉,杨荣广,朱文江
出版社：中国地质大学出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
仙山碧水——武当山民间故事选译：英文试读：
前言
民间故事是民间文化的一种形态，其内容具有丰富的文化蕴涵，既表现了一些特定的风尚习俗及劳动人民群众对历史人物的评价，对山川万物的理解，也表现了普通民众的思维方式、价值观念、伦理操守、精神风貌、心理状态和生命形态。
在武当文化中，武当道教文化源远流长、闻名遐尔，该地区的民俗文化同样丰富多彩，是武当文化的重要组成部分，并深受武当道教文化的浸润。武当文化为民间文学的发展提供了母题和素材，又借助民间文学得以广为传播和发展。武当山民间故事是我国民间文学园地中的一颗硕果，也是我国宗教文化与文学结合的产物，既具有道德教化功能，又具有宗教思想传播功能，内中蕴含着道教信众和普通民众的乡土情怀、爱教情怀，展现着道教信仰的种种表现形式，渗透着武当道教文化所特有的文化元素。
武当山民间故事是武当文化中不可分割的一部分。武当山民间传说有人物传说、武当山传说、地方传说、动植物传说、其他传说五大类。这些民间传说涉及社会生活各方面的内容，大到天地日月，小到一草一木，上至神灵皇帝，下至黎民百姓，都以不同的形态出现在故事中。
国内对武当民间文学的发现与宣传的第一个高潮是20世纪80年代到90年代末期。它以全国民间文学三大集成工程为背景，其成果表现为作品集，理论研究则处于起步阶段。尽管当前对武当文化有较多的关注，对武当山民间故事的文本解读和文化内涵的挖掘相对较深，但是这项工作仍然主要是从单语（汉语）的角度进行，所取得的成就仍然是有限的。《仙山碧水——武当山民间故事选译》一书的译者正是在这样的大背景下，试图以翻译作为手段，将民间文学的跨语际、跨文化传播作为民间文学研究的一个切入点，为当前民间文学的研究尽绵薄之力。
民间故事研究与翻译都是一个文化融合的过程。在武当民间故事中所展现出来的民俗风情、民间崇信（各种各样的神，不仅有道教的，也有佛教的，如真武神、玉皇、灵官、泰山神、土地神、财神、灶神、观音菩萨、送子娘娘、龙王爷、龙王小姐，乃至耕牛、狐狸、黄鼠狼，都是信奉的对象）等反映了来自不同文化在中华民族本土文化的大生态环境中的融合。这种融合需要通过翻译介绍才能为其他民族文化所熟知。译者主要通过在已有的各类民间故事集中搜集整理具有代表性的故事进行翻译，希望通过这种翻译活动使中国民间文学所承载的独特的文化特色走出国门，为其他民族文化所了解。
武当山民间故事与翻译的另一共同点是两者都是一个杂合的过程。武当山民间故事最初的呈现方式是口头的，通过民俗研究学者和地方学者对其整理和加工之后变成了书面的文学。因而这是一种口语和书面语的杂合，而其文体在表现形式上则既有长段的叙述，同时又兼有歌谣、谚语、诗歌、双关语等形式，这种叙事文体的杂合必然要求在翻译中采用多样的、杂合的翻译方式。译者在翻译过程中也必然要面临着归化与异化、可译性与不可译性的悖论。
为了实现宣扬中国传统文化，促进民间文学传播的目的，译者在翻译武当山民间故事时，基本上采用了归化与异化相结合的翻译方法。实际上，民间故事大都具有浓重的地方色彩，是一个民族文化中最根本层次的呈现。翻译这些故事必须采用归化和异化相结合的手段，参照目的语的文化和表达方式，对中国民间故事进行包装。但与此同时，对故事所承载的道德说教，所反映的民族精神则应坚持用异化的手法，试图完整地将地方文化通过目的语体现出来，从而实现从源语言文化向目的语言文化传播的目的。
本书译者在文化对比研究和比较文学视野下选择武当山民间故事的翻译策略，以期进一步推动武当山地方旅游经济的发展，并为国内民间故事翻译研究起到抛砖引玉的作用。
在翻译过程中，译者参考了国内外出版的许多有关专著、论文和刊物，从中获得了大量有益成分，特别是译者的挚友陶真典先生和李征康教授，本书正是以他们二人所搜集整理的民间故事为源文，在他们的鼓励和指导下，才有本书的翻译出版，在此表示衷心的感谢。
幸运的是，译者在本书编写过程中得到许多关心和支持。我国著名英语教授、翻译界老前辈、武汉大学郭著章教授，上海海事大学左飚教授对本书的翻译给予了热情的关怀、鼓励和指导，并提出了宝贵的建议，译者的美国朋友Barry Canham帮助润色了译文文字，此外，译者好友十堰日报记者陶德斌先生为本书提供了图片，特此表示真诚的谢意。除两位译者之外，湖北汽车工业学院外语系教师也做了大量工作，特别感谢友人李铮的帮助。可以说，本书的编写出版离不开他们的辛勤劳动。另外，湖北汽车工业学院对本书的编写给予了极大的关心和帮助，在此一并表示衷心的感谢!
由于译者水平有限，经验不足，加之时间仓促，书中错误和缺点在所难免，希望广大读者不吝指正。杨贤玉2012年8月1日
Bell-hanging Tower & Bell-dropping Pond
There is a big bell on the top of Wudang Mountains. People built a pavilion for it, and named it Bell-hanging Tower. At the foot of Wudang Mountain, there is a deep pond named Bell-dropping Pond. A big bell is submerged in the pond. Legend said the two bells were actually of sibling relationship and both of them came from Sichuan Province.
The story goes like this. Once upon a time, there was a Squire Zhang living on E'mei Mountain. He owned a vast of rich and fertile land, many mules and horses, as well as enormous wealth. He only had a daughter. Miss Zhang was the apple of her father's eye, and had always led a happy and comfortable life.
One year, Miss Zhang caught a strange disease. Her face became sallow and her body skinny. She was unable to finish a meal couldn't sleep well at night, and was talking nonsense all the time. Squire Zhang couldn't do anything about it, so he put up an announcement at the crossroad, saying he would give anyone who could cure her daughter anything he wanted, including gold, silver, pearls and so on.
One day, a Taoist priest visited their house to beg for alms. He carried on his back a double-edged straight sword with seven stars and a yellow sack on his shoulder. He claimed to be from Wudang Mountains and kept on saying that he wanted to see Miss Zhang. Squire Zhang, realizing that there was something special about him, welcomed him to the back hall to treat his daughter's disease. Neither feeling her pulse nor using medicine, the priest only pointed to his eyebrows with his fingers, saying, "Come back! Come back!" Immediately, his daughter was cured. To show his gratitude, Squire Zhang offered him a plateful of silver, but the latter refused. The square then presented one more plateful of gold. Again, the latter shook his head. Finally, he offered a large piece of rich and fertile land together with a hundred great horses, but the priest still was not impressed.
In a hurry, Squire Zhang asked, "My respectable priest, you want neither this nor that, so what exactly do you want?"
"I only want the two bells of yours," answered the priest.
Squire Zhang hesitated,because the two bells, one of which was called Gold Bell and the other Jade Bell, were the family heirlooms. They were of the same color, same size, and shone day and night. The pictures cast on them, including Two Dragons Playing with a Ball, Red Phoenixes Worshipping the Sun, and Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, were all vivid and lifelike. Their sound was so clear and melodious that people could hear it from a thousand miles away. They were the family heirloom of Squire Zhang. He said, "My respectable priest, you can choose other things. I can't give you these two bells."
This Taoist priest was actually God Zhenwu. In that time, the nine palaces, nine Taoist temples, thirty-six Buddhist nunneries and seventy-two stone temples had been finished, with all kinds of treasure in them, except the two bells. Seeing that Squire Zhang had no intension of keeping his promise, Zhenwu became so angry that he spat on the bells and left.
The saliva spat by Zhenwu made the two bells magical. At night, the Jade Bell spoke to the Gold Bell, "Elder brother, Squire Zhang is devoid of gratitude and does not keep his word. He has no conscience, so it is not wise to stay at his house. Let's leave this place!"
"I know," the Gold Bell answered, "but where can we go?"
"Wudang Mountain is inhabited by immortals. It is the right place for us to go."
"OK. But do you have enough strength to go all the way from here to such a far away place?"
Without answering, Jade Bell set out first.
As it was dark and quiet, the two bells flew over mountains and across rivers without anybody knowing it. Gradually, Jade Bell felt tired. So she slowed down and fell behind her brother.
Gold Bell turned around and said to her over and over again, "Let me carry you on my back. You can't fly any farther."
Afraid of delaying her brother's journey, she declined his kindness politely. "Go ahead, brother. I will catch up."
It was getting brighter and brighter, as the sun was going to rise soon. If they hadn't reached Wudang Mountains before daybreak, they would have to stop. Anxious as he was, Gold Bell rushed away at the top of his speed with all his might and finally landed on the mountain ridge of the Palace of Harmony, which lies on the top of Sky-pillar Peak. Jade Bell did as much as she could to catch up her brother, but fell further behind as she was so young and delicate. The moment she got to the mouth of Guanshan River, she heard the crowing of morning cocks. At the sound of the cock, she lost her magic power and couldn't fly any longer, so she dropped into the river. As a result, a bottomless pond was formed, which was later called the Bell-dropping Pond.
Bronze Drum
There is a very big bronze drum on the Golden Peak of Wudang Mountain. It is said that the big drum was there because of Hai Rui.
It was winter when Hai Rui offerred sacrifice to God Zhenwu. At that time, the whole land was covered with snow. It was so cold that the surface of the road was frozen, which made it hard for people to stand without falling. Hai Rui was of no exception. When climbing up Jiu Liandeng, he tripped and tumbled down again and again.
A Taoist said, "Minister Hai, you shouldn't wear rawhide boots! As you know, cattle devote all their lives to serve the peasarts, but people mercilessly killed them. As the office holder, you, instead of appealing to everyone to protect cattle, wear rawhide boots. The deity will get angry if he finds it out."
Hai Rui thought for a moment and followed his advice. He said, "People will have no food if cattle don't plow the fields. It's wise for the deity to blame me because we shouldn't wear rawhide boots but cherish cattle." After saying these words, he took off his boots and threw them off the cliff. Then he demanded that everyone, including officials and soldiers, should not wear rawhide boots. Otherwise, they would be punished.
Hai Rui climbed up to the Golden Peak without shoes. When he reached the top, he found in the center of the golden palace a big rawhide drum. He questioned God Zhenwu, "As a deity, why do you blame others while forgive yourself? You don't allow other people to wear rawhide boots, why then do you use rawhide drum for yourself?"
Then, a flash of red light appeared. "Bang!" The rawhide drum was struck by the big thunder. Everyone was stunned and speechless. Then with the sound of "Boom" and a flash of green light, a big bronze drum flew down and fell onto the original position of the rawhide drum.
People said, "Minister Hai could admit his own mistakes when he realized them. God Zhenwu could also acknowledge his error after recognizing it."
Hat-dropping Peak
While Emperor Liubang of Han Dynasty was ruling China, he sent General Daimeng to Wudang Mountain to search for a kind of medicine that could make people immortal. Daimeng was a frank and outspoken person, so when he saw the colourful mountains and blooming flowers and green grass he was very pleased. As he scrambled over a peak, there came two persons pushing and dragging each other towards him. There was a blind person and a foot-slogger who both wanted him to judge between right and wrong.
The blind person showed the whites of the eyes and said, "General, he has stolen my money and cloth. Both of my eyes are blind and I have nothing for living. How poor I am! He has done such things to me without any conscience. Please speak for me." In fact, to judge a lawsuit was the duty of the county magistrate, but Wudang Mountains was so far away, and there was no government office close by. Daimeng thought that the blind person was very poor so he decided to speak for him. He asked the foot-slogger, "He is blind and has nothing to rely on. Didn’t you see it? As the old saying goes ‘The heaven has eyes but the hell has not.’ Why did you do this immoral thing to steal from him?"
"General," said the foot-slogger, "When I walked past the middle of the mountain, I found the blind person could not feel his way and nearly fell down the cliff. I was worried about him so I helped him get on my donkey to carry him for a distance free of charge. But never could I expect that he would shout that the money and cloth were his when he heard you coming. He even pulled me here to ask you for your judgment. I suffered from my own blindness and my good deeds were considered bad. I am unable to clean myself even if I plunge into the Yellow River. General, please speak for me."
Daimeng looked at them and thought for a moment, "In the world, there is always the big bullying the small, the strong bullying the weak. The blind person has both eyes disabled and can not walk steadily. How could he do this evil thing? He must have been bullied so he asked me for help." So Daimeng picked up his whip to whip the foot-slogger.
The foot-slogger kowtowed to Daimeng like a chicken pecking at food, he begged, "I admire you, General, because you can take the risk to uphold whatever you think is right and you are open and aboveboard. But you should figure out the truth first. If it is really my fault, I would like to be beaten to death without any complaint."
Daimeng thought that what the foot-slogger said was reasonable so he contemplated in his heart for a while and then said to the blind person, "Oh, let it go. The cloth is a patchwork of some good thing. His donkey has carried you for a distance then you gave the cloth to him as a reward. I think it is all right." The blind person kowtowed immediately and said, "Please do not do that, General! I told people's fortunes and got some red cloth as a payment, and I also divined people's fortune to get some blue cloth. It is obtained by using my speaking skills, so I can not give him even any of this."
Daimeng raised his whip and whipped the blind person violently, because the cloth on the donkey was all white. The blind person could not see, so he was forced to give the game away. He begged at once and said, "I thought that no matter who came to judge, they would punish the strong and help the weak and people would not suspect that I had framed him up. In fact, I was so poor that when I touched the cloth on the donkey I decided to steal it and sell it for a living." Daimeng lectured the blind person. He told him, "No matter if you are strong or weak, you should treat others fairly and convince people by logic. If everyone does things fairly, the world will be perfect." Then Daimeng said to the foot-slogger, "You should not remember the harm he has done to you and please help him to the foot of the mountain."
The blind person got on the donkey again. He was so moved that his eyes were full of tears.
Daimeng walked out of his sight and felt that he did a good thing, so he lifted his head and laughed loudly. He laughed so happily that his hat dropped on the summit.
From then on, people started to call the place "Hat-dropping Peak."
General Tortoise and General Snake
It is said that God Zhenwu had altogether 36 fairy generals working for him. Of all these generals, General Tortoise and General Snake, who transformed from Zhenwu’s tripe and intestine, were the two most famous ones. Lergead had it that they had remarkable magical powers and were capable of diguising themselves by transforming to many things. And because of their magical power, they achieved great feats.
The two generals, General Tortoise and General Snake, at the back of the Purple Cloud Palace in Wudang Mountain look strange. The General Snake, with his bowl-like body, twists General Tortoise tightly, and the Tortoise turns his head to the side, with his stretching neck gurgling water ceaselessly. The clean and sweet water is very tastes just like dew and it is called "fairy water".
It is said that when Zhenwu came to Wudang to practice asceticism, he took off his shoes and socks and put them away, and then sat cross-legged day and night without moving, concentrating on meditation without eating and drinking.
Zhenwu could stop eating and drinking, but his tripe and intestine couldn't bear this, so they complained to each other and quarreled endlessly, which annoyed Zhenwu, because he couldn't practice asceticism and recite scriptures as he wished. He was so angry that he cut his abdomen open, removed the tripe and intestine, and cast them into the grass. Zhenwu then calmed down.
The tripe and intestine in the grass listened to Zhenwu's reciting day by day, and after a considerable period of time, the Taoist scriptures and incantations seeped into them. They could speak, fly and run, ascend to the heaven and descend to the sea and they began to have remarkable theurgy, excellent feat and innumerable changes. They could transform themselves not only into rare birds and beasts, but also into various kinds of people. However, whatever they changed into, they couldn't alter their original form. When they became deities, they thought they were ugly and always wanted to be more beautiful.
One day, seeing Zhenwu was sound asleep, the tripe and intestine slipped out of the grass secretly to play together.
The intestine slipped into Zhenwu's socks, and rolled three times on the ground. Woo! He became a big snake with scales with a shell covering the whole body.
The tripe held up Zhenwu's shoes, covering it on his back and then rolled three times, too. Woo! He became a huge tortoise.
From then on, Zhenwu had no shoes and socks to wear, and he had to travel bare-footed. Until today, most of the statues of Zhenwu enshrined in each Taoist temple in Wudang Mountains have no shoes on his feet. When traveling, he would ride on the back of the tortoise and the snake.
Now let's talk about the tripe and intestine. Since they became deities, and this was not a trivial matter. According to Taoism doctrine, the tortoise and the snake were the creatures of heaven and earth, signifying Yin and Yang. The tortoise is the embodiment of the axies of the earth—water demon (Yin), and the snake is the reincarnation of guard of heaven—fire demon(Yang). The figures of General Tortoise and General Snake in Wudang Mountains show that the snake coils its body round the tortoise’s abdomen, and that raie their heads and play together. Their tails intersect to symbolize the match of heaven and earth and the link between Yin and Yang.
When the tripe and intestine became deities, they sneaked out of the mountain and started to rape the nearby village. They ate everything they met, first pigs and sheep, then cattle and horses, and finally they even transformed themselves into human beings. They fought for a leopard furiously, which made the sky dim, the earth dark and people's lives hard.
At this time, Zhenwu had already finished his practice and had became a god. Seeing the tortoise and snake's misbehavior, he put up an auspicious cloud and wielded a enchanted sword to subdue the two spirits. The sword was very powerful, which could split cliffs into rivers, and kill evil dragons in the distance swiftly. When he met the two evil deities, Zhenwu bawled, "Surrender now. If you dare to resist, I will kill you without hesitation."
Although the tortoise and the snake were originally Zhenwu's tripe and intestine, they had already become deities and wasn’t afraid of him. They made threatening gestures to fight against him.
Zhenwu God was in a towering rage. He wielded his sword to chop four times on the tortoise's back, but the tortoise felt no pain, whereas beautiful pattern appeared on his back. From then on, there was a beautiful pattern on his back.
Taking advantage of the favorable situation, the snake pounced on the God and tied him tightly.
God Zhenwu wielded the sword again, and suddenly a loud boom was heard. Five pillars which supported the sky fell down together, flattening the tortoise. At the same time, the pillar changed into a rope to tie up the snake's neck and tightened it up gradually. Hence, the snake's neck became very thin.
The tortoise winked and looked back, only to find that the thing on his back was not the sky but one of God Zhenwu's bare feet.
The snake also turned his head only to find that on his neck it was not a rope but the God's hand.
The tortoise and the snake gave in, curling lips and weeping tears, and they implored the God to spare their lives.
Zhenwu knew that they were originally his tripe and intestine. Highly skilled in military drill, they had surrendered, and also had stolen his shoes and socks. Zhenwu accepted them as his personal ride, General Tortoise and General Snake. Since then, God Zhenwu rode the tortoise and the snake to roam the Ninth Heaven on an inspection tour.
But the General Tortoise's evil thoughts didn't disappear. He pretended to be good but continued doing bad things. He always ate fruit offerings and immortal things stealthily while God Zhenwu was sitting in meditation. He also always disguised himself as a playboy and glided out of the immortal room to play. After a considerable period of time, he was charged by God Zhenwu of dissipating and going whoring, breaking the law and committing all evildoings.
God Zhenwu was rather dubious about this, so he asked the General Tortoise to tell him the truth so as to give him a chance to correct himself.
Finding that God Zhenwu didn't have any evidence, General Tortoise raised his head, stared into his eyes, and sprung out his tongue. He said something good about himself as if he had been perfect and as beautiful as flowers.
The God saw him quibbling, so he asked, "If I find the truth, what will you do?"
General Tortoise was still stubborn and reluctant to admit his mistakes and said, "If I do a bad thing, you can cut my head off."
Thereupon, God Zhenwu began to look for evidence.
One time, God Zhenwu pretended to snore when he was reposing.
General Tortoise thought he was sleeping. Then, he disguised himself as a handsome young man and crept out to play. When he was back, he appeared in his original form and found immortal fruits on the desk, so he ate one.
God Zhenwu saw what General Tortoise had done clearly. He stepped on him at once, and the big immortal fruit rolled out form the tortoise's abdomen.
God Zhenwu was very angry and said, "Tortoise, will you deny your mistakes this time? How many immortal fruits have you eaten? Spit them out totally. How many bad things have you done? Tell me everything."
This time General Tortoise was as frightened as a dissolving snowball. And cold beads of sweat covered his whole body. He said disconsolately, "I can neither spit them out nor tell them clearly!"
God Zhenwu thought, although General Tortoise was transformed from my tripe, he has broken the regulations of the heaven. I can't forgive him. So he raised the precious sword and cut off General Tortoise's head, and kicked the head to the back of the Purple Cloud Palace. Then he ordered General Snake to twist General Tortoise's body to force him to spit.
God Zhenwu pointed at General Tortoise and said: "I won't give your head back until you spit and confess totally."
From then on, the big tortoise stayed at the back of Purple Cloud Palace without his head and spat water out from the neck everyday. Sometimes, if the tortoise didn't want to spit, General Snake would beat him. Because of this beating, thunder began to rumble and heavy rain began to fall. General Tortoise spat out water promptly with fear. Since the tortoise didn't spit well, it never ended and he would never get his head back again.紫霄宫
Guanmen Mountain
Opposite the Laojun Hall, strange peaks like jade bamboo shoots tower to the skies, and lofty mountain ranges roll conti-nuously. Among these strange peaks and lofty mountain ranges, there is a high, big, stone door. It is said that behind this stone door, there are palaces and mansions inhabited by the immortals, and are filled with gold bulls, gold tigers, gold bowls, gold chopsticks, gold plates, gold desks, gold chairs and gold stools; it also has precious pearls, bottles and calabashes, and any precious thing a human being could ever want. This is the legendary precious warehouse in Wudang Mountains.
To open the warehouse, you first have to find the key to it. So our story begins with the precious key.
Legend has it that there was a family at the foot of a mountain, a kind-hearted old mother and her two sons. The elder one was called Niu Wa and the younger one Mao Wa.
Honest, diligent, and filial,Niu Wa did his best to grow crops and took good care of his old mother. Through hard work, he managed to build a spacious tile-roofed house and bought a rich and fertile field. He was living a better and better life. So every villager became envious, but praised him. However, Mao Wa was gluttonous and lazy. He didn't plant crop or do any housework; instead, everyday he just wanted to go to the mountain to look for the precious key so as to open the big stone door and hog the treasure alone.
Seeing his younger brother doing nothing but dreaming of a stroke of sheer luck, Niu Wa persuaded him with good intentions. Although a lot of good words had been said, Mao Wa just let them go in one ear and out the other, and kept sticking to his daydream in spite of his brother's aching jaws.
The more Mao Wa wanted to get treasure, the more he indulged himself in it and the more eager he was to do it. Learning that a chief burglar in Shanxi Province was recruiting apprentices, Mao Wa stole and sold his family's possessions, and then left to learn burgling skills.
From then on, the old mom had to live in a cave with Niu Wa.
She was so sad and angry that she cried day and night, leaving her eyes blind.
Kind-hearted Niu Wa often comforted his mom with soft words, "Don't be sad, mom. Don't worry. With the strength and two hands I have, I'm sure that I can rebuild our house and cure your eyes."
Niu Wa did what he said. Every day, he went gathering firewood and sold it to support his old blind mother. His feet were as busy as a waver's shuttle without stopping, trampling out a very long path, and his sweat ran down like raindrops, scouring the road clean and bright. In order to cure his other's eyes, he went everywhere to seek medical advice with handfuls of money earned from endless sweating. Unfortunately, although they had seen all the famous doctors nearby, his mother's eyes were still blind. Carrying his poor mother on his back, Niu Wa shed countless tears behind her back.
One day, when night was about to fall, Niu Wa was carrying heavy firewood in the mountain. He was dying of both hunger and thirst, but he was still thinking about how to cure his mother's disease.
At this time, an oriole shouted in front of him suddenly, "Brother Niu, brother Niu, follow me. Come on, come on. Don't stop! It's urgent to save a life!"
Although surprised, he noticed the oriole was really anxious, so he dropped the firewood and ran after it.
He ran and ran, over one mountain after another, across a range after another. And finally, before he knew it he came to a small thatched cottage. Hearing feeble yells of pain came out from inside, he went in and found an old man with gray hair lying in bed.
He came forward and asked, "Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Why are you in so much pain?"
"I've got a serious disease. It's difficult to live through the night. Alas, what a bitter life I have!" the old man replied.
Niu Wa hurried to comfort him, "Grandpa, don't think too much. I'm going to fetch a doctor for you right away." With this, he turned and left.
The old man tried to stop him and said, "Good kid, nothing can cure my disease except one medicine, but there isn't one who is bold enough to gain it."
Niu Wa answered, "Grandpa, I have the courage and I shall go to fetch it so as to save your life."
"If you really want to save me, you can go to Qian Zhang Ya Cliff at the back of the mountain and bring home the bamboo with branches. Then, I will be cured."
Without saying anything, Niu Wa turned and ran away. It turned out that there was really a bamboo tree with branches swinging to and fro in Qian Zhang Ya Cliff. It looked dazzling. Seizing the tree branches and some green canes, he slid to the cliff, and took a good look—two big tigers lying beside the bamboo with their fierce-looking mouths open and their aggressive eyes were staring at him. He was stricken with terror and his hair stood on end. However, at the thought of saving the grandpa, he again built up his courage and drew his scimitar out with a whiz. He did a somersault and swung over to fight the two tigers.
It surprised him that the moment he landed steadily, he found the ferocious tigers disappeared, leaving the bamboo with branches shining in the air.
So Niu Wa climbed to the top of the cliff and then went back with it when he suddenly saw the grandpa coming towards him vigorously and energetically.
The grandpa laughed in a high spirit, "Ha, ha, ha...Good boy. You are industrious, brave, honest and kind, so you deserve happiness." He was in fact the old celestial being of treasure, and the bamboo with branches was just the key to the stone door of the precious warehouse.
Taking the bamboo in hand, he led Niu Wa to the stone door, and pointed to it with the bamboo. Then the high big stone door opened instantly.
Niu Wa followed the celestial being into it, over a road paved with excellent jade, across the silver-made bridge, and into gold-made palaces and then saw countless treasures piled up.
The old celestial told him, "Good kid, you can take whatever you like as many as you can."
Niu Wa shook his head, answering, "They are not mine, and I don't want them. If there is any medicine that can cure my mother's eyes, please give me some. I will not forget your great kindness in all my life for it."
Realizing he was both lofty and filial, the old man nodded his head and agreed. He picked up two glittering black pearls and handed them over to Niu Wa, saying, "Take these pearls home, boy. And press them to your mother's eyes, and then she will regain her eyesight. No matter what you want, these pearls will surely help you."
Accepting the precious pearls, Niu Wa thanked him and ran back to their cave. The moment he pressed the pearls to his mother's eyes, she saw the world again, and she regained her eyesight.
The old mom was so cheerful that she didn't know what to say. She blinked her eyes and said to herself, "It's dark and damp in this cave. It's not good for living. If we had several rooms to live in, that would be wonderful."
When she was thinking, a mansion, which was bright and clean from inside to outside, and gorgeously ornamented, appeared with a flash of golden light.
The old mom did the same thing again, "Niu Wa is tired and hungry. I should cook a delicious meal for him."
A table of delicious dishes, including fish, egg, meat and wine, appeared and hot fragrance rose from it.
She looked at her son smiling and thought again, with eyes twinkling, "Niu Wa is old enough to get married. How nice it would be to marry a wife to his heart's content."
Suddenly, a gentle and beautiful girl appeared with another flash, standing in front of her, calling bashfully as well as sweetly, "Mother-in-law, I wish you good health."
Looking at her daughter-in-law up and down, the old mom was so excited that it seemed as if she had eaten some sweets.
And so was Niu Wa, smirking with his mouth open.
From then on, if she wanted something, she just needed to blink her eyes and then it would appear. They had everything they needed in the house, which was not possible to be used up or eaten up. And they were leading a happier and sweeter life.
Mao Wa came back to steal treasures after learning the special skills.
One day, Mao Wa was carrying a basket. As soon as he began to climb the mountain, he heard an oriole shouting to him, "Follow me if you want to steal treasure. The key is hanging on the rock."
Seeing that the bird could speak like human beings, Mao Wa thought it must be a god-sent trick, so he ran after the oriole.
It seemed that the bird was playing with him on purpose.One moment it flew forward and another moment backwards, only to cliff or jungles. Black and blue all over his body, Mao Wa was exhausted, complaining about the pain continuously.
Because of his eagerness to steal treasure, Mao Wa had to endure the huge pain and continued to run after the oriole. At last, he arrived at the rock, finding there was really a bamboo tree, with branches on it. So he took it and pointed to the stone door with it, then the door opened.
He couldn't wait to run into it, and collect the gold bowls, chopsticks, plates, bulls, horses, tigers—he would if he could put all the treasures into the pannier—making him grin under the heavy weight. He was only angry that he was too powerless. He thought as he walked, "Ha, ha, ha...With this pack of treasure, my descendants will fall into permanent happiness."武当山之龙头香（试心石）
Heart-testing Stone
On the west side of the South Cliff there is an isolated peak. It is so high that it reaches the heaven, like a swing hanging down from heaven.The famous stone platform built on it is called Flying Platform, also Flying Cliff. And there is a huge stone on the platform named Heart-testing Stone.
Why is the huge stone called Heart-testing Stone?
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a pair of twin brothers. They looked like each other so much that people couldn't tell them apart.
The elder brother was an honest and warm-hearted man, who had never done any bad things.
But the younger brother was exactly the opposite. Glut-tonous and lazy, he always did pilfering and other bad things.
Because of his younger brother, the elder was made a scapegoat and endured countless wrongs. But he said to himself, "It doesn't matter that I am wronged. As long as my brother learns from it and straightens up, then it is worth it." So he often tried to persuade his brother not to follow the wrong path.
Hearing this,the younger brother always replied,while knitting his brows and curling his lips, "I got it.I got it.Aren't you annoying?" Actually,he did not intend to change anything at all.
Once, the younger brother heard that his neighbors had gone to visit their relatives, so he planned to steal things from their house when it was dark. No sooner did he crack the window and reached his hand into it than he uttered a heart-rending cry and drew back his head, with blood flooding out from his left eye. What happened?
It turned out that the host was hiding secretly under the window. As soon as the head appeared, he poked the younger brother's left eye with an awl instantly, making him blind in one eye.
From then on, people could tell apart the kind elder brother from the bad younger brother easily.
Seeing his younger brother being both hateful and pitiful, the elder suggested, "As the old saying goes ‘strive resolutely or you'll be at the bottom forever’. So make a firm determination to correct your errors and then turn a new leaf, please."
Hearing these kind words and thinking about what he had experienced, the younger brother was deeply moved.So he said repeatedly in approval, "OK, OK."
The elder brother was pleased when he saw his brother agreed to change, so he took him to go on a pilgrimage to Wudang Mountain to worship the god there to show his brother's repentance.
On their way to the mountain, they came across an old man.
Skinny, grey-haired and humpbacked, the old man carried with himself a heavy sack.He told the two brothers that he used to be a burglar but now he wanted to be a good person, so he planned to offer as sacrifice to God Zhenwu the sack which was filled with all the stolen treasures.
Regarding the old man and himself as people of the same trade, the younger brother also told him about his life experience and plan.
The old man said, "The immortals like those who correct an error whenever they become aware of it and hate those whose deeds don't square with their words." At this moment, two ingots rolled out from his sack and jingled down on the earth, dazzling with brightness.
The younger stared at the silver ingots, estimating that they might weigh 20 taels, which could be enough to buy lots of wine and meat for a year and a half. He couldn't help resisting his strong urge to pick them up and put them into his own pocket.
But the elder picked them up before him, handed them over to the old man and said, "You dropped your things. Please take good care of them."
"Good boy, you can take them." answered the old man.
"They're not mine, so I don't want them and can't have them." With this, he stuffed the ingots to the old man's sack.
Seeing his brother's honest behaviour, the younger brother cursed in his heart, "What an idiot! How can he return it?"
As strange as it was, the old man didn't take the smooth main road but the zigzag in steep cliff. Standing there and having a bird's view, one would feel dizzy, nervous and flustered. A lot of people would fall down, and crush to pieces.
The elder brother followed the old man closely, helping him.
The younger brother also gave close attention to the old man while calculating in his mind, "How wonderful it would be if I could gain those treasures. In that case, I would indulge myself in dissipation and enjoy my life."
When they got to the Flying Platform, the old man was so exhausted that he put down his sack and tried to find some water to drink.
The elder asked the old man to sit down and have a rest while he went to look for water.
Sitting by the side of a cliff, the old man had the pleasant draught to cool himself down. He breathed happily, saying, "How great!"
Noticing that there was no one else around and the treasure-filled sack was pretty easy to get, the younger brother made an excuse to get close to the old man, and suddenly gave him a hard push, shouting, " Go to Yama's Palace; it would be greater!" So the old man dropped down from the cliff.
When the elder brother came back with water, he found the grandpa wasn’t there. After cross-examined his brother again and again, he finally knew what had happened.
Indignant as well as regretful, he thought he shouldn't have been so credulous to trust his brother and caused the grandpa his life. Pointing at his brother in anger, he said, "It would soil my mouth to condemn you and befoul my hands to beat you. I will follow the grandpa while you live in this world to harm people." After saying that, he jumped down the cliff.
Suddenly, the sky became brighter and brighter. The elder was saved by a passing white cloud and rose up gradually.
Seeing this, the younger brother was happy again. He said cheerfully, "Brother, brother, it was you who killed yourself, so don't blame me for hogging all of them." When he turned afound to get the precious sack, it quaked violently and turned into a huge stone.
" Ha...ha...ha..." The old man's laughter came from the sky.
He looked up and saw the old man and his brother standing on a cloud.
The old man pointed to the big stone, laughing, "What I just carried was not treasure at all but a heart-testing stone."
The younger brother was greatly shocked and frightened. The old man went on, "Do you know who I am? I am Zhang Sanfeng in Wudang Mountain." With a flash, he revealed his true appearance and flew to the heavenly palace, hand in hand with the elder brother.
From then on, the Heart-testing Stone in the Southern Cliff became known by people from far and wide.
Small Wudang
Below the Sky-pillar Peak, the main peak of Wudang Mountain, there is a small hill surrounded by peaks, just like a pearl in a jade green plate. People call it Little Wudang.
Legend has it that Little Wudang was the head of Sky-pillar Peak.
Long long time ago, the southern part of the earth was a sea of fire.The flames went so high that they reached the heaven. The immortals couldn't bear the heat any longer, so they turned to Most Exalted Lord Laozi for help.
Lsozi said to a waterman, "Put out the big fire quickly."
The waterman carried two buckets of water from Heavenly River on a shoulder pole and poured it down towards the sea of fire. And immediately the fire went out and a plain appeared. In the middle of the plain stood a mountain, too high to measure the height, shining and gorgeous. This is the Sky-pillar Peak.
The waterman took a fancy to this precious land, so he ran to the top of the mountain and settled down, claiming himself to be God Wu Liang as a supernatural being in this land. People came from every quarter to worship him.
One day, a thin old man driving a small donkey arrived at the foot of Sky-pillar Peak. He sat down to rest himself, not knowing that he should kowtow to God Wu Liang.
Noticing this old man's arrogance, God Wu Liang turned angry and condemned him, saying, "This is a precious land inhabited by the immortals. All the civil officials passing by get off their seden chairs and all the military officers passing by get down from their horses. Even the immortals will greet me if they pass by. How dare you be so rude?"
"Waterman, waterman, you absolutely have eyes but not to see the supernatural beings like me. You really overestimated your own abilities so as to claim to be God Wu Liang." The thin old man said, laughing, "This precious land was born only after Yin and Yang had combined together. How can it be your place? Off you go at once!"
Feeling humiliated, God Wu Liang blinked and said slowly, "You want me to leave, but who do you want to come to live here?"
Seriously, the old man said, "No other immortals will live here except..."武当山全景
Lung-Ch'uan Temple
On the first day of February of Chinese Lunar year, Emperor Yongle (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty led troops to Ying-en Palace of Wudang Mountain in order to kill Emperor Jianwen (the former king, and Yongle's nephew). At night, Emperor Yongle had a nightmare. In the dream, he saw an old dragon at the bottom of a river which, with baring fangs and brandishing claws angrily, was instructing three young dragons to wind across the river and snatch the state power from him. Yongle was scared and woke up in a cold sweat. The following morning, he heard the soldiers outside singing loudly. Their song went like this: "On the second day in February, the dragon will raise its head, while snakes will come out of their holes, and their seedlings will appear."
These two incidents hit Emperor Yongle's sore point heavily. He thought to himself if today was the day when the dragon will rais its head and since Emperor Jianwen was the real dragon as well as ordained son of heaven rather than he himself, (In China, dragon symbolizes the son of heaven), isn't it a perfect match for his nightmare-three dragons snatched his power away? Was it not a sign that Emperor Jianwen would gather his followers and raise an army to reclaim his throne? No, he would not allow that to happen, Emperor Yongle thought, he would subdue the three dragons as soon as they appeared. He immediately convened his troops to take 300 dan (a unit of weight, 1 dan=50 kilogrammes) of tung oil and 300 dan of lime. At last, they laid out a formation like a long snake coiling along a riverside and waited.
When it was about 10 a.m., someone died in a village in the opposite bank. After a while, three sons in mourning crossed the river to Baomiao (a superstitious custom in Junzhou). They were all in white clothes and hats. But Emperor Yongle thought that they were three white dragons, he ordered his troops to shoot and kill them following their father. The three innocent people died.
Emperor Yongle's heartless deed shocked the real Dragon king in the river. He could not restrain his anger any longer, so he led shrimp soldiers and crab generals in the river to kill that brutal despot for those three innocent people. It's a fact that dragon will breathe out like carp before he come out of water. Then lots of bubbles appeared; When Emperor Yongle saw the bubbles, he knew that the dragon would come out. So he ordered the soldiers to pour the tung oil into the river. As soon as the Dragon king along with his shrimp soldiers and crab generals took in the tung oil, they all vomited and felt weak. After a while, the soldiers were ordered to pour lime into the river. The limewash blinded the Dragon king's eyes. Emperor Yongle was indeed ruthless.
Consequently, the Dragon king did not dare to live in the river any more. He moved to Wudang Mountain secretly and hid himself in a mouth of a spring beside Sword River. From then on, the spring was called Lung-Ch'uan Spring, which was a name in honour of the Dragon king. People knew that the King was kind-hearted, so they built a temple for him next to bridge of Sword River. Then the temple was named as Lung-Ch'uan Temple.
Peach-flower Cave
There is a peach cave in Wudang Mountain with peach trees of the same pink color in and out. You can see the peach trees and smell the fragrance miles away. It is the unique sightseeing in Taihe Wonderland. And it is said that there is an old story about the peach blossom.
Long long time ago, there was a cold-blooded landlord living at the foot of Yu'nv Summit. He was as cold as freezing ice to the poor. One day, his servant boy got a terrible sickness and lied still on bed. The landlord thought since the boy couldn't work for him any more, he threw him down a steep cliff, where the servant boy could lie on a haystack and be eaten by wolves.
At the back of the mountain, a solitary dumb girl took the servant boy to her house. Everyday she took care of the servant boy with water and soup. Surprisingly, the servant boy was gradually cured. Then he lived with the girl in the hut in order to thank her. They worked hard in the field and lived a hard life.
In March, the servant boy climbed up the mountain to fetch some firewood. He saw a toad as big as a basin swallowing a big poisonous wasp. Then the wasp bit the toad and flew away through the toad's belly. The injured toad climbed and climbed, finally reaching a channel. After the wounded toad scraped on a colorful stone for several times, it was cured. The servant boy picked up the beautiful and slippery stone and thought it must be something precious. He held it tightly and delightedly, fearing he would lose it.
Under a cliff, the servant boy put the carrying poll aside. Inadvertently, the colorful stone touched the cliff. Thump! The two big stone doors opened and the servant boy walked in. It was a commodious cave with peach trees in rows on both sides. The brilliant red peach blossom was like the morning rosy clouds decorating the old cave. The servant boy was deep in sight.
Suddenly a beautiful girl yelled loudly: "Eldest sister, elder sister, come out. We have a distinguished guest." The voice was like a golden bell in a valley, clear, sweet and melodious.
Three beautiful fairies with the same pink dress stood in front of the servant boy in aminute. They were the same height and as beautiful as the peach blossom. They said in one voice, "Welcome and sit down."
When the servant boy was in the cave, he saw the golden table, golden stool, jade basin, jade bowl, pearl, agate, silk and many kinds of treasure under the peach tree. The servant boy couldn't believe his eyes.
The three beautiful fairies all wanted to invite the servant boy to their own room. "Don't quarrel, let's go in turn." The eldest sister said, "Stay ten days in each room." The other two sisters blushed and nodded.
The eldest sister invited the servant boy first. She made a soundful melody with flutes and pipes. Then she said gently, "As decreed by providence I have met you. Now that you are here, just be at home. I know you are poor, so stay with me forever and I can make you happy. "
"Don't be like this, please, Miss fairy," the servant boy said, "I have a wife at home, and I can't leave her alone." Thus, the servant boy didn't agree with her and only stayed ten days in her room.
The next ten days, the servant boy was invited to the second sister's. She said: "The meeting of two persons in one boat needs eight hundred years praying, so it must be the result of the same eight hundred years praying for our meeting today."
She said, "Firewood brother, if you stay with me forever, I will satisfy whatever you want by drawing. I can provide you with endless food and endless wealth. You'll be rich forever and live a paradisiacal life."
The servant boy said, "No, I can't. I have a wife and I need to get the firewood to help her with our meals."
"Enjoy yourself today and confront the worries tomorrow. You will be better without your dirty, ugly and mute wife."
"She saved my life and I would have died if it was not for her help. How can I enjoy myself now?"
During the third period of ten days, he was a guest in the yangest sister's room. She said, "Friends are like meat and wine and couples are like rice and flour. Now that you are here, please don't think about your cold and poor hut. If you abandon your ugly wife and live with me forever, I will make you happy forever." She took out a stone which changed into a shining gold bar and gave it to the servant boy.
"No, I can't lie to myself," the servant boy pushed her hands away and said. "Though my wife is mute, she saved my life with water and spoonfuls of soup. I will go back to work for her to return her favor."
After thirty days, the servant boy still insisted that he should be sent back home. The three fairies reluctantly saw him off and said together: "Firewood brother, you are not devoid of gratitude. Neither do you despise the poor or the old, nor do you love the rich or the new. You are the one with a heart of gold in the world. You can take anything you like in the cave."
"We are poor, but we don't get anything without doing anything for you. I will take nothing."
"Well, if you don't want any treasure, that's OK. Please take three bags of peach blossom under the peach tree as a souvenir. Now that you come to this fairy mount, please don't go back with empty hands."
The servant boy swept and got a bag of flower when he realized that the three fairies really wanted him to do so.
Thump! The stone door shut close after he walked out. He went to take his drill rod, but he found it had already got rotten; he went to take his rope, but the rope had already got cankered. Puzzled, he walked slowly to his house. When he was inside, he saw an old woman cooking potherb. She stared at him for a while and then cried out and ran to him. What had happened? It turned out that she was his mute wife. He lowered his head finding that his beard had already been white. He had became an old man!
Then he understood that thirty days in the cave was thirty years in the human world. He gave the peach blossom to his wife. When she opened it, she found that the flower turned into crystal pearl and agate with shin and fragrance. The servant boy handed the colorful stone to his wife. She put it under her nose and smelled it. When the stone touched her lips, she shouted excitedly: "Brother, where did you get it?" His mute wife could speak! He also became very rich because of the treasures.
When the cold-blooded landlord learned about this, he came to slander him, "You bold slave! You have stolen my treasure secretly! Even rabbit knows to return to its nest when it is old. Now, give my treasure back! "
"Who has stolen your treasure? You have any proof?"
"The poor can never be rich just like donkeys can never have horns. Where did you get the treasure? Tell me the truth! "
The servant boy couldn't do anything but to tell him about his findings of the stone and meeting with the fairies.
"Give me the stone!"
The servant boy handed him the stone. Carrying the stone, the landlord pretended to be a woodcutter and went to the cliff furtively. He struck the stone to the rock. The two stone doors opened. He crept in. The three fairies all came out happily from the peach trees to welcome him. He looted the golden table and stool as soon as he saw them. Seeing the fairies as beautiful as the peach blossom, he pulled them to himself. The fairies saw this and began to discuss. The eldest sister said, "He isn't an upright person. He's disgusting."
"He is so greedy and evil-minded!" the second sister said.
"He is so furtive and has no humanity. Let's beat this beast together!"
The fairies took out a fan and slightly fanned him out of the peach cave. The cold-blooded landlord fell down the cliff and died. From that time on, the fairies disappeared with the treasure. The stone door was kept open, but only the peach trees were left. Now, the cave is called Peach-flower Cave.
Phoenix-tear Pond
Sky-pillar Peak, the summit of Wudang Mountain, is just like a great column. A part of it is covered by the cloud and the rest rises above the cloud. No brook can come up and no raim water be stored there. However, there are two big ponds which are filled with clear, fresh water on the peak, which never dry up while the head of the spring can not be found. It is said that the ponds are made by phoenixes, and the water is their tears, so they are called "Phoenix-tear Pond".
At that time, thousands of forced laborers built the Palace of Harmony on the Sky-pillar Peak, but there was not any water to use, so they had to carry the water from some distant places. The place, which they carried the water from, was named the Sword River, and was about 40 kilometers away from the foot of the Sky-pillar Peak. The peak was so high and dangerous, and the journey was so hard that the people who carried the water had to walk 80 kilometers to go up and down the peak. They were tired and exhausted; it seemed that the sweat they shed was more than the water they carried.
There were two people among the forced laborers who carried the water, one of whom was Da Feng, and the other was Er Feng. Because Da Feng's mother wanted a daughter, she gave her son a girl's name, but Er Feng was a girl. She was Da Feng's neighbor as well as good friend.
At one time, while Er Feng got badly sick, the magistrate of the laborers still forced her to carry the water as soon as she recovered a little. Er Feng was shy and honest, so she could not use blandishments to please the magistrate, and went down to carry the water without a word. Knowing Er Feng was so weak and could not afford this kind of heavy work, Da Feng followed her closely, ready to help her any time when she was in trouble.
The hardest way up to Wudang Mountain was the Flight of One Hundred Steps, which was so steep that almost no one dared to walk on. When they went up the stairs, people's feet could touch the heads of the people who were walking. When they went down, people's feet would touch the heads of the people who were walking ahead. Er Feng carried the water and walked tens of kilometers from the Sword River to the mountain. But when she got to the Flight of One Hundred Steps, she was too tired to go on. She was so exhausted, and even her clothes were soaked with sweat. She wanted to put down the tubs to have a rest. However, there was no room to stand, let alone resting a tub. Dizzy as she was, she staggered and almost fell down. Da Feng was so worried that he shouted loudly:" Do not move, give your hand to me!" However, it was too late. Er Feng fell down with the tubs and then rolled down the stairs. Da Feng cast aside the tubs on his shoulder, turned back and caught Er Feng just in time. Er Feng was safe but their tubs rolled down the mountain. And to make matters worse, the tubs broke into pieces, and some planks disappeared.
The magistrate found that they not only did not bring cock the water but also broke the tubs. He interded to punish them. But since Er Feng was so beautiful, and Da Feng was talented that, many people said that they were well-matched by nature, Why not force them to separate and he would have Er Feng, thought the magistrate. As the evil idea came to hismind, he accused Da Feng of molesting women and breaking the tubs, which were against the rules of Wudang Mountain, so he should be put to death. And then he asked the laborers to set a fire at the back of the Palace of Harmony, and pushed Da Feng into the blaze.
Seeing that Da Feng was about to be burnt to death, Er Feng cried sodly. Her tears were like raindrops, dipping into the slates. As soon as they dropped on the earth, the tears soon flooded the Sky-pillar Peak.
The magistrate forced Er Feng to marry him, but Er Feng refused.
"If you refuse again, I will burn you as well!" threatened the magistrate.
Er Feng thought about it for a moment and said: "If you want to marry me, please allow me to hold a memorial ceremony for Da Feng."
The magistrate agreed and asked his man to untie the rope which tied up Er Feng. Er Feng walked to the fire. Nearer and nearer. Suddenly, she jumped into the blaze, too. Then the blaze got bigger and bigger. And suddenly some strange green cloud bursted out, and a pair of beautiful phoenixes appeared. They flew shoulder by shoulder to the Sky-pillar Peak and then stopped at the foot of the mountain. They dug two holes with beaks and paws on the hard stone for a moment and then a clear spring came out of the stone. Da Feng and Er Feng became the phoenixes and the spring was their tears.
The water was stored in a stoned pond, which did not overflow when it rained and neither did it dry up when it was sunny. It looked like two pieces of bright mirrors, and remained the same depth and level. You could see the bottom. Sometimes, the figures of a pair of phoenixes would appear. After that, the laborers could fetch the water from the two pools. The water was sweet and you would feel it forever in your heart if you drank a little. This was just like the long-lasting love between Da Feng and Er Feng. From then on, the laborers did not need to go down the mountain to carry water any more.
Peony Hill
Outside the East Tianmen Gate of the Palace of Purple Cloud, there is an outstanding and beautiful hilltop named Peony Hill, or Auntie Hill. It was used to be full of black peonies.
It is generally thought that the peony is the Queen of all the flowers. But the black peony is the Queen of all the peonies.
It is said that the black peony was transformed by the Peony girl who lived near the Spring of All-Flower. She was not used to wearing colorful clothes even when she was a little girl. She prefered to dress herself in black. So people called her Black Peony. Black Peony was extraordinarily beautiful, as pretty as the flowers and purer than the mountain spring. But her family was penniless. Her father and mother rented two acres of land from Landlord Zhang to grow flowers. They spent all their time in paying the debts to Landlord Zhang. Although they labored day and night, they could merely lead a hard life.
Landlord Zhang, an execrable devil, got married with seven wives in succession, all of whom either ran away or died because of the torture of their husband. Now, Landlord Zhang took a fancy to Black Peony and wanted her to be his eighth wife. Hence, a great disaster was falling upon Black Peony's family.
Landlord Zhang, with a gang of lackeys, came to Black Peony's house, claiming that the ancestors of Black Peony's father owed him ten taels of gold, ten ingots of silver and ten dans of rice. If they could not pay off at once, he would take Black Peony away as the compensation.
In order to escape from the danger, Black Peony's parents asked her to hide in the Temple of Goddess which was located on the Auntie Hill.
There were clouds on her face and tears in her eyes. When she arrived at the Auntie Platform, it was already dark without any village near by, where could she stop over among the remote and thickly forested mountain.
She looked at the round, shiny moon, missing her parents heartbreakingly and could not help crying.
She cried and cried as if the Heaven and Earth darkened and all the plants were shedding tears with her.
She cried and cried and even the Goddess of the Moon was moved in her palace. She came down to earth and consoled Black Peony, "Do not be sad. Do not be upset. Come to my palace and have a seat."
Black Peony nodded and then she felt herself flying. When she could open her eyes ogain, she found herself already on the moon.
The Goddess of the Moon found Black Peony not only beautiful but also kindhearted and began to like her more and more. She led her to see the Jade Hare on the Silver Hill and the toad on the Gold Hill. She showed the rare beasts in the laurel and the Thoreau forests; she asked her to taste all the delicacies in the Heaven and sleep in the Crystal Palace.
The Goddess of the Moon held her hand affectionately, "You should forget all the sorrow on the Earth. You should live here with me in the Moon Palace and enjoy life."
Black Peony sighed, "Oh, thank you, my dear Goddess. I can forget the sorrow, but I have not repaid the kindness my parents gave me and I have not shared their sorrow. I must go back to perform my filial duty."
The Goddess of the Moon nodded her agreement. Smiling, she said, "What a kind girl you are! OK, let me give you a hand." She picked a Thoreau fruit, gave it to her, and told her how to plant it. The Goddess said, "Good girl, now you can go home." She waved her sleeve and Black Peony flew away from the Moon Palace.
Black Peony woke suddenly. It turned out to be a sweet dream. But there was a Thoreau fruit in her hand, heavy and shiny black, like the gold ingot.
Black peony planted the fruit in the soil of the Auntie Hill as the Goddess of the Moon had told her.
She repeated the words the Goddess had taught her, "God has mercy; the Earth has sympathy. Thoreau, Thoreau, grow up." She repeated these words three times.
After the first time, it flashed a white and strong light. In the light grew a tender, green sprout, as beautiful as the jade.
After the second time, it flashed a red and strong light. In the light, the sprout grew into a Thoreau tree of three Zhang and three Chi (eleven meters tall), with jade green branches and leaves. It stood there tall and erect, as pretty as a young lady.
The third time she repeated the words, it flashed a golden and strong light. In the light, gold ingots and silver ingots hung on the beaches.
Black Peony cried, both surprised and exited, "Ah, the Goddess of the Moon gives me a tree that can drop coins when I shaken it!"
She picked up some gold and silver ingots and went back home, hoping to pay off the debts of Landlord Zhang and henceforth live a peaceful life. Against all expectations, her parents had been dead under the oppression of Landlord Zhang.
Black Peony was filled with hatred. How much she wanted to reverge Landlord Zhang, the devil, by cutting him into pieces! Just at that time, Landlord Zhang came and forced her to be his wife and snatched the gold and silver ingots from her, questioning her where she got these things.
Black Peony could not survive if she continued to stay at home. She had to rush to the Auntie Platform that night.
She paid no attention to her own sadness and kept removing the weeds, watering and killing insects for the Thoreau tree, hoping that it could grow more gold and silver ingots which could help the poor in the world.
Unfortunately, Landlord Zhang came up after her with his gang of henchman. Soon, they seized her. Landlord Zhang looked at Black Peony lasciviously, "Ha ha hah, you may fly to the heaven or go underground, but you can not escape from my palm!" He ordered his henchmen to shake the Thoreau tree and wanted to take all the gold and silver ingots.
Black Peony's hatred became greater and greater. She did not want to live with pain and shame. But soon she calmed down and prayed to the Goddess of the Moon in her heart, "If you could know this, please save the Thoreau tree and take revenge for my family." She turned over to Landlord Zhang and asked him to leave her home, saying that everything could be negotiated.
Landlord Zhang thought that she was like a trapped bunny, and could never escape even if she was unattended. So he left her alone.
She tided her hair.
She dabbed her clothes.
She then went to the Gold Water Dyke and washed her face. She looked at herself in the water. She was clean and pretty, and how much she looked like a peony! She smiled with satisfaction.
Black Peony returned to the Auntie Platform, glancing at the gold and silver ingots on the Thoreau tree. Suddenly she glared her eyes, bit her lip and hit her head against the tree with all her might, "Pang!" Blood spread and she collapsed to the ground and died.
Just then there appeared a white cloud. The Goddess of the moon was standing on the cloud. She waved her horsetail whisk and black peony came alive smiling and flying to the heaven.
She waved her horsetail whisk again to the Thoreau tree. The tree suddenly began to shake violently and all the gold and silver ingots fell down. They became cobblestones and hit the gang of landlord Zhang. They were all killed.
The Thoreau tree was saved.
There grew many black peonies which were formed from Black Peony's Blood.
It was unknown where Black Peony had gone. Some people said that she was invited by the Goddess of the moon to live in the Moon Palace. Some said that she became the goddess of Flower of Wudang Mountain.
Qingping Mountain
Behind Five Dragon Palace in Wudang Mountain, there is a big mountain as high as the Sky-pillar Peak. Its square top is like a wooden dou (an object shaped like a cup or dipper for mea-suring grain). On the top of it, there is a purplish red jade platform, about 3.3 square meters. Carved with some decorative pattern, it feels smooth and looks sparkling.
It is said that the jade platform was the imperial seal of God Zhenwu, under which a female spider spirit was kept in captivity.
Long long ago, a plague hit this area. All the young men and women caught the disease. The body of the victims gradually turned skinny and their skin turned yellow while their physical strength disappeared, making them weak and sleepy all day long.
With young people falling ill helplessly, how would the crops be planted in the future?
Half way up the mountain, there was an elder brother and a younger sister named Da Lian and Xiao Lian respectively. Da Lian was 18 years old and his sister Xiao Lian was 16. Having neither a tile above their head nor an inch of land to grow crops, they made their living by hunting for herbal medicine. Seeing people catch the disease, Da Lian said to his sister, "Sister, we should find something to stop the spread of the plague."
"Let's go find the glossy ganoderma! It can bring the dead to life. If they drink the water with which it is decocted, all disease will be cured forever."
So, they headed for the mountain, one for North Hill while the other for South Hill. Trekking for three days and nights in the North Hill, Da Lian's legs became swollen and his clothes worn, but fortunately, he found glossy ganoderma on a very steep rock. So did Xiao Lian in a very deep valley after three days and nights' toil in the South Hill, her feet and hands bleeding.
People were cured soon after they drank the herbal medicine made by Da Lian and Xiao Lian.However, because there were too many patients and less than erough glossy ganoderma, the brother and sister had to get up early and sleep late every day and night, enduring hunger so as to cure everyone.
They searched for 800 li (400km) in the Wudang Mountains and were so exhausted that their heads were swollen, their waist ached and they were out of breath.
One day, when Da Lian was searching in a very deep mountain for seven whole days and nights. Hungry, thirsty and tired, he came to a bamboo plantation for a rest. He sat down and found the green bamboos netted by a white fat silk and inside of it, a girl in black from head to feet was busy weaving cotton cloth. Her pink face was like a flower bursting into full bloom.
The girl stopped her shuttle, shouted, "Young man, it's noon now. Come up and have a meal." Thinking there was no other people living here, if I let the meal slip through my fingers, how would I take the glossy ganoderma back? So he climbed up the green bamboo without hesitation.
After learning Da Lian's life experience, the girl in black laughed, saying, "What a coincidence it is in the world! You are elder brother and younger sister, and we are elder sister and younger brother. You have a sister and I have a brother." She stopped, Laughing for a while and then continued, "How can I explain this? Our two families together are just two pairs. My younger brother is 16, too. He has delicate skin and fair complexion. And he is able to draw pictures, play chess, play musical instrument, and write poems. Besides, he can chant songs, and has a fine set of features."
As a peasant, Da Lian couldn't understand these genteel words, but he knew the girl's brother must be a talented man, with fine appearance. Seeing that he was a little tempted, the girl began to boast, "Can you find another man as fine as him?"
On the second day after Da Lian came back home, the girl came to visit them with her brother, bringing a lot of treasure to them. She said, "Da Lian, let's get married. With this money, we can lead a comfortable life. You don't have to dig for herbal medicine any more while working hard for other people. It's not worthwhile."
"No," Da Lian answered, "Saving one person means adding ten years to your life span. He who helps others helps himself. What I am thinking is to make my people recover so as to enjoy a long life."
The fair-complexioned younger brother eyed Xiao Lian up and down, "Nice girl, I will serve you for all my life, as long as you don't go out to dig for medicine. If you want gold, I will give you gold; if you want silver, I will give you silver."
"How can it be? With all villagers having caught the disease, how can I stand by while they are dying?" answered Xiao Lian.
The black and fair-complexioned held a feast everyday to entertain the hosts, afraid that they might go out of the house.One evening, Xiao Lian whispered to Da Lian, "Brother, you stay at home to take care of the guests; I will go climbing the mountain to dig for medicine early in the morning tomorrow."
The next day, Xiao Lian went alone. She walked and walked, and then came across a greenish dragon lying on the ground feebly and out of breath.
"Dragon brother, what happened to you?" asked Xiao Lian.
"I came to subdue a female spider spirit, but unfortunetely I got entangled in her net instead."
"A spirit?" Xiao Lian couldn't believe her ears, "I was born and raised up here. Why havn't I seen a spirit?"
"They are extremely sly. They can change into scholars and beauties and apread plagues to get the immortal root of human beings."
Hearing this, Xiao Lian understood—no wonder the fair-complexioned and the black kept pestering them, and wouldn't let them dig for glossy ganoderma! She asked again, "Do you know how to bring them under control?"
"Yes." The dragon said, "But first someone must bring them here and not let them go. I will go back to the Palace of Harmony to report to God Zhenwu. He must be able to subdue them."
Xiao Lian took out the glossy ganoderma she had just dug and let the dragon eat it. The dragon thanked her and then drilled into cloud and flew away.
When she returned, Xiao Lian told her brother what the dragon had said. So they two spoke to the spirits at the same time, "Good brother and sister, tomorrow is a nice day. Let's drink at the wedding feast to our heart's content so as to get married."
The next day, they four went to the top of the mountain in pairs and began to indulge themselves in drinking. Realizing their plot had succeeded, the two spirits were completely carried away and started holding the bottle to pour liquids to their mouths.
Suddenly, a red light flashed and a golden cloud began to shine, and then the big red seal of God Zhenwu whooshed to them. Being a snake spirit, the fair-complexioned scholar rolled on the ground and flew away. The black beauty was a spider spirit, and she couldn't crawl quickly, so she was subjugated under the red seal forever.
Although he escaped, the snake spirit had already been scared out of its wits, so it died when flew near Tianming Mountain. Its head was rested in this mountain while its tail was put in that mountain. From then on, people began to name this place Snake Gall Bladder Mountain Pass.
As the spirits were brought under control, the plague disappeared, and people resumed their crop planting and daily life safe and sound.From then on, people call this mountain Qingping Mountain.
Shigua Mountain
On the opposite bank of Hangjiang River outside Jinle Palace in Wudang Mountain, there is a billabong called Feng-jiawa. And on the top of the Fengjiawa Mountain, there are a couple of big stones standing tall and upright, with pointy tops and round bottoms, just like divinatory symbols. Hence, it is called "Shigua Mountain" (Stone Divinatory Trigram Mountain).
It's said that long time ago, the Wudang Mount was a vast ocean with a few small islands strewed in it, where the poor people had no food or fresh water to survive.
As it is known to us that all the gods live on the sacrifices of common people. When people were poor, the Heavenly Palace was also turned into a desolate place. The Jade Emperor's sacrifice table was always empty, so he got furious and sent for the God Erlang—Yang Jian and said: "There is water everywhere in the world. How could it be? I'll give you three days to fill up the ocean."
Yang looked at the mortal world and thought: how boundless the sea is. When can I turn the ocean into land? But he knew the Jade Emperor was merciless to his subject. Once he made a decision, he would never care about other's lives. Despairingly, he went back to the heavenly palace secretly and turned to the Lady Queen Mother for help. One morning when the Queen woke up, Yang knelt in front of her suddenly. "Why don't you go to the earth and fill the up sea? And why are you here?"
"Your Majesty", said Yang, "the sea is so wide, boundless and bottomless. With no ships or boats, how can I fill up the ocean? I beg you. Please help me. " He even began to choke with sobs.
The Queen thought for a minute and said: "I don't know either. But you can take my headband and see if will work."
Getting this headband, Yang went to the Peach Garden to fetch a branch and then he made a whip. When he put the whip on the top of a mountain, all of them were easily moved away. Yang was so excited, thinking about moving all big mountains here to stuff the sea, and reporting this to the Jade Emperor the next day.
Just as the saying goes, "Joy brings a man vitality". With this Magic tool, on the first day, from dawn to dark, Yang stuffed half of the boundless sea. He eased down and had a good sleep.
The next morning, when he came to the seaside, he found that all the mountains he had moved here the first day had gone. In front of him was still boundless water.
"Oh! My God!" He screamed, "What on earth happened?" He got to the place where he had moved the mountain only to find that all mountains were standing in their original place.
Yang strived to move the mountains to the sea again.When it was dark he bent over in the grass wondering what queer thing would happen. It was about midnight, with a sound "whoo", a mountain flew away from the sea. Subsequently, "whoo-whoo-whoo", all mountains followed.
At this moment, the Queen was teaching fairies to play sticks. Seeing Yang kneeling down and crying bitterly, she asked, "Who offended you?"
"Nothing. But the mountains I moved yesterday all flew back at night! I have only one day left. Please, Your Majesty, help me!"
"These mountains are left by the Queen of Nv Wa (goddess in ancient Chinese mythology; as legend goes, she tempered the five-colored stone to mend heaven, cut off the feet of the great turtle to support heaven, controlled the flood, and drove away fierce beasts so as to let the people live in peace; together with Fu Xi, Nu Wa is also respected as ancestor of all people.), when she was mending the sky, so all of them are enchanted. All right, take this pair of divinatory wood piece. You can move the mountains during the daytime and at night just put these divinatory pieces on the top of the mountain."
The third day, Erlang moved thousands of mountains and the sea turned into a vast land before sunset. He followed the Queen's words and put the divinatory pieces together on the top of a mountain. Strangely, after a while the wood pieces turned into good-looking stone ones. All these mountains were controlled by the magic powers of the small pieces of stone divinatory trigram and could never fly away. It's said that, Wudang Mountain was the highest one at the time when Yang Jian stuffed the sea.
Many years passed, and there was a poor old farmer coming to live beside the divinatory stone pieces. The farmer reared a very small calf and he lived with the calf everyday. The calf grew up day by day and was about to grow horns. One day when the calf pressed its little horns against to stop the itching, something strange happened. As soon as the horn touched the stone pieces, some gold and silver were produced. The farmer picked them up and took them home.
The landlord learned this and said: "Old man, I'll give you 100 silver coins if you sell your calf to me." When the farmer agreed, he pushed the calf away.
The landlord, with lots of cloth bags, pushed the calf to the stone pieces and hit the calf to scratch it. Scratch once, there was gold flowing out; twice, silvers flowing out. Seeing this, he became more and more greedy and hit the calf badly to scratch the symbol again and again. The calf, however, couldn't suffer the pain, with a sound "moo", hit against the symbol. "Clank", the stone symbol Yin and Yang (the stone symbols of Yin and Yang were) was split, with innumerable gold and silvers flowing out. From that time on, the two stones could never be joined together.
The treasures were heavy for the landlord to carry, so he put all these treasures on the back of the calf. The landlord feared that the treasures would be stolen by others. Thinking that there was no more treasure in the symbols and the calf was not useful any longer, he hit the calf ferociously. The calf struggled to move his feet and died of exhaustion. When the Landlord sent for others to move the gold and silvers, surprisingly, both the treasure and the calf had turned into stones. Hence, the mountain is also named the "Stone Calf Mountain".
The Bamboo Muzzle
Once upon a time, there was a temple for the God of Earth on the precipice of Wudang Mountain. Many people came there to offer sacrifice to gods, so people call it "the Wish Precipice".
There was a landlord who lived two miles away from the Wish Precipice. He was a man with sweet words but evil ideas in the mind. He was very cruel to his workers and hated the poor very much.
The landlord owned a very large farm. He raised a hundred cattle and employed ten shepherd boys every year.
One day at noon, the wife of the landlord went to the worker's room and saw a group of boys eating noisily. She was so mean that it was like a knife cutting her heart. So that night, she talked to the landlord: "If you have too much money to spend, I'd rather you throw it into the river than feed those boys."
"If you have any good idea to save money, just tell me, my dear." answered the landlord.
"It's very clear. Tending ten cattle is no different from tending one hundred. Why don't you dismiss nine boys and leave only the honest one to tend all the cattle. Imagine how much food will we save?"
Hearing his wife's words, the next day the landlord fired nine workers immediately.
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