Tales of Ancient China
By Rony P
Copyright © 2012 Rony P
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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Table of Contents
Driving a Wedge Between the Enemy
A Story Taken From the Dragon Robe
A Willing Victim Letting Himself be Caught
A Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot
A Loss May Turn Out to Be a Gain
Gong Xi Fa Cai (A Happy and Prosperous New Year)
Stopping Halfway, Never Comes One's Day
Qi Xi - The story of Cow Herder and Weaver Girl
Lon Po Po...a Red-Riding Hood Story
Doudu A Chinese Children's Dress
Bring the Painted Dragons to Life by Putting Pupils in Their Eyes
The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Terror
A Painted Snake Makes a Man Sick
Mark the Boat for a Dropped Sword
Plucking Up a Crop To Help It Grow
3 bananas in the Morning and 4 in the Afternoon
A Deer Hunter Misplaced the Deer
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
Be humble, and never hesitate to ask
How the silkworm came into being
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Introduction
I have lived in China for the past three years. I have come to love the people and the stories that they tell.
This is some of the ancient fables in Chinese history. Although it is a humble portion, it exudes the flavor of the Chinese people, sparkles with their wisdom and reflects the brilliance of Chinese culture. Just as a popular Chinese saying goes, a short story is a glimpse of the panorama of its source.
During her history, China has created countless Fables. This is just a tiny collection of them. I hope these short stories may open a window for you through which you may have a glimpse of Chinese culture, history, customs and thinking. I have tried to keep the wording as close to the original stories as possible and not let my southern American way of speaking to intrude upon the stories.
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About the Cover
The dragon represents "the spirit of the way"' bringing eternal change. Like the phoenix, actually, who is eternally reborn from its ashes.
The early Chinese believed in four magical, spiritual and benevolent animals; the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Tortoise and the Unicorn. The Dragon was the most revered of all. In its claws it is usually depicted holding an enormous magical pearl, which has the power to multiply whatever it touches. The ancients believed the "pearl" symbolized the most precious treasure; Wisdom.
The Feng-huang or Fung; the "vermilion bird," the "substance of the flame." The Feng has the head and comb of a pheasant and the tail of a peacock. It personifies the primordial force of the heavens.
It is one of the Four Spiritually Endowed, or Sacred, Creatures and like the dragon and ky-lin, with which it is always associated, it is both yin and yang. When it is the male feng it becomes yang, solar, the fire bird; but as the huang it is feminine, yin, and lunar.
When portrayed with the dragon as a symbol of the Emperor, the phoenix becomes entirely feminine as the Empress, and together they represent both aspects of imperial power.
Like the dragon and ky-lin, the phoenix is made up of various elements, typifying the entire cosmos; it has the head of a cock (the sun), the back of a swallow as the crescent moon, its wings are the wind, its tail represents trees and flowers, and its feet are the earth; it has five colors symbolizing the five virtues; "Its color delights the eye, its comb expresses righteousness, its tongue utters sincerity, its voice chants melody, its ear enjoys music, its heart conforms to regulations, its breast contains the treasures of literature, and its spurs are powerful against transgressors" (from an ancient ritual)
The Feminine aspect (huang), denotes beauty, delicacy of feeling, and peace. It is also a bridal symbol signifying "inseparable fellowship." This is not only for the married couple but for the complete yin-yang mutual interdependence in the universe in terms of duality.
Read more about the dragon and phoenix in the story of The Bright Pearl.
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Chinese Creation Story
In the beginning, there was an enormous egg containing chaos. On the inside the chaos raged on and on, both yin and yang were mixed together. All the opposites were writhing together; male and female, cold and hot, wet and dry, dark and light.
Finally the egg burst open, and out leapt the giant dragon Pan-gu. Yin and yang swirled around him and he pushed the two shell halves apart. Thus the opposites were separated and the earth began to take shape.
Every day for 18,000 years Pan-gu grew ten feet. Thus the sky was raised a little higher every day. Once the sky was 30,000 miles above the ground, Pan-gu stopped and began to hammer out the mountains and fill the valley with water to form great oceans.
He created rivers with his fingers and stamped the earth down to create flat lands. He gathered raw light and tossed them into the sky to become stars.
After 18,000 years, Pan-gu had grown old and tired. He had made the world with his hands and formed the basic principles of yin and yang. He wanted to lie down and sleep forever. Once he lay down he never rose again. When Pan-gu died, his body formed huge mountains. His skull formed the top of the sky, his hair formed all flowers and plants, his bones turned to jade and pearl and his arms and legs the four directions. His blood became the rivers, his breath turned into the wind and his voice to thunder. One eye became the sun and the other the moon.
For many years the world was a very beautiful place but also lonely, there were no people.
The half-dragon goddess Nuwa was born after Pan-gu died, from part of the mixture of yin and yang that he had separated. She decided to create humans to have some other beings to talk to and share ideas with, but mostly just to love.
Nuwa went down to the edge of the Yellow River where there were vast, soft mud banks. She began forming figures out of clay. She decided that it would be much more practical for her creations to have legs instead of a dragon tail, thus her humans were not made in her image.
No sooner did she set the first little mud man on the ground did he start to jump, and dance and sing. He began to speak. “Look at me!”
Nuwa was delighted and began making more and more humans.
She made hundreds and hundreds of mud humans, but soon realized that it would take centuries for her to make enough people to fill the vast earth completely. Nuwa grabbed hold of a muddy stick and flung drops of mud across the land.
As the sun dried each drop, it became a new man or woman. Some say that these humans were the less intelligent ones. Those formed by Nuwa’s own hands became great leaders.
She told them to go and populate the earth. As they grew she loved them and protected them, and was revered as the mother of all humans.
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In
ancient China most men chose their wives by appearance, let alone the
emperors. But during the Spring and Autumn Period, two ugly but
virtuous and able women became imperial concubines in succession in a
kingdom called Qi.
It is said there was a girl so ugly that her eyes sank deep in her face, sparse hair could hardly cover her head, and her skin was as dark as pitch. Born in Wu Yan, she was called after the place. Since she was so bad looking, she lived alone until she was 40. At that time wars surged up between the kingdoms from time to time. One day Wu Yan summoned up courage and went to see the Emperor Xuan. When she was presented at court, she said, “Your majesty, I would like to be at your service since our country is in great danger.” Of course, she was asked to explain why, “It is in a chaotic state at home with two strong kingdoms, Qin and Chu, surrounding us. But your majesty hasn’t sensed the slightest danger at this moment of life and death.” The emperor was struck dumb with her words and gave up his luxurious life and put himself wholeheartedly in efforts to make the country prosperous. Wu Yan was not only the spouse, but also a good friend to the emperor.
Things come not singly but in pairs. Several generations later there lived in Qi another ugly girl. Since she had a tumor in her neck, she was named Su Liu. It was goiter in fact. Because of it, people kept away from her. Once, Emperor Min went on a sightseeing tour of the suburbs. All the people crowded along the road while Su Liu concentrated on picking mulberry leaves. The emperor noticed her working and ordered her brought before him.
As she was called before the emperor, she explained she was doing her job wholeheartedly and not noticing things else. Emperor Min thought her a virtuous woman and wanted to take her back. Unexpectedly, she refused and said she should ask her parents' permission first. The emperor respected her will and held a grand marriage for her. Later she assisted in governing the country and brought peace and prosperity to people.
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Once upon a time there was no donkey in Guizhou. So someone officious shipped one there, but finding no use for it, he set it loose at the foot of the mountains.
A tiger ran out from the mountains. When he saw this big tall thing, he thought it must be divine. He quickly hid himself in the forest and surveyed it from under cover. Sometimes the tiger ventured a little nearer, but still kept a respectful distance.
One day the tiger came out again. Just then the donkey gave a loud bray. Thinking the donkey was going to eat him, the tiger hurriedly ran away. After a while he sneaked back and watched the donkey carefully. He found that though it had a huge body it seemed to have no special ability.
After a few days the tiger gradually became accustomed to its braying and was no longer so afraid. Sometimes he even came near and circled around the donkey.
Later the tiger became bolder. Once he walked in front of the donkey and purposely bumped it. This made the donkey so angry that it struck out his hind legs and kicked wildly.
Seeing this, the tiger was very gleeful, “Such a big thing as you can do so little!” With a roar he pounced on the donkey and ate it up.
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A Foolish Man Buys Shoes
In the past there lived a foolish man in a small kingdom called Zheng. One day he wanted to buy himself a pair of new shoes. He measured his feet with a ruler first and wrote down his size. But he was in such a hurry to set out that he left it at home.
When he arrived at a shoe shop, he felt in the pocket only to find that it was not there. So he said apologetically, “I have left the measurement at home and don't know the size. I'll fetch it in one minute.” With these words he hurried off as fast as his legs could carry him.
He ran back home, found it and then ran back to the shop again. But still it took him quite a while and the shop was already closed then. He had gone to all this trouble for nothing and did not get his shoes.
Then someone asked him, “Did you buy the shoes for yourself or someone else?” “For myself, of course.” he answered. “Then why don't you try the shoes on by yourself?”
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Driving a Wedge Between the Enemy
General Liu Yu of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) betrayed his country and surrendered to the emperor of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) in the north.
In 1137, General Yue Fei of the Southern Song got an order to stage a war against the Jin army. Yue Fei knew that there would be a rough battle now that Liu and his new master formed an alliance. But he also knew that there was a conflict between General Liu and Jinwuzhu, a general of Jin. Yue Fei would take advantage of this and weaken the enemy force by driving a wedge between the two generals. “But how?” he questioned.
It so happened that Yue Fei received a report that a spy sent by Jinwuzhu was captured. Hearing this, Yue had an idea. He sent a word that he would see this spy.
When the spy was called in, Yue pretended to know the spy and said to him reproachfully, "What has happened to you, Zhang Bing? A few days ago, I ordered you to take Liu Yu a message expecting to collaborate with him to kill Jinwuzhu, but I haven't got any information from you. Where have you been? I am thinking of sending another man to complete the mission."
The spy felt puzzled, but he soon believed that Yue Fei had mistaken him for someone else. He said to himself, "Why don't I make the best of this mistake by taking this important message to my general?" He suddenly knelt down and said beseechingly, "Pardon me, General. Give me one more chance and I promise to hand the message to General Liu this time."
"Well, I pardon you", replied Yue Fei, "I give you another chance. But if you fail again, you can't escape bad luck." He picked up a writing brush and wrote a letter including an elaborated false scheme to kill Jinwuzhu. To make the wedge plan more credible, Yue wrapped the letter in a wax ball. Then he cut open the skin on the spy's leg and put the ball in the cut.
The enemy spy was so excited to get the information. He eagerly ran to Jinwuzhu and handed the letter to him. Jinwuzhu was greatly shocked when he learned that Liu Yu had been plotting to kill him. He immediately reported the message to the emperor. Very soon, Liu Yu was deposed and Yue Fei succeeded in weakening the enemy force and paved the way for his defeating the enemy.
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Give the Enemy a Ray of Hope
In 206 B.C., Cao Cao (155-220), a great statesman, artist of war and man of letters, led his army to attack the city of Huguan. As the city was strategically located and very difficult to access, Cao's army could not take it in spite of great efforts. Cao got extremely outraged and said, "Once I get into the city, I will have all those in it buried alive."
Soon his words were spread throughout the city. As the defenders in the city feared that it would really happen to them, they waged a desperate resistance. As a result, Cao's army found it even harder to win the battle. They made months of attempts to get in but in vain. Cao became more uneasy and consulted with his generals for a scheme.
At a meeting, General Cao Ren rose from his seat and said, "The art of war tells us that we should not put the enemy in too tight a ring, that the enemy should be left a way to survive. But now we have been trapping our enemy in a deadly corner. What's more, you have declared to have them all buried alive. This will only make them battle desperately against us, for they would rather fight to death than be buried alive. As I estimate, the enemy has almost run out of supplies. If we now give them a ray of hope by leaving an opening in the ring, they are very likely to surrender to us, for they would rather survive than fight to death for nothing."
Cao Cao thought the idea quite sensible and ordered to do as the general said. As had been expected, the defending troops in the city soon crossed over to Cao's side. The city was finally seized without a cruel fight.
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Never too Deceitful in War
In 383 AD, King Fu Jian of the state of Qianqin in North China led an army of 870,000 men to invade the Eastern Jin (317-420). Emperor Xiaowu ordered three generals, Xie Shi, Xu Yan and Xie Xuan, to lead 80,000 warriors to resist the invaders.
In November, the enemy reached the Fei River in Eastern Jin and began to set up defenses at the riverside. Across the river was Eastern Jin's troop. As there was a great disparity of strength, between the two sides, Xie and his comrades in arms had hardly any hope of victory if they started a face-to-face battle. Then they had an idea. They sent a herald to take a message to Fu Rong, the king's major general, "You are setting up defenses along the river, so it is quite obvious that you are planning for a long war. But as you are far from your country and supplies cannot be timely guaranteed, you are no doubt putting yourselves in a very disadvantageous situation. Why don't you let your troop retreat a few hundred yards so that we can cross the river to fight a decisive battle with you?"
This message was taken to King Fu Jian. He laughed and said, "How silly those generals are! How dare they wade across the river to fight against a troop of 870,000 men! They surely overrate themselves. Let's retreat so that they can come across. But we will return and wipe them out when they are in the middle of the river."
The retreat started. In a few seconds, there suddenly came a roaring cry from behind, "The king is defeated!" As the purpose of the action had not been properly declared, many men mistakenly believed that they were truly defeated. Therefore, they ran faster until the whole troop became beyond control. The Jin's troop immediately crossed the river and attacked the enemy from behind. General Fu Rong attempted to give a counterattack, but it was too late. His troop was already in a thorough confusion and no one could hear his orders. This invading gigantic army was at last sunk by a much smaller group of fighters.
King Fu Jian's mistake lies in the fact that he only knew that an army in water is easy to defeat. Yet, he should have also known that when two armies confront each other, the one who first retreats tends to lose.
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A Story Taken From the Dragon Robe (An Ancient Artifact)
A T'ang dynasty emperor visited the Chinese city of Loyang during a long spell of very hot, dry weather. There, in a temple, lived an Indian priest named Wu Wei, who knew how to call forth the dragon that brings rain. The emperor begged Wu Wei to bring rain to his scorched land, but the priest refused. The heat was seasonable, he said, and summoning the dragon would do much damage. The emperor said that the people were suffering because of the drought. Any rain, he pleaded, even if accompanied by roaring winds and crashing thunder, would be good. Finally Wu Wei agreed.
Wu Wei ordered the removal of everything from the temple, except for one bowl of water. Stirring the water, he repeated magical words hundreds of times. Presently, a red finger-sized dragon appeared, raising its head slightly above the water's surface. Then it slowly disappeared. Wu Wei stirred the water again, chanting a spell three times. From the bowl a white vapor rose several feet into the air and floated toward the temple door.
"Go," Wu Wei ordered the emperor's messenger, "for the rain is coming!" As he fled to alert the emperor, the messenger glanced back to see the vapor roll like white silk out of the temple. Then darkness fell, bringing with it thunder and rain. Gale winds uprooted giant trees along the road as the storm overtook the terrified messenger. At last he reached the emperor, drenched but safe.
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Dead Horse and Talents
During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), the State of Yan was defeated by the State of Qi. When King Zhao was crowned as the king of Yan, he was determined to make his state strong to remove the humiliation. Yet he complained that he did not have any men with great talents to assist him.
One day, he said to Guo Wei, a minister, "Can you tell me how I can get some men with great talents?" Guo Wei replied by telling a story.
"Once there was a king who offered hundreds of ounces of gold for a winged steed, a horse which can run 500 kilometers a day. He sent one of his men to search through the country but the man only brought back a pile of bones of a dead steed for half of the gold. The king got outraged. But the man said, “When people learn that you have paid so much for a dead horse, they will certainly offer to sell you a steed if anyone has got one.” As was expected, the king got three steeds in less than a year. If you are sincerely seeking top talents, why don't you treat me as a dead horse of that sort now?"
King Zhao did build Guo Wei a very expensive villa and regarded him as a teacher. Also he built a platform on which he placed a lot of presents for guests from different parts. Soon his sincerity was spread to every corner of the land. In a couple of years, great talents such as Ju Xin, Su Dai, Zou Yan, Le Yi all came from different states to gather around King Zhao. Very soon, with the assistance of them, Yan became a powerful state and defeated Qi. King Zhao accomplished his dream of revenge.
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