folklore

Bear Writing

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In the twenty-sixth year of the Qianlong era, there was a beggar in Huqiu who raised a large bear, the size of a Sichuan horse, with fur as straight and dense as arrows. This bear could write and compose poems but could not speak. Those who wished to visit were allowed to watch for a fee of one wen. If you brought white paper and asked the bear to write, it would use large characters to write a Tang poem, demanding a fee of one hundred coins. 

Nine-Tailed Snake

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There was a man named Mao Ba(茅八) who, in his youth, went to Jiangxi to trade paper. In the deep mountains of Jiangxi, there were many paper mills. The people in the mills would close the doors as the sun set and warned Mao Ba not to go out, telling him, ‘There are many strange things in the mountains, not just ordinary tigers and wolves.’

One night, the moonlight was very bright, and Mao Ba couldn’t sleep. 

Smoke Dragon

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Zhang Ningren(張寧人) said that the elderly man next door likes to smoke. He holds a bamboo pipe that is more than five feet long and has been using it for over thirty years.

One day, a Daoist priest walked by the door, saw the smoking pipe in the old man’s hand, and said to him, ‘This thing has absorbed human essence for a long time and has become a Smoke Dragon. 

The Immortal Child Brings Rain

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A severe drought occurred in Guangdong, and Governor-General Sun Gong(孫公) prayed to the gods for rain, but it was ineffective. At that time, while he was inspecting Chaozhou, he saw over a thousand people gathered on a hill ahead. He sent someone to inquire, and the answer he received was, “Watching the immortal child.”

Previously, in Chaozhou, there was a villager surnamed Sun. His twelve-year-old son, along with a group of village boys, was playing on the hill. 

The Ghost’s Purchase

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Xu, the household registration secretary of Shanyin County, fell ill and in a daze saw his deceased brother come to him and say, “I’ve bought an official vacancy for you in the underworld. After you die, you’ll still be the secretary in the underworld, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Shortly after, another deceased local constable named Zhu came and said, “You don’t have to die, but you have to give me a large sum of money. 

Maidservant Enters a Hole

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Zhang, a gentleman from Hangzhou, said: When my father, Mr. Xingzi(星子先生), served as the educational commissioner in Jiangxi, there was a maidservant who was originally dull but suddenly became clever, surprising the family.

One day, this maid closed the door to take a bath and didn’t come out for a long time. Calls to her went unanswered. Peeking inside, no one was there. Breaking in, they found the bathwater untouched. All the windows were tightly shut, and everything inside was normal, without a speck of dust disturbed. 

The Novice Monk Thinks About the Tiger

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A Zen master on Mount Wutai once took on a disciple who was only three years old at the time. Mount Wutai is extremely high, and the master and disciple practiced on the summit, never descending the mountain. After more than ten years, the master and the disciple descended the mountain together. The young monk saw cows, horses, chickens, and dogs but didn’t know what they were.

The master pointed and told him, “This is a cow, used for plowing fields. 

The Spirit of Flowers

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A scholar named Xie from Wuyuan(婺源) was studying on Mount Zhanggong(張公山). One morning, he heard the chirping of birds in the woods, resembling the cries of parrots. Upon approaching, he discovered a beautiful woman, about five inches tall, naked and without feathers, her entire body pure white like jade. Between her eyebrows, there was a look of sadness. Xie captured her and brought her home. Surprisingly, the woman showed no sign of fear.