Spirits Of The Yellow River (Chinese Bedtime Story)

Oh Spirits of the Yellow River Daiwan great king for many hundreds of years past the river inspectors port that all sort of Monsters show themselves in the waves of the streams at times in the shape of dragons and whenever such a creature makes an appearance great flood follows Hence temples are built along the riverbanks the higher spirits of the river are honored as kings the lower ones as captains and hardly a day goes by without there being honored with sacrifices or theatrical performances Whenever after a dam has been broken the leak is closed again the Emperor sends officials with sacrifices and ten great bars of Tibetan incense Incense is burned in a great sacrificial censer in the temple court and the river inspectors and this Subordinates all go to the temple to thank the gods for their aid These river gods it is said are good and faithful servants of former rulers Who died in consequence of their toil in keeping the dams unbroken After they died their spirits became river kings in their physical bodies However,

They appear as lizards snakes and frogs The mightiest of all the river kings is the golden dragon king He frequently appears in the shape of a small golden snake with the square head Low forehead and four red dots over his eyes He can make himself large or small at will and cause the waters to rise and fall He appears and vanishes Unexpectedly and lives in the mouths of the Yellow River and the Imperial Canal But in addition to the golden dragon king There are dozens of river kings and captains each of whom Has his own place the sailors of the Yellow River all have exact list in which The lives and the deeds of the river spirits are described in detail The river spirits love to see theatrical performances In the hall stands the little spirit tablet of the river king and on the altar in front of it golden liquor filled with clean sand When a little snake appears in it,

The river king has arrived Then the priest strike the gong and beat the drum and read from the holy books The official is at once informed and he sends for a company of actors The actors then at once begin to perform the desired play The river god cares not for the fortunes or misfortunes of human beings He appears suddenly and disappears in the same way as best suits him Between the altar and the inner dam of the Yellow River are a number of settlements Now it often happens that the yellow water moves to the very edge of the inner walls rising perpendicularly Like a wall it gradually advances when people see it coming they hastily burn incense Bow in prayer Before the waters and promise the river God a theatrical performance Then the water retires and the word goes round The river God has asked for a play again In a village in that section there once dwelt a wealthy man.

He built a stone wall 20 feet high around the village to keep away the water He did not believe in the spirits of the river but trusted in his strong wall and was quite unconcerned One evening the yellow water suddenly rose and towered in a straight line For the village the rich man had them shoot cannon at it Then the water grew stormy and surrounded the wall to such a height that it reached the openings In the battlements the water formed and hissed and seemed about to pour over the wall Then everyone in the village was very much frightened They tracked up the rich man and he had to kneel and beg for pardon They promised the river God a theatrical performance but in vain But when they promised to build him a temple in the middle of the village and give regular performances The water sank more and more and gradually returned to its bed And the village field suffered no damage For the earth fertilized by the yellow slime Yielded a double crop Once a schooler was crossing the fields with a friend in order to visit a relative They passed a temple of the river God Where a new play was just being performed The friend asked the schooler to go in with him and look on When they entered the temple court They they saw two great snakes upon the front pillars who had wound themselves About the columns and were trusting out their heads as though watching the performance In the hall of the temple stood the altar with the ball of sand in it Lay a small snake with a golden body a green head and red dots above his eyes His neck was thrust up and his glittering little eyes never left stage The friend bowed and the schooler followed his example Softly he said to his friend.

What are the three river gods called the one in the temple?

Was the reply is the golden dragon king the two on the columns are two captains They do not dare to sit in the temple together with the king This surprised the schooler and in his heart.

He thought Such a tiny snake.

How can it possess a God's power?

It would have to show me its might before I would worship it Yet not yet expressed these secret thoughts before the little snake suddenly stretched forth his head from the bow above the altar Before the altar burned two enormous candles.

They weighed more than 10 pounds and were as thick as small trees Their flame burned like the flare of torch The snake now thrust his head Into the middle of the candle flame.

The flame must have been at least an inch broad and was burning red Suddenly its radiance turned blue and was split into two tongues The candle was so enormous and its fire so hot when copper and iron would have melted in it But it did not harm the snake Then the snake crawled into the sensor The sensor was made of iron and was so large one could not clasp it with both arms Its cover showed a dragon design in open work The snake crawled in and out of the holes in this cover and wound his way through all of them So that he looked like an embroidery in threads of gold Finally all the openings of the cover large and small were freed by the snake in order to do So he must have made himself several dozen feet long Then he stretched out his head at the top of the sensor and once more watched the play Thereupon the schooler was frightened He bowed twice and prayed great King you have taken this trouble on my account.

I honor you from my heart No sooner had he spoken these words than in a moment The little snake was back in his bowel and just as small as he had been before The tuning show they were celebrating the river God's birthday in his temple They were giving him a theatrical performance for a birthday present Spectators crowded around as thick as a wall when who?

Should pass but a simple peasant from the country who said in a loud voice Why that is nothing but a tiny womb.

It is a great piece of folly to honor it like a king He had finished Speaking the snake flew out of the temple He grew and grew and wound himself three times around the stage and his head seemed like that of a dragon His eyes sparkled like golden lamps and he spat out red flame with his tongue When he called and I'm coiled the whole stage trembled and it seemed as though it would break down The actors stopped their music and fell down on the stage in prayer The whole multitude was seized with terror and bound to the ground Then some of the old men came along Cast the peasant on the ground and gave him a good thrashing So he had to cast himself on his knees before the snake and worship him Then all heard or noise as though a great many firecrackers Were being shot off these lasted for some time and then the snake disappeared East of Shang Tung lies the city of Dong Shou There rises an observation tower with a great temple at its feet lies the water city with a sea gate at the north through Which the flood tide rises up to the city a cap of the boundary guard is established at this gate An officer been transferred this camp as captain He had formerly belonged to the land forces and had not yet been long at his new post he gave some friends of his a banquet and before the pavilion in which they Feasted lay a great stone shaped somewhat like a table Suddenly a little snake was seen crawling on the stone It was spotted with green and had red dots on its square head Soldiers were about to kill the little creature when the cap went out to look into the matter When he had looked he laughed and said you must not harm him.

He is the river king when I was stationed in Scenic show he sometimes visited me and then I always gave sacrifices and performances in his honor Now he has come here expressly in order to wish his old friend luck and to see him once more There was a band in camp.

The bandsmen could dance like a real theatrical troupe the captain quickly had them begin in performance had another banquet with wine and Delicate foods prepared and invited the river God sit down to the table Gradually evening came and yet the river God made no move to go so the captain stepped up to him with the bow and said Here we are far removed from the Yellow River and these people have never yet heard your name spoken Your visit has been a great honor for me But the woman and fools who have crowded together Chattering outside are afraid of hearing about you Now you have visited your old friend.

I am sure you wish to get back home again With these words he had a litter brought up Symbols were beaten and fireworks set off a salute of mine guns was fired to escort him on his way Then the little snake crawled into the litter and the captain followed after in this order They reached a port and just when it was about time to say farewell The snake was already swimming in the water.

He had grown much larger Then there were doubts and questionings,

But the river God lives a thousand miles away from here How does he get to this place?

Said the captain he is so powerful that he can get to any place and besides from where he dwells a waterway leads to the sea to come down that way and Swim to the sea is something he can do in a moment's time The end thank you for listening