Zhangjiajie Stories and Legends---The Story of Immortal Bridge
According to the older generation, there was no Immortal Bridge in the first place. Around the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, after Xiang Dakun, the leader of the Tujia uprising, was defeated in the Baizhan Gorge, he divided the rebels into three groups; one group was led by the assistant Huanglong Zhenren to retreat towards the Sinan Valley; the other group was led by Xiang Dakun himself and retreated from Suoxi evacuated to Shentang Bay; the third route, Miss Jinhua and General Chen Qiang, were responsible for protecting the sick and wounded and subordinates, and evacuated towards Monkey Slope under Tianzi Peak. When the soldiers arrived at Wangye Cave, a deep canyon blocked the way forward. With Yuan's route ahead and pursuers behind him, General Chen Qiang decided to lead his own troops to resist the enemy, while Miss Jinhua stayed behind to take care of the wounded and sick and subordinates. Miss Jinhua was so exhausted that she fell asleep. She dreamed of a black-faced general wearing armor, with a long sword hanging from his waist, and holding a sharp ax. He slashed at her with great force, scaring Miss Jinhua awake. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and saw a huge boulder placed firmly between the two peaks in front of her, turning the abyss into a thoroughfare. Under the moonlight, I saw the black-faced general's long sword falling to his side and shining brightly! Miss Jinhua was so surprised that while she told the sick and wounded and subordinates to evacuate from the bridge immediately, she picked up her sword and charged towards the officers and soldiers who were swarming up. Wherever the long sword was swung, enemy heads fell to the ground one after another. Then the long sword broke out of his hand and turned into a transparent white python, and the scales on the white python turned into countless small pythons. The big python and the little python, with their heads held high and their red tongues sticking out, roared towards the enemy group. The officers and soldiers were so frightened that they abandoned their helmets and armor and ran away with their heads in their hands.
To this day, some old people still point to the graceful girl's stone on the observation deck at the west end of Xianren Bridge, saying that Miss Jinhua is watching the white python chasing the officers and soldiers. The scaly Tianzi stream at the foot of the mountain was made of that long sword. Now, the white snake on Tianzi Mountain is the descendant of that white python. The huge stone lying between the two peaks that the black-faced general chopped down with his sharp ax is now the "Immortal Bridge". There still seemed to be traces of knife chops on the brand-new bridge deck.
1. The legend of Fengyu Bridge
When entering Dong Township, you can often see unique Fengyu Bridges. Speaking of Fengyu Bridge, there is a myth and legend.
In ancient times, before the Pingping Village was opened, the Dong family lived in a small village on the hillside with only a dozen families. There was a young man named Buka in a small village who married a wife named Peiguan. The couple is very loving and almost inseparable. When the two of them came back from work, one carried firewood, the other carried grass, the other carried the hoe, and the other took care of the cows. They always followed each other. The crown was very beautiful. When the couple crossed the bridge, the fish in the river jumped out of the water to look at them with envy.
One morning, the river suddenly surged. The Buka couple were in a hurry to go to Xishan to work, so they couldn't care less and walked together to the small wooden bridge in front of the village. Just as they walked to the center of the bridge, a strong wind suddenly blew, which made Buka unable to open his eyes. Peiguan fell into the river with an "oops". Buka opened his eyes and saw that his wife was gone. Knowing that she had been blown down the river, he jumped into the water and dived into the river. However, I searched back and forth several times but couldn't find it. When the villagers found out, they rushed to help him search. After searching for a long time, they still couldn't find Pei Guan. What is going on?
It turned out that there was a crab spirit deep in the river bend, and it swept Pei Guan into a cave at the bottom of the river. All of a sudden, the crab spirit turned into a beautiful young man and wanted Peiguan to be his wife. Peiguan refused and even slapped him. He immediately showed a fierce look and threatened Pei Guan. Pei Guan cried and cursed loudly, and the sound of crying and cursing spread from the bottom of the river to the ears of a flower dragon upstream.
At this time, it was windy and rainy, and the waves were rolling. I saw a flower dragon in the waves, raising its head and looking around. When the dragon's head looks to the left, the waves hit the left, and the landslide on the left. When the dragon's head looks to the right, the waves hit the right, and the right bank breaks. The small wooden bridge had long been swept away by the waves. Everyone was frightened. But when the dragon head came to the beach in Buka, the waves calmed down after the dragon head clicked a few times. Then, Hualong made a circle on the water and rushed to the bottom of the river. Suddenly, the sound of "GuluGuluGulu" continued to be heard from the bottom of the river, and large whirlpools were spinning one after another. Then, a black smoke emerged from the water, rose into the air and turned into a dark cloud. The flower dragon rushed into the air in hot pursuit, tumbling about, pushing the black cloud down until it finally revealed its original shape. It turned out to be the black crab as big as the top of the drum tower. The black crab fled in panic and climbed to a height of three feet on the cliff. The flower dragon went down into the water and turned somersaults. The dragon's tail swung and swept the crab into the water. After several rounds of this, the crab was exhausted and waddled towards the bamboo forest, hoping to use the bamboo to block the flower dragon.
But the flower dragon jumped up and sprayed water from its mouth, causing the bamboo forest to fall down one by one, and the crabs fell into the river again. After the flower dragon followed closely to the bottom of the water, the waves rolled and went down the river. At this time, the black crab could no longer be seen. Later, not far from the river bend, a crab-shaped black stone was revealed, which is where Hualong calmed the crab spirit. This stone is called crab stone by later generations.
When the river calmed down, I heard a woman’s voice calling on the opposite river beach. Buka took a look and saw that it was his wife. Buka asked a few people to swim over immediately. After landing, Peiguan said to Buka: "Thanks to Hualong for saving her!" Everyone then knew that Hualong saved her, and they were all grateful to Hualong. At this time, the flower dragon flew back upstream, nodding to people from time to time.
This incident quickly spread throughout Dong Township. Everyone transformed the small wooden bridge near the water into a large wooden bridge like an aerial promenade. They also carved patterns of flower dragons on the four central pillars of the bridge to wish that the flower dragon would always be there. After the completion of the large wooden bridge in the form of a promenade in the sky, a grand celebration ceremony was held, which was very lively. At this time, colorful clouds floated in the sky, shaped like a long dragon, and there were thousands of rays of light. When everyone took a closer look, it was the flower dragon coming back to visit everyone. Therefore, later generations called this bridge Huilong Bridge. Some places are also called Flower Bridge, and because the bridge can shelter from wind and rain, it is also called Wind and Rain Bridge.
2. The legend of Huixian Bridge
Huixian Bridge is on Minzu Road in Yuzhong District, right in the center of the square in front of Huixian Tower today. Huixian Bridge disappeared long ago. The author's uncle came to Chongqing to work in the early 1920s and never saw the bridge. However, the place name of Huixianqiao existed until the 1980s.
In ancient times, there were not many people in Chongqing, and the area around Daliangzi (now Xinhua Road) was still a forest. A small stream flows down from Daliangzi, approximately along the current Zhengyang Street, through Dayanggou, to Hongyadong, and flows into the Jialing River. Huixian Bridge is a bridge on this creek, probably less than 10 meters long. The reason why it is called Huixianqiao is that it is said that someone met an immortal here. However, there are many versions of the legend.
One theory is: There was an old man who opened a cold tavern at that bridge, and a Taoist priest from Laojun Cave on the south bank often came to drink in his tavern. The Taoist leader invited the old man to play in Laojun Cave. The old man went, and the Taoist priest treated him to some bean curd. He brought out a bowl of bean curd, and the two of them couldn't finish it. In the afternoon, the old man returned to the tavern. The old woman was so surprised and said, "You haven't come back for so many years?" The old man said, "You are unconscious. I have only been playing for a long time." But when he looked in the mirror, he actually had snow-white hair. long beard. Only then did the old man realize that the Taoist priest he met was a god. The story spread from ten to ten, so people called the bridge in front of the tavern Huixian Bridge.
Another theory is that there was a girl living under Hongyadong who often went to the Jialing River to wash clothes. Once, her laundry was washed away by the river. A single fisherman saw it on the riverside and rowed his fishing boat to pick it up for her. As a result, the two became familiar with each other. One day, the girl's mother fell ill and died. The girl had no money to bury her, so she jumped into the river in a hurry. The fisherman rescued her and said to her: "When I caught a golden carp in my net, I picked it up and sold it immediately. After I sold it, I went to buy a shroud and a coffin." Unexpectedly, he carried the fish into the city, and just now he picked it up and sold it. When we walked to the bridge, all the lively golden-armored carp were dead. How could they be sold for any money? The fisherman was so anxious that he jumped up on the bridge and cried. At this time, he heard a voice coming from the Tutu Temple: "Make way quickly, the Eight-hole Immortal is coming!" He looked up and saw eight beggars coming, but he didn't care, he knelt down and Ask the gods for help. The leader was a lame old man holding an iron crutch. He said, "We are all beggars. We have nothing to eat. How can we help you?" The beggar carrying a sword picked up a stone and threw it into the fish. The fisherman said, "All your fish are alive. Why don't you take them and sell them quickly?" The fisherman took a look and was determined. Throw the stone into another basket and the fish will live. When I looked again, all the beggars were gone. So the fisherman sold the fish for a good price, buried the girl's mother, and then got married to the girl and settled down at this bridge. This bridge was also named Huixian Bridge.
3. The legend of Zhaozhou Bridge
Zhaozhou in ancient times is now Zhao County in Hebei Province. There are two stone bridges in Zhaozhou, one in the south of the city and one in the west of the city. The big stone bridge in the south of the city looks like a rainbow stretching over the river, magnificent and majestic. According to folklore, this big stone bridge was built by Lu Ban; the small stone bridge in the west of the city looks like a small white dragon floating on the water, vivid. Legend has it that this small stone bridge was built by Lu Ban's sister Lu Jiang.
These two bridges are well repaired! "Little Cowherd" was performed on the stage, and there were also lyrics like this: "Grandpa Lu Ban built the stone bridge in Zhaozhou, the jade railings were left by the saint, Zhang Guolao rode a donkey on the bridge, and Lord Chai's cart rolled over a ditch." It is sung here. The legend of Lu Ban repairing the Zhaozhou Bridge.
According to legend, Lu Ban and his sister traveled around the world and when they reached Zhaozhou, they were blocked by a vast white Mihe River. On the riverside, people pushing carts, carrying burdens, selling onions and garlic, riding horses to take exams, and pulling donkeys to meet, were noisy, vying to cross the river into the city. There were only two small boats swinging back and forth in the river, and not many people could pass them in half a day. Lu Ban saw it and asked: "Why don't you build a bridge across the river?" People said: "The river is wide, deep, and the waves are strong. Who dares to build it? Even with a lantern, you can't find such a bridge." Skilled craftsman!" Lu Ban was moved after hearing this, and he discussed with his sister Lu Jiang to build two bridges for pedestrians.
Lu Ban said to his sister: "Let's build the big stone bridge first and then the small stone bridge!"
Lu Jiang said: "Okay!"
Lu Ban said; "Building a bridge is hard work, don't be afraid of hardship!"
Lu Jiang said: "Don't be afraid!"
Lu Ban said: "Just don't be afraid. You are stupid. My hands are clumsy and I will be in trouble if I am afraid of hardship." This sentence made Lu Jiang unhappy. She said unconvinced: "Don't blame me for being clumsy. Now, let's practice separately. You will do the big one and I will do the small one. Let's have a competition with you.
Let's see who can do it. Repair quickly and repair well."
Lu Ban said: "Okay, let's race! When will the work start and when will the work be completed?" Lu Jiang said, "Start at night and finish at dawn." It was agreed upon, and the brothers and sisters prepared separately.
Lu Ban strolled westward into the mountains calmly. When Lu Jiang arrived in the west of the city, he hurriedly took action. While she was repairing, she thought: Don't be too busy, I have to pull you down. Sure enough, before the third watch, the small stone bridge was repaired. Then she quietly ran to the south of the city to see how well her brother had cultivated. When I came to the south of the city, I saw that there was not even a bridge on the river. Luban is not by the river either. She thought to herself that her brother would definitely lose this time. But when I turned around, I saw a man driving a group of sheep on Taihang Mountain to the west, scampering down the mountain. When she got closer, she saw that it was her brother who was driving the sheep. They were not herds of sheep. They were clearly driven by stones as white as snowflakes and as smooth as jade. When these stones came to the river, they turned into various processed stones in the blink of an eye. There are square bridge foundation stones, rectangular bridge deck stones, crescent-shaped arch stones, and beautiful railings. Beautiful pillars, everything used on bridges. Lu Jiang was shocked when he saw it. Such a good stone must be so strong to build a bridge! In contrast, the one I made didn't work, and I needed to find a way to fix it quickly. It’s too late to rebuild, so just work on carving to surpass him! She quietly returned to the west of the city and started carving on the railings Pangu opening the sky, Dayu controlling the floods, and the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Danfeng Chaoyang. All the rare birds and animals, exotic flowers and plants are carved as if they were real. Carve it so that birds can spread their wings and fly, and carve it so that the fragrance of flowers fills your nostrils. When she was satisfied with the exquisite carvings, she ran to the south of the city to take a peek at Lu Ban. At first glance, I screamed in surprise. Why did the rainbow in the sky fall on the river? After calming down and taking a closer look, it turned out that my brother had built the bridge and only needed to install the last pillar on the bridge. Her uncle won the bet and made a joke with him. She ducked behind the willow tree, held her throat and stretched her neck, "Cuckoo--" and imitated a chicken call. Her crow caused the chickens in the nearby people's houses to crow. When Lu Ban heard the rooster crow, he quickly put the last pillar on the bridge, and the bridge was completed.
The two bridges, one large and one small, are both exquisite. Lu Ban's big stone bridge is majestic, sturdy and durable; Lu Jiangxiu's small stone bridge is exquisite, beautiful and gratifying. Zhaozhou built two bridges overnight, causing a sensation in nearby prefectures and counties the next day. Everyone saw it and everyone praised it. Skilled craftsmen come here to learn their crafts, and girls with skillful hands come here to draw patterns. The number of people who come to visit every day is like running water. This strange thing soon reached the ears of Zhang Guolao, the immortal of Pengcai Xiandao. Zhang Guolao didn't believe it. He thought how could Lu Ban have such a great ability! The envoy invited Prince Chai to go and see what happened.
Zhang Guolao rode a little black donkey, and Lord Chai pushed a wheelbarrow. They came to the Zhaozhou Dasheng Bridge and happened to meet Lu Ban standing on the bridge, looking at the passers-by and smiling! Zhang Guolao asked Lu Ban: "Did you build this bridge?" Lu Ban said: "Yes, what's wrong?" Zhang Guolao pointed to the little black donkey and Lord Chai's wheelbarrow and said: "When we cross the bridge, will it be able to withstand it?" Lu Ban glanced at the two of them and said, "Big mules are better than big horses, gold chariots and silver chariots can pass, but you little donkeys can't cross with a broken chariot?" Zhang Guolao said. Listening, I felt that his tone was too loud, so I used magic to gather the sun and the moon, and put them in the bag on the donkey's back, with the sun on the left and the moon on the right. Prince Chai also used magic to gather the famous Five Mountains and put them on the car. The two smiled slightly and drove the donkey onto the bridge with the cart. As soon as I got on the bridge, I saw the bridge flickering. Lu Ban hurriedly jumped under the bridge, raised his right hand to support the bridge body, and saved the bridge.
The two of them passed by. Zhang Guolao looked back at the bridge and said to Prince Chai: "It's not surprising that people praise it. This bridge built by Lu Ban is really unparalleled in the world." Prince Chai nodded in agreement and said to him. Lu Ban, who had just returned to the bridge, extended his thumb. Lu Ban looked at their backs and said in his heart: "These two are not simple!"
Now, there are still people on the Zhaozhou Stone Bridge. There are still the hoof prints of Zhang Guolao's donkey and a ditch made by King Chai's cart. Anyone who goes to the Zhaozhou Stone Bridge can see that there used to be a big handprint of Lu Ban holding the bridge under the bridge, but now it cannot be seen clearly.
(Note: According to historical records, Zhaozhou Bridge was designed and built by Li Chun, a craftsman of the Sui Dynasty.)