The Dragon and the Clam Contest for the Pearl
The Dragon and the Clam Contest for the Pearl
In the north of China, there is a place called Jiyuan, which belongs to Jibei County and has a village called Yujiazhuang. To the south of Yujiazhuang, there is a vast pond. This pond is usually lush with reeds, its surface is wide, and it produces plenty of fish and shrimp, making it one of the best scenic spots in Jiyuan. Especially in the depths of the reed pond, there is a deep pool with emerald green water, where legend has it that an ancient turtle lives. This old turtle has been living in the pool for many years, cultivating its spirit, and its body is as big as a boat. Every year during festivals and holidays, people from Yujiazhuang would come to the reed pond to burn incense and worship it, and their days would be peaceful. If they lost respect, the turtle would get angry, and the reed pond would become stormy with huge waves, disturbing the peace of the surrounding villages.
One day, the sun was shining brightly on the earth, and the spring breeze was warm. The old turtle in the pond seemed to be unable to bear the loneliness, so it crawled onto the shore, opened its mouth, and lay down on the sandy beach to bask in the sun. At this time, the daughter-in-law of the Zhuang family, who had just been married, happened to see it while washing clothes by the pond. She saw the huge old turtle and thought it was a boat, so she curiously walked over.
The old turtle saw the beautiful woman and seemed to have gained spiritual power. A stick-like thing suddenly protruded from its pink shell, which looked like a man's long thing. The woman took one look at this scene and was frightened, falling to the ground instantly. In her daze, she felt a claw slowly unbuttoning her clothes, then reaching down to touch her lower body, attempting to commit an indecent act.
The daughter-in-law let out a loud cry of surprise, and after crying out, suddenly a strong wind blew in the reed pond, followed by a thunderstorm. The woman opened her eyes to find that the old turtle had closed its shell and sunk into the water. A loud rumbling sound was heard in the sky, and a giant dragon descended from the heavens.
The giant dragon circled above the reed pond for a moment before stretching out a claw to grab the old turtle that had just sunk into the water. It then flew up into the air, seemingly reaching a height of several dozen feet, and with a flick of its tail, fiercely threw the old turtle to the ground. The old turtle fell to the ground, seemingly in extreme pain, gnashing its teeth and rolling around before flailing back into the pond.
After a while, the rain stopped, and the people from the village gathered by the reed pond, where they found the daughter-in-law who had been frightened into unconsciousness. From that day on, the woman became pregnant, and a year later, she gave birth to a baby boy.
The boy was extremely intelligent, able to memorize books at a glance, and passed the imperial examination with flying colors. After the autumn examination, an official came to report the good news that he had been awarded the title of Tanhua, but this Tanhua relied on his talent and was arrogant in nature, not good at flattering and currying favor in the palace. The powerful officials in the Ministry of Rites disliked him and repeatedly did not use him. He was idle in the palace for many years. Later, Nurhaci rose up in Jianzhou, Liaodong, established the Later Jin dynasty, and intended to rebel against the Ming court. The Ming court repeatedly sent people to appease him, but it had no effect. Later, Wei Zhongxian and his eunuch party were jealous of this Tanhua's talent and wanted to squeeze him out of the palace, but they had no way to do so. Taking advantage of the unrest in Liaodong, they suggested to the emperor that he be sent to appease the region. Who knew that this Tanhua saw Nurhaci's strong army and high morale, and thought that it was not something that the Ming court could destroy. So, he lingered in Hetu Ala and did not return. Later, he couldn't resist Nurhaci's admiration for talent, who invited him to dinner every three days and feasted him every five days, showing extreme respect. This Tanhua talked with Nurhaci about heaven and earth, past and present, and gradually developed a sense of admiration for him. He thought that after entering the imperial court, Wei Zhongxian's party had excluded and attacked him, not to mention seeing the emperor to discuss state affairs, even in the discussion among officials, he didn't have the opportunity to speak. Here, the ruler of a country treated him with such respect, where could one find such a wise ruler?! Later, using his knowledge of the I Ching and Shaozi's divine numbers, he deduced the historical trend of the rise and fall of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Gradually, he developed the intention to leave the Ming court, became a high-ranking official in the Later Jin palace, and was respected by Nurhaci's subordinates as a prime minister. This is another story.
It was during the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty that the emperor, thinking that all was peaceful under heaven and that it was a prosperous age, ordered the compilation of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries. He appointed Xiāo Lán, a man of great literary talent, as chief editor, to be in charge of revising the manuscripts. One day, when Xiāo Lán entered the library to revise some manuscripts, he came across an account among the submitted materials that told the legendary story of the old shellfish of Weitang, Yu Family Village, Jibei County. After reading it, he thought that the part about the beautiful woman's clothes being stripped off and her lower body being touched was not decent, so he used a red brush to delete this passage from the historical records.
However, the wonders of the world will not disappear just because of a stroke of an official's red pen. It is said that in the winter of the seventh year of Xianfeng, a thick layer of ice formed on the reeds in the south of Yujiazhuang. On a sunny day, the old turtle emerged from the southwest of the reed marsh, breaking through the ice and piling it up on the shore, looking like a vast expanse of white snow from afar. By evening, dark clouds gathered and heavy snow fell. The next day, when people went to take a look, the old turtle had already disappeared without a trace.
At that time, the governor of Jixian thought this matter was too strange and reported it to the imperial historian. The historian was very stubborn and when he saw Ji Xiaolan's red pen crossing out this matter, he became angry and not only deleted the record but also listed it as a **series, from then on, this matter became a taboo topic, and this strange story was hidden away, never to be seen again for many years.
Many years later, a monk from the south came to this place. He watched the vast expanse of water in the pond, the dense reeds, and sighed as he recited "In the past, people have ridden on yellow cranes to go, leaving only the Yellow Crane Tower". An old scholar from the Yu family heard this poem and felt that the visitor was not benevolent. He went forward to ask about the local feng shui. As they chatted, they talked about the Dragon-Turtle War. The monk smiled and explained: The old turtle was originally sent by the East Sea Dragon King to cultivate pearls in this pond. After the pearl was formed, the old turtle should have presented it to the Dragon Palace; but because he lived in the pond, he often peeked at beautiful women and young girls bathing in the pool, and gradually became greedy for human beauty, intending to secretly hide the pearl. When there was an opportunity, he would give it to the beautiful girls and women to satisfy his desires. The Dragon King knew that he had a wicked heart, so he sent his prince to take the pearl, leading to a great war. However, did the dragon prince take away the pearl? Where did the old turtle go? Did the pregnant woman have any ghostly aura? What would be the ultimate fate of this child? He didn't say it directly, but pointed to the Yu family tomb behind the Yu family village and said: A hundred years later, a remarkable person will emerge from the Yu family!
In the 21st century, China's land reform and opening up, the country's prosperity, peace and prosperity, the Yu family had a strange person. Although this person entered the officialdom, it was not all smooth sailing. His bumpy life, full of twists and turns, thorns and thistles, seemed to be an almost perfect interpretation of this somewhat mysterious historical anecdote. Thus, through this book, this previously suppressed historical anecdote not only saw the light of day but also continued to be written, entering the popular network media of the century.
