Other Related Aspects of Quzhou Three Monsters

The story of "Three Weird People in Quzhou" is contained in Pu Songling's book Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. In fact, before Pu Songling wrote this book, legends such as "Big Head Ghost in Bell Tower" and "White Cloth Monster in County Learning Pond" had been circulated among the people.

In ancient times, people from Quzhou were in the countryside when they left the city gate, which was only ten or twenty miles away from the mountains in the north and south. Coupled with many wars, many famines and many changes, people often had a sad feeling of vicissitudes of life and uncertain life. Therefore, there are more festivals in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province to pay homage to the dead than in other places. Besides going to the tomb on Qingming Festival, there are also the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the winter solstice and the Spring Festival, and there are also some different festivals in different villages. Gu Kuang, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote such an atmosphere in a poem by Xu Anzhen, assistant secretary of the Tang Dynasty, a gifted scholar in Quzhou. These may be the social life foundation of the story of genie.

As for the details of Pu Songling's communication with Quzhou and the background of his writing, this is a mystery to be verified by experts. After the book Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio was engraved, the story of the Three Monsters had a more standardized version and spread more widely and for a long time. The full text is not long, so I might as well extract it as follows:

When Quzhou is quiet at night, people dare not walk alone. There is a ghost on the bell tower, with a corner on its head, which looks hideous and evil, and it will descend at the sound of people walking. People run away, and ghosts go away. However, if you see it, you will get sick, and many people will die. There is also a pond in the city, and a white cloth comes out at night, like a horse practicing the horizontal ground. Those who pass by pick it up, that is, get involved in water. There are ducks and ghosts, and the night is quiet, and there is nothing by the pond. If you smell ducks, people will get sick.

the story of the "three eccentrics in Quzhou" can be said to be well known to all women and children in Quzhou. Although the urban and rural versions are different, they are similar, which is often the talk of people after dinner. In the early 196s, a great man Mao Zedong passed through Quzhou, and the special train stopped at a small station in Jinhua, where local leaders went to report their work. During the conversation, Mao Zedong specifically asked about the "Three Monsters in Quzhou" and asked the comrades present if they knew. Unfortunately, the leaders present at that time looked at each other, and no one could answer. This true story is meaningful. First, it shows that Mao Zedong is well-read, well-versed in history and knowledgeable, and even knows a small story in such a casual book like the back of his hand. Second, it shows that the founding leaders are familiar with and attach importance to local traditional culture. He smiled and said to the comrades present: "To work in a place, we must understand the traditional customs and customs of a place, what mountains to go to and what songs to sing." Third, it embodies Mao Zedong's elegant and humorous leadership style. His inspiration and instruction to the following cadres are often inspired by some meaningful stories in China traditional culture, and they are handy, funny and profound, which people will never forget. This past event has added a strange luster to this strange story.

Pu Songling's article "Three Monsters in Quzhou" states: On a clear night, the white cloth monster in the county school pond will turn into a white horse and cross the road. If passers-by bend down to pick it up, the white cloth will fly up and drag people into the pond. Although this story is absurd and strange, it is also intriguing. One can't have wild thoughts about the windfall wealth on the way. Unexpected wealth is often an unexpected disaster! We have no way to find out whether Pu Songling had such an idea when he wrote this story, but the warning in the book always shines with speculative light. Pu Songling's supernatural story adds a mystery and strangeness to the ancient city of Quzhou.

Today, the ruins of the White Cloth Monster are still there. The old houses adjacent to the county school pond have been demolished, and the county school pond has been restored and widened. Pavilions, flowers and lawns have been built around it for citizens to come here for leisure and entertainment. For example, on a moonlit night, sitting by a pond, with lights flashing, water waves sparkling and trees swaying, telling a story about the white cloth monster is even more confusing, which makes people think about the past.

according to legend, the big-headed monster among the three monsters was built in the bell tower. Every night, the big-headed monster will make a quack, and anyone who hears this creepy cry will get sick. One year, an apprentice was so courageous that he was not afraid to hear the cry. He raised a lamp to go to the toilet. The big head was afraid of light. When he saw that the apprentice didn't take the lamp away, he said, "My Lord is so bold!" The apprentice replied, "What a little brat!" With that, I wiped the toilet paper on the big head monster's mouth, picked up the lamp and left, and the big head monster disappeared from sight. It's a pity that the serial owner may not have heard the story, otherwise Mr. Pu would have written it more brilliantly.

The well-known Bell Tower is located at the southern end of Beimen Street in the urban area. According to the Records of Quzhou City, the Bell Tower was built by Zhang Yaowen, the prefect of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. The building is 7 feet high. In Quzhou City of that year, this towering and spectacular bell tower was proudly independent, and it was not only a landscape, but also a fire alarm. The big clock weighing 1.5 tons upstairs has a loud and distant voice. The bell is slow and long, reporting the twilight hours and the streets are safe; If the bell is rushing, it must be a heart-beating fire disaster. This clock not only has a rich and beautiful sound, but also has scriptures, inscriptions and various exquisite patterns of flowers, grass, fish and insects cast on it. It is a rare work of art.. It's a pity that during his stay in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, this big clock was stolen by the Japanese invading Qucheng and shipped back to Japan. Since then, there has been no bell in the bell tower, and the bell has gone with the wind. At present, only the base of the bell tower exists. Due to disrepair, it is getting damaged day by day. Finally, in the 196s, the bell tower above it was demolished. The base of the stone building is still stubbornly located in this bustling downtown area, with four spacious doors, east, south, west and north, which are unobstructed in all directions. Some people say that it symbolizes the thoroughfare of four provinces in Quzhou since ancient times, but I say that these four unobstructed doors are like four open mouths, silently telling the vicissitudes of the ancient city, the rise and fall of honor and disgrace. Busy people pass by here in a hurry every day, perhaps dismissing the bell tower with no more scenery, or turning a blind eye to the bell tower that has long been a historical relic, but its loud and distant bell sound is deep in the history of the ancient city, and the passage of time cannot erase it. The call for the restoration of the bell tower is getting louder and louder. As far as I know, the plan for the protection of the ancient city of Quzhou has been issued, and the restoration of the bell tower has been included in the plan. I believe that in the near future, Quzhou Bell Tower, which was once famous for a while, will stand in its proper position again and have a heart-to-heart talk with the citizens.

Quzhou is an ancient cultural city with a history of nearly 2, years. In Quzhou, local myths and legends have been spread in the form of oral literature, which has been passed down from generation to generation. There are a large number of oral literature stories, and Quzhou's "three eccentrics" are just one of the rich oral literature. The famous ones are the Legend of Place Names in Liang Shi, the Legend of Ancient Buddha in Dingguang, the Legend of Nine Turtles in a Blessed Land, the Legend of the Rain Watcher with Double Immortals, the Legend of Wang Zhi's Dumpling, the Legend of Wang Zhi's Encountering Immortals, the Legend of Fairy Prosperity in Shimen Mountain Scenery, the Story of Eight Pagodas in Ancient City, the Story of Three Pagodas in Quzhou, the Story of Dreaming Pavilion in Fushan Mountain, etc. Pu Songling, a writer in Qing Dynasty, recorded the "three eccentrics" in Quzhou in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. It is said that during the Kangxi Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, in March of the 13th year of Kangxi (AD 1674), Geng Jingzhong, king of Jingnan, Fujian Province, rose up in response to Wu Sangui's rebellion. In the Qing-Ping San Francisco Rebellion, Li Zhifang, the governor of Zhejiang Province, fought in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, and lived in Quzhou for more than three years. From folk myths and legends, he learned the story of "Three Monsters" that was orally passed down in Quzhou, and local customs believed in ghosts and gods, which was later passed on to Zhang Zhanzhong, a Shandong native. Zhang Wozhong went back to Shandong to tell the story of "Three Monsters" in Quzhou. After listening to it, Pu Songling compiled it into Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio one by one, which made the story of "Three Monsters" in Quzhou spread more widely. In October 1959, after the Lushan meeting, Comrade Mao Zedong returned to Beijing from zhejiang-jiangxi railway by special bus. When the train passed through Quzhou, he asked his entourage, "Do you know the' Three Monsters' in Quzhou?"? Answer: "I haven't heard of it." When the special bus stopped at Jinhua, Comrade Mao Ze Dong summoned the leading cadres in Jinhua, asking them to learn more about literature and history, and mentioned the "three eccentrics" in Quzhou, pointing out that this was a story from Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. It can be seen that the impact is great. The story of "Three Monsters" in Quzhou is well known to all women and children in our Quzhou area, and everyone has heard it. Although the versions are different, they are similar, and they are often the talk of people after dinner. Below, I will revisit the "three eccentrics" story in the customs area of the old city of Quzhou. Quzhou's "Three Monsters" were first recorded in Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio in Qing Dynasty. The book says: Zhang Wozhong joined Rong Quzhou, saying: When Quzhou is quiet at night, people dare not walk alone. There is a ghost on the bell tower, with a corner on the head, which looks hideous and evil, and people will descend at the sound of voices. When people rush, ghosts go away. A sudden illness, and more dead. There is also a pond in the city, and a white cloth comes out at night, such as a horse training across the ground, and those who pass it pick it up, that is, get involved in the water. There are ducks and ghosts, and the night is quiet, and there is nothing by the pond. If you smell ducks, people will get sick. Translated into vernacular, there are "three monsters" in Quzhou, a big head monster in the bell tower, a white cloth monster in a pond in the city, and a duck monster in another pond. The "three monsters" are the big head monster, the white cloth monster and the duck monster. The "Three Monsters" originated from the disasters of drought, fire and water. Bingtang is the county school pond in Shuiting Street and the dumpling pond in Jiaochi Street.

These "three monsters" once made people in Quzhou city feel uneasy and restless. As mentioned earlier, the "three eccentrics" were all subdued by the city god, so how were the "three eccentrics" subdued? It is said that Weichi Gong, the governor of Qucheng, vowed to get rid of the "three monsters". I implore Yang Jiong, the city god of Yingchuan, and Yang Jian, the "Erlang God", to help get rid of the "Three Monsters". Let me start with Weichi Gong, Yang Jiong and Yang Jian. Weichi Gong, a native of Shuocheng District, Shanxi Province, was a famous Tang Dynasty star in China. It is said that his face was like black charcoal. In China traditional culture, Weichi Gong was the prototype of the "door god". According to legend, at the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, after Weichi Gong built Quzhou City, the people felt his kindness and posted his portrait on the gate. The Jade Emperor also thought that he worked hard and made him a "door god" to guard Quzhou. After his death, he was named the city god of Quzhou. Yang Jiong, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, is a native of Shaanxi, and is one of the "four outstanding poets in the early Tang Dynasty" on par with Wang Bo, Lu Zhaolin and Luo Bin. During the reign of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, Yang Jiong was sent to Yingchuan (now Yingchuan Village, Gaojia Town, Qujiang District) as the first county magistrate. After Yang Jiong took office, he loved the people as a son and fulfilled his duties. Every year on the first day of the sixth lunar month, you must visit the nearby 28 Du 68 Zhuang. Just three years after he took office, when he was hit by a drought, Yang Jiong was so worried that he jumped into Yingchuan Lake for the sake of rain. In an instant, it rained heavily and the drought was lifted. In memory of this county magistrate, Yingchuan built a shrine statue and paid regular homage to it. Yang Jiong Temple was originally called Yanghou Temple. When Wu Zetian learned about this, he named Yang Jiong the God of the City God, and later changed it to Yingchuan City Imperial Temple. Let's talk about Yang Jian again. Yang Jian is also called "Erlang God", an important figure in China myths and legends. Yang Jian, with a noble pedigree and a bumpy life experience, is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. It is said that his mother is the younger sister of the Jade Emperor. She secretly came to the world because she envied the loving life in the world, met a scholar named Yang, Yang Jun, and became friends with Qin Jin. And gave birth to a son, Yang Jian. Man and God are half-blood, with boundless power and boundless magic.

At that time, Yang Jiong, the magistrate of Yingchuan County, was then the God of Yingchuan, and he had been friends with Weichi Gong for a long time, so he was taught how to subdue the "Three Monsters". On this day, Weichi Gong and Yang Jiong were playing chess at the Chenghuang Temple, when suddenly their men came to report that the "Three Monsters" in Quzhou had made an insurrection. Weichi Gong flew into a rage, determined to soothe the "Three Monsters". Yang Jiong reminded him that if you want to soothe the "Three Monsters", you must first know their origins. So Yang Jiong personally wrote a letter to Yang Jian, the "Erlang God". After receiving the letter, Yang Jian took a sharp look on his forehead, knowing the origin of the "Three Monsters", and thought of a way for Weichi Gong. Please play a book to the Jade Emperor for God's Wei Zhi in hell, and get three treasures. Weichi Gong immediately rushed back to Quzhou, used Kuixing pen container to soothe Zhu Bijing, used Guanyin to soothe belt essence, and used Wang Mu's hairnet to soothe old duck essence. Since then, the "Three Monsters" have disappeared in Quzhou. The appearance and spread of the story of "Three Monsters" in Quzhou is a projection and refraction of the people's miserable life in ancient times, a cry of blood and tears, and also an extravagant hope and a cry for help for people to seek the return of human primitive true love. The story of "Three Monsters" in Quzhou is mainly to teach people not to be greedy, not to do bad things, and to guide people to do good. Quzhou's "Three Monsters" is a symbol of our long history in Quzhou, and it is also a precious local textbook.