Jiaxing folklore stories
Jiaxing Nanhu, Nanhu is in Jiaxing urban area.
Jiaxing Folktale: The Beauty Mark of Sapiensis
Everyone who has eaten sapiens knows that there is often a claw mark on the top of the fruit that looks like a nail pinch. It is said that this is the mark left by the beautiful Xi Tzu.
According to legend, after Xi Shi entered the Wu Palace, the King of Wu always catered to her needs in order to win her favor. The tributes sent from various places must first be selected by Xi Shi. In the summer of this year, the State of Yue presented a batch of plums to the King of Wu. When Xishi saw the things from her homeland, she suddenly felt homesick and proposed to go to the Li Garden to taste the plums in person. So King Wu selected a group of palace maids to accompany Xi Shi to Jia Licheng. Xi Shi, surrounded by a group of palace ladies, strolled around Li Garden. The ripe plums are green inside, red inside, densely dotted with yellow spots, and covered with white powder on the outside. Their flavor is alluring. Xi Shi picked one at random and pinched the bottom of the plum with her fingernails. The juice immediately overflowed and the fragrance entered her nose. She put it to her mouth and inhaled. The plum juice was like sweet wine. Xi Shi ate several pills and became slightly drunk. Strangely enough, ever since Xi Shi came to Li Garden, there has been a scar shaped like a claw mark on the top of the plum trees grown here. People say that these are the nail marks left by Xi Shi and call them "Xi Shi's claw marks". Zhu Zhuchao of the Qing Dynasty once wrote in "Song of Yuanyang Lake": "I heard that Xi Shi once pinched her, and now every claw mark is added." Just like the peony has the finger marks of a noble concubine, it has been passed down through the ages and has become a good talk.
Jiaxing Folk Story: Guanyin Borrowed Land to Create Haining
The tide of Qianjiang River has been rushing with beautiful legends for thousands of years, and the birth of this land-Haining also has a beautiful story legend.
A long time ago, the Haining area was not land, but a vast ocean, under the jurisdiction of the King of the East China Sea. This dragon king has a bad temper. He can easily cause big tides and break the embankments, causing the people on the seashore to be displaced and have no peace.
Once, Nanhai Guanyin passed by here and felt pitiful when he saw the suffering of the people. At this moment, the Dragon King came out on patrol. There were shrimp soldiers and crab generals in front of him to clear the way, and a whale marshal behind him to suppress the formation. Dragon sons, dragons and grandsons crowded around him, causing the tide to roll and the white waves to surge. When Guanyin saw it, he walked barefoot on the beach and faced the tide. When the Dragon King saw Guanyin, he quickly stepped forward and bowed, and asked, "What is the master's decree?" Guanyin said, "Look, I came from the South China Sea to your East China Sea, and there was not even a place to rest!" The Dragon King reached out and grabbed it from the bottom of the sea. He picked up a stone and placed it on the head of the turtle, turning it into a "pointed mountain". He said to Guanyin, "Please rest here, Bodhisattva." Guanyin said, "This place is good, but it's a pity that this island is in the sea." , I am alone with no one to accompany me, it is too lonely. How about you lend me a shot and have people to accompany me?" The Dragon King thought, a shot can only take a hundred steps, so he agreed.
Thereupon, Guanyin stepped onto the top of the mountain, drew an arrow to the west, and shot it straight to the Yuelun Peak of Longshan, Hangzhou, where the Liuhe Pagoda was later built. When the Dragon King saw that Guanyin wanted to borrow so much land, he was a little reluctant. Seeing that the Dragon King had a troubled expression, Guanyin took out a dragon robe and said to the Dragon King, "I'll use this dragon robe as a bargain. When the time comes, I'll return your land and you return my dragon robe. What do you think?" The Dragon King saw Guanyin's hand. The sparkling dragon robe, his eyes widened like lanterns, he wanted to grab it, and he was so happy that he asked: "When will you return it?" Guanyin caught a snakehead fish and pinched the place where its dorsal fin and tail were connected. , said to the Dragon King: "One day the fins and tail on the back of the black fish are connected, I will return the land to you." The Dragon King thought for a while, then lifted up a piece of land from the seabed, put it on the back of the turtle, took the dragon robe, and Went back to the Crystal Palace happily.
The Dragon King had his own plans for agreeing so readily. Because the land is placed on the back of the turtle, as long as the turtle turns over, the land will still belong to the Eastern Sea. Sure enough, the turtle put a large piece of land on its back and struggled desperately to get rid of it. Guanyin saw the turtle moving non-stop and thought that the people still couldn't live and work in peace and contentment. She didn't have time to put on her shoes, so she stepped on the fish's head with her bare feet. The turtle could only remain silent and dare not move. Guanyin transformed into the incarnation of "Guanyin Going to the Sea" and stood on the head of the turtle forever.
Besides, the Dragon King of the East China Sea returned to the Crystal Palace and took out his dragon robe. As soon as he put it on, the sleeves fell off, and when he picked it up again, it all fell apart. It turned out that the dragon robe was made of paper. The angry Dragon King became furious and summoned hundreds of thousands of aquatic people on the spot, setting off a ten-foot-high wave and rushing towards the Qiantang River. When Guanyin went to the sea, she saw the Dragon King was angry. She just stood on the sharp mountain and smiled without talking to the Dragon King. The Dragon King scolded him for having no opponent. He was so angry that he jumped to the foot of Liuhe Pagoda. Thinking that he could not understand Guanyin, and his Dharma was not as powerful as Guanyin, he had to stop and return to the East China Sea with his head hanging down.
This blessed land borrowed by Guanyin is now Haining. The people of Haining have lived on this land for generations under the blessing of Guanyin. The tide poured into the Qiantang River and rushed to Hangzhou before disappearing. This beautiful legend that Guanyin borrowed land to create Haining has been passed down in this magical land.
The Legend of Zongzi and Emperor Qianlong
In the rural areas of Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing, there used to be a traditional custom that during the Dragon Boat Festival, in addition to wrapping zongzi, you must also make fried dumplings. Moreover, this fried rice dumpling is also an important gift for guests during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Nowadays, oily rice dumplings have long disappeared from rural Jiaxing, but in the past, this oily rice dumplings were indeed something that every household had to work hard to make before the Dragon Boat Festival. The main reason is that during the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather has turned hot, and food such as rice dumplings cannot be kept for a long time. Therefore, oily rice dumplings have become an ideal item for guests during the Dragon Boat Festival.
It is difficult to verify when the custom of making oil dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival in Xiuzhou District of Jiaxing originated. Folklore says it is related to Emperor Qianlong’s visit to the south of the Yangtze River. Legend has it that Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River and went all the way from Suzhou along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. When he arrived at Wangjiangjing, a long and lingering aroma suddenly floated over, making people salivate. So Emperor Qianlong went ashore and strolled into the riverside restaurant. A nunnery. Although the nunnery is not very grand, it is very neat and elegant. Emperor Qianlong was very interested in walking around and looking for incense. But it turned out that the aroma came from the dining room, where several aunties were busy making fried rice dumplings. This steamed bun is creamy yellow in color and shaped like a bow, which is very cute. But what made Emperor Qianlong and Huang Emperor even more happy was that there was a young aunt here with an upright appearance and fair complexion. Emperor Qianlong seemed to be attracted by a magnet, so he started chatting with this aunt. Unexpectedly, this sister-in-law had not lost her heart, but when she saw Emperor Qianlong's majestic appearance, she had already lost her sense of proportion. When she spoke, she was soft and soft, like a glutinous rice dumpling. This was exactly what Emperor Qianlong wanted, and the two talked happily. When parting, the aunt gave her a steamed rice dumpling as a gift. Emperor Qianlong also agreed with her that he would take her to the capital on his way back home. In order to make it easier to find this place, the two of them made an appointment, and the master's aunt was still making steamed buns. When the time came, Qianlong would smell the fragrance and look for the beauty.
Unexpectedly, this senior sister was so happy that she told her junior sister about the agreement, and she passed it on to others. When Emperor Qianlong passed by the Wangjiangjing river again, it was the Dragon Boat Festival of the lunar calendar. Seeing a scent of fragrance on the shore, the oil dumplings that were originally snacks in the nunnery have now entered the homes of ordinary people nearby. Where can he find the residence of the beautiful aunt? Emperor Qianlong knew in his heart that it must be his aunt who had revealed the secret of the two's appointment, which was why there was so much trouble in the family. Emperor Qianlong had no choice but to leave this small town in the south of the Yangtze River that had worried him for some days.
The emperor's dragon boat has gone away, but boiling oil dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival have become a custom in this area and have been passed down ever since. It is said that anyone who makes steamed rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival can ensure peace for a year and bring good luck to the whole family. Therefore, every year in the days before the Dragon Boat Festival, every household here has to grind rice, knead flour, and turn on the oil pan. Making oil dumplings requires a lot of work. The ratio of glutinous rice to stem rice must be appropriate, the amount of wine used for fermentation must be precise, and the oil temperature must be just right, otherwise it will become stiff and not crispy.
After making the oil dumplings, the container in which they are placed is also very particular. They are usually placed in a large bamboo steamer to prevent them from being broken. On the day when visiting relatives during the Dragon Boat Festival, one picks up a load, with three layers of bamboo steamers on the front and back, and hangs a few rice dumplings on the pole, which is a grand attire for guests.
Of course, because the process of making oil dumplings is complicated and there are many technical requirements, few people have made it since the early 1980s, and large cream cakes were used instead of oil dumplings. But now in the rural areas of Xiuzhou District, whenever you mention the oil dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, the elderly people will still show joy in their eyes and proudly tell you about the color, fragrance and appearance, as well as the relationship between Emperor Qianlong and You Sanzi's romantic affairs are so shocking that people can't help but envy them.