Pan Hu: The Princess and the Dog

Hey guys! Today's post is a relatively short story, in part because I've been wanting to tell it and in part because midterms are here. I'll have a special treat for you next week – the first of my posts about the Monkey King!

Today's story is about a dog named Panhu. The character plays an important role in the King Pan Festival. Some cultures in China trace their lineage back to Pan Hu's ancestry. Let's dive into the myth!

Once there was a mighty king in China. There came a time when his queen developed a most dreadful earache. The king sent for physicians and wizards, until at last one was able to solve his wife's ailment. The man extracted a small golden worm from the queen's ear, and the pain immediately went away.

Instead of killing it, the queen was intrigued by the worm. She put it on a plate and covered it in a small jar, leaving some food and drink out for the creature. Several days passed. When next the queen checked on the worm, she discovered that a small dog rested upon the plate – the worm had transformed!

 

The dog was named after the plate and the jar, resulting in the name of Pan Hu. He grew rapidly, until he was soon nearly the size of a man on his back legs. The king was quite fond of Pan Hu and kept him always by his side.

Because of this, Pan Hu learned of some of the king's problems. A neighboring kingdom was at war with him, and it didn't look as if the king could win. He had put out a bounty on the enemy king, promising to reward the hand of his daughter in marriage to whoever killed the other king and brought his head as proof. Unfortunately, due to the enemy king's military prowess, no one was willing to try.

Well...no human, any way.

Upon hearing of the bounty, Pan Hu disappeared for several days. The king was very worried, for no one knew where he had gone. Imagine his surprise when, several days later, Pan Hu reappeared – carrying the head of the king's worst enemy!

(Not all versions of the story tell of how Pan Hu defeated the enemy king. One which I have gives an explanation I quite enjoy, however – one similar to the Greek Trojan horse. Pan Hu went straight to the enemy king's castle. Upon seeing him, the king declared that his opponent's favorite dog had deserted him, and that it was obviously a good omen of his impending victory. A celebration was held. Pan Hu waited until the whole castle was drunk, then beheaded the king and went on his way.)

A great feast was held in celebration, with the best cuts of meat reserved for Pan Hu. Despite this honor, the dog refused to partake in the feast, and instead sulked in the corner. The king abruptly remembered his promise to marry his daughter to whoever defeated his opponent. He went before Pan Hu and tried to explain. Surely the dog did not expect to marry the princess? After all, she was a human, and he was a...well, a dog!

Much to the king's surprise, Pan Hu spoke to answer him! The dog explained that if it was only his animal form which was preventing the marriage, it could be easily fixed. If Pan Hu was placed beneath a golden bell and left there for seven days, without anyone looking at him, he would become a man.

The king agreed to this, and the dog was placed beneath a golden bell. Six days passed without incident, but partway through the seventh the princess herself grew worried about Pan Hu. No food or drink had been left with him, and she did not want the dog to waste away. She lifted the bell ever so slightly to slip a drink underneath –

– and the spell was broken.

 

The transformation had mostly finished, leaving Pan Hu with the body of a man. However, his head remained that of a dog. Despite this, the king honored his agreement and married his daughter to Pan Hu. The princess and Pan Hu went on to have many children, whose descendants are the Yao of China.
 

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I love that a dog succeeded where no mortal man could.

See you next week!

Crane Maidens: The Cowherd and the Weaving Girl

Hey guys!  I hope you all had a lovely week, and a fantastic Valentine's Day.  Keeping in theme with that holiday, today's story is one of the great love stories of China.

Within Chinese mythology there frequently appear stories of the Crane Maidens. These young women are sometimes referred to as “fairies”, but were considered to be the daughters of the gods. Crane Maidens come to earth in the form of a crane (hence the name), but shed their feathery coats and become beautiful young women to bathe.

Their coats they leave on the side of the lake. Any man who can seize one of their feathered coats can trap the maiden in human form and claim her for his wife. A similar story can be found in African mythology (and in stories from many other cultures all over the world).

Frequently, the Crane Maiden stays with her mortal husband long enough to have a child. Sometime after the birth of a baby, the Maiden finds her feathered coat, which her husband has kept hidden from her. She puts it on and returns to heaven, leaving her husband and child behind.
 

However, the story I wish to focus on today is that of The Cowherd and the Weaving Girl – in which the husband follows the Crane Maiden when she returns to heaven.
 

Shall we begin?
 

Once there was a young cowherd named Niulang. When his parents died the young man's brothers took the best part of the inheritance, leaving Niulang with nothing but a small set of land and an old ox. Niulang was a diligent worker, and he made the best of a tough situation. He frequently spoke to his ox, considering it to be a friend.
 

One day after work Niulang confessed to the ox that he was lonely. He had no one to share his work or his life with, save for the loyal ox. Much to his surprise, the ox spoke, presenting him with an answer! It told him of a nearby pool, and told Niulang to go there and wait for the Heavenly Maidens to descend. Once they had begun to bathe, Niulang was to steal one woman's feathery clothes. She would be unable to fly away, and would remain on earth to be his wife.
 

Niulang followed his ox's advice, and settled in near the pool to wait. True to the ox's words, a flock of cranes descended from the skies. One by one they shed their clothes, transforming into beautiful young maidens. They left their clothes by the side of the pool as they entered to bathe. Niulang waited until they were all in the water, then snuck over and seized one of the sets of clothes.
 

The women burst into a frenzy, running from the water for their coats. They pulled them on and transformed into birds before his eyes, quickly taking to the sky. Soon only one maiden was left, standing naked and alone. It was her clothes which Niulang held.
 

He spoke kindly to the girl, Zhinu, and asked her to be his wife. She agreed, and the husband and wife returned to work Niulang's farm together.

 

 

Zhinu turned out to be a talented weaver, and the income her wares brought made their life a comfortable one. In time, she gave birth to a son and a daughter.
 

Yet their happiness was to be shortlived. One day the old ox spoke to Niulang again. It told him that it would soon die, but that it wished to do him one more good turn in its life. The ox asked that after it had died, Niulang would take its hide. The animal promised that it would help him one day. Niulang agreed, and once the faithful old beast had passed away he skinned it and kept its hide.
 

Soon after, the cowherd had cause to use the hide. The day came when his wife told him that it was time for her to return to heaven. She had been gone for too long, and the Jade Emperor, chief among the gods, would be looking for her. Sure enough, emissaries from heaven soon arrived to return her home. Zhinu put on her coat of feathers and followed them back to heaven, leaving her husband and children behind.
 

But Niulang was unwilling to be parted from his beloved wife. Remembering the ox's words, he threw the hide over his shoulders. The cowherd slung a pole over his shoulders, attaching a basket to either end of it. In each basket he put one of his children. Thus prepared, he set out to follow his wife.

Niulang followed her almost all the way to heaven, but he found his path blocked by a massive river of stars – the Milky Way. There was no way for Niulang to cross the river, but his wife waited for him on the other side of it.

 

Seeing their distress, the gods eventually took pity on the couple. One day out of every year, they allow the cowherd and the weaver girl to cross the river and see one another. On this day, thousands of magpies take to the air and form a bridge across the Milky Way so that the couple can cross.

This day is celebrated in China as the Qixi Festival.

 

If you look at the sky, you can still see Niulang and Zhinu waiting for one another. Two bright stars sit on either side of the Milky Way – Altair and Vega. Two smaller stars near Altair represent Niulang's children, still waiting for their mother in the baskets their father carries.
 

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I'll be back next week with another tale from Chinese mythology.