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Folktale:
Wusong
The Tiger Slayer
The stories are based on some 108 men who sought refuge on
Liangshan Marsh after running into trouble with the law. The
marsh became
a famous hideout for these outlaws. Though fugitives in the
eyes of the authorities, these men had committed crimes in
their
bid for justice.
I,
Wu Song, is a man of iron and courage. I have gone through
many ups and downs in life - avenging a murdered brother
and suffering injustice and persecution.
I
was on my way back to |
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Yanggu
county to my elder brother after an absence from home of many
long years. There was only one mountain, the
Jingyang Ridge, to cross before I could be home.
Hungry and thirsty, I ordered meat and drink. After I had eaten
a hearty meal and drunk three bowls of wine, I picked up my
bundle to continue my journey. The wine seller warned me that
in recent months a tiger had been roaming the ridge and had
taken the lives of around twenty people. He also said that the
local magistrate had stipulated that passers-by could only cross
the ridge during the few hours before and after noon time and
must do so in large groups.
I was
not afraid and set out alone late in the afternoon. Halfway
up the slope, I was tired and slumped down on a rock for a
rest. In a flash, a slant-eyed, white-browed tiger burst out
like a howling whirlwind. It sprang at me. I jumped aside
to dodge it. Raising the club that I carried, I aimed a blow
at the tiger but missed. Instead, I had swung the club onto
a tree and broke it into two. The life and death struggle
with the tiger lasted for some time. I managed to grasp the
tiger by the scruff of the neck and press its head down.
With
all my might, I kicked the beast in its face and eyes. The
tiger set up a terrible roaring and pawed the ground underneath
its body. The scraping and scuffling wore away the dirt and
I pressed the tiger's muzzle down into the pit. Finally, the
tiger began to show signs of exhaustion. Grasping the tiger
by the neck with my left hand, I clenched my right fist into
a hammer of iron and with all the strength I could muster,
I struck it again and again.
After
fifty to seventy blows, blood flowed out from the tiger's
eyes, mouth, nose and ears. Believe it or not, that was how
I managed to kill the tiger with my bare hands. Quickly, the
news spread and that was how I came to be known as the tiger
slayer.
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