Chinese Folktale: The Goddess of Salt Water

Preface: The Goddess of Salt Water is the leader of the Salt Water tribe, and the Tujia people respectfully refer to her as the Goddess of Deji. It is said that after Fu Xi, she was the wife of Lin Jun.

Zàidehòudàizhōngyǒujiàoxiāngdexiǎohuǒzifēichángyǒuchū

In the descendants of Fu Xi, there was a promising young man of the Ba tribe named Wu Xiang.

Hòuláixiāngzuòleshǒulǐngdàilǐngjiāgànchūfānshìquèliúxiàduànàiqíngshì

Later, Wu Xiang became the leader of the tribe and led them to achieve great things, but he also left behind a love story.

Zàizhōnghuáshénzhōuyáoyuǎnde西nánfāngyǒuzuòluòzhōngshānshàngmiànzhùzheshìshìfánshìshěnshìxiāngshìzhèngshì

In the far southwest of the Central Plains, there was a mountain called Wuluozhongli, where five clans lived: Ba, Fan, Shen, Xiang, and Zheng.

shìméiyǒugòngtóngshǒulǐngchángyīnxiǎoshìzhēngdòu

The five clans had no common leader and often fought over small matters.

shìlǎorénshāngliángtuīxuǎndàibiǎoshìběnlǐngshuíyíngleshuíjiùshìshǒulǐng

So, the elders of the five clans got together and decided to elect representatives from each clan to compete in skills, and the winner would be the leader.

xiāngzàizhōngbiǎoxiànchūbèituīxuǎnwéidàibiǎo

Wu Xiang stood out in the Ba tribe and was elected as its representative.

sàitiānbǎixìngyōngzhedàibiǎoláidàoshāndǐnglúnshìzhìjiànxiāngdejiànxiàngshǎndiànyàngchāzàiduìmiàndòngxuéménkǒu

On the day of the competition, people from all clans gathered on the mountain top with their representatives. The first round was sword throwing, and Wu Xiang’s sword flew like lightning and stuck in the entrance of the cave on the opposite side.

èrlúnshìhuáchuánxiāngjiàshǐchuánzhíduìànyínglesài

The second round was boat racing, and Wu Xiang rowed his mud boat straight to the opposite shore and won the competition.

xiāngchéngwéigòngtóngshǒulǐngbèichēngwéilǐnjūn

Wu Xiang became the common leader of the five clans and was called Lin Jun.

wéiliàngqiángrénkǒuzēngduōdànyuánláidedòngxuézhùxiàleshígòu

The five clans merged into one and became stronger, with the population increasing, but the original caves were no longer enough to live in, and food was also scarce.

Lǐnjūnjuédìngxúnzhǎoxīnjiāyuánmenláidàoyányángxiǎngxiūzàichū

Lin Jun decided to search for a new home, and they came to Yanyang, where they wanted to rest for a few days before continuing their journey.

Yányángdeyánshuǐshénàishànglelǐnjūnxiǎngràngliúxiàlái

The Saltwater Goddess of Yanyang fell in love with Lin Jun and wanted him to stay.

Lǐnjūnsuīránhuānshéndànjuédeyányángfāngxiǎoduìbǎixìngxièjuéleshén

Although Lin Jun was also attracted to the goddess, he felt that Yanyang was too small for the whole tribe to live in, so he politely declined the goddess’s offer.

shéngānxīnměiwǎnláipéilǐnjūnháibiànchéngfēichóngdǎngmenchéng

The goddess was unwilling to let go and came to accompany Lin Jun every night, and even turned into flying insects to block their departure.

Lǐnjūnshīsònggěishénqīngzuòwéidìngqíngzhīràngzàishēnshàng

Lin Jun had no choice but to give the goddess a strand of his blue hair as a token of love and asked her to tie it around her waist.

Zǎochénshénbiànchéngfēichóngshíqīngsuífēngpiāodònglǐnjūndēngshàngyángshícháozheqīngshèjiànshénzhòngjiànzhuìyánshuǐ

In the morning, when the goddess turned into a flying insect, the blue hair strand fluttered in the wind. Lin Jun climbed onto a rock called Yangshi and shot an arrow towards the direction of the blue hair. The goddess was hit and fell into the saltwater.

shéndàizheniànhànfēichóngsàntiānkōnghuīmíngliàng

The goddess left with longing and regret, and the flying insects disappeared, restoring the sky to its brightness.

Lǐnjūndàilǐngbǎixìngxúnzhǎoxīnjiāyuánzuìzhōngzhǎodàokuàiráojiànxióngwěidechéngshì

Lin Jun led the people to continue their search for a new home and finally found a fertile land where they built a magnificent city.

Cóngmendesūnzàizhèfányǎnshēnglǐnjūnchéngwéiguózuìzǎokāi西nándexiānfēng

From then on, their descendants lived and multiplied here, and Lin Jun became one of the pioneers in the early development of southwestern China.


通过阅读中国神话、民间故事、历史典故、人物传记学汉语,简单易学,中英对照,适合初学者!
Learning Chinese through reading Chinese mythology, folk stories, historical allusions, and biographies is easy to learn and bilingual, suitable for beginners!

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