Oi-Fei
Far in the extreme West, beyond the sandy deserts scorching in summer and freezing in winter, beyond the impassable labyrinth of mountains and gorges through which mountain streams, covered with white foam, rush furiously, beyond the endless salt marshes where no life is possible, rise the serene masses of the Kunlun Mountains.These mountains, desolate and wild, without streams, without the slightest shrub or blade of grass, rise with sheer, bare walls so high that they pierce several of the lower heavens.
There, in the mountains, above the nine heavens, resides Xi Wang Mu, the queen of all immortal women, snakes, and all female beings. Directly opposite the Northern Dipper stands a city of wondrous beauty, surrounded by a massive wall five hundred versts long. On each of the four sides of this wall, facing east, west, north, and south, rise three jade towers of extraordinary beauty. And only one gate leads into this marvelous city. In the middle of the eastern wall, a gate of ineffable beauty, carved from gold by heavenly artisans, rises a thousand feet high. Above the gate shines an otherworldly, miraculous pearl, thirty chi (feet) in size, and its mysterious, magical, matte glow, sometimes sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow, is visible from five hundred versts away.
The great Xi Wang Mu, or Jing Mu, the "Golden Mother," is surrounded by a host of pure heavenly maidens standing to her left and a multitude of innocent youths to her right. They guard the goddess's gardens, where smooth peaches grow. It takes nine thousand years for them to ripen; but over the millennia, a wondrous power matures and accumulates within them: whoever tastes them becomes immortal.
Yet no mortal can penetrate the golden walls surrounding these gardens: only from time to time does the Great Mother hold a grand festival on the third day of the third month, the "Pan-dao-hui," to which she invites gods, spirits, geniuses, and some immortals, and then treats them to the honey of heavenly bees and the peaches of immortality.
Higher still, above the wondrous city of Xi Wang Mu, resides the great Dong Wang Gong, or Yu Huang Jun, the very one whom the common folk call Mugong. He is the one who keeps strict account of all male immortals. Once, he and Jin Mu were created from the ether, and he was given dominion over the East, while she was given the West.
But neither of them concerned themselves with the petty affairs of mortals: all earthly filth was hidden from them by the lower heavens, whose lords are the spirits of rain—Yu Shi, or Bing Yi—and wind—Feng Bo, or Feng Lian. They drive clouds from place to place and water the land of the righteous. And they punish those who have lost virtue: drought or terrible downpours destroy all crops.
They are aided by the goddess of lightning, Dian Mu, and the god of thunder, Lei Gong. When the graceful beauty Dian Mu flashes her two round mirrors, which she holds in her hands, and when Lei Gong strikes his hammer against the stone drum five hundred versts in diameter at the edge of the mountain, no living thing can withstand it: even cliffs and mountains crumble into abysses, and the spirits imprisoned within the mountains are set free.
All this occurs below the first heavens; above them reigns serene tranquility and silence in the inter-heavenly spaces, illuminated during the festivals of the celestials by the mysterious sacred radiance of the lord of the north—Zheng Wubei Ji (the North Pole).
But higher, immeasurably higher than all the peaks of the Kunlun, and higher than all the spirits and gods, sat the great god Ru Lai Fo.
Not a new god, come from foreign lands, but the great, ancient, true Fo sat upon a lotus throne. His hands were folded on his lap, palms upward: his youthful face, surrounded by a wide radiance, was serene; his eyes were cast downward, and a small protrusion on his forehead, shaped like an eye, emitted a flickering light of wisdom.
His clothing did not cover his chest, in the center of which lines, like those on a human palm, had been clearly inscribed by the will of Fate with the mysterious character "wan"—a symbol of holiness, wisdom, justice, infinite goodness, and great mysterious knowledge.
The great Fo, the "Lord who gazes from on high," sat upon a wondrous throne of lotuses, emitting a heavenly fragrance, and words of divine wisdom flowed from his lips. Countless spirits, in holy ecstasy, beyond time and space, listened to his wondrous words... A great silence enveloped everything, and only the sacred words, like pearls, rolled from the lips of the All-Merciful and quenched the spiritual thirst of the immortal spirits.
And suddenly, a coarse, earthly, inappropriate sound was heard, caused by the spirit Bai Bian Fu (the thousand-year-old white bat) named Nü Tu Fu... The Lord of all times and worlds paused his speech, and all the spirits froze in horror at the unprecedented audacity. And immediately, the great spirit Jin Chi Niao ("Golden-Winged Bird"), the very one from whose beak a wondrous emerald is born, the closest guardian of the deity, rushed at the blasphemous spirit. In an instant, he tore it to pieces and threw the trembling remains to the ground.
With anger, for the first time in a thousand years, the Infinitely Just One looked at the zealous guardian.
"You, Jin Chi Niao, how could you dare to not restrain your anger and take the life of a spirit like yourself? And merely for the weakness of the flesh, inherent in all living beings... You no longer have a place in heaven—go to earth and, instead of the spirit Jin Chi Niao, be simply the bird White Eagle. With earthly life, atone for your sin of hot temper, and, purified, return here with a tempered will!"
It became unbearably heavy for Jin Chi Niao, not so much from the loss of his spiritual height, achieved once at great cost, but from the angry words of the All-Good deity, heard for the first time. And in the depths of his heart, which had already begun to imperceptibly lose its spiritual essence, a feeling of resentment was born. "If only," thought Jin Chi Niao, "I had suffered because of someone else, but because of the Bat, the most despised of all spirits!"
But he had no time to ponder long—he fell like a stone downward, and the earth quickly approached. Spreading his mighty wings, he slowed his flight and, after describing a wide circle, landed on a large stone overhanging the river. Jin Chi Niao looked down and saw his reflection in the water: he was no longer the golden-winged spirit, but a simple bird, the White Eagle.
Upon returning to the earth he had long abandoned, he immediately fell under the influence of its forces, and earthly feelings became familiar to him again. He was overcome by a strong hunger... The Eagle looked around and saw that not far from him, basking in the sun's rays, a large river turtle was sleeping sweetly. The predatory instinct immediately awakened in the Eagle, and he flew over the turtle and killed it with a blow of his beak to the head.
A minute later, only the turtle's shell remained, and the Eagle was sated. But nothing escapes the all-seeing gaze of the great Fo.
— White Eagle, — the fallen spirit heard in the thunderous roars the wrathful voice of the Almighty, — you have committed a terrible deed once again! There will be no forgiveness for you until you have atoned a hundredfold for your guilt before your victims. You shall be reborn, and your heart will remain as pure and loyal as it has always been; but for your crimes in this life, you shall endure trials and punishments in the next... And immediately, White Eagle fell into a death-like slumber.
At that very moment, in the city of Yo-chou-fu, in the Yo family (also read as Yue or Yao), a boy was born, later known by the name of Yo Fei.
The soul of the bat Nü Tu-fu also did not wander in the void but was reborn into the body of a girl, who was later called Wang-shi.
And the soul of the devoured turtle also found a new abode at the moment of death—the body of a boy named Qin Gui.
All three children grew up. Qin Gui became the husband of Wang-shi, and they had a beautiful daughter. Thanks to their parents' wealth, connections, and his own cunning, Qin Gui gained access to the imperial court.
The emperor's younger brother, upon seeing Qin Gui's daughter one day, became infatuated with her and made her his wife.
Soon, the beauty's husband himself became emperor and appointed his father-in-law, Qin Gui, as the prime minister.
But then enemies attacked the Middle Kingdom, and the only defense against them was the world-renowned great general Yo Fei. Upon seeing him once when he presented himself to the emperor, Qin Gui and Wang-shi felt an overwhelming hatred toward him, which they could not explain... Their limited minds did not know that these were echoes of their relationships in past existences.
The minister and his wife decided to destroy Yo Fei. The emperor's wife, at her father's instigation, slandered the hero. He was imprisoned and subjected to horrific tortures. Not content with this, Wang-shi ordered Yo Fei to be stripped naked in winter, doused with water, and exposed to the freezing wind, then had red-hot irons pressed against his bare flesh; the flesh that stuck to the metal was torn off in chunks... In short, he was subjected to the torments of the second and ninth circles of hell, where murderers are cast.
Finally, Yo Fei was killed. His soul, purified by suffering, no longer needed earthly reincarnations; it entered the body of a youth who steadfastly followed the Buddha himself, holding before him a vase of peonies, emitting a heavenly fragrance.
As for the souls of Qin Gui and Wang-shi, they were destined to be reborn for one earthly cycle (80,000 years) into the bodies of people with the most unfortunate lives, without the right to rest in the body of an animal, for the life of an unhappy person is far more burdensome than that of an unhappy animal... So goes the legend.
And the story of these same individuals continues as follows.
In Henan Province, in Tangyin County of Xianzhou Prefecture, there lived a wealthy farmer—an extraordinary man, a complete altruist. He gave away everything he had to those who asked. There were cases when neighbors seized pieces of his land; even then, he did not protest but instead went to the local official, obtained a deed in the name of the usurper, and sent the document to the offender.
Of course, in the end, he and his family often went hungry.
He had no children, that is, no boys, as girls did not count. But finally, after his wife Yo prayed to the goddess Sun Shen Niang-niang, the giver of children, the couple found hope. Indeed, they had a son.
At the very moment of his birth, a huge bird—an eagle—circled above their house for a long time, crying out loudly; thus, the child was named Fei, which means "to fly," and later he was given the nickname Peng-ju.
This was in the year 1103 AD.
Yo Fei grew up as a modest, obedient boy, though we do not know how he was educated. It is only known that he was very passionate about all the sports known at the time. He developed such physical strength that he could draw a bow with a force of 300 jin (almost 180 kg) and a crossbow with a force of 8 dan (460 kg). At the same time, he diligently studied history and all the manuals on military art.
At that time, northern China was embroiled in a fierce struggle with the newly emerged Jurchen (or Nüzhen) people, the ancestors of the Daur. The Nüzhen, having defeated the Khitans, who had previously occupied southern Manchuria and northern China, took their place and began to harshly oppress the Chinese. The latter suffered defeat after defeat, and finally, their emperor Qin-zun, along with his father, the abdicated emperor Hui-zong, and many officials (including the minister Qin Gui and his wife Wang-shi), were captured by the Nüzhen in 1127. The emperors were sent to what is now Ningguta, where they eventually died. The emperor's younger brother, named Gou, managed to escape and ascended the throne, choosing Hangzhou as his capital. In history, he is known as Gaozong.
It was then that Yo Fei, unable to calmly endure the misfortunes of his homeland, raised a call and gathered a cavalry of 500 volunteers, marching with them against the enemy.
The Jurchens, it seems, had grown accustomed to easy victories and scornfully dismissed such an insignificant opponent. However, the consequences of this negligence proved to be extremely grave for them. Yue Fei defeated the hundred-thousand-strong army of the Jurchens.
This extraordinary victory brought him immense popularity, and volunteers began to flock to him from all sides. His army, in which he enforced the strictest discipline, knew no defeats; the enemy lost one conquered province after another, and he was appointed commander of one of the three Chinese armies fighting against the Jin (the name the Jurchens gave to their dynasty and state).
At that time, Wanyan Zongbi, a Jin general, decided to use a special tactic against the Chinese. He offered a significant sum of money and freedom to Qin Hui and his wife on the condition that they would use all means at their disposal to halt the successes of the Chinese troops and bring about the downfall of Yue Fei. Qin Hui agreed, gained his freedom, and became the chief minister under Emperor Gaozong.
Meanwhile, Yue Fei's army was already approaching the Jin capital, Huanglongfu.
Wanyan Zongbi then demanded that Qin Hui fulfill his obligation. Fearing that his shameful agreement would be exposed if he failed to comply, Qin Hui sent orders to the commanders of the troops on the right and left flanks of the battlefield to retreat immediately. Only Yue Fei's forces remained in the center. Nevertheless, Yue Fei did not cease his military operations. Qin Hui then sent 12 messengers to Yue Fei in a single day, one after another, ordering him to retreat at once. He also reported to the emperor that Yue Fei, his son Yue Yun, and his son-in-law Zhang Xian no longer wished to fight and were plotting to use their loyal troops to overthrow the emperor and place Yue Fei on the throne.
As soon as Yue Fei arrived in the capital, he, along with his son and son-in-law, was immediately arrested and thrown into prison.
The investigation, conducted with great bias by Qin Hui's lackeys, yielded no evidence against Yue Fei. During the interrogation, when the hero was accused of disobedience and treachery, he was ordered by the judges to remove his outer garment. Then everyone saw the tattoo on his back—four characters: "jing zhong bao guo," meaning "forever loyal to the defense of the nation." When questioned about the origin of these marks, Yue Fei said that his mother had inscribed them when he was still a child and that he would never deviate from their meaning. Unable to obtain anything, the prisoners were sent back to jail.
A whole year passed, and the emperor finally demanded a resolution in Yue Fei's case.
Since further delay was impossible, Qin Hui, on his wife's advice, decided to eliminate his enemy. Lady Wang sucked the juice from an orange and placed inside the empty peel a handwritten order from Qin Hui to the jailer to immediately execute all three prisoners.
The jailer, receiving the orange from the chief minister, was astonished by such a gesture. But upon breaking it open, he realized that the minister had used this unusual method to keep the order secret.
The next day, the emperor was informed that the prisoners had suddenly died.
However, news of this atrocity reached the people; the image of the beloved hero was surrounded by an aura of martyrdom, and when Emperor Xiaozong, the adopted son of Emperor Gaozong, ascended the throne in 1162, the new emperor sought to atone for the sins of his predecessor. He granted lands to Yue Fei's relatives and bestowed upon Yue Fei himself a grand title; his remains were transferred to the city of Hangzhou and buried on an island in West Lake, where a magnificent mausoleum was erected in his honor.
And what of Qin Hui and his worthy wife, Lady Wang?
On the same island where Yue Fei's remains rest, an avenue lined with stone statues of people and horses stretches from his tomb. At the beginning of this avenue, on either side of the entrance gates within the enclosure surrounding the burial site, two stone cages hold life-sized iron statues of kneeling figures with their hands tied behind their backs. On the right side are General Zhang Jun, who abandoned Yue Fei in a critical moment, and one of Qin Hui's lackeys.
On the left are the statues of Qin Hui himself and his wife. They suffered a punishment unforeseen by history, law, or the creators of the monument: firstly, Qin Hui's name has become synonymous with a spittoon, and secondly, every Chinese person who visits Yue Fei's tomb considers it their duty to defile these statues. Moreover, the breasts of the half-naked statue of Lady Wang shine as if polished from the touch of countless hands.
"Be forever loyal to me, as Yue Fei was to his sovereign,"
says a girl to her beloved in a Chinese folk song.
"My pink lotus," replies her beloved,
"May you never resemble the wicked Lady Wang."
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