The Maiden-Voivode

Not far from the city of Girin lies the ancient town of Uldagai. More than a thousand years ago, this entire region, known as Shu-zhou, belonged to the Bohai Kingdom, which stretched eastward to the sea. Later, Ulagai passed to the Khitan Liao Kingdom and then to the Jurchen Jin Kingdom.

When the Ming Dynasty in China was already in decline, and the great Taizu Gao Huangdi (Nurhaci), the founder of the sacred Da Qing Dynasty, was building the foundations of the Manchu Empire and establishing postal routes, a postal station was set up near present-day Ulagai. This station was called the "Border Tower Station" (Bian-tai-yi-zhan).

Even at the beginning of the "sacred" dynasty, Ulagai was surrounded by an earthen wall, which is still visible today and is called Gu-chen ("ancient city").

Long ago, a remarkable girl named Bai-hua (White Flower) lived in this town. She was the daughter of a Manchu gusaida (in Chinese, tut-ling, a colonel), and from a young age, she was nothing like other girls. She had no interest in dolls, dresses, or girlish pastimes; she only played with boys, engaging in games of robbers and war, and the boys always chose her as their leader.

As she grew older, Bai-hua still refused to think of marriage. When her father reproached her, saying she was more like a soldier than a woman, she asked him to let her join the army rather than marry.

Her father thought to himself: to stop his daughter from idle talk, let her experience the hardships and burdens of military life firsthand. Perhaps that would cure her of her unladylike ways.

"Very well," he told his daughter, "but you must serve as an ordinary soldier, endure all the hardships of service, go to war when required, and never reveal to anyone that you are a girl or my daughter!"

Bai-hua gladly agreed.

A few days later, a young warrior rode out from the back gates of the gusaida's house on a spirited horse. Clad in a thick quilted cotton jacket with steel plates sewn onto it (a Manchu substitute for armor), a curved sword at his belt, a bow on his back, and a quiver full of arrows, this was Bai-hua, sent by her father to a distant garrison.

Soon, war broke out. Troops from all over Manchuria marched south, and with them, the young soldier left her homeland for a long time.

Several years passed. Bai-hua's father had given up hope of ever seeing his daughter again when one day he was informed that the newly appointed gusaida of a neighboring banner (regiment) wished to see him. The old man went out to greet his guest—and saw that it was his own daughter, who, thanks to her bravery and military talents, had quickly risen to the rank of gusaida.

A little more time passed, and Bai-hua distinguished herself so greatly in wars that the emperor placed all the troops under her command and granted her the title of "Gusabe Kadala-ra Amban." Thus, Bai-hua, no longer hiding her gender, became her father's superior...

She settled in Ulagai. Nowhere else were the troops so well-ordered and disciplined, for the soldiers had no time for idleness. In the very center of the earthen town, Bai-hua built a square clay tower. From the top of this tower, she daily observed the soldiers' training, and woe to the lazy or unskilled!

As she undoubtedly enjoyed the special patronage of the war god Guan-di (Lao-ye), she built a large temple in his honor south of the town wall. She often visited this temple, called Lao-ye Miao, to pray and offer sacrifices.

Bai-hua grew old and died a maiden. Many years passed, but the people continued to honor the temple she had built, and on the temple festival day, crowds gathered from all the surrounding areas.

It happened that during the reign of the divine Wanzong Xiang-huangdi, a formidable rebellion broke out in southern China.

The rebellion spread widely across the empire, and rebels appeared in Manchuria as well. Their bands grew rapidly, as they seized all able-bodied men who could not escape and forced them to serve in their armies. Slowly and inevitably, like a tide, their hordes advanced toward Girin.

The troops in Girin were commanded by a general named De, a good man but a poor strategist. He gathered as many soldiers as he could and, without properly assessing the enemy's strength, marched to meet them.

Near Ulagai, the opponents clashed, and battle began. The soldiers fought bravely, but the enemy's superiority in numbers was so great that after a full day of fighting, victory seemed to tilt in favor of the rebels.

Countless soldiers of General De fell... When the rebels flanked the government troops and attacked from the side, the soldiers could not hold their ground and fled. General De himself fled through Ulagai.

But the rebels had already surrounded the town on three sides, and the general saw no hope of escape: they would surely show him no mercy! In desperation, he rushed into the Lao-ye Temple, enclosed by a brick wall, and hid with a few of his close aides in the most remote building of the temple—the inner sanctuary.

He fell to the cold floor before the giant statue of Guan-di, impassively seated on a throne beneath a canopy, and fervently prayed for salvation to the great god of war, the patron of the dynasty, and the spirit of the courageous Bai-hua da-jiang, the builder of the temple...

For the first and last time in his life, General De prayed so earnestly, but it seemed in vain... The rebels had already caught his trail and surrounded the temple in a tight ring. There was no escape: if they did not take the temple by storm, they would starve the defenders out. How much food could there be in a temple?

Suddenly, noise, shouts, and groans among the rebels drew the attention of the besieged. The general climbed onto the wall and saw something strange and extraordinary happening among the rebels: their horses were going wild, trampling their own men, warriors were attacking each other, striking fatal blows, many tried to flee but fell immediately...

Soon, there was not a single enemy left in the rebel camp capable of resistance. Then General De and his men emerged from the temple grounds and began questioning a few wounded rebels, trembling with fear, about what had happened.

They all gave the same account. Just as the besiegers were preparing to storm the temple, the main gates of the temple suddenly swung wide open. Out of them charged an innumerable host of tall, fearsome warriors on massive horses, all clad in armor and helmets, each wielding a large sword and spear. And at the head—on a huge horse, a terrifying woman with flowing hair... These figures swept like a whirlwind upon the astonished rebels, and a terrible slaughter began, for the rebels could neither flee from the fearsome enemies nor defend themselves. Only a few, who were on the outskirts, managed to escape and scatter in all directions.

Thus, Bai-hua da-jiang protected those who sought her help and punished the bold bandits who dared to disrupt order in her domain.

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The Maiden-Voivode

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