(3) The land of myths, legends and stories

Shanxi has a long history, so it is particularly rich in prehistoric myths, ancient legends, and stories from later generations. Some of them have become the basis of ancient history, some have been transformed into idiom stories, and some have been transformed into novels and dramas.

1. Myths and legends

The most popular ones include Nuwa creating human beings, refining stones to mend the sky, Fuxi creating the Eight Trigrams and knotting ropes to record events, Shen Nong tasting hundreds of herbs, the Yellow Emperor fighting Chiyou, and the wedding bridal chamber , banished Danzhu, Yi shot for nine days, Houji planted grains, Shun cultivated Lishan, played the harp and sang to the south wind, Shun's concubines raised silkworms, Shun established the calendar, and Dayu controlled the floods. These stories all take place in Shanxi, concentrated in the southern Shanxi area.

These myths and legends may not be credible, but they reflect the rough process of the ancestors transitioning from hunting and gathering to an agricultural economy. These characters may not have actually existed, but this process actually happened. For example, Nuwa and Fu Xi were originally brothers and sisters, and human beings were created by them. This reflects the fertility behavior of the most primitive group marriage and hybridization period of the marriage system. Nuwa's patching of the sky reflects that that period had entered the Neolithic Age. People had learned to use pottery, so they thought of refining earth into stone to repair the leaky sky. Shen Nong tasted hundreds of herbs, and the gathering economy was very developed. He learned to collect edible things and began to select and plant them. Then Houji planted grains. King Shun plowed the land and reached the top of the mountain to develop Yuncheng's salt land. Yao's image of being close to the people is actually an undifferentiated class, and the leader's life and treatment are the same as those of the common people. This is the historical stage of the primitive commune. The economy has developed to the point where there is enough food, exchange has occurred, and private ownership has sprouted. Therefore, Yao's son Danzhu wanted to seize Shun's power, but he was first exiled and then killed. Yao sent Yi to shoot for nine days, which is a reflection of a period of hot and dry weather. Dayu's flood control shows that the glacial period has passed and the warm interglacial period has arrived. Rain and meltwater flooded everywhere, production was destroyed (fields were washed away by flash floods, crops were submerged by floods), and lives were endangered (water damage, flooding, mudslides).

Some of these myths and legends can be verified by archeology, some can be found in geological records, and some can be obtained from social surveys (social surveys of primitive tribes since the 18th century). Here we should point out a circumstantial evidence that Chi You's battle with the Yellow Emperor took place in Shanxi. In 1984, the dance of "The Battle of Chi You" was unearthed in the Pingtougou area of ??Xixiang, Shouyang. It was locally called "Haunted" (actually an alias for Nuo opera). Chi You He led his 24 ghosts, wearing masks and colorful uniforms, to fight in formation with Emperor Xuanyuan. This ancient dance has been preserved to this day. It will not be a wave without wind, but a circumstantial evidence that matches the Yellow Emperor's dismemberment of Chi You in Yuncheng area. If more careful and in-depth excavations can be done in the Yuncheng, Linfen, and Changzhi areas, this kind of "Battle of Chiyou" dance will definitely be preserved, and perhaps it can also be found in ancient books.

2. Highlight historical allusions and idioms

There are many allusions in Chinese language and writing, which are often transformed into idioms. They are treasures of the Chinese nation. The concise words contain profound philosophy and allegory. They are often the condensation of a wonderful historical story.

There are more than 10,000 idioms commonly used in my country, which have been compiled into thick dictionaries, including the "Chinese Idiom Dictionary" and other versions. I haven't counted how many items come from Shanxi, but I have seen the "Shanxi Idiom Dictionary" with more than 200 pages. As far as I can remember, I will list some of the most widely used idioms and allusions from Shanxi to prove the splendid culture of Shanxi.

In ancient mythology, "Jingwei fills the sea" is a story about Shennong in Changzhi area. Shennong, the daughter of Emperor Yan, drowned in the East China Sea while traveling. Fill up the East China Sea. This story takes place in a larger lake east of Fajiu Mountain in the west of Changzi.

Cut a tung leaf to confer a younger brother, which is an allusion to the origin of the Jin Temple. When Tang Shuyu, the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty, was playing in the garden with the young King Cheng, King Zhou Cheng cut a tung leaf into a gui shape and gave it to Uncle Yu, jokingly saying : "I will give you this Gui, and I will make you the Marquis of the Tang State." Because the emperor had no joke, he later fulfilled his words and called the Tang State a Marquis at that time. Because the Tang State had Jinquan, it was changed from Tang to Jin. From then on, the state of Jin existed.

Not eating Zhou Dynasty grain, King Wu defeated Zhou, destroyed Yin and prospered Zhou Dynasty. Former ministers Boyi and Shuqi did not want to eat Zhou Dynasty's food and starved to death in Mount Buzhou. Buzhou Mountain is located in the south of Yongji and is the end of Zhongtiao Mountain.

The relationship between Qin and Jin was so good that in the Spring and Autumn Period, the prince of Jin, Chong'er, went into exile in Qin and married a Qin girl. From then on, the two countries helped and supported each other and formed a friendly relationship. Finally, the marriage between the two surnames was also called Qin and Jin.

The three families were divided into Jin, and during the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin was the dominant state. Later, the power of the three families of Wei, Zhao, and Han surpassed that of the Jin royal family. In the end, the three families divided the Jin Kingdom and were recognized by the Emperor of Zhou. From then on, the Jin Kingdom fell, and the three families stood side by side with the four kingdoms of Qi, Chu, Qin and Yan, and were called the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period.

The lips are dead and the teeth are cold. The Jin State wants to take advantage of the Yu State to destroy the Guo State. Chen Gongzhi uses "lips are dead and the teeth are cold" as a metaphor for the two countries of Yu and Guo to protect each other. If one country is destroyed, the other country will not survive. Persuasion Yu can't take advantage of it.

Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, Wei soldiers attacked Zhao, and Zhao asked Qi for help. Qi did not directly send troops to aid Zhao, but instead surrounded Wei's capital, and the Wei army had to withdraw to protect itself.

On paper, Qin could not attack Zhao for a long time. Because the veteran general Lian Po was strong in defending the battle, Qin pretended to be a Zhao official and said that Lian was old and useless, while Zhao Kuo was young and capable. So Zhao removed Lian Po and appointed Zhao Kuo as general. As a result, Zhao Kuo, who could only talk about war in vain, ordered all 400,000 of his soldiers to be captured and killed by Qin. The location of Keng Zhaobing was in Gukou Village, present-day Gaoping County. Because numerous skeletons were unearthed, the Skull Temple tourist attraction was built.

3. Famous stories and dramas

Chinese dramas are often adapted from historical stories or novels. Shanxi is the birthplace of many historical stories or folk tales.

"The Orphan of Zhao" tells the story of Zhao Shuo, a loyal minister of the Jin Kingdom, who was framed by the traitor Tu'anjia and his whole family was killed. Only his son Zhao Wu escaped because the son of Cheng Ying, a loyal servant of the Zhao family, was killed and pretended to be Zhao Wu. One calamity. Zhao Wu, who escaped, was raised by Cheng Ying and lived in seclusion in Zangshan, Yu County for fifteen years before he came out for revenge and killed Tu Anjia. This story has been adapted into various plays ("The Orphan of Zhao" or "Toogu"), and has even been translated to Western Europe. In modern times, this Western play was performed on Broadway in the United States, and it was evaluated that it can be compared with Shakespeare's "The Revenge of the Prince". Nowadays, many mountainous areas in Shanxi still have place names such as "Zanggutai", which is believed to be the hiding place for Zhao's orphans.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yang family generals in the county resisted the Liao Dynasty. A series of stories spread, and many of them were adapted into famous dramas, such as "Mu Guiying Takes the Command", "Silang Visits His Mother", "She Taijun White Hair Takes the Command", etc. Muke Village is located in Muge Village, Dai County, Wutai Mountain (transformed from Muke, the village is on the south ridge of Muge Village, and its ruins still exist today). Mu Guiying set up the Tianmen Formation at Jinlong Gorge in Hunyuan. In Taihuai Town of Wutai, there is Wulang Temple (where Yang Wulang became a monk) and Yang Laolinggong's Tomb (next to Jiulonggang).

In Yongji, there is the "Pujiu Temple" in "The Romance of the West Chamber". Zhang Sheng climbed an apricot tree and crossed the wall to enter Yingying's boudoir. Today, the buildings are still there. The old apricot trees have withered, but the new apricot trees are still standing. There is an excerpt of the play "The Red" and the episode "The Full Moon and the Flowers" from the movie "The West Chamber" are still sung today.

The famous drama "Yutangchun" originated from Hongdong. In "Su San Qi Jie", "There are no good people in Hongdong County" scolded 100,000 people in Hongdong. Today, the good guy actually erected a monument next to the big locust tree in the north of the city. The county prison in the Ming Dynasty was also renovated and opened as a tourist attraction.

Xue Rengui, a native of Xiucun, Hejin County, made outstanding military and political achievements with Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. There are novels such as "Xue Rengui's Conquest of the East", "Xue Dingshan's Conquest of the West", "Xue Gang's Rebellion against the Tang Dynasty" and other popular works. The former residence "Hanyao" became famous all over the world because Wang Baochuan stayed there for eight years.

The story of the child prodigy "Sima Guang smashing the vat" to save his friends takes place in the former residence of Xiaochao Village, Shuitou Town, Xia County.