Hunan folklore: the legendary culture of Liu Hai chopping wood

The legend of cutting firewood with bangs was born in Wuling District, Changde City, Hunan Province, and it is widely circulated in

Hunan folklore: the legendary culture of Liu Hai chopping wood

The legend of cutting firewood with bangs was born in Wuling District, Changde City, Hunan Province, and it is widely circulated in Wuling District (former Changde City) and Dingcheng District (former Changde County). The Biography of Liu Hai Chopping Wood is full of characters, distinctive personality, positive theme, touching details, depicting the hearts of characters and complete structure. They are the treasures of Hunan folk oral literature and represent the highest level of Hunan folk oral literature. In 2006, the legend of Liu Hai chopping firewood was identified as the first batch of intangible cultural heritage list projects in Hunan Province.

According to relevant data, the legend of Liu Hai chopping wood is related to Liu Haichan, one of the five ancestors of Quanzhen religion in the North of the Northern Song Dynasty. The Complete Volume of Liexian has been published for seven years: "Liu Xuanying,No. Haichan Zi, first named Cao." The second volume of Shi Li's Continued Natural History in the Song Dynasty records: "Seafood, surnamed Liu Yuan." The first volume of Qu Hao Popular Compilation in Qing Dynasty (New Edition of Series Integration) records: "Liu Xuanying,No. Haichan Zi ... Nowadays, people call it Liu Hai." It can be seen that Liu Hai's Toad is a fake story of Liu Haichan.

Whether Liu Haichan has been to Changde is unknown. But his fifth-generation disciple, Bai Yuchan, a Taoist priest in the Southern Song Dynasty, not only visited Changde, but also lived in Changde for a period of time. The Ming Dynasty's Record of Jiajing Changde recorded that Bai Yuchan "tasted the breath and left the concept of gratitude. In Xia Yue, the frogs in the pool are noisy and painted with tiles, but the frogs are afraid to enter the pool. " In order to promote Taoism, Bai Yuchan added Taoism to the legend of local foxes falling in love.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the legend of Liu Hai chopping wood in Changde continued to develop and spread. By the middle of Qing Dynasty, the main version of the legend of Liu Hai chopping wood had been formed, which was deeply loved by people together with local religious culture, farming culture and citizen culture. At that time, Changde had become an important material distribution center in China, with a large number of urban residents, and various operas, performing rap arts and folk stories took root and blossomed in Changde. In The Biography of Liu Hai Chopping Wood, the psychological description, detailed description, comedy factors, happy ending, the structure is becoming more and more perfect, and the characters are becoming more and more full, which has become a wonderful flower in Hunan folk literature garden.

Legend of cutting firewood with bangs

/kloc-At the end of 0/9, the legend of Liu Hai chopping firewood was adapted into an ancient painting drama "Liu Hai chopping firewood" and Liu Hai drama "Golden Cicada" by folk artists, which was widely circulated in Dongting Lake area and even throughout the province. 1978, Flower Drum Opera "Liu Hai Pi Chai" was made into a colorful opera art film by Beijing Film Studio. 1984 and 1986, CCTV sang the clip of Liu Hai chopping firewood twice in the Spring Festival Evening, which made Liu Hai chopping firewood have a wide influence in the country. 1983, Hunan Ancient Painting Opera House was invited to perform "Liu Hai Opera Jin Chan" in the United States, and the legend of Liu Hai chopping firewood spread overseas.

Legend of cutting firewood with bangs

I live in Liujiamen in Wuling, Changde and Luffa well. These are two lyrics of Liu Hai in xiang opera's "Liu Hai Chops Wood". There are many versions of the legend of Liu Hai chopping wood in Changde, and their contents are not the same. The most popular and influential version of the legend about Liu Hai chopping wood in Wuling District is that in ancient times, Liu Hai and his son lived next to Loofah Well in Wuling District of Changde City. Liu's mother wept bitterly because she missed her dead husband. Liu Hai is very hardworking and filial. She goes up the mountain to chop wood every day to support her mother. In the mountain where bangs cut firewood, there lived a fox who had been practicing for many years. She was refined into a treasure, which can be transformed into a human form in her mouth.

By this time, she has become a fortuneteller, and she will be immortal after hundreds of years of practice. She admired Liu Hai very much, so she became homesick, named Hu Xiuying, and decided to marry Liu Hai. However, for fear of bringing trouble to Hu Xiuying, Liu Hai refused several times. Seeing Hu Xiuying's sincerity, she agreed to marry Hu Xiuying. After returning home, Liu Hai told her mother that she also liked it and agreed to their marriage. Liu Hai then went to Chicken Goose Lane downtown to buy something for marriage.

There is a small temple next to Ji 'e Lane. There are eighteen arhats in the temple. Among them, ten arhats and a group of disciples (golden toad) are also practicing in the dark. He got a string of money and became a fortune teller. If he can get Hu Xiuying's orb, he can live forever and ascend to heaven immediately. Ten arhats saw that Hu Xiuying and Liu Hai were married, so they had a bad heart. He led his disciples to take Hu Xiuying's orb. Hu Xiuying will show his true colors when he loses the ball, but in desperation, he has to tell Liu Hai the truth. After Liu Hai knew it, he didn't blame Hu Xiuying. He took a stone axe for chopping wood at home to fight ten arhats. Finally, with the help of Axe God and Hu Xiuying sisters, Liu Hai defeated the Ten Arhats and got the orb. Since then, he and his wife have lived a happy life.

The legend of Liu Hai chopping wood in Changde was formed in the Northern Song Dynasty, and by the middle of Qing Dynasty, the main version of the legend of Liu Hai chopping wood that has been circulated so far has been formed. Now Changde can still find the legendary Loofah Well, but now the slate at the wellhead has been weathered and peeled off, the Shi Zhuan of the shaft wall is broken and damaged, and there are weeds around the wellhead. The legendary "Liu Hai Temple" where Liu Hai fought with the Ten Arhats has long been damaged.

The virtues of diligence, kindness, simplicity and filial piety of the protagonists Liu Hai and woodcutter Hu Xiuying in Liu Hai Chopping Wood Biography, and their spirit of not being afraid of evil and being brave in struggle are not only important components of Changde's local German culture, but also of Huxiang culture. The legend of cutting firewood with bangs has been circulated for nearly a thousand years. Through the collective re-creation of the people, it is becoming more and more perfect, full of fresh vitality, and has high literary and artistic value and historical and cultural value.