FOLK TALES OF ALL NATIONS

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 208, 3 September 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

FOLK TALES OF ALL NATIONS

/TtilXA —the home of so much that is age-old and mysterious, lives anew in her wealth of folk-tales and legends. Through them we catch delightful glimpses of half-forgotten customs, and of a China where every village had its wayside shrine, and where the incense smouldered continually upon the altars of the gods. Well might they look down from their high places and wonder what has become of their devotees. Where are the long, fluttering hands that bestowed on them their fresh coat of paint, and the red prayer papers that were wont to burn before them, in the dim past! Perhaps their mute inquiring look is one of askance at this new civilisation, but the carven lips are sealed from spoken thoughts. Ghosts and devils wander gaily through the pages of many an old. manuscript, but -whence they came remains a mystery. Equally are the stories of vengeance and den death, and those spirits who a delightful habit of returning - ii' frightening forma to this terrestial sphere. • Like the Japanese legend of Benkei, this Chinese story" tells how a great bell found its souL The bronze lips", are inscribed with sacred Buddhist texts, and when the mallet strikes 1 * upon the bronze there awakens the. echo of a mighty voice. „ And as the rolling peal goes thundering forth, the vibrations stir the little coloured dragons that crouch upon the lacquered roof, and they shiver beneath the great waves of sound. And if your ears are specially attuned to 'bell-language, you can hear the words, "Ko-Ngai," and "Hiai" when the first stupendous clang has SUnk into a thin murmur of sound. You who may be curious to know why she speaks these words, and none other will have to find someone conversant with the old ways. From them you may hear the story which I have set down below. During the Ming Dynasty there reigned in China an Emperor' who', was known as Yong-Lo, a Celestial personage to whom liia subjects abased themselves in the dwt. One; day he summoned an official called' Kouan-Yu, and told him that it was' his desire that a mighty bell be made. Whatever the reason behind this request, it was not Xouan-Yu's to consider, but it soon became apparent that it was to be on a larger scale than any hitherto planned. Sol

large was it to foe that the sound must be heard for many miles, and furthermore, brass was to be used to' give strength to its great voice. To; sweeten and deepen it, Yong-Lo advised silver and gold, and not content with that magnificence that certain holy texts be inscribed upon the mighty lipe. • When it was finished it was his wish that it be placed in the very centre -of the imperial capital, so that its music could be heard by those |D 0 li (a li is a Chinese mile) away"' So Kouan bowed himself out of the sacred presence and vowed that

111. Voice of a Chinese Bell

such a tell would most certainly take shape. He summoned to him all the great craftsmen of the day, the master builders, the bellsmiths, and everyone skilled in foundry work. Soon the giant machinery was set in motion, and the fires of the melting pots threw lurid red shadows acroee the yard. Night and day, hour after hour they toiled without ceasing neglecting all personal interests in their endeavour to fulfil the Emperor's behest. But alas! the best laid plans of mice and men "gang aft agley," and when they separated the mould from

th* cast they found that all their labour had been in vain. Despite their extreme care the gold would not mingle with the brass, and as for the silver and iron, nothing would induce their cohesion. It came to the ears of the Emperor himself, but he said nothing, and soon the fires were rekindled and the task begun anew. But alas! the second attempt was worse than the first, and goodness knows how bad that was. In the side of the bell appeared jagged rents, and the mighty lips were split as if by an axe. By this time poor old Kouan-Yu was beginning to feel somewhat "uneasy on his own account, and a3 you will learn, he certainly had cause to be. When the Emperor heard that yet a third attempt was to be made he sent Kouan-Yu a letter written upon lemon-coloured Bilk. The text of it was that if Kouan-Yu didn't do some thing about the unfortunate bell, he stood in great danger of losing his head. This troubled him considerably, and also Ko-Ngai, his daughter, who was as beautiful as the morning. The sight of the ominous dragon seal sent her into a swoon, and her first thought on recovery was as to how she might save her father. Telling no one of her plans, she sold some of her jewels, and with the money went to see a famed astrologer. After the learned magician had consulted numerous volumes and examined the signs, he was silent for a long time. When he spoke he told her that the metals would not meet until a young maiden had sacrificed herself to that end. Sorrowfully Ko-Ngai returned home again with her secret closehidden in her breast. On the last day went with her attendant to the foundry and stood beside ner father on a platform overlooking the work. When the gold whitened to a blinding radiance, and the men awaited the signal to cast, the voice of Ko-Ngai rang out like a golden sliver of sound. * Uttering .the words, "For thy sake, O, my father," she leaped into the molten lake, and the silver stream closed over her. Her father, crazed with grief, would have followed her to the Yellow Springs, but the men held him back, and afterwards bore him home. But Ko-Ngai's serving woman stood there as if turned to stone, while slow tears of grief tumbled down her 'face. In her hand she held a little , shoe, the pearl embroidei«ed shoe which was all that remained to her of her gentle mistress. Grief or no grief, however, there was still work to be done, and soon the fires were renewed. Of the maiden there was no sign, but when the workers took tbe mould away there stood a perfect bell, made beautiful because a maiden had willed it so. No need to sound it to hear the resonant tone—like the pealing of a great organ. It seemed to call aloud a maiden's name, and when Chinese mothers heard it they said to their little ones, "Listen, that ia Ko-Ngai calling for her shoe."