The Legend of Golden Whip Stream in Zhangjiajie
"It never stops flowing through long droughts, and stays green after long rains." This is a common saying among the people of Zhangjiajie praising the Golden Whip Stream. Look at it—like a jade belt threading through fifteen li of mountain gorges. Wherever it flows, flowers bloom, grass turns green, and trees flourish. Even the Tujia young men and girls on both banks grow up exceptionally graceful and handsome—people say it's because of the fine water.
But one year, the waters of Golden Whip Stream changed. They turned a murky reddish-black, foul and filthy. People who drank from it died; livestock that drank from it perished. The flowers, grass, and trees on both banks were struck with blight.
By the stream, beneath an old ginkgo tree, stood a small thatched hut where an old man named Ba lived. He was a lime burner famous far and wide. One night, Old Ba scooped up two ladles of muddy water and sat in the rock basin behind his hut washing himself. Suddenly, a bright star drifted gently down from the sky and landed in the rock basin. Strange as it may sound, Old Ba became pregnant. After three times nine days, he gave birth to a baby girl. Old Ba was terribly embarrassed. The moment the baby girl was born, she wanted to bathe in the rock basin, and she called out "Daddy" left and right, so affectionately. Old Ba was both happy and worried—happy to have a kin, worried about facing outsiders. The girl understood her daddy's concerns and said, "Just tell people you picked me up in the mountains, alright?" Old Ba said, "That's fine, but this place is hard to live in. The stream water is undrinkable, and all our neighbors have moved away. Can you get used to it here?" Hearing this, the girl threw herself into her daddy's arms and wept!
And so the girl and Old Ba settled down together. During the day, when Daddy went into the mountains to burn lime, the girl would fetch spring water from Flower Stream to cook rice, and she'd heat a pot of water for her father so he could wash off the lime dust when he returned.
One evening, the girl went behind the kitchen to bathe, and Old Ba sat alone smoking his pipe in silence. As he smoked, he suddenly heard a series of splashing sounds—"pi pi pa pa." Strange! Even bathing shouldn't make such a racket! He went over to take a look—oh no! In the basin was a glistening, scale-covered green serpent! Old Ba thought to himself: this girl was strange from the start—she must be a transformation of a green dragon. But who cares! Snake or dragon, I said it before and I'll say it again—I'm still her father.
After a while, the girl came out, dressed in green. She sat down beside Old Ba and dabbed the water from her hair with a towel. As she dabbed, she suddenly said to Old Ba, "Daddy, there's something I should tell you." Old Ba said, "I'm listening." The girl said, "Daddy, I am actually a dragon maiden from Wuling Lake. The waters of Golden Whip Stream were originally the immortal dragon spring water from Wuling Lake. Later, the Dragon King's black turtle broke the law and sneaked into Golden Whip Stream, wanting to set itself up as king of Qingyan Mountain. It stayed at the source of Golden Whip Stream every day, defecating and urinating, fouling the stream. The Dragon King sent me to eliminate the menace, and he said you are a lime burner, so I should ask for your help..." Old Ba quickly asked, "What can I do to help?" The girl said, "Have the villagers help make paper fish, shrimp, and such—the more the better. First, fill them with lime powder, then lead everyone to dance with these fish and shrimp, beating on wood, stones, ladles, basins—anything will do—to lure the demon turtle out. When the demon turtle eats these paper fish and shrimp, it won't be able to bear it. That's when I'll subdue it..."
When the villagers heard that Old Ba's girl was going to win back Golden Whip Stream, they were all delighted. Men, women, old and young—everyone pitched in. Some made paper fish and shrimp, others filled them with lime. In just one night, everything was ready. The next day, Ba the girl led everyone to the source of Golden Whip Stream. She first instructed the crowd to throw the paper creations into the spring cave, then had everyone beat on wooden sticks, ladles, basins, and such—making a cacophony of sounds that woke the great demon turtle from its lazy sleep. It burst out of the cave and swallowed the paper fish and shrimp in one gulp. No sooner had it swallowed them—before it could even taste anything—than the lime water took effect. The demon turtle was burned by the lime, howling and rolling on the ground in agony by the cave. At that moment, Ba the girl transformed into a green dragon, darted into the spring cave, and grappled with the demon turtle. Instantly, a water column several zhang high shot out of the cave, and mist and rain spread for miles around. Old Ba knew his girl was fighting the demon turtle, so he led everyone in beating their instruments and shouting encouragement to boost her morale. After a day and a night, a gush of foul blood poured from the spring cave, followed by a flood. The green dragon that Ba the girl had become rode the flood away.
Three days and three nights later, the flood receded, and the stream water became even clearer and sweeter. In an instant, the barren mountains turned green, flowers bloomed, the emerald waters reflected the blue sky, and the blue sky mirrored the green mountains—like jade hairpins, pearls, and silk gauze scattered by a fairy. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Qingyan Mountain bustled with life again, and visitors from all directions came to tour the mountains and enjoy the scenery. An ancient poet traveled from Baizhang Gorge all the way to Golden Whip Stream, and before he knew it, he was intoxicated by the wondrous mountains and elegant waters. He wrote a poem in praise: "One travels within the mountain gorge, as if inside a painting."