Extraordinary People and Skills, Rare Anecdotes (Part 2)
Section 2: Wu and Nuo Culture, Magical Treasures. A Man Unafraid of Scalding — Xiong Jun. Xiong Jun, from Group 4, Shangshuang Village, Longbo Town, Shuangpai County, Yongzhou, is an electrician. He can reach into a pot of hot oil to stir-fry or scoop noodles without burning his hand or feeling pain, and has used his hand as a spatula for three years now. One Spring Festival 18 years ago, Xiong Jun...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section II
Wu Nuo Culture — A Magical Treasure
The Man Who Fears No Scalding — Xiong Jun
Xiong Jun, from Group 4 of Shangshuang Village, Longbo Town, Shuangpai County, Yongzhou City, is an electric power worker. He can put his hand into a pot of oil to stir-fry dishes and scoop noodles; not only does his hand not get scalded, he does not even feel pain. He has now been using his hand as a spatula for three years. During a Spring Festival 18 years ago, while braising pork in oil at home, Xiong Jun accidentally put his hand into the oil pot at a temperature of over 200 degrees, yet he found that his hand showed no trace of scalding and he felt no pain. Why his hand differs from other people's has never found a scientific answer.
The Electrical Conduction Wonder — Jiang Zhongwen
Jiang Zhongwen was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and began practicing medicine at age 13. In Hengyang, Hunan, he is a widely known "electrical conduction wonder." He can let 220-volt current crackle through his entire body without harm, and he can also make his body control current like a transformer. Jiang Zhongwen gave a demonstration: he held the live wire and neutral wire coming from a socket, using his body as a conductor. Then, when he touched a light bulb held by another person, the bulb gave off a dazzling light. While the bulb was lit, an electroprobe touched to his body lit up as well.
The Sleepless Wonder - Xia En
In Xiangxiang City, Hunan, a villager named Xia En returned from out of town and no longer needed to sleep, day or night. Doctors gave him sedatives, but they had no effect. To this day, there is still no way to make him sleep. During the day, Xia En works in the fields, full of energy. At night, to let everyone else sleep a little more, he forces himself to sit in front of the television until all programming has ended. Only then, still wide awake and full of vigor, does he reluctantly head to the kitchen and start chopping grass.
The Death-Defying Wonder — Yu Xianhong
Yu Xianhong is from Changde, Hunan. Suffering from end-stage rheumatic heart disease, she was admitted to the hospital in September 2005 for surgery. During her heart valve replacement operation, Yu Xianhong's heart stopped for 73 minutes. According to standard medical practice, if a comatose patient fails to regain heartbeat, lung, and brain function after 30 minutes of resuscitation, doctors may terminate treatment and declare the patient dead. But the doctors refused to give up and continued resuscitation, ultimately restoring the woman's heartbeat. Her miraculous survival shook the traditional definition of death.
The Foodless Wonder — Zhou Yanhua
Zhou Yanhua is an elderly woman from Yongxing County, Hunan. She has not eaten a meal for 22 years, yet she remains hale and hearty, walking as briskly as ever. There is a legend about how Zhou Yanhua stopped eating: one night in 1984, she and several companions went to a temple to offer incense. A thick red spider thread stretched across the path, and Zhou Yanhua touched it. Ever since encountering that strange red spider thread, she has had no desire to eat. Each meal consists of just a piece of yellow sugar and a cup of unboiled well water. Incredibly, although no one ever sees her eat, her energy for work is no less than that of young people.
The Mosquito-Killing Wonder — the Eccentric Mr. Wu
In Hunan there is an eccentric man known as Mr. Wu, who claims that no mosquito can touch him. Mosquitoes fear him because he has an innate ability: any mosquito that comes near him dies. Doctors searched for a long time but could not figure out the cause. They eventually concluded that his sweat may contain a substance that kills mosquitoes on contact. As a result, he has never known what a mosquito bite feels like. To prove his immunity, one night he deliberately switched sides of the bed with his wife. The next morning, sure enough, a pile of dead mosquitoes lay on the side where he had slept.
The Spontaneous Combustion Wonder — Jiang Fu
Jiang Fu, from Shuangpai Village, Huangqiao Town, Dongkou County, Shaoyang City, Hunan, has suffered repeated injuries from his fingers mysteriously catching fire spontaneously. Doctors are at a loss. Jiang says this is not the first time his fingers have spontaneously combusted. Sometimes it happens three or four times a day, leaving him terrified and unable to sleep at night. He has to keep a bucket of cold water by his bed as a precaution. He does not smoke, has never practiced qigong, and has never been in contact with firecrackers or gunpowder. His diet is the same as anyone else's. The spontaneous combustion of his fingers baffles him, and he hopes experts can solve the mystery.
The Soil-Eating Wonder — Huang Buxiang
Huang Buxiang, a villager from Hengyang, developed a craving for loess after giving birth to her son. On her heaviest day, she ate over half a kilogram. Eating loess did not make her ill; instead, it improved her spirits and appetite. Huang Buxiang has been eating it for several years now. Her husband says: 'Axiang doesn't eat just any soil — she only eats a specific kind of loess. She also has a particular time for eating it, generally in early spring and midwinter, when she goes through two bags a month. In summer or when the weather is hot, she rarely eats loess. And over these years, Axiang has never had any serious illness — she hardly even catches a cold.'
The Stroke-Counting Wonder — Cheng Tingting
Cheng Tingting, from Yonghe Township, Hengshan County, Hunan, can accurately state the number of strokes in any Chinese character at a single glance, and she has never made a mistake. She is now considering applying for a Guinness World Record for her special ability. According to her family, Tingting's talent for rapidly identifying stroke counts was discovered by accident and was never specially trained. She first displayed this skill at age six. Her parents, worried about her health, took her to the Second Xiangya Hospital for examination. Experts confirmed that little Tingting was in good health with no abnormalities, and that this rapid character-stroke recognition ability should be considered an innate special gift.
The Miraculous Wonder — Chen Xiang
Chen Xiang, from Nanyue District, Hengshan County, Hunan, can write with a brush held by his eyes. This brush — long and thick, from tip to handle to the steel nail on it — was specially made by Chen Xiang himself. 'This brush weighs two kilograms and is 1.65 meters long. When dipped in ink, it can reach about 10 kilograms.' He can not only roll glass balls, wooden sticks, and other objects on his eyeballs without any discomfort, but he can also play the piano with his eyes — a feat that earned him two Guinness World Records. Even more amazing, he can write on his own eyeballs with a brush.
The Feat of Pulling an Airplane with His Teeth
Teeth, eyes, ears, hair — pulling cars, airplanes, and other feats. A 1.5-ton truck, a 4-ton Lincoln sedan 11 meters long, and a training aircraft weighing about 2 tons were all pulled by these performers using special body parts.
On January 2, 2008, the warm winter sun shone pleasantly on everyone. In Red Sun Square in Xiangtan City, a crowd gathered, watching with curiosity a thrilling human 'sensory stimulation' challenge. Four skilled 'masters' from across the country brought spectacular performances to the audience.
The four 'masters' participating in the 'Sensory Stimulation' Challenge were: 'Guanzhong Master' Zhang Hongqi from Yan'an, Shaanxi; 'Jinmen Master' Li Guoshun from Tianjin; 'Heavenly Eye' Li Chuanyong from Guangxi; and local Xiangtan 'Dragon Young Master' Zhang Shaoxiong. These extraordinary strongmen, during the two-hour challenge, performed feats using their teeth, eyes, ears, and hair to pull cars, airplanes, and more. A 1.5-ton truck, a 4-ton Lincoln sedan 11 meters long, and a training aircraft weighing about 2 tons were pulled by them using special body parts.
In the opening challenge, Zhang Hongqi and Zhang Shaoxiong competed in an 'Iron Teeth and Bronze Fang' PK contest. After three rounds of spectacular competition, Xiangtan's Zhang Shaoxiong won the 'Iron Teeth Award.' At the competition site, they attempted weights exceeding anything they had done before — all 'virgin performances.'
Throughout the challenge, the remarkable local Xiangtan master 'Dragon Young Master' was truly admirable. When he performed lifting two 100-kilogram bags of cement with his teeth, his mouth was cut and bleeding, but he still persevered through the rest of the competition.
In Yisuhe Town, Xiangtan County, everyone knows the name 'Dragon Young Master,' because the area produces a brand of betel nut called 'Dragon Young Master Betel Nut.' But what truly made this Dragon Young Master famous was not just his betel nut business — it was his ability to lift objects with his teeth that far exceed his own body weight, and even to pull a 3-ton vehicle with his teeth. When 'Dragon Young Master' pulled an 11-meter stretch Lincoln sedan with his teeth on site, every audience member gasped in admiration.
'Dragon Young Master's' real name is Zhang Shaoxiong. He is 42 years old and a native of Xiangtan. Twenty years ago, a chance occurrence revealed to him that his teeth were somewhat unusual. During a work task, an object was awkward to grip with his hands but needed to be moved urgently. So he tried pulling it with his teeth — and moved an 85-kilogram object with his teeth. Starting in January 2000, Zhang Shaoxiong began attempting to pull cars with his teeth. After years of hard training, pulling a 3-ton vehicle with his teeth is now no challenge. Although Zhang Shaoxiong is a veritable 'strongman,' his physique is not as imposing as one might imagine — he stands only 1.65 meters tall. He says the strength of his teeth is largely related to his years of chewing betel nut.
Tan Dongmei, 73, Creates a 233-Meter Long Scroll of Mao Zedong's Poetry
The longest recorded scroll of Chairman Mao's poetry is 194 meters. But Tan Dongmei, a 75-year-old calligrapher from Changsha, has created a monumental calligraphic work — a 233-meter scroll of Mao Zedong's poetry. His family wanted to apply for a Guinness World Record for him, but Tan was not enthusiastic about the idea. Tan Dongmei had something else in mind: December 26, 2008, would be the 115th anniversary of Chairman Mao's birth, and he wanted to donate this calligraphic masterpiece, into which he had poured so much effort, to the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Shaoshan as a tribute to the great man.
Entering Tan Dongmei's home on Yingbin Road in Changsha, one is greeted by a rich scent of ink. The beautifully mounted long scroll rests quietly on the desk. Rolled into a cylinder, the poetry scroll is thicker than a strong man's waist. Weighed, it comes to a full 36 jin (18 kilograms). Spread out indoors, the 255-meter scroll reveals only a corner of the calligraphy.
Opening the scroll, the first thing one sees is Mao Zedong's 'On Shame.' The bold and free-spirited poetry, rendered in flowing and elegant running script, is truly striking. Tan explains that this poetry scroll encompasses all of Mao Zedong's publicly published poems — 120 in total, plus 55 couplets — written in chronological order of composition.
'I deeply respect Chairman Mao and greatly admire his calligraphy style. I wanted to render his publicly published poems into calligraphic works to commemorate this great man.' Tan began creating this scroll in June of this year, rising at 5 a.m. every day to write. Sometimes he would write for over four hours a day. It took him a full six months to complete, and mounting the scroll took another half month.
'Someone offered 200,000 yuan for the first long scroll, but he wouldn't sell it. He auctioned it off for free and donated the proceeds to the Wenchuan earthquake victims.' Tan's wife told reporters that this was not the first time Tan had written Mao Zedong's poetry on a grand scale. For the 110th anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth, he had created a 175-meter poetry scroll.
As soon as the work was completed, someone came knocking, willing to pay 200,000 yuan for the poetry scroll. The old man politely declined.
After the Wenchuan earthquake this year, Tan first donated over 6,000 yuan, then put up 12 works for charity auction, donating all proceeds to the disaster victims. The first long scroll was among them.
Tan Dongmei was born into a farming family in Zouma Street Town, Shuangfeng County. As a member of the first graduating class of the Chinese Communist Party History Department at Renmin University of China, besides his research in Party history, calligraphy was his lifelong amateur passion. Tan says he created the poetry scroll to express his respect for the great man and hopes to donate it to the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall in Shaoshan.
The Still-Floating Wonder — Kang Qinhua
On July 18, 2009, 'Still-Floating Wonder' Kang Qinhua held high a banner reading 'Protect the Mother River, Carry Forward the Beijing Green Olympics Spirit' as he floated motionless in the Xiangjiang River waters by Du Fu River Pavilion. Holding an Olympic torch aloft with one hand, he drifted slowly with the current of the Xiangjiang. He is Kang Qinhua, the 64-year-old 'Still-Floating Wonder' from Xinhua. As a Beijing Olympic torchbearer, one year later he once again raised the Olympic torch, using still-floating in the Xiangjiang to advocate 'carrying forward the Olympic spirit and protecting the Xiangjiang, our mother river.'
On the Xiangjiang, Kang Qinhua floated like a leaf, bobbing gently with the waves. His leisurely, carefree posture — 'heaven as his blanket, water as his bed' — was like a baby sleeping soundly in a cradle. Perhaps he had 'slept' enough, for Kang Qinhua lay on the water surface and delightedly performed his own eight-part still-floating exercise routine. His relaxed, graceful movements made one completely forget he was on a river surface.
After floating for over two hours, Kang Qinhua finally came ashore. Wiping water droplets with a towel, he said: 'It feels wonderful — not tired at all. I can stay in the water like this for four or five hours.'
Kang Qinhua is a retired doctor from the Workers' Hospital of Xinhua County Transport Company. He grew up by the Zijiang River, and swimming was his greatest passion. Over 20 years ago, he had a sudden inspiration to innovate a swimming technique — to float motionless on the water surface like a fish. But the moment he stopped paddling, his body sank with a 'plop.' He reasoned that fish can float in water mainly because their swim bladders regulate buoyancy. When a fish wants to rise, its swim bladder fills with gas. Kang Qinhua applied this principle: during still-floating, he inhales as much air as possible with each breath, and exhales slowly and gently, increasing his lung capacity and thereby boosting buoyancy. Through over 20 years of practice, Kang Qinhua developed a lung capacity larger than normal and can float motionless on the water surface at will.
Kang Qinhua believes still-floating is an excellent physical exercise, one that can even rival synchronized swimming, or 'water ballet.' Synchronized swimmers must use their hands and feet to paddle through every movement. If you tied their hands and feet, they certainly could not outdo Kang Qinhua. After all, the 'Still-Floating Wonder' can perform many tricks, including still-floating with hands and feet bound, still-floating while holding an umbrella, still-floating while pulling a chest expander, and reading a newspaper on the water.
'My greatest wish now is that more people will learn still-floating. This swimming technique must not be lost!' How to promote still-floating as a sport has become Kang Qinhua's obsession.
As early as several years ago, Kang Qinhua had the desire to hold training classes to promote the sport of still floating. However, the Xinhua County Sports Bureau did not support his idea, believing that conducting still floating activities without necessary safety measures was rather dangerous. For this reason, Kang Qinhua threw himself into theoretical research; he wanted to find a safer and simpler method of still floating so that more people could take part in this sport. For this, he was intoxicated by the feeling of conquering the water.
Kang Qinhua revealed that he is sorting out relevant materials and plans to apply for a Guinness World Record within the next two years. He said that applying for a Guinness World Record is to expand influence, let everyone better understand the sport of still floating, and join in still floating.
"As long as you master the correct method and control your breathing well, still floating is even easier than swimming, and anyone with a little swimming foundation can learn it." Kang Qinhua said with a smile, "The weather is hot now, and I go into the water to still float every evening. More than 10 people have already followed me in learning."
Iron-Footed Immortal Zhang Zhenghui
Zhang Zhenghui, a Hunan native known as the "World Iron Shoe King" and "Iron-Footed Immortal," walks with ease in iron shoes weighing 246 kilograms, and even carries two young people on his back. At the same time, he has a new special skill: within one minute, he burst two hot water bags with his nostrils.
On September 26, 2008, Zhang Zhenghui, who enjoys the reputation of "World Iron Shoe King," made a special trip to Dongguan and showed off his signature skill for tourists in Yuehui Garden.
Before the official performance, four strong young men were seen laboriously carrying a pair of large yellow iron shoes weighing 246 kilograms onto the stage. Curious spectators crowded forward one after another, wanting to verify their weight. Several young people took turns trying, using all their strength, but only managed to move the iron shoes.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhenghui immediately took off his shoes and socks and put his bare feet into the iron shoes. "Can he really walk in iron shoes?" Amid the audience's doubts, Zhang Zhenghui started stepping, clanging as he walked back and forth on the stage: walking slowly, stepping backward quickly, stepping sideways... Even more astonishing was that he also had two young women stand on the surface of the shoes, "embracing one on each side," and then strode off. Then, he also carried two young people on his back in a "stacked arhat" pose. The young girls on his back screamed in fright, while Zhang Zhenghui did not change expression and walked with ease.
In addition to performing the skill of walking with a load while wearing iron shoes, Zhang Zhenghui also brought a new special skill, namely bursting two hot water bags with his nostrils within one minute. First, he inserted two pieces of hose respectively into brand-new hot water bags, with the other ends inserted into his nostrils. In 10 seconds, the hot water bags quickly expanded; in 30 seconds, the hot water bags had swelled like round balls; in less than one minute, both hot water bags were burst at the same time. According to his own account, he can also spend eight or nine minutes inflating the tire of an armored vehicle with his nose.
Hunan Wonder Man Runs into Guangzhou for the Seventh Long-Distance Run
Xiao Xiangao, a Hunan long-distance running wonder known as the "Divine Traveler," ran into Guangzhou on foot for the seventh time. In thirty years, Xiao Xiangao ran a total of more than 400,000 kilometers, becoming a veritable "Divine Traveler."
Xiao Xiangao is from Zhijiang Dong Autonomous County, Hunan, and is 41 years old this year. He was frail and sickly as a child. In order to strengthen his physique, he began practicing long-distance running at the age of 10. "From then on, running became something I had to do every day." It is understood that during primary school he ran more than 20,000 kilometers, during middle school he ran nearly 40,000 kilometers, and after graduating from high school he began running across the land of China. This time is his seventh nationwide run.
In total, over thirty years, Xiao Xiangao ran more than 400,000 kilometers, becoming a veritable "Divine Traveler." Over thirty years, Xiao Xiangao wore out more than 500 pairs of shoes, wore out four maps, and ran on foot through the capitals and major famous mountains, historic sites, and scenic areas of all provinces, municipalities directly under the central government, and autonomous regions nationwide except Taiwan Province. Xiao Xiangao's footprints reached as far north as Arctic Village, as far south as Tianya Haijiao in Sanya City, Hainan Island, and also reached border lines adjoining countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam, North Korea, and Russia.
The expenses for running were all sponsored by various units along the way. Sometimes they could not be guaranteed, and even daily life became a problem. Sometimes when running in desolate mountains and wild ridges, with no village ahead and no inn behind, there was not even a place to sleep, so he had to sleep in the wild. The most dangerous time was during his first nationwide run, when he encountered a sandstorm on a high mountain in Tibet. The strong wind blew dust everywhere, and a person could almost be lifted up. He had no choice but to cling tightly to the rock wall by the mountain road to escape the disaster, and he nearly lost his life.
Although there were many difficulties, running across the country also brought Xiao Xiangao great happiness - traveling throughout the country's magnificent mountains and rivers at the lowest cost. During his first six nationwide journeys, Xiao Xiangao collected more than 300 kilograms of materials and kept more than 40 notebooks, about more than 600,000 words.
Fingers Inexplicably Spontaneously Combust from Time to Time
Zhang Pingping's fingers would inexplicably spontaneously combust. You may not believe it, but 61-year-old Jiang Fu of Shuangpai Village, Huangqiao Town, Dongkou County, Shaoyang City, was injured many times because of this, and doctors were also helpless about it.
Once, while Jiang Fu was watching TV at home, his right hand suddenly emitted smoke, and then a flame the size of a candle flared up. He tried to put out the fire with a towel, but soon two large holes were burned in the towel. In unbearable pain, he immediately put his hand into cold water, only then avoiding greater injury. It was not the first time his fingers had spontaneously combusted.
One day in early August last year, also around 6 p.m., he was watching TV at his son's electrical appliance repair shop. Suddenly he smelled a sulfurous odor, then wisps of blue smoke rose from the tips of his left fingers, and then with a "whoosh" sound, the five fingertips of his right hand emitted firelight. In unbearable pain, he quickly put his hand into water. One minute later, he pulled his hand out of the water and found that it was still smoking. In the end, he had to immerse his hand in water again to extinguish the fire, but his fingers had already been burned with pea-sized blisters, and he trembled from the pain. The next day he went to the hospital to see a doctor, and the doctor could not explain why either, only applying anti-inflammatory medicine. After that, his fingers smoked many more times, sometimes three or four times a day, making him terrified and uneasy. As soon as night came, he could not sleep, and he even had to put a bucket of cold water by his bed to guard against accidents.
Jiang Fu said that he usually does not smoke, has never practiced qigong, and has never come into contact with firecrackers or gunpowder. His diet is the same as other people's. The spontaneous combustion of his fingers perplexes him greatly, and he hopes relevant experts can solve this mystery.
Strange Tales of a Fat Pig
Zhang Fangliang, a villager of Yangtang Village, Fengmuqiao Township, Ningxiang County, Hunan, became a local celebrity. A pig he raised became a major local "news item" because of its beautiful patterns and enormous size.
This is a sturdy lean-meat pig. Measured with a tape, it is fully 1.9 meters long and 1.1 meters high, standing in the pigpen like a small elephant. It is also a very beautiful pig, with hair showing four colors: red, yellow, black, and white. According to Zhang Fangliang, this pig was raised from a piglet born to his family's sow. Because its whole body was red-haired, very beautiful, and it grew quickly, Zhang Fangliang kept raising it.
Later, the pig's color gradually changed from red to a mix of red, yellow, black, and white, becoming an even more charming "tiger-striped pig," and it has been raised until now. No one knows exactly how heavy this pig is, because there has long been no scale locally capable of weighing it. According to villagers' estimates, this pig, raised since February 2004, weighs at least 1,700 jin, and its legs are very strong. As soon as a stranger approaches, it shouts loudly and is highly aggressive, recognizing only Zhang Fangliang.
According to Zhang Fangliang, this pig ate feed for the first 4 months, and afterward ate rice powder. It eats two meals a day, and its appetite is not especially large, less than 4 jin per meal, but it grows very quickly. Perhaps because it usually eats only rice powder and does not eat vegetables or feed, its body is sturdy, its feet are large, and its leg strength is sufficient to fully support the weight of its whole body. Usually when let out, it is as lively as a dragon and tiger.
After people from far and near learned that Zhang Fangliang's family was raising such a big fat pig, many pig dealers came to his door one after another offering high prices to buy it, with the price reaching more than 8 yuan per jin. But Zhang Fangliang was unmoved. He said, "This pig was raised by my own hands. It is tall and beautiful, and it has feelings for me. I also cannot bear to send it away. I will keep raising it and see just how big it can grow."