Monkey's Delight
Monkey's Delight: In Zhangjiajie, there is a type of oak tree whose fruit closely resembles chestnuts. Half a jin of the nut meat can yield half a jin of oil, and that oil is very similar to lard, hence it's called 'lard fruit.' But the people of Zhangjiajie never harvest it for oil. They say: 'This is what the Monkey Immortals give the monkeys to eat.' Long ago, the people of Zhangjiajie did not hunt monkeys; they regarded monkeys as humanity's...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Monkey's Delight
On Zhangjiajie there is a kind of fangli tree whose fruit closely resembles chestnuts. One jin of the nut meat can be pressed for half a jin of oil, and that oil is very similar to lard, hence it is called 'lard fruit.' But the people of Zhangjiajie never gather it to press oil. They say: 'This is what the monkey immortals gave the monkeys to eat.'
Long ago, the people of Zhangjiajie did not hunt monkeys; they regarded monkeys as the ancestors of humankind. But one year, several hunters violated the mountain rules and secretly hunted monkeys. They wandered through the ravines and gullies of Zhangjiajie, searching for the patterns of the monkey troop's movements. Finally, they discovered that the monkey troop most liked to bathe in a pool by the Shandao Gully. So they concealed themselves in a shaded spot by the pool. After waiting half a day, they suddenly saw a monkey poking its head out, appearing on a large rock by the pool. This was a 'sentinel monkey.' Watch it: hand shading its eyes like a canopy, alertly scanning in all directions. Seeing no movement, it chirped a few times, and still finding no suspicious signs, it leaped over the stream in one bound and headed into the deep forest.
After about the time it takes to smoke half a pipe, the sentinel monkey suddenly appeared again by the pool. It once again surveyed the surroundings, once again gave a few long chirping cries, then dove headfirst into the deep pool and swam all the way to the opposite bank. It shook off the water droplets and cautiously circled the pool. When it was certain all was safe, it triumphantly leaped up onto a large tree, then along the gnarled branches sprang to another tree, and in a blink was gone.
After about the time it takes to smoke half a pipe, the sentinel monkey appeared once more. But the hunters quickly noticed that behind the sentinel monkey, two monkeys were quietly following, one after the other. The sentinel monkey jumped into the pool first, and the two monkeys behind jumped in after it. The three monkeys swam tentatively for a while, then all together gave the signal. In an instant, from the branches and from behind the rocks, dense swarms of monkey heads emerged. Leading the way was an old male monkey, followed by sons, grandsons, big monkeys, small monkeys... and bringing up the rear was an old female monkey. Over a hundred monkeys came one after another to the poolside, and with 'plop! plop!' sounds, vied to be the first to leap into the pool. The monkeys tumbled, splashed in water fights, chattering away, playing to their hearts' content. Suddenly, a whistling sound carried several feathered arrows, 'swoosh swoosh,' shooting over! Two monkeys were killed on the spot, falling into the water. The old female monkey gave a sharp scream, scooped up a dead monkey, and leaped out of the pool. The hundred-plus monkeys also fled in all directions with mournful cries. Several wounded monkeys, arrows in their backs, endured the pain and ran for their lives.
Seeing they had gained no advantage, the hunters followed the blood trail. In a canyon, they finally caught up with the monkey troop. But a tragic scene made the hunters halt: the sentinel monkey was kneeling on the ground, and the old male monkey was chattering and roaring, seemingly fiercely reprimanding it for giving false intelligence. Then several monkeys pounced on it and beat it senselessly. After that, over a hundred monkeys took turns cursing it and beating it. They transformed their mourning for the dead into hatred, all venting it on this sentinel monkey. The sentinel monkey let them curse and beat it without fighting back, only crying out desperately. After this punishment, the old female monkey gestured and drove the sentinel monkey out of the troop. The sentinel monkey whimpered and called out, all to no avail. It had no choice but to take its leave reluctantly...
From then on, the shadow of the monkey troop was never seen again on Zhangjiajie. People discovered that the sentinel monkey, expelled from the troop, wandered desolately around the Shandao Gully area. It did not avoid people when it saw them, only gritting its teeth and chattering curses. Sometimes it sat by the pool, holding its head and wailing in long and short bursts. That crying echoed through Shandao Gully, mournful and unending...
Some strange things happened: woodcutters went into the mountains to cut firewood, and from the steep peaks rocks suddenly came tumbling down, smashing the woodcutters bloody. Several girls went into the mountains to cut wild hemp and were suddenly surrounded by a monkey troop, stripped of their clothes. The corn the farmers planted on the mountain was, overnight, pulled up entirely by the roots... People understood: the monkeys of Zhangjiajie were taking revenge on humans! Because of this, the village chief established a mountain rule: 'Monkeys are the great ancestors of humankind; those who hunt monkeys shall be fined nine tiger skins!'
And what of that sentinel monkey? It is said that afterward it sought out the monkey troop many times, begging for its kin's forgiveness. It seemed to have forgotten the hunters' crime and instead blamed itself for dereliction of duty. But its repentance had no effect. The monkey tribe still threw fruit at it, flung snot at it, urinated on it, and mocked and insulted it with contemptuous tones...
A year later, the sentinel monkey disappeared. But by the pool at Shandao Gully, a strange tree that was not quite a chestnut tree grew up out of flat ground. This tree grew rapidly in the wind, and by that autumn it was covered with fruit. The monkey troop discovered this tree full of golden fruit, and each was overjoyed beyond measure. They all climbed up to pick them. They ate and ate, and all their past unhappiness was swept away. People found it strange: 'Could this tree be the sentinel monkey transformed? Could it be that the sentinel monkey wanted to win back the monkey tribe's affection and laid itself to eternal rest underground?'
The village chief then issued another mountain rule: 'This is the Monkey's Delight. It was bestowed by the monkey immortals; those who pick it shall be fined one dan and two dou of corn!' Of course, the careless monkeys could never have imagined: the fine little prickles on this fangli tree look so much like the sentinel monkey's eyelashes; and these glossy fruits—are they not the sentinel monkey's tearful eyes?