Legend of Jiutian Cave
Legend of Jiutian Cave: The White Mice. One day, several Tujia hunters were preparing gunpowder and entered Jiutian Cave to collect saltpeter (digging earth from the cave to boil into nitrate powder). Suddenly, a group of white mice—the big ones like leopards, the small ones like cats—surrounded the nitrate pool and in moments devoured all the nitrate water. Then they ate the hunters' provisions. Terrified, the hunters abandoned their belongings and fled the cave. A mysterious disappearance...
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The Legend of Jiutian Cave
White Mice
One day, several Tujia hunters were preparing gunpowder and went into Jiutian Cave to collect saltpeter (taking earth from the cave to boil into saltpeter powder). Suddenly, a group of white mice—the big ones like leopards, the small ones like cats—surrounded the saltpeter pool and in a short while ate up all the saltpeter water. After finishing the saltpeter water, they ate the hunters' dry rations. Seeing this, the hunters were terrified, dropped their luggage, and ran out of the cave.
The Mysterious Disappearance
In the eleventh year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court carried out the policy of gaituguiliu—replacing native chieftains with appointed officials—and massacred the native people of the Sangzhi domain. More than a hundred native soldiers and common people fled into Jiutian Cave. Government troops besieged the cave for several months but saw no one come out. Later, when they entered the cave to investigate, they saw no people and no bones either. The government troops were seized with terror and hastily retreated from the cave, but suddenly each one began laughing and crying uncontrollably, and most went mad and died.
In the early 1950s, more than 300 bandits, pursued by the People's Liberation Army, tried to flee into Jiutian Cave. Suddenly a cold wind blew, and each bandit began dancing and gesticulating wildly, some embracing each other and weeping bitterly, others laughing uproariously at the sky. The bandit chief Qin Tianbao kowtowed three times toward the cave entrance, and weeping and laughing at the same time, led the remnant bandits out of that terrifying cave entrance.
The Wild Man
In the summer of 1983, explorers in Jiutian Cave discovered 72 footprints of a woman, 48 centimeters long and 16 centimeters wide, with a stride of 55 centimeters between steps. The explorers suspected that remnant bandits were in the cave, so they followed and investigated, but the footprints suddenly disappeared at the place called "Fairy Mounting the Sedan." At that moment, a creature that was neither human nor ghost suddenly appeared ahead. It was covered in hemp-like hair, with hair draping its shoulders, two eyes emitting green light, and a strange laughter coming from its mouth. A member of the exploration party, Hu, was so frightened on the spot that he collapsed to the ground, paralyzed and unconscious. Five days later, several stonemasons repairing the road encountered this creature again.
This creature—was it a strange beast? Or a wild man?
300,000-Year-Old Ancient Charcoal
During the development of Jiutian Cave, in order to open a passage, a fallen stalactite had to be cut away. When the stonemasons, after tremendous effort, finally chiseled through this stone, people discovered several pieces of charcoal pressed beneath the stone base. Clearly these were left behind by humans for warmth or lighting. Judging by the 300,000 years it takes for stalactites to form, human activity existed here 300,000 years ago.
The question is: did human beings actually exist in the world 300,000 years ago? Or rather, did humans exist in prehistoric times?
Mao Zedong "Manifests His Spirit"
Believe it or not.
In the summer of 1987, the cave-exploring hero Wang Hairan led four Tujia men into Jiutian Cave. They lost their way in the cave for three days and three nights. Their dry rations were gone, their batteries were dead, and just when they were in despair, they suddenly discovered that amid the stalactites ahead stood a statue—that solemn yet smiling expression, that broad and full forehead, those deep and kindly eyes—was that not the great leader Mao Zedong?! Moreover, this stalactite carving shone with a brilliant light, illuminating the entire cave dome in splendor. The already exhausted heroes were instantly overjoyed, their courage multiplied a hundredfold. By the auspicious light, they sang all the way—"The East Is Red, the Sun Rises" and "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman, All Things Grow Depending on the Sun"—crossed the difficulties and dangers, walked out of the cave entrance, and walked out of death.