Tujia Folk Beliefs and Culture — Auspicious Object Worship (Part 2)
The Youshui River is another important river in the Tujia heartland. It originates from Jiangjun Mountain in Xuan'en County, Hubei. Unlike the Qingjiang, which flows west to east, the Youshui flows north to south, passing through Laifeng County in Hubei and Longshan County in Hunan, then into Youyang County and Xiushan County in Sichuan, before flowing east along the Sichuan-Hunan border past the southern foot of Bamian Mountain into Hunan, through Longshan...
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 Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated.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.
The You River is another important river in the Tujia inhabited region. The You River originates from Jiangjun Mountain in Xuan'en County, Hubei Province. Unlike the Qing River, which flows from west to east, the You River flows from north to south, passing along the border of Laifeng County in Hubei Province and Longshan County in Hunan Province, flowing to the border of Youyang County in Sichuan, then through Xiushan County, and further east along the southern foot of Bamian Mountain on the Sichuan-Hunan border into Hunan Province, passing through Longshan County, Baojing County, Yongshun County, Guzhang County and other counties in Hunan, until it joins the Yuan River at Yuanling, and finally flows through Changde into Dongting Lake. Yan Shigu of the Tang Dynasty, in his annotation to the "Treatise on Geography" in the Book of Han, said: "Youyuan Mountain is where the You River originates; it flows south to Yuanling and enters the Yuan River, covering a distance of one thousand two hundred li." As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, the You River was renowned throughout the world for its connection with the Ba people, the ancestors of the Tujia. Li Daoyuan's Commentary on the Water Classic says: "Wuling has five streams, namely Xiong Stream, Man Stream, Wu Stream, You Stream, and Chen Stream, of which it is one." Liang Zaiyan of the Tang Dynasty in his Records of the Ten Circuits said: "The Chu state destroyed Ba; the five brothers of the Ba chief fled into the Qian River. After the Han gained the empire, they were named the five streams: You, Chen, Wu, Wu, and Yuan; each became the chief of one stream, and they were called the Five Streams Barbarians." The You River is also a river steeped in Ba-Tu culture. The Tujia sons and daughters on both banks of the You River regard it as a spiritual deity and have created legends about the You River, expressing their worship of it. Legend has it that long ago, there was not a single river in western Hunan; everywhere were rocky mountains and loess hills, where not even a clump of thatch grass could grow large. The Tujia people here had to get up before dawn to fetch water from the Tusi's home on a mountain pass over thirty li away. The price of water was more expensive than meat. One year, there was a great drought, and even the Tusi's well water dwindled day by day. The cruel Tusi, in order not to let his own pigs and dogs die of thirst, no longer sold water to the poor. Many families had no choice but to move away. No one knows how many more years passed, but at Wonu Mountain Village, Uncle Geba's family had a boy (in Tujia language: a male child), named Heiba. He grew with the wind, changing every day; by age three he could carry a load of about a hundred jin and run. When Heiba grew up, his body was like a mountain fortress, and his strength was terrifyingly great. He hunted in the mountains without bow and arrows or sand knives; hunting tigers and wild boars was like taking cakes from a jar. Heiba was determined to change the local water shortage and wanted to create a river. Heiba came to the East Sea, hoping to ask the Dragon King of the East Sea for help. The Dragon King of the East Sea had three sons and three daughters; the third daughter was the kindest, and the eldest son, the Yellow Dragon, was the most wicked. The Yellow Dragon, without telling the Dragon King of the East Sea, made a bet with the evil dragon of Black Dragon Pool, and ended up losing his third sister to that evil dragon. When he heard that a mountain youth named Heiba was coming to the East Sea to ask the dragon sons to create a river, he thought: besides Father, only Third Sister knows how to create a river. If Third Sister goes, what will happen when the evil dragon comes to take his bride? So he leaped out of the sea, transformed himself into several forked roads, and waited for Heiba.
As Heiba walked on, he suddenly saw many forked roads and could not tell which one to take. As a result, because the Yellow Dragon had cast a spell, Heiba took the road opposite to the one leading to the East Sea. Heiba walked along that wrong road; it became narrower and steeper. He walked for an unknown length of time until the road ended, with a sheer cliff ahead. Not knowing what to do, Heiba suddenly turned around and saw an old man with a white beard. The old man gently patted his shoulder and gave him a pair of new straw sandals and a soybean, saying: "With the shoes and the bean, you need not fear the evil dragon, nor fear taking the wrong road." Then he disappeared. Heiba put on the new straw sandals, and walked with extraordinary vigor; after only a few steps, he finished walking the wrong road. Heiba's footsteps alarmed the Yellow Dragon. The Yellow Dragon conceived another evil plan, transformed into a great river, with whirlpools as big as houses churning on it, blocking Heiba's way. Heiba walked along the riverbank, and accidentally rolled into the river. As soon as Heiba's straw sandals touched the water, he trod on the water as if walking on flat ground, and Heiba quickly waded across the river. The Yellow Dragon then transformed into a giant snake and pounced at Heiba, the wind howling, the forest bending to both sides, and rocks blown flying everywhere. In desperation, Heiba suddenly remembered the soybean the old man with the white beard had given him, took it out and threw it at the evil snake. With a "bang," one of the evil snake's eyes was blinded, and in unbearable pain it turned into a thick smoke and fled back to the East Sea. Heiba came to the East Sea and walked toward the sea; the seawater opened a great road, and Heiba walked from this canyon-like path in the sea to the Dragon Palace. Heiba knocked down the yaksha blocking the way, and at the door happened to meet the Dragon King's third daughter, Little White Dragon. Heiba told Little White Dragon about asking the Dragon King to help create a river and about his own experiences. Little White Dragon deeply sympathized with the mountain people who had no water to drink and admired Heiba's spirit, so she took him to see the Dragon King. After hearing this, the Dragon King agreed to send his third daughter to help Heiba create a river. When the Yellow Dragon learned of this, he came to the Dragon Pool and again devised a vicious plot with the evil dragon to harm Little White Dragon and Heiba. The next morning, Little White Dragon carried Heiba on her back and flew toward the distant Wonu Mountain Village. On the way, when passing Black Dragon Pool, the evil dragon transformed into a poisonous bee, flew to Heiba's temple and stung him hard. Heiba cried out and fell from midair, dead, and the evil dragon swallowed Heiba into its belly. Little White Dragon knew Heiba was dead, so she flew forward alone, but because she had left in too much haste, she forgot to bring the divine book for creating rivers, so when Little White Dragon arrived at the place, she could not create a river. To relieve the drought, Little White Dragon had no choice but to bring water to this place again and again. The common people, crops, and livestock were saved, but Little White Dragon died from exhaustion. The blood she spat out before dying stained the rocks red, and people called that place Hongyan Stream. After Little White Dragon died, she turned into a river; from then on, this place had a river, and the local people had water to drink and to irrigate crops. People called this river the You River. Because when Little White Dragon died, it was exactly when the sun was setting, that is, the You hour, later people also called this river the You River.
After the evil dragon ate Heiba, it spat out his bones. These bones fell in western Hunan and turned into mountain peaks. These peaks rise and fall in succession, like a winding, swimming giant dragon, leaning against the You River, so people called these mountains Longshan (Dragon Mountain).
3. Fire. Fire is an auspicious object used by the Tujia people to ward off evil and pray for a prosperous life. Thus, fire is endowed with the two functions of warding off evil and bestowing blessings.
The concept of fire warding off evil arose from multiple factors. Fire is a tool for communication between humans and gods. Long ago, our ancestors, when sacrificing to the gods, achieved the purpose of offering sacrifices by burning offerings. To this day, the sacrifice to the dead still uses the method of burning paper money with fire. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, fire has been a sacred thing, possessing the divine power to frighten ghosts and demons. Fire can emit light, so it is often regarded as a symbol of brightness. Human nature loves brightness and dislikes darkness. Brightness is always with the gods of happiness and auspiciousness, while darkness is always with evil demons. Fire can illuminate darkness, so it is popularly believed that fire can drive away evil demons. More importantly, fire has the property of burning and transforming things; almost all substances can be reduced to ashes or liquid after burning. According to the logic of the law of similarity in witchcraft, fire can also burn up demons and monsters. The religious use of fire, its light emission, and its property of burning things constitute three different origins of the formation of the concept of fire warding off evil. When people use fire to ward off evil, in different places, they will naturally associate it with the different origins of the concept of fire warding off evil. In the Tujia custom of using fire to ward off evil, there are roughly four forms of fire: torches, fire pits, candles, and lamps.
Torches were once lighting tools for night travel in the mountainous areas where the Tujia people lived. A person walking alone at night on a sparsely populated mountain path, carrying a torch, could both provide light and drive away wild beasts, and psychologically could drive away evil demons. Therefore, in the era before flashlights, Tujia mountain people always carried torches when walking at night. In the mountainous areas of western Hubei, there was also the custom of providing torches to night travelers. If a traveler walked until dark or his torch burned out, he could go to a roadside household to ask for a torch. Almost every household kept torches, and if someone came to ask, even in the middle of the night, they would get up to respond. Some torches were placed outside the corner of the wall, and night travelers could take them freely. A traveler asking for a torch could only say "ask for," not "borrow," because "borrowing" implies "returning," and returning fire means causing a fire, which people considered unlucky. Although this custom mainly provided lighting for night travelers, it also contained the meaning of providing night travelers with tools to ward off evil. The Tujia concept of torches warding off evil is most prominently expressed in marriage customs. Tujia weddings mostly took place at night, so torches were indispensable. Torches used in welcoming brides served both for lighting and for warding off evil. When the bride got into the sedan chair and the bridal sedan set off, the bride's brothers would light torches and lead in front of the sedan, escorting the bride to the groom's home. It was popularly believed that torches lighting the way could ward off all evil; it meant that wherever the torches passed was bright and clear, and all kinds of ghosts and demons would retreat with the disappearance of darkness. At the same time, the ethnic custom also used the blazing appearance of torches to symbolize prosperity and development; it was popularly believed that raising torches could make the man's family prosper in people and wealth. When the Tujia bride entered the man's home, there was also the custom of burning the four eyes. The Tulaoshi (Tujia ritual specialist) held a bundle of white wax leaves and silk thatch grass, lit them, and firecrackers sandwiched in the middle crackled. The Tulaoshi used this object to symbolically smoke and burn the bride three times, called burning the four eyes. The so-called "four eyes" refers to a pregnant woman and the fetus together having four eyes. This actually hints that at that time girls had relatively free premarital sexual lives, and the groom, in order to prevent the bride from bringing a child conceived through "wild union" into the family, had to ask someone to perform rituals. It was popularly believed that after applying this kind of witchcraft, the evil qi of wild union and fetal qi could be smoked and burned away, ensuring that the future child's bloodline would be pure and property would not fall to outsiders.
Lamps and candles are another form of evil-warding fire. The Tujia people have the marriage custom of stepping over the Seven Star Lamp. When the bride enters the groom's gate, she must step over the Seven Star Lamp to enter. The Seven Star Lamp is made by inserting seven lit candles into a piece of tofu, then covering it with a sieve. Stepping over the Seven Star Lamp means stepping over the sieve, and it is popularly believed that this can ward off evil.
The Tujia people in Dejiang County, Guizhou, have the custom of releasing yang lanterns in the first lunar month. Yang lanterns are also called "Kongming lanterns." In the eyes of the local Tujia people, yang lanterns have both the function of driving away evil and bestowing blessings. People express their wishes through the activity of releasing yang lanterns: driving away evil, expelling plague qi, a bumper harvest of the five grains in the coming year, and prosperity of people and livestock. Yang lanterns are made by the village. Bamboo strips and iron wire are woven into a cylindrical lantern frame seven chi high and three chi in diameter, then pasted with leather paper, sealed at the top and left open at the bottom. Two iron wires are crossed into a cross shape as the base, the prepared lantern shade is tied to it, and oil-soaked paper strips are tied at the crossing of the iron wires. The lantern is released after dark. People come to the side of the village, pile up a heap of firewood, and two people lift the lantern and place it above the firewood. A wizard lights the oil-soaked paper strips inside the lantern and at the same time lights the firewood. When the flame rises to a certain degree, the two people lifting the lantern let go at the same time, and the lantern rises under the action of the hot air of the fire. At this time, men, women, old and young watching the lantern shout in unison, beating gongs and drums, striking bamboo tubes, setting off firecrackers, and firing bird guns, until the yang lantern disappears into the night sky, and only then does the carnival activity end.
Influenced by Han festival culture, Tujia areas also have the custom of playing dragon lanterns around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. For example, the Tujia people in Yinjiang, Guizhou, have this custom. In advance, people spontaneously organize to do preparatory work, raise funds for playing lanterns, weave dragon lanterns and colored lanterns, and rehearse flower lanterns and lantern operas. When the time comes, the dragon lantern goes out, accompanied by various colored lanterns, with gongs and drums clamoring, horns sounding together, firecrackers continuous, huge crowds of people, and a scene of jubilation. On the street, on the built opera stage, lantern operas are performed for several consecutive nights, often all night long. Playing dragon lanterns carries the meaning of praying for a good year and seeking blessings.
Fire is also a symbol of prosperity and flourishing in all matters for the Tujia people. Every Tujia household has a fire pit room. The fire pit is built of stone slabs, with firewood burning in the middle, and above the fire hang a liftable tripod pot and a kettle for boiling water. The tripod pot is used for stewing meat. Beside the fire pit, a tea jar is simmered. The fire in the fire pit never goes out in all four seasons; when not using fire, ashes are used to cover it and preserve the seed fire. The fire room is a place for the family to warm themselves or drink tea, and also a place to receive guests; it can be said to be the central place of family activity. Tujia people call the fire pit "huolong." As the saying goes: "Huolong, huolong, only with a huolong in the home is there a gathering place." When Spring Festival comes, every household prepares two large dried firewood stumps and burns them in the fire pit on New Year's Eve; the more vigorously they burn, the better, commonly called burning a prosperous fire. This fire must be kept until the fifteenth. It is popularly believed that if the fire burns vigorously, the pigs raised in the coming year will be big and the family fortune will flourish. When the whole family sits around the fire pit, they also say blessings such as "May the prosperous fire burn vigorously," "May the coming year's harvest be good," "May the pigs be raised big," and so on, saying all the auspicious words about a bumper harvest. On the fifteenth, a small unburned tree stump is hung on fruit trees, and the ashes from the fire pit are scattered in the fields. It is popularly believed that this will prevent fruit trees and crops from getting insects in the coming year. Burning a prosperous fire not only blesses the coming year's life to be as flourishing as the blazing fire, but also has the meaning of eliminating disasters. From this, a legend was also attached. Long ago, Tujia villages had five-colored golden pheasants and ten-colored phoenixes. Gold was piled in the mountains, and silver flowed in the water. The Tujia people freely swung on bamboo swings and blew wooden leaves in the great mountains, and life was very sweet. But one year, sand and stones flew, and a demon with seven heads and seven tails suddenly came to the village, swallowing pigs and sheep and eating children, making the bright village shrouded in clouds and mist, miserable and bleak. People used sickles and plows to fight the demon, but none returned. One day, a white-haired Daoist came to the village and told everyone to light a big fire on New Year's Eve, saying that this would avoid the demon's torment. People did as told, and indeed the demon did not come again the next year. The legend preserves the memory of using fire to drive away wild beasts from the ancient Tujia hunting era. The meaning of burning a prosperous fire to ward off evil may be related to this memory.
In some Tujia areas, during the Lantern Festival there is the custom of "Gan Maojiu," that is, "Gan Maogou" (driving away the wild dog). In the custom, the big fire also contains the meaning of prosperity and flourishing and a bumper harvest of the five grains. At that time, each household piles fuel, such as green branches, dry bamboo, and other firewood and grass, beside their own fields and roads. In the evening, each household comes to the fields, places incense paper, candles, firecrackers, and a little of the five grains and tea on the woodpile, then lights the woodpile. For a time, blazing fires burn everywhere in the fields, accompanied by the sounds of firecrackers and exploding bamboo, very lively. People also compete with one another to see whose woodpile burns the longest and whose explosions are the loudest. It is said that the winner will have the best grain harvest. This custom is a fusion of multiple customs. Burning woodpiles in the fields can be said to be a remnant custom of early slash-and-burn farming; the ashes left by burning woodpiles in the fields are still very good fertilizer. At the same time, this custom also incorporates the ritual of burning fire to sacrifice to the earth god and pray for a good year. Putting incense paper, candles, tea, and the five grains into the woodpile and letting them burn and transform is offering sacrifices to the earth god to pray for a bumper harvest of the five grains. This custom also incorporates an evil-warding ritual. Putting bamboo and firecrackers into the woodpile to explode clearly contains elements of ancient rituals to frighten ghosts and drive away evil, and driving away evil in the fields mainly means driving away the wild dogs that harm crops. After the elements of multiple rituals merged into one ritual, a common theme also formed, namely praying for a bumper harvest of the five grains. Incidentally, it should be mentioned that in the Changchong area of Leyuan, Changyang, there was once a custom of driving away wild dogs on Lantern Festival night that did not use fire, but instead had women drive away the wild dogs. Late at night, all the women in the family had to run naked around the residence three times, and only then go to sleep. This was probably to use women's naked bodies to humiliate the wild dogs so that they would no longer harm the crops. A local ballad goes: "Gan Maojiu, Gan Maojiu, drive them all the way to Sister-in-law Zhang's stove door; Sister-in-law lets a fart, and the wild dog is good for nothing." It can be seen that this custom indeed contains the meaning of using the female body to humiliate the wild dog. Why is driving away the wild dog called Gan Maojiu? This is because there is a local proverb: "On the fifteenth of the first month, the nine days will soon be out." Driving away the wild dog happens exactly when the nine days are out, and it has the function of reminding people that the weather is gradually warming and they should prepare for spring plowing, so driving away the wild dog is also mistakenly called "Gan Maojiu."
4. Wind. Fierce wind can destroy crops, damage houses, and bring disasters to people, so it causes people's fear. Wind is also often accompanied by rain, and in ancient people's concepts, wind was an important factor in bringing rain. The Book of Songs, Bei Feng, says: "The valley wind blows gently, bringing clouds and rain." Terms such as "spring wind transforms into rain" and "summon wind and call for rain" contain the concept that wind brings rain. Therefore, people worship wind not only because they fear the power of fierce wind, but mainly because they believe that when the wind god cooperates with the rain god and thunder god, sweet rain can fall everywhere and nourish the growth of all things. The Comprehensive Meaning of Customs, in the chapter on sacrifices, says that the wind god "rouses thunder and lightning, moistens with wind and rain, nurtures all things, and has merit toward people; kings sacrifice to him to repay his merit. The god of Xu is the Wind Earl, so on the bingxu day sacrifices are made in the northwest." Influenced by Han culture, the Tujia also worship wind and regard wind as an auspicious object or auspicious deity. The Tujia have activities and customs of sacrificing to the wind god.
In Yinjiang County, Guizhou, the Wind God is sacrificed in the first and middle ten days of the sixth lunar month. First, the heads of the various villages form a "Wind God Society." In the month before the sacrificial activity is held, some preparatory work must be done: buy one large white ox, make a straw figure, raise seventy-two head of livestock, and select two thick and long bamboo poles to serve as flagpoles, and so on.
The sacrifice to the Wind God in that place has a distinction between great sacrifice and small sacrifice. The great sacrifice is held once every twelve years, and participants often number more than ten thousand. The small sacrifice is held once every three years, and participants often number several thousand. The great and small sacrifices also differ and agree in offerings: what is the same is that both must use seventy-two head of livestock; what is different is that the great sacrifice also uses a white ox and a straw figure, while the small sacrifice does not. The sacrificial ritual is basically the same. The altar is set up in the main hall of "Baishan Temple," and on the altar are enshrined four tablets for the Thunder Lord, the Lightning Mother, the Wind Earl, and the Rain Master. After the offerings are laid out, the rituals can begin. The rituals begin in the kitchen, mainly using the kitchen's pot, shovel, and grinding bowl to create the sound effect of the Wind God coming with thunder and lightning. The shaman, wearing a head covering and holding a sword, comes to the kitchen and performs divine rituals. One person holds a pot shovel and scrapes the pot, one person pounds the grinding bowl, and the sounds thus produced represent thunder, indicating that the Wind God and Thunder God descend with rain. After finishing the rituals in the kitchen, the shaman returns to the altar and continues the rituals. At this time, on both sides in front of the altar there are two lines of people arranged in columns assisting the shaman in performing the rituals. They wear pointed hats made of zongba leaves on their heads and place their palms together in front of their chests. The person at the front of each of the two lines, one beating a drum and one striking a gong, directs the two lines of people to bow with hands together and bend toward the left; the gong and drum are struck together three times, they bow three times, then the gong and drum are struck three more times, and the people bow three times toward the right, bowing while singing and dancing. In this way the bowing and dancing movements to left and right are repeated many times, continuing until they have enjoyed themselves fully. During this process, onlookers must always maintain a solemn expression and must not speak. The next ritual activity is erecting the flags. The two flagpoles are placed in front of the altar, a small flag is tied to the top of each flagpole, and people on both sides each carry one flagpole, go outside, and erect the flagpoles on a small hill.
The final ritual is the killing of livestock. If a great sacrifice uses an ox, the ox must first be made drunk, and torches are hung on the ox's head and tail. After the prayers are finished, the seventy-two head of livestock and the straw figure are sent to the sacred tree, then the torches on the ox's head and tail are lit, causing the ox to circle the sacred tree once, and then it is allowed to run wild. The ox killer paints his face in a flowery pattern, wears short clothes, and hides in a place the ox must pass; when the ox runs by, he steps forward and cuts it down with one stroke, then cuts down the straw figure as well, immediately throws down the knife, and jumps into the river to hide. Then other people kill the seventy-two head of livestock. After the shaman finishes the rituals, the beef and the seventy-two head of livestock are cooked together into porridge, which the village heads take away and distribute for each household to eat. People believe that the more of this porridge one eats, the more one will have enough to eat the next year, meaning a bumper grain harvest, so everyone vies to eat it. It can be seen that the significance of activities such as sacrificing to the Wind God and other deities lies in praying for favorable weather and a bumper harvest of the five grains in the coming year. This custom gradually died out in the early twentieth century, but the Tujia people in that area still retained the custom of cooking porridge to eat during droughts. Of the Wind God sacrifice ritual that once existed in history, only the activity of sharing a sacred meal with the deity remains.
The Tujia people of Changyang, Hubei, also have vestiges of Wind God worship. Local Tujia people believe that wind is brought by the Wind God. In their minds the Wind God is probably a goddess, so she is called "Wind Granny." It is said that wind is blown by Wind Granny with her mouth. This fantasy may be related to Tujia women, when burning firewood to cook, often putting their mouths to the blowpipe to blow the fire in the stove. It is said that when Wind Granny blows wind properly, she blows good wind, as the saying goes, "Five winds and ten rains are all auspicious." If Wind Granny blows wind with a crooked mouth, then she will blow violent wind. Obviously, this kind of violent wind often comes with heavy rain and is extremely harmful to crops. In order to prevent Wind Granny from blowing wind with a crooked mouth, every household must take out a steelyard hook or a hoe and hang it outdoors, indicating that a hook is used to catch Wind Granny's mouth so that she cannot blow violent wind with a crooked mouth. The popular belief holds that if Wind Granny's mouth is hooked, then there will be favorable weather in all four seasons, disasters of violent wind, heavy rain, and floods will be avoided, and a bumper harvest can be obtained. In Tujia areas, one can often see steelyard hooks hanging outside farmers' doors. This custom still exists today.
II. Plant Mascots
The main plant mascots of the Tujia people are various trees, flowers and fruits of plants, and some medicinal herbs and leaves.
1. Trees. Most of the areas where the Tujia people live are covered by mountain forests, with a great variety of tree species, many of which are precious, such as the dawn redwood, known as a living fossil. Trees have many close connections with the Tujia people and are therefore worshiped. The Tujia people revere trees as tree deities, in various forms.
The tall maple tree in front of a village is the village's community tree, and beneath it there must be a land temple. Using a tall maple or other large tree as the image of the land god or community god is because its towering, sky-reaching appearance easily stirs people's feelings of belief. The Baihu Tong: Yongji says: "Why does the altar of soil and grain have trees? To honor and mark them, so that the people may look up and respect them." The community tree in front of a village cannot be cut down casually.
In ancestral graves, evergreen trees such as pines and cypresses are often planted to symbolize eternal greenness and the endless multiplication of descendants, so these trees must also be protected with extra care. Some people also plant on grave mounds a tree called "thousand-year dwarf." The scientific name of thousand-year dwarf is fine-leaf boxwood, also an evergreen tree, with a crown-like shape, also called thousand-year tree. Some also plant "grave bamboo" on grave mounds. "Grave bamboo" is a kind of clustered small-leaf bamboo that grows vigorously and is also used to symbolize the prosperity of descendants.
Some miraculous ancient trees are also often regarded by people as sacred trees and worshiped. It is said that the manifestation of the tree deity is shown through dreams. The author notes that there are originally no deities in the world, nor so-called manifestations, so manifestations can only occur in dreams. If a certain deity gives someone a dream, wanting to manifest through a certain kind of tree, then that tree becomes an object of worship and sacrifice. People burn incense and hang red cloth on the tree, bow and worship the tree, make vows and repay vows. For example, in Shuizhuyuan, Changyang, there is an iron fir, tens of zhang tall and about two meters in diameter, which has long been sacrificed to by people. Red cloth strips hang all over its branches, and around the base of the tree are scattered incense ash and firecracker ash. Sometimes people even hang "knife heads" (pieces of pork) on the tree, showing the degree of their devotion. However, in 1988, this tree was struck by lightning; its crown was broken off and its trunk split. Thereupon someone wrote four characters on a stone beside the tree: "Where is the deity?" From then on the number of believers sharply declined. According to Mr. Xi Fada's statistics, in Changyang County there were no fewer than twenty or thirty tree deities once famous far and near, such as the divine oil fir of Shaziling and the divine willow of Songyuanping. Most of these precious ancient trees still survive today and can be viewed by people, but very few people still believe them to be deities.
Trees are also protective deities of young children. Among the Tujia people of western Hubei, there is the custom of planting a paulownia tree when a daughter is born, embodying the meaning that the daughter will grow up robustly like the paulownia. Paulownia trees reach usable timber very easily, becoming timber in fifteen or sixteen years, exactly comparable to the age at which a girl marries, so they are often used to make dowry furniture for daughters. Moreover, paulownia wood is of good quality, and the furniture made from it is both light and not easily rotted. Therefore, when the Tujia people plant a paulownia tree, they take extra care of it, weeding, fertilizing, and removing insects, doing everything very meticulously, just like caring for a daughter. Such a tree cannot be touched casually by outsiders.