Three Catties of Yellow Wax Hiding Out
Among the Fu, Zhang, and Mei clans of Zhangjiajie, one branch belongs to the Tujia people. If they are Tujia, they will recite a few lines of duiba verse: "The eagle splits, the eagle rock, three catties of yellow wax hiding out." Legend says that in the late Ming dynasty, after Li Zicheng's defeat, his general Yefu retreated to Tianmen Mountain Temple, secretly directing subordinates Wang Jincai and Ma Jinzhong to lead the rebel army.
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Three Jin of Yellow Wax to Hide Away
Among the Fu, Zhang, and Mei surnames of Zhangjiajie, one branch belongs to the Tujia ethnic group. If they are Tujia, they will recite a few paired lines for you: "Eagle Crack, Eagle Rock, three jin of yellow wax to hide away."
Legend has it that in the late Ming Dynasty, after Li Zicheng's defeat, his subordinate general Yefu retreated to Tianmen Mountain Temple and secretly directed his officers Wang Jincai and Ma Jinzhong to lead the rebel army in continued resistance against the Qing forces. Ultimately unable to hold out, they retreated from the Yuan River area into the deep mountains and dense forests of Xiangxi. The Qing army pursued relentlessly, burning, killing, and plundering along the way without restraint. To incite the Tujia people's hatred toward the rebel army, they spread rumors everywhere that Wang and Ma's soldiers were "long-haired ghosts," man-eating kings. At that time, a unit of Wang-Ma soldiers passed through a Tujia village. The common people were so frightened that they hid in the mountains, and the Qing army took the opportunity to frantically massacre these "Tujia barbarians." Three Tujia families surnamed Fu, Zhang, and Mei, in the chaos, climbed a large elm tree and hid in a cave on the sheer cliff. Because wild deer often called in this place, it was called "Deer Calling Stream"; the cave had flocks of eagles, so it was called "Eagle Crack" and "Eagle Rock." The Qing army did not care whether those hiding in the cave were Wang-Ma soldiers or common people—they surrounded the cave and attacked. They first cut down the large elm tree, cutting off the cave dwellers' way out, then burned chili powder at the base of the mountain to smoke them out, and also fired rocket tubes to burn them. But all to no avail. The Qing army was enraged and set up camp below the cave, besieging it relentlessly, determined to starve and thirst the cave dwellers to death.
The three families ate all their grain, leaving only three jin of yellow wax. To survive, they had to eat the yellow wax as food. Yellow wax is an indigestible fat—however much you eat, you excrete. They then ate the excreted yellow wax again. Thus repeating the cycle, they actually managed to hold out for some time. To deceive the enemy, they deliberately sang mountain songs toward the Qing soldiers below the cliff: "Eagle Crack, Eagle Rock, a thousand troops and ten thousand horses cannot break it open!" The Qing army had besieged for so long that they had long grown impatient. Seeing that the people in the cave were perfectly fine, they thought the gods must be helping them, and had no choice but to withdraw sullenly. After the Qing army left, the three families tore their clothes and blankets into strips and knotted them into ropes, lowering themselves down the cliff. The entire village below had been massacred, yet these three families miraculously survived and multiplied their descendants.
To commemorate the disaster at Ying'erche, whenever the New Year or festivals came around, these people of the three surnames would always use three catties of yellow wax to make a candlestick, use elm and pepper tree branches as incense and candles, insert them into the yellow wax candlestick, and silently recite a prayer:
"Ying'erche, Ying'er Rock, three catties of yellow wax to hide away."