Chapter 45 stay every week
Yang Fu, a famous traveler in the Han Dynasty and the Emperor's era, once saw a kind of cattle called Zhouliu when he traveled in South China.In his travel notes, he described it like this: This animal that looks like a cow is very water-loving and likes to soak in water for a long time; it is different from ordinary buffaloes in that its fur is blue and blue, its stomach is very big, and its head looks very small; Its tail is emerald green, which can be used to make decorations on hats or flags; when it runs, the dust it kicks up from the soles of its feet is purple.
In the grand scene of Chinese history, Zhou Liu appeared three times.
The Taoist classic "Guan Ling Zhuan" records Zhou Liu's first appearance in detail.It was during the reign of King Wuji of Zhou. Yin Xi, the general guarding the western border of the kingdom, was discussing matters with his staff in the yamen when a strong wind suddenly broke the flagpole at the gate.Yin Xi thought that this must be some kind of omen, so he took out the yarrow and sincerely divination.Divination shows that tomorrow there will be holy men, riding blue oxen across the borders of the kingdom.
The next day, Yin Xi and his staff gathered on the tower, waiting for the divine arrival.Soon, a man riding a blue bull arrived, and the staff members were happy, but they saw that Yin Xi did not change his face.Then a second man on a green bull crossed the border, and then a third.By the time the sun returned to the west, 16 people had already crossed the border in this way.Yin Xi has been sitting quietly.
Soon, purple dust appeared in the east.Yin Xi finally got up and went down the tower, the staff were very surprised.Yin Xi told them that this was a unique sight when Zhou Liu was running.Zhou Liu is a sacred green bull, and the person who rides him must be the prophesied master.Sure enough, when the purple smoke stopped, everyone saw a green bull with a big belly and a radiant look.Niu Shang is an old man. 100 years later, the old man was revered as Lao Tzu.
"Guan Ling Zhuan" said that Yin Xi worshiped Lao Tzu as his teacher at that time, and went to the West with him.But that Zhou Liu was left in China by Lao Tzu.It is said that it has been living somewhere in Wudu County.
In the 27th year of Duke Wen of Qin Dynasty, a strange tree suddenly grew out of an ancestral hall in Wudu.Qin Wengong felt that this was an ominous omen, so he sent 50 warriors to cut down the tree.Unexpectedly, when the ax fell on the tree, there was a gap in the tree, and when the ax was pulled out of the gap, the tree grew again.The wrestlers cut down for 10 consecutive days, but they failed to hurt the strange tree.The leading warrior was afraid that the king would blame him, so he asked the local wizard for advice.Under the guidance of the wizard, the wrestlers all put on maroon clothes, and while cutting down trees, they sprinkled incense ash into the cut.Sure enough, the fracture did not recombine.After cutting like this for a few days, a blue light suddenly shot out from the tree, and a huge cow ran out along the light, dived into the nearby river and disappeared.Only then did everyone know that this strange tree was the incarnation of Zhou Liu.
The third appearance of Zhou Liu was during the Jin Dynasty, when a cow raised by a farmer in Fuyang County suddenly had a blue light all over his body.The child in charge of cattle herding fell ill and died the next day.The family thought that the cow that suddenly appeared abnormal killed their son, so they killed the cow severely, and invited relatives and friends to enjoy the beef together.Horribly, all the people who participated in the beef dinner vomited blood and died the next day.No one knew what the reason was, but they found that each of their chests glowed with blue light.Yang Fu, a scholar who recorded this incident, pointed out that the green bull was actually the sacred Zhouliu, and these people were killed because they offended the divine cow.
After that, Zhou Liu never appeared again.The only record related to it comes from an academic work "Five Classics Gou Shen" by Yang Fang, a Confucian scholar.Yang Fang mentioned that in the southeast coastal area, there are some ethnic minorities whose priests can hear the truth of the matter told them by blue ox bones after sincere prayers.