Week 9, Reading B: How the River God's Wedding Was Broken Off

As in most of history, those who hold power will try and keep it by creating fake customs that keep the rest of the population in fear. Such is the setting of this story, until a wily governor arrives to stop the situation. This story, How the River God's Wedding Was Broken Off, comes from The Chinese Fairy Book, by R. Wilhelm.

Reading Notes

• A district on the Yellow River was ruled by a governor called Si-Men Bau.
• The people in the district held the River God in high esteem.
• The witches and sorcerers who lived in the area declared that every year, a young woman must be selected as a bride, otherwise the weather would be bad for the year and there wouldn't be a good harvest.
• Whenever a daughter in a wealthy family came of age, the sorcerers and witches would say she should be the bride.
• The family would then try to bribe the sorcerers and witches, until they finally ordered the family to buy a poor girl to cast into the river.
• The sorcerers and witches would keep the bribes, of course.
• If a family didn't offer a bribe, the sorcerers and witches would order the daughter be thrown into the river to be the river god's bride, with wedding gifts and all.
• When Si-Men came into office and heard about this custom, he told the sorcerers and witches he wanted to come along and see the custom, as well as honor the god, so that the god would shower pleasantries on the people of the district.
• Upon the day, Si-Men dressed in his finest and rode in his chariot to the place where the bride would be forced into the river.
• Everyone from the district was there, including the sorcerers and witches, and there was music and singing.
• The river-bride was sitting in a coach adorned in jewelry, and tearfully telling her parents goodbye.
• Right before the river-bride's coach was pushed into the stream, Si-Men interrupted and declared that someone must go into the river and fetch the river-god to retrieve his bride.
• He ordered a witch to go into the river to fetch the god, and when she hesitated he had his servants grab her and thrust her into the water.
• An hour passed by without anything happening.
• Si-Men declared that the witch was moronic for not understanding her directive, and ordered a sorcerer to go into the water.
• Like the witch, the sorcerer hesitated and thus was forced into the stream; another hour passed by without event.
• Si-Men pretended to be upset about this turn of events, and started to order another sorcerer to go into the water.
• However, the remaining sorcerers and witches threw themselves on the ground before Si-Men and begged for mercy, and swore they would end the practice of a river-bride that day.
• Si-Men sent the river-bride home to her family, and thus the evil practice came to an end.

The Yellow River is one of the largest rivers in China. (Source: Wikipedia)