Another Fable about Heads, Swords, and Revenge
A good part of Iroha's plot centers around an evil flying Chinese head and a special sword that cuts the head. This trigged my memory of this rather interesting (but disturbing) Chinese fable I read of when I was nine or ten. I dug up the story from 中國童話(五)published by 漢聲出版公司 and this is how it goes...
Toward the end of the Spring and Autume Dynesty (春秋時代), Emperor Wu (吳王), a rather savage king, ordered a sword maker called Gan Jiang (干將) to make a sword. Gan Jian and his wife Mo Xie (莫邪) gathered the rare metal from various places to make the sword. Yet, though they are really skilled they could not melt the metal together even in three months. Finally, remember old teacher from Gan Jiang's teacher, they got three hundred young boys and girls to fan the fire and put Mo Xie's finger nails and hair into the fire. The metal melted instantly and after much hard work they managed to make the Gan Jiang Sword (干將劍) and Mo Xie Sword (莫邪劍). These two swords, a pair, with Gan Jiang Sword as "Yin" and Mo Xie Sword as "Yan," were so sharp it cuts hair in two with mere touch.
Gan Jian hid Gan Jiang Sword and only presented Mo Xie Sword to Emperor Wu. He was then promptly killed by Emperor Wu because the emperor did not want anyone else to possess such a good sword. Mo Xie was really sad about the death of her husband and raised her son (who was born after Gan Jiang died) alone, hoping one day her son, Gan Chi (干赤) nicked named Mei Jian Chi (眉間尺) could take revenge for his father.
When Mei Jian Chi was twenty years old, he took the hidden Gan Jiang sword in hope to take revenge. But he failed and ended up on the wanted list. Just as he thought there was no hope, he met this nameless stranger dressed in black who said he could get revenge for him if Mei Jian Chi is willing to give him the Gan Jiang Sword and his head (yes, you did not read wrong, I am really talking a head). Mei Jian Chi was so desperate and determine to take revenge that he agreed and cut his own head off for that guy.
Nameless met Emperor Wu (who agreed to see him because he had Mei Jian Chi's head). The emperor was alarmed by the expression of pure hatred on Mei Jian Chi's head, so he took Nameless's advice and threw the head into a boiling pot. Unfortunately for Emperor Wu, Mei Jian Chi's head did not melt or sink, it just glared and blobbed up and down in the water. While Emperor Wu was watching the head beside the pot in fear, Nameless sliced the emperor's head Gan Jiang Sword into the pot.
The two heads inside the pot began engaging in a heated - and morbidly humorous - battle. Neither would sink or yield to the other head so they were biting at each other. Finally, Nameless sliced his own head into the pot too and along with Mei Jiang Chi's head took Emperor Wu's head down. Extremely happy that he got his revenge, Mei Jiang Chi's head laughed hysterically before sinking to the bottom of the pot.
Here's a short blurb I copy and paste from a Chinese wiki about the making of the sword, I have incorporated gist of the information below in my retelling of the story so I will not translate this.
傳說中的春秋末年吳國鑄劍名匠﹐妻名莫邪。根據大約成書於東漢末年的《吳越春秋》記載﹐干將“採五山之鐵精﹐六合之金英”﹐以鑄鐵劍。三月不成。莫邪“斷髮剪爪﹐投於爐中﹐使童男童女三百人鼓橐裝炭﹐金鐵乃濡﹐遂以成劍”﹐製成的兩柄劍分別被稱為“干將”﹑“莫邪”。劍身均有花紋。干將劍“作龜文”﹐莫邪劍“作漫理”(水波紋)。這在一定程度上反映了戰國和兩漢時代的製劍工藝。
If any of you know Chinese you can read about the origin of the fable here.
A good part of Iroha's plot centers around an evil flying Chinese head and a special sword that cuts the head. This trigged my memory of this rather interesting (but disturbing) Chinese fable I read of when I was nine or ten. I dug up the story from 中國童話(五)published by 漢聲出版公司 and this is how it goes...
Toward the end of the Spring and Autume Dynesty (春秋時代), Emperor Wu (吳王), a rather savage king, ordered a sword maker called Gan Jiang (干將) to make a sword. Gan Jian and his wife Mo Xie (莫邪) gathered the rare metal from various places to make the sword. Yet, though they are really skilled they could not melt the metal together even in three months. Finally, remember old teacher from Gan Jiang's teacher, they got three hundred young boys and girls to fan the fire and put Mo Xie's finger nails and hair into the fire. The metal melted instantly and after much hard work they managed to make the Gan Jiang Sword (干將劍) and Mo Xie Sword (莫邪劍). These two swords, a pair, with Gan Jiang Sword as "Yin" and Mo Xie Sword as "Yan," were so sharp it cuts hair in two with mere touch.
Gan Jian hid Gan Jiang Sword and only presented Mo Xie Sword to Emperor Wu. He was then promptly killed by Emperor Wu because the emperor did not want anyone else to possess such a good sword. Mo Xie was really sad about the death of her husband and raised her son (who was born after Gan Jiang died) alone, hoping one day her son, Gan Chi (干赤) nicked named Mei Jian Chi (眉間尺) could take revenge for his father.
When Mei Jian Chi was twenty years old, he took the hidden Gan Jiang sword in hope to take revenge. But he failed and ended up on the wanted list. Just as he thought there was no hope, he met this nameless stranger dressed in black who said he could get revenge for him if Mei Jian Chi is willing to give him the Gan Jiang Sword and his head (yes, you did not read wrong, I am really talking a head). Mei Jian Chi was so desperate and determine to take revenge that he agreed and cut his own head off for that guy.
Nameless met Emperor Wu (who agreed to see him because he had Mei Jian Chi's head). The emperor was alarmed by the expression of pure hatred on Mei Jian Chi's head, so he took Nameless's advice and threw the head into a boiling pot. Unfortunately for Emperor Wu, Mei Jian Chi's head did not melt or sink, it just glared and blobbed up and down in the water. While Emperor Wu was watching the head beside the pot in fear, Nameless sliced the emperor's head Gan Jiang Sword into the pot.
The two heads inside the pot began engaging in a heated - and morbidly humorous - battle. Neither would sink or yield to the other head so they were biting at each other. Finally, Nameless sliced his own head into the pot too and along with Mei Jiang Chi's head took Emperor Wu's head down. Extremely happy that he got his revenge, Mei Jiang Chi's head laughed hysterically before sinking to the bottom of the pot.
Here's a short blurb I copy and paste from a Chinese wiki about the making of the sword, I have incorporated gist of the information below in my retelling of the story so I will not translate this.
傳說中的春秋末年吳國鑄劍名匠﹐妻名莫邪。根據大約成書於東漢末年的《吳越春秋》記載﹐干將“採五山之鐵精﹐六合之金英”﹐以鑄鐵劍。三月不成。莫邪“斷髮剪爪﹐投於爐中﹐使童男童女三百人鼓橐裝炭﹐金鐵乃濡﹐遂以成劍”﹐製成的兩柄劍分別被稱為“干將”﹑“莫邪”。劍身均有花紋。干將劍“作龜文”﹐莫邪劍“作漫理”(水波紋)。這在一定程度上反映了戰國和兩漢時代的製劍工藝。
If any of you know Chinese you can read about the origin of the fable here.
