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Story 152: Manchu “shadow wall” and “Sollon pole”
Manchu “shadow wall” and “Sollon pole”
Author: Anonymous
In the traditional home courtyard of the Manchu people in Heilongjiang, there are two buildings with national characteristics, including a “shadow wall” wall and a “Saulun pole”. There is a folk legend about their origins.
Legend has it that Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Dynasty, worked as a servant in the home of a military official in the Ming Dynasty. One day, Nurhaci, who was serving water to the military official, found three red moles under his feet, which was very strange.
Hearing the military official say that this was the sign of a general, Nurhaci said casually: “I have seven moles under my feet!” The military official took a deep breath after hearing this. According to folklore, stepping on the Big Dipper is the sign of an emperor! Liu Bingbu decided to take the initiative and kill this “future emperor”.
After the military department’s concubine learned about this, she couldn’t bear to see Nurhaci die, so she brought a big blue horse and asked Nurhaci to take a dog and run away quickly. Upon hearing the news, the military department killed his concubine and sent his subordinates to chase him. The big blue horse died of exhaustion, and the dog died to block the mountain fire and protect Nurhaci.
Finally, Nurhaci, exhausted, fell to the ground and couldn’t get up again. Seeing the pursuers coming again, suddenly a group of crows flew over and covered Nurhaci’s body. The pursuers looked from a distance as if the crows were eating the dead body, so they rode away.
Nurhaci, who had escaped death, came to Changbai Mountain and led some people to “release the mountains” to collect ginseng to survive. After many hardships and hard work, he unified the various Jurchen tribes, and finally led his troops south to compete for the Central Plains, and sat on the throne in Beijing, fulfilling the omen of the emperor stepping on the Big Dipper. Nurhaci did not forget the grace of the crows saving his master.
Every New Year, he would set up a “Solun pole” at the gate of his home courtyard, with a square bucket on it filled with pork, grain, etc. for the crows to enjoy. The “shadow wall” set up at the entrance of the Manchu home courtyard is said to be a ginseng carrying rack offered by the descendants of the Manchus to remember the difficulties of Nurhaci’s entrepreneurship in Changbai Mountain. It gradually evolved into what it is today.
