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Story 104: Blacksmith Pearl Toyang Folktales
Blacksmith Pearl Toyang
Author: Anonymous
On the blue Lhasa River, there are three golden water birds, they love each other. If you want to fly, fly together; if you want to fall, fall together. Of these three water birds, one is the incarnation of the blacksmith Mingzhu Tuoyang, one is the incarnation of Miss Langruo, and the third one is the incarnation of their child. The old people said: Speaking of these three birds, there is a sad legend!
According to legend, many years ago, there was a young blacksmith by the Lhasa River. This young man was strong and shiny, with snow-white teeth and black eyes. He was cheerful from morning to night, and he smiled when he saw stones. Not to mention his blacksmith skills, his hammer is as good as that of a magician, so everyone calls him Gala Pearl Toyang.
He has no parents above him and no wife beside him. He is like a free bird, like a cloud that disappears and appears. The little donkey carries blacksmith tools and wanders around along the long Lhasa River.
As the saying goes: There is no bird in the sky that does not fall to the ground, and there is no unattended serf on the earth. The leader of Mingzhu Tuoyang is Chief Lang Ruoben, whose power is like a majestic snow mountain and whose personality is like a blazing fire. Every spring and autumn, he would go to the governor’s office to work on blacksmithing as usual. The sweat he shed here alone would be enough to load several cowhide boats.
In the spring of this year, the cuckoo chirped, and Mingzhu Tuoyang came as usual. On the wheat field in front of the governor’s house, two tents were set up, a black cow-hair tent in which Zhuming Tuoyang was forging iron; and a white tent with blue flowers in which the owner supervised the blacksmith’s work.
The chief was very worried about the blacksmith and sent his daughter to monitor him. He said: “Daughter! Go to that white tent and watch the boy Mingzhu Tuoyang work. Don’t allow him to be lazy and watch out for him stealing. Remember: the soul of a blacksmith is black, and so are his bones. Whoever’s shadow is reflected will be in trouble for life, you must not talk to him casually!”
At first, the young lady was afraid of Mingzhu Tuoyang like the plague. Mingzhu Tuoyang talked to her, but she didn’t dare to answer; Mingzhu Tuoyang came towards her, but she quickly ran away. Mingzhu Tuoyang didn’t care about this, she still worked happily and sang happily. After some days, the young lady felt that what her father said was wrong, and she secretly fell in love with the little blacksmith. She thought the figure of the blacksmith was as cute as a prince; the sound of blacksmithing was as pleasant to her as the music of heaven.
During the meal, the blacksmith had tea and tsampa, and the lady had milk tea and sesame seeds. The young lady then sang to the black cow-hair tent:
Please listen to it,
Blacksmith Pearl Toyang:
Sitting alone is boring.
Please come and sit here with me!
It tastes tasteless when eaten alone.
Please come to my place to eat and drink!
Mingzhu Tuoyang heard this and answered in a singing voice with a smile:
Please listen to it,
Mr. Lang Ruo’s girl:
Blacksmith, I’m used to sitting alone.
It’s comfortable to sit like this;
Blacksmith, I’m used to eating alone;
It tastes sweet and delicious when eaten this way.
Mingzhu Tuoyang didn’t come over, and the young lady felt empty in her heart. She didn’t want to eat Ma Song, or drink milk tea. She walked over and got into the black cow hair tent, touching here and there, singing:
Please listen to it,
Blacksmith Pearl Toyang:
A hammer like a thunderbolt,
Can I come and play? Blacksmith!
Bellows like the wind,
Can I come and have sex? Blacksmith!
Lightning-quick pliers.
Can I come and give you a hand? Blacksmith!
After singing, you have to work for him. Mingzhu Tuoyang was so anxious that she was sweating profusely and sang:
Please go away quickly,
Mr. Lang Ruo’s girl:
soiled your clothes,
I can’t compensate, miss!
It hurts your flesh,
How can I bear this, miss?
Your body is exhausted,
The master will put me in a cell, miss! No matter how much Mingzhu Tuoyang tried to persuade or obstruct her, the young lady still stayed by the blacksmith’s furnace every day, coming three times when there was nothing to do and nine times when there was something going on; she said three words when she had nothing to say and nine times when she had something to say.
When the young man was forging iron, the young lady helped him blow the bellows; when the young man was eating tsampa, the young lady poured him tea. One day is short but two days are long. When Mingzhu Tuoyang left the governor’s mansion, the two of them felt that neither could do without the other.
The days of separation are getting longer day by day, and their longing is getting deeper and deeper day by day. When the young lady heard that Mingzhu Tuoyang was staying at the house of her mother, Nirmarajen, she secretly escaped from the governor’s house and came to find him. Mingzhu Tuoyang was so happy when she saw the young lady that she sang:
Please listen to it,
Amma Nirmalajan:
Miss Long Ruoben is here,
Please lend me a porcelain bowl;
Miss Long Ruoben is here,
Please lend me a card mat.
As the lady entered the door, she sang:
Please listen to it,
Blacksmith Pearl Toyang:
I don’t want any card pads,
Just pad your sheepskin;
I don’t want any porcelain bowl,
Just drink from your wooden bowl”.
In this way, they held a simple wedding in the blacksmith shed. Mingzhu Tuoyang was very skilled in craftsmanship, and everyone was clamoring for the iron tools she made. The two of them lived a lively life. Soon, the lady became pregnant again. They looked forward to the birth of the baby every day, and their life became more interesting.
One day, the lady came back from outside and saw that the blacksmith shed had been knocked down, the blacksmith furnace was smashed, and the blacksmith Pearl Tuoyang was missing. Nima Rajan told her that Mr. Langruoben sent a group of people to arrest the young blacksmith.
The young lady ran home quickly, but her father ignored her, her mother ignored her, and the housekeeper Morimoto ignored her. She searched upstairs, downstairs, in the front yard, and in the backyard. Finally, the old milking lady secretly told her that Mingzhu Tuoyang was locked in a dungeon. She ran to the dungeon door, which was locked with four large iron locks. The young lady found an ax and hit it, hit it, once, twice… Suddenly, she felt a pain in her stomach, and the poor child was born.
She crawled into the firewood pile, bit off the umbilical cord, tore off a piece of clothing to wrap the child, and then came to find her beloved husband. She saw the cell door wide open, a pool of blood in the cell, and a pool of blood outside the cell. Mingzhu Tuoyang didn’t know They got it there.
How sad the lady is!
She carried the baby on her back and ran out following the blood. On the path in front of the door, I saw the housekeeper coming on horseback. The lady quickly took off the “Ba Zhu” on her head and sang:
Please listen to it,
Chief Langruo’s butler:
“Bazhu” that is useful to you,
I’ll give you one;
Words that are useful to me,
Please answer:
Blacksmith Pearl Toyang,
Where is he being held now?
The butler reached out and grabbed the “Bazhu” and said very arrogantly: “I don’t know, you should ask Morimoto!” After that, he rode away without looking back.
The young lady walked forward, and as she walked forward, she met Morimoto coming on a horse. She quickly took off the “gawu” on her chest and sang:
Please listen to it,
Chief Lang Ruo’s Morimoto:
“Gawu” is useful to you,
I’ll give you one;
Words that are useful to me,
Please answer:
Blacksmith Pearl Toyang,
Where is he being held now?
Morimoto stuffed “Gawu” into his sleeve and replied as he walked: “I don’t know, you should ask the donkey driver!” Then he left as usual.
Not long after the lady left, she met the donkey driver coming. She asked him what she had just said and gave him the coral rosary in her hand. The donkey driver stammered: “The poor blacksmith was beaten to death by the master; his body was just thrown into the Lhasa River!” After saying that, he ran away as if running for his life!
When the young lady heard the bad news, she fainted and fell to the ground. It took a long time for her to wake up. She cried and crawled, and after an unknown amount of time, she finally reached the Lhasa River. I saw the rolling river water, with layers of waves. The corpse of Mingzhu Tuoyang was spinning and floating on the waves.
Miss Langruo stopped crying because her tears were gone; Team Langruo stopped crying because the grief was over. She combed her hair, straightened her clothes, fed her baby, and sang happily:
Are you waiting for me? Are you expecting me?
I’m coming, I’m coming,
Came with blacksmith tools,
I’m coming, I’m coming,
Came here with my beloved on my back,
Since it is difficult to be a couple in this world,
Then go to heaven to get married.
After singing, I hugged my child and jumped into the rolling river. At this time, Mingzhu Tuoyang’s body sank into the deep water. Then, music sounded from the bottom of the river, golden light flashed in the water, and three golden birds flew out from the golden light, circling and singing on the blue Lhasa River.
Narrated by: Nima Penduo, Chengguan Town, Shigatse
Written by: Liao Dongfan Tsering Dorje Tsering Droga Collected and translated
Note: This story is spread in Lhasa, Shigaxing, and Shannan areas. It is said that the Langruo Governor’s Mansion in the story is now Langruo Village in the eastern suburbs of Lhasa.
