165048

Story 113: The Legend by the Erqu River Story

The Legend by the Erqu River

Author: Anonymous

The Oqu River is like a blue streamer, floating, floating down from the shining silver Gangsang Snow Mountain, passing through the small mountain villages with beautiful scenery. Just beside the blue Oqu River, there is a saying A love story.

There is a horse-herding boy in the North Village named Mengpei Jiwu; there is a sheep-herding girl in the South Village named Qiongqing Nima. The two villages are separated by a river and are closely connected by an iron cable bridge.

Across the blue river, Mengpei Jiwu and Qiongqing Nyima grew up watching each other. Boys are flying kites here, girls are watching over there; girls are singing over there, and boys are answering questions here. In the sunshine and wind and snow, they gradually grew up, growing into a boy as thick as a green tree and a handsome girl as beautiful as a Gesang flower. The blue Oqu River cannot stop the footsteps of love coming quietly. Today the boy comes and spreads the colorful clouds of the horses all over the southern slope; tomorrow the girl comes and scatters the pearls of the sheep all over the northern slope.

The golden deer is inseparable from the grassland; the cuckoo is attached to the poplar forest. Not to mention that the boy and the girl were inseparable and attached to each other, even when their herds met, they seemed particularly affectionate and happy.

On this day, the sun was shining warmly, the river was flowing, and the birds were chirping. The young man Mengpei Jiwu drove his horses across the glittering river. The shepherd girl Qiongqing Nyima, who arrived earlier than him, ran to greet him singing and dancing.

Hello, hello.
Hello, brother Mengpei Jiwu!
Quickly drive the stallion up the left slope,
Quickly drive the mare up the right slope;
Hurry up, the flaming pony,
Hurry into a mountain nest sheltered from the wind and facing the sun.

The young man separated the horses and replied:

If it’s as warm as a stove fire,
I haven’t finished speaking yesterday;
A song as long as the river,
I have to continue singing today!

They cut down a few branches and put up an awning to protect them from the sun and rain; they moved three stones and set up an iron pot for making tea and milk. The sheep and horses were grazing carefree; the girl and the boy were drinking strong tea and twisting yarn. They talked more and more, and the yarn became longer and longer…

The happy moment passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was already sunset. The two of them said goodbye reluctantly, and each drove the herd home. Qiongqing Nima came home late, and her parents were unhappy. The girl said, “The sheep are greedy for spring grass, and Urdu can’t drive them back. There’s nothing I can do about it, my daughter!”

The next day, the weather was as good as gold again. The sun was shining warmly, the river was flowing, and the birds were chirping. The girl Qiongqing Nima drove her sheep through the golden flowers. The young horse herder who arrived earlier than her ran to greet her happily.

Hello, hello,
Hello, sister Qiongqing Nima!
Quickly put the goat on the left slope.
Quickly put the sheep on the right slope;
Quickly take away the little lamb like the waves,
Put it into a mountain nest with a leeward direction and facing the sun.

The girl separated the sheep and replied:

A belt as beautiful as a rainbow,
I have to continue knitting today;
If there are as many stars,
There’s still half of it in the belly!

The two found a cave with a wall to block the cold wind. They picked up a lot of dry firewood and lit a red fire. Sheep and horses were grazing freely. The girl and the boy, eating mutton and braiding their belts, are like boiling milk mixed with honey. Their lives are filled with endless warmth and sweetness.

When you are in love, the days are always short. In the blink of an eye, the moon rises over the snow-capped mountains. Girls and boys, you see me off, and I see you off, and finally each drives the herd home.

Qiongqing Nima came home even later, and her parents were even more unhappy. The girl said: “The sheep ate the spring grass and ran over three hills to let my daughter find me now.”

From spring to summer, and from summer to autumn. The lamb born in spring has left its mother; the seeds sown in spring have bloomed. When a young man has a warm word in his heart, he always wants to jump out of his lips; when a girl has a sweet song in her heart, she always wants to jump out of her chest. Once, the two of them came to graze near the hot spring. The boy took off his gold earrings and gave them to the girl for safekeeping.

He washed his hair in the hot spring, sat on the green lawn, and asked the girl to braid his hair. Suddenly, a “Pawa” rolled down from the mountain, startling the horses, and the young man chased the horses anxiously. At this time, Grandma arrived at the pasture again and forced Qiongqing Nyima to drive the sheep home. The girl had no choice but to wrap the golden earrings tightly in wool and place them next to the hot spring where they were setting the pot. She also made a mark with three stones.

The light wind always shakes the leaves, and the boring mouth always likes to stir up trouble. My father and mother listened to all the criticism and refused to let Qiongqing Nyima go to the mountains to herd sheep again. Instead, I gave her a sickle and told her to go to the fields to cut highland barley. The girl told her father that she wanted to quarrel with her mother, but the butter could not touch the stone, so she had to hand over Urdo and go to work in the autumn harvest fields.

Mengpei gathered up his frightened horse, but couldn’t find the girl when he came back. He was very puzzled. He waited and waited on the mountain before dawn the next day, but he still couldn’t see the shadow of Qiongqing Nyima and couldn’t hear the singing of Maqing Nyima. . The young man was like a mad horse, running from the mountain to the mountain, and then from the mountain to the mountain. Finally he saw the girl harvesting highland barley in the field, so he took the opportunity of asking about the earrings to test the girl’s heart:

There is a golden-winged bird,
Drop left wing;
Ask the harvest girl,
Do you know where it landed?

All the people who cut highland barley did not know what he meant by singing; only Qiongqing Nyima answered in a singing voice:

I have seen the golden-winged bird,
Saw its left wing;
Three white stones beside the hot spring.
That’s where it falls.

This was originally an ordinary song, but it aroused criticism in the village. Gossips were like crows in winter, flying from Nancun to Beicun, and from Beicun to Nancun. Qiongqing Nyima’s parents were very angry and found a matchmaker to marry the girl to a businessman on the other side of Gangsang Snow Mountain.

One day, Qiongqing Nyima came back from the fields and saw mules and horses tied up in the yard. When she looked out the window, she saw a few unknown people coming into the house. They presented a khata to my father, and gave three gifts: an apron, a Tibetan robe, and money to my mother. Oh my God, isn’t this the “Rob Bangsong” who is welcoming the bride? Didn’t this mean that they wanted to abandon me to a stranger’s home?

The girl ran quickly, ran quickly, ran to the north slope of Mengpei Herding Horses, and sang to the boy:

Brother Mengpei,
My father wants to sell me,
Grandma is going to force me to get married;
If you have something to say, just say it.
If you can think of it, just think of it!

Mengpei, who had been riding alone on the mountain for a few days, was sulking with the girl because of the earrings. He was angry that the girl should not leave him to collect barley in the fields, and he was angry that the girl should not bury his golden earrings in the fields. In the dirt. Little did he know that a horse’s speed depends entirely on the whip; poor Qiongqing Nima is under the supervision of her parents! In order to take revenge on Qiongqing Nyima, she casually composed and sang:

My sister Qiongqing Nima,
If you want to find your in-law’s house, just go and find it.
If you want to marry, then marry her.
No robbers will stop you on the road,
There are no stones on the path to trip you up.

After hearing the young man’s answer, the girl felt that the sky above her head had fallen and the ground beneath her feet was empty. She stood leaning against a poplar tree for a while. I wanted to go up the mountain to ask for details, but I was embarrassed because she was an eighteen-year-old girl, so I had to move my stone-heavy feet and walk into the house step by step.

When the relatives saw Qiongqing Nyima being so young and beautiful, their words of praise flowed out like a waterfall. At that time, they gave her five “simple and rigid” gifts, namely Tibetan robes, Tibetan boots, aprons, jewelry and belts.

But the girl didn’t listen to any words of praise; she didn’t even look at the precious things. She pretends to be Mengpei Jiwu in her heart, and thinks of Mengpei Jiwu in her mind. People who have been in love since childhood, either you can propose to me through the front door holding a khata, or you can pick me up from the back door and run away with a fast horse. Why did you stab me with such vicious words? Have you, this young man, changed your mind? Was it because the river was so noisy that he didn’t hear me clearly? Was it because the fog was rising that he couldn’t see my sad face clearly?

It was time to dress up, and she would leave tomorrow unknown. Qiongqing Nima made an excuse to wash her hair, and walked to the blue Equ River in the middle of the night. She sang to the boy’s stone house across the river:

Brother Mengpei Jiwu,
The bride-to-be has arrived,
The girl will leave at dawn.
You have something to say,
You have what you should do!

The young man’s anger had not subsided, and he did not believe that the girl got married so quickly. He stuck his head out of the window and replied across the river:

Sister Qiongqing Nima,
If you want to go, just go!
If you want to leave, just leave!
Brother, I wish you good luck,
Brother, I wish you good luck.

The song flying across the river is like a sharp arrow piercing the girl’s heart. She thought: The friend she has known since childhood turned out to be so hateful. It was not that he, Mengpei Jiwu, was too cruel, but that I, Qiongqing Nyima, did not have eyes in the past.

Well, I have been there in the days over at Gangsang Snow Mountain, whether they are sweet or bitter; whether it is a knife or a fire, I have jumped in them all. When I got home, I covered myself with a Tibetan blanket and cried all night until dawn. Little did she know that Mengpei Jiwu was like a yak, tortured to the point of being dizzy by love. How regretful he would be when he understood!

The next day, Mengpei Jiwu followed the first light of dawn on the snow-capped mountains and climbed up the hillside with withered grass. He saw the door of Qiongqing Nima’s house, which was as joyous as a festival. There were many people on horseback and walking, hugging each other and dressed like Qiongqing Nima, who is as beautiful as a flower, is walking towards Gangsang Snow Mountain in a lively manner.

“Oh my God! She’s really gone!” The boy yelled and fell down the hillside. Suddenly he jumped up again, jumped on the fastest horse, chose the nearest road, ran into his yard in one breath, and shouted to his grandma: “Mom, grandma, it’s not good! We’ve caused a big disaster.” It’s gone! My beloved BMW is lost, snatched away by robbers from afar! Take out my otter robe, take out my Caiyun boots, take out my engagement ring, take out my silver-encrusted fork Take out the gun, I want to get my beloved horse back.”

He put on his wedding robe, took the token of love, and said to his grandma: “Grandma, grandma, give me the horse on your right quickly. Fill the mat with plenty of Jesus oil. If you find a BMW, you will come back in three to five days. If you can’t find a BMW, it will not come back for three to five years! Grandma, grandma, please pray for your poor son!” After that, he jumped. Get on your horse and chase Qiongqing Nima like an arrow!

As the wedding team walked to the Equ River, Qiongqing Nima looked back worriedly. What she saw in her eyes was the face of her father and mother, and what she thought about was the figure of the horse herding boy. Soon, I saw him riding a horse and following behind. If the team was fast, he would be fast, and if the team was slow, he would be slow. The girl was hateful and angry. She sang to the uncle who was seeing her off in a voice that was not too loud or too small that Mengpei could hear:

Uncle,
Please turn back from here,
The girl walks the road ahead by herself,
Please don’t worry whether it’s bitter or sweet.

All the people greeting and seeing off the bride could not understand the meaning of the song. Only Mengpei Jiwu heard it from a distance and shed tears and was sad.

The wedding team walked and walked to the foot of Gangsang Snow Mountain. When Qiongqing Nyima saw that Mengpei was still following behind, she sang to her uncle in a voice that was not too loud or too small just for him to hear:

Uncle.
Please turn back from here,
The girl walks the road ahead by herself,
Sword and fire will never come back.

All the people who were welcoming and seeing off the bride did not understand the meaning of the song. Only Mengpei Jiwu heard it from a distance and shed tears and was sad.

The procession of welcoming the bride walked forward and reached the top of Gangsang Snow Mountain. When the young horse herder saw that all the people seeing off the bride had gone back, he rode his horse and ran to the girl’s side. It seemed that he had a lot to say and a lot of songs to sing. The bride-grooming boy regarded him as a No one cared about the person sending the bride off. Qiongqing Nima was wronged, so she sang in a voice that was not too big or too small just as the young boy heard:

If you want to graze the newly purchased horses,
It’s time to stop in your tracks;
If you want to pursue a new girl,
It’s time to turn your horse around.

Mengpei had no choice but to ride his horse and leave far away. At night, the people who are welcoming the bride set up tents on the roadside and spend the night with tents. Poor Mengpei rode over again and wandered around the tent, refusing to leave for a long time. He begged Qiongqing Nyima with a song to come out and say three honest words. Qiongqing Nima replied:

A needle cannot be pointed at both ends.
A person cannot have two hearts;
A ruthless and unjust person,
What’s the use of sending each other thousands of miles away?

The horse-herding boy Meng Pei hit the horse and ran away, and the shepherd girl Qiongqing Nima married the businessman. The businessman was about twenty years older than the girl. He had a three-story house, with the first floor for mules and horses, the second floor for the warehouse, and the third floor for the bedrooms. The merchant has three full warehouses, one for grain, one for butter, and one for wool. On the third day of their wedding, the businessman went to the Shannan Valley to buy highland barley.

My husband went out and wouldn’t come back for a month or two.

The mother-in-law brought out a machine for weaving Pulu and asked her to weave some Pulu. When Qiongqing Nyima saw the pure white wool, how could she not think of the lovely sheep? When thinking of the lovely sheep, how could she not miss Mengpei Jiwu whom she had known since childhood? So, while weaving Pulu, she sang casually:

Wool, soft wool,
How good it would be to give Mengpei a “pile” of knitted fabrics!
My mother-in-law was sitting next to the machine, smiling happily because the businessman was also named Mengpei!
The businessman Mengpei came back from Shannan, stayed there for three days, and then rushed to northern Tibet to exchange highland barley for wool.
My husband went out and would not come back in March and April.

The girl weaves Pulu every day. Weaving and weaving, the white Pulu weaved was as long as the Oqu River, and her longing for the young shepherd was also as long as the Oqu River. While throwing the shuttle, she sang casually:

Pupu, solid Pupu,
How nice it would be to add a Tibetan robe to Mengpei!

While she was weaving and thinking, a beggar’s call came from outside the door: “Okay, okay, I am a homeless homeless person; okay, okay, I am a helpless and miserable man!”

What a familiar voice! Qiong Qingnima took a look from the window and saw that it was indeed the young horse herding boy Meng Pei who had been thinking about it day and night. Like a spring bird, she flew out of the building.

The mother-in-law was outside the door, giving a small bag of tsampa to the homeless man. His black hair was messed up into a bird’s nest, his face was blackened into charcoal, his new otter-skin robe was turned into rags to cover a clay pot, his Tibetan boots were like colorful clouds, and they were split into a toad’s mouth. Qiongqing Nima cried to her mother-in-law: “Mother-in-law. He is my brother. Let him go upstairs and sit for a while.”

It turns out that the young man Meng Pei never returned home after leaving the girl. He went to many forests, shot many wild animals, and got a lot of money. But what’s the use of money without the one you love? He entered the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, became an ascetic lama, and read many classics. But what’s the use of going to heaven without the one you love?

So, he cried and begged for food… Suddenly he met Qiongqing Nima, and the warm words that he had hidden in his heart finally came out; as for the girl, the sweet song that had been embedded in her chest in the past. , finally flew out. This sentence, this song, is just one word: love.

When the morning star rose over the snow-capped mountains, the two figures left the businessman’s home and ran to a place far, far away to find their happiness.

Whether they can find true happiness or not, I, the storyteller, don’t know.

Narration: Nima Penduo, Chengguan Town, Shigatse
Recorded in June 1979
Buried in January 1980

Note: This story was originally called “Young Mengpei Jiwu and Girl Qiongqing Nyima”. When Grandma Gangzhuo of Langjiexue Commune, Gongga County, Shannan, told us, it had a “sun-breaking” ending. The horse-herding boy came to Qiongqing Nyima’s in-laws’ house to beg for food.

Qiongqing Nyima’s parents-in-law knew about their relationship and asked him to stay. The businessman Mengpei went out to do business, and the horse-herding boy Mengpei grazed at home and lived a very happy life.