Victor's Pursuit of Serenity Chapter 33

Some of the tricks in "The New Book of Du Pian" bring long life and good fortune. In the "Guan Wang Futou" article in "Yi Jian Zhi" by Hong Mai of the Song Dynasty, it is recorded that the shaman of Guan Gong Temple in Tongzhou accidentally found that someone's appearance was very similar to the yellow-clothed statue in the temple, so he asked this person to go to the market to order a big futou (a kind of hat). The shop owner had not seen the person come to pick up the futou for a long time. Later, when he came to the temple, he saw the yellow-clothed statue, which was the person who came to the shop to order the big futou. "He was horrified and thought it was a god, and immediately held it up to offer it. The story became more and more obscene, and people from all over the city rushed to pay homage to it." The "Monk used the temple to deceive people" article in "The New Book of Du Pian" is almost exactly the same as this, except that one cheated money and property, and the other cheated people to believe, and they are from the same source. Later, in the 24th chapter of the novel The Scholars, it says: "This monk had shaved his head for many years and rubbed salt on it. When he went to the cattle grazing area and saw a very fat cattle, he knelt in front of the cattle and coaxed the cattle to lick his head with their tongues. Whenever the cattle licked the salt, tears would flow from their eyes. He said that the father was his father, and went to the family to beg for alms. After the alms were given, he would sell them for money. This happened more than once." This story is exactly the "Monk Recognizes a Cow as His Mother" in Du Pian's New Book. The only difference is that one is a bull and the other is a cow, so there is a difference in recognizing the father and the mother. Later, in the late Qing Dynasty, Ding Zhitang's Shiyinzhai Shebi wrote that a thief said to a cloth vendor, "I want to steal the tea kettle from that family. If you see it, don't make a fuss." The cloth vendor said, "You stole his things. What does it have to do with me?" That's why I didn't say anything. The cloth merchant looked around for a long time with great interest, but did not see the cooking pot being stolen. When he turned around, he found that several bundles of his cloth were missing. This story was exactly the one in "Du Pian's New Book" called "Pretending to Steal a Goose and Taking Off the Green Cloth".

I will talk about it later... I will talk about it until today. I see cases on TV and in newspapers, which often warn people to be careful. I think those professional scammers are everywhere and are not a big problem in society. Moreover, there are big and small scams. Some people are always in a big scam from birth to death, but they are always cautious and vigilant, beware of their neighbors, innocent passers-by, and some trivial things. I can't see the forest for the trees.

Don't Read the Woodcutter's Song

"Song of the Woodcutter" is a collection of poems by Zhu Dunru, a poet of the Song Dynasty. However, it is only borrowed here as a topic, and is not entirely about it.

Fisherman and woodcutter is a very interesting theme in classical literature. Just looking at these two words, everyone feels poetic. Chopping wood in the mountains has been around since humans learned to use fire. It is both physically demanding and physically demanding. No wonder it took tens of thousands of years to think of giving it poetic meaning. Now when we read ancient poems and look at old paintings, we all agree that it is so romantic to see a happy-looking woodcutter on a winding woodcutter's path in the wild mountains and ridges, carrying a light load of firewood and singing a woodcutter's song! If we encounter such a woodcutter in the mountains, it is like meeting a landlord of mountains and rivers, a gatekeeper of gods. We naturally treat him as Zhong Ziqi, not Zhu Maichen, and no longer think of vulgar words such as illegal logging. We are filled with the joy of meeting the real one, and respectfully ask for directions. The woodcutter, in accordance with his industry norms, has to point casually with his hand and then walk away singing a song.