Divine fish to Quyuan

According to legend, Qu Yuan had a cousin named Qu Yaogu. She was a poor fisherwoman who grew up drinking the Three Gorges water. She was handsome, ingenious and strong in character. She once drove a fishing boat against the wind and waves in Xiling Gorge and sent Qu Yuan to travel around; she once accompanied Qu Yuan over mountains and mountains, listened to folk songs, collected Chu Feng, and helped Qu Yuan write the poem “Ode to Orange” in his hometown of Orange Forest. Qu Yuan returned to his hometown from Yingdu, beating drums and recruiting troops to fight the invading Qin army. Qu Yaogu immediately led the fishermen and boatmen on the Xiajiang River, and first raised the banner of anti-Qin Baochu and invited Qu Yuan to fight.

One day after Shenyu sent Qu Yuan, Qu Yaogu had a dream, dreaming of a beautiful bird flying around her head, calling out, “My brother – Hui – yo, my brother – Hui “Yo!” Afterwards, the little bird flew away, and Qu Yaogu went to chase after him. After reaching the mouth of Xiling Gorge, he disappeared. He heard someone say these two words: “The river flows back three thousand miles. Qu Yuan died in the belly of the fish.” At this time, Qu Yaogu saw a big fish emerging from the river, carrying Qu Yuan’s body on its back.

The next day, Qu Yaogu told the village sisters about this dream. The sisters ran to the mouth of Xiling Gorge with Qu Yaogu. While washing clothes, they shouted, “My brother-hui-yo, my brother-hui-yo!” Like a flood is coming. A wave of waves slapped on the river bank and drowned the stone pier where the sisters were pounding their clothes. They looked at the river in panic, and saw something like a banana leaf dangling in the waves. A closer look, ho, it turned out to be the fins of a big fish. Qu Yaogu said “Ah ho” to the big fish: “Fish, fish, if you bring my brother back, come to the shore!” As soon as the words fell, the big fish really swam to the shore, Climbing on the stone beam, the head and tail stumbled, suddenly jumping up and down, two lanterns shedding tears, and then gently flapping their gills, revealing Bai Liangliang’s belly.

Yao Gu stared at the belly of the big fish, quickly took off the flat hairpin from her head, and opened the belly of the fish. The sisters jumped up and lifted the lid of the coffin. When they saw it, it was the body of Doctor Qu Yuan lying inside.

The sister sewed up the belly of the fish, released the fish, and then carried the red coffin back to her hometown for burial, crying all the way, “My brother-hui-yo, my brother-hui-yo!”

Qu Yaogu was full of grief and anger, and the more she cried, the more sad she became. Suddenly, she slammed her head against the tombstone, turned into a bird with a red beak and golden-green feathers, flew through the golden sunlight and flew into the jungle. She was still calling out, “My brother is back, my brother is back…”

From then on, every year on the Dragon Boat Festival, there is a dragon boat race held in Quyuantuo, Guizhou, where the witty shovel and the brave shovels (paddlers) chanted to the sound of drums: “My brother, come back! My brother! — come back,”

The divine fish, firstly because of a stomach injury, and secondly, because of Qu Yuan’s homeland, has never been able to go up to the Xietan or go down to the Qingtan.