Immortal Crane Bai Zhu
Written by Yu Ying
Edited by Andrew Miles
There is a saying “Ginseng of the North, Bai Zhu of the South.
Long ago, in the South Pole paradise, a magical crane held a medicine plant in its beak. The crane wanted to bring the plant to people and find the perfect place to grow it. The crane flew over the Tianmu Mountain hills and saw a beautiful area at the mountain's base. There was water, lots of sunshine, and it was safe from strong winds. The crane landed there and planted the Bai Zhu it was carrying. During the day, the crane pulled out weeds, loosened the soil, and watered the plants. At night, it watched over the area carefully. After a long time, the crane turned into a small mountain called "Crane Mountain."
One year, a sickness spread near Crane Mountain, and many people got sick. On the day of the Double Ninth Festival in September, a young girl wearing a white dress with pretty flower patterns and red cinnabar came to Yuqian. She was selling Bai Zhu and telling people how to use it to get better. An herbal dispensery owner saw that the Bai Zhu was helping people and bought all of it to make money.
The Bai Zhu worked really well, and people got better after using it. The dispensery owner became very rich, but he wanted more. He remembered the girl said she lived at Crane Mountain, so he decided to find her. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find her.
The owner’s wife knew what was happening and made a plan. She whispered something to her husband that made him very happy.
When the next Double Ninth Festival came, the girl returned to sell Bai Zhu again. This time, the owner was extra nice. He gave her chairs and tea to sit and rest. While the girl was sitting, the owner’s wife secretly put a red thread on the girl’s dress. After the girl took her money and left, the owner and his helper followed her quietly.
The girl walked along a lonely, narrow path up the hill and suddenly disappeared. The owner and his helper looked everywhere on the mountain until they found a fragrant herb with a red thread. The owner was so happy and shouted, "Great! This treasure is now mine!" He told his helper, "Quick! Bring the hoe!" But when he hit the ground, there was a loud bang and a bright golden light that made the owner blind. The special Bai Zhu disappeared, and the girl in white was never seen again.
The Bai Zhu grown in Tianmu Crane Mountain is very precious. If you cut it open, you can see red cinnabar spots and cloud-like shapes that look like chrysanthemums!
Editor’s note
These stories of plant spirits guiding people (willingly or otherwise) to the plant is a common motif, not just in East Asia, but in many other regions of the planet as well. These trace back to an animistic gatherer-hunter worldviews shared as part of our ancestors.