As we all know, crocodiles are also known as earth dragons and pig dragons, which is a fierce animal.
At present, there are no wild crocodiles in China except for captivity. However, in ancient China, crocodiles once appeared in the Han River in Lingnan Chaozhou, and was called "Crocodile Creek" because crocodiles were often infested in the river.
At that time, the crocodile was hidden in the river water, fierce, the people's livestock were eaten by the crocodile, the children were bitten to death by the crocodile, and the crocodile was extremely powerful and extremely cunning, and the villagers were deeply affected by it, and they could not help the crocodile by all means.
alligator
At this time, Han Yu offended the emperor because of his outspoken advice, and in 819 AD, he was relegated to Lingnan Chaozhou as an assassin. As a parent official in Chaozhou, Han Yu naturally cared about the suffering of the people, and everyone told him the same thing:
"There are crocodiles in the west of the county,...... The cannibals and livestock are exhausted, so that the people are poor. ”
The people of Chaozhou are very poor, because there are crocodiles in the water. Someone suggested that he choose a strong country warrior, make a strong bow poison arrow, and round up the crocodile, Han Yu nodded and said yes, but he decided to salute first and then soldier, and write a "Crocodile Sacrifice Text" that shocked the world and warned the crocodile that if the crocodile knew about it, it would automatically disperse. His subordinates were stunned by Han Yu's idea. The following is a part of the "Crocodile Sacrifice Text".
Crocodiles which can not be mixed with the history of thorns in this soil also. Thorn Shi was ordered by the Son of Heaven to guard this soil and rule this people, while the crocodile was brazenly uneasy about the creek and the people and livestock were everywhere,...... He refused to fight with Thorn Shi and competed for the title of Changxiong. ...... Crocodiles have knowledge, and they listen to the history of thorns.
As soon as Han Yu came up, he revealed the identity of the Envoy of the Son of Heaven, suppressing the "crocodile" as an official, and the Son of Heaven asked me to govern this place, and I had the responsibility to protect the lives and property of the people, and no matter how fierce you crocodile was, you must not go against the will of Heaven to be the enemy of me.
Han Yu led the people to sacrifice crocodiles
Besides, the South China Sea is so big, whether it is whales and Kunpeng, or small shrimp and crabs, you can live well in it, and the South China Sea is also close to Chaozhou. Therefore, Han Yu wanted to make a covenant with the crocodile in three chapters:
For three days, he led the ugly to the south to the sea to avoid the orders of the Son of Heaven. Three days can't, to five days; five days can't, to seven days.
Han Yu ordered the crocodile to lead his own kind, roll out of the crocodile stream within three days, give a maximum of seven days, if you do not migrate, you must "use a strong bow and poison arrow to engage with the crocodile", Han Yu issued an ultimatum here, if you do not roll after 7 days, then you must curse the Nine Tribes, and then do not regret it.
After the sacrifice text was written, Han Yu ordered people to set up an altar on the crocodile creek, read the sacrifice text, burn the sacrifice text, and throw a pig and a sheep into the crocodile creek. It is also strange to say that that night, the wind and clouds suddenly changed, and a storm suddenly blew in the water, and after a few days, the water completely dried up, the crocodile disappeared from then on, the river was clear and the sea was yan, and the life of the people returned to peace.
The existing "sacrificial crocodile platform" in Chaozhou
Han Yu's exorcism of crocodiles is a true story, and the "Crocodile Sacrifice Text" is also Han Yu's famous passage through the ages. Later, in order to commemorate Han Yu's achievements in driving away crocodiles, the Teochew people renamed the crocodile creek "Han River" and built a crocodile platform above the Han River.
It is said that during the qianlong emperor, there was a locust plague in the counties near the capital, and a large number of crops were eaten. At that time, Yushi Cao Xiu first wrote to the emperor and mentioned the invention of Han Yu's crocodile drive. After exaggerating that Qianlong was a rare great poet in ancient times, he suggested that the emperor learn from Han Yue and also write a "Locust Sacrifice Text".
However, the Qianlong Emperor also had self-knowledge, "Shuofei did not have the writing of Taishan Beidou", and the level was incomparable with Han Yu. Fearing that the locusts would not run away after the sacrifice, causing the people of the world to laugh in shame, Cao Xiuxian had to give up.