A giant, tigers and a human bait

Xu Shan, a man from Guandong (关东), made a living by digging up «renshen» (ginseng) roots. It was customary for renshen diggers to work at night. One day, after a tiring night, Xu rested on the sand. When he woke up, he found himself being carried by a tall man who was about two zhang (over six meters) tall, covered in red hair from head to toe. With his left hand, the man gently stroked Xu’s body, and then rubbed his own hair against Xu’s body, as if playing with pearls or gems. However, with each rub, he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Xu thought that the man was going to eat him.

Soon, the man carried Xu to a cave where there were piles of tiger tendons, deer tails, and elephant ivory. He placed Xu on a stone bed, brought in a tiger and a deer, and offered them to Xu. Xu was pleased but unable to eat. The tall man seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then nodded as if he had an idea. He struck a stone to start a fire, fetched water, and cooked the meat. Xu then ate heartily.

At dawn, the tall man carried Xu again, this time with five arrows, and climbed up to a cliff. He tied Xu to a tall tree. Xu was terrified, suspecting that he was going to be shot with arrows. Suddenly, a group of tigers sensed the presence of a human and emerged from their dens, pouncing on Xu. The tall man shot his arrows and killed the tigers, then untied Xu, dragged the dead tigers away, and cooked and offered them to Xu once more. Xu finally understood: the tall man was using him as bait to lure the tigers. This continued for over a month, and Xu remained unharmed while the tall man grew fat.

One day, Xu thought of his family and knelt before the tall man, tears streaming down his face as he bowed repeatedly. He pointed to the east with his fingers. The tall man seemed to understand and carried Xu back to where he had been collecting «renshen,» showing him the way back and indicating places to find the valuable roots. From then on, Xu became wealthy.

One tale from Hong Mei Zibuyu.

Image: Gao Qifeng (高奇峰, 1888-1933)

If you are interested in the tiger symbolism in China you could be interested in my book (only en Spanish now) El Tigre en China: Imagen y Símbolo (The tiger in Chona: image and Symbol).