Press: The folk tales circulating today are basically from ancient Chinese folklore and mythology. The myth of the beautiful and touching “The Girl with the Conch” is well known to everyone, but the origin of the story is little known. The fairy tale is well documented in volume 62 of the Taiping Guangji. However, Bai Shui Su Nui, now known as Miss Tian Luo, was actually sent by the Emperor of Heaven to help Xie Duan get rich because he took pity on her, not because he wanted to marry her. But after thousands of years of changes, the fairy Bai Shui Su Nui became the Tian Bei girl, and the story was completely secularized by the return of Bai Shui Su Nui to heaven and the ending of Tian Bei Nui marrying Xie Duan to satisfy people’s good wishes.
Xie Duan was a native of Houguan County, Fujian Province, during the Jin Dynasty. He lost his parents when he was young and had no relatives to rely on, so his kind-hearted neighbors adopted him. By the time he was seventeen or eighteen years old, he was already of good moral character such as kindness, prudence, and self-discipline, and never got involved in illegal activities. He never got involved in illegal activities, and began to go out to earn his own living. He had not yet married, but the townspeople took pity on him and cared for him and wanted to marry for him, but they never did. Xie Duan was very industrious, went to bed late and got up early, and worked hard day and night.
One day, he found a big snail under the city wall, as big as a three-liter jug. He thought it was a rare thing, so he took it home and kept it in a jar. For ten days, Xie Duan woke up early every morning to work in the fields, and when he came home in the evening, he found that a steaming hot meal had been prepared for him. Xie Duan thought it was his neighbor’s way of helping him, so he went to thank his neighbor. Xie Duan felt that his neighbors didn’t know what he was talking about, but he didn’t know who was cooking for him every day. Later, Xie Duan told his neighbor in detail what had happened and asked who was helping him. The neighbor laughed and said, “You have married your own wife and are hiding at home cooking for you, but why do you say we are cooking for you? Xie Duan was at a loss for words and was puzzled and unable to let go.
Soon he was really curious and wanted to find out what was going on, so at the first sound of the rooster’s call, he went out to work in the field, and at daybreak he sneaked home again. He did not enter the house, but hid outside the fence and peeked in through the window. He saw a young girl come out of the urn and go under the stove to light a fire for cooking. Xie Duan could not resist any longer and broke down the door and went straight to the place where the urn was kept, but there were only shells in it. He went under the stove again and asked the young girl, “Where do you come from? Why do you cook for me over the fire?” The maiden was confused and wanted to return to the urn, but Xie Duan prevented her from doing so, so she replied helplessly, “I am a white water maiden in heaven. The Heavenly Emperor took pity on you because you are young and lonely and have the virtues of respectfulness, prudence, and self-discipline, so he ordered me to guard your house and cook for you. In ten years, I will make your family rich and marry you, and then it will be time for me to return to heaven. Now that you have peeped without cause, and my true nature has been revealed, it is no longer proper for me to remain here, so you should let me go. You will be in a better position, and you will have to work hard in the fields, and fish and gather wood for your livelihood. I will give you this snail’s shell, with which you can store your grain, so that you will not lack food.” Xie Duan begged her to stay, but she refused to do so. At that time, the weather suddenly changed, and it began to rain and blow, so the girl suddenly closed her body and left Xie Duan.
Xie Duan made a shrine to her, and worshipped her every year and on festivals. Some villagers were willing to marry Xie Duan’s daughter to her. Xie Duan later became an official and became a county magistrate.
(Source: Record of Collecting Immortals)
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