Stories: The Hollow Heart
Today, I'm going to share with you a great Chinese story that was told to me by my beloved grandmother. It has little to do with poisonous plants, but an edible morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica, Convolvulaceae), which has hollow stems. In Malaysia, it's called 'kangkung' in Malay, and in Chinese it's called 空心菜，which means the hollow-heart-herb. The morning glory's stems and leaves are often stirred fried with sambal, and served as a local delicacy. Never in my wildest dream that this humble plant has a mind-blowing, suspense full story! I reckon it is worthy for me to share it here. After all, I cherish traditional stories and I would relive them whenever possible.
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| Ipomoea aquatica (Convolvulaceae). Naturalised in all parts of Malaysia. |
Long
ago in ancient China, back in the Shang dynasty (1075–1046 B.C.), there
lived a powerful tyrant who's name was King Zhou 紂王. Described as being
absolutely cruel and ruthless, he was said to have boiled people to
death and made a banquet out of a pond of wine and a forest of meat.
People suffered under his rule for over twenty years. Yet all these,
were because the king was seduced by a most beautiful lady, possessed by
the spirit of a vixen (female fox). Her name was Da-Ji 妲己. It was said
that the cries of people suffering made Da-Ji smile and King Zhou invented all sorts of torture devices and merciless execution techniques, just to win Da-Ji's smile.
Of course, opposition rose and it was led by a rebellion general called Jiang Zi-Ya 姜子牙, who would eventually won the war of Muye and overthrew King Zhou. But before that, he had an alliance from within King Zhou's council of ministers. One noble man in particular who's name was Bi-Gan 比干. Legend has it, Bi-Gan always try to persuade King Zhou to rectify his mistakes, to head towards kindness and nobility. Unbeknownst to the king, Bi-Gan secretly tried to exorcise the vixen spirit from Da-Ji. Infuriated, Da-Ji vowed to have Bi-Gan killed!
One day, Da-Ji pretended to be sick and dying, which got King Zhou extremely worried. Da-Ji told the king, the only way to save her life is to extract the heart of a man most loyal to the king, so that it can be made medicine to cure her ailment. Without a second thought, King Zhou ordered Bi-Gan to be sacrificed to with his heart removed. However, Jiang Zi-Ya got hold of Bi-Gan and gave him a magic pill such that he would not die even with his heart extracted. All Bi-Gan had to do was (after he was killed) to travel to a sacred land, and he shall be revived. And so he did... However, Jiang Zi-Ya warned Bi-Gan, if he is to be reminded that he has no heart, he would die instantly.
On the way to the sacred land, Bi-Gan heard the yelling of an old lady. "Come, come and have some hollow-heart-herbs, nice herbs I have here, take a look!'' Indeed, there was an old lady selling Ipomoea aquatica not too far away from him. Curious, Bi-Gan proceeded to ask the old lady, "what's a hollow-heart-herb? It looked so fresh and green!" The old lady smiled "yes, they are called 空心菜, herbs without a heart (hollow stems). Vegetables are great green and tasty without a heart, but may I ask you, can a man live without his heart?" Bi-Gan was suddenly reminded of his ordeal, fell to his knees and died on the spot instantly.... The end! Well not really, Bi-Gan eventually became an 'angel' due to his loyalty, and he was able to kill Da-Ji.
I don't think I need to tell you who was the old lady, and if you're interested to find out the rest of the story, you can go and read the famous Chinese history/story called Investiture of the Gods (封神演义). Next time, we will also look at a Chinese story, but one that is so ancient, it is probably the oldest Chinese myth/history in record, and that one involves a deadly poisonous plant. Hope you enjoy, Ciao!
Of course, opposition rose and it was led by a rebellion general called Jiang Zi-Ya 姜子牙, who would eventually won the war of Muye and overthrew King Zhou. But before that, he had an alliance from within King Zhou's council of ministers. One noble man in particular who's name was Bi-Gan 比干. Legend has it, Bi-Gan always try to persuade King Zhou to rectify his mistakes, to head towards kindness and nobility. Unbeknownst to the king, Bi-Gan secretly tried to exorcise the vixen spirit from Da-Ji. Infuriated, Da-Ji vowed to have Bi-Gan killed!
One day, Da-Ji pretended to be sick and dying, which got King Zhou extremely worried. Da-Ji told the king, the only way to save her life is to extract the heart of a man most loyal to the king, so that it can be made medicine to cure her ailment. Without a second thought, King Zhou ordered Bi-Gan to be sacrificed to with his heart removed. However, Jiang Zi-Ya got hold of Bi-Gan and gave him a magic pill such that he would not die even with his heart extracted. All Bi-Gan had to do was (after he was killed) to travel to a sacred land, and he shall be revived. And so he did... However, Jiang Zi-Ya warned Bi-Gan, if he is to be reminded that he has no heart, he would die instantly.
On the way to the sacred land, Bi-Gan heard the yelling of an old lady. "Come, come and have some hollow-heart-herbs, nice herbs I have here, take a look!'' Indeed, there was an old lady selling Ipomoea aquatica not too far away from him. Curious, Bi-Gan proceeded to ask the old lady, "what's a hollow-heart-herb? It looked so fresh and green!" The old lady smiled "yes, they are called 空心菜, herbs without a heart (hollow stems). Vegetables are great green and tasty without a heart, but may I ask you, can a man live without his heart?" Bi-Gan was suddenly reminded of his ordeal, fell to his knees and died on the spot instantly.... The end! Well not really, Bi-Gan eventually became an 'angel' due to his loyalty, and he was able to kill Da-Ji.
I don't think I need to tell you who was the old lady, and if you're interested to find out the rest of the story, you can go and read the famous Chinese history/story called Investiture of the Gods (封神演义). Next time, we will also look at a Chinese story, but one that is so ancient, it is probably the oldest Chinese myth/history in record, and that one involves a deadly poisonous plant. Hope you enjoy, Ciao!
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