libing erlang more stuffs

After taking up his post as the governor of Si- chuan, Li Bing applied the experience of predecessors in harnessing rivers. He discovered the causes of flooding and sought ways of dealing with it. He ordered his son, Erlang, to be responsible for the construction of Dujiang Weir, then worked with him in leading the local people to complete the largest water control project in ancient China. Although it was finished two thousand years ago, the planning, design and construction meth- ods were highly scientific and creative. To meet the needs of irrigation and flood prevention, the project was built to regulate the water volume of the outer and inner rivers. During drought season, it could work for irrigation, and when rainy season came, the sluice gate was able to control the overflow. In short, the completion of Dujiang Weir made it pos- sible to regulate water for farming all year round. This thoroughly changed the look of agricultural production of some ten counties around Chengdu Plain. An area frequently hit by flood and drought now became a vast expanse of fertile land and a huge granary. From then on, Chengdu Plain has been called the "Land of Abundance." According to "Story About Li Bing and His Son in Harnessing Rivers" in Records of Guanxian, "After being appointed governor of Sichuan by King Zhao of the State of Qin, Li Bing channelled the water from the two rivers of Chengdu to irrigate thousands of hectares of farmland. His son Erlang helped him build water control works to prevent flood." A historical record says, "The Erlang Temple of Guan-kou in Sichuan was established in memory of Li Bing's merits in opening up salt wells, building bridges, developing the Guanxian area and Cheng- du Plain, and promoting agricultural production. Many god pictures that appeared recently were the representation of the image of Li Bing's second son..." According to another story, "Having annexed Sichuan, the King of Qin appointed Li Bing governor of the area. Erlang went with him to Sichuan. At that time the area was frequently hit by floods.

Erlang was ordered to find out the cause and to prevent it. From spring to winter he made long and difficult journeys, but failed to get any result. One day when going deep into a mountain, he encountered a tiger. Instantly, he killed it and cut its head off. At this moment came seven hunters, who were surprised at the sight of Erlang's bravery. Knowing Erlang's task, they asked to go with him; Erlang agreed. As they approached a that ched cottage by a river near the county town of Guanxian, they heard somebody crying inside. They entered and found an old woman wailing for her youngest grandson who was to be taken away as a sacrificial offering for the river god—an evil dragon. Astounded, Erlang reported this to his father. Li Bing taught him how to capture the monster. On the sacrificial occasion, Erlang, holding his three-pointed and double-edged sword in hand, got into the River God Temple with his seven friends, and hid themselves behind the god statue. After a while, the dragon came with a gust of strong wind and heavy rain into the temple to snatch the oblation. Erlang and his mates jumped out immediately to fight it. Defeated, the dragon scurried out of the temple. Now, on the surrounding hills sounded the beating of gongs and drums and loud voices. This scared the dragon who fled to the river. To pursue it, Erlang and his mates dived into the river, too. At last, the dragon was captured. Being weary, Erlang and his mates took a rest under the Grandma Wa ng Crag and detained the dragon in the river. The river had a hole through which one could reach the Chongqingzhou River. Making use of this, the dragon escaped.

Erlang and his mates at once plunged into the water to look for it, and finally put it under arrest at Tongzhiyan in Xinjin County. On returning to the Grandma Wa ng Crag, they met the old woman who had been grievously crying for her grandson. Now she came to express her gratitude and brought them an iron chain. With it, Erlang tied the dragon to a stone post of the Vanquishing Dragon Temple and had it detained in a deep pool. Since then, the area has been free of flood. Here is another legend about Erlang with his seven friends vanquishing an evil dragon: Seven people were said to be the seven sages from Plum Mountain. But in a myth they were the spirits of monkey, pig, sheep, ox, dog, centipede and snake. Because they helped a tyrant king to do evil, they were killed by Yang Jian and Ne Zha. According to The Chronicle of Chengdu Prefecture, the seven peo- ple were all hunters and friends of Erlang. Some called them Seven Friends from Coal Mountain." The mountain area around Guanxian County was a coal producer. So the seven people were probably coal miners of ancient times.

In the past, the Erwang (Two Kings) Temple in Guanxian had the Seven Sages Hall in which the statues of the seven people were enshrined. Strange in appearance, they were also known as "Seven Monsters." Today, when you enter the Erwang Temple, you will find a horizontal plaque above a small stage. It is a wooden carving with golden paint, probably made in early Qing Dynasty. This woodcut presents the scene of Erlang and his seven friends helping Li Bing to fight a rhinoceros. On the right is Li Bing, a strong bearded man who is fighting the wild beast with his hands. In the centre are eight warriors; one of them, the young man wearing helmet and armour, holding a three- pointed and double-edged sword, with hunting dogs around, is Erlang. The others are the "Seven Sages from Plum Mountain."

The tale told above is a part of the legend about Erlang. This is the story of Li Bing: After vanquishing the river god (namely the evil dragon), Li Bing made three stone figures at Baishayou, west of the county town, and placed them in the centre of the river. He and the river god reached this agreement: In dry season, the water level must not be lower than the feet of the stone figures, while in flood season it is not allowed to submerge their shoulders. In addi- tion, Li Bing led the local people in making bamboo crates filled with stones to form a thirty-five-metre- long dam across the river, which was called Golden Dam and used for flood diversion. This eliminated the menace of flood and drought from then on. With numerous streams for irrigation, the vast plain has become so rich and fertile that people call it "Land of Abundance."

- The origin of Chinese deities by Cheng, Manchao