The legend of the white-haired fairy?

1940, in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border region in northwest Hebei, there was a story called the white-haired fairy. The story goes something like this:

In a mountain village, it has been difficult to carry out the work for several years after the liberation of the Eighth Route Army, because the villagers and village cadres in the village are superstitious. It is said that there is indeed a fairy with white hair in the village, saying that it is all white and often comes out at night. She lives in the grandmother's temple at the head of the village. On the first and fifteenth day of each month, she will ask the villagers to confess to her. For a long time, the villagers obeyed. They really saw the offerings on the coffin the day before and disappeared the next morning. Sometimes, the villagers once forgot to confess to her on time, and then they heard a strange scream from behind the dark altar: "You … don't worship a nun … be careful of disaster …".

On one occasion, district cadres went to the village to arrange villagers' elections and decide when to hold a villagers' meeting. However, the villagers did not attend the meeting at that time, and the cadres in the district asked the reason. The village cadres said timidly, "Today is the 10th Five-Year Plan, and everyone has given a white-haired nun ..." The district cadres then asked about the details of the white-haired nun. It is estimated that a wild animal may have been misunderstood by the villagers, or it may be a sabotage plot played by the enemy. Finally decided to go to grandma's temple to catch ghosts. That night, the cadres in the district and the leader of the anti-rape team in the village took weapons and hid in the west side of grandma's temple altar. It was about three days after the people who burned incense and sacrificed left. Moonlight flickering, a cold wind blowing, footsteps approaching. Then, a colored "object" entered the temple. I vaguely saw holding the offerings on the table with my hands. Just as he was about to leave, the cadres in the district jumped out of the darkness and shouted, "Are you a man or a ghost?" Sister-in-law with white hair was surprised and suddenly let out a scream. People rushed at her. The district cadre fired a shot, and the white-haired sister-in-law fell to the ground, but she immediately got up and ran down. The cadres in the area and the Wang in the village followed behind, through the Woods, climbed the mountain and passed several cliffs, but the white object was not seen. While wondering, I vaguely heard a baby crying. Look carefully, there is a fire like beans at the end of the dark ravine, which is mysterious and terrible. District cadres and others are still bravely chasing after them. They see a dark and deep cave where a white-haired nun is licking the baby's little white hair in a corner. District cadres and others raised their guns and said to her, "Are you a man or a ghost? Come on, say I'll spare you and get you out, but don't sayno. "At this moment, the white-haired nun suddenly fell down in front of the district cadres and burst into tears. Then she poured out everything to the cadres in the district:

... nine years ago (before the Anti-Japanese War broke out and the Eighth Route Army came here), there was a bully landlord in the village who bullied tenants at ordinary times, arrogant and dissolute, and committed all kinds of evils. An old tenant farmer had an orphan girl of seventeen or eighteen, smart and beautiful, who was taken in by the landlord. He conspired to force the old farmer to death and take the girl away in the name of asking for rent. The woman went to the rich man's house, was raped by the landlord and became pregnant. After satisfying a temporary lust, the landlord turned her down and married a new man. While planning the marriage, she plotted to kill the girl. A kind old lady learned of this letter and let her go in the middle of the night. After she escaped from the rich man's house, she didn't know where to go in the vast world. Later, she found a cave to live in and gave birth to a baby. She lived in the cave with hatred and bitterness for several years. Because I ate less in the cave, I didn't wear clothes, I couldn't see the sun, I couldn't eat salt, and my whole body was white. Because she stole the offerings from grandma's temple, she was believed by the villagers to be a white-haired fairy, and she made a living by it. As for the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the liberation of the Eighth Route Army and the change of the world, she never dreamed. ......

Jingzhi He

1946 March 3 1 Zhangjiakou