会稽石亭埭，有大枫树，其中空朽，每雨水辄满溢。 有估客，载生鳣至此，聊放一头于朽树中，以为狡狯。 村民见之，以鱼鳣非树中之物，咸谓是神。乃依树起屋，宰牲祭祀，未尝虚日，因遂名鳣你庙。人有祈请及秽慢，则祸福立至。 后估客返，见其如此，即取作臛，于是遂绝。
——《异苑》
The
Holy Eel
At Stone Pavilion Dam
in Kuaji there stands a great maple tree. The trunk has rotted and is hollow;
so whenever it rains, a hole in the tree becomes filled with water. A merchant
passing here with a load of eels put one eel in the rotten tree for fun. Since eels do not grow
on trees, when the villagers saw it they were sure it must be holy. They built
a temple by the tree, slaughtered cattle to sacrifice every day, and called the
place The Temple to Father Eel. They believed that those who prayed at the
shrine would immediately have good fortune, while those who offended the god
would be overtaken by calamity. When the merchant came
back this way and saw what had happened, he took the eel to make eel broth. And
so it ceased being holy.
The Garden of Marvels (YiYuan) （杨宪益、戴乃迭 译） |
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