Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent
Chinese tale
Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent, also known by its Chinese name Li Ji Zhan She and by many other names, is a Chinese tale first published in the 4th-century compilation Soushen Ji attributed to the Jin-dynasty official Gan Bao (or Kan Pao). The story concerns a young heroine named Li Ji who bravely rids her village of a terrible snake.
Names
Alternate English names for the tale are: "The Girl-Eating Serpent"; "Li Chi Slays the Serpent"; "Li Ji Slays the Great Serpent"; "Li Ji Hacks Down the Snake"; "Li Chi Slays the Great Serpent"; "Li Chi, the Serpent Slayer"; "Li Ji, the Serpent Slayer"; and "The Serpent Sacrifice".
Synopsis
The story is set in Jiangle County (Chiang-lo), Minzhong Commandery, Eastern Yue (or Dongyue) Kingdom, when southeastern China was still fragmented into small kingdoms and territories. In the Yong (Yung) mountains there lived a serpent that "demanded" (through people's dreams and wu shamans) the sacrifice of maidens from the village below. The town officials, afraid of the creature, give in to its horrible requests and send the daughters of slaves and criminals to the cave's opening. These sacrifices repeat eight more times, always during "the first week of the eighth lunar month".
One day, Li Ji (or Li Chi), the youngest daughter of Li Dan (or Li Tan), offers herself to be the sacrifice, since her mother and father have five other daughters and no son.
She goes to the mountains to face the serpent, armed with a sword and accompanied by a snake-biting dog. Li Ji puts a basket of sweet-smelling rice cakes to draw the serpent out of its hideout, and while it is distracted by the food, unleashes the dog on the animal.
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This entry incorporates text from “Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.