Monthly Archives: March 2024

Zhou Chu Eradicates the Three Scourges (周處除三害)

This is a folktale about the origins of Zhou Chu (周處) a famous Chinese general. I heard it from a Chinese international student (T.C.) currently studying in Stanford.

Text

“When Zhou Chu was a young man, he was a really violent and unruly person. He terrified the villagers in his hometown so much that he was known as one of the ‘three scourges’ to them alongside a tiger and a dragon. One day, a villager taunted him and suggested that he tried killing the tiger and the dragon even though they were stronger than him. Zhou Chu was arrogant and so he agreed. He went to fight them and the battle took two days. When he returned to the village he saw the villagers celebrating the deaths of the ‘two scourges’, and he realized that he himself was the third scourge. He never really realized just how deeply his actions had impacted his hometown and wanted to redeem himself, so he went to two famous generals, Lu Ji and Lu Yun, for advice. From them he learned how to be a better person and became a general himself and earned the admiration of the people in his town.”

Context

“I learned this tale in middle school. In Chinese schools, you’re required to learn a lot of ancient texts and stories for Chinese literature class, and in some cases, you have to memorize them. The amount of stories that you have to learn and memorize is so tedious and long that it often feels insufferable, but I remember liking this story a lot because it really humanized Zhou Chu. Usually these generals are so heroic and larger-than-life that it’s hard to believe that they were people, but Zhou Chu’s imperfect background (even though dragons are not real) made him feel more relatable and likable.”

Interpretation

I think there’s a lot of stories about heroic figures (kings, generals, gods, etc.) who started off as malevolent or incompetent people and matured into admirable role models. As seen from the stories of King Alfred and Daquwanga that I recorded previously, it seems that this story structure exists across a variety of different cultures and has universal appeal. Maybe the fact that such larger-than-life figures come from ordinary and imperfect backgrounds make them seem even more awe inspiring. I thought this story structure was pretty similar to the hero’s journey because the hero starts off as an ordinary person in the ordinary world before they are irreversibly changed by an inciting event. Often, these protagonists have to mature like how Zhou Chu did to rise to the occasion and become heroes.

Soarin’ Around the World, with ghosts

Age: 19
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“So apparently there is a ghost in the A theater of Soarin’ Around the World at Epcot. Some people say that they have seeing a man walking around inside the theater or making noise inside the theater like voices and whispering when they’re sitting in tower alone or when they have closed the theater. Oh and “tower” is a position for cast members at Soarin’ where they sit alone and watch cameras in the dark and frequently after people say that they have had an experience with said ghost the attraction has some sort of malfunction or downtime. I don’t know exactly where it came from but some people say it’s from somebody who used to work at the ride that passed away. When I have been there in the past after a long shift and I’m closing, sometimes it feels like I’m not alone even though I am, and I get a sort of vibe or energy change in the empty theater as I’m checking it to shut it down. Some people say they’ve seen things move or heard things fall and never found whatever the noise came from, but I haven’t experienced that, just gotten a weird vibe or sometimes think I hear someone say something but no one is there. In the end I don’t really think anything of it though, it’s just a lot of hours of work and people’s stories that make you imagine things that aren’t really happening.”

Context:

A is a friend of mine who worked at Disney World’s Soarin’ Around the World for a few years in the past, they are currently 20 and a student in Florida. He says that he originally heard it from fellow cast members there at the ride, and figured it was just a way to scare the newbies, and thinks it is just his brain getting to him after a long shift. A does not believe in ghosts, and says he has never had a “real” supernatural experience.

Analysis:

A’s story of the ghost in the Soarin’ Around the World theater embodies themes of folklore, skepticism, community, and resilience. It reflects the ways in which humans create and share stories to make sense of the unknown, while also highlighting the importance of critical thinking and rationality in navigating the complexities of the modern world. The tale of the ghost haunting the theater reflects a common cultural phenomenon found in many societies – the creation of urban legends and ghost stories. These stories often emerge from a combination of shared experiences, hearsay, and the desire to add mystery and excitement to mundane surroundings. The sharing of ghost stories among cast members at the ride suggests a sense of community and camaraderie within the workplace. These stories serve as a form of entertainment and bonding, especially for those who work long hours in sometimes monotonous or stressful environments. Despite the prevalence of ghost stories, A expresses a rational and skeptical attitude towards the existence of supernatural phenomena. This skepticism reflects a broader cultural trend towards secularism and scientific thinking, where individuals are encouraged to question and analyze their beliefs in the absence of empirical evidence.

Led by Spirits, Dreamscape Exploring

Age: 19
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“So basically, after my brother passed away, his boyfriend had a dream probably a few weeks after he passed, where my brother walked with him around our high school. The thing is, he had never been to our high school before. The next day after he had the dream he described what he had seen in the dream to some of my brother’s other friends and they said what he described matched perfectly.”

Context:

L is a 19 year old student, from Redwood City, CA, but at the time of the story lived in Saratoga. Her brother passed while they were in high school, and she told me this story about his boyfriend who experienced something inexplicable. She heard the story about his dream from her mother who had been told it originally by the boyfriend.

Analysis:

L’s story delves into themes of grief, connection, and the mysterious nature of dreams, while also touching upon cultural and personal beliefs regarding the afterlife and the power of spiritual connections. it centers around the loss of L’s brother, highlighting the profound impact of death on individuals and families. It underscores the enduring bond between siblings and the ongoing process of coping with grief even after the loved one has passed away. The boyfriend’s dream, in which he is accompanied by L’s brother around the high school they both attended, suggests a belief in the possibility of spiritual visitations from deceased loved ones. This reflects broader cultural and personal beliefs in an afterlife or continued existence beyond physical death. The inexplicable nature of the boyfriend’s dream raises questions about the boundaries between reality and the subconscious mind. It prompts contemplation on the mysterious aspects of human experience and the potential for spiritual encounters that defy rational explanation.

The Girls Bathroom, Home of Bloody Mary

Age: 19
Performance Date: 3/31/2024

Text:

“So when I was in 1st grade I hung out with this group of girls, and the main, like, ring leader girl always told us that um, that Bloody Mary lived in the girls bathroom and it was like a ghost that would put bloody hand prints on the wall and you could like summon her or whatever, and there was like these hand prints, they were probably just mud or whatever or paint or something but they like looked like dried blood like against the wall near the bathroom walls of one of the nearby buildings so everyone was like OMG bloody mary lives there and the ring leader girl was like OK so like why don’t we go in there and try some bloody Mary stuff. We’re like OK why not, so it’s during school hours it’s like lunch or something lunch recess we go in there and so we go in there right and I remember there being like twine on the floor like random pieces of like twine or sticks, I don’t know, but like for some reason we danced around them but I don’t think we put them there, I don’t know, but we all held hands and we danced in a circle and she said if we say bloody Mary three times like she’ll be here like OK so we do that and then we all get super scared once we’re done chanting. I mean nothing happens but once we’re done chanting we’re like Oh my gosh and we all run out of the bathroom right, so I’m pretty much last out of the bathroom and I run out the door and I’m stuck on something like caught on the door and the thing with the door is it’s a push door so it doesn’t have handles. It doesn’t have like a knob just kind of like push either way um and I’m totally, yeah, stuck on the door there’s someone like holding me, it felt like someone was holding me just for a split second there. Then I, you know, I could go and then I ran and I was scared and whatever but it’s like I was like held there for a second and I was like well I wasn’t caught or anything because there’s no knob on the door to like catch me so I don’t know maybe the spirits were mad at me and they’re holding me but yeah”

Context:

V is a 19 year old student from Orinda, CA, and she told me a story from when she was in elementary school. She believes in ghosts and spirits and explained that she always has believed in them. She believes in them because she says she “has no reason not to” and has had various experiences like that or known people who have experienced similar things with the supernatural.

Analysis:

While V says that she believes in ghosts and spirits, and pretty much always has, I think this is in part due to having experiences like these starting from an early age. Childhood is a huge part of developing beliefs in one’s life, and especially if they experience things themselves rather than just hearing about them. I think that this story/experience of the supernatural has had an impact on V’s belief in ghosts and spirits, as she does believe that some force was holding her there in that bathroom. I also think that Bloody Mary is an interesting gateway into believing in ghosts, as many young women, or just young people in general have been told the story of Bloody Mary at some point in their life. What I find most interesting, however, is that her story is extremely similar to one of my own. While I didn’t experience anything actually happening with a spirit, it was a common belief in my elementary school that one of the girls bathrooms was haunted by Bloody Mary, and for that reason girls were afraid to use that bathroom. I find it interesting as I grew up in Virginia, without internet or a way to have heard of it from across the globe, yet at the same time in California, other girls were having the same experience.

Parkside IRC water refill station tale

This is an urban legend/tall tale from a friend living at Parkside IRC about the water refill stations on every floor.

Text

“So like, you know the water stations on every floor at IRC, right? Well, there’s this thing that happens every exam season where every time I try to fill my water the water comes out warm or hot. And I’ve talked to some people at IRC about it and apparently, it happens to them too. One person even says that the water tastes more metallic than usual during midterms. People say that like maybe there’s a ghost, you know, the Parkside ghost, that’s screwing with students when they’re at their most stressed time. Because there’s nothing worse than wanting a refreshing drink and getting lukewarm water instead.”

Context

“I live in IRC so I notice when things I’m used to aren’t what they are like usually. I get my water from the station every day (I don’t even use the Brita that I bought at the beginning of the year) so I definetely notice if there’s a change. Usually I don’t really care if the water’s different, but everyone is on edge during exams. I guess maybe because I’m so stressed this kind of event becomes ingrained in my memory and it feels extra worse.”

Interpretation

Exam season is a stressful time for everyone, especially for people like my informant because she is in pre-engineering and needs to get good grades in order to get into the program that she wants next year. Many of my informant’s friends are also in pre-engineering and computer science, which is known as one of the most stressful and difficult majors (there’s a common saying that CS majors don’t shower or go outside because they’re too busy in their rooms coding,) so they are also similarly suffering and undergoing great amounts of stress.

When people are stressed, it’s common that even the smallest incidents feel huge and insufferable. Their stress amplifies things that people can usually brush off. Likewise, getting lukewarm water when you wanted an ice-cold drink can feel like the world is ending when you’re already stressed about exams or essays.

When people feel like they’ve been unrightfully wronged and can’t find an explanation for it, they try to find a divine or supernatural reason for what happened. For instance, when a storm suddenly comes without warning, some people blame God’s anger. In this case, people created a ghost to blame for the disappointing water.