Welcome to Chinese Folk Tales.
I'm Paul Osborne, and I've got another amazing story to tell you.
I hope you enjoy it.
Remember, all the best stories have something to teach us.
And this story is all about how sometimes we can become so selfish, so concerned with our own happiness that we forget to look after our friends and family.
And let's face it, our friends and family are the most important thing in the world, aren't they?
Shall we begin?
Let's go for it.
Long, long ago, during the Han Dynasty, which was 2000 years ago in ancient China.
Can you imagine so long ago?
Let me introduce you to a great king.
His name was Liu'an, and he ruled over a kingdom called Huainan.
Great Chinese scholars will tell you how he looked after his people well, made everything safe for them, was a good and wise leader, loved music and art and made sure there was always enough food to eat.
That's true.
I was all those things.
To begin with.
Yes, you were.
To begin with.
But that was to change.
He was certainly always very clever.
And clever too at gathering clever people around him to help him run the kingdom.
Maybe that's the key to greatness.
Choose your friends and colleagues well.
But he had hobbies.
I like reading books, travelling, helping people, er, fortune telling.
I like to think that I am very clever.
Oh, and I like magic.
Magic?
Magic.
Actual magic?
Yes, tricks, making people appear and disappear, sawing people in half, that kind of thing.
Oh, and telling fortunes.
And all this entertained him for a while.
But as he got older, something began to trouble him more and more.
Oh dear, there is so much to know.
And I am getting old.
I will die long before I can learn all the secrets of the universe.
One day he was picking peaches in his orchard and talking to his servant.
I love being a king, you know.
I love the sky.
I love the blossom on the trees.
I love peaches.
I love music, philosophy and magic and fortune telling.
But one day this will all end.
It will all be for nothing.
And he started weeping uncontrollably.
His servant didn't like to see his master, the king, so sad.
Your Majesty, don't be sad.
You are the clearest king I have ever known.
How many kings have you known?
Er, just the one.
But that is not important.
Surely with your wit and wisdom you can think of a way to live forever?
That's a thought.
I'll put my mind to it.
As it happened, that very afternoon, while he was showing a new card trick to his courtiers in the great hall, his servant rushed in.
Your Majesty, Your Majesty, there are eight old men at the palace gates.
They have hair whiter than the palace rabbits and beards longer than monkey tails.
They say they want to talk to you about eternal youth.
I bet they do.
But if they are so old as you describe them, what can they possibly tell me about eternal youth?
Send them away.
Tell them I'm busy thinking my clever thoughts about living forever and don't have time to listen to them.
So the servant went back to tell the old men to be on their way.
And don't come back.
The king says he's not interested in what you have to say.
He's very smart, you know.
He could probably teach you a thing or two.
His tricks are amazing.
How he does them, I don't know.
The leader of the old men stepped forward, slowly, leaning on a stick.
Very well, said the leader of the old men.
But first, take a look at this.
And he threw his cloak into the air, which rose up and took on the shape of a big white cloud which descended on the group of old men.
When the mist cleared, everyone was amazed to see there were seven young men instead.
Hair as black as calligraphy ink.
Faces with cheeks pink as cherry blossom.
Ta-da!
Go tell your master what you've seen.
Whoa!
That is seriously impressive.
And with that, the servant ran off to see the king.
Your Majesty...
I think you're going to want to see this.
And he described what he had just witnessed.
Well, the king changed his mind immediately and called for the eight men now transformed back into their older selves, to be brought before him.
Delighted to meet you.
Welcome, welcome, do come in.
The finest tea and peach banquet for my guests.
As they ate, the old men told the king that they all had special powers.
One of us can call up.
Wind and rain cause clouds and mists to gather, rivers to flow and mountains to heave themselves up.
Interesting.
The second can cause high mountains to split apart and stop great streams in their course.
He can tame tigers and panthers and soothe serpents and dragons.
Spirits and gods do his bidding.
Useful.
The third can send out doubles of people, transform himself into other shapes, make himself invisible, cause whole armies to disappear and turn day into night.
I can see a lot of use for that.
Go on.
The fourth can walk through the air and clouds, can stroll on the surface of the waves, pass through walls and rocks and cover a thousand miles in a single breath.
I'll think about that.
One can't see an immediate use.
But the fifth can enter fire without burning and water without drowning.
The winter frost cannot chill him, nor the summer heat burn him.
The sixth can create and transform living creatures if he feels inclined.
He can form birds and beasts, grasses and trees.
He can move houses and castles.
I can take that or leave it, to be honest.
The seventh can bake lime so that it turns to gold and cook lead so that it turns to silver.
He can mingle water and stone so that the bubbles effervesce and turn into pearls.
Definitely useful skills.
I am the eighth and I can ride on dragons and cranes to the eight poles of the world.
Converse with the immortals. and stand in the presence of the Great Pure One.
Anyway, what do you reckon?
Impressive, don't you think?
And Eternal Youth, you missed that one out.
Easy as pie.
Goes without saying.
I'm amazed you are the most impressive people I have ever met.
I don't feel very clever at all when I'm in your company, but I would love to learn your ways.
That's easy too.
This big cauldron of magic tea bubbling away nicely will allow you to fly up into the clouds where we can teach you all our secrets.
Drink, and it will happen straight away.
Good heavens.
Really?
Just then, the king's servant burst in.
My lord, my lord, as wonderful as this all is, there's a bit of trouble with your people, said the servant.
For you see, although the wise king had done some good things for his kingdom, he had spent quite a lot of time recently ignoring some of the problems his people were facing.
War was nearby.
Food was scarce.
There were great floods in the kingdom.
Because he'd been so busy with his tricks, he hadn't noticed how unhappy they had become.
In fact, they were so unhappy that many of them wanted to get rid of the king altogether.
He sent his loyal captain of the guard to look into it, and the guard came back very quickly.
It's not good, sire.
People are really unhappy.
They say you don't love them anymore as a king should.
They've got a point.
I think it might be time to step down.
In fact, they are about to break down the palace doors and drag you off your throne.
Well, that's a bit of a blow.
Did you tell them I've been so busy doing clever things?
Being a king isn't as easy as it looks.
They weren't in the mood to listen.
I wouldn't hang around if I were you.
At that moment, the leader of the eight old men stepped forward.
Oh dear, I think you took too much for granted.
You paid too much attention to trickery and forgot to look after your people.
Too late now.
Drink the tea and come with us.
We'll take you to safety.
So he did.
And he suddenly flew like a New Year rocket into the sky.
Along with the eight old men.
And just in time, your majesty, the people have broken down the door and what the?
The captain entered the room to find that it was empty, apart from all the animals in the palace the cows, the sheep, the goats and the chickens, all drinking thirstily from the cauldron of magic tea until it was all gone and one by one, they went rocketing up into the sky.
Now, I didn't expect that.
So the next day, the people asked the captain to be their new king.
And he promised that he would look after them and make their lives a lot better.
And what about the old king and all those farm animals who drank the potion?
Well, the old king got what he wanted.
He got to live forever among the clouds, but he couldn't avoid getting old.
Oh, and if you listen carefully, above the skies of Hainan you can hear the sounds of all the farm animals that shot into the sky, clucking and mooing and bleating among the clouds.
The old cauldron can still be seen in the palace as a reminder to all the kings and rulers that came after not to forget to look after the needs of their people.
With that, we conclude this episode of Chinese Folk Tales.
Thanks for listening.
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We'll see you next time.
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