PIGEON

 There are many varieties of pigeons, Shanxi has "Kunxing", Shandong has "Hexiu", Guizhou has "axillary butterfly", Henan has "turn jumps ", Zhejiang has "Zhu Jian", are rare varieties. There are also "boot head", "points", "big white", "black stone", "Couple of birds", "flower dog eyes" and so on, a variety of names can not be enumerated, only hobby pigeon people can distinguish.

 Shandong Zouping Zhang Gongzi, named young amount, addiction to pigeon, according to the "pigeon scripture" search everywhere, determined to collect all the pigeon species complete. He raised pigeons like babies as fine; cold with powdered licorice treatment, hot to give some salt. Pigeons love to sleep, and when they sleep too long, they die of paralysis. Zhang Gongzi then spent ten taels of silver in Yangzhou to buy a pigeon, very small, good at running, put on the ground, it kept turning in circles, not to exhaustion will not stop, so often have to catch it; night to the pigeons, so that it alarmed other pigeons, pigeons can be avoided to get paralysis of the legs and feet of the disease, so the name of the "night tour". No one in Shandong raised pigeons as well as Mr. Zhang, and he often praised himself for raising pigeons.

 One night, Duke Zhang was sitting in his study, when suddenly a young man in white knocked on the door and came in, a stranger. Mr. Zhang questioned him. The young man said, "A man who wanders in all directions, his name is not worth mentioning. I have heard in a distant land that you raise pigeons most abundantly, and this is what I love in life, and I hope to see it." Duke Zhang thereupon let out all his pigeons, all colors and none, as brilliant as the clouds and brocade. The young man smiled and said, "It is true what they say, the Duke can be said to be very good at raising pigeons. I have brought one or two with me as well, would you like to take a look?" Duke Zhang was delighted and followed him forward. The moonlight was dim, the wilderness was empty and sluggish, and Duke Zhang was secretly a little skeptical in his heart. The young man pointed ahead and said, "Please walk a few more steps with reluctance; my dwelling place is just ahead." After a few more steps, he saw a Taoist temple with only two houses. The young man took Duke Zhang's hand and went in, dark and without lights. The young man stood in the middle of the courtyard and made pigeon cooing noises from his mouth. Suddenly two pigeons flew out, looking like ordinary pigeons, but with pure white fur; they flew as high as the eaves of the house, chirping and fighting each other at the same time, and every time they fluttered, they were sure to turn a somersault. The young man waved his arm, and they flew away wing to wing. He pressed his lips together again and made a peculiar noise, and two more pigeons flew out, the larger one as big as a duck, the smaller only the size of a fist; and landing on the steps, they danced like cranes. The big one stretched his neck and stood, spread his wings to form a screen, turning and swinging, chirping and jumping, like teasing the small one; the small pigeon danced up and down and chirped, sometimes landing on the big pigeon's head, its wings dancing, like a swallow on a cattail leaf, chirping in a fine way, like a small drum; the big pigeon stretched out its neck and didn't dare to move. The big pigeon stretched out its neck and dared not move. It called more and more sharply, and its voice became like the beating of a stone rock, singing and singing, intermingling with each other, and very much in tune with the beat. Later, the little pigeon flew up, and the big pigeon danced around to attract it and call it. Mr. Zhang marveled at it, and had the feeling of looking at the ocean and feeling inferior to himself. He then bowed to the young man and begged to share them; the young man refused. Again and again Mr. Zhang begged. The young man then, with a cry, ordered the two pigeons to fly away, and, making the same sound as before, summoned two more white pigeons, which he caught in his hand, and said, "If you don't mind, I'll give you these two as a right to tuck them in." Zhang Gongzi received to watch: the pigeon's pupils reflected in the moonlight, showing the color of amber, two eyes bright and clear, like nothing in the middle of the gap as if, among the black eyes than pepper grains round; lifted the wings, the muscles of the two coils of the crystal transparent, internal organs can be seen. Mr. Zhang felt very surprised, but the heart is not satisfied, endless requests. The young man said, "I still have two kinds of not offered, now dare not ask you to see again." While the argument was going on, Duke Zhang's family members came in to see the master with their straw torches lit. Looking back at the young man, he turned into a white dove, the size of a chicken, and rushed into the sky. It flew away. Looking again in front of me, the courtyard and houses had disappeared, and it turned out to be just a small grave with two cypress trees planted. Mr. Zhang and his family held the pigeons, marveled and returned home, tried to let the two white pigeons fly, that tame and strange as just now. Although this is not the most excellent breed, it is still extremely rare in the world. Mr. Zhang then doubled his love and care.

 After two years, the pair hatched young, three males and three females. Although some close friends and relatives asked for them, they did not get them. Mr. Zhang's father had a good friend who was a big official. One day, this official met Mr. Zhang and asked, "How many pigeons do you have?" Duke Zhang promised to quit. He guessed that the official liked pigeons and wanted to give them to him but had difficulty in parting with them. And then he thought: the elder's request, can not be too disobedient. He did not dare to use ordinary pigeons to cope with, so he chose a pair of white pigeons, with a cage to send, thinking that it is no less than a thousand gold gift. After some days, he met this great official, and quite showed himself to be a benefactor; but the great official did not say a word of thanks. Mr. Zhang couldn't help himself, and asked, "How is the pair of pigeons you gave me the other day?" The great official replied, "Quite fat and beautiful." Mr. Zhang was surprised and said, "Cooked and eaten?" Da Guan said, "Yes." Mr. Zhang was shocked and said, "This is not just any pigeon, it's what they call a 'tartar'!" The big official said in retrospect, "There's nothing special about the flavor." Duke Zhang lamented and returned home in remorse. At night he dreamed that the young man in white came and rebuked him, saying, "I entrusted my children and grandchildren to you because of your love for pigeons, but how did you turn away your pearls from your eyes, so that they died miserably in the pot? Now I lead the children away." When he had said this, he turned into a dove, and all the white pigeons which Mr. Zhang had kept followed him, and chirped and flew straight away. When he went to see them at daybreak, they had all gone away. He was so sorry that he gave away all the pigeons he had to his good friends, and in a few days he had given them all away.

 A friend of mine used to present a red crucian carp to Prince Sun Yunian as a gift for ornamental purposes, and as there was no clever servant in the house, he sent an old servant to deliver it. When the old servant arrived at the door, he poured out the water, took out the fish, and asked for a plate to carry it in. By the time it was delivered to Duke Sun's room, the red carp had already died of thirst for lack of water. Duke Sun smiled without saying a word, ordered to bring wine to reward him, and took the red crucian carp and boiled it for him to eat. When the old servant returned, his master asked, "The Duke was quite happy to get the red carp, wasn't he?" He replied, "The Prince is overjoyed." The master asked, "How do you know?" The old servant said, "When the Duke saw the fish, he smiled happily and immediately called for a reward of wine for me, and cooked a few fish as a treat for the little man." The master was very much surprised, and thought to himself that the red crucian carp which had been sent to him was quite good, so why had it been boiled and rewarded to the servant? He then rebuked the old servant, saying, "It must be your stupidity and rudeness that has angered the duke." The old servant raised his hand and argued, "Of course I am lowly and clumsy, but do you think I can't behave myself? When I came to Duke Sun's door, I was as careful as I was, and I was afraid that it would be unseemly to serve it in a small bucket, and I respectfully asked for a plate, and arranged the fish one by one in a neat manner, and then sent it off, so what was there that was not thoughtful about it?" The master scolded him and dismissed him.

 Lingyin Temple, there is a monk, famous for drinking tea, tea utensils are very exquisite. However, he stored a few tea, often according to the status of the guests of the noble and low to cook and offer; that the most superior, if not a noble guest or know how to taste, he would not offer a little. One day, a noble official came to the temple, the monk bowed to the ground to pay respect, very respectful, out of good tea, hand-cooked offer, hoping to be praised. But the noble official was silent. The monk was puzzled, and cooked the best tea and offered it to him. The monk was puzzled, so he made another tea of the finest grade and offered it to him, but he did not say a word of praise even when he was about to finish it. The monk, impatient, bowed and asked, "How is this tea?" The noble official took the cup of tea, arched his hand and said, "It is very hot."