HSK1-3-New Year's Eve horror legend-除夕恐怖传说-春节-Spring Festival-Chinese listening practice-podcast.

Hello everyone welcome to the Dr Han Chinese Podcast I'm Xiao Han Hello everyone I'm Xiao Nan Xiao Nan the Lunar New Year's Eve and Spring Festival are just around the corner—have you noticed something strange What strange thing I only know that on New Year's Eve we hang red paper set off firecrackers have a family dinner and stay up late together That's right we do these things every year—putting up red couplets hanging red lanterns setting off firecrackers staying up late to welcome the new year with lights on and elders giving lucky money to children But have you ever thought these customs aren't random—they're rooted in a truly terrifying legend A scary legend No way—New Year's Eve is a lively and joyful occasion how could it possibly be linked to something frightening I once thought the same as you—New Year's Eve was just about reunion and joy—but in reality its origins are tied to a fearsome beast that devoured people Today let's explore the origins of New Year's Eve and those slightly eerie legends—after hearing them you'll understand why we observe these traditions And I’ll leave you with a question: was this fierce beast truly eradicated in the end You’ll find the answer only when you reach the conclusion I'm dying to know—tell me what exactly is this ferocious beast Does it really eat people Don't worry this fierce beast is called Xī also known as the Nian beast and has existed for a very long time Xi that name sounds a bit scary—what does it look like It looked utterly terrifying larger than a large ox with a single horn on its shoulder a green face and sharp fangs eyes glowing like ghost fire—so frightening to see at night That's terrifying Where does this evening beast usually stay and when does it come out It usually hides in the deep sea or remote mountains emerging only on the third night of the twelfth lunar month at midnight Is midnight around twelve at night What does it do when it comes out and does it really eat people It comes out to eat people especially fond of elders and children moves swiftly and devours anyone it grabs in one bite How terrifying What did people used to do when they knew the Xī beast would appear Long ago people would grow anxious every third day of the twelfth lunar month when the village fell utterly silent after sunset Why was it so quiet—had everyone hidden away Everyone had to flee—helping the elderly carrying children running into the deep mountains those too exhausted to keep going would shut their doors turn off the lights and tremble inside their homes Is it really safe hiding inside the house Won't the evening beasts break down the door It's dangerous—Night Beasts are strong enough to smash wooden doors and devour anyone inside For them the third month of the lunar year is like a gate to hell That's heartbreaking—did people just have to keep hiding like that forever Was there no way to defeat the Evening Beast At first no one truly could they had no choice but to keep running and hiding One winter on the third day of the twelfth lunar month an old man with white hair arrived in the village seeing everyone rushing into the deep mountains he stopped an elderly woman and asked Why are you running so fast What happened The old woman must have told the elder about the evening beast right The old woman told him about the evening beast and urged him "Old man come with us into the mountains—otherwise when the evening beast appears it will devour you " But the old man wasn't afraid at all he smiled and said "I'm not afraid of it—I have a way to defeat it Just follow my instructions and you won't have to hide or fear it anymore " Really What could the old man possibly do Did the old woman and the villagers believe him At first the villagers couldn't believe him thinking someone his age could never defeat such a terrifying dusk beast Everyone urged him to run together but the old man refused saying “If you believe me stay if not hide in the hills and come back tomorrow morning—by then the village will be just fine ” Was anyone left behind Most villagers were still afraid and had left but the old woman feeling sorry for the elderly man and believing he might truly have a solution decided to stay with him The old man told the old woman "Go home and bring out all the red paper paste it on the front door and windows—more the better—then turn on every light and don’t turn them off and finally cut some bamboo and pile it in the yard to burn " Paste red paper light lamps burn bamboo—these things are so simple can they really defeat the dusk beast I'm not so sure I didn't believe it at first either but my wife followed the old man's instructions exactly And then Did the evening beast appear What would he do when he saw them At midnight the evening beast arrived as expected grumbling as it entered the village and upon seeing the red paper on the old woman's door it instantly froze its face filled with fear He was afraid of the red paper but did he turn and leave No he didn't walk away right away—he still wasn't ready to give up and he wanted to charge in and devour the old woman and the elder Just as he was about to crash through the door the bamboo in the courtyard erupted with a loud crackling noise so intense it made the ears of Xi and Shou buzz And the lights inside the house were unusually bright blinding him he had spent his whole life hiding in darkness and feared strong light above all else That's amazing—what happened to the Evening Beast in the end The Evening Beast trembled in terror and fled back to the deep sea in utter disarray Great we finally drove off the evening beast The villagers will surely be surprised when they return tomorrow morning and find the village intact That's right the next morning at first light the villagers who had been hiding in the hills cautiously returned to their village They had expected the village to be destroyed by the dusk beast perhaps even fearing loss of life but to their surprise not a single thing had happened there The elderly woman recounted in detail what had happened the previous night to the villagers The villagers were deeply grateful to the old man and his wife They searched everywhere for the old man eager to thank him in person but no matter how hard they looked they couldn't find him Later everyone discovered that the elderly man with white hair was actually a celestial deity sent from heaven to help them drive away the Xiyu beast Ah I see Is the name "New Year's Eve" related to the Night Beast You're absolutely right—because of this event ordinary people refer to the last day of the twelfth lunar month as New Year's Eve where "Chú" means to eliminate or drive away Xi is the ferocious beast that devours people so New Year's Eve is about banishing the beast Xi eliminating evil and welcoming peace That’s how it came to be—I had no idea before and the origin of the New Year’s Eve name is actually tied to such a chilling legend So the customs of pasting red paper and setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve along with breaking things by hand all come from that time right Exactly they're all traditions passed down from then Putting up red paper is believed to ward off evil spirits because the evening beast fears the color red and red paper acts like a talisman to drive them away Modern firecrackers have replaced the traditional practice of burning bamboo which once produced crackling sounds that frightened away the dusk beasts today's firecrackers are louder and create a more harmonious resonant effect Hand-breaking means staying awake at night with the lights on guarding the family and keeping evil spirits out That's so fascinating—besides the legend of the evening beast are there any other stories Of course there is—like how during Chinese New Year elders give lucky money to children Did you know the origin of this tradition It actually stems from a frightening legend I don't get it—aren't lucky money gifts from elders to children a blessing Wishing them safety and good health how could they be linked to scary legends Lucky money was originally not called lucky money it was known as "Yasu Qian " Here "sui" refers to the name of a little demon that also roams about on New Year's Eve This little creature doesn't eat people like the evening beasts do—it only targets children sneaking up touch their heads while they're asleep at night What happens if you only touch a child's head Don't underestimate this gesture—after the spirit touches a child's head the child may suddenly fall ill lose vitality or in severe cases die young It's truly terrifying That's why in the old days elders would stay awake all night on New Year's Eve sitting by the children's side too afraid to sleep in case the year demon came touch the child's head That was terrifying So did the elders manage to stop the year demon later There's a way—later people discovered that the year demon fears the sound of copper coins and red thread so elders began stringing several copper coins onto red thread and placing them under children's pillows on New Year's Eve That way when the year demon comes seeing the red string and copper coins it will be frightened and run away no longer daring touch the child's head That makes sense but how did the lucky money end up being lucky money in the first place Because "sui" and "sui" sound similar over time people gradually began saying "ya sui qian" instead of "ya sui qian " and its meaning evolved into elders' blessings for children wishing them safety and healthy growth through each year Who would have thought that the lucky money we receive every year has such a mysterious legend behind it—then are there other tales too For example could the door gods we hang up also be linked to these eerie stories You're so clever The origin of door gods is also tied to terrifying New Year's Eve legends The door gods we hang today sometimes appear kind and gentle but the original ones were extremely fierce and frightening Scary Intimidating What do they look like The original door gods were two men one named Shentu and the other Yulei They had fierce terrifying faces wild hair large round eyes wide-open mouths revealing long fangs and held long iron whips in their hands looking just like demonic judges Why would you even put something so frightening right on the door That's why they're pasted on doors—because their frightening appearance is meant to scare off demons and monsters that sneak into the human world on New Year's Eve which are then fed to tigers Long ago there was a mountain with a huge peach tree whose branches stretched so long they reached the sky To the northeast of the tree stood a gate—the Gate of Ghosts—through which all demons and evil spirits emerged especially on New Year's Eve when the gate would open and countless malevolent spirits would come forth torment people Ghost Gate That's terrifying Is there anyone guarding this Ghost Gate Yes the divine disciples and Yu Lei are the guardians of the Gate of Ghosts They stand guard by the gate every day and whenever they see demons monsters or evil spirits emerging they immediately seize them and feed them to the tigers nearby That is why demons and evil spirits fear them greatly and dare not easily come out to harm people So why did people start pasting their portraits on doors later on Because people believed that Shentu and Yulei could drive away evil spirits they began pasting portraits of the two on their doors hoping they would guard their homes repel malevolent forces seeking entry and protect their families' safety Over time this practice evolved into a tradition observed during New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival a custom that continues to this day That's incredible—so many of our New Year's Eve and Spring Festival traditions have such chilling legends behind them like the story of Shou Sui You just mentioned it was to keep evil spirits out—were there other explanations Yes Shouchui has a terrifying origin—it was not created for reunion but to guard the Gate of Ghosts Legend says New Year's Eve is the day when yin and yang exchange and at night the Gate of Ghosts opens allowing a hundred demons to roam the human world seeking people to harm The procession of a hundred demons at night is terrifying—so people guard against祟 just to watch over the gate of ghosts and keep evil spirits out right That's about the idea—on New Year's Eve people stay awake all night lighting every lamp in the house to keep evil spirits away and protect their families That’s how it is—I used to think Shou Chui was just about chatting with family and watching shows feeling happy never imagining it originally carried such a scary meaning Actually although these legends sound frightening they were all imagined by ancient people Long ago when science was undeveloped people didn't understand why winter brought cold why some people suddenly fell ill and died or why so many strange things happened Thus they attributed these unexplainable events to demons and evil spirits fabricating these tales to comfort themselves and remind everyone to stand united in the face of hardship I see though these legends are frightening they also reflect ancient people's longing for safety and their yearning for a better life don't they You're absolutely right what you said is spot on Though these legends carry a touch of terror their essence reflects ancient people's fears of the transition between years of darkness and the unknown as well as their deep longing for peace health and reunion And precisely because of these legends we have the various customs of New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year today—hanging red paper setting off firecrackers smashing things giving out lucky money in red envelopes and posting door gods These customs are not merely traditions but blessings and a protective embrace for family That makes perfect sense—after listening today's podcast I learned a lot including the origin of Chinese New Year's Eve the legend of Xi and the beginnings of red envelopes door gods and the tradition of smashing things Also came to understand the ancient people's longing for peace and safety behind these customs That's right now I'll reveal the mystery I left behind earlier—was that Western Beast truly eradicated for good Yeah I've been holding onto that question—come on tell me was it completely eradicated In truth the Western Beast wasn't completely eradicated—it was simply frightened back into the deep sea by the old man using red paper lantern light and bamboo Legend has it that it has always hidden in the deep sea letting out a deep rumbling roar every New Year's Eve night That's why every New Year's Eve we hang red paper set off firecrackers and make noise—to remind it that we're not afraid and that if it dares to show up we'll find a way to defeat it It's also to protect themselves and their families and welcome the new year in peace That explains it—though it wasn't completely eradicated it no longer dares to harm us and that's good enough Exactly these legends—whether frightening or beautiful—are all part of our Chinese cultural heritage 陪伴ing us through generations and making our New Year's Eve and Spring Festival more meaningful and flavorful That's right today's podcast was truly fascinating—even though some of the legends were scary I was completely hooked and learned a lot I'm also delighted to share these legends with all of you and I hope today's podcast helps deepen your understanding of New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year Wishing everyone a joyful reunion with family peace and happiness and all the best in the coming Lunar New Year Yes wishing all listeners a joyful New Year's Eve a happy Spring Festival good health and happiness for your entire family That's all for today's Mandarin podcast with Dr Han Subscribe to us and we'll see you next time Goodbye