Hit movie sheds spotlight on Wuxi's legendary figure

Painting depicting Zhou Chu slaying the flood dragon. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

With the screening of The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon, Zhou Chu, a legendary figure in Yixing, a county-level city administered by Wuxi, has entered into the spotlight.

The hit movie, inspired by Zhou Chou's (242-297) killing of three beasts, is an allusion to The Book of Jin and A New Account of the Tales of the World, also known as Shishuo Xinyu.

Temple of King Zhou in Yixing. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

Known for being cranky, fierce and brutal, Zhou was feared as the most dangerous of the three evils of Yixing, which also included the flood dragon of Yixing River and the white-fronted tiger on the mountain.

To get rid of the evils, locals provoked Zhou into killing the flood dragon and tiger. As the people secretly expected three of them would be killed the same time, Zhou's vanishing after slaying the two evils led the locals to celebrate, believing that he, too, was dead.

A statue portraying Zhou killing the flood dragon stands in Yixing's Tuangui scenic area. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

Witnessing the joy of the people who believed him to be dead, Zhou realized he indeed was the greatest danger and promised to reform. He ultimately became a renowned official and dutiful son and was conferred the title of King Zhou in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

To commemorate Zhou, Yixing people have built the Temple of King Zhou, which was listed as the cultural relic under State protection in 2013. A statue portraying Zhou killing the flood dragon also stands in the city's Tuangui scenic area.