East Light and the Bridge of Fishes

Long, long ago, in the region beyond the Everlasting White Mountains of

Northern Korea, there lived a king who was waited on by a handsome

young woman servant. Every day she gladdened her eyes by looking

southward, where the lofty mountain peak which holds the Dragon’s Pool

in its bosom lifts its white head to the sky. When tired out with daily

toil she thought of the river that flows from the Dragon’s Pool down

out of the mountain. She hoped that some time she would have a son that

would rule over the country which the river watered so richly.

One day while watching the mountain top she saw coming from the east a

tiny bit of shining vapor. Floating like a white cloud in the blue sky

it seemed no bigger than an egg. It came nearer and nearer until it

seemed to go into the bosom of her dress. Very soon she became the

mother of a boy. It was indeed a most beautiful child.

But the jealous king was angry. He did not like the little stranger. So

he took the baby and threw it down among the pigs in the pen, thinking

that this would be the last of the boy. But no! the sows breathed into

the baby’s nostrils and their warm breath made it live.

When the king’s servants heard the little fellow crowing, they went out

to see what made the noise, and there they beheld a happy baby not

seeming to mind its odd cradle at all. They wanted to give him food at

once but the angry king ordered the child to be thrown away, and this

time into the stable. So the servants took the boy by the legs and laid

him among the horses, expecting that the animals would tread on him and

he would be thus put out of the way.

But no, the mares were gentle, and with their warm breath they not only

kept the little fellow from getting cold, but they nourished him with

their milk so that he grew fat and hearty.

When the king heard of this wonderful behavior of pigs and horses, he

bowed his head toward Heaven. It seemed the will of the Great One in

the Sky that the boy baby should live and grow up to be a man. So he

listened to its mother’s prayers and allowed her to bring her child

into the palace. There he grew up and was trained like one of the

king’s sons. As a sturdy youth, he practiced shooting with bow and

arrows and became skilful in riding horses. He was always kind to

animals. In the king’s dominions any man who was cruel to a horse was

punished. Whoever struck a mare so that the animal died, was himself

put to death. The young man was always merciful to his beasts.

So the king named the youthful archer and horseman East Light, or

Radiance of the Morning and made him Master of the Royal Stables. East

Light, as the people liked to say his name, became very popular. They

also called him Child of the Sun and Grandson of the Yellow River.

One day while out on the mountains hunting deer, bears, and tigers, the

king called upon the young archer to show his prowess in shooting

arrows. East Light drew his bow and showed skill such as no one else

could equal. He sent shaft after shaft whistling into the target and

brought down both running deer and flying birds. Then all applauded the

handsome youth. But instead of the king’s commending East Light, the

king became very jealous of him, fearing that he might want to seize

the throne. Nothing that the young man could do seemed now to please

his royal master.

Fearing he might lose his life if he remained near the king, East Light

with three trusty followers fled southward until he came to a great,

deep river, wide and impassable. How to get across he knew not, for no

boat was at hand and the time was too short to make a raft, for behind

him were his enemies swiftly pursuing.

In a great strait, he cried out:

“Alas, shall I, the Child of the Sun and the Grandson of the Yellow

River, be stopped here powerless by this stream?”

Then as if his father, the Sun, had whispered to him what to do, he

drew his bow and shot many arrows here and there into the water, nearly

emptying his quiver.

For a few moments nothing happened. To his companions it seemed a waste

of good weapons. What would their leader have left to fight his

pursuers when they appeared, if his quiver were empty?

But in a moment more the waters appeared to be strangely agitated. Soon

they were flecked and foaming. From up and down the stream, and in

front of them, the fish were swimming toward East Light, poking their

noses out of the water as if they would say:

“Get on our backs and we’ll save you.” They crowded together in so

dense a mass that on their spines a bridge was soon formed, on which

men could stand.

“Quick!” shouted East Light to his companions, “let us flee! Behold the

king’s horsemen coming down the hill after us.”

So over the bridge of fish backs, scaly and full of spiny fins, the

four young men fled. As soon as they gained the opposite shore, the

bridge of fishes dissolved. Yet scarcely had they swum away, when those

who were in pursuit had gained the water’s edge, on the other side. In

vain the king’s soldiers shot their arrows to kill East Light and his

three companions. The shafts fell short and the river was too deep and

wide to swim their horses over. So the four young men escaped safely.

Marching on farther a few miles, East Light met three strange persons

who seemed to be awaiting his coming. They welcomed him warmly and

invited him to be their king and rule over their city. The first was

dressed in seaweed, the second in hempen garments, and the third in

embroidered robes. These men represented the three classes of society;

first fishermen and hunters; second farmers and artisans; and lastly

rulers of the tribes.

So in this land named Fuyu, rich in the five grains, wheat, rice, and

millet, bean and sugarcane, the new king was joyfully welcomed by his

new subjects. The men were tall, brave and courteous. Besides being

good archers, they rode horses skilfully. They ate out of bowls with

chop-sticks and used round dishes at their feasts. They wore ornaments

of large pearls and jewels of red jade cut and polished.

The Fuyu people gave the fairest virgin in their realm to be the bride

of King East Light and she became a gracious queen, greatly beloved of

her subjects and many children were born to them.

East Light ruled long and happily. Under his reign the people of Fuyu

became civilized and highly prosperous. He taught the proper relations

of ruler and ruled and the laws of marriage, besides better methods of

cooking and house-building. He also showed them how to dress their

hair. He introduced the wearing of the topknot. For thousands of years

topknots were the fashion in Fuyu and in Korea.

Hundreds of years after East Light died, and all the tribes and states

in the peninsula south of the Everlasting White Mountains wanted to

become one nation and one kingdom, they called their country after East

Light, but in a more poetical form,—Cho-sen, which means Morning

Radiance, or the Land of the Morning Calm.