In the Baonian area of Dantu County, Jiangsu Province, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month is given a special meaning – “chasing the heavenly dog”. On this day, every household immerses themselves in a unique custom of making and “driving away” two types of “dogs” by hand: one is a mud dog made of clay, symbolizing exorcism and avoidance of harm; Another type is the dough shaped noodle dog, symbolizing harvest and reunion. As night falls and the silver glow falls, rural women will bring mud dogs to the riverbank, gently place them in the water, and then light firecrackers to ward off evil and avoid harm. After that, they will return home and cook and enjoy the carefully prepared noodle dogs, sharing the warmth of the family and the joy of delicious food.
Behind this custom, there is an ancient legend passed down. In the past, the Baonian area was once invaded by groups of heavenly dogs. These dogs not only greedily stole food from farmers, but also trampled and destroyed crops in the fields, causing huge disasters to local residents. A particularly memorable year was when wheat was about to ripen. On the eighth day of April at noon, thousands of heavenly dogs suddenly attacked. They rolled wildly in the wheat field, crazily gnawing on the wheat ears. In a short period of time, thousands of acres of wheat fields that were about to harvest were left with only bare wheat stalks. Farmers looked at the devastated fields, feeling heartbroken and filled with grief.
At this moment of despair, an old man with white hair quietly appeared. He witnessed everything and felt pity in his heart. He came up with a clever plan for the farmers – to make mud dogs and throw them into the river at noon the next day, in order to lure the heavenly dog into the water. Following the wise guidance of the old man, the farmers threw the mud dogs into the river pond on time the next day. Sure enough, groups of sky dogs were attracted and jumped into the water, eventually drowning all of them. From then on, in order to prevent the Tian Gou from invading again and protect the hard won crops, the residents of Baonian area designated April 8th as “chasing Tian Gou” every year, following the custom of pinching mud dogs to go down the river, praying for good weather and abundant harvests in the coming year.
