In ancient times, there was a young boatman from a poor family who had not yet married and made a living by ferrying. One day, an old woman carrying a heavy burden boarded her small boat and headed towards Jiangnan. When she arrived at the shore, the old woman looked troubled and said, “Young man, I’m too shy to pay for the boat fare.” After hearing this, the boatman had a kind heart and smiled, “It’s okay, let me serve you.” In gratitude, the old woman took out a painting roll from her bag and gave it to the boatman as a token of appreciation.
The boatman brought the scroll home and hung it on the wall. As night fell, a miracle happened – the woman in the painting seemed to have been given life, slowly walking out of the painting, talking to the boatman, and assisting him with household chores. Day after day, the woman and the boatman gradually developed feelings for each other, eventually getting married and having a son. The woman skillfully sewed a pair of exquisite tiger headed shoes for her son, symbolizing good luck and prosperity
However, the good times did not last long, and this matter came to the ears of a greedy landlord in the local area. The landlord coveted the beauty of the woman in the painting and sent his men to steal the painting while the boatman was away. The landlord eagerly hoped that the woman in the painting would descend like a boatman, but he never succeeded.
The boatman learned that the painting had been stolen and was extremely anxious, so he went to the landlord’s mansion to demand it. Unexpectedly, the landlord not only refused to return it, but also committed violence against the boatman. The boatman had no choice but to return with his son and raise him alone. The young son is intelligent and clever, often listening to his father’s stories about his mother, and his heart is filled with longing for his mother.
Finally, one day, the young son gathered his courage and went alone to the landlord’s mansion. He took advantage of the lack of preparation and quietly removed the painting hanging with his mother’s portrait. Just as he was about to leave, he was discovered by the landlord. The landlord saw the situation and immediately went forward to snatch it. The young son was quick witted and raised his foot to kick the landlord. Although he didn’t hit, the tiger pattern on his tiger headed shoes seemed to come to life, transforming into a small tiger that pounced on the landlord and bit him to death.
As the news spread, people were all amazed by the magical power of tiger shoes. Since then, many families have followed suit and sewn tiger headed shoes for their children in order to ward off illness, eliminate disasters, and bless peace. And this legendary story about tiger headed shoes has also been widely circulated among the people with the passage of time.
