WEBVTT - The Monstrefact Redux: Chiseltooth

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures,

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<v Speaker 1>ideas and monsters in time. Perhaps you've heard the story

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<v Speaker 1>of Houghie the Archer, one of the greatest heroes in

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<v Speaker 1>Chinese mythology. Already the world's greatest archer, he rose to

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<v Speaker 1>divine superstardom during the time of the Ten Suns. When

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<v Speaker 1>the Middle Kingdom suffered under the intense heat of a

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<v Speaker 1>blazing sky. The Emperor Yao called upon Ye for assistance,

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<v Speaker 1>and so the Great Archer shot each of the nine

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<v Speaker 1>surplus sons out of the sky, saving the world from

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<v Speaker 1>a fiery fate. But the Middle Kingdom was still not safe.

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<v Speaker 1>While the solar calamity had been averted, many range and

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<v Speaker 1>unnatural beings still roamed the land and tormented the people.

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<v Speaker 1>Emperor Yao called upon the Mighty Archer once more to

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<v Speaker 1>dispense with this new threat. The plague of monsters featured

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<v Speaker 1>great serpents and giant birds. They boasted names such as

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<v Speaker 1>nine gullet, Typhoon, mound Pig, and long Snake. According to

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<v Speaker 1>translators John Major at All in two thousand tens The

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<v Speaker 1>High Nuns, a guide to the theory and practice of

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<v Speaker 1>government in early Han China. These monsters pop up in

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<v Speaker 1>various warring states and hand works, and seemed to represent

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<v Speaker 1>destructive forces of nature. But there's one monster we must

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<v Speaker 1>single out for its unique appearance and ferocity. Zoocher chiseltooth

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<v Speaker 1>or chisel tusk. An eighth century Tang Dynasty tile depicts

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<v Speaker 1>a creature thought to represent chiseltooth. He has the appearance

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<v Speaker 1>of a great eat ogre, with a bald head, pig

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<v Speaker 1>like nose, bat ears, and a huge chisel like tooth

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<v Speaker 1>emerging from his upper jaw. Cereal Birch's Tales from China

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<v Speaker 1>retaels Ye's adventures and describes quote one huge tooth gleaming

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<v Speaker 1>yellow against its chest. The monster is said to make

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<v Speaker 1>grizzly use of his great razor sharp tooth, severing heads

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<v Speaker 1>and rending his victim's flesh. He is the great butcher.

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<v Speaker 1>He cuts down whole towns and eats what he likes.

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<v Speaker 1>No wonder the Emperor ordered Ye to hunt the killer down.

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<v Speaker 1>As Birch tells it, Ye and his companions set out

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<v Speaker 1>across the water meadows and soon discovered signs of the

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<v Speaker 1>monster's blood lust. Decapitated bodies littered the ground. Whole towns

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<v Speaker 1>had been decimated, as if by an environmental force. Chisel

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<v Speaker 1>Tooth fled before his hunters and retreated to his caves,

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<v Speaker 1>but then re emerged with a great shield. Ye's arrows

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<v Speaker 1>were useless against such defenses, but the great archer stood

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<v Speaker 1>his ground. Chiseltooth advanced closer and closer, and just as

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<v Speaker 1>the monster lowered his shield and reared his ugly head

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<v Speaker 1>to strike, Ye let fly his arrow and severed the

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<v Speaker 1>tooth from the monster's head right at the gums. Chiseltooth,

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<v Speaker 1>like all the other monsters, fell dead at Ye's feet.

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<v Speaker 1>Ye would have many more adventures, but his later life,

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<v Speaker 1>we are told, was marked by tragedy. His wife, Changa,

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<v Speaker 1>drank the elixir of immortality and flew to the moon

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<v Speaker 1>alone immortal. Yea's annual offerings to his wife became the

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<v Speaker 1>mid Autumn moon festival, still practiced today. Ye himself eventually died,

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<v Speaker 1>in some tellings, at the hands of his own scheming apprentice,

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<v Speaker 1>who wanted the secrets of his archery all to himself

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<v Speaker 1>Ye Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact

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<v Speaker 1>each week during the months of September and October. As always,

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<v Speaker 1>you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 1>your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts for My

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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