Prevod

During the Yongjia era of the Jin dynasty, a foreigner from India crossed the Yangtze and came to the south. He possessed several wondrous skills: he could cut off his tongue and reattach it, and breathe fire. Wherever he went, people gathered to watch. Before cutting his tongue, he would first stick it out for the spectators to see, then sever it with a knife. Blood streamed over the ground. He would put the severed piece in a vessel and pass it round for everyone to inspect. It appeared to be the tip of his tongue, while half the tongue remained in his mouth. Then he would take the piece back, put it in his mouth, and reattach it. After he had sat for a little while, those present would see that his tongue was just as before, though they could not tell whether it had truly been cut. To demonstrate his skill at joining severed things, he would take a length of silk, have someone hold one end while he held the other, and cut it through the middle with scissors. Then he would bring the two pieces together and display them: the silk was whole again, no different from before. Many people suspected an illusion, but when they secretly put it to the test, they found that the silk had indeed been cut. To breathe fire, he first put a substance in a vessel, took a glowing ember, and mixed it with millet syrup. After blowing and breathing several times, he opened his mouth, and it was full of fire. A flame could then be taken from it and used for cooking: it was real fire. He would also take writing paper, cords, threads, and similar things and throw them into a fire. Everyone watched as they burned away completely. Then he would rake through the ashes and lift them out—the very same objects as before.