Jingxi Embroidered Balls

Jingxi Embroidered Balls

　　　　In the rural areas around Jingxi, Guangxi, young men and women often gather in the mountains and fields to sing folk songs in antiphonal style. They would casually pick wildflowers and plants, tie them into flower balls with vines, and toss them to their beloveds. Over time, these evolved into embroidered balls adorned with symbols of love and good fortune, such as lotus flowers and mandarin ducks.

　　　　There is also a beautiful legend about the embroidered ball in the Zhuang villages. It is said that in a small village beneath the ancient town of Jiuzhou in Jingxi County, long, long ago, there lived a poor family. The son of this family, Adi, fell in love with Axiu, a girl from a neighboring village. Axiu was beautiful, kind-hearted, and deeply in love with Adi, who was honest, hardworking, and brave. One spring, while Axiu was out at the market, a rich and powerful young thug from the town took a liking to her and demanded to marry her. Axiu threatened to kill herself rather than comply. When the thug learned that Axiu was deeply in love with Adi from the neighboring village, he hatched a cruel plan to break her heart. He bribed the local officials and had Adi falsely accused of a crime, sentencing him to death and imprisoning him in a dark dungeon to await execution in autumn. Upon hearing the news, Axiu was devastated, crying day and night until she lost her sight. After losing her sight, Axiu began sewing an embroidered ball for Adi, who was awaiting execution in autumn. Stitch by stitch, she poured her heart into the embroidery. Her needle pricked her fingers, and her blood stained the ball. Where the blood touched, the flowers grew brighter, the leaves greener, and the birds more vivid. After ninety-nine long days, the embroidered ball was complete—filled with Axiu’s deep love for Adi and soaked with her blood. Axiu sold all her jewelry and used up the family savings to bribe the prison guard. With her family, she visited Adi in the damp, dark dungeon. Though overjoyed to see him, she was heartbroken to find him emaciated from torture. In despair, Axiu fumbled for the embroidered ball and placed it around Adi’s neck. Then, a miracle happened. A flash of light appeared, and Axiu, Adi, and their family vanished. When they awoke, they found themselves at the foot of a beautiful, fertile mountain far from the clutches of evil. Later, Axiu and Adi married, had a son and a daughter, and lived a happy life, supported by their own hard work.