Strange Tales from Liaozhai--Volume 4

by Pu Songling

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  Mt. Meng: Located in the southern part of Shandong province’s Mengyin county.

  Double Ninth Festival: Set on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, a day usually celebrated by hikes and picnics in the mountains.

  The umbrella’s handle took the shape of a giant python, with red scales that dazzled the eye. The visitors all started to run away, but one of their fellow travelers stopped and said, “These are just magic tricks to fool the eye—it can’t really bite anyone!” Then he held out his sword and stepped forward.

  The python responded by stretching open its mouth in angry opposition, swallowing the visitor.

  While everyone was mortified, the servants grabbed their master’s sedan chair to hurry him away, not slowing down for three li. Then the wealthy man sent several men to go hang around and find out what had happened, and as they gradually approached the temple, they found that both the people there and the snake were gone.

  Just as they were about to return with their report, they were quite startled to hear a raspy panting, like a donkey’s breathing, coming from inside an ancient locust tree. At first, they didn’t dare go near it; when some of them finally moved forward, they saw that the tree was rotten and hollow inside, and that there was a hole about the size of a plate in it.

  As they bent down to peek inside, they discovered that the man who’d challenged the python was upside down inside the tree, and the hole was barely big enough for them to reach two hands into it, so there was no way they could get him out. They quickly took their swords and chopped into the tree, but by the time they made a sufficiently large opening, the man had already passed out. Yet before too long, he began to revive a bit, and then they subsequently carried him to his home.

  No one knew what became of the Daoist.

  The collector of these strange tales remarks, “This fellow with his sedan chair and umbrella was loathsome all the way to the very marrow of his bone. The Daoist immortal was secretly toying with him, and what a laugh it was!

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  Li: A distance of 1/3 mile.

  “In Zichuan, there was a scholar named Yin Wen- ping—the brother-in-law of Minister of Revenue Bi—whose behavior was quite unconventional. At Zhangqiu, there was a fellow named Zhou, who’d grown up lowly and poor, so once he became a successful scholar, he’d travel in a sedan chair whenever he went out. In the past, Zhou had also had professional dealings with Minister Bi.

  “On the occasion of the birthday of Minister Bi’s mother, Yin figured that Zhou would certainly be in attendance, so ahead of time he loitered by the road, wearing a pair of pigskin boots and a ceremonial gown, holding an official calling card. He waited until Zhou arrived, bowed, and then called out, ‘The scholar from Zichuan wishes to meet the scholar from Zhangqiu!’ Zhou, embarrassed, stepped down from the sedan chair, briefly exchanged several words with Yin, and then left.

  “After a little while, they were both assembled in Minister Bi’s courtyard, where the seats were filled with gentlemen, and when they observed the way Yin was dressed, none of them could help but laugh derisively; Yin gave them a haughty look. Subsequently, when the banquet was concluded, the guests stepped outside, each of them calling for a carriage or horse. Yin also made a big stir, loudly calling, ‘Where’s Master Yin’s single-dragon carriage?’

  “Two strong-looking servants appeared, bearing a horizontal, flat pole in front of Yin, so he jumped on, straddling it. Delivering his thanks and respects to Minister Bi, he flew rapidly away.

  “Like the Daoist, Yin was also more than human.”

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  Zichuan: A county in Shandong province, site of Pu Songling’s home village.

  Zhangqiu: A county in Shandong province.

  278. Fourth Daughter Hu

  Cheng Xiaosi was from Jiannan. While still a boy, he proved to be a gifted writer. His parents died when he was young, leaving him utterly destitute, lacking clothes to wear or food to eat, so he secured the position of secretary to Treasury Minister Hu. Minister Hu tested him by having him write an essay, and was greatly pleased by it, declaring, “This young man won’t be poor much longer, so we should find him a wife.”

  Hu had three sons and four daughters, and all of them had long since been engaged to members of rich and influential families; except, that is, for his youngest daughter, the fourth, whose mother, a concubine, passed away when the girl was still quite young, and since she’d turned sixteen without being betrothed, Hu made arrangements for Cheng to marry her. There were people who sneered at the decision, thinking Minister Hu senile and addled, but he didn’t pay attention to them. He had a number of rooms set up for Cheng, supplying him with ample space for his studies.

  Hu’s sons, who considered Cheng their inferior, refused to eat with him, and even the servants mocked him. Cheng quietly ignored it, focusing intently on reading and studying carefully. Whenever the group taunted him from the side, Cheng simply read with even greater focus; if they made a lot of noise to distract him, Cheng would pick up his books and leave, going to read instead in his bedroom.

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  Jiannan: Now known as Chengdu, in Sichuan province.

  Prior to all this, when the fourth daughter hadn’t yet been betrothed, a sorcerer, who could discern a person’s future rank and wealth, examined all of the family members and didn’t express any special opinions regarding them; but when the fourth daughter showed up, he exclaimed, “This is truly a high court lady!” Once she married Cheng, all of her sisters taunted her by calling her “high court lady”; but the fourth daughter remained unmoved and taciturn, as though she hadn’t heard them.

  Gradually even the female servants began following the sisters’ lead in calling her “high court lady.” The fourth daughter had a maidservant, named Gui’er, who found this teasing quite unfair and loudly cried, “How does our household know that this gentleman won’t become a wealthy official?”

  “If Master Cheng becomes a wealthy official,” Hu’s second daughter jeered, “you can pluck out my eyes!”

  Gui’er became furious and cried, “You say this now, but I’m afraid you’ll be reluctant to give up your eyes later!”

  The second daughter’s servant, Chunxiang, replied, “If second lady eats her words, I’ll let you take my eyes instead.”

  Gui’er became even more incensed, smacked her palms together, and swore, “It’s guaranteed, then, that you’ll both be blind!” The second daughter was so furious at Gui’er’s challenging tone that she stood up and slapped her. Gui’er wailed noisily.

  When Minister Hu’s wife heard about what had happened, she made no comment about it, though she smiled slightly.

  Gui’er clamored to tell the fourth daughter about it; but her lady simply twisted the thread with which she was working, neither showing signs of anger or saying a word, entirely composed.

  On the occasion of Mr. Hu’s birthday, all of his sons-in-law arrived, filling the courtyard with birthday gifts. The eldest son’s wife snidely asked fourth daughter, “What kind of gift have you brought?”

  “Shoulders and a mouth!” declared the second daughter. The fourth daughter remained calm, without seeming the least bit self-conscious. When the others saw how oblivious she was to everything they said, they began to treat her even more inappropriately.

  Only Minister Hu’s beloved concubine, Li, who gave birth to Hu’s third daughter, treated the fourth daughter courteously and showed her any consideration, frequently taking her side to watch out for her, and always told her daughter, “Fourth daughter is wise inside and unassuming externally, completely clever but withholding display of her talents—and though she could control all of the women here, she appears as though unaware of the fact. Furthermore, Master Cheng studies diligently day and night, so after doing this for long enough, how can he not surpass other men? You mustn’t imitate the others, and you should be nice to her,
so she’ll be glad to see you in the future.” Hence whenever the third daughter came to visit her mother and Minister Hu, she was always extra cheerful when she met up with her younger sister.

  That same year, thanks to Minister Hu’s influence, Cheng was accepted into a government school at the county level. He studied to take the imperial civil service examination the following year, but then Minister Hu died, and Cheng went into mourning for him the way a son would, so he didn’t go to take the exam.

  Once he’d concluded his mourning obsequies, his wife offered him some gold, sending him quickly to register for the subsidiary exam. She advised him, “In the past, you were able to live here for so long because no one would attempt to force you out while father was here; now there’s nothing in their way! You must set your aspirations high, so when you return you’ll still have a home.” Just before they all parted, Li and the third daughter generously gave him some additional financial assistance.

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  Subsidiary exam: An examination held for yicai, talented scholars who’d nevertheless failed the original civil service exam.

  As Cheng entered the room for the exam, his thoughts were calmly focused on what he’d studied, and thus he was certain he’d succeed. Before long, the list of successful candidates was released, revealing that Cheng had finished near the bottom of the group. Thwarted in his objective, despondent, too ashamed to return home, yet feeling a little better that there was fortunately still some money in his bag, he took his books and entered the capital.

  At that time, many relatives of his wife’s family were occupying appointments in the capital, but Cheng was afraid that they’d ridicule him upon sight, so he changed his name, gave out a false address, and made a point of appearing unobtrusively outside the gates of powerful individuals. Imperial Censor Li, of Donghai, happened to see him, and found out about his aptitude, so he gave Cheng a place in his office, providing him with fees to cover his studying and other expenses, then sent him to Shuntian to take the civil service examinations; there, Cheng passed all levels of the examination with high marks, and secured a high official’s position. That’s when he told Censor Li his whole story. Li then bestowed a thousand taels on Cheng, and sent servants to Jiannan, to secure a home for him.

  It just so happened that the eldest son of Minister Hu, finding himself suddenly without resources after his father’s death, was looking to sell his best villa, so Cheng purchased it. Once that was completed, Cheng leased a carriage with horses, to go and convey his wife.

  Back when Cheng had just passed the final examination, a messenger brought word, and when they heard about it at Minister Hu’s house, everyone there reacted with fierce indignation to the news; Cheng’s name couldn’t possibly be among those of the successful candidates, so they berated the messenger till he left.

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  Donghai: That is, from the area near the East China Sea.

  Shuntian: The prefecture surrounding Beijing; hence, referring to Beijing.

  It happened that the third Hu son was holding his wedding, and his relatives festively entered his hall to bestow their gifts, with all of his sisters there except for the youngest, who wasn’t invited to join her older siblings. Suddenly a man galloped up and came inside, having been entrusted to deliver a letter to Cheng’s wife; when the brothers read it, they all turned pale.

  In the midst of entertaining all of the wedding guests, they sent an invitation to the fourth daughter. Her sisters were apprehensive, afraid that she might bear a grudge and not come. Not long afterwards, the youngest daughter arrived, calmly composed. People variously expressed their congratulations, tried to get her to sit with them, or exchanged greetings with her, and the clamor of the party filled the house.

  Wherever ears were listening, they were listening to the fourth daughter; wherever eyes were glancing, they were glancing at the fourth daughter; wherever mouths were moving, they were speaking about the fourth daughter: but she remained dignified, no different than she’d behaved before. When her siblings saw her acting as though everything was fine, they began to feel a bit more relaxed about having invited her, and consequently they began contending to be the ones who poured the youngest sister’s wine.

  While they were enjoying the entertainment and laughing together, from outside the gate came a very urgent wailing, and the relatives sent someone to find the source of the strange sound. Instantly, they saw Chunxiang rush in, her face smeared with blood. They all asked her what was wrong, but she was crying so hard that she couldn’t answer them.

  When the second eldest Hu sister scolded her for making such a scene, Chunxiang exclaimed through her tears, “Gui’er was going to pull out my eyes, and if I hadn’t escaped her, I would’ve lost them!” The second sister felt so horribly ashamed of herself that her sweat caused her make-up to run.

  The youngest sister seemed indifferent to it all; she simply sat quietly without saying a word, and the guests began taking their leave. The fourth daughter, in her splendid attire, said goodbye to no one but concubine Li and her daughter as they walked out the gate, climbed into their carriage, and left. It began to dawn on the others that it was Cheng who had purchased the elder brother’s villa.

  Once the youngest sister moved into the villa, the others started trying to give her all kinds of things to make up for their many transgressions. Hu’s wife and each of her sons tried to present her with servants and various housewares, but the fourth daughter resolutely refused to take anything; the exception was a maidservant offered by concubine Li, which she accepted.

  Not long after they’d been living there, Cheng took a leave of absence to finish mourning for his father-in-law, traveling by carriage with a retinue of many servants. When he arrived at the home of his wife’s parents, he performed ritual obsequies to Minister Hu’s coffin, then paid his respects to his mother-in-law. By the time the brothers finished dressing to meet him, he had already climbed back into his carriage.

  When Minister Hu died, all of his sons began contending for his assets, never giving a second glance at their father’s coffin. In just a few years, his bier had become so decayed through neglect, that gradually the magnificent house was turned into a dusty tomb. Cheng observed this with sorrow.

  Finally, without consulting any of the Hu brothers, he found an auspicious time for a funeral, and everything was conducted with the appropriate rituals. On the day of the burial, officials of all levels were in attendance, and everyone in the village praised Cheng for his devotion.

  For more than ten years, Cheng held an honored official position, regularly helping his fellow villagers who’d suffered unexpected hardships, always doing his utmost for them. When the second son of Minister Hu was arrested for having been involved in someone’s death, the investigating official turned out to be a very direct individual, a sworn brother of Cheng who always operated according to regulations. The elder brother entrusted his wife’s father, who was an acting official, to deliver a letter to Cheng, but Cheng didn’t send a return reply, so the elder brother became even more worried.

  He wanted to go plead with his youngest sister, but was aware that he lacked the face to make such a request, so then he sought concubine Li’s support and went to deliver a personal letter from her. Arriving at the capital, he didn’t dare rush right in, but watched until Cheng went off to the court, and afterwards went to visit his sister. He hoped that the fourth daughter would think about the fact that they were her brothers, and hence forget about her grievances against them.

  After the gatekeeper let him pass through, an old woman servant came out and led him into Cheng’s office, where he enjoyed a quite lush spread of food and wine. Once he was finished eating, the fourth daughter came out, her expression warm and encouraging, and asked him, “You’re so busy, elder brother, how’d you possibly find time to travel such a great distance just to honor me with a visit?”

  Her brother prostrated himself before her, sobbin
g as he explained why he’d come. His sister helped him get up and said with a smile, “Big brother, you’re a good man, and this is no big deal, so why are you acting like this? I’m a member of the weaker sex, but how often have you ever seen me weeping and wailing this way?”

  Her brother then took out concubine Li’s letter. “My sisters-in-law are all beautiful women,” fourth daughter replied, “who can each entreat their own fathers and brothers for help to settle the matter for them, so why did you rush here like this?” Her brother had no words to answer her, so instead he returned to his pitiful lamenting.

  She showed a flash of anger as she declared, “I mistook your long journey as a visit to the capital to see your youngest sister, but instead you’ve come to beg for help from a ‘high court lady’ in a serious dispute!” She shook her sleeves in disdain and went back inside. The elder brother, ashamed and angry, also left.

  When he returned home and described everything that had been said, everyone there berated the fourth daughter; even concubine Li said that she was responding hard-heartedly.

  After several days had passed, the second brother was exonerated and released to go home, to the great joy of everyone there—but while they were busy laughing about it, a servant arrived from their youngest sister, which gave rise to their resentful slander of her. Presently he reported that the fourth daughter had dispatched him with an errand to concubine Li.

  When she called for him to enter, the servant displayed some gold coins, and declared, “My lady mentioned her second brother’s problem, then sent me with great urgency, as she’s been preoccupied with getting his case overturned. Thus she simply sent this little token of congratulations, to take the place of a letter expressing her regards.” All of them began to realize that second brother Hu had been able to return home because of Cheng’s influence.

  Afterwards, when third sister Hu’s family gradually became impoverished, Cheng helped them out far more than one might have thought it likely. And since concubine Li didn’t have a son, Cheng took her into his own home, supporting her like she was his own mother.