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PING YAO ZHUAN
An English translation by Nathan
Sturman, MA,
of Feng Menglong's late Ming 40
chapter version
of an important Chinese historical novel
FOREWORD
The Ping Yao Zhuan deals with the very important
relationship between religious movements and the Chinese
State. It is an important work of historical fiction, a rich
source on Chinese folklore and popular belief, and a
valuable linguistic resource for study of the development of
the present day Chinese language. It presents us with the
living discourse of representatives of various stations of
life, created as real fleshed-out characters, complete with
inner lives and conflicts. I hope you enjoy reading the book
in English.
-------- Nathan Sturman
Introduction:
Feng Menglong and the Ping Yao Zhuan
Feng Menglong (Wade System Feng Meng-lung), 15741645, was a brilliant vernacular writer of late Ming times.
He was a native of what was then known as Changzhou,
now Wuxian, Jiangsu Province. He compiled and edited
works of history, gazettes, poetry and prose, including
novels, chiefly Ping Yao Zhuan and Qing Shi. He was also a
philosophical proponent of the Wang Yangming "left" group
("eccentric" school founded by Li Zhi, (1527-1602
)epicurean/libertine advocate of openness and a critic of
stoic/one-dimensional fiction that, he pointed out,
disregarded the full range of human feelings and
experience. Li, once magistrate of Yao An Fu, (Wang
Yangming's home in Zhejiang) hated all sorts of taboos and
wrote freely of tales of the supernatural and eventually his
words and behavior got him thrown into prison where he
took his own life. Feng Menglong carried on this tradition,
concerned deeply with human feelings and behavior, and
held a high regard for women, advocating their
advancement. His sense of the tragic fleetingness of
human happiness and the shortness of human life, as
opposed to the boundless ambitions of the human spirit, is
striking. In a way he confronts a very basic spiritual
problem: are goodness and evil rewarded by God/Fate?
And there is the timeless drive to achieve immortality by
learning something really great, with the fatal link between
idea and action. His poetry is rich in compressed imagery
and rhyme and his prose is characterized by a richness of
irony, character development and psychological insight
striking at this period. The Ping Yao Zhuan as embellished
with real humanity and imagination by Feng Menglong is
one of the world's first psychological novels, attempting to
explore the emotional process and the human experience.
In his version of the Ping Yao Zhuan, developed from the 20
extant last chapters of the story attributed to Luo
Guanzhong of the early Ming, free standing stories with
their own internal plots and climaxes fit ingenuously into the
well developed story line of the whole, showing a
tremendous intensity of purpose and great sweep of
imagination, and ending in the wulong falun revolt of the
usurper Wang Ze (killed 1047AD) against the Song
Dynasty, in whch all the characters' fates are fulfilled
tragically or heroically. Satirical portrayals of the corrupt
officials and social types of Ming times abound as well.
There are broadsides against the male-bonding culture of
hunters, greedy officials,and even a tongue in cheek
criticism of traditional beliefs.
The main story is the way people let evil forces control their
lives, the classic pact with the devil to be able to do some
great work. In this case, the devil is the Queen of Hell, the
ghost of the Empress Wu Zetian of the Restored Zhou, as
she called her twenty-year period of rule in the early Tang;
the story is a sort of Chinese Faust or Nosferatu.
Throughout is a certain idea of Confucian high legitimacy,
the notion of legitimate leadership and princliness versus
upitty cleverness, true fame versus notoriety. The high
Chinese state culture and Emperor as Son of Heaven is
glorified quite directly. And it is on another level
entertainment and education, rich in Chinese myth and
legend. And it is full of admiration for the great poets and
high culture of the Tang. Also notable in the somewhat
bloody Ping Yao Zhuan is Feng's appreciation of the
impact of death upon the survivors of the deceased. This is
not a nihilistic "cut 'em up" like some other Chinese novels
but a fully developed novel, rich in spiritual and
psychological insight. Many of the deaths in the work are
followed with discussions of funeral arrangements and the
effects upon the living, including their tears and ways of
coping with the finality of the loss; even the bodies of
villains need to be disposed of before the story can move
on. Perhaps Hollywood can learn something from this.
From the standpoint of language, this book is a very
important photograph of the modern Chinese language at
an important point in time. Its early spoken vernacular is
rendered very realistically, imparting the laconic and
somewhat elliptical nature of the spoken tongue, its
aspectual dealing with time relations (for which I have used
the English tense system, favoring pragmatics over syntax)
and its rich classical enhancement. Feng's bianwen poems
are brilliantly rythmical and work out surprisingly in English.
The earlier chapters of Luo Guanzhongs provide a rich
source for study of the language over time, as they were
written two centuries before Feng's book. A comparitive
study of the two versions was published by Beijing
University press in 1983; it has the complete early book
with some comparison to this later one. Before its
publication in 1996 by in GB Chinese by Shanghai Guji
Chubanshe, the 40 chapter book was very rare in China
proper (a 1957 Shanghai edition having been basically
suppressed due to the climate of the time) but quite
common in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and of course Japan
where at least one famous rare copy has been preserved. I
have used the same Qing Daoguang period version,
standard (non simplified) characters printed in Hong Kong
in 1980. Some excellent new scholarship has recently
appeared on Feng Menglong and other related topics; see
my reading recommendations.
--- (N.
Sturman)
Some Style Notes on my English Ping
Yao Zhuan
Translating the Ping Yao Zhuan raised some predictable
pitfalls and interesting problems and choices. The basic
guidelines have been Yan Fu's priorites: wen, da, ya. Text,
readability, elegance. From the beginning I wished to grip
the reader's attention in the same way that the original, out
of an oral storytelling and apocryphal literary tradition,
affects the Chinese. I wanted to account for everything and
to create a study guide for students who wish to try reading
the original, and to set down a transparant account of my
work as a guide to others.
First off, to the reader let me state that some knowledge of
modern "standard" Chinese and its transliteration by the
official Chinese system would be helpful. I have modified
the system to omit the unlauted "u" for which a "yu" has
been substituted, to eliminate the font problem. I originally
used Lin Yutang's simplified version of the Guoyu Luomazi,
(Lin Yutang's Chinese English Dictionary of Modern Usage,
Hong Kong, 1972) but have converted the work to Hanyu
Pinyin for the convenience of my readers around the world.
Some knowledge of Chinese will help but I have restricted
the Chinese transliterations to words that will be familiar to
all with a little Chinese background, such as "Qi", "Yin",
"Yang", and "li" for distance, and a few others. Other
Chinese words are explained either in the textual context or
in hyperlinked notes in the internet version. This solves a
basic problem of Professor Ota's translation, in which too
much Chinese is rendered in Kanji on the blissful
assumption of "same writing same race", while in fact many
if not most modern Japanese educated people cannot read
that book very easily. My book might be a good starting
point for a novice seeking a starting point with Chinese
traditional literature and culture. It is not a book or even a
genre that certain Chinese idealize or wish foreigners to
read, but that does not matter. As critics as diverse as
Patrick Hanan, Lu Xun and Hu Shi have written, the 40
chapter version of the Ping Yao Zhuan was a succesful
(and I would say brilliant) literary adventure on Feng
Menglong's part that greatly enhanced the literary value of
the classic tale.
My translation is in my native dialect of the modern English
language. As a guide in many of the stylistic choices I have
had to make, I have relied in part on "Reading, Analysing
and Teaching Literature," Mick Short Ed, Longman Inc,
New York 1989, esp "Speech Presentations in Fiction" by
Tom Bates. This is as good a concise study as I have seen.
I have avoided stilted pseudo archaic dialogues and all of
those other pitfalls, and have rendered the work in all of its
coarseness and detail for better or worse. Over literal? Not
to students of Chinese culture, history, society or language I
should think. The translation is modern without stretching
the reader's credibility, avoiding idioms too linked to
modern life such as railways, aircraft, driving and
telecommunications!
I have stuck to a very traditional orthography and narrative
structure throughout, with the omniscient Chinese storyteller
oddly shifting at times to first person witness, revealing
himself in an awkward way perhaps, but I've made it work. It
did take a while to "find" the storyteller's voice. I can say the
same about the poetry. It is a Chinese novel after all.
Dickens' use of a slightly lower than usual narrative)
register, most notably in his satirical "Bleak House" (a work
that I have studied and greatly admire) was most
understandable if we consider his closeness to
Wordsworth and the romantics and their idyllic muse of the
child's pure and natural speech. This clashes, however, on
a pragmatic level, with readers' expectations, shaped as
they have been by a pargely pedantic immersion in
conventional "high" language in literary use since Johnson's
time. Dreiser, whose admiration for his muse Dickens is
clear, raised quite a few eyebrows in "Sister Carrie" with a
lower-then-expected narrative register although he did not
so extensively attempt to transcribe idiomatic natural
speech. I feel that the Anglo/Afro/American storytelling
tradition is ample to accommodate the North China
racounteur's devices. In terms of orthography though, I
reject the approaches of Harris (Uncle Remus) and Ring
Lardner. Contractions are pretty much limited to the
conventional ones (n't, 'd and the like). Most other
contractions, morphemic/allophonic changes changes,
elisions etc are left up to the native speaking reader's
natural linguistic imagination according to their own dialect.
(Everybody's speech is just a dialect.) The standard
orthography will come to life in its phonetic environment as
the context interacts with the reader's imagination. And this
gives non-native speaking readers something to hold onto
as well to enjoy the story as written. This in my opinion is
superior to Lardner's choice of nonstandard orthography to
relate local speech and there is much criticism to back this
up. Thus the American editor's "gonna" and "wanna" will be
rendered in printed as "going to" and "want to" and
changed to the contracted spoken form in the reader's
imagination in the appropriate phonetic environment.
Empirically, this seems to work, as is most friendly to the
reader who is not a native speaker of English. As for
syntax, in particular tense and 'precise', pragmatics (the
relations between people, communicative area) are
balanced against mere syntax (word relations) so that living
language is served by the grammar instead of being
subordinated to it.
I've tried to do justice to the amazingly believable
discourses of the original. Feng Menglong's interest in
language and inner life/motivation result in a very modern,
believable depiction of the speech of his time. That is one
reason why students of Chinese will be interested in seeing
the original text. Here is a pioneering work in the depiction
of the real speech of real people (and some ghosts!) of
every station of life. The translation is basically American
but vacillates for artistic reasons and just at random. I
consider "correctness" at that level, ie "standard" (US
versus British, Hindi vs Irdu, Hangul vs Onmun, 'Hanyu'
versus 'Guoyu' etc) speech and orthography to be
essentially a political and not a linguistic concept. It's
amazing how little agreement there is in the US and Britain,
even among books from the same publishers, as to which
participles/styles are "standard". This extends to
pronounciation as well, where differences between region
in each country is greater than the differences between the
"standard" forms of each. In the US/British case it is all
prejudice and tradition, as there are no national language
laws or commissions in either state. I have little respect for
such official political correctness and/or language
cops/reformers. My use of a largely conventional
orthography is strictly utilitarian; it works. I sometimes take
the license to use British participles that are "nonstandard"
or "substandard" in the US" for effect; there is a very old
tradition behind this (got, learnt, burnt, tortoise etc) and they
look natural to the greatest number of readers. I'm sorry
about inconsistancies in punctuation and font size; I will
rationalize this all later. I am only one person, working on
my one time and at my own expense. It has eventually got to
be formatted in US and British English both, anyway.
Underlying all of this is the assumption that "language is
fun, language is chaos", and that it thrives on the
"fuzziness" of the human mind. The "exceptions" and
frustrating imperfections of language are what drive it in
through the fields of the mind and memory. Yes , there is a
deep precision to it all, but on the molecular level, not the
behavioral, at least not on any level that I am concerned
with here. And there is no "master write" for THAT program,
ultimately!" "There are some things, doctor, that your
wissenschaft cannot know!" said the young wife in
"Nosferatu Vampirusmus", paraphrasing Shakespeare.
"The hawk soars in the sky, while the fish plunges in the
deep."
Nathan Sturman Gunma, Japan July 4, 1999
Suggested Readings
General Background
Eberhard, Wolfram
History of China, University of
California Press
Hucker, Charles O
China to 1850: A Short History,
Stanford University Press
Needham, Joseph
Science in Traditional China,
144p, 1982, Harvard University
Press
Rodzinsky, Witold
History of China, Vol. 1, Pergamon
Yee, Dennis K, Defrancis, John Ed.
Chinese Romanization Self-Study
Guide, University of Hawaii Press
Specialized Readings in English
Berry, Margaret
Chinese Classic Novels: An
Annotated Bibliography of Chiefly
English Language Studies, 1988,
Garland Publishers
Birch, Cyril, Ed
Stories From a Ming Collection
(Feng Menglong, Ed)
Bodde, Derk and Morris, Clarence
Law in Imperial China,
Pennsylvania Paperback Series,
University of Pa Press
Chang, K C
Art, Myth and Ritual: The Path to
Political Authority in Ancient China
DeBary, William T
Self and Society in Ming Thought
Glahn, Richard Von
The Country of Streams and
Grottoes: Expansion, Settlement
and the Civilizing of the Sichuan
Frontier in Song Times
Guisso, R W
Wu Tse-t'ien and the Politics of
Legitimation in Tang China
Occasional Papers II (Illus) 1978
WWUCEAS
Haeger, John W, ed
Crisis and Prosperity in Song
China
Hanan, Patrick
Chinese Vernacular Story, 1981,
Harvard University
Hansen, Valerie
Changing Gods in Medieval
China, Princeton Univ Press 1989
Hegel, Robert E
The Novel in 17th Century China
Hsia, C T
The Classic Chinese Novel: A
Critical Introduction, Indiana Univ
Press
Hsu, Kylie
Discourse Analysis of Temporal
Markers in Written and Spoken
Mandarin Chinese : The
Interaction of Semantics, Syntax,
and Pragmatics, Edwin Mellen
Press
Hudson, Thomas, Ed
Chinese Scholar's Studio: Artistic
Life in the Late Ming Period, Li
Chu-tsing et al
Liu, Xinru
Ancient India and Ancient China:
Trade and Religious Exchange,
AD 1-1600 (illus) 248p 1988
Oxford University Press
Mair, Victor H
T'ang Transformation Texts: A
Study of the Buddhist Contribution
to the Rise of Vernacular Fiction
and Drama in China HarvardYenching Institute Monograph
Series No 28, 1989 Harvard
University Press
Murck, Alfreda
Poetry and Painting in Song
China: The Subtle Art of Dissent
Naquin, Susan
Shantung Rebellion: The Wang
Lun Uprising of 1774, 256p 1981
Yale Univ Press
Needham, Joseph
Science and Civilisation in China,
Vol 5, Chemical and Chemical
Technology: Part 2, Spagyrical
Discovery and Invention,
Magisteries of Gold and
Immortality; Part 3, Spagyrical
Discovery and Invention,
Historical Survey from Cinnabar
Elixars to Synthetic Insulin; Part 5,
Physiological Alchemy; Part 7,
Military Technology: The Epic of
Gunpowder. Oxford University
Press.
Schaefer, Edward H
Pacing the Void: T'ang
Approaches to the Stars, 1978,
University of California Press
Short, Mick Ed
Reading, Analysing and Teaching
Literature, Longman
Sivin, Nathan, Ed
Science and Technology in East
Asia, 1977, Watson Pub Intl
Change and Continuity in Early
Cosmology: The Great
Commentary to the Book of
Changes, In Kyoto University
Journal of Research in the
Humanities, March 1991
State, Cosmos and Body in the
Last Three Centuries B.C. Harvard
Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol. 55,
No 1 (June 1995)
Sturman, Peter Charles
Mi Fu: Style and the Art of
Calligraphy in Northern Song
China
Yang, Shuhui
Appropriation and Representation:
Feng Menglong and the Chinese
Vernacular Story, Michigan Papers
in Chinese Studies No 79
Stories Old and New: A Ming
Dynasty Collection, Compiled by
Feng Menglong
CHAPTER 1
THE WARRIOR MAIDEN OF OLDEN
TIMES DESCENDS WITH
SWORDSMANSHIP
WHILE YUAN GONG STEALS DAOIST
BOOKS AND COMES HOME TO HIS
CAVE
Boundless transformation is the way of destiny
While men and beasts together make a single family.
You who doubt that spirits can our learned senses
trick
Just watch the whirlwind breath down life into a
lantern wick!
It is said that an official named Liu Zhiqing lived in a place
called Zhen Ze during the Kai Yuan reign of Tang. He had
been a Councillor of the Imperial Censor, but as he had
attempted unsuccessfully to impeach Prime Minister Li
Linfu he had been forced into retirement to his home
district. His wife had warned him against leveling such
accusations, so she held bitter feelings and they often
quarreled over this. The gentleman was an upright
individual but in these affairs he refused to recognize his
own fault. Consequently his wife became sad at heart, and
her anguish changed into an illness of the body. A
physician was repeatedly summoned to heal her, and try
though he did on several visits the ailment proved to be
chronic.
One night when the lady was sitting on her bed sipping a
few mouths of congee she called her maid to clear away
the bowl and utensils. And seeing that the silver lantern's
flame was dim, the maid spoke up: "Madam, look how
beautifully the spent wick is glowing! A sign of good luck,
indeed!"
"What good is it bringing me?" answered the lady. "Still,"
she continued, "if you give me a bigger flame the
brightness before these dying eyes just might make me feel
more at ease."
The maid then went forth and with two fingers applied the
tool to the burnt wick. Soon the lamp was brilliant and the
carbon sliver, red hot, fell down upon the table. Just then
from behind the lantern blew a gust of cold wind which
swirled the glowing ember round and round, as if it were a
pearl of fire.
"Madam," the maid laughingly exclaimed, "look! The wick
has come to life..." But before she had finished they were
already staring at the blazing dervish, swirling and revolving
back and forth, to and fro, dancing and becoming as large
as a bowl. And as they watched, the glowing mass hopped
down onto the floor, rumbling and sputtering like a Roman
candle, now hissing, now exploding, scattering fiery stars all
over the floor. Then all at once it disappeared. All that could
be seen was the form of an old hag, grown to three feet in
height. The apparition then advanced toward the lady,
greeted her with numerous blessings and proclaimed:
"Your old kinswoman knows that something ails thee! I've
got a medicine of the gods for m'lady to swallow down."
Now, our Lady Liu had at first been frightened, but having
heard the apparition speak up she recognized it as the
manifestation of some holy spirit, and she was in fact
delighted. It was as if, provided the sickness was not
incurable, the Buddha himself had taken the form of some
individual who was fated for the part, so as to help her.
Then she took the offered medicine and her illness was
immediately cured. However, the old hag proceeded to
pester Lady Liu, desiring to come around regularly as if she
were some blood relative. Riding in a four-seat palanquin,
preceeded by much ceremonious cacophony and and
followed by a jostling crowd she frequently arrived at the Liu
home amidst the sound of confusion. Try as she might to
drive her away, there was no getting rid of her and Lady Liu
didn't dare insult her. And if anyone defied her wishes, she
would merely beckon with her hand and that person would
be stricken down. Then, by some unknown technique, she
would extract the accursed person's heart and liver and
would hold high the organs dripping with blood, causing the
crowd to cry out in bitter, grieving lamentations, begging
her to stop. At that point she would take the grisly organs
and fling them back into the seemingly dead victim's mouth
as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and the
stricken individual would then awaken.
Because of these fearful occurances, Censor Liu and his
entire household were sorely vexed, and he took it upon
himself to have somebody follow this demon and find her
domicile. Now for one thing, she had been seen swirling
down into the shallows of Oriole Throat Lake. Of what
strange sort of water does dear reader think that lake was
filled? How could it be that she made her home in those
shallows? Certainly she was a phantom siren! Censor Liu
called repeatedly for Daoist priests to write charms and
recite spells, in mysterious combinations of profound,
secret and abstruse characters, He was still unable to exile
her, and things went from bad to worse. The gentleman
then went to an old monk at Southgrove Temple, who
entreated the Venerable Spirit for Rectifying Religious
Truths to come forth and set a vast cosmic snare for the
ghost, to prevent any possibility of escape. The siren was
then enticed and snatched up, and promptly revealed its
original form, that of a three-foot-tall, common Macaco
monkey, rather old in years and ghastly in appearance.
Now, the Venerable Spirit was none other than the Dragon
Tree Bodhisattva of ancient fame. Censor Liu had
supported this venerable diety with sacrifices during normal
times and, due to his resolute faith, this Bodhisattva came
forth today to render aid in extirpating the siren and her
great mischief. A poem says:
The ape is apart from the human race
With its wild behavior it has no place
After the tale of a snuff turned ghost
Adultery and theft are banal at most!
Now this common monkey which was trapped was human
in appearance and by nature very clever. But he climbed up
on windowsills and tables, pushed aside plates and
overturned bowls, pulled at people's sleeves and tugged at
their garments, picked his fleas and masturbated in public;
his airs were grossly unrefined to say the least. And
furthermore he was old and thus unable to change his
strange ways. Now there is also a breed of ape, known in
Chinese as Yuan, which grows to large size and which is
both exceptionally rubust and nimble. And among these are
a type which know the the use of their hand, of which they
have four: one at the end of each limb, giving them a pair of
fully developed hands on each side of their body. So they
could extend or withdraw their limbs simultaneously, even
while reaching up with yet another free hand and pulling
themselves out of danger. And each of them was expert at
climbing gorges and leaping up trees, and if anyone tried to
shoot them with an arrow they would reach out in all four
directions and snatch up the shafts in flight, entirely unafraid
of the attacker. And these apes also came to know, in time,
of Dao and to thoroughly grasp the principles of Yin and
Yang, to chant Daoist charms and perform expert magic,
and to achieve broad knowledge of the spirits. In fact, we
can never exhaust our description of them. And how do we
know? We can find out from this poem:
Born in ninth stage of creation, he went forth from Ba Shan.
Born in creation's afternoon before that day was done.
And given the title of Lord of Apes his children then did
stray
To the West where their offspring have flourished
down to this very day.
When we hear the cry of this lonesome beast by
moonlight calling its mate
How can we not feel sadness at such a bitter Fate?
Why should he who could leap without a care
from earth to Heaven high
Fear capture or the deadly gleam of the mortal archer's
eye?
Did he teach the Yellow Emperor to reckon sums back then
Or hand down Heaven's calendar to ordinary men?
Or maybe he trained the Chief of Clouds
in spear and sword and wing
His matches the magic of Bi Mawen, the famous Monkey
King!
Now it is said that in the time of Zhou Jing Wang during the
Spring and Autumn period, when the kingdoms of Wu and
Yue were joined in battle, Fu Cha, King of Wu layed seige
to Gou Jian, King of Yue upon Mt Kuaiji. But thanks to the
efforts of Yue's emissary Wen Zhong, who went forth to
plead for mercy, Fu Cha permitted his rival to live.
However, Gou Jian and his lady were stripped of robe and
crown and thrown into a dungeon; later, they bred horses
for Wu for three years. Only then were they permitted to
return home. Now the King of Yue felt compelled to avenge
this shame. Thinking of the 3,000 superior swords of Wu,
he realized how difficult it would be to prevail. So he had his
minister Fan Li present a strategy, and an army of 6,000
noblemen was selected, to be drilled from dawn to dusk.
And then there was the maiden, Chu Nyu, sojourning at
Nanshan and said to be expert at swordsmanship. For her
part she received an edict from Gou Jian, appointing her
"Teacher of the Realm". Our maiden tidied up and started
down from her mountain home, but before she had gone
half of the way she met a white-haired old man who called
himself Yuan Gong.
"I hear tell," he stated boldy, "that thou art an expert
swordswoman. Well, I, Old Yuan, knoweth a thing or two
and would like to challenge thee to a little test of arms!"
"I," the maiden answered shyly but confidently, "am but a
low and uncouth girl and don't dare deceive you. I'm really
not much of a fighter but out of respect for your years I can
only accept your challenge."
These words so politely said, Yuan Gong peeked into the
trees, selected a stem of dried bamboo, danced about
some and plucked it right out. Then he threw it up and let it
fall to earth. Receiving the power of the very wind itself it
snapped in two with a loud "crack". Chu Nyu grabbed the
top half, Yuan Gong the bottom and the test of combat was
on. The old man stabbed the maiden outright but our Chu
Nyu neither panicked nor rushed angrily into defeat.
Continuing to grasp her half of the stem, she whirled about
and delivered a stinging blow right into Yuan Gong, who
leapt high into the treetops, changed into a white ape and
fled.
Now, our Chu Nyu was not originally a mortal being. In truth
she was a transmigration of Xuan Nyu, the Mystery Girl,
Dowager Queen of ninth, highest Heaven, who had
assisted the Yellow Emperor in times of old. Because Fu
Cha, King of Wu, did not follow the correct path, the Jade
Emperor of Ninth Heaven, had dispatched her to earth to
aid Yue in the annihilation of Wu. And as for his part, Yuan
Gong was in fact a highly dexterous white ape who had
lived for many years in the Kingdom of Chu, cultivating
himself in perfect accordance with Dao, the correct path.
But when King Gong went out for the royal hunt at Mt Jing,
Yuan Gong snatched up all eighteen of the royal arrows.
The King thereupon ordered the country's most famous
archer, Yang Youji, who could shoot a branch off of a willow
at a hundred paces, to come forth and shoot Yuan Gong.
Now, the white ape knew that Yang Youji was a fine archer
and that he could never hope to deal with him, so he up and
disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The King then had his
three armies, large and small, come out to surround the
summit. But search and search as they might there was not
a trace to be found. They then set fire to the entire
mountain's trees and shrubs, burning them completely. And
to this day it is said by folks that the King of Chu burned a
forest in anger" over a runaway monkey.
The white ape had in fact escaped to White Cloud Cave on
Mt Dream-of-the-Clouds, where he applied himself to a life
of consummate Dao. Having heard that the Mystery Girl
Xuan Nyu had descended to earth, he deliberately changed
himself into an old man and went forth to test her fighting
skills. After the combat the maiden, who was as we have
said the mortal manifestation of this Mystery Girl sent by the
Jade Emperor, went to see Gou Jian and to drill the 6,000
man army of Yue to perfection. And in so doing she
answered to no man, neither Fan Li nor the King of Yue
himself! And then, her work complete, she drifted up and
away and was gone. And there is poem that sums it all up:
How could Xuan Nyu's knowledge be so transmitted when
The young 6,000 nobles were only mortal men.
Because they learnt a very few of Heaven's secret charms
They have among their fellow men become the hegemons!
It is said that at the time when the maiden descended
Nanshan and came to the Kingdom of Yue, crowds
presenting gifthorses and pulling carts laden with treasure
came to welcome this royal officer; there is no need to
belabor the pomp and oppulence of this occasion. And
then one day she left without saying farewell; now, of course
she was alone. Half in cloud and half in mist, walking along
an old path, she could hear someone in the forrest calling
out for the venerable Goddess Xuan Nyu, crying out:
""Master! My Venerable Teacher!" But when the maiden
brushed aside the clouds and swept her all-seeing, allknowing eyes across the scene she saw that the sound
came from Yuan Gong, who was kneeling reverently. In his
hands he was offering up a stone dish, upon which were
arrayed four varieties of everlasting fruit.
"Esteemed Teacher," he cried out, "Pity the honesty and
utmost sincerity of your disciple, who longs to be taken in
and taught benevolence, really he does!"
Now these four varieties of eternal fruit are hazlenut, acorn,
yew and walnut. For although the Southeast has oranges,
grapefruits and strawberries and the Northwest has
crabapples, pears and jujubes, and although these are all
fine fruit they must be eaten fresh, in season. But there are
four sorts of fruit which are stored in shells like nuts, so that
the wind cannot dry them, nor can the rain soak them and
they have long been among the vittels stored by mountain
dwellers. And in painting there has long been the depiction
of a white ape presenting fruit; it comes from this very story!
At this time the prostrated Yuan Gong put down his plate
and knocked his forehead repeatedly on the ground.
"Teacher," he cried out, "you must certainly receive
disciples here!" And the maiden, whom he had recognized
as a transformation of Xuan Nyu, thought for a moment.
"I didn't give this old man enough credit," she mused, "why
he's bolder and more clever than I thought! No harm in
taking one of each of his fruit for myself, and I can present
the remainder to the King of Yue's servants for their
enjoyment."
Then Yuan Gong, down upon his knees, straightened his
back and prayed while the maiden recived the fruit and
picked out in return, from in her sleeve, two large magic
pellets, each of which were as large as an eye; she
bestowed these upon Yuan Gong who received them
respectfully with both hands. And seeing that they entirely
resembled cast iron, what with dull appearance, Yuan Gong
while silent harbored many doubts.
"If these were a couple of wheat dumplings," he thought,
"they could at very most only delay hunger, and even if they
were silver, well, what with their weighing no more than a
couple of ounces, they would be of no great value. And
even if they were only lead pellets, I, Old Yuan, would never
take up marbles; what good are they?"
At this point, as he hesitated, the Mystery Girl had already
figured out his dilemma and breathed down onto the
pellets, incanting "live!". Then a strange brilliance flashed
up and in an instant they jumped and danced left and right,
like two golden snakes entwined and encircling, only
bobbing their heads and throats. Then from their mouths
burst forth all the myriad secrets of the universe, in cold
brilliance, and the bitingly frigid blast of wind seemed
unendurable. And stabbing his eardrums there came at
once a sound like that of a thousand swords and myriad
blades, so frightening that Yuan Gong closed his eyes
tightly.
"Good Master," he exclaimed, "your disciple now knows
that you posess the might of Heaven itself!"
For now, what had originally been two lumpen pellets were
molded, certainly by an immortal being, into two
complimentary swords incorporating the male and female
principles, both flexible and capable of limitless
transformations. By ordinary light they first appeared to be
only lumps of lead, but then upon leaping up and dancing
around they could become capable of running freely right
past a million soldiers and striking with brutal insolence,
going like arrows and coming like the wind itself. We can
safely say that these pellets, once launched in flight by
some immortal, would strike their target 100% of the time!
This time the Mystery Girl used only a a small part of her
magic power and managed to terrify Yuan Gong, but
although the demonstration was fierce it left him unscathed,
aside from a few singed hairs on his head and brow. Still,
he knew that if at some time he were to be insincere to
even the slightest degree, he would be immediately
beheaded: even if he were to have ten thousand heads she
would take them all! Chu Nyu now suddenly swept her
sleeves, extinguishing the brightness and secreting the two
leaden pellets back into hiding. Yuan Gong finally dared to
open his eyes, the cold sweat of terror pouring forth from
his entire body, and for a moment he was speechless. He
then bowed wholeheartedly and followed the Mystery Girl's
earthly form directly to the vault of Nanshan, where he spent
an entire day picking flowers and scrificial fruit as offerings
to his new master. Now, the maiden pitied him in his careful
labors, and she took it upon herself to transmit her
knowlege of swordsmanship to him in its entirety. Yuan
Gong copied the the two swords, male and female-natured,
which could be stored up a sleeve and moreover which
could transform themselves, and with with which he was, to
say the least, delighted.
Now at this time, the King of Yue was leading his army of
6,000, marching directly on Wu. Punishing Fu Cha, he
himself came to control all of the territory east of the river
dividing them, and the thought arose of using Chu Nyu on
his attaking front. So again he dispatched runners to
Nanshan to search for her. But this time there was no trace,
so at once he commanded that a temple be built in honor of
the maiden atop Nanshan. This was accomplished, and all
throughout the procession of the four seasons worshippers
sacrificed continually. And does the dear reader have any
idea why Xuan Nyu could not be found? It was precisely
because the King of Yue had been successful in battle, and
because the Mystery Girl of Nanshan had ascended to
report this successful rectification of evil on earth to the
Jade Emperor. At any rate, how can mere mortals like
ourselves hope to fathom the marvelous efficacy of godly
immortals in their ability to reveal or conceal themselves as
they wish?
Now it is said that the Mystery Girl took Yuan Gong up to
Ninth Heaven with her, and that they were received by the
Jade Emperor. Seeing that he loved Dao, the Jade
Emperor invested Yuan Gong as Lord of White Cloud Cave
and ordered him to take official charge of the Mysterious
and Marvelous Secret Books of Highest Heaven. And why,
dear reader, are these known as "Secret Books"? Well,
whatever books may have been posessed by mankind,
whether they be of the three teachings, Confucianism,
Daoism or Buddhism, or the Nine Schools of antiquity, or
whatever, wherever, are all stored in Heaven. But the books
of this highest Ninth Heaven have reached neither the eyes
nor the ears of humanity, nor can they be reckonewd in their
numbers; hence they are called Mysterious and Marvelous
Secret Books, and they are collected and kept in a jade
box which is in turn inside of a golden vault. Every year, on
the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the day of the Dragon
Boat Festival, the Royal Attendant in Charge of Cultural
Affairs comes to take an inventory of them; he is the
leading official of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Now
although Yuan Gong had been given official charge of the
books, there were decrees of official prohibition that had
been promulgated by the government of Heaven, and
ordinary mortals like himself did not dare open the books
without proper authorization. But suddenly one day, that of
the morally upright Golden Mother of Western Heaven's
birthday celebration, also called the Pantaohui, or Fairy's
Banquet, the Jade Emperor called out his officials,
generals and councillors for attendance at Yaochi, the Jade
Fairy Pond, that Queen's domicile far off in the Kunlun
Mountains of the West. And how do we know? There is a
passage from an ancient book of poetry that serves as
evidence:
North of Scarlet River is a range
The Kunlun Mountains, where, so ancients say
Earth began and Heaven's center lay.
The sun and moon in travels ranging wide
Avoid its light, where stars and dawn reside
It is the very pillar of the sky.
Fairyland was made of stones it's said
Stored in precincts of most precious jade
Its treasure trees and flow'rs of ancient hue.
In there the fairy tree does grow on high
A hundred thousand feet up in the sky
It blooms but every thousand years to view.
To bear its flowers takes a thousand more
And yet another thousand to mature
Its round red flower deepest jade for sure.
A million fairies gathered in the flesh
To enjoy their Queen's solicitude afresh
To tune of tinkling chimes they up and whirled
In that banquet hall of beautiful green jade.
Jade children bearing feathered parasols
Lead celebrants to parade in sacred halls
While spirit consort pipers line the walls.
Their faces flushed with nectar, wine and sweets
Some offer on jade dishes fairy treats
Of fruit for worthies and divinities.
Now this immortal fruit will guarantee
Til world's end immortality
How can a mortal man get but a grain?
Although it has been said that Yuan Gong cultivated himself
in accordance with Dao, he had not yet climbed the
Buddha's path to spiritual progress. And because he was
only a mortal staff member of the Palace of Heaven he
could not follow the others to Yaochi. Now, he had always
been fond of fruit. Having heard that the fairy fruit of the
Queen Mother's birthday feast were ten feet wide, that they
came from precious flower that bloomed but once every
3,000 years and that eating of them would bring eternal life
in accordance with Heaven, how could his mouth not
water? Consequently he was feeling glum and bored so he
plucked the two pellets from up his sleeve, breathed onto
them and incanted "live!". They then changed into the male
and female swords as before, leaping and dancing about
and putting on a little show for him. Then he swept his arm
and caught the sunlight on his sleeve, and they returned to
their hiding place in his garment. By now he was really
bored and sullen, but he suddenly realized that, in his own
quarters, he was taking care of many secret books. He had
not yet had an opportunity to browse through them but, he
now thought, "there's no time like the present for stealing a
peek, is there?".
And as he spoke to himself he ran his eyes over to them,
seeing only the Golden Vault and Jade Box that contained
sections of the Three Great Teachings and of the Nine
Schools of Antiquity, each in its own class arranged by
order of their Chinese characters. And as Yuan Gong
peeked clandestinely through the index of Confucianist
terms he became impatient.
"This stuff is about degree holders," he mumbled; "I needn't
bother myself with it." Then running his finger down the list
of Buddhist terms he was yet again disappointed.
"This is about sickly-faced monks in saffron", he hissed
contemptfully. But seeing the concordance of Daoist
characters he jumped for joy.
"Ah," he exclaimed, "this is about me, Old Yuan, and my
very own profession!"
Now, in the midst of the collection sat a small jade box, and
layed out along its edges were innumerable sealing
stamps. When, as in former years, the Royal Attendant of
Cultural Affairs comes to this box to perform the inspection
ceremony, he checks the seals and adds a new one.
"What with all the seals on this jade box," Yuan Gong
whispered, "there must be someting really profound
somewhere in here!"
But when he tried to tear open the seals and open the box
with his hands he found that it was entirely solid, as if cast
of iron. Yuan Gong thought it strange, for if this box were
indeed iron it would have rusted shut over the long years,
but it was fashioned from beautifully ground jade, its lines
so square as to ensure a perfetly tight fit. Yuan Gong
thought: "If I could have a word or two with the craftsman,
whoever he was, that crafted this box, I'd tell him to polish
off a bit where the top slides in, to make it a bit easier to
open!" But to get on with the story Yuan Gong tore away
with all his might at the lid once more but it seemed as if
firmly nailed as well as sealed with molten gold, totally
unmovable no matter what.
Now, dear reader, it is common sense that your usual ape
would quickly become frustrated and begin beating and
kicking such a box, and even butting it with his head. Yuan
Gong, however, had already cultivated himself in
accordance with Dao for many years and had managed to
suppress this fiery nature, but oh, how he wanted to make
haste! Thrusting his hands down in a frenzy, he grasped the
box and held it up with both hands as if presenting it. Then,
throwing himself down on all fours he exclaimed: "My
Teacher, Mystery Girl of Ninth Heaven, if thou blesseth thy
disciple so that his sorcery might be enhanced he
promiseth to serve thee always and never do evil!" He then
proceeded to kowtow three times and, clamboring to his
feet and once more prying the lid, he found that it came off
easily in his hands. And in the box was a parcel wrapped in
fine cloth with a flame pattern embroidered upon it. When
he unwrapped it for a look he found a tiny book, three
inches in length and thickness, on the face of which he saw
three characters proclaiming this the "Ru Yi Ce", or,
Concordance of Blessings and Charms. Opening it
carefully, he found the One Hundred and Eight Charms for
Transformation of Forms, with the Thirty-Six Greater
Transformations listed in accordance with the princples of
divination by the hot dry winds of highest Heaven, and the
Seventy-Two Lesser Transformations listed in accordance
with divination by the cold, damp spirits of deepest Earth.
And there was a marvelous formula for altering the course
of the heavens and moving the Pole Star, miraculously
useful in battling against ghosts and in harnessing spirits.
Great happiness settled in Yuan Gong's heart. "This book
alone," he blurted out, "should be quite enough for me, Old
Yuan! All my life I've followed teachers but now I've got it all
for myself! You know, every since I left home I've wanted to
boil some rice, and now I realize that a lantern is a source
of fire as well as light!"
Now, immeasurably pleased with himself, Yuan Gong rolled
up this "Concordance of the Will of Heaven" in his hands,
let out a long whistle and flew down into the cloudy heights
of earth, finally arriving at his home in White Cloud Cave on
Mt Dream-of-the-Clouds. And there were apes of all sorts
and sizes on hand, his children and grandchildren, their
numbers surging like waves, dancing happily and rushing
forth to pay their respects. Yuan Gong spoke to them:
"Today I received this book and I shall become the leader
of its teaching. When I become a god, each and every one
of you will be blessed and delighted. Now you can all get to
work at chipping away the two cliffsides around our cave's
entrance. Attack these walls and make them smooth, and
believe me, I have a good use for all this!"
The herd of apes heard and complied as one; all rushed to
take up the hammering, chipping, grinding and polishing
until in the wink of an eye the two rock cliffs were wiped out,
their features annihilated and their surfaces made over just
like mirrors. Yuan Gong then took out his brush and ink,
placed them on his stone table, moistened the inkstone and
dipped his brush until it was soaked.
Then, on the western wall he wrote the Thirty-Six Greater
Transformations by the hot, dry winds of highest Heaven,
and on the eastern wall the Seventy-Two Lesser
Transformations by the cold and damp spirits of deepest
Earth. And then he ordered the multitude of beasts to take
up hammers and chisels and to carve along the characters
he had written, etching them deep in the faces of the cliffs.
"Folks say," he laughingly exclaimed, "that in Heaven things
are open to all, so then why do they have this private book?
Well, you up there can be the Venerated Emperor of ThirtyThree Heavens if you wish, and be as selfish as you like,
but for my part I'll be glad to contribute to mankind's
perfection. So, my children and disciples, I want you to go
and study these skills with the utmost of concentration!"
And the animal throng answered with cries and moans of
"How strict you are! How can we ever read this, let alone
master it? We rely upon you, old Uncle, to explain it to us!"
Yuan Gong was unyielding. "If a slave girl," he answered,
"brokers a marriage for her friend, she merely cheats
herself out of a husband! I, Old Yuan, can only recite from
memory, and I'm not very smooth even at that. So let's slow
down and reconsider, and call things off for a couple of
weeks or for as long as that old man, the Jade Emperor,
has nothing to say. Then when he has forgiven me for my
apelike mischief he'll come right here to this cave and
explain each of these items in person."
And then, as he stood in silence, the multitude of apes hear
a great boom and roar from above.
"It is thundering," one exclaimed, "and we are afraid it's one
of Heaven's transformations!"
"That's not the sound of the Thunder God!" answered Yuan
Gong, confidently; "It's only the signal drum at Heaven's
gate. It sounds whenever the matter of a determination of
guilt and punishment arises and an inquest is conducted in
the torture chamber. It's just like the beating of the Crying
Drums at criminal proceedings, which are in the
Confucianist books of this world. All of you, remain on
guard here in this cave while I go up to report for roll-call in
Heaven, to try to overhear what's going on."
And so he went dancing and hopping right out of the cave,
gradually turned his eyes toward Heaven's Gate and was
gone. Only this time, he was responsible for those
teachings of his...
For Yuan Gong had committed an unpardonable
abomination in violating one of Heaven's regulations;
indeed, so heavily had he transgressed that the Master of
Heaven passed yet another law. It's really like this:
With those who practice Heaven's deeds without
recrimination
No wonder that our present times are fraught with ruination!
If you, dear reader, don't yet know what all this is about
Please read on and see the way it finally turns out!
CHAPTER 2
THE BOARD OF CULTURE AND THE
LORD OF THE POLE STAR PASS
SENTENCE
WHILE WHITE CLOUD CAVE GETS A
MONKEY GOD AND A CURTAIN OF FOG
Mao Shan's magic was created by a groundless liar
And never can you really get the things you so desire.
But whosoever Heaven's books should somehow
come to know
Shall straight away become like God and climb up to
Yin Zhou.
Now it is said that when the Jade Emperor returned from
the Fairy Peach Celebration at Yao Chi and the guards of
the Palace of Heaven all came forth to greet him, Yuan
Gong was nowhere to be seen. And a memorial was
submited by Mi Heng, the Royal Attendant of the Bureau of
Cultural Affairs, stating in bold and ceremonious characters
as follows:
"The Lord of White Cloud Cave has illegally opened secret
books. It has already been seven days since he absconded
to earth with the Ru Yi Ce."
The Jade Emperor was ashen faced. "This Ru Yi Ce is one
of Heaven's most secret writings," he thundered, fear and
trembling in his voice. "It is forbidden to the world below
because the hearts of men and women are not suffiently
righteous. Their getting this book will surely bring harm to
people. And with that thief being just a lowly creature born
of beasts, his breaking one of Heaven's regulations cannot
be forgiven!"
Then from below came the sound of the alarm drum at
Heaven's gates, and the hundred spirits were called to
assemble. The Jade Emperor personally ordered the
Thunder God, Feng Long, to dispatch his subordinates the
Lord of Thunder, Lei Gong, and the Lightning Mother, Shan
Mu, to descend to earth in a flash, apprehend Yuan Gong
and bring him to the Cultural Affairs Bureau to be punished
as seen fit by them in joint deliberation with the Lord of the
Pole Star, the Bei Dou Jun.
Now just as all of this was transpiring who should arrive at
the gates of Heaven but Yuan Gong; of course he
eavesdropped and overheard everything.
"That loudmouth Mi Heng," he hissed, "why doesn't he nod
off? Instead of being a good fellow he's telling on me,
stirring up an affair. Well, let me wrap up the Ru Yi Ce and
put it back in the jade box. But until I get the chance to do
that I'll have to claim my innocence!" And feeling his sleeve
as he walked along he discovered with a great fright that it
was empty. Of couse! He had left it on his stone bed and
forgotten it there, so he hurriedly directed his magic cloud
back to White Cloud Cave. The herd of his ape offspring
crowded around for news, but Yuan Gong was in no mood
to talk about anything! Stretching out his arms he ran
directly to the stone bed, grabbed the Ru Yi Ce and
returned immediately to Heaven's Gate. Just then he
suddenly encountered the sagely Lord of Thunder and
Lightning Mother and their coterie of subordinates who
were just then flying out in their Thunder Chariots. The
Lightning Mother thrashed out wildly with one of her bolts,
which flew and swirled like a fiery whip and danced upon
the ground like a golden snake.
"This old lady is really fierce!" exclaimed Yuan Gong,
greatly frightened; "She's a fighter all right!" And just then,
as he was about to grab his pellets for the male and female
swords and take his chances in a fight, he saw the
subordinate dieties of the Bureau of Thunder all
continuously beating a drum with the sound of a mighty
avalanche, and forks of lightning were flashing all around
him. They had Yuan Gong surrounded by a wall of fire,
almost burning his skin and hair; in terror he covered his
ears and shut his eyes.
"Gentlemen!" he cried out, " if you've got something to say,
please say it and don't rough me up!"
The Thunder Lord spoke: "We have been ordered by
imperial command to take the 'Ru Yi Ce' from you and we
must report to his Excellency, whether we succeeed or fail!"
"I've got it, I've got it," blurted out Yuan Gong in a stready
stream of words. But secretly he thought: "If the Lord of
Heaven ordered me to be brought in, why should they have
to bring me to the Cultural Affairs bureau? Why it's my old
home! All I, Old Yuan, need do is toss it out of my gown and
I'll be clean!"
At this he put most of his terror aside, but seeing the
soldiers of the Thunder Lord still behind him he dared not
refuse to go along. And so the Spirit Official Xie Xian
placed an iron collar with a chain around Yuan Gong's neck
and they tode off together in a Thunder Chariot. In a while
they entered the Gates of Heaven and went directly to the
Bureau of Cultural Affairs. It's like this: If the Green Dragon
and the White Tiger can walk together in peace, anything,
auspicious or threatening, is possible!
Now, the Royal Attendant Mi Heng had long before
ascended the throne of justice; this can be seen from this
poem:
A poet there was, the best of his age
By mockery proud did he risk his king's rage.
But careful was he in his words and ends
Kong and Yang were his only friends.
A nightmare came at Parrot Isle
Then the Crying Drums' dirgeful beating awhile.
At Yuyang this life-long upright soul
Was called by Heaven for another role.
An honest official with mountainous cares
The mighty Attendant of Cultural Affairs!
Then he passed away and they took his ghost
To serve above in Heaven's post.
Now, after a while all we see are fringed war flags and
parasols, all following the Lord Of the Pole Star. And how
do we know? Again, we have a 'Xijiangyue' poem to go by:
Seven are the Lords of the Northern Sky,
Of Yin and Yang they know not why.
But law they know and hand it out
By the Dipper's starry pouring spout.
Pointing to stars as above they trail
Four stars has the Dipper and three its tail.
Heaven's Dao was born in the South they tell
Then spread and is found in the North as well.
Seven constellations rule the fearsome Northern Sky
Their seven Lords can Right from Wrong so quickly clarify!
Proudly the Lords of Northern Sky advance under their
banner
In this we folks can never meddle in our mortal manner.
At this point the Royal Attendant of the Cultural Affairs
Bureau came down the stairs, bowed deeply and allowed
the Star Lords to sit in the most honored places. Then the
Lord of Thunder and the Lightning Mother carried in Yuan
Gong and handed him over to the Royal Attendant; they
then returned to the Bureau as ordered. Now our white ape
had been annoyed by the Thunder and Lightning Officials
and had been irritated, and by the time he arrived at the
bureaus he was groggy and dreamy. At his sides were
officials and soldiers who dragged him to to the foot of the
stairs and forced him to kneel.
"The captured book thief is present!" they announced.
Yuan Gong lifted his head for a look, but he could see only
the rows of fringed flags arranged so boldly with such
severe looking spears and staffs guarding the court. When
he peeked he did not feel so afraid of the upright
interrogation officials on the right side of the Royal
Attendant, but he greatly feared the one on the Attendant's
left, in black clothes and holding a jade tablet for notes,
whom he recognized clearly as the Lord of the Pole Star.
This fright was great, for always the Palace of the South
Star in Sagittarious meant life, while that of the North Star
denoted death! For even if you are fated to live as short a
life as Yan Hui or Yang Wu, if you should beg the Lord of
South Star to write a few marks in his book, the King of Hell
will not dare consider you even if you live for a hundred and
ninety years. But if the Lord of the Pole Star should be
angered and caused to write something in his tablet you will
loose your life directly, and even a thousand pardons from
the Jade Emperor will not save you! How should such a
presence be anything but terrifying? At this point Yuan
Gong, not waiting for the presiding official to begin
speaking, threw up his arms and offered up the treasured
'Ru Yi Ce' and kowtowed continuously, only acknowledging
his deadly sin.
"Vile creature!" thundered the Lord of the Pole Star; "you
broke the heavenly seals without authorization, and by
yourself stole Heaven's secret teachings. This is even
worse than a guard stealing what he is paid to protect! It is
proper to plan an execution!" Yuan Gong then pleaded for
his life, and kowtowed without stopping. Then the Royal
Attendant Mi Heng spoke.
"Did you or did you not steal Heaven's Books", he asked;
"tell us honestly!"
"I, Old Yuan," answered the accused, "have never in my life
lied! Those magical transformation charms from the 'Ru Yi
Ce' are arranged so neatly on the walls of White Cloud
Cave. If one talks about leaking secrets, well, they haven't
seen the face of any stranger."
"This creature is really honest", thought the Lord of the Pole
Star, "or at least naive." And again he shouted: "Why did
you carve the secret text onto the stone walls?"
"It's often said," answered Yuan Gong, "that the Emperor of
Heaven is not selfish, so I didn't believe that he could have
any secrets. If he did have secrets, they shouldn't have
been written down. But as they are indeed written down
they should be handed down throughout the ages. The
Jade Emperor's storing them in a box and my carving them
on the walls are one and the same thing!"
The Royal Attendant objected: "The beast should stop
using such strong words in pleading his innocence!"
Yuan Gong hurriedly kowtowed in acknowledgement of his
mortal sin and continued: "I, old Yuan, have been naive all
my life and I can only explain my actions upon the basis of
the facts! How dare I argue strongly!"
"It is said", continued the Royal Assistant, "that the jade box
is a treasure of the Palace of Heaven, and that there are
three prohibitions aginst its being opened. For one, it
cannot be opened without permission of the universal
Creator himself. Second, it can't be opened without
permission of the Mystery Queen of Ninth Heaven. Third, it
can't be opened without the Jade Emperor's permission.
You hairy creature, just who authorized YOU to open it?"
"At first," answered Yuan Gong, "in fact, I tried to open it
quite a few times without success. So I swore an oath to my
teacher, the Mystery Girl, Queen of Ninth Heaven, as
follows: 'Please protect your disciple who is fated to
practice Daoist magic. I'll always protect these secrets ad
I'll never dare do wrong.' Then the lid immediately came off
the box. If it had not in fact opened at last, I, old Yuan, would
have given up. And I wouldn't have called a jade worker to
grind or crack it open, either. Having known that Heaven's
rules were so strict, the Mystery Girl shouldn't have helped
me commit this crime. All my life I have hated the narrow
ways of the world, which often condemn people to prison on
the grounds of the shakiest connection to a crime. I can't
imagine how Heaven, so broad in its outlook, wants to cast
me into prison or worse for merely looking at a three-inchlong booklet, and doesn't consider my well cultivated soul.
To the contrary, I am on trial for my life, accused of the
crime of booktheft, an which I feel is beyond regret. I simply
will not resign myself to accepting death as a just
punishment, as I've done nothing wrong! Kill me if you like
but my eyes will not close!"
Now when the Royal Attendant Mi Heng heard these words
about the world's ways being narrow his mood suddenly
changed, and he thought of the time when he himself had
been imprisoned by Liu Biao merely because he was
mentioned in a letter of Sun Ce's. And his character being
strong and upright, seeing Yuan Gong's hurt feelings and
excited speech, his sobbing and his running nose, he
became sad through and through and addressed the Lord
of the Pole Star.
"What this hairy critter is saying makes sense," he
proclaimed. "In speaking of his mission to spread the Dao
there lies a motive. Moreover as he is the Mystery Dowager
Queen's student, I would like to trouble my Lords to all stand
behind a memorial to the Jade Emperor, proposing that
Yuan Gong be allowed to reform himself. I don't know how
my Lords feel about this..."
"The accused," answered the Lord of the Polestar, "has
been your subordinate all along; everything is up to you. But
as this is a trial, and hundreds of gods are already
thouroughly knowledgable about the case, perhaps we
should draw up a formal record of this interrogation and
then offer up a memorial to the Emperor."
"My Lord's words are so fitting," answered Mi Heng. At this
point the clerks were commanded to bring paper, brush
and inkstone to Yuan Gong. Now, our white ape knew that
the Attendant had a mind to toss aside the charges, and
was too happy to even stand. He hurriedly took up the pen
and wrote as follows:
DEPOSITION
I, Yuan Gong, age unknown, a righteous long-time
resident of White Cloud Cave on Mt Dream-of theClouds, was nominated for service by the Mystery
Queen of Ninth Heaven. Through his Imperial
Majesty's great benificence, I was invested as Lord of
White Cloud Cave, to guard the secret books of Ninth
Heaven under the supervision of the Royal Attendant,
for an indeterminate period of time. Until then I had
done nothing wrong. However, when all of the gods
in Ninth Heaven went together to the Fairy Peach
Celebration, I was unable to go along due to my
inadequate moral and spiritual cultivation. Illegally, I
took it upon myself to steal a peek at a secret book,
twice trying to open the lid of its container without
success. So I wholeheartedly prayed to my teacher,
the Dowager Queen, Mystery Girl of Ninth, Highest
Heaven to assist me and only then could I open the
box and get the book. Wrongly thinking that heaven
had nothing private and wishing to create something
of everlasting value for mankind, I then absconded
with the book and carved its contents into the walls of
White Cloud Cave. I am confident that what I have
done is predestined and correct. My taking things into
my own hands is hard to pardon, but all was done out
of the goodness of my heart and my interest in Dao; I
certainly had no evil, selfish intent. If I am forgiven, I
promise to concentrate my heart and soul upon the
furtherance of good teachings. Should my heart
wander from this oath, may the Lords of Heaven and
Hell strike me down!
The Above statement is a Factual Record of Events
The Lord of the Pole Star finished reading the deposition
and laughed: "Through this scrap of writing you actually
make yourself look clean in body!"
"Not only am I, Old Yuan, clean in body," shouted our ape,
jumping up and down excitedly, "but clean in mind as well! I
am a serious and honest type of individual who calls a
spade a spade, not the sort that passes off two and two as
five!"
The Royal Attendant and his assistants laughed heartily.
Then he and the Lord of the Pole Star got up, escorted
Yuan Gong to the spirit paradise above the clouds and
memorialized as follows to the Jade Emperor:
"Although Yuan Gong's crime is serious, his words are
cause to pity him. Moreover, the One who created the world
out of chaos Himself uttered these four lines:
When the jade box opens
Fate is on
But when it closes
Fate is gone.
Now, one word for fate is Yuan, the same pronunciation as
the accused's surname although the character is different.
Perhap's Yuan Gong was fated, so the jade box opened by
itself. Since he doesn't have an evil heart, for the sake of
the Mystery Queen we should be inclined to leniency, to
forgive hime and set him free."
Now the Jade Emperor granted this petition and he
cancelled the sentence of death. But he struck the title
"Lord of White Cloud Cave" from Yuan Gong's name,
changing it to "White Ape God" and dispatched him to
guard the stoney walls of White Cloud Cave. And then he
issued an imperial edict to the Judges of the Fates of Souls
and to the Earth God, to drive away from that place all of
the ape children and grandchildren of Yuan Gong, along
with all of their cohorts, to prohibit their coming within ten li
of the cave and to allow only a solitary Yuan Gong to reside
there. And should Yuan Gong teach his blastphemy to the
people of earth, to cause disasters or make trouble, they
would all be punished together.
After Yuan Gong had thanked him for his kindness and
mercy the Jade Emperor ordered that a lantern be brought
to the penitant ape. This incense burner was known as the
Magic Lamp of Wishes; when Yuan Gong cultivated himself
in the cave the smoke would issue forth naturally and
without pause and would float right up to Heaven's gate. But
if Yuan Gong should perchance go out of the cave, the
fragrant smoke would cease. Clearly, by use of this pure
little fire, Yuan Gong's wild and impulsive heart could be
controlled, and as a result he wouldn't dare do anything
rash.
Yuan Gong again thanked the Jade Emperor for his
kindness and mercy, and memorialized as follows:
"Although White Cloud Cave, my home on Mt Dream-ofthe-Clouds, is remote and isolated, it is by no means far
from the mortal world. Now, I hear that the Spirit Official
Zhang Kai can make a five-li fog, and I would like to borrow
it to cover the cave entrance. That way we can avoid
scrutiny by outsiders."
The Jade Emperor granted the petition. "If you desire a
fog," he laughed, "you needn't trouble the Spirit Official at
all!" He thereupon called the Guard of Heaven's Vault to
select and bring forth a weird and priceless treasure. And
the name of this treasure was the Mother of Fog.
Now, originally the world above had the Four Mothers, and
they were its most precious things. The first was the Mother
of Vital Force, and she carried all of Heaven's 'Qi', which is
at the core of the never-ending universes upon universes as
they revolve. This force is what the Teacher Maitreya
carries in his cloth bag. There is a poem that bears
witness:
With belly of enormous size
He laughs through ever-open eyes
He carries a sack from morn til late
And yet he feels it has no weight
If you want to know what's there unseen
Well, for secret use it's Yang and Yin
And looking down he laughs in mirth
At the fleas in the pants of men on earth!
The second was the Mother of Wind. She stored the windy
draughts of all eight directions. How do we know that? Well,
think about it. Ravaging is the Eastwind, fierce the
Westwind, and cold the Northwind. Longlasting is the wind
of the Southwest, mild is the wind of the Northeast, great is
the wind of the Southeast and harsh is that of the
Northwest. These eight winds all rest in the Pouch of Wind
carried by Fei Lian, the God of Wind. And here is a poem
for proof:
If Earth had officials for wind control
How could Heaven have none at all?
A snake-tailed deer known as Fei Lian
Among his achievements is rain for men.
Wind fairies ride before Mother Meng's rage
All picked by Zedan, the Wind Spirit Sage!
And Earth's biggest storm, a thousand miles wide
Is but breath from the pouch at the Wind God's side!
The third is the Mother of Cloud. When the world was
created out of chaos she came from the vital essence of
mountains and rivers. Round like a parasol, her cloud is of
five different colors. If the season brings a good harvest it is
yellow; if war comes it turns green. For a funeral the cloud
turns white; a black cloud means flood and a scarlet one,
famine. If all five colors appear at once, this is a guaranteed
good omen! This Mother of Cloud hides darkly behind her
vapor screen; again, here is a poem for proof:
Pale green dog or sheet of white
Such cloud is not an auspicious sight
But should we a red or gold one see
That is a sign of prophesy!
If the Cloud Sage didn't in fact exist
Why would augury by cloud persist?
The fourth treasure is the Mother of Fog; she wears a gown
eight or nine feet long, almost like a drape. This garment is
known as the Curtain of Fog. If she opens what appears to
be a cooking pot just a hair, out it blasts and hotly rises up.
If she opened it completely the resulting fog would cover a
hundred li and obscure the entire universe. When it is
completely out it is then sucked back in, as if by a pump.
That is the way fog is deployed, recovered and stored.
Now, in days of old when the Yellow Emperor, Xuan Yuan,
lived, there was a feudal lord named Chi You, entirely
lacking in moral cultivation. He managed to get hold of this
Curtain of Fog and could cause, control and harvest great
fogs at will. He alone could also manufacture swords,
spears and giant bows. Proudly then did he think himself
without rival in the world. Wanting to steal the Yellow
Emperor's realm, he drummed up his people to war. The
Yellow Emperor met Chi You in battle upon the plain of
Zhuo Lu, but his army lost its bearings in a fog, couldn't tell
east from west and for three days was unable to secure a
victory. But, fortunately, the Mystery Girl of Ninth Heaven
descended to earth and resented a plan, in the form of an
Yin charm, to the Yellow Emperor. And she created a
chariot, called the Compass Cart, that always pointed
south. And on this chariot stood a wooden man whose arm
and finger pointed straight ahead. No matter if your chariots
would go left or right, this wooden man would point always
to the south.
With such help the Yellow Emperor immediately devastated
Chi You's forces, pursued, caught, and beheaded him, and
the ground onto which his blood ran turned into salt. And
this is precisely the salt pool which is north of the presentday city of Qingyangfu in modern Shaanxi Province.
Because Chi You invented armaments and the evil of his
crimes weighed so deeply and heavily upon fate, 10,000
generations of folk down to this very day have eaten his
blood in the form of their daily salt. But to get back to the
tale, when victory was achieved the fog was gathered up by
the Mystery Girl of Ninth Heaven, presented to the Jade
Emperor and stored in the Vault of Heaven. And once
again we have a poem:
The Yellow Emperor's spirit
Was of holy prince so great,
While Chi You's fearsome ugliness
Was a star of bitter fate.
If the fog were not removed
And sent to Heaven high,
How then could we see the sun and moon
As they shine on in the sky?
On the other hand, later folk also have a poem that says:
None of the ancients ever heard of these great mothers four
How can we ever hope to know of Heaven 'n Earth for
sure?
The wind and clouds are only things that must be calmly
seen
As phenomena created and dispersed by Yang and Yin.
How can we say four Holy beings
Or Gods made each of these four things?
This blastphemous poem argues that the Mother of Vital
Essence, the Wind Pouch, the Cloud Parasol and the
Curtain of Fog, these four items of treasure, are
preposterous illusions. But perhaps, in attributing these
marvels to mere material processes, the writer of this poem
was indeed like a frog sitting in a well looking at Heaven. A
member of an uninformed, superficially minded group,
indeed! If a mirror can be used to make a fire, if the giant
clam of old could produce a flood, if a wild tiger can bring
wind, and if there are even more strange, weird myriad
things on earth that we cannot understand, how can we ever
hope to understand Heaven's affairs? Let's not talk
nonsense any longer!
Now it is said that the Jade Emperor, seeing that Yuan
Gong wholeheartedly defended Daoist magic and was
sincere and truthful, and what's more was a disciple of the
Mystery Girl of Ninth Heaven, took this Curtain of Fog and
brought it to him, and advised as follows: "This folded
curtain can only be opened about one foot; the resulting fog
will cover ten li. You are not permitted to open it completely,
for I am afraid of the trouble it will cause earthly residents."
And he added: "From now on you must repent and do
good, wholeheartedly cultivating yourself in accordance
with Dao, and there will be a day when you will rise to
Heaven. Otherwise, your pardon will be revoked, and you'll
plunge eternally into the bottomless depths of hell."
Yuan Gong agreed unceasingly, knelt, and left the Jade
Emperor's presence. Then the Royal Attendant of Cultural
Affairs again knelt and memorialized the throne for the
Royal Seals. He then resealed the jade box in fulfillment of
his duties. Then the Lord of the Pole Star also knelt and left.
As for Yuan Gong, he went to the Cultural Affairs Ministry
and reverently thanked Mi Heng; he then went to the
Delegation of Star Lords and paid his parting respects to
the Lord of the Pole Star. In his right hand he now lifted the
white jade incense burner while under his left arm he
clinched the rolled-up Curtain of Fog fast next to his heart,
and at this instant he departed high Heaven, swirling down
to earth and crawling into White Cloud Cave on Mt Dreamof-the-Clouds.
Now, already the monkey children, grandchildren and
hordes of fleabitten followers of Yuan Gong had been
completely expelled by Heaven's charm, already
transmitted by the Judges of the Fates of Souls, the
Mountain Spirit, and the Earth God. Yuan Gong was
suddenly a bit sad but at least he was glad to have his life,
and received two treasures in the bargain. His feelings
were truly mixed. He then took the precious incense burner
and placed it in front of the chamber, and he saw only the
misty cloud of smoke soaring directly up to Heaven. Next
he opened the Curtain of Fog about a foot, and hung it in
the mouth of the cave. Sure enough, white vapor rose
toward the sky and outward and in a short while there was a
fog covering ten li, engulfing the entire vicinity of the cave in
what seemed like white flour. It became impossible to see
out or vice-versa.
"On Earth," Yuan Gong happily exclaimed, "most things
exist in form but not in substance. For example, the name
'White Cloud Cave' has always been a misnomer; now at
last it is appropriately named!" Then he returned to the
precious burner and kowtowed four times to thank heaven
for its kindness.
From this time on everything was the same, but he didn't
allow his spirit to become idle. Every year, at noon on the
Duan Wu Day, that of the Dragon Boat Festival and the
summer solstace, he closed up the Curtain of Fog,
reported to the Palace of Heaven, had an audience with the
Jade Emperor and apologized. After the noon hour he had
to return to the cave as usual, where he again hung the
curtain. Once more, inside and outside were seperated
and the cave became a world apart.
Now the cave, it is said, was originally very large with many
varieties of the most famous flowers and strange fruits,
never ceasing their growth throughout the four seasons;
they were certainly sufficient for Yuan Gong's enjoyment
and nourishment. After the Imperial Audience, Yuan Gong
stayed in the cave, cultivating his nature in accordance with
true Dao. And in his leisure time he reached for the pair of
male and female magic pellets, delighting in their fiery
dancing performances. Now, as the One Hundred and
Eight Transformation Charms had already been carved
upon the two stone walls, let us consider their importance.
They are all capable of stealing the sky and moving the sun
itself, and can chase after the Hun and Po essences of the
spirit. And among them are the powers to turn beans into
men and spirits into swords, all for the purpose of attacking
human beings. "No wonder," surmised Yuan Gong, "the
Jade Emperor is so secretive and protective, not permitting
these charms to be leaked to the world. That book is
obviously heretical Dao, beyond and against the truths of
the Buddha, and it has nothing to do with my plane of
existance. I knew this from the start; why did I have to go
and open the box?" In his heart he felt deep remorse, and
so he took up the brush and wrote these characters on the
wall at the rear of the cave:
"These are Secret and Mysterious Charms of Ninth
Heaven, cared for by God. If any future person is so fated to
see them, he must be prepared to serve Heaven by
following Dao. Defend the country and protect the people!
And every year on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar
month at the stroke of midnight, he must climb to the peak
of his roof and straddle the beam. Then, so positioned, he
is to swear an oath to the Lord of the Polestar as follows:
Your disciple, X, is caring for your secret charms.
Throughout the years down to present he has never
committed an offense. If trouble should arise to harm the
people, let the Lord of Thunder strike me dead with a bolt of
lightning!"
Altogether the message was comprised of seventy-six
characters and accordingly he chiseled their inked forms
into the wall. Now what does all this mean? Well, because
Yuan Gong had taken an oath upon his life when writing his
confession after having been captured by the Thunder Lord
and interrogated by the Lord of the Pole Star, now anyone
else coming into possession of the charms would likewise
have to take the oath to the star lord. So, on the twenty-fifth
of the twelfth lunar month when the Jade Emperor comes
down to the world of mortals, we can, at last, see Yuan
Gong cultivating his heart in devotion to Dao, certainly
without a selfish bone in his body.
When things make news it's often worse than everyday
routine
What can be more pleasant than a life safe and serene?
To see who next will steal the charms and what harm it all
brings
Read on and you will come to know about all of these
things!
CHAPTER 3
IN TOWN, HU CHU BOTHERS A
VIRTUOUS WIFE
WHILE IN THE FOREST ZHAO THE
ELDEST TRACKS A FOX
Sudden magic changes are so many and so vast
But for ghostly transformations the fox is
unsurpassed
If false Buddhas and fake dieties have for so long
survived
Why worry whether Holy Auntie's real or contrived?
It is said that there have been many instances of
transformations among living things, such as a black fish
becoming a man, a white snail becoming a beautiful
woman, a tiger changing into a monk or an old woman, a
cow becoming a king, a panther turning into a general, a
dog being tranformed into its master, a deer becoming a
Daoist priest or a wolf changing into a young child. The
examples in novels and other literature are innumerable.
Now among the beasts the apes have the highest spiritual
character, but among all creatures none can change forms
more freely than the fox, and there are many records by
which to prove this. The fox, for all appearances, has an
angular mouth and a pointed nose; his head is small and
his tail large, and his fur is yellowish. And among them are
black as well as white varieties, and what's more they can
live for many years and change colors.
According to an account in the "Xuan Zhong Ji": At fifty
years of age the fox can turn into a human; at a hundred it
can know something a thousand miles away; at a thousand
years it can communicate with Heaven. Such a creature is
then beyond man's control and is known as the "Celestial
Fox". It is expert at deception and seduction, and it has
countless varieties and transformations.
As a result, from antiquity to the present there have been
many comparisons between foxes and folks; for example
we call a bewitchingly charming and flirtatious woman a
"fox" or "foxy", as we do a sly or dishonest individual.
Worries are also said to be "foxy" feelings, and a gang of
friends a "pack of foxes." Now dear reader, let's get back
to the "foxy" charms of a woman. Generally speaking if a
vixen wishes to lure a human male she need only change
into a beautiful, charming woman. And if the male fox
wishes to seduce a woman he need only change into a
handsome man. Both of these metamorphoses require that
Yin and Yang seminal and blood vital forces be stolen from
the target manifestation. And whatever kind of magic
changes you can dream of, the fox has the ability to perform
these and more from birth. For example, if a vixen wants to
become a woman she must use the skull and bones of a
dead human female, and if a male fox wishes to change
into a man he must use the bones and skull of a dead man.
In either case it must place these upon its head and body
and then worship the moon. If the desired change is not
possible at the time the skull will tumble down knocketyknock. But if it stays firmly in place, well, then after finishing
forty-nine incantations and bows the creature will change on
the spot into the form of a man or woman, and will then
gather some leaves and flower petals with which to cover
its body. These in turn change into fashionable clothes of
five colors. Once a person has seen its beauty and its
elegant dress, he or she will fall head over heels for the
siren or handsome dandy. And except for the most
righteous of wives and upright of husbands, ninety-five out
of a hundred people will go for its charms. That is why we
speak of a strong attraction or beauty as being "foxy".
Not only can the fox do all this, but when it meets a bonze it
can become a Buddha, and upon encountering a Daoist it
can impersonate an Immortal; it can then persuade folks to
worship and sacrifice to it. Accordingly, the Tang Dynasty
had accounts of a "Fox God" to which every family
sacrificed and which none dared offend. At that time folks
said that "without a Fox God there can be no village". This
was commonplace wisdom down through the Five
Dynasties, and and it is not yet extinct even today. A poem
says:
If so much in the world is sham all through
Why believe that the tale of the fox is true?
If folks didn't walk on falsehood's path
Foxes wouldn't be spared from Heaven's wrath.
Now it is said that at the beginning of the Xianping Reign
Era of the Great Song Dynasty, the Emperor Zhenzong
mounted the throne. At that time the land was at peace and
the people prospered; need I say more? And it is said that
in Citong Village of Ande District, Western Sichuan, there
lived a hunter called Zhao Yi. He was from a once-powerful
family, now down on its fortunes. Now, this Zhao Yi had a
wife surnamed Qian, the daughter of Squire Qian of that
district; she was only twenty-two years of age and very
beautiful. Zhao Yi earned a sort of livelihood by hunting,
while this Qian woman stayed home in their reed cabin,
taking in sewing to help them survive. Who would ever
imagine that one day, when going out to draw water, she
would be spotted by the sorcerer fox, that the beast's vile
heart would be moved and that it would then seek to
seduce her? And who would think that it would change into
a handsome Xiucai degree holder, wearing such
impeccable clothes and only waiting every day for her
husband to leave? Who would have thought that a fox so
transformed would then go to their door, perhaps sitting or
maybe standing, possibly pretending to be hungry or thirsty
and begging for some gruel or water, all the time only
seeking to lure her into speaking? Or that try as it did to
force out some charming words, that wife would remain as
hard as stone, entirely unmovable, and that because of this
he could not lure her to the kang and take her? Now our
hunter Zhao spotted this Xiucai on the doorpath for two
days in a row, and, suspicious, asked the stranger his
name. The Xiucai said his name was Hu Chu, that he had
studied in his home village and for now had wandered to
this place. Zhao Yi had the mind to visit his hometown and
check up on him, and finding that no such person had ever
lived there his doubts increased.
Suddenly one day, when the wife Qian went to do up her
hair, she was unable to find one of her silver hairpins. She
looked in her sleeves, her blouse, her wicker hamper and
trunk, her jewelry box and in her bedding, and was unable
to find it anywhere. She even looked in the small
mousehole at the foot of the wall which was illuminated by
lamplight, but not a trace was to be found. But around
noontime, when her boiling rice was ready, there was the
pin, sticking straight up out of the center of the rice! And
when she picked it up for a look, she that, stranger yet, the
pin was still cold after having been submerged in the rolling,
boiling depths of the pot! Now, the woman Qian, fearing
that her husband would never believe this, concealed the
event and never brought it up. Then on another day she
arose rather early and went directly to put on her
embroidered slippers, but could not find one of them. Zhao
Yi suggested that perhaps the cat had carried it off, and
told her to wear another. Now, later that day he went out for
a while and came right back, pulling an embroidered
slipper from his sleeve.
"Could this be yours?" he asked her. His wife said that it
was, and asked where he had found it.
"It was hanging in a pomegranate tree more than three li
from here," answered Zhao Yi; "now isn't that strange?" So
at last the woman Qian felt brave enough to tell her husband
about the silver hairpin.
"Folks say," answered Zhao, "that if we ignore ghosts they'll
destroy themselves. It's best to pay it no mind." And from
that point on there was no end of strange happenings
around the Zhao household, although no harm occurred.
Whatever outrageous things happened, the couple simply
ignored them. After awhile they became accustomed to all
of this, and it passed out of their minds.
At this time the ninth day of the ninth lunar month was
approaching, and with it the Chong Yang Festival, a time
for mountain climbing and hiking. The wind was brisk and
the grass dry; this was indeed bow-hunting season, too.
Zhao Yi and his hunting pals drove forth their falcons and
hounds, slung their bows and quivers over their shoulders,
each taking up his customary and favorite hunting tools,
and went forth from Coffinwood Pass Village to go hunting
in the mountains. Just look at this poem:
Reckless fools and braggarts they
Who'd with one shaft two eagles slay.
Or have one man kill a tiger pair
How sad are the wounded prey so fair!
But they're only beasts of land and sky
That suffer so before they die
The blood and gore may be a bit much
But it's nothing to one with a hunter's touch.
With never a thought to make amends
But then, they're only our furry friends.
Proud falcons and dogs follow masters vain
With knives and pikes to inflict such pain.
Each such a feeling of pride receives
But most folks see them as small-time thieves!
Zhao Yi and his mates all spread out for the hunt, and by
evening they had bagged a few roe, deer, rabbits and
things of this sort, and divided them up fairly. Suddenly, as
they were about to return, a pack of badgers scurried out of
a nearby ravine. The gang of hunters shouted out in
surprise.
"Well," exclaimed one, we've all boasted about out kills,
now let's have a go at those badgers, and cheers to the first
man to get one!"
"Right you are!" answered Zhao Yi. After telling a few
novices to guard the falcons and dogs, Zhao Yi picked up a
forked steel shaft and leapt away, as did five or six other
stout men bearing spears and staffs. The pack of badgers
were almost caught up with when they scattered, and the
hunters split up in individual pursuit. Zhao Yi set his sight on
a very large animal and chased it with all his strength, but
after two or three li the beast was already out of sight. But
he wouldn't quit, and when he scurried up some high
ground for a look he saw that the badger was in the wild
grass at the foot of the next hill, scampering about seeking
some hole to dive into. Zhao again went all out in pursuit,
but after chasing around several hillocks he found tthat the
beast was gone. There was only a deer with large antlers
eating wild grass in a hollow, and when it spotted a man it
ran away.
"Well," thought Zhao, "I couldn't get the badger but if I can
bag this deer I can still have something to show and
conceal this embarrassment!" He hurriedly tore off his
jacket, tied it around his waist and tore off up the hill in
pursuit, but the deer was not to be found. There was only
the burbling of a small brook, and, his throat dry after the
chase, he really wanted a drink. Searching for the site of
the small creek, he found some brackinsh water in a small
clearing. So following the direction of the sound's source he
climbed and searched, again traveling a short distance
before arriving at an exhiliaratingly pure cold stream in the
midst of a mountain ravine, that poured forth a beaded
curtain of sparkling drops like pearls. To one side was a
deep pool, and it was entirely lined with stones; its
sparkling purety ran deep. Zhao Yi cast down his forked
staff and cupped his hands, then scooped up and quaffed a
few mouthfuls of water, finally satisfying himself. Then, his
weary eyes seeing that the sky had taken on the
appearance of dusk, he picked up his hunting staff, turned
and left. But he hadn't realized that he had covered over
twenty li in this chase, and, this being the eight day of the
ninth lunar month, the light of day was now receeding and a
crescent moon was already visible.
And so having come on an impulse he left on a note of
disappointment, plodding on wearily. But before he had
trudged a couple of li he spotted some moving shadows in
the moonlight, far off in a grove. And when he stood on his
toes for a better look he saw that it was really a fox, wearing
the skull of a man on its head and kowtowing continuously
under the moon!
"How strange," whispered Zhao, "I've often heard folks say
that the fox can transform itself....perhaps this is how the
vile beast does it! I'll watch and see what happens..." And
so he looked on while the fox bowed in worship several
times, and, by and by, he witnessed the form of a
handsome young man, no different from the Xiucai he had
previously met. "So it is!" exclaimed Zhao Yi. And, without
any great hatred, he lightly cast down his grappling staff,
picked up his bow and dressed it with an arrow. Pulled
back to the bow's limit, the shaft flew off with great velocity,
and seeing it streaking right toward its prey Zhao cried:
"zhaaa....!" As usual, an ambush proved more effective
than a fair fight in the clear; our hunter Zhao had indeed
struck the demon's left leg! The creature let out a cry, cast
off the skull, changed back into a fox and ran off with the
arrow embedded in its haunch. Now Zhao Yi, because it
was late and due to his understandable fright, shook with
cold shivers and didn't dare give chase. He shouldered his
bow, flung out his cloth jacket and put it on, lifted his hunting
spear and flew off, returning along his original path.
By now the other hunters had gone into the village, bought
some wine, cooked their game and sat in a circle in a mat
shelter at the foot of the mountain, awaiting news of Zhao
Yi.
"Old Zhao is certainly capable of a fine chase," said one,
"I'm sure he's bagged one!"
"Hah," laughed another, "two legs chasing four, it ain't all
that certain!"
"Zhao the Eldest has always been a first class hunter,"
shouted one of them.
"But this time he hasn't come back!" exclaimed yet another;
"perhaps it turned out that he couldn't catch the badger and
got himself lost, or even that the tables were turned and he
himself is right now being chased around the countryside
by the little beast!" At this point they all had a good laugh.
Then in the flash of an eye one of them pointed and the
circle fell silent; "isn't that him coming now?" he asked in
expectation. The entire gang came forth from the shanty to
greet him, but they saw only an empty-handed and ashenfaced Zhao the Eldest returning.
"We've managed to bag two of the badgers and we've
already cooked them up!" they shouted; how is it that you,
brother Zhao, have been out so long?"
"Well," explained Zhao Yi, "I couldn't catch up with the
badger but I've run into a really bizarre thing that has, oddly
enough, taken a big load off of my mind!" Thereupon he
told of his shooting the fox demon which had transformed
itself by worshipping the moon, and of what all he had seen;
his mates were, of course, stunned, not knowing what to
think.
"Elder brother dares say he's driven all the evils away from
there," said one; "if that's indeed the case we congratulate
you!" But among them were skeptics who mumbled on
about how Zhao Yi had merely concocted this ghastly story
to conceal his not having caught a badger. But there was
also an older man among them, who counseled should be
believed, at least for the time being, and who refused to
dismiss it outright. He led Zhao Yi by the sleeve back into
the grass shack, poured a big bowl of wine and gave it to
him, coaxing more weird details of the fox story out of him
for all outside to hear.
"My arrow," declared the excited Zhao the Eldest, "struck
him right in the butt and he whelped and ran off. I think that
tomorrow we can all go and track it to its lair, and I reckon
there are more than one or two; we'll drag them all out, skin
them and make jackets to pass the winter in!"
"If it works out like that," answered the others, "and there is
some proof, then there's nothing more to say and we'll all
treat you to wine and meat. But if it there is nothing and it
turns out you've lied to us, we'll be your guests when you act
as host of the century!"
Zhao Yi consented and there in the night had a bite to eat.
Then they each took some of the meat and went home.
When Zhao Yi arrived home he told his wife of what had
transpired. She gave her spoken consent to the plan, but
was still not entirely at ease. Zhao went without sleep all
night. Anxiously awaiting the dawn, he jumped to his feet at
some sound but heard only wild rustling of wind through the
leaves in front of his door. "Today is the ninth of the month,"
he thought, "the chrysanthemum and mountain climbing
festival, and the seasonal wind is starting up." And when he
pushed aside the sliding window he saw only curly, dark
rainclouds, laden with water like so many twisted, soaked
grey rags. waiting for some giant hand to wring them.
"It's going to rain," he said anxiously; "if I take advantage of
these last moments before it starts I can lead the entire
gang on this hunt and still be back before breakfast!" Then
he hurriedly washed and groomed himself, put on a cloth
coat and left. But when he got to the homes of his
neighbors and knocked on their doors, each was still in
bed, tossing about. At one house he waited for a little water
to be prepared, at another for his friend to eat a little
something, and so on, wasting much time. This all made
Zhao Yi even more impatient, until finally the whole sky
opened up with rain. At first he hoped it would soon stop. "It
won't matter, it won't matter at all," he assured himself. Buit
after awhile it it really began to come down, making it
impossible for the mission to be completed as planned.
The only thing to do was return home, have breakfast and
sit there in his thatched straw cottage, staring dumbly at the
rainy sky with his hollow eyes. And the rain fell from morning
until night even the briefest pause. There is a poem about
bitter rain that tells it well:
Rain oh rain, why your silly showers?
Good but for farmers and watering flowers
Or maybe the bath and the brewing of tea
Running off of the roof for me to see.
Drops large and small make twisted ropes
Of children's fears and broken hopes
Bringing boredom unto me
As you can no doubt see.
Into a cave an active man you force
Like tying up Qianlima, the thousand mile horse
Oh Son of Heaven in palace high
Where do you play under rainy sky?
God of Wind why do you refuse so fast
To unleash your clearing blast?
Oh God of Rain what's all this for?
To make the world but curse you more?
Rain if you wish without a break
And I won't another comment make.
But even you will reach your end
And then the leaden clouds will rend
Oh can't you take your rags and mop
And make this raining quickly stop?
Now Zhao Yi simply couldn't bear being unable to take a
bamboo pole hundreds of thousands of feet in length, push
aside the clouds and let the red, round sun shine through!
And how he regretted that he couldn't climb up to heaven
carrying tens of thousands of rags and wipe up all of the
soaking wet clouds in the sky until not a drop remained! His
wife was puzzled upon seeing him so listless at dinner so
she procured two bottles of fine wine, heated them up and
brought them, with their fine, wild aroma, for him to drink.
Zhao Yi then became suddenly very drunk, and without
removing his shoes or socks fell unconscious onto the
kang. It was not until the drumming of the fourth watch,
sometime between one and three o'clock in the morning of
the next day, that he finally awakened. Raising his head,
there was no rain to be heard and he presumed it was clear
outside. Then after passing another two-hour watch in bed
the window became somewhat illuminated. And when he
went to look at the sky it was still dark, but the rain had
indeed stopped. "Those sleepy-headed neighbors of mine
are certainly still asleep," he thought; "I can eat breakfast
and still not miss them." So he hurriedly woke his wife and
had her boil water for washing, and told her to arrange
breakfast. But after eating and going out of doors he saw
that a fine, misty drizzle was falling out of the murky
overcast. "This dog-hair drizzle can't even dampen
clothes," he thought, optimistically; "what's there to be
afraid of?" Walking a few steps and finding it muddy
underfoot, he returned to change his socks and put on a
pair of waxed shoes. But when he went forth to collect his
neighbors from their warm beds, each was unwilling to
move.
"What's so important," answered one, "for us to go mucking
aimlessly around the countryside? If there's really a wild fox
out there that was shot by you, by this time it's got quite a
welt! Where could it go in this weather with an arrow in its
behind? What's the hurry?"
Realizing that he could not go out, he was sad and edgy
throughout the next night. But the third day dawned clear
and bright.
"Today," said Zhao, "they'll have no excuse!" So he went to
his mates' homes to announce his intentions, and, after
returning home for breakfast, set off to drag them out of
doors. Now, there were a few old hands who wouldn't go
along.
"It may not be wet underfoot," said one, "but it sure ain't dry
either! We'll let you young ones go."
"We're off with elder brother to catch a fox spirit," said
another, "talk to you when we get back!" Walking together
were over twenty men, each armed for the hunt. Zhao Yi led
the way, winding to and fro, passing quite a few hillocks
and making the group impatient, until they finally came upon
the grove. Thereupon the entire place was searched and
not a half drop of blood was to be found, for it had all been
washed away by two day's heavy rain. Zhao the Elder
explained it roughly this way too, but the gang were unable
to believe him.
"The branches overhead form a cover," said one, "and the
rain could never wash it that clean. Even if the bloody trail
had been washed away there would still be a burrow
nearby, but there isn't a trace of one!" Still, Zhao led them
on, nonsensically searching the forest for half a day.
"Phooey!" exclaimed one of the group; "We won't go along
any longer on this weird hunt! Let's go back and have you
treat us to a feast!"
Angry at fate, Zhao Yi couldn't utter a word. Upon reaching
town all broke out into laughs and shouts of "Old Zhao the
fibber" and other such abuse, and even I, your narrator
couldn't help but chime in with "Old Zhao the reckless liar! In
this pure and peaceful world if there's any such fox spirit or
ghost it's only Zhao the Elder, the lying ghost!" And to this
very day those caught in lies are still called "Ghost Zhao"
and "Wild Zhao", refering of course to this fox business.
There is this poem for proof:
That a sorcerer fox did worship there was truthfully
described
'Twas not the case that our Zhao Yi to anyone had lied.
The tracks of blood were washed by rain and weren't at the
spot
Who in this world can tell for sure what's true and what is
not?
When Zhao arrived home, all of his fellows were already
there waiting for the promised feast. He could do nothing
but take some of his wife's clothes and coats and pawn
them, and with the little money thus obtained he bought the
wine for his guests to drink. Even the village elders were
invited and everyone ate away, gnawing and chewing to
their hearts' content. And when it came time to leave
somebody said: "Since we've troubled Brother Zhao for a
feast, after today, should anyone ask, we'll all put out the
word that there was a fox spirit out there after all!" Zhao Yi
boiled over with rage, and from this point on never again
brought up the matter.
Now to digress in our story, the old male fox which has
been depicted being shot was born of an old white vixen.
Nobody can reckon her exact age and she is vastly
capable of transformations. She changed from her own
form into that of a beauty, now in maturity called Holy
Auntie, who makes her home in a cave beneath Goosegate
Mountain. The twin peaks, east and west, of this mountain
rise suddenly, high enough to touch the sky. Migrating
geese in their formations always fly between the summits,
hence the name. This Holy Auntie had two fox offspring,
named Hu Chu and Hu Mei; they were brother and sister.
Now, most of your five hundred-year-old fox spirits are
surnamed Bai or Kang, but your thousand-year-old foxes
are usually named Zhao or Zhang; still, most if them usually
go by the alias of Hu. On the night when hunter Zhao shot
his strange prey, Holy Auntie was with her daughter Mei
under the moon, teaching her the mysteries of chanting.
Suddenly they saw Chu, limping, wounded in his left leg and
trembling with each step, howling as he returned. When he
got near the cave he fell to earth, rolled over and let loose a
wild scream. The old mother approached for a look,
realizing that her son had been shot by an arrow in the left
leg. She hurriedly attempted to pull it out but its head was
buried too deeply, and her efforts resulted only in more
pain, the shaft entirely unmoving. Holy Auntie thought of a
plan.
"Bear the pain, son!" she first cried out. She then took a
deep breath and held it, clenched the arrow's shaft tightly
between her teeth, and used her hands to press down
forcefully on the surrounding flesh. Then, with a loud "pop"
the shaft was out of his haunch, snatched up and thrown
onto the ground; the fox then lost consciousness. Now this
arrow had struck right in the hamstring muscle, and the
tendon was severed. Struggling back as he did for a such
long distance with no thought of the mortal danger of his
wound, how did he not die?
Holy Auntie shed her vixen tears and called upon her
daughter Mei to help carry him to his earthen bed and lay
him there; after about two hours he awakened. This old
vixen knew several kinds of herbal medicine and used
heated fluids to irrigate the wound, but it was no use. After
two days she saw that her son was nearing death. Truly
grieving, she then remembered that, in the District of Yizhou
there lived an Imperial Physician surnamed Yan,
respectfully known as Yan Sandian. This man had skills that
could return the dead to life! If she could only beg some of
his drugs, what then would there be to worry about? So she
ordered Mei to care for her brother, and herself pretending
to be a sick old beggar and carrying a cloth bundle on a
bamboo stick with a hundred rings she set off for Chengdu.
Because of this decision, this old vixen would soon learn
many new skills for almost no price at all! And an unlimited
number of events would be set into motion. It's really like
this:
That receiving healing skills depends on fate is known for
sure
If the illness isn't fatal one is sure to get the cure.
Now, to see how Imperial Physician Yan uses his
medicines and whether or not the young fox is saved,
please read on....
CHAPTER 4
THE OLD VIXEN CREATES AN
UPROAR IN A FAMOUS
DOCTOR'S
CLINIC WHILE THE GREAT
HEALER CAREFULLY
EXAMINES THREE THREADS
OF A PULSE
Money is no object when a mother
heals her son
What counts is that a speedy cure be
found and somehow done;
If you desire to guard your health and
assure reincarnation
You must come with the purest heart to
this
sacred healer's station.
It is said that a famous physician by the
name of Yan Benren, a descendant of the
famed Yan Junping, lived in Yizhou,
Sichuan. His way of taking the pulse, so
important in Chinese medicine, was
different from that of other practitioners. He
used three fingers to lightly feel the pulse,
and in so doing directly and successfully
diagnosed the source of the illness, and
none of his prescriptions failed to cure.
Because of this he had become known as
"Yan Sandian" , which means "Three Point
Yan". He had once been a physician of the
Imperial Medical Department of the Song
Court, but during the Jing De reign he ran
into trouble when summoned to cure the
imperial concubine Li Chen. He had applied
his three fingers for only one moment to her
pulse and left. The courtesan felt that his
attitude was not careful and diligent, and
told the Emperor Zhen Zong about it. The
Son of Heaven wanted him tried for
disrespect of the Court, but because many
officials came to his rescue, saying that he
had been a student of a truly unorthodox
and extraordinary man and that he was in a
class of his own as a doctor, he was
pardoned of such a grave charge. But his
prescription for the Concubine Li was never
used and he was exiled to his home district.
Because of this he only remained at Yizhou
and practiced medicine, and on the 5th, 15,
and 25th of each month, these three days
only, he conducted a free clinic and
dispensary, not collecting a cent. Even on
ordinary days those with no money were
never turned away, although he didn't
refuse payment from patients of means.
Because of this his clinic was mobbed like
a marketplace. And there was one more
strange thing. When other doctors took a
pulse they would consider only the
individual patient's illness. It was just a
matter of skillfully determining the state of
the patient's vital force by means of the
pulse, and then looking at age and wealth
as other factors. But by Yan's "Three
Points on One Spot" method he could make
an exact determination of whether or not
the patient's mother, father, wife, daughter
or other close relations would meet with
bad fortune! Even astrologers, arranging
the zodiac so carefully in pursuit of the
auspicious, could never achieve such
accuracy.
One day his excellency the district
magistrate came down with a touch of a
cold and sent for Doctor Yan. On arriving
he took the pulse as usual.
"What is ailing your honor," he said, does
not require any medication. All you need to
do is brew some strong Liu An tea and drink
it hot. you'll sweat until about midnight and
then it'll be gone quite naturally. And,
happily, your wife will soon bear a son, a
cause for rejoicing. But during Autumn, the
wife of your eldest son will meet tragedy in
childbirth." His excellency the magistrate
laughed; "my wife is indeed pregnant," he
thought, "perhaps some people in the
Yamen have leaked it out and he has heard
of it...who knows, perhaps he's just
flattering me, who knows? But my son's
wife is at home in Xiangxhou, over three
thousand li from here; I don't even know if
she is pregnant. And as for a tragedy in
childbirth, how can he know from her fatherin-law's pulse? That's absolutely
preposterous!"
Later, that night the district chief had the
prescribed cup of hot tea and was indeed
cured. Afterward his wife gave birth to a
boy; as for the prophecy he wrote it off to
chance. But within ten months he received
a family letter written personally by his
eldest son, stating that on the twentyseventh day of the eighth lunar month his
wife had indeed miscarried and died. From
that point on the magistrate worshipped
Yan Sandian and named him Banxian,
meaning "Half Immortal". Because of this,
others as well came to call him Yan
Banxian, and the entire world in time came
to hear of this name. There is a poem
called "The Angel by the River" that
singulary recounts the merits of Yan
Banxian:
A pulse by three fingers anybody can feel
But they all lack that one spot of greatness
so real
One's family's fate so properly said
His tonics then can raise the dead
Or keep one alive forever instead.
Few conventional treatments are used in
his hall
Your insides seen as if through a wall!
The twin devils of illness avoid men so
brave
And apricots planted by those he did save
Soon all the land west of Jin Jiang would
pave.
Now it is said that our old mother vixen
changed into an old beggar woman and
walked on and on, day and night. Arriving in
the town of Yizhou, she already knew that
Yan Banxian lived near the Hall of Begonia
Blossoms. The date was exactly the 15th of
the ninth lunar month, the time for his free
dispensary and clinic, and, coincidently, the
magistrate's birthday as well. Banxian
prepared several boxes full of gifts and set
off to congratulate him. Meanwhile, those
patients of his, who never numbered fewer
than a hundred, were waiting around as
usual. There were also some idlers hanging
around, amusing themselves watching the
goings on in the street outside the nearby
Begonia Hall. This building was located
west of the city Yamen and had been built
by Viceroy Li of the Tang for the enjoyment
of his subordinates, and it was surrounded
by begonias which have flourished to this
very day, and every time a newly appointed
official takes office he restores this
important local landmark to a most dignified
and orderly appearance. The old vixen,
however, was in no mood for sightseeing
and started directly for Yan Banxian's gate.
She came to a line of wooden fenceposts in
front of the entrance, and through them
could be seen a landscaped garden with a
manmade hill and four or five Cassia trees.
Inside the compound opened to a main hall
consisting of three small rooms; on the
plaque above were the three characters
reading Ban Xian Tang, the Banxian Hall.
This plaque was, incidentally, a gift from the
magistrate. And on either side of the hall
hung two banners which when read
together proclaimed:
Step right in this healing den
Put your faith in Three-Point Yan.
Do not fret if you are ill
You'll be cured with a single pill!
Now the old woman had a fast eye, and
took it all in. Leaning on her bamboo cane
she stood under the eaves, and come noon
or thereabouts heard folks shouting: "He's
here! He's here!" And going out into the
street for a look she saw Yan Banxian
riding on a white horse, with his servants
ceremoniously holding a gown and several
empty boxes, all returning from the Yamen
east of there. The crowd had become
impatient and one third of the visitors had
already left, but many had merely gone out
to meet him and follow him home, all tagging
along behind his horse. Banxian dismounted
at the gate in the wooden fence, and rather
than enter his quarters he went went quickly
to the center of his hall, where he then
stood to receive his patients. The crowd
then surged forward, pushing and shoving,
each thrusting out his arm and begging the
great doctor to take his or her pulse while
others shouted out the details of illnesses
in their families. Banxian examined them
individually as they streamed past, shouting
out his prescriptions while his servants
dispensed the medicines. There were both
decoctions and pills, both internal external;
more than ten servants were engaged in
handling the chores and before two hours
had passed all was finished and the
patients were gone.
Now, Yan Banxian had been taking pulses
with three fingers for some time. If so many
things at once were done by an ordinary
doctor, what with his taking breaks and all,
even if he worked like a madman he
wouldn't be able to examine very many
patients. And moreover he had been giving
only one dose of medication per patient. If
his colleagues even opened a medicine
chest they would have taken out at least
two or three bags, and would have
prescribed more than ten doses per patient,
all to no avail. For even if you piled up all
their medicines like so much dried kindling,
enough that a thousand men be needed to
ring it in and another thousand to move it, it
would all still not help even this one day's
patients. On ordinary days, Banxian's
dispensing of drugs was limited to midday
and he never practiced his craft in the
afternoons. But today, because he had
gone out and been late in returning, he had
been especially busy and did not finish until
3 PM. Here is a poem about it:
In uncanny greatness are no men
The likes of western Sichuan's Yan,
Doctor and prophet one and the same
Residing in one man's worldly frame.
Although his clinic was filled like a market
with those begging to be healed, Dr Yan
had learned from his ancestor Yan Junping
to close early. Now our old woman who was
a transformation of an old vixen knew that
she was a bit strange and decided to lay
low, rather than push and shove her way
into the hall. So she dozed off at the foot of
the sculpted hillock until all had left and then
got up and ran forth top see the doctor, but,
alas, he had already gone home to his
attached quarters. She then leaned
lifelessly against his gate in the hope that
he would emerge. Then just as she noticed
that it was getting late an elderly servant
came out carrying a lock for the gate and
startling her. She threw herself toward him
shouting out blessings, but the old servant
wasn't impressed.
"If you wish to beg, you should have come
earlier," he stated, officiously; "With the
doors bolted and windows closed whose
going to come so convenietly by this gate
to give you money!" There was suspicion
and annoyance in his voice. The old woman
wept.
"This old wife isn't here to beg alms," she
pleaded, "but a prescription."
"If it's medicine you need there's a time for
that" answered the old servant. My Master
has labored all day and he's finally having a
well deserved rest. I'm not about to break
the rules for you and he wouldn't come out
anyway, old mother. Nothing in it but trouble
for me!"
"I hail from Ande Zhou" she answered
through her tears, "and the long walk here
has made me a bit late, I know. But I've got
a strange illness and wish only to beg the
great doctor to save me. I beg of you, kind
uncle, give me a break, that's all. You
know," she continued, "saving a single
human life is a greater deed than building a
seven-tiered pagoda! Doctors have the
spirit of self-sacrifice in healing patients,
even cutting their own flesh! If you only go
and ask him, just once...please, old uncle,
then perhaps he will pity me. You can't just
say what he wouldn't come out then!" And
one hand propping herself up on her
bamboo cane and the other clutching the
servant's sleeve she knelt.
The old man yanked himself away, leapt to
his feet and exploded.
"You old hag" he raged, "you still don't get
it! After I was nice to you and told you the
score you just won't shut up! If you really
got such a weird illness I imagine you aren't
dying of it tonight! Even if you're lucky
enough to meet the Emperor you have to
wait til morning!" He then seized her bodily
with both hands, carried her from the gate
and most unceremoniously threw her out
into the garden.
Now, the old woman landed on her feet and
cried out loudly, awakening Yan Banxian
himself from his sleep inside.
"Who's carrying on out there?" shouted his
page. The hag thrust herslf forward to state
her case but the old man held her back.
"This old bitch," he answered, "half human
and half ghost has been trying to get in and
bother our Master for medicine. When I told
her to wait til morning she kept it up and
now that I've kindly shown her out she's
complaining she was roughed up!"
The pageboy came forth. "You, old woman,"
he asked, "wherever you've come from,
how dare you carry on like this? You're not
exactly a regular paying customer, you
know. And you're no young maiden or
tempting wife either! Why, your death would
weigh no more than an old dog's. Even his
excellency the magistrate has to wait his
turn for medicine and he's the chief of a
whole district. Now, you are really out of
line but if you leave now there won't be any
trouble, I promise. On the other hand," he
continued, threateningly, "if you insist on
bothering our Master, we'll write out a nice
little letter of introduction for you to the
magistrate's Yamen and then you'll only
wish you could die of illness instead of the
beating you get.!" Then he helped the
servant pick the woman up by the clothes
on her back and throw her out again. Now
the old hag had a violent seizure; she let
out a scream and threw aside her cane,
turned yellow and then lay lifeless. It was
like this:
Her body like the dead leaves of deep
autumn
Her life force like a dying lamp at dawn.
Even if she weren't doomed to enter
death's embraces
In front of her lay little luck and much of
evil's traces.
The old servant, seeing the woman dying
before their eyes, began blaming the
doctor's pageboy.
"It's all your fault, idiot," he shouted; "I only
scolded her once, and you were supposed
to mediate. But no, you had to go on
scolding and mishandling her and now
we've really got a problem! This critically ill
old woman, how could she take it? You go
and explain what you've done to the
Master, I've got nothing to do with it!"
Now the page was in a real panic as he
reported the happenings to Banxian. The
doctor had been sitting quietly in his study
but upon hearing the commotion went to the
foyer. By the time he got to the hillock for a
look, the old woman had already been
revived by the servant and lay staring
blankly. Banxian ordered the old man to pick
up the woman's right hand, and then applied
his godly, all-knowing and marvelous
fingertips to the pulse. Then he ordered up
the left wrist and repeated the procedure.
"How strange," he gasped, "this pulse is
extraordinary, to say the least!" Then he
returned to his study and sat, telling the
maidservants to go out and escort the
woman inside; he had something important
to tell her. The old housemaids then fetched
the woman.
"Our Master says your pulse is quite odd,
and he really wants to have a word with
you," they told her. At first the old woman
lay stiff and motionless on the ground like a
wooden tiger, but upon hearing these words
she sprang to life, leaping up at once and
grabbing her cane from the ground. She
flew along taking double strides , and
without anybody's help, either, noisily
clamboring into the study at the rear of the
dwelling. Even the maids couldn't keep up
with her. The old servant laughed darkly.
"Sure enough", he chuckled, "she was
playing dead all along. How frightening!"
Now, Yan Banxian was in the room,
breaking the darkness with the dazzling light
of a candle. When he saw the old woman,
followed by his trembling servants, he told
her to enter.
"Where are you from?" he asked.
"This lowly old woman is from An De Zhou"
she answered humbly.
"Don't try to fool me," said Banxian; " I can
see that you have the form of a human and
the pulse of a beast. Now, there must be a
reason!"
"What a doctor," the old vixen thought to
herself, "I can't hide anything from him.".
And seeing the room empty of others she
hurriedly knelt and confessed. "The truth
cannot be concealed any longer," she
proclaimed, "I am an old fox from the foot of
Goosegate Mountain. Only because of my
admiration for the great name of Banxian
have I come to plead for treatment."
Banxian answered bluntly. "I've already
determined from your pulse," he declared, "
that nothing ails you except a case of
"rescue-my-child-itis!"
The old hag kowtowed a few times and rose
on her knees. "Great doctor," she
exclaimed, how can you be named only
Banxian, meaning half an immortal, when
you are so really and truly a whole god! All
this old mother has got left out of her brood
are a son and daughter, and now my boy
has been wounded in the left leg by
someone's arrow. It's hopeless for him to
live and he only longs for death!" Then she
gave a careful description of her son Chu's
wound.
"The injury itself," answered Banxian, "is no
life-and-death matter, for it's only flesh and
bone.. But even when it has healed, if the
left leg isn't as strong as the right I'm afraid
to say he'll be a cripple."
The old woman was almost overjoyed. "If
he should regain his life even the loss of a
leg would be a small thing. After my boy's
wound is healed I'll bring you a token of my
worship and appreciation of you."
"That won't be neccessary," answered
Banxian, "but I've got something else to
discuss with you. According to your pulse
your daughter will also meet with tragedy."
Now, our hag's vixen heart once more met
with a heavy blow, as if struck by a board.
She had seen the uncanny correctness of
the doctor's earlier pronouncements; how
could she not be terrified at this additional
prophesy?
"When will she meet with disaster?", asked
the old woman, frantically. "I beg you", she
continued, to do me a great favor and
rescue her without delay, and I'll never
forget you, oh great doctor!"
Yan Banxian sat pensively. "Your
daughter's misfortune is indeed bizarre, and
even I cannot describe it clearly. We can
only wait out six months to a year's time
and see what happens. Creatures like
yourselves impersonate humans, create
disorders and deceive the people, and
that's about all. You lack knowledge of the
supernatural and have no outstanding skill
at sorcery either. The one day one day
when your fate comes to an end, you find
yourselves at the mercy of the hunter's
mere subordinates, the falcons and hounds.
Take for example your son. Fortunately he
was just shot in the left leg. If that arrow
had struck a vital spot, even the great
phsycian of antiquity, Bian Que of Lu would
have only been able to utter a few words of
pity. But as things are he has not suffered
an untimely death. Now, from the third pulse
of your left hand I've determined that the
root of your life is strong and firm; from the
first pulse of your right I find that you are
resourceful and clever. There is much
goodness and virtue in your fate. What's
more you and your kin were born in a
mountain ravine and aren't versed in the
ways of the world. You'd had little chance to
be entrapped by the seven feelings and six
desires of worldly ways. So, you thought,
why not take advantage of this decline in
your family's fortunes to consult with a
great doctor? You could once more grow
flesh and hair on your son's leg, and in the
bargain avoid disaster forever. Now, isn't
that beautiful?"
On hearing those words the old hag's tears
poured forth like raindrops; she once more
kowtowed and thanked the doctor for his
advice. Banxian then called a page to bring
some medicine, and ordered one dose of
Nine Springs Elixer of Life as well as some
medicinal ointment.
"These medicines," he stated, should be
administered with a dose of good, pure
wine," he told Holy Auntie as he wrapped
them up, "and everything will clear up
naturally. Perhaps if the arrowhead has
entered the bone it will cause a lifetime of
pain if it is not entirely extracted. You can
take warm water and wash the wound
clean, then apply this poison-extracting
salve. Draw out the old dark blood until it
comes forth fresh and bright. Then apply the
Fairy's Bone Healing Ointment. After a
hundred days he'll be able to walk. Well,
that's about it. You must remember to do
just as I've told you. It's all correct and will
do no harm." Thereupon he called a maid to
escort her out, and the old woman thanked
him over and over for the medicine. As she
followed the maid out through the foyer she
bumped into the old servant who had first
abused her and she blessed even him,
although that is hardly surprising. Passing
through the gate she went on her way
delighted with the world. Now, Banxian was
truly shaken by all of this but he kept his
surprise and fear to himself. There's a
poem for proof:
If return to life from cold embrace of death
can be conceived
Then a beastly pulse in human form can
surely be believed.
He never told a mortal soul about the future
harm
Because he knew his healing skill was
Heaven's secret charm!
As our story continues, Holy Auntie climbed
over the city wall that very night, and on the
road home purchased a bottle of fine, pure
wine. Then she went directly to the foot of
Goosegate Mountain in Ande Zhou. There,
Hu Chu was groaning in agony without any
respite and Mei had not yet left his side.
Brother and sister were waiting nervously
and hoping against hope, and as soon as
they saw the old vixen burrowing into their
earthen den they were immeasurably
delighted. The mother heated the wine to a
boil and poured the potion, to be taken with
the Nine Spirits Pill of Life, into a porcelain
cup. She then assisted Hu Chu in taking the
medicine and washing it down with the
wine, and as per instructions applied the
poison-extracting salve to his wound. Chu
continued to lie on his earthen bed feeling
only sleepiness, and didn't awaken for three
hours. The old mother vixen and her
daughter kept watch.
"He hasn't closed his eyes for quite a few
days," said Mei.
"Well," answered Holy Auntie, "his sleeping
now is due, I reckon, to his feeling no pain.
We can see the medicine at work."
Pus was running down the curve of his leg
and the salve had already been dissolved
away, but they didn't dare apply more of the
balm out of fear of awakening him. In a few
moments, though, Chu came around.
"The wound is really starting to itch," he
exclaimed, and when his mother removed
the plaster for a peek she saw some
slender thing beginning to emerge, still
hidden in the pus and blood. The old vixen
cleaned away the filth with some grass, and
when she applied her claw to remove it a
shovel-shaped arrowhead emerged into her
grasp. The arrowhead used by Zhao Yi had
been of such a shape; she had at first
plucked out only its wooden shaft, leaving
the tip embedded until this very time. Just
then she became ill at ease and examined it
closely, and only then did she fully realize
the greatness of Yan Banxian's skill and
knowledge, and saw for herself the secret
power of of the poison-extracting salve.
She then boiled a potion of medicinal herbs
and ever so gently bathed the wound with it.
On seeing the chipped bone and wounded
muscle, the torn and decayed flesh and the
fresh blood now running out, her
appreciation of the tragedy was complete.
Reaching for the Fairy's Bone Healing
Ointment she applied it hot, and slowly
bound up the limb with some silken cloth. He
passed the night and next day the dressing
was changed and the wound again cleaned;
it went on like that for several days until it
was completely drained.
After this she did not move him while he
spent forty or fifty days recuperating, during
which time the flesh grew back, the torn
muscle knitted smoothly together, and he
struggled to get up, with much agony.
Alternating between napping and sitting he
didn't dare try to leave the burrow. Then
when the one hundred days were
completely up the plaster was removed and
the wound was entirely without pain. Only
when he looked at the spot where the
dressing had been did he see the smooth
bright red scar flesh and the failure of about
half the hair to grow back. Then upon
walking he found that his left foot was two
inches shorter than the right. The vixen
oddly cried out for joy.
"Yan Banxian told me," she exclaimed, "that
you'd become a cripple and it's come to
pass! You can change your name to Zuo
Que, for "Limping Lefty" in honor of his
achievement. And from that time on he was
indeed called Zuo Que, familiarly Quezi or
Que'r, and his former surname Hu was
gradually forgotten. "How can I avenge this
wrong?" he thought, and ran back to his old
mother for consolation. Holy Auntie was
sitting on her earthen kang and upon
hearing his words she shed bitter tears, so
deeply was a good and virtuous fate rooted
in her soul. It's really like this:
In times of joy a tragedy awaits our happy
eyes
While out of pain a fate of good and virtue
does arise.
Is the hurt avenged, and what is Mother
told?
Read on to later chapters and see how
things unfold...
Chapter 5
ZUO QUE STEALS WINE IN A TEMPLE
WHILE WIZARD JIA SWOONS
DOWNSTAIRS
Revenge piled up upon revenge, hate redressing hate
Until the whole avenging world is caught up in this
fate.
Please dear Prince do not so lightly take recrimination
That everyone on earth may know a peaceful
generation.
We have heard of how Zuo Que had left home complete
and returned a cripple due to Hunter Zhao's arrow. His left
leg shorter than the right, he staggered along in a tiring and
truly awkward way; how could this wrong ever go
unavenged?
"Sworn enemies should avoid each other" was Holy
Auntie's advice to her son. "You weren't careful and you
exposed a flaw," she continued, "and that's why you're
suffering this torture. Thank heaven that Dr Yan was fated to
save your life and that you only suffered the partial loss of a
leg, just a slight handicap. Think about it! Back in the
beginning of the Warring States period the strategist Sun
Bin was lame and so was Premier Lou Shide of the Tang.
And there's always 'Iron Staff' Li, who's one of the Immortals
of The Eight Caverns in the world of the spirits. My son, this
isn't worth the shame of mean vengeance!"
Then reminded of Yan Banxian she paused. and
remembering his words burst into tears of sadness.
"Mama", exclaimed the startled son, "I'll obey you and
forget about getting even, so what then is there to cry
over?" Holy Auntie collected herself and continued.
"Folks who get hold of the Way of Heaven and Earth can't
be harmed by either spirits or humans. On the other hand
creatures like us are without real Daoist craft. We can only
wear a shell of someone and fool the public with our false
humanity, and one day it's got to be that our number is up.
And then when we get to the bitter end there isn't going to
be any Yan Banxian to come along and save us, either!
Well, what I'm getting to is that Dr Yan said that your sister
is fated to meet with disaster, but he couldn't tell me any
more details." Accordingly she told him everything Yan
Banxian had told her in his study, until her children shivered
in their very bones with fear.
Now Holy Auntie and her pride left their earthen den and set
off in search of the Daoist craft. And the three could be
heard only discussing the problem of which path to take.
"There is only Bianzhou" said Que, "in Dongjing District,
that our Emperor has made the capital, Kaifeng. It's a
gilded world swarming with all the races of humanity, and all
sorts of Daoist immortals live there." His mother wasn't so
sure.
"I'm afraid that kind of luxury might tempt you," she
answered, "and cause all sorts of trouble. But I've heard
that in a region of Yingzhou District there's a beautiful
region with three rivers and seven marshes. Our ancestors
have passed down this saying about it: 'If you want to be a
king among Daoists you must go to Mianyang; if you want
to become a great sorcerer, go seek knowledge at
Yunmeng. Now, Yunmeng means 'Dream-of-the-Clouds,'
and it's the name of two vast mashes, a lake really. It's in
Mianyang, surrounded by a lot of mountains, and deep in
them is a certain White Cloud Cave where Daoist writings
are stored, and there's even a White Ape God to take care
of them. Now we are all predestined to become Daoists, as
Yan Banxian said we have a fate in Dao. So if we go there
we are bound to learn something!" Que was unmoved.
"The proverb may recommend that barren place," he
countered, "but I'd rather go somewhere a bit more
abundant. Dongjing is just the kind of place that's got
everything, and the teachers of all three Ways are all over
the place. And even if we don't learn any Daoist wizardry
there is still a lot of good eating and drinking and plenty of
sights to be seen!". His old mother was steadfast.
"That certainly isn't the way a young seeker of Dao should
talk!"she admonished.
"It's too far from here to Yingzhou!" exclaimed Mei,
breaking in. With big brother's leg crippled like that, how
many years would it take to get there? In my opinion we
should head for Yongxing. The four peaks of holy Mt Hua
are there, and so is the great Daoist teacher Chen Tuan.
Why, we could burn incense and worship the Lord of
Heaven and visit Wizard Chen too, and beg him some of
his Wulong Latent Sorcery. And there are the mountains:
Zhongnan, Taiyi, Shilou and Tianzhu, and they're all places
where the Fairies and Immortals get together. And it's really
close to Donjing and Kaifeng! When we get there we can
discuss the journey to Yingzhou; now isn't that really killing
two birds with one stone?"
Now her brother really liked what he heard. "What sis says
is right," he added. Under such urging Holy Auntie but
nodded her consent. So at this point Quezi, as he had
come to be called, changed into a country bumpkin and
Mei into a country lass, while the old vixen transformed
herself into a poor old woman; need I say more? Leaving
their den they set out on the road to Xijing. Now, this was in
the first fortnight of the second lunar month, when the
weather becomes warm and comfortable. Consider this:
Bobbing along in jeweled waves of green
Drooping willows frame the happy scene
While forest tints the distant mountain view
And tender peaches sparkle bright with dew.
Butterflies dance in sky so bright
While dragonflies on ponds alight.
Sky so bright as sun and showers
In their turn nourish the flowers.
Halcyon days for romps so long
Where dancing youth hold hands in song.
Most remarkably among this outing grand
Our drunken prancing foxes hand in hand.
Now, when Mei changed herself into a village girl she
became a bewitching beauty in the process. As for Que,
because his hobbled pace reduced him to half the speed of
others, well, he lagged far behind and what was more
couldn't go ten li without a rest; his sister and mother could
only move at his pace. And every time they came to a
resting place the village clanswomen would all crowd round,
every last Zhang and Li among them, young and old,
shouting out praises as they gathered for a look.
"How can such a poor old hag have such a fine daughter?"
they would ask.
"If she were willing to offer the girl as a bride someone sure
would offer a string of cash!" another would chime in.
"What's this cripple got to do with her?" someone would
invariably wonder, causing many more comments, such as
"The girl is certainly a protected bride to be, heh heh!"
"Let the buyer beware," said one sharp-tongued villager;
the taker might get more than he bargained for. The boy is
disgusting, and even though his sister is charming and
beautiful they both came out of the same hag's belly!" And
there were the frivolous village men who crowded around
elbow-to-elbow and badgered the girl with probing
questions. Now our Mei was already sophisticated and
experienced; she ignored them and nodded politely.
In time this all became irritating, so they picked only quiet
remote spots in which to rest; they had to cover fifty or sixty
li in a day. And as each of the trio was really a fox in spirit
they ate flowers and fruit when hungry and when thirsty they
drank at clear pure springs. At night they bedded down on
luxuriant grass in tall groves, and even if delayed for a few
days they weren't terribly troubled. It wasn't at all
bothersome, unlike the way human travelers can't go
anywhere without heavy expenditures. During the day they
downed bowls of watery gruel and at night they dined on
grassy fodder, and should the purses at their sides be
emptied of cash they had not a care of getting some. They
were indeed traveling "fox free."
Our threesome trundled along like this for several days, for
the most part delighted with the truly mild pleasant weather.
But suddenly one day there arose a strong wind and the sky
was obscured by a white curtain, and a spring snow fell for
an entire day. Now, to digress, snow has always had
several magical classifications, each known by a famous
name. A single-point snowflake is a "Little Bee", doublepointed flakes are called "Goosefeathers", a triple-point
snowflake is a "Bird-in-Hand", and a four pointer is known
as a "Quartet". Five-pointed snow is the "Meihua" or "Plum
Blossom" variety, while the ordinary six-pointed type is
simply known as just that. As snow is made up of
congealed Yin energy, this six-pointed type behaves
according to the laws of Yin transformations. And until the
beginning of spring it's mostly mixed Plum Blossom snow
that falls; at any rate there are no six-pointed flakes then.
Now, our Hu Que hobbled along haltingly on the best of
days, but upon meeting this kind of snow he found it
increasingly impossible even to move. He could only cry out
in pain and bitterness.
"This place," said the mother,"isn't far from Swordgate
Mountain. There's a monastary at that place where we can
rest. I can't say when we'll be able to press on." Then they
covered their heads with leaves as a sort of makeshift
farmer's hat to shield them from the elements. Que couldn't
help slipping so he lagged behind, struggling on and on.
And before they had gone another two hours they set their
eyes upon Swordgate Mountain, looming before them
throught the falling snow. Now, these great peaks had been
carved out by the legendary Wuding Lishi, the Five Bold
Men, who could move mountains and had assisted the King
of Shu in ancient Sichuan before their untimely death in an
avalanche, and there is indeed a Xijiangyue poem for
proof:
The Greater Sword thrusts up into a sky of jadeite blue
Two tow'ring peaks, the Lesser Swords, rise in the airy dew
God made the jagged Shaanxi range to cut off Qin from
Shu.
And even if you put on wings you simply couldn't get
through.
Then the Wuding Lishi cleaved a way
That tradesmen use to this very day.
But the King of Shu sent the Five Bold Men
Off to escort a maid from Qin
On that journey at a Sichuan cave
They found themselves a hero's grave
And the Gold Ox Road runs by that place
Where they disappeared without a trace.
Our weary travelers had not yet reached the mountain when
they suddenly spotted the top of a partially concealed red
wall poking through the trees of a grove just ahead of them.
"Wouldn't it be fine," said the old mother, "to rest here for
awhile?" Then the three pressed on with all of their strength,
and from the golden lettering on the signboard they saw
that they had come upon the "Tomb of Virtuous Bravery",
the final resting place of a king. Ahead were three portals,
and the vermillion doors in each were ajar. And when they
entered for a look, they saw to their right a fierce statue of a
soldier leading a scarlet hare and a fearsome rouge horse,
while on their left stood a stone monument; on both sides
were fenceposts. On a second level were the three
chambers of the main sacrificial hall, a place of
indescribable beauty where a vermillion chariot harness
was kept. In front of the alter on the right a large ceremonial
burner for money offerings was carved, while on the left was
built a well and pavillion surrounded on all sides by
vermillion fence-pikes, with only a small gateway and path
for fetching water.
"There must be a Daoist residing in this temple," said the
old woman, "but we better not bother him. It'll be fine to just
rest by this here well for a few hours." And so the trio tiredly
approached the well and clambored onto the base of the
pavillion. Peering inside, they saw an octagonally shaped
wellshaft of glazed tiles, with stone benches on either side
of its mouth. But alas, just as they sat down the snow began
to come down with uncanny heaviness.
"This kind of weather can really get to you," said Que, "and
it's surely not an omen of anything really good! We didn't
say or do anything to deserve it either. What was our sin,
that by seeking out a teacher somewhere we came to this
suffering today?"
"In the beginning," answered his mother, "the founder
Boddhidharma meditated for nine years before the wall,
wearing only vines and kneeling motionlessly. During that
time he suffered no one knows how much rain and snow,
but surprisingly in the end a house was built for him. This
here snow is just ordinary weather and there's no resaon for
you to be bitter about it."
Thereupon Holy Auntie had nothing more to say; they heard
only the sound of the great doors opening. And when Quezi
snuck a peek into the emptiness before him he saw
someone entering. The newcomer's head was wrapped in
a Tang turban and he wore a jacket of coarse cloth with
many patches, and around his waist was tied a yellow
chord that trailed down to his feet like a long worm. Now,
dear reader, do you care to guess who it was? Why, none
other than the guardian of the incense burner and old
resident Daoist priest, Wizard Nie. In one hand he held an
umbrella while in the other he carried a tassled earthen jar
capable of containing five or six jin of wine.
"Those under vows," he was mumbling, "taking wine as
seriously as their very lives...and to think, I had to walk all
the way to town to get this bloody piss, and in this kind of
snow. Well as God is my witness I'll make that fool drink up
til his belly aches." And as he spoke he set down both his
umbrella and the earthen jug, lifted the latch and propped
open the door.
"You know," Quezi thought, "I'm really cold, and it won't do
any harm to take a little nip of that wine!" Now usually our
Quezi was inclined toward lazy self-indulgence; it was in his
nature. But slow as he was in speech, this time he truly
moved with a corresponding degree of speed. Bolting from
the well he reached the jug in three or four steps, snatched
it up and quickly lifted its neck to his thirsty lips and poured
a long draught down into his gullet; indeed a long, long
"when friends come from afar" drink! Wizard Nie heard
something, turned around and caught sight of this all.
"Why, you thief!" he bellowed, "coming in here to steal this
wine after I froze walking all the way into town to buy it. And
on top of that, you've seen fit to make yourself right at
home!" Quezi set the jug down in a flash and tried to
escape but was caught, scolded to his face and knocked
for a loop by one blow of the old priest's palm. Then he
picked himself up and ran helter-skelter back to the well,
staggering crookedly on his bad leg. Now, old Nie hadn't
given up but hurrying to the well found the trio nestled
together.
The old mother rose at once. "Blessings," she proclaimed,
"we three were on our way to visit relatives in Xijing when
we encountered this snow, so we're just resting here for the
moment...this country bumpkin son of mine is such a
nincompoop; really, he didn't know what he was doing."
Wizard Nie then changed his fearsome countenance, still
longing inside to carry on with some more scolding. But
having caught a glimpse of the charming girl all wrapped up
and standing sheltered so quietly behind her mother, his
guts turned to water and he took his molten load of anger
and cast it all the way to Java, that land in the sea where
maidens squeal with pleasure!
"Your boy," he then said, quickly changing his manner of
speaking, "is slow to catch on. Why yes, pulling a dumb
trick like that he can't be too bright, that's for sure. But as
he's had quite a bit of this wine to drink I'm afraid that if our
Master inside asks, old mother, you'll have to make the
customary pledge of something; that's the way it is. Then
leaving the pavillion he returned to the front railing, picked
up and shook out his umbrella, took the wine flask and
walked toward the cellar of the east hall, laughing in secret
delight.
"That thirsty mouth of yours really got us into trouble,"
scolded the old mother, burying her anger into Que.
"Heaven sentenced you to a lifetime as a cripple, that's for
sure; even the fenceposts around this well if given a pair of
healthy legs could have could each have stolen some wine
and got away with it!" Mei laughed.
"The way you went over was worth a drink of wine in itself!"
she added. And at this point Que himself began to laugh.
"Although I got knocked onto my behind," he joked, "I'm a
lot warmer than you with all this wine in my belly!"
But as they laughed and joked the sound of footsteps was
heard from below, and in came a younger Daoist priest.
Now this temple had long had an old Wizard surnamed
Chen, with the Daoist title Kongshan, and although he
wasn't a day over seventy years of age he had developed
an inflammation of the lungs. All day he remained in his
room in solitude, eating and relieving himself their; he never
came out. But this younger Daoist was the Temple Master,
surnamed Jia, with the Wizard's title of Qingfeng, and he
was only twenty-four or five years of age at that. Although a
Daoist holy man, he had experienced quite a few worldly
concerns and loved drinking rose-petal wine. Now as this
Swordgate Mountain was a remote place he was hard
pressed to even set eyes upon a woman's face, to say
nothing of ever getting a chance to satisfy his enormous
desire. Having heard Wizard Nie speak of a charming
village lass sitting by the well, he didn't even bother about
the wine in the flask. He immediately went out in front of the
temple, treading hastily upon the snowy earth and finally
reached the well.
"Where is this family of yours from?" he asked.
"This old wife," answered Holy Auntie, "hails from the foot
of Goosegate Mountain, and there are only the three of us.
In our journey to sacrifice at the holy mountain of the west,
Huayue, we met this snow and broke in upon you like this.
A little while ago this idiot son of mine stole some wine to
drink but he's been beaten for it and I've been scolding him
til now, so please don't hit him again, his old mother begs
of you."
"That little affair" answered Wizard Jia graciously, "didn't
cause any harm; don't let it bother you." But his two eyes
rolling in their sockets peeked over at that foxy young maid
and his very soul took leave of his body. As for what this
means, here's a poem entitled "Park your Horse and
Listen":
All admire the village tart
Whose twin black braids are styled so smart
Born not too tall yet not too short
She's neither a plain nor fancy sort.
With lotus face and snow for skin
Not too plump and not too thin.
Perhaps she's but a wineseller
But should you meet one like her
You'd take her for a high class girl for sure
So restrained is she, so tastefully demure.
Wizard Jia collected himself and spoke again. "Having
gone out on such a terrible, snowy day," he consoled, "you
really must have suffered. You poor little girl..." At this point
Quezi leapt up.
"Hard as it was," he blurted out, "we'll be fine with a bit
more wine in our bellies!" The old woman glared angrily at
him and he was silent. The Wizard continued.
"This isn't exactly a comfortable place. It isn't bad by day
but at night the wind howls and it's unbearable. But behind
the temple there's a nice clean house where official guests
often stay when they come around. I'd like to invite you, old
mother, to go inside, get some warm coals glowing and dry
those wet clothes of yours."
"That won't be necessary," answered the little mother, "we'll
burrow in out here catching what sleep we can, and we'll be
on our way in the morning."
"On the contrary," insisted Wizard Jia, "this weather doesn't
appear likely to clear up anytime soon, and the mountain
roads here are really rough going. They'll be much muddier
than your usual ones long after the snow stops. We here
are really afraid of what danger you might put this little girl
in. Anyway, this temple is a public place, so if you agree to
stay for the next ten days how can we charge you rent? Just
for waiting for a bit of sunshine? Then you can be on your
way, no charges and no delay!"
The old woman accepted. "Many thanks, your Reverence,"
she said and apologized for having so rudely intruded.
Wizard Jia laughed.
"As for that, well, who can carry a house over them when
they travel? You aren't to blame. And it's long been said that
a favor to others is a favor to one's own self. If you want a
little snack I, your humble priest, will be glad to serve you,
lest you suspect we ignore our guests or allow them to go
without proper food or fire."
Quezi was delighted. "Mom," he fawned, "it's hard to find a
Daoist priest as perfectly kind as this man. Let's stay in that
house and instead of freezing we'll have some sweet
dreams at night."
The old mother looked at Mei. "How do you feel about it?",
she asked.
"I'll leave it up to you, Mother," she answered. Upon seeing
her willingness Wizard Jia was unimaginably pleased.
"I shall lead the way," he said softly and solemly, "just follow
me in."
And so the mother and children followed the Daoist down
from the east pavillion, around the main temple, on past the
assembly hall and through a passage beneath the kitchen.
They then arrived at the rear of the compound and saw two
newly-erected small dwellings with a few flowery trees
growing in the courtyard. After bowing, one at a time, they
were finally able to relax. The Wizard politely asked the
mother's surname, and she answered thoughtfully.
"Zuo, meaning left...this boy of mine was once named Zuo
Chu, but now that he's lost the use of a foot he's called Zuo
Que'r, and, uhh...my little girl is named Mei'r" she offered,
using diminutive forms of their names. Now the Wizard
knew full well that the surname also meant heterodox and
evil, but of course thought nothing of it and went on to
introduce himself.
"My surname is Jia, and I'm known around here as Jia
Qingfeng. Today we've all met unexpectedly and I'm sure it
was fated."
"If there is an old Master in charge of the house," requested
the mother, "please take us to meet him right away!"
"The Temple Master is old and sick," replied Jia, "and
hasn't received guests for a number of years. His quarters
are behind the little gate we've just passed, on the west end
behind the temple itself. For now only I am in charge."
"And your colleagues," asked the mother, "how many are
there?"
"Well," answered the Wizard, "there was also a young
disciple, but as his father passed away over the New Year
he went back to his home district and hasn't returned. The
priest who brought the wine is surnamed Nie and he too is
new here. An old man lives down below the kitchen; he also
minds the incense burner, helping Nie as rector and he
alone minds the fire and cooks our rice. That's all. Well, you
three are probably hungry after your journey. Something is
cooking right now and we can all eat our fill."
"We won't take it," answered the woman, "for we've brought
along our own provisions."
"Save them for the road" said the Wizard before dashing
wildly into the kitchen. He quickly fixed up some cold meat,
noodles and rice and ordered Wizard Nie to serve them up.
Then grabbing some dishes of dried fruit he he headed
back into the room.
What trouble you must have gone to!" exclaimed the old
woman. "The food here in the mountains is really enough to
make you laugh" answered the crafty chief priest. Then
Wizard Nie brought out a big kettle of wine and four
porcelain cups, placing them down as a set. Wizard Jia
picked up the cups and filled them to overflowing, all the
while talking. "Tonight," he told the old mother, "please
sleep between your children, with little brother on the left
and your girl on the right, and feel free to call for a lamp to
take the chill off of the night."
"Oh, do stay with us," entreated the old mother, "I beg of
you, oh great teacher!"
Well, Wizard Jia was pleasantly surprised.
"I'm afraid your girl would misunderstand!" he answered.
"There's no harm in sitting for a spell" she insisted.
"Very well then," replied the young Wizard, doing his best to
feign reluctance, "as you've commanded I'll do my best to
be your humble servant." He then put a stool down behind
Que'r and sat. Mei'r, ashamed and blushing, stood behind
her mother who then spoke.
"Now, if you'll only sit down too we'll be able to enjoy this
priest's hospitality at ease," and Mei'r too was finally
seated.
Now, when she was standing it had been bad enough. But
once she sat under the indirect but very intense eye of the
Wizard she seemed to him more supernaturally beautiful
than ever before. His very Hun and Pou essences, the
constituent parts of his soul, took leave of his body. And
sure enough here's a poem for proof called "Little Yellow
Oriole":
Glanced at so discreetly in temptation
Bewitching beauty brings a man frustration.
Giggling she returns that furtive peek
Her youthful body like a leopard sleek.
Whether opened by love or not a mystery
But one should still consider carefully.
Do her waspish waist and her secrets rate
The loss of the soul if not one's very fate?
The old woman then ordered Que'r to pour another cup of
wine and proposed a return toast to the Wizard. Then they
enjoyed quite a few rounds while sitting there and chatting.
Suddenly, who should appear but Wizard Nie, the older but
lower ranking priest. Ever so neatly sporting a new hat and
with a clean white scarf around his neck and over his
shoulders he came downstairs with yet another pot of drink.
"More hot wine is here," he announced, "drink your fill... and
if you get hungry there's food in the kitchen!"
"We're already stuffed," said the old woman, while Wizard
Jia, ruffled by the newcomer, emptied the leftover wine from
the old kettle, filled a large porcelain flask with the fresh
brew and struck a small flame. He then took the kettle in
hand, heated it and placed it on the table, and ordered Nie
to take the empty pot back to the kitchen, scolding him for
being such an eyesore. Of course he meant only for Nie to
get out and stay out! Now, who could imagine that this
Wizard Nie, although not terribly advanced in years himself,
was pretty worldly in his own right, for he had once been a
catamite in an official's home in Jianzhou. After he had
stolen a slave girl's favors his master beat him half to death
and threw him out on his ears. His deceased father Nie
Laoer had been a close friend of this temple's old Rector.
This keeper of the incense burner then pleaded with the
chief Wizard on Nie's behalf and he was given a position
there. But his old nature was still with him, and having seen
this palpitating flower of a maiden how could he not go
forward to try and take her? All stared as one at the
countenance of this rascal who wouldn't leave and stood
stubbornly behind Jia Qingfeng, who in turn forgot their
friendship and only stared icely ahead. The impass lasted
for awhile, until the old woman got up.
"We're filled with joy from your wine and hospitality"
proclaimed the mother, "and it's getting late so let's call it
quits for tonight!" But by now Wizard Jia, still peeking at Hu
Mei'r, was truly taking leave of his senses. Upon hearing
the words "call it quits" he sputtered "let's have another
round!" Alas, when he hurriedly fumbled for the pot to serve
some more wine he found that unknownst to all it had been
drained bone-dry by Quezi, whose mind had all along been
set on just this one purpose. At that point the mother and
children bowed and expressed their gratitude and the
Wizard reciprocated with a ceremonious wave and some
fitting words. Then all eyes were on Assistant Wizard Nie,
still standing there like an imbecile holding an empty
winepot in his hands.
"How long have you been here?" asked Wizard Jia, wryly.
"Since I arrived!" was Nie's sharp answer. Anger now
arose in Jia Qingfeng's belly but he couldn't reveal it. So
swallowing his rage he ordered Nie to quickly clean up, and
turned toward the old mother.
"These two rooms," he explained, "were built last spring by
my own hands. Though hidden away and tiny they are
indeed serene. In fact they are retreat rooms, and my
colleagues have never been in them." He continued:
"Because I'm concerned about your daughter's security and
convenience I'm going to open them for you."
The old mother was moved: "How much of your loving
kindness we've received! How can we ever repay you?"
The Wizard went on.
"There's a hammock in the chamber upstairs and a small
wooden bed too. Feel free to use them as you please." And
pointing to a small passageway over the courtyard he
added: "There is my humble nest; if you should be short of
any old thing whatsoever, just give a little whistle and it's
yours in a wink!"
Now, our old mother was overcome with relief at seeing so
kind and diligent a host.
"Reverend," she half whispered, "how kind of you to
consider our welfare like this. Someday we'll repay you in
full."
And so the Wizard went out for awhile; after scrounging
around frantically he found a lantern and placed it on the
table. "Now I'll be able to invite the three for dinner," he
thought while boiling some lentils. And he ordered Nie to
borrow a basin from the temple Master's room and place it
upstairs, just in case the two women needed to relieve
themselves during the night. Wizard Jia had a maternal
aunt over fifty, a nun at the Fujiang Rapids Convent not far
from Swordgate Mountain. Every few months she visited
him for a day or two and was again on her way; each time
she borrowed the same basin for her toilet, so he had no
doubts about his present guests. Now indeed Jia Qingfeng
was thoroughly aware that Wizard Nie might be up to some
tricks of his own and kept his eye on him until Nie was
downstairs.
"It's hard to find a holy man this diligent and careful" said
the woman; "he's suffering on account of us. Tomorrow,"
she continued, "if there's a break in the snow let's get out of
here and who cares if the roads are slippery? Why, even
the spare time and most humble possesions of monks and
nuns are priceless. How dare we go on imposing like this?"
Quezi disagreed. "Well," he said, "we've had the nerve to
intrude on him, so why not put on a humble face and tough it
out for a few more days? We might just as well wait here for
patiently for a clear dry spell. If we run away and have to turn
back because of the weather they'll sure have a laugh! Go
ahead if you like but I'll wait here. You'll be back!"
Mei'r laughed. "Elder brother's drunk so much that now he
can't tear himself away!"
Quezi was indignant. "Ordinarily," he snapped back "I can
never keep up with your blazing pace no matter how I try,
and that road up Swordgate is really steep and hard. It's
downright foolish to try and pull off something like this with
so little preparation. What I'm saying is that I'd like us to
take a little more time to think things over; if we can, we go,
and if can't we stay. And you say I'm only a drunkard, as if I
want to stay here and enjoy a cold food feast every morning
and a nightly Yuanxiao festival! Why, this Wizard is only
being polite to new guests, and who can say how long he'll
be so hospitable? But then I'm supposed to be drunk so I'm
shutting my mouth.."
Mei'r answered back as if stung.
"Gosh," she exclaimed, "I was only kidding. I know you're
only telling it like it is!"
"You two stop your bickering," said the mother; "come
daylight I've got a plan."
At this point Quezi wandered off, and having indulged his
desire for drink he lay down upon his bed and nodded
away. And for her part the old woman, lantern in hand,
retired upstairs with Mei'r.
Wizard Jia was now alone in his room. "To think that
Heaven," he mused, "has produced such a beauty; why, if
she'd marry me I'd forsake my vows!" And he pondered
onward: "Hmmm, at first she detested me like the plague,
but by and by she's really warmed up. Now, if Heaven only
allows a few more days of heavy snowfall, with drifts so high
that they'll have to stay a bit longer...she'll be caught up, all
right. And if by chance they can't go, I'll once more share
their follies and hardships and when I get the chance I'll
hook her. For the human heart is only flesh; could its ways
really be irrevocable? Besides, her mom's a poor old
woman and Quezi only craves drink; these aren't very
serious problems."
And so Wizard Jia, tossing and turning, wracked his brains
all night so that the dark curtains of sleep never closed
around his imagination. And if this weren't all strange
enough, who would have dreamt that our very own Wizard
Nie was also driving himself crazy with the most one-sided
sort of raving mad infatuation and desire; he was truly lost
in love. Clearly he was like a hideous, slimey toad craving
to know the flesh of a regal white crane. How could he ever
hope to get a taste, this pleasure boy with grizzled face! It's
really like this:
Our worldly Wizards toss and turn in pain
They long for fleshy clouds and salty rain.
Swordgate's not the Witch's Mount of old
Where Chu's King Xian dreamt of a maiden bold
And wrong they are to think this foxy lass
That girl of the rainy, cloudy Gao Tang Pass!
Chapter 6
THE YOUNG FOX-LASS OUTWITS THE
WIZARDS
WHILE HOLY AUNTIE MEETS THE DEVIL
QUEEN IN A DREAM
Desire has always been the flame that leads mankind
astray
It's rooted in the flames that sear our bodies night and
day.
If someone's sword of wisdom could cut short this
fiery rod
He'd be not sage nor Buddha but in fact would then be
God!
Now it is said that Chief Daoist Wizard Jia Qingfeng sought
to court Hu Mei'r, that he was loosing his senses over this
infatuation and that he had just spent an entire night without
sleep.
This having been the case, he left his bed before sunrise,
opened the door and stealthily tiptoed downstairs for a
look. He saw only Quezi snoring away on the bed; upstairs
he could hear no activity at all. Returning to his room he
was unable to sit for long and paced the floor nervously,
four or five times, truly like an ant on the lid of a hot kettle
with nowhere to escape.
Climbing down to the kitchen he called out for the old
Incense Keeper to come and heat some water for washing
and make some breakfast. Now in this monastary there
was a solitary rooster to crow the dawn; the unfortunate bird
was shortly to be slaughtered and prepared for the table.
Wizard Nie knew exactly what was on Jia Qingfeng's mind
so he was busily setting everything up. And for his part the
old Incense Keeper was off in dreamland.
"Amitofo," he muttered unconsciously, "can't you make that
bird cry out a bit later for once?"
Wizard Nie heard his prayer and chuckled.
"Esteemed Teacher had better learn to get up by himself"
he joked, "'cause from today we're not using a rooster
anymore!"
Meanwhile the old woman and Mei'r were both conspiring
together upstairs.
"We haven't covered much ground in all the time we've
been out," one could be heard whispering, "and it's all
because of that Quezi of ours dragging his bum leg along
that we couldn't move any faster. Why, this Daoist is so
kind, why not let Quezi become his young disciple to live
here in his care while we go on ourselves? Then if and
when we find a real teacher and a place to call home we'll
be able to come back and fetch him at once."
At daybreak they called Quezi upstairs and informed him of
the plan. Now, our Limping Lefty had been truly afraid of
walking so he was immeasurably happy; he felt like a
condemned man just handed an official reprieve! But just
as the trio had reached agreement they heard the sound of
coughing from downstairs; indeed it was from Wizard Jia.
"Has Auntie gotten up yet?" he shouted up the stairs; "I've
instructed a the priest to bring up some washwater."
"I'm up," answered the old mother, "I'll have Que go down
and fetch it." Now Que started down for the water but
before he could hobble down four or five steps Wizard Nie
had brought it up to meet him. Quezi snatched the bucket
and took it back to the room; they then washed up and
groomed in good time. Then Jia Qingfeng came up to pay
his humble respects.
"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.
"Yes" she gratefully answered, "all thanks to you."
At this time he noticed Hu Mei's appearance, charm and
bearing; there was something even more striking than the
day before. It was the light on her face! For heavy snow had
indeed fallen in accord with his wishes, and outside the
crested drifts were adorned with veils of windborn, icey
crystals against the bluest sky, beneath of which all was a
brilliant white with fine drifting snow swirling over the glazed
and frozen dunes. And the windowlight from this wondrous
scene only enhanced her unspeakable charm. She was
truly like an angel from the legendary Taoyuan Cave, or a
beauty from the harem of Doushuaitian, that high Buddhist
Heaven. Now our Wizard only stared but there was no
scratching his itch, much as he wanted to know her in a
flash, like swallowing a cupful of water!
"How old is your mother," he asked, collecting his senses,
"and in what year of her radiant beauty is the young
maiden?"
"I'm all of sixty years old," answered the mother, "and my
girl is fully eighteen."
The Wizard was curious: "Was she born when you were
past forty-two?" he asked.
"Precisely," answered the woman.
"And about this brother of hers, how old is he?" continued
Jia. "How did he lose the use of a leg?"
The mother paused. "That roughneck," she answered, "is in
his twenty-third year; the leg was broken in a play accident
when he was a child. We've been unable to get very far on
this journey because of his handicap; he's always been
lagging behind."
"The snow really came down last night," said the Wizard.
"It'll take four or five days for it to melt away, then it should
be all right to travel, eh? And especially as things aren't so
easy with the young man along, it won't hurt to stay on here
a few more days, will it?"
The mother looked down. "I don't know whether or not to tell
you this, but..."
The Daoist cut her short: "If you've got something to say, by
all means speak!"
The mother continued: "I, your unworthy old guest, am a
widow and my late husband was a Daoist, in fact a flame
and cinnabar man like yourself, only his alchemical skills
weren't so distinguished. This coarse young man of mine
may seem loathesome but he's got a mighty fine fate in
Dao awaiting him. Just last year a teacher of Original
Nature Dao, who could perform Mayi facial reading, said
that Quezi appeared inclined to enter the Craft. He actually
wanted my boy to be his disciple but I wouldn't hear of it.
But now, seeing a high Daoist priest so kind and loving I
have a mind to order my son to take the vows of a disciple,
to kneel and serve, prepare incense and clean up or any
old thing you might desire. But I don't know," she added,
"how long you could stand him..."
Now as our Wizard Jia was bent on seducing the Fox-spirit
lass he wasn't exactly being sensible. In fact he was now
confusing strangers with blood relatives and betraying his
family's highest secrets, so to speak.
"Receiving your young son as a novice Daoist will be such
a joy!" he accordingly answered. "But I myself, your humble
priest, have somthing to say of my own that you may be
surprised to hear. You see, since childhood, when my own
parents both left this world, I haven't had any kin to look
after me. Now if you don't find the idea too revolting I'd like
to take thee, old woman, as my stepmother."
"How can such an honor befit an old hag like me?"
answered the astonished mother.
The next moments passed in a silence of mutual
humbleness. Then Jia Qingfeng gave his vows of filiality,
four times to our old mother; the young Quezi in turn bowed
and clasped his hands toward the Wizard, likewise vowing
four times. From then on he called Jia "shifu", meaning
"esteemed teacher," and the old woman, who all along was
of course the ancient fox Holy Auntie, was stepmother of
the Wizard. Then Wizard Jia and Hu Mei'r exchanged
glances.
"From this moment forth," they each vowed, "we are as
elder brother and younger sister."
At this point the old Daoist Nie had just finished cooking up
the poor rooster and divided the meat and broth. And he'd
also prepared a vegetarian chicken course, which, together
with the chicken, he brought downstairs for the breakfast
service. Then Wizard Jia, with the old mother, Mei'r and
Quezi seated themselves according to the rank and age of
their new family. And because Quezi was now a disciple,
he offered the head of the table to Wizard Jia.
"There's nowhere to shop on such snowy days," he said,
"but I've had our assistant get hold of a chicken somehow. I
hope that mother and little sister partake of it as they like!"
This said, they hungrily descended upon the contents of the
bowls, each picking out certain choice morsels and
energetically ladeling them up.
"This old woman," said the embarrased mother, "and her
little girl are both on a vegetarian fast. I'm sorry that this
moron of mine, a novice priest no less, is eating so much
meat. And after all the trouble you've gone to; I just don't
know what to say..."
"How strange," answered Jia, "your daughter's so young,
why should she be a vegetarian?"
"She's been one since birth" answered the mother.
"When she get's married someday that'll be really
inconvenient" said Wizard Jia.
"What?" said the mother, indignantly; "Marry? Who's she
going to marry?" She's a future nun awaiting her vows; why,
she can't wait for the day when her head will be shaved and
she'll enter a monastery!"
Wizard Jia was struck by a happy thought: "This is yet
another fortunate coincidence," he mused. He then spoke.
"There's nothing wrong with taking vows; the problem is
rather with youngsters who scorn the faith and do evil. Now,
I your stepson have got an aunt who is a nun, residing at a
most pristine convent. Oh Mother, if our girl is willing to
leave the worldly life and study Dao, she should go there
immediately and begin her cultivation. Why, it's only forty li
from here, where Brother will be in this monastery. You'll
both be close enough to take care of each other without a
moment's worry."
"Oh, how wonderful this is!" exclaimed the woman; "But my
daughter has already resolved to sacrifice to the Lord of
Heaven at the Holy Peak of the West, Mt Hua, so she must
go there. I, your old mother, must accompany her on the
pilgrimage, so upon our return we'll discuss this again."
"Suit yourself" said the Wizard, nodding agreeably, "it
sounds fine to me."
Now after breakfast the old mother saw this Wizard in a
new light, with the tender feeling of a flesh-and-blood family
member. Moreover she no longer felt like leaving so
quickly. Wizard Jia took off his Daoist priest's robe,still in
fair condition, and gave it to Quezi to wear. He then issued
a pronouncement to the local faithful that the young novice
priest was to be known, henceforth, as Que Shi, or,
Limping Teacher. And what was more the Wizard gave him
an empty cubicle next to his own quarters as a
bedchamber, had a carpenter fix things up and install some
windows and even placed Quezi in charge of supervising
the job. Now he would no longer have to sleep downstairs,
while Jia Qingfeng could could prepare tea and cakes for
his stepmother and stepsister and entertain them in his
room.
Now let's take a little break from the story and cast a
curious eye over to our little foxy sister. For it had been Hu
Mei's light laughter that drove Wizard Jia out of his mind,
and here's a poem for proof:
Her full seductive power was behind that little laugh,
Our priest went blind and lost his soul and made a mighty
gaff.
He thought himself companion to the nymph of Taoyuan
pool
And forgetting he was Wizard he became a fox's fool.
Now Wizard Jia devoted himself heart and soul to caring
for his brother and sister and he stuck like glue to Hu Mei'r,
following her everywhere. And because the two of them
came to exchange intimate eye contact the Wizard
presumed that his feelings were mutual. After a few more
hours nature took its course and they began to get more
physical about it, lightly at first, touching about the hands
and feet. But they couldn't really go at it because of the old
mother's presence. Wizard Jia was as frustrated as a
seagull stranded on a sandbar with a broken leg, tempted
by a delicious fish in the water!
It had gone on like this for three days when the sky finally
cleared and the old mother started to say her farewells.
Now the Wizard truly spent the day in distress; though he
tried to dissuade her, in the the end he could only consent.
He then went back to his room and brooded ever so sadly.
"Why," he thought, "there's only today left; if I don't get a
hold of her what a waste of effort this will have all been!"
And he paced back and forth knitting his brows and
wracking his brains for all of three hours. Suddenly he
broke into laughter.
"Hah!" he exclaimed, "I've got it! Reaching into a wicker
trunk he dug out a couple of strips of green native cloth and
ran downstairs shouting.
"Mother! Sister!" he cried out. "I don't know how long it'll be
before you return, so I'm taking these here two pieces of
cloth I've picked out and having garments made for each of
you to wear on your journey and remember me by! I've
already called a tailor to come and do everything tomorrow,
and you'll go the day after!"
The mother was delighted. "More and more gifts," she
bubbled, "such awesome generosity!" And she had Mei'r
thank him, too. Now Jia whirled around and was gone in a
flash, off to tell Wizard Nie to call a tailor from town to come
at daybreak on the morrow and and make the clothes; the
older man grudgingly nodded and left.
Now, one important aspect of this can't be overlookeded:
when it came to lewdness and lechery, Wizard Nie played
second fiddle to no man, certainly not to Jia Qingfeng.
However, because he'd seen his superior fidgeting so in
frustration and as he himself was unendowed with any great
mental power, he could only observe the girl daily in the
hope of discovering some new angle, some weakness on
her part. This time, off on his journey to the tailor, he
decided to keep a detached eye upon things and await
such an opportunity in future developments...but getting
back to our story!
Wizard Jia spent another sleepless night tossing and
turning; at dawn he had Nie bring the tailor at once. In a
short while Wizard Nie announced the seamster's arrival in
the main study hall. Now Jia Qingfeng flew upstairs and told
mother to come out with the bolts of cloth.
"You'd better be around so this country tailor can get your
measurements, and you'd better watch while he cuts away,
too, just in case..." he said. Cloth in hand she followed the
Daoist downstairs. Once in the study, Jia wheeled on a foot
and bolted away from the mother, back to find Hu Mei'r
alone there, and he approached her at last.
"Oh, sis!" he began boldly, "We've held back in caution for
so long, waiting for this opportunity! Come to me quickly
and save me from this torture...quickly!" he pleaded
desperately.
Hu Mei'r responded warmly but nervously.
"Why, it's broad daylight. I'm scared to death that someone
will discover us; you know that wouldn't do! Why, Mother
could barge in on us!"
The Wizard tried to soothe her fears: "Your mom's in
another room cutting the cloth, so we still have a good
chance. Let's make the best of our time together! Come to
big brother, sis!" he moaned; "I want you more than
anything else in the world! Please, don't be difficult..." And
placing his face to hers ever so softly he kissed her fully
upon her compliantly opening mouth and she responded
with a darting, pointed tongue.
"Dear brother," she told him, "I want to, oh, how I want to! I
have feelings too, you know; I don't know how I've been able
to stand it all this time...but no, not during the day! Tonight,
when Mom's asleep I'll sneak down and come to you ever
so quietly, and we'll come together as man and woman
right on this bed! I won't fail your trust, you have my word!"
Wizard Jia plunged to his knees in gratitude.
"Oh Sister, if we can really be together I'll never forget your
loving kindness." And he knocked his head reverently upon
the cold, hard floor.
And so it was set; there was no more said. Let me now
describe what happened next. For one thing the old
Incense Keeper cried out: "Esteemed Teacher Jia! The old
woman wants you up front to have a look at the designs!"
Wizard Jia nodded and turned to leave.
"You mustn't forget what you've just said!" he told Mei'r in
parting, and went to the study to inspect the new clothes.
Now, all this time there was nothing to stop Daoist Nie from
carrying a washbasin upstairs right over the rendezvous,
from hearing Wizard Jia's voice and from tiptoeing over to
the staircase and eavesdropping. And although the two
hadn't spoken out so loudly he surely got the drift of things
and the sensual possibilities swam before his eyes; he
could more or less imagine that they had made plans for a
liaison. So he waited for Jia to leave and then fairly flew
downstairs, and clasping Hu Mei's with his own then
confronted her with his discovery.
"I know," he whispered urgently, "that there's something
going on between you and Teacher but I promise not to
betray you. I only beg you grant me the favor due a first-born
son! For ever since I first laid eyes on you I've thanked
Heaven for having matched me with a girl like you!" Now Hu
Mei was delighted and truly moved in her heart and soul,
and even felt a tingle down inside; she raised her eyebrows
in delight.
"Let go," she whispered, "it'll be embarrassing if we're
spotted although I enjoy being held by you, I must admit!"
Daoist Nie released her hands.
"How will you come to me?" he asked.
"A moment ago," answered Mei'r, "Teacher bothered me
so much that I had to promise to go to him just to get him to
stop. I told him to leave his door open and that I would see
him in his room after midnight, and I'm bound by my word.
So tonight just wait until he retires to his room, then sneak
downstairs and wait in the empty bed. I'll first come down to
you and we'll settle our accounts, then I'll go up to see him.
Won't that be fine?"
Nie kowtowed and thanked her: "If you really do this, my
dear girl, may Lord Buddha bless and keep you forever!"
And having so spoken he was up and gone, but Mei'r
laughed to herself.
"I'll tease them a little and enjoy the fun," she chortled,
"much as I'd like to take them both in bed, if word leaked
out Mom and Que and I would be finished. I'll see to it that
things get fouled up tonight!"
After the old mother finished supervising the tailoring of the
new outfits she called Quezi down and informed him that
she and Mei'r would be departing on the morrow. She then
told him to study diligently and behave himself in her
absence and to abstain from drink, lest he be punished
upon her return. And while Wizard Jia prepared dinner, two
tailors presented presented the finished garments to
mother and daughter. Wizard Jia took advantage of the
occasion to ask the mother about leaving a bit later the
following morning to allow for a hearty breakfast, an offer
that the women declined.
After dinner Wizard Jia returned to his room and nervously
anticipated the coming rendezvous. He lifted a teapot of
fine spirits and drank alone until somewhat flushed, then
nodded off on his couch, no doubt hoping to build up his
vital forces for the liason. As for Nie he cleaned up and took
a break, sat down under a plantain in the courtyard and
waited. From this vantage he could see the comings and
goings of the entire compound. Wizard Jia had already
closed his door; the mother and daughter had gone
upstairs. So he quietly tiptoed to the downstairs bed and
took a little nap, waiting for some news from upstairs and
he lay this way in anticipation for about half an hour, finally
nodding off.
Now, Wizard Jia at this point awoke with a start from his
drunken sleep. Having lost track of time he was only afraid
that he had missed the rendezvous, for he hadn't opened
the door. Deciding to have a discreet look round, he
hurriedly applied his hands to the latch and opened the
door ever so gingerly. Then he walked stealthily out, his
arms extended for balance and his legs slinking out in long,
sneaky strides on the balls of his feet, like a stork. When he
reached the summer bed downstairs he groped forth to feel
for its surface. He knew at once that someone was asleep
on it and was delighted.
"Why sure enough," he thought, "this difficult little lover of
mine has some desire for me after all. Why, she's been
here waiting!" Then he quickly threw off his slippers and lay
down next to his love.
Now, feeling a newcomer's presence Wizard Nie suddenly
awakened and of course he too thought that Mei'r hadn't
failed him. So the two of them, throbbing with desire, lay in
the dark without speaking. Then, embracing each other
they began with a passionate kiss.
"Who the hell are you?" asked Jia in puzzled disgust. Nie
recognized his master's voice at once.
"Esteemed Teacher," he answered sheepishly, "it's me."
And Jia Qingfeng knew, of course, just who "me" was!
"Perhaps," he thought, "the thieving scum's heard some
rumors and decided to wreck my fun this way!"
Nonetheless each got up from the bed in silent
embarrassment and went off to his own quarters to sleep.
Clearly, this had all been a nightmare for Wizard Jia; he
simply could not believe what had just happened. In due
course, however, he tossed aside his desire for Hu Mei
and sought refuge in sleep.
Come daybreak everyone arose from slumber and went to
breakfast. At the table Wizard Jia looked at Assistant
Wizard Nie and giggled like a schoolboy. Nie returned his
glance and a sheepish laugh, and Hu Mei'r looked at both
of them with a little chuckle of delight. It's like this:
Without a word they come together
As folks say, birds of a feather...
Although Jia Qingfeng had been disappointed, he
remained hopeful of yet having a liaison with Mei'r upon her
return from the pilgrimage to the holy peak of the west, Mt
Hua. And so he ordered Nie to prepare wine and
provisions for the ladies. They then fetched up and put on
their coats, gathered up their belongings and rose to bid
farewell. They told Quezi in parting to be patient.
"I know what I have to do," he answered. Then Wizard Jia
and Quezi escorted mother and daughter out the gate of
the monastery, the old woman thanking everyone
repeatedly.
"Upon your return," said the Wizard, "you must come back
to the temple to see me. Tomorrow I'll send a letter of
introduction to my Aunt over at that nunnery by Fujiang
Rapids. If you still want to enter cultivation of purity and
original goodness there's no better place." And to Mei'r he
added: "Take care of yourself; we'll meet again someday."
Then his eyes became red and swollen with tears and he
was wracked with sobs and, ashamed, ran off with his
hands over his face. Mei'r was truly moved and saddened.
Now, dear reader, do not forget this point: none other than
Zuo Chu himself has just become a novice Daoist priest in
the Guanwang Monastery at the foot of Swordgate
Mountain!
To get on with our story, mother and daughter left the
monastery and headed for Swordgate Pass; Quezi not
being along they made good time. They were confronting
steep terrain, ever rising higher and higher, and dusk was
falling when they spotted a small grove on a distant slope,
roughly ten li ahead. "Mei'r," said the mother, "let's spend
the night in those woods; we aren't far from the holy peak
now." The two women hadn't taken many more steps when
suddenly they met a fierce black squall; against its fury they
could only close their eyes. Indeed they couldn't stand, so
great was the gale. It was really like this:
Without a shadow, lacking form, an icey skeleton
Coming, going, suddenly appears to have a skin.
If the Devil Queen should lash the corridors of Hell
Her voice could certainly be heard on Swordgate Mount as
well!
After the first gusts subsided two burly warriors came forth,
chests thrust out and shoulders back and announced: "The
Queen of Heaven has decreed that Holy Auntie appear at
the Imperial Audience!"
The old woman was astounded. "Who is this 'Queen of
Heaven'," she asked.
"None other than the Holy Mother, Empress Wu Zetian of
the Tang Dynasty!" answered a warrior.
"But it's been centuries since Empress Wu left the world,"
said the woman, "how can it be that she's still with us?
Anyway we've never met; what could she want from me of
all folks?"
"Our Empress and you," answered one of the men, "share
a common fate and you are destined to meet her, so
please cooperate with us." He continued: "She has known
your whereabouts all along, Holy Auntie, and that you would
pass by here!"
Now, the old woman wasn't at all afraid and had no desire
to escape, though the soldiers had in fact seized her and
she couldn't have gotten away if she had wanted to. When
she could once again move freely she found herself
suspended in midair, and in less than an hour was
transported to a place where ancient trees touched the sky,
where vines hung as far as the eye could see, where a cool
breeze blew and the dark smell of night was all-pervading.
Passing a pair of stone tablets she saw the outline of an
audience hall. The original two warriors were nowhere to be
seen; instead there were now two girl slaves from the
harem carrying purple Chinese lanterns. They came
forward to welcome her, saying: "The Empress has been
waiting for awhile now."
When the old woman entered the audience hall she saw
only an incense altar with the design of a swirling dragon
and nobody in there. "Wait here for a moment, Holy Auntie,"
said one of the slaves.
After a short while her two escorts reappeared,
announcing: "The Queen of Heaven has decreed it; let it be
done! Holy Auntie, please come to the rear chamber for the
Imperial Audience."
And so the old mother followed the slaves in, to see a high
curtain of beaded pearls sparkling brilliantly in the
lamplight. The Empress sat upon a throne in the center,
between vermillion pillars and under a purple ceiling; on
either side of her were woman officials clad in purple and
wearing veils, and they ordered Holy Aunty to kowtow. She
performed the knockings and kneelings reverently, then
stood at attention. The Empress Wu thereupon granted her
permission to sit.
"How dare I show such disrespect to your Majesty,"
answered the old woman fearfully.
"There's no need for such humility," answered the Empress.
"Today's meeting is no coincidence; the Throne wishes to
discuss a matter of Fate with you, my servant, in fine detail.
How can we do justice to this topic with you standing
throughout?" The Empress then called for a cushion and
passed it to her guest.
"Those awful brutes in the meadow," said the woman,
"didn't tell me anything about thy intentions, my Empress!"
"My minister," began the Empress, you mustn't feel
ashamed of not being human. For you are indeed a person
posessed by a fox, while I am a fox residing in a person.
Reading that manifesto of Prince Luo's still makes me
tremble with fear! I, the Exhalted One, am truly ashamed to
receive you, my minister, under these circumstances." And
she chanted the following poem:
I was the Queen of a Hundred Flowers
Above all men I held the powers.
I stole the Throne and I stole the State
On a soaring dragon I rode my Fate.
My rise was just and orthodox
I never played the charming fox.
And oh, how strict was the nation's law
That men of letters shook with awe.
In their mirrors lay the blame
And in their own reflections, shame.
"Oh," she continued, "how I'd once valued the talents of Luo
Binwang. When they presented the heads of the rebels I
asked if his was among them, for I couldn't bear to look.
Little did I know that his head was another's and that he had
escaped dressed as a monk. All bad officials who have
ever hoodwinked an Emperor have been like him!
Outsiders accuse me to this very day of excess cruelty, but I
think that the killings were justified in the public interest!"
Her face then turned pensive and sad. "In the end," she
added ruefully, "Luo became a bonze, redeemed himself
and went to Heaven, while I remain bottled up in this cold
darkness. Who would have ever thought that our world of
the Tang would end at the hands of that Huang Chao and
that my decaying bones would be repeatedly desecrated
and my tomb looted. So today, I, the Exhalted One, can only
wear the few crumbling trinkets that remain of my jade
girdle as I meet you."
And sure enough, when the woman looked she saw that the
crown atop the Empress's head had neither diamonds nor
other gems and that her gown was unadorned.
"Huang Chao and the vandals must have been terrible, why
didn't you forbid their trespasses with your supernatural
powers?" she asked.
The Empress Wu continued: "When my worldy Fate was
over Heaven sent me back to rule as the Devil Queen. Now,
I was a child of the early Tang while Huang Chao was born
at the end of our epoch. Mortal men and women are
different according to their times but we spirits are the
same throughout the ages. When I was Empress Wu on
earth, the time when anyone could take the throne had
obviously arrived. So how could I prevent that salt merchant
Huang Chao from doing exactly that? Fair's fair, after all!"
"I've heard," said the old woman, "that during your reign you
patronized the casting of holy icons and statues, had
pagodas and temples built and supported them throughout
the land, and that your good works on behalf of Buddhism
were truly glorious. So why are you being kept here in the
cold dark reaches of eternal night?"
"Ordinary mortals," answered the Queen, "first purify their
souls and then receive the grace to begin good works and
and to cultivate blessings. In my life I was impure of heart
and I cultivated devilish ways. I enjoyed all the benefits of
womanhood, yet I secretly harbored great resentment at not
having been a man; my prayers and flattery to Lord Buddha
were all due to this. So today my desired Fate has come to
pass, and by the grace of God I've become a man in body!"
The woman was puzzled. "Has your majesty," she asked,
"been reincarnated with honor, riches and power as of
old?"
The Queen spoke: "Now that I've become a devil in
accordance with the way of Fate, I must remain on the path
of a devil's life. If I had no special privileges and powers,
how could I ever perform my magic? Although I was
originally born a woman I have nonetheless become
Emperor. Why not become a man while I'm at it? Now, your
daughter Mei'r is secretly fated to be an Imperial
Concubine," continued the ghostly sovereign to the
astonished old mother; "she's already entrusted to my
Prince Chongxiao, so don't worry."
"So," exclaimed the mother, "you've become a man under
that gown and again usurped a throne! And now, having
lost your palaces, pleasure halls and handsome satyrs of
old you've decided to take a woman of the spirits as your
own..."
"There are many things," responded the Queen, "that you ,
my servant, do not know. In her previous life, Mei'r was
Zhang Liulang, a man with the bearing and grace of a lotus
blossom. I, the Exhalted One had such deep feeling for him
that I made him a pledge, swearing that we would be
husband and wife forever, throughout all subsquent lives.
Unfortunately we were seperated by the course of events
and have been truly star-crossed lovers down to this very
day. But now I've become a man, so he can come back to
me as my Queen. We're predestined to remain together
like a pair of mandarin ducks; isn't it truly touching? I, your
Sovereign, shall now set out for present-day Hebei
Province and I shall meet you there in twenty-eight years, in
the district of Beizhou. Please, my servant, polish up your
sorcery in order to best serve me!"
"We were captured while seeking those skills at any cost,"
replied the mother; "where shall we go for them?"
The figure on the throne answered: "I've got a prophecy of
sixteen characters for you, which you may write down. The
charm goes like this:
Stopped at willow Yang
Enlightened at egg Dan.
You will be met
You need not seek.
"In three years," the Empress then said, "you'll be contacted
by one of us, you can be sure. You needn't go to any
special trouble on this account." And she had someting
else to say: "Heaven's secrets must be guarded ; they must
not be leaked out carelessly. If 'Old Eighty' hears of this,
something terrible will happen!"
"Who" asked the woman "is 'Old Eighty'?"
"The Prince of Hanyang, Zhang Jianzhi," answered the
Queen. "He's been an opponent of mine down through the
ages so you, my minister, should avoid him."
And then there was a moment of silence, followed by
shouting from the front of the hall. Suddenly a woman slave,
alarmed, rushed in and warned everone: "The Prince of
Hanyang has heard of our Lord's ambitions to the throne
and is commanding an army of a hundred thousand to
come and crush us!"
Her face ashen with fright, the Queen ran behind her throne
and fled. The old woman was terrified. "That thing made a
pact with me," she thought, trembling, "I'd better get out of
here right away!" And in panic she fell off of her cushion
and tried to beat a path out of there but her limbs wouldn't
move and she awakened soaked in sweat. For it had all
been a dream, and a bad one at that. She had been
sleeping under the stars at the foot of an old burial mound,
and there was of course no audience hall. But neither, to
her alarm, was there any sign of Hu Mei'r. She cried out in
each direction with no trace of an answer, and she had no
idea where the girl might have gone. And then she sobbed
for awhile, thinking. "Yan Banxian said my daughter had an
unfortunate end awaiting her; perhaps it's this incredible
affair!"
Now, it was already nearly dawn, and by the pale light of the
eastern sky she saw a stone monument lying on its side in
the thorns right in front of the mound. And engraved upon it
were the characters of a prophecy given, the marker said,
by the Empress Wu Zetian of the Great Tang Dynasty.
"In my dream," said the old woman, "I floated to the
Queen's Palace in Hell and I still remember a bit of what
she said in parting. This is so very strange; these are the
very same sixteen words here on this tablet. How can it
possibly be? I don't even know what it means!"
And it having come to this she thought of the day they left
their earthen burrow, mother and two children, and of how
she had just lost her daughter. How sad and lonely she felt;
the rest of her journey was spent in a daze and she lived on
her feet until she reached the great Mt Hua. Then she only
sought a quiet place to collect her thoughts and decide
what to do next.
Now the point is that when,as prophesized, the old fox-spirit
meets yet another supernatural being, still another strange
episode will unfold...it's really like this:
After so much trouble and so many tries
She finds what she was looking for beneath her very eyes!
Chapter 7
DEPUTY YANG MEETS HOLY AUNTIE
OVER SACRED BOOKS
WHILE ABBOT MERCY FINDS A
STRANGE EGG FLOATING IN THE POND
Indeed she could be called a ghost, that idler on the
throne
For if she had no magic words she couldn't recite that
poem.
But only making idle talk to liven up the day
She had no way of knowing what was real and what
was play.
It has been told how Holy Auntie, half in dream and half for
real, discussed a matter of destiny in a meeting with Wu
Zetian and learnt that her daughter Mei'r was in fact the
reincarnation of Zhang Changzong. And she was told that
Empress Wu had secretly become a man in her present life
and that the two former lovers would be reunited in the
district of Beizhou; Mei'r would be crowned Queen and the
former Empress, King. As if this weren't strange enough,
we have seen how Hu Mei'r had indeed disappeared from
the woman's sight, and that she had been abducted and
entrusted to that Prince Chongxiao of the spirits; it was all
so strange! And it has been said that the old woman
staggered onward in dazed grief, living on her feet; it's
been enough to make even me, your humble storyteller,
tired.
And putting myself in her place I can imaging what she said
upon arrival at some shelter. "The pilgimage to Mt Hua was
all Mei's idea," she probably uttered, "so I'll burn incense at
the Shrine of the Peak, for the Lord of Heaven to bless and
keep her, wherever she may be." And I can just see the
kind of tranquil, remote spot that she found where she could
rest and, for better or worse, wait for three years to see how
things would work out. And as for Quezi having been taken
in by the Daoist Wizard, well, he found his teacher to be
thoroughly kind and gentle and hasn't entertained any
notion of running away. Now, let's get on with the story.
In due time the old mother arrived on the slopes of great
Mount Hua in Huayin County; she went straightawy to burn
incense and pray there. And as to what sights greeted her
at the mountain, have a look at this Xijiangyue poem:
Like a sword thrust up to Heaven did that mighty mountain
stand
Pushed from dangerous cliffs below by a distant fairy's
hand.
Where lotus blossoms covered earth and fiery stars did
streak
While high above soared the mighty vault of the great
Green Dragon Peak.
After worship she beheld the beautiful scenery and went on
to visit the great teacher Chen Bo. But upon asking
directions she received a shock.
"Well," answered someone, "this here Xiyi gorge is where
his mortal remains lie..." Suddenly she realized that Chen
Bo had died and perhaps become an Immortal there. And
she fell in love with the natural serenity of the gorge and
passed the nights there. By day she begged alms and only
wandered to and fro in the mountains. We can easily
imagine how she looked in on passing pilgrims, bonzes,
wizards and various nuns playing among the clouds, and
spending her bitterly gained pennies on a little wine and
meat for her substanance.
One fine day she found herself together with a few other old
beggar women like herself, desperately awaiting some rich
pilgrim to pass by. Just as the shadow on the sundial
passed passed noon what did they see but a pair of sedan
chairs bearing a lady and her maidservant up the mountain
for worship! The pack of mendicants waited until the
visitors had left the shrine, then pounced upon them for
alms.
"We haven't got any coins on us" answered the the lady in
the palanquin. Hearing this, the old women suddenly
stepped back in shocked disappointment. Now, this crowd
hadn't received a single copper since waking, and having
been so sure that the two pilgrims would be good for
something they were all too ready to ham it up and hound
them to the bitter end for a donation. So our beggars put on
quite a show, crying out, one after the other, the lines of a
little verse:
"You leave home all full of hope upon a morning bright
Alas, your time on earth is up before the fall of night!"
wailed one of them.
"The blessings shared with others while you are here on
earth
Will grace you through the ages in your subsequent
rebirths!" cried another.
"Now can you imagine Neptune 'neath the sea upon his
throne
Without any treasure to be called his very own?" pleaded
yet a third supplicant.
The lady in the palanquin was indignant. "I'm not Old
Buddha Yang and I'm surely not Granny Yang either!" she
answered angrily; "if it's favors you want, go to them and
you'll get anything you ask for. Why pick on me like this?"
The ragged ranks then dispersed and the priviledged ones
in their sedan chairs were born off. The band of poor
women sauntered off listlessly in every direction, only
sighing with despair at their poor fortunes.
Now all of this had given Holy Auntie cause to reflect, and
so she sought out a woman she trusted for some advice.
"What did it mean," she asked, "what she just said about
Old Buddha and Granny Yang?"
The woman smiled knowingly. "Here in Huayin County", she
answered, "there's a local deputy magistrate named Yang
Chun that we all call 'Old Buddha' because of his famous
piety and charity. He's really wealthy, too. He and his wife
both love Dao and make pilgrimages everywhere." The
local woman continued. "No matter Buddhist or Daoist,
Monk or Nun, if some worthy soul should bring up the matter
of a little sustenance with them, a whole year's stipend may
be provided by this blessed couple! And Granny Yang
makes two trips up the mountain every year. Every time,
each one of us receives more than ten coins from her and
she showers us with wheat buns from a basket she carries.
This year she came through in the second month. She's
bound to be back in autumn; you'll see her then for sure."
Holy Auntie trembled deep down inside when she heard
those words, and she slept on it that night.
Early next morning she arose and descended the mountain
and went forth into Huayin County dressed as a nun. Asking
the way to Deputy Yang's house she went there directly,
only to be confronted at the door by a sign with four
horizontral characters. "Visitors Should Mind Regulations"
they read, between a pair of vertical messages: "Attention
all bonzes, wizards and nuns: We attend to your sustenance
in the West Garden on the 1st day of each season. No
charity will ever be given at the front door!"
"That's really odd" thought the woman, darkly. Just then she
noticed a guard seated atop a stone lion with his gown
open, picking fleas. Seeing her, he hurriedly rearranged his
clothes and approached.
"You there!" he shouted, "Get away from there!" The old
woman came forth and an interrogation began as to her
identitity and intentions.
"I'm a poor Daoist nun from Sichuan," she answered;
"Having been inspired to sacrifice atop Mt Hua I've come
through your fine county. Now I'm out of cash so I'd like to
beg a little charity, and that's about it."
Now, old man Zhang the gatekeeper answered
sympathetically.
"You're really out of luck, Sister...up until ten days ago there
was no sign like now prohibiting begging at at the door."
"I've long heard," she answered "of the Deputy Magistrate
and Madam loving the holy way of Dao. How is it that there
are no signs praising the famous 'Old Buddha' and Granny
Yang all around here? What could have wiped out their fine
works this way?"
"Of course the Master and Lady took pleasure in
supporting the many bonzes, wizards, novices and nuns
who came by to preach sutras or charms. They lived in the
rooms or camped on the grounds of the estate every day of
the year, unlike now. And they were even given stipends for
travel and clothes upon moving off. This here door was
usually crowded with folks taking up collections for charity,
not deserted and silent like now. It all started about a month
ago when a nun, no older than forty, came up the road from
the south. Now, she could chant moral verses about deeds
and results, and as Granny Yang loves these Buddhist
parables about the wages of good and evil more than
anything else, the nun was a guest here for over half a
month. But there were also fourteen or fifteen wandering
monks who mostly faked the reading of the sutras. And
among them were fast switch artists and pickpockets, and
a few who were a bit fond of the flesh if you know what I
mean." He continued: "Well, our estate fed them on the one
hand, while giving them cash and cloth. Who ever imagined
that for the most part they were a gang of thieves, and the
nun only an inside informer in cahoots with them who cased
the house so they could carry off a number of things in a
bold strongarm job! Old Master and Madam had to run for
their worldly lives! Well, the two of them thought about it,
weighed everything and considered it all the continuing
result of their own bad deeds from a past life. And so they
didn't go to inform the authorities and involve people in the
neighboring villages in a criminal matter. But from that time
forth they stopped giving daily charity and forbade visitors
from entering or presenting requests at the front door. They
would only hand out alms at one end of the West Garden on
the first day of the first, fourth, seventh and tenth months.
Well, old Sister, having missed the first day of the fourth
month you really now have no place to turn, as there are
none other around here as charitable as our Master. The
others will you a couple of coppers at most, but can you call
that a real contribution?"
"There are good and bad among folks of the cloth, why,
that's really lumping us all together unfairly!"
"Yes, it's really too bad" said Old Zhang, sympathetically.
"You know," said the old woman, "getting some charity isn't
my only hope in coming here. I've heard that Old Master
and Madam were Boddhisattvas in their previous lives. If
it's possible I'd like to meet and consult with them, perhaps
coming on another day by the western road."
Suddenly there came the sound of somebody opening the
inner door and walking out.
"Our Master's coming," whispered Old Zhang urgently,
"hurry and get out of here before you get us both into
trouble!" Then he reached inside his gown, pulled out a
beat up old change purse and reached inside for a single
copper coin which he placed atop the nearest stone lion by
the gate. "Now I'm giving you this coin myself," he pleaded,
"take it and go, quick!" She still wasn't about to budge.
There then appeared a young pageboy leading a proud
high-headed white horse out of the gate, now standing fast
and holding the bridle by a taunt rope. Deputy Magistrate
Yang followed, wearing an official's hat of golden thread on
his head and clad in a dark cotton Daoist's gown; his feet
were squeezed into crow's foot shoesand he held a
Sichuanese fan in his hands. And behind him followed
three more pages: one opening a parasol, one holding a
folding step fast to his chest, and the other hoding a box, no
doubt with an incense candle inside, with both hands; atop
it was another smaller box made of red sandalwood and
empty. Then a troupe of musicians emerged holding their
flutes and drums. Using the folding step, the Old Master
himself, Deputy Magistrate Yang, proudly mounted to the
saddle and then the entire throng, jostling and shoving,
dashed off toward the West.
Old Zhang now buried his anger in her. "Didn't you see our
Master leaving? Luckily he didn't catch sight of you! If he
had, he would have again scolded us household staff for
disregarding his instructions! Look, I'm giving you this coin,
you won't take it, what else do you want?"
"Oh,you poor kind old man," she answered, "I don't dare
take the hard-earned savings from your purse as charity!"
But in a couple of moments before you could wink an eye or
say goodbye there suddenly appeared an old man
shouldering a carrying pole and loudly peddling childrens'
toys right past the front gate. In the still-opened doorway
stood a boy of four or five.
"Grampa," shouted the child insistantly, jumping up and
down, "buy me a fort to play with!" And seeing that the
woman hadn't taken the money Old Zhang reached out and
hailed the old man by tugging at the pole. Then taking the
coin from atop the stone lion he bought a clay model of a
turret and gave it to the delighted little boy.
"Play well and don't break it cause I'm not buying you
another one!" he told the tyke who ran laughing and
giggling, delighted, back into the doorway with his new toy.
The old man then shouldered his wares and he too was
gone.
"What relation is that little kid to you?" asked the woman.
"My second grandson" answered Old Zhang. "The pageboy
holding the folding step for our Master a few minutes ago is
his older brother, my first grandson."
"No wonder there is such a resemblance," she answered,
"so quick and clever too! The result of a lifetime of good
works being passed down."
"Old Master has lots of pages by his side but he's really
fond of my grandson" said Zhang. "Wherever he goes, near
or far, he always has him along."
"And where has your Master just gone?" she asked; "he
had quite a few musicians along..."
"He's gone out the West Gate to receive the Golden Sutra",
answered the gatekeeper.
"And where did this book come from?" she further
enquired.
"A monk from Hami, in Turkestan, brought it with him. He
was deaf and dumb and lodged at the Temple of Guanyin
outside the West Gate. He lived to ninety-nine in perfect
health and suddenly passed away. One thing never left his
side and that was this Golden Character Sutra that he left
behind. Now, the Priest there offered top present the book
whoever donated a niche in the wall to receive the monk's
remains. Our Master donated a little shrine for the
foreigner's holy ashes and commissioned some prayers
from the bonzes there as well. He's gone to the Temple
today to receive that book and bring it back, and then to
offer prayers to Buddha in our own West Garden Shrine."
The old woman was more curious than ever. "What book is
it exactly?" she asked.
"Who in the world knows if it's a classic of the Buddha, Dao
or for that matter the Kitchen God...who can even recognize
half the letters?" he answered.
"If it's in Sanskrit and I get a look at it," said the old woman,
"I can explain it to everyone."
Old Zhang broke out into a hearty laugh. "I've heard that this
classic is from India in the West and that it's printed in gold
leaf. And the letters are different from those of our world.
That's why we call it the Golden Sutra. Over at the Temple
quite a few learned eyes have passed over it with nobody
recognizing anything. Old lady, there are laws against such
wild claims!"
"I'm not lying," she insisted, "though only a poor nun I've
received the Sixteen Scriptures from the Puxian
Bodhisattva so there are no Sutras I can't read, and that's
the truth!"
Now, this old fox spirit had spent a lot of time visiting with
the Celestial Fox so of course she could discuss Heaven's
books, and the Puxian Bodhisattva was also part of the
supernatural world she knew so well. Old Zhang was now
truly alarmed.
"The Puxian Bodhisattva is a reincarnation of Guanyin,
Goddess of Mercy," he shouted, "just how could you
actually get to see her?"
"Your humble nun," she answered, was fated to meet this
Bodhisattva and we have indeed met on occassion. If you'd
like an audience with her it's the simplest thing to arrange."
"Is this for real or what?" asked Zhang aloud.
"It's all a thousand times, no, ten thousand times true!" she
answered.
"Well, if it's true then just wait til the Old Master gets back
and I report it to him," said the gatekeeper. "But I don't
know your surname or where you're staying...I'm afraid the
Master will be late and you'll have been long gone by then. If
he has me search for you where shall I look?"
"I'm called Holy Auntie," said the old nun. "If and when your
Master calls for me just shout that name three times toward
the Southeast and I, your humble nun will be right there!"
Then she ran off and quickly disappeared.
Now it is said that for every true observant Buddhist there
are ten who quote the sutras. Because the Deputy
Magistrate and Lady both loved the Holy Way, so did even
the gatekeeper come to believe in it on some level.
Although his common sense told him the nun's story was
awfully strange he was nonetheless willing to believe it.
As they had been speaking, Deputy Magistrate Yang and
company arrived at the Temple, worshipped the the statue
of Buddha and requested that the Golden Sutra be brought
out. Removing it from its old embroidered cover he carefully
opened and examined the book and all applauded
respectfully. Then he unfolded a big red Sichuanese
embroidered cloth, rewrapped the book in it and placed it
in the red sandalwood box. Holding it respectfully with both
hands he walked to the horse and remounted. Then with the
troupe of musicians playin a thin, shrill air, the group
dashed back to the West Garden of the estate, all of them
crowded and jostling around the horse and rider with that
sacred box. They arrived at the family's Buddhist shrine for
the planned service and there, in front of the Bodhisattvah
Guanyin they burnt incense and lit candles, and once more
bowed four times in worship. First the musicians left the
hall, free to wander around at ease in the park, to ensure
quiet for the gardeners and others from nearby who were
now streaming into the shrine for worship. Then with the
four pageboys following the proud-stepping horse, they all
left the shrine and we've got this poem about it:
To flute so shrill all crowd that fancy saddle as it starts
The Golden Sutra held with awe and welcomed in their
hearts.
If we could know the true intent that Sakyamuni had
All the Sutras of the Tang would seem an empty fad!
At this point in our story Old Zhang watched Deputy Yang
dismount and enter the house.
"Congratulations, Master," he reported; "today, just as you
were receiving the Golden Sutra a reader of Sanskrit called
and asked to meet you."
"What sort of person?" asked Yang.
"She was a Daoist nun known in the craft as Holy Auntie,"
answered the gatekeeper. "She said she was a disciple of
the Puxian Bodhisattva and that she could read and
interpret the sixteen classes of the Books of Heaven. If
Master wishes to meet her, he need only face the
Southeast and call her name three times, and she'll be right
here."
"Oh, is that all?" said the Master ever so skeptically. "Well,
maybe we should wait til tomorrow morning and see if she
returns to our door!"
The Deputy Magistrate then told Granny Yang all about
receiving the book and the story of Holy Auntie's call; his
wife had a strange occurance to report as well.
"When I went into the courtyard to look at the pomegranate
flowers I saw a five-colored lucky cloud to the southeast,
coming this way. And in the cloud appeared a Bodhisattva
so solemn and august looking in gold, pearl and jade
necklaces and holding a treasure box, seated atop a white
elephant. I knew in my heart it was an appearance of the
Puxian Bodhisattva and I hurriedly fell to my knees in
worship, but when I lifted my head she was gone. Tomorrow
let's call for her as she instructed, and if she comes give her
the Sutra to read and see what happens. If she really were
a disciple of the Puxian Bodhisattva she wouldn't ever lie!"
Now come to think of it just who was the Bodhisattva
seated in the heart of that cloud? Why, none other than a
transformation of Holy Auntie! Chapter three has already
told of how she was an old fox spirit that could change into
people or Buddhas, capable of ghostly transformations but
lacking in any real secrets of sorcery and therefore incable
of any true spiritual greatness. As this poem says:
A vine around her neck mistaken for a string of jade
Her holy gown is from the fallen leaves of autumn made.
How laughable that folks on earth lack eyes with sacred ken
And taking her for Buddha are enticed into her den!
Nothing more was said about it that night. Early the next
day Deputy Yang had those on duty bring scented candles
and set them up in the house. Then he dressed himself in a
clean new gown, went out in front of his compound and,
facing Southeast, shouted "Holy Auntie" three times with all
of his strength and resolve. Even before all was again silent
Old Zhang reported: "The old Daoist nun from yesterday is
already at the door."
Deputy Yang walked over to the entrance and greeted her,
frightened to the bone.
"Please enter," he nonetheless said ever so calmly, but
before the utterance was off his lips she was already inside
the house, falling to her knees and announcing herself: "I, a
poor nun, kowtow to thee, oh Patron of this Temple."
Now, he he wondered how she could have got into the
house when he hadn't seen her pass through the doorway
in front of his very eyes; she had literally been outside one
moment and inside the next! He grew even more fearful
and hurriedly dropped to his knees and knocked his head
on the floor repeatedly in return.
"I, Yang Chun, have failed to properly receive thee, Holy
Auntie, and have cause you the discomfort of the kowtow.
I'm truly sorry!"
"I don't reckon you've been rude, my lord," said Holy Auntie.
"It has been fated that you and your wife meet with me, and
I've ridden here by the grace of the Puxian Bodhisattva
especially for this rendezvous.
Deputy Yang looked carefully at the old nun. Her hair was
white and her face wrinkled like that of any other old
woman, but her eyes really sparkled with a spirit very
different from that of mortals. And though she wore tattered
rags they were immaculate. Deputy Yang then decided that
she was indeed a living Buddha. Repeatedly praising
Heaven and Earth, he he invited her into the home chapel
at the rear and had Granny Yang brought to meet her. The
old couple worshipped her in unison, calling her their Holy
Teacher and setting out vegetarian food for her enjoyment,
and then they sat facing her. And when the matter of the
Golden Sutra was raised Holy Auntie answered boldly.
"That promise of mine was no empty boast. Whatever old
and fancy script you've got, I know it all!"
But enough of the chapel! Now we find Deputy Yang
ordering the pageboys to prepare a horse and two
palanquins for the three of them. And soon there are riding
straight to the West Garden, followed unavoidably by the
local boys and girls. Now, that garden wasn't as elegant as
the famed Jinrong of old but it was layed out and built well
enough. Just look at this:
It's at the west of the estate
And on its south side is the gate.
Walking its narrow path one sees
Two halls, some locust and willow trees.
Continuing, one can lose the way
On labrynth bamboo trails astray.
Ahead are the monks' five dining quarters
Along with the hall for visiting boarders.
Built with a view of Mt Hua's peak
To reckon its fistfuls of rocks so to speak.
Its waters from River Wei are drawn
Flowing on straight past pavilion and pond.
The round main hall in ultimate style
With library you'd think fairies' domicile.
And quiet rooms for peaceful meditation
Near paradise-like shrine for bonzes' cultivation.
Now, guests should be greeted with food and drink
Or else you should leave this faith I think.
Deputy and Granny Yang let Holy Aunty climb out of her
sedan chair first. The Master then ordered the chief
gardener to lead the way. Arriving at the Temple they
bowed together two or three times to the image of the
Buddha. Deputy Yang then told a pageboy to bring over a
small black laquered table. After wiping it spotlessly clean
with his own hands he then carefully lifted the little red
sandalwood box and laid it on the shiney surface. Then,
having opened the box and removed and unwrapped the
holy book from the red cloth, he asked Holy Auntie to look it
over. Her hands pressed together worshipfully, she chanted
one "Amitofo", then opened the book and looked it over
from beginning to end.
"This is the Heart Sutra, a Sanskrit Sutra of Paramita, the
passage from sensuous life to Nirvhana," she announced.
"It comes from Holy India. In the end it has these five
characters, a mantra signifying a Buddhist concept in the
Heart Sutra, something beyond the grasp of mortals. That's
why everyone is stumped by this book."
Deputy Yang didn't believe her and called for a Tang
edition of the Heart Sutra, giving it to Holy Auntie for
comparison. Sure enough it was without those five
characters. From that point on the Yangs became even
more respectful of her talents.
At this point Deputy Yang invited Holy Auntie to move into
their house and lecture them from morning to night. But as
she was unwilling, they cleaned up the three empty
meditation rooms behind the shrine, moved in some
bedding and furniture and provided three daily meals to
take care of Holy Auntie's livlihood. The old woman now
lived alone and wanted neither slavegirl nor maid for
company.
"You've been bringing me vegetarian food and wine," she
then told Granny Yang; "it isn't necessary, as I can go ten
years without drinking or eating."
"Well," thought Granny, "she certainly can fast for a day, but
even if she binds up her belly how can she last ten years?
Perhaps I'll pretend to be busy and skip her meals for a few
days and see what happens." Then she told the gardener to
attend to some work around the house for awhile and
locked up the garden gate for a week, during which time
nobody came or went. On the eigth day Granny Yang rode
out in a palanquin, unlocked the garden and and went in to
visit Holy Auntie. And there she was, peacefully at rest in
her bare room, seated on a prayer mat reciting the sutras.
"Is Holy Auntie hungry?" asked Granny Yang.
"I'm right full, thank you," answered the old nun, shaking her
head. And now for the first time ever the Yangs publically
proclaimed her a living Buddha.
From that point on the word spread throughout the entire
Huayin County that Deputy Magistrate Yang's household
was sheltering a living Buddha. Now, just for the sake of
argument, if she really were a living Buddha would she still
seek out people or take food and shelter from them?
Really, there must have been some pretty shallow minds
about!
Well, armies of men and women from throughout the
county, more numerous with each passing day were now
trooping into the West Garden for a look, with some
worshipping her and proclaiming her their Teacher. And
after another month or two the excitement had boiled over
to surrounding districts and other counties, and the number
of people coming was greater than ever. Deputy Yang,
fearing terrible consequences from all of this spoke with
Holy Auntie and they finally decided to lock up the place for
three years with no outside visitors allowed. The front door
of the Shrine was then locked and two layers of official
seals placed around it. They would secretly bring her little
odds and ends via the curving hidden rear path from the
house. Deputy Yang then visited the County Magistrate and
had him issue a proclamation forbidding public assembly.
Seeing the frightening words of the official orders of
prohibition the masses of the people stopped coming at
once. Only the old couple themselves would drop in during
their walks in the garden, visiting her in the meditation
rooms and sometimes spending days and nights
discussing the Buddist theory of retribution and reciting the
sutras. Her former public didn't dare have any more to do
with her and so the old fox spirit only sat alone there in
Huayin County enjoying the hospitality of the Yangs. She
also did some reflecting on her own fate.
"Those four words that Auntie Zetian said, 'Stop at Willow
Yang', have already come true. But I don't know about the
'Enlightened at Egg Dan' part; what's that going to be all
about?"
As the story has unfolded so far we have forgotten one
important part: the whereabouts and fate of Hu Mei'r! Why
hasn't she turned up in the story? Now, Dear Readers,
there's absolutely no reason to be alarmed. I've got only
one mouth and a single tongue so I can't tell two stories at
the same time! For now we may as well put Hu Mei'r aside
and get on with clearing up the meaning of the four words
"Enlightened at egg Dan".
Simply put, an old bonze by the holy name of Ci Yun
headed the Yin Hui Temple within the walls of the city of
Sizhou. It was a branch Temple with a few monks in training
and an old Daoist priest, Liu Gou'r, serving as Rector.
Abbot Ci, nearly sixty years of age, was a forthright man
who spoke his mind frankly and minced no words.
One day someone in the town invited him to come and read
the sutras. Having worn his only gown for over a month it
was soiled, so for the occasion he decided to boil some
water and wash it before going. Taking a bucket he went to
the pond in front of the Temple and was starting to draw
some washwater when he spotted an object on the surface,
half floating and half submerged, eggshaped and white,
and knocking against the bucket. He bent down and
examined it closely, scooping it into the bucket and laying it
down upon his washboard. It was rather like a goose egg.
"Perhap's somebody's barnyard goose got loose and laid
this egg in here," he thought, "wonder if it's going to hatch?
If it isn't I can give it to our young monks to eat, but if there's
a little fellow growing inside I'll take it over yonder to Zhu
Dabo's and let his hen sit on it....there's a life involved, after
all. The sutras tell of how egg eaters will fall down into the
empty reaches of Hell... I wouldn't want to do anything to
cause some terrible retribution like that, now..." So next day
he held it up to light and noticed something filling up the
whole egg, moving in a lively way; a new life. So hurrying
over to Zhu Dabo's place he put the egg into the hen's nest,
promising that if a goose or whatever was born he could
keep it. Zhu Dabo naturally agreed. It was possible the hen
might refuse but she sat on the egg for seven days. But
when Zhu Dabo came to feed her he found his hen lying
dead to one side, and in the nest he saw the upper body of
a tiny infant breaking its way out of that egg, already
protruding six or seven inches! The other eggs had already
been emptied and a pile of broken shell was all that
remained of them.
Zhu Dabo, mortified, ran to inform the abbot of the news.
He in turn received quite a fright and ran over to see for
himself.
"Oh, no," he cried out, "how strange, how bizarre! I'm so
sorry for getting you into this mess. Your hen, eggs and nest
are all destroyed. Just wait until our buckwheat is ready for
harvest and I'll bring you a few bushels!"
"Oh, that's OK," said Zhu Dabo, "It was my fate. I'm just
afraid that the neighbours will find out and it'll get around to
the officials, and then it'll get blown up into a big case. Why,
in the next village Old Lady Wang was raising a litter of
pigs, and one of them had front hooves just like human
hands. The Bao Chief found out and he told the Mayor,
saying that there was an instance of sorcery among his
residents. The Mayor then despatched officials to search
for evidence, and they wanted to take the piglet. And then
they demanded food and drink, and then money, even when
she sold the sow she still couldn't raise enough." Zhu
looked at the Abbott worriedly: "Teacher, you absolutely
must take that monster and destroy it," he said, trembling,
"or else you'll involve my family."
Abbot Ci listened in dark silence to Zhu's words. It was all
he could do to conceal the nest under his black gown and
run straight back to the Temple. Telling nobody there about
it, he went right into the vegetable garden with a shovel and
dug a hole in the corner of the wall, piling up the dirt. The,
using the nest as that infant's coffin, he buried it deep in the
earth. It's like this:
Under a mound of muddy dirt a soul fights not to die
His life of seven days could be forfeited by and by.
Life and death are both determined by the hand of Fate
For judgement wrought by Heaven we must some more
years await.
As for the child's survival, and root of future woes
See if the Abbot's plan succeeds and how the story goes.
Chapter 8
ABBOT CI SEEKS HIS FATE FROM THE
GODDESS OF MERCY
WHILE BONZE DAN FIRST STEALS
YUAN GONG'S SECRET CHARMS
Feel free to disbelieve the tales of Yin-Shang long ago
And stranger yet the hatching out of good Prince Yan
of Zhou.
While we nod our heads and smile at mysteries of old
The tale of a child born from an egg must to no man
be told!
Now, Abbot Ci had buried the little one in the vegetable
garden. But when he returned for a look he was shocked to
see the tiny infant parting the lumps of sod and, amazingly,
tunneling up to the surface, its head protruding like a large
peach. The frightened Abbot picked up his hoe to smash
the little monster but he lost his balance and tripped, and
the handle seperated from the would-be weapon's head.
When he picked himself up and looked the child was
already sitting upright in a nest, beaming broadly and
amiably. Abbot Ci, whose surname meant 'mercy', couldn't
believe his eyes.
"Little fellow," he said, "it's such a pity that you've got a
human form. Why, if you'd been born to some childless
gentry family you'd light up their lonely nights with joy and
love. Why did you have to find your way into that egg? Well,
you started out on the wrong track but it's no concern of
mine. Now, listen to old Father Ci. Forgo this life and return
to the spirit world, and stop frightening me!"
Then putting aside the broken hoe he seized the nest and
turned it upside down, thrusting that ghostly infant down into
the earth. Scooping up some muddy soil he built a mound,
higher and higher, and piled rocks on top of it. He didn't
stop until he was sure the job had been done right.
"What if a dog should get in here and dig it up?" he asked
himself; "That wouldn't be any good. I'd better lock the
gates for awhile. That way he'll die of hunger if nothing
else..." So he attached a metal hasp to the gate and went
into the house to get a shiney new brass lock. "I'll be right
back," he told his disciples, "start your devotions without
me." And because the Abbot was known for being a bit
stubborn and cantankerous, the baffled novices didn't care
to ask any questions.
By and by, ten days had passed when Abbot Ci finally put
his worries to rest. "I've seen with my own eyes that the kid
hasn't budged," he thought. "Still, I'd better keep an eye on
things just to be sure. But if this gate stays locked too long
the garden will fall into neglect, and we won't have any
greens to eat."
He then took out a key and unlocked and opened the
garden gate. But when he went over to that corner of the
west wall for a look, he saw the stones scattered all over
and the overturned nest lying on its side, with no sign inside
of the little tyke. Now, Abbot Ci was sorely afraid. Then
when he dropped on all fours to search he suddenly saw
the little fellow, healthy and red-cheeked as could be, sitting
uninjured beneath a willow tree. And what was more, he'd
already become two feet tall, with delicate, recognizable
features, although he couldn't yet talk. Seeing Abbot Ci
approach he reached out and laughingly clutched at the
corner of the old monk's jacket. This was more than the
Abbot could take. Snatching the little hand away he turned
and ran without daring to look back. Even safely outside the
garden his heart continued pounding.
"I've tried everything to bury him," he darkly thought, "but
again and again some sort of supernatural being or force
rescued him. Otherwise, how could that wee-tiny fellow
muster up enough strength to struggle out of the grave?
And even if he could bore up through the sod, how could he
have parted the rocks? What's more, he's grown more than
a foot in the past ten days; twenty or thirty years of this and
he'll break the sky! Of all the confounded things that have
happened since ancient times there's never been anything
quite like this!" Then an idea came to him. "Well, the spirit
of the statue of Guanyin in the Temple is always so
accurate at divination; I'd better go and ask her about this.
Perhaps he ought to be raised to maturity...maybe he's
really a future sage or bonze. In any case it's not for us to
annihilate him on our own. But on the other hand, if he really
shouldn't stay in this world there's no time to be wasted in
thinking up a new plan to get rid of him."
Now, this Zen Temple had always had an incense altar
carved in the shape of the Goddess Guanyin. And in front of
this holy likeness was a container for bamboo fortune slips;
folks could pick them and determine wheter or not a
particular undertaking was auspicious at a particular time
or place. Now, as Abbot Ci was indeed at his wits' end the
only thing left to do was to draw a slip from the container
and kowtow in front of the statue.
"Your disciple," he loudly declared, "has always been a
man of the cloth and kept the commandments. But one day
I must have had a lapse of faith, for while drawing water
from the pond I came upon an egg and took it over to my
neighbor's house to be hatched by his old hen. Who'd have
thought that egg would hatch forth a little human rascal that
would survive burial and starvation and would then double
in height suddenly, growing taller and taller by leaps and
bounds! How strange are his origins and how bizarre his
traces; if he isn't a devil he's certainly the embodiment of
some unrepaid evil. if he was sent by Heaven to be a bonze
and if he should live without harm, I beg thee to indicate
'auspicious' on the augury slip, and to thus remove my
doubts. Again, I kowtow and pray for thy guidance!"
His prayerful petition finished, he bowed toward the fortuneslip container, plucked one out and looked. It was number
fifteen, and sure enough it bore the words "Highly
Auspicious". And the following magic charm had been
written:
The movements of the wind and waves are are understood
by few
But the drifting of the cradle will soon enough be through.
Where the babe was launched and how he floats among
the reeds
Have all been predetermined by our actions and our
deeds!
Abbot Ci carefully examined the writing on the slip. "The
'drifting cradle' here clearly refers to an orphan," he said.
"Even though my disciples are already like my own
offspring, this fortune clearly tells me to spare the child and
foretells no difficulty," He then called for the Daoist Rector
of the Temple, Liu Gour.
"Some village family," he told the old man, "with too many
mouths to feed has just abandoned one of their children in
our garden. I've just seen him sitting under the willow, cutest
little fellow you can imagine! What a pity. We bonzes have
enough trouble making ends meet, so why don't you take
the child and rear it? If he reaches adulthood maybe he'll
take vows himself, and you'll have someone to rely on in
your old age."
Now, our Liu Gour had once barely earned a living as a
local farmer; he was childless due to late marriage, in old
age, and his wife was now dead. So having cursed his
worldly fate he gave up his life savings of a few ounces of
silver and entered the Temple to become its incense
tender. Because he had no kids of his own he often minded
other people's children; this was the joy of his life. Hearing
what Abbot Ci had to say, he hopped right over to the base
of the willow and sure enough saw a cute, delicate-featured
child. He quickly held the little bundle of happiness up to his
chest, wrapped it up in his jacket and turned toward the
gate, where he saw the Abbot walking toward him. Now,
Abbot Ci was happy to the bottom of his heart to see the
old Daoist hugging the child.
"Go to your quarters," he told Liu, "I'll be right along." He
then opened the gate and removed the lock for good,
taking it to his room. Then he pulled an old jacket and
tattered shirt from the dresser next to his bed, brought them
to the priest's room and together they bundled up the child.
"We've got quite a few clothes old clothes in here too," said
Liu. "And I've also manage to save a few feet of blue cloth,
just perfect to make a little coat for him to wear." But alas,
without any milk I'm afraid he'll starve."
"Oh, milk's no problem," said the Abbot. "All we need to do
is boil up some soybean milk morning and night and feed it
to him. If he's become your son, it must be that he's fated to
live. Anyway, if he doesn't survive, sure, it'll be hard to take,
but even that would be better than simply having left him to
starve." Then he continued on a solemn note of
encouragement: "One's thoughts and deeds are known by
Heaven and Earth, so if you, old man, are willing to take in
and raise this child it'll surely be recognized as a good
deed, and God will help you in all his glory. Why, I've just
asked about our Fate in this matter at the idol of Guanyin
and was told that it was all highly auspicious. When he gets
a bit older let's name him "Ji'r" for "Lucky Boy".
"I really love this little fellow's happy face," said the old
Daoist incense tender; "he only knows to smile and he
never cries. Why, from the first time I held him and brought
him in from the garden he hasn't uttered a sound."
"It's the quiet child that's easy to raise" answered Abbot Ci.
As they went on talking and doting over the baby, in came a
young novice. Having seen the little fellow he ran to inform
his colleagues, and three or four young Bonzes then rushed
into the old Daoist's quarters, taking up half the room.
"Where did this kid come from?" asked the group as one.
"We don't really know quite whose child it is," answered the
abbot. "He was abandoned in the garden. I thought he
looked like a nice little fellow and I took pity on his fate, so I
asked Old Liu here to take him and raise him as his own
son."
Now in the Temple there were those who loved good and
those who were evil at heart.
"Amitofo!" the kind ones cried out. "The opportunity to raise
an orphan and save its life is indeed a blessing for our
Temple."
The evil ones, predictably enough, saw the darker side of
things. "What sort of family would abandon their own flesh
and blood," they harped; "no doubt it was some unmarried
woman who got involved in a messy affair and got herself in
trouble with child. Afraid that folks would find out about the
little bastard, she threw him away. What business is it of
ours that we should take him in? Why get involved?"
"There's no need for that kind of talk" said the good ones;
"we know what kind of homes these children come from.
Most likely it was a couple fated to die without children, so
his parents didn't feel the natural burning desire to raise
him and continue their line. Or perhaps he was born of a
housemaid or concubine and was abandoned on account
of the main wife's jealousy. There's no surname on his
forehead, so what dispute is there to get involved in?"
"Okay then, take him and raise him if you will," said the evil
at heart, "but outsiders will hear his crying from inside the
Temple; that won't be good for our image!"
"All right, all right, enough!" said Old Liu. "This fellow does
have one good point; he doesn't cry at all!"
The monks were silent. "I'm leaving now," said Abbot Ci,
"and I want all of you to go to your prayermats and sit
quietly. There'll be no more jostling here in this room." And
having had his say he left, and the bonzes, sensing his
displeasure, dispersed to their quarters. And sure enough
here's a poem for proof:
As if the babe's survival weren't strange enough
Half were for acceptance and half were for rebuff.
Righteous souls can always start the course so straight and
true
But the great majority can never follow through.
So it happened that the old priest took in the infant and
raised him as his own son. Day and night he prepared
soybean milk to feed him, but as the boy grew tired of this
he tried giving the tot a bit of gruel. Now, the little fellow took
this without illness or complaint, so from that point on the
old priest fed him from his own rice porridge. With the
passage of three or four months outsiders had all come to
know that an infant had been found in the vegetable garden
of the Yinghui Temple by the Abbot and that it had been
given to Liu Gou'r to raise, and the story began to spread.
In time the tale reached Zhu Dabo, whom we read about in
the previous chapter. "What kind of kid could they have
found in the vegetable garden?" he asked himself. "It must
be that freak that was hatched from the goose egg. Why,
Abbot Ci didn't take care of killing it after all, and they're
raising it in there. And he still hasn't repaid me for the
chicken, eggs and nest I lost in that weird incident! Why
don't I just go over and say I'm a bit short of grain and would
like to be repaid with some? If I don't remind him I'm liable
to to never get it back. At the same time I can see what the
child looks like and whether or not it's indeed that little
monster."
Zhu Dabo then walked over to the Temple holding a large
sack. He found Abbot Ci sitting on the doorstep, needle in
hand, sewing up that tattered jacket of his.
"Master," said Zhu, "I haven't seen you for awhile." Now,
upon seeing his neighbor the Abbot remembered one of
his old promises, tossed aside the garment and got up.
"I still haven't given you the wheat I owe you," he confessed.
"What's this about debts?" said Zhu Dabo, "I told you that
was all right! It's just that a relative has come to live with us
for a few days and I'm a bit short of grain. I wonder if you
can lend me a little, that's all. Then out of the next harvest I'll
thresh some wheat especially for you, Master!"
"I owe you grain," said the Abbot, "and you're entitled to it,
period. Now you go home and wait, and I'll have someone
bring it right over."
"No need to trouble anyone," said Zhu, "why, I've brought
this double sack with me. Fill it up and I'll carry it back
myself." He then presented the empty sack to the Abbot.
"Suit yurself," said the old monk, "wait here for a moment
while I come back with it."
But Zhu Dabo had something else to request. "While I'm
here, I want to check out the rumor about Liu Gou'r," he
said. Now, the Abbot was afraid that old man Zhu would get
in and see the child, that an argument would result and
word of the affair would get out.
"Old Doggie's in the garden, hoeing," he said, referring to
the meaning of the Daoist's personal name; "wait a
moment, I'll call him over."
Abbot Ci, holding the sack in his left hand and that half
repaired jacket in his right then tossed the garment over his
left shoulder and walked back into the Temple gate. But
Zhu Dabo was off and running right behind him! The Abbot
rushed in and tried to slam the gate but it was no use; the
old man had already thrust one foot inside.
"This is the monks' residence of a Zen Temple," the chief
warned, anxiously; "you're no monk, what business do you
have within these walls? You want only a few bushels of
buckwheat, which I'm certainly not denying you. But I told
you to wait outside the Temple entrance and you won't
listen!"
Zhu Dabo opened his mouth wide, reared back and had a
good laugh. "I've heard," he snickered between a few
hearty guffaws, "that Liu Gou'r has custody of a little kid. I
just want to see if it was born or hatched!"
Now, when Abbot Ci heard those words his face turned red
with rage. "Go ahead and laugh, you bastard!" he retorted
angrily. "Take your 'born or hatched' and blow it out your
ass! Why, when that little fellow was found by the road he
was two feet tall. Don't you think an egg like that would have
taken a pretty big goose to lay? I wonder why you're so
interested...why, hah hah, maybe you'd recognize him as
your own grandson!" Throwing the sack down he continued:
"Since you only want to see your grandson, I haven't got any
more energy to carry your grain."
Zhu Dabo was surprised at how angry he had made Abbot
Ci. "If you don't want me to see the kid that's OK," he
answered, "there's no need for hurt feelings. Anyway, I
figure that if you gave me the grain there wouldn't be
enough left for you're disciples, that's all." Then he picked
up his sack, beat the dust out of it, wheeled around and left.
"You didn't even want your grain!" Abbot Ci shouted after
him, "A lot of guts you had, asking me to carry it for you,
too!" Then, an icey smile on his lips, he shut the gate.
"In all my years," mumbled Zhu Dabo as he left the Temple,
"I've never come across such a 'holy man'. What a fiery
temper and stubborn character! Why, I was only joking
when I said 'born or hatched' but he had to get excited and
say all those things. He's really wounded me deeply!"
Now all of the neighbors saw him returning, angrily cursing
under his breath. "What did they refuse you that you are
coming back so angrily?" they asked.
"It's a long story," he said, "but here goes. Late last last
winter that Abbot Ci brought over a goose egg. He told me
my hen could hatch it for me to keep, so I gave it to the bird
to sit on for awhile. Who'd have ever thought that a six or
seven inch child would hatch from that egg?"
"Did such a thing really happen?" asked the incredulous
neighbors.
"I still can't quite believe it myself," said Zhu. And it wasn't
enough that the infant was born; my hen died too, and a
nestful of eggs were all ruined. So I went and brought over
the Abbot and what did he say? He told me to keep quiet
lest I involve him in big trouble, and that next year when the
wheat would ripen he'd give me some. Then he snatched
up the little monster in the ruined nest and took them away. I
thought he'd drowned the little beast or at least buried it
somewhere. But later I heard that Liu Gou'r is raising a little
kid, and I suspected it may have been the same child. So
today I took a sack over to the Temple to collect my grain
and have a peek at the little fellow while I was at it. Well, not
only did I get no grain, but I got cursed out in the bargain!
He told me something unspeakably vile, and to come in
and see my own grandson! Now, the leaves of the tallest
trees must fall to their roots, and that's often been said
about people, too. I sure hope that child never grows up for
if it does it's sure to come back home. And then God only
help me if it thinks I'm its maternal grandfather!"
"You'd really better shut up, old man," said one of the
neighbors, "that's really strange stuff and we'll hear no more
of it! Why, that old bonze has great vision and wisdom, so
have some patience and understanding. What kind of gripe
do you have that's made you tell such a story? Wait a few
days and we'll persuade the Abbot to give you the wheat,
so calm down for Heaven's sake!" Then everybody chimed
in with a few words and they managed to persuade Zhu
Dabo to return home. And here's a poem about it:
The affairs of other families should never be brought up
For when they are it always seems disputes do then flare
up.
That the wheat was not returned may make you fighting
mad
But you'd better not go snooping about the little lad!
Now let's get back to Abbot Ci. Having had his outburst at
Zhu Dabo, he instructed Old Liu to never again carry the
little fellow outside. And at the age of one he was take to to
have his head shaved before the statue of Buddha; from
that time on he had the name of Ji'r and was a junior bonze
in the Temple. Now, because Zhu Dabo had told all the
neighbors about the hatching of the goose egg, rumors had
flown all around. All the monks had heard them and the
Abbot could do nothing about it. So they all also called him
"Bonze Dan", meaning "Bonze Egg".
When he had learned to talk and acquired a bit of sense his
appetite for learning suddenly grew by leaps and bounds ,
and he never shrank from study and prayer. The days flew
by like arrows and before they knew it this Bonze Dan had
grown to fifteen years of age. As for his manner and
appearance, here's a Xijiangyue poem:
With eyes so bright and brows so thick and nose so very
high
Fat bellied and near eight feet tall he seemed to touch the
sky!
His face and outward bearing matched his origins so well
While his voice resounded loudly with the timbre of a bell.
The vegetarian regime he held in disregard
While in valor he surpassed the Buddha's bodyguard.
Heaven sent him down to Earth, this king born from an egg
And next to ordinary monks comparisons all beg!
Moreover, this young man was nothing if not brilliant. Even
though he wasn't willing to devote all his time to memorizing
the classics, you need only to have read a selection to him
once and he could recite it fluently. And some people set
themselves up for a fall by taking him for a fool; indeed, he
won many a night's free entertainment by meeting wagers
about his knowledge. It goes without saying that the Abbot
came to love him dearly. In fact the old bonze couldn't resist
doting over him with all his heart. Now, dear reader, what
do you make of this? Well, for one the boy was clever, and
for another reason he pitied the lad for having no blood
relations outside of the monastery. But there was also a
third reason.
This Bonze Dan hadn't respected the dietary laws since his
childhood; what he loved was using the lance and cudgel.
Although he didn't spend much time at prayer, he usually
drilled at his martial arts using the giant crossbar of the
main gates. And when the Abbot told him to do the hoeing
he could do more than twice the work of his peers. The only
problem with him was that his temper was awful; anybody
going against him could expect a bawling out or even a
punch in the nose. But, fortunately, he obeyed his elders
and would come running if the old Rector or Abbot should
call his name.
Through all of this he managed to win the heart of Abbot Ci,
who redoubled his efforts at caring and providing for him.
This caused the other disciples, young and old alike, to
become upset, and when they met they often discussed
throwing him out. It was just that there hadn't yet been any
pretext. Every time the young bonze became unruly his
father the Daoist Rector or the Abbot himself would take his
side. And Abbot Ci had asked the novices for
forebearance toward Bonze Dan, who, he confided in them,
was a supernatural being in soul and body. So the young
monks simply had to grin and bear it.
Now, when Bonze Dan heard folks saying that he'd come
out of an egg and with even his own family agreeing he was
a supernatural being, certainly no ordinary mortal, he then
wanted to find some truly great work to do while on earth.
The other young monks called him a beast behind his back
as well as "the wild monk- "hatched by a hen and raised by
a dog". It was truly an ugly experience and he often thought
of leaving the Yinghui Temple to roam the world. But
because of old Liu's kindness he couldn't just yet cast
himself adrift.
Suddenly one day his father, the old Daoist Liu, took
gravely ill and became bedridden. Bonze Dan took care of
him with all his heart and soul but despite his soups,
medicines and attention the old incense tender's condition
failed to improve. Finally, amidst cries of grief he died.
Bonze Dan cried his heart out and, of course, provided his
stepfather with a coffin and a proper laying-in. Then he and
Abbot Ci selected an unused spot by the edge of the
garden plot for a grave. The Abbot had given his
permission but the monks had their objections.
"Teacher is being sentimental," they whispered, "giving an
entire burial plot to a lowly incense tender, a Daoist at that.
If one of us monks were to die you'd have to build him a
burial mound by that precedent and after two or three
generations there wouldn't be half a parcel of land left of our
garden. In the end all the Temple's land would be given to
graves."
Abbot Ci closed his ears to their comments and said
nothing. It was a while before an auspicious day came up
for the funeral. Among the monks were those pretending to
have colds and bellyaches; they clearly didn't care to help
mourn. Only one old bonze played a dirge on the cymbals.
And in the evening, when it was all over, Abbot Ci took
Bonze Dan to his own room to rest.
Three days later Bonze Dan was about to cook some rice
and broth to be given as a sacrifice to the departed old
Daoist. He'd especially procured a piece of beancurd
which he put in a small bowl in the kitchen. Then he went out
on a short errand to buy some sacrificial money. When he
returned to finish the preparations he found to his horror
that the beancurd had been moved to a stool and eaten by
the dogs. He clearly realized that this had been done by the
other bonzes and was brokenhearted. Facing the stove he
cried and cried, and was still pouring out his grief when the
monks came in to present their objections.
"This kitchen," began one of them, "is not a sacrificial altar
or ancestral temple for Old Liu, so what's there to cry over?
Your sacrifice has been eaten by the dogs and no doubt
there were some Doggie Zhangs and Lis among them, and
who knows, maybe even a Doggy Liu?" The monks then
took it in turn to scold Bonze Dan but despite their insults
he kept silent. Then, casting aside the paper money he
walked out in front of the hall and sat himself down angrily
on a laundry stone by the pond.
"Those baldheaded mules," he thought. "They're bullying
me openly now that my father's dead and I'm all alone in the
world. The old Abbot's been fine all these years, just like a
candle burning in the strongest wind, but he too could go at
any time. There's really no way out of this. I'd really love to
wait til midnight and set a fire. I'd sure feel great seeing
those jackass monks burnt to death." Then he
reconsidered: "Of course there's the Abbot; he's got to live.
How could I ever warn him to leave the Temple in time?"
After long reflection he realized that he could never bring
himself to commit the murderous act of arson no matter
what, and he raised his fist in frustration, striking the laundry
stone and pulverizing its edge.
Shortly before this time, neighbor Zhu Dabo had also
passed away leaving a son named Zhu Chouhan. About Ci,
remembering that argument of long before and fearing for
his own afterlife, took the five bushels of buckwheat he'd
once intended to repay over to help the Zhus in their
mourning. And he also ordered Bonze Dan to kowtow
before the bier of Zhu Dabo. He and Zhu Chouhan came to
get acquainted and had frequent dealings from that point
on.
One day Chouhan was bent over the water's edge washing
vegetables when he heard the sound of a crumbling rock.
When he turned and looked he recognized Bonze Dan.
"Why is Teacher Dan testing his strength here?" he asked.
Bonze Dan sat silently.
"Who've you been haggling with?" continued Chouhan.
"You know that wine, sex and riches are forbidden to church
folks. Now, for you drink has been no problem for you and
there have been women of all ages coming around for you
to dally with, and cash has been thrown your way, too;
you've been able to handle these temptations. But anger is
the one thing that you've got to learn to control before it
destroys you."
"That's for sure, brother," answered Bonze Dan; "that's my
most important weakness. This time it's just that I've been
picked on by that gang of baldheaded monks, that's all."
"When my father was alive," said Chouhan, "he always said
you were a good man, destined for salvation. How'd you
ever get mixed up with that sort? Monks are notorious for
bullying and backbiting, sometimes even over one day's
seniority! You're still single and you've got your whole life
ahead of you. You've got to get out of there, that's for sure,
cause if you don't and old Abbot Ci passes away you'll be
at their mercy! So think it over and don't just keep on taking
it so patiently!" Having finished giving this advice, he
picked up his vegetables and walked away.
Upon hearing Chouhan's advice Bonze Dan once and for
all cast aside his dark thoughts of burning down the Temple
and decided instead to leave it for a wandering existance.
Of course he took Abbot Ci's kindness into account and
thought of explaining the reason to him, but reconsidered.
"If I tell him," he realized, "he won't release me! I'd rather be
tough and leave once and for all." Now, the sacrificial
money was still on the kitchen counter so he burned it in the
stove. Then he went into the Abbot's room, quietly took up
some suitable clothes and bundled them into a neat little
package, just right for the carrying pole. After waiting for
nightfall he slipped out of the Temple gate. Then taking
advantage of the moonlight he made off at his best stride
and was gone. And here's a poem:
He didn't care which way he went, he only wanted out
Running like the wind itself upon its trackless route.
Of course he wasn't happy to embark on such a course
But to stay in those conditions would have brought him
more remorse.
Now let's turn our attention to Abbot Ci. Come nightfall he
noticed Bonze Dan's failure to return to his quarters, and
when he asked the monks about it they of course claimed
to know nothing. Next morning he noticed that his clothes
and carrying pole were gone and became suspicious.
"One of you," he told the monks, "must have argued with
our junior bonze, for he's taken my clothes and carrying
pole and left without a sound. He must have been furious."
The assembled bonzes wouldn't take responsibility. "We
had no dispute with him," one said, "he made up his mind
some time ago to wander off. Yesterday he burned spirit
money in honor of Doggie Liu and that signaled his
intentions, it seems."
The Abbot didn't believe it and them in parting to get out
and search for him, on all fours if they had to, and bring him
back. Now, the bonzes nodded aggreement and each
ostensibly went out to look, but actually they just loitered
and drifted back and forth outside the Temple walls, killing
time. After an hour they returned.
"There's no use; he's nowhere to be found," they reported;
"he's probably far off by now." After breakfast Abbot Ci
again pleaded with the monks to find him, and then himself
took a bamboo cane and walked around town for a look.
Upon his fruitless return to the Temple he saw the coterie of
bonzes sitting, banded together by the water's edge, and
let fly with a stone.
"Shame on you youngsters," he shouted angrily, "leaving an
old man to walk around like this while you loaf here for
hours! You're all coldhearted, that's for sure; why, you
haven't budged to look for him!"
Now, the bonzes all knew that the jig was up so they tried
yet another trick.
"There's no use searching," said one, "he loves and honors
you, Teacher, so he'll be back to see you in a few days."
And another chimed in: "Teacher, you sure honored him but
did he reciprocate? We'll see soon enough...by his return. If
he doesn't come back I guess he didn't revere you as much
as you thought. Anyway, if he really were a good person he
wouldn't have left without a word." Then another: "Why,
Bonze Dan is a future Abbot while we're all useless. Oh
excuse me, how dare I be so disrespectful to Teacher?"
Finally one more had his say. "He didn't have any kin and
he just drifted in on us. Teacher, you'd do well to search out
his roots instead of his present whereabouts! And it isn't
that we just quit looking and came back, either; who knows
what district or county he could be in by now? It's like
finding a needle in a haystack! You've got to first have
some clue where he might be, then write out a public notice
begging him to return for us to carry and post there."
Abbot Ci was thus roundly scolded by the group and, too
angry to speak, went back to his room and sobbed. He
never again told the monks to search. Everyday he'd lock
his room and go out to ask around; upon his return from
these rounds the monks would make rude hand gestures
and mocking faces behind his back. After more than a
month there was still no news. Now, Abbot Ci knelt before
the statue of Guanyin for guidance several times, and on
each occasion the slip he received was inauspicious. He
thought of the words written on that slip number fifteen he'd
first pulled out, years ago: "...the drifting of the cradle will
soon enough be through" and "Where the babe was
launched and how he floats among the reeds," but they
weren't to be found this time. He concluded that the real
importance of that slip was its number, signifying the fifteen
years allotted him by Heaven to have the child, as had
indeed just passed before his disappearance. How
unbearable a fate! He could only sigh in resignation and
despair. For among all of the kinds of grief and bitterness
in the world perhaps there is nothing worse than parting
unto death, never to meet again. Alas, every party must
come to an end sometime. And on those words we take
leave of this sad affair.
Getting back to our Bonze Dan, we now find him on his
own, determined to wander to every famous place and
legendary mountain, to visit Daoist Immortals and learn of
their mighty, earthshaking magic. And so he continued,
begging for alms as he went, stopping at the Temple of
Glorious Filial Piety at Xiangshan, Quanzhou District,
where he worshipped the true body of the ageless Buddha.
Then he wandered to Hengzhou where he witnessed
sunrise from the Holy Peak of the South, Hengshan, and
roamed all of its seventy-two peaks, ten caves, fifteen
sheer cliffs, thirty-six springs and twenty-five brooks. He
climbed the mountains and took joy in the streams and
lakes as he found them, and upon meeting some
wandering monk or wizard would keep their company as
long as it suited him, again casting off on his own. And so it
went on until suddenly one day, together with a group of
monks, he passed by the foot of Mt Dream-of-the-Clouds in
Mianyang. They'd come to a place where there wasn't a
trace of civilization; the mountains were jagged and
threatening, strewn with boulders and fallen trees. As they
desired such a serene spot they continued carefully, but a
sea of white fog descended upon them and made the path
undiscernable. Naturally, they became afraid.
"Let's turn around and get out" cried the monk bringing up
the rear, "we've taken the wrong road." Now, Bonze Dan
was following the group out when he had a thought. "What
sort of place could this be?" "I've heard," said one of the
monks as they walked on, "that there's a White Cloud Cave
here, and the White Ape God lives there. Because secret
charms from Heaven's books are written there, this fog is
produced to obscure them and prevent their theft by
mankind. Every year at noon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar
month, the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the Ape God
ascends to Heaven for an hour and the fog lifts temporarily.
Then he returns and the fog with him. In the cave is a white
jade incense burner; the smoke from it is proof that the
monkey is on the job guarding the charms. Now, if some
Daoist were to seize that hour and find the cave entrance,
he'd find a threatening stone bridge over an abyss too
threatening to cross. And once the fog returns who knows
how many li it covers; if one made a mistake it would be
curtains. Without any way out and with only fog to breath for
hours, why, if you didn't die you'd be sickened for sure. For
this Mt Dream-of-the-Clouds is nine hundred square li, and
who knows how many caverns there are worthy of the name
'White Cloud Cave'?
Bonze Dan quietly took all this in. "So, there really have
been some secrets of sorcery here," he thought. "Why, if I'm
not fated to learn, who is?"
After a few days he casted aside his companions and
returned alone along the old road to Mt Dream of the
Clouds. At the edge of the fog he stopped. Breaking off
some dry wood and gathering pine branches he built a
small hut. During the day he went out to gather provisions
while by night he rested in the shelter, only waiting for the
fifth day of the fifth month, hoping to enter White Cloud
Cave and steal the White Ape God's forbidden Daoist
charms from the secret books of Heaven. And if he could
get them once he'd surely succeed again.
Anyway, if he didn't give it a try and at least walk off with
them once, he'd never know the profound mysteries of
Heaven's books. It's like this:
Seeking only bitterness amidst a bitter life
He's nothing but a phoney monk who joins in mortal strife.
Now as for where he wanders and about the charms he
takes
Read on in further chapters and see what all it makes.
Chapter 9
YOUNG MASTER LENG HAS A BRUSH
WITH SORCERY
WHILE BONZE DAN AGAIN ATTEMPTS
TO STEAL
YUAN GONG'S CHARMS
Sorcery's a holy faith and so is Destiny
White Cloud Cave's got one who knows
them both so thoroughly.
If it's fated folks will meet though miles stand in
between
While without Fate a neighbor may go all one's life
unseen.
Now as Fate would have it Bonze Dan rested in the grass
hut at the foot of Mt Dream-of-the-Clouds, just waiting for
the fifth day of the fifth lunar month when the fog would clear
and he'd get a chance to enter White Cloud Cave and steal
the sorcery charms. It was only the first week of April and
with the Dragon Boat Festival a full month away he was
understandably impatient and fidgety. And although he was
thoroughly bent upon learning the secrets of sorcery he still
had his doubts, fearing that what the monk had said was
just idle gossip. He had no way of knowing, but if it were
indeed false where then had all that fog come from? He
often clambored up the trail to a nearby peak for a look but
saw only a vast ocean of white cloud below; he had no idea
of what the terrain that lay below it even looked like.
One day after supper he drank some wine that he'd
managed to procure. "I've heard," he told himself, half
drunk, "that fog doesn't affect drunks. Why, with my head
holding up the sky and my feet planted firmly on the earth,
what do I have to fear from this Yuan Gong or from his old
lady for that matter? Dragon Boat, Phoenix Boat, who gives
a damn; why wait? I ought to just go in and demand the holy
books, and that's that!"
And so Bonze Dan staggered to his feet, walked into the
wall of fog and disappeared from view. Before he could get
one li, however, the blanket became so thick and
concentrated that he couldn't even open his eyes. It was all
he could do to turn around and get out of there, but he
became suddenly aware that the monk had indeed been
telling the truth. He simply had to wait it out.
When the day of the Dragon Boat Festival finally arrived
and the sundial indicated nine in the morning, sure enough
the fog began to lift. In half an hour it had all burned off and
the weather became clear and crisp.
"Shame on me for having doubted it," he happily
exclaimed, "it's just like the story said after all! This really is
my day!" And so he put on a pair of quiet hemp slippers,
took up a brown sandalwood staff and fairly flew off on his
quest.
After traveling two or three li the scenery began to change,
with jagged threatening slopes and topsy-turvy boulders
above and marshes below; the trail became overgrown and
indiscernable. But beneath his feet he spotted an ongoing
silky thread. It seemed a safe guide so he followed it ever
onward into the bush. Before he'd gone another ten li, sure
enough he came to a narrow stone bridge, over twenty feet
long but barely a foot wide, spanning a terrible chasm. And
far below the bridge boiled the roaring torrents of a
cascading stream, with rocks and boulders as fierce as
swords and cudgels. When Bonze Dan first saw it he was
scared white, but with a little rationalization his fear
dissolved; having come this far how could he ever retreat?
Life and death are, after all, predestined, so what was there
to be afraid of? Riveting his eyes straight ahead and calling
up all of his spleen he boldly strode across, oblivious to the
plumes of vapor and spray that floated up on either side
from the maelstrom below.
On the other side there was indeed a stone cave and
above its mouth were engraved the three characters for
White Cloud Cave. And when he entered he beheld a huge
plot of farmland, miraculously lit from above. Just look at
this:
The fertile plain in front of him stretched out so very wide
Dense and ancient forest bounded it on either side.
The treasure fruits and vegetables that in that cave did
thrive
Never needed planting and alone they could survive.
This hidden cave was so remote for sure it never knew
The sound and tumult of the hunts held by the King of Chu.
And even famous Sima Qian the Grand Historian
In all his writings never told of this to later men.
In olden times a man fled Qin and hid in Taoyuan's caves
A fisherman he'd met had helped him cross the angry
waves.
But even some poor refugee with terror on his face
Would have a hard time asking for a ferry to this place.
Now Bonze Dan simply couldn't get enough of the
outstanding scenary and indulged his fancy just a bit too
long. When he walked into the cave he came to a miniature
mountain peak inside a sunlit chamber. At its foot was a
white jade burner, ever so pure and lustrous in appearance.
"Such things," he thought, "not to mention the Daoist
secrets hidden here, are beyond men's wildest dreams. My
being here is a blessing from a previous life, no doubt."
He then climbed up the pile of rocks and played there to his
heart's content. Suddenly a fragrance touched his nostrils.
"Strange" he thought. Then he saw a ribbon of smoke rising
ever so delicately from the incense burner. Fear shot
through Bonze Dan's very bones. "It must be past noon," he
cried, "and the White Ape God has returned." Down he
leapt from the miniature peak, not daring to look back. He
backtracked out of the cave and broke into a run, forgetting
his sandalwood staff in the rush. Getting back to the stone
bridge he saw a curtain as white as snow settling down; the
fog was swirling back. In his haste he tripped and almost
plunged into the violence below. Fortunately he regained
his footing and made it across, and this emboldened him.
He lengthened his stride and in a short while ran ten li. And
when he finally looked back he saw only a thick fog,
obscuring Heaven and Earth and hiding the cave entrance
as of old.
Returning to his grass hut he sat for over an hour catching
his breath. "How bitter," he sulked, "to have been tempted
by that scenery without getting any real information. I still
don't know if those writings are even in there. It was like
gazing at the moon while passing up a treasure right under
my eyes, and it's a full three hundred and sixty-five days to
the next Dragon Boat Festival; how will I endure the wait?"
Then he reflected for a moment.
"The first time out I was green," he thought. "Next time
around I'll be a seasoned veteran, and I won't be looking at
any scenery, that's for sure. I'll run right into that White Ape
God's bedchamber and by golly no matter how many of
those heavenly books he's got hidden I'll carry them all out
of there, and I'll choose what I want later at my leisure. That'll
be great!" From then on he rested his heart and mind and
took up a long vigil. And he gave up the hut for a new
calling: begging alms everyday, everwhere throughout the
land.
One day he arrived at a place called Yongzhou. In that
district is the Stone Swallow Mountain and the Wu River;
each has got something mysterious about it. What do I
mean by that? Well, the myriad fragments of rock which,
when piled up, comprise that mountain form the outline of a
swallow. In fact, when viewed from afar on a rainy day it
really appears to be a swallow in flight. Of course climbing
the mountain and actually trying to get a hand on the
soaring bird reveals it to be just so many rocks. What's
more, when the wind and rain cease the swallow then
seems from afar to be resting.
As for the Wu River, on the face of one sheer cliff is a
naturally inlaid Mirror of Stone, fifteen inches high and three
feet wide and thick. Pitch black like obsidian, it allows us to
see almost like true life anything that is reflected upon it, a
truly extraordinary quality. Although it can't be compared
with the "Spleen Viewing Stone" of Qin, which could reveal
one's internal organs, you can still count your every hair and
whisker in it just as if it were made by the finest craftsman.
As Bonze Dan loved these sights he stayed in Yongzhou for
awhile.
One day, when he visited the Wu River Gorge for another
look he couldn't find the Mirror of Stone in its usual spot.
There was only an empty hole in the stone face where it had
been. Looking and listening in alarmed surprise, he heard
the ringing of a royal carriage bell and the sound of a large
group of men on horseback galloping forth. From behind
the trunk of a large pine, Bonze Dan managed to peek
down and see a young nobleman with red lips and healthy
white teeth, astride the leading horse. Upon his head was a
Jinshi degreeholder's turban of the Tang style and he wore
a Wuling Daoist's gown. He rode a pumpkin colored horse,
followed by more than ten servants. The young noble
dismounted and walked to the cliffside. Looking at the
empty hole above, he was pointing skyward and drawing
vigorously on the ground with a stick; what he was telling his
men couldn't be heard from the tree. Then along came four
sturdy farmers, hauling and shouldering a large black piece
of stone.
"It must be," thought Bonze Dan, "that the young lord has
taken away the Mirror of Stone. Now, true to form, he's
scandalizing folks by replacing it with a piece of rock!" He
watched as the yeomen lifted it up the face of the cliff.
"Make more use of the ropes" shouted the group below,
"don't let go, whatever you do!" Then the entire entourage
dismounted and rushed forward to pitch in and help. There
were men above and below, pulling on the ropes and
pushing deperately, while others helped with the block and
tackle, jacks, and levers. In less than an hour the stone was
hanging in front of its recess and the group relaxed from
their labors for awhile. Then a rope was slowly tightened
and the stone then settled neatly in place. The men below
gave shouts of joy and relief. Why, that black rock had all
along been the Mirror of Stone!
Now this young nobleman was surnamed Leng. He was the
son of Xueshi degreeholder Leng of this district. Although
handsome, folks thought him mean and harsh, especially
toward servants. As a result he was nicknamed "Skinflint
Leng". And there was a farming village within five li of this
place called Lengjiazhuang, the Leng Family Village. Now,
this young Master Leng loved the Mirror of Stone with all his
heart, and suddenly one day ordered his people to climb up
and fetch it back to the village. Who would have imagined
that this mirror had a spirit residing in it, and that once
removed from the cliff it would fail to give off even the
faintest glimmer of light, just like the dullest charcoal? But
as they returned it to its old place and set it into the cliffside
recess it again shone as of old. When this happened the
assembled men had cheered, and when Bonze Dan stuck
out his neck for a better look he was suddenly spotted by
young Master Leng.
"You, monk over there!" shouted the young master, "Are
you some kind of sneakthief waiting to pounce on
travelers?"
Bonze Dan could only come out of hiding and offer a meek
explanation. "I bow to thee," he weedled; "I'm a poor monk
from Sizhou, out to visit the famous peaks of every county. I
wandered into this fine place quite unaware of your
Excellency's presence, and I failed to leave when I first saw
you. I'm sorry for my rudeness."
The young master's men were indignant.
"This vagrant monk is really insolent," one complained; "not
kowtowing even once before our master."
Bonze Dan was lost for words but fortunately Master Leng
spoke up.
"Men and women of the cloth may disperse with such
rituals," he said, "but may I with all due respect ask your
name, how long you've been here in this shabby place of
ours and where you've been putting yourself up for the
night?"
"Your humble priest took his vows at the Yinghui Temple on
Mt Yinghui, and is known as Bonze Dan. It's been about a
month since I arrived here and I haven't bothered to drop in
on any monastery. I've been living in the wild and sleeping
out under the stars."
"Such a chance meeting is rare indeed," said the young
master; "it must have been fated. Our humble village is a
short distance away. Please honor us with a visit and a
vegetarian meal in our midst. You will come, won't you?"
"Many blessings for your heartfelt charity," answered Bonze
Dan, accepting the invitation. Thereupon young Master
Leng mounted the lead horse, directed two of his men to
accompany our monk, and they slowly returned home.
By and by the two servants spoke up to their charge.
"It's Daoism that our master likes," said one; "he doesn't
believe in the power of Buddhists. He's never before invited
any bonze, nor has he ever given a cent in alms to them.
But today he's invited you to our village for a solemn meal
and shown you complete respect. Such treatment is really
precedent making!"
"What's the surname of your clan's old master?" asked
Bonze Dan.
"He's named Leng, you know, the character between Xin
and Kan in the Book of the Hundred Surnames. Our clan's
patriarch is presently at Court, serving as a scholar in the
National Hanlin Academy. He fathered only this one son
who stays home and studies all the time. The boy's just
recently taken a mistress from among the village girls."
While they were talking they arrived. Sure enough, before
Bonze Dan's very eyes stood the fine little village of
Lengjiazhuang. It was like this:
The village gate was open wide to welcome Heaven's
wagon
The mighty mountains stood as if to greet the lucky dragon.
The road led on into a grove with shade so fresh and cool
And facing them so pure and deep there was a sparkling
pool.
A threshing site there was as well with millstone flat and
round
Appearing just as if it were a fairies' playing ground.
The pastureland upon the hill was carpeted with green
Among the grazing cattle dashing horses could be seen.
A mansion rose above the town so many levels high
Like Meng Changjun's guest quarters it touched the very
sky.
With its flowers everywhere it almost seemed to be
That very house of old Shi Chong that pleased the guests of
Qi.
It must have been the pastime of a local patriarch
As it couldn't be mistaken for your average village park.
Bonze Dan arrived inside the great hall and was ever so
politely greeted by young Master Leng. "How long have you
been a man of the cloth?" he asked. "You look like a
youngster; how old are you?"
I'm only nineteen, and I've been under vows since
childhood."
"And what was your worldly surname? It's hard to believe
you've had that name of yours since birth."
"Oh, I was raised by the bonzes and I've never known my
real kin. Dan may mean egg, but that's my name all right."
"I've heard," said Master Leng, "that those fated to rise as
high as the starry crown of the Ruler of Heaven must be
either Buddhist or Daoist. Your having been in a monastery
since childhood is surely fated. Well, you're nineteen now;
what was the exact date of your birth?"
"Your humble monk was taken into the temple within a
month of birth. Folks say it must have been November, for
the scenery was that of late fall or early winter. Nobody
knows exactly when I was born."
At this point a servant entered. "The sacred feast is
prepared," he declared; "where shall it be served?" Master
Leng drew in his breath through his teeth and reflected for a
moment.
"Bring it to the Lotus Boat," he ordered. Then he arose and
addressed Bonze Dan. "Will you step into the rear garden,
dear priest, and partake of our meal?"
"Why, thanks a lot" replied our monk.
"Oh," said the young master sheepishly, I forgot to ask a
second ago, but, well, will you dare to try a little meat or
wine?"
"There's nothing against it in the Ten Precepts, now, is
there?" answered Bonze Dan.
"No wonder you've grown so stout and tall," laughed Master
Leng. "Well, come to think of it, it's a good thing you came
to our little hamlet." And he ordered a servant to bring some
ready-cooked fish and meat and to warm a vessel of wine,
to be consumed with the ordinary "monks' food". "I have a
rather mundane affair to take care of," he then told Bonze
Dan, "so I'll take leave of you for the time being."
"Don't worry about it," answered our monk, "I'm really
grateful for all this."
Thereupon Master Leng made his exit and Bonze Dan
followed the servants along a serpentine path into the rear
garden. Now, this garden had a fishpond several mu in
size, and standing right in the middle were three junkshaped pavillions, placed as if sailing in formation; lotuses
were floating all around them. It being late autumn there
weren't any blossoms, only some dead leaves strewn
across the surface of the pool. On one of the pavillions was
a horizontal stone tablet reading "The Lotus Boat", with an
inscription by national examination third place medalist
Feng Zhengti. By the water's edge were three large halls,
surrounded by luxuriant bamboo. In front of these halls
stood a "Moon Festival Pavillion", built out of large stones;
it formed a pier, with a small rowboat of a ferry moored at
its base.
The servants led our Bonze Dan down into the little boat,
cast off the line and poled the vessel over to the great stone
Lotus Boat Pavillion, where they helped him to disembark.
Then, as before, they returned to shore. When Bonze Dan
looked, why, sure enough it was just like a boat, with each
compartment seperated by railings and bulkheads, and all
were open to him.
On the first level was a room to seat a small number of
guests, while on the next there were a few people at work
behind the scenes arranging tables, chairs and utensils.
Along the sides of the hall were spotted bamboo curtains
hung from lacquered beams of bright vermillion. And on the
third floor was a small chamber. Each of its walls had cool
paper summer windows and a small bed was fixed in the
center; obviously it was a bedroom. "He's invited me to a
monk's feast," thought Bonze Dan ever so darkly, "but one
can eat anywhere. Why did he have to take me out into the
middle of this lake? I dare say he's afraid I might get away
before I can 'enjoy' his 'favors'. It's easy to see that he's a
nonbeliever! Why the nerve of him treating me like this!
What does he think he's doing, ordering me to starve at
sea?" But just then he hesitated, seeing two servants. One
held covered serving plates and the other was poling that
little boat back to the pavillion. Presently several courses
were placed upon the table in the hall. There were bowls of
dried and salted goose meat as well as pork shoulder and
knuckles and fresh fish. Then there were bowls of dried
bamboo shoot, beancurd deep fried with mushrooms,
lentils and beanpaste. All told there were four vegetarian
courses and four of meat. There was one large kettle of
wine and a tin bowl of rice as well.
"Wow," shouted Bonze Dan as he scrambled over to the
banquet table and began to slurp down the meal, indulging
himself brashly. The domestics waited for him to finish, then
they tidied up, wiped the table clean and waited.
"Where's your clan's leader," asked the monk, "I'd like to
bid my farewells before leaving."
"We haven't heard from the Master," the servants replied;
"we suppose he wants you to stay the night, eh?" The
domestics then left the Lotus Boat Pavillion, leaving Bonze
Dan alone to watch them pole the small boat back to shore.
"Stay the night..." he repeated over and over, "What could
he possibly have in mind? Well, I'll wait patiently and see
what happens next."
Evening came and the two servants returned by the ferry
carrying bedding and snacks for bedtime tea. One set up
the tea and implored their guest to partake of the treats
while the other made the bed and proclaimed the chamber
fit for the night; they then once more left the Lotus Boat. "I'll
get a fine night's sleep and hassle it out tomorrow," thought
Bonze Dan before he nodded pleasantly off.
The night passed without incident. At daybreak the two
servants returned with hot and cold water and set up a
breakfast service, ever so carefully laying forth two dishes
each, vegetarian and meat.
"I've done nothing to deserve such a feast," said Bonze
Dan; "I really must leave now!"
"Our master still has a few things he'd like to discuss with
you," answered the servants. "He can't find any free time
just now so he's told us to take good care of you and not to
hurt your feelings. You're to stay and enjoy yourself for a few
days."
Bonze Dan was nonetheless irritated and he began to
show it. "If your master has something to say, why not come
right out and tell me what it's all about? Then at least my
mind will be at ease during my stay."
"How can we mere subordinates understand what's on our
master's mind? Are you afraid of the dark? Want some
companionship? You needn't hold back... just tell us and the
woman or girl of your desires is yours; that's a small matter.
Why, last year our master entertained an Original Nature
Daoist right here in this pavillion, where he lectured on your
yin yang modulation sorcery. He needed a girl every night,
so our master called over some real professionals to
satisfy his desire and lecherous tastes. The things he did to
those women, and to think, he continued the bedlam for
over a month before moving on to Luoyang! He said
something about returning this year, but thank heavens,
we've seen neither hide nor hair of him so far."
"I've got no intention of violating my vows of chastity," said
Bonze Dan, "and I assure you I'm not afraid of the dark! But
there is one thing. If I may further intrude on our master's
graces, could I possibly be free to leave the pavillion and
wander around in the garden? That would really help me
feel better."
One of the servants pointed to the mansions on shore and
spoke: "Master's new bride lives in a new room behind that
building. Aside from her maids and personal attendants no
outsiders are allowed in there." Bonze Dan took this in
silence.
Now to digress for awhile let's get back to young Master
Leng. Although his family was old, distinguished and
wealthy, lechery and drunkeness weren't among its vices.
But there was a family Courtyard of Immortality, and a
certain weakness for sorcerers, wizards and witches and
their heterodox crafts. As for the Courtyard, acclaimed
sorcerers were brought there from all over the land; all were
welcome. Now it so happened that, a few days before
Bonze Dan's arrival, the eldest son of the neighboring
county's Privy Councillor Wang sent over a man with his
personal recommendation, named Feng Jingyan. He
claimed that he could see the spirits with his own eyes and
that he had supernatural skill at sorcery. How formidable
soundling!
In Han times a sorcerer was said to have carved wooden
men with clubs and buried them in the ground. Then at night
he would sacrifice, and curse whomever he wished to
destroy. The wooden men would come alive, leave their
resting place in the earth, and attack that person. And
during the last years of the Tang there was Gao Pian's
lieutenant, Lu Hongzhi, who served at the time of Huang
Chao's revolt when Heaven withdrew its favor of the
Dynasty. Why, he cast a small statue of his boss, covered
its eyes and ears, placed it in a wicker box and buried it
under his bed. Then he used it to place a spell on the
trusted General Gao, making him sick and disoriented
under his exclusive control.
The wizardry of our present-day Feng Jingyan, however, is
yet another thing entirely. When he wishes to haunt
somebody he merely sets up a sacrificial altar in some
secluded place, then he offers up something to the spirits.
Next, he draws a large circle on the earth before the altar. In
the circle he places a porcelain jar containing the accursed
one's full name, native district and year, month, day and
exact time of birth. Then he writes and chants his magic
charms at the altar, and snatches up the living hun essence
of the unfortunate individual's soul. If he doesn't succeed at
once he continues for three, five, even seven days. When
the hun essence is finally captured it's only fourteen inches
long with a face and bearing no different from those of its
unfortunate owner. Then, if he were to enter the chalk circle
and snatch up the little fellow and place it together with a
spirit tablet into the jar, and if he were to seal it up and bury
it, the afflicted owner would up and die without delay. Here's
a poem:
Old and grey are those who tell of Gao Pian and his Fate
Or how a crown prince came to earn a warlock's mortal
hate.
If the curses and the charms could ever really kill
Then all the folks on Earth would have God's power at their
will.
Now, the lines of this poem indicate that life and death are
fated by Heaven. If some evil spirit is invoked to cause a
death, there is still the matter of the victim's fated allotment
of days remaining unfulfilled. Folk proverbs such as "A
curse on the devil" written at the coffin's head say it well.
And there's another famous saying: "Better an untimely
death than a life filled with hatred". But if a person is so
blessed as to have happily lived out all of their alloted days,
even a direct hit by a thunderclap won't awaken them from
the slumber of death. And if one's fated days aren't so long
or if one is destined to die young, it wouldn't be fitting to
consider such a fate tragic, or to honor such a person with
a memorial. That's just the way things go. But enough of this
prattle!
Now, Young Master Leng had heard that Feng Jingyan was
expert at sorcery and was eager to learn from him, but as of
yet he had no idea if the man's legendary skills were for
real. So encountering Bonze Dan, a freebooting monk
without any kin, he coldheartedly invited him into his home
with the hope of using him in a test of Feng's magic. He'd
already learnt our monk's name and native district but there
was still one small problem: the year and month of his birth
were known, but not the date or exact time. And so he sent
a man over to fetch Feng Jingyan so that they could discuss
this.
"If you don't know the time of birth," advised Feng, "an
article of his clothing and a sample of his hair or fingernails
will do just as well."
"That's easy," said Master Leng. And he instructed his
servants to take some cloth and make a new garment for
the monk. On the pretext that their family patriarch would be
angered if the bonze's clothes weren't clean he also
ordered the old garment taken away, cleaned and starched
afresh. Then he told a barber to give our monk a haircut
and shampoo and to preserve the clippings without fail.
Now, Bonze Dan took these as kind favors and happily
accepted. In fact, even the servants didn't know what was
on their master's mind. And so they told him to discard his
lower garment and took it together with some of his hair to
young Master Leng, who was exceedingly thrilled with his
success. Then he and Feng Jingyan went off to a rice
warehouse on the east side of the estate where they
prepared an altar in accordance with Daoist lore, complete
with paper horses, incense candles and the like.
They then assigned two of the youngest servants to guard
the place, to keep the door locked and prepare three meals
daily. And should any servants or kinsmen call, the pages
were to open the lock and receive them politely and
apologetically, under no conditions letting them inside for a
peek. Such was was the secrecy that neither man nor beast
nor even fowl could know of it!
But it came to pass that Feng Jingyan was unable to inflict
a spell of death upon our monk, although certainly not
through any lack of enthusiastic effort. Of course he was in
for a grand reward if he could present Master Leng with
some proof of of his claims. Anyway, here's what
happened!
He took a broad sheet of paper and wrote a supernatural
command on it, to snatch up the living "hun" essence of one
Bonze Dan of Sizhou who had taken his vows at Yinghui
Temple on that city's Mt Yinghui and who was fated to
wander into this place. Then he gathered up some hair
clippings into a neat little package and wrote down some
hun pursuit charms on the garment that our monk had worn
against his flesh. These he placed together in a clean vase.
In front of the altar he took some lime and made a large
circle; in it he put the above urn and its contents. Then Feng
Jingyan burned incense thrice daily and prayed nightly
before the altar, writing charms and chanting. He treaded
the cosmic winds of High Heaven and stood within the Holy
Palace of the Polestar until the second or third watch of
every night.
Now, this was all without effect until the third night, when
Bonze Dan began to feel a slight headache and
temperature. By the fifth day he was stricken and
bedridden. Then Feng Jingyan noticed some black
ethereal substance beginning to swirl outside the circle,
and at once he knew it to be the restless, drifting hun
essence of Bonze Dan's soul. Next day, he sent young
Master Leng to check up on the monk. Hearing that Bonze
Dan had been stricken, he then applied all of his skill and
wisdom, and redoubled his efforts with genuine enthusiam.
After sunset on the seventh day the movements of that
black essence of soul became increasingly agitated,
swirling like a tiny tornado on the border of the chalk circle.
Then finally, by the third watch, sure enough it congealed
into the form of a midget Bonze Dan, only fourteen inches
tall, now advancing, now retreating, hovering just outside
the circle. Now Feng Jingyan, eyes bright with excitement,
picked up his wand and waved it threateningly toward the
altar table, incanting:
"Oh Duty Officer in Heaven above,
Judge of Souls in the Earth below
If you don't grant me the power now, oh when will you do
so?"
And then saying no more he only watched in horror and
amazement as the miniature Bonze Dan dove into the
circle and began to bore like a drill right into the sealed urn.
This was going too far! And as soon as the dervish
pentrated the vase a sudden dark squall arose at the altar,
with the flashing and crashing of lightning and thunder. The
vessel then shattered, and at that very moment fresh blood
spurted from the mouth of Feng Jingyan who then fell dead
before the altar. The poor fool! His entire pathetic life spent
as a sorcerer, and he kills himself without ever having
successfully harmed anyone. Indeed, he was the victim of
his own magic, and here's a poem about it:
Seasoned sorcerers can bring such harm to other folks
But neophytes can only harm themselves with magic
strokes.
He couldn't destroy that floating soul though he tried
earnestly
But kneeling there the sorcerer himself did cease to be!
His sorcery just broke the vase and made the servants
laugh
The curse fell through and Master Leng could only hold his
wrath.
If the world would ever let us quit our scheming ways
We could lift our heads three feet and see God's golden
rays.
And later people have another poem:
Hurting others brings oneself a retribution worse
Put a hex on others and receive a stronger curse.
Throw flaming oil against the wind and you will shortly learn
One who starts a firestorm will be the first to burn.
Curse others and then only fear for what will come around
Pray piously and be assured that blessings will abound.
The judge of life so darkly deals our verdicts in the end
Treating folks as they have treated other mortal men.
Those who hamper others' lives should thus remember well
There will someday be a cost that they cannot foretell.
So live in peace and always cultivate a humble heart
And give yourself no reason for regret when you depart.
Young Master Leng was felled at once by fright but returned
to his senses quickly. He ordered the two pageboys, each
barely ten years old, to wail and cry bitterly without cease.
Then he himself sprang forth and unlocked the door, calling
his servants to come and remove the corpse before the
altar. Come the next morning he bought a coffin and
provided for a lavish laying-in. Then he wrote a letter to
Privy Councillor Wang's son, informing him only that Feng
had taken ill and died. At the same time he sent some of
his men to spy on Bonze Dan.
Now as it turned out, our monk had suddenly recovered
after a cold sweat had poured forth from his entire body.
The young master felt very disappointed, and althought the
plot still remained secret without much chance of discovery
he still couldn't bring himself to look Bonze Dan in the eye.
So he called the servants who had originally brought the
clothes to take two ounces of silver to the monk, to wake
him and see him off on his way. He'd made up his mind to
drive Bonze Dan far away and to never, ever see him
again. Now, our monk only suspected that he was being
thrown out because of illness. He had no idea that he'd
been so harmfully exploited in that unfortunate
misadventure in witchcraft, or that his life had been so
endangered. so he accepted the silver with smiling grace
and profuse gratitude. Then he bowed his shiney, shaved
head, took some meat for the journey, put on his new jacket
and most happily set forth from the village of Lengjiazhuang
to roam the world as before.
Now it so happened that when Privy Councillor Wang's son
received the Leng family's letter he returned a note of
condolences at once. And of course he had to inform the
Feng clan. When the late sorcerer's survivors, including his
wives, children, parents and myriad dependants got this
news they immediately formed a veritable army of
mourners, and descended as one on the village of
Lengjiazhuang, carrying a coffin and wailing in grief.
Unable to stand it, and knowing full well that there was no
way to come right out and handle this thing above board,
the young master sent for a local shyster to officiate over
the distribution of the funeral money and the reimbursement
of the family members for their traveling expenses. Now,
among the mourners was an odious, slippery character
who had a few words alone with the master of ceremonies
and then pocketed all of the cash himself. Still, our young
Master Leng took responsibility for this and saw the whole
costly affair through to the end. By the time the coffin had
been carried off and some semblance of peace and quiet
had returned, it had all cost more than ten lumps of silver.
Now, young Master Leng had been a tightwad all of his life,
forever calculating and scheming how to bleed money out
of others while saving his own. He felt like a small
shopowner forced to sell far below cost and it hurt him to
the bone. The neighbors and townsfolk had long known him
as a notorious skinflint and chiseler, as well as a member
of the gentry and official class. They didn't dare say a word
or stare at him but they had many a good laugh-- behind his
back, of course. Anyway, what's done is done; there's no
use in locking the barn door after the horse has run away.
Getting back to Bonze Dan, well, he kind of wandered
around idly for awhile and a year flew by before he knew it.
To tell the truth, he first became aware that another spring
had arrived when he noticed the sun high overhead at noon;
it definitely seemed like the fifth month again. He'd returned
a month before to the the foot of White Cloud Cave,
completed a roof for his hut and lived much as before. Only
this time he ate lentils. From the beginning he refused to
beg alms and never left his shelter, where he just sat and
cultivated his spirit.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival he got up early, laid
out his knives, picks and ropes and put them, along with a
folded jacket, into a small rucksack. Then he put on a pair
of hemp slippers and waited. Sure enough, as noon
approached the curtain of fog departed. Nearing the cave
site the remaining fog suddenly thickened but this was no
cause for alarm. It was his second time, and as he went on
his confidence grew by leaps and bounds. He leapt across
that stone bridge and and dashed right into the mouth of the
cave, not caring in the least to look at the scenery. He went
directly to that stone summit where the white jade incense
burner sat. Now, the chamber in which the peak stood was
made of heavenly stone and was about the size of five or
six ordinary folks' houses. It was empty, absolutely devoid
of any furnishings, and in the rear was a tiny passageway.
Bonze Dan entered this smaller cave, thinking that it had to
be where the White Ape God's writings were hidden.
Ducking his head, he pressed on into the cavern. It was like
this:
He didn't care what lay ahead, resolve just then arose
To snatch forbidden treasure from beneath the dragon's
nose.
Again he was to waste his strength on one more failed try
To wait in bitterness while yet another year went by.
How many tries in all it takes before he gets a look
You'll soon find out as you go through the chapters of this
book.
Chapter 10
MONK SHI TERRORIZES LUOJIA MANOR
WHILE BONZE DAN HAS A THIRD TRY
AT STEALING YUAN GONG'S CHARMS
Stop your idle lazy ways that cost you so much time
Hard work can grind an iron bar into a needle fine.
After three attempts at theft he finally gets the charms
Anything in this whole world will yield to stubborn
arms.
"This little cave must be the place where Yuan Gong hides
the books," thought Bonze Dan, ducking his head and
pressing on into the narrow passageway. Once inside he
found it to twist and turn, widen and narrow; part in
darkness and part in light, and there were a few rooms to
be seen. In them were a bed, stool, chair, desk and things
of that sort, all of stone. And there were stone household
implements: a writing brush, inkstone, bowl and a large jug;
he couldn't lift them, try as he might. Nowhere could he see
any books. Going on yet further the cave narrowed and he
came to a puddle two or three feet deep; that appeared to
be the end of the passage.
When he turned around and retraced his steps for another
look he was already pretty sure that the heavenly books
weren't in there. Then breaking out into the large stone
chamber once more he examined the walls carefully.
"Gosh!" he exclaimed. For it had all been right in front of his
eyes all along. Why, if those characters carved on those
walls weren't Heaven's secrets, what were they? There was
only one problem. The stone walls of that giant vault couldn't
very well be carried off, and he'd brought no brush, inkstone
or paper on which to record such charms. What could he do
but rely on his memory and try to digest a few lines? His
second attempt was thus coming to a bitter end. Standing
on his tiptoes, rubbing his eyes and straining to read down
the lines of the text, what should reach his nostrils but the
aroma of incense. Running back for a look he saw that the
white jade incense burner was already emitting smoke!
Bonze Dan broke into giant strides, bolted right out of the
cave and, not daring to look back fairly flew across the
stone bridge. Arriving once more at his hut he had a good
long rest until his panting subsided.
Now it's been said since ancient times that the memory of
pain far outlives the healing of the wound itself. Thinking of
how he'd twice been to White Cloud Cave and of all the
fear and suffering he'd been through, all for the few words
he managed to remember, he really felt like screaming. So
on and on he sobbed, fore three days and nights,
unceasing in his agony. Suddenly one day a passerby
called to him. "You there, in the hut-- who are you and why
are you crying?"
Bonze Dan rubbed his tear-swollen eyes, poked outside
the hut and saw a white-haired old man. What was he like?
Just look at this:
His aging brows were frosted as if with the purest snow
While down beneath his chin a beard like silken threads did
flow.
His voice resounded far and wide just like a giant bell
While in form he could be likened to a stork as well.
His head was duly covered with cloth of deepest black
A flowing horizontal bow protruded from his back.
He wore a flowing yellow coat in very best of taste
While a fine embroidered belt was wrapped around his
waist.
Light and jaunty were his feet as if his heels had wings
All said he seemed to rise and soar above all worldly
things.
In his hand he held a staff, hewn of twisted briar
Just right to boost his every step so that he wouldn't tire.
If not the Dragon Spirit from the bottom of the sea
Who but the the great Li Bo returned from Heaven could it
be?
Seeing that the visitor was old and strange looking, Bonze
Dan rushed out curiously. The elder had some questions of
his own. "My dear monk," he began, "what brought you into
these wilds alone and what are you so upset about? Go on
and try to tell me, it'll do you good."
Bonze Dan collected himself and spoke. "Old Master, listen
to my story. I, a mere novice, have been under vows since
childhood and I've got no kin to speak of. Because I love
Dao I've been trying to learn monumental and earthshaking
kind of sorcery. Now, I've heard that this mountain's got a
certain White Cloud Cave, and that in it are stored secret
writings of Heaven. So braving all sorts of suffering I've
sought them with all my heart. Who'd have ever imagined
that I'd wait out two Dragon Boat Festivals and twice enter
that cave-- spanning more than a year of my life-- all for
naught." Then he carefully told all; how he'd searched
without success on his first try and how he'd been unable to
copy down the writings on his second. Then, the tale told,
he broke out in sobs once more.
"There's no need for such grief, priest," said the visitor;
"listen to an old man. That there White Cloud Cave, why, I
was in it as a youth."
Bonze Dan's despair turned to delight. "Then you must
have seen the heavenly writings," he blurted out; "how much
of them were you able to copy?"
"Although I did see them, I too was unable to take anything
away with me. But I later met an Original Nature Daoist who
told me that those secret charms of the Palace of Heaven
can't be copied down like your ordinary books. No siree, if
you want them, you can't just copy them with a brush; time
won't allow it. What you've got to do is take a clean, pure
white piece of paper, go with it before the incense burner
and reverently declare with all your heart to assist Heaven
and follow Dao, and to never dare do evil. If it's been fated
in Dao the characters will copy off just like that, but if it ain't
in the cards, forget it. You won't get a single word."
"Will you go back to try for a copy?" asked Bonze Dan.
"No, no," answered the stranger; "this old man's seen
better days. I ain't got the strength to do it even if I were
permitted."
"Where do live, sir?" asked our monk. "If I can copy them I'd
love to come tell you all about it!"
"Not far from here. I'll come around to check up on you
when I'm free." Having spoken, he walked off toward the
east grasping his long briarwood staff.
Bonze Dan sat in semi disbelief. "Damned if I do and
damned if I don't," he muttered. "Why, with enough effort an
iron bar can be ground down into a sewing needle. I'll just
wait out another full year, then for better or worse I'll have
something unique in my grasp. Anyway, if those Daoist
charms are really forbidden to mankind why on earth were
they carved onto the stone wall?"
And so from that point on he began his year-long rest,
nurturing his hopes afresh. After a few days he visited the
old man's place on an impulse but there was no trace of
him. Once more he became sullen and downcast at heart.
How could he spend the fours seasons of yet another year
in that hut of pine boughs? Once more he had to pack up
his belongings, take up a short cudgel for self-defense and
hit the open road for the life of a begging monk.
Shortly after setting out he arrived in a place called
Chenzhou. Now just what sort of a place was that? Just
look:
Peak after lofty peak, ridges like ocean waves
Guiding the mountain streams and guarding the famous
caves.
Twin sentinals the Great and Lesser You
Rise from a rocky fairyland below.
While waters of the Qianjiang and the Wu
Guard the secret kingdom as they flow.
Lord Luo's estate and fields all were here
Where birds hail rain, diviners without peer.
Behold the daughter of Gao Xin transformed into a stone
Still standing like a human form so sad and so alone.
Peach Mountain stands in fragrant view, pink blossoms at
its peaks
While lucky clouds of gentle hue traverse the sky in streaks.
As the Dragon's acrid breath so heavy on the breeze
Often augurs rain as if to know the farmers' needs.
Bonze Dan wandered happily around Chenzhou without
pause, and all went well. But as things would have it one
day he journeyed to the boundary of Qianyang County,
where he found a wide expanse of rolling terrain with
ragged looking burial mounds rising chaotically in the
distance all around. It was the last half of the eighth lunar
month, perhaps early in November, and the dead leaves
were piled up around his knees; it was really a desolate
scene. After continuing on for awhile without finding
anywhere to beg a meal he noticed that dusk had come to
the sky, and by now he was really hungry. But just as he
began to despair he spotted several woodcutters gathering
firewood up on a ridge and he made haste in their
direction. Catching up, he hailed them in his well practiced
style: ""This poor monk wishes to enter Qianyang County.
Praytell, which trail goes there?"
"Follow this ridge south," answered on of the woodsmen,
pointing. "You'll come to the Luojia Manor. There are a few
families farming on the estate and you can ask for more
help. We're in a rush ourselves 'cause we've got to get
back before nightfall-- sorry we can't tell you in more detail."
Now if it really makes you mad the way waiters and shop
assistants drag their feet when called, you would have been
delighted to see Bonze Dan pick up his pole and take off
as if on wings. He wasn't easily discouraged. "What's this
here place called?" he shouted to the figures in the dusk
behind him. "Rebel Graves Ridge," answered one of the
woodcutters, now far back in the distance.
"No wonder those mounds are clustered around here," he
thought; "this is a local burial ground." And he began to
muse. "The span of a human life is so ephemeral, like the
grass of summer. Why, if one can't learn something really
unique and and do some great undertaking to establish his
name for all time, it all comes to naught like these mounds
of yellow soil, anonymous and forgotten."
Sighing in despair he continued walking south. On he went
for quite a distance until the terrain began gradually to level
off and some fields of grain came into view; he took these
at once to be the Luo family estate's lands. But there were
no people; the few thatched cottages here and there were
locked up and deserted. He could only endure his hunger
and continue on. Then as the twilight dimmed he peered
across the brook he was now following, over into the forest,
and saw the form of a person. Wishing to cross the stream
but having no idea of its depth he walked to the water's
edge and poked his short cudgel into the flow, feeling
around for the bottom. But unbeknown to him this stream
was over eight feet deep, and his stick was soon snatched
from his grasp and taken away by the swift current. Bonze
Dan fished around for it in vain until he realized it was lost.
Then he walked along the bank for a short distance and
found that it narrowed a bit. And there was the hanging
greenery of two wild trees on either bank, twisted together
into natural ropes suspended across the surface, forming a
floating bridge of sorts.
Our monk became excited and lept up for one of the vines,
not suspecting that they or the trees they hung from might
have been old and rotten as was indeed the case; his
excessive weight uprooted one of the trunks. What a sight,
that wild bonze plunging, arms and legs flailing, into the
stream! Fortunately he fell into a shallow spot and only sank
up to his chest. He was unharmed, save for swallowing a
mouthful of water and getting a good soaking, and he
managed to hold onto his pack. But just then his left foot
went down into a deep hole. When he pulled it out and
regained his balance one of his hemp slippers was gone.
Well, it was a revolting development all right, but he
managed to drag himself, coated with mud and soaked to
the bone, over to the opposite bank. He climbed out of his
sopping wet jacket, gown and pants, wrung them out with
his hands and donned them as before, and then cast away
his right slipper. Barefoot, he picked up his soggy pack,
gazed toward the forest and set off in that direction.
When he was still about a furlong away from the forrest he
happened to spot a few more thatched cottages. When he
came closer for a look at one, he saw that the door was
closed. Outside, the thatching hung down to touch the tall
wild grass and weeds in which the house was nested. And
there, kneeling under those long eaves in the tall
undergrowth was a nondescript, monkish sort of man,
holding a sutra before him in the near-darkness and striking
a thoughtful pose. On his left lay a package; leaning against
it was an iron-tipped fighting staff. Bonze Dan humbly
approached him as usual. "Old Teacher," he called out. "I'm
an unworthy monk just escaped from drowning, begging
your mercy for some shelter!"
Now that lone recluse just dropped his eyelids, not even
casting a glance at the soaked and bedraggled newcomer.
Again he called out, pleading. "I, a wretched monk, am
starving. It would indeed be a virtuous undertaking to lay
some provisions and alms on me."
The old hermit still ignored him. "Tut, tut, is it a tree or a
stone," continued Bonze Dan, "that it remains so tight
lipped? Well, I won't bother him any longer. I'll just knock on
doors until I succeed in getting someone to open up and
hand out a beggar's bowl of hot soup; that'll be great!" But
he began to consider his situation in his mind.
"Who knows if anyone lives here," he thought, "or if the old
man's a Buddhist or not, but one thing's for sure. If I knock
on these doors at midnight I'm bound to be seeing these
people at their meanest. Anyway, I've only got one night of
dampness to suffer through; fortunately it isn't very cold. By
tomorrow morning my clothes and sack will be dry, come
what may, and I won't have that problem anymore." Then he
tied his sash and went over to sit down under the eaves,
facing that old itinerant-looking monk.
"You baldheaded jackass!" the old monk shouted at Bonze
Dan. "This little spot is for me to stretch out and rest in.
You've got a lot to learn! What do I care about some louse
in wet clothes, come barging in on my peace and quiet!"
Bonze Dan was shocked. "Where can you find a holy man
with a mouth like that, scolding and cursing?" he thought.
Finding the man's anger unbearable he spoke again. "I
took the wrong road and and hadn't been able to beg a
meal for more than a day, and then I fell into a stream and
got soaked. Now all I want to do is borrow a little shelter for
the night. Come morning I'll be on my way without any
disturbance, Old Teacher. I beg you, please give me a
break!"
"You stubborn, lousy mule of a priest!" scolded the original
squatter, even louder than before. "You obviously don't
know who I am. I'm an old man to be treated with respect by
the name of Monk Shi, also known as Shi Luohan. Why, I'm
a famous Arhat, as you can tell by my name. I've wandered
alone all my life, slept alone too, and I'm not accustomed to
company. Then you come along, you young punk, telling me
what kind of a good person you are and climbing into my
bed. You're a rotten shameless son of a bitch! If you're
going to go, get out of here now. If not I'll take my stick and
thrash the life out of you!" Then he rose and took that staff in
hand. Now, our Bonze Dan was hungry and cold, and had
no such weapon on him. He was afraid that if they came to
blows he'd be no match for his opponent.
"My dear Teacher," he said ever so politely, standing all the
while, "this poor monk is leaving."
"Rotten jackass priest!" shouted the self-styled arhat. "Why,
you'd best get far away from me. If I ever again catch as
much as a glimpse of you near me I won't be so forgiving!"
"Mercy, your honor; I don't dare!" pleaded Bonze Dan, his
voice trembling with respect. Then, eyes on the old monk,
he picked up his pack, backed away, wheeled and ran off.
In the darkness he had no idea where to go. Following his
instincts he wandered into the forest where he spotted an
enormous pine tree. It stood ever so gracefully, about a
hundred feet tall. "The branches of this tree would make a
fine place to rest," he thought; "only problem is how to climb
up there." Then he thought of a plan. Tying that sack of his
around his waist he lept up onto a smaller tree next to the
giant. Then he climbed it as far as he dared, reached out
and groped for a branch of the pine, and swung himself
over into its boughs. Going yet higher and higher he finally
reached a fork large enough to nest in, and settled down as
happy as a bird. Suddenly he heard something below, just
as he'd made himself at home. Now, Bonze Dan had a
keen eye. When he searched carefully by starlight he
chanced to spot that itinerant arhat, brandishing his deadly
staff.
What was more, he was pacing back and forth through the
woods below, searching and muttering. "Where could that
son of a bitch be?" he seethed, passing by. After a few
terrifying moments he turned and went back, dragging his
staff at his side.
Bonze Dan gave a sigh of relief, happy to have escaped
his opponent's deadly hands. But it all had a stranger
aspect to it. That old monk just sat by someone else's door,
alone and not at all friendly. It would have been nice to have
some companionship, so why the anger? There must have
been something to make him so territorial. And after getting
rid of Bonze Dan, why on earth did he go out looking for
him again, worrying so nervously that he might still be
around? There must have been a reason for this; could he
have been a common thief or burglar? It's hard to imagine
anything in this town being worth stealing! Anyway, let's get
back to Bonze Dan, high up in that tree. For just as he tried
to close his eyes and drift off, the pangs of hunger again
flashed in his stomach and his insides began to growl.
"This night's really something," he grumbled; "if I can tough
it out til morning how will I ever find the strength to climb
down from here? And if I can't move once I'm down and I
meet that armed monk I'll have to give up my life to him. I've
heard that fairies can eat pines and cypresses... why, I'll
take a lesson from them and try it." He then reached for the
soft ripe brown tendrils on an overhanging branch, grabbed
a handful and tasted them. They repelled him at first but
they were fresh smelling. So he tried a little and it primed
his appetite. Then, not distinguishing between coarse or
soft, tendrils or needles, green or brown, branches or bark
he slashed away at the tree and stuffed his mouth
voraciously, as if afraid to drop a morsel in his frenzy.
Finally he came to feel full inside.
Suddenly a fresh breeze blew, and upon it he heard
someone's bitter crying from afar. "Strange," he thought,
"this isn't exactly a busy thoroughfare...wonder what it's all
about?" Lending an ear he found the sobs rendingly
sorrowful, like those of a young wife; they were coming from
three or four cottages yonder. "Why," exclaimed Bonze
Dan, "it must be some crime that outlaw monk has
committed!" Just then so swept away was he with anger
and indignation that he forgot his own problems. How could
he bear such an injustice before his very eyes? So let's
sneak up ever so cautiously behind him and join him in
exploring where the sound was coming from; we might as
well give it a try. Now, what do we see but Bonze Dan
taking his sack and lashing it to the tree, tying up his
waistband and preparing to leap. And down he comes
through the parted branches, to land solidly on his feet
unscathed. Then shaking with resolve he walks out of the
forest and strides off along the path to town.
Nearing the very same cottage as before he stealthily
tiptoed up to peek beneath the eaves and found no sign of
activity. Then he walked a bit closer and still saw nothing of
the old monk. He even climbed atop the roof and straddled
it, looking far and wide but there was truly no trace of him.
But when he listened he indeed heard the sound of crying
from inside. Bonze Dan became suspicious and pushed
against the two old white wooden doors, ever so lightly.
Now, the old monk had propped the door closed with his
staff but it hadn't been set securely. The doors hadn't
opened when he first tried so he pushed again a bit harder.
Monk Shi's weapon fell with a clatter and the left door flew
open. Now, this house had two inner courtyards and a
closet-like shed. Both sides of the first court were lined with
stacks of building bricks and lumber, and a few coarse
pieces of furniture could also be seen; at the center was a
bare pathway. The second court served as an inner
sanctum and a cooking stove was situated in the small
room on the left side. Old Monk Shi, stripped bare above
the waist, had been at the cooker stoking the fire with which
he would boil his rice for supper. Having heard the doors
burst open he ran out to see what was happening.
The events that followed came with indescribable speed.
First of all, when Bonze Dan first came in he had stepped
on that staff, bent down and picked it up. Knowing that
someone was coming he hid behind the lumber pile. In the
darkness Monk Shi didn't discern as carefully as he
otherwise might have. Seeing the main door open he
dashed outside for a look. Meanwhile Bonze Dan took
advantage of the lamplight from the kitchen and stealthily
advanced toward the inner court. Now, here he had to be
really careful. But just then in the shadows an old woman
spotted our man.
"Oh, no!" she cried out, "another bloody arhat! We're
doomed, doomed!" Hearing this, Bonze Dan immediately
sensed that strange things had been happening. But just as
he was about to go forth and investigate, there came the
creaking of the main gate's right door opening up, and in
came Monk Shi in a fighting pose. Bonze Dan beat a hasty
retreat back to the lumber pile where he again lay down in
an attempt at concealment. As he watched, Monk Shi
advanced into the courtyard and turned toward the outside,
bellowing like a crazed beast: "Who's got the nerve to
come in here?"
Having yelled himself hoarse he then went down on his
hands and knees to search for his fallen staff. He never
guessed it had been taken up by Bonze Dan, who with this
weapon at hand was really emboldened. He waited until
Monk Shi was just where he wanted him, on all fours fishing
around in the dark shadows. Then up out of ambush he lept,
the staff concealed behind him. Before the old man knew
what was going on Bonze Dan whacked him on the crest of
his skull with all his might, and he collapsed flat on the
ground. Now he felt more fearless than ever and raising
high the staff as a cudgel struck him yet again. Then he
brought his right hand into play and drove home the stick
yet again, with both arms and all of his might.
"Spare me, brother!" pleaded Monk Shi. Bonze Dan now
knew that he held the upper hand. Clutching the staff in his
left fist he held the old monk around the waist with his
powerful right arm. Then he hoisted his hapless opponent
high above his head and slammed him down upon the
earthen courtyard floor. Why, that monk squealed just like a
butchered pig! Bonze Dan stepped forward, lifted his right
foot and set it squarely down on old Shi's chest.
"You thieving monk," he growled, brandishing a pair of
enormous fists before his victim's face. Only then did Monk
Shi realize that his attacker was that young bonze who had
fallen into the river.
"My dear sir," he pleaded, "I've done wrong and I admit it,
but please spare my life!"
"You thieving scoundrel," answered Bonze Dan. "I know
you're notorious throughout the land as a fighter from the
Shaolin Temple, but in fact you're a useless moron. Why,
Shi Luohan means 'Stone Arhat' but even if you were an
'Iron Arhat' I'd be able to melt you down! You know, in front
of the Yinghui Temple where I grew up there was a giant
laundry stone and I pulverized it with just one of these fists.
The first three times I bowed before your arrogance
because I am after all a man of the cloth. But then you came
searching for me in the woods, mumbling about what you
intended to do with me. Come clean now and tell me
quickly what you've done to make that woman cry! If you
speak up quickly we can still talk, but if you hold back
anything I won't be so kind. You'll have to experience the full
fury of my fists, just like that laundry stone I smashed back
home!" Then he cast down the staff, made a fist with his
right hand and waited to strike.
That brigand monk was now terrified, unable to even breath
freely with the victor's foot upon his chest.
"Oh Buddha, my Lord and Teacher," he pleaded with all of
his remaining strength, "please let me get up and explain!"
"You thieving renegade priest, I guess you wouldn't dare run
away if let up on you." But lifting his foot he suddenly heard
a voice from the darkness of the nearby room.
"Kind Teacher, please avenge my poor family and don't let
him up, whatever you do!" Bonze Dan recognized that
voice as the one from shortly before, and when he firmly
replaced his restraining foot and looked forward he saw an
old white-haired woman, shoulders slumped and back bent
with age, feeling her way into the darkened courtyard. Then
facing him she repeatedly kowtowed and begged for
revenge.
"You don't have to beg, Granny," he answered, "if there's a
wrong to be righted speak right up and I'll be the judge!"
"This damned murderer took the lives of my daughter-in-law
and grandson!"
Now, those words were all it took to stoke the flames of
justice in Bonze Dan's breast; he stomped down heavily on
his captives heart. The monk gave a cry and vomited forth
fresh blood. Here's a poem:
If monks find greatest pleasure in the pure and holy things
Why do their straw sandals tread in aimless wanderings?
The robbing rapist in the end paid dearly for his deeds
like a crazed meat lover who upon his own flesh feeds!
Bonze Dan then removed his foot from his opponent's
lifeless chest and went to help the old woman to her feet,
asking her what had occured.
"Have a look in there, Teacher," she said, pointing toward
the open room. Fearing that the monk was only faking he
gave him yet another few punches and a kick, but he just lay
there stretched out, unmoving and silent, and Bonze Dan
finally felt at ease.
Walking into the room he took the lantern that was hanging
on the wall and had a look around. In the flickering light he
saw a pot steaming away at a rolling boil, and when he
lifted the lid he saw that it was full of the rice that the
renegade monk had been cooking.
"Let's have these two bowlfuls of rice," he told the woman;
"then we'll get back to business." He took a wooden paddle
hanging over the stove and was just getting a porcelain
bowl and a pair of willow chopsticks when his attention was
riveted fiercely upon the form of somebody asleep in the
corner, causing him to gasp deeply. Going forward for a
look, the lamp's light revealed the grisly sight of what
appeared to be the naked body of a housewife streaked
with crimson, dead in a pool of blood. The old woman
managed to feel her way over, in tears.
"What relation is this young wife to you?" he asked. "How
did she die?"
"It's a long story," said the woman, pulling up a little stool
and asking Bonze Dan to take a seat. "Please be patient
cause I'm old and it's going to take me awhile to tell you
this."
"Don't mind me," he said, listening to her tale while
shoveling the rice into his mouth. "Tell me everything and I'll
listen, I promise." She then squatted down on the bottom
beam of the doorway and told him the story from beginning
to end, without interruption.
"My surname is Xing,and the dead woman is my daughterin-law. My son Xing Xiao tills the fields of this here Luojia
Manor for a living. Now, because of our greedy county
magistrate the village chiefs were all ordered to muster our
men into work gangs to gather cinnabar. You've probably
heard that cinnabar comes from Chenzhou but actually it
isn't even a product of Qianyang County. It's really found in
an old wellshaft, the Old Duck Well to be exact, over in
Yongzhou. The shaft is none too large or promising to look
at but if you gather some dry wood down there and start up
a blaze the bluish stones it's lined with burst open and
cinnabar comes out of them. Our farmers all customarily
earn a living at the trade during the slack times. The town
office pays them in silver through their bosses and the
magistrate gets the cinnabar. The money our men get is
given to their wives to manage and to hand out to the old
folks and kids. Only this time my daughter was five months
pregnant so I fed two mouths and took care of the
household, even though I'm over seventy. A month ago
when my son Xiao was still home his wife had a sudden
bellyache and there was no doctor around for the
emergency. Just then that old wandering monk showed up
begging at our door and my son tried to tell him we couldn't
give him anything just then 'cause we had an ill woman in
the house. But the monk asked what kind of illness it was
and my boy unfortunately told him about his wife's being five
months' pregnant and in danger of miscarriage, with pains
in her belly. Then that vagrant introduced himself as Monk
Shi, an Arhat who could not only read the sutras but knew a
bit about medicine as well. He had a herbal formula and
said that if she'd take it her pains would stop and she
wouldn't lose the baby. Well, my boy was at his wits' end so
there was nothing to do but let him lay open his bundle.
Then when his herbal medicines were boiled and
swallowed down, my daughter's pain stopped. That day we
treated him to a regular monk's banquet but he didn't want
any money and left without any more fuss. We only talked
about what a good person he seemed to be. Then
yesterday he came back to beg. My daughter-in-law told
him her husband wasn't in and to come back some other
day. But he wouldn't leave and he started flirting with her.
She ignored him and closed the door in his face, but he sat
in the doorway reciting a sutra and didn't budge, until late at
night. Then, when I'd dozed off and she was in the courtyard
braiding rope by lamplight he made his move. He snuck
quietly in the door, and knowing there weren't any men
around rushed into the house. 'Don't make a sound a sound
or I'll kill you' I heard him say and then he took her by force
and violated her, and that was only the beginning! Then he
made her boil him up a pot of hot water, saying he wanted
a bath, and my poor daughter-in-law couldn't do anything
but obey him, and I was too terrified to even move or make
a sound. And then he told her to pour half of the boiling
water into a pail...why, that son of a bitch didn't want a
bath...and he made her swallow a white pill that he'd taken
out of his bag, saying it would make her birth easier, but
after she'd swallowed it she felt some pains in her belly.
Then he took out two new straw sandals and soaked them
in the pot. Then he told her he wanted to borrow something
from her to make an Elixer of Eternal Life. 'When it's
finished, one sip and we'll all soar as Immortals' I remember
him saying. 'What exactly do you want from me?' I
remember my daughter asking him. 'I want your five-monthold fetus!' he told her, and just then my blood ran cold. My
daughter-in-law was terrified and begged forgiveness from
Heaven for whatever she might have done to have such a
thing happen to her. Then that damned murderer took his
hands to her pregnant body again and tore her clothes off
until she was bare naked, and he tied her hands and feet
and pressed down on the wrinkled skin of her big belly and
then splashed that hot water on it, kneading and rubbing it
until my poor girl was in horrible pain and cried out again,
three times in a row, by then wailing like for the dead but he
still wouldn't relent. Then he took his straw slippers from the
boiling pot and rubbed and pressed her belly with them until
the poor little body of my grandson fell out, and my
daughter-in-law had a mighty hemmorhage and up and
died. All the time I was still frozen in terror and hid in back,
speechless. I heard him shout out in glee that it was a male
fetus after all. Then he scooped out some rice from the
sack and cooked it and ate and left. And then you arrived
so suddenly just like the strong arm of God's justice, giving
evil men their due!"
"Where's the fetus now?" asked Bonze Dan.
"I reckon he wrapped it in a small bundle," she answered.
Now, while the old woman had continued on for such a long
time Bonze Dan had been hungrily wolfing down several
bowls of rice, emptying the pot to its bare metal bottom.
Putting aside the chopsticks and bowl our monk now
searched the kitchen counter for the little cloth bundle and
sure enough, lifting the lid of a kettle for a look he found it, a
cloth skirt wrapped up and containing a roundish bloody
little fellow and his afterbirth inside of its folds, and also a
small purse with more than ten lumps of undenominated
silver. There was a small cloth sack containing two
cassocks, one with a flame design and one plain and
straight, as well as clothes covered with star patterns. And
there was another sack brimming over with a few cupfuls of
wild rice. "I don't know if that Elixer of Eternal Life formula is
for real or not," he thought, "or how such a medicine would
be taken. But if it could cause a wicked crime like this it
should be banned forever!"
Chanting "Amitofo" he then handed the remains of the fetus
to the old woman. Upon seeing it she burst into tears and
began to cry her eyes out. Bonze Dan then opened the
purse and selected a few larger pieces of silver to give her,
more than five or six ounces in all.
"Take this to give your daughter-in-law and her boy a
proper funeral," he said, keeping the remainder for himself.
Already the sky was slowly brightening when Bonze Dan
walked out into the courtyard. The body of the old monk lay
lifeless, yellowing in death. He first removed the dead
man's slippers and placed them on his own bare feet. Then
he hooked his bundle with that iron staff and lifted it
ceremoniously, proclaiming to one and all that the thieving
monk was dead and order had been restored, and that he
was leaving.
"Not just yet!" Pleaded the old woman.
"Why not?" he asked, stomping his feet petulantly.
"Well, you've saved me from one terrible danger but now
you're leaving me with two corpses. Do you mind telling me
how I'm supposed to deal with them all by myself?"
"You're right!" I'll carry the outlaw monk's body to the
outskirts of town and dispose of it somehow." Then putting
down the pole bundle and pole he seized the dead monk by
the cassock with one hand, picked him up just like an
ordinary rooster and carried him right out the gate and off
into the forest. By now it was daylight and pretty soon
Bonze Dan recognized the trunk of that pine tree where
he'd rested the previous night. About to lay down the
corpse at its roots and climb up to retrieve his sack he
suddenly heard a loud voice in the distance.
"Hear ye, hear ye, a killer monk is on the loose and is
burying his victim nearby!" someone seemed to be
shouting. Then he caught sight of a patrol of villagers
wearing backpacks and armed to their teeth with knives.
They overtook him and shot right past like a flight of arrows,
seemingly unseeing in their haste.
Unafraid and unruffled he laid out the corpse right there on
the ground, climbed the tree and retrieved his sack.
Suddenly the trunk of the tree and the body were
surrounded by the armed villagers.
"I'm not a murderer," he shouted down, "but the killer of a
thieving murderer! Please give me a break and let me
come down to explain everything."
"Official search posse here, orders of the county
magistrate!" Bonze Dan stiffened to attention. "We were
gathering cinnabar over in Yongzhou until last night when
we were called in and deputized. We've been up and out
looking for you since before sunrise" one of them shouted
up to him.
"Is there a man by the name of Xing Xiao among you?"
asked Bonze Dan. "If so, I've got a message for him."
A short swarthy man came forward.
"I'm Xing Xiao, down here" he shouted up at our monk.
Bonze Dan then pointed down at the corpse.
"Recognize this murdering monk? He was forever fated to
be your blood enemy!"
Now Xing Xiao felt a thousand hammers pounding furiously
at his heart and his face changed color.
"Explain what you mean by that!" he snarled, reaching up
and clutching Bonze Dan's leg.
"It's like I said, but you still don't quite believe it. Your home
isn't far, let's all go over for a look!"
Noting that Xing Xiao was indeed terrified they all agreed
that a visit to his home would naturally make everything
clear.
Thereupon they all fell in behind Bonze Dan on the road to
the Xing family home. But although they were marching in
step there were in fact threee very different streams of
thought amongst them. Bonze Dan for one was secretly
delighted at the prospect of vindication and praise in the
eyes of others, just like the helmsman of a junk about to
successfully make harbor against the wind, his judgement
and skill confirmed before a fearful crew. The members of
the posse were for the most part like the audience at a
play, full of conflict and puzzlement at the course of the
drama before them and entirely uncertain of its eventual
outcome. Lastly, Xing Xiao was absolutely terrified of what
news might be awaiting him. His thoughts were already like
those of a police inspector at the scene of a crime, filled
only with retribution and totally devoid of reward or leniency,
every word fishing for some incriminating knowledge. In a
manner of speaking, one who's stolen from another's pot
would know if the wine were hot or not!
As it happened the old woman Xing had become terrified
when Bonze Dan left her, but somehow she mustered the
strength to go to the shops and find a bedsheet to place
over her daughter-in-law's corpse. Then moving slowly out
the front door she spotted two heads in the distance, Now,
she couldn't yet make out the entire group coming over the
horizon but the space of her mind became full of hope and
fear, only dreaming that Bonze Dan might be returning with
some plan of action for her. She'd never have dreamt that
her own son would be returning as well! Unseen to her
failing eyesight Xing Xiao was the first to approach.
"Hey Ma," he shouted, "what are you doing outside, waiting
for somebody? Where's my wife? Isn't she keeping you
company?"
Upon recognizing her boy the old woman grabbed him and
burst into tears.
"If you'd just come back a day earlier my lovely daughter-inlaw probably wouldn't have been murdered by that Monk or
Arhat Shi or whatever he called himself!"
"What are you saying?" her son asked incredulously.
"She died so hard!" bawled the old mother.
Then just as Xing Xiao entered the room to view the scene
the others noisely arrived, pushing and shoving curiously
and crowding round the griefstricken mother and son. And
they got a clear view of the husband lifting the sheet to view
his wife's body, then retreating to the back room to pound
his chest and wail in unrestrained grief. The village men of
that posse were all shocked and filled with sympathy and
asked Bonze Dan how it had all happened.
"Wait til Brother Xing gets hold of himself," he answered,
"and we'll have his old mother tell you all just what she told
me."
The bereaved husband himself then spoke through his
tears.
"Reverend, my mother is old and weak. Why don't you
explain everything for us?" Bonze Dan then told the first part
of the story, from his falling into the river down to his slaying
of the renegade monk, and then went on to relate in fine
detail all that the old mother Xing had told him. All
throughout his account bitter tears continued to flow down
Xing Xiao's cheeks and all were angrily gnashing and
grinding their teeth as they listened.
Next the old woman came forth to angrily accuse her son.
"It was all your fault, she tore into him, "you listened to that
thieving murderer monk and went for his creepy line about
that herbal medicine of his preventing her from losing the
baby, and that led to him breaking in here and doing all
this! Your wife's fate was joined to yours and you let her
down, why, it's just like you killed her all by yourself!"
"Now, now mother," one of the villagers objected, "there's
no point in saying that. Just be glad this fine preacher came
along when he did to avenge the wrong, and that the killer's
eyes have rightly been closed on this world. Right now with
a body lying in the forest and one resting here it doesn't
make any sense at all, what's done is done. If there's any
rice in the house let's eat it and be on our way to the County
Magistrate's so our monk can give a complete account of
his actions. And then while the Magistrate sends an
inspector to the scene we can can come back with a coffin
and at the same time give the body a proper lying in to hide
the crime from the public. We don't want to give rise to
rumors and turn this place into a county fair!"
"I've heard that the Magistrate is a crooked official,"
laughed Bonze Dan, "but if I say something like that I might
end up being buried as well!"
"We certainly couldn't have that!" said Xing Xiao. And so
they struck a fire and began cooking some rice. Each took
a portion of pickled vegetables and went out to wait for the
rice, and when it was ready they all ate their full.
Then his old mother gave Xing Xiao the silver, explaining
where it had come from, and the son in turn thanked Bonze
Dan. Somebody then asked old mother Xing to come along
on the journey. Xing Xiao asked his mother to climb onto a
small goat-pulled cart he'd arranged for, locked the gate
and got one of his close friends to help him push from
behind, while Bonze Dan picked up his two bundles on the
ends of that staff and all set off together for the seat of
Qianyang County.
A short while after their arrival at the night court of the
county hall the Magistrate made his appearance. The group
presented the wrapped fetus in evidence and gave a clear
accounting of this tragedy among the local folk. The
Magistrate appointed a panel of enquiry and delivered
some words on the case which were duly recorded, and
despatched an assistant to inspect the scene of the crime.
Down to the end there were no inconsistancies in the
stories, and so his honor the Magistrate's verdict:
"Although the crimes of the itinerant monk Shi Toutuo were
abominable he is now dead and there will be no further
examination of his corpse. I command that a space be
provided for burial. My office will provide assistance to Xing
Xiao for a private funeral. Finally, it is determined that
because the wandering monk Bonze Dan killed out of
righteous indignation and anger he is not guilty. All others
return to their homes, and if Bonze Dan should have any
request while here in this county let him just speak up and it
shall be granted."
After everyone had left the hall the Magistrate called our
Bonze into the study in back, chasing away those already
there and heaping exaggerated and condescending praise
on him. Naturally he wanted something.
"I've got an important letter and gift parcel to send to a
relative over in Qingyuanfu. It's a long and arduous road
and there was nobody I could rely on to carry them it until I
heard of your great righteousness and heroism, If you're
willing to carry out this mission for me all sorts of rewards
will be yours the day you return."
"What's one more journey to a wandering monk? replied
Bonze Dan. "Why, I'll go wherever your excellency says and
I won't fail you!"
The Magistrate was delighted. He called his assistant to
take our monk to his new quarters in the Temple of the City
God, along with a safe containing two strings of silver coin
for the Wizard of that Daoist establishment, to help Bonze
Dan bide his time happily until the day when his orders
would arrive. Of course nobody told him that the Magistrate
had been looting his own office of the entire take of gold,
pearls and silver from the myriad trunks and baskets of the
homes of Qianyang County.
Upon arrival at the Temple Bonze Dan and and the official
paid their formal respects to the Wizard and were then
escorted to the reception hall. Our monk noticed the broken
down building, the shabby condition of the rooms and even
of the Wizard's gown. "Can't you get enough worshippers
here?" he asked.
"Tomb visiting is brisk and worship attendance isn't bad
either," the Wizard answered, but our monk just remained
silent and expressionless. After tea the official handed the
two strings of silver cash over to the Wizard with an
admonition to do his best. The Daoist Wizard next received
the three hundred coins earmarked for Bonze Dan's
entertainment, and escorted the man out the door. He then
asked Bonze Dan to enjoy some wine and meat and
hurriedly despatched the Officer of Sacrifices to search all
over town for provisions. Finally he set everything up in tip
top shape for the party, arranged the screens in a bedroom
and asked Bonze Dan to be seated there. Why, he even
brought his own bedding to the room for the sake of his
guest's comfortable rest. The feast began and Bonze Dan,
eating and drinking to his heart's content, had a question.
"If tomb visits are so brisk and worshippers are pouring into
here, why then does the Temple seem so hard-pressed
and broken down?"
"That's all so true, and it's all because we've had some
losses out the back door, so to speak... money we'll never
again see."
"Could the County Magistrate be squeezing the Temple?"
The Wizard's face turned red and he didn't dare answer,
while Bonze Dan continued:
"Being new here and not knowing him well, I agreed when
the Magistrate asked me to stay here for a while and then
carry a letter and gift to Qingyangfu. I don't know what kind
of thing it could be, though. I've heard it said that he's a
greedy official who gouges and fleeces the people. Sir, you
are in a position to know the truth. Please don't be
suspicious of me, tell me what's happening here and no
harm will come of it. If I've really met up with a thieving dog,
well, as a holy man perhaps it would be best if I didn't finish
this job."
The Daoist heard the sincerity in these words and with his
hands drew a loop of cash on a string.
"This," he declared, "is what his honor the County
Magistrate really loves. Why, just talking about this here
Temple, he takes ten strings of silver out of our
worshippers' sacrifices no matter whether we've had a
good month or not. When we haven't got a big enough
boodle I've got to make up the difference out of my pocket,
and if someone should give us some rice in charity the
county snatches it right up. That's why we haven't got the
means to fix these broken down buildings in here. He's
already lopped off our bookeeper's head on trumped up
charges and now he's got even the tomb visitors paying
into his fund. Now, although high authority usually
commands respect, all this trickery and theft from the poor
people is just inexcusable."
"Wherever he's from, whoever he's got in Qingyuanfu and
however important that parcel is, I can't see why he needs a
monk to carry it" answered Bonze Dan."
"He really is from Qingyuanfu," continued the Daoist, "town
of Cixi. His surname's Hou and his given name is Mingzai,
and he's been in charge here for the past four years. Every
year he sends a certain portion of his booty home. I'm
afraid it seems like this here mission of yours is for that
very purpose. Last year he used the wrong sort of person,
who was robbed while crossing Lake Dongting. I've heard
that this time he's retained you, a Zen monk, to take an
overland route. This magistrate was once a poor scholar
but since taking office he's already sent home a few vaults
of stolen treasure and his greed just grows and grows.
Maybe he hopes this time his theft won't appear so
barefaced if a Zen holy man brings the goods"
"So that's it" said Bonze Dan wryly.
"Now I've told you an awful lot, as you 've asked me to. On
your journey you mustn't ever speak of these things, not with
his men, not with anybody! Do you understand?"
"My lips are sealed."
Then after eating and drinking his full the Daoist left his Zen
visitor.
Bonze Dan was indignant. "Oh, these poor tenant farmers,
why, he's asking me to carry away their stolen blood
money. It's wrong, so wrong..." he thought as he nodded off
to sleep, not to awaken until the drumming of the fifth watch.
He then resolutely took up that staff and sack of his, walked
right out the temple gate and slipped away in the darkness.
Next day the Wizard couldn't find his guest though he
searched frantically. Finally he gave up looking and
informed the Magistrate.
"It's a good thing I didn't get to actually entrust the goods to
him," said the official. "These wandering monks are so
unreliable!" And he didn't rebuke the Daoist but only
hounded him for the return of the two strings of cash. The
poor priest, having spent it all entertaining his guest as
instructed, was then forced to scrape together the money,
begging and borrowing all three hundred coins of it.
Some time after these events the Magistrate managed to
make some well placed bribes and was thus appointed
mayor of the capital city of Kaifeng, a world capital, and his
family erected an ancestral temple back in the county. But
after leaving to take up his new duties the people of his
home district rose up and entered that temple at midnight,
broke his idol off its legs and dumped it it into a pit of
manure. And at that very moment on a highway in the
capital, Magistrate Hou's horse reared in fright and threw
him to earth, breaking his legs and killing him. And so we
can see that God's law will never fail, and that is the moral
of this tale. Here is a poem that tells it well:
Very little food in fact do people really need
Why then do they so strenuously go all out in greed?
We've seen how a corrupt official came upon his fall
Never sentenced by a court but doomed by ghostly call.
To continue with our story, Bonze Dan left Qianyang County
and Sizhou that very day, and again wandered through the
Xingnan region of Hubei. He once more enjoyed the
dramatic mountains and lakes as he came upon them,
reveling in their glorious beauty, until befor he knew it
another year had passed. Seeing the red of Li Bo's
peaches, the yellow of the early plums and the purple of the
apricot leaves he suddenly remembered his original
purpose. Procuring many big sheets of purest white paper,
he then returned to his straw hut at the foot of Mt Dream-ofthe Clouds. Upon settling in he numbered the blank sheets
before wrapping them ever so neatly in that fine sewn cloth
of Shi Toutuo's, and then went for a bath in a sparkling clear
mountain pool.
When the Duan Wu Day once again dawned he rose early,
ate his bellyfull of baked rice and lashed his kit together in
tip top order for the mission, only to see the mountaintop
hidden in dark cloud with sheets of heavy rain lashing the
hut. "This sure isn't my idea of fair weather" he thought.
"This kind of rain doesn't fall everyday, it seems it's been
served up just for me!"
Well, all he could do was stay in that pine hut, face the sky
and kowtow earthward while praying to Heaven. "If I'm
indeed fated to see the face of Heaven's writings, I beg
thee to harvest up the clouds and rain and let the round, red
sun shine through!" And lo and behold, after much watching
and waiting, by the time the sundial's shadow had passed
nine o'clock the rain had already stopped. Our monk was
immensely pleased, picked up his neatly wrappped paper,
shouldered his staff and sack and was off. Now as this was
his third attempt the way was really familiar. He pressed
right on through that mountainside swamp, over the high
crags and precipices and then plunged confidently into the
sudden fog, only afraid of being too late. Throwing himself
blindly forward he finally arrived at the stone bridge over
that deadly chasm. Now, when Bonze Dan set his eyes on
the narrow span he drew up short in fright. For this bridge
was made of the smoothest polished gemstone, and after
the rain it was as slippery as if coated with oil. Even one
short step at a time he couldn't hope to get a foothold on it.
"Wasn't the bridge itself the source of this local fog?" I hear
one of you asking. Well, there are things that I, your
narrator, can't say for sure. But your usual fog is the rising qi
of earth, not an effect of heavenly qi; its mists swirl and form
wildy, wetting our clothes with its dew and coating stone
with its droplets without evaporating. But this White Cloud
Cave's fog came from the Curtain of Fog and was of the
dry sort. Obviously it was all a mirage, real from afar,
nothing at all up close. It was only because of the rain that
the bridge was now wet and slippery.
Well, even if it were only three or four feet across that was
one long distance under those conditions, even with the
surest and steadiest of tread! And the inestimably deep
gorge awaiting below seemed to be smiling, almost
laughing at him hungrily! It was like this:
Unless he had some beating wings with which to safely fly
Setting foot upon that span he'd surely fall and die!
Under these kind of circumstances it sure seems as though
he's he's going to come up short yet yet a third time. But
needless to say, human ingenuity might yet rise to the
challenge of the fog and rain.
To see the course he finally took
Just turn the page and have a look.
Chapter 11
WITH SECRET CHARMS IN HAND AT
LAST THE EGG MONK FINDS HIS
TEACHER
WHILE HOLY AUNTIE MEETS BOTH
HEAVEN'S WRITINGS AND A PREACHER
So quickly whirl the days and years it takes us by
surprise
When all our time has fleeted by before our very eyes.
Seize the hour and do your work before it is too late
For none of us can long avoid the waiting sword of
fate.
As the story goes, Bonze Dan was confronted with a stone
bridge made slick by rain on this, his third Duan Wu Day
attempt, but he suddenly came up with a plan. Laying down
that Waltzing Matilda of his and strapping the roll of finely
wrapped paper onto his back he crouched down on all
fours and placed his hands on the bridge. Now of course,
down on the sides were a few rough and uneven spots, not
as smooth as the top surface, where he could get a
foothold and propel hmself across and in a moment the
bridge was behind him. Bonze Dan clasped his hands to
his body, thanked Heaven and Earth and was up and
running toward White Cloud Cave.
Once inside and infront of that jade incense burner he fell
upon his knees and kowtowed, begging. "Take pity on a
poor monk!" he prayed. "Three times now I've come here.
Please, oh holy spirits, hand me your secrets! Surely will I
assist Heaven and always walk the right path, and if I do
evil may Heaven cause me and the entire world to perish!"
Having so pleaded he entered the stone room, spread out
his cloth bundle and removed the papers, spreading them
out on the ground and piling them in numerical order. And
from the beginning of the script on the right wall he began
taking the mysterious rubbings, picking up the sheets and
placing them against the writing on the wall and firmly
wiping his hand across the backs, thirteen pages in all,
finally bending a corner of each to note its copying before
before placing it in a new pile.
And then he turned his attentions to the right hand wall, and
copied it as well, producing another 24 pages before he
sensed that fragrance once more coming from the incense
burner. There remained yet one more segment on the back
wall but there was no time for any more rubbings. He
frantically scooped up the thirty-seven pages he had
copied, rolling them up as one and wrapping them in that
fine cloth. Hastily tossing aside the unused paper he he
rushed out of the stone chamber just as the jade burner
began emitting great billows of smoke. And dashing out of
the cave he strapped that cloth roll right to his back in midrun, eyes straight ahead, and with hands and feet fairly flew
across that slippery-faced twenty-foot-long by one-footwide stone bridge just like a monkey sailing through the
trees. As with his previous forays here, he sure was slow in
coming but fast in leaving!
Bonze Dan was doubly happy this time, having escaped
danger with something to show for his time and trouble as
well. After retrieving his cudgel he lengthened his stride and
before long arrived back at his straw hut. Before even
catching his breath he flung open the roll of paper for a
look, only to receive a shock. For back in the shadows of
the cave in his frantic haste the characters seemed to be
copying as black as the originals, but now the pages were
blank. Could nothing at all have been copied? He
examined every sheet in disbelief; they were indeed all like
this. Now Bonze Dan was struck blind and dumb, arms
paralized and legs like jelly; his sense of failure was truly
indescribable. For some time he had visions of Gods and
spirits and seemed entranced, totally oblivious to his
surroundings. Having thrice suffered so and all for naught
he could see nothing at all to feel good about; it was as if
he had wasted his entire life on a doomed effort. Truly and
totally bitter and depressed he he felt a pain in his heart
and burst forth in tears like torrents of pearls, wailing in
grief. And so crying he wandered toward that clear
mountain pond where he sought to end his life. But before
going very far he met that same white-haired old man.
"It's too painful to talk about," whined Bonze Dan, his tearful
face contorted in grief and agony. "It wasn't fated to work
out and the paper is as bare as when I left. I didn't get
anything. Only death awaits after a failed life like this!" And
having said that his tears fell like rain.
"Now, now, young monk, this really isn't such a tragedy.
Why, it's not even so clear that you've failed to be granted a
copy. Just think; you know very well that they aren't
transmitted by brush and ink, so why are you expecting to
find such characters printed on the paper?"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Bonze Dan in great
surprise.
"Heaven's writing is different from worldly script. Sunlight
obviously belongs to Yang and lacks Yin. So Yin is
concealed under brightness because it's overwhelmed by
dominant Yang. Now, if you want to determine if the writings
were fated to be yours just wait until a couple of hours
before midnight and go out into a field broadly lit from a full
moon, with no one else around. Hold the pages up to the
moon and in its soft light the secret charms will appear in
green. Only then will you know if you were destined to get
them."
Bonze Dan seemed to awaken as if pulled back from the
the opening dreams of eternal sleep. "I'll do as you say," he
answered, "but I don't know what the moon's going to be
like tonight."
"The light is insufficient during this first ten days of the
month. Wait til the five nights between the eleventh and the
fifteenth and it should be bright enough to see the charms,
provided you've followed the instructions, and you'll be able
to brush them in with ink. I'll come to see you again just
before the time comes."
Bonze Dan couldn't find the words of thanks,and the old
man turned and vanished in a flash. Our monk couldn't have
been more pleased as he returned to the hut, regathering
the scattered sheets from the earthen floor and placing
them in two files, one for each wall, East and West, each
arranged by numerical order and each wrapped up in cloth
for safe keeping. Then when the eleventh night arrived he
did as the elder had instructed, preparing a bottleful of ink
and carrying everything up to a broad, flat clearing atop a
high mountain where he opened the cloth and layed its
contents out on the ground. Picking up the pages of
rubbings from the left wall and holding them up facing the
moon he was quite shocked to find no traces of writing, just
as before. But forcing himself to stay calm he began
scanning the pages taken from the right wall. Sure enough,
shadowy Yin-laden green characters that he could only
about half recognize appeared about the size of copper
coins in a foreboding and powerful script.
Filled with joy at his achievement he set himself to his next
assignment. Taking brush in hand he inked in those
glowing letters on the paper until the moon sank in the
western late-night sky and its light became too dim. Then
he packed up and left to return the next night, and as the
entire five-night period was clear he continued his work
without pause, illuminating the hidden Yin letters in the
moonlight and inking them permanently until the entire job
was done and he'd wrapped up the last of the finished
sheets in that cloth.
Back in the straw hut he was unable to sleep. "I wonder if
any other mortal has ever seen these words," he thought.
"And that old hermit promised to meet me again before I
went out but he never showed up, leaving me to do my best
on my own." By the fifth watch he had finally fallen asleep
when what should enter his dreams but a voice from
outside, very much like that old man's, calling:
"If Heaven's charms you wish to know,
To Holy Auntie you must go."
Bonze Dan leapt up from his sleep. "Who is Holy Auntie?"
he blurted out, dashing out of the hut. The sky was already
pink with dawn's light; when he leapt outside for a look he
found no one. "How strange," he thought; "I'm sure I heard
somebody. How could he have disappeared?" Then he
thought for a moment. "I've got it!" he went on. "Why, that
old man was a tranformation of the White Ape God. He
took pity on my sincere search for the Way and and came
here twice to help me when I was lost. And tonight he
shouted his advice to me in my dreams, why, yes, of course
that's it, and there certainly must be a 'Holy Auntie'
somewhere who can explain Heaven's writings, only I just
don't know where she might be. Well, wherever she is, I'll
find her no matter how long it takes, even if I have to travel
to the ends of the earth. There's sure no use sitting like a
trapper in this useless hut!"
At this point he stuffed the cloth tubeful of documents into
his sack, finished his breakfast of baked rice and again
tied that bag to the end of the long staff. Then with his
cudgel he shuffled some glowing coals from the earthen
firepit onto a broad pine branch which he then used to
throw them onto the roof of the grass hut, setting it afire.
And while walking away he only stared back at the blazing
hut, truly rash and selfish in treating that dwelling as if it had
only been fated to help him for a short while. And here's a
poem about it:
Thrice he tried and thrice he suffered to the bitter end
And what he finally got he couldn't even comprehend.
Now he's starting off again to search out far and wide
Wherever in the world a knowing teacher might reside.
Now there was a stiff northeasterly wind and it whipped up
the hungry flames until they had completely consumed the
roof of that little hut. And with a sharp report the roof beam
snapped and fell to earth pointing to the northwest. "It sure
is strange, huh," thought Bonze Dan, " wind blowing toward
the south and that hut's roofbeam falling back toward the
north. North by northwest, why that's the direction of the
pass where our Emperor has built the capital, bustling with
the different races of humanity. Perhaps I'll yet find out
where Holy Auntie is."
Then kneeling in the direction of White Cloud Cave he
kowtowed thankfully in parting to the White Ape God and
set off in long strides toward the north. Now, later people
have got a poem devoted to Bonze Dan's three attempts at
seeking the Dao and it goes like this:
That bit of Heaven deep in cave was sealed by thickest
cloud
Its thousand-year-old flame wrapped in jade burner's
fragrant shroud.
Yuan Gong's purest charms were there carved out for one
and all
Left and right upon the face of each opposing wall.
This Buddhist monk who hatched into the world from egg at
birth
Just got it in his head to frighten Heaven and move Earth.
Vaulting out the door without a thought of his return
He only roamed the world in search of one from whom to
learn.
Wandering to Dream of Clouds when he had gone astray
A trailmate told of fairy's cave and pointed out the way.
On Duan Wu day each year in Heaven's court the ape
appeared
And for some hours around that cave the foggy curtain
cleared.
Those secret holy writings praised the ghosts and spirits
weird
Living in the wind and rain so honest he appeared.
He leaped a gorge just like the sea a thousand meters
deep
On narrow bridge he lightly tread right up to Heaven's keep.
He only looked at all the sights and then the smoke
ascended
And so the first of his attempts in bitter failure ended.
His second walk into the cave he saw the charms although
Lacking brush and ink and paper he received a second
blow.
He then heard Heaven's writings did not need a brush of
hair
But when he took a rubbing he found Fate just wasn't there.
Full of fear and trembling from three years of failed odds
In tears he met that venerable hermit of the Gods.
Three long years of terror and he only sought to die
But now on lonely mountaintop he'd make another try.
Clearly on the pages thunder-writing glowed in green
Mirroring the moon upon that peak the charms were seen.
He must find Holy Aunt to truly know the thunderscript
A voice from somewhere shouted as into his dreams he
slipped.
As soon as had he left that spirit range of peaks so tall
Alone he turned and headed for the world in Chang An's
wall.
Chang An with its streets alive and bustling as of old
Its mountains filled with fairies as so many tales have told.
The teacher that he meets will know the secret methods all
Within three years they'll make a move and take a bitter fall.
As the story goes Bonze Dan trekked forth into the rolling
countryside of Neixiang County. This being early July the
weather was scorching hot, and he realized that only a fan
to cool himself with would be just what he needed. In a
stroke of good timing he came upon a fanseller's shop.
Now, in those times folding fans were not yet in widespread
use and the shop sold only the five types of fan then
fashionable. What were they? Well, your paper and silk
round fan, black and white feather fan, thin bamboo and
paper fan, and two types of palm fan, China palm and
banana palm. He loudly disapproved of the feather fans,
complaining that he couldn't write characters on them and
that the round fans weren't suitable for a holy man to hold.
But if he were to buy a thin bamboo framed paper fan, he
thought, he could write the three characters for "Visit Holy
Aunt" on it, and anyone passing in the road who knew of
her could then hail him and perhaps even tell him the way.
So he called into the shop for the assistant to come out and
show him some bamboo fans. Selecting one that suited his
fancy he settled on a price of five small silver coins and
bought it.
Now, this shop had three partitions constructed in its back
room, creating three study rooms complete with table and
chairs for each. And each had a view through its window of
the courtyard with quite a few stalks of bamboo growing.
The tables had some writing implements, brushes and
inkstones and the like laid out upon them, and Bonze Dan's
eyes quickly fixed on that paraphenalia.
"Sorry to bother you but do you think I could use one of your
brushes and stones to write something?" asked Bonze
Dan.
"I suppose there's no harm in writing out here in front,"
answered the shop assistant, "as long as the boss is out."
And he hurriedly went and brought a set to the counter
where Bonze Dan quickly wet up a head of ink. But before
he could lower his brush to write a loud voice could be
heard in back.
"Who just took that brush and inkstone?"
"There's a holy man here who needs to borrow them to
write something so I was just getting a set for him to use."
Then he turned to Bonze Dan. "Hurry up, the owner is
coming!"
There was no more shouting to be heard but a man
wearing a long gown and a head wrapping emblazoned
with swastikas sppeared from that space behind the shop.
Seeing that Bonze Dan had just written "Visit Holy Aunt" on
his new fan, he respectfully clasped his hands high in front
and bowed in greeting. "Where is your holiness from," he
asked, "and how come you want to see Holy Aunt?"
I'm out of the Yinghui Temple in Sizhou City. I've heard that
Holy Aunt's got wide knowledge of the holy Way and so I've
come seeking her."
"Why, Sizhou is in Lingnan. You mean to say they've heard
of Holy Aunt that far away?"
Bonze Dan was astounded. "So," he hissed quietly through
clenched teeth, "there is a Holy Aunt after all!" And then he
addressed his host. "Have you, sir, actually met her?"
"I have indeed."
"Where is she now? Can I trouble you for directions?"
"Please come inside and be seated" said the master,
gesturing toward the small study rooms at the rear. Bonze
Dan entered one of the cubicles. Rudeness provokes
Heaven's wrath. Please be seated May I pour out a cup of
tea for your holiness to enjoy?" The master then joined him
at the table.
Bonze Dan noticed the presence of some assorted books
on the table. Now, among them was a particularly dogeared and incomplete one, and he casually noted the title:
"Handbook of Original Nature Terms". Thumbing through it,
this passage caught his attention:
"The Red River bears vermillion fish. Wait until the tenth
night before the beginning of summer when the fish are all
swimming as brightly as flames. Smear your feet with the
blood of one and you will surely be able to walk on water."
Bonze Dan was then lost in thought. "This here Neixiang
County's got a Chrysanthemum Pond as well as the Red
River. I've heard that really fragrant chrysanthemums grow
on the cliffs around that little lake, and that those who drink
its water live on to great longevity. But I didn't know that the
Red River gave birth to such strange things. Why, if I'd
mastered that magic earlier I sure wouldn't have have
suffered that dunking at Luojia Manor!"
The arrival of a tray with two cups of fresh-brewed tea
broke his train of thought. "Have some tea, holiness," his
host said, putting it down on the table.
"All this fuss for me!" said Bonze Dan humbly, and the two
men sat enjoying the hot drink.
"My surname's Qin, like the first emperor, and I've got a
single first name, Heng. Last year when I made a
pilgrimage to Mt Hua over in Huayin County I overheard
folks talking about her in the streets. They were saying that
the county's Deputy Magistrate Yang was sheltering a living
Buddha in his home. 'How do you reckon she's a living
Buddha?' I asked them, and they told me that the Yangs
had procured a Golden Sutra and nobody but Holy Auntie
could read it. They said Deputy Yang respected and
worshipped her like a God and kept her in the west garden
of his estate. Folks from counties all around mobbed the
place seeking to worship her as their teacher, and once
there they had a lot of fun as well in all the general gaiety.
Pretty soon though the crowds got bigger and bigger and
they closed the place to outsiders. I've heard that as of now
she's been living there for over a year."
"Aside from reading Sanskrit has she mastered any real
magic powers?"
"I've heard there are some mysterious things about her.
She can go a whole month without eating and not feel
hunger. And she often meets with Bodhisattvas but ordinary
folks aren't allowed access to her. "
What did she look like when you saw her?"
"Like an ordinary old woman," answered Qin Heng, "but
there's something about her looks, like, well, it's as if there's
a certain sagely quality to her. If you go there, holiness, the
biggest problem is that she might still be under lock and
key. If you do get to see her don't be too brash about
seeking the Way. Ask her if she can grant you a meeting a
few days later."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," said Bonze Dan, "it seems
like what I should do." And thanking his host for tea he
asked about the road to Huayin County and was once more
on his way.
After a short time on the road he asked someone the
wherabouts of the Chyranthemum Pool and went directly
there, finding it as pure and clear as promised. "Although
the flowers aren't in bloom there's no mistaking it!" he
marvelled. And after quaffing up a few mouthfuls of water he
bared his body and had a bath, and then upon dressing
afresh set out to find the Red River of legend. Now there
was to be an extra Chinese month that summer. It was the
twenty-first day of the fifth lunar month, corresponding to the
twentieth of June, and the first day of summer was to be the
second of the sixth Chinese month, ten days from then, the
first of July.
Bonze Dan saw the obvious good timing here and spent a
night in a grass leanto, and next day bright and early, the
tenth day before the first day of summer as specified in that
old book of Original Nature Charms, he found himself
standing by the bank of the Red River. How grand it looked!
According to local histories it had once been a transport
canal, and for this two or three li its fish were all red and its
waters were undisturbed, hence the name. One could see
that its fish were a breed apart, a miracle of nature. And
because they were few in number, small and not very good
to eat, there weren't any fishing boats in this section of the
river.
Bonze Dan hiked up to the head of the waters and
chartered a fishing boat. Then he bought some food and
drink and enjoyed it with the old fisherman. "If I could trouble
you to cast your nets and get me some of those red fish
tonight I'll put on a real show for your enjoyment," he told the
startled man.
"Just what kind of a show?" he asked warily.
"I simply take the blood of those red fish and smear it onto
the soles of my feet. Then I utter a magic charm and with a
"hi ho" I step right out onto the water just like it's dry land."
"We fishing folk could sure use a trick like that! Be sure and
teach me how to cast that spell."
"That's no problem, as long as I get the fish."
By now the old man was feeling the wine and had forgotten
to bring the net up from storage at the stern. His old wife
was disgusted at his drunkeness and they had quite an
argument, but finally the net appeared and was all laid out
in tip-top condition.
"Stop for awhile!" shouted Bonze Dan just as they were
ready to cast the net overboard. "I've just cast a spell on the
waters. If you wait a minute the fish will all swarm around
here and you'll be able to net them right up."
Then the two men sat chatting at the bow until the old
fisherman, drowsy from drink, nodded off to sleep. Bonze
Dan was surpised to see something breaking the surface
of the water and heard a splashing sound as well but he
couldn't see any flaming red. By as the night wore on and
the moon rose higher in the east the fish came to reflect its
light, appearing red like fire. He hurriedly awakened the old
fisherman who threw in the net with a shout as if casting
dice against hopeless odds. When he pulled it in there
weren't many fish and upon tossing back the remainder
scattered in fright. In all they caught perhaps ten head, and
killing them yielded very little blood.
"I've got a mind to do something a bit naughty," thought
Bonze Dan darkly; why not try out those instructions on this
here fisherman? If it works I'll come back better prepared
next year and I won't be late, either!" Then telling the old
man to bare the soles of his feet he smeared them with the
fishblood and pretended to mumble a chant, finally
activating the spell with the Daoist command "Attack!" and
telling the old fisherman to step out onto the surface of the
river. Now, the old man was honest and gullible and jumped
right down into the water, and with a loud "ker-plunk" and a
mighty splash disappeared completely from sight.
The old fishwife had been watching from the stern and cried
out in horror for Bonze Dan to rescue him; he hurriedly
threw some deckside planks and bamboo pails into the
river. Fortunately the old man was wise to the ways of the
river and clambered back up over the stern. Husband and
wife then ganged up on our monk and scolded him long
and hard, demanding compensation while all he could get
in were a few meek denials and apologies. The boat would
cost a lump of silver with two more coins thrown to buy wine
for treament of the old man's shock; he agreed and only
then did they let him out of their clutches and allow him to
land on the riverbank before sailing off.
"It's long been said that a little knowledge can be
dangerous," whispered Bonze Dan beneath his breath;
"maybe all the Daoist craft passed down since the
beginning of time is just empty illusion. And even though
after three tries I finally got those writings of Heaven from
White Cloud Cave who knows if I can ever really know
them, even after a lot of learning and careful study."
It was after all Bonze Dan's violent curiosity and impatience
to learn the truth that led him to test out those instructions he
found in the "Handbook of Original Nature Terms" and to
make a fool of himself, even giving rise to doubts in his
mind about the very secrets of Heaven that he had copied
from the walls of White Cloud Cave. And here is a poem
that tells it well:
All the tricks that ever have been staged are but a hoax
And all those writings too are just a sham to frighten folks.
What caused the wild monk to change his thinking
overnight
Was just the silver for the wine to calm the old man's fright.
And then there are those who would argue with this verse,
countering that the words of the ancients have been
transmitted for so long because they have been proven
true, and that we can't simply call them wild lies. Here is
their poem:
The tranformations in this world are all such mystery
We can't be sure that Daoist teaching is but fantasy.
Just following those words with one big secret left unread
He found Red River still was full of scarlet fish as said.
In the blazing heat of the days that followed Bonze Dan
passed by Mt Qiulin with its elegant rock formations and
springs. "According to Qin Heng," he mused, "Holy Aunt is
probably still under lock and key and it isn't all that certain
that I'll be able to meet her or even to wait around until they
open up the place. Why not avoid those problems and wait
out the sixth lunar month, and when autumn's coolness
comes I can continue on the journey and arrive just in time."
Now, in the Qiulin Temple the bonzes all took note of his fan
with the three words "Visit Holy Aunt" written on it. Some of
them didn't know of her and noisely enquired of our monk,
while others who had heard of her explained to their
colleagues about that old woman over in Huayin County.
Bonze Dan listened carefully to the questions and opinions
that they voiced.
Now let's pick up another thread of the story. When we left
Holy Auntie it was the the fifth month of the previous year
and she was living in Deputy Yang's west garden. More
than a year has now past; it is now the seventh month. The
sudden, painful realization came to her of how Mei'r had
fallen by the wayside into the world of the unknown, and
how the Queen of Heaven had assured her that people
would come for her at some time and place in the future
and that she only need wait. But how would they find her
with outsiders forbidden to come in?
"What would I do," she mused, "if Lyu Chunyang or Zhang
Daoling came mysteriously and tried knocking at my door
late one night?" Why, if I could meet outsiders again it
would be easier for them to find me. I've hear Granny
Yang's fallen gravely ill with a bad cold and that the doctor
has been no use at all, and that Deputy Yang is
desperate...this might be my chance! All I need do is
persuade him to allow me an open meeting to exorcise
Granny's illness and pray for her recovery, and when all the
Buddhists and Daoists flock here I'm bound to hear some
news."
So that evening when the pageboy came with a delivery
she relayed her idea of holding an open prayer vigil for the
exorcism of Granny Yang's illness. "If Master is willing," she
added, "I'll make an urgent request to the Puxian
Bodhisattva for some sacred water and bring it right to
Granny, and she'll be cured on the spot."
The pageboy transmitted the message to Deputy Yang. "I
really forgot about Holy Auntie," he answered, "why, yes,
how can I refuse such powerful medicine!" He then
summoned old Mumma, the chief housemaid, and sent her
over to the west garden to request the sacred water and
arrange the site for the Daoist healing prayer meeting
according to Holy Auntie's instructions. Mumma arrived at
her quarters in the west garden and recited Deputy Yang's
instructions in short order. Now, what did that old fox spirit
do for the "sacred water" but go darkly into her bedroom
lair, pick up a porcelain vessel and pee in it. Then she
emerged holding it up in front of her and with a look of
confident wisdom presented it to old Mumma.
The maid held it fast to her body as if it were some sweet
potion in a jade cup, trembling with fear of losing even a
single precious drop, and brought it back tightly covered to
Deputy Yang. Now of course he had always had faith in
Holy Auntie's works and there was certainly no reason to
suspect that she might now be tricking him. In fact he took it
for a marvelous medicine made of miraculous cinnabar and
had a slave girl prop up Granny's head while he himself
poured this fox urine into her mouth. It so happened that this
stuff was given on top of her original medication and,
entirely by chance, greatly boosted its ability to control her
malarial temperature and chills. Later that evening Granny
suddenly felt cool and refreshed and even asked for some
soup. Deputy Yang felt blessed and delighted and heaped
endless praise upon Holy Auntie.
There is something profound to be seen here. How could
he have ever trusted that cure if she'd told him from the start
that it was just the urine of an old vixen? This sort of miracle
happens naturally all the time; it's the way of the world. And
here's a poem:
Truth cannot be known without the helping hand of chance
And even falsehood often can itself as truth advance.
Don't boastfully promote your works in front of others' view
Just remember that those things were not created just by
you.
The next morning Deputy Yang entered the west garden
and walked down that private rear path to visit Holy Auntie.
He thanked her repeatedly and then asked about her plans
for the site of the grand prayer meeting.
This is to be billed as an open meeting," she answered,
"hopefully we will shed light on the character of mankind
and read the sutras, concentrating on our lives in the next
world. People are naturally endowed with very dull minds
and few resources, so I aim to discuss the cycle of deeds
and results to ecourage people to live prayerful lives. Man
or woman, lay or clergy, any who are willing may listen. and
you, lord, shall be the grand patron, welcoming and feeding
them. The nuns and bonzes alone, not even counting the lay
folk, will number fully ten thousand. And when they depart on
the last day humanity will be better off for our good work.
Not only will you and your wife be assured long life due to
your good deeds but the Puxian Bodhisattva herself will
send down her own son, Crown Prince Wenchang, to
assure eternal wealth and blessing and to strengthen my
powers."
Deputy and Granny Yang had always had nothing but great
praise for Holy Auntie; why, they followed her every request,
bountiful as the sea in their support. They would happily go
along with anything if she said it was for the best. And now
hearing of that son their hearts overflowed with joy; how
could they be anything but delighted? Looking at the
calendar they decided to request that Holy Auntie end her
retreat on the third day of the eigth month, and that the site
for the grand meeting would be open from the eleventh.
And after informing his superior the county magistrate,
Deputy Yang himself painted signs and hung them at the
entrance to the west garden with the following message:
DUE TO THE WORRISOME CONDITION OF A FAMILY
MEMBER WE ARE HOLDING A GRAND PRAYER
MEETING, BEGINNING ON THE ELEVENTH OF THE
EIGHTH MONTH AND CONTINUING FOR SEVEN
DAYS. ALL THOSE CULTIVATED AND PIOUS
LAYMEN AND WOMEN, MONKS AND NUNS, BOTH
BUDDHIST AND DAOIST, WHO WITH PURE HEARTS
WISH TO RECITE THE SUTRAS WILL BE
WELCOMED AND PROVIDED FOR. ROWDY
ELEMENTS SEEKING TO CREATE DISORDERS CAN
EXPECT TO BE HANDED OVER TO THE
AUTHORITIES FOR PUNISHMENT.
POSTED ON -- DAY, SEVENTH MONTH, SECOND
YEAR OF THE TIANXI REIGN
As things happened Granny's fever and chills subsided
after swallowing that sacred water. Her strength hadn't yet
returned but the ravages of the illness had been halted
without further problems and that was enough cause for
rejoicing. Wishing to give Holy Aunty some reward for
having saved her life she sewed a tourquoise Daoist's
turban and a flowery purple gown complete with white silk
lining to go with it, a dark plum-green cotton dress and a
pair of Daoist's shoes with turned-up "cloud toes". On the
second of the new month she had a slave girl and old
Mumma carry them into the west garden over the private
path and present them to Holy Auntie.
"Granny has recovered greatly," they announced, "and
wishes to express her deepest gratitude to Holy Auntie for
having saved her life. When you come out of seclusion
tomorrow she won't be able to come see you, so she has
sent this suit of clothes for you to worship in. She only
hopes that you aren't disappointed in them."
"Tomorrow will be a hard day for the household. How can I
expect Granny to strain her heart yet again?" Holy Auntie
then received the gifts. "When you get back," she
continued, "give my regards to Granny and tell her to take
care of herself. On the eleventh when the meeting opens,
health permitting I'd like her to come and offer incense in
prayer, and by the final day of the grand meeting we will
have ensured that she will give birth to a boy."
"Granny has already been talking about that but there is
one problem," answered Mumma. "She's already had five
children, both girls and boys, and she now seems barren."
"How old is Granny?"
"Master is forty-one," said the slave girl, "and Granny being
two years younger, well, that makes her thirty-nine."
"This illness of hers is a stroke of nine years' bad luck, but it
will leave her unharmed. There is another child in her fate
but it's just going to be a little time in coming."
Upon these happy words the meeting ended; they thanked
each other and said their goodbyes.
Next day, the third, Deputy Yang went into the west garden,
broke the seals and unlocked the public entrance to Holy
Auntie's quarters. He then ordered a few servants to clean
the monks' dining room and had some others repair the
cooking stoves and prepare the utensils. Next he called
Holy Auntie into the shrine to discuss the arrangement of
the meeting site and the required furniture. And then there
was the problem of provisions; aside from vegetables there
was hot water to be provided daily for tea. In addition both
wheat and soybean flour would be provided, along with oil,
salt, soy sauce and vinegar, tables and chairs, bowls and
plates; all of these were discussed in advance.
By this time the whole of Huayin County had been rocked
by the news to be heard everywhere that Old Buddha
Yang's estate was once more feeding and supporting
monks and nuns. And there were those beggars and
peddlars as before coming to chant the sutras all day long
just for a free meal, now racking their brains over how to
properly wrap their heads in Tang scarves and Daoist
turbans and waiting for the food to be all prepared so they
might come and join in the chorus of prayer at the end,
unnoticed. And at the crack of dawn on the eleventh there
were already people bustling around for a look at the
goings on. Just imagine:
The gateway is clear and the shrine is open to all. Under
lanterns of glass, rows of candels are to be seen in their
holders. In front of the lion-faced furnace the joss altar is
covery with ivory trays brimming with incense sticks. Upon
the stage a throne has been erected so high, named in
honor of an Enlightened One's coming reign, reserved for
her. In the monks' dining hall the tables are set with wine
and treats for the exclusive enjoyment of the clergy. The
cook is already shouting desperately for an axe to split
more firewood with, and that there aren't enough hands in
the kitchen for all the work to be done. It's a shame but it's
plain to see that what a rich family spends on one day's
feast can carry a poor family over an entire year.
To get back to the story, Deputy Yang entered the west
garden with his household musicians and conducted an
inspection tour of the entire ground. By now bonzes and
wizards, disciples and believers, men and women were all
really flooding into the place, and among them were a
number of delinquent children, come just to be fed and to
enjoy the sights and sounds without praying at all. They too
blended into the ever-swelling mountainous waves of
humanity. Then from the inner sanctum three strokes of the
bell were heard some time apart. The first accompanied
Holy Auntie's washing and grooming, the second her
breakfast and dressing, and the third heralded a
performance by the musicians. Inside the shrine, frescoes
were illuminated by candlelight while joss smoke curled
upward.
A crowd of slave girls and maids then appeared, ever so
carefully carrying Holy Auntie, in her new clothes, out in front
of the Buddha to offer incense and a blessing, with Deputy
Yang following prayerfully. The musicians then emerged
from the hall while Holy Auntie brazenly climbed onto the
throne and seated herself. Deputy Yang then publicly
proclaimed her to be his teacher and fell upon his knees
before her. Among the masses gathered there some had
worshipped her the previous year and others were new, but
they all followed him in the spirit of the occasion and all
kowtowed in unison to her while the old vixen just sat,
solidly unmoving.
Now, the leader of worship at this grand meeting was
known to all as the Head of Buddha. When she spoke
everyone listened and when she chanted they all followed
along in harmony. She had an air of great self-importance
and sat there more or less alone, just blindly following the
old custom. When calling for worship she commanded all
those assembled, first the men on the left and then the
women on the right, to pray and be seated.
Deputy Yang felt that the crowd was getting a bit noisy for
his liking and he sought some relief in a study room, resting
for a moment before ducking out of the meeting early.
Meanwhile, a group of women, old and young alike, were
clawing and pawing their way into the right side of the
crowd in search of companions to sit with, even though the
monks and wizards were seated on the left. The right was
crowded with many so-called nuns, some apparently taking
leave of their common sense in all the excitement. And
there were some standing crowded together and unable to
sit, around the fringes of both sides. Outside some others
who had come only for the food were milling about,
standing or sitting.
Holy Auntie suddenly made three vigorous overtures to the
crowd, ordering the faithful to be silent one and all: "Your
time will come before you know it!" she continued, "There'll
be no time left to hang around and repent, so avoid a fall
from the wheel of fate, and let's chant now before it's too
late!" And she began:
"Those who have come down the west road in search of
perfection, Amitofo!
May you start on the path in spite of your stubbornness,
Nanwu Amitofo!
I will help if you are willing to start on that path, Amitofo!
Let a hundred thousand voices chant in prayer together,
Nanwu Amitofo!"
And with each mention of Lord Buddha the crowd roared
and wailed their praises in response. "I, a humble nun, have
come to you from Sichuan," continued Holy Auntie; "I have
enjoyed the hospitality of this high official for over a year
now. There are three reasons why I have called this grand
prayer meeting upon my emergence from solitude. One is
to ensure an abundant harvest, civil peace and prosperity.
The second reason was to bless and protect the people of
this good official's household, that they should enjoy a long
and gentle road ahead of wealth and peace. And the third
reason why I have brought this meeting of of a hundred
thousand together was to discuss the development of your
hearts and souls so that you can embark as soon as
possible on your path to salvation. I shall not recite to you
today from sutras or charms, but instead I shall tell you
about the origins of Buddha and the saints. Are you familiar
with the humble beginnings of the Bodhisattva Guanyin?
And she began to chant:
"The ancient Goddess of Mercy Guanyin was originally a
man, Amitofo!
Crossing to Heaven he slipped into pettycoats and became
a woman, Nanwu Amitofo!
She gave the Miaozhuang Emperor three sons, Amitofo!
She didn't get any glory and only suffered pain, Nanwu
Amitofo!"
And the old woman on the throne lectured on and on about
the eight difficulties and nine sufferings of Guanyin,
Goddess of Mercy, the tale of her leaving home for
enlightenment, with genuine involvement and feeling.
Reciting one passage, singing the next, she could really
choke up that naive audience, moving them to tears and
sniffles.
When lunchtime rolled around Holy Auntie wrapped up her
lecture and descended from the throne to join the crowds in
dining. Among them were some being served at their
places and others helping themselves at the serving lines
and carrying their food back. In the monks' dining hall all
were fed at their seats, each getting a large bowl of rice
covered with a portion of dried vegetables, along with two
slices of beancurd, and two big buns. And each informal
group received thirteen gift coins strung together on a
length of fine chord, to be divided among them. This being
the first day there were only a bit over two hundred of these
participants, still relatively few, and the household staff kept
a careful account of the amount dispersed. And the
resulting leftover rice was saved in a large bamboo
container for the nourishment of the legions of sickly,
jaundiced monks and the many begging lepers, skin
covered with pathetic scabies, for them to eat as desired.
This continued into the next day.
Now, each succeeding day saw more and more people in
attendance and the cash and provisions on hand became a
bit short. When this was reported to Deputy Yang he issued
new directives: the gift money would be given to the
representatives of each temple or monastery for
distribution to its individual monks. There were, after all,
clergy from all over now pouring into that dining hall. And he
further called upon the group leader from each monastery
to consider the spiritual achievement and moral cultivation
of their followers in dispensing the cash, carefully recording
good deeds or startling feats of alchemy and reporting
them to the estate staff. This was all at Holy Auntie's
insistance.
But enough of these boring details. Let's get back to Bonze
Dan, who is just concluding his two month stay on Mt Qiulin.
The weather has become cool, allowing him to pick up his
bundle once more and set off on the to Yongxing. He had to
beg for food by day and for shelter by night, and sooner or
later somebody he met told him of the grand prayer
meeting being held in Huayin County on the estate of the
local official Yang, to encourage the reading of the sutras.
"Holy Auntie must be in charge of this," he whispered
decisively; "so I'd better be on my way there!"
In less than a day he arrived in Huayin; it being the
seventeenth of the eighth month the meeting was in its
seventh day. The old woman had been lecturing daily on the
rebirths and divine manifestations of the Weshu
Bodhisattva, telling all about how she had actually seen
them with her own eyes and daring anyone who doubted
her to openly say so. He was set only upon meeting Holy
Auntie and did not wish to be troubled by the regulations for
members of this meeting or held up by all sorts of questions
at the west gate. So he went right up to the front door of
Deputy Yang's house and knelt there praying.
"You there, monk!" shouted old Zhang the gatekeeper.
"Haven't you got any ears? We're giving out alms today!
Why don't you get over to the shrine and receive your share
instead of wasting your time here?"
"If I've got no no ears, well, you've got no eyes!" answered
Bonze Dan, raising his fan indignantly. "How come you
can't read the characters written on this? I've come seeking
Holy Auntie, not a handout!"
Before he could finish speaking he caught sight of two
rather elderly women, followed by a boy servant holding up
a plate of food under a fly-screen tent. Now just who do you
suppose those two might have been? One was our chief
housekeeper, old Mumma, and the other was what's called
a "hostess" by trade. And why that name? Well, if a male
scholar wants somebody to play with to lighten up his idle
moments at home this is the woman he turns to. She is
neither tutor nor seamstress but rather a lighthearted and
laughing drinking companion, typically lifting the pot to
serve wine while playing chess. If her client is religious she
will just as soon born incense and worship by his side; adult
males have patronized them for a long, long time.
"If your reverence wishes to see Holy Auntie," answered old
Zhang self-consciously, "just ask those two ladies to show
you the way."
Bonze Dan sprung to his feet and hurriedly stated his
business. "Your holiness," he hurriedly addressed the two,
"Sorry to bother you but I'm seeking Holy Auntie. Would it
be too much trouble to take me to her?"
Old Mumma was the most senior in residence of the three.
"Where does your reverence come from," she asked, "and
why do you want to see her?"
"I'm a wandering monk who grew up in the Yinghui Temple
in Sizhoucheng. Last year when I was gravely ill Holy Auntie
came to me in a dream and saved my life. I've been
seeking her ever since and fate led me here, by no plan of
my own. I simply heard tell that the monks coming to pray at
some meeting here in this fine county of yours would
receive gift money through their temple channels and it all
seemed very formal, nothing for me to get involved with.
Then I realized that with all those priests and rules there
must be a bodhisattva like her to be worshipped. The
Buddhist faith is open wide to all, so if you'd only take me
over there and introduce me to her so I, too, can kowtow
once, that deed would be a real asset to your fate."
"Of all the people over there," answered old Mumma, "the
monks receiving alms are the spiritual leaders but there are
huge crowds of ordinary folks as well, because it's open to
one and all. And as this is the last day I don't suppose
there's any harm in taking you to meet her,
"Fortunately," added the hostess, "Granny Yang isn't over
there so it won't cause any problems."
"Granny is still feeling ill today," explained old Mumma; "she
too was happily saved from death by Holy Auntie. That's
why we called this the 'grand meeting to restore Granny's
health'. She'd be there herself to burn joss and bend a knee
in worship if her condition weren't still a bit unsteady. We're
taking the tea cakes on this here dish over to Holy Auntie
now, on Granny's behalf."
Bonze Dan was relieved to find the women so relaxed and
open. "I've heard that Holy Auntie's got the deepest and
most profound of reading ability. Is it really true that in this
whole great district of yours only she could make any sense
out of some so-called Golden Sutra"?
The whole truth and nothing but," answered old Mumma;
"that there classic couldn't be read by quite a few famous
monks, but that old Daoist nun understood every word of it.
That was when our master began to respect her so greatly."
And chatting as they walked along they soon arrived at the
west garden entrance, where a noisy crowd was gathered
inside and out. Many could be heard saying that a single
step on such hallowed ground could guarantee one's
afterlife; indeed, that strange talk was Bonze Dan's first
impression of the meeting.
"Go over to the monks' dining hall and wait there, your
reverence," said old Mumma. "After I've finished my
business with Holy Auntie I'll call you over and introduce
you." And after a few more steps she turned and continued:
"And just so I can tell her, what's your name again?"
"I haven't got a first or last name. Ever since I was born I've
only been called Bonze Dan."
"Hah, that's the ultimate name for a bald-headed
priest...Bonze Egg!" she laughed as they entered the
ground.
On this day Holy Auntie was busily expounding upon the
tale of the Precious Lotus; she alternated between lecturing
and chanting. Then at noon by the sundial the service
ended and old Mumma entered the quarters to await her
bearing the dish of teacakes and snacks. There were
cakes and pastries, fluffy fried treats, dumplings, jujubes,
chestnuts and the like. In a while Holy Auntie entered.
"You've worked so hard over the past week," said the old
hostess," and Granny really appreciates it. She's sent these
cakes over just for you to enjoy!"
Holy Auntie fell all over herself in thanks. Then pushing the
old companion out of the way she sat in the place of honor
and tugged at old Mumma, who protested repeatedly, to sit
by her side. "All are equal before God," said Holy Auntie;
"it's really all right for us to sit together."
Old Mumma reached for a small stool, apologized loudly
and sat down; she ever so respectfully began serving the
tea and cakes. And in the ensuing discussion the topic
arose of Granny's longing for another son. "Old Buddha,"
asked the companion, "have you ever had any children of
your own?"
"I've got a son" answered Holy Auntie, "and he's under
vows in a faraway place now, being trained as a Daoist
wizard."
"Why isn't he becoming a Bonze," said the hostess, "what
with his being the son of a Buddhist saint and all."
"One law rules the universe,and the three great teachings
are one and the same," answered Holy Auntie; "I teach
Daoism as well as Buddhism."
"You teach medicine, too," old Mumma butted in, "how else
could you have saved the sick and dying like that?"
"Granny luckily got just what she needed," replied Holy
Auntie,"my sacred water."
"And is it true that you've really gone and met people in
their last dying dreams and saved them?" asked the
hostess.
"Why, no, I haven't."
"Just now there's this monk here from Sizhoucheng who
says you came to him in a dream and cured him, saving his
life. He insists upon visiting you and carries around a
bamboo fan with the message "Visit Holy Auntie" written on
it. And his name is strange; he's called 'Bonze Round'..."
"You mean Bonze Dan," interrupted the hostess, correcting
her; "Bonze Egg-Dan".
Now this struck a chord deep inside her old vixen heart and
it all came to her in a flash. "This Monk is a brother of mine
from a previous incarnation," she was inspired to say, "he
really honored and deferred to me, and saved me when I
was ill by cutting a piece of flesh from his own leg and
boiling it in a soup for me. And in this present life if I save
him it's only natural. Bring him here at once!"
Now, over at the dining hall Bonze Dan had been ignored
as a freebooting monk, but the Chief Housekeeper old
Mumma and the old hostess saw to it he was immediately
both fed and issued a stipend. After eating he turned to
look toward the door, where old Mumma was calling him.
"Brother Dan, your sister from your last life is calling you!"
"And who may that sister be?"
And old Mumma told him what Holy Auntie had said, and
that she had requested he be brought over. Now, Bonze
Dan knew to go along with the joke and not deny it, and
went over to Holy Auntie's with the two women. Upon arrival
it was she who took the initiative, rising to receive Bonze
Dan who in turn cast aside his staff and bundle and fell to
his knees to kowtow in gratitude. Holy Auntie helped him
back to his feet and they recognized each other as brother
and sister; pulling up another stool she told him to sit next to
old Mumma. And for a couple of moments there was only
silence between them, until the two ineveitably began
bantering in ghost talk. And this meeting in large part tells
us that a monk who has stolen Heaven's secrets will soon
become conversant in their tadpole-like script, while an old
hag of a sorceress will suddenly change from a cloistered
reader of the sutras into a fearsome goddess of evil. And
the cost to be paid due to Deputy Yang's domestic
indulgence in religion will be far beyond his reckoning.
Consider this:
A single seed can bring about a thousand lives of woe
A mighty tidal wave can from a foot of water grow.
Read on in later chapters if there's more you'd like to know!
Chapter 12
THE OLD FOX GHOST READS LAW BY
LANTERNLIGHT
WHILE A WILD DAOIST GOES MAD BY
MOONLIGHT
To what extent a soul will go depends upon its thirst
That we be so hard-hearted wasn't fated from the first.
Having sown a shady grove of willows quite by
chance
In shadow they can nourish neither flowers nor
romance.
It is said that Bonze Dan and Holy Auntie recognized each
other as siblings from a previous existance; now isn't that
ridiculous! Nevertheless old Mumma and the hostess both
fell for it and returned to inform Yang Chun and his wife,
who along with other folks did indeed say that it sounded
strange, never suspecting at all that it was a barefaced lie.
Now as for Holy Auntie she had been living alone over in
the chapel, but at the outset of the open meeting Granny
Yang sent some slave girls and maids over to keep her
company and look after her. When Bonze Dan first spoke
to her he was afraid to go into too much detail, as the
others were present.
"What sort of characters is that Golden Sutra written in?" he
asked. "How do you manage to read them?"
The old woman then boasted of her meeting with that
supernatural figure and receiving the Sixteen Heavenly
Writings. And she explained that nobody could read the
elaborate script because it was a book from holiest India,
the very gateway to the faith. She told of how the genuine
sutras of the Tripitaka had all been written in Sanskrit, and
of how Chen Xuan commissioned the monk Jiumaluoshen
and others to translate them into Chinese according to the
Tang pronounciation, bringing the existing editions into
being, although on holy mountains and in ancient
monasteries the original Sanskrit writings had been
passed down and still survived.
"I've met a person with special powers, too," answered
Bonze Dan, "who passed on to me twenty-four pages of
mysterious writings that nobody can understand. I've got a
page here in fact. Can I trouble you to have a look at it and
tell me what it says?"
"I'll have a peek."
"Bonze Dan then reached into one of his bundles, removing
and opening a cloth wrapper and spreading one page of
the writings onto the table. The old woman looked at it and
gasped. "Why, this is a script from a far off land over the
sea, and even I don't know it." She then cautiously gazed up
at him, watching his reaction. Disappointed, Bonze Dan
nodded and wrapped the page with the others in the cloth
as before.
After supper the groundskeeper could be seen leading in a
servant, who removed a fresh cassock and lined quilt from
a felt bag he was carrying.
"Our master has heard that Holy Auntie's met her brother
from a former life," he announced, "a marvelous twist of
fate. He wishes to present these unworthy gifts to you,
Reverend, as an expression of his feelings. He'll come see
you early tomorrow."
The old woman and our monk thanked him as one. The
servant then relayed orders to the groundskeeper to clean
up and prepare a small side room off of the main chapel, to
be used as Bonze Dan's quarters. Our monk then reached
down with one hand to gather up his bundle and newly
received quilt and cassock, picking up his staff with the
other. He then followed the servant into the side room,
where he at last rested quietly.
"The way that old woman looked at me," he thought darkly,
"it had to have some meant something profound. You know,
I could wait a bit and barge in on her in her meditation room
to ask her directly, but if a servant spots me it might be
misunderstood." Turning it over and over in his mind his
curiosity just wouldn't subside.
After sunset, hearing the third stroke of a distant temple bell
and knowing the the meditation room to be closed by
regulations, Bonze Dan stepped out of the his room and
stealthily went directly into the worship hall. He could see
only a glass lantern, its flame flickering weakly; to the rear
was the meditation room, its doors tightly closed.
Eavedropping for a moment and hearing nothing he
remained on his guard, just remaining still for a half minute
or so, before turning to go forth once more. But what did he
then see by the flicking shadows of the lamp but the form of
Holy Auntie walking about in the hall!
"Where did you get them, brother?" she asked.
Now, Bonze Dan was frightened and awed, and knew at
once that Holy Auntie indeed had special powers. "I've just
come to seek knowledge from you!" he pleaded, hands
clasped up in front of him.
"You know, those twenty-four pages we were just talking
about. Let me have a look at all of them."
At this point Bonze Dan knew he'd best come clean with
everything. "That's really all there are."
"They're the profoundly secret codes of Heaven, written in
thunderscript," said the old woman; "where did you get
them from?"
Grasping the significance of her words, Bonze Dan told her
all about the three times he sought the Way at White Cloud
Cave, including the story of the godly voice he heard in the
dream. And the old woman then related the entire episode
of her own dream meeting with the Empress Wu Zetian.
"Thank Heaven and Earth!" she proclaimed, hands clasped
prayerfully. "Today at last I understand the meaning of
"enlightened at egg Dan! Why, if you hadn't got that book, I
wouldn't ever be able to know it! We help each other, hiding
nothing, and we mutually find the ultimate path to the
mysteries of mysteries!"
She then took down the lamp and placed it on the floor.
Bonze Dan returned to his room and removed the cloth roll
from his bundle. He then opened it up upon a prayermat
and handed all twenty-four pages over to the old woman.
And so they sat on a couple of prayermats while she lifted a
page and read it from top to bottom. "The name of this
work is the 'Treasure Book of Heaven's Blessings', and it
consists of seventy-two changes utilizing the cool damp
power of Earth. But there are another thirty-six changes
using the dry hot wind of Heaven; how come you didn't
snatch them up as well?"
"They're on the thirteen pages from the left wall, and I
couldn't get but about half of them."
"It was fated, destined to be this way!" mumbled the old
woman.
"How is the energy of Heaven different from that of Earth?"
asked Bonze Dan.
"Heaven is Yang: emptiness, high and immense, while
earth is Yin: substance, low and intense. The laws of Earth's
power can take spirits lacking form and create worldly
manifestations for them, but their lives are limited by
Heaven's preordination. On the other hand the laws of
Heaven's wind act through dieties floating in the precincts
of the sky and famous fairies to accomplish what even the
Lord of Heaven cannot do!"
"Can they both drive away evil spirits?"
"Why not?" said Holy Auntie; "Ghosts are sentient beings,
after all."
"I can see how the wind of Heaven can do that much. But
how can you be sure it dominates the forces of Earth
without your actually witnessing this?"
"Heaven embraces and covers earth and not the other way
round. According to this line of code here, number sixteen
entitled 'The Properties of a Teapot', what is inside the
boiling pot is Heaven although it isn't on high. Why, that
means it can pass through walls and transcend distance.
And according to line number seventy-two, called
'Properties of Earth Dieties', these appear less brilliant
than the light of Heaven's high winds. This means Heaven
simply must have divine power over earth. It is truly a
blessing that you and I have met today!"
Bonze Dan continued with his questions. "Are these twenty
four pages on the laws of Earth's forces complete?"
"They're all here."
"There's some writing on the backs that I didn't rub onto
them...can't you say what it's about?"
"We don't need to concern ourselves with anything apart
from the original text."
There are a lot of awfully strange big Chinese characters on
the fronts of the pages, aren't there?
The seventy-two lines that make up these charms aren't
written in Chinese."
"But before they begin there are scores of lines of our
characters; if they don't belong to the Seventy-Two Charms
just what do they say?"
"'Whosoever practices alchemy by these laws must first set
up an altar and take a solemn oath of loyalty'...that's the gist
of it."
It was as if Bonze Dan had all along only been dreaming of
Dao and had just awakened to its fearsome reality. He feel
to his knees at once and kowtowed. "If I hadn't received
your teaching, Holy Aunt, I would have suffered those three
times all in vain. My work would be like jade that has never
known the carver or a pearl that has never met the
harvester's knife. By all means take me down the path to
the practice of alchemy with you, starting today!"
"It's all a matter of natural principles, and once you've
mastered them you won't need such explanations of
everything that comes up. Problem is, it's one thing to talk a
bit about alchemy but quite another to really do it! First of
all, there's the selection of a site. The place has got to be
spacious, quiet and remote, out of earshot of dogs or
roosters, and rarely if ever visited by people, so that the
formulas can be kept secret. In addition, this will create less
of a hindrance to visits by dieties and spirits. The next
condition is wealth. With something that goes on for for
years and months on end like alchemy, financial backing
must be secured. There are lots of little things needed like
the five basic metals and general supplies, special
products and medicine and all different sorts of apparatus
and furniture that you've got to keep around for use at any
time. You've got to have really deep pockets to cover all the
expenditures that came along! And then the third thing you
need is to know your own heart and mind. If two folks study
Dao together and one of them has a disordered mind and
falls by the wayside, nothing will ever be accomplished."
Bonze Dan listened intently. "I've gone through so many
trials and tribulations to get those writings of Heaven into
my hands, and now I'm so fortunate!" he sobbed gratefully.
"Having met Holy Aunt, why, even if I can't dream of soaring
as a god in Heaven I'll die satisfied just having been an
earth fairy for one day! As for the third condition Holy Aunt
has spoken of, getting the mind in order, well, that's no
problem. And the first problem of finding a site, we just go
deep into the mountains and find a vast and deep ravine
and there we are. But the second need, financing, well, not
being government officals or thieves how can we raise all
that money? And even lots of officials only dream of eating
and drinking their full!"
"Don't worry," said the old woman. "As folks say, 'beggars
can't be choosers', but we really are in luck. Once the grand
revival's been wrapped up successfully, I'm sure Deputy
Yang will bear our next undertaking on his own shoulders!"
"I leave it all up to you, Holy Aunt," said Bonze Dan, hands
clasped formally and bowing deeply. But by the time he
straightened up the old woman had already vanished.
Rubbing his eyes in disbelief he gazed at the lavish
furnishings all around. "Wasn't it a dream?" he wondered.
And looking in once more at the doors to the meditation
room he saw that all was as peaceful and quiet as before.
He thought of what she had said in its every detail, its laws
and principles, reflecting on her own considerable
knowledge of the Daoist craft.
Then suddenly he felt possessive and jealous about the
twenty-four pages of Heaven's writings, what with the way
she'd muscled in as if to take credit herself for them. He
would so very much have liked to keep them somewhere
for himself, but he also knew that Holy Auntie was truly
extraordinary and that he just couldn't do without her.
Then picking up his scrolls he wrapped them as before and
put them back into his cloth sack. Then he lifted the lamp
back to its hook, picked up his bundle and returned to his
quarters in the sideroom, where he slaked his thirst and
went to sleep. And here is a poem:
Without an end the brightness in the lantern waxed and
waned
While on the mat the secrets of the gods were all explained.
The patron as before will pay the thousand coins of gold
Although he can't control the things that finally unfold.
Next morning Deputy Yang came over and asked to see
Bonze Dan. Upon meeting he asked about his guest's
background and voiced some praises of him. Then
together they went to the meditation hall and met Holy
Auntie, thanking her for those seven days spent hard at
work preaching the faith and reciting sutras. And having
heard that fewer than four thousand transient monks had so
far been assisted he naturally wondered how many more
days it would take.
"Put your worries aside, sir," she answered. "Your work is
already done. You cheerfully agreed to undertake the
sustenance of ten thousand monks and their monasteries
and that is enough. Tomorrow is an auspicious day for
practicing charity, as good a time as any for us to conduct
the great closing rally for goodness and virtue."
"That's so good to hear!" answered Deputy Yang,
delighted. After I do the orders for tomorrow's alms I'll have
the Temple of Guanyin prepared as well. Young Reverend,
I'm sure your Daoist skills are highly refined. To get right to
the point I'd like to trouble you to take charge."
"I'm too young for that sort of responsibility. I'm still a
follower, not a leader."
Holy Auntie then spoke. "What with our enjoying your
district's hospitality and all we can't but try to do our best!
Tomorrow we'll make sure that that the Teacher Guanyin
herself is there to receive your Excellency and Madam's
worship."
Deputy Yang thought back to when he had first met Holy
Auntie, recalling how Granny had told him of seeing
Guanyin seated in a cloud; he too wanted to get a
worshipful look at her. He had since spoken to Holy Auntie
many times and she had done all the talking; it had not
been very satisfying. Now at last he was walking on the
clouds in delight with the prospect of a visit from Guanyin.
"If I as much as get a glimpse of her precious holiness I'll be
happy for the rest of the my days!" So having said he
rushed over to the Temple of Guanyin outside the west
gate, followed by some servants to proclaim the coming
day's events and invite a delegation of six leading monks.
By evening he had taken care of the sacred slips, musical
instruments and furnishings and had everything sent out to
the leaders concerned. As for the one in the garden, he
didn't disturb her. Holy Auntie had insisted on meditating
alone in her chamber, all the better to receive the
Bodhisattva there, and she sent back the few slave girls
who had been looking after her.
Next day at dawn's first light Bonze Dan was presented to
the delegation of six monks over in the Temple of Guanyin;
that made seven altogether to represent the worshipping
mass. Together they went forth to the beating of drums and
ringing of handbells, the chanting of sutras and shouting of
holy charms, all according to the agenda for the grand
moral revival; need I say more? Deputy Yang also arrived
early, dressed for worship. Granny Yang, recovered afresh
from her illness and all excited by the prospect of a visit
from Guanyin also wanted to worship her. Riding out in a
small palanquin she burned incense upon her arrival in the
garden. But finding the meditation room locked up she
knew at once that Holy Auntie was in retreat; she didn't wish
to bother her.
Deputy Yang sent old Mumma over to escort Granny to a
peaceful seat in the study, and he then joined her there;
anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Puxian Bodhisattva
Guanyin he implored Granny to worship this miracle
together with him. But as the day wore on there was no sign
of the promised visitation; after the priests led three
worship services and two almsgivings the sky was alreaady
low in the western sky and there wasn't as much as a trace
of news. The gates of Holy Auntie's quarters were still shut
and there was no sign of any activity inside. Granny Yang
became impatient; though she normally loved these rituals
she was now weary in body and quite tense from the day's
wait and only longed to return home. Yang Chun then
ordered a new round of joss and candles to be put up,
donned a fresh cap and gown and thrice bowed to the
statue of Guanyin, begging pitifully. Seeing their patron set
such an example the priests redoubled their efforts as well.
They all carried on wildly until the third watch of the night
until even Deputy Yang couldn't bear it any longer and
ordered the sacrifical money and holy slips to be burned in
preparation for sending the worshippers home.
It was just then, as they fed the paper cash and slips to the
hungry flames that everyone witnessed the onset of a
sudden whirlwind, carrying the sparks and blazing paper up
into it. Then as Deputy Yang and the others all raised their
heads in awe they saw first the broad light of a fire, and
before their eyes it changed into a five-colored auspicious
cloud. And upon that cloud appeared Guanyin, bedecked in
pearls and gold, looking ever so precious yet correct and
severe riding atop a white elephant.
Deputy Yang was stunned. Unable to utter a word he fell to
the ground in silent worship. Bonze Dan also took it for real
and dropped to kowtow in awe with the other monks. And
of the participants at large, milling about and chanting,
there were none who dared not worship her. Now, the
bodhisattva said nothing but just proceeded slowly to the
locked meditation hall where she landed on earth and went
right in. As it was the nineteenth of the eighth lunar month
(about Halloween, trans) there was a splendid full moon
and all could be clearly seen.
"Stand back," shouted Deputy Yang, "the goddess must
have something to discuss with Holy Auntie and we mortals
mustn't barge in begging to meet her! We should all rejoice
just in having seen her seated in the clouds."
"The world's revered one came on account of our host's
record of good deeds!" shouted a priest. "For us lowly
monks to have been brought here, fed and treated to even
this one sighting of her is blessing enough for three
lifetimes!"
Deputy Yang nodded humbly, then again knocked his head
on the ground in front of the idol while the masses in
attendance mounted their horses and otherwise departed.
The clergy then retreated to the main hall for their meal,
then scattered the incense ashes, gathered up their gifts of
furniture and set off for their home temples. Bonze Dan
returned to the anteroom as before and rested.
As the next day dawned Bonze Dan called reverently upon
Deputy Yang, who was sitting with his morning tea. The
host thanked him for the previous day's labors and brought
up the public vision of Guanyin. "When I got home and
spoke to my wife," he related, "she said she hated herself
for her bad luck, for having been too weak and tired to
stay."
"Early this morning," said Bonze Dan, "Holy Auntie told me
wanted Granny to come over to the garden. She's got
something to discuss with her."
"I'd really like to see her myself and find out about her
meeting with the bodhisattva, but with things this way I won't
for now. Why not hang around here and have a nice
vegetarian breakfast while my better half goes over to
consult with Holy Auntie? If your reverence will just wait in
the east room for awhile I'll be right back to keep you
company." Thus having spoken he went in and informed
Granny, who happily got ready and, attended by a slavegirl,
mounted a palanquin for the journey to the west garden.
As for Bonze Dan over in the east room, well, he'd never
customarily adhered to the dietary restraints but having
seen that monks' dining hall and wishing to eat had falsely
said he was a vegetarian. So today he was provided with
monk's food and that was nothing he could say about it.
Granny Yang arrived in the west garden and went right to
that meditation room. She reckoned it had been two
months since they had last met, and this made the
occasion especially joyous. Her temperature and chills had
also long since subsided. "I've heard that Holy Auntie met
with the Bodhisattva Guanyin in person last night" she said.
"Fate wasn't with your disciple and I had to go back home
early, thirsty and exhausted, and now I'm filled with regret at
having missed the vision."
"The Teacher Puxian said she had already met you once,
Granny."
"It was in mid May of last year, around the time we first met
you, Holy Aunt."
"Guanyin told me that you and your husband had been Jade
Girl and Golden Boy in Heaven before your descent into
this life. During a prayer festival in Heaven you two had
been naughty, fencing playfully with your banner poles, and
as punishment you were sent down to the mortal world as
husband and wife. Because of that advantageous
beginning you have loved Dao in this life. And if your
accomplishments are complete you can still be promoted
back to Heaven. I, your lowly Daoist, now want to stay here
and build a temple to Guanyin and cast a golden idol of her
to receive sacrifices. I want to reside there reading and
teaching the sutras and the faith, ensuring that you two are
ultimately selected to fly back up to Heaven. What do you
think of the idea, my Lady?"
"I'm really moved by Holy Aunt's beautiful intentions. In our
estate's east farmlands there lies an empty parcel of
mountainous land, perhaps forty or fifty mu. In days of old
there was a monastery on the site but it's been gone for
many years. With the way our family has been straining to
give charity I'm afraid we haven't got enough money to put
up a building or cast an idol."
"It won't cost a cent of your family's funds. Your lowly servant
has got a son by the name of Zuo Chu. Right now he's
under vows as a Daoist wizard in the Guanwang Monastery
at the foot of Swordgate Mountain. Since boyhood he's had
the magical gift of being able to turn white into yellow, if you
get my meaning. He hasn't been able to practice the craft
very much because he hasn't yet found a patron so blessed
as you. And as for this blessing, well, it isn't your ordinary
one, oh no; it's a gift of the fairies! For example, producing
gold at a touch: for the masters the future holds the creation
of elixers and pills that will keep their faces forever young
and drive away all illnesses, crowning them with radiant
glory so that they may rise back up to Heaven as of old.
And as for their servants, their future assures them another
life as humans, with all its many advantages over lower
rebirths. If your estate can provide just a bit of ordinary coin
for me to have changed into gold there will be not only great
profit but the interest to be gained as well. And if a bit more
gold is thus produced you could use it on good works for
the poor. Yesterday I mentioned this to the Teacher
Guanyin and do you know what she said? 'How perfect!
What a truly priceless undertaking!' Now, if you hadn't
indeed been blessed, the Great Teacher would never have
so lightly given her approval. However, this is all secret.
Should word of it leak out these things will be difficult to
accomplish and the outcome wil be less than beautiful."
"Let me go back and discuss your proposal with my
husband" answered Granny.
Granny Yang then returned home and told Deputy Yang
what Holy Auntie had said. Now, his mind and body had
already been thrown off balance from seeing that phoney
bodhisattva of Holy Auntie's. It had truly been a heartstopping shock for him! If Holy Auntie Auntie now
commanded him to cut off his own head with the glib
promise that it wouldn't hurt, he would enthusiastically start
slicing away! And yes, the Midas touch would be an
ordinary attribute of a family of immortals! How could
anyone doubt it?
Deputy Yang finally returned as promised to Bonze Dan
and told him of all that he'd just heard. Next he rode on
horseback over to the east farmlands to have a look around
and then went over to the west garden to ask Holy Auntie
about this business of conjuring up gold and building a
temple.
"There's nothing to it," she said. "It just requires a quiet
room in the midst of a desolate open space, far from dogs
or roosters and seldom if ever before visited by people; in
there the most profound wonders can be worked!"
"Your disciple has already been out to that old hamlet of
ours for a look," replied Deputy Yang. "The place is wide
and secluded enough, and it's suitable for building on. It's
said that it was originally the site of a religious side-venture
of Lord Commander Guo of the Tang Dynasty and there still
remain a few ancient cedars along with the thirty four
dwellings; I've naturally had them boarded up and placed
off-limits as you've instructed. The estate slaves themselves
are in another area, and they've been told they've got
absolutely no business trespassing in there, and they are of
course responsible for any incursions."
"Now we need only wait for the day my little Zuo Chu
arrives," said Holy Auntie; "then you can take him to the site
and have him approve it, and that'll be that!"
"And just where is the young master? I'll send someone
specially to fetch him back, overnight if possible!"
"My son is crippled in one leg so he's known by the holy
name of 'Que'r', meaning 'Little Limper'. He's at Swordgate
Mountain right now, pretty far from here, and perhaps he'll
need porters to bear him here as it would be hard going on
foot for him. And there's another snag: they depend on my
young wizard's talents for everything at Guanwang, and they
keep him in a room deep inside. If they hear his family
wants him here, the other Daoists surely won't agree to
release him. Only if you yourself write out some orders in
your official hand telling them the way it is will they be
persuaded to let my boy go."
Deputy Yang was overjoyed. "If I may trouble you, Holy
Auntie, I'd like for you as well to hurry up and write a letter
and I'll send my agent there with it first thing tomorrow. And
if your boy's legs aren't up to the journey there'll be money
to hire some help."
He then left. Holy Auntie quickly wrote the missive and
called on Bonze Dan to deliver it to Deputy Yang's house.
The master then called for his customary agent in these
matters, Yang Xing, handing him Holy Auntie's letter and
carefully explaining all he had to know. He was ordered to
off on the journey early next morning. And he was given
over twenty ounces of silver for expenses and to hire a
horse for Wizard Zuo to ride, told to look after him carefully
and to make haste going and coming.
Yang Xing went home with his master's orders and began
preparing for the journey when his wife caught sight of that
big bag of silver and began nagging him to death, begging
him to let her buy new clothes, jewelry and accesories for
her hair with it. He broke down at last and gave her one or
two lumps, equal in weight to several coins.
At dawn he went to the estate store and got his own
clothes, jacket and so forth out of hock. But when folks
heard that he was being sent on a mission with money in
excess of expenses they came round to press him for a few
odd small debts. He had to pay them and there went
another few bits of silver. Now he was only afraid he
wouldn't have enough for the journey, and that he'd have to
live on ginger and vinegar, saving and scrimping on
everything. And finally when the time came to go he
hesitated and dreamt of pocketing all that cash and
building his own house. But then this is just an ordinary
human desire, not worthy of further comment. Here's a
poem:
Paying out so richly for a bit of alchemy,
They hope to tread Nine Heavens for a better life to be.
Zuo Quezi waits as fated far away not knowing when
He'll someday get his chance at last to swindle future men.
Now, it has been said that the Wizard Jia Qingfeng of the
Guanwang Monastery had been dreaming of Hu Mei'r day
and night, drunk with infatuation, ever since parting with her
in the second month of the previous year. He bared his
heart daily to Quezi, spending a few hours asking about her
wheareabouts and lamenting before leaving. Quezi tried his
best to humor him, sending him back with advice to burn a
joss stick and worship.
Later, however, the chief priest came more often with his
doubts and fears, two or three times in the course of a day,
and Quezi eventually grew impatient.
"Teacher, you make me laugh!" he finally burst out in
contemptful anger. "I'm in here, the same as you! Only the
gods know the answers to your questions. They've got legs
attached to their bellies and where they've wandered on
them beats me! For all I know they're on a peak in the
Himalayas by now! You talk about them being your
stepmother and stepsister but they're my flesh and blood
and I'm not heartsick over it like you. And what's with an old
geezer like you asking about her; isn't that really a bit out of
line?"
Wizard Jia had been despondent bordering on depression,
and now the bottom had been pulled out from under him.
His illusions laid bare, he had nothing to say in reply. He
tried to rationalize it, dismissing Que as a troublesome
relation of hers; he could only bear it in silence, prefering to
avoid a clash. But in a few days he came back with some
questions and Quezi said nothing, doing his best to show a
complete lack of interest. Months later he was still unwilling
to answer, and Jia Qingfeng didn't know what to think.
When he ventured to speak, Zuo Que'r was silent for quite
awhile and then turned away. Seeing his brother sitting
silently there he could see just why that old woman might be
totally without any maternal feelings in her belly. And on all
the occasions he'd asked for private divinations on various
things, Zuo Que'r had variously spoken, been silent,
scolded Wizard Jia, spoken too fast or taken all day. So not
surprisingly Jia was in turn happy, angry, hopeful, pensive,
jealous and hateful! And a certain young troubador created
this little verse on hearing the story, really fun to recite or
even sing:
I gazed upon a tender face that filled me with surprise
Drive away the ghosts, oh, drive away the ghosts!
I only peeped a second and I couldn't turn my eyes
Love can kill a man, oh, love can kill a man!
I'd do anything to please her, oh, do anything I can!
The newest house is closed to mortal folks
Just those with special powers, oh, not ordinary folks!
I feed the old man in there morn and night
So put your mind at ease and stay, please do not move on!
Just sit and wait til daybreak, oh, wait until the dawn!
The lady recognized me as the brother of her dove
Add a bit of kinship, add a touch of love
By nightfall we were ready to know each other's love
She and I were up for it, we both felt just the same
But then the iceman came, oh, but then the iceman came!
Now Quer's gone off to supervise the work
The job is halfway done, oh, the job is halfway done!
Now I've been blocked by madam's evil eye
Nails from her eyes, oh, nails to crucify!
Vows of chastity, oh, her vows of chastity!
Dark green cloth and silken gown appear
But in word we are so insincere
Cater to the tailor's every whim.
Seduce your kinswoman
Your prisoner of love
Steal her for yourself, oh, steal her for yourself
Rush upstairs and hug your darling tight
Value every minute, oh, value every minute
Hurry and do it while it can be done
Take a little break, until the setting sun
Clutch her empty promises, oh, clutch her empty word.
The walls had ears and so the plan was wrecked
Forget about the bird, oh, forget about the bird
Tomorrow she'll be going far way
See her off again, mustn't show the pain
Crying pearly tears for getting nothing, oh, tears for having
stolen not a thing!
The smoke of incense often fills my private worship room
I pray for your return, oh, pray for your return
Waiting for the day when our love again can burn
Feel a bit of love, squeal a sound of love
To the sky above, oh, to Heaven up above.
Departing in the springtime, by autumn you'd return
You've failed to come on time, oh, failed to come on time
I pray that you come back here as I watch the incense burn
Tell me little sorceress, what's the reason I'm
Without a single clue, oh, without a single clue?
It's hard to tell another of this bitter private love
Just being sad alone, oh, just suffering alone
If you broke off and scolded me you'd put my heart at ease
I'd fall upon my knees, oh, in joy upon my knees!
Guanwang doesn't care about the matters of my heart
Just going off to pray, oh, mumbling away
From dawn to dusk I only fret the double role I play
Unqualified to preach, oh, unqualified to pray
Just listen to the spirits, oh, do what the spirits say.
A Daoist priest is stricken by an illness of the mind
The strangest thing on earth, oh, strangest thing on earth
In his wild delusions yet a wife he hopes to find
Not a solid man, just a rotten heel
He'll never pace the sky, oh, won't see Heaven high.
Now, unrequitted love falls for the most part into two
classes. In the first category are the successful, talented
boy and the well bred girl; one longs and the other loves.
Throughout the ages there have been myriad stories written
about this. No matter how hard people or circumstances try
to keep them apart, it just makes them more attractive to
each other and alone by moonlight they feel each other's
soul; this love is mutual.
The other type of unrequitted love is where a man chases a
woman or vice versa and the one being chased feels
nothing. A woman if sought after doesn't often take it to
heart, and a man when chased frequently feels no longing
inside of him. Love's onset drives away reason and brings
on confusion, with its attendant sighs and gasps. The
afflicted one is easily rebuffed, and from then on their
feelings are known as an infatuation. Not knowing where Hu
Mei's soul might be, Jia Qingfeng's eyes only searched
compulsively for any sign of her return. And he made
entirely too much of that onesided lovey-ducky promise of
his that they would meet again, even indulging himself in
fancies of a joyful sexual union with her. Now isn't that
infatuation?
Since he'd lapsed into this illness of one-sided infatuation,
Jia Qingfeng payed no mind to everyday matters. He sat as
if about to nod off with drunken eyes, and neither read the
sutras nor conducted sacrifices. And for months on end he
failed to attend the worship services, with joss and candles,
before the idol of Guandi that were regularly held on the first
and fifteenth days. As for their food he was now dependent
on Wizard Nie to go around and noisely beg provisions.
Nie carried on as best he could in support of his master for
a few days before slowly falling into rivalry with Zuo Que'r
and the mad Wizard Jia was in no condition to handle the
feud. After passage of a year like this he slowly began to
show symptoms of a debilitating tubercular illness, with
body aches, arthritis, muscular weakness and jaundice.
There was no pain or itch from the onset but it still left him
between life and death, for although it didn't kill him it made
passing the days extremely miserable.
Now as we have learnt, there was that Fujiang Rapids
Convent over at the ferry station on the River Fu, and
Wizard Jia's old aunt was prioress there. Hearing that her
nephew had taken ill she came over to the monastery
especially to visit him, bringing an extremely ugly pagegirl
as a servant. Nonetheless the flames of desire in Jia
Qingfeng's lecherous heart were fanned to life and he once
more put on his act of seduction, and in a few days he was
upon her. Upon discovery of this the old nun was furious
and gave the maid a tonguelashing. And as she was about
to leave she swore that she would never again be back.
Well, enough of the mad Wizard and his affliction; let's
focus our attention on Quezi. In the beginning Wizard Jia
had granted his every desire for food and drink, and having
had his full the boy gradually became lazy and unreliable.
And when it happened that the Wizard became afflicted
with consumption, Quezi was all of a sudden without a
patron. On the few occasions that food or drink were to be
had it was now all up to Wizard Nie to decide who could eat
and when and how much they could have. And what he
could get into his mouth, even including leftovers, was not
really enough. All of a sudden there had been shortages of
this and that and they had even made him pawn his clothes
to buy rice. Realizing how bad things now were made
Quezi suddenly remember his kinswomen.
"Oh, my ladies," he addressed them in his mind, "the three
of us left home together but we took shelter here because
with my bad leg I couldn't keep up. 'Stay safe in here and
we'll send for you later' you said. But it's been a year and a
half now...have you been swallowed up by a storm in your
travels? How thirsty, hungry and lonely I am here...you must
know what I mean! If I were a whole man I'd walk right out of
here and become a wandering priest of the clouds, flying
away from these petty squabbles. I feel as if I'm in limbo
here, unable to advance or retreat. Gosh, it's really true, a
thousand days of human happiness is as rare as a hundred
days' red blossom! And the priests are so mean and nasty
compared to when we first met, why, I'll hate them until my
dying day!"
But no more talk of Quezi's resentment. Let's get get back
to Yang Xing, ordered to be on his way as a courier. Off on
his mission at dawn he arrived at Swordgate Mountain in
less than a day and took the path leading up to Guanwang
Monastery. Overwhelmed with thirst, he asked on arrival in
the compound for some soup. Wizard Nie took him at once
for an official messenger, not to be mistreated. As Wizard
Jia was down with his illness, Nie took it upon himself to
ladel out an overflowing bowl of gruel and had little Lali, the
temple waif, carry it out. He then summoned Quezi to attend
to the visitor. Now, nobody in the world was easier to spot
than Zuo Que, and Yang Xing was delighted to recognize
him at once!
Quezi bowed deeply. "Where is your excellency from," he
asked in greeting.
"I've been sent from Huazhou."
"I've never had a taste of Mt Hua's tea" answered Quezi as
he carefully presented the bowl of gruel.
"That'll sure quench the thirst" replied Yang, satisfied, as
little Lali took the bowl away. Yang Xing then stood up and
went out of the gate with Quezi.
"Is your surname Zuo?" asked Yang.
"Why, yes, it is!"
"Let's go away where we can talk." And the two men
walked off about a hundred paces from the main gate.
"I've been sent here by my lord, the Deputy Magistrate Yang
Chun of Huayin County, Huazhou. Sorry it's got to be trash
like me. I've got official orders here in the form of a letter
from Holy Auntie, commanding your reverence to
accompany me back at once, no delay!"
When Quezi opened the letter he found a poem of four
lines:
I'm living on the Yangs' estate in Huayin's County seat
One wise and good as Master Yang is truly hard to meet.
He wants to share your journey up on cinnabar's high track
Comply at once with this demand and don't you dare look
back!
Now, Quezi recognized his old mother's handwriting and
looked off happily into the distance, then turned to go back
and gather up his bundle.
"Not necessary!" replied Yang Xing. "I'm at your service.
Anything you need, just ask and it's yours. It'll be a bit rough
on the road but as soon as you get home you'll have
everything you want!"
"Huazhou is so far and I've only got one good leg..."
"We'll press on down Swordgate Mountain on foot, I'll help
of course, and then hire a horse for you to ride on for the
rest of the journey. No need for you to walk."
Now Quezi suddenly thought of that frightening Wizard Nie
and the seriously ill Jia Qingfeng over in the temple; he
didn't really have any tender feelings toward them to speak
of. If he brought this up they would only start talking about
the days when they all first met and the kindness they'd
once shown a mother and her two children; what could he
then say? He had only a sheet of paper from her, not even a
gift in appreciation. It would be best not to tell them. And
there were his remaining clothes, winter and summer garb;
he need only run over and pick out the best from the
closet... Quezi held back. "This fellow standing here may
have called himself 'trash'," he thought, "but he's the trusted
courier of a high official, ordered to bring his man right
back... the clothes might hold him up." So, sighing, he
acquiesced.
"Mother said to be back with the speed of lightning, so what
can we do? Let's go! I'm afraid if I dilly-dally around here
your master might misunderstand and blame you."
Thereupon Yang Xing took hold of Quezi and, in threelegged fashion, they fled Swordgate mountain. For the
remainder of the journey they hired a saddle horse for
Quezi to ride, with Yang Xing walking apace, leading and
lagging, alternatively coaxing and reigning the beast. And
off they went down the road to Huayin County.
Now let's branch off for awhile and get back to Wizard Nie.
He felt strange when Quezi didn't return for supper. When
he was still not back much later in the evening it was time to
inform Wizard Jia.
"When did he leave?" asked Jia.
"Earlier today a private courier stopped by on foot to ask
for some soup. Quezi went out the gate with him and never
returned."
"And where was that runner from?"
Little Lali now spoke up. "I went out to give him the bowl of
gruel and I heard a line or two...seems as though he was
from Huazhou."
Now, when Wizard Jia heard the name "Huazhou" his
heartbeat quickened. "Why, that's where Mt Hua is at. But if
Mother and Sis are there, why in the world wasn't there a
message for me?"
"Huazhou's a huge district with big counties," said Nie, "not
your little family village or squire's borough. The two women
are probably praying on the mountain and they sent the
messenger to bring Quezi."
Wizard Jia was cranky in his illness. "You rotten son of a
bitch excuse for a priest!" he scolded. "You're so damn
clever it amazes me. Folks have long said that 'as fallen
leaves float back to sea, so will friends some day reunited
be.' His mom and sister had sent that messenger from
Huazhou and then you went and decided he couldn't see
me, and you sent out Quezi instead! If he went off like that
there must have been a letter from Mother and Sis or they
even came themselves for him, or perhaps he was even
abducted. You didn't ask enough questions! And now
you've got nothing but a bunch of crap excuses for me!"
Little Lali ran from the room in fear. And Wizard Nie, seeing
his master so angry, tried to mollify him. "You're right, sir;
tomorrow morning I'll go find that messenger and we'll know
everything."
"That's just closing the barn door after the horse has run
away! Where do you expect to find him?"
"Didn't you say, sir, that friends would all some day be
reunited?"
Hearing this reply Wizard Jia's face went purple with rage
and he suddenly sat up in bed, reaching out to strike Nie.
And then he fainted back onto the pillow, exhausted as
before. Wizard Nie left the room mumbling under his
breath, and finding Lali in the hall beat him with several
cruel blows of his fists. The little waif just cried and cried,
and Wizard Jia was even more disturbed to hear this. But
with his mind unclear and body weakened there was
nothing he could do.
Come evening the lamps were still unlit. Now, it was the
eighteenth night of the ninth lunar month and the moon had
risen early. Calling up his remaining energy he managed to
sit up in bed and gaze at the moon in the window above
him; countless feelings and thoughts rushed through his
heart and mind. He wondered where his stepmother and
sister were at the moment, and seeing that big round face
in the night sky he wondered if the Lady of the Moon might
have a letter of theirs for him. And just as he started longing
wildly for Mei'r, in ran little Lali.
"Teacher Que has returned," he announced, "and he's with
his mother and sister outside the gate."
Hearing this, Wizard Jia felt encouragement coursing
through his veins and was filled with boundless joy. He
hurriedly called out for them to enter, and tried to get out of
bed but his limbs wouldn't obey and he drifted back to
sleep. He then heard the sound of his folks talking and
sensed the three of them entering his room, his mother
asking about the cause of his illness and comforting him
with tender words. "We'll have a talk," she said, "as soon
as I get the bags all squared away."
Quezi ran off, leaving only Mei'r, giggling as she climbed
onto the edge of his bed. "Big brother, I've been away for
so long, only to find you ill like this!"
Wizard Jia spoke weakly while kneeling on the bed. "This
illness came because of you, dear sister, but because I've
seen you today I can die without regret!" And he raised his
hands, gently placing them on her neck, while Hu Mei'r
lowered her head and made ready to kiss him. Wizard Jia
then suddenly awoke. It had all been a dream. Opening his
eyes he saw only the quiet room with half of that full moon
framed in the window, and a cool breeze was blowing in on
his body.
The same old moon as always wanes outside his
windowsill
Shining down on one so sad, becoming sadder still.
If what becomes of Wizard Jia should interest you at all
You'll hear in later chapters of what next events befall.
Chapter 13
YANG CHUN CLOSES THE EASTERN
FARM AND TRIES THE MIDAS TOUCH
WHILE HOLY AUNTIE BUILDS AN ALTAR
TO FORGE METALS FROM THE
CHARMS
Since time unknown those old cave writings waited til
at last
Somebody got a hold of them and to the world they
passed.
Just following her teaching of the secret thundercode
Through metallurgy do they seek to climb the fairies'
road.
As the story has unfolded, Wizard Jia put Quezi up in the
monastery to endear the old woman to him, all with the
ultimate goal of seeing Mei'r again. But due to unforseen
events that suddenly arose he became troubled and sick at
heart, ghosts and evil spirits ran wild and it all culminated in
madness and that delirious dream. He awoke with brief joy
and a long sigh of despair, and remained heartbroken
throughout the night. Come morning he heard that Quezi's
clothes and ritual gowns were still there, and so he
concluded that the boy couldn't have gone far. He ordered
his subordinates to search all over the area, and they soon
learnt that he'd been seen leaving a corral on horseback,
led by a fellow from far away.
On hearing this Jia had a relapse and his illness took a turn
for the worse as well. And nightly he dreamt of that little fox
spirit coming to ensnare him in desire. These little trysts
repeatedly went all the way and brought on a chronic
debilitative condition of spermatic loss. He never knew
when in the course of a day he would become aroused in
his loins to the point of letting go. And as the illness
progressed he began to see Mei'r as if she were actually
there, his mind fading and body looking wasted like a bag
of bones, all thin as kindling. "My little Mei," he would joyfully
call out, "in this life the flutes weren't fated to play for us, but
in the next world we'll be life partners in our one and only
marriage!"
To Wizard Nie and little Lali there were only sad and forlorn
words of eternal parting. He just remained in his room
where that old recluse Daoist worriedly came to see him on
a few occasions. The course of the illness was ninety
percent complete, so no wonder he was preparing for the
world after. He hung on until spring, when finally the oil in the
lamp was gone and wails of grief and lamentation went up.
He had just turned twenty-seven, really a short and sad life
of unsatisfied longing. Folks of old had a little ditty called
"The Qing River Prelude" that tells it all too well:
All the illness in the world is oh so sad to view
Just thinking of it is enough to leave you stricken too!
Suddenly the stabbing pain comes calling at our hearts
Then a day of lingering after the soul departs
Until the final groaning gasp in turn itself begets
Seeds of future evil grown from life's unsettled debts.
When this mad wizard was on his deathbed he still thought
tenderly of the little fox spirit, and so upon death a little
piece of his spirit failed to dissolve away. Now, Mei'r had
been reincarnated into a family surnamed Hu, meaning fox,
and given the name Yong'r, "eternity's child", while Wizard
Jia was reincarnated into the Jiao family and named
Han'ge, meaning "silly boy". And although they weren't of
the same age they were still reckoned to be a suitable child
bride and groom, having received an exemption in the
account book of Destiny. But this all comes later; let's drop
it for now.
Getting back to Quezi and Yang Xing we find them making
haste on the road home, stopping only to eat or drink when
hungry or thirsty, and after resting overnight they were back
in Huayin County in less than a full day. Passing through
Deputy Yang's front gate they entered the house and
reported to the chief, who had happily run out to meet them.
He greeted Quezi warmly and tried out a few lines of
Heaven's alchemical jargon on the puzzled young man, who
didn't understand a word of it, only staring back in silence.
Suspecting that Quezi might be unwilling to discuss high
matters so lightly he shelved his curiosity for the time being.
And after tea he had Yang Xing escort Quezi out to the
west garden to be reunited with Holy Auntie.
As soon as Zuo Quezi entered the garden he noticed
Bonze Dan. "Mother sure has forgotten herself," he thought,
"finding herself a wandering monk like that." And as soon
as he entered the meditation hall and met his mother he
had a question: "Why isn't sister Mei'r here with you?"
"It's a long story," said the old mother. And she told him of
encountering the sudden black squall in the forest, of the
audience with Auntie Zetian, and of how when she
awakened she had lost Mei'r. And she related how she'd
later met Bonze Dan in fulfilment of that prophecy,
"Enlightened at egg Dan".
"He had possesion of Heaven's secret writings, the Secret
Laws of Nine Heavens, and only I was able to read them,"
she explained. "If we now practice alchemy with this
knowledge we'll be able to produce a fortune in gold! I've
advanced the idea of building a Temple of the Teacher
Puxian, and you my son, Zuo Chu, will be able to change
metals into gold at a touch!"
Quezi listened silently as she went on. "With that prospect, I
was able to get them to put up the resources for the
undertaking and send for you to come join us in the fiery
cultivation of precious metals."
"So that's the weird stuff Deputy Magistrate Yang was
talking about when I first met him," laughed Quezi; "if I
hadn't agreed to come I guess I would've made the journey
anyway!"
But just as they were talking who should appear but Deputy
Yang, come to pay his reverent respects to Teacher Que,
and presenting him with a new suit of clothes and roll of
bedding. He then announced to the mother that he'd be
taking them both out to the eastern farms on the morrow to
have a look at the place.
"You should first procure some pharmaceuticals to
distribute to the local folks as moving-in gifts," said Holy
Auntie, "otherwise they won't believe that Dan and my boy
are brothers. Tongues are sure to wag if we do otherwise.
And tomorrow you should let Bonze Dan come with us."
Yang Chun agreed and left. A short time later a bevy of
servants arrived to serve dinner and a fine vegetarian table
was set down. "Ma'am," said Quezi to his old mother, "it
would be great if we could somehow get a little wine and
meat out of him!"
"That simply won't be heard of in the house of the famous
"Old Buddha Yang", she answered. "But if you just hold on
for awhile and wait til we start chanting and working metal,
after tomorrow you won't have to eat grass again for a
whole year!"
Quezi stuck out his tongue in dumb surprise, and the
evening passed without furthur talk.
Next morning after breakfast Deputy Yang sent over a small
palanquin with two saddle horses, and went to the west
garden himself to greet the three. He then went on ahead
over to the east acres to await them. The old woman
traveled in the sedan chair in front while the wizard and
bonze each rode on horseback behind her, and with a valet
leading the way they fairly flew up to the place. From all they
could see while enroute it was truly a fine location. Just
imagine:
Fields joined upon a grid of intersecting line
Ancient mounds and hillocks overgrown with trees so fine.
Footpaths running east to west and crossing south to north
A scattering of farmers' homes into our view comes forth.
Holy mounds and hillocks all with greenery so fine
Full brigades of lumberjacks march to the cutting line.
An open field so very wide is in a hollow found
Still called the Hillside Nunnery and Local Training Ground.
Upon a summit stand the splendid buildings that we know
Housed the former enterprise of Lord Commander Guo.
Build a Buddhist temple or a Daoist hall so grand
A thousand towns and all their folk under your command
Though you try your hardest and you do your very best
You still won't recreate the greatness of that Eagles' Nest.
Build an altar to the gods and stay there half a year
The sounds of roosters and of dogs will slowly disappear
In deepest wood the master will so happily install
His guests inside the Waxwing Peace and Perseverance
Hall.
As soon as the old woman saw Deputy Yang she thanked
him energetically. "How wonderful that our patron has got
such strong faith in his heart, why, it's the ultimate in good
kharma!"
"Did you see the site on your way up here?" asked Yang
Chun.
"I sure did", answered the old mother, "and it's a hundred
percent suitable! The lay of the land sure is auspicious all
around the manor too. But I'm worried about about what the
rooms in the buildings are like."
"Well, let's all go for a stroll and have a look round" said
Yang Chun. He then led the group on a serpentine tour for a
look at the places of interest. Now there wasn't all that much
left in the way of structure in those old buildings, once built
so stoutly. Each consisted for the most part of ruined walls
with an open space in between used for the storage of
firewood and grain. The buildings on either end of the
compound were turned into storehouses, and between
them were three dilapidated old structures with a few
assorted rooms here and there. The building on the left was
the manor watchman's quarters, with a huge fishpond
behind it because of the ever-present danger of fire.
Walking off to the right we find a garden full of flowers and
trees, pavillions and terraces and the like. Three rotted out
old cedars leaned halfway to the ground, propped up by
vermillion wooden crutches. On the left stands a curving
corridor, relatively intact and there is a side door as usual.
Entering that portal we find three more half-rooms, a library
and a storied loft; there is also a laboratory burner and a
medicine chest for pharmaceutical materials. Everything is
here. Now, Deputy Yang comes here every year at exactly
this time to collect the rents, due between the tenth and
fifteenth of the tenth month, so everything is now clean and
orderly. And when we slide open a second floor entrance a
small suite is revealed. "Do these old rooms meet your
needs?" asked Yang Chun.
"We don't need such elegance," objected the mother. "it's
too much, just too much! Anyway, we'll stay here tonight; as
the law says, things in motion tend to rest! But would it be
too rude to ask when we'll have that loan of start-up silver?"
"I'll get it together and have it delivered to you within three
days," answered Yang. "it's for your daily needs, and to be
used just within the manor. And I'm afraid you'll need a kid
to help with the cooking..."
"We won't hear of it!" answered the mother.
Deputy Yang then took leave of the three and sent for over
Old Wang the groundskeeper. In parting he left careful
instructions. They were to get everything they needed and
Wang was to support them completely. If any special
expenses were to arise he need just keep an accounting
and everything would be settled up on Yang Chun's monthly
visits. Oh, yes, and signs were to be posted on the walls
declaring the grounds off limits, and the doors actually
sealed with official cloth tapes. Those making official
deliveries would stop at Wang's and then enter through the
side door of the corridor, and nobody else would have
access to the hall. And the side door was to be locked and
the key entrusted to Holy Auntie to open or lock at her
discretion. He then said goodbye to Old Wang and took a
party of sturdy farmers back down to the west garden with
him to bring the threesome's luggage back up to their new
quarters.
The old mother moved into her new quarters, thoroughly
pleased with everything. In a while the gardener arrived
leading several farmers bearing the luggage. Of course
Bonze Dan's bag contained the writing's of Heaven so it
had never left his side. There was just his bedding and
hobo's pole anb sack from the side room to be brought up.
Come sunset the old mother sent Bonze Dan to lock the
side door and the three of them began began their
confabulations. First of all Bonze Dan would make the
rounds delivering all those pharmaceuticals that had been
provided for moving-in gifts to the neighbors. Being
handicapped in movement Zuo Chu would look after the
altar, joss and candles, and prepare the tea and rice for the
three daily meals. And the old mother would teach them
how to draw and chant hexes and charms, so that they
could start the practice of metallurgical alchemy on
schedule. The preparations were soon completed. With Old
Wang looking after their monthly food and fuel they would
be free of daily pressures and annoyances.
The next day dawned bright and clear. Granny Yang sent
her chief housekeeper, old Mumma, out to the east manor
in a palanquin to call on Holy Auntie with a little delivery.
"Granny's told me that a whole family of skilled alchemists
are now living together here" she said after knocking and
entering the hall. "She's afraid it wouldn't be proper to visit
but sends her warmest regards to her old teacher!"
Holy Auntie bowed in greeting. "It's more than enough to
hear of Granny's loving consideration."
Old Mumma then broke into laughter when she caught sight
of Quezi. "So this is the fellow they call Wizard Que? Do
you mean to tell me that with all your close contacts with the
Puxian Bodhisatva you can't get her to hand down a cure
for that foot of his?"
"Everyone's got their own appearance," answered the old
nun, "and it can't be improved on. Take for example the
thousand eyes and hands of Guanyin. Why hasn't she done
away with a few of each? And then there's the Teacher
Mayatreya with that big belly hanging down to his knees.
Why hasn't he simply taken some medicine and been rid of
it?"
"You're right, Holy Auntie," said old Mumma. "Anyway, I've
got a small official case in the palanquin for Teacher Dan
and I'm afraid that he has to come get it in person."
Now, Bonze Dan took the container inside and placed it on
a table. It was a box painted with gold lines and sealed with
a brass lock. "You two priests sure have your share of
secrets," said the old servant as if to drive off the ghosts,
Why don't you enlighten us all with your brilliance for the
time being!"
Just then she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a scarf
the color of pig's liver, a head wrapping in fact , with a key
sewn to one corner that he then used to open the lock. And
from the case she removed a few wrapped items, placing
them in a head upon the table.
"Altogether this comes to two hundred ounces of silver,"
she told Holy Auntie. "It's Granny's personal cash. She told
me to give it all to you to help defray your expenses. Don't
speak about this in front of anyone."
Holy Auntie thanked her and stashed it away in a drawer
under the table. And Mumma had yet more advice. "It's got
to be in a secret place," she insisted.
"It's fine here."
"Sorry for talking so much but I'm just cautious about
everything by nature."
And she had a request as well. "Next time you meet the
Puxian Bodhisatva can you ask her about a child for me to
adopt? My surname is Sun and I've been carrying out
charity on behalf of holy folk for over twenty years now."
"Worthy, oh how worthy!" said Holy Auntie.
"My husband's dead and my children haven't been filial and
so I pass the days all alone in service at Granny's side. I
seek nothing more in the whole world than a good son or
daughter!"
Having spoken she then took back the box and locked it as
before. Quezi was then ordered by his mother to carry it
and to escort old Mumma out and see her off in the
palanquin. By the time he returned and locked the side
door he had already realized that Mumma had brought
silver and he went wild with desire to buy this and that.
"Let's wait a spell before we touch the stuff that Granny sent
on the sly," said his mother, "at least until Deputy Yang's
delivery arrives and we see how much there is altogether.
Then we'll be able to decide how to spend it." And here's a
poem:
The gentle sex is always miserly and mean in thought
All sorts of worthy ventures for this reason come to naught.
But seeking wealth and happiness in Buddha's face is one
Content to spend her fortune on a withered Daoist nun.
Now as the story goes Bonze Dan was thrilled by their luck
and wanted to have Holy Auntie translate those twenty-four
pages of Heaven's writings right away.
"We three," she answered, "now have a fine place to
conduct alchemy. You can't succeed in tricking me and I
can't deceive you; we've got mutual trust. Now, it isn't so
convenient to be always reading from those big sheets.
Why don't we take some fresh paper and cut it down to fit
the palm? Then I'll dictate the text according to the Tang
pronunciation while you, my disciple, copy it down. Then
when we need to use the secrets they'll all be easy to read."
"That's marvelous!" answered Bonze Dan. "It won't do any
harm to buy the paper, ink, brushes and inkstones right
now."
"Hold on now," reckoned the mother, "forty-nine sheets of
fine paper for each of us, ten brushes, five cakes of ink and
two small stones...that comes to three ounces of silver,
multiply that by three...but if we copy the laws onto onto
smaller pages as I've suggested, our paper use will go way
down. Then we need only five sheets of paper, one brush
and a single cake of ink each."
Now, Holy Auntie had some coins she'd received from her
visitors in the west garden and she handed them over to
Bonze Dan to take care of this. Quezi didn't dare interfere,
all having been decided. And in a short while Bonze Dan
was back with those four treasures of the writer's craft.
Mother then cut the five sheets of paper and each yielded
over twenty small pages. And once having described the
hex charms for him to copy, she began translating the text
itself, reciting it in Tang period Chinese for Bonze Dan to
transcribe in tiny characters. How thrilled he was to write
out and understand each line! Now, he hadn't exactly drawn
a genius for a messenger but what difference did it make;
he got it all without hesitation! One day and one night and it
was all written down. Then mother recited it over again for
him to confirm, and not a word was missing. And on the
dawn of their third day she took the original twenty-four
pages and put them to the flame. For they were the one and
only original copies of Heaven's secrets, never to be
replaced. Moreover, she thought, should they get into the
hands of mankind at large with its disrespectful and
rebellious elements all sorts of crimes and evil could result.
After Breakfast Deputy Yang arrived at the east manor,
unloading a a small trunk full of silver and presenting it to
Holy Auntie. "Once you've applied your golden touch to
this," he said, "and managed to change it back again, just
think what an awesome amount of silver you'll have
created!"
"That's it," she answered, "that's the idea!"
"After I leave today I won't dare come bothering you with
any meetings. But can you just give me some idea when
the alchemical process will be complete?"
"Whether sooner or later depends in part on Fate. At the
longest I'd say about a year, at the shortest six months.
When the time comes there'll be good news, but if it's slow
going please be patient with us." Deputy Yang then left.
The old woman instructed Bonze Dan to gather soil from
five surrounding regions: the vicinity of the manor out to a
radius of about ten li was to be reckoned as center, with
east and west, south and north emanating from it
accordingly. Five sacks would be filled, each holding the
dirt of one of these sectors. And they would need to buy
items for their daily use: fine things like pearls for prayer,
ordinary things like wood and stone, foodstuff such as
beans and wheat, fuel such as coal, coarse pottery like
bowls and crocks, fine things like needles and thread,
refined products like tea and wine and complex things like
medicinal compounds. While Bonze Dan was busy taking
care of all these chores the old woman tidied up and
arranged an altar downstairs. For the period of initial
fasting and bathing they would first have to select an
auspicious time for the Yin charms and prayers to
consecrate the site and rid it of ghosts. First they took the
sacks of dirt and emptied them in their corresponding
positions around the altar. And around it all they erected a
low brick wall, about one foot five inches tall, with the
shallow moat thus created filled in with the five varieties of
common grain atop the dirt. Above it all were set stands for
three bright oil lamps to paint the darkness with their
unending light.
The yellow cloth draped over it was truly sacred in
appearance. In front was a joss altar adorned with painted
paper images of Buddha and graceful cranes among the
clouds, on which wine, tea and fruit were to be placed daily.
Upon rising early there would be be a prayer for purifying
the mouth, one for cleansing the body, a chant to sanctify
the altar. a similar prayer to calm the earth and three rounds
of chanting to suppress ghosts before finally the main
workings of Heaven's laws could get underway. This is just
your ordinary service; no need to go too deeply into it.
First thing next day each of them took their paper, ink,
brush and inkstone and placed them on the six amulet
words at the foot of the altar. Holy Auntie then rose and
stood on the two characters for the constellation Kui and
the Winds of Heaven. Her left hand a thunderseal and her
right a sword charm, she took a breath of the structural
essence of life from the east and then expelled it in a prayer
to the spirits, and then burnt a charm slip. Bonze Dan and
Zuo Chu just followed her actions, but although the three
prayed and burned amulets together the slips had all been
written by mother. For seven weeks, forty nine days it would
go on like this, with paper, ink, brush, inkstone summoning
the spirits, and when this period was over they could begin
putting them to use.
When Bonze Dan protested that he wanted to write his own
charms the woman protested. "Writing the slips is the
hardest part," she cautioned, "for you've got to capture form
by its essence and essence by its form. If, for example, you
want to give rise to clouds you have to think of a place full of
Yin energy, the essence of cloud, and then summon up the
power of immortality in your loins. And gradually you'll feel
your body loading up with with cloud, eventually spouting
forth from your seven holes and boiling with the primordial
energy of man and woman. If you wish to generate thunder
you've got to first think of some Yang energy, again calling
up that eternal force down in your privates and after a while
you'll have thunder and its fire swirling through you and
shooting out of all your openings, moving Heaven and
Earth. What you gather in your mind must be written down
at the exact point of conception, committed to ink and brush
and thus brought into being. That's what we mean by 'unite
spirit with spirit and energy with energy'. Now, when I
summon up my supernatural powers I can understand the
deepest secrets of Heaven and Earth, and the resulting
charm is very powerful. It's hard at first to harvest the spirits
but one who is really skilled can just close their eyes and
the ghosts will swarm together; a blank charm can thus also
be effective. This is one clever expedient to deeply
understanding the secrets of Heaven and Earth. Just
paying attention to the outward appearance of the charm
slips and letting your spiritual energy go to waste, well, how
can you ever expect to have any effect on the spirit world?
A common saying goes 'The ineffective charm just fails and
leaves the gods amused, while one that's poorly written
makes them frightened and confused'. You just can't move
your hand and create things while ignoring the need to
concentrate your energy, your very Qi. Now, you boys just
watch me until you've got it all by heart, and only then will
you be able to take up the brush for yourselves! Truly
understand one secret law and you'll understand them all,
but fail to understand one of them and reveal a lack of
understanding of all. Above all you mustn't be coarse or
fickle at heart, or you'll get the sublime and secret parts all
wrong!"
"Yes Ma'am," answered Bonze Dan and Quezi as one, but
they suddenly had another question for her. "You'll write the
charms and we'll just watch and learn as you've ordered.
But as for gathering up the spirits, what if this all works and
they do appear before us? How should we treat them?"
"I was just about to explain that in detail," answered Holy
Auntie. There are Inner as well as Outer charms for
mustering spirits. The surnames Deng, Xin, Zhang, Tao,
Gou, Bi, Ma, Zhao, Wen and Guan are the Ten Outer
Summonings and the characters for eyes, ears, nose,
tongue, mind, heart, liver, lungs, spleen and kidneys
comprise your Ten Inner ones. Before commencing with
alchemy you must summon up and take command of ten
spirits of your own and have them getting on well together,
all settled into a tightly drilled little unit typical of an Outer
brigade. They will come when called and will follow your
orders. At first they will reveal perhaps only half of
themselves but later they will bare all. Do not be frightened
if they are fearsome looking, and likewise don't laugh if they
are loathesome or grotesque. You need to respect them
like your own parents, be as close to them as to your
friends and command them as you would your servants. If
you do otherwise you will incur their godly anger. And all
who wish to command spirits must first set a program for
their use and know exactly what to ask of them. For if you
summon them for naught they simply will not come when
called again."
The Daoist and Buddhist each just sat there dumbstruck,
listening to mother's monologue. They were exactly like a
couple of young schoolchildren on their first day in the
classroom, with no idea what the teacher is saying and
their bellies full of fear and caution at such an awesome
undertaking, every hair on their little heads combed in place
and each sitting so straightly, quietly concentrating with all
of their young energy. When she got to the part about
actually writing the charms she employed two
demonstrations. This was because Bonze Dan was really
clever and caught on at once, while, well, let's just say that
Quezi had to practice writing in thin air a few times. He was
usually so lazy, but this time because he was fated to learn
the secrets he applied himself completely and before long
was able to catch up. Then, chanting and burning charm
slips, all together they treaded the winds of high Heaven
and entered the very precincts of the Lord of the Polestar.
And so they carried on their fiery magic for one, then two,
then three weeks, all with very little effect. Perhaps there
was only a swish of a ghostly sword to be heard or a faint
hue revealed from a passing gown. They weren't yet getting
the real spirits, just subordinate dieties sent to check out
the situation at the altar. But in the fourth and fifth weeks the
real ghosts began to to manifest themselves, sometimes
half visible and sometimes whole in form, alone as well as
riding in groups with others following. They appeared to be
coming and going, without stopping in the hall. Come to
speak of it, what was the reason for this? Well, what they
had summoned were Brave Spirits, a type found
everywhere. Mortal men are made of structural Qi which
cannot sense these ghosts, and so their eyes just can't see
them. Anyway, on this occasion the ghosts had been
seized by the charms and were compelled to pass by the
altar. Now, with hearts and minds totally concentrated upon
meeting the spirits and eyes agleam with this purpose how
come they still couldn't see them properly? Well, the sole
appearance of their parading back and forth was all due to
the charms' lack of complete effectiveness. But at the end
of the seven weeks, right on the forty-ninth day, the legion of
spirits appeared in full view right in that hall, all hands
reporting for duty as ordered! Flanked all about by escorts
there seemed to be a mighty sea of of men and horses, not
seeming in the least bit confined by the narrow worldly
space of the chamber.
The mother then came forth to take solemn command,
Bonze and Wizard behind her. "We three are kin of the
Lord of Heaven, invested with secret powers by the Mystery
Girl of Nine Heavens. We have received the secret Book of
Blessings and Concordances of Heaven and possess the
magic of the stars. We have employed our knowledge and
power in calling upon you to assist us and to go forth at our
command. When the action is over we will memorialize the
Lord of the Universe so that your fame will rise to be
recorded in the highest places."
The summoned spirit-soldiers fell back obediently, bowing
and replying in tones of awe. And then in a wink the hall
was silent. Here's a poem:
High sorcery plus money are enough to hire a ghost
But for talking to the spirits it's technique that counts the
most.
Having seen the summoned spirits standing in their view
They knew at once the charms of Heaven's secrets to be
true!
Now, as our story goes Bonze Dan felt awkward and
embarrased when those captured spirits first paraded in
front of his eyes but afterwards he gradually grew
accustomed to it. Problem was, Holy Auntie led every step
of the way and the two others only followed. He felt they
were now about the same in skill, but with every round of
chanting it was always mother first. Bonze Dan was
impatient by nature, and though he trusted her he still
wanted to have a go at it on his own. So in the quiet of the
dawn at the drumming of the fifth watch he snuck in front of
the altar and, according to the laws of the craft, drew a few
slips and recited some charms. Sudden there sounded a
loud report from above and down came a Spirit General of
Heaven! As for his appearance, here's a "Xijiangyue"
poem to give you some idea:
As big as temple bells of bronze his fearsome eyes
appeared
While from his face of steel grew a purple crab-like beard.
A shining golden turban did he wear upon his crown
His body clad in silk embroidered dragon vested gown
He proudly holds his army's flag unfurled for all to see
Stirring up the wind and rain at will so mightily.
What fool would ever dare to try and capture one so strong
As that mighty spirit known to all as General Zhang!
Now our royal messenger Zhang bowed and advanced,
then spoke. "What is your command, oh Teacher, that you
so summon me?"
Bonze Dan was momentarily terror stricken but quickly
collected his wits. "The north window of this hall," he
answered, "could enjoy the shade of a few big trees. There
are four big pear trees over in the west garden. Bring them
here and replant them as soon as possible."
The captured spirit uttered its compliance and was gone. A
short while later a sudden gale was heard outside, with the
rustling and rattling of flying sand and rooftiles, sounding
very much like an army of men and horses on the move. By
daybreak all was still, and when Bonze Dan wandered
behind the building for a look he found that those four large
pear trees had been planted in a neat little line! It had all
been done by that spirit soldier Zhang he had summoned
and dispatched.
Now, the old woman knew at once what Bonze Dan had
done and scolded him soundly. "Captured spirits aren't like
ordinary men," she warned. "You can't just summon them
so lightly and then send them off to do any old thing. Don't
ever use your halfbaked skills again on such nonsense!
Why, if you get a spirit angry you'll be in real danger for your
life."
"I've failed your trust, Ma'am," he answered sheepishly; "it
won't ever happen again."
That same morning over in the west garden the custodian
noticed that the four large pear trees had been uprooted
and blown away and rushed to inform Deputy Yang. And
just as Yang was reeling in shock from the news who should
arrive but Old Wang the groundskeeper of the east manor.
"Early this morning at the stroke of the fifth watch a squall
arose and it planted some trees behind the building where
Holy Auntie lives!" he related, breathlessly.
"The place is supposed to be locked. How could you get in
to see this?" Deputy Yang wanted to know.
"Why," answered Wang, "those trees were as tall as the
clouds! I could see it all from outside! It wasn't any of my
doing, so I've come to report it!"
This all reafirmed Yang Chun's belief in Holy Auntie's
genius, and he was secretly thrilled. "I understand," he told
the two men; "you must never tell of this to any others." Then
they had some food and wine and parted, lips sealed.
Before long the old woman and her two colleagues were
secretly discussing their next undertakings. "With the latest
results our opening works are complete," said mother.
"Now we can go ahead and invoke the Seventy-Two
Transformations by the Spirits of Dampest Earth, in one
fiery session after another. A forty-nine day period is
required for each of them, and for our convenience we can
practice on alternate days, so for the most part the work will
be done in less than three years' time."
The two men were unimaginably happy with this and
redoubled their efforts. Together they paced the Heavens
and tread the constellation of the Palace of the Polestar,
wrote slips and chanted charms with few idle moments in
between. And at the completion of the first forty-nine day
session they were able to magically transport their own
food and fuel from Old Wang's storehouse instead of
getting it from him. Now, when they hadn't come the old
caretaker thought that they didn't need anything. "No harm
in taking a bit for this old guy!" he reckoned. But when he
unlocked the storehouse and had a look round he was
shocked to find a month's rations missing. Once more did
he report a strange event to Yang Chun, who only instructed
him to say nothing of what he had seen.
Well, time really flew by and before long three years were
up. Through their cultivation the trio had wrought the
Seventy-Two Laws of Heaven's Transformations into being.
Needless to say they were miraculous events, and how
could it all be summed up? Just look at this:
In skies above they scale the clouds while on the earth
below
Distance vanishes as with a magic speed they go.
Select a place and mountains open up to show the way
A puff of Qi can move the rocks and blow the sands away.
Hidden shapes and changing faces all so strange to see
The captured ghosts and spirits are employed so emptily.
Bean soldiers and grass horses form a battle line so great
Hemp snakes and paper tigers weird do troubled times
await.
They use the wind and rain and thunder when their hearts
desire
Only keeping swords and powder free from flood and fire.
How gifted is the fairy mother settled on the hill
In stirring chaos though the Devil King is greater still!
Now, those secret laws of White Cloud Cave were
originally passed down by the highest of incomparables,
Buddhas and saints, and the three abstruse passages they
added attest to this. Then along came the Immortals of the
Thirty-Six caves of Penglai, mid-ranked dieties. They
labored with fire and water for over ten years, dancing and
chanting to contribute to the salvation of the world. Of
course they employed charms and traps and managed
snare in vain the Pure Brave Spirits of Heaven and Earth.
Buddhists call this kind of conjury "The Four Guards'
Crooked Zen" while Daoists only call it a "magical
transformation".
Because of this the Jade Emperor was badly frightened
and he banned individuals from seeing Heaven's writings,
to prevent their being leaked to humanity. In spite of this,
certain illustrious people have now and then gotten hold of
them and secured some patronage, lived as fairies and
sought to build bridges to Heaven. Willing to endure
suffering they collected medicinal herbs in the mountains
without fear of tigers or wolves, walked thousands of li in
search of teachers and, without horse or cart, they could
always find a magic shortcut. White Cloud Cave had been
preserved precisely for such predestined individuals.
Now, the Master of the Cave, the White Ape God, had
taken the brush to the back wall to warn later men,
imploring them to face the polestar and take that oath, to
affirm that if anything should arise from the charms to harm
the people the Lord of Thunder would show no mercy. It
was only because the jade burner had begun emitting its
smoke a bit early that Bonze Dan didn't copy all of the
seventy-six characters from the back wall and didn't see
that fearsome warning. Right now he and his colleagues
considered their work of cultivation a great success and felt
they'd really achieved awesome knowledge, and that they
were indeed standing in the gates of immortality. But soon
afterward, sure enough, an affair would arise that would
harm the people, turning all of Hebei into a battleground for
years and causing folks to curse sorcerers and spirits down
to this very day. But this will all be told later.
As the story progresses Holy Auntie was now ready to use
Deputy Yang's silver in their next round of magic. That two
hundred ounces of Granny's cash was still untouched, and
they would use a ghost to safely take it back to her. The old
mother then thought of the day they left their cave at the foot
of Goosegate Mountain. There were three of them, mother
and children. Although she had picked up Bonze Dan along
the way , Hu Mei'r was long gone and she felt this deeply.
Of course she wanted to grope into the future and get her
back; this was really what was most important to her.
Now, she had never intended to build a nunnery or cast a
statue, but how could they just up and leave without saying
farewell and showing their gratitude to the Yangs, who had
for so long sheltered and fed and most recently financed
them? To just run off was unthinkable, she told the two;
each of them must use their full genius to leave him a fine
memento for his support.
"I'll give him a tiger to guard the manor!" said Quezi.
"He originally commissioned me to turn silver into gold,"
said the mother. "Why don't I turn that rough boulder from
Lake Taihu that's in the garden into a real treasure worthy
of a local official's family?"
"That's great!" said Quezi. "My tiger can then watch over
the gold and discourage thieves!"
Bonze Dan then spoke. "I'm not the equal of you two but I'd
like to leave a fine sculpture of us three at work downstairs
in this building. His children and grandchildren will honor it
morning and night!"
"No good," Quezi blurted out, "no good at all! Why, when
you get to sculpting my bad leg you'll just enjoy yourself
laughing at me!"
"Thanks for reminding me," laughed Bonze Dan, "I won't
forget. Yes, figurines, by all means!"
At that point Holy Auntie tossed her head back, mumbled a
few lines and spewed forth from her lips a fine mist that
soon spread over everything. Quickly she swept her hands
about, and everyplace they had been turned gold in their
tracks. And before long that huge, heavy stone behind the
building changed into a shining mountain of gold! Quezi
then busied himself cutting out a paper tiger, reciting the
lines of a magic charm onto the passing wind. "Come to
life!" he shouted, and that paper tiger changed into a yellow
spotted animal, snarling fiercly and no different from the
real thing, bounding a couple of steps toward him. And
Quezi chanted to the big cat:
"Tiger, tiger hear my prayer
Guard that mountain over there!
Tiger, tiger fierce and bold
Guard that mountain made of gold!
If a thief should come to loot
Tiger, go to his pursuit!"
Having so commanded he brushed his sleeve and the
fearsome beast changed back into a paper tiger! Quezi
then noticed an empty spot near the base of the gold
mountain and placed his creation in it.
Meanwhile, Bonze Dan conjured up the living soul of a
skilled artisan and locked it up downstairs overnight to
sculpt three complete and extraordinarily lifelike figures.
Holy Auntie stood in the center with Bonze Dan and Zuo
Chu on the left and right respectively. When Bonze Dan first
saw the three figures he was overwhelmed with joy. "I
commissioned it, so let me be the first to kowtow!" he
exclaimed.
"The wild monk can kowtow if he wants but who'll return the
honor?" asked Quezi sarcastically.
"If you ever respond to a bow of mine you'd just better hope
that bum leg of yours doesn't get in the way and show you
up as a cripple!"
Both men laughed heartily.
"Cut the idle talk," said mother. "I've just realized that this
day was fated. The Devil Queen told me it would come
when she prophesized in that dream that I would stop at
willow Yang and be enlighteded at egg Dan. And she said
we would meet again in bustling Hebei Province, and she
made a pact with me to go and assist her there in the
district of Beizhou. This is already decreed by Heaven. I
can't go against Heaven for one thing and I can't every
forget her prophesy for another. So starting now lets go our
seperate ways as we please, and when the notion comes
to us in our seperate places we'll suddenly all join up again.
It can't happen any other way cause it's predestined!"
And so having spoken the old woman flew off into the blue,
waving and gesturing the other two to be off as well. Bonze
Dan picked up his pole, cudgel and bags and cast off for
the open sky too, conjuring up a ten thousand league
bridge in front of him that he leaped in one step. Quezi had
a different idea. "I'll head out to play in winepot Heaven,
that's what!" he said, selecting an empty wine jug from in
the corner and placing it safely on solid earth. "Down I go!"
he souted with all his might, and into the mouth of the jug he
plunged, foot first to disappear into who knows where. I can
only say this about it:
Don't blame them at their height of fame for seeking after
leisure
It's normally just gods and fairies having all the pleasure!
To see just where and when the three will finally rendezvous
And where Hu Mei'r will reemerge and troubles that ensue
Just turn the page and watch the future coming into view.
Chapter 14
A Paper Tiger Guards the Gold of Holy
Aunt's Palace
While in a Quiet Garden Zhang Ying
Encounters Mei'r
Charity is much preferred to words from books of old
Frugality is not required when one's creating gold.
But riding on a money-laden stork is just the course
To lead one to a lifetime full of evil and remorse.
Now it has been related how Holy Auntie told Deputy Yang
upon moving into the east manor that she would report to
him in about a year and a half. Who could have ever
guessed that it was just an idle boast, and that she wouldn't
move out for three years. Deputy Yang trusted her from the
outset, but when he saw the trees and rice moved he was
even surer of her genius and felt that those things must
have been miracles of hers. Because of this trust and awe
he ordered Old Wang the caretaker to go over to the hall
and discretely eavesdrop on what was happening, he
himself not daring to knock on the door in person and
simply ask what the story was.
Suddenly one day Granny Yang opened a clothes trunk and
felt something buried deep inside. Taking it out she found
that it was the same two hundred ounces of her own silver
that she had Old Mumma deliver to Holy Auntie three years
before, and the seals on the package were still unbroken!
Granny was startled and called Mumma over to confirm that
it was so; it was indeed one and the same. This was clearly
the work of the spirits, the same trick used in transporting
the food and fuel. As to how it had gotten there they could
only guess wildly. "This clothes box hasn't been opened for
long time," Granny said. "How could the silver have gotten
in? And when?" She could only send Mumma up to the east
manor to do some snooping around.
Mumma arrived at the manor in a small palanquin and went
directly to Old Wang's place to ask about recent events
thereabouts. "Some time ago," said Wang, "halfway
through the night at about the third stroke, I heard repeated
shouts and gasps of excitement and shock. But come to
think of it, I haven't heard a sound for quite a few days. I
wonder what's going on in there?"
"Why don't you just get a ladder and I'll climb upstairs to
steal a peek at whatever's happening."
"Now, when Old Wang considered that it was the chief
servant Mumma yet again sent by Granny he was really
eager to please; how could he dare do otherwise? So he
ran quickly into the Grand Hall, brought out a long ladder
and propped it up diagonally against the eaves of that
second floor room in the annex. Old Mumma climbed up
first, looked around and scrambled down. "All quiet in the
hall," she reported, "there's absolutely no sign of activity. I'm
a bit too timid to stand up there for long so why don't you
have a go at it, old fellow?"
Old Wang climbed right on up there and craned his neck for
a good look round, and sure enough there was nobody. He
then climbed up onto the roof beam, and looked out and
down into the areas in front of and behind the building.
Suddenly he spotted the yellow glint of that mountain of
gold. Shocked but delighted he descended the ladder, but
his heart was suddenly full of caution and he decided he'd
best keep Mumma in the dark about it. "I didn't see
anything," he lied; "I think they must have left from the back
of the compound."
After she'd left him Old Wang ran as if his feet had wings,
right down to the big house to report everything to the chief,
Deputy Yang. "That's what has happened, Master," he said
in conclusion; "knowing what a huge blessing it must be for
your family I shot right down here especially to tell you!"
"Who told you to go in there?" barked Yang.
"It was all on account of Granny's sending up Old Mumma.
She told me to go and have a look and I forgot myself,
because I hadn't heard a sound for a few days and I was
afraid they might be gone. That's what made me do it;
otherwise I wouldn't have dared."
Yang Chun pondered the matter and then called for the
pageboys to prepare some horses, and he soon
proceeded in person to the east manor. Breaking the seals
on the gate in the back wall he entered the court of the
Grand Hall and found no one. Grass was growing wildly on
the ground and the side door to the annex was tightly
closed. Deputy Yang knocked to summon whoever might
be there but nobody answered, and so he ordered the
pageboys to continue knocking for an hour, but it was all in
vain. Exasperated, he next commanded some sturdy
yeomen and bearers there to smash in the door. Telling
them to stand back he then entered, and followed by four
pageboys he went straight through to the back of the
building for a look, ignoring the library and living quarters.
And soon he saw that big porous rock from Lake Taihu,
now turned into a great hunk of gold. "Holy Auntie's sure got
no shortage of miracles!" he thought, darkly.
He was turning away when his eyes suddenly riveted on
Holy Auntie, Bonze Dan and Zuo Chu standing there as tall
as life right in front of him there on the ground floor. In fear
and trembling he fell upon his knees before them. "Forgive
me, oh Teachers, for having failed you!" he pleaded. "I've
heard you've completed the transformation, and I've come
here just to worship you!"
"There's no need to kowtow, Master" said a pageboy; "they
aren't real. Look! Otherwise wouldn't they be returning the
honor?" And when Yang Chun got up and went forth to look
he indeed found them to be sculptures. Full bodied they
were, looking just like their real-life counterparts and worthy
of boundless praise.
Scattered all about the various rooms were piles of goods
and equipment, at most worth four or five hundred in cash,
but the clothes and luggage of the three were nowhere to
be seen. Those four big pear trees that had been moved
from the west garden were thriving surely enough in a neat
row. He only wondered exactly why the three had run off so
suddenly without a word in parting. Perhaps, thought Yang,
the Puxian Bodhisattva didn't want a palace of magic to be
built there, and Holy Auntie didn't want to talk about it and
had just left on her own.
Yang Chun sighed wistfully and then called on a pageboy to
go summon Granny Yang, who arrived a short time later.
The deputy then commanded his wife to view the statues.
"These have been sculpted for us by Holy Auntie!" he told
her. Granny knelt in worship, bowing four times, and then
turned to view the gold mountain.
"How reddish the gold appears!" she said proudly. "It's just
a shame that she overdid the magic and made it so big
and difficult to move."
I'll muster a few more men to help bring it back to the
house," he said; "it'll serve as a fine family treasure for a
local Commander!"
He then saw the yellow broadcloth hung as a canopy
around the altar, removed it and placed the sheet over the
huge golden rock. Then he instructed the pageboys to
muster the farmers, porters and others in their entourage,
while he negotiated for the use of timber hauling ropes, and
when they reassembled there were thirty or forty men in all.
They listened carefully to the pageboys' orders with neither
question nor complaint, for they all knew just why they were
there. Why, just seeing all that gold under wraps was
enough to make them each want to steal just one little
touch, and all were thrilled by the experience.
Now, the men discussed it among themselves, sombody
saying that they'd live a year longer for having seen such a
rare, miraculous object. There was also talk about good
fortune repeatedly following close behind such a already
wealthy official. And then there was talk of the Emperor
being disturbed on account of it, so why not distribute a few
filings to each of the poor fellows present, with plenty left for
the local plutocrat do as he pleases with?
Those of greatest physical strength stood at the front,
taking the end of the rope and dragging it over to the rock
and carefully tying it up. Now, all went well as long as the
rope was slack, but as soon as they began to pull there
arose a blast of wind from under that huge stone. Suddenly
out dashed that spotted yellow tiger, bounding towards
them!
"Yeeow!" screamed the terrified men and women as they
scattered, running for their lives. Deputy Yang managed to
grab hold of Granny around her shoulder and leapt up into a
second floor room, slamming the window shut and locking
themselves inside. A short while later when he could hear
no activity below he stole a peek out the window, and the
tiger was gone. When he slid open the window and called
out to the others there was no answer, so summoning all his
spleen he ventured downstairs alone.
He could see only a few slavegirls and maids who had
taken shelter behind the idols' legs, now beginning to run
out along with the pageboys hiding behind them, now
cautiously listening at the door for some news from outside.
Deputy Yang was angered by their cowardice. "So where's
the tiger?" he roared. "You've all seen gods and ghosts
before! This should be nothing to you!"
The pages and maids finally felt safe enough to come out.
Deputy Yang ordered the pageboys to prepare horses and
summoned the porters to take Granny back home.
"That Holy Aunt really has got the spirit in her," the Yangs
agreed when they arrived home. "She sculpted us those
statues and made all that gold but won't let us take it away,
and even left a tiger to frighten away folks who try to move
it. If we just leave things alone there shouldn't be any
problem, though."
So agreeing they had all of the unused goods brought down
to the house and then consecrated those three downstairs
rooms at the manor as "Holy Aunt Hall". And on the first day
of the first, fourth, seventh and tenth months alms would be
handed out in the west garden and Deputy Yang would
enter the hall on the hill to light joss and candles and
conduct a round of prayers. Afterward it would be resealed
and no outsiders would be allowed in. And during other
months not even family members would be admitted.
Finally he told the pageboys, farmers and others that they
were not permitted to engage in loose talk in front of
outsiders.
Now, as they say, "Willing hands can be obtained, but
tongues can never be restrained." Some of these men the
master had ordered to be silent were a bit weak at keeping
secrets and managed to spread forth news of the strange
events, and soon the entire county was in an uproar. "A
mountain of gold has appeared on Deputy Yang's estate,
with a yellow-striped tiger, too!" went the wild rumor, which
was not all that far from the truth. Even Yang Chun's trusted
friends of an entire lifetime came round with their
misgivings, and Yang Chun only denied everything. But
later, in the aftermath of the Beizhou Rebellion, the State
Council would order that sorcerers such as Bonze Dan, Zuo
Chu and their defeated remnents be searched for
everywhere. At that time Deputy Yang would already have
passed away and Granny would be sick in bed. And the
young master would report to the officials that he had
personally ordered his farmers to smash those three idols
for nights on end. The gold mountain would once again
have reverted to its original form of a plain decorative pond
stone, while the tiger fashioned out of paper would have
turned to dust. But that is a later story. Indeed, even iron
sometimes shines, while gold can fade if Fate so finds.
And here is a poem:
How laughable the source of Yang Chun's wild-eyed beliefs
He took a Hujing's graces for a real fairy chief's.
The gold was never to become a gentry family's Mount
His offspring labeled sorcerers' brigands on his account.
Let us now take our leave of Deputy Yang. Dear readers, in
taking up the whereabouts of Hu Mei'r we swing right
around and take up yet another story. Let me introduce a
man by the name of Zhang Dapeng, native of Xi An District
and a student since childhood who lost both of his parents
at twenty-two years of age. Following a teacher of the
Original Nature school he set out on a life of indulgance, but
while wandering though Yandu he was infected by an
epidemic on Mount Dafang. Abandoned by that Daoist, he
fortunately met a foreigner with strange powers who saved
his life. And seeing his hands to be godly in appearance,
the stranger passed an entire family of secret charms on to
him, capable of calling up wind and rain, fighting against
ghosts and exorcising spirits. If we were to compare them
to the Laws of White Cloud Cave it would be six of one, half
a dozen of another; just about the same.
For all of his life this Zhang Dapeng had been particulary
close to a fellow in Dongjing, his sworn brother, and could
often be found at his home. That man was named Zhu
Neng, meaning Scarlet Power, and had a fine grasp of
boxing, acrobatics and weapons handling. Now, to tell the
story, it was the first year of the Xiangfu Reign and the
Emperor Zhenzong was fretting over the Qidan and Dazi
Tatars' aggression against China when a smooth-talking
court official by the name of Wang Qinruo memorialized the
throne. "Emperors ruling without the true ordination of
Heaven have always failed to climb Mt Taishan," he
solemnly wrote. "That's why Qinshihuang and all of his
illustrious heroes fell like rain before the wind. If my
Emperor truly wished to pacify the world and impress the
foreign barbarians he must first receive Heaven's blessings
by conducting an investiture service on Mt Taishan; only
then can he proclaim the dynasty to be rightly consecrated."
"Just how many auspicious omens are received on
Taishan?" asked the Emperor.
"Seventy-two in all," answered Wang.
And so Zhenzong approved the memorial, but it was all
incumbent on Wang Qinruo to find an instance of all
seventy-two omens having occured, and within three days!
Wang took leave of the Emperor's presence with a worried
look on his face. For over an hour he ruminated over those
seventy-two blessings, indeed holy omens of the spirits,
such as sweet dew, the unicorn, the phoenix, and so many
other marvels of the world, and he wracked his brains over
how he could find an example of each in only seventy-two
hours!
Now, just who do you think was a learned friend and official
guest of Wang Qinruo's but our own Zhu Neng, who had
already heard what was on his patron's mind. "The problem
isn't difficult," he said. "Just do as I say and use only one
sort of auspicious omen in place of those seventy-two!"
Wang Qinruo gladly asked to hear more.
"Ordinary omens about grass, trees, birds and animals are
all the work of later men, not of any real value," answered
Zhu. "It's only the Eight Trigrams of Heaven working through
Yin and Yang, as revealed on the back of the Dragonhorse
at the dawn of history when Fuxi reigned, that can be called
the ordinances of Heaven. These are the holy ancestors of
all omens. If you can call down the original writings of
Heaven and promulgate them at home and abroad, the
blessings of Taishan will surely be secured!"
"How can we bring down Heaven's writings?"
"There's no need for my lord to worry, for I've got my own
secret copy. Let the court be advised!"
That night Zhu Neng went home and discussed the matter
with Zhang Dapeng. "I don't mean to brag, brother," said
Zhang, "but there's a lifetime of study behind my knowledge
of Heaven's law and now off it goes to that old Emperor of
ours!"
"This time I've really gone in over my head," said Zhu; "I'm
relying on you to help me out!"
Zhang Dapeng then employed a charm to create a dream
of the bridal chamber. And asleep in his palace the
Emperor Zhenzong dreamt he was in a red chamber with
bright sunlight streaming in. A fairy wearing a crown of stars
and a long gown appeared and offered a book to him. "The
Lord of Heaven has ordained that the Writings of Heaven,
in three great sections of secret laws, be handed down for
your pious and devout use. Long live your holy reign!"
Raising his own hands to receive and behold the book he
was at once filled with intense fear and trembling. And at
the stroke of the fifth watch the Emperor Zhenzong held
court. Just look:
The palace of the highest Heaven opens to his throne
And all the nations in their dress bow low before his crown.
Upon a sunbeam came the honor of that fairy's prize
Like the princely dragon does the joss smoke curl and rise.
Hundreds of officials were already gathered for the early
court session when the Emperor summoned Prime Minister
Wang Qinruo to face him; he then brought up the dream
and told him about it. And Wang presented a memorial:
"Because my Emperor was so resolute and bold he was
able to achieve an understanding with Heaven, and so had
this dream of receiving such an omen. Those writings of
Heaven have not been seen since they first appeared on
the back of the dragonhorse in Fuxi's time, at the dawn of
China. Their being handed down augors well for the state
and is reason enough to preclude the need for any further
talk of the seventy-two auspicious omens, for now we can
be thankful for having received ten thousand such
blessings. I beseech thee, my Emperor, to post at the nine
gates of the palace and proclaim to all the land the news of
that visitation and the appearance somewhere in the land
of Heaven's writings."
Zhenzong approved the memorial. He then took a sheet of
flowery dragon and phoenix imperial stationary and opened
a sheet on the table, picked up his jade-bodied hare's
bristle brush and in his exalted hand wrote as follows:
"I was asleep deep in the palace when a voice came out of
the silence. And in a dream a divine one came to me
wearing a crown of stars and a long gown. The angel spoke
of the ordinances of the Jade Emperor above, and in the
dream passed down unto me a book of the three great
sections of charms and blessings that comprise Heaven's
writings. If any of my subjects from whatever walk of life
have already received them, they are commanded to come
forth at court and present themselves for immediate
service. And if such a person should already be an official
of mine, his salary and benefits will be enhanced grandly.
Obey without fail!"
First month, fifth year, ( ) day of the Jingde Emperor.
(Imperial signature)
Wang Qinruo received this holy edict with both hands and
left the imperial presence. He then had the documents
office produce nine copies, dispatched runners to the nine
gates of the palace to post them publicly, and finally put
away the imperial brush, treating it as the ultimate treasure.
Suddenly cries went up from around that Zhu Neng was
present for an audience with him. Wang quickly called out
for him to enter, and after exchanging formalities Zhu Neng
stated his business. "No sooner is that memorial about the
writings of Heaven opened than along comes this imperial
proclamation. Now, isn't that the ultimate in lucky timing!"
"Dare I question whether Heaven's book was really
presented in the dream like the exhalted one says it was?"
"There's no need to concern yourself with whether it's true
or not because it's all on my shoulders. Your excellency,
those writings of Heaven are indeed to be yours. But if you
could only empower me to pose as a police inspector it
would be easier to find out what's happening."
"I'm afraid my lack of talent is causing so much trouble!"
said Wang. "Just watch your step and if any trouble
happens I'll petition the emperor repeatedly to protect you."
Wang Qinruo then dispatched a runner to carry Zhu Neng's
credentials to the Secretariat of the State Council,
appointing him as an imperial police inspector for the
capital. And accordingly Zhu Neng left the Secretariat that
day in his new post, his name tile hung on the duty roster
pegs.
"I know that dream of the Emperor's was all your miracle,"
said Zhu to his sworn brother Zhang Dapeng. "Problem is,
where do we find those "Three Great Chapters?"
"Heaven's writings have an aura all their own all around
them," answered Zhang. "I've managed to take the gist of
Laozi's old 'Dao De Jing' and concoct three chapters of
charms, but who knows if they'll really work?"
He then produced from his sleeve an original draft and
handed it over to Zhu Neng to look at. Now, Zhu had never
had any great literary talent and could only pass his eyes
over the work and proclaim it miraculous, deep and
profound. "May I trouble you to tell me what sort of paper
you used?" he asked. "I'll go get some just like it!"
It's made from some parchment that I bought when I was in
Korea last year. There's still a bit left over. I've written a
chapter on each page and then wrapped it in yellow silk At
the drumming of the last watch tomorrow at dawn I want you
to climb the drumtower and announce that Heaven's
writings have come down on a carved owl's tail at the
palace's Gate of Heaven. You must do exactly as I say.
Zhu was aghast. "The Imperial Court doesn't suffer fools
lightly! If they don't find the book on the gate I'll be held
responsible for quite a few crimes.."
"As your brother I'd never do anything to get you accused!"
Early next day at the beat of the fifth watch Zhu Neng
knocked on Zhang Dapeng's door for some last minute
advice, awakening him. "Everything has been taken care
of," assured Zhang from his bed. Zhu then understood
Zhang's plan and had no more doubts. With all his resolve
he ran over to the observatory drumtower and beat out a
furious thundering alarm. The official in charge of the daily
time drums reported the news to his superiors and his
account was forwarded to the Court. First to hear the news
of Heaven's writings come to earth was Wang Qinruo, and
he was delighted beyond words.
In a short wile the three raps of the cane calling the Court to
attention could be heard in the Emperor's hall, and Wang
Qinruo memorialized the throne about the Imperial
Observatory's report: "The writings of Heaven have
descended to the Heavenly Gate of the palace, witnessed
and reported by Imperial District Police Inspector Zhu
Neng."
Zhenzong listened and called out for Zhu Neng to present
himself. "Where is the Book of Heaven, and how did you
come to learn of it?" asked the Emperor, as soon as Zhu
had finished the kowtow.
"I, your servant, saw the proclamation that was posted
yesterday at the nine entrances and have not been able to
rest by day or night since. I thought that such a written
proclamation of Heaven's Mandate would surely be set
down in a lofty place, and being secret and all, certainly not
by daylight. Early this morning while passing on patrol
below the Gate of Heaven I saw yellow silk protruding off of
one of the ornamental owl's tails. Why, I thought to myself, it
must be those writings of Heaven! I didn't dare but report it
immediately!"
Now, Zhenzong's Imperial countenance beamed with
delight. Down he leapt from the throne, bounding like a
dragon or tiger right out to the Gate of Heaven. All of the
officials, civil and miltary, mobbed out of the hall behind
him, suddenly unconcerned with rank and ceremony. Zhu
Neng pointed out a carved owl's tail to the Emperor, who
commanded two servants to bring a ladder and climb up to
get it. And sure enough there had indeed been a fine little
packet wrapped in yellow cloth, tied with twin chords to the
top of an ornamental owl's tail. It was brought down and
placed in the hands of Wang Qinruo, who in turn submitted
it to Zhenzong. And here is a poem:
Crowns of stars and owl's tails have no roots in solid
ground
In all that noise and stench how could a holy book be
found?
As if in dream do princes and their ministers appear
Just whom their "words of Heaven" fool is not so very clear!
Zhenzong bowed repeatedly toward Heaven, and then
holding the book up with both hands proceeded back to the
hall where he handed it to Hanlin Academician Chen
Yaosou to open and recite; the "Blessed Omens of the
Great Mean" divided into three sections, each full of Daoist
terms. And when the reading was complete the gathered
officials rose for a thundering "Wansui!"--Banzai! Ten
thousand years!
Zhenzong then ordered some servants to load up a golden
sacrificial table and take it over to the Imperial Mausoleum
as an offering to his ancestors. A pure jade and chrystal hall
would soon be built just to hold the holy book.
Chen Yaosou was commanded right then and there to draft
an edict changing the title of the year 1008 from "Bright
Virtue" to "Blessed Omens of the Great Mean" and to
proclaim this throughout the land. And then a day was
selected for a journey to Mt Taishan.
In addition to the above, Zhenzong invested Wang Qinruo
as the Duke of Yan and made Zhu Neng a Deputy
Magistrate in Jingnan. Within three years he would rise to
the be joint civil and military commander of the region.
Now, it was all because of Zhang Dapeng that Zhu Neng
could know such wealth and power. But when Zhang came
calling he received only a contemptful scowl from Zhu,
suddenly afraid that his sworn brother of old would talk of
days past and reveal what all had happened. Zhang was
put off by his friend's sudden animosity but gave him the
benefit of the doubt and said nothing bad about Zhu. From
this we can clearly see that Zhu Neng was not a very good
person.
Within a short time after this, however, a grand total of
fifteen army units and civil districts memorialized the
Emperor, each claiming to possess the writings of Heaven.
The Son of Heaven didn't know which to believe and
suspicion arose in him. Now, there was an active politician
at court named Ding Wei, who had also earned approval
through flattery and eventually came to challenge the power
of Wang Qinruo. Ding accused Zhu Neng of having lied and
deceived the Emperor, and secretly notified Zhenzong to
that effect. The Emperor then placed Ding Wei in Wang
Qinruo's post as Prime Minister and sent an official to
arrest and interrogate Zhu Neng for his crime. But Zhu was
expert at martial arts and killed this man, calling upon his
subordinates and troops to rise in revolt. When the rising
was subdued and Zhu captured he eventually confessed
and gave the name of Zhang Dapeng. By Imperial decree
Zhu was crushed and sliced to death, and a warrant was
put out everywhere for the capture, dead or alive, of Zhang
Dapeng.
And so Zhang Dapeng swirled off into the void and
reemerged south of the Yangzi, changed his name to
Zhang Ying, or "Oriole Zhang", and styling himself Prince
Chongxiao, "The Sky Soarer". His entire body filled with the
magical charm of flight there was nowhere he couldn't go,
and so it had to be for as the old saying goes "the
authorities are never more than three days' ride away." But
after a few years he became lazy and complacent.
It was while living such a freebooting life that Zhang Ying
heard that the son of Zhenzong had already grown up, a
human manifestation of the fairy called Barefoot. How could
this be? Well, when Zhenzong had ascended the throne at
the age of twenty-one there was no immediate successor
to him, and so a proclamation was sent to all the
monasteries and nunneries throughout the land, calling
upon them to pray and sacrifice to the Jade Emperor of
Nine Heavens for a Prince to be sent. Now, the Jade
Emperor had been meeting with a group of fairies when he
heard the prayers from below and wondered out loud just
which of them might wish to go. The assembled dieties
were silent, except for Barefoot who began to laugh.
"Where there's laughter there's worldly desire!" snapped
the Jade Emperor, and with the force of destiny he ordered
the fairy Barefoot down to the palace to become a child in
Imperial concubine Li Chen's womb.
After birth the infant only cried day and night and many
physicians and healers were called to the Imperial cradle,
when one day an old Daoist told a servant he could stop the
infant's tears. The Emperor Zhenzong summoned him into
the palace, had the Prince brought out in arms and told the
old man to try and heal the babe.
"Don't you cry, my little child," he whispered twice in the
Prince's tiny ear; "At first you shouldn't have laughed and
smiled!" And the Prince stopped crying at once. Zhenzong
was delighted and asked the old man how he had done it,
and he answered only that the baby's vexation was now
over. He then went out of the palace gate, vanished into a
sudden gust of wind and was gone.
Now, just who was this baby Prince? Why, none other than
the future Emperor Renzong, destined to reign over fortytwo years of universal peace. At home in the palace he
loved to go barefoot and didn't at all like wearing shoes or
slippers, a manifestation of himself. As for Zhenzong, he
was moved to worship and offer frequent sacrifices and
charity to appease the spirits and he became even more
pious as time passed, going on prayer retreats to all of the
Daoist temples.
When Zhang Ying heard about all of this he assumed that it
had all simply been destined to be part of the flow of Dao.
Now, when he had previously lived in the capital he had
been acquainted with the palace eunuch Lei Chonggong,
and the two men respected each other highly. This eunuch
Lei Chonggong had a special love for wielding power,
controlling the appointment and dismissal of officials and
the announcement of new policies through his open and
secret associations with Prime Minister Ding Wei.
Because of this Zhang Ying returned to Kaifeng and called
upon the eunuch Lei, telling him how he had been wrongly
accused in that earlier affair, and he implored Lei to ask
Prime Minister Ding to intervene on his behalf. And he
boldly brought up the matter of an official title for himself,
empowering him to build a flourishing Daoist faith. Such a
party of wizards, he explained, could secure the obeisance
of ghosts and spirits and protect the Dynasty from
punishment.
"Bygones are bygones, so don't worry about the
accusation," said Lei; "These are new times. Why don't you
take up residence in my quiet garden? I'm really busy just
now because a woman of the harem is being selected for
the Crown Prince, and the Empress Dowager has got all
sorts of things to say about the character of the future
Princess. Wait till I've got a bit of free time and we'll go
together to see Prime Minister Ding to discuss it further."
Zhang Ying left left ever so gratefully, following a
subordinate of Lei's to his temporary domicile in the lovely
Chinese garden to wait for the time being.
Now, as is recorded in the official History of the Song
Dynasty, the Emperor Zhenzong changed reign titles five
times: in Xianping Six, Jingde Four, Xiangfu Nine, Tianxi
Five and Qianxing One. At present it was the middle of the
second lunar month of Xiangfu Nine. One night Zhang Ying
felt the moonlight to appear almost like that in a painting,
and went for a stroll in the garden. Suddenly black clouds
obscured the moon and there arose a strange gale, comin
out of the west. "How weird!" exclaimed Zhang. "Is yet
another immortal coming around?" Casting his hand in a
command to halt the wind, he stared intently ahead,
focusing his eyes on the scene as the gusts passed and
the moonlight again shone. He then heard a sharp sound,
and there halfway up in the sky was a woman, slowly
descending! And here is a poem:
We often feel that nobody can live in Heaven high
And then a beauty comes right down nine levels of the sky.
Gales and gales of clear bright wind just bring on dizziness
Not through the haunting moon but by a siren sorceress.
Why, that girl was none other than our little fox-spirit Hu
Mei'r! When we left her in Chapter Six she had just
departed Swordgate Mountain with Holy Auntie, the two
traveling together until they reached the Yongxing region
where they held up on account of darkness, intending to
pass the night in a forest. But just as they were pressing on
toward those woods a black squall suddenly arose, so
strong that they couldn't stand. That old mother of hers was
then called to an audience with Granny Wu Zetian at her
palace in Hades. Now, this young fox-girl was picked up by
a blast of wind, swirled and lofted too and fro and carried
directly to Eunuch Lei's garden in Kaifeng. The Empress
Wu had prophesized she would meet Prince Chongxiao
and so it has come to pass, as "Chongxiao" is Chinese for
"Skysoarer" as Zhang Ying had styled himself.
Zhang Ying thought at once that there was something
strange about this girl's recent past, and sure enough when
he approached for a better look at her he saw that she was
half frozen from riding that cold wind. After carrying her to
the study and forcing her to drink some hot soup she came
around, and he asked her name.
"I'm a poor girl from An De Zhou by the name of Hu Mei'r,"
she answered. "I was on my way with my mother to worship
at Mt Hua when we suddenly met with a strange black
squall that carried me up into the sky. Since then I've been
asleep, only hearing spirits whispering something like "The
fox girl surnamed Hu will be the Queen in house of
Wang...Now off you go to Prince Chongxiao and hurry right
along". And a while later the clouds around me were
gobbled up and I drifted down just like a leaf for who knows
how many li until I arrived here. You, kind officer, are my
only hope!"
Dear reader, Is this little nun fated to enter a harem? Well if
Sir Lei has any difficulty selecting a girl of special charm for
the Prince, here is surely an exotic number for him to
consider!
And so Zhang Ying called on Lei Chonggong. "I've got a
niece we call Hu Mei'r," he announced, "and quite a woman
at that. Her parents are both dead and she's got no way to
earn a living, and now she's come here to stay with me. If it
pleases your excellency can you place her name in the
running as well? Perhaps if I'm lucky I'll become an outside
relation of the throne!"
Delighted, Lei Chonggong accompanied Zhang Ying back
into the tranquil garden. It's like this:
Just wait until her heart is won
Her destiny will soon be done.
Now to see what happens next
Read the following chapter's text.
Chapter 15
WITH HUNGRY EYES EUNUCH LEI
TAKES A WIFE
AND HU MEI'R ROMPS WILDLY IN THE
PALACE
Boy and girl will soon as fated for each other long
It's hard to bear when destiny in some detail goes
wrong.
In nearly all such cases do one's wishes go amiss
You can't believe most rumours about others'
happiness.
Now as our story goes, Court Eunuch Lei entered the
tranquil garden and Zhang Ying there presented Hu Mei'r to
him. Just setting eyes on her made the eunuch completely
feel her siren lure. "Let me guess," he asked, face beaming
handsomely, "sixteen, seventeen or eighteen?"
"Why, sixteen, lord" answered Hu Mei'r.
Lei Chonggong silently ran his eyes up and down over her.
"Good, good," he repeated as he mounted his horse and
rode off. In a few hours he sent an official to ask Zhang over
to the mansion for for a chat. Lei waited for his associate in
the hall, and when Zhang's arrival was announced he
rushed out to greet him. Now, Zhang was a face reader and
discerned at once a change of heart in Lei. "He's many
times brighter and more encouraging than usual," thought
Zhang; "there must be something good behind this."
"Do you have orders for me that you call me here just now?"
asked Zhang as soon as he was inside and seated.
"Earlier today I had the priveledge of inspecting your niece,
a woman of charm and grace," answered Lei. "But
unfortunately the Prince is only fourteen and so your niece
at sixteen is too old for him according to tradition; I'm afraid
it'll be difficult if not impossible to have her picked for the
harem. But perhaps there are others, mere officials, who
haven't yet been soiled. If I may ask, how would you feel
about someone entering your family of wizards?"
"But we are already blood relatives, uncle and niece!"
exclaimed Zhang.
Court Eunuch Lei laughed. "No, no, not uncle and niece,"
he managed to say between guffaws, "but her and your
humble servant, little old me!"
"But you are officially the keeper of the harem, a confidant
of the throne! This isn't a laughing matter!"
"There are things, Wizard, that you do not know. For one,
although we eunuchs have been physically purified through
castration we still have the same feelings and desires as
everybody else. Of course I'm lonely at night and often long
for a companion. And during the cold winter nights I always
call some little kid to me, to hug their feet and behinds, but
that's no real fun. Of course, I know of a brothel and I always
go but it's illegal, and anyway it's all just physical, with no
subtle joys or mystery. Not at all like starting a new branch
of a family, with its long-time companionship. How
beautiful!"
"Can such a thing be done?"
"History is full of stories of palace eunuchs taking wives.
Shi Xian of the Han Dynasty had a wife and children, while
in the Tang the Eunuch Gao Lishi married the lady Lyu and
Li Fuguo wed lady Yuan. If you look at all the examples in
the history books you'll soon put your objections aside, your
holiness. Why, I've already been consulting the calendar
and tomorrow's an auspicious day for a wedding. We can
tie up the betrothal in the morning and come evening I'll call
on you to escort the bride to the reception. Now if I may
trouble you, your reverence, please go and explain it all to
your niece, and remember, after she crosses the threshhold
with me you can plan on great wealth and happiness
coming both of your ways.
Seeing that his counterpart was completely serious Zhang
Ying promised to comply, although there was surely no joy
in his heart. After taking leave of Eunuch Lei he returned to
the garden and told Hu Mei'r what had transpired.
"Uncle", she asked, "if you marry me off to a eunuch, how
can I have any children?"
"I'm thinking along the same lines," replied Zhang, but he's
holding all the cards and we don't dare defy him. Just go
along with it for the time being and don't worry, because
we're in the right, and I've got a plan."
The night then passed without further discussion.
Next day bright and early Eunuch Lei's house was decked
out with red festoons and loud with flutes and drums as he
prepared the wedding feast. First thing in the morning he
officially began the wedding, and you can imagine what it
was like: pearly phoenix crowns upon the couple's heads
and red embroidered silk dragon gowns, jasper hairpins
and gold bracelets two, and everything else they wore in
double as well. Toasts of holy wine for bliss, no need to go
into detail on this! He then took that girl of Zhang's and had
her outfitted elegantly. Here's a poem:
The rosy wine set out and all arranged so red and bright
Great happiness the eunuch feels upon his wedding night.
Such wealth and power soon will by a fox be overthrown
So many are the people in this world who sleep alone!
Come evening, Eunuch Lei rode a fine horse to the garden
to receive his bride. He was dressed in wedding clothes
and jade finery, riding ahead of a flowery festooned float to
the shrill accompanyment of pipes and drums. Just then
Zhang Ying picked up an amulet slip and a fresh
undergarment; reciting the charm to himself he instructed
Hu Mei'r to put the corset on. Then he passed her the
secret password, a chastity charm, to recite before donning
that garment, and the one to incant when she wished to
take it off. Mei'r could manage all of this. And so dressed
up just like an immortal she mounted that wedding cart and
followed Eunuch Lei away. Zhang Ying went with them as
far as the gate and returned alone.
And so as the story goes Grand Eunuch Lei and Hu Mei
exchanged vows and became man and wife without even
the usual servant girls and old maids present. There were
only a few young eunuchs holding candles and standing in
opposing pairs forming a corridor to the nuptial chamber.
Afterward they lifted cups of wine and exchanged toasts to
the newlyweds. Now, the weather was still cold and a red
wool carpet covered the floor under the bed in the center of
Lei's room. A large fur comforter made of sable pelts
covered the bed completely, along with an embroidered
quilt and cover; everything was luxuriously elegant. When
they were finally in bed they had a few seductive words
together but there was one problem: Hu Mei'r, now free of
her flowery crown and fancy gown simply could not remove
that petticoat of hers! It was just like a layer of her naturalborn skin, and even the little panties she wore were sealed
under it. When Eunuch Lei put his own muscles to the task
he got nowhere and could only look on in frustration as she
finally fell asleep in her clothes. That unmarriageably sealed
body of hers was all the work of a close relation. This was
in fact the result of Zhang Ying's magic.
Next morning at the break of dawn a number of officials and
ordinary friends of his as well as the usual loafers and
freeloaders came around to kowtow and have the
customary morning-after look at the new wife. Now, Lei
spoke to them, but having declared himself a groom before
all of the eunuchs his refusal to call out his wife provoked
considerable joking and laughter. And in a little while Zhang
Ying arrived to pay his felicitations. Eunuch Lei invited him
to have a seat in the study and told him of the strange
episode.
"This happened because the marriage has not been
ordained by Fate," said Zhang. "Perhaps your excellency
already has a fine marriage fated for you to some other
woman, and that is why my niece cannot serve you as a
wife. "
"Let's see what happens tonight!" answered Lei. And
leaving some food and drink for his guest the eunuch left
the room.
Come evening Hu Mei'r undressed and lay as naked as
ever. Eunuch Lei was really aroused and whipped right
open that silken knot in the chord of his embroidered finery,
but had a difficult time getting himself up for action. And
when it finally stood an ugly boil appeared! What could he
do but spend another chaste night in misery next to his
beloved Hu Mei'r, only appreciating the sight of her beauty.
And so on the second night as well he failed to
consummate the marriage, receiving only one blow after
another. For the third night he had a seperate room
prepared and sent Hu Mei'r there to sleep alone.
Zhang Ying had by now also realized that things weren't
working out and that there would have to be a way out.
Who'd ever suspect that much as he disliked what was
happening he was far from willing to have her sent home!
"It's better for me to keep my mouth shut and think of a way
to exploit this turn of events," he thought ever so smugly.
"I've put Hu Mei'r under a soul spell and when I spot a
convenient chance I'll just cast another little charm to make
sure she wins the heart of the supreme one. And if the
Emperor favors her perhap's I'll be granted a title at court!
For the time being it's better she be the wife of a eunuch
than have no official stature at all. As soon as it gets dark I'll
ask the fairies for the soul magic I'll need."
Now, dear reader, can you imagine just what sort of charm
he wished to employ? Well, if one desires to transmit a
person's soul one needs only to clean and prepare a quiet
room with paper, brushes and inks of various colors set out
on a table, and to provide some fruit and wine as an
offering. First of all, one writes out a prayer for the dead
with all of the details of that person's life on it, and then one
calls on the fairy with the magic words. Then one burns the
written charm to attract its soul while calling it by chanting
the prayer, and then one leaves and locks the room.
Regardless of distance one can summon the living soul of
the immortal, who will paint something and leave. While
brought back to life that soul will appear to be mumbling
incoherently. Even the spirit of one from the remote past
can be brought back as a true-to-life active being. And as
you have described the attitude and attributes of that
deceased , so will the captured soul resemble it in every
way. As soon as the spirit arrives and begins painting one
can hear the wild stirring of the brush, and when one hears
the brush cast down the presence has already left. One can
slowly open the door and enter now, as the living soul has
been transmitted into that work of painting or poetry.
Now, most of those who summon a poem fairy succeed
only in attracting a ghost that can write some verse, and
most appeals to a painting fairy only result in calling forth a
demon that can draw. If one has really been in touch with
true immortals their poetry or paintings will be so profound,
deep and mysterious as to penetrate and affect the souls of
living people. Well , that very night Zhang Ying summoned a
painting fairy by those holy laws right in Mei's bedroom, and
around midnight he heard the sound of the brush. Unlocking
the door and going back in for a look he found a painting of
two cheeks, just like flowers, flirtatious and full of desire,
looking very much as if alive and signed with three cursive
characters. From the name Zhang knew at once that it was
indeed Zhang Sengyao of the long past Jin Dynasty who
had come down to earth. It had long been said that
"Sengyao painted dragons with just the white of eye; when
daubing in the pupil up to Heaven they would fly", and it
really was him, a true painting fairy. Zhang Ying was
delighted. The next day he mounted the picture on a silk
and paper scroll between two rollers and hung it in the
room. He need only wait until his next meeting with Eunuch
Lei, and when he would begin his complaining Zhang need
only interrupt with that little poem and then tell him all about
this.
As it happened, Hu Mei'r had been neither touched nor
sought after in Eunuch Lei's home after those wedding
night debacles. She had now just spent an entire night
talking to herself incoherently in her disturbed sleep and
come morning felt as weak and tired as ever; indeed, she
had already begun to sense her health slipping away when
she walked up to one of the younger eunuchs with a
question. "Are there any sorytellers around here?" she
asked.
"There's a blind man here who tell's the best tales around,"
answered the servant; "his voice is clear and sharp and he
can portray emotions very clearly. He lives outside, under
the eaves of this mansion in fact."
"Well then, let's call him in and enjoy ouselves by gosh!"
And so the eunuch consulted with Grand Eunuch Lei and
had the storyteller fetched and assisted to the main hall,
where he was excused from the usual ceremonies and
allowed to get right down to his trade. Using a small table
and stool he had his audience sit on the railing before him,
Hu Mei in the middle, and listen to tales of women behind
the throne. He was free to tell whatever stories he wanted.
And so that old blind storyteller cleared his throat; calling up
all his strength and leaning forward he grasped the edges
of the table, recited a four line opening poem and then
launched right into a story.
He began by telling the tale of Daji, a beauty married to
King Zhou of Yin-Shang. On her way to the king one day
there arose a sudden fierce gale, obscuring sky and earth
in darkness and forcing her attendants to the ground in
terror. When the squall had passed and they struggled back
to their feet they saw the consort Daji just sitting there as if
nothing had happened, unmoved. King Zhou pronounced
her blessed with good fortune and made her his main
consort, so truly delighted was he with her. But little did he
know that Queen Daji was no longer her true self but an old,
beautiful fox-spirit who had ridden that strange black squall,
snatched away the soul of that beautiful queen and
changed right into her body!
King Zhouh was then haunted and driven by the myriad
charms and tricks of her siren soul; he could only favor and
adore this concubine. And so he entered a long night of
drunken wickedness, gorging himself with oceans of wine
and forests of game, putting his loyal officials to death for
remonstrating with him, and carrying out unrestrained evil.
All the people of the land finally railed in anger against him,
causing King Wu of the new Zhou Dynasty to mount a
punative campaign and to defeat the wicked last king of
Yin-Shang, reducing him to a horse tender and killing
Queen Daji in her palace. Having finished the tale, the old
storyteller recited another four line poem in conclusion. And
here it is:
"Upright was the King of Shang before he gave his heart
How was he to know he loved a fox-girl from the start?
Though her phony fox's wisdom was respected by all men
No match was it for humans like Queen Lyu or Wu Zetian!"
Hu Mei'r took it all in with delight. "The ancients tell us that
human beings never manage to fulfill their hearts' desires,"
she said, voice full of appreciation; "even those who live to
be a hundred still only wish to be young again. Folks are
never happy until one fine day death ends their frustration."
Then she had the blind man paid a string of cash and sent
him on his way with words of gratitude. But meanwhile she
harbored very different thoughts. "Hmphh!" she angrily
sulked; "The same kind of hujing as me and she could take
Daji's mortal place as queen! Am I less of a ghost than
she? "
She slept alone in her room that night, and dreamt that she
had been selected into the Imperial harem and become the
absolute farorite at court. She had been declared Queen,
escorted everywhere by the palace ladies and showered
with extraordinary wealth and happiness. Her old mom Holy
Auntie was invested as Queen Mother and her brother Hu
Chu appointed to a top official post. Her maternal relations
were all flourishing without peer! But soon enough she was
revived by cruel reality, for indeed it had all been a passing
dream. Thin beams of red light were streaming in throught
her small window, and she saw only a young eunuch
servant presenting her silver washbasin, richly reflecting the
deep red dawn's light.
"Today is the third round of concubine selection," said the
boy, "so our old master has already gone to the Board of
Rites. Wash and groom yourself, bride. We young fellows
have already prepared everything because we're all taking
a holiday and going over for a look too."
My poor little body is too exhausted for me to wash or do
my hair," said Mei'r; "if you want to go watch, just go!"
Hearing her words those kids ran off in a gang just as if
they'd just been dismissed by the village schoolteacher.
"Already the third round of selection," sulked Hu Mei'r. "The
so-called beauties who've made it this far all gathered in
one place! Why don't I go have a look too, just to see how
it's all going?" And so she did indeed wash and groom
herself. "A woman with appeal like mine is rare among
humanity," she told herself in the mirror; "Still, being holed
up in this place is bound to take its toll on my charming
soul." She then tied a blue-green scarf over her hair and
dressed herself in the style of a village girl. Lashing the
door shut from the inside she then made use of her hujing
skills as of old, climbing the wall and slipping out under the
edge of the ceiling to the outside. Then she opened the
back gate and was gone in a puff of smoke, off directly to
the square in front of the entrance to the Board of Rites
where she pushed right on into the sea of onlookers. She
next saw the great doors of this important ministry opening,
and from afar could discern Grand Eunich Lei seated in the
hall with the officials of the Board of Rites. The official
matchmakers were escorting each of the daughters of
renowned families across the hall , entering from the east
gate and exiting out the west, while their names were ticked
off in the record by those in charge. There were also the
loving parents of girls of poor families waiting outside the
gates for a chance, daughters and family members in tow,
and the priviledged daughters of officials, together with
their coteries of attendants and maids. There had to have
been hundreds of them from all walks of life! All were
thirteen or fourteen years old; elegant brows, gentle eyes,
red lips and white teeth were really in evidence. But there
was no truly outstanding radiant woman, exuding real
beauty, to be found among them. "Beautiful people are truly
hard to come by," said Hu Mei'r after taking all of this in.
"It's sad to think that this is all the beauty and talent to be
found in a world capital like this!"
The bustling crowd finally dispersed at noon. Hu Mei'r found
a refuge of sorts in that place, and by nightfall still had not
gone home. She had in fact been seized by a mad
compulsion to enter the inner expanses of the imperial
compound and see for herself the wealth and splendor of
its three palaces and six courtyards. Now, dear reader, can
you guess how she might have developed this wild
obsession ? Well, for one her physical and mental balance
had been upset by the "original truth" passed down through
that fairy's painting. And another cause lay in those three
characters for "Queen of the House of Wang" that were
now going round and round compulsively inside of her!
Hearing that story about Daji gave rise to an itching in her
heart that simply could not be satisfied, and so under cover
of night she wandered into the Imperial Precinct. Of course
being a manifestation of a sorceress fox she could come
and go without a trace. But the Imperial compound, apart
from civil society, was no place for playing. Seeing how
severe the guards appeared she couldn't help but feel
terror at heart and so she didn't dare go dashing in in. But
just as she turned back toward the Councilors' Gate she
took notice of some craftsmen, just finishing their labors in
the imperial gardens. A eunuch was discussing something
with their boss, under the light of two Chinese lantern
stands and a couple of torches that rendered the scene as
bright as day. Taking advantage of the noise and bustle, Hu
Mei'r wandered forth into the palace garden, but after
traveling on for quite awhile she was confronted with the
sight of those high walls and earthworks of the palace itself,
pretty difficult to leap over. So again she sat killing time in
cold silence, until she suddenly remembered that the
Emperor lived in the eastern hall; alas her blood's qi was
still unsettled. Why, she thought, if they could only but meet
once it would surely mean tender love at first sight! What
was more, having heard that he was a rebirth of the Great
Fairy Barefoot, certainly not made of mortal stuff, she knew
that if she could have ultimate relations with him she would
be gaining quite a bit in the bargain. And so around to the
east she whirled striding off on a winding course. Crossing
the bridge over the Palace moat she thought of wading in
and following that narrow waterway right inside, but fear of
its possible depth and that very inconvenient copper
sluicgate made her continue straight ahead. Then with the
Imperial water clock sounding the fall of night, perhaps
seven o'clock, and the moon yet to rise, she caught sight of
a number of lights in the distance. Scrambling up for a
closer look she could discern five lesser eunuchs carrying
Chinese lanterns, going to the toilet in a group. "If they
came out of a door there's nothing to worry about," she
thought. "Where there's a way out, there's a way in!" And
taking advantage a quick peek towards some light she did
indeed spot an open side door! Mei'r pushed on through.
Leaping over an outhouse she ran on along the tops of a
few halls until she heard the sound of someone reciting
texts down below. Mei'r didn't come down, but dug through
the layer of rooftiles and pushed aside a beam for a look
below.
Now, this was what they called the Zishantang, the place
where the future Emperor read his books. And although it
was already late, so innately clever and fond of study was
this Prince that he sat and studied by candlelight. A few
eunuchs were slumping over the tables or lying around the
room. "I'd better grab this chance while I can," thought Mei'r,
and so she invisibly flew down through that hole in the roof
for a better look. In the hall behind the seminar some old
women were gathered round the stove making tea. On the
table were arranged some carved laquered cups, silver
teapots and golden spoons. Mei'r removed her scarf,
erased her face and mouth with a wipe of her hand and
changed herself into a beautiful and charming young
Palace maid. Then she suddenly took a cup and teapot and
spit into them. Next she blew into them, and her saliva
changed magically into fragrant hot tea! Now, fox spittle is a
fine agent for bewitching folks, and one who drinks it will
surely swoon. No matter whether the most morally cultivated
of men or the purest of women, it's hard to say they wouldn't
fall for the fox's lure! Hu Mei'r slipped into the study hall in
the most bewitchingly beautiful way imaginable, holding the
teacup with both hands and approaching the Crown Prince
as if to offer it to him when suddenly what should appear in
a flash from behind but the figure of a revered diety! As for
its appearance, here is a xijiangyue poem:
Slender arching brows above vermilion phoenix eyes
In his face the color of the reddest fruit resides.
Green dragons swirl and crescent sword of steel shines so
bright
Aptly named "The Bearded One" he's here all dressed to
fight.
With reddest heart of cinnabar he rode the moon and sun
Assisting Shu Han's great Liu Bei until the day was won.
A thousand ages did he ride the wind awaiting when
From bold usurper would his power guard the land again!
Now just who was this revered diety but the Righteous
Brave Peacemaker and Defender of the Throne, the spirit
of General Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms! The Son of
Heaven always has a hundred dieties to protect him, and
today it was this god's turn to stand guard in the sky and as
fate would have it to see Hu Mei'r brazenly transform herself
by sorcery. He reported this to the Jade Emperor who was
outraged, sending this holy relation of his down to the
Palace to remove the crescent steel sword from its green
dragon scabbord and slice her head like a melon in one
stroke! HuMei'r gave a cry, dropped the cup and fell over
backwards. Hearing the yelp of a fox filled the Crown
Prince with terror, and the eunuchs awoke in fright,
crowding around for a look with lanterns in hand illuminating
the scene. All that they found was a dead vixen on the floor
with its brain bursting out; its clothes were tossed aside
and looked just like the discarded skin of a cicada. All
present ran wildly out with lanterns to search for any
possibly remaining foxes in the Palace, searching
everywhere and finding none, and all were at a loss as to
where it had come from. Later in the night they carried the
fox's corpse out behind the hall.
Early next morning the Crown Prince reported the affair at
court to his Holiness the Emperor, who ordered the Minister
of Heaven to look into it and determine what for better or
worse it augored. He later reported as follows:
"Fox-sorcerers posing as humans are are nothing new. But
how could one have penetrated the Emperor's inner
precincts? This must have been a truly extraordinary witch
vixen! As for what it all means, we were visited yesterday
by a flametailed fox that died and left its strange spirits
around and so we should be vigilant against the outbreak of
fires around the Palace. As the fox was slain by a god, the
Crown Prince should be blessed with a thousand years of
happiness and not be troubled by any misfortune." As it
came to pass that there were no fires, and the Emperor
didn't pursue the matter further, But later folks have a poem:
The Minister of Heaven's wild talk was based on fact
Just consider who it was he had to flatter with his act!
The same old words that always passed made up his glib
report
How could he talk of ghosts in front of everyone at court?
Now to digress in our story, let's go back to Grand Eunuch
Lei, just returning home from the Board of Rites and calling
out for his bride to join him for a bit of drink. "That little wife
of yours has been locked in her room since morning,"
reported one of the eunuchs. "The door hasn't budged all
day and she wouldn't answer us. What could be wrong?"
Eunuch Lei knocked a few times and then tried calling out,
but all was silent inside. In anger he ordered the door
broken open but not a trace of her was found anywhere.
"She couldn't feel any tenderness toward me," thought Lei
darkly, "so perhaps she's run off. But there's no ladder in
here; how could she have gone over the walls with those
tiny feet of hers?" He then hesitated for a moment. "Well,
she's indeed gone," he announced; "and the only place she
can be is at her uncle's. One of you, go on over for a look
and then we'll know for sure."
And so he sent one of his servants over to Zhang Ying's
quarters in the garden of tranquility. When Zhang Ying
received the man and found out why he'd come he was
filled with dread. "That old eunuch of yours is in the wrong,"
he said. "Since my niece married him she's been his
family's relation, dead or alive. The girl went to his house
and is expected to remain there. Is he asking me for to
compensate him for her disappearance? That's ridiculous!"
The servant acknowledged Zhang's words and went back
directly. That night, Zhang Ying's heart was full of worry and
doubt. Locking the door he wrote and recited charms,
hoping to snatch up his niece's soul and find out what had
happened. This had always summoned spirits but now
failed to work. "What a weird affair!" shouted Zhang,
frustrated and puzzled. Then, facing that portrait of Mei'r's
original spirit, he once more concentrated his thoughts on
the ever-gathering swarm of ghosts. And sure enough a
blast of cold wind came through and the painting seemed
to emit some bitter sounding chirps. Then sudenly the spirit
and soul of Hu Mei'r came out and manifested itself,
tugging at Zhang Ying's sleeves and weeping bitterly.
Zhang consoled her and asked what had happened.
I don't dare hide it any longer," she proclaimed; "I'm really a
fox-spirit from the foot of Goosegate Mountain. Following
my mother Holy Auntie on a journey through the clouds in
search of Dao we met a squall that picked me up and cast
me here, where you have so kindly sheltered and fed me.
Then it happened that I was forcibly married to Eunuch Lei
and then neglected. Two nights ago I awoke mumbling to
myself in my sleep and felt as though my strength was
leaving me. But come morning I heard about the selection
of a queen, so I snuck over for a look. Thinking my beauty to
be uniquely irresistable, I burrowed into the Palace intent
upon seduction, but alas I met with the anger of Spirit
General Guan, who took me to Hades at swordpoint. I cried
out bitterly, protesting my innocence over and over until
General Guan reexamined the records of my case and and
pronounced me fated to go forth to a human rebirth, to
someday make good at a place called Beizhou where I 'm
fated to become a queen in a harem. Whithin the month I'm
to go to Squire Hu's home here in Kaifeng. It was just after
my release that I encountered all of those ghosts and
charms and followed them back here to you, sir, and I
realize that the broken part of my soul, my lost hun essence,
is here in this painting. Now I can finally reintegrate my spirit
and be reborn, justa as soon as you carry the painting over
to Squire Hu's. And what's more sir, you too are destined to
plar a role in this coming event at Beizhou. When you meet
my mother she'll tell you everything." And so having spoken
she climbed into the painting and was gone.
Zhang Ying remembered that little poem she had told him
of hearing when she was first swept away on the wind: "Fox
family's girl of surname Hu will be the Empress Wang...Now
off you go to Prince Chongxiao and hurry right along". Now,
he could understand her rebirth to Squire Hu's family, as
she was surnamed Hu. But as for those three characters
"the Empress Wang"...well, that would surely be no
daughter-in-law of the present Emperor's Zhao family! He
didn't know anything about this Beizhou business and
began to worry about what would happen there. During his
travels across the land he'd heard of Holy Auntie and her
miraculous talents but nobody knew her current
whereabouts. Perhaps, he thought, he would naturally
understand eveything upon finally meeting her. All that night
he wracked his brains, until at daybreak Grand Eunuch Lei
came over to talk to him personally before any of his
servants could do so. Zhang Ying didn't tell what had
happened but only offered some small talk and
pleasantries on which they could agree, exhorting the
eunuch to search harder for the girl. Now, a story was just
making the rounds of the capital about the fox that had died
overnight in the East Palace's Zishantang and had been
discarded out of the Councilors' Gate earlier that morning.
Zhang Ying knew in his gut what had really happened and
darkly declared it a strange miracle. Eunuch Lei tried
everything to recover his lost bride, eventually depatching
public officials and private servants and event local drifters
and rascals to search all over, paying a thousand strings of
cash in rewards for information. This was good business
for those involved and they made the best of the
opportunity, chasing ghosts and spirits and runing all over
in a wild goose chase for whatever information they could
hear and follow up on. It was like this:
The moon is easily retrieved upon the ocean's face
But of a needle on the bottom you will never find a trace.
And that was the end of that.
To get back to the story, Zhang Ying had breakfast and then
dressed up ever so fastidiously. Doffing a Daoist's
fishtailed iron crown and a black bordered flame-patterned
gown he then took down that portrait of Hu Mei'r's original
soul and rolled it up ever so neatly, placing it in a basket of
thorns. Then holding the basket raised high in his left hand
and grasping a tortoise shell fan in his right he set off on his
way; having heard that Squire Hu lived in Ping An Street he
went there directly. It's like this:
White Cloud Cave at first had never known the human heart
With clearing wind and Jia Qingfeng this business got its
start
When Zhang presents the painting at the home of Squire
Hu
What's born of it you'll soon find out as you read on anew.
Chapter 16
SQUIRE HU HAPPILY RECEIVES
THE FAIRY PAINTING
AND LADY ZHANG ANGRILY
CONCEIVES A WITCH
If you don't know who really is the child they call Yong
In fact it was the one and only Hu Mei'r all along.
Many things will happen through this little witch's fate
In such a way are families often doomed to harm the
State!
It is said that during the flourishing days of the Song
Dynasty the capital city of Kaifeng was a tapestry of walls
and moats. These went on for 36 li outside the city proper,
with twenty-eight gates, thirty-six alleys full of brothels and
seventy-two music halls. And if there were any open spaces
in between all the buildings, they would certainly be utilized
as flower gardens or football grounds. The powerful and
important officials lived within those city walls, needless to
say, but there were also a certain number of wealthy, titled
citzens, such as Squire Wang the dyeworks baron, Squire
Li the pearl king, Squire Zhang the shipping magnate,
Squire Jiao the textile mogul and other examples too
numerous to mention.
Among this class of men was a citizen whose enormous
wealth surpassed that of the Lord of the Polestar, and
whose many warehouses were groaning with an excess of
rotting grain. In his house were three great vaults, each full
of pawned posessions. The one on the left was loaded with
varied silks and satins, while that on the right was full of
gold, silver, pearls and jade. Between them was a vault full
of musical instruments, chess sets, paintings and antiques.
Each of these warehouses had three managers. This was
the home of Hu Hao, Esquire, known respectfully as Hu
Dahong. He had only his wife, the matronly Lady Zhang. In
earlier times this gentleman had lived alone with eyes for
one purpose only. So intent had he been on making good
that he had time only for minding his books and reckoning
his profits and interest. As he increased his capital tenfold,
then a hundredfold, the thought of children never entered his
mind.
Now, Lady Zhang had this one problem: an especially
severe case of jealousy and envy. She wouldn't allow the
Squire to take a concubine or even to employ a maid. Ten
years earlier he had stolen the favors of a slave girl of
theirs, and when his wife found out she blew up and beat
the poor girl half to death, threw her to a manager and had
her sold off. She and her husband still bickered and argued
frequently and noisely, and there was never a full month of
domestic peace. And so Squire Hu never entertained the
hope of having children and merely passed the days rolling
in his money. Here's a poem:
The world it seems is nothing but the madness of its wives
Their jealousy and envy add such boredom to our lives.
Forget about the easy path to pleasure and to loss
Have child and be worshipped with a hundred years of joss.
The days and years flew by and before he knew it Squire
Hu was fifty years old. Now, the staff of his three
warehouses got together as one and pitched in with their
own money to buy food and drink and prepared a fine
ceremony for him, and early in the morning of his birthday
they came unto him and offered a toast to his years, first the
warehouse managers and then his family and servants, and
all kowtowed to him. His fellow captains of commerce and
industry from Kaifeng were on hand for the occasion as
were his business associates and clients, and many
servants arrived bearing goods from various wellwishers.
Of course the servants had been ordered to prepare a
feast and colorful invitations were sent out to come have
noodles and wine on the happy occasion. Dear friends and
relations were all there, happily exchanging toasts and
speaking of their homes and children. Squire Hu's thoughts
suddenly turned to his own childlessness, and an unhappy
feeling edged its way slowly into his heart, until finally the
feast ended and the guests all departed. Lady Zhang, who
had been sitting in the other section all along, then asked
her spouse to share some cups of wine with her. Squire Hu
gave her a fleeting look and, overwhelmed by his thoughts,
burst into tears. Mama, as she was known, drew close to
him.
"Squire, you've got plenty to eat and wear and so many
things to do and enjoy. And although you don't have the
power and glory of a prince or minister of old you are
indeed a powerful tycoon, envied and respected by so
many thousands of people. And it's your birthday today, a
happy time, so what's troubling you?"
"I'm not thinking of food or goods to enjoy," said Squire Hu.
"Our home's got its share, but I'm worried about our
childlessness. What'll become of us without a son or
daughter? Why, at the feast tonight everyone chatted about
their families, and all they talked about were their children. I
alone was childless. Folks often say to raise children for old
age and store grain for famine. Next year I'll be fifty-one,
facing my sixties. Childbirth gets rarer and rarer with
advancing age, and that's what's eating me up inside!"
"Over in the East Village there's an old woman name Wang
who's now nursing her firstborn at forty-eight," answered
Mama. "I'm just forty-seven this year, not yet that old, so why
can't I give birth and nurse too? It might be that it's in our
fate and we just haven't had a chance to find out yet. If I
haven't had a child by the time I'm fifty and we have to take
a surrogate mother to to bear your offspring that's all right
with me. Oh, and another thing: I've heard that the Crown
Prince was born in answer to the Emperor's prayers for
child, so why can't I, one of his subjects, have my prayers
fulfilled as well? Right now in the city at the Shrine of the
Precious Charmbook there's a really powerful god, the True
Lord Protector of the North Pole. Why don't we pick an
auspicious day and time and go there to offer plenty of
candles, joss and paper horses in worship to that True
Lord, begging him for a child? Not especially for a boy or
girl, but just worshipping and purifying ourselves before the
joss stove."
She then called on the maids to arrange some hot wine and
the Squire's gloom was dispelled on the spot. Husband and
wife enjoyed a few cups together, cleaned up and arranged
the furniture and took their rest. And a few days later just as
an auspicious moment approached they sent some staff to
buy incense and paper and had a horse and carriage
readied in tip-top condition. With a slave girl in tow they
then went to the Shrine of the Treasured Charmbook,
dismounting just at the gate. Entering the Main Hall they
proceeded to offer incense and then had to repeat the
worship at every altar of the two chapels. In the Hall of
Martial Truth Squire Hu earnestly proclaimed his date of
birth and begged for a child, heavily preferring a boy so as
to carry on the family line.
And so the good Squire spent his days and nights storing
up and planting his seed. And he continued knocking his
forehead and even his teeth on the stone floors before the
altars, while Mama went on setting candle and worshipping.
On and on they went praying and burning script befopre
leaving the shrine; you can imagine what it was like.
Before long half a year had passed and their burning joss
and prayers for child had become a common sight on the
first and fifteenth of every month. Then one day in the
middle of the twelfth lunar month it was time for the annual
audit of the warehouses. Another winter was over and it
was time to reckon the pawns and redemptions. The
warehouse managers and assistants invited their best
customers for a few last transactions before settling the
books, and there was no great rush at that! Now, among
those warehouses the one full of antiques and curios had
the thinnest accounts, and its manager was just reckoning
the profit on the year's transactions when the curtain in the
entrance was brushed aside and a gentleman entered
wearing a fishtailed iron Daoist's crown and a black
bordered flame gown. In his left hand was a basket of
thorns and in his right a tortoise shell fan, while his legs
were bound in leggings and fancy hemp shoes. He looked
like he'd just blown in on a cosmic wind, so strange and
godlike was he. Now, there are four classes of fairies and
gods: those swift as the wind, those tall as the pines, those
latent just like a relaxed bow and those with the voice of a
bell. Just imagine the scene as that gentleman lifted aside
the curtain and entered! The manager immediately
recognized his extraordinary Daoist's garb and rushed
forward to welcome him in, greeting the guest obsequiously
and offering him a stool to sit on.
"Well, make yourself at home, your lordship," said the
manager; "what can I do for you?"
"Could this be the right place for musical instruments,
chess sets, books and paintings?"
"It certainly is."
"I've got a small painting I wish to pawn for a few ounces of
silver, to be redeemed sometime soon of course."
"Well, terribly sorry but can I trouble you for a look so I can
appraise it?"
Now, the manager had assumed that someone
accompanying the visitor would be coming in with the
painting, and was very surprised when the man himself
reached into that thorn basket, took out out a painting no
more than a foot wide and handed it to him. The manager
received it saying nothing, thinking only that if the man
wasn't joking it had better be pretty long, five feet at least,
when scrolled open on the viewing forks. Eying it carefully
he saw only a bright little painting of a beautiful woman with
three characters meaning "painted by Sengyao" at the top.
It was indeed well painted but a bit small and not worth
much.
"How much do you want for this, lordship?" he asked,
putting the display rack aside.
"This painting is really unique, so I'd like a hundred ouces of
silver for it."
"Don't make me laugh, professor. This little painting isn't
even worth five or six hundred coppers. How can I give you
a hundred ounces of of silver, so many times its value?"
"This is the work of Zhang Sengyao of the old Jin Dynasty,
and there are few like it in the world."
"Zhang Sengyao lived over five hundred years ago, yet this
picture of a beauty is alive and fresh as if painted
yesterday. The world is awash in fakes with all kinds of
groundless claims."
"I insist, sir, that it is authentic. But I'll settle for fifty ounces,
by gosh!"
"And I can't lend you five hundred against it either!"
And on it went, the customer insisting on pawning the
picture at that value, the manager unwilling and the client
not about to leave without satisfaction, and before long they
were exchanging unpleasantries and accusations. But then
what should they hear in mid-argument but the sound of
leather shoes stepping smartly, and in a moment Squire Hu
himself lifted the curtain and entered.
"Have you offered the noontime incense yet?" he asked the
manager.
"Yes, Squire, I have."
"Squire, I beg of you!" said the gentleman.
"Please sit down sir," answered Squire Hu, assuming all
along that he was an art forger; "let's have tea."
He then watched as the manager put the painting back on
the rack and once more unscrolled it. "The good teacher
here insists on pawning this little painting for fifty ounces of
silver and won't budge," said the manager, "but I don't dare
go along with it."
"Master," laughed Squire Hu, it's a nice little painting but it
isn't worth much, and certainly not that kind of money!"
"Squire, you are rushing to judgement; there's more here
than meets the eye. It's small all right but there's a
marvelous and profound secret in it."
"I'm listening."
"This isn't the time to talk about it. When you lend me the
money I'll tell you in detail.
Squire Hu then escorted the gentleman to the study, where
they were alone. "Just what sort of deep secret has it got?"
asked Squire Hu.
"It can't be compared to paintings as we know them,
because it was created by a fairy. Just hang it up in a
secret room late some still night without telling anyone. Burn
some joss, set out a couple of candles and clear your throat
once, then tap on the table three times and then ask the
fairy maiden in the painting to come out for tea. There'll be
a blast of wind and the goddess in the painting will come
down."
Squire Hu listened thoughtfully. "I'd like to believe him that
it's a fairy painting," he reasoned, "but I'm afraid it won't turn
out to be true."
The gentleman looked pensively at him for awhile before
speaking again. "If your lordship doesn't believe it, let me
just leave the painting here overnight for you to try out. You'll
be able to vouch for its pawn value when I return tomorrow."
"Master, you really are serious about this! Now I'm sure you
are telling the truth. May I ask your surname?"
"It's Zhang, and my first name is Ying, for Oriole. I'm also
known as Prince Chongxiao, the Skysoarer."
Squire Hu nodded and came out with the customer. "Pawn
the painting for Mr Zhang here!" he called out to the
manager.
"Don't blame me when he never comes to redeem it!"
"You don't need to be concerned. Just write a memo at the
bottom of the slip that it was done on my order." Squire Hu
then invited the gentleman caller to join him in some
vegetarian food and chat and together they retired to the
back hall, the painting stashed away in his gown. Afterward
the manager handed over the entire sum of fifty ounces of
silver and the Squire saw the gentleman out the door where
he bade farewell and left, and that was that.
Now, Squire Hu had submitted to Mama's control at home,
so of course he couldn't come forth openly about this latest
girl to appear. Moreover she was a tempting sorceress of
gracefully refined beauty not often seen in recent times.
How could he not throw his soul to the devil and try to bed
her? How long it seemed to nightfall, and how he wished he
could just knock the bright sun out of the sky with his fist! Up
he went to the upstairs drumtower to nervously await the
sunset, coaxing it along with his will. It was like this:
Eyes looking out for banners of a conquest
Ears listening for news of a success.
Before evening he instructed a servant to tidy up the study
and arrange the incense burner and the candleholders, tea
server, pot and so forth. Then he thought up a scheme.
"There are a few redemptions on the books that I'm not
sure about," he told Mama, "so I'll be in the office tonight
going over the accounts. Why don't you tell the servants to
prepare us an early dinner?"
Mama suspecting nothing out of the ordinary and had an
early dinner served, and together they ate it.
"Mama, why don't you go to bed first?" said Squire Hu; "I'll
be along later."
Before long the drum atop the house and the temple bells
all sounded the first strokes of nightfall. Just imagine:
Above a crossroads does a human shadow slowly loom
While clouds of all Nine Heavens
darkly shroud the peaks in gloom.
Travelers from everywhere stop at this house so fine
The Palace of the Polestar in the Heavens so inclined.
Gamblers' bids and drunken shouts defile the pure
moonlight
South Heaven's high officials gathered for a pleasure night
And only gifted scholars study on by lanternlight.
From four sides do the beating drums encourage evening's
fall
While three short blasts of frigid wind
come blowing through the wall.
Twin candles' light and burning joss pervade her holy space
And Zen lamp's flame illuminates a pure and sacred place.
Squire Hu went to the study, pushed open the sliding door
and entered. "All of you," he ordered the servants, "wait
outside." After closing the door he lit the lamps and the fire
under the teapot, bringing the water to a rolling boil. Then
he took a couple of cakes of first class Longtuan tea and
tossed them into the pot. Next he lit the incense burner and
the two candles. Having set up the viewing rack and
unscrolled the painting he found it to indeed depict a
beautiful woman. The squire cleared his throat once and
knocked three times on the table, and sure enough a tiny
squall arose and blew across it. This poem about sums it
up:
So perfect is the grass that grows upon a mansion's lawn
So shortlived is the duckweed floating rootless on the pond.
How fatal was that curtain's opening
To snuff the candles now would be a sin.
The ancient poems resonate like bells
The tower drum the time of evening tells.
Hearing but the wind among the trees
It's only half the picture that he sees.
And then in the midst of that tiny storm he saw the beauty
from the painting, jumping down to the table in one leap and
then to the floor in another. Five foot three inches in height
and lovely as flowers and jade, she was beautiful beyond
description. It was like this:
Not an inch too short or tall with face of perfect pink
Too beautiful to powder or for painter's brush I think.
No creature of the land or sea or air
Nor moon nor flowers can with her compare.
The maiden just stood there and stared at Squire Hu before
blessing him in a deep voice. Our lordship quickly regained
his polite composure and went to the the stove, poured a
cup of tea and passed it to her. Then he filled his own cup
and joined her. After drinking up and clearing away the
cups there was nothing to be said. Another little squall
arose and up the maiden went, right into the painting.
Now, Squire Hu was incomparably pleased. "Why," he
marveled, "the painting really has got a spirit, after all! Well,
I'd best not bother her again today. Next time we meet I
won't hesitate to say some gentle words to her." He then
rolled up the painting and put it back in his collection, called
the servants to tidy up and arrange the furniture and went to
his bedroom to sleep.
The next day Squire Hu again said he was going to work on
his accounts and that he wanted his staff to serve an early
supper, and once more he retreated to the study. "He
worked on his books last night, too!" thought Lady Zhang. "I
can't believe he's got so many accounts to do. Just what's
he doing with all his idle time during the day that he's got to
get so busy at night?" It all seemed too suspicious and she
couldn't help but have a slavegirl carry a lantern and lead
the way down to the study with herself following behind.
Eavesdropping at the sliding doors they heard what
seemed to be the voice of a maiden or young wife inside.
Wetting the tip of her thumb with saliva she reached out and
peeled back the edge of a paper windowpane and peeped
inside. Well, what greeted her prying eyes but the sight of a
young woman sitting across from her husband and chatting
with him! Two veins of anger lit up in her, flashing from her
feet on the floor to the top of her head at the door, lighting
her up with a fiery rage the likes of which were unknown to
the world, as if shooting up eighteen thousand feet into the
night sky. Unable to restrain herself she opened the door
and rushed into the study. Squire Hu was terrified.
"What are you doing, Mama?" he asked, rising to his feet
with Mama's anger clearly focused upon him.
"You old beggar!" she screamed. "You idiot! What a fine
thing you've done!"
Amidst the commotion and rage the fairy maiden
disappeared into the squall and back up into the painting.
"Meixang!" Mama commanded the slavegirl. "Come, help
me find her! Don't be afraid!"
Squire Hu remained silent. "Turn this studio upside down
and inside out if you like," he thought, "but you'll never find
her."
Unable to find the girl Mama then became even angrier.
Craning her neck about she spotted the painting on the wall
of that same beautiful woman. She then tore it down and
began to burn it over the lantern, throwing it down in flames
upon the floor. Feeling the full force of Mama's awesome
anger Squire Hu didn't dare go against her. By now the
painting was blazing furiously, with sparks and bits of hot
paper swirling round and round near the floor. Now they
were swirling around Mama's feet and she jumped back a
couple of steps, fearing her clothes would be set alight. But
the swarm of sparks pursued her ankles and suddenly a
tongue of flame belched forth from her mouth! Mama
screamed and fainted to the floor in horror. And here's a
poem:
Suddenly the fairy portrait rides the wind to fame
Escaping from an angry night upon a tongue of flame.
The witch's traces never are completely burnt away
In another house of fire will she meet her fate someday.
Squire Hu had fallen on his hands and knees in fear and
trembling and called the slavegirl to help him up. Having
regained his balance he went to the kettle and poured
some hot water to revive Mama. Back on her feet at last
she then settled safely into a chair.
"You idiot!" she cried bitterly, "Look at the fine mess you've
made. Have the maids carry me back to my room so I can
rest."
Mama slept till daybreak and awoke feeling a bit unsettled.
In the days that followed her brows appeared lower and her
eyes dreamy and slow, her breasts became enlarged and
her belly swollen with child. Squire Hu was delighted except
for two details. For one, the fairy painting had been sadly
burnt by Mama, and he could never again see that
maiden's face. And for another, he feared the day when the
gentleman would to redeem the painting. What would he
do? Well, enough of that for now.
The days and nights flew by. Nearly a year later Mama was
in labor. Squire Hu went to the family's high hall to burn
incense and make pledges to Heaven in return for a safe
childbirth. Suddenly he heard a commotion at the door, and
the voice of a servant calling him.
"The gentleman who pawned the painting is at the door."
Hearing this Squire Hu suddenly felt as if his heart was tied
in knots but could only receive him.
"Good sir, another year has passed since we last met. I feel
a bit awkward telling you this but my wife is in labor just now
so your visit really is good fate."
The gentleman laughed. "I've got some medicine for your
wife's pain," he said. Then reaching into that old thorn
basket of his he took out a little dried gourd shell vial of
medicine, poured out a red pill, and telling him that it was to
be taken with plain water handed it to the Squire who
carefully wrote it all down. "Your home is too busy now so I'd
better not bother you any longer. I'll come again some other
time and we'll have a prayer meal together." And having so
spoken he left, not even having brought up the matter of the
painting.
Well, let's forget about that gentleman for now. Squire Hu
gave the pill to Mama and not long afterwards a girl was
born, bringing him great joy. Caught up in the capable arms
of the midwife, she had to have her "sanzhao" bath at three
days of age, for as folks say this assures a hundred years
of life. Then after a week had passed they named her
Yong'r, "Li'l Leaping Flame", after the flames that surged
through Mama and bellowed out of her mouth just before
the baby was conceived. And later they found the Chinese
character to be unsuitable so they changed the "Yong" to
another of that pronunciation meaning "eternal"..."Eternal
Child".
Time flashed by and before they knew it little Yong'r was
seven years old. She'd been born ever so pure and gentle
looking with such an innocent face and rich black hair, a
truly beautiful woman just like the images of the young
Goddess Guanyin ridin the dragon. Her parents both
treated her like the finest treasure in the world, and Squire
Hu invited a professor to the house to instruct her in reading
the classics. Now, this scholar was named Chen Shan, and
was known to all as a fine and loyal old man with years of
experience as an educator. He was welcomed in their
home to the praise and reverent appreciation of the hopeful
and trusting parents and exhorted to do his best. What
followed was like this:
The loving parents sheltered her and gave all of the best
Happily they met a master that they made an honored
guest.
But let's put that story aside for awhile and get back to
Grand Eunuch Lei. Missing his bride he had despatched
men all over the land without turning up a trace. Fearing that
Zhang Ying would be terribly angry he called on him
personally, hoping to perform a big favor in compensation.
Now, Zhang knew better than to get involved in this affair
and received Lei with outward respect. He knew that
although Lei had a fawning relationship with Prime Minister
Ding, he was no real confidant of the Crown Prince. The
Emperor Zhenzong was getting on in age, and was having
seizures; there were times when he couldn't preside over
court, and although Lei might seriously have wanted to help
Zhang he now had nowhere to use his influence. Moreover,
Zhang Ying had heard a message in ghost talk from the
little sorceress, to the effect that she'd been reincarnated
as Squire Hu's baby daughter. And he'd had some other
dealings with spirits, too, so he felt that advancing his
worldly career was not so important for the time being. So
after another last night in that garden he slipped out of the
city walls of the capital. For one thing he wished to find Holy
Auntie, and for another he wanted to learn more about the
birth of Squire Hu's daughter.
Well, time flew by and soon it was the first year of the
Kaiyuan reign. Zhenzong had passed away and the Crown
Prince had ascended the throne as the Emperor Renzong.
Lei Chonggong was put in charge of building the
mausoleum and was accused by Hanlin academician
Wang Zeng of having improperly moved the Imperial tomb,
and ugly charges spread out to include Prime Minister Ding
Wei. The dragonlike countenance of the Emperor Renzong
was angered and he banished Ding Wei to a faraway
district as a private soldier. Grand Eunuch Lei was
immediately executed and his home and property was all
confiscated as official property, even the Garden of
Tranquility. Zhang Ying had lived there for a long time but
had seen this trouble coming before he slipped out, and by
this time he was far away, gone back to haunting the
countryside.
One day he wandered into Puzhou, Shandong Province. It
was late spring, in the fourth lunar month, and a really
terrible drought was in progress. All the counties had been
seeking Daoist wizards to pray for rain, but none were to
be found. Word now had it that was a certain Daoist nun
who had erected an altar in Boping County where she was
making rain with her charms. "That must be Holy Auntie,"
thought Zhang Ying. "I'll get right over there and see what
she's up to!" And so he quickly found his way to Boping
County. Just consider:
She orders up a sweet surprise to happily rain down
Slowly chanting tired tricks learnt in another town.
To see if Zhang Ying meets with Holy Auntie or does not
Read on and see what happens in the coming chapter's
plot!
Chapter 17
ZHANG YING MAKES RAIN IN BOPING
COUNTY
WHILE ZUO CHU JOINS BATTLE AT A
WULONG ALTAR
Every spring and fall the sprouts are planted yet again
In every county folks look to the sun and hope for
rain.
If you would be Prime Minister of our entire land
Please spread it well
so drought and famine don't get out of hand!
As the story goes so far, Zhang Ying had heard that a
Daoist nun in Boping County was making rain from her own
pulpit, and shot over there in a puff of smoke. No sooner
had he entered the wall of the county seat than he spotted a
proclamation hanging in the gateway with an old man sitting
silently on a stool beside it. A lot of people were passing
through but not many were going to the trouble to stand on
their toes to read it. Zhang Ying walked right up and read
aloud:
"To whom it may concern:
The Boping County Magistrate Seeks Prayers for Rain
A serious drought has been underway in this county for
some time. Fields are dry and barren, and our prayers and
sacrifices for rain have gone unanswered. Should anyone
of any rank or occupation passing through the county know
a rain charm to relieve our people's misery, please come
forth, for the county awaits your prayers. There is a reward
of a thousand strings of cash awaiting on the day that it
rains. Please give this your most serious consideration.
Posted on the ( ) day, fourth month, third year of the
Tiansheng Reign."
Zhang Ying then politely clasped his hands together and
turned toward the old man. "How long has this fine county of
yours been without rain?
"There hasn't been a drop of rain since the eleventh month
of last year," said the man; "that makes six straight months I
reckon!"
"I've heard there's a Daoist nun out there somewhere who
they say can make rain. Can it be? And where is she?"
The old man stretched out his knuckles, reared his head
and curled out his lips to speak in the local brogue. "Ten
thousand people trekked off to be where she was!" he
answered.
Zhang laughed. "And where exactly was that?"
"The old nun's surname is Xi, meaning 'slave'. She's over
fifty and she calls herself "Fairy Goddess". She had about
ten disciples altogether, men and women. The women were
called "Fairy Nuns" and the men "Fairy Ministers". To hear
her tell it she's from that new Thousand Gorges Regional
Commandery down Guizhou way and she can order down
rain and wind at will." The man paused, for it was to be a
long story.
"When they first posted this notice the magistrate and his
men didn't take her too seriously. She set out about ten li
from the north gate, selected a site on a high bluff and set
up a rainmaking pulpit she called the Wulong Altar. Then
they made five dragons cause that's what Wulong means,
green, yellow, red, white and black and set each facing in
the right direction alongside it. Next she demanded that the
county magistrate bring the safe containing all the reward
money, the thousand strings of cash they'd collected from
everyone and put it on the altar. One after another he went
along with her. She was supposedly practicing some kind
of lunar lodge craft, and she demanded that each locality
report the ages of their pregnant wives. Then she claimed
to reckon their fates and proclaimed one to be 'Mother of
the Demon of Drought', accusing her of carrying this demon
in her belly. Without giving any chance to explain or protest
she ordered the woman to be brought before the altar. She
sat on top of it and directed those followers of hers to blow
horns and beat drums, and then she recited charms while
spewing out water from her mouth and nose. And then while
they had the poor woman all confused they stripped her
bare naked and layed her down on a wooden door,
soaking each of her hands and feet and her hair in five
bowls of water. Next, one of the "Fairy Ministers" with his
hair all wild faced the deadly north and stood and with his
right foot on her big belly while leaning on a sword, and
recited some kind of mumbo-jumbo. Then her other
followers, boys and girls both, and some others carrying
flags and beating tiles, danced and chanted wildly. Looking
up at the savage scene the young woman was nearly
unconscious, scared half to death and exposed to that
scorching sun without a cloud in the sky or a bit of shade. At
day's end they finally left the ritual ground, and she told them
the Dragon King hadn't been home and that she would pray
again for rain the next day. She then ordered the magistrate
to pay out three strings of cash to the pregnant woman's
husband in compensation and ordered her to go back
home. Next morning she determined that yet another
pregnant woman was a 'Mother of Drought' and ordered
her brought to submit before the altar. But by now the
crowds of local farmers were enraged. Three or four
hundred had gathered by then and rose up as one, throwing
bricks and heaving tiles and roaring like thunder in their
righteous anger, killing all of her disciples. That Sorceress
Xi was terrified, and she switched clothes with a dead
follower before running away. The magistrate didn't pursue
her, but ordered this plaque hung up at every gate instead.
I'm the village chief here, and I'm guarding the proclamation
and watching out for troublemakers."
"So," laughed Zhang Ying heartily, "that's what happened!
Well, I've got my own bag of tricks, and it's just child's play
for me to set up an altar and make rain for you!" And so
having spoken he reached up and put his free hand on the
plaque but the old man stood up and pulled it away.
"You're talking awfully big, son. Do you mean to claim this
for real? Just hold it with the big talk and small results, the
unfinished projects...why don't you take a lesson from that
so-called Fairy Goddess climbing up one side of the altar
and running for her life down the other?"
"How much rain do you want? Enough to shock you out of
your wits or just amaze you a bit?"
"We only need thirty inches of rain, why, that'll do!"
Zhang laughed heartily. "If I command the rivers and oceans
to empty it'll happen in a few hours' time. There's nothing at
all to the small amount that you need!"
The old man then offered his stool to someone else and led
Zhang Ying down the road to the county seat. The farmers
noticed their village chief escorting a Daoist into town and
happily concluded that it was certainly in connection with
that call for rainmakers, all of them coming for a look. Now,
Boping County had now been without rain for six months, a
severe drought. Just imagine:
The dried up rivers in their courses yielded dust and sand
While in the fields there were only cracks upon the land.
The trees were scorched and withered to a brownish driedout hue
And what remained in wells was just a muddy residue.
Overhead the flaming sun peered down from in the sky
Like the will of angry Heaven looking through a fiery eye.
The yellow dust just billows up and swirls around and round
While blades of grass just bow their heads and lay upon the
ground.
Some folks tried getting water with their money or their gold
It only led to fighting when no water could be sold.
It's customary when we welcome friends to pour some tea
But nowadays no water flows out from the pot to see.
In olden times did Han Wudi make prayer to the sky
And earlier had Yin Shang sacrificed when it was dry.
With throats as dry as tinder do the people wait their fates
While deep inside a well a fearsome dragon hibernates.
This county naturally had its share of temples staffed with
bonzes and wizards who prayed for rain according to their
faiths and crafts, reading the sutras, sacrificing and offering
charms. County Magistrate Chun Yuhou went early every
morning to the Temple of the City Moat to burn joss and
pray for Heaven's help, all to no avail. And the people had a
little jingle about it:
Morning and night he goes to pray
And yet another flaming day.
Morning and night he goes to plead
And not a drop for those in need.
Our magistrate may have no plan
But we can only trust the man.
On this particular day he had finished his prayers and
morning services were over. On returning to rest in his
quarters he was suddenly aroused by loud shouts and wild
drumming in the County Hall. Forgetting his crown in haste
and clad in his ordinary gown he came running out of the
rear annex. "A Daoist from far away has just arrived with
one of the rainmaking proclamations!" announced a guard.
"The people are massing in the streets behind him."
The magistrate turned to the village chief and ordered him
and all the other people to wait outside. Then he invited the
Daoist alone into his quarters for a meeting. Zhang Ying
went boldly forward holding that basket of thorns in his left
hand and his tortoise shell fan in his right. Formally greeting
the magistrate he set down the basket, bowed and
kowtowed, and the official hastily returned the formalities.
"What's your full name and title and whereabouts are you
from?" asked the magistrate.
"Surname's Zhang, first name's Ying for Oriole. I'm also
called Chongxiao Chushi, the Skysoarer. I'd just arrived
here in Shandong by sea when I came across the call for
rainmakers and came to offer my services."
"You wouldn't by any chance be practicing that 'lunar lodge'
craft, would you?" asked the magistrate.
"Not lunar lodge, but sun dimming craft. How can you make
it rain without first dimming the sun?"
Both men laughed. "There's a rain altar erected outside the
north gate if that'll be all right for you."
"If you've already got an altar I'll be able to get right to
work."
"In roughly how many days will the rain arrive?"
"The sooner I mount the altar the sooner it'll rain!"
The magistrate recalled the ugliness that arose out of that
Daoist Nun's groteque rituals and was skeptical. "You
seem awfully sure of yourself, professor...I still don't quite
understand what craft you're using. I'd like you to explain
and prepare everything carefully in advance."
I really don't need any special preparations or equipment,"
said Zhang. "Just have every Buddhist and Daoist in every
temple of the county come forth and sanctify the altar, and
then just wait."
"So, it's as easy as that!" said the magistrate. "I'll be glad to
order it done right away and arrange for you to spend the
night at the Temple of the City Moat, and first thing
tomorrow morning you'll be able to mount that altar of ours."
"As your excellency orders. There's only one little thing.
Even a simple public inn is all right for me to spend the
night. I'm just afraid my presence in the Temple of the City
Moat might disturb their prayers and get them all upset."
"Of course there are inns." Although the magistrate so
answered, he was reluctant to allow this and Zhang knew it.
"I arrived early this morning on an empty stomach so I'd like
some quick food and wine."
"Of course we can provide wine," answered the magistrate.
"But the food is strictly vegetarian."
"I'm accustomed to having fresh meat with my wine and
monks' food simply doesn't suit me, your excellency."
"To tell the truth," explained the magistrate, meat has been
forbidden for over three months now while we've been
praying for rain. I'm eating only vegetables myself, and I'm
afraid your insistance on having fresh meat is really
unreasonable."
Zhang Ying laughed. "Your ban on slaughtering has been
taken very lightly, excellency. As folks have always said:
'When people don't respect the bans that they are told they
must
The government looks stupid and the people good and
just.'
If your excellency doesn't believe this is the case now, well,
just east of these offices at number thirteen the Lyu family
just this morning slaughtered a seventy pound full grown
hog. And then their neighbor Sun Kongmu bought fifteen
pounds of its pork for his son's first birthday banquet. It's in
the pans being cooked right now. And west of here Gu's
wineshop slaughtered and sold a lamb this morning, and
they've still got a pair of its hooves, cooked up all dressed
in spices and bamboo and on display atop a fine bucket of
rice. If you go there and remind them that they don't have
any special permission from the authorities they'll offer you
a price you won't refuse."
"I can't believe such things are happening!" said the
magistrate. He then instructed the servant in charge of
provisions for that day to go and buy five pounds of pork
and a pair of lamb's feet from the places that Zhang had
mentioned. A short time later he returned with his hands full.
"At first both of them tried denying it but they were were
caught dead to rights and for awhile it looked like I'd
frightened them speechless. Then they nervously went in
back and came out with the goods, handed them over and
didn't dare take any money for them."
The magistrate looked at Zhang in amazement. "What kind
of maths did you use to reckon that, professor?"
"It just came to me, that's all."
The magistrate then realized that this gentleman was no
ordinary soul and he looked on him with real respect. In a
little while the servants had warmed and brought in five five
or six liters of wine, twenty wheat buns, the pork and and
the lamb's hooves and lined them all up on the table.
"I can't thank you enough," said Zhang Ying, hands clasped
together in appreciation. Then by bowlfuls and great hunks
did he make quick work of devouring it all, and in a very
short while three empty plates and a dry winepot were all
that remained of the feast.
"Sorry I was so selfish," he finally said. Then he went on to
the Temple where he had yet another meal, causing those
present to gasp in surprise. "I've never seen anyone eat like
that!" remarked one. "What a bottomless gut he's got!"
Suddenly a clever and cute pagegirl stood up behind the
magistrate. "What else would such a big mouth be attached
to?" she chimed in.
"Your own mouth isn't exactly small either!" answered
Zhang, pointing at her. The girl's little button of a red mouth
then involuntarily spread grotesquely wide from ear to ear,
opening round and wide as a laquered scarlet bowl. Unable
to close it or speak, she burst into tears.
Now, this young women was only fifteen years of age, still
with bangs over her eyebrows, so very pure and bright and
the magistrate's favorite page. Having seen something very
strange happening to her and knowing that her broadside
against Zhang was the cause, he hurriedly bowed and
apologized. "I'm sorry master but the poor child's only
fifteen and doesn't have any sense!"
"It didn't really bother me" answered Zhang.
"This kid's always making weird faces!"
"You mean like she's doing now?" asked Zhang, and when
the magistrate turned to look he saw her smiling as happily
and pleasantly as before.
The a county clerk standing by spoke in a whisper. "Smoke
and mirrors!" he hissed.
Zhang Ying heard it but was unruffled. "What's that clerk's
name?" he asked the magistrate.
"Why, it's Lu, Lu Mao in fact."
"Good for you, County Clerk Lu!" Zhang replied as Lu
nervously slipped away.
The magistrate then had Zhang Ying escorted to a public
inn, with instructions that food and drink be provided
morning and night. And as they parted for the night he also
arranged with Zhang for the two to rise early the next
morning and go together to worship at the rain altar. "My
staff had better accompany you in person," he added.
Now, earlier that day he had ordered the bonzes and
wizards in every temple to prepare to go forth and sanctify
the wulong rain altar, By the drumming of the fifth watch at
three o'clock the next morning they all began arriving at the
altar to await the arrival of Wizard Zhang and welcome him
as ordered. He also instructed his staff to be at their posts
before dawn, and sent an officially designated horse to the
inn for Zhang's use in the morning. That night found Boping
County really bustling with activity.
Next morning at daybreak the magistrate left the county hall
and was just mounting his palanquin when he spotted
Zhang Ying, tortoise shell fan in his right hand and thorn
basket in his left swaggering toward him most officiously.
His eye's met Zhang's. "It's an honor sir, as usual" he the
magistrate.
"I'm here as promised for the walk to the altar."
"But it's a journey of ten li so I sent a horse to the inn for you.
Didn't it arrive?"
"Oh, the horse got there all right but I can walk the way."
"Have you had breakfast yet?" enquired the magistrate.
"Yes, I have."
"Well then, why don't you set out first and I'll follow on."
"I don't know where the rain altar is so I'd like to trouble that
clerk Lu of yours to show me the way.
The magistrate then ordered Lu Mao to do a good job
guiding Zhang Ying.
Now, County Clerk Lu followed the magistrate's orders and
went with Zhang, giving constant assistance. But suddenly
Zhang Ying disappeared, and he stopped momentarily in
fright. Reckoning that Zhang couldn't have fallen behind he
then ran ahead and found the gentleman twenty or thirty
paces in front.
"It's still OK," thought the guide. "But what if he's only a
wandering monk who talked big and is now cutting out
when the time comes to deliver, no doubt with some excuse
or other for me. Or what if he really doesn't know the way
and gets himself lost and the magistrate arrives first,
making me look incompetent?"
And so forward he lunged, trying to overtake the fellow. He
saw the professor only walking on slowly in the lead while
he, strangely, was found that all his strength was insufficient
for him to catch up. Stranger yet, whether he ran faster or
only walked the gap remained the same twenty or thirty
paces. Eventually he ran himself out of breath and started
panting.
"Slow down a bit, professor!" shouted the clerk, "I can't
catch up to you!"
"Hah hah," laughed Zhang, "a poor wizard walks a bit too
fast and you can't stay in front to guide the way...it looks as
though I'll have to go up to Heaven and make rain without
you!" Now that clerk ran as if for his life but still saw that he
was not closing the gap. And here's a poem:
Far in front and out of sight he shrinks both time and space
And even slowing down he still can keep the lead apace.
With tongue all parched the clerk now only labors on in vain
Teased along till sweat pours from his body like the rain.
The clerk was now truly sweating up a storm and trying to
catch his breath. "Look, I can see that you've got
miraculous powers," he managed to shout; "you've already
worn me out!"
"What's so miraculous about 'smoke and mirrors'?"
answered Zhang Ying.
Only then did the clerk realize that this had all been the
result of his gaff the previous night. He fell at once to his
knees and kowtowed in apology. Zhang Ying stopped,
turned and clasped his hands in forgiveness, and just as
quickly as twin magnets on a plate reversed places with
him, once again following the clerk's lead.
The clerk now held on to the great teacher with his free
hand as if never to let go, and before long they came to the
wulong altar. Groups of monks and wizards had already
been waiting there for some time; on hearing that the new
wizard had arrived they formed two groups in front of the
altar to welcome him.
Zhang Ying noted that the altar was situated on high
ground, surrounded on all sides by forest. The remaining
five dragons left behind by the nun Xi had been constructed
with bones of bamboo and paper skin pasted on, with
scales of the appropriate color painted on each. At the
center of the ritual ground stood a large oilcloth tent
supported on a frame, with tables and chairs set up inside.
Before long the common folk began arriving in throngs,
thousands of them from both sides of the wall, but the
magistrate was nowhere to be seen.
"He wasn't willing to follow me here," thought Zhang, "and
for whatever convenient reason of his made me walk on
while he rode in the carriage alone. Well, I'm here to make
rain for these good people so I'll just pretend that walking
the distance wasn't really an indignity, but why don't I have a
little fun with him while I'm at it?" He then called over a
young Daoist.
"The county chief hasn't arrived yet, so why don't we start
warming things up in advance?" he instructed. He then took
hold of the young man's arm and drew it forward, drawing
an invisible amulet with his finger on the boy's open palm
and folding his own paper sword charm.
"When you meet the county chief, tell him get over here in
person and receive his rain. If he can't decide just open this
fist and he'll become a believer fast! He can't just wait it out
on the road somewhere."
Then he told the youth to remove his shoes and drew
charms on the soles, telling him that he'd walk really fast
upon putting them back on, and that he could stop by
shouting the words "Whoa! Stop!" in a loud voice. Now,
when that young man put on those shoes he was moved
away at once, swept off as if by the wind. He fairly flew
along that road to town for four or five li when he met with
the county magistrate and shouted ""Whoa! Stop!" as
directed. As a result he came to a gentle stop right in front
of the chief's retinue. There was his excellency the
magistrate sitting in a veiled bluish green and red summer
palanquin, his four bearers and four assistants holding up a
large blue tassled parasol for shade. The young Daoist
walked up to him and relayed the message as he'd been
told to.
"The Wizard requests that you come immediately to
receive the rain!"
"And just where is there any rain to be found on a hot day
like this?"
"He was afraid you would hesitate so he ordered me to
show my palm as a message!" the youth replied, flinging
open his fist.
Suddenly a crash of thunder and lightning seemed to come
from his open palm, flattening that palanquin down to its
carrying poles! The magistrate leapt out of the collapsing
sedan chair in horror, hands tightly covering his ears and
face like ash. The others lay all over where they had fallen
and even the young Daoist cringed dumbly in fear. After a
moment of calm the chief sent a man to crawl forth and
assist the others nearby, and to go try to borrow a mule or
horse to continue the journey. But there were only a few
monks to be seen leading a fair number of ordinary folk, all
worked up and eager to escort the county chief to worship
at the altar.
Now, that magistrate had received a terrible shock and now
didn't dare dally around. He could only give the order and
off he went, pressed and jostled by the surging crowd as
they made their way to the rain altar, having first sent a man
back to the county office to bring both horses and palanquin
for his return.
Zhang Ying spotted the magistrate approaching and went
forth to welcome him to the site. "Why hasn't your
excellency come by sedan chair?" he asked.
The county chief then told him how the palanquin had been
flattened by that thunderbolt. "Master," he continued, "with
powers like yours it won't be difficult at all to bring rain and
make all of our people so happy!"
"It's no idle boast of mine, either," said Zhang; "that wind,
thunder, cloud and rain are all things I carry around in the
little bag on my belt. A little theatrics and you'll see for
yourself. Now if I may trouble you for a big umbrella..."
The magistrate called out, came up with three blue silk
umbrellas and passed them to Zhang Ying, who took one in
hand, whirled around twice and leapt up with his arms
raised. "Rise!" he shouted, and upon his breath that
umbrella ascended ever so gradually into the sky. At its
maximum height it changed into a dark cloud, covering the
sun and holding back its red rays. The assembled folk all
raised their faces to behold the sight, and Zhang then
beckoned with his hand for the cloud to obligingly descend
and change back into that umbrella, and once again the
fiery round sun came out.
The magistrate was at once delighted and afraid and
asked Master Zhang to take to the altar and quickly pray for
rain to relieve the entire region's drought.
"We mustn't overdo the formalities," announced Zhang.
"Ten days ago I encountered a heavy rainstorm while
passing Mt Nanminshan, and I'm going to bring those
clouds here now to fulfill their destiny right over your fine
county!"
He then reached into his thorn basket, took out a tiny gourd
medicine vial and held it before the altar, instructing the
magistrate to burn incense and pray. Zhang then folded
slips and recited charms, and when they had taken effect
he collected the resulting potion on his tortoise shell fan and
poured it into the vial. Suddenly a blast of strong wind arose
before the altar while a black ether rose into the sky from
out of that gourd vial, and the two combined into a heavy
overcast. He then put away the vial, walked over beside
those bamboo and paper dragons and chanted:
"Black dragon, black dragon, help me find the power
Ride the clouds with all due speed and send us down a
shower!
Make three feet of heavy rain to water all the land
Toward good luck and far from evil guide us with your
hand!"
Then what did they see but the dragon's scales and fins all
beginning to move, and then suddenly it soared up into the
sky and disappeared. A few moments later lightning
flashed wildly and thunder cracked and rumbled, and
raindrops as big as fists began falling. The people roared
in amazed delight and ran for cover every which way.
The county magistrate also wanted to leave but his
palanquin hadn't yet arrived from the county hall, so he was
forced to take shelter under the big canopy together with
his men and all of the monks and wizards. In an instant it
was coming down in torrents, but the cloth of the tent had
been treated with hot oil and placed carefully high up on the
frame above them so that very little water dripped inside.
They had to use tables and chairs, however, to block the
unprotected sides from the rain and gale. Some of the
people had brought parasols, but the wind caught them and
turned them inside out. Then all of a sudden just as the
storm was at the peak of its fury what should appear but a
golden snake, attacking wildly to the accompanyment of
crashing and rolling thunder and just swirling left and right
without leaving the altar! "Dare I ask, Master," enquired the
Magistrate, "why the Thunder God is so angry?"
"I suppose he's seen inside our hearts and knows there are
some wicked people here, eh?" answered Zhang, who then
addressed the serpent in a loud voice:
"Lord of Thunder, hear my pronouncement of Heaven's law!
If there really is a corrupt clerk or official, fallen monk or
rogue wizard among us then you must punish him at
immediately! If not, go away at once!"
At that moment the the thunder roared and crashed without
cease while the magistrate fell down in prayer, crying out
regrets for his past failings. The clerks and officials present
were likewise saying what they no doubt thought to be their
last prayers as were the Buddists and Daoists, all falling
over each other in heaps as they chanted frantically for
forgiveness. Zhang Ying saw everything with that flawless
eyesight of his and laughed.
After about an hour the sound of rain stopped and the
lightning and thunder ceased as well. The people felt
relieved, and clambered forth from the ritual ground to take
in the sights and sounds of the mist-veiled mountains so full
of fowl, the gushing streams and overflowing ponds, clear
evidence that three feet of rain had indeed fallen.
Zhang Ying looked down and saw a Daoist with a crippled
leg doing the talking. Slight of build and in filthy clothing, he
was carrying a green wooden staff. During the heavy rain
he had hobbled up to the altar yet he didn't have a drop of
water on his entire body. Mounting the altar he cast down
his stick, clasped his hands and kowtowed to the
magistrate, much to the shock of all present.
"You begging priest!" exclaimed Zhang. "I succeed in
making rain from this very altar, saving all the living souls
here, and you stand here besmirching my good name and
deeds! Would you dare to enter a little duel of sorcery
against me?"
"Whatever magic you think you know, I'll see you and do
you one better!" said the cripple, who was of course our
very own Quezi.
Enraged, Zhang Ying dropped his tortoise shell fan. "Go hit
that beggar priest!" he shouted, and the fan sailed forth
gradually bound for Quezi's scalp, causing him to laugh
loudly and raise his head, making up his turban rise up as if
on a pair of stilts to catch the that fan in mid air! They
looked just like two fighting eagles, one on top of the other!
"Where are you, my stick?" shouted Quezi. Suddenly that
green wooden staff was seen jumping right up, bounding
over and striking Zhang Ying, who brushed off his sleeve
and made that thorn basket of his rise up in front of him as
if at the end of a carrying pole. The onlookers could only
gasp in amazement and step aside, and even the
magistrate didn't dare get too close. Each of the
combatants stood his ground but neither could gain the
advantage and both received a harsh dose of Heaven's
law.
In great anger did Zhang Ying then pull himself together for
another effort. "Black dragon, come at once!" he shouted,
raising his arms toward the north. Quezi heard this and
enlisted the help of that yellow dragon by the altar. That
same black dragon that had previously soared on high to
make rain could now be seen flying back through the clouds
and fog toward the altar, while the yellow dragon, its scaley
wings and fins drumming to life, leapt off the ground and
soared up to meet it in aerial combat! Now, since olden
times it has been said that "earth blocks water", and
accordingly the black dragon could not best his yellow
adversary. "Green dragon, go up to assist!" ordered Zhang
Ying. Then Quezi ordered the white dragon off to intercept
them. Gnashing his teeth Zhang Ying quickly ordered the
red dragon up to help out. The five dragons then danced
and swirled wildly as they grappled in the sky, the five
elements gold, wood, water, fire and earth mutually joining
and blocking each other and making a great commotion. A
wild wind then arose and blew down the tent and bamboo
scaffold.
Now, just as the people were struggling back to their feet
yet another monk walked onto the scene. With gold rings
hanging from his ears and wearing a cassock with a flame
design, he was holding a small crystal monk's bowl in his
palm. Nobody had even seen which way he'd just come
from!
"All right, I'm here to break it up!" he shouted. "You're both
about the same in skill and you're just harming yourselves
with your combined powers!" He then cocked his arm and
threw that crystal monk's bowl with all his might up into the
sky, where it changed into a bright, five-colored pearl. The
five dragons were then attracted to this treasure and
deployed themselves in a circle around it. Quezi
recognized the interloper at once as Bonze Dan, and
although secretly pleased he went along with it without
giving them both away. All eyes were on the monk as he
spoke.
"You two have battled to a draw with Heaven's charms as
weapons. Well, whichever of you can snatch up that cystal
bowl of mine and give it back to me I'll proclaim the
master!"
"No problem at all!" said Zhang Ying and Quezi in harmony,
accepting the challenge. They then chanted to themselves
and received powers, and suddenly those dragons were
once again just bamboo with paper pasted on, sitting
inanimately in their old places without having left a trace of
their return flight for anyone to see. And there in front of
everybody Zhang Ying caught the crystal bowl in his sleeve
and returned it to the monk.
"It's a fraud!" shouted Quezi. It's really right here on me!"
And sure enough he removed the very same crystal bowl,
same size and all, from inside the seat of his pants! The
monk would take neither as his original, but instead stroked
his own sleeve and produced that same bowl. "Mine is
here," he laughed. "Now quit fooling around, you two!"
Actually, Zhang Ying's "crystal bowl" was only a
transformation of his little gourd medicine vial, while Quezi's
was merely transformed out of his own gourd flask. As soon
as the real crystal bowl appeared these two fakes returned
to their original forms, and everybody had a good laugh
while putting them away.
Secretly, Zhang Ying was shocked. "That begging monk's
powers really are a match for mine," he fumed, "and the
wild bonze is just too much!" And here's a poem:
Sun and Pang matched wits without becoming enemies
When Chu and Han crossed swords they didn't boast of
victories.
Alas the duel of magic on the altar for the rain
Was seen by many watching eyes so very clear and plain.
There was only noise and commotion to be heard and seen
among those gathered before the altar, with everyone
streaming forth endlessly to welcome the three new
masters to the county. The magistrate's fresh horses and
palanquin had by this time arrived from the county hall, and
he finally dared address the three.
"I've just had the priveledge of meeting three men of
awesome skill and power, each equal to the others. In my
humble opinion your different religions flow from the same
source, and if you'll just put aside your rivalries I think I'm
speaking for all in reverently inviting you to our little county
town. I've got horses ready for the journey and we'd be
delighted if you would ride.
Quezi was thrilled to see horses at the altar and wanted to
mount right up, but Zhang Ying still harbored some
unsettled suspicions, chief among these a doubt that Quezi
was really lame.
"We're not permitted to ride on animals," he said, trying his
best to irritate, "so let's just plan on arriving late, eh?"
"Now I know you must be a dimwit!" said Quezi.
"A dimwit? Why?"
"Why then would walk when you can ride?"
The onlookers all laughed heartily. "Well," said the
magistrate, If you won't ride I'll be obliged to walk along with
you.
"It's too muddy for that," said Quezi. "No need for county
officials to stand on ceremony like that. I'll just walk on
ahead with my colleagues here and whoever arrives in town
first will just wait for the others."
And so the two Daoists stepped down from the altar
leading each other by the hand, and joined Bonze Dan. The
people, who had first come to recognize only the
rainmaking master were now suddenly faced with two
additional personalities, a lame wizard and a bonze, with
no idea of where they might even have come from! Truly
awed, they stepped back in rows on either side, clearing a
way for them to depart first. Bonze Dan led the way with
Zhang Ying next and Quezi bringing up the rear. Not so
many paces into the journey Quezi, laboriously hobbling
along, spoke up.
"This rough trail isn't so bad at this slow pace of yours!" he
called out.
Now, Zhang Ying knew at once that he had Quezi just where
he wanted him. Running ahead he tugged at Bonze Dan's
gown, quietly exhorting him to walk faster.
"Argh!" they suddenly heard heard from behind. Looking
back they saw that Quezi's good foot had sunk into one of
the puddles by the trail's edge. He tried to pull it out as they
watched, but his lame left leg slipped and he fell down
down into the water with a "kerplunk".
"Disgraceful!" pronounced Zhang Ying.
"Never mind!" said Bonze Dan. "Let's just go on and wait
for him at the county hall!"
By the time they entered the gates and caught their first
glimpse of the county hall, however, they saw none other
than a man with a green wooden staff hobbling out to greet
them. "What made you both so late?" he shouted.
Zhang Ying was mortified, for that man was unmistakably
Quezi himself and nobody else! He then realized that the
fall into the mud had been a trick involving blockage of the
water phase and that put him at ease. Walking on into the
compound he properly greeted the waiting fellow and after
all this time finally asked his name and title.
"My real name is Zuo Chu, the 'Zuo' for 'left', but I changed it
to Zuo Que when by left leg went lame from an injury.
Among my fellow Daoists I'm called Teacher Que. This
gentleman here is called Bonze Dan, my senior, and he's
also known as Master Dan."
"Ah," said Zhang Ying, "so you're the two that practiced
under Holy Auntie, over at Deputy Magistrate Yang's place
in Huayin County!"
"How did you know that?" asked Quezi.
"While I was over in the Yongxing area I heard a lot of
people praising her but I wasn't fated to meet her then. I
sure am happy to have bumped into you fellows now!"
He then got down on his knees in respect, with Quezi and
Bonze Dan hurriedly returning the ceremonies. "And you,
Master?" they then asked. "Who are you?"
Zhang Ying gave his name and title, and the two were
astounded. "Why, Chongxiao Chushi is just who Holy
Auntie wants to meet do badly!" said Bonze Dan in
disbelief.
Zhang Ying was just about to follow up on this when the
magistrate suddenly arrived. He already knew that the three
masters had arrived first, so he dismounted from the
palanquin outside the hall and walked in through the gate
followed by those same monks and wizards and a host of
ordinary folk. He ordered a red carpet rolled out and invited
Zhang Ying to step forth first and receive his share of
adulation and thanks, but he hesitated.
"I myself kneel often before the people," said the
magistrate; "it's expected of us now!" And so they
exchanged a couple of bows and a few humble gestures
with each other and then Zhang received two worshipful
bows from the people. Next he called the two others to
come forth and be seen. They asked for the red carpet to
be removed out of modesty and the host bowed to their
request. Now seeing the trio together all of the monks and
priests and multitudes of people present fell to the ground
as one and roared like thunder in appreciation. Zhang Ying
said a few reassuring words, turned to the magistrate and
excused himself. Bonze Dan next led a moral revival
service and the Daoist Quezi then conducted the sacrifice
of a rooster in thankfulness to Heaven, and by the time he
was finished the remaining people had all returned home.
The magistrate then informed them that a banquet had
been prepared in the rear hall where the three were now
awaited. He didn't even know the names or titles yet of
Bonze Dan and Quezi and finally asked them as they
entered the feast. Zhang Ying introduced them both.
"How do you know them?" asked the county chief.
"We had a lot in common back in happier times," said
Zhang; "we found that out once we started talking."
"You see?" said the magistrate; "My encouraging you to
stop fighting and get along with each other was to thank for
all that! Well, as you three are immortals I don't dare
interfere in your affairs. Why don't you decide the seating
order among yourselves?"
"Zhang Ying is the man of the hour!" said Bonze Dan; "He
should be in the leading place." The magistrate agreed.
Zhang Ying was hesitant but could only accept, while Quezi
nominated Bonze Dan for the second seat and he himself
took the third, with the magistrate accompanying them just
below.
"A vegetarian meal for you, Master?" the magistrate asked
Bonze Dan.
"I eat everthing, meat included!" he answered.
"I've never in all my years seen holy men like these!"
thought the magistrate, darkly.
In a while they'd been through three rounds of wine and two
dishes when the magistrate suddenly stood to address the
banquet. He first called out for a payment voucher, which he
received and presented to Zhang Ying.
"This is a very meager reward from our district. Please do
not quarrel and bicker over it. When you continue on your
way just redeem this for your gift at the county treasury."
Now, at that time during the Song Dynasty a thousand
strings of cash was worth a thousand ounces of silver, too
much for a man to carry. The thousand strings of cash was
impossible to hand over and transport as well.
"That money will really come in handy someday, you'd
better take it!" he advised.
Zhang Ying nodded and asked for a brush and paper, and
wrote for the entire sum to be delivered to the Temple of the
City Moat where he was temporarily lodging. He then
requested that the county treasurer burn that piece of paper
in the temple's offering furnace, and the magistrate silently
beckoned the man and instructed him to do so, and to
deliver the thousand strings of coin right before the altar.
The treasurer agreed publicly but had other thoughts. "The
money will be delivered to the fellow in the Temple, all right,
but some has already been spent. Maybe tonight under
cover of darkness I'll take it home and count it. If it comes
up a bit short as it's bound to I'd better keep it from
everybody's eyes and ears! It's already an official matter
and if it's exposed in the temple it'll be hard to hide. Why, I
know...I'll just bring the boodle over there and plan it with the
chief Daoist for us each to get a cut. If the county asks
about the shortfall we'll just say that the God of the City
Moat took it, and where's the receipt to inspect? Good
plan, good plan!"
Later that night after bidding farewell to those at the feast
he managed, one way or the other, to muster and transport
a thousand strings of cash to the Temple. After first
informing the chief Daoist of the plan, he burnt Zhangs
Ying's written paper charm and then took the cash and
dumped it on either side of the altar, just like two earthen
mounds. Then he agreed with the priest to divide the loot
the next evening after sunset and went home. Now, this
priest had a larcenous heart of his own. "Folks say 'Not
taking what is on display is giving it away!'" he thought.
"Why should I share this here money with anybody else? I'll
just get my disciples to help me carry it out to that big
fishpond behind the temple and heave it in. We'll write it off
to the God of the Moat, who we'll say took it invisibly and left
no tracks. Won't I look clean? Then I'll wait till it's all over to
collect the money and spend it."
He then hurriedly opened the temple gate and roused his
monks, rearranged the furniture and prepared to transport
the load.
Now, as soon as the chief priest picked up a string of that
cash he felt it wriggling and moving in his hand. When he
picked it up for a close look he saw that it was a silky red
snake and let it go in fright. His disciples then cried out in
horror, seeing the twin mounds of money moving wildly,
both having become piles of snakes, entwined together
and slinking along toward the shrine. It was the fifteenth day
of the fifth lunar month and the rain had past, leaving a clear
sky and bright moonlight. Suddenly they heard a knock on
the door; why, it was the county treasurer! The priest
immediately told him of the money having changed into
snakes. Now, how could he believe that? Taking a torch he
went forth into the shrine and didn't see a single snake. He
then reckoned that the priest had hidden away all strings of
money, for there was none to found anywhere, and he was
really agitated. He then brought the matter to the attention
of the county magistrate who became furious and gave the
treasurer twenty whacks of the paddle and expelled him in
disgrace. The chief priest was ordered out of the temple
never to return. But that all came later, and here's a poem
about it:
The treasurer was greedy and the priest so very sly
To make the thousand strings their own they gave a failed
try.
Dividing up the boodle like your ordinary thief
Not Heaven but their very greed brought punishment and
grief.
As the tale goes Zhang Ying and the others ate their full until
the moon was high and bright in the evening sky. They rose
and said goodnight to the magistrate and seemed ready to
be off on their seperate ways when the magistrate spoke.
"You three have favored me with this visit so why not spend
the night as my guest in a public inn, and tomorrow you'll be
asked to teach again!"
"I've got my own grass hut," said Bonze Dan; "I guess I dare
spend some time here with your excellency and join a round
of the festivities."
And where might that palace of yours be?" asked the
magistrate?
"Not far from here."
As the magistrate escorted them to the front hall Bonze
Dan called out for a bowl of water, which was immediately
brought by a page. Bonze Dan picked it up and began
chanting, then filled his mouth with water and spit it out with
a splash before them; it changed into a broad river with
heaving, rolling waves and swells, reflecting the silvery
moon. Zuo Chu then picked the dried willow gourd out of
his belt and cast it down onto the water where it became a
small boat. This just about sums it up:
The sorcerers assemble to set out upon their fate
While to change a family's fortunes does a nemesis await.
For where the three will ride the boat and what the future
holds
Read the coming chapter and find out just what unfolds!
Chapter 18
MASTER ZHANG RIDES THE BOAT AND
MEETS HOLY AUNTIE
AND SQUIRE HU BRAVES THE SNOW TO
SEEK AN ACQUAINTANCE
Interactions of five phases never have led anywhere
A bit of spirit lays ten thousand secret laws all bare!
They conjured up a river and a little boat to ride
Where else may such fairy spirits possibly reside?
As the story goes, Bonze Dan spit out water that changed
into a river and Teacher Que cast down a gourd that
became a skiff, and then they sought to persuade the
county magistrate to join them. When he looked at the boat
he saw that it was no longer than eight or nine feet and
wondered how it could accomodate so many people, so he
repeatedly declined. Bonze Dan let Zhang Ying get in first
to sit in the middle, while he rode at the bow and Quezi at
the stern. The three then waved goodbye to the magistrate.
Zhang Ying held up that tortoise shell fan of his and with
sails set to the wind a loud whistling sound arose and they
appeared to fly off! And in the wink of an eye the boat and
its water had both disappeared, leaving only the same
scene of the path they had walked down, wall and gateway
as before.
The magistrate just stood there in shock, eyes wide open
and mouth speechless, as if he had been having a ghastly
dream. Although Zhang had successfully taken the altar and
made rain to relieve the suffering masses of people, he and
the other two had also left the utmost reason to take care
against future horrors! It was indeed hard to determine
whether they were fairy immortals or heterodox, evil
sorcerers. Fearing that they would be back to cause trouble
he ordered the wulong altar be done away with.
Three days later the news had spread to all the counties in
the district that a wandering Daoist had brought rain to
Boping County. Now these other counties had also been in
drought and one by one began preparing their own
ceremonies and enquiring about him. The district governor
himself sent a letter down to the county, where the
magistrate was in no mood to deceive him and told
everything. These shady fellows, he wrote, two wizards and
a monk, had engaged in a sorcerers' duel at the rain altar,
conjured up a river and a boat in which they embarked, and
left behind a host of other weird occurances. The district
governor was very unhappy with this news. Furthermore,
Boping County alone had received enough rain and the
others were all now extremely jealous, their magistrates
appearing together before the governor.
"It's obvious that the place is a den of sorcerers!" accused
one. "We don't want any dealings with them," shouted
another, "because the evil set in motion there may infect
our county!" shouted another. The governor listened and
then issued strict orders for Boping County to report the
names and whereabouts of any other visiting sorcerers. He
also reported those strange events to the State Council,
which in turn memorialized the Emperor. The entire greater
capital area was then fearful of calamities to be caused by
the sorcerers' party and notices went up ordering people
encountering any traces of strange occurances to report
them to the officials, stating that concealment of such things
was not permitted. And so the capital had been alerted,
and no wandering monks or wizards dared enter its gates.
And here is a poem:
Conspiracy goes forward hand in hand with jealousy
The rainmakers stand helplessly accused of sorcery.
Prejudice and fear are so unrighteous and unfair
The lofty soul's a fisherman or woodcutter somewhere!
Now, let's continue with another thread of the story. Zhang
Ying and the two others sailed before the wind in that small
boat of theirs and in a wink landed on the riverbank. Bonze
Dan led him and Quezi ashore and in a little while they
arrived in a lush grove of cultivated bamboo where cranes
and deer abounded, and within which they came upon a
finely thatched grass hut.
"Is this where Teacher Dan practices Zen meditation?"
asked Zhang.
"A mere lifetime is too impermanent for Zen!" answered
Bonze Dan; "When I go to live among the clouds it all
comes so naturally."
Zhang Ying sighed in admiration. Bonze Dan then had a
word with Quezi.
"Now that Master Zhang is here, why don't we ask Holy
Auntie to come and meet him?"
Quezi then turned his face towards the moon and shouted
"H-o-l-y A-u-n-t-i-e!" three times without stopping, and as
they watched a brilliant golden ray shot forth from the moon
and changed into an old woman!
She appeared old and grey with snowy white hair and long
eyebrows, wearing a Daoist star-crown and an overcoat
trimmed with crane's down, a fast runner for her age who
left no tracks, riding down as if on a gale! Zhang Ying had
known at once that it was Holy Auntie and immediately fell
to kowtow, giving his name and title. The old woman quickly
addressed him as "master" and returned the greeting, and
after a few moments they were expressing their mutual
admiration. Holy Auntie saw that tremendous eight-foot
height of Zhang's, his high stylish hairdo and face all red as
if bursting with blood, his bright starry eyes and handsome
body like no mortal man's, and she quietly pronounced him
strange indeed.
That night beneath an idyllic moon the four of them went into
the hut and sat together in council, Holy Auntie at the head
followed by Zhang Ying, with Quezi by their side and Bonze
Dan last in order, accompanying them. Holy Auntie first
addressed a question to Zhang Ying.
"Have you ever met a young woman by the name of Mei'r?"
she wanted to know.
Zhang Ying then began to tell how, thirteen years earlier,
Mei'r had descended on the wind into that quiet garden,
continuing to her being reincarnated and raised in the
home of Squire Hu. He related all the details of everything
that had happened and Holy Auntie expressed her deep
gratitude.
"I'm sure it's because of your feeling for her that she's been
constantly reborn as a human!" she said.
She then turned to Quezi.
"Remember what Yan Sandian told me? What a godly
physician he is!"
"Do you by any chance mean Yan Banxian of Yizhou
District?" asked Zhang Ying.
"Have you also happened to meet him?"
"Back in the capital I once stole a life-booster pill from an
official's home and gave it to Squire Hu's wife Mama at
childbirth, to get her past danger. At the time I learnt that it
had come from the great physician Yan of the Banxiantang,
but I've never met him. I know only the name."
Quezi interrupted them. "Why don't you cut the serious
discussion and talk about some light stuff?"
Zhang Ying then brought up the matter of Beizhou, and Holy
Auntie told him all about the dream in which she'd met
Granny Wu Zetian. "This is already set in motion by Heaven
and cannot be stopped!" she finally said.
Zhang Ying then mentioned the lines about a daughter of
the Hu family becoming queen in an imperial house of
Wang.
"The first part of the prophecy has come true with her
rebirth in Squire Hu's family," he said, "but what about
about her becoming queen of some Wang family's
dynasty?"
"You'll find out in the days after we arrive in Beizhou!" said
Holy Auntie.
"And just when do we start this undertaking?" asked Zhang.
"Fifteen years from now, and you, a Daoist master, will be
the first. You'll get things started and then the others should
arrive to assist you. We'll see what's fated to happen, and
then we'll use all our strength to help things along in their
course and ensure success!"
They talked for a long time and Bonze Dan told a novice to
take care of tea. The graceful acolyte came forth bearing a
red dish loaded with apricots bigger than pears and
brighter than oranges.
"The golden apricots this youngster is serving are the same
sort that Han Wudi loved best, and warriors today still call
them Han Imperials. Now, enough talk; how about a spot of
tea?"
There were eight slices on the plate, just enough for them to
have two each. The young acolyte could only stand aside
and watch them eat the delicious fruit. His mouth naturally
began to water and the plate slipped from his hands, fell to
the earthen floor and shattered. Bonze Dan was furious and
picked up the novice with one hand, running him out of the
hut and throwing him for a somersault in the night sky. Just
as Zhang Ying was thinking of flying up to catch the boy he
could already be seen and heard falling to earth with a
sharp noise, and he just lay stretched out in silence. But
when Zhang Ying looked closely he saw only a short
carrying staff lying there, and what was more that broken
red plate had changed into a bouquet of pomegranate
flowers.
"Who dares wield an axe in front of the greatest carpenter
of them all!" exclaimed Holy Auntie. This was clearly meant
to imply that though Zhang Ying was likewise a wizard, he
was still no match for the likes of one such as Bonze Dan.
"Master Dan's powers are truly miraculous, far beyond my
own!" said Zhang Ying.
By this time the moon was waning in the western sky and
the east was beginning to brighten with dawn's light. Holy
Auntie rose up slowly from her place.
"I guess I'll be off to the capital now to check up on my
daughter. In a little while I'll call you and we'll all get together
again."
Having spoken she then soared up into the sky and was
gone. Zhang Ying and the others each went on their own
ways as well; nobody knows where. And here is a poem:
The moonlight on the hut of grass was pure as you could
please
The so-called hermits all night long made council on their
knees.
Then wandering at will within a perfect state of Dao
So many people long to learn such holy secrets now!
As has been written, Squire Hu invited a scholar into his
home to teach Yong'r to read. The girl was intelligent and
clever, superior to many boys, able to read after one look
and to remember after being told only once. Suddenly we
see her grown to thirteen years of age, with the beauty and
bearing of a flower as well as mastery of writing and sums,
incomparably perceptive and quick-witted.
Many of the other leading families of commerce so
admired and loved her talent and beauty that they sought
matchmakers to try and arrange her betrothal as their
daughter-in-law. Squire Hu was too protective in his love,
however, and was far too fussy in choosing among the
candidates, and as a result no match could be made.
That's just the way it is with your pre-destined marriages;
sooner or later there will be somebody!
As things would have it Holy Auntie arrived in Dongjing, as
the capital was known in those days, and gave Squire Hu's
house a good looking over, inside and out. And as she left
no traces coming or going his family would never know,
either. Having seen with her own eyes how mature and
intelligent Yong'r had grown she she got the idea of
teaching and inducing her into the craft of secret law. She
then pondered the wealthy home in which Mei'r was living,
with the women's quarters deep inside its labyrinthine halls.
How hard it would be to meet her, and even if they were
able to talk she wondered if her daughter could take such
teachings of the heart very seriously. Better that she make
a little misfortune happen and snatch up the family's entire
wealth and affairs in her hands, placing everything in peril
and causing her daughter a bit of hardship and privation as
a result, so that the girl would be sure to fall under the spell
of the craft.
Now let's take our leave of Holy Auntie for now and get
back to Squire Hu. It was now the eighth lunar month and as
usual at this time his family was preparing a drinking party
for the mid-autumn festival. It would be a private gathering
for the three, as Professor Chen had left the household with
Yong's reaching womanhood and no others were invited.
Squire Hu instructed for the wine to be served at the
octagonal pavillion in the rear garden, and father, mother
and daughter enjoyed the scene together. The night sky
was clear and bright and in the east the moon was just
rising like a large jade dish. But beware:
Laurel from a mountain on an island in the sea
From Heaven's boulevards the flaming euptelia tree
Rosey clouds are mirrored brightly for ten thousand li
A silver moon illuminates the mountains like the sea.
That big white disc can separate and purify the sky
Dividing light from darkness in the cosmos up on high.
At mid autumn does a broken family reunite
Some secrets of the universe to be explained that night.
Silver shadows influence the open plains below
Awakening in fright a single lonely resting crow.
Its beams of light pass through a hidden window set so fine
On figure of a lonely sleeping spinstress do they shine.
That disc of ice has ground three thousand worlds into the
sand
Its cold bright spirit dooming autumns all across the land!
Squire Hu finished work early that day, sent his managers
away and went home to conduct the mid autumn festivities.
He ordered the buildings and stables brightly decorated
with strings of candles. He then sat drinking wine with
Mama and Yong'r on that octagonal pavillion in back, with
the old wetnurse looking on and a slavegirl serving; there
were no pageboys to be seen. Suddenly at the stroke of the
first watch a slight wind blew and what did they hear but the
guard running over and shoutling wildly.
"Disaster, my lord!" he gasped upon reaching the pavillion.
"What disaster?" asked the surprised Squire Hu. "Where?"
"A fire's started in the middle warehouse!" answered the
guard. Now Squire Hu, Mama and Yong'r were terrified,
and on clamboring down from the pavillion they saw that it
surely was a huge conflagration. How can it best be
described?
First like fireflies in the night
Next came a glow like lanternlight.
Then flaming like the signal fires on Queen Bao's hills of old
Or Cao Cao's ship ablaze because of Zhou Yu's plan so
bold.
Cloudy mist and blackish smoke soar up into the skies
From clouds of red down to the earth the flashing lightning
flies.
Buildings all collapsing just like broken lantern frames
While earthen godowns fall like rocket racks amidst the
flames.
After having broken out in the warehouse the fire spread to
the rooms of the main hall. Now for a fire to spread so
quickly takes some preparation, and as this particular blaze
was created out of Holy Auntie's magic lightning from
Heaven it could spread through windows and walls with
ease, toppling the strongest uprights and beams. Even the
powder on your average professional fireworks display
doesn't go off and spread this fast! And she had combined
it with a fierce wind: the gale behind the hungry flames
drove them forward to devour all in their path so very
ferociously! Squire Hu fell to the ground crying out bitterly,
calling on spirits and fairies and summoning his ancestors.
He then ordered the nurse and slavegirl over to the
servants' quarters to spread the word that a rich reward
would be given to anyone fighting the fire. He also had the
men and women of his own family enter the endangered
house and rescue what family heirlooms and possessions,
wicker trunks and drawers that they could. The neighbors
crowded over to wield the hooks and axes and man the
bucket brigade, climbing over the fire scene like ants on a
fallen leaf, but there was no saving the place from the
hungry flames. Within the hour a great ball of fire soared
into the night sky with an accompanying earth-splitting roar,
and the terrified crowd fled screaming. From front to back
the entire compound was transformed in a single instant
into a mass of flame and smoke, with heat so intense that
no man or woman could go near. Mama and Yong'r just sat
holding their heads in their hands and sobbing. Squire Hu
was deeply touched by the sight of their tears and knelt to
comfort them.
"There's nothing to fret over," he murmured optimistically.
"When the flames are out we'll simply pick up and begin the
second half of our lives!"
Then they only watched the leaping flames that roared and
raged on and on the whole night through. It was all they
could do to try and get some rest on that little pavillion, their
only surviving property. Upon awakening at dawn they
called on the assembled folks to help comb the site of the
blaze. A number of people fanned out searching through
the smoking rubble but soon their mouths and eyes were
agape in disbelief, so complete was the destruction. It's
commonly said that people may keep double accounts but
Heaven's got a stricter set of books. Why, if Heaven were
as sentimental as people, the world would soon be
overflowing with humanity! Squire Hu still did not quite
realize that this fire of Heaven's had not left a single inchlong blade of grass, to say nothing of the main hall, rear
quarters, corridors, kitchen and scales rooms, all
completely gone. He now instructed them to look for bits of
gold, silver, tin and brass that may have survived the blaze
merely covered with soot and might still be laying about in
addition to the few family heirlooms and the little in baskets
and trunks that had been saved, Little did he realize that
Holy Auntie had stripped the place for the enrichment of
those on high. So thorough had she been that not a trace of
anything was to be found. Squire Hu, his wife and daughter
just watched as the searchers and those he had placed in
charge gave up and left.
Now, the nature of a wealthy mogul was always present in
Squire Hu and thrift never completely relaxed its hold on
him, so he had never spent his money on much of anything
aside from coal. But now before very long his money was
gone and there was no providing for their customary three
meals a day. Well-intentioned friends and neighbors sent
over a few dishes but gave it up shortly. They were driven to
borrowing rice and kindling: one special occasion became
twice, one day turned into three days and three days into
nine, six months lengthened into a full year's anniversary
and finally they had no more credit and nothing to eat or
wear. Reduced to begging, they were eager to sell off
parcels of their land to the adjoining two neighbors for cash.
"Land burnt over by Heaven's fire is ten years' barren!" they
only objected. "Fires set by lightning leave the land dry and
damaged for a decade!" Alas, such was the taboo on their
treasured land! They were now dressed in rags, and when
they went calling on old acquaintances everybody
pretended not to be home. Once-familiar people no longer
recognized them. When hailed on the street they would
cover their faces with their fans, unable to bear looking at
them. As the old saying goes, "Amidst the bustle of the
town the pauper is alone; to a rich man in the mountains
every relative is known!" And it is also said that "Spring
winds are followed by summer rains!"
In normal times Squire Hu, who had been born into bitter
poverty, could turn one coin into ten and ten into a hundred
with his business acumen and so built his fortune. Selfmade men like that are often reluctant to give out anything
in the way of kindness or largess to others and prefer the
company of their successful peers, and they prefer glib
happy talk to utterances of pity. His old acquaintances from
his wealthy days found him repulsive and he had no
sympathetic and trusting friends like Guan Zhong and Bao
Shuya of olden times. He was truly stuck in poverty and
anyone considering helping him back up to his feet might
themselves fear stigmatization and total ruin and be forced
to reconsider.
Squire Hu thus continued living on the wide open pavillion. It
was good enough on fair days but what could they do to
protect themselves from wind, rain and snow? They had to
go around begging for a place to live in like the free
apartments for the lonely elderly of today. One day in mid
winter, Shortly after moving into such solitary beggars
quarters dark clouds gathered and a bitingly cold, fierce
wind blew up, bringing with it out of the heavens a heavy
and continuous blizzard. What can we make of that great
snowfall? Consider:
Like willow fluff and goosedown do the flakes go flying by
As whitest gulls and egrets in their flocks play in the sky.
Jade inlays in the mountains tempt the woodcutter astray
And chasing riches breaks so many hearts along the way!
The poor man shivering in cold prays God would end the
stuff
While princes dream of winter scenes and hope there'll be
enough.
Although it's said that heavy snow ensures a banner crop
For sake of Changan's huddled poor could Heaven make it
stop?
Now those who love snow are gentlemen of wealth and
leisure in their big places, while those that detest it are the
poor folks in their narrow spaces. Our down-and-out Squire
Hu of the capital city Dongjing was once a man of great
wealth and influence who had lost it all in that Heaven-sent
fire that completely bankrupted him and forced him to move
into solitary beggar's quarters. And just now to make
matters worse Heaven sends a mid-winter blizzard! The
three of them sat all night huddled round the stove with all
six hands tending the fire and come daybreak they had no
rice for breakfast. Mama pointed at her husband's head,
causing him to nod and come over for a look.
"It's no big thing, Mama!" he said.
"A blizzard and no food on hand! All that food and fine
clothing you provided us and now we're starving with you.
Our account is even I guess!" She then pointed at Yong'r.
"She'll be fourteen this year. What sort of parents can just
sit by and let their daughter suffer like this!"
"It can't be helped! If you've got any ideas for me to try,
please tell me!"
"You're the head of this family! It's been freezing like this for
half a day now since sunrise and if you don't get going and
do what you have to do, and fast, we three are all going to
be facing death from starvation! If you can maybe corner
just one or two of your old associates and hit them up for
three or four hundred coins we'll be all right for a few days."
"Surely you know what things are like now! Nobody will
even look me in the face!"
"Still," countered Mama, "one day's shame means three
days' eating! If you don't go I will!"
Now nothing could ever force Squire Hu to live off of Mama.
"Better tighten up your belts a bit, cause this might take
longer than a day!" he said, rising to his feet. "Today's
world is all dazzled by luxurious trimmings and nobody
cares about the poor. Trying to get sympathy these days is
harder than taking on a tiger barehanded. You two wait
here patiently and don't think for one moment this is going
to be easy!"
And so having said his piece he opened the gate and went
out, eyes brimming with tears. He seemed to slip and fall
backwards three steps for every two he took. "It's really
cold!" he muttered, that icey wind stabbing at his face like
arrows and the cold air cutting like knives into his body! The
northwesterly wind blew him back a few paces and when he
tried to return home he found that Mama had already bolted
the gate. He could only press on silently in the wind and
snow, away from the shelter in hope of arousing pity in
someone. And here is a poem:
From darkest clouds as thick as wool the snow just falls
and flies
Everywhere concealing streets of jade from searching
eyes.
He sought to beg some money for his daughter and his
spouse
Where could he go to find the likes
of Meng Changjun's guest house?
Squire Hu was desperately searching for an old associate
and had no use for pride or shame. He just went right down
a small street to the left of his old estate and as he was well
known in the city many people recognized him at once.
"There goes that ruined Squire Hu," they remarked
cuttingly, "all washed up forever!"
And there were others who openly poked fun at him with
rhymes like this:
"Old man Hu was once Esquire
Down from Heaven came a fire
Sent his good days up in smoke
Hard times now that he is broke!"
And there were those as well who had suffered losses in
their dealings with his warehouses:
"Scales set light when paying out and heavy when receiving
Phony cash payed out but always real money in.
When Heaven made his cheating heart the mold was
thrown away
Now he and all his kin must suffer to their dying day!"
Squire Hu was just walking along with his head bowed low
when he suddenly found himself face to face with
somebody holding a small umbrella.
"Why, Squire Hu! Where are you going in this snowy
weather?" the man asked.
It was none other than that long-haired scholar Chen, the
very same Chen Shan he had invited into his house in
happier times to teach Yong'r the classics. Squire Hu's face
flushed with embarrassment and shame as he bowed and
spoke.
"To tell the truth, Professor, our household has taken a big
fall and now we're starving. I've come here to find an
acquaintance or two to help, that's how bad it is."
"If you're that hard up why don't you rush on over to see that
fellow who lives below the gate to the Four Memorial
Arches District?"
"Which one was he?"
The scholar leaned over and whispered a few words into
his ear and Squire Hu beamed with happiness, clasping
his hands together gratefully.
"You've been a support in my hour of deepest need and I'll
never forget this!"
"It's nothing, just what anyone would do!" said the scholar
humbly. He then tugged at Squire Hu's to come and share
his umbrella. This helped renew his strength as they turned
out of his old street and headed for the gateway of the Four
Arches District to search for this fellow named Mi Bida, a
former loafer who had won the heart and support of a Privy
Councillor who sponsored him for an official post. Three
years earlier he had been angling for a promotion but didn't
have enough cash on hand to make it happen. He knew
however that his old friend Chen Shan was teaching in
Squire Hu's home and made use of his trust to help in
securing a loan of 300 ounces of silver which he made
available to the yamen to take care of things. As a result of
this he rose to the rank of Superintendant for Jizhou
District, where he served for a bit over two years before
disputes with his associates got him reposted to office in
Qingzhou. He was now conveniently stopping off at home to
pick up his wife and children on his way to taking up his
new posting, and as we look in on him he has been home
for two days. Now Chen Shan had originally signed for his
loan as guarantor, so although Squire Hu's contract had
been burned in the fire he was delighted to have the
original co-signer with him as a witness. Moreover as it
was a loan granted as a special favor there was no refusing
to pay it back.
Professor Chen was really going to pay this call on behalf
of Squire Hu, ever so tactfully going in first to greet his old
friend. Squire Hu was filled with glee as they approached
the gate where a few lower officials and servant folk were
coming and going, none too busily. But there was also a
burly guard inside the gate who caught sight of Squire Hu's
tattered gown and took him at once for a beggar, shouting
a stern warning. Who would want to go forth and defy such
a character? And so Chen handed Squire Hu the umbrella,
expaining that they had arrived unexpected but that
everything would be all right once he'd gotten in to see
Superintendent Mi and raise the matter as he surely would,
and telling him to wait outside in the street until he was
called. After the professor entered, however, a number of
people began to taunt Squire Hu, saying that a beggar was
defiling an official's presence and so he drew himself away
to the outside of the gate and only bowed his head in
shame as he waited. Chen Shan entered the official's
residence and met with District Superintendant Mi,
exchanging formal pleasantries over tea before being
invited into the study to sit at ease. He felt it the right time to
raise the matter.
"I've got a friend of ours outside waiting to see you" he
said.
"Who?"
"A man you once visited named Hu Dahong."
"Isn't that the Squire Hu with the banking business and
warehouses in Pingan Street?"
"Indeed it is."
"Well, let's call him in at once!" said the official. A page boy
was hurriedly instructed to run out and fetch him.
"I haven't seen the likes of any Squire Hu," said the guard.
But the squire, hanging down his head at the outside
opening of the gateway tunnel overheard and came over.
"I'm Squire Hu" he announced to the astonished laughter of
the onlookers.
"Well, in all my days!" said one of the crowd. "I've set foot in
four hundred district commanderies all around this land and
never seen a "squire" like you! Hah! If you're a Squire, I'm a
Grand Secretary"!
The guard blocked him from entering. Squire Hu then
shouted loudly for Professor Chen, but at that moment who
should appear coming out of the dwelling but an old man by
the name of Liu Yi, Mi Bida's trusted servant long known for
his loyalty. He had accompanied Mi on his last assignment
and just recently returned. He had been present on that day
three years before when Mi Bida borrowed the silver and it
was he who received it and carried it home, making a few
journeys there and back in the process. Although the Squire
had been through some changes the old servant still
recognized his face at once. Telling the guard to stand
aside he came forth and welcomed Squire Hu, who then
explained in brief the disaster that had befallen him and the
reason for that day's visit.
"Our master has called for you, so I'm sure there'll be some
good news!" said Liu Yi. He then led the Squire into the
residence, where our local scholar Chen spotted him and
hurriedly stood. Now when Superintendant Mi first caught
sight of that poor fellow dressed in rags he felt deceived for
a moment and did a double-take. Squire Hu walked over
and bowed ever so respectfully and deeply, clasping his
hands before him.
"Your excellency, it's been a long time!" he said
dramatically.
The official wave his hand lightly as if to dismiss him, then
sat as before.
"Who is this man?" he asked Professor Chen.
"Why, it's Squire Hu Dahong!" answered Chen Shan.
Mi Bida deliberately rubbed his eyes and stared
repeatedly. "Three years since we last parted and already I
don't recognize you." Not bowing and looking away from
the visitor, Mi Bida told him to be seated. This left Chen
Shan as a sort of go-between, half guest and half host, and
Mi seated himself facing them both. Squire Hu was uneasy
with Superintendant Mi's long silence and stated his
business.
"Your lowly subject has a matter to discuss that he's been
unsure about raising with your excellency."
Mi Bida feigned ignorance. "And what might that business
be?"
"To start at the beginning, three years ago when I had my
warehouses and my family was in good straits your
excellency contracted with me to borrow three hundred
ounces of silver at twenty percent interest. When your
excellency took up official duties in Jizhou I, your subject,
didn't dare mention it. I'm here today only because my fate
has taken such a bitter turn. My warehouses, home and
land have been wiped out or else made worthless by a fire
sent by Heaven's own lightning. It burnt everything and left
not a blade of grass, leaving us hungry and dressed in
rags. We live from hand to mouth in constant hardship, from
day to day. As your excellency has now returned for a visit
I've come just to plead for your understanding with this
matter. I don't dare ask for the interest, only the principal so
that I may have it available as capital to reconstruct my life,
with your excellency's usual kindness and grace."
"When I needed funds to gain office I only borrowed a
hundred ounces for the purpose, certainly not as much as
you claim. I paid it back with interest a year after I arrived in
Jizhou. What's all this talk of so many ounces of silver?"
"Your highness doesn't remember well, as it was indeed
three hundred ounces and it hasn't yet been repaid!"
"If I haven't paid it back you must still have the contract. Why
don't you produce it so we can have a look and know for
sure?"
"The contract was burnt up in the fire too." Squire Hu then
pointed at scholar Chen. "The witness and guarantor of the
contract is here to back me up."
"I handled everything, and I can say it hasn't been repayed,"
said Chen Shan; "I think that maybe your excellency doesn't
recall correctly..."
"That's why common sense dictates to get it in
writing!"exclaimed Mi, his face changing. "That's the only
way to prevent these disputes. Without the original contract
you two can say I owe you three hundred, three thousand or
whatever you like!"
Chen Shan knew that the official had simply forgotten all
about it. "I beg your honor to reconsider!" he pleaded. "I
swear by Heaven that our reckoning is correct. Please take
your time to think about the matter!"
"Look!" said Squire Hu, laughing, I'don't dare insist on three
hundred or even two hundred for that matter. Anything your
excellency can offer would be fine!"
Mi Bida was furious and rose in a huff. "You two wheedle
and whine the same beggar's act, just after my cash for no
good reason. If you came by with a contract of mine I'd even
give you three thousand if that's what it said. Without a
contract don't even think about getting your hands on one
broken copper coin of mine!"
Having spoken he turned and went back into his quarters.
Old Liu Yi heard that the master sounded unhappy and just
tried to be agreable, although he knew the truth of the
matter from the beginning and still had a bit of a
conscience. So he waited for the pair at the main gate
where Squire Hu and Scholar Chen angrily exited.
"Squire, please relax, let me take care of everything and
get the master to reconsider. It's sure to come out all right in
the end. Anyway, I guess you're hungry after half a day here
so if you don't mind I'd like to treat you both to noodles at
my favorite shop. Come on, Professor, how about joining
us?"
Now Chen Shan was filled with anger and had no desire to
eat Liu Yi's food. But seeing the hunger on Squire Hu's face
he feared that declining the invitation might cause his friend
to to miss this meal. He had no choice but to go along with
them for Squire Hu's sake. And so Liu Yi led the squire and
the scholar both down a sidestreet and into a secluded
nearby restaurant where Squire Hu was really to be
rescued from his dire straits, to be saved in fact from the
clutches of death. It was like this:
A wealthy man unsatisfied with three fine meals in sight
Will find it hard when hunger has him scavenging a bite.
To find out just how Squire Hu gets home to save the day
Look and see just what the coming chapter has to say!
Chapter 19
CHEN SHAN AND LIU YI BOTH DONATE
CASH
AND HOLY AUNTIE PASSES ON THE
SECRET LORE TO YONG'R
Recently unable to provide the daily fare
His baby only crying with the kitchen cupboard bare.
Because of words a mother whispers in her child's ear
With new verse does daddy meet a gentleman so dear.
We have heard how Mi Bida relied on the rich and cheated
the poor, spitefully refusing to repay his debt upon seeing
the poverty and misery of his creditor Squire Hu. The
Squire walked out into the falling snow with his belly all full
of anger and bitterness over this shabby treatment. But
fortunately the Mi family's old servant Liu Yi was ashamed
to see the palor of hunger and cold on the old Squire's face
and led him into a secluded little restaurant where he chose
a nice clean table, asking him to sit at the head and inviting
old scholar Chen to accompany them for the meal.
"Set us up with a couple of wines, boiling hot, and no small
cups either!" he ordered the winekeeper. "And put out a
plate of your best food!"
"I've only got some beef, fresh from the marketplace. I'm
afraid there's nothing else on the menu."
"Then kill one of the roosters, that'll be fine!"
Squire Hu objected. "One dish is all right. There's no need
to spend so much."
"Just be quiet and enjoy yourself!"
He then went by himself over to the wine jugs to swig a
sample, calling on the proprietor to heat it up. The owner
then sliced a larged portion of beef that he served with
pickled vegtables. Next he brought out three big flasks of
wine and had hardly begun pouring when Liu Yi snatched
them away. "We'll take care of the wine ourselves," he
instructed, "you just slaughter that bird and cook it up, and
fast!"
"Why don't you take it easy on yourself and sit down, old
man!" said Squire Hu.
"You and the Professor here are my guests; how dare I
sit?"
Scholar Chen was also concerned. "As long as you're on
your feet how can the Squire and I sit comfortably?"
"I take care of everything for you and pour your wine and
suddenly you're offended!" mused the old man.
Taking hold of a big flask he then filled two glasses to
overflowing and handed them to Squire Hu and Chen Shan.
Now the Squire had left home on an empty stomach and he
now felt his face flush and heartbeat flutter from the wine. "I
can't drink anymore until I have a bowl of rice!" he pleaded.
Now Liu Yi had been afraid that the Squire was hungry and
so he didn't insist on this point. "Bring a bowl of rice while
we wait for the chicken!" he ordered the owner; "the
Professor and I will have another round of wine."
And so as the chicken boiled the shopkeeper prepared a
bowl of rice and another kettle of wine and brought them
over. Pretty soon he was back with another bowl. "Who
gets the rice?" he asked, holding the full bowl and the refills
of wine. Liu Yi told him to set it down before the Squire, who
uttered a weak "please!".
Squire Hu now attacked that ricebowl with both hands,
shoveling it right into his mouth when suddenly he thought of
his wife and daughter at home and began staring vacantly
into the distance. How could he return emptyhanded after
having eaten that rice, not knowing when or from where
their next meal would be forthcoming? And, unconsciously,
two streams of pearly tears began flowing down his face.
Scholar Chen had known all along what the problem was.
"That's why I didn't argue from the start!" he said. "I only
wanted to help the Squire get his money so that he could
buy a few more days' life, and I didn't imagine that Mi was
that sort of man!" He looked at Liu Yi. "In his youth, your
master had a lot of dealings with me and he was always a
real man, so fair, just and kind in all the things we did
together. But now with that official cap on his head and
everyone calling him 'Master' he acts just like the King of
Hell in the flesh. It's enough to make my guts boil!"
"Even the Yellow River has its clear days!" said Liu Yi.
"How can you expect a man not to have a fated moment in
all his years? The Squire may be down and out for now but
he's got good days in store for him in the end. Now, please,
eat your full and wait until we meet again. And if the master
really doesn't agree, I'll reimburse the Squire myself so that
he can survive."
"How can I ever thank you enough?" said Squire Hu." After
finishing the two bowls of rice he put down the chopsticks.
"I'll order some more wine!" said Liu Yi.
"After all this drink I've got no room left for food!" said the
Squire.
Liu Yi looked at Chen Shan. "That's what rice is for, to go
with wine, eh?" he joked.
"The Squire's always been a moderate drinker" said the
old teacher.
"I haven't had a drop ever since the fire," explained Squire
Hu. "Drink just makes sorrow all the more painful! Your
great kindness to both of us is already more than enough!"
Chen and Liu finished off the wine and food together. Chen
Shan then rose and reached into his gown to grope around
and pull out a string of three hundred bronze coins which he
gave to Squire Hu. "Take this home to do as you please
with, you know, buy some treats or something. I only regret
that I didn't do my best when you sought me as a teacher!"
Liu Yi called the proprietor over and settled the bill, and
there wwere over one hundred coins remaining. Liu
presented the money to Squire Hu, apologizing sincerely.
"I've been awfully rude to you," he said; "let's have tea and
forget about it!"
Squire Hu thought about the hard situation back at home
and the sincere kindness of those two and could only
accept their help, bowing and thanking them. It was like
this:
Without intention are the flowers nourished till they bloom
Unknowing are the willows raised to cast their shade of
doom.
And here's a poem:
A larcenous official tried to ruin a helpless man
A conscientious servant though reversed his master's plan.
Goodness is a quality arising in the heart
Coming not from wealth or status at the very start.
Now charity is none too prevalent in this world, especially
when most needed. Here within the walls of Dongjing the
renowned Squire Hu once rolled in fabulous wealth but is
now delighted and grateful to receive a bit over three
hundred bronze coins. It all goes to show how easy it is to
be a good person and far outshine the qualities of
Superintendant Mi's sort, as scholar Chen and Liu Yi had
done.
And now to pick up where we left off with another thread of
the story. Recall how Lady Zhang and her daughter sat
waiting in cold and hunger. "How will it all turn out" asked
little Yong'r, "with daddy going to plead with people and
all?"
"People are fickle and everybody has their ups and
downs," said mother. "One thing I know for sure, your
father's too proud to really ham it up and beg!"
"Oh mommy, it's really snowing hard and the wind is so
cold! Who's daddy going to for help?"
"Honey, we've got no money left and if I hadn't told him to
go out we'd soon be facing starvation. My poor little girl! Go
and find the last coins under the bed and take them to the
shops to buy a little treat to hold you over till daddy gets
back and we see how it went."
Yong'r went to the head of the bed and lifted it to find the
eight bronze coins hidden there.
"Take them and buy yourself some cakes, dear," said
Mama, "to drive back your hunger."
And so little Yong'r put on her leather shoes, wrapped her
head with a cloth and left the beggars' shelter, stepping out
into the snow. Now these city streets were nothing like the
high snow-covered fields in the mountains, but had been
trampled by the feet of all the people until there was no
more white snow but rather ashen slush and mud, really
hard going for the girl. But before long while turning a
corner she lost her footing, danced precariously on the ice
and fell. The money left her grasp and scattered all over the
ground, and her clothes were muddied. As she got back on
her feet she didn't mind the the soiled clothing so much as
she searched for the coins down in the ashen mud, and as
one had rolled off somewhere there were only seven to be
found. After a brief search she called it quits and continued
walking until she came to the bakery in the main street,
where she exchanged greetings with the family's second
son before stating her business.
"Uncle, I'll have seven coppers' worth of wheatcakes,
please."
The man took the change in hand. "This one is defaced and
I can't take it" he said, handing the damaged coin back.
Yong'r placed it sadly in her pouch. "Six coins worth, then!"
she said. The young man picked up a fresh lotus leaf,
wrapped six steamed wheatcakes in it and handed the
parcel to her. Yong'r took it and left for home. It was already
past shop closing time when, just as she she was leaving
the commercial area she came upon an open place and
saw an old woman there leaning on a bamboo cane with a
small basket hanging on her arm, now coming out and
following her as she passed. And as for the appearance of
the old hag, just look at this:
Arms and legs all bent with age
A bag with face like pruin.
Her eyebrows trace two snowy paths
Hair tied like a cocoon.
Eyes like finest autumn dew that sparkles in the sun
Hair like rivers full of cloud that through the mountains run.
She looked like spring's first flowers by the heat of summer
lost
Her life like a chrysanthemum in latest autumn's frost.
Now Yong'r thought in silence about this. Her own mother
as well had eaten neither dinner the previous night nor
breakfast that morning, but seeing how old and unbearably
pathetic the woman appeared she could only open the
folded lotus leaf, remove a steamed cake and pass it to
her.
"Good, very good!" said the woman. "But how can this one
cake fill me up. Why not give me all of them?"
"Let me tell you, grandma, my heart doesn't belong to you.
Back at home three of us haven't eaten for three days.
Mama told daddy to go out and find help, and then she
gave me her last savings, eight coppers and told me to go
buy wheatcakes. Along the way I lost one coin and then one
damaged copper was refused by the shop, so I could only
buy six dumplings: two for mother, two for me and two for
father when he gets back. I'm only afraid he won't have
anything to eat and will need them to hold off starvation.
Now, because you are so old and I couldn't bear to see you
suffer I let you have one of the cakes."
"What will you tell your mother when she asks why you
bought so few?" asked the old woman.
"If mom asks I'll say I ate them on the way because I was
hungry."
"Well since you're taking the rest of the cakes home why
don't you give me that no-good coin?"
Now this put Yong'r on the spot. She took the coin out of her
skirtwaist pouch and gave it to the old woman.
"And what will you tell mother when she asks what's
become of the money?" she asked.
"I'll just say I slipped in the mud in the street and lost a
couple of the coins, that's all."
"What a fine heart my child has, and how clever she is, too!
I'm not really hungry and I don't want your cake. Here, take it
back."
"Why did you take it from me just to return it?"
"I'm just testing you, child, getting to know you, and I can
see you've got a heart filled with goodness and mercy as
well as filial piety and obedience! Now, let me just arouse
your curiosity!"
The woman then turned that damaged coin over and over in
her palm and began humming a chant, and presto! The old
worn out copper became a freshly minted shiney bronze
coin, flat and perfect as could be, that she then passed to
Yong'r to examine.
"That was some kind of magic, grandma! You've just got to
show me how to do it!"
"My child, this has all been decided by Fate. You are
destined to learn it all."
She then reached into her basket and took out a small
packet wrapped in a sheer purple cloth and carefully tied
with hemp chord. "I present this to you!" said the old
woman.
"What is it, grandma?"
"This is a rendition of the Treasure Book of Heaven's
Blessings and Charms for your use, to be learnt by heart.
When you find yourself in a difficult spot just open it and all
the secrets of Heaven will be revealed to you! And if you
are unconscious just shout "Holy Auntie" in the darkness
and I'll come to guide you. You must absolutely not tell
anyone about this, either!"
Yong stuffed the book into her blouse and put the coin in the
pouch on her skirtwaist. She then thanked the old woman,
turned and left, but before she'd taken very many steps she
looked back and saw that the woman had vanished. And
here's a poem:
To look into a person's heart a cake was all it took
In deepest compensation was that wrapped-up Heaven's
book.
Knowing that a kindly heart with bounty is repayed
As consolation no great gift of cash need then be made.
Yong'r then went went home with the cakes. "Why are you
so late in returning, child?" asked Mama. "And your clothes
are so muddy. Did you fall down?"
"It was awfully slippery going in that snow, mom, and when I
fell I lost two coppers. I could only get six dumplings with the
money."
"Child!" moaned Mama. "Our bitter fate is only geeting
harder. Maybe those two pieces of bread won't save our
lives in the end but we've got to try our best to survive.
There's no use looking for the coins in all that mud but we'll
go out and search when it's dry."
Mother and daughter then each had two of the dumplings,
wrapping up the remaining pair in the leaf and putting them
aside.
A short while later the Squire returned, all red in the face.
"Who've you been seeing all this time, and where did you
get wine to drink?" asked Mama.
The Squire then told her all about how he'd met teacher
Chen in the street and gone with him to Superintendant Mi's
house. "Then," he continued, "sure as Heaven always
provides a way, I was lucky enough to run into that old
servant of Mi's, Liu Yi, a fine good-hearted man who invited
us to his favorite shop for food and drink, and then he and
Professor Chen together gave me over three hundred coins
to help us out!"
Mama was delighted and told the Squire to go out and buy
some rice, firewood and coal to carry them over for a few
days, and thought of a few other things that had to be done
with the money. Then the two women each had one of the
remaining dumplings. And when the rice arrived they
prepared some for dinner before retiring late in the
evening, but Yong'r was then unable to sleep. "During the
day when that old lady gave me the little book she told me
that I could take it out and open it in case of emergency.
Well, that rice daddy's bought isn't going to last more than a
few days and likely as not we'll be starving again, and that
certainly can be considered an emergency. I'll just open it
up and see if it has any hunger charms!"
She slowly got up, ever so quietly put on a dress and tread
softly out of the room. Now Squire Hu lived down on the
same ground floor in his own room as the rules allowed only
one beggar per room. Her own room was in back. The
place was made of brick with bamboo and wood partitions
and was quite broken down. She went past the hearth and
hugging the wall tiptoed past her parents' rooms which
were at the front, next to the street. Then she found her way
through the kitchen to the courtyard door and opened it.
Now when she had left her room she hadn't passed right by
her parents' beds but they couldn't help being alarmed at
hearing her moving along the wall. "Where are you
going,child?" called Mama.
"I've got a bellyache and I'm going to the toilet."
"If you're coming down with a cold be careful about drafts
when you get up, and be sure to put on plenty of clothes.
You don't want to catch pneumonia!"
"Don't worry, I'll be OK." Then putting on her shoes she
stepped out into the ruins of a side room, now open to the
outside, and saw the snow so very brilliant under the
moonlight, just as bright as day. There was nothing in sight
but the kitchen stove and some pots behind her. Yong'r
reached into her bosom for that little book wrapped in
purple gauze, took it out and opened the string. Trembling
with fear and anticipation she opened it for a look, and let
us just say this:
A virgin turns into a seasoned witch and sorceress
A luckless waif becomes a very wealthy Squiress.
And this tells it straight:
Thirty-six great districts all will get a new reign name
Five or six or seven years of warfare's ash and flame.
To see how Yong accomplishes her magic transformation
Read on and listen to the coming chapter's explanation!
Chapter 20
HU HAO IN ANGER BURNS THE BOOK
OF HEAVEN'S CHARMS
AND YONG'R RIDES THE NIGHT
TO A STATE TEMPLE IN THE SKY
Although Ninth Heaven's secret books are frightening
enough
It's worse by far when what's inside is not the proper
stuff.
It's quite one thing to get pure knowledge and to use it
well
But just you wait till shady gods arise from ghosts of
hell!
And so in the dead of night Hu Yong'r untied the hemp
string around that sheer purple wrapper, nervously removed
the little book and walked out of the beggars' shelter. She
looked closely at its cover. "Ruyi Baoce" it said at the top,
"Treasure Book of Blessings". And upon opening the front
cover for a peek inside she was startled to see the very first
words: "Charms for Transforming Money"! Naturally she
read on.
"Take a length of string and tie a bronze coin to the end,
then whirl it around. Then toss it on the ground and cover it
with something. Scoop up some water in a hand-held bowl
and chant your wishes seven times, then hold the water in
your mouth and spit it out shouting 'Live!' When the cover is
removed the coin will have been changed into an entire
string of coins."
"So that's the way it's done!" exclaimed Yong'r. And so she
reached into her pouch and removed the coin that the old
woman had given her during the day and fastened it though
its hole to the string that she had just untied, whirled it
around and cast it down, covering it with a small
washbucket. Then with a bowl she ladelled up some water
from the tank, chanted her wish seven times and held the
water in her mouth, eventually spitting it onto the bucket and
shouting "Live!" as instructed. She then put down the bowl
and removed the pail for a look, and what did she see but a
pile of coins just like a coiled up green snake! Yong'r was
overcome with fright, totally unprepared for this. She then
carefully considered what to do.
If I just give this money to mom and dad they'll surely ask
where it came from! What can I say?"
Yong'r suddenly thought of a plan. Ever so lightly opening
the back door of that ruined sideroom she stepped out into
the garden and scattered the coins on the snow inside the
bamboo fence around their own garden plot. She would
simply say that someone had quietly come out of true
charity to help out a poor family. She then shut the door,
returned to her room and hid the book. "Still got that
bellyache?" called Mama.
It's stopped OK!" answered Yong'r. She then climbed back
into bed and went to sleep.
Come sunrise the three arose and boiled water for
washing. Mama later opened the back door and was
casting out the dirty water when suddenly she spotted a
string of cash lying in the snow. Truly shocked, she
snatched it up and hurriedly gave it to Squire Hu.
"I found this string of cash that somebody dropped in the
snow out back!"
"You're being naive, Mama, thinking like a pauper already!"
said the Squire. "Our daughter is grown up and some bold
youth no doubt came to seduce her and brought that cash
as little inducement! Now with me down on my luck like this
if I go and use the cash there'll be a stream of young men
calling to flirt, with no way to hold them off."
"How stupid you are!" scolded Mama. "Dongjing has a lot
of wealthy men who do good deeds like helping the poor
and suffering folks, and who seeing a blizzard like this
would feel some pity for people in the poorhouse with
nothing to eat. Who's to say that money wasn't cast to other
families as well?"
"Nonsense! Where did you ever hear a thing like that?"
scoffed the Squire, gesticulating as he spoke. "Did I ever
do anything like that when I was a wealthy man?"
Mama rose to her feet, agitated. "You old ignoramous!" she
scolded. "Stupid and poor! It's always been said that some
folks just weren't around when brains were handed out!
Why do you think that you alone were stricken by Heaven
with that fire, and none of the other wealthy men? Good
deeds really do matter! And you've got the gall to doubt
your own daughter's morality! My girl would never run
around, and who says men are coming here? It's all in your
imagination!"
The Squire was silenced by her continued sobbing and just
nodded in agreement. "What you say is true," he then said.
"I can't go out again and get another two or three hundred
like I was able to do yesterday. With a string of cash like
we've just got, why, we can buy five hundred in rice, three
hundred worth of fuel and and still have a couple of hundred
left for salt, soy sauce and vegetables to go with meals so
we won't have to worry about the snowy weather."
And so the three passed a happy day together. But when
they were in bed around midnight that evening Yong'r had a
thought. The previous night she had been able to make a
string of a thousand coins, so why not try it again? She's
already had that notion during the day and had the length
string all ready next to her body. Slowly she got out of bed
and dressed.
"What are doing, child?" asked Mama.
"I've got cramps again so I'm going to the toilet, that's all."
"Poor girl!" Till yesterday we were going hungry every other
day and now we're eating our fill, so you've gone and got
constipated! Tomorrow I'll have daddy get some medicine
for you to take!"
Yong'r left her chamber and went to that ruined anteroom to
fix things exactly as before. She tied a coin onto the string
and swung it, then covered it with the pail as the magic
formula had said to do. Next she recited the charm and spit
out the mouthful of water and when she lifted the pail there
was another string of cash, same as the previous night.
Yong'r opened the back door and once again cast it down
onto the snow, then closed the door and went back to sleep
in her room.
Now at sunrise Mama got up as always to boil the
washwater. When she later opened the back door to toss it
out she once again saw a string of cash and happily
brought it right in.
"There's something strange about all this money just
showing up!" said Squire Hu.
"Now, don't jump to conclusions!" said Mama. "Anyway, I'm
not afraid!" This help was the work of some blessed person
who can't bear to watch the three of us starve! Now he's left
yet another string of cash for us!"
Squire Hu remembered how agitated his wife had been the
day before, so this time he held his piece and just dumbly
agreed. "You're right Mama," he said, nodding, "we'll just
spend it carefully at home."
Several days later the snow had melted and the sky was
bright and clear. "We're down to a few days' supply of rice
again," Mama told her husband. "Why don't you go out and
make the rounds once more? It sure would be nice if you
could run into a friend and get another one or two hundred!"
The Squire just obeyed and promptly set out to try again.
Mama felt at ease and went next door for tea and chat with
a neighbor.
Yong'r realized that Mama had gone out and that she was
home alone. Closing the front door she took out the little
book and opened it to the second part, entitled Charms for
Transforming Rice. "Thank Heaven and Earth!" she
exclaimed. "Just the thing for folks facing starvation!" Now
there were two containers of rice under Mama's bed, a
wooden pail and a large jar, and Yong'r saw that they were
full. She paused to think for a moment, then poured the
contents of the pail into the crock. She caught the excess in
the lap of her skirt and spread it out onto the earthen floor,
then stepped aside leaving a paper charm slip for ten times
the amount of rice in the empty bucket. She then took it out
into the middle of the room and covered it with a garment,
uttered the charm and spit out a mouthful of water, crying
out "live!". Suddenly she saw only rice, rice and more rice
gushing forth continuously from the bucket, frightening her
all the more because she didn't know the charm to stop it.
What was more, the slats of the rice pail were old and
rotten and under such pressure it burst with a loud "c-r-a-ck!" and rice went all over the floor. And later folks have
created this poem to dramatize Yong's transformation of
money and rice:
The string was loaded full of cash, the room with rice so
deep
Whatever she would chant for with godspeed she then
would reap!
If someone were to take those charms and pass them on to
me
I'd serve them to their dying day then cry eternally!"
Yong'r was overwhelmed and screamed out. From
nextdoor Mama hear her daughter's cries of distress and
came running to look. Enough rice had surged out to bury a
person in, although it had now stopped. The entire floor was
covered with it. "Where did all this rice come from?" asked
Mama, in great shock and surprise. Mei'r quickly thought of
a ruse.
"Mom, I'm happy to tell you that a strong fellow just brought
over a sack of rice. He forced open the back door and
dumped it in here. I was frightened when I saw him and
that's when I screamed out."
Mama noticed the broken slats of the bucket. "This bucket
was in my room. What did you take it out for, and where's
the rice that was in it?"
"I took it to carry some of this rice over to my room but I
didn't see how old it was..."
"Just who was that big fellow and what was he up to?"
Suddenly amidst the jabbering the voice of sister Zhang
next door could be heard drifting over the wall, strangely
muted. "Mama Hu! You were right the first time. It's that
anonymous rich squire out there who felt sorry for you in all
the rain and snow. He can't let anybody find out because of
all the tens of thousands of other starving folks in the
poorhouses and shelters. There'd have been a riot if he
helped you openly! This was the only way!"
Sister Zhang's words helped put Mama's doubts to rest.
She told her daughter to clean up and she herself joined in
the work. The two of them were just finishing sweeping up
when Squire Hu returned. Seeing his wife and daughter
sweeping rice off the floor angered him. "What are you
doing!" he shouted. "How did you two women manage to
break the barrel and waste what little rice we've got left?"
"How could I have wasted rice?" asked Mama. "Why, look,
it's all over! Crocks, jars, barrells, basins, tubs, all
overflowing. There's nowhere to sit down for all of it!"
And where is all this rice from?"
"Well, when you were out and I was next door having tea I
heard Yong'r scream. And when I ran back over here I saw
the floor of my room all covered with rice."
"Now, if I'm not to believe this is some sort of witchcraft, just
tell me where the rice came from!"
"Yong'r said she saw a big fellow lugging a sack of rice in
through the back door and dumping it out in here..."
Now the Squire knew the ways of the world. Upon opening
the back door for a look round he could see no trace of
anybody having been there recently. Heart full of doubt he
came in, closed the door and found a stick that he took in
hand. "Yong'r!" he bellowed angrily. The girl knew it didn't
look too good so she hid in her room, but the Squire went in
and dragged her out.
"It isn't enough to hit her on account of!" shouted Mama.
"And you shut your mouth, cause this stuff is serious! In the
past days two strings of cash just show up so mysteriously
and now all that rice comes out of nowhere! Tell this little
nun of yours if she comes clean with the truth I won't hit her,
but if one line is false I'll beat her to death with one blow!
Now, I ask her: How did the two strings of cash end up in
the snow and how did all that rice get into the room, and just
who was that big fellow? If it really was a rich family's charity
it's hard to imagine why they would help us of all people!
There must be a reason for all this!"
Now from the very beginning Yong'r had denied everything
but now faced with a beating she confessed to having
made up the big fellow's visit. But she didn't relish admitting
to those false accusations so she told only the truth.
"Daddy, I'm hiding nothing from you! Oh, Mama! It all
started on that day when the blizzard began and daddy
went away. Mom sent me over to buy some wheatcakes
and on the way back I ran into an old woman who said she
was hungry and asked me for one of the cakes. I couldn't
bear the pathetic sight of her and so I gave her one. But
then she said she wasn't really hungry and didn't really want
my food, that she'd only been playing with me, getting to
know my mind, and she gave it back to me. What a kind,
filial and obedient girl I was she told me. Then she gave me
a little sack of purple cloth with a book inside. She said if I
wanted money or rice I should learn the charms in it and
then I'd be able to change things into them."
Squire Hu listened to her words and then fell to the earthen
floor. "The officials have just posted signs calling for the
arrest of witches and sorcerers!" he cried. "If you're tried for
witchcraft I'll be implicated too so it's better I kill you myself
and not bring collective guilt down on us!" He then raised
the stick and began striking her.
"H-e-l-p!" screamed Yong'r. Now Sister Zhang next door
heard Yong'r being beaten and came over to protect her
but found the door bolted.
"Now Squire Hu!" she shouted from outside. "You stop
hitting that child at once! What ever she's done it doesn't
give you the right to disturb the peace with that kind of
outburst! Mama, how come you aren't stopping him?"
The Squire held his breath for a long moment. "Would
sister be so kind if she knew that my girl's hiding a book..."
His lips froze in mid-sentence.
"And what does that book say in it?" shouted Sister Zhang.
"It's all idle talk!" he answered.
Now the old neighbor woman naturally misunderstood,
taking it for an ordinary book of pornographic love stories.
"Your daughter's still too young to know right from wrong.
Better be careful or those smooth-talking young men in the
streets will take advantage of her! If I were you I'd burn that
book without even looking inside. It's better you don't know.
Then forbid her from ever doing it again! And if she
continues to arouse herself, take that child and beat the
daylights out of her!"
The Squire knelt and helped the girl up. "What Sister is
telling us is right!" he said, looking at Yong'r. "Let me see
that book of yours."
Yong'r took the book out of her tunic and gave it to her
father. "Do you remember what it says on the cover?" he
asked.
"Honest, daddy, I don't. I didn't really study it deeply."
The Squire then told Mama to bring a flaming stick, which
he used to burn the book together with its purple sack.
"You've been spared this one time for the sake of that
guardian angel of yours from next door, but if I catch you
doing this again I'll beat you to death!"
"Honest, daddy, I won't, ever!"
"And if the God of Fortune is ever to visit our family again,
nobody else is to know of this! If any word leaks out there
will be terrible consequences for us!"
Mama was frightened and confused and only agreed, for
better or worse. And here's a poem:
The Fairy Painting years before had Mama set aflame
The Squire now takes the Treasure Book and burns it just
the same.
If only they had managed to amend their fiery ways
Perhaps they would have then been spared
the wrath of Heaven's blaze.
And now a question arises in the course of the story. It has
been described back in chapter thirteen of this book how
Holy Auntie, Bonze Dan and Zuo Chu together engaged in
conjury for three difficult years before reaching their goal,
enduring all sorts of hardship, and now Hu Yong'r
transforms quantities of money and rice. Isn't it plain to see
how these events might be connected in a sequence of
cause and effect? There are things that you, dear reader,
do not know. The initial summoning of those ghosts and
gods back then was all the work of novice hands. Holy
Auntie has now passed the charms that she'd created on to
her daughter, and secretly helped her from the dark
emptiness of the world beyond in applying them. If Yong'r
had known from the beginning how much trouble and
sacrifice had been involved she wouldn't have been so
eager to learn it all. And just look at how the first and
second pages of the book had the charms for transforming
money and rice respectively. This was to make use of her
family's current shortages to engage her interest. It was all
Holy Auntie's work, initiating Yong'r into the fundamentals of
the craft.
To get back to our story, we look in on Hu Yong'r just after
she was beaten by her father and forced to hand over the
book for burning. All alone she shed tears of sadness;
Mama noticed and tried to comfort her. Next day the Squire
went out again and once more Mama went next door to
gossip. Yong'r then locked the front and back doors and
sadly went back to her room to reflect. Why, a book like that
that couldn't be had for a fortune, she reckoned. That old
woman had given it to her with all the best of intentions, and
with the money and rice conjured up from it they had
managed to live quite a few days without begging. She now
realized that with daddy having burnt the book she would
never find out what it had said in its later parts, and would
never learn its important secret charms and skills. Then she
remembered how the old woman had told her that when in
danger she could just shout "Holy Auntie" and the woman
would come straight away to guide her. And if she were
indeed to come perhaps she'd have another copy of that
book stored away to give her. Yong'r was just afraid that the
appearance of the old woman might frighten Mama and
reveal the secret, but nonetheless she tread into the
courtyard and faced the sky, shouting "H-o-l-y A-u-n-t-i-e" in
a husky voice. And sure enough there she was, bamboo
cane in hand, lowering herself from a ceiling beam into one
of the rooms without making a sound! Yong'r rushed in and
greeted her with the customary blessings, and then related
in its entirety the story of how her father had burnt the book.
"The book didn't really burn," said the woman; "I've got it on
me now!" And then she slipped it sideways out of her
sleeve, wrapped in its purple sack and completely
unharmed.
Yong'r fell to her knees in awe.
"My child!" said the woman, helping the girl to her feet, "I
was your natural mother in a previous life of yours! I've
come to give you the book out of pity for your suffering. If
you want it you must never open or reveal it at home, and it
must remain unused there. Here are my instructions to you.
Get a lot of sleep today and store up your strength. Come
nightfall don't undress but rather wait until after twilight when
all is still and then listen for the sound of wings of the stork
I'll be sending for you. Carefully leave your room and mount
the stork, and ride it up to meet me. I'll then present the
magic charms of that book for the second time, and you'll
be back home by the drumming of the fifth watch, near
dawn. When you've received the Way you'll find the
vastness of its miraculous power and the total joy of the
freedom it gives you to be beyond the power of words!"
"This is all so wonderful!" said Yong'r. "But I'm just afraid
mom and dad will sense that I'm gone and come to check
up on me. What can I say when I return at dawn?"
"This is simple!" said the woman, handing her bamboo
cane to Yong'r. "My child, take this cane and hide it well,
and when the time comes for you to leave this evening just
put it in your bed under the quilt. When your mom and dad
come to check it will look just as if you are sleep. This is a
body substitution trick that the fairies use!"
Yong'r took hold of the cane and watched as the old woman
flew up to the rafters and vanished. She was delighted and
hid it under her mat, following the instructions to not
undress. And sure enough, come twilight she heard the
swoosh of wings. Reaching under the mat she took out the
cane and placed it under her quilt, then carefully walked out
into the courtyard where she saw a fairy crane waiting,
dipping its neck invitingly. After climbing astride the bird's
back she soared up into the sky, arriving in a short while at
her destination. And there she saw the old woman already
awaiting her, no longer made up in mufti but wearing a
crown of stars atop her head, her body dressed in an
overcoat trimmed with stork's down, ever so neat and
handsome. One wave of her hand and that stork
disappeared right up her sleeve, to be taken out again as a
folded paper crane! Yong'r fell to her knees in terror.
"My child," said the old woman, helping her back to her
feet, "put your fears to rest!" Yong'r sensed that she was
standing in a very high place.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"This is the first level of the pagoda at the center of the
Great Temple of the State, a place never visited by
humans. Now at last I can teach you everything! First, let me
instruct you in charms for concealing shape, so that you
may enter through windows and cracks, passing in and out
without need for doors. Next I'll teach you flight charms. You
recite these when straddling a bench which will then
perform magically as you desire, rising up and soaring into
the sky. So every night you can enjoy the freedom and
convenience of coming and going as you please!"
Now Yong'r was able to learn all of this magic and achieve
a thorough understanding of that Ruyi Baoce between her
arrival at sunset and departure at dawn. One reason was
that she was so bright and clever, and another was that the
magic charms were the end result of Holy Auntie's own
laborious cultivation, all well known to her and taught so
very efficiently.
Let's now put aside Yong'r and her study of secret lore for
and get back to Squire Hu. When he burnt that book the
pantry was stocked with rice and the bed full of money. Now
as the ancients say, one eats proudly sitting on an open
mountaintop, but standing ignominiously when trapped in
an earthen pit! Time flew by little by little and and soon a
fortnight had passed, and again they were running low on
food and short on funds. And in a little while both were
completely gone and they were missing meals again. When
they tried begging they were coldly snubbed as before and
once more had nothing to eat. Mama though wistfully of how
Yong'r had conjured up money and rice and angrily scolded
her husband with cold sarcasm and fiery abuse.
"You beat Yong'r and burnt up her book!" she shouted.
"And now as a result you're starving to death and dragging
us down with you in your misery! How can you be like this,
starving in your own ricebin and demanding that your wife
and daughter go hungry too!"
"I can't bear the way things have turned out either!" said the
Squire. "Why are you tearing into me like this?"
"If only we can get a little food to eat life will hold out some
hope for us. If you'd only beaten her she might still be able
to make us some money or rice. But no, you had to go and
burn that book of hers and so now we're at the end of our
lives!"
"I realize I was wrong, a thousand times wrong. I should
have known to save it for a time like this!"
"It's too late now!"
I"ll just have to do some apologizing to our daughter. I think
she may still remember a bit of it and maybe she'll be able
to save us all by making another little batch of money and
rice! Why don't you go ask her?"
"Ever since you beat her my daughter hasn't come near us.
She just mopes darkly in her room all day and at night she
sleeps just like a log, not even stirring in her dreams. Last
night when I went to the toilet I noticed that the back door
had been blown open by the wind and I was afraid she'd
catch cold. When I lit up a lantern and went in for a look she
was sleeping stiffly with the quilt pulled tight over her. No
matter how you tug at her cover she won't even stir. Such a
fine and bright daughter we had, struck dumb by a few
blows of those stupid fists of yours!" And then she
remembered about the book. "If you want to ask her
something go in and do it yourself!" she continued. "I don't
have that kind of crust!"
The Squire then strolled right into her room. "My daughter!"
he said in a gently laughing voice. "Daddy just wants to ask
if maybe you remember a bit of those secret formulas for
making money and rice."
"Honest daddy!" answered Yong'r dreamily, "I don't!"
"My child! It's your own father and mother to be saved, not
some strangers. Please, forgive your father's mistake!"
Yong'r remained silent even as Mama burst angrily into the
room, grabbing the Squire by his tunic and shaking him
with both hands. "Get out of here, you living corpse!" she
shouted. She then approached her daughter. "Child!" she
pleaded. "If you won't forgive father, please consider your
poor old mother! For better or worse, please try to
remember a bit of that magic and save at least your
mother's life!"
"I'll never strike you again!" said the Squire.
"Oh, I've already forgotten all about that!" said Yong'r, flatly. I
do recall a bit of the magic but I don't know if it'll really work.
Daddy! Get a bench and sit down on it. I'll show you.
Accordingly the Squire brought over a wooden bench and
sat down astride it, just watching his daughter as she
recited some poem and then shouted "Live!". Suddenly that
bench just rose up! Mama gasped once and went silent,
simply dumbstruck. Why, the Squire's head was pressed
up against the roofbeam! "H-e-l-p!" he screamed, but he
was not to be brought down. If it weren't for the roof he'd
have risen half way to Heaven! It was really just like this:
Not yet ready to extend that fairy's helping hand
First she had a little joke upon her father planned!
To see how Squire Hu at last comes down to earth again
In the coming chapter you will find out how and when!
Chapter 21
SQUIRE HU REBUILDS HIS
FORTUNE IN PING'AN STREET
WHILE FOR HU YONG'R ITS
BEAN MEN AND PAPER HORSES
Those who know the good Five Thunders Law are
few indeed
But evil sorcery is spread with such amazing speed!
By keeping faith with Heaven and by not deceiving
Earth
Forever will you know the Fairies' frolicking and mirth!
As the story left off Hu Yong'r playfully had her father sit
upon a bench which she then commanded to fly up to the
roofbeam, pinning him there in horror.
"What sort of magic is this?" he shouted down at his
daughter. "Come on, get me back down again!"
"Oh my gosh, daddy, I've got the charms mixed up. I can't
remember the ones for money and rice but only this one,
and it's no good for saving us from hunger and despair!"
"Just hurry and get me down, before we frighten others!"
Yong'r mumbled a mouthful of magic and once more
shouted the magic activating word. The bench with its
occupant came back down. "Wow, that was dangerous! If
I'd fallen it probably wouldn't have killed me but I'd have
some good bruises all over to show for it!"
"Daddy! Do you really want money or not?"
"My dear! How can you ask such a question? Your mother
and I haven't had a proper bowl of rice for two or three days
now. Saying I didn't need money would be just like saying I
didn't need to live any longer, wouldn't it?"
Yong'r nodded. "Seeing as you really do need the money,
go find me two lengths of string and I'll conjure up two
strings of cash."
"I can't really say I enjoy relying on my own daughter" he
thought, "but beggars can't be choosers! I'd better take
advantage of her generous mood and go get some string.
Why, if she somehow manages to make me a few hundred
strings of cash I'll be thrilled, that's for sure! And if the
officials find out, well, I'll deal with that when and if it
happens!" And so he looked under the bed and found the
two strings from before. Fearful of getting too little money
he strolled over to the shops in the main street and went
straight into his long-time acquaintance Zou Dalang's
general merchandise shop.
"Dalang, I need a big ball of hemp string!" he proclaimed.
"What for?"
"To string money on, what else!" answered the Squire,
directly and naively as always.
"So, you're back to your former riches! Rolling in money
again, eh Squire? There's enough string here for all of it!"
"I don't have any money on me now." The Squire then
began to take off his feather trimmed coat, hoping to pawn
it for the string.
Zou Dalang considered this carefully. "He comes to buy
string," he thought, "but he's got no money. He's just
dreaming about threading coins onto the string. Why with all
his troubles, his having no food to eat and all I can imagine
what kind of trick he might pull off using that string,
Tomorrow he goes out and gets into trouble and then he
implicates me!" He had to refuse the Squire.
"All purchases cash only!" he answered. "We small
shopkeepers get by on little enough profit as it is. Put that
coat of yours back on!"
"Just wait a second and I'll be back to buy it!" said the
Squire, but Zou wasn't about to believe him. The Squire
then bowed and left. "No wonder I'm down and out in life!"
he thought. "What can I expect from strangers if my closest
acquaintances can be like that? I'd better go get those
three bits of string and have her conjure up some coins for
them. Then I'll be back!"
And so he rushed frantically back to the shelter, dashed into
his room and hurriedly searched under the bed, but the
string was nowhere to be seen. Mama and Yong'r couldn't
help but laugh at the sight. "Old moron! What's your hurry?"
shouted Mama.
"I found three bits of string here earlier. What's happened to
them?"
"I've given them to our daughter to make three strings of
cash from. And where may I ask did you run off to?"
"I just thought that as long as I was asking her to go to the
trouble, why not go find thousands of strings and have them
all hung with cash, to really last a while? I was impatient so I
rushed over to see Zou Dalang in his General Store but he
insisted on cash. I even took off my feather lined overcoat
to pawn but he just refused and refused!"
You'd better mind that greedy heart of yours!" scolded
Mama. "Just one or two new strings a day of the cash we've
got here at home now is enough to keep you from begging
for the rest of your life!"
"Where's the cash at?"
"Wrapped up in a quilt."
The Squire was incomparably delighted and sprung right
off to buy some firewood and provisions. The next day
together with Mama he would again beg Yong'r to transform
some money. And from that day forth she would be
conjuring money up daily and the rice drum would always
be full. And the Squire himself would again have a bit of
pocket money on him for wine and food outside and for
new clothes. How much brighter and more prosperous than
before he would appear!
One fine day the Squire returned from shopping to find his
daughter awaiting him. "Daddy! Look at this!" she said,
producing a lump of silver. Squire Hu took it, rolled it in his
palm and passed it between his hands, guessing its weight
to be twenty-four or five Chinese ounces.
"Where did this come from?" he asked.
"When I got up early this morning I saw this old man selling
incense and ritual scrip from a cart. He had paper cuttings
of gold and silver and a I bought on of the silver lump
cuttings for a penny. And then I tranformed it into the real
thing!"
"Whipping up a thousand strings of cash like you did was
really something, but if you can transform paper into silver
and gold we'll be back to our former riches!" And so he
walked over to a paper horse shop and bought three
strings of ready made ritual papercuttings of silver coins.
"Just making a single lump won't do the job for us!" he told
his daughter. "Why not transform these here twenty or thirty
pieces at once and we'll be set for the rest of our lives!"
Yong'r took a string of silver and one of gold and put them
upon the ground. Then she covered them with her skirt,
mumbled the lines of the charm and spit out the mouthful of
water, incanting the command to attack. And when she
lifted her skirt for a look there were indeed so many lumps
of silver and gold piled up there. The Squire, needless to
say, was delighted.
"With our return to wealth," he thought out loud, looking at
his wife and daughter, "we'll finally be able to end our
unhappy stay in this beggars' shelter. I mean, let's go find a
place in a busy district and open a silk shop. What do you
say to that?"
Mama was hesitant. "We went without food for an entire
winter and in the end we had to beg. And now if we
suddenly open a silk shop just like that, well, I'm afraid
people will really wonder..."
"Don't worry!" said the Squire. "I'll just tell all of my old
acquaintances that a high official is looking after me and
has lent me some capital to make a new start. When I
propose to pay the suppliers half in cash with the balance
on credit, they won't have any doubts."
"What you say makes sense!" said Mama.
That very day Squire Hu dressed up in a clean outfit and
went to seek out a few of his old associates for a little
meeting. "I've got an official taking care of me now," he told
them. "He's lent me some startup capital to open a little
shop with. Are you all willing to back me and help out? I'll
only be able to pay fifty percent up front in cash, and the
rest I'll need credit for. I'll soon be back on my feet for sure
with your help!"
"No problem! No problem at all!" they all seemed to shout
as one. "We'll take the risk!" Squire Hu then went to the
marketplace and found a nice location for his business,
furnished it and selected an auspicious day for the the
grand opening.
Now although he spoke of half credit and half cash he was
in fact a middleman; how could he really get much
business? Fortunately Yong'r was in the shop where she
could hear of any pending shortfalls and simply conjure up
whatever was needed. And so he could sell merchandise
worth an entire string of cash for only nine hundred,
discounting the difference. As folks are always after a
bargain they all came round with their business, seeing that
his prices were so low and his merchandise superior to that
of other shops. He hired a manager, two assistants and two
maids as well. And in two or three years the family was on
its way back up. First they erected a new house on their
land at the old fire site in Ping'an Street. Although not as
elaborate as their mansion of old it had all the rooms, halls
and trappings of a fine home, with a garden at the rear in
which they planted a fine lawn and flowers. It was like this:
Sudden the skies are clear once more
The family's name restored as of before.
At that happy time the neighbors all came over to
congratulate them, seeking to revive their old ties by
bringing over tasty dishes while many old acquaintances
came to call. Squire Hu and his family had spent two years
on the pavillion and in the beggars' shelter and had now
been living in a room of the shop for the past three, for a
total of five years since the fire. And once again he was
back as the rich Squire Hu! It really had happened as the
old man had said:
If the Yellow River has its days of troubled flow
How can folks expect to live without a time of woe?
And here's another poem:
The rise and fall of livelihoods is always up to Fate
As wealth is snatched away to be returned some future
date.
By now somebody had no doubt informed our Mi Dujian
That the former moneybags was wealthy once again.
As time passed the other families couldn't help noticing all
of his customers, and they jealously voiced their suspicions.
"They're doing some kind of shadey and weird tricks!" was
the story going around. "The boss just goes in back and
comes up with all that stock out of nowhere!"
His own managers also began to express doubts. "How
can he go in back and bring out all that cloth when there's
no stock in the place?" they asked each other.
Squire Hu became aware of their jealousies and
suspicions. "We never buy more stock," he realized,
"because our daughter simply conjures it up. What should I
do about all these jealous people spreading rumors
around?" And so next evening after closing the shop he
went home and into the kitchen as if to order the
preparation of supper, only this time he asked the three
maids to enjoy some wine with him. "Take a little time off
tonight!" he told them; "we've got a family matter to discuss
in private. Needless to say the happy maids were gone on
their own ways in an instant. The Squire then spoke
seriously to Yong'r.
"My child!" he said. "Our fate and dreams all began with
you! Well, there's a problem now with some bolts of gold
and silver satin in the shop; I don't know how many. It
seems like the clerks and managers and even the maids
are suspicious about them. They see the goods going out
retail but never coming in wholesale. From now on why
don't you stop apppearing in public for awhile? No more
conjuring up goods whenever you hear a sale being made.
If we're exposed there will be terrible consequences and
our dreams will be shattered, so let's cover our tracks
carefully. No more magic from today on!"
"All right, daddy, I'll do as you say and stay inside. No more
minding the shop's business and helping out with the
stock." He then called for supper to be served; they ate and
the daughter returned to her room.
Within a short while the bolts of satin in question were sold
out and new stock was ordered from other merchants
instead of being conjured up by Yong'r, who no longer
came into the shop or minded its affairs. Squire Hu felt
somewhat at ease. After a few weeks had passed,
however, he had a sudden realization. "These days I've
been devoting all of my attention to business and I've
neglected that daughter of mine back home. If she's just
indulging herself quietly in a young woman's fancies that's
fine, but who can tell what sort of strange craft she might be
up to? If it's witchcraft and the maids find out it'll be terrible!
And so Squire Hu acted on this hunch and went forth to
check up on his daughter. He looked in the main family hall
and then in her room but couldn't find her. He then searched
the garden but she was nowhere to be seen, but passing in
front of the woodshed he noticed the door ajar. "Could she
be in here?" he thought. And so walking stealthily on the
balls of his feet he entered the room and saw Yong'r seated
on a bench in the middle of the room with a bowl of water
before her. She was holding a royal red vial made of a
small dried gourd, the type used for secret potions.
"What's she doing in here of all places?" thought the Squire
as he rose on his tiptoes and craned his neck for a better
view, only afraid of alarming her to his presence. And as he
watched she tapped the mouth of that red vial and spilled
out about two hundred red beans and myriad blades of
grass that soon covered the entire floor. She then chanted
something under her breath, spit out the mouthful of water
she'd been holding and shouted "Attack!" The beans then
changed into three-foot-tall men and horses, clad in red
helmets, armor and gowns and carrying red flags and
martial banners. The red cavalry then wheeled around and
formed an attack formation.
"Early last month," thought the Squire, "I told her this was
forbidden, and now she's once again practicing sorcery. I'd
better see just what she's up to!"
And as he watched Yong'r took a white gourd vial and
tapped two hundred or so white beans out of its mouth,
spreading along with blades of grass all over the earthen
floor. Again she filled her mouth with water, chanted
something unintelligable and spit it out, once more shouting
"Attack!" And they all changed into men and horses, clad in
white helmets. armor and gowns and carrying white flags
and banners. The white horses drew into a defensive wall
and they too prepared for battle.
Now Squire Hu's eyes were aghast as he looked on, not
quite sure if this was a scene from a dream or what! And as
he watched in horror Yong'r took a metal pin from her hair
and shouted "Change!" That pin then changed right in her
hand into a magic jeweled sword which she then pointed
toward the formations of opposing cavalry. "Join battle!"
she then shouted. And the men and horses could be seen
rushing toward each other in a desperate struggle to the
last man. Squire Hu was stricken senseless with fright. "If
I've been able to see this, others are bound to sooner or
later!" he thought. "This is a really serious affair and this
little witch is going to implicate me in it sooner or later. If I
want to live I'd better forget my feelings as a father and do
something about it."
In great agitation he then strode into the woodshed, found a
slaughterer's knife there and rushed forward. Now as has
been said Yong'r had a sword which she had used in
ordering the two armies into battle for the Mandate of
Heaven. She watched intently as they fought and was
unable to distinguish a winner. After awhile they
disengaged and the red and white armies stood down in
their respective positions. Yong'r waved the sword and
shouted "Recover!" The red and white cavalries and
battlefield diarama just changed back into so many red and
white beans and blades of grass. Yong'r then picked them
up and placed them back into the gourd vials. Squire Hu
approached silently from behind, raised the slaughterer's
sword, looked clearly at Yong'r and decapitated her with
one blow. Her head tumbled onto the ground, and here is a
poem:
The bond between a father and his child weathers all
But on account of sorcery a head did sadly fall.
Sadly were her armies both like cloud troops in the sky
Who couldn't save their general when her time had come to
die.
Now as Squire Hu watched his daughter's body and head
resting in different spots he felt ever so bitter and sad, and
panic shot through him. Tossing aside the slaughterer's
sword he placed the corpse and head togther in a quiet
place and covered them up, then went out and found a lock
to secure the place. With the energy and color all drained
out of him he then went into the textile shop and sat on the
floor. "Oh, my aching conscience!" he pined. "My daughter
was responsible for all of our dreams coming true before I
spotted her doing evil and took her life, as is required by
law. I really can't be blamed. If I'd protected her we'd have to
bear an official inquest by torture sooner or later. Now that
I've destroyed her my wife and I are safe, but when she
finds out I'm really in for it! Why, before day is done she'll be
asking me why I killed her girl!" He couldn't calm himself
down, sitting or standing; climbing out of his skin he walked
in and out of the shop over a hundred times.
After the shop had closed and the manager had gone
home he summoned the maids. "Set up some wine and
three cups for me and Mama!" he ordered. Now as they
drank neither he nor his wife brought up their daughter but
finally the Squire sighed mournfully, tears streaming down
his face.
"Why all this crying?" asked Mama. "Everything's fine, isn't
it?"
"I've done something, something that I regret deeply! I
spotted our girl doing something abominable and watched
her at it for nearly an hour. In order to protect our lives I had
to destroy her. I'm only afraid you'll accuse me...please,
take it easy!"
How can you say such a thing, Squire!" gasped Mama.
"Just what kind of illicit trick was she up to?"
He then told her the entire story of the red and white magic
cavalries, from beginning to end. Mama listened and burst
into tears, pounding her breast and stomping her feet.
"Have you forgotten how you starved and shivered in the
beggars' shelter three years ago?" she blurbered. "Where
would you be today if it weren't for our daughter! And you
raised your hand and took my girl's life!"
"But I was scared out of my wits, and because she was our
flesh and blood we were connected to her crimes. I had no
other choice! Now you hold off on your judgement and
hatred of me and just try to keep up a normal appearance
through all of this."
"You killed my daughter!" she screamed. "How can I take it
easy?" Mama then had a flash of doubt and hope: "Why, I
just saw her sitting happily in her room a moment ago. How
can you have destroyed her? What time did you do it?"
"It was during the day."
"Well, if you say you killed her earlier today I've got
someone for you to meet!"
Mama went in first, then came out and motioned for him to
come. The Squire peered in carefully. "It's my daughter!" he
cried out in fright. "Earlier today I beheaded her! How can
she be alive now?" In horror he felt a trembling deep inside,
for he knew that eventually he would be implicated in the
witch's ghostly mischief and that he had to come up with a
plan to protect their lives. But this was all bigger than he
realized: the strange acts that Fate had ordained Yong'r to
perform would disturb the entire region of Kaifeng Fu. And
here is a poem:
Ping'an for the most part is a blessed neighborhood
But all those ghostly happenings will not bring any good.
To see what little plan the Squire will put into play
Continue on and see what later chapters have to say.
Chapter 22
Squire Hu Consults a Matchmaker about
his Kin
And Han'ge the Dimwit Lights a Lantern
in a Cave
Many are the tales of evil and insanity
Evil's widely hated while Good earns perfidy!
Wealth engenders jealousy and poverty, contempt
How can the way that matches
Heaven's plan be known or dreamt?
As our story continues Mama placed her hands firmly on
her daughter's shoulders and led her out of the bedroom.
Catching sight of her father she wheeled around, greeted
him coldly and turned to Mama. "Dad's got nothing to say,
so why did you bring me out?" she asked. Squire Hu was
dumbstruck at seeing his daughter standing there alive as
she could be. He then received quite a bit of severe
criticism and scolding from his wife, and passed the night
in nervous bewilderment.
Next morning he rose early and went right to the woodshed
for a look. The sight that greeted him there made him gasp
in panic. For he saw only the long butcher's knife lying to
one side, with the sliced-off head of a broomstick and its
lower part lying there on the floor, seperated by its blade. "It
was only yesterday that I did the act and I remember it so
clearly!" he thought. "How could it have been only a
broomstick? With her being a witch capable of all these
strange tricks, why, there's going to be no destroying her.
I'd best figure out some way to get her out of my household
and fast!"
After hesitating for an entire day the Squire finally brought it
up with Mama over dinner. "Folks expect young men to
seek a wife and young women to be married off," he
began. "Yong'r is all grown up and just keeping her here at
home is no long term arrangement. She's got to do
something with the rest of her life."
His wife was indignant at first. "Our home and business are
all being carried on her shoulders for now. We can't simply
push her out!" Mama then thought of a possibility. "On the
other hand, we have only her... so if we found a young man
to marry into our family and take our name we'd have
another child helping us out!"
"Mama!" said the delighted Squire. "That's just what I've
had in mind all along! Problem is, our daughter's been
spoiled ever since childhood and she's fond of playing all
the time." He then sent the maid away and told his wife in
private all about the battle between those bean men and
horses in the woodshed. "If that activity of hers falls under
somone's scrutiny and the word gets out, you and I will be
put to death! Better to arrange a little romance for her and
send her out as a bride to live with her in-laws for awhile,
really far from us where she'll have to watch her step. Then
in a few years when she's grown out of it we can invite them
to come live with us. They're sure to take advantage of
that!"
"Yes," said Mama, persuaded; "it does look that way." And
so next day at dawn an employee was sent over to a
residential lane in the next street to summon a couple of
matchmakers who lived there. Before long he returned with
the two old women, and here is a poem about the ways of
matchmakers entitled "Flying Above the Clouds":
Just fear the local matchmaker, shuttling to and fro!
Using just a horoscope less year of birth, you know!
Who cares? Her tongue talks up a storm
that makes the poor seem rich
Then brings the match to final consumation in a stitch.
What's a wasted lifetime once she's got her little fee?
In cash from both the husband's side and from the bride-tobe!
Now one of those two matchmakers was known as the
gabby Every Auntie Zhang and the other was called the
silent Every Auntie Li, and together they pretty much
characterized all matchmakers who have ever lived
anywhere. They arrived in front of the family hall and
greeted the Squire and Mama, who invited them to sit for
tea. And when tea was finished wine was set out for their
enjoyment.
"Tell me," said Every Auntie Zhang, standing impatiently,
"Why have you sent for us?"
"Be seated," answered the Squire. "Haven't you two seen
our daughter yet?"
"Oooh," said Every Auntie Zhang, "we saw her earlier.
What a fine looking young woman!"
"She's our only daughter, nineteen years old and I'm
seeking a husband for her. That's why I called especially for
you ladies."
"Good Squire and Mama, it's wonderful how you look after
your daughter! Now we know you want to find a mate for
her, but do you want to bring the husband in or marry the girl
out?"
"I only want to marry her off."
"Well then," said Every Auntie Li, "in that case there are
matches to be had."
The Squire then took out two lumps of silver.
"Here's a little advance money for you two to get started
with. When you make a match there'll be lots more coming."
"We haven't even lifted a finger yet"....."How can we take
your money?" said the two women in quick order even as
Every Auntie Zhang took the cash with some words of
thanks, placing it in her purse to be weighed and divided up
later.
"Let's go and start talking it up to all the rich good folks we
know!" she said as they set out.
"Just when the choices seem so few, look at the miracles
we can do!" added Auntie Li.
"That's right!" said Every Auntie Li, "I report to you all that
I've done, and you likewise tell all to me."
The two then went their separate ways as planned. "Squire
Zhang with the big shop in West Market Street is seeking a
nice bride for his seventeen-year-old son," thought Auntie
Zhang. "Only the boy might not like the Hu girl's being two
years older. Still," she continued, "whatever the outcome
there's no harm in going over for a few cakes and a round
of wine!"
A short while later she arrived at the Zhangs' residence.
"What brings you to my home?" asked Squire Zhang upon
seeing the old matchmaker.
"So many matchmakers have come and gone, all for
naught. Praytell, who's daughter is it this time?"
"The big silk merchant Squire Hu's daughter, a really fine
looking and lovely girl."
Oh, yes, I've seen her at the Pond of Golden Brightness.
She's really quite a number! Only I wonder about her age..."
"She's nineteen and an only child."
"Squire Hu wants to marry her out, in fact!"
Now Squire Zhang was truly delighted to hear this. He
ordered up some wine and sat with her for the customary
three rounds, then presented her with an ounce of silver.
"If a marriage results there'll be more compensation
coming!" he said gleefully, as Every Auntie Zhang took the
money, thanked him and left. Having drunk both families
wine, thoughts rushed through her mind.
"This was a good day's work. Everything went so smoothly,
and now those two seem headed for a successful match.
Tomorrow I'll get up before dawn and head over to Squire
Hu's to talk it over. No need to tell good old Auntie Li!"
In fact, our old reliable Auntie Li had some thoughts of her
own, having just that very day visited the home of the
fabulously wealthy Squire Tang.
"He's got a twenty-one-year-old son who was once
engaged to the wealthy Xu family's girl. But they didn't tie
the knot because the young lady was afflicted with
tuberculosis and passed away just a month after the New
Year, and now the young Master Tang is again asking for a
wife." And so Every Auntie Zhang strolled right up to Squire
Tang's gate just in time to find him sitting right there; they
were well acquainted and he greeted her warmly.
"Why, what brings you around, Every Auntie Li?"
"I've come to discuss something with you."
"Well, well, if you've got something to tell me let's go
inside!" They entered the family hall and sat.
"Is the young master home?" asked Auntie Li.
"He's still out picking up some merchandise."
"Are there any other marriage prospects now that the Xu
girl has passed away?"
"Nobody as of yet. If you hear of someone with a good
head on her shoulders we'll be able to make a match, that's
for sure!"
"I've got one that he's certain to take a fancy to!"
"And who's girl might she be?"
"It's the nineteen-year-old daughter of Squire Hu, the one
with the silk shop."
"Hah! I know the girl! She's really a clever one at that! Back
when Squire Hu opened his new shop we paid a call to him
and he invited us in to meet her and chat. Much as we were
delighted we couldn't take him up on it because of my son's
engagement to the Xu girl. I wonder if he's still
interested...could that be why you're here, Auntie?"
"Yesterday he summoned me and gave me two ounces of
silver and three glasses of wine, and told me how he
wanted to marry his daughter out to some wealthy family.
That's why I've come, all right!"
Squire Tang was totally delighted to hear all this, calling for
some wine to be served and presenting her with an ounce
of silver. "There'll be more compensation after the
wedding!" he said. "If any problems arise let's do our best
to solve them, by gosh!"
Every Auntie Li thanked Squire Tang and went out, feeling
ever so happy the entire way home. She reckoned that she
ought to conceal the entire matter from that noisy and
impulsive colleague of hers, Every Auntie Zhang, and
simply handle it all herself upon the morrow.
And so bright and early next morning Squire Hu's door
opened to greet Every Auntie Zhang, first to arrive. But
before she entered someone far in the distance caught her
sight. Why, it looked like none other than Every Auntie Li,
and headed her way at that!
"I'd better hide and see just where the old hag is headed,
up and about so early!" she thought, watching as Every
Auntie Li came right up to Squire Hu's gate, spotted her
colleague and rushed inside to join her with a nod in
greeting. Now, wasn't it just like an insomniac to get the
jump on an early riser! They were indeed shocked for a
moment but then merely feigned disinterest.
"What did you come here to talk about?" asked Every
Auntie Zhang.
"Figuring you were here I just came over to keep you
company!"
"I also had an idea that you'd be showing up! That's why I
was here waiting for you!" The two then had a good laugh.
"Admit it, sister!" said Every Auntie Li, "Haven't you already
bagged a groom on your own?"
"Oh all right, no use trying to hide it from you. One with a
first class head on his shoulders. It's nearly a sure thing!"
"And which family is he from?"
"It's the seventeen-year-old dreamboat son of the grand
emporium owner, Squire Zhang!"
"Sister, don't be silly! I always say 'If the elder is the boy, the
pair will have a life of joy'. I'm afraid that a little dove who's
two years younger than her mate won't quite suite this
family!"
"Now you just shut your mouth!" snapped Every Auntie
Zhang. "Folks always say 'A wife that's older by a year
means meals always will be near!' And then there's 'If the
bride is two years older, market profits will be bolder!' And
then, well, you know the rest: 'A wife three years up on her
spouse ensures they'll have a growing house!' Now this girl
is two years older, so that means prosperity. How can
anything be wrong with that?"
"I've found one that has him all beat! It's none other than the
rich financier Squire Tang's young master. Bride and
groom both the sole heirs of their families! They're bound to
tie the knot just like that, soon as the word is out of my
mouth!"
Isn't that the brokenhearted boy who won't look at another
girl since his bride-to-be died on him? What eligible girl
would ever want to be a pot for that wallflower? Whatever
his brains you'd best keep quiet about him if you don't want
to regret it later!"
"I ought to slap your face!" seethed Auntie Li. "Of course
the Squire will select my match!"
"Now, now, I'll go along with whomever he chooses and I
expect you to do the same, whatever your wild ideas. We'll
just drink a toast to the happy couple and call it a job as
usual."
Now, the clerk in Squire Hu's shop overheard this. "That's
the idea!" he chimed in. "Life is too short for arguments.
But I wonder who our master will finally choose. Well, Fate
was set into motion five centuries ago and there's nothing
we can do about it!"
Upon hearing those words the two women went silently into
the guest room and sat in waiting, and here is a poem that
sums it all up:
The matchmakers both seem to have such little boats for
feet
If the river's deep enough their rounds will be complete.
Engaging in an early-rising contest of deceit
They cannot guess their plans will not with Squire's
approval meet!
To get on with the story, Squire Hu soon came into the foyer
and sat facing the matchmakers. "You two sure are hardworking," he began. "Just yesterday I spoke and already
you are here with some news."
Every Auntie Zhang didn't wait for her colleague to respond.
"There's one good match and I found him all by my little old
self!" she boasted. It's the seventeen-year-old prodigy of
the big emporium owner, Squire Zhang. Clever as they
come, at word or sum!"
Squire Hu seemed uninterested. "We've already
considered that match," he countered. "Turned it down."
Every Auntie Li then spoke up. "Mine is a young master as
well, from the family of the rich financier Squire Tang. Such
a fine boy and fully twenty-one years of age, super clever
and quick-witted and a genius at writing and arithetic. Five
or six years ago you considered a marriiage with him but
nothing came of it, and now here's another chance."
"And I've already turned him down as well," answered
Squire Hu. "May I trouble you to look for another match?"
"How could you pass up such fine matches?" asked one of
the women. "Have you consulted your wife about this?"
"I just have some little doubts about those two, and my wife
can't make up her mind either." He then took out another
lump of silver and gave it to them. "I shouldn't be keeping
you here so early in the day. Remember, I want you to do
your best to find a sincere young man who leaves me with a
good impression."
The old women took the money and got up to leave. "Well,"
said one, "we didn't make a match this time but our getting
up so early wasn't really wasted, either. I guess we really
didn't try hard enough. Next time we'll play him along and
have him down on his knees pleading with us." They then
split the small silver ingot in half and went on their separate
ways.
From that point on the two old matchmakers stuck together
like a pair of waterbugs, scurrying along as one. Now to
summarize in brief they had been told by Squire Hu that
their fine matches had already been refused, and now they
didn't know where to turn for a marriageable man. Squire
Hu was generous enough, they knew, giving wine and
money beforehand like that. But what would they say if he
wanted nothing to do with any of their matches?
"I reckon that in the end he was just jealous of those bright
young men we found," said Every Auntie Li.
"Well, we've got no one to visit today. Tell you what! Why
don't we pay a call upon Squire Hu and bamboozle him out
of some wine and a couple bits of silver? It'll be such fun!"
"What kind of match have you got for him?"
"Now don't you go minding that!" exclaimed Every Auntie
Zhang. "Just go along with me on the joke and enjoy your
wine!"
The pair arrived just in time to find Squire Hu opening his
shop. "Any news of a match?" he asked.
"Squire!" exclaimed Every Auntie Zhang. "There's a Squire
Jiao who also owns a silk shop, same as you. He's got a
son who is so sincere and simple you won't believe it! I'm
only afraid he might be a bit too much so...!"
How old is he and what does he do?"
"Everybody reckons the Jiaos' boy to be about nineteen.
He still has a wetnurse to dress him and call him to meals
three times a day. And he drools a bit out the corner of his
mouth and doesn't know exactly what's going on, so they all
call him Han'ge the Dimwit."
"That sounds fine!" answered the Squire. "See to it, will
you? And you don't have to go exaggerating his virtues like
that to my wife."
The matchmakers were dumbstruck. "He tosses aside the
finest golden boys, and then he takes that daughter of his
and marries her to a nut. Go figure!" They then drank a few
rounds of wine and received two pieces of silver, thanked
the Squire and left. Across the way was a tearoom, and
they stopped in for a cup.
"You really are something!" laughed Every Auntie Li,
"Making me sweat to hold back my laughs! I was only afraid
he'd explode in rage and whip me! How dreadful that would
have been!"
"Well, as we said he had turned down quite a few good
matches. I was only baiting him, hoping he'd get all riled up
and give us a good laugh. Who'd have guessed he'd
actually go for it seriously!"
"It must have been what he really wanted!" said Every
Auntie Li. "If not, why would he have given us each two
pieces of silver? It's unusually generous!" And the two
hastened on their way, giggling. They headed directly for
the Fallen Heroes District and the home of Squire Jiao,
who invited them in for tea.
"You two came through my gate chirping like a pair of
crickets!" said the Squire. "Have you really brought such
good news for me?"
"To tell the truth, Squire, we've just come to tipple a little
wine and tell you about a marriage match for your son."
"My boy is an idiot who doesn't know the time of day. What
family's daughter would want to marry him?"
"Squire Hu, another silk shop owner just like you, has got a
real flower of a girl!" said Every Auntie Li. "Nineteen years
old and already she's turned down so many fine young men
who've come a'calling. We two have just come from
speaking there on your son's behalf. Squire Hu has given
his blessing to the match and sent us especially to tell you
the news."
Now, Squire Jiao was visibly delighted. "There'll be lots of
rewards for both of you if this match of yours really results in
a marriage!" he said excitedly. The pair then drank several
cups of wine and each received two lumps of silver before
leaving Squire Jiao's home and returning to see Squire Hu.
"Squire Jiao was so delighted to hear of your lovely
daughter!" reported Every Auntie Li. "He begs you to set an
auspicious day and time for the bride to receive her gifts.
The arrangements are all up to your your liking."
Squire Hu was pleased as could be to hear this and called
the matchmakers to inform his Lady, who only pronounced
it a miracle that the groom was a young man of such wealth
and substance. It was only due to his maids' doting since
childhood, she stated, that he still needed others to dress
him. It would make no difference in such a wealthy home,
she insisted. And so Squire Hu's wife was clearly satisfied,
and the matchmakers returned to Squire Jiao and reported
all of this accordingly. Now to make a long story short he
then utilized the two women to carry over the bridal gifts, the
live goose and family books. As his son was no help Squire
Jiao prepared all these things himself. An auspicious date
and time was quickly set for the marriage to be performed,
and Squire Jiao and his wife called called their son's
wetnurse in for instructions.
"Now that the young master has grown up and taken a wife
we're making you responsible for what goes on in the
marriage chamber. If you can ensure a harmonious
domestic life for them, with each persevering and the girl
dutifully following my boy in all things, each going along
quietly with the other, we will reward you richly."
"Thank you, Squire and Lady Jiao," said the maid. "I've got
the idea."
"When telling him the hows and whys," said Lady Jiao, "it'll
be best to go slowly." The maid then accompanied her into
the couple's new room to speak with the groom.
"Han'ge my boy! Tomorrow you are taking a wife!"
Han'ge just repeated this, word for word.
"Isn't it wonderful!" exclaimed the maid.
"Isn't it wonderful!" repeated the groom.
The nurse fell silent. "The Squire doesn't see just how
hopeless this is!" she thought. "What's this fool going to do
with a wife? It all boils down to bringing suffering and harm
on somebody else's daughter! And that stupid Squire Hu
doesn't get it either. Why, I've heard folks say that his girl is
a really complete person, so bright and wise for her years,
widely learned and beautiful. Who knows how it will work
out, marrying her to this idiot!"
Next morning the Jiaos were busy arranging the wedding;
need I say more? Come nightfall Lady Hu escorted the
bride over the threshhold. Needless to say there were bows
and prayers and much feasting before the Buddha. But as
the wetnurse escorted Han'ge into the banquet hall Squire
Hu was seized with fear. Just consider this:
The dirt and crust were caked so very thick upon his face
While from the corner of his mouth saliva drooled apace.
His shining golden marriage crown
sat cocked with tassled braids
Tugging at his fancy sleeves a pair of solemn maids.
Eyebrows big and bushy as the bottom of a broom
His crossed eyes straining as he came into the banquet
room.
Shoes all crooked on his feet he staggered clumsily
With six or seven servants there to help him steadily.
His eyes were all awash with tears, his nose and lips with
snot
Both sleeves in use as handkerchiefs to help him on the
spot.
Eyes just staring dumbly out upon the guests and feast
With a look that brought to mind a very fearsome beast.
The spikes of hair grew out like wild thorns upon his head
Good enough to summon ghosts and even wake the dead.
One so dull could not stand up and walk all on his own
Like a strange tree on a ridge by fearsome wind a'blown.
Or like a village dullard stumbling on the awesome scene:
The sacred fox beneath the moon at prayer in a ravine!
Festive lamps all tell us that the nuptial cup is spent
The lovers are united quite apart from their intent.
In shock and laughter do the guests all clumsily retreat
By candlelight in cave the goddess and the angel meet.
All scarlet do the marriage curtains flutter as they part
As when the Eight Commandments entered into Guanyin's
heart.
If Queen Momu had been hated by the Yellow Emperor
Her early poverty would then be all we knew of her.
That evening the wetnurse helped Han'ge through the
rituals, all to no avail; none of his moves or prayers were
quite what they were supposed to be. He had been
accustomed to only repeating the words of others, but now
he only mumbled unintelligibly. Seeing her daughter caught
up in these straits Mama Hu could only pour forth a stream
of uncontrolled tears.
"Old ignoramous!" she cursed beneath her breath, ever so
bitterly and darkly. "Giving our own flesh and blood to this
sort of man! Isn't it just the same as killing her?" Just then
she raged at the two old matchmakers and started for
them. Straightlaced Aunty Li jumped aside while the
loudmouthed Aunty Zhang took the initiative with some
words of her own.
"How impudent! You are really stepping out of line for a
bride's mother!" she shouted. "All has been decided
according to the rules laid down by the Squire. Just ask him
and you'll understand everything. This is a happy occasion,
with your elders all gathered. Now put your worries aside
and look on the bright side, my Lady. Really!"
Those few lines were all it took to intimidate Lady Zhang
into silence. It's indeed hard to argue with an insincere
person who turns black into white with a stream of clever
words. Humiliated before so many of her kinfolk she could
only suffer on through the night. But next morning, with her
daughter tossed out and kinsmen gone home, her anger
shot up to the sky as soon as she laid eyes on the squire.
Tearing out her hair and pounding her chest she cried out
with all her strength to Heaven and Earth.
"What in the world are you carrying on about?" asked the
squire.
"I only relied on you for everything because you were the
head of our household!" blurted his wife. ""Who'd have
imagined that you were just an old heartless beast! My
daughter was such fine stock and so very industrious and
you turned down so many matches as lacking. Then you go
an marry her to an imbecile! Where's the sense in that?"
"Squire Hu answered calmly. "If our daughter had remained
at home she would have implicated us sooner or later.
Even if we married her out to a clever husband, it would
have led to her revealing a few things to her husband and it
would have leaked out. But by giving her away to an
unconscious idiot like that, well, even if she leaked some
secrets to him it wouldn't bring us any harm."
"Still, marrying such a fine girl to an imbecile like that!
Haven't you gone and ruined her entire life?"
"Now that she's out of here she's in God's hands. What
business is it of yours?"
All night Mama cried bitterly for her lost girl, scolding and
sobbing in turn and disturbing the entire house, but alas the
deed was done and no more could be said.
Now, on her wedding night Hu Yong'r watched in tears as
her mother left to cry her entire way home in unspeakable
sorrow. After seeing the seemingly endless flow of kinsfolk
out the gate and with supper finished, at last she thanked
the two old matchmakers. By then it was bedtime and she
followed the wetnurse into the bedchamber. Han'ge was
seated on the marriage bed. "Now go to sleep with the
young maiden," the nurse instructed.
"Now go to sleep with the young maiden," repeated
Han'ge.
"Now, I said to lie down and go to sleep with the nice young
maiden!" admonished the nurse once more.
"Now, I said to lie down and go to sleep with the nice young
maiden!" echoed Han'ge.
The nurse calmly considered the situation. "Once he starts
with this it can go on for hours," she thought. "There's no
point in continuing. Why not just get him and the girl ready
for sleep?" She first undressed Han'ge, helping him recline
on the bed and covering him with a quilt. She then looked at
Yong'r. "Please, darling, get into your gown and go to bed,"
she gently instructed.
Upon hearing the wetnurse calling her to slumber her eyes
filled with tears. "Oh mom and dad!" she lamented silently.
"What kind of danger did I pose for you that you had to
marry me to this unconcious fool? You've both forgotten
how we all suffered in the homeless shelter, and now that
you've returned to wealth and comfort you don't even feel
anything for the one who made it all happen! Shame on
you! Why, I understand dad's purpose in all of this. He was
afraid that if I'd been married to a clever man I might have
taught him a bit of whatever... So to head off that possibility
he has married me to an idiot."
She then wiped her tears and called the maid to make the
bed. Putting on her gown she clambored onto the bed
along with Han'ge and the maid left the chamber, not to
return. Yong'r gathered up her own quilt, wrapped herself in
it and withdrew to one side, away from Han'ge. "This is all
because I once followed Holy Auntie. I've been thrown out
because of mom and dad's fears about that. All because
dad hasn't got a son to rely on I have to bear being married
out to this gross thing! I wonder if Holy Auntie knows about
this, wherever she is."
And so she sighed and nodded off to sleep, and in a dream
she met Holy Auntie riding by on a stork. And out of this
comes still more... Yong'r becomes calm at heart and
quietly bides the time.
It's like this:
The couple from a former life were fated to be wed
Don't blame the eastwind as it echoes with lament and
dread.
Whatever Holy Auntie has to tell her by and by, just read the
next installment and you'll find out how and why!
Chapter 23
HAN'GE THE DIMWIT TRESPASSES ON A
WALL
AND COMMANDANT FEI
DASHES THE FAIRIES'
PILLOW TO BITS
The finest horse must learn to run and bear the
villager
The clever wife sleeps with a stupid husband next to
her.
From all our deeds in former lives do we receive our
Fates
Don't shout against the eastwind
blaming Heaven for your straits.
As our story goes Hu Yong'r dreamt that she saw Holy
Auntie arrive riding a stork. "My child!" the old woman cried
out, "I'm here because I've heard you have taken a
husband!"
Yong'r then told the entire story, baring her aching heart.
Your final destiny will still be played out at Beizhou," said
the woman. "This is probably just a resting place along the
way."
"Take me with you, Auntie!" pleaded Yong'r.
"It's not yet destined for you to leave your present body,"
answered Holy Auntie.
"And by what inheritance of Fate have I been married to
that idiot?"
"When you were my daughter in your last life we sought
shelter from the snow at the Guanwang Temple on
Swordgate Mountain. There was a young Daoist there
named Jia Qingfeng who took quite a fancy to you. But
nothing came of his advances and you didn't reject him, so
his love went on unrequitted, and because of his obsession
for you he became ill and died. As he had lost his wits to
love in his former time, he has been reborn as a fool in this
life. But how heavy and deep is his love! Sure enough it has
bloomed in his present Fate, joined with you as husband
and wife. One part of destiny completed! Your final destiny,
however, has its time and place awaiting you. So just bide
your time patiently and refrain from performing any miracles
that might make folks jealous. And if you meet with any
sudden problems just look for me in Zhengzhou." Her words
finished, Holy Auntie then remounted the stork and was off.
Yong'r awakened, remembering every line in her heart.
Realising that this had all been ordained by Fate she
accepted it and calmed down at once.
It was now the morning of the second day since Lady Zhang
had returned from the wedding and her heart was heavy
with concern for her daughter. She wondered how her girl
had spent the night; certainly, she thought, her eyes must be
red from crying. And so she sent two maidservants over to
check. "She's delighted over there!" they reported upon
returning. Mama couldn't believe this, but after a few
repeated visits and similar reports she sighed in relief and
put her worries aside, arguing no more with the squire
about it. Now, for their part Squire Jiao and his wife had
also feared that the new bride would be unhappy. Needless
to say they were delighted to see how happy, filial and
harmonious the new couple were. Squire Jiao visited the
Hu family's home to express his gratitude, and from then on
the two families had no more regular contact.
Now, although Yong'r and Han'ge had been pronounced
man and wife they still slept miles apart in bed. Han'ge
didn't know about worldly things and so he didn't reach out
to embrace his wife. Yong'r also kept her distance while
sleeping, but harboring a certain feeling of sympathy. She
cared for him and looked after his health much like an
additional wetnurse. When she would sometimes shut the
door and practice a bit of magic Han'ge would dumbly look
on without making a sound, so peace prevailed and there
were no incidents. The days gradually passed and before
long it had been three years. It was June, and hot as blazes
that year; every day until late evening Yong'r spent her free
time out in the courtyard trying to enjoy a cooling breeze.
"Han'ge!" she called to her mate. "Is this hot or what?"
"Is this hot or what?" answered Han'ge.
"I'm taking you with me to a cool place tonight so don't be
afraid!".
"I'm taking you with me to a cool place tonight so don't be
afraid!" he repeated.
Yong'r was a bit worried at seeing Han'ge all confused like
that, and it saddened her. That evening when they were
seated together on a small bench she began chanting and
the bench turned at once into a tiger with bulging eyes and
a white forehead, carrying them up into the night sky and
directly to the rooftop of a building atop the wall of the Great
Anshang Gate. "Halt!" commanded Yong'r and the great
beast of prey alighted atop the roof of the structure.
"Isn't it cool here?" asked Yong'r.
"Isn't it cool here?" replied Han'ge.
The couple sat on the peak of the roof and enjoyed the cool
air until the fourth watch. "Han'ge, let's get back and go to
sleep!" said Yong'r.
"Let's go back and go to sleep!" repeated her husband.
And from that night on the couple rode up to the top beam
of the Anshang Gatetower nightly to enjoy the coolness
there, to return home at the fourth watch. And here is a
poem:
How miraculous indeed the magic laws of White Cloud
Cave
The wooden bench was ordered to become a tiger slave.
If you don't believe it just recall the land of Wu
Where Xishan's leaping tiger still remains for you to view!
One evening Yong'r suddenly suggested that they go up
once more to enjoy the cool night air and and Han'ge, as
usual, repeated her words precisely. Once again she
chanted and yet again the bench changed into a tiger that
flew them up into the heavens to the top of the Great
Anshang Gate Tower where they could take in the
coolness. Now, there was no breeze that evening. "It's so
hot tonight!" said Yong'r. Taking out two round paper moon
shaped fans for them she and Han'ge began fanning
themselves continuously. Just then, as Fate would have it,
two soldiers named Zhang Qian and Li Wan passed by the
wall on their night patrol. Together they diligently completed
one circuit and had almost returned to the Anshang Gate
when Zhang Qian suddenly glanced upwards.
"Li Wan!" he whispered. "What do you see?" Aren't there
two people sitting up on the roofbeam above the
gatetower?"
"If that's what they are, how did they get up there?"
answered Li Wan.
Zhang Qian focused his eyes carefully. "It really is two
people!" he affirmed.
"If you ask me they're just two old crows!" said Li Wan.
Now, dear reader, remember, the couple were up there
fanning themselves.
"If they aren't crows, how come they're flapping their
wings?" asked Li Wan.
"As I make it out," said Zhang Qian, "one of them appears
to be a man and the other a woman. But I can't really be
sure they're not just a pair of crows either, so I'm going to let
them have it with one of my arrows!" And so he reached
behind him for his bow and dressed it with an arrow, pulling
it back all the way before firing with a clear, sharp aim. The
arrow flew on ever so straight and true to strike Han'ge
forcefully but obliquely in his thigh, causing him to tumble
like a stone down the roof and off the wall to the earth,
landing like a well-bruised and battered wintermelon. Zhang
Qian and Li Wan advanced to find that it had indeed been
a man, and rejoiced that he had not died from the fall. They
stood him up and bound him under arrrest, but looking up
again they could see no trace of the other one.
Early next morning they arrived back in Kaifeng Fu. The
magistrate stood and listened as the soldiers Zhang and Li
reported while making Han'ge kneel down before the altar.
"Local garrison patrol reporting, your excellency," said
Zhang Qian. "Last night during the third watch we had just
reached the Great Anshang Gate when we suddenly looked
up and saw two people sitting on the roofbeam of the
Gatetower waving white paper fans. The moonlight wasn't
very bright but we could make out the general shape of a
man and a woman. There was no ladder in sight so we
concluded that they were evil people who had climbed the
wall and roof. In the moments that followed I took out my
bow and brought the man tumbling down with one of my
arrows, but when we looked up again the woman was
nowhere to be seen. We present this man to your
excellency for interrogation."
"Who are you?" asked the magistrate of the greater capital
district.
"Who are you?" repeated Han'ge.
"Tell the truth forthrightly and you can avoid much suffering!"
admonished the magistrate.
"Tell the truth forthrightly and you can avoid much suffering!"
answered Han'ge.
"How dare this insolent punk be so brazen in front of me!"
raged the magistrate.
"How dare this insolent punk be so brazen in front of me!"
replied Han'ge.
All of the officials in the room broke out in uncontrollable
laughter. The greater capital district magistrate couldn't
bear it any longer and and called for those gathered to try
and identify the man. "None of us know him, excellency!"
one of them answered for the group.
"That tower atop the Great Anshang Gate is as high as the
Polestar!" exclaimed the magistrate. "How could the pair
have climbed up there? And how could the one who
seemed to be a woman have got up there and then
disappeared so quickly? She must have escaped into the
darkness. Surely that woman-like character was a witch, a
sorceress ghost-spirit who has dazzled and confused this
lad, enticing him up onto the roof where he was unavoidably
shot down, herself getting away. And now we've got this lad
who mumbles nonsense and still hasn't come to his senses.
We don't even know his name or hometown, so how can we
even open a proper case?" He then considered the
situation carefully.
"Take this man and place him in a cangue at a busy
intersection!" he ordered. He then looked at Zhang Qian
and Li Wan. "I appoint you two to be his guards, and if
anyone should hail him you are to arrest that person at once
and bring him to me!" A prison official then provided a
head cangue, which was quickly fitted onto Han'ge. When
Zhang Qian and Li Wan carried him to a busy crossing a
huge commotion resulted, with people from the shopping
streets and residential alleys all pouring out for a look,
jostling and crowding together.
Now the wetnurses and servant girls in Squire Jiao's house
awoke at dawn and brought washwater to the couple in
their room, but seeing neither Han'ge nor Yong'r they
shouted out in alarm and ran to report the disapearance to
the Jiaos, who were both shocked. "Where could they have
gone with the door and window shut tight?" they wondered.
Squire Jiao ran around inside and out without finding a clue
as to what had happened. Suddenly he heard people
passing in the street talking excitedly in pairs and small
groups.
"Last night," some were saying, "a couple of people were
sitting on the roof of the Great Anshang Gate. One of them
was shot by the soldiers on patrol and the other got away!"
And there was more: "Have you seen the cangue over at
the corner of the High Street?"
Upon hearing this Squire Jiao shot out the gate as if
someone had pushed him and rushed right away to the
corner, pushing and shoving the gathered onlookers aside.
And when he thrusted forward for a look, there was his own
son! He immediately let out a loud wail and burst into tears.
"Why did you climb the wall?" he asked, "and where is the
girl?" Now, Zhang Qian and Li Wan spotted Squire Jiao
remonstrating with his son and without any explanation
seized him on the spot, dragging him between them into
the gates of the District Yamen.
"What is your full name," asked the magistrate, "and who is
that man in the cangue to you? Why did he climb up and sit
atop that forbidden wall? What mischief was he up to? And
what was he doing with that woman who fled? Hurry and
answer truthfully because I've got no patience left for you!"
Squire Jiao bent deeply and kowtowed with all his strength.
"Your humble subject is surnamed Jiao meaning burnt,
given name Yu meaning jade, a native of this district. The
man in the cangue is my son. Twenty years has passed
since his birth but he doesn't understand anything. He still
needs people to feed and dress him. When asked a
question or told something he just replies with the exact
same words, and so we've called him Han'ge, meaning
"silly boy", ever since he was little. Your humble subject has
retained the boy's childhood nurse to look after him and to
never let him leave her sight, indoors or out. Three years
ago some matchmakers came to discuss a match for him.
Now, your humble subject had previously brought so many
prospective brides to him but he frightened off all those
other families' daughters. But then came this proposal from
a certain Hu Hao of this district, who didn't detest my son
for his mental handicap and offered us his daughter Yong'r
in marriage. She was truly beautiful, elegant and clever.
Last night they had their supper and went to bed together
uneventfully. But early this morning my son and his wife
were gone although the door and window had been locked.
I don't know how or why they climbed up so high or why his
wife ran away like that!"
"You must stop talking such nonsense!" thundered the
magistrate. "How could you son and his wife have left
without opening a door or window? You must be hiding her
in your home. Have her come to me at once!"
"Excellency, your lowly subject is a simple common man,
How dare I lie to you? Torture me to death if you will but I
will die innocent."
The magistrate heard the ring of truth in these words, more
so when he remembered that the suspect had indeed
repeated his questions. He then sent two men to go and
arrest Hu Yong's father and bring him in for questioning, to
see where that would lead. A pair of official runners were
issued arrestor's badges and despatched to Squire Hu's
home, to which they fairly flew.
Now Squire Hu had heard news of the incident from people
out in the street, and right away he realised that this dirty
business was the work of his own daughter and that Han'ge
had been harmed so very gravely. He and Mama were
hiding in the house, crying their hearts out when what
should they see but two arrestors entering. "Is Squire Hu
here?" they shouted.
Squire Hu was so frightened that part of his very soul
seemed to jump out of his body.
"We've got strict orders from the capital district magistrate
to take you in, sir. Please, let's go."
"But there's no way I can be suspected of a crime, even as
an accomplice named by somebody..."
"The magistrate is waiting, sir! You'll understand eveything
when you get there."
Squire Hu rushed into his shop and came back with ten
ounces of silver coin which he presented to the men.
"Here's a contribution to your partying!" he implored. "If you
go back without me there'll be more rewards for you!"
The two men took his money and then shamelessly seized
him, pushing and pulling their charge out the gate and
directly to the district hall where the magistrate was waiting
ever so impatiently. Seeing the Squire brought in and
bound over for questioning at last, he first recounted to the
prisoner the shooting down of Han'ge from atop the
gatetower, and then the unresolved testimony of Squire
Jiao's about his son and daughter-in-law. Finally he asked
Squire Hu to bring his daughter in for interrogation.
Squire Hu only insisted on his ignorance. The magistrate
continued: "I've heard that your daughter is extremely bright,
pretty and talented while yor son-in law is mentally
handicapped in the extreme. There must be an adulterer
involved somewhere in this crime. You're just afraid that I'll
pressure her into revealing everything, so you've been
doing your best to hide her in your home!"
Squire Jiao then kowtowed from the side and begged for
Hu's cooperation. "If she's at home, please, bring her out at
once and save my poor son's life!"
"In this world," stated Squire Hu, "we hear only of women
being abducted by men. It's obvious that you've taken my
daughter somewhere for whatever reason, and so you
bribed the army patrol to say that they had just brought
down one of the two people on the roof and that the other
got away. Why, you were there, sir, way up there on the
roofbeam, and with a ladder at that, for how else could
those two have got up there and the girl back down again
without wings? How else, I ask you, could there have been
no noise heard from such a fast escape across the
rooftiles? And as my daughter's feet had been bound and
were so tiny, how could the patrol not have caught up to her,
instead allowing her to return to my home of all places?"
Now the magistrate listened to him developing this
scenario step by step and decided that it all sounded
reasonable enough. "Seize Han'ge's father and have the
soldiers Zhang Qian and Li Wan picked up at once!" he
ordered! Then he spoke directly to Squire Jiao. "This case
is all about your family's plotting of the death of his
daughter. You carried out this plan in collusion with Zhang
Qian and Li Wan, enticing the totally incompetent boy into
involvement. We'll simply have to beat the confessions out
of you!"
He then ordered the three to be tortured as necessary. Two
men seized each and began working them over until blood
gushed forth from the repeated floggings and beatings.
Squire Jiao couldn't bear the agony. "As the Creator in
Heaven above is my witness, I have never plotted the death
of Yong'r!" he cried. "Let me draw a likeness of her face
and put up a reward for her of three thousand strings of
cash! If only your excellency would have it distributed as a
wanted poster on land and sea everywhere, with anyone
reporting her whereabouts sure of getting a reward! If
Yong'r is then not to be heard of, I will be willing to accept
guilt!"
The magistrate had a change of heart as yet the third round
of suffering brought no confession. Hearing that plea he
suddenly began considering Squire Hu to be an unsavory
and important suspect. "That is sensible!" he pronounced.
He then released the three from torture and had Han'ge
brought in and freed from the cangue, making a thousand
of their neighbors guarantors of the family's good
behaviour. Finally he ordered the Jiaos to produce the
posters of Yong'r, to be distributed on land and sea
everywhere. And here is a poem:
Many are the wrongs that courts have done since days of
old
Unfortunate decisions that brought sufferings untold!
Before the judge can come around to have a change of
heart
The poor accused already has been punished from the
start!
This four line poem tells of the difficulties faced in hearing
legal cases. When both parties to a dispute put forth their
arguments, precedence must be given to the one with the
cleverest logic and tightest reasoning. But reaching a point
of perfect logic isn't the same as finding out exactly what
happened! Take for example Squire Hu's turn at argument
in his defense. How nice it sounded! Because of this the
magistrate took Squire Jiao and the two soldiers from the
town patrol and had them beaten, nobody at the time
realising that it was a miscarriage of justice! Here we can
see how a judge lacking confidence in his own ability to try
a case can always so lightly resort to torture!
Now to get back to our story, Hu Yong'r saw Han'ge shot
right off the roof from where he had been sitting at her side.
She then chanted a recited at chant and rose up into the
sky, heading back home alone.
"It's no good coming back without Han'ge!" she realised.
"Mom and dad's place won't do either. What should I do?
Well, I do remember seeing Holy Auntie in that dream on
my wedding night, and I can her remember her words, to
come seek her in Zhengzhou if I were to get into trouble or
sudden danger. I've got nowhere to rest, so why not after all
go seek Holy Auntie at Zhengzhou, just to see what
happens?"
She then put on all her clothes and magical implements.
She mounted the bench as before and was off into the sky,
arriving at last above a wide uninhabited field. Gradually
she descended and dismounted, and set off by herself
along a road. It was just the break of dawn when by happy
chance she came across her old tutor who had once taught
her to read, none other than the old egghead himself,
Professor Chen Shan. He had some business to attend to
and so was rushing into town from his village at dawn, truly
shocked to recognise his old student Hu Yong'r.
"How did you get here, and where are your parents?" he
asked.
Yong'r greeted him happily. "I've run into a problem at my
husband's home and had to run away. I haven't told mom
and dad yet."
She then took out a small, square, white clay pillow and
handed it to Chen Shan. "Sorry to trouble you, Master," she
implored, "but could you please give this little pillow to my
mom and dad, with all my love? It's a white clay pillow of the
fairies of Ninth Heaven, to delight the dreams of the soul.
Sleep on it and all ailments are driven away. Oh master!
You simply must give it to them!"
"My pupil!" he said upon receiving it. "Where are you going
now?"
Hu Yong'r pointed straight ahead. "I've got a relation over
yonder, waiting for me now!"
Professor Chen nodded but as he started on his way Yong'r
suddenly made use of a body-concealing Yin charm to
disappear. Chen Shan rubbed his eyes and gasped in
disbelief. "I've seen a ghost!" he shouted. Thoughts raced
through his mind. Perhaps Yong'r had already died and the
essences of her soul had just materialized in front of his
eyes! Well, the clay pillow was certainly intended for this
world. He was of a mind to cast it aside when he recalled
something. "She insisted over and over that I give it to her
parents. Hard to say if was just ghost talk or not. I'll just
ignore that question and do just what she said to, because
otherwise I don't know what she'll do!"
And so placing the little pillow up the sleeve of his coat he
walked quietly into town. "I've got something important to
take care of today!" he suddenly remembered. "I don't have
the free time for this, and Pingan Street isn't even on the
way. It's not at all going to be convenient to deliver this
pillow there." But just then a young kid called out to him as
he passed the doorway of Fei Jiangshi's household.
"Master Chen, where are you off to?"
Now, Chen Shan had once worked as a family tutor for the
Fei family, and this kid was indeed his former pupil.
Professor Chen then took out the little clay block and
passed it to the child. "Take this into your house," he
instructed. "I'm in a hurry now but I'll be back for it tomorrow
when I come to call on your father." Then he was on his way.
The boy looked at the small clay pillow and thought nothing
of it. He then took it into the house, casting it onto his bed in
the side room. Later after breakfast that morning his father
went out on business and he had nothing to do, so the
young pupil lay down on the bed for a nap, using that pillow.
And as he had been predestined to discover, just what a
fine "Pillow of the Fairies of Ninth Heaven" it was indeed!
Without as much as seeing or hearing with his waking eyes
or ears he was nonetheless enabled to try out the magic
charms of so many kings, dukes and other nobility! Just
consider:
The magic golden plant was not at hand
Yet off he went to dream of fairyland!
Now, just as our young boy was wrapped in the deepest
folds of sleep who should appear but two other little fellows,
calling him to come out and play with them. They found him
asleep in the side room, snoring deeply. One went to tickle
his feet while the other rolled a couple of fine paper tubes
and stuffed them into the sleeping boy's nostrils. They
watched in delight as the fellow sneezed repeatedly and
squirmed uncomfortably as if he had a cold. "How happy I
feel! How very happy!" he shouted in his sleep. The two
little friends then grabbed him by his ears and and shook
him awake.
"What are you so happy about?" asked one.
"As soon as I went to sleep I saw saw a gate opening on
the face of the pillow, just like that! A marvelous fragrance
hit my nostrils and a troop of girls came out playing
beautiful music on horns and strings. Each of them was so
beautiful and they welcomed me to come play in Fairyland.
And when I turned to look, sure enough, there were the fairy
mountains, water, flowers and birds, really a grand scene.
One girl held up a pot and another a cup and they poured
me three drinks of fairy wine. But I couldn't finish the third
because you guys woke me up!"
"I don't believe it!" shouted one, "I don't believe it!"
The other grabbed the little pillow. When he examined its
face closely he saw the five golden characters for "Ninth
Heaven's Playing Fairies' Pillow" carved into it, while at the
top was written "Fairy World". Studying it he suddenly
realised how such a dream could possibly have been
caused by that pillow. "I don't know if your story is for real or
not," said the first boy, "but I'm taking this pillow to sleep on
tonight, just to see if the dream comes or not!"
"Now don't you use it all yourself!" said the other. "Each of
us can enjoy it. You before midnight and me after!"
Now at this point Fei Jianshi was finished with his business
rounds and had just returned and what should drift by his
ears, out of context, but the words about the boys enjoying
something before midnight. He jumped to the conclusion
that they were up to something wicked, swept the door
open and stepped into the room. The three boys had this
little shiney white block that seemed to be the the source of
their talk. Fei Jianshi went wild with rage and seized that
pillow in his hands. Gazing remotely upwards he raised it
up and then dashed it to bits against the stone floor. The
poor, poor priceless Fairies' Pillow had been transformed
to dust. But can we really be so sure that this pillow is no
different from any other ordinary clay pillow similarly
pulverised, with no traces of the spirits about it?
To see what rises from the dust
Turn the page and read you must.
Chapter 24
IN EIGHTPOINTS VILLAGE YONG'R
FRIGHTFULLY CHANGES FACES
AND IN ZHENGZHOU, PU JI PLEADS FOR
A FARE
On the Fairies' Pillow does a fairy dream pass by
Of the grandest paradise up in an ancient sky.
If this pillow were to be presented unto me
I'd be content to spend my life just sleeping blissfully!
As the story continues, Fei Jiangshi has just destroyed the
little pillow, silently gazing upward while dashing it down on
the floor.
"Oh, no!" shouted the boys in one voice. There it lay
smashed to dust on the floor. As they sulked and sifted
through the bits they caught sight of a little line of things
stirring, not quite little wasps or butterflies, appearing and
disappearing and then suddenly flying out the window and
up onto the eaves of the roof. And when Fei Jiangshi went
up to the roof of the ground floor for a look he found a troop
of three-inch-tall pixies piping and strumming with all the
known musical devices. There were also some holding a
teapot, glass and fan, as well as one with a wand,
altogether more than twenty little fairies, just like a line of
tiny wooden figures. Each was beautifully powdered and
rouged. That little troupe of heavenly fairies just sat there on
the roofbeam at the top of the eaves facing Fei Jianshi and
together greeting him in what sounded like the tongue of
orioles and swallows.
"We are a group of palace maids from an earlier court,
banished into that place by order of the Mystery Girl of Ninth
Heaven. How grateful we are to you, kind sir, for setting us
free like this. It's a totally joyous feeling!"
They then performed a serenade in fine harmony, so soft
and dolorous. They finally rose slowly up off of the roofbeam
and gradually disappeared into the northern sky.
Fei Jiangshi had never seen anything so strange in his life.
He just stared, speechless, for awhile. When he went to
examine the shattered bits he found the finest little
paintings of mountains and water, pavilions, towers and
trees. The pillow had been made of clay, with no cloth
covering and no external clue of such finery inside. There
had certainly been no indication that it was a pillowful of
living fairies! He then ordered the three boys to come kneel
before him and answer some questions as to its origin.
One of them pointed at his son and spoke.
"He told us that Professor Chen had given it to him and
promised to pick it up again tomorrow. We kids don't
understand what all this is about. We only know that when
you sleep on it you receive a lot of happiness. There's a
fairy landscape to see, beautiful sounds to hear and fairy
wine to drink. I myself read the words 'Ninth Heaven's
Playing Fairies' Pillow' on it and stated feeling really
creepy, and that's what we were talking about that when you
came in, sir."
He heard much the same story when he asked again. Fei
Jiangshi didn't believe it, and so he locked the three boys
up in an empty room and waited until Professor Chen's
arrival the next morning. He would then find out the facts
and be truly angered.
The following day Chen Shan finally had some free time on
his hands in which to call upon Squire Hu over in Pingan
Street. First, however, he went to see Fei Jiangshi to get
the little pillow back. When Fei Jiangshi heard that
Professor Chen had indeed come, he hurriedly invited him
in to sit in the study.
"Have you given a little pillow to my boy?" he asked.
"You already know about it?" he asked, surprised.
"There was something really weird about that pillow of
yours. Tell the truth, Professor, where did it come from?
And when you're finished, I've got more to tell you."
"Years ago, in the house of Hu Dahong over in Pingan
Street I taught his young daughter, a girl named Yong'r. In
time she married, already three years ago. Well, very early
yesterday morning I ran into her outside of town, and she
told me she'd run off because of some trouble at her
husband's house. She gave me the pillow to take to her
mom and dad. I was busy yesterday and didn't even have
the time to look it over, so how could I have known that it
was a bit strange?"
"And you have not yet delivered it, if I understand!" Fei
Jiangshi then related every bit of the strange series of
events arising from the pillow, from his son's dream down
to his smashing it to bits, and then he told of how the distrist
magistrate had just issued a wanted poster offering a
reward of three thousand strings of cash for the arrest of the
sorceress Hu Yong'r. That pillow the professor had been
holding, he said, had been evidence that should have been
turned over to the prosecutors, but instead that object of the
spirits had been dashed to oblivion.
Chen Shan was scared out of his skin. "I live in a small
country village far from the city, and I hear nothing there of
government business. I didn't know any of this until you told
me. What a dangerous mistake I've made! But I wonder
why the magistrate has accused Hu Yong'r of being a
witch? Please fill me in, as you must know something about
the case."
Fei Jiangshi then told of how Zhang Qian and Li Wan had
shot Han'ge off of the top of the Anshang Gate tower and of
the inconclusive interrogation of the Hu and Jiao family
heads. As he listened to the story, Chen shan shivered from
his hair down to his very bones.
Fei Jiangshi served his guest breakfast. Afterwards, Chen
Shan thanked him effusively and left on his way, not
stopping at Squire Hu's home as he had first intended. Fei
Jiangshi opened the room in which the three boys had
been confined. "From now on," he admonished, "not a
word about that pillow to anyone! If word of it gets out I'll
take you three and turn you in as sorcerers!"
The three insisted that they wouldn't dare. And from that
point no more was said by anyone about the affair of the
Playing Fairies' Pillow.
Now let's get back to another thread of the story. After she
left Professor Chen, Hu Yong'r travelled alone for a day. It
was already twilight when she spotted an old woman in a
grass matt shed pouring tea. Yong'r entered the little
tearoom and sat for a rest while the woman gave her a
cupful to drink. "Where is this place?" she asked, "and
where does the road lead?"
"This here is Banqiao Eight-sided Village," replied the
woman. "Pass on through there and you'll pick up the main
road to Zhengzhou."
"My mom and dad are there, and I'm on my way to check up
on them,"
"When evening comes you'd best pass the night in an inn in
the Eight-sided Village. It's quite near here actually. It isn't
safe to travel alone at night, you know."
Yong'r then conjured up ten coppers and paid for the tea,
thanked the old woman and had walked onward another
two li or so when she spotted a youth...
Less than six foot tall, twenty-two or three years of age,
mustache and beard around his mouth. Slim waisted with
broad shoulders, long arms and body, he wore a turbin
wrapped up like a papaya pit and a white cloth gown that
shown as if made with silver threads in it. Wrapped round
his waist was a mottled red and green band, while on his
feet were leather shoes with many straps. He carried a
pack upon his back and trailed an umbrella. Well, that youth
caught sight of Yong'r as she walked along with no lady's
hat on her head. Her hair was tightly coiled all round, set
with two pins, and she wore a long gown. She looked quite
attractive, actually.
"Where are you headed, young lady?" he called out to her.
"Oh, hello brother!" she answered. "I'm hurrying back to my
parents in Zhengzhou!"
Now, that fellow was a young drifter. "I'm headed down the
road to Zhengzou too, and it's been hard going all alone.
And you're a lady...why are you by yourself? Let's you and
me travel together, huh?" He then began trying to scare her
with frightening tales.
"Hey, little girl!" he said, as they came to a small wood.
"This forest is really awful. There's a tiger in there that
comes out. If two people pass together it's harmless, but if
you were alone it would fly out and attack you!"
"Well, in that case I should hope you'd save me with your
strength!"
The youth stopped at every shop they passed along the
way, buying them treats with his money. Walking and
resting in turn, it was soon twilight. "Brother!" said Yong'r.
"It's late. Is there an inn ahead where we might spend the
night?"
"Well little girl, I'll tell you what! A month ago two military
spies from the Liao Tatars were caught here, and the
district government issued orders to the inns forbidding
them from accomodating any individual travellers. So it
looks like you and I are out of luck!"
"If we can't get rooms, how can we rest tonight?"
"If you we do as I propose," said the youth, "we can get a
place to stay."
"I'll go along with whatever you say, brother!"
"All right, girl. Well, it isn't true I know, but if we were to pose
as husband and wife we could get a room."
Yong'r was silent. "This boy and I have never seen each
other!" she thought. We're just floating leaves passing in the
night. And he's got no nice words, just ghost stories to
scare me with, taking me so lightly. But I, Hu Yong'r, am the
one to feared!"
"Brother!" she replied. "Er...oh, I suppose it'll be all right."
"Fine!" answered the youth. Before long they came to the
Eight-sided Village and passed a few inns before stopping
at a guest house in the town center. The youth went in to
negotiate.
"Have you got an empty room for my wife and me to sleep
in?" he asked.
"Sorry, no rooms left!" said the inkeeper's son.
"Please, sir, we need a room, any kind of of room. Isn't
there anywhere we can sleep here?"
"The rooms really are all taken, but there's one of them with
two beds and only one person in it. But he's a bearded old
maker of leather shoes...I was afraid it wouldn't suit you and
the lady..."
"Please. let us have a look!"
The innkeeper's boy then led the youth and Yong'r to the
room, pushing the door panel aside so they could see.
"What's there to be afraid of?" said the youth. He's sleeping
alone way over there. We two can sleep on the opposite
bed."
"As you don't seem to mind, why don't you just go ahead!"
said the host.
Yong'r was boiling mad inside. "On top of everything," she
thought, "this creep comes along! I don't even know him
and he asks for a room for us as husband and wife. Well, I'll
just teach him what sort of magic a wife can do!" And here
is a poem:
How laughable the drifting youth just wandering through life
Looking at a girl he met as if she were his wife.
Wealth and lovely faces, fancy quarters and good wine
Are things all known to lead a man across temptation's line!
Apparently this youth had never heard the old saying about
never loving another's wife or riding his horse, for evil
desire arose in him as soon as he spotted that attractive
wife out on the road.
"Can you get us some washwater?" he asked the young
innkeeper.
"Yes, yes," answered the clerk, suddenly remembering the
other guest. "This couple has just come in from Kaifeng,"
he explained to the shoemaker, "but the other rooms were
all full. There was just this one bed left so we had to give it
to them."
As long as I've still got a bed to sleep in let them feel at
home!" he answered.
Yong then exchanged greetings with him. "Sorry to trouble
you!" said the youth.
"Don't worry about it!" replied the man, who had some
doubts. "These two don't look like folks from the capital," he
thought. "And they don't seem at all to be a married couple.
There's something funny between them... But then what is it
to me? Let them be!"
"Make yourself comfortable!" he said heartily.
The youth sat with Yong'r upon the bed. When the
innkeeper's boy brought the basin of water the youth
washed his feet and then called for a cup of oil and a lamp.
The bearded one had no requests but just bade them
goodnight and went to sleep, planning to rise early.
"Sis!" said the youth, turning to leave the room. "Out on the
road we thought only of the distance and cold, not
closeness and warmth! Let me go out for some wine and
food for us!"
"I can't stand this creep's rudeness!" said Yong'r. "While
he's out getting the drink I'll just play a little trick on him!"
Then, chanting a bit of whatever mumbo-jumbo and
breathing over the form of the man in the next bed, she
stroked her face a bit and tranformed herself into a swarthy
bearded one just like the shoemaker, while he changed into
Yong'r. The fake man then layed down to fake sleep.
As it happened the young lad bought the wine and treats
and carried it all back to the inn. He was congratualating
himself on his good luck that day, having met such a fine
housewife. Why, he thought, the folks in the hotel took him
for her husband and he'd been lucky enough to bed down
with her for the night. The fellow opened the door and
placed the wine jug on the table. But when he picked up the
lamp and looked down at the sleeping figure on the bed, it
was none other than the shoemaker! "What's happening
here?" he thought, full of fear and uncertainty. "How did he
change over to our bed?" And checking the other bed he
then found the woman there! "I think I got too much sun
today!" he gasped. "I'd better lie down." Once on the bed
he reached out with both arms to embrace her.
"Oh, sis!" he murmered, "I've brought wine! Get up, let's
go!"
Now the old shoemaker awoke with a start and leapt out of
bed, throwing the youth to the floor and beating him with his
fists.
"What have I done to you, sir?" shouted the lad.
"Who is your wife?" roared the bearded one. And indeed,
when the youth looked carefully he saw that it had indeed
been the old shoemaker all along.
"I've made a big mistake!" he hurriedly acknowledged. "I'm
so sorry!"
The innkeeper's son heard the commotion, ran over and
burst into the room. "What's going on here?" he asked.
This guy was climbing all over me and calling me 'sis'," the
man complained.
"Now there, you aren't blind!" said the keeper. "You're bed
is over there!" He then stormed out, leaving the shoemaker
asleep as before.
That lad had taken quite a beating. "It must have been my
unlucky star tonight!" he thought. "I could have sworn I saw
the woman, but it really was him." He then noticed the girl
asleep on the other bed. "Little girl!" he pleaded. But as he
looked closely, what did he see but one with bright red hair,
emerald green eyes, a pale face and fangs like a wolf! He
screamed out in ghastly horror and fell to the floor.
Now, the junior innkeeper was just having his supper up
front when he heard the cries of ghost coming from the
room, and rushing to investigate found the youth where he
lay. He was just helping the stricken lad to his feet when the
shoemaker woke up. Then all the guests in the inn came
rushing to the rescue, some gawking with their tongues out
in surprise and others sucking their thumbs out of dumb
curiosity. The youth was at the end of his rope, nerves
rubbed raw after an evening of surprises. "How fightening!"
he gasped as he came around. "There's a ghost here! A
ghost, I tell you!"
The innkeeper's son grabbed hold of two of the gawkers.
"This is a peaceful and respectable place I run!" he shouted
in their faces. "Where in this inn is there a ghost? Who
called you all out here just to ruin my dinner?" He then lifted
the lantern for a closer look. "Well, where's the ghost?" he
asked wryly.
"It's that woman on the bed!" exclaimed the terrified youth.
"She's the one!"
"You sure aren't making very much sense tonight, kid!" said
the junior innkeeper. "In case you've forgotten, that's your
wife!"
"She isn't my wife!" he blurted out. "I ran into her on the
road and we agreed to find a room together by posing as
husband and wife. But when I came back here after buying
us some wine the bearded man seemed to be in her place.
So I lay down with her on the other bed but it really had
been the man all the time and I got beaten up by him!" He
really wasn't making sense. "Then when I got back to the
girl she had red hair, green eyes and a pale face with the
fangs of a she-wolf. She'd been a demon all along!"
The onlookers were aghast at the tale, but there in the
lanternlight they saw a young wife as beautiful and elegant
as the finest cut jade. "You're seeing things!" shouted the
group. "You're nuts! How can you say this fine woman is a
demon?"
"All of you!" said Yong'r. "How can you put up with this
child's nonsense? I was on my way to Zhengzhou alone,
seeking out my mum and dad! This masher ran into me on
the road and latched on all the way frightening me with
scary tales. And he also said that because some enemy
spies had been caught, lone travellers couldn't get into the
inns to sleep. He forced me to pretend to be his wife to get
a room with me. And now here he is calling me a ghost!
After a whole evening of his wild ghost tales I can't even
imagine what is really going on in his mind!"
Cries then went up of "This creep is too much!" and "It's
time for you to go before we break every bone in your
body!" The innkeeper's son lifted the youth up by the scruff
of the neck and ran him out of the place, slamming the gate
behind. Now, outside in the dark shadows that youth didn't
dare move for fear of being spotted by one of the military
patrols and turned in for deadly interrogation. It was all he
could do to huddle in somebody's doorway until morning.
At dawn the youth left his shelter. "I'd better stay alone," he
thought. He walked on for six or seven li and was just
coming to a small grove when he spotted Hu Yong'r among
the trees, greeting him.
"Brother!" she called out. "That wasn't very nice of you last
night, taking me to that inn and then accusing me of being a
demon. Now, take a good look at me by daylight! Do I look
like a ghost?"
"Look, sister," he answered warily. "When we were
together last night you gave me a couple of good scares. I
don't think you are a good person go just go off by yourself
and don't bother me!"
"Last night you only wanted me to pretend to be your wife,
and now you're afraid of me. But then I've had a good scare
myself, and I'd like you to stay!"
"It's broad daylight! What's there to be afraid of?"
"Brother, remember when you told me yesterday about that
tiger that attacks people?" She then pointed ahead of her.
"Isn't that it coming out?"
Suddenly from out of the forest shot a tiger with bulging
eyes and a white forehead. The youth struck out at it,
slipped and fell. "This is the last day of my life!" he thought
as he lost consciousness. When he came to after a long,
still silence the great cat was nowhere to be seen, and
neither was the woman.
"I've always enjoyed practical jokes but this is going too far,
the way she got me beaten up by that guy and then scared
the bejabbers out of me, well, it's really shaken me up. And
now this morning she goes and summons that monster
insect. Why, she had me thinking I was a goner, just for fun.
I don't know whether she was a sorceress or a demon! If I
were to run into her again it would be too much for me. I'm
calling it quits and heading back to Kaifeng!" He then
whirled around and took off. And here is an ancient air
about it:
Like the finest flower was the beauty's lovely face
But travelling alone she cried of solitude apace.
Then suddenly upon the road a youth she chanced to meet
Who asked where she was headed in a voice so very
sweet.
To see her mum and dad in Zhengzhou did she tell the lad
Alas for single men and women rooms could not be had.
They posed as man and wife although the lad dreamt it was
true
Who'd guess instead of joy such awful things
she'd put him through.
Unable to discern the shape upon the other bed
He held the bearded man and fists rained down upon his
head.
Then the woman changed herself into a fearsome ghost
The beauty all along had been a real demon host.
By hateful fists was he then thrown out in the street for good
Next morning he was shocked to meet the girl inside a
wood.
Into a wild tigress could the beauty change her face
For from the start she had been of a wild demon race.
The youth was blinded by his lust and didn't use his brain
He thought he was her loving drake and suffered so much
pain.
Many real heroes couldn't spurn a beauty's hand
What chance had such a silly boy to ever understand?
Now after Hu Yong'r had conjured up that tiger and had it
attack the youth she didn't dare travel on the same road
again. "I'll go by myself to Zhengzhou, and I'll take my time
about it, too!" she decided. The weather was now
scorching hot and so she could only travel in short legs,
resting often. Later that very morning she spotted a nice
shade tree and was resting there confortably when she
heard the rumbling of wheels. Sure enough, she spotted a
peddler with a broad-brimmed felt hat and commercial
traveller's coat. There was a cloth band round his waist and
he wore baggy pants and hemp sandals. As he pushed his
cart into the shade for a rest Hu Yong'r stood to greet him.
"Hello there, traveller!"
The merchant acknowledged her with a bow. "And
whereabouts might the young lady be headed?" he asked.
"I'm trying to get to Zhengzhou to see my parents but my
feet are aching, so I'm resting here. What are you selling,
sir, and where are you off to with this cart?"
"I'm from Zhengzhou," he answered, "and I'm on my way
back there after selling soap in Kaifeng."
"If you can carry me to Zhengzhou in your cart I'll give you
five hundred coppers to get some wine with."
Now the merchant thought it over. He had sold all his wares
and Zhengzhou was his destination all right, and in the end
he would get five hundred copper coins. "It won't do any
harm do help her out!" he thought. And so he told Yong'r to
get into the cart.
The peddler pushed that cart with all his mortal strength,
neither speaking nor casting eyes upon Yong'r. He just
pressed on with his head bowed down. "This merchant is a
solid fellow," she thought. "How rare and wonderful! Not at
all like that rascal last night, frightening me with those awful
words. He sure got a taste of my powers, not enough to
harm him but just to teach him a lesson, and he sure looked
funny. It's really great that I've run into this merchant, though.
He'll come in handy in the future."
The man pushed that cart right up to the East Gate of
Zhengzhou. "Where are your mum and dad?" he asked
Yong'r.
"Master! I don't know the name of the place. When we get
there I'll recognise it!"
He pushed the cart into the city, down the main avenue.
"Here's my home!" shouted Yong'r as they came to a
crossing. The merchant set the handles down and checked,
finding only a small room with a locked door.
"It's a locked-up room. Are you sure it's your home?" he
asked her.
Yong'r scampered down from the cart, uttered a sound and
the the lock just fell off. She then pushed one of the doors
open and went inside. The peddler then waited for more
than an hour without a sign of her oer anybody else. As
twilight approached he could be seen slowly edging toward
the door and peeking inside. Suddenly he was startled by a
voice from behind.
"Why are you snooping around this door, and who unlocked
it?"
The peddlar turned and stared, frightened, as an old man
appeared. "Please listen to my story, grandpa. Earlier,
while passing about ten li outside the city I met a young
woman who sid she couldn't walk because her feet hurt.
She promised me five hundred coppers if I would take her
into town on my cart and I brought her here. She went in and
hasn't come out again, and I've been waiting all afternoon.
Please, sir, can I trouble you to go in there and just tell her
to come out and pay me my fare?"
"This is a neighborhood court for troublemakers, and I am
the guard. I'm asking you again, who's responsible for
opening that lock?"
"Your own daughter!"
"Nonsense, nobody lives here!" the old man snarled. "Are
you trying to bamboozle me with that weird story?"
"This is terrible!" said the merchant. "I bring your daughter
here and she doesn't pay the fare, and then I'm accused of
telling ghost tales! Let's you and me go in, and if she isn't
there I'll bow down at your feet in sincere apology!"
"Now, don't forget those words! And don't you go running
away when we don't see anyone in there!"
The old man opened the door and led the way in. In they
went from foyer to meeting room toward the rear hall, where
they spotted Yong'r way in the back. "Over there! Isn't that
your daugher?" shouted the peddler, pointing. The old man
was really puzzled as the vendor came up behind him
shouting noisily. "Why doesn't your girl pay up? What kind
of business is this?"
Seeing the angry merchant approaching, Hu Yong'r got up
and ran just as he entered the hall. With nowhere to hide
she ran out by the well, looked into it and leapt down the
shaft.
"Oh, no!" shouted the peddlar. "No! This is horrible!" He
tried to escape but was struck down by the old man's club.
"That woman was a stranger to you but you brought her
here and then hounded her until she jumped into the well!
As Heaven and Earth are my witness you drove her to end
her life, and then you tried to run away! What if the woman's
family hears of her fate and comes to have a word with
you? You must be detained!" Holding on tightly to the
merchant he called out for the neighbors to help as he
bound his captive and took him directly downtown. But
there is more to come of all this. The sturdy peddler will
soon meet some shadey officials and an illiterate
magistrate, and quite a few tricks will be done. The
punishment suits the accused, in other words. Now to see
what happens next, read the coming chapter's text.
Chapter 25
WATER WORKERS RECOVER A
CORPSE FROM
AN OCTAGONAL WELL
WHILE IN ZHENGZHOU DISTRICT HALL
PU JI PRESENTS A HOLY VESSEL
How mighty are the Qian and Kun as
legend always tells
With their teapot universe and and
blocks of city wells.
If someone were from this to have a
sudden revelation
They'd be to all humanity a source of
inspiration!
As the story goes, the old caretaker and the neighbors tied
up that young merchant and brought him into the Zhengzhou
district hall, where the Governor himself was on hand to try
the case. While the accused was forced to kneel, the local
civil militia chief announced that the young man, in a local
courthouse, had chased an unknown young woman and
caused her to leap into the well. The governor himself
conducted the examination.
"I'm from a local family," stated the defendant, "and my
name is Pu Ji. I was on my way back from selling soap in
Kaifeng when I spotted the woman, whose name I still do
not know. She was under a shade tree where I stopped,
several li past the Banqiao Eight-sided Village. I still don't
know what her name was. She said she couldn't go on
because her feet hurt. She said she'd pay me five-hundred
coppers if she could ride in my cart to her parents' home at
a crossing just inside the East Gate of Zhengzhou. I pulled
her all the way home, but after she opened the door and
went inside she never came out again. I waited a long time
and then the caretaker came, telling me that it was formerly
Judge Diao's official residence, now uninhabited. He
wasn't at all willing to help me get my fare. Then he and I
went in for a look round. We spotted the missing girl but
she leapt into the well, absolutely with any intention or
cause of mine."
The governor then ordered Pu Ji to be detained and taken
along on the morrow when they would recover the body
from the well behind Judge Diao's old place.
Early next day appointed a commissioner to take Pu Ji
from prison and to oversee the recovery work. The official
went to the site with the accused, the old caretaker and four
or five neighbors. Onlookers crowded and shoved for a
look and all were abuzz with stories, mostly about how the
house had been haunted with the music of ghosts and how
nobody had wanted to live there. "What do you make of the
corpse they're taking out of the well today?" one could be
heard asking.
The commissioner was seated in an armchair and ordered
Pu Ji to bow before him. He then asked for testimony from
the old caretaker, neighbors and others as to how Pu Ji
had forced the girl down the well. Pu Ji then reiterated that
he had never pushed her, but that she had jumped on her
own.
"Divers, report for duty!" called the commissioner. The men
came forth, saluted and donned their vests. "By edict of the
Governor, I order you down the well. Conduct this recovery
carefully!"
"We've just had a look inside," said the leader of the
retrieval party. "It's four or five hundred feet deep. Just
climbing down won't do it. We'll need a mechanical
windlass and a way of signalling if something goes wrong."
"Just tell me what you need and it will be brought."
"We'll need the winch, about 300 hundred feet of rope, a
large basket, a good loud bronze bell and twenty strong
men. In an emergency we'll ring the bell to be pulled up."
In a short while everything was on hand and the men began
setting up the geared windlass, bell and basket. "Sir!"
shouted the senior diver. "We shall now enter the well as
you command."
"Make sure whoever goes is a strong swimmer!" added the
commissioner.
A few fellows manned the winch as one diver sat in the
basket, waiting. Three men then lowered him into the mouth
of the well as the others slowly unwound the drum. But
before the man had been lowered two hundred feet an
urgent ringing of the bell was heard. The commissioner
ordered them to pull him back up, and as the basket
appeared the men gathered round, shouting excitedly, for
nothing like this had ever been seen or heard of before.
That fellow who had gone down so hale and pink had just
now come as a corpse, skin yellow as wax and limbs stiff
as boards. The commissioner ordered him laid out on the
ground and told the workers to take him home for a proper
funeral.
Now the commissioner had some more comments.
"Although it is indeed sad," he pronounced, "at least only
one man lost his life and it was all in the line of duty. Let's
put it behind us and get on with sending another man down.
"Chief!" shouted the water workers as one. "All of us have
got elders and children at home. We've all just seen such a
terrible thing. Is this really something worth throwing away
our lives for? We absolutely refuse to go down there! Send
us to the governer to be tortured and to die in prison if you
like, we still will not go down that well!"
"I can't say I blame you," said the commissioner. "Why
indeed must we bring up that woman's corpse at all? All of
you stay here with Pu Ji while I go and see the governor
about this."
He then rode off in his palanquin and explained everything
to the governor, who could see no sense in it either. "The
neighbors there have all been saying that Judge Diao's
place is unclean, and now that a water worker has died
there nobody will go down that well. Problem is, without the
woman's corpse we can't wrap up the case against Pu Ji. In
my humble opinion, excellency, why not make Pu Ji, the
culprit. go down himself to recover the body? And if he
should die down there all the better; it would be fitting
payment for the woman's life."
"That sounds fine to me," said the governor. "See to it".
The commisssioner then bade farewell to the governor and
returned to the well. "You're the one who drove the woman
to jump," he admonished Pu Ji, "so you go down there and
bring up her body yourself! I've consulted with the governor
and we both agree. If you die down there he will pardon
you."
"I'm only willing to go down if I can have a dagger to defend
myself." said Pu Ji.
"That's reasonable!" shouted the crowd as one. And so Pu
Ji was released from the cangue and armed with a knife.
They then sat him in the basket and lowered him down with
the windlass. Before long he disappeared from view. "The
last fellow rang the bell when he got to two hundred feet,"
said one of the crowd, but now the rope is almost all
unreeled and nothing's gone amiss. If we had more rope to
give him who knows how far down he could go!" And has
he finished those words the drum froze as the rope came to
its end, and still the alarm bell remained silent.
Now enough talk of those at the well. Let me tell you about
Pu Ji down in the depths of the shaft. When he looked
upward he could see a tiny speck of light from the mouth
high above, and feeling outside the basket he determined
that there was no water. He then stepped out and jumped
down to solid earth, and began to grope his way along in
the dark. He'd gone about one or two li when he came upon
a bright place. With his hands he could feel double doors,
the gateway to a cave. When he opened it and entered he
saw a sky as bright as that on earth. "How can a well have
such a world inside of it?" he marvelled. Walking forward
with his knife held high he then saw what appeared to be a
giant insect in the path ahead. "The dead woman told me
about this thing!" he thought. "Well, I've got nothing to lose if
it devours me, so here goes! Arghh! Take that!"
With a loud "clang" his knife drew sparks and a sharp jolt
left his hand and wrist momentarily numbed. It had just been
a stone tiger all along! "There must be something important
here!" he thought. And continuing on a few more feet he say
two rows of pine trees lining a road paved with goose
eggs. If there's a road, there must be a destination! And so
clutching the knife he walked on under the pines, and after
another hundred paces or more he emerged into a place
that made him freeze in his tracks. And as he looked
carefully upon the scene, this is what greeted his eyes:
Vermillion doors all edged with golden nails
Gleaming tiled roof with carved owls tails.
A soaring dragon pillar bears the starry sky of night
While on a screen the double phoenix crow the coming
light.
Inside the walls of reddest magic clay
Among the willows palace girls at play.
A tower rises through the morning haze
Auspicious shadow from the blessed rays.
Tortoise shells beneath the windows make an eerie sight
With joss smoke curling on the wind all golden in the light.
On display were paintings of all creatures in detail
A moon so very bright hung on a purple silken veil.
If not a precinct of immortals up in Heaven's den
It surely was a palace of an emperor of men!
"What sort of place is this!" gasped Pu Ji. "Dare I open the
door to a fairies' cave?" He couldn't work up the courage to
go in nor could he go back without some proof, either. Even
if he told them about the stone tiger, how could he expect
the governor to believe him? Just then as he was waivering
the doors creaked open and a page girl in blue came forth.
"Pu Ji! Holy Auntie has been waiting to see you for so long,
young man!" she announced.
Now, Pu Ji gave considerable thought to those words. How
did the page know him, and could there really be such an
old woman with a name like that? There had been nobody
in three generations of his family by that name, so it couldn't
be one of his ancestors seeking him. All he could do was
follow the girl to a hall where he saw two fairies standing
along with another girl page. And sure enough, seated in
the armchair was an old woman. Pu Ji took a good look at
her, and this is what he saw:
How old she was in manner and so ancient was was she
styled
Her hair was white as stork's down yet her face was like a
child.
Her eyes were just as dreamy as a smokey autumn moon
Brows as white as sunlight on the hoary frost at noon.
In silk and jade as if the Queen of Heaven was she dressed
Her hair all coiled as if she were Queen Mother of the West.
Such grand charisma defies our power to expound
No painting of her stern severity will e're be found.
"This has got to be a fairy cave!" he thought as he fell to his
knees. "Fate must have brought me here." He then
addressed the old woman reverently. "Oh, true goddess!
The merchant Pu Ji worships you with all his heart and
soul!" And then he performed four kowtows.
The woman in the chair spoke. "You must indeed have
been fated to come to us immortals here. Somebody had
to have been instrumental in your safe arrival, so please be
seated!"
Now, there was absolutely no way that he was going to sit
down.
"You are blessed by Fate, so please feel free to sit!"
Then and only then did he dare be seated, and the woman
then called for tea. "Your safe journey to this place," she
continued as a pagegirl arrived with tea, "has been no easy
matter. Do you know the reason you are here?"
"All I know, Auntie, is that I was on my way back with an
empty cart from selling soap in Kaifeng when I spotted a
woman sitting under a tree. She said she was on her way to
her mum and dad that her feet hurt, and she offered me five
hundred coppers to carry her in my cart to the front of Judge
Diao's courthouse just inside the East Gate. She said that
was her home. She got off the cart, opened the door and
went in, never to come out. And when she saw me coming
in looking for her she leapt into the well. And so the
neighbors arrested me and bound me over to the officials.
They sent down a man to try and retrieve the body, and yet
another death resulted. Then the governor could only order
me to go down, and when I saw that there was path at the
bottom, with no water, I just followed my instincts and
walked in here."
"And what did you see down there?" asked Holy Auntie.
"Why, I saw a stone tiger!"
"That creature has been on duty for many years and quite a
few people have been destroyed by it. Mortals who cast
their eyes on that tiger must then be eaten by it. You
managed to stab it, so some truly great accomplishment
must be in store for you. Pu Ji! I now have somebody for
you to see!" She then glanced at a pagegirl. "Tell her to
come out!" she commanded.
Then pagegirl then went in back for awhile and emerged
with a woman. And who was it but the very same one that
had jumped into the well! Seeing Pu Ji before her she
greeted him warmly. "Master," she said, "you did a truly
great thing yesterday!"
Now, when Pu Ji caught sight of her, violent anger arose in
his heart and spleen. "Sneakthief!" he shouted. "How can I
forgive your telling me that your feet hurt and that you
couldn't walk, just to get me to push you so far in my cart.
Then you skip off without paying the fare, run away into the
house and jump into a well, getting me arrested, put in the
cangue and chains and thrown into prison to suffer so.
What can you say for yourself? At least before now I was
satisfied that I'd never see you again, but here you are in
spite of all that!" He then lifted his knife to her. "Take this!"
he screamed, eyes bulging in fearsome anger and hate.
Then he lunged with all his strength, but his arm was
stopped by a little chant of Hu Yong's, and indeed his entire
body became solid, frozen in its tracks.
"Robber!" screamed Yong'r. "All the time you were pushing
me to town I was watching your face, and if I hadn't thought
you were such a fine, cultivated and serious man you'd be
tiger dung by now. I spared you and this is the gratitude you
show! Well, this is the last time you'll ever lift a knife to
me..."
Holy Auntie quickly interceeded. "Don't destroy him, you'll
need that his help in the future!" She then breathed onto Pu
Ji's face and once more he could move.
"This girl is a shrew!" he gasped.
"If it weren't for me you'd be dead now. No more of your
impudence from now on!"
"I have truly been predestined to meet you, Holy Auntie!
Now, if I can only avoid imprisonment and further suffering,
and just go back up the well to go free on my way, why, I'll
worship you every day of my life!"
"You have indeed been fated to come here," said the old
woman. Now, come have a few cups of wine with me and
then I'll take you back. Pu Ji followed her but suddenly
remembered his humble origins as a poor village boy.
What use could he possibly be, and in what undertaking?
But it has all been arranged. Just feast your eyes on this:
Joss sticks in an ancient holy treasure vessel burn
Flowers of such beauty bloom from precious golden urn.
The mermaids' silken cloth hangs on the walls in full display
While on the table gold and silver bowls and relics lay.
A crystal pot of wine from Heaven's palace far beyond
An amber glass all full of liquid jade from Yaochi pond.
Tortoise shell all piled with fairy peach and fruit so rare
Glass dishes dressed with camel hump and roasted paws
of bear.
Lovely rippled mincemeat drawn in threads so finely made
And tea so delicately brewed from water poured on jade.
The old woman told Pu Ji to sit, but once again he didn't
dare. "Now sit yourself down, brother Pu Ji!" she
commanded. "Great wealth will be yours someday!" He
finally sat and watched the courses of food and drink
brought in, taking advantage of the opportunity to view such
a grand site. Two of the pagegirls in blue were pouring
endless servings of wine. Cup after brimming cup, elbows
bent and bottoms up. Half drunk, he began to reflect upon
recent events. How long a journey it had been from the
mouth of the well to that feast! All the places and immortals
he had come to know, and now that woman again! He knew
that she was either a fairy or a demon but he didn't plan to
hang around long enough to find out which! He then stood
and voiced a request to Holy Auntie and Yong'r.
"I want to up the well now to check on the money in my cart
before somebody takes it."
"You can always earn money if you've got your life," said the
old woman. "But I'd like you to take a certain object back up
with you, not exactly a great fortune to speak of. What do
you think?"
"Why, thanks for your consideration, Holy Auntie. Yes,
what's money in my situation? What I really need is
something to take back up with me as proof, so that I can
get out of these charges alive!" The old woman then called
Yong'r over and whispered into her ear. Not long thereafter
a girl in blue came forth presenting an object with both
hands to Pu Ji. He felt it to be extremely heavy and
wondered just what it might be, all wrapped up in a yellow
net cloth.
"What have you given me, Holy Auntie?" he asked.
"You are not permitted to unwrap it nor may you give it to
the others. Just take it up the well and say that the district
diety herself kept it for a thousand years before you
received it. When you give it to the district governor you will
then avoid paying for the crime with your life. And there's
something else I must tell you. Whenever you encounter
difficulty or danger just shout "Holy Auntie" loudly and I'll
come right to your rescue!" Pu Ji payed careful attention to
each point. The old woman then ordered a girl in blue to
escort him out, retracing his original entry route. Arriving
back at the bamboo basket he climbed inside, pulled the
rope tight and rang the bell. Those waiting above heard it
and quickly cranked him up.
Now, when all gathered round for a look they saw nothing of
the woman's corpse. There was only Pu Ji holding
something wrapped in yellow netting, striding right over to
the commissioner. "Don't anybody touch this!" he said. "It's
a gift for the district governor from the district goddess, for
him to open and view personally." The commissioner got in
his palanquin and the others crowded and pressed round
Pu Ji as they went directly to the district yamen, right up to
the governor's office where officials opened the doors wide
for them.
"Pu Ji was down in the well well for half the day," reported
the commissioner. "Finally we heard the bell and brought
him back up. We only saw him and a yellow cloth bundle he
was carrying that he said had come from the district diety
herself, to be presented to your excellency alone. I didn't
dare touch it but brought it right here!"
The Governor called for Pu Ji to be brought forth. "What is
in the yellow net, and why have you brought it?" he
demanded to know.
"Excellency! I went down the well but saw nothing of the
woman's corpse. There wasn't even any water, but there
was a path. I followed it for about two li when I suddenly saw
daylight. I then spotted a tiger that tried to kill me. When I
struck it with my knife sparks flew, and when I looked
closely I saw it was stone. Then there was a path lined with
pines, and I saw a hall. Outside of it was a pagegirl in blue
beckoning me inside, where I met an immortal. She said
that she was the diety of this district and gave me a
banquet. Then she brought this thing out and told me to
present it to your excellency alone, and warned that
Heaven's secrets must never be leaked.!"
The governor received the yellow bundle solemnly and
placed it on his table. It was extremely heavy he felt. He
reflected on how a treasure had been discovered and
presented to him out of all this while he personally
unwrapped it, finding a solid gold three-legged holy vessel
for sacrifices, with two handles. On the side were nine
characters: "He who finds this item will surely become
wealthy". Having thus seen the vessel, he rewrapped it and
called for his family members and servants to come and
carry it back for storage as treasure in the family vault.
Suddenly two of his aides came forth. "Pu Ji is waiting for
your verdict, excellency!" they reminded him.
Now, the governor mulled this over. If he were to release Pu
Ji... well, everyone in the district had heard by now that Pu
Ji had driven a woman to jump into a well, and that a man's
life had been lost in trying to retrieve the body... no, if he
declared Pu Ji a free man the morality of his decision
would be questioned. And if he ordered Pu Ji to forfeit his
life in return for the woman's, how could he justify having
received that golden vessel instead of her yet-unfound
corpse. What would be best? He then reached for his
brush, picked it up and set forth his verdict: "Pu Ji..." he
began.
And in so doing the governor unknowingly consigned
himself to an unnatural death in the future, and doomed all
the people of Zhengzhou to suffer through a great upheaval.
It's like this:
Getting wine on credit in a happy drinking place
Amid disaster does he run into a friendly face.
Now turn the page and read the text to see what happens
next.
Chapter 26
ZHANG YING SAVES PU JI IN THE
FOREST
FROM THE TEMPLE OF THE MOUNTAIN
GOD
THE GUARDS ENJOY TWIN MOONS
Folks often joke that Heaven's high and justice far
away
Corrupt offficials and their minions robbing everyday.
If someone were to wield a sword of pure nobility
He'd end the world's unfairness and its uncivility.
As the story goes, after barely a moment's hesitation the
Governor lifted his brush and wrote as follows: "The
accused Ju Ji, in improper pursuit of a fare, caused an
unidentified woman to jump into a well by accident. The well
was in an old uninhabited house, site of many fearsome
occurances, and the unsuccessful and tragic attempt at
recovering the body was yet another of these. It is found
that Pu Ji had no intent to harm or threaten anyone so his
life need not be taken in retribution. But causing accidental
death by negligence is still a serious matter. It is fitting that
he be caned for twenty strokes on his back. He is
accordingly to be sent off to the penal battalion in Mizhou,
Shandong Province."
The chief then struck out the caning sentence before
handing the draft over to the official document producers
with his twin gold seals. He then issued orders to have Pu
Ji brought and placed in custody of two escorts, Dong Zhao
and Xue Xiang by name, for transportation from the Yamen.
Now when Pu Ji was brought in front of the Yamen to be
bound over he was furious. "I, Pu Ji, have really been
framed!" he shouted at the governor's office. "The woman
jumped into the well by herself, I absolutely did not
intimidate her! And she was a local goddess, not an
ordinary person. She was the one that told me to present
that precious gift to you! You were supposed to pardon my
charges upon receiving it. But instead you send me to
Mizhou! I shall struggle from now on to regain my life and
good name! When I take this injustice to the Imperial Court
and make it known how you took that treasure vessel for
your own, you'll have some real explaining to do!"
Dong Zhao watched and heard this diatribe and worriedly
moved Pu Ji on. "You're going to involve us both in
something terrible with that kind of talk!" admonished Xue
Xiang, the other guard. They hurriedly whisked him out of
the Yamen and into a small restaurant where they were
quickly seated.
"We have been ordered to march you under guard all the
way to Mizhou, Shadong. But you'll need some money for
your own travelling expenses, as we are allowed none at all
for those in our custody. If you've got any relations around
you'd better go and borrow some cash from them for the
road. We ourselves don't want any of your money."
"Gentlemen!" answered Pu Ji. "I did have some money in
my cart but it was pushed off by someone after my arrest.
You tell me to ask for money but I'm alone in the world, with
no family. There's really nowhere for me to borrow travel
money!"
"We've transported a lot of dangerous men but never one
with a clever mouth like yours!" answered the guarded,
irritated. "No money indeed! Even Vaisravana himself
yielded weapons and spices when he was squeezed hard
enough! Well, if that's the way you want it you're our live
cargo and we won't be handling you so gently!" That said,
the escorts paid the bill and left, leading Pu Ji out of the
West Gate of Zhengzhou.
Now, just as they settled into their pace a voice was heard
from behind.
"Officer Dong!"
Dong Zhao turned to look and spotted Wu, the county
secretary of documents. Telling Xue Xiang to mind the
prisoner, he backtracked and had and had a brief
consultation with the emissary. "I've got something to
convey to you," said Wu. "When Pu Ji was ordered to be
brought out and bound over to you, the rascal committed an
offense right in front of the governor's office in the yamen.
As a result the governor has ordered that you two set things
right. You are to take him to a quiet and secluded place and
finish him off. When you are done, report to the governor
with your two seals and you'll be richly rewarded."
Dong Zhao acknowledged the new instructions, caught up
to Xue Xiang and discreetly informed him. They then led Pu
Ji to a small clearing in the forest ahead.
"Gee, my feet sure ache today!" said Dong Zhao. "I can't
go on. Let's catch some sleep here!"
"We're barely thirty li out of the yamen!" exclaimed Xue
Xiang. "Why rest now?"
"I guess I got up a bit early this morning. I need a rest! But
I'm only afraid that if Pu Ji gets away all the tea in China
won't buy our lives back! Say, why don't we tie him up?
Then we can sleep with our minds at ease!"
"Whether you tie me up or not," said Pu Ji, "I'm not going
anywhere!"
Dong Zhao then took a length of rope and bound the
prisoner to a tree trunk, tying the excess to an overhanging
branch. Brandishing a staff he then approached the
captive.
"Pu Ji!" he bluntly announced, "His excellency the governor
has ordered us to punish you. It is not of our doing. Your first
mourning will be observed exactly one year from now."
Pu Ji was scared out of his skin. "Brother! I am innocent!"
he pleaded, teardrops falling. "I have never made a single
enemy! What have I done to harm the governor, of all
people, that he wants me dead? Brother, I beg of you, find it
in your big heart to spare me and you'll enjoy the blessings
in all your next lives."
"Your crying and wailing is now use!" said Dong Zhao. "His
excellency the governor has accused you of impudence in
his presence and wants your life. He is the chief of a
district. Who dares to flaunt him! You want your life all right,
but I'm not about to go back and face death in your place!"
"Hey, brother" said Xue Xiang, "There's no use wasting
your breath on this worm. The sooner we finish him off, the
sooner he'll get to tell the King of Hell in person what a fine
man he was!" He then grabbed the staff out of Dong Zhao's
hand and began beating the prisoner brutally.
"Aargh, stop, oh stop!" screamed Pu Ji in terror and agony.
"Spare my life!" Suddenly he remembered so clearly the
words of Holy Auntie when she'd passed him that gift, how
she'd said he should just call her name if ever in difficulty!
"H-o-o-o-l-y A-a-u-u-u-nt-ie!" he screamed at the top of his
lungs, over and over, and a man suddenly appeard just
outside the wood. "You, official escorts there!" he shouted
in a loud voice. "Take your hands off that man! I've heard
quite enough already!"
The two guards fled from the scene, terrified. And once in
the clear outside the grove they saw that it was a
gentleman, a master teacher. What did he look like? Here's
a Xijiangyue poem:
How striking were his handsome looks, how awesome was
his height
Beard beautiful as blackest jade, strange eyes like twin
stars bright.
Hair tied in iron crown with wand and yellow-tied red gown,
Wizard Zhang from Heaven rarely rides the tiger down!
Now, that Daoist strode into the grove with his fists down at
his sides. "The governor ordered you to transport this
prisoner!" he bellowed. "Why have you tied him up and
begun taking his life?"
The two escorts shifted and fidgeted nervously. "Master,
we've been ordered to do this by the governor. We've got
nothinhg against the prisoner ourselves!" one explained.
"Do you expect me to believe that any official in his right
mind would take the life of such a pure, innocent soul as
this? I'm a man of the cloth and I've got no time for this
brutal stupidity. There had to be a reason for that cry of
"Holy Auntie" that I heard. Now, untie that man so I can have
a word with him!"
Dong Zhao freed Pu Ji without delay.
"Master!" pleaded the prisoner. "Listen to me! On my way
back from selling soap in Kaifeng I met a woman in the
road. She told me that she couldn't walk because her feet
were aching and that she'd give me five hundred coppers
to carry her in my cart. Then in front of a vacant house just
inside the the East Gate of Zhengzhou she jumped out of
the cart and went into that building. I didn't see anything
more of her, and then when I went in to search for her, she
spotted me and suddenly jumped into the well. Next the
neighbors seized me and took me to the officials. The
governor finally ordered me to go down the well and
recover the corpse myself. When I went down I found it was
dry, but there was a path leading to daylight and then I saw
a hall. And then I met a fairy nun who gave me a treasure.
She told me to present it to the governor and that I would
then be absolved by him of guilt. And just before I went
back up the well she told me that if I were to run into danger
I should shout 'Holy Auntie!'"
The old Daoist listened intently. "I know all about it, son!" he
said comfortingly. He then looked at the two guards.
"This fellow Pu Ji isn't fated to die now and that's why I'm
here with him. Why don't we just head over to a little place
in the town near here for a round of wine, and I'll give you a
bit of money for the road. And we'll leave him in the care of
some local folks."
"Thank you!" replied the two. All four of them then came out
of the grove together. Before walking very far they came
upon a small inn, went in and were seated at a table.
"Master Zhang!" exclaimed the proprieter. "How much wine
can I bring you?"
"Four cups, and a whole chicken if you've got one!"
"I haven't," answered the owner, "and the market is too far."
The Daoist wondered how they could drink all that wine
without even any pickles on the side. "Here's your wine!"
said the inkeeper, serving each of the four a bowlful, which
they began drinking.
"I'd like to treat you all but there's no food to be had," said
the old Daoist, ruefully. Then, looking at the items round the
room he spotted a pail by the wall. On going closer for a
look he saw that it was full of clear water. He then took a
small gourd vial out of his sleeve and tapped a white pill out
into the water. He then returned to his stool as before, and
called over the owner. "Well," said the old master, "I know
what we're going to have with our wine! I've just put a fish in
that pail of yours. Why don't you cook it up for us?"
"Mr Zhang!" gasped the astounded owner. "You four came
in here empty-handed. I mean, I didn't see any food on you
at all."
"Well, come look!" said Zhang. The owner came over and
saw the water splashing. Reaching in with both hands he
lifted out a fine carp, nearly three feet long. "How strange!"
he exclaimed. He then took and cleaned it before
simmering it in a wok, adding some salt, soy sauce and
other condiments before serving it on a large plate to the
foursome.
"Thank you so very much for your generosity!" said Dong
Zhao.
"This fish is so delicious!" added Xue Xiao. "How about
getting us another one?"
"It isn't enough for me, either!" said the gentlemanly
teacher. "I normally eat and drink my full every day, but now
I've been lucky enough to enjoy your companionship. Within
the four seas all folks should get acquainted like this, heh
heh! Well, if you don't mind, why not come over to my hut
with me. You'll be able to eat and drink to your heart's
content and catch a good night's sleep before setting out
on your way tomorrow!" How about it, you two?"
Now Xue Xiang was a born follower. "That's really
wonderful, Master! What a nice invitation! he replied. It's
getting late so let's all go home with you for to pass the
night in your fairy hut. But are we really worthy?"
"Now wait a minute!" whispered Dong Zhao, the more
worldly and wary of the two, calling his partner over to a
secluded spot. "This teacher has just done a really weird
thing. Why should we go along to his home just like that?"
"Brother!" objected Xue. "You've been talking suspicious
nonsense like that for years! Why, the owner of this inn
knows the teacher well. If anything bad happens he would
have to answer for letting us go with him."
"Yes, that is correct..." said Dong.
The gentleman then payed the bill and together they left the
inn. All the while making small talk as they walked, they had
travelled quite a distance before they knew it. And then the
master pointed ahead. "Here is your host's hut!" he
announced. Dong Zhao looked, and what a fine hut it was,
indeed. Not too big, roof thatched with flowers...but there
were no living quarters in front or back, and this made him
just a bit uneasy.
The gentleman opened the door and asked the them to sit
outside while he entered. "Now, no need for you three to
worry!" he assured them. "You'll get the food and shelter
you need. You'll pass the night and be on your way early!"
This being the mid period of the sixth lunar month the full
moon had already risen. He then moved out a table from
inside and placed it in the moonlight. Next he made a
series of trips back in and laid out a fine feast of pickled
stores and other treats. "I couldn't get you enough to eat in
the restaurant," he said. "Now you can fill your stomachs
before resting."
The two guards now held a little discussion.
"This teacher treated us to wine and food in the inn," said
Xue, "and now that we've come to his hut he's laying on
another feast. If we pass up his food we'll be hungry
tomorrow, but if we take it what will he want from us? Who
knows where it'll lead? We had such a big responsibility
with this prisoner, and then barely a day out of Zhengzhou
we meet this weird Mr Zhang! If we get in trouble it'll be no
laughing matter for our families."
"Once you accept hospitality you're at the host's mercy,"
said Dong Zhao. "We've come this far and we've eaten his
food, so let's just see what happens."
The master then came out bearing more wine, and each of
the men had scores of cupfuls. They were truly satisfied and
thanked their host warmly. "What a feast that was!" said
one of the guards. "We three are going to sleep for the
night and we'll be on our way at dawn," said the other.
"Too bad I didn't really have enough wine for you!" said the
gentleman, modestly. "No need to thank me like that!" He
then got up and went into the hut for awhile, finally coming
out with two lumps of silver, each weighing fifty ounces.
"Each of you gets one, little as they are!" he announced to
their surprise.
Xue Xiang couldn't help but gasp. Dong Zhao spoke for the
two.
"Thank you again for the wine and food, master! That was
already trouble enough for you. We don't dare accept your
silver!"
The teacher persisted. "You two feel free to take them, by
all means. Really, I insist!" The two were eventually
persuaded and each availed himself of one of the silver
ingots.
"Now," continued the teacher, "I don't know how you are
going to take this, but I've got something to bring up with
you.
"Hmmm," went the guards, thinking. "His wine is drunk, his
silver accepted, so how can we refuse?"
"Go on, ask us ten favors if you like, not just one!" they
answered. "There's no harm in it!"
"Each of you now has got fifty ounces of silver for your
families," said the teacher. "You know, I took Pu Ji at first to
be a bitter, impoverished man and I didn't pay much
attention to him...of course, it's the higher qualities of
goodness and mercy that usually merit our notice. But now I
can see that he has never had a quarrel in his life with
anybody, and that he has been framed as a criminal. I hope
that you two will give him a break and leave him to
accompany me in my hut. My name, incidently, is Zhang
Ying. If the governor should ask, just tell him that I wanted to
rescue Pu Ji from your custody and that should do it. How
about it, you two?"
Dong Zhao didn't dare utter a sound.
"Mister," shouted Xue Xiang, "you sure are naive! This land
and everything in it belongs to the Lord and his officials!
Although you are a holy man living in the outskirts of
Zhengzhou, your life still comes under the jurisdiction of the
district government. This man is convicted of a crime by the
officials of the state. How dare you or anyone set him free!
Why, you talked us into taking your silver and now you
blackmail us! We won't take a dime's worth of your silver.
Here, it's all yours!"
"There's nothing to get upset about," said the teacher.
"Free him or not, as you wish. You are still welcome to the
silver. Now, let me just get some more wine!"
"We've already put you out enough for food and drink, and
now for the silver you've given us. Why should we thirst for
more wine?"
"It's not for our thirst!" said the master. "Your humble Daoist
has got a little trick to show you fellows! For the enjoyment
of everyone from the governor on high down to all the
common people, let me present a double moon!"
The teacher then reached into his gown and took out a
sheet of paper. He then took a scissors in hand and cut out
a little round paper moon, upon which he dripped a bit of
wine. "Arise!" he shouted, and all you could see was that
paper moon soaring up into the sky on his breath.
"OK!" gasped the three in mutual surprise and admiration,
just enjoying the sight of those twin moons up in the sky and
savoring the double moonlight upon their faces. And here is
a poem:
How pitiful that Pu Ji who an honest life had led
For giving up the treasure pot should then be ordered
dead!
Although they say it's hardest to determine innocence
How well the double moons illuminate incompetence!
"Have another round of wine as you enjoy those moons of
mine!" said the teacher. And all four men drank
accordingly. Now of course everyone throughout the district
of Zhengzhou from the governor down to the common folk,
inside the wall and out, were in an uproar upon seeing
those twin full moons shining ever so brightly up in the sky.
"There's only one moon, so how can there now be two of
them?" said the knowledgable ones. "It must be a
sorcerer's moon!" All the people were, needless to say,
astounded. And of course the teacher and his three guests
sat back and relaxed, enjoying the strange sight and
drinking wine.
"Do a humane deed, you two," said the host, "and leave Pu
Ji with me!"
"We've got families, unlike you, sir. If the governor finds out
our kin will never understand why they must suffer so!"
"If the governor starts asking questions I'll arrange his
death. That's really so easy! Look, I'll fix you two up with a
bit of proof to carry back and show the governor!"
The teacher then stripped down to the waist and tied the
the sleeves and top of his gown behind him. Next he
grabbed hold of Pu Ji, bound him with a chord and tied him
to the front of his hut.
"Just this morning you save him and now you tie him up
again?" asked Xue Xiang incredulously.
"I told you I was going to give you something to show the
governor, didn't I?"
"And what might that something be?" asked Dong Zhao.
"I'm going to slice open his belly and take out his heart for
you for you to show the governor as proof of your efficient
work!"
"Hey, we can't have that!" said Dong Zhao. "This man
hasn't been officially condemned to die. The governor
plotted to have him done in for his own private reasons. If
we were to return with his heart and liver, sir, and it were
known that you had been responsible, you would be
charged with his murder. And if it were not known who did
it, we ourselves would be accused of murder with a motive
of robbery and sent to our deaths for it!"
"So, all along you've just been afraid of punishment!"
laughed the teacher. "You two are so funny it's pathetic!" He
then untied Pu Ji and set out bedding for the three to sleep
on. "When you two return to the yamen, don't forget to tell
them how Zhang Ying wanted to save Pu Ji!"
The three then said then settled in for the night and fell
asleep outside the hut, while the teacher himself retired
indoors.
Dong Zhao and Xue Xiang slept until dawn and received a
shock when they opened their eyes. For Pu Ji was no
longer beside them, nor was there any trace of the hut or
the teacher. They were lying in a pile of sacrificial paper
money on the floor of the Temple of the Mountain God, a
local farmers' and hunters' shrine of the usual sort. "Oh no!"
they exclaimed in panic. "We've been hoodwinked out of
our prisoner! What should we do now?"
"OK," said Dong Zhao, "Let's not panic. We'll go together
and tell the governor what happened."
And so the two guards returned straight away to the city
and went directly to the governors's office in the yamen,
where they bowed deeply. "You two were transporting Pu Ji
to Shandong. Why are you back so soon?" asked the
governor.
"Your excellency!" they answered, almost in unison.
"Yesterday we set out with Pu Ji to Shandong. But thirty li
out of town we ran into a Daoist who took us to his hut and
demanded Pu Ji stay with him. We resisted but that wizard
had strange powers. He cut out a paper moon and blew it
up into the sky on his breath, and then we saw twin moons
shining!"
"Yes," said the governor, "a strange act indeed! We saw it,
too. In fact the entire city was in panic over that double
moon! What happened next?"
"That Daoist then told us to sleep there at the hut. But when
we opened our eyes this morning we were in a pile of ritual
scrip in the Temple of the Mountain God, without a clue as
to where Pu Ji and the Daoist had gone. That wizard,
incidently, called himself Zhang Ying."
"Well, at least we've got his name. All the better to
apprehend the sorcerer brigand!" That very day an arrest
warrant was issued and distributed to the officers of the
law, with the usual manhunt resulting.
In a short while a man in a Daoist crown, straw slippers and
black gown strode right up to the governor's office. "The
poor Daoist Zhang Ying is present!" he reported loudly and
somewhat irreverently. The governor was furious.
"You sorcerer! How dare you be so impudent!"
"You are the chief of a district," answered Zhang Ying.
"How dare you falsely accuse your people of crimes and
take their lives at your whim? Pu Ji committed no offense
but you banished him to hard labor in Shandong, and then
you secretly plotted to have him killed in transport. Yet you
had taken that treasure vessel that he'd presented to you.
Where's the justice in that?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" shouted the governor. "Just what
kind of 'treasure vessel' did he have?"
"The golden tripod vessel, the sacrificial caudron in your
vault, which I shall now summon here!" And the Daoist
could then be seen chanting:
"Holy vessel, golden ding,
I command you, sacred thing.
Come at once into this hall
Waiting are the people all!"
Suddenly the governor and all those in attendance, both
inside the office and out, were dumstruck with awe. For
what did they see but that golden vessel with three hollow
legs, soaring right down out of the sky on the flapping wings
of its own two handles, flying right into the place!
"How weird!" gasped the governor, "How very weird!" He
then silently watched as somebody hidden inside climbed
out of it. Now, who was that man but Pu Ji, leaping in a
single step out of the golden caudron. Sword in his right
hand, he seized the governor with his left and sliced him in
two, right there in his own office. All those present fell to
their hands and knees, momentarily unmoving, upon seeing
the governor slain. And then a call went up.
"The governor has been murdered! Catch them!"
All rose to their feet again and rushed forth to seize the
Daoist and Pu Ji. Seeing their pursuers closing in, thsy
placed the vessel upon a platform and, side by side,
dipped their feet into it and stood together. "So long, folks!"
they shouted in farewell, "Off we go!" And down into the
holy vessel they disappeared.
"Did we really see that or what?" gasped all the onlookers
in hushed disbelief. Then they got the officials to provide a
coffin in which to lay the governor's remains. Next, after
putting out warrants for the two guards, they began
searching high and low for Zhang Ying and Pu Ji. And all
the while the district officials jointly prepared a memorial to
the Imperial Court, reporting the events.
And so it all escalates from this point... to stir up all Hebei
and to embroil Kaifeng in ferment. The Court fields its
troops and horses but is unable to apprehend the brigands
until a really great official takes command, to govern the
state and calm the people. It's like this:
With a bit of evil Dao and crooked sorcery
A dangerous man is lured into the cause so easily.
To see where that memorial up to the Throne will lead, into
the coming chapter should you turn the page and read...
Chapter 27
GRAND DRAGON BAO TAKES CHARGE
OF KAIFENG
MASTER ZUO QUE ANGERS REN, WU
AND ZHANG
Princes and officials rising up ahead of dawn
Rushing through the palace gate before the night is
gone.
So many people pass their lives in mountain
hideaways
And never hearing palace bell they live so many days!
And so as we continue, the officials of Zhengzhou have
jointly prepared petitioned the Emperor Renzong. Now, the
Son of Heaven himself received the memorial and spread it
out upon his desk.
"The governor of Zhengzhou has been murdered by a
sorcerer," he announced to the assembled court. "The
officials there report they have begun rooting out and
eliminating the problem." Then, in the silence that followed,
an official of the court historian's office came forth with
another memorial.
"A sorcerer's star has appeared in the night," the document
stated. "It was right above Pisces, shining down onto the
Wei region, the principal site of the recent disorders. We
beseech his Imperial Majesty in all his infinite wisdom to
make timely preparations!"
The Emperor spoke: "This new incident breaks out in
Zhengzhou, and now the court historian reports that a
sorcerer's star has appeared! These are terribly serious
matters. All of you," he exhorted the officials, "get to work
on your recommendations!"
The ministers then memorialised the throne: "The post of
governor of Kaifeng Fu is vacant. An honest, upright and
capable man should be selected for the post, hopefully one
who can lead a campaign to root out and crush the
sorcerers."
"And whom might you deem the most fit to take command
of Kaifeng Fu?" asked the Emperor.
"The General Secretary of the Grand Dragon Memorial
Hall, Bao Zheng," answered the ministers; "native of Hefei,
already honored with the title Xiren. He's a selfless man,
hard as steel, who never cracks a smile. People say that a
laugh from him is as rare as the Yellow River running clear.
He is certainly capable of the job."
Renzong prepared a rescript and ordered it proclaimed to
the court, then retired to his quarters.
Ordered to take office at once, Bao Zheng went forth with a
deep sense of gratitude and a determination to fulfill the
Imperial trust in him. The leading citzens of Kaifeng
escorted him to their district yamen and the inaugural
ceremonies and cutting of new seals and othger
preparations were accomplished, and he moved into his
new office that very day. He then issued his commands to
the greater capital area and all the counties thereof.
First came registration; five families in a jia, meaning
"basic shell", with each 5,525 of these units organized into
a body known as a bao, meaning "protection". Wandering
idlers without family ties or roots were not permitted
residency. Any such outsiders were to be interrogated as to
their origins and recent travels. And everywhere the inns
were forbidden to admit single or unaccompanied guests.
All told, the capital had twenty-eight major and minor gates,
and signboards were put up proclaiming the new
regulations. Then the great masses of people all began
burning joss and worshipping. "Three cheers for the great
Grand Dragon Governor Bao!" they shouted. "It's wonderful
how he's brought us all together in these fine militias!" It
was like this:
On thinnest ice the high officials in their files pass
Three counties' people live their lives under a jeweler's
glass.
A lure of ghosts illuminates the caverns of despair
The Emperor must act at once or lose his mighty air!
And so people politely and generously yielded to one
another while walking or driving in the streets, and each
sang praises of peace and brotherhood; lost valuable were
safe anywhere and doors remained open at night.
Needless to say, order had been restored in the capital.
Now a short time afterwards let us look in on the city's
riverfront section, where there lived a street vendor named
Ren Qian. Known to all as "Little Big Brother, he was a
member of the "Five Hots" guild. And why was this
association so called? Well, back in those days a
soupseller's stall was called a "Hot Soup", a hotcake
seller's a "Fire Hot", a salted fish vendor a "Hot Pickles", a
seller of steamed buns a "Steamy Hot", and one selling
meat dumplings a "Greasy Hot". Hence the name "Five
Hots" for these food vendors as a group.
Little Big Brother was a fine businessman, strongly
competitive and successful. After a day at home preparing
his treats he loaded them all into his case. He had steamed
buns, hotcakes, dumplings and stuffing, all cooked to
perfection. Then he shouldered his wares with a carrying
pole to a certain main corner in Mahang Street where he
set the case down to serve as his shop, himself seated on
a three legged stool behind it just like all the other
surrounding young men and boys of the trade. But on that
day, amidst the shouts of all of them hawking their treats in
the busy thoroughfare, a young man stopped alongside his
little counter without buying any of his cakes. And as the
vendors young and old shouted out one after another, so
did that one from the temple dance and play his Daoist's
round chime, for all appearances like a man of prayer
waving his own signboard. Then continuing to play his
chime ring and chant, he passed again by Ren Qian's little
box.
"Come ye gods of wealth, prosperity, harmony!" he
chanted, staring Ren in the eye. "Come all ye with money!"
The vendor couldn't help but laugh at him. Now, that priest
was so very short and one of his legs was crippled, causing
him to hobble as he walked. His turban had fallen down
over his forehead and was torn and unkempt on top,
allowing his hair to stick out like wild grass. He was
dressed in a shabby gown and old cloth pants like a worn
out lion suit; on his feet were floppy straw sandals and
around his waste was a frayed old black sash.
"Watch your step, holy man!" said Ren Qian, laughing.
"Careful you don't step on any rats' tails! This is a bit early
to be out praying, but it looks as though you don't care
about time anyway."
"Well, it is a bit early, but I've still managed to get three
coppers!" replied Master Que.
"Why don't you wait until a bit later?" asked the vendor.
"Please don't take offense, brother! My mother and sister
are waiting for me in a wretched shack without any
breakfast to eat. Can I trouble you for a copper to get them
some rice with, so that they might have a bit of porridge?"
The situation sounded awful enough to Ren Qian and he
wanted to help out, but reaching into his changebelt he
remembered that he'd brought no coins. "Why, business
hasn't really started yet," he apologised; "I haven't taken in
a single cent."
"Brother!" said the priest upon hearing this. "How about
selling me two hotcakes?"
"The large ones are two coppers each, the smaller ones
just a copper."
Master Que reached into his bosom and pulled out three
coins, which he deposited in the cash plate on the counter.
Ren Qian took two of them and returned one to Master
Que. "I've only just opened up, so let me give this back to
you," he said; the Daoist then put it back on the box. The
vendor then reached into his bamboo case and took out
two cakes, large and small, which he passed to the priest.
Now when Que reached out to receive them Ren Qian
noticed how dirty and filth-encrusted his hands were.
"Sheesh!" he mumbled, "how long has it been since this
fellow last washed?" And then after receiving the cakes
Master Que took his time squeezing and examining them.
"Brother!" he complained. "My mother is in her eighties.
How can she chew such hard cakes? Let me change this
for a steamed bun, will you?"
"Who would want it after it's been in your filthy hands?"
mumbled Ren Qian. He then reached back into his case
and brought out a hot steamed bun for the Daoist.
"Brother!" wheedled Que. "What is in this bun?"
"It's stuffed with meat," answered the vendor.
"Brother! My mother is a lifelong vegetarian!" complained
Que. "Give me the sweetbread in its place!"
"The business day hasn't even started and I run into this!"
grumbled the vendor, refusing this latest demand. But as he
stood firm, a number of folks began gathering noisely
around his stand. He could only comply with a sigh,
exchanging it for the confection. Once again Master Ques
kneaded the product with his grimey fingers. "How can this
fill anyone up? Give me back the hotcake if you would!"
Ren Qian now leapt up off of his stool in anger. "I've got a
mind to let you all starve!" he scolded. For two coppers I've
already let you ruin three pieces of my merchandise! No
more exchanges! This is final!"
"Brother!" begged Que. "Don't get excited. How can my
womenfolk eat their full on just these hotcakes, without rice
porridge?"
He then reached out, snatched back the coin atop the
counter and walked off.
"That's the last straw!" screamed Ren Qian. "You ruin my
merchandise and now where do you think you're going with
that?" He then ran after Master Que and began beating
him, but suddenly froze in his tracks and reconsidered.
Would it be worth those few punches and kicks if he were
to slip and kill the man and be tried for his own life? He
turned away in resignation, but upon looking back into his
box he could only cry out in despair, for all of his buns and
cakes were now as black as charcoal. And here is a poem:
Obligingly the hotcake was exchanged for steamy bun
But in those filthy hands how very foul they had become.
Even an old peasant would not want such merchandise
None would buy them now except for one with failed eyes.
Ren Qian was now furious. "This creep annoys me all
morning and then ruins all the goods in my box. It's time to
call it quits for the day and go after him once and for all!"
He then called over to the other vendors to look after his
things while he went off, fists and feet at the ready, to
pursue Master Que. For half a day he searched with all of
his youthful vigor without finding a trace of Master Que.
Finally, on his way home he heard a great commotion in the
street ahead and wondered if it couldn't just be that
character. Pressing on ahead he could see nothing, but as
he passed below the Great Anshang Gate he turned to see
a large crowd in front of a butcher's shop that he knew.
"Why, it's the Zhangs!" he gasped. "Wonder what
happened to bring out all those folks!" He stepped on into
that forest of people and spotted a woman lying in the
street. A youth was propping her up and trying persistantly
to revive her. After awhile she came round, but kept her
eyes tightly closed. "Mother!" said the young man. "Relax
and try to open your eyes!"
"Carry me back home!" she pleaded, weakly.
"Open your eyes!" pleaded the man.
"Oh I'm so frightened!" she whispered. "They won't open!"
The youth then carried the old woman off by himself.
"Wonder what made the old woman faint like that!" thought
Ren Qian. Then he saw butcher Zhang. "Move on,
everyone!" he was shouting. "There's nothing to see!" Ren
Qian recognised him at once as Zhang Qi, a senior of his
circle. "Hey there, Number One!" he called. "It's been a
while!"
"Ah, why it's Brother Ren!" grinned the butcher. "What
brings you round?"
"Just out chasing after something."
"Come on in, Brother Ren, and I'll tell you all about what just
happened!"
Ren Qian went inside. "What was all that commotion at your
door?" he asked.
"I've never before seen such a strange thing! This limping
Daoist had just come by wearing a turban on his head and
a shabby gown, holding a chime ring in his hands. He was
chanting something like "Come ye gods of wealth,
prosperity, harmony, come money, come!" or whatever. I
asked him if he didn't think it was a bit early for that, if he
couldn't tell what time of day it was through his temple
window or what. He told me he was broke and to stop
making fun of him. Then he began oogling a pig's head
hanging in front of my shop, feeling it and mumbling
something. Next he came inside ringing his chime. I
ignored him on account of some business. The florist Zhai's
second son from next door had ordered that pigs head for
his mother and the old woman had come in to pick it up. No
sooner had I taken it down and handed it to her than it
opened its eyes and snapped at the woman, scaring her
out of her wits and making her pass out on the floor. I
shouted to that little scholar of mine to go fetch her second
son and fortunately he was able to revive her. But who
knows the ups and downs these things can take? We might
all end up being grilled by the law! Anyway, when her son
picked up that pig's head it was completely still. Zhai Erlang
said that his mother was a bit old and dodgey and must
have been seeing things, and that he couldn't imagine how
a dead pig could open its eyes, and then he just carried his
mother home."
Now after hearing this Ren Qian told butcher Zhang the
story of Master Que and the hotcakes, from beginning to
end.
"How bizarre!" gasped the butcher. "How very strange!"
And just as he stopped speaking what did they hear but the
ringing of that very same priest's chime!
"He's right under our noses!" said Ren Qian.
"Hold on," said the butcher. "He really didn't do enough
damage by ruining your cakes to justify a beating. It was me
that he really endangered by harming the old woman. I'm
the right one to give the rascal a real thumping!"
"Let's you and me go after him together!" said Ren. The
two of them set out on the chase, but after quite awhile they
found nothing. Butcher Zhang looked blankly at Ren Qian.
"What should we do? Keep chasing him or break it off?
Now that we've lost him, I say let's call it quits and go
home!"
Just as they began walking back, however, they once again
heard that Daoist's chime ring, and chased on for yet
another five or six li. They could hear the bell but they
couldn't catch up with it no matter what! They finally gave up
and went home, only to see a man with a stick beating
someone in the doorway of a noodle shop in the market.
Butcher Zhang recognised the owner, Wu Sanlang, who
stopped striking and explained.
"The shop was full of customers in a hurry for their noodles
and I told him to hurry up and make a fire. But no matter
how he stacked the wood it just wouldn't catch. After waiting
for so long everybody just left. If this happens all the time I
might just as well close up shop! I'll give him something to
remember for this!"
"Stop hitting him!" said Zhang. "I mean it. Look at me!"
"And aren't you just out loafing on the job yourself?" asked
Wu.
The butcher then told him about Master Que and all that had
just happened. Wu Sanlang was momentarily speechless.
"I realise I've wrongly beaten him!" he then blurted out.
"Listen to this, you two. That monk of yours was just here. I
was at my stove when I heard the chime, and he chanted
that same line. I was really busy and I asked him if he didn't
think it was a bit early for prayers, and if he he was too
afraid of ghosts to go out at night. I said I didn't have any
money and that he'd have to leave empty-handed. He just
looked at my cooking pots and blew a little puff of his
breath, then left. Afterwards I told my little scholar here to
light the fire but somehow he couldn't get it going. We had
two mountains of food to cook and no fire! All of those
customers got tired of waiting for their food and left, and
that's why I up and beat him! I never would have known the
truth if you hadn't come along. I can't stand the way he's hurt
us like this, ruining a whole day's business..."
Suddenly as he spoke they heard the chime again. Wu
Sanlang gazed out in time to see that character hobbling
right up the street. "After him!" the three shouted as one.
The priest spotted them coming and made off in great
haste. Now, on account of their pursuit of Master Que there
is more to come; arriving at a lonely shrine they are bound
to witness something truly strange! It was like this:
Since creation never heard or told
Rarely ever seen since days of old.
As to where their chasing after Master Que will lead, and
what will happen afterwards just turn the page and read...
Chapter 28
MASTER QUE ENTERS BUDDHA'S BELLY
IN THE TEMPLE OF THE MOUND
REN, WU AND ZHANG MEET
HOLY AUNTIE IN A DREAM
Hotcakes all so very black and fire that would not burn
A pig's head opening its eyes, high magic all in turn!
Seeking to go after Master Que and get redress
In the end the three men meet a real sorceress.
As the story continues, Master Que spotted the trio of Ren,
Wu and Zhang coming after him and ran away. He then
lead them on quite a chase, speeding up and slowing down
and setting the pace at his whim. The three were unable to
catch him.
"I reckon he's hiding somewhere," said butcher Zhang. "It
won't do any harm to stop and think it over for awhile."
Now, the three were already nearly twenty li out of town and
had come to a place called The Dragon's Grave. Ahead
was a quiet, secluded path that led to the Temple of the
Mound. Suddenly they spotted Master Que entering that
shrine!
"All right!" shouted Zhang. "He's walked into a dead end.
How can he escape now? Let's get him from all three
sides!"
And so Wu Sanlang came down the middle while Zhang
and Ren closed in through the left and right halls
respectively. Now, Master Que saw them and went into the
main worship hall where he climbed onto the sacrificial
table. Then, using the hands of the great Buddha for a
foothold, he clambored up onto its shoulders, holding on
with both hands around its head. The three men then
stormed into the hall and confronted him.
"Come down nicely now!" they shouted. "If you don't, we'll
climb right up there and drag you down!"
"This is awful!" said Que. "Save me quick, Lord Buddha!"
Suddenly the head of the idol broke off in his hands and
went tumbling down to the floor. He then quickly dove down
into the belly of the Buddha and was gone.
"You're not fooling us!" shouted butcher Zhang. "There's no
way out of there. How can you hide from us now? You're as
good as caught!" Then climbing up onto the sacrificial table
and boosting himself up on the idol's clasped hands, he
seated himself upon its shoulders and reached down
inside, groping and peering into the darkness. Suddenly a
pair of hands shot up and grabbed hold of the butcher,
pulling him down into the Buddha's belly.
"Damn!" gasped Wu and Ren. "What do we do now?"
"It won't do any harm to climb up and look around!" said
Ren. "Maybe we can figure something out!"
"Little Big Brother," cautioned Wu, "Let's be careful about
this. Just forget about looking inside of that thing!"
"Don't worry, I'm a better man than Zhang Yilang!" he
replied, before climbing up onto that table and using those
palms for a boost onto the idol's shoulders. "Zh-a-a-nng Y-ii-la-a-anng...!" he shouted down into the hollow space but
before his mouth had closed that pair of hands shot right
out and seized him at once. Sheer terror gripped Ren Qian.
"My true father! My living father!" he pleaded, "Have some
pity and forgive me! I won't dare ever to chase you again!
Whatever you want...hotcakes, buns, sweetbread, they're all
yours for the eating..." Then down went his head and up
went his feet as he too plunged into the belly of the Buddha.
"Oh, no!" wailed Wu Sanlang. "Now they've both been
swallowed down! How can I go back alone?" He wanted to
climb up for a look but he feared the same fate; he wanted
to go home, but then how could he ever explain the loss of
those two lives? He could only go on up, But looking at that
table his legs turned to water and he froze in fear, unable to
climb up. He thought it over for awhile and did what he had
to, climbing onto the table, then up onto the Buddha. He
wanted to have a look inside but only feared being
swallowed. He was in panic, unable to advance or retreat,
until he thought it over a bit.
"I haven't been using my brains at all!" he thought. "I need
only find something hard, break open that belly and pull
them both out to safety!" But just as he was climbing down
from the table somebody seized him from behind round his
waist, hoisted him up and tossed him down into the belly of
the Buddha, one of his feet landing on top of someone's
head.
"Hey, that's me you're standing on!"
"And just who might you be?" asked Wu.
"Ren Qian."
"Where's Zhang the Eldest?"
"Over here!" replied Zhang Qi.
"How did you get in here?" Ren asked the latest arrival.
"I climbed up to look around for you and got snatched and
pulled in here by somebody."
"Me too," said Zhang. "It had to have been that crippled
priest. He's played with us enough now! Well, if we find him
in the dark down here we'd better just let it go and beg him
to get us out of this here belly! Then if he won't help us out
we'll have to thump him good!"
At that point the three began searching in the dark for
Master Que, without any success. "This Buddha's belly is
so big!" said Ren. "Why, look, we can actually walk around
in here!"
"How can anyone walk in this darkness?" asked Zhang.
"I'll guide you!" said Ren.
"And I'll follow you both!" replied Wu. Round and about they
walked for a li or so.
"Isn't it weird how big this hall is turning out to be? It sure
takes a lot of walking to get back to that Buddha's belly!
Just as he was speaking they suddenly saw a spot of
brightness. "There is a path, after all!" shouted Wu.
After continuing a bit longer they found a set of rough-hewn
stone doors with a shaft of light streaming in from a slit
between them. Butcher Zhang leaned forward, pushed one
open and stared out. "Great!" he beamed. "What a
beautiful mountain scene! All green and sparkling with
trees, streams and flowers. What a place!"
"Who'd ever dream of finding such scenery in the belly of
the Temple of the Mound's Buddha!" said Wu Sanlang.
"But there's no sign of people!" said Ren Qian. "How can
we ask the way back?"
"No problem!" said butcher Zhang. "If there's a road, there
must be people somewhere. Let's just press on!" And sure
enough after walking another two or three li they came to a
large estate. Just look:
Precious flowers sparkle in the dew
Tender shoots of lovely green bamboo.
Quiet grass with nesting swallows darting in their flight
Lonely halls with orioles all singing in the light.
Upon a calf there rides a child so fair
On picollo he plays his own free air.
Black-clad ploughmen march with shouldered hoe
Loudly singing songs and ryhmes of woe.
Old and scrawny dogs bark at the folks who walk along
While mountain birds cheer passing guests
in ancient groves of song.
"Let's call on the lord of the manor," said butcher Zhang.
"Anybody home?" he shouted. "We've lost our way and
wandered on in."
"Coming...coming..." went a voice from inside.
The door finally opened and an old woman appeared. The
four of them exchanged formalities. "Where are you three
from?" she then asked.
"We're city folks, and we've lost our way," replied butcher
Zhang. "We'd like to ask the way back to town and buy
some food from you, too."
"I'm just a country girl. What do I know of selling food to
folks? Anyone who wanders in here is welcome to a meal.
Just follow me, fellows."
And so they followed the old woman into a little grass hut
where they sat down on a wooden bench. The woman then
brought over a long table and placed it in front of them. "I
can see that your bellies are all empty so I'll go prepare
some rice for you to eat," she said; "If you drink, go on and
have a bowl of wine while you wait."
"Thank you so much, ma'am!" said the three. The old
woman then went in back and before long emerged with a
pot of wine and set out three bowls for them. Then she
brought out a steaming hot and fragrant plate of venison
and filled the three bowls with wine.
"I know it's nothing like your city wine!" said the woman,
modestly. "Out here we ferment it in a wooden crock, so it's
only about as strong as tea!"
Now, the three were hungry and thirsty after chasing Master
Que and they hadn't had as much as a snack since it all
started. "How delicious!" they shouted upon smelling that
rich aroma of meat, and together they downed the wine.
Then when the old woman served the rice they truly ate their
fill.
"Much obliged, madam!" they said. "Here, have some
money, won't you?"
"How can I accept payment for a few grains of rice?" she
replied while picking up the utensils. The three were then
just about to say their goodbyes when who should they spot
outside the hut if not that very same Master Que himself!
"You rascal!" shouted butcher Zhang. "You drive us crazy all
day and here you are again!" The three men then poured
out of the hut and set upon the crippled priest like orioles on
a sparrow, seizing him.
"Mom, help!" he shouted as they were about to deal with
him. The old woman was right there in an instant.
"You three sure are rude!" she shouted. "This is my son. If
he's done anything wrong I'll answer for it!" She then
ordered them to release the boy and asked them back into
the hut to sit down.
"I give you food and drink out of the goodness of my heart
and then you want to beat up my son the moment you lay
eyes on him! Why?" scolded the woman. "I think you fellows
are way out of line!"
"We're really sorry!" pleaded Zhang. "When we accepted
your kind hospitality we didn't know that this crippled monk
was your son. He's done a lot of harm to us, and if you
hadn't interevened we probably would have broken every
bone in his body."
"What did my boy do to deserve that?"
Zhang, Ren and Wu then told her the entire story.
"According to you three, then, it was all my son's fault," said
the woman. "Now you just wait while I make him apologise
and beg your forgiveness!" Master Que stepped before
her. "Just you watch how I handle this!"
""Please old woman!" said Zhang. "We don't wish to see
you struggling with your own son. Just have him escort us
back home and everything will be fine."
"Good!" said the woman. "Why don't you sit and make
yourselves comfortable. "I'm beginning to think that you
three are all predestined, and that is why you've just arrived
here. But just the same I will order him to take you back,
with regrets. You see, I've got secret and holy magic
powers, and I'll teach a bit to each of you, giving you deadly
skills." She then looked at Master Que. "You refuse to leave
home, and then when you finally go out you only stir up
trouble! You've made these three men come here. Well,
now, whatever magic you've got, show it to them!"
She then turned to the three. "My boy has a few stage skills,
and he's going to give you a little demonstration right now!"
"Well, thank you!" said the men.
At your command, mother!" said Master Que. He then
reached into his belt and took out a hollow gourd vial,
mumbling something and shouting "Live!"
And as they watched, a stream of water poured out of that
vial, in an instant covering the floor with waves like the sea.
"Wonderful!" shouted the three.
"Now, brothers, let me take it all back in, right in front of
your eyes!" said Que. And ever so gradually did he recover
that water, right back into the little gourd. And then once
again he mumbled something and commanded "Live!",
and this time a tongue of flame shot out of the little
container, instantly rising up to sear the sky!
"Great!" said the three in appreciation, and once more Que
recovered his magic.
"Master Que!" said Zhang in awe. "Would you be willing to
give us that little hollow gourd?"
"Son!" commanded the old woman. "Give elder brother the
Fire and Water Vial!"
Now, Master Que didn't dare defy his mother. He handed
that little Fire and Water Vial right over to butcher Zhang,
who thanked him heartily.
"Now I've got yet another trick to show you!" said Que. He
then took out a sheet of paper and scissors and cut out a
horse. Placing it on the floor before him, he then shouted
"Live!" That paper horse then rose up quickly from the floor,
tail wagging and head rearing high, eventually becoming a
fine white horse! And here is a Xijiangyue poem:
Eyes wide open, head up high and back so firm and strong
Towering above them all so very tall and long.
Entire body covered with a coat of hair so white
The finest stable of the Tang did not have one so bright!
Among the White Cloud Cavalry did he once run and play
Above his fellows could be heard his wild joyous neigh.
Able to climb up and over peaks as if in flight
That horse could run a thousand li before the fall of night!
Master Que then leapt up onto that horse and let out a yell.
Off he went, galloping up into the sky. After a good length of
time he gradually came back down to earth. He then
climbed down off of its back and it changed back into a
paper horse. "Would you like that trick too, brothers?" he
asked.
"I'd sure love to learn that paper horse charm!" said Wu
Sanlang. Master Que then took the paper cutting of the
horse and gave it to him, receiving warm thanks.
"Two of our elder brothers have now got some of the craft!"
said the old woman. "How about the third?"
"Anything you say, Mother!" said Que. "I wouldn't dare
disobey you...I was just afraid my childish skills weren't up
to it..."
A woman then appeared just as he was speaking, none
other than our very own Hu Yong'r herself! "Myriad
blessings, all of you!" she said in greeting. Then she turned
to the woman.
"Please, Mum! Let me teach elder brother a magic charm.
I'm at your command!"
"Let the holy work be done!" said the old woman.
Hu Yong'r went inside and came out with a bench that she
placed on the ground in front of the hut. She then sat on it,
mumbled something and shouted "LIve!" All then watched
that bench change into a giant tiger with a white head and
bulging eyes. As for what it looked like, there is this
Xijiangyue poem:
Pudgy face with body round and ears so very small
Bulging eyes protruding out of forehead fierce and tall.
Legs of steely sinew just prepared to up and fly
Leaping over rivers just like level earth so dry.
His scissors tail frightens all the gentle river deer
While overhead his passing roar strikes foxes dead from
fear.
Bian Zhuang himself although so brave
would just have stood in fright
Zi Lu as well would probably have found it hard to fight.
Now Hu Yong'r mounted that tiger, shouted "Rise up!" and
up it went into the sky. "Be still!" she commanded, and the
giant cat gradually came back down to earth. "Live!" she
then shouted and it changed back into a bench as before.
"Well, brother Ren," asked the old woman, "did you see
that?"
"Oh, yes auntie! I've seen it all!"
"My daughter, you can now pass the magic charm to
brother Ren!" Hu Yong'r then gave him the secret code and
he thanked her.
"Now I want each of you three to perform once!" ordered
the woman.
Each of them was able to accomplish his trick.
"Now that you three have finally got some magic craft,"
continued the woman, "I've got something to ask of you. I
don't know whether you'll be willing, though..."
"Go ahead, auntie! Whether we're willing or not, there's no
harm in asking us!"
"Now be informed, you three, that on a certain future day
there will be an event at Beizhou, and you will have a
chance to come forth to assist us and likewise be rewarded
with geat wealth."
"We've heard your request, auntie," said Zhang, "about
helping out someday at Beizhou. Now, if you please, just
show us the road back home!"
"I'll have my son take you back into the city."
"At your command!" said Master Que.
The trio then thanked the old woman, who gazed on them.
"My son will now guide you back, brothers, and tomorrow
you are to meet us again at the Temple of the Mound."
They then bade farewell to the old woman and Yong'r.
Master Que then led the way, and just as they had travelled
the first few hundred metres a high mountain came into
view, and Master Que led the trio up to the top "Can you
see the capital, brothers?" he then asked.
Butcher Zhang, Wu Sanlang and Ren Qian then gazed out
and saw the city just a short distance ahead. Just then,
Master Que fiercely came at the three and pushed them
down with one shove, and suddenly they woke up in fright in
the Temple of the Mound! Butcher Zhang watched
incredulously as Wu Sanlang and Ren Qian also awoke.
"What do you two remember seeing?" he asked.
"Master Que taught us some magic craft," said Wu
Sanlang; "have you still got that little gourd vial on you?"
When butcher Zhang groped around he indeed found it next
to his breast.
"I've still got my little paper horse here!" said Wu.
"What I learnt was the magic code for conjuring up the giant
tiger!" said Ren.
"It was half dream and half real," said butcher Zhang; "that
Master Que, the old woman, and then that Hu Yong'r were
all really weird. And especially that bit about us helping
them out someday at Beizhou; who knows what that's
supposed to mean?"
Just as the three sat there unable to figure it out they caught
sight of Master Que coming out from behind that idol of the
Buddha. "Now go home, you three!" he admonished,
"Remember the magic you've learnt and come back to
meet us here in the temple tomorrow!" The three then left
him there and each went back to his own home. And here
is a poem:
So real is the forming of the carefree butterfly
So stupid the illusion of great riches coming by.
The magic charms that they received while in a dreamlike
state
Will make them seem immortal fairies at a later date.
Next morning after breakfast the three went back to the
Temple of the Mound, and upon looking inside saw only the
Buddha sitting there ever so still. The three then went to
search around in back for the old woman and crippled
priest but didn't find them. "Let's go home!" said butcher
Zhang, but after he spoke they heard another voice.
"Now, don't you fellows go back! I've been waiting here for
a long time!" And when the trio looked, it was none other
than that old woman from the day before, emerging from
behind the idol.
"We're here!" shouted the men with all their vigor.
"As you three gentlemen are so late, why don't you give me
a little demonstration of the skills we passed on to you
yesterday for future use?"
"Mine is the magic vial of water and fire," said Zhang. He
then mumbled a chant and shouted "Live!" and out shot the
flood of water. Then came the cry "Recover!" and the water
gradually retreated into the little gourd. Again he shouted
"Live!" and there appeared a flash of fire shooting up from
the little vial. And once more he shouted "Recover!" and the
fire slowly retreated into the gourd. "I've done it!" shouted
Zhang in glee.
Next Wu Sanlang pulled out the paper horse from inside his
blouse, put it on the ground and chanted something. Then
he shouted "Live!" and it changed into a white horse trotting
happily along. Wu climbed onto the stallion, rode for a few
moments and then dismounted, and it turned back into a
paper horse.
Ren Qian then got a bench from the back of the hall and sat
straddled it, uttered a charm and shouted "Live!" That
bench then became a giant tiger and roared right off.
"Halt!" shouted Ren and the giant beast slowly recovered
its original form of a bench. Suddenly as he was finishing
his demonstration another voice was heard.
"For Heaven's sake!" a man was shouting, "You're
practicing sorcery! The government has posted signs for
the arrest of sorcerers, and if they find out about this I'll be
involved!"
They all suddenly turned around to see see a Buddhist
monk standing there in a flame pattern gown and earrings.
"I've been watching you from outside for awhile," he said.
"I'm to blame for this, Master!" said the woman. "I taught
them a bit of magic craft here."
"Well, I hope you've taught them well. Otherwise it's just a
waste of energy. Let them show me what they can do!"
The old woman then told the three to perform once more,
and each went through his paces.
"Well, Master," said the woman. "How about these three
disciples of mine?"
"They didn't do so well in my opinion!" replied the monk.
"You Bonzes are all the same!" scolded the woman. "Do
any of you ever dare do anything really earthshaking? If
you've got any magic at all, give us a show of it!"
The monks two hands then came out of his sleeves, and
when he thrust them open his fingertips beamed forth rays
of golden light, iluminating five images of Buddha. Ren, Wu
and Zhang fell in worship.
Now, while the three were praying yet another voice was
heard. "This temple was established by order of the
imperial court Are you practicing Jingang Zen Sorcery
here?"
The monk quickly pulled back the five beams of light and all
turned to see a Daoist wizard riding into the hall on a fierce
beast of prey. Seeing the old woman he dismounted,
raised high a fist and then kowtowed.
"Your disciple is here to pay his respects!" he shouted. He
then bowed to that monk. Ren, Wu, and Zhang in bowed in
turn to the newcomer.
"Have these three all got the craft?" he asked.
"Indeed they have!" said the old woman.
"Your humble wizard has also brought a new disciple here!"
answered the gentleman.
"Where is he?"
"By the power of the gods!" commanded the gentleman.
That fierce animal then dipped and swung its head and
disappeared, and standing in its place was a man. Those
present all trembled at the sight. And as the woman looked
on she saw that it was none other than the merchant Pu Ji!
The two of them exchanged salutes.
"Pu Ji!" she said. "What brings you here!"
"Auntie! If Master Zhang Ying hadn't saved my life I'm afraid
I wouldn't be standing here in front of you now!"
"How did you save him?" the old woman asked Zhang Ying.
"In a grove about thirty li outside of Zhengzhou I suddenly
heard someone shouting 'Save me, Holy Auntie!' I realised
that was your name, and I used my powers to save him
from great danger."
"I see!" said the old woman. "And now that you've met, has
he been taught any of your secret crafts?"
"I sure have!" interrupted Pu Ji.
"Have you seen my own magic yet?" asked the woman.
"Show us what you can do, your holiness!" pleaded the
bonze and the wizard as one.
The old woman then reached up and snatched out a golden
hairpin and shouted "Live!", changing it into a precious
sword. She took this and slashed a line down the front of
her chest. Then she clenched her fists and beat on either
side, popping open her chest cavity. And when they all
gathered round, this is what they saw:
Vermillion door with nails of gold
Blue tiled roof with eaves so bold.
Gate of blue-green cedars tall
Dense pines embracing palace hall;
Fairy children beating time
Storks hark to sutra so sublime;
Jade girls calling out the hour
While apes mix potions full of power;
Like paradise beyond the waves
With royal halls and fairy caves.
"Wonderful!" they all shouted, all the while frightened out of
their wits. But suddenly, just as they were admiring the
scene, a great commotion was heard outside and a
procession came walking in.
"What do we do now?" shouted one of the group.
"Don't panic!" said the bonze. "Just get behind me!" They
then hid themselves behind his back.
Now, there were more than twenty men in that procession,
all with crossbows strapped to their sides and carrying
caged falcons. They were from all over, officials and private
individuals both. A mid ranking official rode up to the hall on
horseback and dismounted, opened a folding chair and
sat. The followers then formed two lines in front of him. Now
this official was known as Flawless Commander Wang.
This was a day off for him, so he took a holiday and brought
this group of his outside of the city for a romp. This leg of
their journey had brought them to the Temple of the Mound,
where they played a bit of football and had a round of
archery. Then the entire entourage ate and drank in the
temple, and when the leader had quite a few cups of wine
he mounted his horse and reentered the hall with all of his
men following him.
"What should I say?" said the old woman. "These men are
full of joy and happiness and now they're in for a shock on
account of our being in here!"
Butcher Zhang, Ren Qian and Wu Sanlang recognized him.
"He's a mid ranking aristocrat and an official of the tin
mines, and he's called Flawless Commander Wang. He is
a man of pious and fine character who patronises Bonzes
and good works."
"Just watch the trouble I make for him tomorrow!" said the
bonze.
The men all dispersed. But on account of our bonze's
desire to disturb Flawless Commander Wang, there will be
thirty messengers with terror in their eyes coming in from all
around Kaifeng and surrounding county, and the brightest
officials and inspectors will seek to uncover and apprehend
the rebels. The greater Kaifeng area will be in turmoil over
the Sutra of the One in White, with the rebels belonging to
two heterodox sects of Buddhism and Daoism working
together to seduce people and make them into followers of
Jingang Zen.
All because some evil Dao and Zen he chanced to hear
A fine distinguished man will have to forfeit his career.
As for what the bonze now has in store, turn to the coming
chapter and read more.
Chapter 29
COMMANDER WANG MAKES A BIG
DONATION
DU QISHENG GREEDILY PERFORMS A
HEAD TRICK
Much was the magic of Ninth Heaven's Girl of Mystery
Apply yourself to study and you suddenly will see.
With monks and nuns just chasing wealth and lusting
for a life
It's obvious that in the world unholiness is rife!
Now as the story goes, Flawless Commander Wang
returned to the capital after his day in the country. Nothing
more happened that day and they all went home. Next
morning these same officials, private citzens and idle men
who enjoyed his patronage came around once more to hail
him.
"We sure had a fine outing in the country yesterday," he told
the crowd, "but I've got something different planned for
today. I've set out food and drink for your enjoyment out
back in my garden. You are all invited to relax watching a
show or enjoying poetry. Eat, drink and be merry!"
Now the pavillion in this garden was not your usual simple
affair. The site of today's recreation was known as the
"Four Vistas Pavillion", All rushed out back where the
commander's buffet-style feast was arranged, and the host
himself sat on the square open stage and looked on as his
guests ate and drank. Suddenly in the midst of the feasting
a commotion broke out in the garden and all from the
commander on down to his retainers were aghast.
Somebody had shot a pellet into the garden and it had
struck the pavillion.
"It's a good thing it only hit the stage!" gasped Wang. "It
could have really hurt me!"
He then sent some men to see who had launched it into his
compound, but seeing only a gardenful of guests
surrounded by high walls they could only report their
puzzlement as to how it had got into the place. But just as
they spoke, the pellet could be seen wafted a few times up
into the air as if by some force, then flattening itself out like
a disk upon the stage, spinning like a top. "How strange!"
said the commander.
Suddenly they heard a sharp sound and a little man popped
out. Tiny at first, but after being blown upon by a sudden
wind he gradually grew larger and larger, eventually
becoming a six-foot-tall bonze clad in a flame-pattern gown
and wearing gold earrings. The commander and his guests
were filled with fear as they watched that monk come forth
to greet the host.
"My reverent greetings!" the bonze said, kneeling. The
commander was speechless. "What a fine monk!" he
thought; "I mustn't offend him!" He then returned the bow
and greeting.
"What brings your holiness around?" he asked.
"I'm just a wandering monk out of the Wenshu Monastery on
Five Altars Mountain. That's in Goosegate County, over in
Daizhou, Shanxi. I've come just to pay my respects to your
honor and ask for a bit of sustainance."
Now, the commander had always revered the Buddhist faith
and often donated his wealth to the clergy, but this time he
felt a bit ill at ease, especially as the monk had arrived in
such a shady way. He politely told the bonze to be seated
opposite him.
"I'm afraid I've ruined your feast!" said the visitor
apologetically.
The commander called over to the kitchen to prepare a
vegetarian meal for the monk. "Will you have a few cups of
wine with me while you wait?" he then asked the bonze.
"Thanks a lot!" he replied as the golden bowls and cups, all
from the imperial court, were set out before him. "How can
these little cups leave me satisfied?" he complained.
Hearing this, the royal commander then ordered that a a
large golden bell be brought to the monk. The commander
would drink from the cup and the bonze from the bell. From
then on the host only poured wine and that monk never
declined, soon downing thirty bells full!
"If he weren't truly a holy bonze," said the commander
joyously, "how could he hold so much wine?"
"The priest's meal is ready!" shouted the cooks.
"Your vegetarian supper is served, your holiness!" said the
Commander. He ordered it served to the bonze, himself
having a few light snacks. Now, as soon as the monk saw
that food he picked up his bowl and didn't put it down to
relax for even a moment. The host had his servants coming
and going with more portions. Rice, pastries, and wine all
disappeared in great volume, then servants falling over
themselves to keep him supplied. All of the staff were
dumbstruck at his appetite, as was the commander himself.
"This monk," he announced, "must truly be a holy man. I
can't imagine where all that food and drink could have
gone." The bonze finally finished, put down his bowl and
relaxed.
"For shame!" said the servants. "No question about it, he's
had his daily meal!"
After the bowls and utensils were cleared away, tea was
served, and after tea the bonze got up and thanked the
commander, who responded happily. "My teacher! Such a
crude offering needs no thanking. Dare I ask where you are
headed now that you've eaten?"
Your humble monk is the elder in charge of fundraising at
our Wenshu Monastery. The temple gate has crumbled
away and it will take three thousand strings of cash to
restore it. That's why I've come today, to ask your charity. If
your excellency would donate this three thousand,
facilitating the completion of a new gate, you will enjoy long
life and plant many future blessings."
"My Fate is a small matter," said the commander. "How
many more times will you be back for money?"
"There won't be any more requests after the gate is
repaired."
"My master! How shall I present it to you?"
"Just give me the money. There's no need to buy any
building materials. It'll be just fine if I receive the three
thousand strings of coin."
"Master!" laughed the commander. "You are here alone.
Won't you need a few porters to help carry it back?"
"To tell the truth, Commander, I've got my own way of doing
it!"
The commander then ordered his chief servant to open the
vault, and had his guest of all rank and the idlers present
pitch in to carry out the strings of coin, piling them up on the
ground in front of the pavillion. There were a hundred
strings in each of thirty heaps.
"Master!" exclaimed the commander. "There are three
thousand strings of cash here, and you've got such a long
journey ahead of you. How can you reach Five Altars
Mountain without a lot of porters to help carry the money?"
"No problem!" said the bonze, climbing down from the
pavillion and happily thanking the commander. "No need for
you to go to any more trouble on my account. I've got my
own men to shoulder the load."
He then removed a copy of a sutra from his gown. The
commander was silent, just wondering what would happen
next. "The powers of monks are really and truly great!"
continued the holy man. He then recited that sutra once,
using an onlooker to hold it open for him. And as they
watched in amazement, in the bat of an eye the monk threw
the sutra up into the sky where it changed into a golden
bridge! Then he raised his arms skywards.
"All those journeying to Five Altars Mountain, all you
servants and porters!" he shouted. "I've received the three
thousand strings of cash from Flawless Commander Wang.
All of you may now come and carry it back!"
All stood dumbstruck and looked up in awe to see a legion
of men pouring forth across across that bridge in the sky,
arriving right at the foot of the pavillion and picking up the
three thousand strings of cash on shoulders and poles and
making off with them, ever so quickly coming and going
until soon they had carried it all away.
"Thank you for providing my sustainance," said the bonze,
and for so glady donating all the cash. If you someday have
a chance to visit Five Altars Mountain, the other monks and
I will greet you with a ringing of the great bell and beating of
the drums, and with flags and banners unfurled. And now
your humble monk returns there."
The bonze then took leave of the commander, departing
across that golden bridge and disappearing ever so
gradually into the distance. Then a blast of wind arose aloft
and the bridge changed back into the sutra, which was then
wafted away up into into the blue. The commander was
filled with joy, and told his guests and servants to burn joss
and pray.
"I've been providing monks with charity for over fifty years
but today, at last, I've surely met a holy monk, a true arhat!"
he declared.
All of his men then gathered round to join the commander in
rejoicing, and here is a poem:
Giving charity to monks to plant his fortune's field
A little talk and generously three thousand does he yield.
So many folks in Changsha are so hungry and so cold
Why not save their lives by giving just a bit of gold?
After this, Flawless Commanders Wang's entire family all
sung the praises of "Bonze Dan" as they called him, for the
Chinese word for pellet is indeed pronounced "Dan"
although it is a different word from the one meaning egg
used for his actual name, Bonze Dan. Nothing more
happened on the day of the feast, but early next morning
after washing he went out to lead his subordinates to work.
Arriving at the Yamen a bit early, he was passing through
an official anteroom when he chanced to meet and
exchange bows with an official. And who was this official
but Kaifeng District's very own Governor General, Grand
Dragon Bao himself! As he too had arrived early he had
been waiting in there, this man so beloved by all the people
of greater Kaifeng. Just read about him:
All his life so straight and true with talent high and bright
So loyal, kind and filial to all within his sight.
Families multiply and fields are opened up to sow
All through the streets are people serenading virtue's glow.
Lawsuits are wiped out while thieves and robbers only hide
Elders sing out songs of praise resounding city wide.
Retiring to praises and to everlasting fame
A thousand years will folks pass on his glorious good
name.
His legend carved on tablets and inscribed on marble walls
Resounding down the ages through the offices and halls.
Words of praise that might embarrass Li Bai and Du Fu
Kong Sui and Huang Ba of the Han were not as good or
true.
Now on that day Governor General Bao was waiting
through the early morning hours when he spotted
Commander Wang and invited him to sit and chat. The
commander was a righteous man and the governor an
honest and capable official, and they had only heard good
spoken of each other. And although the commander was
senior in rank, being an aristocrat, he did not at all look
down on Governor General Bao, and liked him sincerely.
The admiration was mutual. and so the men sat and spoke
together in the anteroom.
"People all face retribution for their deeds in this life," said
the commander.
"I've come to realise this too," said the Governor General.
"Since coming to Kaifeng I've heard so many cases, and
only if the wrongdoers are punished can we hope to rectify
evil and move toward perfection. But as you, Commander,
are such a perfect man, what retribution have you got to
fear?"
"Not to change the subject," said the commander, "but
yesterday I was at the pavillion in my garden enjoying
myself when suddenly a pellet fell out of the clear blue sky
and a holy monk burst out of it! He said he was in charge of
fundraising at the Wenshu Monastery on Five Altars
Mountain and asked me for help. Then after I fed him he
asked for three thousand strings of copper coins, but said
he didn't need any men to help move it. He just took out a
sutra, tossed it up and it turned into a golden bridge. Then
he summoned all the servants and porters who were to
accompany him back to Five Altars Mountain, and after
they'd picked up all the money they just disappeared
across the bridge, the monk along with them. Such a thing
has never before appeared in the world! Why, this event is
the natural result of a lifetime of charity to monks and
support for the Buddhist faith!"
"Hard to come by, indeed!" said the Governor General. But
although he answered so agreeably he had some silent
thoughts of his own on the matter. The affair was so very
strange, he thought; how in the world could such a crazy
thing have happened? Now, by that time the light of dawn
had gradually filled the sky and the officials were all inside;
it was time to go to work.
Governor General Bao went to his office and began
attending to business, and the very first thing he did was to
ask which of the arrestors were on duty that day. Only one
such official answered the call, District Arrestor Wen
Dianzhi, and Governor Bao informed him in detail of his
suspicions.
"Early this morning I spoke with Flawless Commander
Wang in the officials' anteroom," said Bao. "He told me that
he had been drinking wine in his garden yesterday when
suddenly a pellet was thrown in from somewhere, and that a
monk then burst out of it and announced that he was in
charge of alms for the Wenshu Monastery on Five Altars
Mountain. He got away with three thousand strings of cash,
and the commander says he was a holy monk, a true arhat.
To my way of thinking, if he were really a holy man and an
arhat what use would he have for money? The way I see it
he must have been a heretic and a sorcerer! You know, the
governor of Zhengzhou was recently killed by the sorcerers
Zhang Ying and Pu Ji. Warrants have been out for their
arrest but they have not yet been captured. There's no way
we can allow sorcerers like that in the capital district!" The
Governor General looked seriously at Wen Dianzhi. "Arrest
that heretical sorcerer at once and bring here to me!" he
commanded.
Arrestor Wen could only do as he was told. After receiving
his orders he went forth from the yamen and passed under
the Sweet Springs Memorial Arch before entering the
offices of the district constabulary, where he sat down.
Around him men were working on various cases but he just
remained seated, head hanginging low in silence with
knotted brow and a worried look on his face. Now one on
the men working there was a favourite of his by the name of
Ran Gui, known affectionately as Barracks Ran. Blind in
one eye, he'd managed to accomplish things that nobody
else could do. He had assisted Wen Dianzhi on many
difficult and murky cases, and this was why Wen was so
fond of him.
"What's bothering you, chief?" asked Ren Gui.
"Brother Ran!" said Wen Dianzhi, "If I tell you, you'll be
upset too! Well, his excellency the governor has just told me
that earlier this morning he met with that Flawless
Commander Wang of the Tin Mining Bureau. Wang said
that while drinking wine in his garden yesterday he saw a
pellet flying in, and a real live Buddhist monk burst out of it.
The bonze pursuaded Flawless Commander Wang to
donate three thousand strings of cash to him, and Wang
considers the man to have been a holy monk and an arhat.
The governor said 'If he were really a holy man and an arhat
what use would he have for money? He must be a heretical
sorcerer,' and then he ordered me to seize the monk. I
reckon he must have all sorts of talents and ways of
concealing himself. When he needed that three thousand
strings of cash he was able to go far away from home to
another district to get it. Where should I go to arrest him?
Governor Bao is different from others I've worked for, giving
me such a difficult job, and I have to follow his orders. In the
end if I can't come up with the monk then I'll be the one
pleading guilty as charged, and that's why I'm so upset."
"What's so difficult about this job?" went Ran Gui. "Just
assign a lot of men to the case, each to search his own
area the best he can, and covering all twenty-eight gates of
the city. If we don't get him, he's already gone."
"That makes sense," said Wen. "You've learnt a few things
in your long experience!" He then looked over the men
working in his office. "Each of you!" he ordered, "Split up
and get to work on this case by yourselves, and give it your
best! Here are the details..." And accordingly all the men
did as ordered.
Wen Dianzhi and Ran Gui then left the constabulary along
with their trusted confidants, passing back under the Sweet
Springs Arch and rushing forth into the city. Arrestor Wen
partially covered his face with a big warm hat and Ran Gui
worked under cover, his one eye ever so vigilant. Looking
into all the tearooms and bars they managed to interrogate
a few suspicious characters with no result. "What do we do
if he's simply jumped into the Eastern Sea?" said Wen.
"Investigations are best handled without such
decisiveness," replied Ran. "We just have to continue
patiently until dark and see what we find out."
Before long the two men arrived at the National Shrine
Temple and noticed a crowd in front of the wall.
"Inspector, why don't you wait here a moment while I go and
have a look?" said Ran. Walking briskly over he found two
or three hundred people surrounding one man, his head
wrapped in a turban with a gold ring behind and holding a
gauze peony. He wore a trailing robe with an embroided
sash round his belly and a pair of hemp sandals. Behind
him was planted a silver staff with a flag attached, and
before him was a gold-lacquered bamboo case. He was a
magician attracting his audience.
Now this man had long been well known round the capital
as Du Qisheng. He now clasped his hands together as he
introduced himself to the crowd.
"I'm a native of Kaifeng," he said, "and I often work this
place where soldiers, local officials and travellers pass.
Some of you know me and some of you don't. The ones
who don't soon will! I go on a yearly pilgrimage to the Holy
Mountain of the East, and in contests I always come out on
top!"
"What do you do for a living, Du Qisheng?" shouted
someone. "What's your trade?"
"The Sun and Moon, Qian and Kun!" replied Du. "Heaven
above and Earth below. I've never run into another man
aside from my own teacher who could perform this secret
craft of mine!" He then turned his head and called
"Shoushou, my boy, come out!"
Now his little son was stripped bare above the waist and
his skin was white as polished jade. "What a lovely child!"
went the crowd admiringly.
"I've worked all over this city over the course of quite a few
years," he continued. "Some of you have seen me and
some haven't. This secret mystical craft of mine with its
stoking of fire and boiling of oil, heating of pots and casting
of bowls is known as head re-attachment magic. Now, I'm
going to sit my son down on this little stool, chop his head
right off and wrap it up in a scarf. Then I'm going to replace
the boy's head just as it was before. But first, ladies and
gentlemen, you have to buy a hundred magic charms from
me! Now, these blessings are only five coppers each!" He
then began beating his gong.
The audience just pressed in on him, but although two or
three hundred people were present he managed to sell only
forty-seven blessings. Du Qisheng then became angry and
impatient.
"Could it be that someone among you ladies and
gentleman has got a few tricks of their own?" he asked the
crowd. "Do you dare come forth for a contest of magic?"
Three times he asked and three times he heard only
silence.
"Now according to the rules of my craft," he continued, "I'm
going to put my boy on the stool, cast a magic spell and
recite a charm, and he'll seem to be asleep." Unfortunately,
however, just as he was about to give his performance a
monk in the crowd who knew this craft spoke up. Seeing
the magician about to make his great pronouncement this
interloper beat him to it, mumbling a chant and shouting
"Live!" and snatching up that child's entire soul, his hun and
pou essences, and stuffing them up his sleeve. He then
spotted a noodle shop across the street.
"I'm really hungry so I guess I'll have a bowl of noodles while
I decide what to do with the soul of that boy of his!" said the
monk. He then went into the shop and sat right in the
streetside window, looking out at Du Qisheng. After he
ordered and had his choptsticks and pickles placed in front
of him, the monk then took out that child's soul essences
and put them on a covered saucer, himself leaning over the
table and waiting for his noodles. And here is a poem:
Never boast while out in front of other folks you stand
Always will you come to meet an even faster hand.
His head replacement magic was unique under the sun
But who would ever guess a monk would steal the soul and
run!
That little child with skin like jade received such sympathy
But his soul's replacement wasn't worth a cent to see.
In our play and joking we can do with anything
Who needs a running horse when we can ride upon a
swing?
Our plot now thickens. Du Qisheng muttered those charms
of his, raised a butcher knife and sliced off his son's head,
which went rolling down as the audience jumped back. He
then covered the severed head with a bedsheet and
replaced it atop his son's neck. Next he took up charm slip
and circled the covered head a few times while mumbling a
chant.
"Nothing to fear, Ladies and gents!" he assured the crowd.
"This act is my mainstay, and as you can imagine, I only get
one chance! This is the last boat out, so to speak. A
hundred of my secret magic charms for sale!"
But as Du picked up that sheet from his son's shoulders the
head came off with it! The crowd gasped and shrieked in
horror. "This trick's always worked before and the kid's got
up," some shouted, "but this time the head failed to attach
and it's a flop!"
Du Qisheng frantically placed the covered head back in
place, trying to divert the crowd's concern with his talk.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted, "It's all so simple!
One more try and right back on it goes!"
Again he placed the draped head upon his son's neck,
blessed it with the charm slip and chanted, and once more
when he removed the sheet the head had failed to attach
itself.
Du Qisheng was now in a panic. "Ladies and gentlemen!"
he exhorted the crowd, "We may all walk different roads in
life but we've all got families to raise! That character got me
mad and made me say the say the wrong thing a few
moments ago, and I beg your forgiveness! This time, after I
succeed with your encouragement in attaching his head
let's go have a cup of wine. As they say, within the four seas
all folks are acquainted!"
He then acknowledged his own responsibilty: "I've been at
fault," he declared, "but this time the head will be attached!"
This time he ever so conscientiously mouthed those
charms, shouted and whisked away the sheet, but once
again the head trick had failed.
"I beg of you!" he pleaded, "Before you say my my son's
head is gone, I again ask your forgiveness! You all know
who is really to blame for this!"
He then reached back into his case and took out a small
paper-bound parcel, from which he unwrapped a small
hollow gourd vial.
He then reached back into his case and took out a small
paper-bound parcel, from which he unwrapped a small
hollow gourd vial. Next he went and scooped out some
earth and buried the gourd. Then he mumbled some words,
spit out a mouthful of water and shouted "live!" In a strange
instant there arose a living vine, growing gradually to great
length and sprouting branches and leaves and finally a
flower which then withered, leaving behind yet another small
gourd. Du Qisheng then reached up and picked that gourd
and brought it down. Holding it in his left hand and his knife
in his right, he spoke.
"First you wrongly harvested my son's soul, his hun and
pou. Then you hexed me and made me fail in attaching his
head. Now you'd better just give up any thoughts you might
have of living!" He then sliced through the gourd, and its
bottom half dropped away.
At that very moment the monk was finally receiving his bowl
of noodles up on the top floor of the restaurant and was
about to begin eating when suddenly his head went
tumbling from his chest and rolling down on the floor. The
restaurant patrons looked up in from their bowls in horror at
the sight. The more timid ones tossed their noodles on the
spot and fled downstairs, while the brave ones stood their
ground and watched.
As they looked on. the bonze put down his bowl and got
down onto the floor on all fours, groping round and round.
Feeling his head he grabbed it by the ears and placed it
back upon his neck, and then stood up and continued
searching for something. "Why, I was only thinking about
those noodles and forgot all about returning his kid's soul!"
he said as he lifted the cover of the saucer.
As it happened, the other patrons shouted down to warn Du
Qisheng as he stood across the street. "Your magic trick
was ruined by a monk who's eating upstairs in here!" they
called out.
Now, present at the scene were Wen Dianzhi and Ran Gui.
"Inspector!" said Ran, "Couldn't this monk be the same one
that hoodwinked Flawless Commander Wang out of his
money?"
"Sure looks that way to me, too!" replied Wen.
"When you spot a hare there's no use holding back the
falcon!" said Ran as he tore off his mufti. The two men then
charged into the noodle shop shouting "Officers of the law!"
The monk could then be seen running downstairs into the
arms of the other patrons and the police. But he only need
lift a finger and yet another episode unfolds. The capital city
will boil over like a caudron and the entire district of Kaifeng
will be rocked by a great disturbance. The angry arrestors
have cornered the monk but will be unable to seize him,
and as a result a greedy young man will lose his life over an
evil cause. It was like this:
Quarrels only cause so many tongues to flap away
Inciting everyone with angry cause to join the fray.
If the monk is finally arrested or is not, just see the things
that happen in the coming chapter's plot!
Chapter 30
THE PELLET BONZE DAN'S
TRANSFORMATION
ANGERS GRAND DRAGON BAO
LI ERGE FALLS TO HIS DEATH AFTER
INFORMING ON A SORCERER
It's a duty to be satisfied with living poor and clean
Ill-gotten wealth can never as our very own be seen.
When in life we may receive some riches after all
The good in it is cancelled when it leads us to a fall.
As the story goes, Wen Dianzhi burst into the shop togethor
with his deputy, only to see the bonze they had sought
coming down the stairs. Inspector Wen pointed his iron rod
and ordered the other arrestor to seize the monk, who
simply raised one finger upon seeing all those present
closing in on him. And in one bizarre instant the shop owner
at his counter, his naughty little professor of a son and all
the patrons of the shop changed into identical monks! Even
Wen Dianzhi and his deputy had become bonzes.
All of those present just looked dumbstruck at each other.
Of course the police were at a loss as to which they should
apprehend! The shop was thrown into an uproar and
several customers left, and then suddenly as Wen Dianzhi
looked on the owner, his family and remaining patrons all
changed back to their original selves, but the bonze they
had sought was nowhere to be seen! Wen then deputised
those present and ordered them all to split up and head
after him, and he sent runners to each of the gates to alert
the guards there.
Wen Dianzhi then returned directly to the District Yamen,
where the Governor was just in the midst of his afternoon
session trying a case. The arrestor stepped into the
chamber and saluted.
"How did you make out arresting that sorcerer monk as I
ordered?" asked Grand Dragon Governor Bao.
"Soon after I received your excellency's orders and the
warrant for the monk," reported Wen, "I saw an ordinary
Daoist by the name of Du Qisheng performing magic in
front of the National Shrine Temple. He beheaded his son
with one blow of his knife, but a monk on the top floor of a
noodle shop across the street harvested the boy's soul and
thus prevented the magician from re-attaching the head. Du
Qisheng then became agitated and picked a gourd from a
magic vine he'd just planted. He cut the bottom half of it off
and and at that very moment upstairs in the noodle shop
that bonze's head rolled! But he got right down on the
floorboards on all fours, felt round for the severed head and
put it right back on, and just then down in the street the
boy's head could at last be re-attached as well! Well, your
servants witnessed all of these bizarre doings and ordered
everyone present to seize him, but the monk just pointed a
finger and all the people in the shop, even my assitant and I,
were changed into bonzes at once! This threw us off his
track. Excellency! This sort of sorcerer is really difficult to
catch. I await your further orders, sir!"
"Why," replied Grand Dragon Bao, "I'm the chief of Kaifeng
District! I'm afraid that I'll be accused at the Imperial Court if
a sorcerer like that remains at large in the city and causes
any more incidents." He then called the sign carvers in and
had them engrave offical notice boards to be posted at
each gate and in the An Tang Monastery and other
temples, offering a reward of a thousand strings of cash for
the capture of that Pellet Bonze. And it stated that should a
monk of unclear origins come to call and be allowed to take
refuge, without being turned in, the chain of neighbors to the
right would be collectively responsible. As a result of this
notice the capital city began boiling over with stories.
Now as it happened a greengrocer by the name of Li Erge
lived at the time with his wife in their shop in the heart of the
capital. He had just recovered from a serious illness and
had no capital left. One day he went out to borrow two or
three hundred coppers for travelling expenses so that he
could visit some old friends for help. He returned with empty
pockets, feeling all sullen and depressed.
"Erge!" said his wife. "How did you make out with the
money?"
"I'll tell you, I couldn't borrow a cent. The city is in an uproar
and none of the merchants can do any business. Yesterday
a monk was eating upstairs in a noodle shop when
suddenly his head rolled off just like that! He got down down
on the floor to grope for it, grabbed it by the ears and put it
right back on his neck like before. The police saw the weird
thing happen and ran at once to arrest him, but with a wave
of his finger the monk changed them and everyone else in
the shop into identical copies of himself! And now Kaifeng
District has posted a reward of a thousand strings of coin
for information leading to the capture of that bonze. He's
called the Pellet Bonze 'Dan', and a few days ago he
cheated Flawless Commander Wang out of three thousand
strings of cash."
"Erge!" replied his wife, skeptically. "Is this story for real?"
"I've just just seen the official proclamations with my own
eyes!" he gasped. "How can you sit here and call me a
liar?"
"Erge! You and I have got nothing left to eat or drink. If that
monk were to be arrested and you claimed the reward, we
could use it to start up our business again. Wouldn't it be
wonderful?"
"Nonsense!" scoffed Li. "The Governor wasn't born
yesterday and he doesn't suffer fools lightly!"
"I'm sure you'd be able to claim the reward!" she insisted.
"How can you tell me to go and claim that thousand strings
of cash?"
"Erge! I tell you, you don't have to go a hundred and eighty
thousand li to find out where that monk is staying. Here's
just nearby now!"
"Where?"
"In the house next door!" answered his wife.
"How can you be sure it was him that you saw?"
"It's been three months since he moved in next door, and
I've never seen him reciting sutras with anybody or going
out to beg alms. Every day he sleeps until after breakfast
and then he goes out, and he always comes staggering
back drunk before sunset. Anyway, two weeks ago I had
cramps in my belly from eating something uncooked and
when I went out back there was an awful smell coming from
the alleyway. When I was cominmg back from the toilet I
passed by his open door, and even though it was midmorning there seemed to be a lantern flickering in there. I
wondered why he needed a lamp at that time of day, and
when I stood on my toes to peek through the break in the
wall I saw flames bursting from his entire body. And then he
extended his head and it touched the roofbeam! Well I was
horrified. I didn't dare hang around any longer and came
right back home. That monk has got to be a sorcerer!"
"Is this for real?" asked Erge incredulously.
"Since when have I ever told you a fib?"
"Then keep it quiet! We don't want this information leaking
out!" And having so ordered his wife, he left home and went
directly to the neighbourhood officials but didn't dare go
inside. He just paced outside the gate until a policeman
spotted him.
"Li Er!" shouted the man. "What's bothering you that you
just keep walking back and forth like that?
"To tell the truth, my wife and I have got a secret matter to
discuss, and I've come to see an inspector!"
"Wait here while I go in and report this," said the
policeman. "Then you'll be able to come in."
No sooner had Wen Dianzhi returned to his office than than
that policeman rushed in to report the visitor.
"Inspector! The greengrocer Li Erge is pacing back and
forth outside, and when I asked his business he stated that
he had a secret matter to discuss with you."
Tell him to come in!" directed Wen. The policeman then led
Li into the hall and saluted.
Wen Dianzhi looked on without returning the greeting. "Li
Erge!" he chuckled, "What brings you to see me?"
"Inspector!" began Li. "I've been ill recently and unable to
look after my daily business, and these last few days I've
just been idle all the time. When I was out the other day I
spotted a proclamation board and remembered the part
about a thousand strings of cash as a reward for arrest of a
sorcerer bonze, and when I got home I told my wife about it.
She then told me that the monk living next door was the
sorcerer!"
Now, Wen Dianzhi didn't dare let any great emotion show
on his face, and just laughed lightly as he spoke. "Li Erge!
Let's go over this carefully! What exactly did you and your
wife see him doing?"
The grocer then told the entire story that he had heard from
his wife.
"We must follow up on this!" said Wen. "Go write up an
official complaint!"
Li then asked the policeman for help preparing his draft. A
sheet of paper, brush and ink were provided and after
writing it in his own hand he went right back in and handed
over the fresh document.
"Is this monk over by your shop right now?" asked the
inspector.
He goes out every morning and returns at sunset."
"Have a seat right here while I have someone go and fetch
a bit of wine for you," said Wen. In a little while the wine was
bought over and he was permitted to drink. Then Wen
Dianzhi and another officer told Li to guide them over to the
tearoom just left of his shop. Once there, they posted him
as a lookout while they sat and waited. Now, it was just
before sunset, and before long the monk could be seen
weaving drunkly along, stumbling and bumping his way
back. Li Erge rushed into the tearoom.
"Inspector!" he shouted, "The monk is here!"
As luck would have it the bonze had passed right in front of
the tearoom. Wen Dianzhi then pointed toward the figure
outside. "Arrest that sorcerer monk!" he commanded his
subordinate. All of the onlookers gasped in surprise, as if
they were witnessing a black hawk diving after a purple
swallow or a fierce tiger devouring an ewe and her lamb.
And here is a poem:
Among the errors in the world abuse of wine is king
One episode of drunkenness can ruin everything.
Just look at how our very own miraculous Bonze Dan
When drunk was caught up in disaster just like any man!
"May we be worthy of this great honour!" said Wen Dianzhi.
"When he hears about our progress on this case, his
excellancy Grand Dragon Bao will finally be at ease."
The men then all took a length of rope and tied that monk
up just like a dumpling; for his part the prisoner was
drunkenly snoring away. Wen Dianzhi went ahead back to
the District Office and reported the good news to the
Governer General.
"The sorcerer monk has been apprehended!" he
announced. "He's still very drunk and doesn't know what's
going on, so we're holding him over at headquarters before
bringing him here. We await your orders, excellancy!"
Grand Dragon Bao listened carefully and ordered that the
prisoner be assigned guards, and that special vigilance be
excercised when transporting him. Arrestor Wen took his
leave of the governor and went straight to his office in the
constabulary headquarters to see the bonze, who had still
not awakened; he dutifully ordered the the officers there to
guard the prisoner carefully.
The bonze awoke in great discomfort at around midnight
from his drunken sleep. The brightness of the lamps and
candles seemed like daylight to his eyes, and policemen
were standing on either side of him. "Where am I?" he
asked.
"Police headquarters," answered one of the guards.
"I'm a monk. What crime am I accused of that you've
brought me in here all tied up like this?"
Now, the guards had been informed that their prisoner was
a sorcerer and they didn't wish to offend him.
"Priest!" said one of the older, wiser men. "Don't blame us.
We are only doing our jobs. We've all got families at home
depending on us and we don't want any needless trouble.
You are here because your neighbor, the grocer Li Erge
said you'd been living nextdoor without begging alms or
meeting others in prayer, and that you were getting drunk
every day. He said that your origins were unclear, too, and
that's why we were ordered to arrrest you."
"I've been enjoying the patronage of a high official's home!
It's none of my neighbor's business!"
"Well, we can't do anything about it now, your holiness. Wait
until dawn when you'll be brought before the Governor,
together with your accuser Li.
At the stroke of the fifth watch, seven in the morning, Wen
Dianzhi came over and ordered all the officers to form up
around the prisoner and transport him to the district yamen,
where he was to wait in the governor's hall. Shortly after
they arrived his excellency the governor general came in
and took his seat, with his entire staff present before him.
After the opening salutes he read over Li's official
complaint, then eyed the accused angrily.
"I suppose you consider yourself a holy man, you so-called
monk!" he began. "How dare you forget your vows and
cheat a man out of money?" He then ordered a penal
carpenter to come forth and fit the prisoner in a full length
cangue. Next he called upon two strong jailers.
"First, I want you to give this monk one hundred lashes of
the rod, and then we'll continue interrogating him!" directed
Governor Bao.
The warders saluted, but before they could whip him even
two or three times a shriek went up from all those present.
"Order in the court!" shouted a sergeant-at-arms.
The governor was astonished to see that the monk had
vanished from the cangue, and in his place there was only a
straw broom, loosely bound with rope.
"Can such a thing as a sorcerer monk really be?" asked
Governor Bao, incredulously. "One moment I have him
placed in the cangue, and the next second he somehow
changes into a broom?"
Just as he was speaking a scream was heard outside.
"What's going on?" asked the horrified governor.
"Your excellancy!" gasped one of the bailiffs, running in.
"There's a holy man running wild and laughing outside,
shouting "What a fine Grand Dragon Bao, let's see him try
and take me now!"
"Why, that brazen punk!" snarled the governor. "How dare
he be so impudent!" He then ordered all of those present to
go after the bonze. "Whoever captures him this time gets
the customary reward of a thousand strings of cash!" he
promised.
"The police now poured out of the yamen in hot pursuit of
the sorcerer bonze, who ducked into a marketplace upon
seeing them closing in on him. There he adjusted his
garments in a leisurely fashion while toying with his
pursuers. When they ran, he ran, and when they slowed
down and stopped so did he, until they froze in exhaustion.
By that time they had arrived in front of the National Temple
Shrine, where they spotted the monk on the Yan'an Bridge.
Off they went again, but seeing them once more chasing
him he rushed right into the Mountain Gate of the Temple.
"He's caught in a trap!" shouted Wen Dianzhi. "We've got
him now, for better or worse!" He then ordered half of his
men to cover the temple gates while the other half split up
and stormed into the two main halls after their quarry.
Before long the abbot of the shrine could be seen coming
out to speak with Arrestor Wen.
"Inspector!" he pleaded, "This is a site of worship for the
Imperial Court Clan! On what account have you sent in so
many armed men? It's quite a fright for us!"
"I've been ordered by the governor to arrest arrest a
sorcerer monk and we chased him into your temple,
reverend," explained Wen. "Now, if you aren't hiding him,
do your duty and turn him over at once!"
"Our temple has one hundred and ten monks in residence,
and all have got official permits. We know tham all and if an
unauthorised man tried to attach himself we wouldn't dare
allow him to stay overnight. If you're so sure he's in there,
how come your men haven't found him yet? Why are you
talking to me instead instead of him?"
"That monk cheated flawless Commander Wang out of
three thousand strings of cash and then caused a number
of disturbances all over the district. If you don't turn him over
and I report this to the governor, your temple will will be
involved as an accesory."
The abbot was seized with fright at the thought. "Inspector!"
he gasped, "All of our bonzes are learned men and none
are sorcerers! If you don't believe me let's call them out for
you to inspect one by one."
"That's fine!" said Wen.
The abbot then rang the temple bell to call forth an
assembly of all one hundred and ten monks, and then
called Wen Dianzhi over to question them. He and the other
officers found them all to be innocent. "Your holiness," said
Wen. "If I could only go into the temple myself I'm sure I'd be
able to find him somehow. Can't I have a look?"
"Very well, I'll lead the way and you may conduct your
search in my company."
And so they went in and searched from the monks' quarters
to the kitchen and then to the privy and storage rooms and
found nothing. Then as they turned to enter the great
worship hall they cast their eyes upon a great sculpture of
the six immortals all in a line like a mountain range. Three
of their heads were like mighty bluish-green summits and
the six shoulders were like lesser peaks of the range; each
was holding one of six treasures. Arrestor Wen was
puzzled.
"Why is there only a sculpture of Prince Nezha in here
instead of the usual great Buddha?" he asked.
"Prince Nezha is a strong force in the improvement of
human beings," answered the abbot.
Then, just as Wen Dianzhi and his men were gazing up at
the vastness of the ceiling and at the lineup of Prince Nezha
and his followers, they were startled by a voice from above.
"Wen Dianzhi!" somebody was shouting. "Governor Bao
ordered you to bring me in. Now you see me...how come
you can't take me?"
They turned to look, and it seemed to be coming from the
direction of Nezha and the colourful line of figures, around
ten feet tall and each bearing different things under their
arms. Suddenly the centremost head of the three in the
middle opened its mouth and bared four long fangs
dripping with blood. "Wen Dianzhi!" it growled. "Come and
get me!"
The men all gasped in horror. They wanted to seize Prince
Nezha but knew that they couldn't arrest a piece of
sculpture.
"Well, aren't you sending anybody to arrest me?" taunted
the figure once more. The police couldn't believe their eyes
and ears.
"Could this statue have come to life just to harrass
people?" they asked. "We ought to report this to Governor
Bao, and maybe he'll order us to smash it and stop its
mischief!"
"Inspector!" pleaded the abbot. "Please consider. Who has
ever heard of a talking statue? It's got to be the work of that
sorcerer, certainly not something to destroy a holy treasure
over. So much work went into its creation! To destroy it
would result in a tremendous loss to future generations."
"So what can we do to end his sorcery and put a stop to
future troubles?"
A group of conscientious bonzes then stepped forth and
joined hands facing the statue. "Longtian Sanbao!" they
prayed in unison, ""Protect the faith and drive away all
traces of sorcery, lest your holy statue be destroyed!"
Immediately following the prayer they could hear laughing
and gleefully clapping hands. "Inspector!" went the voice,
"Here I am! Where has all your strength gone?"
The police all looked up to see the renegade monk right
there. "Seize him!" they shouted as they surged forward,
but they could get no closer than ten paces to him no matter
how they tried. Out of the temple and into the busy street he
lead them, where business was ruined for the day as tables
collapsed and stalls were knocked over. More and more
folks saw what what was happening and began running
around in panic as the monk was chased out of the city
wall, past the official mansion and finally to the city limit, the
River Bian. There he paused and looked down into the
waters.
"No need for you to chase me any longer!" he shouted. "I'm
going home now!" He then leapt into the river with a great
splash and disappeared into its depths.
"Everything's worked out allright after all!" agreed the
police. "He's saved us a lot of work by drowning himself.
But who knows where this wild river will carry his corpse?"
All Wen Dianzhi could do was report to the governor, who
cut short official business to receive him.. Wen saluted and
told him the entire story of the monk's pursuit.
"That character was unbearable!" replied Governor Bao. "I
simply couldn't deal with him. Well, it's all over now that he's
drowned himself!"
Suddenly they heard a woman shouting downstairs.
"What's the problem?" asked the governor himself, calling
down to her.
"Your excellancy!" cried the woman. "My husband Li Er
turned in that sorcerer monk, but instead of being rewarded
he's been held. I don't care about the reward money but I
want my husband back. Please, excellancy, I beg you, order
him to be freed!"
The governor looked at Wen. "Li Er's accusation bore fuit
so he should receive the reward. Why is he being held?"
"He hasn't exactly been arrested, excellancy," replied Wen.
"He's been wined and dined from morning till night as our
guest over at headquarters while we await your orders."
The governor then asked that he be brought over, and Wen
Dianzhi went to summon him at once.
"As the posted signs all promised," said Governor Bao to
Li Er, "you are to get one thousand strings of cash as a
reward!" Now, at that time in Kaifeng one string of coppers
was worth an ounce of silver, and so for a poor merchant
like Li to receive a thousand strings was no small thing.
Husband and wife together were presented with the reward
money right there in the governor's office. They thanked him
and quickly left the yamen for the bare shop where they
lived. And here is a poem:
Just who should be rewarded with the great Grand
Dragon's prize
But poor Li Er who all the time upon his wife relies.
The monk was not afraid to touch the thousand bits of gold
So many years of unearned riches had he come to hold.
Since ancient times it's always been the same old story
with money. When you've got none you're finished, and
when you're loaded with it you're got everyone trying to help
you.
Li Er picked out a vacant shop across from the National
Shrine Temple and opened a big fruit market. He and his
wife were finally well dressed, well nourished and
prosperous. One fine winter day just past noon he set some
chestnuts atop a charcoal fire and arranged a few glasses
of wine. Husband and wife were sitting cozily in front of the
fire about to drink when suddenly they spotted a man
coming into the shop.
"Li Er!" he called. "I'm here to buy some of your fine fruit."
The couple were shocked speechless to see that it was the
very same monk that they had informed on.
Now, a quick witted couple would have bowed and offered
him some food and drink or whatever, and at worst he
would have taken it and been on his way. Even if he were
after something else, you or I would probably come up with
some clever words to get him to leave as soon as possible.
Li Er and his wife, alas, had no such sophistication.
"You sorcerer!" they shouted. "They said you drowned
yourself in the River Bian while the police were after you.
Have you come here looking to stir up trouble? If you know
what's good for you, you'll get out of here and fast! Hang
around any longer and I'll just shout and have the militia
here in a flash to take you away. Don't blame me when they
turn you over to the officials!"
"You caused me such trouble!" said the monk darkly. "I was
held for a long time. You denounced me to the authorities
but I ultimately helped you receive that thousand strings of
cash to get you back on your feet again. Now that I'm here
you should be thanking me, instead of showing such a
terrible face and threatening to have me arrested. Why, you
ungrateful bastard! I'll give you something to think about!"
He then pointed with one finger and shouted "Live!", and
that blazing charcoal in front of Li Er flew right up into his
face. The grocer screamed and fell suddenly to the floor.
His wife hurried to his side; propping him up, she saw that
his face was burnt and covered with blisters from the
charcoal and chestnuts. The monk, meanwhile, had
disappeared. Li was in unbearable agony from his burns,
and if he were still poor he would be able to do nothing. But
as he now had money he was able to summon a physician.
Ointments and dressings were to applied for three days
and nights, and his wife carried out the treatment without
fail.
Suddenly a Daoist appeared at the door, all dressed in a
yellow gown and blue turban. "Alms!" he pleaded as he
walked over to the counter where Li's wife was standing.
"Normally we would give you a few coins and chat a bit,"
she said, "but there's a seriously injured man in here and
I've got no time for you."
"What happened?" asked the Daoist.
"To tell you the truth, master, my husband had hot coals
thrown in his face by a sorcerer monk, and he's covered
with burns and blisters. His face is dressed with ointment
and bandages for three days, and I'm afraid he's going to
die."
"Girl!" replied the Daoist. "Let me prescribe a cooling
medicine. Upon its application the pain as well as the
blisters will go away. It's been tried and proven countless
times and has saved many patients!"
"Sorry I spoke rashly!" said the wife. "If you can stop his
pain we'll reward you richly!"
"Have him come here, and bring me a bit of water while you
are at it."
She helped her husband to his feet and over to the counter,
then got a bowl of water and passed it to the Daoist. He
opened a small packet of medicine and poured some into
the water, then applied the solution to the burnt and
blistered skin with a goosefeather.
"It's a miracle!" shouted Li Er in delight. "It's driving away
my pain the way water washes away snow!"
"Not a miracle, son," said the Daoist, "Simply a supression
of infection in the lesions and promotion of natural healing.
Now, what do you think of that?"
If it works out like that I'll be so grateful to you!"
There is still some heat-related toxicity remaining in the
your body. If you go out and get some fresh air the infection
will clear up."
Li Er heeded the Daoist's advice and went right out into the
street, where the master told him to be seated on a bench
there. "You must repeat 'Fly away, rot!' three times and it
will disappear immediately," he instructed. Li Er was
delighted, and repeatedly shouted those words with all his
strength.
Suddenly the bench with the hapless grocer on it was seen
rising up into the sky, right up to the very top of the sixty foot
brass flagpole that stood ever so straight and true in front of
the National Shrine Temple. The onlookers in the street
below gasped. His wife was terrified.
"Oh, no!" she wailed. "Master, do something! How can my
husband get down?"
"Don't worry, I'll command him to come down, but first I'll let
you see just who I am!"
He then tore off his yellow gown and tossed aside his blue
turban. When the wife looked carefully at him she let out a
bitter, piercing wail, for all along it had been that sorcerer
monk!
"Your husband stepped way out of line and used all of his
strength to hurt me, but here I am unharmed. And now I shall
provide him with a moment of supreme horror atop that
flagpole!"
Now, as the people in the street below roared with suprise
there was a policeman among them. "According to the
proclamation boards," he said, "heaps of money were
offered for the arrest of that sorcerer, and now here he is
again conjuring up chaos and involving us all in it!" He then
led the local men in trying to seize the renegade monk, who
simply vanished when he saw their numbers approaching.
The people simply couldn't believe what they had just seen!
Li Er was now sitting ever so shakily atop that flagpole, and
it looked as though he was bound to fall; the crowd below
was debating the best way of rescuing him. There was,
after all, no long enough to reach him. The assembled
townspeople and soldiers only spoke spoke of how terrible
that monk was, and of how they might bring the man down.
The local militia then sent a runner to inform Governor Bao
of the crisis. Out he rode in his palanquin, alighting before
the National Shrine Temple. As he sat and watched, Li Er
was perched on the bench high atop the pole screaming
down at the people trying to rescue him. Much as the
governor wracked his brains trying to come up with a plan
to save Li, he could think of nothing and finally called over
the man's wife to find out exactly what had happened. The
woman bowed deeply as the governor began questioning
her.
"Tell me honestly how your husband managed to end up on
top of that flagpole!" he asked. Li Er's wife then told him all
about the sorcerer monk tossing the hot coals and the
Daoist applying the medicine.
"I can't stand for that sorcerer's mischief any longer!"
thundered the governor. "If he's caught this time he'll be
dealt with swiftly!"
In the quiet that follow a monk could be seen climbing out of
a window up on the temple wall. Down he came to salute
the governor.
"Monk! Have you got something to see me about?" asked
the governor.
"I've got a way to get Li Er down."
"Holiness," said Governor Bao, "If you can rescue Li Er
you'll get a fine contribution from us!"
As all looked on, that monk climbed ever so nimbly all the
way up the flagpole and placed his hands firmly on Li Er's
shoulders.
"Grand Dragon Bao!" he shouted. "You are an honest and
upright official, and I, a poor monk, would never dare
trouble you. What was it to you that Flawless Commander
Wang donated three thousand strings of cash to the faith,
that you had to arrest me? Here is my answer to you, and
here is your Li Er!" And out into space went Li before
plunging right to earth. The crowd shrieked in horror at his
final moment. It was like this:
His body like the waning of the moon upon the dawn
His life extinguished like the lamps when night is almost
gone.
If you wish to read the things that come of Li Er's Fate, in
the coming chapter do some more events await.
Chapter 31
HU YONG'R SELLS CLAY CANDLES
PRIVATE WANG MEETS HOLY AUNTIE
Sorcery so deeply penetrates the inner ghost
Surpassing fairy wisdom in its taking from the host.
Just look how Yong'r sold so many candles made of
clay
That burnt from sunset through the night until the
break of day.
As the story has unfolded, Li Er improperly informed on the
bonze for a thousand strings of cash. He opened a fruit
shop with the money, and one day that same bonze came
around for alms, properly hoping that such a debt would be
repayed. Contrary to his expectations he received a terrible
scolding and threat, and so we now find him hurling Li Er to
his death from atop a flagpole, right in front of Grand
Dragon Bao! The governor found him upside down, feet in
the air and head driven up into his chest, and began wailing
and praying. Li Er's wife sobbed loudly and began the
unavoidable task of arranging for removal of the body and
for the funeral.
Now, that bonze remained seated atop the flagpole as a
surging sea of people grew ever larger below. Some
threatened to come up after him but were restrained by
their associates. The Grand Dragon watched all of this and
began to lose hope of catching the renegade. He had his
men hack away with their swords and axes at the flagpole,
as would have been fine with an ordinary one made of
wood. But the National Shrine Temple's sixty-foot flagpole
was cast of bronze, don't ask me how, and was not to be so
easily chopped down!
The temple had three famous attractions, and one was the
thirty-fathom-deep well in the main worship hall. It had a
rope braided from human hair with a black laquered
bucket, with red letters proclaiming that it was for the use of
the public in the National Shrine Temple. Suddenly one day
the rope of hair was cut and the bucket was not to be found.
Later, somebody came to the temple bearing the bucket
after a voyage on the East China Sea.
"I was a passenger on a boat in the Eastern Sea when I
spotted this bucket floating by," said the man. "A sailor had
just grabbed it out of the water and we were reading the
letters on it when suddenly a strong wind and high waves
arose, and our boat suddenly capsized. I swore that if I
survived I would someday return this bucket, and then just
as suddenly the wind and waves died down. So here I am,
heart full of awe." With this, it was suddenly realized that the
well was connected to the great East China Sea!
The National Shrine Temple also had the Yan'an Bridge
with a grand view of the temple grounds, as famous as the
well. And finally there was that great flagpole cast out of
brass, unable to be broken or sawed. Altogether these
were the three great attractions.
And so the monk just sat atop that famous brass flagpole
hurling down abusive jokes at Governor Bao, who was
becoming increasingly agitated and infuriated with his
situation. Suddenly he was gripped by the notion of calling
over a hundred crack bowmen from the infantry. They
arrived on the double and were immediately ordered by the
governor to surround the flagpole and shoot up at the sitter.
There were some fine archers among those men and a lot
of arrows reached the monks body, but he merely blocked
them with the sleeves of his gown. Then just as Governor
Bao seemed to be out of ideas who should step forward
but that subordinate of Wen Dianzhi's, the police officer
Ran Gui.
"Your lowly servant has a plan to capture the monk!" he
announced.
"What have you come up with?" asked the governor.
"He's a sorcerer," said Ran, "so let's take the blood of pigs
and sheep and mix it with horse urine and garlic. Then we
apply this to the arrowheads and shoot them up at him. His
sorcery will be powerless against it!"
Governor Bao was delighted to hear this and ordered that
the pig and lamb blood, horse urine and garlic be obtained.
Men split up in search of them, and upon return Governor
Bao had them mix everything and apply it. Then the
hundred bowmen were commanded to shoot the treated
arrows up at the monk. They released their strings at once
with a sharp raport. A hundred arrows shot skyward and the
one or two thousand people inside and outside of the
temple gasped as they beheld the sight of that monk falling
through space, bench and all. "If he isn't dead," they all
thought, "he will be soon!"
Now, over by the west side of the temple was a pool of
urine, and the bonze came straight down and landed right
smack dab in the middle of it. The police immediately
began dragging him out, and when they got him to the edge
they took that bucket of pig and sheep blood and sprinkled
it onto his bald head. Then they bound him up with rope.
Governor Bao mounted his palanquin and rode back to the
yamen where he immediately convened court, ordering the
monk brought before him.
"You sorcerer monk!" he thundered. "How dare you
practice your evil craft right under the Emperor's nose!
Today I've captured you, and what are you going to do
about it?" He then ordered a first class cangue brought
forth and fitted to the bonze, who was to be taken to the
west garrison headquarters for a thorough grilling and
investigation to determine his identity and origins. There
was a danger of associates of his being at large and they
too had to be arrested and dealt with. Having ordered
these measures the governor finally rested.
Now, the monk was all covered with urine and blood and
was bound with rope, so he was unable to perform any
magic. He arrived at the west garrison under escort of a
squad of policemen who transmitted the governor's orders
to the chief military interrogator."
"Sorcerer," began the interrogator, "I have been ordered by
the governor to find out the truth about these devious acts of
yours. Which monastary you must call your home, the
number and identities of all your cohorts and accomplices
and so forth. As you won't just tell us, it looks like we'll have
to beat it out of you."
He then ordered the jailers to prepare a round of torture.
They first locked the prisoners feet into another cangue so
that he was totally immobile and delivered three hundred
lashes upon him. The monk made not a sound, not even a
whimper of pain, and when the interrogator looked closely
the bonze was actually snoring. He pronounced it strange
indeed and told the jailers to take him to his cell for awhile
before resuming the investigation later.
Three daily rounds of tortured followed until the jailers
themselves were exhausted. The monk seemed to be
oblivious to the violence and made not a sound; whenever
they beat him he just slept. The interrogator continued the
grilling for over ten days before finally reporting in
exasperation to the governor.
"I was directed to interrogate the sorcerer monk," he wrote,
"and have accordingly tortured him three times daily for
many days now. He just sleeps through the beatings. This
sort of sorcerer is really difficult to handle, and I fear that
trouble will arise if he stays here any longer. I await your
orders."
"It's not at all desirable for a conjurer like that to be kept
around so long!" agreed the governor. And so a document
was handed down vaguely naming the laws that the monk
had broken and ordering that he be executed in the city
square. The military interrogator called for the monk to
brought out, and transported him at once to the execution
ground. His crimes were proclaimed in writing on a plaque
in front of him; for the murder of Li Er, the infliction of
sorcery upon the capital and the harming of the army and
people, it stated, the convict would be executed according
to law. It gave his full name as Pellet Bonze Dan.
Now, people throughout the capital city heard talk of the
sorcerer monk's execution and business stopped as
everyone came out to watch. They saw the prisoner being
marched with that sign in front and a forest of sticks behind.
At the city, custody was transferred from the west garrison
staff to the executioner. The onlookers were packed solidly
together. As the line of policemen and soldiers were
marching the condemmed monk along, he noticed that they
were nearing the center of town and just stopped in his
tracks.
"Be a good man for once and move on!" said the
executioner. "What's the matter?"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" proclaimed the monk. "This is all
the result of just one little ill-advised prank I played on the
governor. All of you, please! There is an inn up ahead.
Won't you provide a bowl of wine for me before I'm cast out
of this world forever?"
The executioner reckoned it was not an unreasonable
request. Taking pity on the condemmed man he went to buy
a bowlful of wine which he poured into a wooden ladel and
served to him. The monk put his lips to the wine and
managed to take in a good bit of it before the crowd
impatiently surged ahead with him. They were gradually
entering the execution ground when the monk suddenly
spat that mouthful of wine up into the sky. All at once from
out of nowhere that beautiful blue sky changed into a fierce
squall of wind and rain. A sudden gust arose and a
blackness covered the entire execution ground, and from
overhead rooftiles and rocks began pelting the people. The
crowd of onlookers all ran away.
In a few moments the wind passed and the blackness was
dispelled. When the jailers, executioner, military officials
and all the others looked toward their prisoner he had
already burst his bonds and disappeared, and though they
searched high and low not a trace of him was to found. As
they say, once off the hook a fish doesn't hang around! And
here is a poem:
The monk was born into the world so devious and weird
In his harsh captivity an easy path appeared.
Even if the ladle full of wine had not been poured
The falling of that shining head was by no means assured!
And so all of them from the chief warder down to the jailers
and the executioner were sorely vexed at the
disappearance of the bonze. Fearing that the governor
would hold them criminally responsible they ran around
searching frantically for him.
"All of us," said one, "are really going to get it when we get
back and report this to the governor!" And sure enough as
soon as the Grand Dragon heard of it he convened a
special session of his court. The warder led the others in
confessing, all of them throwing themselves on the mercy of
the court. Now by this time Grand Dragon Bao was well
aware that sorcerers were appearing and that the imperial
court should send armed troops. He was unwilling to wildly
round up and destroy people and so he let those officials
go free. He then worked late into the night preparing a
memorial to the throne. If the sorcerers were not stopped in
time, he wrote, they would be increasingly difficult to track
down and annihilate. The Emperor then ordered local
officials to conduct close surveilance of roads and towns,
sparing no effort to root out the troublemakers.
Now in due time the imperial rescript reached Beizhou in
the province of Hebei, where the local officials carved it
onto a plaque that they hung in front of the yamen. A great
commotion broke out, and just around that time a woman in
mourning appeared in the streets carrying a basket. Back
and forth she paced a number of times in front of the district
yamen. She seemed to be one of life's losers, all alone and
with too much gaudy makeup on her face. Still, she
managed to arouse the interest of the idle men hanging
around there.
"I've noticed you walking back and forth," said one. "What
are you up to?"
"To tell the truth, brother, I've been widowed and I've got
nowhere to turn to. But I have got something of mine to sell,
and perhaps I can raise three hundred and fifty coppers to
meet my expenses."
"Sis!" said the young man, "Exactly what sort of thing are
you selling?
"I can't sell my wares in a crowded place," she replied, "I've
got to have an open space to do business in."
"This place is fine!" said the youth. "And there are plenty of
curious people passing by all the time."
The woman sat on the ground with her legs crossed. Now
several more people had stopped to check her out, and
their curiosity was further aroused. By this time there were
twenty or thirty standing around her.
"Wonder what she's going to sell?" asked a youth. And as
they watched she took a bowl out of her basket and looked
up at them.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" she began, "I'm not some sort of
deviant, nor am I a medicine hawker or fortuneteller. I've
suffered unbearable hardship after the death of my
husband but I've been able to put together a few coins to
start this business. Now, which of you young men will go fill
this bowl with water for me?"
"I'll go get it for you!" answered a youth.
A short while later he returned with the bowl of water. "Can't
imagine what she could be up to!" said one of the crowd.
"What could the water be for?" The woman then lifted the lid
of the basket and took out a glinting knife.
"Why, she's about to perform magic!" shouted another. And
as they looked on she scooped up some earth with the tip
of that blade and ground it up before pouring some water
from the bowl upon it and stirring up a lump of clay. Next
she reached back into the basket for a bamboo cylinder
and scooped up that clay, pushing it into the bamboo to
mold a candle. When it was finished she placed it on the
ground in front of her. One lump of clay followed another
through the bamboo tube until she had made ten candles,
all in a line before her. The crowd was doubled over in
laughter and boisterous derision.
"What have we done to be made the butt of this woman's
joke?" said one. "What is there to show for the entire
morning? What use are those cracked and crude clay
candles of hers?"
"Just be quiet and watch!" said another. "There's got to be
some sense to it all!"
The woman then used the remaining half of the water in the
bowl to wash her hands, drying them before addressing the
crowd. "Because I am a widow I have no other way to live. I
don't dare be greedy. I want only three pennies per candle
and that should bring me thirty in all. Each of these candles
will burn until dawn when placed in an ordinary lantern and
lit."
The crowd just laughed. "This girl is making a joke of all us
Beizhou folks!" they scoffed indignantly. "Hah, clay candles,
and not even dry at that! How can they even catch? It's
clearly an insult to our intelligence!" And so nobody came
forth to buy.
"You Beizhou people are really a bunch of skeptics!"
countered the woman. "Do you really believe I'd cheat you
out of thirty coppers? Which of you fellows has got a light?"
One of the idle drones attached to the city morgue went into
a tearoom to secure a burning coal and then brought it to
her. She then reached into her basket for some sulpherbased starting powder and sprinkled it on the coal, and as
it blazed up she lit one of the candles. The crowd gasped.
"What a miraculous trick!" said one. "Who wouldn't pay only
three coppers for a damp clay candle that really works as
advertised!" He immediately turned over his three pennies
to the woman, who blew out the flame of that candle and
handed it to him. In a short while all of the candles were
sold. The woman got up and packed her knife and bowl
away in the basket, said farewell to her public and was off
on her way.
Next day she was back at that vacant spot and people
flocked around her for a look. "Yesterday I sold thiry
coppers worth, enough to live on for the day, and now sorry
to say I'm back again!" she informed the crowd.
"Those three penny candles we bought yesterday were
really something else!" shouted one. "Mine burnt all night
long, till morning. The lantern was really bright and I saved
ten coppers' worth of oil to boot!"
The woman then got some water, made herself a bit of clay
and molded another ten candles. "No need to
demonstrate!" shouted the crowd as they fought their way
ahead to buy up her stock. Again the woman sold thirty
coppers' worth and left. She continued to make only ten
candles on each of the days she returned and customers
just kept coming, many returning emptyhanded. In just half a
day she had managed to stir up the entire district of
Beizhou.
"There's a woman in front of the district yamen selling
selling clay candles that burn really long and bright!" said
everyone.
One of those days when she was about halfway through her
presentation a man came out of the yamen. The crowd
turned their heads in time to see a man called by destiny, a
troop dispatcher in the district office by the name of Wang
Ze. And just what sort of a man was he? Look at this
Xijiangyue:
With phoenix eyes and brows so thick as if just painted on
Yellow beard with face so white and cheekbones highly
drawn.
His hands hung down below his knees
and shoulders spread so wide
At six foot tall his body beamed with healthy strength and
pride.
A perfect archer who could handle any sort of bow
Great skill with cudgel and at boxing did he also show.
All his life a man of action and a leader bold
The army dispatcher Wang Ze we finally behold!
Now the father of this Wang Ze had been a very wealthy
country squire of Beizhou. Having believed the words of a
fengshui master he set his sights upon a certain
auspicious tract of land, hoping to leave a great estate to
his descendants. This plot of land, however, had been the
site of a neighboring family's cemetary. So Squire Wang
simply chiseled that family out of their land and reduced
them to poverty with a single well-placed loan. He didn't
bother to collect any payment on it for a few years while the
interest accumulated. Then he suddenly called the loan in,
demanding that land of theirs in payment. He next exhumed
the coffins of the neighbors' ancestors and reburied his own
family's dead in their place, and after the reburial his wife,
Mumma Liu, became pregnant for the eight time.
Now, their firstborn had been a girl, while the next seven
were all boys; Wang Ze was the fifth born. During the night
of his birth Squire Wang dreamt that he met old granny Wu
Zetian of the Tang Dynasty who had specially visited him
for a short stay.
"A male child of fortune will be born to you," she had told
him. "He will found a great undertaking and be a source of
prosperity for this house." And sure enough when he awoke
from the dream Mumma suddenly gave birth to a boy.
Squire Wang was delighted and named his son Wang Ze
after Queen Wu Zetian and his sudden birth, calling him
"Fifth Fortune" as his customary childhood name. He
proved himself to be clever early on and could read by the
time he was five.
One fine day his maternal grandfather Liu Taigong came
around and was filled with joy to see his seven nephews,
especially bright little Fifth Fortune, and he made a little
rhyme for the boy to try and answer.
"A boy of five already is the brightest in the land," he began.
"Hero of an awesome dynasty so rich and grand!" replied
little Wang Ze without delay.
Liu Taigong felt truly proud and continued: "A mother brings
forth seven sons among her brood of eight; the first a
dragon and the last a tiger at the gate!"
"On horseback with a spear in hand three armies does he
lead; he'll be a rebel if he fails, a king should he succeed!"
shot Wang Ze right back. Liu Taigong was truly shocked.
"This child is very bright," he said, "but he's certain to cause
a lot of excitement around here!" He then took his son-inlaw aside for a word in private. "If Fifth Happiness lives to
adulthood, you are not to teach him the martial arts!" he
whispered. "I'm afraid his impulsiveness will get our family
involved in something."
Some time later Wang Ze was at play in the street when a
passing fortuneteller spotted him and froze in his tracks.
"This child's physiognomy is remarkable!" he said. "In the
next three decades something is bound to happen to him,
certainly a grave loss extending out to his entire family.
Then and only then will his destiny be fulfilled." He then
looked at the boy a bit more. "Only thing is," he continued, "I
can't say for sure what exactly will happen or when."
The boy's nurse went to inform Squire Wang of the news,
but when he came out to ask more details the fortuneteller
had left. But sure enough a short while later when Wang Ze
reached the age of seven his father fell ill and died. And
after that his six brothers died of illness one by one.
Mumma Liu was totally shattered and heartbroken and she
too then succumbed to an illnes, leaving only her one
surviving boy. Here is a poem:
Nobody dreamt so many boys would all so sadly pass
Fifth Fortune by himself was not allowed to join the class.
The fortuneteller was unsure and couldn't give a date
Though fine were his intentions it was in the hands of Fate.
At that point Liu Taigong also died, leaving the boy on his
own without relations or elders to guide his moral
development. And so by his mid-teens he had grown into a
strapping young man who prefered cockfights and horses
to study, and who drilled daily at combat with spear and
cudgel. He brought a series of martial arts masters to live
at his estate, and even summoned an artisan to tatto the
character for "Fortune" in five places on his back. Another
thing was his love love of all sorts of magic; he simply had
to learn any new trick he encountered. It was just small-time
play as he hadn't yet met a master who could pass any real
genius on to him.
Now, this way of life cost him a very large amount of cash,
and there was yet another thing: he had been fond of
women since late childhood. If he set his sights on some
housewife it was nothing for him to offer a hundred ounces
of silver in order to get her in his clutches. Needless to say
there were the ordinary prostitutes he kept. There was also
an idle rascal he used as his procurer, and a large amount
of money disappeared into his pockets as well. In ten years'
time there was no money left to meet household expenses,
and the fields and houses were sold to pay the bills. Forced
to rely on his own physical strength and talents he joined the
local military garrison and became a dispatcher of troops,
living in rented civilian quarters in an narrow lane behind the
yamen.
The woman he had been married to since childhood now
died on him without issue, once again leaving the young
man truly alone in the world. He frequented brothels and
pleasure parlors and associated with life's losers, never
taking another wife. Folks considered him unreliable and
so no woman would have him. Even when one was
attracted to him his wandering eyes would soon result in a
rebuff. Alas, people who have known the best of times are
hard to please, often doomed to loneliness and feeling ill at
ease.
Come to think of it he did have one good point: he was ever
so generous in his dealings with others. When he had no
money he would just quietly pull in his belt and live
meagerly. But as soon as he got some cash in hand he
would wine and dine his few close friends. Now, if
something were not quite to his liking he was quick to raise
his fists and just punch away, and so people both liked and
feared him. Well, I suppose you get the picture.
One day Wang Ze came in at the stroke of dawn for roll call.
When his duties were over for the morning he went outside
for a look round and saw a crowd watching something.
When he tiptoed up and craned his neck for a look he saw
a widow in mourning dress sitting on the ground. And when
he looked more carefully this is what he saw:
She wore a silken mourning gown and simple burlap skirt
Without wax her witching fire lit candles made of dirt.
Pearly rouge and powder put a glow upon her face
Adding to the gentle beauty of an angel's race.
Hair partly coiled up and tied into a little bun
Like stricken Xi Shi when she realized her life was done.
A distant starry twinkle beamed out from her vacant stare
Like Wenjun with his ancient sorrow sitting down right there.
The Lady of the Moon had come to meet the Spinster Maid
Down from her lunar palace to the Yaochi pool of jade.
"What's that woman up to?" Wang Ze asked one of her
audience.
"I heard a while back that she sells clay candles," replied
the man.
"I've been hearing about her in the yamen for a few days
now. The learned officials where I work say that her candles
burn on and on, and that they are very bright. I'd like to ask
her why she calls them clay candles!"
"If you talk like that you'll frighten everyone!" said the man.
"I'll tell you. She digs up a bit of earth and kneads it with
some water. Then she takes that clay and uses a hollow
bamboo cylinder to mold it just like a candle. You just put it
in a lantern and light it, and it burns until morning."
"Now, that's what I call strange!" said Wang Ze. "I've always
gone in for a bit of magic, and I could really impress people
with a trick like that!"
And so he pressed on forward through the crowd just in
time to see her washing up. "These candles of mine are
three coppers apiece!" she cried out, and immediately
everybody mobbed her to try and buy one.
"Careful!" shouted Wang. "Don't anybody buy one!" Now,
they all recognised Wang Ze and knew he had some
power, so none dared disobey. When the woman looked
up and saw him she arose with a loud greeting, which he
returned.
"How can these candles made out of clay ever burn?" he
asked.
"Soldier, sir, I've been doing business here for two weeks
and if they didn't burn all these folks wouldn't be here buying
them! Every day I make only ten and it's never enough!"
"Don't play games with me!" he replied sternly. He then
reached inside his tunic for his purse and took out thirty
coppers to buy them all.
The woman then picked up the candles and handed them
to him. "Now, careful!" he warned. "If these candles I've just
bought won't burn, it means I've wasted my money. It's not
that I don't believe you, I've simply never really seen or
heard of such a thing. Could you just light one for me to
see?"
"That's easy, soldier!" said the woman. "Just see if any of
these people can come up with a light somewhere."
Wang got some hot some glowing kindling from one of her
following and passed it to the woman. She then held the tip
of the candle to the glowing stick for awhile untile it was
ablaze, then lit the remainder of the ten for Wang Ze to see.
"Sure enough!" he exclaimed, "It's really amazing! I don't
really need these candles, so those of you that want them
just help yourselves!"
The crowd snapped them right up. Finally the woman put
her bowl and knife into the basket, bade farewell to her
public and left.
Wang Ze left ahead of the others and began following the
woman without really knowing why.
"She isn't really a native of Beizhou," he thought. "I reckon
she lives in the market village. I ought to follow her home
and offer her some money to learn that magic of hers!"
He then followed her out the West Gate and through the
nearby market town but she just kept on going.
"If not the hamlet, where then?" he wondered. After going
another ten li he didn't know where he was. "I'd better go
back for now, and tomorrow when she comes to sell her
wares I'll be able to ask where she lives."
He then turned back, but soon noticed that he was not on
the same path as before. He saw only a mighty snow range
of high peaks ahead, like a jagged wall up to the very sky.
This road clearly did not lead back home. Moreover there
were no other people on it. Suddenly in the midst of his
panic he noticed that woman just ahead shouting loudly at
him.
"Dispatcher Wang!" she called. "It hasn't been easy for you
to come this far! Why do you want to go back now?"
Wang Ze was frightened, and stepped forward ever so
cautiously, as if on thinnest ice.
"Madam!" he replied in a shakey voice. "Who are you?"
"Private Wang! Holy Auntie has sent me to summon you to
discuss a very great matter with her. Don't be jealous about
my being there along with you!"
"Is this strange or what?" gasped Wang. He wanted to
return home, but having lost the way he could only follow her
onward. Together they entered a pine grove and emerged
from it a good while later to see a fine country home before
them.
"What is this place?" asked Wang Ze.
"This is where Holy Auntie lives. She's been awaiting you
for a long time now, soldier!"
Now, when Wang Ze arrived at the main cottage two
pagegirls clad in tourquise came out to receive him.
"Garrison Dispatcher Wang?" they asked.
"Indeed he is!" replied the woman.
"The Fairy Aunt has long been awaiting you!" said the
pagegirls, who then lead him into the audience chamber.
"Dispatcher Wang is here as requested!" they reported.
Wang Ze saw an old woman wearing a star crown on her
head, body clad in an overcoat trimmed with crane's down.
"This is Holy Aunt!" exclaimed the candle woman. "Why
don't you greet her properly?"
Wang Ze went back out and performed the kowtow, and
Holy Auntie then called him forth into her presence. The
three were seated and tea was served, and then Holy
Auntie had a pagegirl serve a vessel of wine to the Wang.
He was tremendously pleased, and an impulse arose in
him. "I have been favored by Fate to meet a fairy queen
today!" he told Holy Auntie. "But why have you called for
me?"
"For one thing to drink some wine with you and discuss a
serious matter. Destiny is at now at hand, for in accordance
with Heaven your time to achieve something great has
come. The thirty-six districts of Hebei Province are
destined to proclaim you king!"
"Please, Fairy Queen, don't say such things!" whispered
Wang. "The eyes and ears of the officials are everywhere
and I'm just a lowly private. How dare I consider myself chief
of thirty-six districts?"
"If this weren't your destiny I wouldn't have sent for you!"
replied Holy Aunty. "How sad it would be if you missed this
chance! And there's another matter as well. I'm worried
because you haven't got a partner to help you succeed in
this." She then pointed to the woman who had sold clay
candles. "I've got this daughter called Yong'r," she
continued, "a goddess in fact, destined to be your loving
wife for five hundred years. Marrying her will help ensure
your success. Well, what do you think?"
Wang Ze was supremely delighted. He thought it over and
realized that he was then twenty-eight and his wife since
childhood had died the previous year, and no respectable
woman had been close to him since. If the fairy queen
herself gave him that beautiful wife it would certainly be
ordained by Heaven.
"I deeply appreciate your majesty's kindness," he
answered, "and I dare not refuse thee. When I was a small
child a mysterious man looked at me and said that within
thirty years I would accomplish something great. And now,
Fairy Queen, your support of me is fulfilling that prophecy.
But there's a problem. The governor of Beizou has taken all
of my money and other assets and attached my wages and
rations, and I can't do anything. Who wouldn't just want to
spit? I've been serving in the district garrison for three
months now and the governor denies my request for even a
single month's pay. He's got influence at court and so
there's no use challenging him. Nobody can imagine how
much an ordinary man like myself might come to suffer
because of it! If we raise our hands to cast out cruel and
oppressive officials without any power of our own, what can
we hope to accomplish?
Holy Auntie laughed. "What can you hope to do by yourself,
indeed! You must have a wife backing you up. She's got a
hundred thousand men and horses at her call to assist you,
allowing you to prevail."
Wang Ze laughed in disbelief. "I've heard that it costs a
thousand ounces of silver a day to field an army, and it
goes on and on day after day without stop, like a river. With
so many horses and men where does one get all the
provisions and fodder. Does this estate have enough
space to billet a hundred thousand men and horses?"
"I've got the horses and men all right!" laughed Holy Auntie.
She then told Yong'r to bring two round bamboo cases, one
containing beans and the other dried grass clippings.
Yong'r then picked up some of each and cast the grass
away, shouting "Live!" and it immediately changed into two
hundred proud horses grazing just outside the audience
chamber.
Wang Ze looked on in awe. "As long as you can change
grass clippings into horses and beans into men with a toss
and a charm there's no reason to worry about failure!" he
glowered. But just as he spoke they heard another voice
calling from outside.
"While you're playing cavalry games here the war is
starting! The officials have put up signs calling for the arrest
of sorcerers. Better muster those grass horses and tossed
bean men of yours and start planning a revolt!"
Wang Ze was shocked and chilled to the bone, just as if his
head had been severed at the neck and dropped into a
barrel of ice and snow. But alas, even before the secret
plans were complete somebody had already
eavesdropped on them, and as soon as the plan went into
action trouble broke out close to home. It was like this:
You may enact a plan beyond the limits of the sky
Yet it's hard to keep it from the ears of one nearby.
As to who that person from wherever proves to be, continue
in the coming chapter and you'll get to see.
Chapter 32
The Predestined Bride Yong'r Takes Her
Husband
Wang Ze Buys an Army by Dispensing
Money and Rice
It's said that heresies of Dao are not the real stuff
But folks are only worried that they cannot get
enough.
If we received it with intentions rectified and pure
We would not need the monks or nuns to teach us
anymore!
As the story goes, Wang Ze was in the cottage gazing at
the army horses and speaking when somebody shouted for
them to hurry up and get to work planning the revolt. He was
so frightened that his heart fluttered and insides turned to
water. Raising his head he saw a curiously ancient-looking
man wearing an iron Daoist's crown, mottled black and
dark red gown and straw sandals. His face was red as
fresh blood and his eyes twinkled like strange stars, and he
flew right into that thatched cottage riding on the back of a
giant tiger!
"Why, Master Zhang!" exclaimed Holy Auntie. "I'm just now
discussing things with Dispatcher Wang! If you're joining
us, come in already and stop scaring people!"
The gentleman dismounted from the giant insect, shouted
"Back!" and watched as his fearsome mount obediently
went out the door. He then exchanged bows with Holy
Auntie while Wang Ze saluted. The master returned his
respects and sat.
"Master Zhang!" said Holy Auntie. "This is the Beizhou
Garrison Dispatcher Wang Ze. Within five days you'll all be
assisting him."
"My name's Zhang Ying. Holy Auntie and I have often
discussed the possibility of your becoming the supreme
ruler of the land. I've wanted to meet with you many times
but I was afraid of being rebuffed. Holy Auntie! How did you
get him to come here?"
"I had Yong'r go and perform a bit of magic in front of the
yamen to lure him here. We were just talking things over
when you arrived."
"Can you give me an idea when he's making his move?"
"Any day now. We must wait until he wins over the loyalty of
the army, and when they rise up in revolt we must all do our
parts to help the cause."
In the silence that followed they suddenly watched a strange
creature enter the cottage door. Looking more
closelyWang Ze saw that it was a lion, and he watched as it
came into the thatched hall, pacing in circles and roaring.
"This must be a celestial beast," he said, feeling a mixture
of terror and delight. "How can it be of this world? It's got to
be yet another sign of my destiny!"
"This young fellow is also here to help Dispatcher Wang.
There's nothing to fear. We can really make use of his
genius!"
The lion wagged its head once and disappeared, and in its
place appeared a man.
"Who's that?" Wang Ze asked Holy Auntie.
"Why, it's Pu Ji!" she replied, introducing the two men. After
they exchanged formalities they were both seated.
"Dispatcher Wang!" said Holy Auntie. "Have you noted
Zhang Ying and Pu Ji's talents?"
"With skills like theirs," replied Wang, "there's no need to
fear that our undertaking will fail!"
"There's one more person to guide you in your great
moment," she added.
"Who else is there?" asked Wang.
As they were speaking a fairy crane came soaring down
out of the sky to alight in the hall and a man jumped down
from its back. Zhang Ying, Pu Ji and Yong'r all bowed to
him. Wang Ze noticed that the man was crippled in one leg
and not much more than four feet tall. He wore a shabby
turban and an old worn out gown and walked with a broken
gait. His feet were clad in hemp sandals and around his
waist was tied a belt of grass.
"Can't imagine who that might be!" thought Wang, still just
sitting there.
"Private Wang!" shouted Holy Auntie. "This is my son, Zuo
Chu! He's come especially to assist in your great
undertaking. How come you don't rise up and give a proper
bow?"
Wang Ze quickly got up and greeted him as she'd directed.
Zuo Chu entered the thatched hall, saluted Holy Auntie and
sat shoulder-to-shoulder with the others.
"Ma'am," he asked, "have the plans been completed yet?"
"You've missed out on everything. We're all ready to go, just
waiting for you!" she replied.
"If everything's in such fine shape what's Dispatcher Wang
still here for?" asked Que. "Is he perhaps hanging around
for his wedding to sister Yong'r?" He then looked at Zhang
Ying. "Master Zhang, how about taking the trouble to be the
matchmaker of record? Wouldn't that be nice?"
"My feelings exactly!" said Holy Auntie. She then beckoned
some pagegirls to take Private Wang over to the fragrant
springs bathchamber for a pre-nuptial cleansing. He had a
fine bath and then the servants presented him with a set of
undergarments to change into. Next Holy Auntie presented
a dragon gown with jade belt, a skysoarer crown and
freedom shoes and told him to put them on. Now, he had
never before seen fine accessories like that and didn't dare
accept them. Master Que then came limping by.
"Dispatcher!" he called. "Put aside your modesty for
awhile. If you've got any doubts as to whether of not you
deserve such finery, I'll take you right over to the Three
Rebirths Pond for a look at your eventual destined
appearance in this incarnation."
Clad only in his underwear Wang Ze followed Master Que
for a short walk outside the cotttage, and they arrived at the
side of a clear pool. Que told him to look down at himself in
the water, where he saw the reflection of the sksoarer
crown on his head, his entire body wrapped in that dragon
robe with the jade belt round his waste and turned-up shoes
on his feet. His bearing was magnificent with an awesome
air befitting the Son of Heaven of the imperial court.
"How do you like it, Dispatcher?" asked Que. "As your
destiny has already been calculated by Heaven there's no
use being modest!"
Wang Ze finally believed it in his bones and put on the
costume. And in a short while that audience hall of grass
was filled with the sound of flower drums rising to Heaven
as eight pagegirls carrying lanterns and fans entered
escorting Yong'r. She was dressed in a crown of pearls and
an embroidered silk dress with corsets and ornaments
really befitting an imperial consort. The two of them then
became man and wife in that hall. What was it like? Just
look:
Fragrance from exotic incense everywhere alight
Suspended overhead a luminescence strange and bright.
The sounds of happiness and joy resounding everywhere
In the orchid chamber sounds the nuptial hornpipe's air.
If anyone that dashing prince's origins should seek
He clearly was the king helped in the Dream of Witch's
Peak.
Who was this poised and charming fairy maiden standing
by
If not a princess from the treasure hall of Heaven high?
In boundless love and goodness will they frolic as they
please
In a gilded world of such great priveledge and ease!
That night they entered the nuptial bedchamber where all of
the furnishings were in order for them. "Could this be a
dream?" wondered Wang Ze. "It's hard to believe such
good fortune! Oh well, if it's just a dream it certainly is one
worth remembering all my life!" he concluded.
Now as for the origins of Wang Ze and Hu Yong'r, one was
the male reincarnation of Queen Wu Zetian and the other a
rebirth of Zhang Changzong transformed into a female. In
their previous existance they had stood atop the Hundred
Flowers Pavilion and sworn their undying love as husband
and wife down through eternity. Now four hundred years
later this pact was finally to be fulfilled and they were to
enjoy marital bliss anew. Needless to say they had deep
feeling for each other. The reunion as husband and wife
lasted for three days. They truly were lost in a long night of
fragrant soft jade and sensuous warmth, passing the hours
in bouquets of flowers and silk.
As the fourth day arrived Holy Auntie summoned
Dispatcher Wang for a meeting. "The lucky moment is
here!" she called at the door. "We must plan quickly and
get moving! Don't forget your great undertaking on account
of this honeymoon of yours!"
Master Que joined in as well. "Time to go back, soldier!
Zhang Ying and I and the others are going into Beizhou
tomorrow to assist you."
How Wang Ze wished he could turn back time and relive
those three days! Partly because everyone was pushing
him and partly due to his three days of unauthorized
absence he was apprehensive about returning to Beizhou.
Nonetheless he thanked Holy Auntie, took his leave of
Yong'r and dressed himself as before. Master Que led him
out of the cottage and through the pine grove, then pointed
out the road for him to take back to town. When Wang Ze
looked back after a few steps Que had disappeared, and
after just a few more paces he came to the wall and gate of
Beizhou.
"Isn't this strange!" he gasped. "It took me half a day to
reach that fairy cottage but now I've only walked less than a
hundred paces to return to the city gate. They truly must be
supernatural beings with magic powers coming to assist
me. It really must be fated for me to leave my mark on
history!"
When he entered the city it was early morning, not yet time
to hang up his nameplate and begin work, so he decided to
walk around a bit outside the yamen and see what was
going on. He noticed two or three policemen who quickly
spotted him.
"Dispatcher Wang!" shouted one of them. "Where have you
been for the past three days? You weren't here when his
excellency the governor called for you and he's really
agitated about it!"
He ran into the yamen at once and reported to the
governor, who was furious. "Wang Ze!" he shouted. "Where
on earth have you been these past three days?"
"I went to my hometown to see a relation of mine, and I
planned to come back the same day," replied Wang. "But I
somehow caught a chill on the way and was flat on my back
for three days.I finally woke up this morning, and I haven't
even been home yet. I heard you'd called summoned me
and so I got over here as quickly as I could."
"Well," said the governor with a forgiving nod, "there's
nothing we can do about illness! Anyway, it was about
those bolts of embroidered cloth I sent you to the shops to
get five days ago. My lady feels the color isn't bright enough
and she says they're cut short. You are to take them over
and exchange however many there are, and be quick about
it. I'm giving you a deadline of tomorrow. The auspicious
time for my daughter's wedding is coming up soon and
she's got her heart set on wearing that silk, so don't be late
on account of anything!"
Wang sent for one of his trusted helpers to follow him over
to the yamen's private quarters for the cloth. He received
what were said to be thirteen bolts and counted them
carefully, nodding his aggreement with the tally. Holding the
cloth in both arms he left the compound and and went
directly to his own room and sat.
"What rotten luck!" he said to himself. "I was so happy and
comfortable for three days! I hadn't even had time to fix a
cup of tea before that thieving official involved me some
more of his crookedness," he fumed.
"You marry off a daughter and you involve Beizhou folks like
me in it. You won't pay cash to the shops and you force
them to sell on credit. Then you take the stuff and mess it up
good while you find it not quite to to your liking and then you
go back to exchange it. You are clearly a brutal governor!"
As he spoke he layed out the bolts of cloth so as to fold
them neatly at the center. When he looked closely he was
shocked to see that the head of the first bolt cut off. They
had all been intact just a short while before when he
received them. He opened them one after another and they
were all like that. Using his foot for a measure he found
them each missing five feet of cloth at the top.
"Being short a bolt out of the batch is nothing compared to
this," he thought. "Why, these have been cut short and are
no longer the original goods. There's no way the shop can
exchange them! Certainly one of the governor's servants
has helped himself and he should know about it. I'd better
go report it and see what he says."
And so he quickly folded them back up and ran back to the
yamen with them, but the governor had already left the
office. "I'll just take them home," he thought. "It won't be too
late if I come and report it early tomorrow morning."
After arising early the next morning Wang Ze went over to
the yamen to await the governor's arrival. He then
presented the thirteen lengths of silk and kowtowed to him.
The governor was delighted.
"Wang Ze!" he exclaimed, beaming broadly. "You really
have taken care of this as quickly as ever! I just told you
yesterday and already you've brought them back this
morning!"
"I haven't exchanged them yet," reported Wang Ze. "These
bits of cloth that your excellency gave me yesterday weren't
the original goods. Somebody had cut the tops off of them
so there was no way I could exchange them. I await your
instructions, excellency!"
The Governor glared at Wang Ze. "I told you to go and get
them at my quarters yesterday!" he snapped. "If they'd been
altered you should have said so then!"
"At your excellency's home I only counted the number of
pieces of cloth," explained Wang. "I didn't see that they'd
been shortened until I took them home and examined them.
I rushed right back to report it but your excellency had
already left the yamen. By that time it was dusk and I didn't
dare entrust the message to anyone else, so I especially
rushed over here early this morning instead."
Now the governor was furious. "Nonsense!" he thundered,
"You should have returned them to the shop right after you'd
received them! But instead you took them home where
somebody no doubt cut them short, and now this morning
you come here with this cock-and-bull report! Why, if I didn't
take your usual hard work into account I'd have you flogged
with a poisoned rod! Now hurry and exchange them and not
another word about it!"
Wang Ze was stung and speechless from the
tonguelashing. It was all he could do to carry them back
home where he sat and brooded darkly. Just as he was
wracking his brains for a solution he looked up to see three
men enter from the street. Why, it was none other than Zuo
Chu, Zhang Ying and Pu Ji! After finishing with their
obsequies the three noticed the many strips of silk piled up
atop the table.
"Where are they from?" asked one.
"It's a long story!" replied Wang. He then related in great
detail how the governor had cut short those bolts of silk and
then ordered him to exchange them.
"What's the problem?" laughed Zuo Chu. "I'll just hatch out
an exchange for you with my body!" He then took the
thirteen altered and faded bolts and placed them in a heap
on the floor. He then knelt down to cover them with his own
burlap gown and mumbled a charm before shouting "Live!"
and sure enough, when he removed his gown and stood
aside they had changed into thirteen freshly dyed full bolts
of silk.
Wang Ze was ecstatic with relief. "Sorry to trouble the three
of you but please wait a moment while I take these over to
the yamen," he said. "I'll be right back to talk with you!"
"We've got something really important to discuss," they
answered, "so hurry right back!" Wang Ze then carried the
silk over to the district office with a broad smile on his face,
and here is a poem:
Whoever made the bridal gown and by whatever way
For the bits cut from that silk somebody had to pay.
A thousand years in office an official hoped to stay
For lack of morals Heaven cut him down within a day.
Now the governor was still in his office, and needless to say
he was delighted to see those bright new lengths of silk
brought back. But just as if ordained by the wheel of destiny
Wang Ze was about to be be handed his own yamen. He
rushed back in a flash to find the three men waiting for him.
"Pardon me if I've missed anything!" he apologised as he
burst in. "Now that you three are here I should serve you
tea, but I'm too poor to afford a set. Let me just take you to
the wineshop next door and buy us all some rounds."
"Stop talking like a loser!" said Zuo Chu, rising to his feet.
"If you're game for drinking I'm willing to forgo my vows of
sobriety!"
"Master Que has got such a fine way with words!" beamed
Pu Ji.
"Well," continued Wang Ze, "today's a holiday and the silk
has been returned, so we'll be able to sit there awhile!" The
four men went into the wineshop and sat by a window. But
just as they were happily drinking and carrying on together
they spotted a mob of town garrison troops and others
rushing through the street outside. When Wang Ze went out
to see what was happening the conscripts all recognized
him and saluted.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Dispatcher Wang!" called out one of them. "The governor
is working us to a bitter death! We've done over three
months' service and he hasn't even been willing to pay us
one month's money or rice ration. Today we've been to the
rice storehouse and the keeper had his guards beat us
away."
"If it's got that bad what is to be done?" asked Wang Ze.
"If he doesn't pay us by tomorrow all the fellows are rising
up!" came the reply. The troops and others then walked off,
leaving Wang Ze to go back into the shop and tell Zuo Chu
what he had just heard. The monk suddenly hobbled to his
feet.
"Hurry after those soldiers and tell them to come back!" he
exhorted. "Grant them a month's pay and you'll have them
eating out of your hand!"
"And where, Master, have you got so much rice and cash?"
asked Wang.
"You just tell them to get back here," ordered Zuo Chu, "and
I'll provide it!"
Wang Ze then ran after the troops and told them to gather
up their comrades and come receive a month's cash and
rice. The troops then spread the word around the town's
two garrisons; they all assembled at Wang Ze's door to see
rice piled up like a mountain inside.
Now, Wang Ze wondered deep down inside where that
roomful of rice had come from; it covered even his chairs
and table. Quezi then raised his hand and spoke out.
"Listen up, all of you!" he began. "I want each of you to take
between one and two hundred pounds of rice, according to
your own strength, as much as you can carry by yourself.
Just make sure there's no grumbling or calling for help!"
The troops all began moving the rice off with all of their
strength, each of them shouldering between one and two
hundred pounds as ordered.
"There's only half a ton of this rice!" went Wang Ze in
disbelief. "The two garrisons have got six thousand men
altogether. How can it be enough to go around?"
"Leave that up to me!" barked Zuo Chu. "You just tell them
to come and get their rice ration!"
And so between noon and early evening the men carried off
over five hundred tons and there were still a few hundred
pounds left over in the room. The commanders and some
other men all came to thank Wang Ze.
"Dispatcher Wang!" shouted Zuo Chu. "Just a little more
hospitality and they'll all be eating out of your hand! I want
you to go by moonlight tonight to the camp commanders.
Tell them to order the troops to come over tonight and
tomorrow to get a month's cash. We'll pay them in two
sessions."
Now, the commanders were delighted delighted to hear
this and fairly flew to tell the ranks to go and be paid. Wang
Ze looked at Zuo Chu in amazement.
"Master! You've already given out so much rice. Now
where's this money all coming from?"
"It's my own!" was the crippled monk's reply.
Zhang Ying then spoke up. "I had a thousand strings of coin
hidden in a city mote over in Boping County," he added.
"Just this morning I went and moved it under your bed."
Sure enough, when Wang looked there was a pile of cash
bursting out from under the bed, and he couldn't imagine
how it had been moved there. And then in the midst of this
shock he felt the head of a string of cash underfoot as if
buried in the earthen floor. He knelt down and tugged at it,
seeing what appeared to be a fine coin as big as a sewing
wheel embedded there. Hard as he tried he could not pull it
from its resting place. He then fell down at once upon his
hands and knees, and as he thrust forth his hands to dig
there came a great laugh, and right up out of that buried
coin burst a real live monk wearing gold earrings and a red
flame-pattern gown.
Wang Ze's very soul parted from his body in terror as he
threw up his arms and fled outside. The bonze continued to
emerge. "Sorry I'm here so late, Dispatcher!" he
apologized. It was none other than Pellet Bonze Dan! Zuo
and Zhang then turned toward the terrified Wang Ze.
"This gentleman is Master Pellet Dan," they began. "He too
is one of us, here to assist you in your great undertaking!"
Wang Ze was incredulous. "Isn't he the one who gave
Grand Dragon Bao in Kaifeng such a hard time?"
"The very same!" chuckled Zuo Chu.
Wang finally calmed down and came forth for a better look
as Pellet Bonze Dan spoke.
"Earlier this year Flawless Commander Wang donated
three thousand strings of cash to me," he announced, "and
it hasn't been spent on anything. Now that I've heard how
Master Zhang is using the cash from Boping County on
Dispatcher Wang's army command, I nave decided to hand
over those three thousand strings as well to his cause.
"A string of cash for each of the six thousand troops!"
observed Master Que. "We're still short two thousand
strings."
"And I've got another three thousand in all," replied Zhang
Ying.
"Rest assured, Master!" said Pu Ji. "I've already
transported it here for you."
The men of the garrison then entered to be paid in groups
of five. The cash was piled up in heaps of a thousand
strings each, and the entire floor was covered with cash.
Even before the piles had been completely deposited there
the recipients had been lined up at the door. Wang Ze told
them to begin moving inside and that each was permitted
to carry off one string of coin. It was much more than they'd
ever hoped for, and none dared to take more than their
share. Deep into the night throughout two entire watches
did they carry off their pay, and before long both
encampments had been compensated.
"Hurrah for Dispatcher Wang!" they and their dependents,
young and old, all shouted. "Who else would call people to
to come carry off his own money and rice. We needed only
be able-bodied enough to carry his full pay, and now we'll
all have a little security at home! No more worries for
awhile!"
After Zuo Chu and his four colleagues had dispensed all of
the money and rice they took their leave of Wang Ze until
the morrow. Wang himself was on duty the next day and so
he was already in the district yamen awaiting the governor
by seven in the morning. Now, this district governor was
named Zhang De, the common surname Zhang and De
meaning virtue, and the district residents all villified him in
verse:
A real beast all dollied up in silk so fair and fine
On such exotic dishes does the cursed creature dine!
Enough to make us all sigh in despair both far and near
For the day that eyesore will at last be gone from here!
Now this governor never paid any mind to legitimate
matters and only sought cash. On this particular day he sat
in his office and called for Private Wang, who showed up at
once with a snappy salute.
"Reporting as ordered, excellency!" he shouted loudly and
clearly.
"Wang Ze!" said the governor. "I've heard you're a real
sport! Why, only yesterday you took it on yourself to pay six
thousand men their money and rice for me. Why didn't you
report your generous intention to me first and let me give it
out?"
Wang Ze didn't dare reveal that those colleagues of his had
simply conjured up all that money and rice. He waited and
though for a moment, but just as he opened his mouth to
reply he saw two men in purple gowns and leather vests
rushing forth. "Excellency!" they gasped. "Tons of rice are
missing from the storehouse, and it hadn't even been
opened. The locks and seals were undisturbed!"
The governor was frightened out of his wits; he truly did not
know what to make of this news. And just then the guards of
the district vault appeared. "Excellency!" they frantically
reported, "Two thousand strings of cash are missing
although the safe was sealed shut!"
Why, Master Que's rice and Pu Ji's money had been
moved right out of the district's own coffers! "That's it!"
thundered the governor. "Why, Wang Ze, of course you had
no money of your own. It came from my storehouse and
safe! You've obviously used some sorcerer's craft to steal
and transport it!"
Wang Ze stood accused and unable to utter a word. The
governor then called for a jailer with a long cangue and had
Wang fitted in it and taken to prison, and he ordered the
investigators to begin torturing the truth out of him. But more
will come of Governor Zhang's casting Wang Ze into prison.
A head will roll and an entire extended family will be
exterminated in the name of a lost cause, and the people of
Beizhou will have no peace or safety anywhere.
To see what tragedy the governor has set in play, just read
what the coming chapters' story has to say.
Chapter 33
MASTER ZUO CHU SHOCKS ALL BY
REVEALING HIS POWERS
DISPATCHER WANG AGITATES A MOB
FOR REVENGE
Long the story has been told of Liu Chong's pure
good name
To this day on riverbanks stand temples to his fame.
Officialdom has recently shown mastery anew
At taking the big money as the teacher used to do.
This poem was written by the famed and talented Wang
Shu'neng. Now, in Pure Penny Prefecture of Shaoxing
District there stands the Shrine of the Honest Prefect. It is
dedicated to the memory of Liu Chung, who had been
appointed prefect and treasurer during the reign of
Emperor Huandi of the Western Han. He was clean as the
purest water, without a corrupt hair on his head. During his
inaugural inspection tour he encountered a number of
elders who tearfully remonstrated with him, each offering a
string of one hundred coins. Liu Chung got the idea of what
was happening and took only one large copper, known then
as "big money", from them. Later men have thought of his
honest virtue and erected that shrine for the worship of his
spirit, naming it the Shrine of the Honest Prefect, and the
area as well has come to be called Pure Penny Prefecture.
Our poet Wang Shu'neng had passed through the place
and chanced to worship the idol of that late, great prefect.
He later penned those four lines when he realized how the
officials of his time snatched up all the petty cash they could
get their hands on. Well written as they are, however, they
do not convey the entire picture. For today an official who
takes all the money he can get his hands on is then known
as a decisive man. His accounting methods are based on
precise calculations and not a cent is lost. Even when
making a statue the regulation amount of dirt, three
shovelfuls, is taken from the earth. What does he care if
your money is in "big" or "small" or whatever denomination,
or if it is swept up from the ground; into his coffers it goes.
Taking the "big money" therefore has this other meaning to
it. As another poem says:
In olden days he took one coin and gave the rest all back
But nowadays the small change too goes right into the
sack.
Though they pack the pennies in along with grander stuff
Still calling them all honest men is accurate enough.
Now, today's greedy officials have indeed got their reasons
and priorities. Some of the money they take is earmarked
for contributions to superiors, to ensure a fine rise in official
rank. And should an official chance to sit as judge during
his watch he can confiscate the convicted criminals' homes
and become a really big landlord. Then he can pass rich
fields and fine houses down to his offspring, along with fine
cloths, proud horses and all the other trappings of the good
life. Even if his subjects curse him bitterly, none of it
reaches his ears.
Now on the other hand let us consider the case of the clean
official. He has nobody toadying to him and makes nobody
happy and receives only a curt official dismissal for his
trouble. He is exhiled in tears, unable to return home where
his wife cannot help but starve in the cold due to her
association with him. His relations young and old hate him
and the Emperor sitting in his palace knows nothing of such
a distant and trivial matter. Now, all things considered isn't
it easier to be a greedy official? There is clearly only one
choice! Isn't it hard to find fault with ten million people
shouting one's praises? And if one's offspring have no
inheritance how can the family line flourish? Of course
Heaven knows all and will not fail to dispense justice in the
end, but who can wait that long? The people of your time
will never know the reward!
There is an element of risk in all of this, however. For it's a
matter of sheer luck whether or not the imperial court
pleases Heaven and one's district remains at peace. If
destiny turns dark and ugly and the district is rocked by
disorder it will certainly all be blamed on the greedy official.
The entire castastrophe will be regarded to be of his
making.
In the previous chapter we read of how the Beizhou
Governor Zhang De lost the allegiance of the army and
brought on a tragedy through all of his predatory acts. It is
indeed a typical case of what can happen to a greedy
official.
And so that day the governor was furious to find his granary
and vault short of rice and cash, and he sent Wang Ze to
prison to be interrogated according to law. The interrogator
was named Wang Jiang.
"I'd say your family is neither rich nor powerful enough to
come up with the sort of rice and cash needed to pay the
two regiments," he began. "Today the district vault is
missing a lot of cash and a great amount of rice is gone
from the granary as well. Why don't you just tell us how you
managed to get it all out of there?"
Wang Ze refused to admit his guilt even as he bore the
resulting blows of torture. "Yesterday was my day off!" he
insisted. "I was sitting idly at home when I saw these men
shouting all their demands as they passed by my door.
They were saying that after three months in service they
couldn't get even a month's ration of rice and cash. Then
these four men came out of nowhere and without my
agreement took over my room to pay six thousand troops.
The four of them disappeared, and I really don't know who
they are."
"And so," thundered the interrogator, "without knowing their
names or asking their intentions you permitted them to give
out rations right in your home?" He then ordered the jailers
to stretch out Wang Ze, roll him over and cane the truth out
of him. This time he couldn't bear the pain.
"One is named Zhang Ying!" he blurted out, "And another is
Pu Ji...and then there is Master Que or Zuo Chu...and one
called Bonze Dan, sometimes written Egg Dan and
sometimes Pellet Dan..."
The interrogator brought some paper and a wet brush and
ordered Wang Ze to write the names down, and the sight of
that resulting list filled him with fright.
"Why, Pu Ji and Zhang Ying are the two who murdered the
governor of Zhengzhou and made a clean getaway!" he
recalled, trembling. "And Pellet Bonze Dan cheated
Flawless Commander Wang out of three thousand strings
of cash, and then gave Grand Dragon Bao so much
repeated aggravation. Both places have notices out for
their arrest, but I can't imagine who this Master Que or Zuo
Chu might be. He's no refined gentleman-scholar, that's for
sure! For whatever reason, these characters have all come
together, and in Beizhou of all places...this is no trivial
matter!"
He then made Wang Ze sign a confession before returning
him to confinement in prison and went at once to inform the
governor in minute detail of what trouble was brewing.
When he heard the news Governor Zhang's face went
earthen yellow with dread. How he wanted to arrest them,
but to be honest with himself he knew that it would not be
easy to catch such a gang of sorcerers at large before they
could cause many more calamities. He was therefore of a
mind to cover up all the past mischief and to deal leniently
with Wang Ze, and to simply write off his losses in rice and
cash from the storehouses. But alas Wang Ze had already
so clearly fingered those four men and all the people would
soon know; it was only a matter of how best to go about
arresting them. This great affair had come on suddenly like
a tiger and was now as hard to get a hand on as a snake.
Still he had to do his duty as chief of a district, and bring the
army and people into line. After thinking it over for awhile he
wrote a public proclamation as follows:
WANTED BY GOVERNOR ZHANG OF BEIZHOU
Dispatcher Wang Ze has confessed the names of his
sorcerer partners in robbing the district granary and
treasury. A REWARD OF ONE THOUSAND STRINGS
OF CASH awaits any and everyone for the arrest of
each of the criminals below upon confirmation.
Individuals who fail to report their knowledge shall be
considered COLLECTIVELY GUILTY along with their
families and associates.
ZHANG YING, an itinerant Daoist wearing an iron
ruyi crown and a wizard's black gown.
PU JI, dressed as a street merchant.
MASTER QUE, also known as ZUO CHU, a
cripple wearing a shabby head wrapping and a
coarse gown
MASTER or BONZE DAN, alias PELLET BONZE
DAN, wearing gold earrings and a flame pattern
gown.
Posted in the Fourth Year of the Qing Li reign, (1044
AD) ( ) month ( ) day.
The governor then ordered the yamen calligraphers to paint
tens of the signboards to be hung up before each of the city
gates and in front of the yamen itself, as well as in other
prominent locations round town. At the same time the
arrestors were ordered into action to seize them at once.
Now the six thousand troops of the two regiments and their
dependants had all been paid rice and cash by Wang Ze
before the governor pronounced him an outlaw and cast
him into prison to suffer so. In their taverns and tearooms
the men were all speaking up and cursing the governor, to
the last man calling him a totally depraved thieving dog.
They then spotted Master Que hobbling up to camp, hands
clasped prayerfully in front of his chest.
"Men of destiny," he pleaded, "listen to me! Dispatcher
Wang defiantly paid all of you, as you saw for yourselves
back in his room when he distributed your rice and cash.
The governor has now taken rice and money from the
district vaults and stashed it all away, and has falsely
accused Wang Ze of theft! And now he's about to send his
men over to your two regimental camps for the rice and
cash to replentish his stores. I reckon you've already spent
or gambled away all the money as young men like
yourselves will do, and now that the rice is all eaten up
where will you come up with anything to give them back?"
The men were enraged upon hearing this. "It's ours to
spend and eat, not official property!" shouted the men.
"First he refuses to pay us our due and now he's coming to
take by force what is rightfully ours! This is cause enough
for revolt!"
"Dispatcher Wang paid you out of the goodness of his
heart," replied Zuo Chu, "and now he's been beaten to a
bloody pulp and confined in prison by the governor, his life
by no means assured. Can you now return his kindness by
forcibly rescuing him from prison?"
"We're of the same mind!" shouted one of the crowd. "But
how can we spring him out of there when we're lacking both
strength and a leader?"
"You're right, men!" shouted Zuo Chu, "You need a chief! If I
take the lead will you all get behind me?"
The men silently looked at Zuo Chu, thinking of his
diminutive size and crippled leg which made him useless at
close quarters and unable to kill anyone. Following him
would lead only to defeat it seemed.
Zuo Chu nodded at their reluctance. "I take it from your
silence that you're all fooled by my small size and limited
strength, and that you can't take me seriously. Would you
like to see something that might give you all a bit of
confidence in me?" He then mumbled a charm beneath his
breath and shouted out "Live!" and in the twinkling of an
eye our little Master Que was gone, changed into an eightfoot tall immortal with enormous shoulders and head as big
as a chariot wheel. His eyes were like lanterns and the men
felt a breeze as his big hands wielded swords the size of
wooden doors. Fearfully they all fell to their knees begging
for mercy.
"We couldn't see Mt Taishan before our very eyes!" they
pleaded. "Why, all along you were an immortal from
Heaven! We can now understand how a poor man like
Dispatcher Wang could pay six thousand of us all that rice
and cash."
They had barely finished praying when that immortal
changed right back into Master Que. "All right!" he shouted,
"Enough squabbling! Let's get our hearts and minds
together on this. Heaven has sent me to lead you people of
Beizhou in your time of difficulty. You've got only today to
decide whether you follow me or not!"
As the sound of his voice subsided two martial arts
instructors came forth with spears and cudgels in hand.
Now, one was named Zhang Cheng and the other Dou
Wenyu. "Dispatcher Wang is a fine man and we should
save him!" they shouted. "If anyone is not willing to join us
we'll take him apart like an artichoke!"
We're with you!" shouted the men. "All of us!"
"It's hard to find two braver men!" said Master Que. "Let me
put you in charge of weapons and training! Now I myself will
go and free Dispatcher Wang and destroy the Beizhou
Governor while I'm at it. All of you just come along for
support. Then you can all help in making Wang Ze the chief
of Beizhou, to freed and clothe you in abundance so you
can all happily live out the remainder of your lives!"
"We'll be right there with you!" shouted the men upon
hearing those words, and this poem bears witness:
Xiang Yu's glare and miserly rewards brought down his
state
And Sun Wu said that sweetness was a part of being great.
All because the rice and cash were paid out privately
Six thousand troops confronted an entire dynasty.
Zuo Chu then took leave of the town garrison and whirled
right over to the district yamen. The governor had just
entered his office and was seated on a tigerskin-covered
wicker chair raving away wildly. The intruder used a bodyconcealment charm to render himself invisible and stood
unseen right behind his excellency, conjuring up a hole in
the floor. He then pulled the chair back a step and into the
hole when one leg, depositing the governor on the floor. All
of those present rushed up to assist him.
"I guess the legs of the chair were too old and just gave
way!" said the governor.
"This thieving dog doesn't even know me and he dares
utter my name disrespectfully!" thought Zuo Chu, snickering
to himself darkly. "I'll just play with him some more!"
They had just repositioned the chair and replaced the
tigerskin cover and the governor had just seated himself
upon it when Zuo Chu gave his official silk hat a solid blow
from behind, sending it tumbling to the floor. From there it
flew like an arrow right out of the hall and landed on the
ground. It had all happened so fast that those present could
have sworn that his excellency had just summoned a
pidgeon from up his sleeve!
"Quick!" they heard the governor shout. "Bring me back my
hat!" Only then did they realize that it had been the chief's
official silk hat. But before anyone could go and retrieve it in
came Zuo Chu, eyes ablaze and the hat in one hand as he
strode defiantly right up to the governor.
"Chief," he announced, "today is the day you lose both your
hat and your head!" he then returned the silk ceremonial hat
adding "Here is your head, Governor, courtesy of yours
truly, Zuo Chu!"
All were surprised to hear that name. "The signs ordering
his arrest have just gone up," someone said, "and here he
is putting himself right into the cangue!"
The governor gazed down in disbelief at the little body
before him. "Are you really that Master Que?" he asked.
Zuo Chu lifted his left foot for all to see. "Do you think this
bum leg is fake?" he shot back.
The governor glared. "How dare you just walk in here like
this when I've called for your arrest?"
"I happen to know that your excellency stands accused of
wrongdoing and I'm here to watch you confess!" replied
Master Que.
The governor was livid. "I've never seen the likes of a
thieving sorcerer like you!" he thundered. He then ordered
his subordinates to fetch a full body cangue and place Zuo
Chu in it before taking him to the interrogation center for
more evidence about Wang Ze and the missing rice and
cash. The jailers dragged him into the place just in time to
see Wang Ze being taken from his cell. Dispatcher Wang
was surprised to see Zuo Chu of all people.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"The problem isn't me," said Master Que, "but how to
somehow get you out of here!"
In strode the interrogator Wang Jiang. "You've got a big
mouth, monk!" he began. "So tell me, how did you get that
money and rice out of the vaults?"
"Inspector!" replied Zuo Chu. The governor is so stupid. He
didn't pay the troops their monthly ration of rice and cash
and made the two regiments just grit their teeth in anger
and hate until I came up with four thousand strings of cash
and paid it for the governor. And now instead of gratitude
I've been indicted for a crime! Now where's the sense in
that?"
Wang Jiang was furious. He called to a jailer to strenuously
torture the suspect. The guard took his rod, rolled Zuo Chu
over and began caning him when the strangest thing
happened. Whenever he lashed out the monk felt nothing
but the torturer received the force and pain of each blow
just as if he were beating his own body! A few different
jailers were called forth to try their hand with the same
result. They would each lash out once and then scream in
pain themselves, casting aside the rod and jumping well
clear. The chief interrogator himself then stepped forth and
picked up the rod for a go at it, but it seemed just as if he
were flogging himself instead of Zuo; he threw away the rod
and ran off clutching his buttocks and screaming
continuously in agony and horror.
That left only Zuo Chu to be seen laughing aloud, shouting
"Live!" to remove the chains from Wang Ze's body and his
own and to extricate themselves from the cangues.
"That fellow is a sorcerer all right!" shouted the terrified
interrogator Wang Jiang. He and the jailers rushed forth to
seize the pair but Zuo Chu froze their feet in place just by
pointing a finger! They all seemd to be rooted in the earth,
immovable as trees while Zuo Chu and Wang Ze fled right
out of the place.
Now, the governor was sitting in his office wearing his high
silk hat as before and sitting in his tigerskin-covered wicker
chair counting his money when suddenly he spotted Zuo
Chu.
"Grand Governor Zhang!" proclaimed the monk, "Today
you shall be punished for having harmed the people of
Beizhou! It would be unforgivable if I didn't remove the
cause of their suffering while I could!"
The governor recognized their murderous intent and ran
behind a decorative screen. He was hiding there in vain
when two more men entered the hall, none other than our
very own Zhang Ying and Pu Ji, each wielding a sword. Pu
ji rushed forth to hold the governor while Zhang Ying with his
dazzling footwork and swordsmanship quickly decapitated
the man.
The horrified onlookers both within and outside the hall
were as helplessly frozen and immovable as trees.
"Listen to me, all of you!" proclaimed Wang Ze. "The great
majority of you have been victimized by him. Today we
have cut out the root of future woes and brought happiness
to all the people of Beizhou. All of you who have suffered
so, join me in looting this yamen and taking the gold and
silver in there to make yourselves wealthy and happy!"
Hearing this, the entire crowd came to the aid of Wang Ze.
Just then the two regiments under the instructors Zhang
Cheng and Dou Wenyu arrived at the yamen, just in time to
hear that Wang Ze had killed the governor. All of them
rushed in just in time to meet up with Chief Inspector Wang
Jiang, attempting to flee with his family. Zhang Cheng
raised his cudgel and struck the official down and the
others quickly made mincemeat out of him. His entire
family, young and old, lost their lives as well. Hu Yong'r
herself entered the yamen and along with Zuo Chu and the
others rounded up and slaughtered the governor's entire
staff. They then tracked down and butchered all of his
friends and associates to prevent any acts of revenge. Next
they smashed in the gate of the prison and liberated all of
the convicts before moving on to the governor's residence
and stripping it of silver, gold, cash, tapestries and finery of
all sorts. They piled everything up like a mountain on the
ground outside, including those thirteen bolts of silk. It was
over five feet high and bundled up nicely; even the nurse's
room was cleaned out.
"This wealth," declared Wang Ze, "is the flesh and blood,
the very marrow of the people of Beizhou! We shall divide it
into three. One part shall go to the conscripts of the town
garrison. Another will be given to the merchants who have
been robbed of merchandise and the families cheated out
of their wealth and ruined by the governor. And the third part
will go to the poor folk selling their wares in the street, so
that they may have some peace of mind."
Wang Ze then made his home in the yamen, putting up
signs to calm the people and ordering the troops of the two
town regiments to thoroughly prepare their weapons and
armor. He posted them at the four gates, each holding at
the city mote. The two instructors busied themselves drilling
and preparing the men and horses of the garrison.
You have heard the authorities had all been slaughtered.
Only two of them, the judge Dong Yuanchun and clerk Tian
Jing managed to escape. The two had gathered their
documents and fled to Kaifeng leaving their familes behind.
They then petitioned the imperial court to send an army to
avenge the governor. And from this will come yet
more....The general who tries to pacify the brigands will
waist his efforts, and those wizards who seek to found a
dynasty will make effective use of their sorcery. It's like this:
A single lamp illuminates a thousand households' night
A foot of water yields a wave six thousand feet in height.
As to who the court will send to crush the rebel force, read
the coming chapter and you'll know the future course.
Chapter 34
LIU YANWEI THREE TIMES
FAILS TO TAKE BEIZHOU
HU YONG'R PLUNDERS THE HEBEI
REGION
Always have rebellions had a reason to arise
The court's own policies as well are not completely
wise.
Enjoy the holy brightness of the ever-flowing sun
The shepherd and his horse asleep in peace when day
is done.
It is said that during the Qing Li reign period of the great
Song dynasty the revered and venerated Emperor Renzong
was nonetheless hoodwinked by the treacherous minister
Xia Song into appointing mean, small men such as Wang
Gongchen and Yu Zhouxun. Their words and plots gave rise
to many regrettable affairs, destroying loyalty and goodwill.
One by one they managed to remove six fine officials of the
time: Wen Yanbo, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Fan Zhongyan and Bao
Zheng. These six were all steady and experienced men,
ready, willing and able to accomplish fine things on behalf
of the nation. After their dismissal Xia Song received the
post of Privy Councillor; he only eyed talent and ability
jealously and sought to take more power and bribes.
As a result many districts and counties had greedy officials
and there could be no peace in the entire land. Zhao
Yuanhao led the Xixia revolt, and then came Nong Zhigao's
uprising in the southern region of Guangnan. And now
Wang Ze, also due to a greedy official, had risen up in
Beizhou.
Of all the Beizhou officials only Judge Dong Yuanchun and
Clerk Tian Jing escaped. They fled to the capital where
they presented a memorial to the emperor, informing him of
the revolt. As soon as Renzong heard their petition he
asked members of the State Council to submit their
opinions.
"This was all the result of Governor Zhang De's not
dispersing cash and rice," wrote Xia Song. "The army was
simply angered and it is not to be considered a regional
revolt. Do not worry, your Majesty, for I am recommending
an official under my wing by the name of Liu Yanwei,
currently the Prefect of Yizhou. He's the son of a high
ranking army officer and consummately skilled at civil and
military affairs. All it will take is for this man to lead the men
and horses from his headquarters over there and punish
the bandits a few times, and it will all be over with no more
trouble."
Renzong approved this memorial and affixed his seal to a
plan ordering the Prefect of Yizhou to quickly take his
headquarters cavalry over to Beizhou and deal with the
rebels as conditions should warrant. When calm once
again prevailed he was to report his success to the court
for his reward.
Now, although Prefect Liu Yanwei was a product of the
literature curriculum he had been raised in a military
commanders's family and had a fine understanding of
military tactics as well. With broadsword in hand he
commanded ten thousand crack troops. On the very day he
received the sudden notice from court he summoned the
local military superintendant Ru Gang for a consultation.
"I've heard about that gang of sorcerers causing all sorts of
woe in Beizhou," said Ru. "You'd better take them seriously
and make a careful assessment of your strength. You can't
meet them from a position of weakness."
Liu Yanwei laughed heartily. "I've read the poems too," he
replied, "and as you know it has always been written that
evil never triumphs over good. So I reckon that I can always
rely on Heaven's help in punishing the rebels. There's
absolutely no chance of our coming to grief!"
An auspicious day was then chosen and five thousand men
and horses were carefully chosen from the headquarters
garrison for the attack. Ru Gang was given command of the
leading one thousand men and horses to spearhead the
assault, while Colonel Duan Lei was to bring up the rear
with another thousand. Liu himself commanded the three
thousand troops and horses of the main force. Together
they set out to march on Beizhou.
Now, a spy from Beizhou heard of Liu Yanwei's expedition
and fairly flew on horseback to inform Wang Ze. All of the
people of the district were in a panic. Wang Ze had
practiced a bit of martial arts but had never seen battle, and
so he too was filled with fear. He immediately summoned
Zuo Chu, Zhang Ying and Pu Ji for a discussion.
Come to think of it, what has become of Bonze Dan?
Recall if you will, dear reader, what caused all of this. When
Bonze Dan went to Yuan Gong's dwelling in White Cloud
Cave that third time to steal the secret code of Dao he
swore a sacred oath to the Lord of the Polestar before the
jade incense burner. He promised to follow the path of
Heaven and to do no evil. Although he could not understand
the script of Heaven's laws he was lucky enough to have
Holy Auntie sort them out for him. He then joined her and
Zuo Chu in a round of alchemy. Then Holy Auntie said that
the thirty-six districts of Hebei would properly get a new
chief and would naturally support Wang Ze in destroying the
greedy officials and their corrupt underlings, and that it had
all been predestined. Bonze Dan had believed those
words, and so he used the three thousand strings of cash
from Flawless Commander Wang to help Wang Ze pay the
two regiments' troops. But then when they all rushed in to
kill the governor Bonze Dan stood aside and did not help.
Why was this, you ask? Well for one thing there was the
matter of his origins in a Buddhist temple and his having
been raised by the abbot himself, achieving the third level
of mercy and largess. Another reason lay in his own clever
and complex heart and soul. He had sworn that oath and
those four words "the path of Heaven" were still in his heart.
He had indeed troubled Grand Dragon Bao but only
because the official sought to arrest him groundlessly. And
although he believed that prophecy of Holy Auntie's and
wanted to help the activities, he didn't dare involve himself
in an undertaking of such grave consequence. And so as
Wang Ze ruled Beizhou City our Bonze Dan cloistered
himself in the Spring of Sweetness Temple outside of the
city. That left only Zuo Chu and the three to do everything
from morning till night, and Wang Ze had now summoned
him and the others to this meeting.
"Have you been able to find out how many men and horses
he's got?" asked Master Que.
"Five thousand," replied Wang Ze.
"It wouldn't make any difference if he had fifty thousand!"
answered Zuo Chu. "There are six thousand men altogether
in these two regiments. Keep half of them inside to hold the
fort and send the other half outside to meet the enemy, and
just leave the rest to me!"
Wang Ze then went to the drill ground to select the troops.
The newly appointed commanders Zhang Cheng and Dou
Wenyu kowtowed and reported to him.
"Marshall!" they proclaimed. "The two regiments are
completely satisfied with your generosity. Five thousand
five hundred men are ready for action outside the wall, with
the remainder on town security duty. Our men will wipe out
the enemy with their dauntless courage and make sure they
never again dare to set eyes on our beloved Beizhou!"
Wang Ze was delighted and went on to select three
thousand troops, each of them receiving a set of battle
dress and a horse. When he was finished with the
presentations he ordered the men to move out on the
morrow and to pay careful attention.
The night passed. Next day the two commanders appeared
in full battle dress, the city gates opened and out to do
battle rode the two columns of Beizhou cavalry. Master Que
was impressed by their fearsome splendor and thought it a
good time to go scout ahead and get a true picture of the
enemy force, though he did not wish to impeed them.
Now, Zhang Cheng had just led his one thousand five
hundred mounted troops to a place called Fujiatuan about
thirty li outside of town when he suddenly met with Ru
Gang's cavalry, the spearhead of the Yizhou forces. Just as
he was marshalling his men and preparing for battle Dou
Wenyu arrived with his column as well.
Now, those thousand men of Ru Gang's had not even
caught their breath when suddenly they met the full three
thousand fresh troops of the two branches of Beizhou
cavalry. Outnumbered, tired and surprised, they couldn't
hold their ground and scattered in every direction. Ru Gang
managed to lop off a few heads but to no avail. Zhang
Cheng and Dou Wenyu watched the enemy retreat and
pressed their horses on in hot pursuit of Ru, who despite
fighting at least twenty bouts at close quarters had just been
dealt an enormous defeat. Casting a glance back at his
remaining few mounted men he had no more heart for
battle and beat a hasty path out of there. Generals Zhang
and Dou chased him to within ten li of the main Yizhou
force; not daring to go any farther they quickly regrouped
and returned to Beizhou. The men pitched camp outside
the city gate while their two commanders entered and met
with Wang Ze.
"We have met and heavily defeated the leading element of
Yizhou's forces!" they reported triumphantly. "We chased
them all the way back to Prefect Liu's main force. All we
could do then was reassemble and return, and we are now
encamped outside the city awaiting your next orders,
marshall!"
"I've heard this fellow Liu Yanwei's tricks are really superb
and powerful," said Wang Ze. "With the defeat of that
forward force his dominance has been destroyed. You two
can consider that your first success. Now let's take
advantage of our high morale and set up positions in front
of the city to repulse their next attack. In tomorrow's battle
you two are to cooperate closely."
And so the generals had their orders and set up camp on
two big walls about ten li from town. Each column occupied
one of them and they could cooperate in repelling the
enemy.
Now after recovering the remnants of his decimated army
Ru Gang went to acknowledge his fault to Prefect Liu, who
was furious.
"Anybody who goes into battle must get intelligence on the
situation ahead!" he thundered. "Once he gets a whiff of the
enemy he knows to prepare. There's no regulation in
existance to cover someone as totally careless as you,
getting fine government troops mauled so badly by a gang
of bandits! I ought to lop off your head, seeing how I
honestly feel that you'd be useless in battle!"
Instead Liu ordered him to receive a hundred lashes and to
be put in charge of the feed supply unit at the rear, while
rear guard commander Duan Lei was placed in charged of
the leading spearhead. His scouts soon reached the two
forts at Fujiatuan and reported that Zhang Cheng and Dou
Wenyu had already encamped on the walls.
"Now I know the bandits will be powerless!" laughed
Prefect Liu heartily. "Fujiatuan is a strategic point guarding
the approach to Beizhou. If the bandits are there they can
can control the road to town, or so they think. But I reckon
they'd need at least a hundred thousand troops to do that.
They've got hold of it now and are encamped there, but I'll
surely destroy them!" He then gave his instructions to Duan
Lei.
"Fly the battle flag with my surname on and approach the
rebel fort at dawn to draw them into battle. It's a sure thing.
Lead them on all the way down the road to Fujiatuan and I'll
have a trap waiting for them."
Duan Lei left with his orders. Two mid ranking officers were
also to be sent out, each leading three hundred foot
soldiers. They were to lie in ambush in various locations
near the forts in wait for the Beizhou forces to come out and
fight and to then set fire to their encampments. Ru Gang
was ordered to provide smokescreen apparatus, assault
rockets and launching racks.
By the next day at noon they were all to meet up in Beizhou.
After punishment of the rebels they would occupy the city
fortifications, barring orders to the contrary.
Now, as it happened the former martial arts instructors
Zhang Cheng and Dou Wenyu were eminently skilled with
spear and cudgel but did not know much of military
strategy. They had merely blundered into victory on their
first outing and it had gone to their heads, making them
boastful and complacent. The next morning word spread
fast when the government army appeared in front of the fort
with Commander Liu's battle flag, spoiling for a fight.
Zhang Cheng and Dou Wenyu decided to mount an attack.
They sent their men out to battle on their warhorses carrying
fine iron spears and appearing awesome in their martial
bearing. The government troops had earlier been deployed
in plain view, all gathered round their flag. They wore iron
helmets and fancy decorative armor, and held clearing
broad-axes.
"Who else could it be but Liu Yanwei?" went the rebel
leaders as they extended their spears and went after the
enemy, who raised their axes at the ready. But the enemy
deliberately disengaged after only thirty rounds of combat.
Shouting "Retreat!" they turned their horses around and
fled. Generals Zhang and Dou pressed their cavalry in an
all-out pursuit to the death. Alternately fighting and chasing
they had gone about ten li, unable to secure a victory and
still on the move when the govenment army released steel
drum rollers on the ground in front of pursuing rebels,
sending them tumbling wildly. Suddenly a mounted
messenger came rushing up from behind.
"General, stop chasing them!" he shouted. "Both our forts
at the rear are in flames!" Zhang Cheng and Dou Wenyu
knew at once that they'd fallen into a trap and ordered a
speedy retreat and turned right around but things fell apart
fast and the soldiers began fleeing in disorder. They then
heard the sound of strings of fircrackers and from the
corner of their eyes caught sight of an army meeting up with
them, the supreme general at its head. He was on
horseback, wielding a broadsword.
"Halt, rebel thieves!" he thundered. "I, Liu Yanwei have
been awaiting you here for a long time!"
The two Beizhou generals had never seen such awesome
bearing in a man. Their hearts raced but it was too late to
do anything about it. Liu Yanwei raised his sword and
brought it down, first beheading Dou Wenyu beside his
horse. Zhang Cheng considered escaping but was
cornered and could only put up a dying struggle with his
spear. Before three rounds were over Liu Yanwei flashed
his eyes and shouted victoriously as Zhang collapsed with
a dying gasp, spear motionless in hand.
Quickly caught and surrounded by Liu's government cavalry
the rebel army dropped their reigns and dismounted to give
up their lives fighting on foot. At a signal from Liu Yanwei
they were attacked and most of the three thousand all
killed. This poem bears witness:
Military men must know the foe that they will meet
For insufficient battle strength will surely bring defeat.
A pity that this little win went to the general's head
A dynasty's own ruined schemes create so many dead!
When Wang Ze got word that his boys had been
slaughtered outside the wall he immediately summoned
Zuo Chu and company to help him hold the city. Outside he
saw only the dazed remnants of the defeated army
straggling back.
"Our leaders Zhang and Dou have been killed!" they
shouted up frantically. "Prefect Liu's troops are right behind
us! Quick, open the gate and let us in!"
Wang Ze ordered the gatekeepers to admit them. He was
horrified to hear in detail what had happened first hand and
turned to Zuo Chu.
"Liu Yanwei's fame as a hero is no empty myth!" he
gasped. "Have you gentlemen got some way of repulsing
him?"
"I've already thought up a plan," replied Zuo. "Let the
survivors of the battle hold the city and select another fifteen
hundred men to go out. Zhang Ying, Pu Ji and I will take five
hundred each. We'll take it on ourselves to render his armor
useless and kill all of his troops."
"Everyone will think that five hundred men are too few!"
said Wang.
"We'll have Heaven's own spirit soldiers with us," replied
Zuo Chu. "Those five hundred will be just helping us for
show, that's all!"
"We'll all be counting on you three, and you'll be rewarded
equally with wealth and rank!" said Wang Ze. he then
issued orders to send out the fifteen hundred elite troops,
divided into three companies. But before they could be
completely assembled a series of great cries went up from
outside the wall, for the government troops had already
arrived.
Liu Yanwei ordered Duan Lei and Ru Gang to prepare for
an attack on the city while he himself mounted a horse as
swift as the wind and rode right up to the city gate. He
stood there and brandished his sword and shouting to the
inhabitants. "Beizhou would do well to hand over Wang Ze,
bound up under arrest," he proclaimed. "He will be
presented to the court and you will avoid being all killed!"
Wang Ze was stunned to see his awesome military bearing
and didn't dare utter a peep. Zuo Chu, wearing a gown and
wielding a sword led the five hundred men of his command
out the gate and pointed the tip of the weapon at Liu
Yanwei. "You would do well to command those men and
horses to return quickly to Yizhou," he shouted. "If you hang
around here, you and all your men will die at my hands!"
"You punk!" replied Liu. "You're just one of Wang Ze's
traitors' party. I see you've come out to slay me with neither
armor nor horses. It's a pity that such a cripple has to die by
my sword."
"I'm not here to argue with you!" shouted Zuo Chu. "You'll
just have to see what I can do, that's all!"
Liu Yanwei stood there in front of the men brandishing his
weapon to intimidate Zuo Chu, who merely pointed his
sword and shouted "Live!". A whirlwind could suddenly be
seen rising and whirling toward the govenment troops,
blowing sand in their faces until the entire army couldn't
open their eyes. "Enough of this!" shouted Liu Yanwei, but
as soon as he turned his horse around to flee he was
attacked by Zuo Chu's men. They slaughtered many of the
govenment soldiers and then left.
Liu Yanwei fled for more than twenty li before the storm
subsided. He counted his men and horses and found that
one in three had been lost. Duan Lei and Ru Gang arrived
with their forces a shortwhile later.
"We were each about to attack," they reported, "when a
squall arose with all of this flying sand and bits of rock. We
reckoned it was their sorcery and we got out of there before
anything else could happen."
"I didn't know about the bandits' powers and they ruined my
scheme. Let's take three days' rest at Fujiatuan. My original
plans are useless." He then ordered all the men to prepare
facemasks for use on command, to protect their eyes from
the sand and flying stones.
At five in the morning of the fourth day breakfast was
prepared and the men assembled at seven. Only five
hundred fine horses and javelin throwers were selected,
each with the facemasks hanging by their sides to protect
them against windblown sand. On meeting the rebel forces
they would just continued on for better or worse and attack
using their long spears to slay the enemy. Duan Lei and Ru
Gang leading the left and right flanks were to wait until the
main force force engaged the rebels and then join in to trap
them up. They were to be annihilated; not one of the enemy
was to escape.
Now, of course Wang Ze felt more secure after Zuo Chu's
first victory. Day after day the army scouts spotted no sign
of activity but the defenders of the city didn't dare slack off
in their vigilance. On the fourth day the return of the
government forces was reported.
"Master Que led the attack the other day," proclaimed
Zhang Ying, "but this time it's my turn!"
"Why not let your disciple have a go at it for you!" pleaded
Pu Ji. And so he lead the five hundred men on a fast march
out of the city. And how did Pu Ji appear?
From his head two coiled braids hung down
His body clad in green embroidered gown.
Fierce eyebrows knitted up as if to scare
Pugnacious face all overgrown with hair.
With sword at side he guards a fairy trap
Of wild beasts that fiercely roar and yap.
Zhengzhou's former luckless peddler
Steps forth as world famous sorcerer!
Liu Yanwei thought only that this was still Master Que's
army and had no idea whatsoever of what secret magic this
change held in store for him. Without waiting for his
opponent's first move he ordered his men forward in a
direct frontal attack. Pu Ji could be seen mumbling a few
words and then shouting "Live!" as he thrust forward his
arms and the sleeves of his gown. Out of them leapt
hundreds of thousands of beasts such as hungry wolves,
fierce tigers and sleek leopards, all baring their fangs and
claws while bearing down on the government troops. Liu
Yanwei's own horse reared in terror at the sight, tossing
him to the ground. Just as Pu Ji strode forward he was
caught up between the left and right government flanks
dashing to the rescue. When the govenment forces caught
sight of all those strange beasts they threw down their
weapons and drums and fled for thir lives. Pu Ji pursued
them ruthlessly, capturing over two hundred fine horses and
an inestimable supply of weaponry.
Liu Yanwei had suffered yet another defeat, this time with a
tremendous number of casualties, and turned back to take
refuge again at Fujiatuan. Liu had never in his entire life
seen or heard of such sorcerers, he thought, and he was
not really so fond of the idea of recovering his force and
returning to do battle with them. He really had no idea how
to cope with the situation. Moreover he'd lost half of his five
thousand men. How could he bear the snickers and sneers
if he were to lose yet again? He procrastinated
continuously and restricted his men to the fort, not daring to
undertake any reckless action. A day passed and an
official document arrived from Yizhou.
Liu read that it had been unanimously decided to send
Prime Minister Xia's own private force of one thousand
volunteers under the command of Tao Bixian to support him
in battle. This was an u