by Pu Songling
Having tricked Yang into looking behind him, the Daoist rapped him sharply on the neck, crying, “That’ll do it!” After receiving the blow, Yang’s lips opened with a smacking sound and from his throat he vomited out something that fell to the ground with a plop, then as he lowered his head to see what he’d purged, he noticed threads of blood wound around a chunk of food that’d gotten stuck and his illness immediately went away.
When he turned to look around, he discovered that the Daoist had already disappeared.
The collector of these strange tales remarks, “Since during his lifetime and following his death, no matter what, Yang Dahong’s great righteousness stretched from the heavens to the earth, gaining people’s respect and admiration, surely there’s no need to feel pity for him! If he’d failed to act with proper decorum, he wouldn’t be seated among heaven’s immortals. Yet I think that rather than having one more immortal in heaven, it’d be better to have one more sage right here—and I hope the reader’s understanding of right and wrong won’t somehow conclude that I’ve got the priority turned upside down.”
377. The Zhaya Mountain Cave
In Zhangqiu’s Zhaya Mountains, there was a cave that was shaped like a well and was several chi deep. The mouth of the cave was on its north wall, so the inside was hidden from sight. On the occasion of the Double Ninth Festival, several villagers drinking there in the cave’s vicinity decided to go explore inside it. Three men took a torch and climbed down a rope into the cave.
The high-ceilinged, spacious cave opened into a large cavern the size of a house; as they proceeded several steps into it, it became somewhat narrow, until they could suddenly see where it ended. At the end, however, there was a hole through the rock that one could enter by slithering through it like a snake. They held up their light, but it was so deep and dark that they couldn’t see the bottom.
Two of the men lost their nerve and wanted to go back; the other man took the torch and jeered at the others, quickly slid through, and went on. Fortunately, it was only narrow at that particular place, for then the space suddenly grew both taller and broader, enabling him to stand, and then to walk upright.
The stalactites hanging precipitously above him seemed as though they might come crashing down at any second, but didn’t. On either side of him, the jagged, irregular rocks looked like statues one might find in a mountain temple, shaped variously like birds, beasts, human beings, and demons: the birds were posed like they were in flight, the beasts like they were running, the men like they were sitting or standing, and most of the demons looked furious; their bizarre appearance was quite hideous. Their terrifying aspects filled him with dread.
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Zhangqiu: A county in Shandong province.
Chi: A measure equal to 1/3 meter.
Double Ninth Festival: Held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, a day for visiting ancestors’ graves, particularly in order to enjoy a picnic from a height in the mountains (see Palmer 199).
He was glad that at least the path he was following was level and smooth. He walked hesitantly for nearly a hundred paces, until the western wall opened out into a stone vault, and on its left side stood a weird stone demon with a human face, its eyes bulging, its mouth wide open, revealing ferocious teeth and tongue; its left hand was clenched into a fist, as though ready to strike anyone passing into its territory; its right hand was opened wide, as though the demon wished to grab someone.
The man was terrified, his hair standing up like a forest of trees. Then from across the vault, he saw evidence of ashes, so he knew that someone had already been there before him, and with his courage somewhat restored, he continued more confidently. He found bowls and wine cups lying in the dirt on the ground; yet they were of modern fashioning, not made in some ancient kiln.
Close by were four tin wine pots, and finding them of interest, he loosened his sash, tied it around their necks, and refastened the sash around his waist. Then as he approached the side of the vault and scrutinized it, he discovered a corpse lying in the west corner, its arms and legs spread wide apart, like the person had been violently killed. The man was quite shaken by the sight.
Gradually calming down, he tiptoed closer and found a pair of slippers on the body, with ornate plum blossoms embroidered on the bottoms, so he realized the body was a young woman’s. There was no indication where she was from, nor could the man tell how long she’d been there. Her clothing was so faded and decayed that he couldn’t tell if it’d been green or red; her hair was like a basket of tangled silk stuck to her skull; her eyes and nose were simply empty cavities; the two rows of white teeth like bleached seeds indicated where her mouth had been.
He figured there might be some gold or pearl jewelry on her head, but as he held up the torch and drew near the top of her skull, it was as though someone started blowing at the torch flame which flickered, the flames dimming, while the breeze began moving and lifting up the clothing on the corpse. Again the man felt terrified, and his hands were shaking so much that suddenly the torch went out.
He quickly ran back the way he recalled having come, not daring to stop and feel his way along the walls with his hands, afraid of touching some ghost or horrid thing. He hit his head on a rock and fell down, but got right back up again; though he realized that the clammy dampness soaking his cheek and jaw was from his own blood, he felt no pain, and forced himself to stifle a groan; gasping, he rushed to get back to the hole, and just as he was about to crawl through, it was as if someone was grabbing tightly onto his hair, so he fainted, blacking out.
Everyone else who’d been sitting and waiting above the well-like cave for a long time became worried, so the other two men went back down with a rope. They found the third man when they neared the hole, where they could see that his hair was caught on a rock, that he’d lost a lot of blood, and that he was unconscious. The two turned pale and couldn’t bring themselves to enter the hole, so they just sat there, fretting in distress.
Presently, two more men were sent down into the cave; one of them was a brave fellow who went on through the hole and pulled the unconscious man back out. Several hours later, he regained consciousness and painstakingly described to them everything he’d discovered. It was a shame that he wasn’t able to finish exploring all the way to the end of the cavern; surely, if he had, he’d have found something truly significant.
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Clothing . . . green or red: That is, to establish the potential spectrum of social status for the deceased, since the colors are considered opposites (and servants’ clothing was traditionally green).
Afterwards, when the local magistrate was informed of the matter, he ordered the cave entrance blocked off and filled in, so no one could ever enter again.
During the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years of Kangxi’s reign, in Yangmu Valley, the southern cliff face collapsed, revealing the opening to a cave; people could see stalactites as numerous as the shoots in a dense thicket of bamboo. However, the cave looked so dangerously deep that no one dared to enter it.
Suddenly a Daoist priest arrived who identified himself as a disciple of Zhongli, and explained, “My master sent me here to clean up his mountain retreat.” The local people supplied him with lamp oil, so he took a lamp down into the cave, but he fell and was impaled upon a stalagmite, killing him.
When this was reported to the local magistrate, he ordered the cave sealed. There was most certainly something strange inside it, but since the Daoist died there, no one ever learned what it was.
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Twenty-sixth . . . Kangxi’s reign: This would be the years 1688-89 under the Qing emperor.
Yangmu Valley: Zhu notes that the location is unknown (3:1258n24).
Zhongli: Zhongli Quan, the head of the Eight Immortals, individuals who, according to Daoist tradition, achieved immortality through their “strenuous efforts in meditating, performing good deeds, and making sacrifices,�
� retaining their mortal forms while dwelling in mountain retreats (Perkins 140).
378. Anqi’s Island
The Grand Secretary Liu Hongxun, from Changshan, was sent to Korea with a military liaison. Liu had heard that there were immortals living on Anqi’s Island in the region, so he wanted to have a boat assigned to take him there. The Korean king told him that he couldn’t do that, and made him wait for young Zhang.
It happened that since the immortals of Anqi’s Island couldn’t bear to pass through the mortal world, instead they sent a disciple, young Zhang, on a couple trips each year. Anyone who wanted to visit the island first had to confess that desire to young Zhang. Then, if approved as worthy, that person would need nothing but a sailcloth to go there; otherwise, gusting winds would capsize any boat making the attempt.
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Grand Secretary Liu Hongxun: Grand Secretaries were “officials of great power in the central government” of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and their primary function came to be “recommending imperial action on memorials and preparing edicts after an imperial decision was reached” (Hucker 466-7). Liu Hongxun (also known as Liu Mocheng and Liu Qingyue) was appointed Grand Secretary in 1620 (Zhu 3:1260n1).
Changshan: A county in Shandong province.
Anqi’s Island: Anqi Sheng, supposedly a thousand years old at the time of the Qin emperor’s reign (259-210 B.C.E.), and reputed to be a sorcerer capable of invisibility, lived on Penglai, a fabled mountainous island of the immortals, supposedly located near the point at which the Bohai Sea passes the Liaodong peninsula of southern Liaoning province and becomes West Korea Bay.
A few days went by, and the king notified Liu that young Zhang would meet with him. As he entered for his audience, he saw a man with a sword at his waist, wearing a brown bamboo hat, sitting in the hall; he appeared to be about thirty years old, tall, slender, and clean. When Liu inquired, he learned that this was young Zhang. Liu accordingly recounted for him his reasons for wanting to go to the island, and young Zhang gave his approval. However, he also told him, “Your military liaison may not go along.”
Then they went outside, where young Zhang checked everyone out, allowing only two men to accompany them on their voyage. Zhang ordered his boat to guide Liu’s, and the group departed.
Liu couldn’t tell how far the boat’s journey was taking them, but he felt the winds propelling them through clouds of mist, and in a very short time, they arrived at their destination. Although it had been bitterly cold when they departed, upon their arrival the air felt warm, and mountain flowers covered the cliffs and valleys.
They led Liu into a building where he saw three old men sitting cross-legged. Though they were aware that a visitor had entered, they remained aloof, as if they hadn’t noticed; only the one seated in the middle stood up to welcome the visitor, greeting him with courtesy. After they all sat down, the old man called for tea. A boy servant took a tray and left to get some.
On a cliff outside the building, there was an iron tool so sharp that it had penetrated stone; when the boy servant pulled it out, liquid came bubbling forth, which the boy caught in a small tea cup; once it was full, he replaced the tool. Afterwards, when he brought it over and handed it to Liu, the liquid looked light green. Upon tasting it, Liu found it to be so cold that it made his teeth chatter. He was so shaken by the cold that he didn’t drink any more of it.
The old man turned and signaled the boy with his chin. The boy then picked up Liu’s cup and left, sipping at the remnants in it; he went back to the place where he’d gotten it before, pulled out the iron tool, collected some more of the liquid, and returned with a cup of fragrant, strong, steaming hot tea, as though it’d just come out of a cauldron. It was truly strange.
When Liu asked how to ensure good fortune and to avoid blame, the old man laughed, “How can one explain standing outside of time and the mortal world, in terms of human experience?” Liu then asked how the immortals were able to rejuvenate themselves, and the old man replied, “It’s something that no man of wealth and rank can accomplish.” Then Liu got up to take his leave, and as before, young Zhang accompanied him as he made his return.
After they’d arrived back in Korea, Liu proceeded to describe the strange things that had happened. The Korean king sighed as he told him, “I feel sorry for you that you didn’t drink the cold tea. That was the primal liquor of immortality, and one small cup of it could have extended your longevity by a hundred years.”
Just as Liu was about to return home, the Korean king gave him something wrapped quite heavily in silk, advising him that when he was close to the sea, he mustn’t open it up to look at it. After Liu was a little distance away from the sea, he quickly began uncovering the item to see what it was, and finally after removing something like a hundred silk wrappings, he was able to see that it was a mirror; when he looked into it, the Shark Palace of the dragon lords appeared quite clearly before his eyes.
Then as he was gazing into it, he suddenly saw a tidal wave rise up as tall as a high tower, and come roaring towards him. Terrified, he ran off; the wave, however, followed him with the speed of wind and rain. He was so frightened that he took the mirror and flung it away, causing the wave immediately to vanish.
379. Some Customs in Yuanjiang
When Li Jijin, who was acting as a deputy magistrate for Yuanjiang, originally arrived to take up his position and noticed that the court hall was overrun with cats and dogs, one of his subordinates remarked, “They’re just plain folk in this township, but they’ll be glad to see an official of your calm demeanor.” In just a little while, there were as many people as animals in the hall; moments later, the animals were entirely replaced by people coming and going, one after another.
One day, Li was being carried in a sedan chair by some chair bearers on his way to visit someone. Suddenly one of the bearers urgently cried out, “I’ve been hurt!” He immediately asked for one of Li’s servants to replace him, then prostrated himself on the ground, begging for a leave of absence. Li angrily scolded him, but rather than listening to this, the bearer quickly ran off. Li sent some of his men to pursue him.
The bearer rushed off to the marketplace, where he found an old man, whom he begged to examine him with his hands. The old man touched the bearer and declared, “It’s true, you’ve been hurt.” Then he took his hands and palpated the man’s flesh, pressing strongly on the skin all over his body; when he pressed even lightly at one point on the bearer’s leg, he could see the skin bulging, so he took a sharp knife, made an incision, and drew out a pebble, saying, “Now you’ll recover.” Then the bearer hurried and returned.
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Yuanjiang: A city located in Hunan province.
Li Jijin: Also known as Li Hongyin and Li Houyu, from Changshan county in Shandong province, Li was appointed a county magistrate in 1686 (Zhu 3:1261m1).
Afterwards, Li heard about a case in which a man lay down in a room, spread out his arms, and then seemingly made them fly away to enter another person’s bedroom, where they began stealing some belongings. But when the owner became aware of the presence of one of the arms, he held it down—and it became impossible for the other man ever to use that arm again.
380. Princess Yunluo
An Daye was from Lulong. He was able to speak at birth, but when his mother gave him a sip of dog’s blood, this soon stopped. After he began to grow up, he became incomparably attractive; he was wise, and seemed destined for great things. All the most influential families vied to marry their daughters to him. His mother dreamed that someone told her, “Your son will marry a princess.” Thus she believed this would happen. Yet he hadn’t received any such offer of marriage by the time he’d turned fifteen or sixteen, and she started to regret having rejected the others.
One day, as An was sitting by himself, he suddenly sensed a rare fragrance. Moments later, a lovely maidservant rushed in and reported, “The princess has arrived.” She proceeded to unroll
a long strip of carpet on the ground that stretched from outside the door right up to An’s bed.
Then to An’s astonishment, a young lady entered, leaning upon the maidservant’s shoulder for support; her clothing and general appearance filled the room with a radiant beauty. The maidservant approached and set an embroidered cushion on the bed, then helped the young lady sit down. An, flustered, didn’t know what he should do, so he bowed and asked, “Where have you come from, fairy princess, that your delicate footsteps should bring you here?” The lady gave him a little smile, then raised the sleeve of her robe and covered her mouth.
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Lulong: A county in Hebei province.
Dog’s blood: Often used in early Chinese fiction and folklore to ward off magical effects.
Leaning . . . maidservant’s shoulder: This is clearly necessitated by the condition of the lady’s bound feet.
“This august lady, princess Yunluo, is from the family of our sage ruler,” the maidservant informed him. “Favoring you, our ruler would like you to take the princess as your wife, so he’s sent her to your home.” An, surprised and elated, didn’t know what to say; the young lady then bowed her head to him in acquiescence: thus they stood facing each other in silence.
Since An loved to play chess, he always had a chessboard at his side, ready to use. The maidservant took a red cloth and wiped away the dust on it, then moved it to a table, commenting, “My lady plays the game every day, but even so, can she possibly defeat the noble son-in-law?” An sat down at the table, and with a smile, the princess joined him.
In only thirty moves, she defeated him, and the maidservant declared, “The ruler’s son-in-law lost!” She held up a box of game pieces, and added, “The noble son-in-law is considered an expert, so the princess can only give up six pieces to him.” An then took six black pieces and placed them on the chessboard before the princess placed her first piece.