by Guo Xiaoting
The procuress replied, “I spent over 350 ounces of silver for her. That does not include the fact that she has been in my house these two months with daily food and clothing.”
Su Beishan said, “Easily managed.”
Zhao Wenhui said, “Brother Su, let me take care of this matter. I will give five hundred ounces of silver to set her free from here. We will escort her to the old nun, Shining Truth, of the Bright Purity Nunnery at City God Mountain, and ask her to take care of Spring Fragrance.”
He then instructed a man from his household to bring five hundred ounces of silver immediately and give it to the procuress. He also told him to engage a sedan chair to take Spring Fragrance to the nunnery. As soon as Spring Fragrance heard this, she quickly kowtowed to the three men and begged them to escort her there safely.
Ji Gong said, “Very good. We three will go now and wait for you. Zhao Ming, one of Zhao Wenhui’s household people, and some others will go with the sedan chairs.”
Ji Gong and the other two left the courtyards of the procuress and went straight toward City God Mountain. Ji Gong said spontaneously, “Fate will be kind to those who do good, but heaven will not favor those who do evil. This poor monk now goes forward to reverse the errors of stupidity. I only fear that the person I now seek will not be able to control his agitation.”
Just as Ji Gong said this, he heard someone in front of them calling, “Ji Gong, you have come! I have been to the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat three times and did not see you, but now today you have come! Something very distressing has happened at the Bright Purity Nunnery, and the old nun, Shining Truth, says that you are the only one who can help.”
Saying this, the person speaking ran forward and with bowed head knelt before Ji Gong. The monk judged him to be a man of about sixty years of age. He was wearing a cape of earthen-gray crane feathers, a robe tied at the waist with a sash, and white cloud design slippers. His face was pleasant and honest.
Now, what this person had come about was as follows. At City God Mountain there was another old nun called Pure Chastity. She had a niece named Lu Shi, called Simple Chastity, who was married to a certain Gao Guoqin. Originally they had lived inside the south gate of the walled city in Yuhang prefecture on Scholars’ Street. Gao Guoqin was from a wealthy family, but he knew only about books and nothing about managing money. As a result, after his parents died, shortly they had neither a roof over their heads nor a foot of land upon which to stand. Then the day came when they had neither a stick of wood nor a grain of rice.
At that time his wife, Lu Shi said, “It simply will not do to sit here until we die. There is a good everyday saying: ‘When trees are moved from one place to another, they may die. When people move in the same way, they may live.’ Why should we not go quickly to Linan? I have an aunt there who lives at City God Mountain. We can go there and find a place for you to study for your degree. First of all, we can get by from day to day. Secondly, you will be able to apply yourself, so that, when the year for the examination comes, you will have a chance to show your understanding of learning and you will be successful. How do you feel about this, my husband?”
Gao Guoqin responded, “This is the only thing that you and I can do. Let us go. There is no other way.”
The husband and wife then sold their old and worn furniture and a few odds and ends. Then, after counting up what they had made, they set out. On the same day they arrived at City God Mountain.
When the old nun, Pure Chastity, saw them, her heart was moved to pity. Looking about the temple, she chose a small building of three sections and told them they could live there. The wife, Lu Shi, was able to help by doing some needlework. Gao Guoqin was roused to great efforts in his studies in the temple. Husband and wife were quite contented during the first month.
One day, however, an unpleasant incident occurred. Shining Truth had a novice, named Wise by Nature, who was older than the rest of the novices. She could see that Gao Guoqin came from a wealthy and talented family, that both elegance and substance were combined in him, and that he was full of learning. Altogether she deemed him a refined young degree student, handsome and upright.
The two studied in the same hall in the temple and often had loud and spirited arguments. She would challenge him in the classical style and he would reply in the same manner. One day, when the two were alone together in the hall, Wise by Nature took a writing brush and wrote a stanza of poetry that she handed to Gao Guoqin. He took it and read:
Here in this other world of nuns all robed in white
I do not ask for Nirvana’s selfless bliss
Nor immortality achieved by Daoist arts
But only a little of the water
In which the willow twigs have soaked
Scattered between us as a charm
That there the lotus with the double stem may bloom,
A love fulfilled and shared in mutual delight.
When Gao Guoqin read this poem and realized its meaning, the color of his face changed. “Little teacher,” he said, “this is unnecessary. Ours is the fate into which people are born upon this earth. A short time of happiness for a man and woman may spoil their good names for their entire lives and leave a foul reputation for all time. Even their ancestors might be held up to ridicule. Moreover, this is a blessed place of the Buddhist faith. How can one do wicked and disgraceful things here?”
When Wise by Nature heard these words, her face and even her ears turned red, and finally she left the hall. From this time on, whenever Wise by Nature saw Gao Guoqin, she was obviously ashamed and quickly went away. Gao Guoqin, for his part, felt that the nunnery was no longer a suitable place to live. Then he asked Pure Chastity to find him and his wife a couple of rooms below the mountain, saying, “My wife and I should move down from the mountain. It is not proper for us to live in a nunnery.”
There was nothing else that the old nun could do. She then found a building of three sections with a separate gate and a small private courtyard. It was a house belonging to Zhou Yuanwai, also called Zhou Bancheng. He asked the old nun the name of the prospective tenant.
The old nun replied, “It is one of my relatives who came from Suhang prefecture and is now living in the temple. It is my niece and her husband. There are just the two. This nephew-in-law of mine is surnamed Gao; his personal name is Guoqin. He is a studious person. Because it is not convenient for him to stay in the temple, they are looking for a place to live.”
Zhou Bancheng said, “Tomorrow bring Gao Guoqin and I will see him.”
The old nun therefore brought Guoqin to see the landlord the next day. Zhou Yuanwai saw that Gao Guoqin was an upright person, studious and refined. Immediately Zhou Yuanwai thought that he would like to help Gao Guoqin. However, Zhou Yuanwai feared that his help would not be accepted. He therefore spoke in a way that he himself considered to be rather abrupt. Nevertheless, he told his servant that, if Gao Guoqin missed any payments, he should not be pressed for the money. Such were Zhou Yuanwai’s feelings of commiseration for those in distress.
So it was that husband and wife moved down from the mountain and Gao Guoqin began to cast horoscopes for a living. If he earned one hundred cash, they would spend it for food, and if he earned two hundred cash, they would spend that on food. Thus they got by from day to day, although they were still in poverty. Without realizing it, they came to owe six months’ back rent. Yet they had not been asked for it.
Then something unfortunate happened. The landlord’s man who was responsible for collecting the rent asked for a leave of absence. He explained his duties to the individual taking his place, but this substitute did not understand the fine details. When he was examining the records, he realized that there was unpaid rent owed by Gao Guoqin. The substitute said to himself, “I must visit him.”
When this household man arrived at Gao Guoqin’s gate and knocked, Gao Guoqin’s wife, Lu Shi, who was inside, called out: “Who is at the gate?”
The man replied, “It is a man of the
Zhou household who has come to collect the rent.”
Lu Shi said, “My husband is not at home. When he comes back, I will tell him.”
The household man said, “If he is not at home, is the money also not at home? A whole six months and nothing at home? You live on another man’s property and you are in over your heads with nothing to stand on. You don’t give money, you put off and put off some more. Now it is finished.”
Lu Shi said, “Wait until my husband returns—he will send you the money.”
The household man said, “Do not send it. We are going to fix this outside gate. You can lend us this gate for a while.” The household man then had the gate opening into the street carried away.
That night when Gao Guoqin came back, he saw that there was no street gate and asked his wife Lu Shi about it. Lu Shi said, “The landlord sent for his rent money and his household man carried the gate away.”
When Gao Guoqin heard this, he lost his temper and said angrily, “Zhou Bancheng has a great deal of gall! How dare he take the gate? I will go to the Qiantang prefecture court and make a complaint against him.”
Lu Shi countered, “Oh, sir, we have no money, and so we have no argument. For six months we have not paid any rent. If we made any accusation, it would be considered unreasonable.”
Just as the two were talking, they noticed the old nun, Pure Chastity, coming. She could see that they were troubled about something. When the old nun inquired, Lu Shi described the entire affair concerning the rent collector and the gate.
The old nun said, “You should not be living outside; you really must come back to my temple. It is so difficult to make money elsewhere. And you, sir, to be writing horoscopes for a living! Nowadays nobody wants a genuine horoscope. You could sell three imitation horoscopes in a day, but a genuine horoscope you couldn’t sell once in three days. People wouldn’t want it! You are too good a person to be doing this, sir! You don’t need to be on the outside.”
The old nun told Lu Shi to sweep up and then took the couple back to the temple, despite the fact that Gao Guoqin felt a great sense of unease about returning. At the nunnery she gave them their old quarters in which to live. As for the six months’ rent owed to Zhou Bancheng, she considered that to be incense money.
CHAPTER 18
Gao Guoqin goes to visit a friend, leaving some verses as a message to his wife; Ji Gong is begged to foretell the absent husband’s fate
The scholar was young, unrecognized, and not yet wed.
A painted lady called to him and offered tea.
In her secluded courtyard far within
She trod upon a flower where none could see.
WHEN Gao Guoqin came a second time to City God Mountain, he stayed in the room to which he and his wife Lu Shi had returned and did not go into the hall to study. One evening, however, as he was sitting with Lu Shi, he said, “Wife, tomorrow I wish to go to visit a friend.”
Lu Shi said, “Sir, I still have two hundred cash that my aunt gave me to buy needles and thread. Tomorrow, when you leave, take the money to use for tea and cakes.” When she had finished speaking, she brought the money to him.
As Gao Guoqin held it in his hand, he was filled with shame, and said, “Do not be anxious, wife.”
When Lu Shi was sleeping peacefully, Guoqin sat staring abstractedly, a prey to gloomy fancies, cut off from heaven with no resources on earth. His heart was filled with sorrow. He took a writing brush, wrote a note on three slips of paper, and placed them under the inkstone. He wanted with all his heart to wake his wife, but he feared that she would be troubled if he did so. He hardened his heart, then stood up and went outside.
There was attached to the nunnery a man whose work included taking care of the incense burners. His surname was Feng, and he was called Feng Xun. He asked, when he saw Gao Guoqin come out, “Why has Gao Guoqin risen so early?”
Guoqin said, “Would you open the gate, old gentleman? I am going down the mountain to visit a friend.”
Feng Xun opened the gate and Gao Guoqin hurriedly went down City God Mountain and on into the distance.
When Lu Shi awoke and did not see her husband, she involuntarily experienced a terrible shock. She quickly went outside and began searching for him until she heard Feng Xun say, “Ah, Gao Guoqin left early this morning.”
Lu Shi immediately went back inside and started to look around. Then she saw the three slips of paper. On the first he had written:
Time seems to limp along in rags,
Each day almost beyond enduring.
We came into this nunnery
As I held back my burning shame.
Though kindness of the family
Has led us here through Buddha’s gate,
I could not stay while all about
Men mocked my wretchedness.
Lu Shi read this verse. She understood it to mean that he was so poor that he could not take care of a family, and that he was leaving the nunnery because he could not bear men’s ridicule. Then she read the second verse:
I now leave for some far-off place.
My chances to return are few
And whether I shall live or die
Is something that I do not know.
The possibility is scant
That we may ever meet again.
Yet fate ordained that we be born
And also ruled we two be wed.
Thus Lu Shi learned that her husband was leaving for a distant place from which he might not return, that he did not know whether he would live or die, and that everything was in the hands of fate. Finally, she read the third verse:
As I put down my writing brush
Abandoning my classic books
The worst is that I understand
I only have myself to blame.
My dearest wife may understand
These few poor words I leave behind.
I now entrust her dear sweet self
To those who gave her shelter here.
While I take with me as I go
The memory of her lovely eyes.
When Lu Shi had finished reading this third verse, she began to scream with pain as if she were being torn into pieces. Hearing her, the old nun came and asked, “Why are you in such distress, niece?”
Lu Shi, saying that she felt almost certain that her husband would die, showed her aunt the three verses left by Gao Guoqin.
The old nun said, “You need not be so disturbed, child. I have an idea. There is now at the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat at the West Lake a monk called Ji Gong. He is a true living Buddha, able to foretell the destinies of others. He knows about things that have not yet happened. I will send Feng Xun, the man who takes care of the incense burners, to the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat to invite Ji Gong to come here. He will use his powers to tell where your husband went and where he is now. Then we will send someone there to ask him to come back.”
Lu Shi said, “If that is so, quickly send the man to invite Ji Gong here.”
The abbess sent Feng Xun down to find Ji Gong. The first time that Feng Xun visited the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat, Ji Gong was not there. The second time that Feng Xun went to ask for Ji Gong, the monastery was surrounded by soldiers. The third time that Feng Xun went, he heard that Ji Gong had been taken away in fetters by order of Prime Minister Qin. Therefore things were delayed for several days. At last, Feng Xun was successful when he again went down the mountain in search of the monk. Feng Xun saw the revered lohan just as he was coming up the mountain with Zhao Wenhui and Su Beishan.
Feng Xun quickly ran forward and prostrated himself at Ji Gong’s feet, saying, “Teacher, you did come! I have been to the monastery over and over asking for you, sir, several times. And today, sir, what about the things I have heard—and where are you going now?”
Ji Gong replied, “I am going to your temple to see the old nun. We are presenting her with a person who is going to leave the world.”
Feng Xun said, “Good, good, good. Our abbess, j
ust now, wants to ask your help in an urgent matter.”
Zhao Wenhui and Su Beishan asked, “What is the matter at the temple?”
Feng Xun then described in detail the affair of Gao Guoqin from beginning to end as they all hurried on to the temple. Feng Xun led the way.
When they entered the nunnery, they went to the west courtyard. This courtyard had buildings on three sides—the east, the west, and the north. Each of the buildings was divided into three sections. Feng Xun went with the rest into the north building. Zhou Yuanwai noticed that the room that they had entered was extremely neat and clean. Against the north wall was a long, high table on which were many volumes of the classics. In front of this table was a square “eight immortals” table with chairs on either side. Ji Gong sat down at the head of the table, Zhao Wenhui sat at the foot, and Su Beishan sat at the side. Looking about, they saw a pair of hanging scrolls with calligraphy. There was another scroll in the center on which a large peach was painted, and on which there was also some writing:
Could I but leave the quest for wealth and fame,
I’d build my thatched hut close against a hill
With half an acre reflected in a pool,
Some willow trees and stalks of green bamboo.
There on a warm spring day I’d entertain a guest
And sit half drunk with him in the sun.
At night, in the red circle of the lamp,
I’d visit in books the mind’s most distant realms.
Thus would I cultivate true purity of heart
Secluded from the world and petty cares.
On the pair of matching scrolls of calligraphy, the following two sentences were written:
Though painted by artists for a thousand years, the mountain has not changed.
Its waterfalls have given life to countless ancient poems.
At the bottom of each of the three scrolls was the signature of Gao Guoqin.
Su Beishan looked at them and said, “Saintly monk, you can see that Gao Guoqin is a man of natural talent. Everything that Feng Xun said about him is certainly right. See the quality of the calligraphy in these two scrolls. Please, saintly monk, show compassion for him and bring him back. I will help him find a place to study and carry him through until the time of the examination. I will also bestow silver upon him and help him to succeed afterward.”