Adventures of the Mad Monk Ji Gong

by Guo Xiaoting

  “During the night, we two came to the prime minister’s estate. Inside he stole the curiously carved white-jade pendants, thirteen other jewels, and the phoenix coronet. He also wrote the verses on the wall. All of those things he did by himself, alone.”

  As he spoke, a secretary wrote down the outlaw’s confession. After the secretary had finished, he gave it to the prime minister to read. Prime Minister Qin looked it over and for the first time understood everything clearly.

  “Wang Tong,” he asked, “where is Cloud Dragon Hua now? You must know. If you speak the truth, I will treat you lightly. If you do not speak the truth, you will be beaten severely.”

  “The great man need not become angry,” answered Wang Tong. “Until recently I stayed together with Cloud Dragon in the same place, but we did not sleep in an inn. Sometimes we hid in the flower garden of the house of some wealthy man. We heard yesterday afternoon that Liu Chang had confessed to a crime, so Cloud Dragon no longer dared to stay in Linan. We talked it over and came to a decision. He was to go to the Happy and Comfortable Inn in the Thousand Family Village and wait for me there, not leaving until he saw me. I was to meet him there and together we would go back to Four Rivers.”

  Prime Minister Qin heard and understood. Then he asked Ji Gong, “How should this business be handled?”

  Ji Gong replied, “The Great One should send people to take him.”

  “But how can the people I have under me catch such a robber as this?” the prime minister asked. “Please, Teacher, manifest your kindness and wisdom once more.”

  Ji Gong said, “I can go and catch him. If we succeed, we will get the reward, and if we fail, we may be punished. The Great One should give two hundred ounces of silver to Chai Yuanlo and She Jengying as traveling expenses. If the two succeed in this business of catching the criminal, give them two hundred more ounces of silver for their work. The Great One should also prepare a warrant saying that I am taking these two men to catch the robber. But first send Wang Tong in fetters to the Qiantang yamen to be locked up. Do not misuse him, but when Cloud Dragon Hua is captured, have the two brought into the hall of justice to be tried at the same time.”

  Prime Minister Qin agreed. “That is well.” He immediately ordered the Protector to return to his yamen and prepare a warrant, and then the prime minister wrote a few words with his own hand.

  The monk then spoke to the two headmen. “Headman Chai and Head-man She, you will be going with the monk to work on this case, but do not wear your official uniforms. Change into something like the clothes country people wear outside the city. We must be able to deceive the eye.”

  The two headmen nodded in agreement and went back with the Protector to the yamen. There, the Protector completed the warrant while headmen Chai and She purchased two suits of silvery gray-white clothing. They also bought gowns with square-cut, apronlike panels front and back; rather long jackets all in the same color, fastened with bone buttons, and two pairs of shoes to match the clothing. When they had changed, they packed their uniforms into bags. Then, bringing the warrant with them, they returned to the prime minister’s residence.

  While Ji Gong finished eating breakfast, he talked with the two head-men about his plans. Prime Minister Qin said, “Teacher, when you get to the Thousand Family Village, if you capture this outlaw, you will not only get the reward of twelve hundred ounces of silver but it will be a very happy thing indeed.”

  Ji Gong left through the gate with the two headmen. The peach trees were red in bloom, the willow trees were green, and the weather was fine—in the fields the grass had a fresh color. Ji Gong began to sing:

  Suffering and sighing men will ask when they may leave this dusty world.

  Do your work with cheerful grace; in all things be tolerant;

  Throw away vexatious cares and send old hatreds far away.

  Gentlemen, let’s think a bit about which of the faiths has the greatest age.

  Heroes upon whom our state depends journeying over the desolate plain

  A thousand years of careless sin, you may atone yet if you choose.

  If your load may seem too great, do a good deed now and then.

  It will lighten your load, though still bound by karma’s chains.

  After the monk had finished his mountain song, he suddenly exclaimed: “Quick, you two headmen, hurry! Cloud Dragon Hua is about to hang himself there in that wood just ahead. If he dies, we cannot take him in to claim our reward.”

  The two men, Chai and She, responded and fairly made their bodies fly, dashing on five or six li very quickly. Ahead, they saw a man just in the act of hanging himself. Chai Yuanlo said, “This is terrible. If the robber hangs himself, we will lose the twelve hundred ounces of silver and it will do no good to ask for it.”

  As they entered the woods, they saw the man was already hanging. Chai Yuanlo ran forward and grasped the man by his legs, lifting him into the air.

  CHAPTER 37

  Juan Yoting sleeps at the roadside; Ji Gong waits in the inn

  AS Chai Yuanlo lifted the hanging man, She Jengying came just after and said: “Elder Brother, you have caught Cloud Dragon Hua.”

  Chai Yuanlo lifted the man’s head, and looking at him, said, “This is Cloud Dragon Hua’s grandfather!”

  “What!” exclaimed She Jengying. “How is that?”

  “Look,” replied Chai Yuanlo, “the hair of this man is all white. At his age he would be no flower plucker, but he might be the flower plucker’s father.”

  The two supported the old man and unfastened the rope from around his neck. One beat him around the waist, while the other called out, “Wake up, old man!”

  After some time the old man slowly began to breathe, his eyes opened, and he looked around. Suddenly, he broke into a rage, shouting, “Two little juniors! You stopped along the way to do something that was none of your business.”

  Headman Chai waited until the old man had stopped cursing them and then replied, “You really are not being reasonable, old man. If we two were hanging ourselves and you saw us, would you not have done something? Who would not try to save another person from dying? Don’t think that we are ordinary people because we are wearing these clothes. We are in fact officials from the Grand Protector’s yamen, and it is our business to see that wrongs are righted. Why should a person as old as you want to do this? Was it because of money? Was it because someone was mis-treating you? Tell us the details. As to whether your two rescuers should have rescued you or not, we are not concerned. I ask you to tell us the truth about the whole matter.”

  The old man drew a deep, sighing breath and said, “Just now I was somewhat excited and I wronged you very much, but there was no other reason why I should have cursed you. I think that if I were to tell you the details of my affairs, it would not be something that concerned you. In any case, I must die. You are only forcing me do it another time.”

  Headman Chai said, “You must tell us why you are seeking death. Perhaps we two can help you, and perhaps not. You can see that our clothes are those of country gentlemen—but I am not boasting when I say that there is not very much about which we may not concern ourselves.”

  “Then since you ask,” said the old man, “please sit down, the two of you, and I will explain. I am from Ruhua Village in the Fuxing district. My name is Juan and I am called Yoting. The head of our household is named Feng and called Wentai. He was formerly a county magistrate in one of the Anwei river counties. He was an honest official who was above suspicion and who treated the people like his children. He became ill while he was still in office, and without his salary he became penniless before he died. I returned to our native village with his wife, son, and daughter, together with his corpse in a coffin.

  “The daughter was promised in marriage to the son of an official in Linan City. His mother was related to a member of a powerful official named Chu in the department of civil personnel. The late magistrate’s widow wanted to meet her daughter-in-law with proper ceremony, but she
lacked the money to purchase the bride’s trousseau to accompany her daughter. She told me to go to the official residence at Suhang, where her maternal uncle was an official, and ask him to lend her two hundred ounces of silver so that she could take her daughter to be married.

  “When I reached there and saw her uncle, he became very angry upon hearing that the magistrate had died. ‘Why,’ he asked, ‘had the granddaughter not been sent to me instead of her being a burden to the poor widow in these bitter days?’ The uncle then gave me six hundred ounces of silver: five hundred to pay for the trousseau and escorting the bride; and one hundred to pay for the expenses of my journey. Thinking of my own age and weakness, I feared that the six hundred ounces would be too heavy for me to carry, and so I exchanged the silver for twelve gold ingots and sewed them into a strip of cloth that I could wear fastened around my waist. As I traveled, I found that the days were hot but that the nights were cool. When I reached these woods, I had a stomachache so painful that I could not go on.

  “Just at that time, a man of about twenty years old came by, carrying a length of rope in his hand. He asked me why I was sitting there under the tree and I told him it was because my stomach ached and was very painful. He gave me two pills to relieve the pain. I felt some sort of movement as I went to sleep. Afterward I awoke and looked around. There was no sign of the man. The rope lay on the ground and the strip of cloth with the twelve gold ingots that I had around my waist was gone.

  “Now think, you two gentlemen, if I returned and saw the lady of our household, how would I be treated? She was already very disturbed because she had no money for her daughter’s marriage. If I went back to the uncle and told him what had happened, he would not believe me. I thought about first one and then the other. There was no door in front and no road behind but, if I died, I would not have to worry about it all. Even though you two had good intentions in saving me, I still will have to die. It is just dying a second time.”

  When the two headmen, Chai and She, heard this story, they realized that this was one of Ji Gong’s clever tricks. “He has tricked us into rescuing this man, and where is Cloud Dragon Hua?” Chai thought. “Why should we not hand the problem over to Ji Gong?” Then he said aloud, “Having heard your story, I still say that you should not die. In a moment a poor monk will come along from the south. Stop him and ask for the silver you need. If he will not give you any silver, do not let him go. He will think of some way out for you.”

  Just as Chai Yuanlo was speaking, a poor monk came in sight from the north strolling along in a slightly crooked and confused way. It was Ji Gong. As he walked, he was half saying and half singing to himself: “You say I am simply mad. There are those who have studied the mad Ji disease, but they had to give the poor monk a pot of wine.”

  “Teacher,” said Chai Yuanlo, “you must come here quickly.”

  Juan Yoting was looking at this poor monk with his clothing in tatters as he came to them and asked, “Who is this, you two?”

  Chai and She then told him the whole story. The monk asked them, “Did you say you have six hundred ounces of silver?”

  “No!” replied Chai and She.

  “If you do not have six hundred ounces of silver,” asked the monk, “how are you going to help this man? Is this not a waste of time? How much silver do you two have?”

  “We have only these two hundred ounces of silver,” answered Chai and She. “We have nothing else anywhere.”

  Juan Yoting listened to the three men talking and said to himself: “I lost the silver. Why should I trouble them about it?” Then he said to them, “You three need not concern yourselves about this.”

  “How can we not be concerned?” asked the monk. “I have heard these two explain and now I understand. Come, I will help you to hang yourself.”

  “Teacher,” Chai Yuanlo exclaimed, “What kind of talk is this? You told us to come and save him. How can you not care about this now? You must think of a way to help him!”

  The monk said, “Well, if that is the way things are, Juan Yoting, you should come with us. When we approach the Thousand Family Village, you will see a man who will call out to us. That is your fortune.”

  “So be it,” responded Juan Yoting.

  The three men with Ji Gong walked on out of the woods, straight toward the Thousand Family Village. When there were still about four or five li to go, the monk walked on ahead, singing:

  Though I may seem strange to you,

  You do not seem strange to me.

  I am like the rest of you,

  I am bound by karma’s chains.

  Though my chains may seem more light,

  I know every link by name.

  If I’m mad, perhaps I am

  Driven mad by karma’s chains.

  Fortune smiles or fortune frowns.

  If the bargaining goes wrong

  And you sell yourself as well,

  Then you add to karma’s chains.

  If your burden seems too great,

  Do a good deed now and then.

  You will find your burden light

  Though still bound by karma’s chains.

  Lohans high in heaven above,

  Each one must come back to earth.

  If they must be born again,

  They are bound by karma’s chains.

  Dragons rolling in the clouds,

  Monsters in the foaming sea,

  Every creature that exists

  Still is bound by karma’s chains.

  As he sang, the monk walked steadily onward, until suddenly, from the edge of the Thousand Family Village, a man shouted in a loud voice: “Saintly senior monk! You have come! I have been searching for you, as a thirsty man in a desert searches for a spring.”

  Slightly behind the man followed another. The two ran to Ji Gong and fell on their knees before him. As soon as the two headmen saw them, they recognized them. The one who had been ahead was tall, with three widely spaced markings on his shoulders. On his head he wore a red turban of fine silk, with a rosette made of a ribbon with five colors to indicate his rank. His jacket was marked with the broad arrowheads of the travelers’ guards. His face was white as snow, with fine narrow eyebrows and large eyes. His cheeks and forehead were lined by exposure to the weather.

  The one who had followed wore a blue embroidered head kerchief and a blue embroidered jacket with a stiff leather belt. His skin was light golden in color. His heavy eyebrows hung over open and alert eyes, and from his chin hung three strands of a beard. This was Chen Xiao, nicknamed “the Man with the Beautiful Whiskers.” The first one was Yang Meng, nicknamed “the Pale Spirit.” The two were officers in the travelers’ guards.

  They had been journeying toward Chuzhou prefecture. The man who had hired them, Wang Jong, was staying at the Happy and Comfortable Inn when he developed a severe case of dysentery. They immediately requested that a doctor see him. The doctor gave him medicine. There were many foods that he could not eat. Day by day his condition grew worse. He lay in bed weeping while remembering his old father and mother, who were themselves ill. He had no relatives with him and he had thirty thousand ounces of silver in his possession. He feared that if he lost his appetite completely and could no longer take nourishment, he would die and be like the ghost of a wrongfully executed man haunting a village, or the lonely spirit of an orphan in a strange land.

  Yang Meng and Chen Xiao were honest, kind people. Seeing the man so severely ill and knowing that he was concerned about his parents, the two wanted to find someone to cure his illness as quickly as possible. But there were no skilled doctors in the Thousand Family Village. The two went to the Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat to ask about Ji Gong, but when they inquired at the temple, they heard that he was not there. Asking further, they heard that Ji Gong had been requested to go to Pishan prefecture. There was nothing more that they could do except to leave a message at the temple and return.

  They waited for two days with no sign of Ji Gong, and were becoming discoura
ged. That day they went out for a walk and suddenly heard the voice of Ji Gong. Yang Meng let out a great shout and the two ran forward to greet him.

  “Where did you two come from?” asked the monk.

  Chen Xiao then told about the young man who was ill in the inn and about how they had gone to look for Ji Gong at the temple. “We could not find you and we could not leave again. We beg you, Teacher, demonstrate your kindness.”

  Ji Gong nodded his head and said, “Please, you two, stand up!”

  Headmen Chai and She also recognized them and Chai asked, “Where did you two officers come from?”

  At this point, Chen Xiao noticed the two headmen and burst out laughing. “Why are you dressed like that?’ he asked.

  “We have come out secretly to solve a case,” replied Headman Chai.

  They all entered the village with Ji Gong. The street ran from north to south, and on the east and west sides of the street were shops and other places of business. On the west side there was a restaurant. The monk stopped and would go no further. There were four different ideas among members of the party. Headman Chai and Headman She wanted to solve the case and arrest Cloud Dragon Hua. Juan Yoting wanted to cry out, “Do not ask these two men for my lost six hundred ounces of silver.” The two armed travelers’ guards were thinking that they would like Ji Gong to cure their employer, Wang Jong, as soon as possible. But the monk was looking toward the restaurant and thinking about drinking wine. He said, “Now, everyone, we will go in and drink a little wine.” Although the rest were unwilling, at the same time they found it difficult to refuse.