Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio

Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio

---

Some of the stories found in these pages include: The Best Books of Check out the top books of the year on our page Best Books of Looking for beautiful books? Visit our Beautiful Books page and find lovely books for kids, photography lovers and more. Strange Tales does stand in the tradition of rusticated scholars in East Asia collecting the folklore of their home region, a tradition stretching back perhaps two thousand years.

Consequently, it is an important source of raw material for anyone looking for comparative, historic information from eastern Asia. He spent the bulk of his life working as a private tutor, during which time he collected the stories that were to be published to great acclaim as Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.

Giles u was one of the most acclaimed sinologists of his era and the Chair of Chinese at Cambridge. He is one of the creators of the Wade-Giles system of romanization, the author of several Chinese-English dictionaries, and translator of numerous classics, such as Gems of Chinese Literature and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Cass received her doctorate in Chinese language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

She is professor emeritus at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Book ratings by Goodreads. K'ung asked him why he had done this, to which the young man replied that he did not contemplate competing at the public examinations. In the evening they had another drinking-bout, but it was agreed that there should be no more of it after that night. The young man then called the boy and told him to see if his father was asleep or not ; adding, that if he was, he might quietly summon Miss Perfume.

The boy went off, first taking a guitar out of a very pretty case ; and in a few minutes in came a very nice-looking young girl. He then gave her a goblet of wine to drink, and it was midnight before they parted. Next morning they got up early and settled down to work. The young man proved an apt scholar ; he could remember what he had once read, and at the end of two or three months had made astonishing progress. Then they agreed that every five days they would indulge in a symposium, and that Miss Perfume should always be of the party.

One night when the wine had gone into K'ung's head, he seemed to be lost in a reverie ; whereupon his young friend, who knew what was the matter with him, said, " This girl was brought up by my father. I know you find it lonely, and I have long been looking out for a nice wife for you. If Miss Perfume is your beau ideal, why it will not be difficult to satisfy you. Yao who died B. At the death of Shun, these ladies are said to have wept so much that their tears literally drenched the bamboos which grew beside their husband's grave ; and the speckled bamboo is now commonly known as the bamboo of Shun's wives.

K'ung took it into his head that he would like to go out for a stroll in the country. The entrance, how- ever, was carefully closed; and on asking the reason, the young man told him that his father wished to receive no guests for fear of causing interruption to his studies. So K'ung thought no more about it; and by-and-by, when the heat of summer came on, they moved their study to a pavilion in the garden. At this time Mr. K'ung had a swelling on the chest about as big as a peach, which, in a single night, increased to the size of a bowl. There he lay groaning with the pain, while his pupil waited upon him day and night.

He slept badly and took hardly any food; and in a few days the place got so much worse that he could neither eat nor drink. The old gentleman also came in, and he and his son lamented over him together. Then the young man said, " I was thinking last night that my sister, Chiao-no, would be able to cure Mr. K'ung, and accordingly I sent over to my grandmother's asking her to come. She ought to be here by now. Her father and brother ran out to meet her, and then brought her in to see Mr. She was between thirteen and fourteen years old, and had beautiful eyes with a very intelligent expression in them, and a most graceful figure besides.

No sooner had Mr. K'ung beheld this lovely creature than he quite forgot to groan, and began to brighten up. Try, sister, to cure him. Though it is severe, a cure can be effected ; but, as there is already a swell- ing, not without using the knife. With one hand she opened her robe and took out a knife with an edge as keen as paper, and pressing the bracelet down all the time with the other, proceeded to cut lightly round near the root of the swelling.

The dark blood gushed forth, and stained the bed and the mat; but Mr.

K'ung was delighted to be near such a beauty, not only felt no pain, but would willingly have continued the operation that she might sit by him a little longer. In a few moments the whole 4 Volumes have been written by Chinese doctors on the subject of the pulse. They profess to distinguish as many as twenty-four different kinds, among which is one well known to our own prac- titioners namely, the "thready" pulse; they, moreover, make a point of feeling the pulses of both wrists.

Here Miss Chiao-no called for water to wash the wound, and from between her lips she took a red pill as big as a bullet, which she laid upon the flesh, and, after drawing the skin together, passed round and round the place. The first turn felt like the searing of a hot iron ; the second like a gentle itching ; and at the third he ex- perienced a sensation of lightness and coolness which penetrated into his very bones and marrow. The young lady then returned the pill to her mouth, and said, " He is cured," hurrying away as fast as she could.

K'ung jumped up to thank her, and found that his com- plaint had quite disappeared. Her beauty, however, had made such an impression on him that his troubles were hardly at an end. From this moment he gave up his books, and took no interest in anything. This state of things was soon noticed by the young man, who said to him, " My brother, I have found a fine match for you. K'ung remained some time lost in thought, and at length said, " Please don't! My cousin, Ah-sung, however, is seventeen years old, and not at all a bad-looking girl. If you doubt my word, you can wait in the verandah until she takes her daily walk in the garden, and thus judge for yourself.

K'ung acceded to, and accordingly saw Miss Chiao-no come out with a lovely girl her black eyebrows beautifully arched, and her tiny feet encased in phcenix-shaped shoes as like one another as they well could be. He was of course de- lighted, and begged the young man to arrange all preliminaries ; and the very next day his friend came to tell him that the affair was finally settled.

A portion of the house was given up to the bride and bridegroom, and the marriage was celebrated with plenty of music and hosts of guests, more like a fairy wedding than any- thing else. K'ung was very happy, and began to think that the position of Paradise had been wrongly laid down, until one day the young man came to him and said, " For the trouble you have been at in teaching me, I shall ever remain your debtor. At the present moment, the Shan family law-suit has been brought to a termination, and they wish to resume possession of their house immediately.

We therefore propose returning to Shen-si, and as it is unlikely that you and I will ever meet again, I feel very sorrowful at the prospect of parting. K'ung replied that he would go too, but the young man advised him to return to his old home. I will see you safe there.

K'ung's wife, and presented Mr. K'ung with one hundred ounces of gold; and then the young man gave the husband and wife each one of his hands to grasp, bidding them shut their eyes. The next instant they were floating away in the air, with the wind whizzing in their ears. In a little while he said, "You have ar- rived," and opening his eyes, K'ung beheld his former home. Then he knew that the young man was not a human being.

Joyfully he knocked at the old door, and his mother was astonished to see him arrive with such a nice wife. They were all rejoicing together, when he turned round and found that his friend had dis- appeared. His wife attended on her mother-in-law with great devotion, and acquired a reputation both for virtue and beauty, which was spread round far and near. Some time passed away, and then Mr. K'ung took his doctor's degree, and was appointed Governor of the Gaol in Yen-ngan. He proceeded to his post with his wife only, the journey being too long for his mother, rand by-and-by a son was born.

Then he got into trouble by being too honest an official, and threw up his appointment ; but had not the wherewithal to get home again. One day when out hunting he met a handsome young man riding on a nice horse, and seeing that he was staring very hard looked closely at him. It was young Huang-fu. So they drew bridle, and fell to laughing and crying by turns, the young man then in- viting K'ung to go along with him. K'ung asked after Miss Chiao-no, and heard that she was married ; also that his own mother-in-law was dead, at which tidings he was greatly moved.

Next day he went back and returned again with his wife. Chiao-no also joined them, and taking up K'ung's child played with it, saying, " Your mother played us truant. K'ung did not forget to thank her for her former kindness to him, to which she replied, " You're a great man now. Though the wound has healed, haven't you forgotten the pain yet? One day the young Huang-fu seemed troubled in spirit, and said to Mr. K'ung, " A great calamity is impending. Can you help us? K'ung did not know what he was alluding to, but readily promised his assistance.

The young man then ran out and summoned the whole family to worship in the ancestral hall, at which Mr. K'ung was alarmed, and asked what it all meant. To-day we shall be attacked by thunder; 5 and if only you will aid 5 The Chinese believe that wicked people are struck by the God of Thunder, and killed in punishment for some hidden crime.

They regard lightning merely as an arrangement by which the God is enabled to see his victim. If you are unwilling, take your child and go, that you may not be involved wich us. K'ung protested he would live or die with them, and so the young man placed him with a sword at the door, bidding him remain quiet there in spite of all the thunder.

He did as he was told, and soon saw black clouds obscuring the light until it was all as dark as pitch. Looking round, he could see that the house had disappeared, and that its place was occupied by a huge mound and a bottomless pit. In the midst of his terror, a fearful peal was heard which shook the very hills, accompanied by a violent wind and driving rain.

Old trees were torn up, and Mr. K'ung became both dazed and deaf. Yet he stood firm until he saw in a dense black column of smoke a horrid thing with a sharp beak and long claws, with which it snatched some one from the hole, and was disappearing up with the smoke. In an instant K'ung knew by her clothes and shoes that the victim was no other than Chiao-no, and instantly jumping up he struck the devil violently with his sword, and cut it down. Immediately the mountains were riven, and a sharp peal of thunder laid K'ung dead upon the ground.

Then the clouds cleared away, and Chiao-no gradually came round, to find K'ung dead at her feet. She burst out crying at the sight, and declared that she would not live since K'ung had died for her. K'ung's wife also came out, and they bore the body inside. She next put a red pill into his mouth, and bending down breathed into him. The pill went along with the current of air, and presently there was a gurgle in his throat, and he came round. Seeing all the family about him, he was disturbed as if waking from a dream. However they were all united together, and fear gave place to joy; but Mr.

K'ung objected to live in that out-of-the-way place, and proposed that they should return with him to his native village. To this they were only too pleased to assent all except Chiao-no; and when Mr. K'ung invited her husband, Mr. Wu, as well, she said she feared her father and mother-in-law would not like to lose the children. They had tried all day to persuade her, but without success, when suddenly in rushed one of the Wu family's servants, dripping with perspiration and quite out of breath.

They asked what was the matter, and the servant replied that the Wu family had been visited by a calamity on the very same day, and had every one perished. Chiao-no cried very bitterly at this, and could not be comforted; but now there was nothing to prevent them from all returning together. K'ung went into the city for a few days on business, and then they set to work packing-up night and day. On arriving at their destination, separate apartments were allotted to young Mr. Huang-fu, and these he kept carefully shut up, only opening the door to Mr.

K'ung and his wife. His little boy, Huan, grew up to be a handsome young man, with a fox-like penchant for roaming about; and it was generally known that he was actually the son of a fox. The board is divided by a river, and the king is confined to a small square of moves on his own territory. The game par excellence in China is -wei-ch'i, an account of which I contributed to the Temple Bar Magazine for January, Yli was a spirited young fellow, fond of boxing and trials of strength. He was able to take two kettles and swing them round about with the speed of the wind. Now, during the reign of Ch'ung Cheng, 1 when up for the final examination at the capital, his servant became seriously ill.

Much troubled at this, he applied to a necromancer in the market-place 2 who was skilful at determining the various leases of life allotted to men. Before he had uttered a word, the 1 The last emperor of the Ming dynasty. Began to reign A. A large majority of the candidates who are unsuccessful at the public examinations devote their energies in this direction ; and in every Chinese city there are regular establishments whither the superstitious people repair to consult the oracle on every imagin- able subject ; not to mention hosts of itinerant soothsayers, both in town and country, whose stock-in-trade consists of a trestle-table, pen, ink, and paper, and a few other mysterious implements of their art.

The nature of the response, favourable or otherwise, is determined by an inspection of the year, month, day and hour at which the applicant was born, taken in combination with other particulars referring to the question at issue. Yii was startled at this, and replied that it was. Yii then begged him to cast his nativity, which he proceeded to do, finally saying to Mr. Yii, "You have but three days to live! Yii reflected that Life and Death are already fixed, 3 and he didn't see how magic could save him. So he refused, and was just going away, whereupon the necromancer said, "You grudge this trifling outlay.

I hope you will not repent it. Yii's friends also urged him to pay the money, advising him rather to empty his purse than not secure the necromancer's compassion. Yii, however, would not hear of it and the three days slipped quickly away. Then he sat down calmly in his inn to see what was going to happen. Nothing did happen all day, and. Confucius himself, we are told, objected to discourse to his disciples upon this topic ; but it is evident from many passages in the Lun Yii, or Confucian Gospels, [Book vi.

By-and-by, the clepsydra 4 shewed that two hours had already gone without bringing him any nearer to dis- solution; and he was thinking about lying down, when he heard a scratching at the window, and then saw a tiny little man creep through, carrying a spear on his shoulder, who, on reaching the ground, shot up to the ordinary height. Yii seized his sword and at once struck at it ; but only succeeded in cutting the air. His visitor instantly shrunk down small again, and made an attempt to escape through the crevice of the window ; but Yii redoubled his blows and at last brought him to the ground.

Lighting the lamp, he found only a paper man, 5 cut right through the middle. This made him 4 An appliance of very ancient date in China, now superseded by cheap clocks and watches. A large clepsydra, consisting of four copper jars standing on steps one above the other, is still, how- ever, to be seen in the city of Canton, and is in excellent working order, the night-watches being determined by reference to its indi- cator in the lower jar.

By its aid, coils of "joss-stick," or pastille, are regulated to burn so many hours, and are sold to the poor, who use them both for the purpose of guiding their extremely vague notions of time, and for the oft-recurring tobacco-pipe. During the year whole provinces were convulsed by the belief that some such superstitious agency was at work to deprive innocent persons of their tails ; and the so-called "Pope" of the Taoist religion even went so far as to publish a charm against the machinations of the unseen. It ran as follows: No sooner did it touch the ground than he assailed it lustily with his sword, at length cutting it in half.

Seeing, however, that both halves kept on wrig- gling about, and fearing that it might get up again, he went on hacking at it. Every blow told, giving forth a hard sound, and when he came to examine his work, he found a clay image all knocked to pieces. Upon this he moved his seat near to the window, and kept his eye fixed upon the crack. After some time, he heard a noise like a bull bellowing outside the window, and something pushed against the window-frame with such force as to make the whole house tremble and seem about to fall.

Yii, fearing he should be buried under the ruins, thought he could not do better than fight outside; so he accordingly burst open the door with a crash and rushed out. There he found a huge devil, as tall as the house, and he saw by the dim light of the moon that its face was as black as coal Its eyes are at hand and will soon discover you.

With this charm anyone may travel by sunlight, moonlight, or starlight all over the earth. Taoist priests are generally credited with the power of cutting out human, animal, or other figures, of infusing vitality into them on the spot, and of employing them for purposes of good or evil. Yii was terrified; and the devil discharged an arrow at him which he struck to the ground with his sword. Yii preparing to strike, the devil let off another arrow which the former avoided by jumping aside, the arrow quivering in the wall be- yond with a smart crack.

The devil here got very angry, and drawing his sword flourished it like a whirl- wind, aiming a tremendous blow at Mr. Yii ducked, and the whole force of the blow fell upon the stone wall of the house, cutting it right in two. Yii then ran out from between the devil's legs, and began hacking at its back whack!

The devil now became furious, and roared like thunder, turning round to get another blow at his assailant. Yii again ran between his legs, the devil's sword merely cutting off a piece of his coat. Once more he hacked away whack! Yii cut at him right and left, each blow resounding like the watchman's wooden gong; 6 and then, bringing a light, he found it was a wooden image about as tall as a man. The bow and arrows were still there, the latter attached to its waist. Its carved and painted features were most hideous to behold; and wherever 6 Watchmen in China, when on their nightly rounds, keep up an incessant beating on what, for want of a better term, we have called a wooden gong.

The object is to let thieves know they are awake and on the look-out. Yii had struck it with his sword, there was blood. Yii sat with the light in his hand till morning, when he awaked to the fact that all these devils had been sent by the necromancer in order to kill him, and so evidence his own magical power. The next day, after having told the story far and wide, he went with some others to the place where the necromancer had his stall; but the latter, seeing them coming, vanished in the twinkling of an eye.

Some one observed that the blood of a dog would reveal a person who had made himself invisible, and Mr. Yii immediately procured some and went back with it. The necromancer disappeared as before, but on the spot where he had been standing they quickly threw down the dog's blood. Thereupon they saw his head and face all smeared over with the blood, his eyes glaring like a devil's ; and at once seizing him, they handed him over to the authorities, by whom he was put to death.

Ch'eng, and a firm friendship was the result. The latter was poor, and depended very much upon Chou, who was the elder of the two. He called Chou's wife his " sister," and had the run of the house just as if he was one of the family. Now this wife happening to die in child-bed, Chou married another named Wang ; but as she was quite a young girl, Ch'eng did not seek to be introduced. The servant announced his arrival, and Chou bade him ask Mr. But Ch'eng would not enter, and took his leave. Thereupon Chou caused the entertain- ment to be moved into the public part of the house, and, sending after Ch'eng, succeeded in bringing him 1 This is a characteristic touch.

Only the most intimate of friends ever see each other's wives. Among other names by which a Chinese husband speaks of his wife, a very common one is "the inner [wo]man. They had hardly sat down before some one came in to say that a former servant of the establishment had been severely beaten at the magistrate's yamen ; the facts of the case being that a cow-boy of the Huang family connected with the Board of Rites had driven his cattle across the Chou family's land, and that words had arisen between the two servants in consequence ; upon which the Huang family's servant had complained to his master, who had seized the other and had sent him in to the magistrate's, where he had been bambooed.

Chou found out what the matter was, he was exceedingly angry, and said, " How dares this pig-boy fellow behave thus? Why, only a generation ago his master was my father's servant! He emerges a little from his obscurity, and immediately thinks himself I don't know what! Be- sides, the officials of the day are half of them thieves, and you will only get yourself into hot water. But his anger did not cease, and he lay tossing and turning all night.

In the morning he said to his family, " I can stand the insults of Mr. Huang ; but the magistrate is an officer of the Govern- ment, and not the servant of influential people. If there is a case of any kind, he should hear both plaintiff and defendant, and not act like a dog, biting anybody he is set upon. As his family rather egged him on, he accordingly proceeded to the magistrate's and entered a formal plaint ; but that functionary tore up his petition, and would have nothing to do with it.

This roused Chou's anger, and he told the magistrate plainly what he thought of him, in return for which contempt of court he was at once seized and bound. During the forenoon Mr. Ch'eng called at his house, where he learnt that Chou had gone into the city to prosecute the cow-boy, and immediately hurried after him with a view to stop proceedings. But his friend was already in the gaol, and all he could do was to stamp his foot in anger.

Now it happened that three pirates had just been caught; and the magistrate and Huang, putting their heads together, bribed these fellows to say that Chou was one of their gang, whereupon the higher authorities were petitioned to deprive him of his status as a graduate, 3 and the magistrate then had him most unmercifully bambooed 4 Mr.

Ch'eng gained ad- mittance to the gaol, and, after a painful interview, proposed that a petition should be presented direct to 3 Until which he would be safe, by virtue of his degree, from the degrading penalty of the bamboo. Strictly speaking there are two kinds, the heavy and the light ; the former is now hardly if ever used. Until the reign of K'ang Hsi all strokes were given across the back ; but that humane Emperor removed the locus operandi lower down, "for fear of injuring the liver or the lungs.

I have indeed a young brother, but it is as much as he can do to provide me with food. Of what use are friends who will not assist in the hour of trouble? After a long journey he arrived at the capital, where he found himself quite at a loss as to how he should get the petition presented. However, hearing that the Emperor was about to set out on a hunting tour, he concealed himself in the market-place, and when His Majesty passed by, prostrated himself on the ground with loud cries and gesticulations.

The Emperor re- ceived his petition, and sent it to the Board of Punish- ments, 5 desiring to be furnished with a report on the case. It was then more than ten months since the beginning of the affair, and Chou, who had been made to confess 6 to this false charge, was already under sentence of death ; so that the officers of the Board were very much alarmed when they received the Imperial instructions, and set to work to re-hear the case in person.

Huang was also much alarmed, and devised a plan for killing Mr. Chou by bribing the gaolers to stop his food and drink ; so that when his brother brought provisions he 5 See No. Ch'eng complained of this to the Viceroy of the province, who investigated the matter himself, and found that Chou was in the last stage of starvation, for which the gaolers were bambooed to death. Terrified out of his wits, Huang, by dint of bribing heavily, suc- ceeded in absconding and escaping a just punishment for his crimes. The magistrate, however, was banished for perversion of the law, and Chou was permitted to return home, his affection for Ch'eng being now very much increased.

But ever after the prosecution and his friend's captivity, Mr. Ch'eng took a dismal view of human affairs, and one day invited Chou to retire with him from the world. The latter, who was deeply at- tached to his young wife, threw cold water on the proposition, and Mr. Ch'eng pursued the subject no farther, though his own mind was fully made up.

Bestselling Series

Not seeing him for some days afterwards, Mr. Chou sent to inquire about him at his house ; but there they all thought he was at Chou's, neither family, in fact, having seen anything of him. This looked suspicious, and Chou, aware of his peculiarity, sent off people to look for him, bidding them search all the temples and monas- teries in the neighbourhood.

He also from time to time supplied Ch'eng's son with money and other necessaries. Eight or nine years had passed away when suddenly Ch'eng re-appeared, clad in a yellow cap and stole, and wearing the expression of a Taoist priest. Since we last met my equanimity has happily been restored. He also tried to per- suade Ch'eng to detach himself from the Taoist persuasion, but the latter only smiled and answered nothing.

In a fright he asked him what he was doing, but got no answer ; and then he waked up with a start. Calling to Ch'eng and receiving no reply, he sat up and stretched out his hand to touch him. The latter, however, had vanished, he knew not whither. When he got calm, he found he was lying at Ch'eng' s end of the bed, which rather startled him. Now Chou had had a beard, so he put up his hand to feel for it, but found only a few straggling hairs.

He then seized a mirror to look at himself, and cried out in alarm: Ch'eng, where on earth am I? He was on the point of entering the ladies' apartments ; but his brother, not recognising who he was, stopped him, and would not let him go in ; and as he himself was unable to prove his own identity, he ordered his horse that he might go in search of Ch'eng. After some days' journey he arrived at Mount Lao ; and, as his horse went along at a good rate, the servant could not keep up with him. By-and-by he rested awhile under a tree, and saw a great number of Taoist priests going backwards and forwards, and among them was one who stared fixedly at him.

So he inquired of him where he should find Ch'eng ; whereat the priest laughed and said, " I know the name. He is probably in the Great Pure Mansion. The person whom he had spoken with came on to where Chou was, and turned out to be a fellow-townsman of his. He was much surprised at meeting Chou, and said, "I haven't seen you for some years. They told me you had gone to Mount Lao to be a Taoist priest. How is it you are still amusing yourself among mortals? He has only just left me, and can't have got very far. All around them was a vast desert, and they were at a loss whether to go on or to return.

But Chou reflected that he had no longer any home to receive him, and deter- mined to carry out his design to the bitter end ; but as the road was dangerous for riding, he gave his horse to the servant, and bade him go back. On he went cau- tiously by himself, until he spied a boy sitting by the wayside alone. He hurried up to him and asked the boy to direct him where he could find Mr. Ch'eng " I am one of his disciples," replied the lad ; and, shoulder- ing Chou's bundle, started off to shew the way.

They journeyed on together, taking their food by the light of the stars, and sleeping in the open air, until, after many miles of road, they arrived in three days at their desti- nation. But this Great Pure locality was not like that generally spoken of in the world. Though as late as the middle of the tenth moon, there was a great profusion of flowers along the road, quite unlike the beginning of winter. The lad went in and announced the arrival of a stranger, whereupon Mr.

Ch'eng came out, and Chou recognised his own features.

Ch'eng grasped his hand and led him inside, where he prepared wine and food, and they began to converse together. Chou noticed many birds of strange plumage, so tame that they were not afraid of him ; and these from time to time would alight on the table and sing with voices like Pan-pipes. On the ground were two rush-mats, upon which Ch'eng invited his friend to sit down with him. Then about midnight a serene calm stole over him ; and while he was dozing off for a moment, he seemed to change places with Ch'eng.

Suspecting what had happened, he put his hand up to his chin, and found it covered with a beard as before. At dawn he was anxious to return home, but Ch'eng pressed him to stay ; and when three days had gone by Ch'eng said to him, " I pray you take a little rest now: In spite of Chou's entreaties, Ch'eng would not accompany him so far, but made Chou go, waiting himself by the roadside. So the latter went alone, and when he reached his house, knocked at the door. Receiving no answer, he determined to get over the wall, when he found that his body was as light as a leaf, and with one spring he was over.

In the same manner he passed several inner walls, until he reached the ladies' apartments, where he saw by the still burning lamp that the inmates had not yet retired for the night. Hearing people talking within, he licked a hole in the paper window 7 and peeped through, and saw his wife 7 Wooden frames covered with a semi-transparent paper are used all over the northern provinces of China; in the south, oyster- 62 STRANGE STORIES sitting drinking with a most disreputable-looking fellow.

Bursting with rage, his first impulse was to surprise them in the act ; but seeing there were two against one, he stole away and let himself out by the entrance-gate, hurrying off to Ch'eng, to whom he related what he had seen, and finally begged his assistance. Ch'eng willingly went along with him ; and when they reached the room, Chou seized a big stone and hammered loudly at the door.

All was then confusion inside, so Chou hammered again, upon which the door was barricaded more strongly than before. Here Ch'eng came forward with his sword, 8 and burst the door open with a crash. Chou rushed in, and the man inside rushed out ; but Ch'eng was there, and with his sword cut his arm right off. Chou rudely seized his wife, and asked what it all meant ; to which she replied that the man was a friend who sometimes came to take a cup of wine with them.

Thereupon Chou borrowed Ch'eng's sword and cut off her head, 9 hanging up the trunk on a tree in the court- shells, cut square and planed down thin, are inserted tile-fashion in the long narrow spaces of a wooden frame made to receive them, and used for the same purpose. But glass is gradually finding its way into the houses of the well-to-do, large quantities being made at Canton and exported to various parts of the empire.

Otherwise, he lays himself open to a prosecution for murder. The act completed, he is further bound to proceed at once to the magistrate of the district and report what he has done. He then went back with Ch'eng. By-and-by he awaked and found himself on the bed, at which he was somewhat disturbed, and said, " I have had a strangely- confused dream, which has given me a fright. Chou was terrified, and sought to destroy himself; but all at once it occurred to him that Ch'eng might be deceiving him again.

Ch'eng divined his suspicions, and made haste at once to see him home. In a little while they arrived at the village-gate, and then Ch'eng said, " Was it not here that, sword in hand, I awaited you that night? I cannot look upon the unclean spot. I pray you go on, and let me stay here. If you do not return by the afternoon, I will depart alone.

The latter, when he beheld Chou, began to weep bitterly, saying, " After your departure, thieves broke into the house and killed my sister-in-law, hanging her body upon a tree. The murderers have not yet been caught. But he heeded him not ; and when they reached the village-gate his brother saw him go away with Ch'eng. From afar he looked back and said, "Forbear, and be happy! The brother remained there for some 10 The importance of male offspring in Chinese social life is hardly to be expressed in words.

To the son is confided the task of worshipping at the ancestral tombs, the care of the ancestral tablets, and the due performance of all rites and ceremonies con- nected with the departed dead. No Chinaman will die, if he can help it, without leaving a son behind him. If his wife is childless he will buy a concubine ; and we are told on page 41, vol. Should a little boy die, no matter how young, his parents do not permit even him to be without the good offices of a son.

They adopt some other child on his behalf; and when the latter grows up it becomes his duty to perform the proper ceremonies at his baby father's tomb. Girls do not enjoy the luxury of this sham posterity. They are quietly buried in a hole near the family vault, and their disembodied spirits are left to wander about in the realms below uncared for and unappeased.

Every mother, however, shares in the ancestral worship, and her name is recorded on the tombstone, side by side with that of her husband. Hence it is that Chinese tombstones are always to the memory either of a father or of a mother, or of both, with occa- sionally the addition of the grandfather and grandmother, and sometimes even that of the generation preceeding. He was an unpractical man, and before many years were over all the property was gone and the family reduced to poverty.

Chou's son, who was growing up, was thus unable to secure the services of a tutor, and had no one but his uncle to teach him. One morning, on going into the school-room, the uncle found a letter lying on his desk addressed to himself in his brother's hand- writing. There was, however, nothing in it but a finger- nail about four inches in length. Surprised at this, he laid the nail down on the ink-slab while he went out to ask whence the letter had come. This no one knew ; but when he went back he found that the ink-stone had been changed into a piece of shining yellow gold.

More than ever astonished, he tried the nail on copper and iron things, all of which were likewise turned to gold. He thus became very rich, sharing his wealth with Chou's son; and it was bruited about that the two families possessed the secret of transmutation. WANG CH'ENG belonged to an old family in P'ing- yiian, but was such an idle fellow that his property gradually disappeared, until at length all he had left was an old tumble-down house.

His wife and he slept under a coarse hempen coverlet, and the former was far from sparing of her reproaches. At the time of which we are speaking the weather was unbearably hot; and Wang went to pass the night with many other of his fellow- villagers in a pavilion which stood among some dilapi- dated buildings belonging to a family named Chou.

With the first streaks of dawn his comrades departed; but Wang slept well on till about nine o'clock, when he got up and proceeded leisurely home. All at once he saw in the grass a gold hair-pin ; and taking it up to look at it, found engraved thereon in small characters "The property of the Imperial family. The old woman was delighted, and thanked Wang very much for his goodness, observing that the pin was not worth much in itself, but was a relic of her departed husband.

Wang asked what her husband had been ; to which she replied, " his name was Wang Chien-chih, and he was connected by marriage with the Imperial family. I am a fox, and many years ago I was married to your grandfather; but when he died I re- tired from the world. Passing by here I lost my hair- pin, which destiny conveyed into your hands. Wang called his wife out to receive her ; but when she came in rags and tatters, with unkempt hair and dirty face, the old woman sighed, and said, " Alas! Members of the collateral branches wear a red girdle, and are commonly known as gioros, With the lapse of two hundred and fifty years, the wearers of these badges have become numerous, and in many cases disreputable ; and they are now to be found even among the lowest dregs of Chinese social life.

Similar Books

Wang pressed her to stay, but she said, "You can't even keep your wife alive; what would it benefit you to have me also dependent on you? In three days she returned as agreed, and, producing some money, sent out for a hundred-weight of rice and a hundred- weight of corn. She passed the night with them, sleeping with Mrs. Wang, who was at first rather frightened, but who soon laid aside her suspicions when she found that the old lady meant so well towards them. Next day, the latter addressed Wang, saying, " My grandson, you must not be so lazy.

You should try to make a little money in some way or other. I have, however, saved from my pin-money the sum of forty ounces of silver, which has long been lying idle for want of an investment. So Wang bought some fifty pieces of summer cloth; and the old lady made him get ready, calculating that in six or seven days he would reach the capital. She also warned him, saying, " Be neither lazy nor slow For if a day too long you wait, Repentance comes a day too late.

On the road he was overtaken by a rain- storm which soaked him through to the skin ; and as he was not accustomed to be out in bad weather, it was altogether too much for him. He accordingly sought shelter in an inn, but the rain went on steadily till night, running over the eaves of the house like so many ropes. Next morning the roads were in a horrible state ; and Wang, watching the passers-by slipping about in the slush, unable to see any path, dared not face it all, and remained until noon, when it began to dry up a little.

Just then, however, the clouds closed over again, and down came the rain in torrents, causing him to stay another night before he could go on. When he was nearing the capital, he heard to his great joy that summer cloth was at a premium ; and on arrival proceeded at once to take up his quarters at an inn. There the land- lord said it was a pity he had come so late, as com- munications with the south having been only recently opened, the supply of summer cloth had been small ; and there being a great demand for it among the wealthy families of the metropolis, its price had gone up to three times the usual figure.

Wang would not part with his at a loss, and held on for some ten days, when his expenses for board and lodging were added to his pre- sent distress. The landlord urged him to sell even at a loss, and turn his attention to something else, which he ultimately did, losing over ten ounces of silver on his venture. Next day he rose in the morning to depart, but on looking in his purse found all his money gone.

He rushed away to tell the landlord, who, however, could do nothing for him. Some one then advised him to take out a summons and make the landlord reimburse him ; but he only sighed, and said, " It is my destiny, and no fault of the landlord's. He did not care, how- ever, to face his grandmother empty-handed, and re- mained in a very undecided state, until suddenly he saw a quail-catcher winning heaps of money by fighting his birds, and selling them at over cash a-piece. He then determined to lay out his five ounces of silver in quails, and pay back the landlord out of the profits.

The latter approved very highly of this plan, and not only agreed to lend him a room but also to charge him little or nothing for his board. So Wang went off re- joicing, and bought two large baskets of quails, with which he returned to the city, to the great satisfaction of?. The day after this he them, audio! Now one of the princes was passionately fond of quail-fighting, and always at the Feast of Lanterns any- body who owned quails might go and fight them in the palace against the prince's birds.

Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio | work by Pu Songling | www.farmersmarketmusic.com

The landlord there- fore said to Wang, " Here is a chance of enriching your- self by a single stroke ; only I can't say what your luck will do for you. If he presses you very much watch for a nod from me before you agree. Some man at once stepped forward, and the prince gave orders for the quails to be released ; but at the first strike the stranger's quail was knocked out of time.

The prince smiled, and by-and-by won several more mains, until at last the landlord said, " Now's our time," and went up together with Wang. The Prince looked at their bird and said, " It has a fierce-looking eye and strong feathers. We must be careful what we are doing. Wang was much alarmed, and falling on his knees prayed to be excused this main, saying, " Your highness's bird is too good.

I fear lest mine should be wounded, and my livelihood be taken from me. If your quail is killed I will make it up to you handsomely. The former made a violent peck at its adversary, and then sprung up to swoop down on it. Thus they went on up and down, backwards and forwards, until at length they got hold of each other, and the prince's bird was beginning to show signs of exhaustion. This enraged it all the more, and it fought more violently than ever ; but soon a perfect snowstorm of feathers began to fall, and, with drooping wings, the Jade bird made its escape.

The spectators were much moved by the result ; and the prince himself, taking up Wang's bird, examined it closely from beak to claws, finally asking if it was for sale. I would rather not part with it. It there wins for me several ounces of silver, which I exchange for rice ; and my family, over ten in number, has nothing to fear from either cold or hunger.

What jewel could do that? Wang then offered to take nine hundred ; but the prince ridiculed the idea of paying such a price for a quail, and Wang was preparing to take his leave with the bird, when the prince called him back, saying, " Here! I will give you six hundred. Take it or leave it as you please. However, Wang was satisfied himself with this offer, and being afraid of missing his chance, said to his friend, " If I get this price for it I shall be quite content.

If we go on haggling and finally come to no terms, that will be a very poor end to it all. You were in too much of a hurry to sell. Another minute, and you would have got eight hundred. Wang then packed up and went home, where he told his story and produced his silver to the great delight of all of them. The old lady counselled the purchase of a quantity of land, the building of a house, and the purchase of im- plements ; and in a very short time they became a wealthy family. The old lady always got up early in the morning and made Wang attend to the farm, his wife to her spinning; and rated them soundly at any signs of laziness.

Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (Volumes 1 and 2) by Songling Pu

The husband and wife henceforth lived in peace, and no longer abused each other, until at the ex- piration of three years the old lady declared her inten- tion of bidding them adieu. They both tried to stop her, and with the aid of tears succeeded in persuading her; but the next day she had disappeared. Cricket-fighting is, however, a very favourite form of gambling, large quantities of these insects being caught every year for this purpose, and considerable sums frequently staked on the result of a contest between two champions.

One morning he was out walking when he met a young lady carrying a bundle and hurrying along by herself. As she moved along with some difficulty, 1 Wang quickened 1 Impeded, of course, by her small feet.

This practice is said to have originated about A. The practice was forbidden in by the Manchu Emperor, K'ang Hsi; but popular feeling was so strong on the subject that four years afterwards the prohibition was withdrawn. Protestant missionaries are now making a dead set at this shameful custom, but so far with very indifferent success ; as parents who do not cramp the feet of their daughters would experience no small difficulty in finding husbands for them when they grow up.

Besides, the gait of a young lady hobbling along, as we should say, seems to be much admired by the other sex. The following seven reasons why this custom still keeps its hold upon the Chinese mind emanate from a native convert: If a girl's feet are not bound, people say she is not like a woman but like a man ; they laugh at her, calling her names, and her parents are ashamed of her. Girls are like flowers, like the willow.

It is very im- portant that their feet should be bound short so that they can walk beautifully, with mincing steps, swaying gracefully, thus showing they are persons of respectability. Much smitten he inquired whither she was going so early, and no one with her. It was more than I fully. She goes from house to house with noisy steps, and is called names. Therefore careful persons bind short. One of a good family does not wish to marry a woman with long feet.

She is commiserated because her feet are not perfect. If betrothed, and the size of her feet is not discovered till after marriage, her husband and mother-in-law are displeased, her sisters-in-law laugh at her, and she herself is sad. The large footed has to do rough work, does not sit in a sedan when she goes out, walks in the streets barefooted, has no red clothes, does not eat the best food. She is wetted by the rain, tanned by the sun, blown upon by the wind. If unwilling to do all the rough work of the house she is called 'gormandizing and lazy.

She has no fame and honour. To escape all this her parents bind her feet.

See a Problem?

There are those with unbound feet who do no heavy work, wear gay clothing, ride in a sedan, call others to wait upon them. Although so fine they are low and mean. If a girl's feet are unbound, she cannot be distinguished from one of these. Girls are like gold, like gems. They ought to stay in their own house.

If their feet are not bound they go here and go there with unfitting associates ; they have no good name. They are like defective gems that are rejected. They think small feet are pleasing and will command a high price for a bride. Finding no One there, she asked Wang where his family were ; to which he replied that that was only the library. He then told his wife, and she, fearing the girl might belong to some influential family, advised him to send her away. This, however, he would not consent to do; when one day, going into the town, he met a Taoist priest, who looked at him in astonishment, and asked him what he had met.

• Intrigues Among Us
• El Primer Libro del Bebé - Alfabeto en Acción (Babys First Book (SPANISH VERSION - FREE SERIES) 6)
• Djebel (French Edition)
• The Mascot Character s Hard Life (Japanese Edition)
• The Sorceresses of Lazaronia (Mark Willoughby Book 6)
• DYING TO LIVE: Running backwards through cancer, Lupus and chronic illness