lowest[144] degree was about to proceed to Peking, in the hope of
obtaining, by the aid of a little bribery, an appointment as District
Magistrate. His boxes were all ready packed, when he was taken
suddenly ill and was confined to his bed for more than a month. One
day the servant entered and announced a visitor; whereupon our sick
man jumped up and ran to the door as if there was nothing the matter
with him. The visitor was elegantly dressed like a man of some
position in society; and, after bowing thrice, he walked into the
house, explaining that he was Kung-sun Hsia,[145] tutor to the
Eleventh Prince, and that he had heard our Mr. So-and-so wished to
arrange for the purchase of a magistracy. “If that is really so,”
added he, “would you not do better to buy a prefecture?” So-and-so
thanked him warmly, but said his funds would not be sufficient; upon
which Mr. Kung-sun declared he should be delighted to assist him with
half the purchase-money, which he could repay after taking up the
post.[146] He went on to say that being on intimate terms with the
various provincial Governors the thing could be easily managed for
about five thousand taels; and also that at that very moment Chên-ting
Fu being vacant, it would be as well to make an early effort to get
the appointment. So-and-so pointed out that this place was in his
native province;[147] but Kung-sun only laughed at his objection, and
reminded him that money[148] could obliterate all distinctions of that
kind. This did not seem quite satisfactory; however, Kung-sun told him
not to be alarmed, as the post of which he was speaking was below in
the infernal regions. “The fact is,” said he, “that your term of life
has expired, and that your name is already on the death list; by these
means you will take your place in the world below as a man of official
position. Farewell! in three days we shall meet again.” He then went
to the door and mounted his horse and rode away. So-and-so now opened
his eyes and spoke a few parting words to his wife and children,
bidding them take money from his strong-room[149] and go buy large
quantities of paper ingots,[150] which they immediately did, quite
exhausting all the shops. This was piled in the court-yard with paper
images of men, devils, horses, &c., and burning went on day and night
until the ashes formed quite a hill. In three days Kung-sun returned,
bringing with him the money; upon which So-and-so hurried off to the
Board of Civil Office,[151] where he had an interview with the high
officials, who, after asking his name, warned him to be a pure and
upright officer, and then calling him up to the table handed him his
letter of appointment. So-and-so bowed and took his leave; but
recollecting at once that his purchased degree would not carry much
weight with it in the eyes of his subordinates,[152] he sent off to
buy elaborate chairs and a number of horses for his retinue, at the
same time despatching several devil lictors to fetch his favourite
wife in a beautifully adorned sedan-chair. All arrangements were just
completed when some of the Chên-ting staff came to meet the new
Prefect,[153] others awaiting him all along the line of road, about
half a mile in length. He was immensely gratified at this reception,
when all of a sudden the gongs before him ceased to sound and the
banners were lowered to the ground. He had hardly time to ask what was
the matter before he saw those of his servants who were on horseback
jump hastily to the ground and dwindle down to about a foot in height,
while their horses shrunk to the size of foxes or racoons. One of the
attendants near his chariot cried out in alarm, “Here’s Kuan Ti!”[154]
and then he, too, jumped out in a fright, and saw in the distance Kuan
Ti himself slowly approaching them, followed by four or five retainers
on horseback. His great beard covered the lower half of his face,
quite unlike ordinary mortals; his aspect was terrible to behold, and
his eyes reached nearly to his ears. “Who is this?” roared he to his
servants; and they immediately informed him that it was the new
Prefect of Chên-ting. “What!” cried he; “a petty fellow like that to
have a retinue like this?”[155] Whereupon So-and-so’s flesh began to
creep with fear, and in a few moments he found that he too had shrunk
to the size of a little boy of six or seven. Kuan Ti bade his
attendants bring the new Prefect with them, and went into a building
at the roadside, where he took up his seat facing the south[156] and
calling for writing materials told So-and-so to write down his name
and address. When this was handed to him he flew into a towering
passion, and said, “The scribbly scrawl of a placeman, indeed![157]
Can such a one be entrusted with the welfare of the people? Look me up
the record of his good works.” A man then advanced, and whispered
something in a low tone; upon which Kuan Ti exclaimed in a loud voice,
“The crime of the briber is comparatively trifling; the heavy guilt
lies with those who sell official posts for money.” So-and-so was now
seized by angels in golden armour, and two of them tore off his cap
and robes, and administered to him fifty blows with the bamboo until
hardly any flesh remained on his bones. He was then thrust outside the
door, and lo! his carriages and horses had disappeared, and he himself
was lying, unable to walk for pain, at no great distance from his own
house. However, his body seemed as light as a leaf, and in a day and
a night he managed to crawl home. When he arrived, he awoke as it were
from a dream, and found himself groaning upon the bed; and to the
inquiries of his family he only replied that he felt dreadfully sore.
Now he really had been dead for seven days; and when he came round
thus, he immediately asked for A-lien, which was the name of his
favourite wife. But the very day before, while chatting with the other
members of the family, A-lien had suddenly cried out that her husband
was made Prefect of Chên-ting, and that his lictors had come to escort
her thither. Accordingly she retired to dress herself in her best
clothes, and, when ready to start, she fell back and expired. Hearing
this sad story, So-and-so began to mourn and beat his breast, and he
would not allow her to be buried at once, in the hope that she might
yet come round; but this she never did. Meanwhile So-and-so got slowly
better, and by the end of six months was able to walk again. He would
often exclaim, “The ruin of my career and the punishment I
received--all this I could have endured; but the loss of my dear
A-lien is more than I can bear.”[158]
FOOTNOTES:
[144] By which he would become eligible for Government employ. The
sale of degrees has been extensively carried on under the present
dynasty, as a means of replenishing an empty Treasury.
[145] Kung-sun is an example of a Chinese double surname.
[146] Such is the common system of repaying the loan, by means of
which an indigent nominee is enabled to defray the expenses of his
journey to the post to which he has been appointed, and other calls
upon his purse. These loans are generally provided by some “western”
merchant, which term is an ellipsis for a “Shansi” banker, Shansi
being literally “west of the mountains.” Some one accompanies the
newly-made official to his post, and holds his commission in pawn
until the amount is repaid; which settlement is easily effected by the
issue of some well-understood proclamation, calling, for instance,
upon the people to close all gambling-houses within a given period.
Immediately the owners of these hells forward presents of money to the
incoming official, the Shansi banker gets his principal with interest,
perhaps at the rate of 2 per cent. _per month_, the gambling-houses
carry on as usual, and everybody is perfectly satisfied.
[147] Which fact would disqualify him from taking the post.
[148] Literally, “Square hole.” A common name for the Chinese cash.
See No. II., note 42.
[149] In the case of wealthy families these strong rooms often
contain, in addition to bullion, jewels to a very great amount
belonging to the ladies of the house; and, as a rule, the door may not
be opened unless in the presence of a certain number of the male
representatives of the house.
[150] Pieces of silver and gold paper made up to represent the
ordinary Chinese “shoes” of bullion (See No. XVIII., note 133), and
burnt for the use of the dead. Generally known to foreigners in China
as “joss-paper.”
[151] See No. VII., note 54. In this case the reference is to a
similar Board in the Infernal Regions.
[152] These would be sure to sneer at him behind his back.
[153] A compliment usually paid to an in-coming official.
[154] See No. I., note 39.
[155] The retinue of a Mandarin should be in accordance with his rank.
I have given elsewhere (See No. LVI., note 315) what would be that of
an official of the highest rank.
[156] See No. LXXVII., note 76.
[157] Good writing holds a much higher place in the estimation of the
Chinese than among western nations. The very nature of their
characters raises calligraphy almost to the rank of an art.
[158] The commentator here adds a somewhat similar case, which
actually occurred in the reign of K‘ang Hsi, of a Viceroy modestly
attended falling in with the gorgeous retinue of a Magistrate, and
being somewhat rudely treated by the servants of the latter. On
arriving at his destination, the Viceroy sent for that Magistrate, and
sternly bade him retire from office, remarking that no simple
magistrate could afford to keep such a retinue of attendants unless by
illegal exactions from the suffering people committed to his charge.
XCVIII.
A CHINESE JONAH.
A man named Sun Pi-chên was crossing the river[159] when a great
thunder-squall broke upon the vessel and caused her to toss about
fearfully, to the great terror of all the passengers. Just then, an
angel in golden armour appeared standing upon the clouds above them,
holding in his hand a scroll inscribed with certain characters, also
written in gold, which the people on the vessel easily made out to be
three in number, namely _Sun Pi-chên_. So, turning at once to their
fellow-traveller, they said to him, “You have evidently incurred the
displeasure of Heaven; get into a boat by yourself, and do not involve
us in your punishment.” And without giving him time to reply whether
he would do so or not, they hurried him over the side into a small
boat and set him adrift; but when Sun Pi-chên looked back, lo! the
vessel itself had capsized.[160]
FOOTNOTES:
[159] The Yang-tsze: sometimes spoken of as the Long River.
[160] The full point of this story can hardly be conveyed in
translation. The man’s surname was Sun, and his prænomen, Pi-chên,
(which in Chinese _follows_ the nomen) might be rendered
“Must-be-saved.” However, there is another word meaning “struck,”
precisely similar in sound and tone, though written differently, to
the above _chên_; and, as far as the ear alone is concerned, our
hero’s name might have been either _Sun Must-be-saved_ or _Sun
Must-be-struck_. That the merchants mistook the character _chên_,
“saved,” for _chên_, “struck,” is evident from the catastrophe which
overtook their vessel, while Mr. Sun’s little boat rode safely through
the storm.
XCIX.
CHANG PU-LIANG.
A certain trader who was travelling in the province of Chih-li, being
overtaken by a storm of rain and hail, took shelter among some
standing crops by the way-side. There he heard a voice from heaven,
saying, “These are Chang Pu-liang’s fields; do not injure his crops.”
The trader began to wonder who this Chang Pu-liang could be, and how,
if he was _pu liang_ (not virtuous), he came to be under divine
protection; so when the storm was over and he had reached the
neighbouring village, he made enquiries on the subject, and told the
people there what he had heard. The villagers then informed him that
Chang Pu-liang was a very wealthy farmer, who was accustomed every
spring to make loans of grain to the poor of the district, and who was
not too particular about getting back the exact amount he had
lent,--taking, in fact, whatever they brought him without discussion;
hence the sobriquet of _pu liang_ “no measure” (_i.e._, the man who
doesn’t measure the repayments of his loans).[161] After that, they
all proceeded in a body to the fields, where it was discovered that
vast damage had been done to the crops generally, with the exception
of Chang Pu-liang’s, which had escaped uninjured.
FOOTNOTE:
[161] Here again we have a play upon words similar to that in the last
story.
C.
THE DUTCH CARPET.
Formerly, when the Dutch[162] were permitted to trade with China, the
officer in command of the coast defences would not allow them, on
account of their great numbers, to come ashore. The Dutch begged very
hard for the grant of a piece of land such as a carpet would cover;
and the officer above-mentioned, thinking that this could not be very
large, acceded to their request. A carpet was accordingly laid down,
big enough for about two people to stand on; but by dint of
stretching, it was soon enough for four or five; and so they went on,
stretching and stretching, until at last it covered about an acre,
and by-and-by, with the help of their knives, they had filched a piece
of ground several miles in extent.[163]
FOOTNOTES:
[162] We read in the _History of Amoy_:--“In the year 1622 the
red-haired barbarians seized the Pescadores and attacked Amoy.” From
the Pescadores they finally retired, on a promise that trade would be
permitted, to Formosa, whence they were expelled by the famous Koxinga
in 1662. “Red-haired barbarians,” a term now commonly applied to all
foreigners, was first used in the records of the Ming dynasty to
designate the Dutch.
[163] Our author would here seem to have heard of the famous bull’s
hide which is mentioned in the first book of the _Æneid_. In any case,
the substitution of “stretching” is no improvement on the celebrated
device by which the bull’s hide was made to enclose so large a space.
CI.
CARRYING A CORPSE.
A woodsman who had been to market was returning home with his pole
across his shoulder,[164] when suddenly he felt it become very heavy
at the end behind him, and looking round he saw attached to it the
headless trunk of a man. In great alarm, he got his pole quit of the
burden and struck about him right and left, whereupon the body
disappeared. He then hurried on to the next village, and when he
arrived there in the dusk of the evening, he found several men holding
lights to the ground as if looking for something. On asking what was
the matter, they told him that while sitting together a man’s head had
fallen from the sky into their midst; that they had noticed the hair
and beard were all draggled, but in a moment the head had vanished.
The woodsman then related what had happened to himself; and thus one
whole man was accounted for, though no one could tell whence he came.
Subsequently, another man was carrying a basket when some one saw a
man’s head in it, and called out to him; whereupon he dropped the
basket in a fright, and the head rolled away and disappeared.
FOOTNOTE:
[164] The common method of porterage in China is by a bamboo pole over
the shoulder with well-balanced burdens hanging from each end. I have
often seen children carried thus, sitting in wicker baskets; sometimes
for long journeys.
CII.
A TAOIST DEVOTEE.
Chü Yao-ju was a Ch‘ing-chou man, who, when his wife died, left his
home and became a priest.[165] Some years afterwards he returned,
dressed in the Taoist garb, and carrying his praying-mat[166] over his
shoulder; and after staying one night he wanted to go away again. His
friends, however, would not give him back his cassock and staff; so at
length he pretended to take a stroll outside the village, and when
there, his clothes and other belongings came flying out of the house
after him, and he got safely away.
FOOTNOTES:
[165] It would be more usual to “renew the guitar string,” as the
Chinese idiom runs. In the paraphrase of the first maxim of the
_Sacred Edict_ we are told that “The closest of all ties is that of
husband and wife; but suppose your wife dies, why, you can marry
another. But if your brother were to die,” &c., &c.
[166] This, as well as the staff mentioned below, belongs to Buddhism.
See No. IV., note 46.
CIII.
JUSTICE FOR REBELS.
During the reign of Shun Chih,[167] of the people of T‘êng-i, seven in
ten were opposed to the Manchu dynasty. The officials dared not touch
them; and subsequently, when the country became more settled, the
magistrates used to distinguish them from the others by always
deciding any cases in their favour: for they feared lest these men
should revert to their old opposition. And thus it came about that one
litigant would begin by declaring himself to have been a “rebel,”
while his adversary would follow up by shewing such statement to be
false; so that before any case could be heard on its actual merits, it
was necessary to determine the status both of plaintiff and defendant,
whereby infinite labour was entailed upon the Registrars.
Now it chanced that the yamên of one of the officials was haunted by a
fox, and the official’s daughter was bewitched by it. Her father,
therefore, engaged the services of a magician, who succeeded in
capturing the animal and putting it into a bottle; but just as he was
going to commit it to the flames, the fox cried out from inside the
bottle, “I’m a rebel!” at which the bystanders were unable to suppress
their laughter.
FOOTNOTE:
[167] The first Manchu ruler of the empire of China. He came to the
throne in A.D. 1644.
CIV.
THEFT OF THE PEACH.
When I was a little boy I went one day to the prefectural city.[168]
It was the time of the Spring festival,[169] and the custom was that
on the day before, all the merchants of the place should proceed with
banners and drums to the judge’s yamên: this was called “bringing in
the Spring.” I went with a friend to see the fun; the crowd was
immense, and there sat the officials in crimson robes arranged right
and left in the hall; but I was small and didn’t know who they were,
my attention being attracted chiefly by the hum of voices and the
noise of the drums. In the middle of it all, a man leading a boy with
his hair unplaited and hanging down his back, walked up to the dais.
He carried a pole on his shoulder, and appeared to be saying something
which I couldn’t hear for the noise; I only saw the officials smile,
and immediately afterwards an attendant came down, and in a loud
voice ordered the man to give a performance. “What shall it be?” asked
the man in reply; whereupon, after some consultation between the
officials on the dais, the attendant inquired what he could do best.
The man said he could invert the order of nature; and then, after
another pause, he was instructed to produce some peaches; to this he
assented; and taking off his coat, laid it on his box, at the same
time observing that they had set him a hard task, the winter frost not
having broken up, and adding that he was afraid the gentlemen would be
angry with him, &c., &c. His son here reminded him that he had agreed
to the task and couldn’t well get out of it; so, after fretting and
grumbling awhile, he cried out, “I have it! with snow on the ground we
shall never get peaches here; but I guess there are some up in heaven
in the Royal Mother’s garden,[170] and there we must try.” “How are we
to get up, father?” asked the boy; whereupon the man said, “I have the
means,” and immediately proceeded to take from his box a cord some
tens of feet in length. This he carefully arranged, and then threw one
end of it high up into the air where it remained as if caught by
something. He now paid out the rope which kept going up higher and
higher until the end he had thrown up disappeared in the clouds and
only a short piece was left in his hands. Calling his son, he then
explained that he himself was too heavy, and, handing him the end of
the rope, bid him go up at once. The boy, however, made some
difficulty, objecting that the rope was too thin to bear his weight up
to such a height, and that he would surely fall down and be killed;
upon which his father said that his promise had been given and that
repentance was now too late, adding that if the peaches were obtained
they would surely be rewarded with a hundred ounces of silver, which
should be set aside to get the boy a pretty wife. So his son seized
the rope and swarmed up, like a spider running up a thread of its web;
and in a few moments he was out of sight in the clouds. By-and-by down
fell a peach as large as a basin, which the delighted father handed up
to his patrons on the dais who were some time coming to a conclusion
whether it was real or imitation. But just then down came the rope
with a run, and the affrighted father shrieked out, “Alas! alas! some
one has cut the rope: what will my boy do now?” and in another minute
down fell something else, which was found on examination to be his
son’s head. “Ah me!” said he, weeping bitterly and shewing the head;
“the gardener has caught him, and my boy is no more.” After that, his
arms, and legs, and body, all came down in like manner; and the
father, gathering them up, put them in the box and said, “This was my
only son, who accompanied me everywhere; and now what a cruel fate is
his. I must away and bury him.” He then approached the dais and said,
“Your peach, gentlemen, was obtained at the cost of my boy’s life;
help me now to pay his funeral expenses, and I will be ever grateful
to you.” The officials who had been watching the scene in horror and
amazement, forthwith collected a good purse for him; and when he had
received the money, he rapped on his box and said, “Pa-pa‘rh! why
don’t you come out and thank the gentlemen?” Thereupon, there was a
thump on the box from the inside and up came the boy himself, who
jumped out and bowed to the assembled company. I have never forgotten
this strange trick, which I subsequently heard could be done by the
White Lily sect,[171] who probably got it from this source.[172]
FOOTNOTES:
[168] It is worth noting that the author professes actually to have
witnessed the following extraordinary scene.
[169] The vernal equinox, which would fall on or about the 20th of
March.
[170] A fabulous lady, said to reside at the summit of the K‘un-lun
mountain, where, on the border of the Gem Lake, grows the peach-tree
of the angels, the fruit of which confers immortality on him who eats
it.
[171] One of the most celebrated of the numerous secret societies of
China, the origin of which dates back to about A.D. 1350. Its members
have always been credited with a knowledge of the black art.
[172] Of Chinese jugglers, Ibn Batuta writes as follows:--“They
produced a chain fifty cubits in length, and in my presence threw one
end of it towards the sky, where it remained, as if fastened to
something in the air. A dog was then brought forward, and, being
placed at the lower end of the chain, immediately ran up, and reaching
the other end immediately disappeared in the air. In the same manner a
hog, a panther, a lion, and a tiger were alternately sent up the
chain, and all equally disappeared at the upper end of it. At last
they took down the chain, and put it into a bag, no one ever
discerning in what way the different animals were made to vanish into
the air in the mysterious manner above described. This, I may venture
to affirm, was beyond measure strange and surprising.”
_Apropos_ of which passage, Mr. Maskelyne, the prince of all
black-artists, ancient or modern, says:--“These apparent effects were,
doubtless, due to the aid of concave mirrors, the use of which was
known to the ancients, especially in the East, but they could not have
been produced in the open air.”
CV.
KILLING A SERPENT.
At Ku-chi island in the eastern sea, there were camellias of all
colours which bloomed throughout the year. No one, however, lived
there, and very few people ever visited the spot. One day, a young man
of Têng-chou, named Chang, who was fond of hunting and adventure,
hearing of the beauties of the place, put together some wine and food,
and rowed himself across in a small open boat. The flowers were just
then even finer than usual, and their perfume was diffused for a mile
or so around; while many of the trees he saw were several armfuls in
circumference. So he roamed about and gave himself up to enjoyment of
the scene; and by-and-by he opened a flask of wine, regretting very
much that he had no companion to share it with him, when all of a
sudden a most beautiful young girl, with extremely bright eyes and
dressed in red, stepped down from one of the camellias before
him.[173] “Dear me!” said she on seeing Mr. Chang; “I expected to be
alone here, and was not aware that the place was already occupied.”
Chang was somewhat alarmed at this apparition, and asked the young
lady whence she came; to which she replied that her name was
Chiao-ch‘ang, and that she had accompanied thither a Mr. Hai, who had
gone off for a stroll and had left her to await his return. Thereupon
Chang begged her to join him in a cup of wine, which she very
willingly did, and they were just beginning to enjoy themselves when a
sound of rushing wind was heard and the trees and plants bent beneath
it. “Here’s Mr. Hai!” cried the young lady; and jumping quickly up,
disappeared in a moment. The horrified Chang now beheld a huge serpent
coming out of the bushes near by, and immediately ran behind a large
tree for shelter, hoping the reptile would not see him. But the
serpent advanced and enveloped both Chang and the tree in its great
folds, binding Chang’s arms down to his sides so as to prevent him
from moving them; and then raising its head, darted out its tongue and
bit the poor man’s nose, causing the blood to flow freely out. This
blood it was quietly sucking up, when Chang, who thought that his last
hour had come, remembered that he had in his pocket some fox poison;
and managing to insert a couple of fingers, he drew out the packet,
broke the paper, and let the powder lie in the palm of his hand. He
next leaned his hand over the serpent’s coils in such a way that the
blood from his nose dripped into his hand, and when it was nearly full
the serpent actually did begin to drink it. And in a few moments the
grip was relaxed; the serpent struck the ground heavily with its
tail, and dashed away up against another tree, which was broken in
half, and then stretched itself out and died. Chang was a long time
unable to rise, but at length he got up and carried the serpent off
with him. He was very ill for more than a month afterwards, and even
suspected the young lady of being a serpent, too, in disguise.
FOOTNOTE:
[173] See No. LXXI., note 53.
CVI.
THE RESUSCITATED CORPSE.