Notes
Sources included in the Bibliography are listed here in abbreviated form.
Introduction
1. Lu Shulun, “Feng Menglong,” in his Feng Menglong sanlun, 7.
2. See Pi-ching Hsu, “Celebrating the Emotional Self,” 41; Lu Shulun, Feng Menglong yanjiu, 17–18.
3. See the Qing vernacular story “Jue xinkeng qiangui cheng caizhu,” Zhao shi bei, in Zhongguo gudai zhenxi ben xiaoshuo (Shenyang: Chunfeng Wenyi, 1994), 9:283.
4. Guazhir, juan 5:21a, in Wei Tongxian, ed., Feng Menglong quanji (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji, 1993), 42:145.
5. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 80–81.
6. Lu Shulun, Feng Menglong yanjiu, 14.
7. Pi-ching Hsu, “Celebrating the Emotional Self,” 57.
8. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 95.
9. Lu Shulun, “Feng Menglong,” 76.
10. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 89.
11. Guazhir, juan 4:2b.
12. See Feng Mengxiong, “Fengshi Linzhi xiaoxu,” in Feng Menglong, Linjing zhiyue, 1b, in Wei Tongxian, ed., Feng Menglong quanji, 1:2.
13. Lu Shulun, “Feng Menglong,” 85.
14. On the two titles of Chunqiu hengku, see Wei Tongxian, “Chunqiu hengku yingyin shuoming,” in Wei Tongxian, ed., Feng Menglong quanji, 3:1.
15. Pi-ching Hsu, “Celebrating the Emotional Self,” 46.
16. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 82–83.
17. Ibid., 98–99.
18. Pi-ching Hsu, “Celebrating the Emotional Self,” 48.
19. Quoted in Lu Shulun, “Feng Menglong,” 92.
20. See Xu Shuofang, “Feng Menglong nianpu,” in Xu Shuofang ji, 2:433.
21. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 86.
22. The facsimile edition of Feng Menglong quanji (Complete works of Feng Menglong), published by Shanghai Guji Chubanshe in 1993, contains forty-three volumes that, when stacked together, are more than six feet tall.
23. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 80–81.
24. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 81.
25. Rawski, “Economic and Social Foundations of Late Imperial Culture,” 3.
26. Hegel, The Novel in Seventeenth-Century China, 11.
27. Ibid.
28. Rawski, “Economic and Social Foundations of Late Imperial Culture,” 9.
29. Hegel, The Novel in Seventeenth-Century China, 14–15.
30. Ichisada Miyazaki, China’s Examination Hell, 121.
31. Miyazaki, China’s Examination Hell, 118.
32. Hegel, The Novel in Seventeenth-Century China, 15.
33. The moralistic and didactic tone of the three Sanyan titles (Illustrious Words to Instruct the World, Comprehensive Words to Warn the World, and Constant Words to Awaken the World ) can probably also be understood in the same light.
34. Y. W. Ma, “Feng Meng-lung,” in Nienhauser, ed., The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, 381.
35. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 104; and The Chinese Short Story, 76–86.
36. In his “Preface to Art Song Prosody” (Qulü xu), Feng complains that “the most abused literary genres today are classical poetry and prose.” In his preface to Hill Songs, he also says that “although there is an abundance of false poetry and prose, there are no false folk songs.” See Guo Shaoyu, Zhongguo lidai wenlun xuan, 3:194, 231.
37. Birch, “Feng Meng-lung and the Ku Chin Hsiao Shuo,” 82.
38. See Margaret L. John, “Parallelism in the Vernacular Short Story: Reading ‘Yang Jiao’ai sheming quanjia’ and ‘Wu Bao’an qijia shuyou’ as Pair Stories” (unpublished paper, University of Michigan, 1992), 1, 2, 13, 15.
39. Wong, “Morality as Entertainment,” 59.
40. Jaroslav Pru° 1ek, “The Beginnings of Popular Chinese Literature; Urban Centers— the Cradle of Popular Fiction,” in his Chinese History and Literature, 413.
41. See Shuhui Yang, Appropriation and Representation: Feng Menglong and the Chinese Vernacular Story, chap. 3.
42. Hanan, “The Nature of Ling Mengch’u’s Fiction,” 87.
43. See Hanan, “The Early Chinese Short Story,” 304–6; and Rolston, Traditional Chinese Fiction and Fiction Commentary, 231.
44. Rolston, Traditional Chinese Fiction and Fiction Commentary, 231.
45. Hanan, “The Nature of Ling Mengch’u’s Fiction,” 87.
46. Rolston, Traditional Chinese Fiction and Fiction Commentary, 232. Rolston also says that the simulated storyteller can be seen “as a functional attempt to deal with the absence of the ‘author’ in early vernacular fiction.”
47. The word huaben was adopted as the regular term for the traditional Chinese vernacular short story only in this century. On its early usage as simply “story,” rather than “prompt-book,” see Wivell, “The Term ‘Hua-pen,’” 295–306. The “prompt-book” theory has been criticized from another angle: because professional storytellers were more likely to have relied on abstracts or notes in the classical language, the earliest extant huaben texts were perhaps also meant for reading, rather than reciting, as were their later imitations; see André Lévy, “Hua-pen,” in Nienhauser, ed., The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, 443.
48. See Idema, “Storytelling and the Short Story in China,” 3, 35–39.
49. Idema, “Some Remarks and Speculations Concerning P’ing-hua,” rpt. in his Chinese Vernacular Fiction, 72.
50. Y. W. Ma, “Feng Meng-lung,” in Nienhauser, ed., The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, 381.
51. See, e.g., Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, trans., The Courtesan’s Jewel Box.
52. See Hu Wanchuan, “Sanyan xu ji meipi de zuozhe wenti,” rpt. in his Huaben yu caizi jiaren xiaoshuo zhi yanjiu, 123–38.
53. Ling, “Pai’an jingqi xu,” in Chuke Pai’an jingqi, 1; translation from Liu Wu-chi, An Introduction to Chinese Literature, 224, with some modifications.
54. Hanan, The Chinese Vernacular Story, 150.
55. This does not mean that he did not make plays out of his own stories; see Liu Hongjun, “Li Yu xiaoshuo chuangzuo tong xiju chuangzuo de guanxi,” Xinyang shifan xueyuan xuebao, 1996. 2:57–58; reprinted in Zhongguo gudai jindai wenxue yanjiu, 7:98–99.
56. Patrick Hanan, “Introduction,” in Hanan, trans., Silent Operas, vii.
57. Rolston, Traditional Chinese Fiction and Fiction Commentary, 232.
58. For Ling Mengchu’s negative comment on the arrangement of paired stories, see item 1 of his “General Principles” (Fan li), in his Pai’an jingqi, 3. Ling was the first to use parallel couplets for vernacular stories. Li Yu paired stories in his first two collections (see Rolston, review of Hanan, The Invention of Li Yu , 62–63). But a few years later he chose to use a parallel couplet for the title of each of the stories in his Priceless Jade (Liancheng bi), an expanded and modified edition of his previous two collections. In his last collection, Twelve Towers, couplets are used not for story titles, but for chapter titles. See Xiao Xinqiao, “Jiaodian shuoming,” in Li Yu quanji, 8:i.
59. This phrase is from Huang, “Dehistoricization and Intertextualization,” 45.
Title Page and Preface to the 1620 Edition
1. Zaju (lit., “variety show” or “miscellaneous entertainment”) is a four-act musical drama, now commonly translated as “Yuan drama”; chuanqi (romance drama, lit., “transmission of the remarkable”) is the designation used for several hundred “southern-style” plays of the Ming and Qing periods. Compared with zaju, a chuanqi play is much longer, usually comprising thirty to forty scenes.
2. The legendary ruler Fuxi was reputed to have invented the Eight Trigrams and writing.
3. Later texts have the variant “from one’s childhood days” (xiaosong) for “every day” (risong). See Liu Wu-chi, An Introduction to Chinese Literature, 216 n. 3.
4. Generally believed to be Feng Menglong himself.
5. See note 4.
1. Jiang Xingge Reencounters His Pearl Shirt
Story 1 has been translated as “The Pearl-Sewn Shirt” by Cyril Birch, in Feng, trans. Birch, Stories from a Ming Collection, 39–96; and as “The Pearl Shirt Reencountered” by Jeanne Kelly, in Ma and Lau, eds., Traditional Chinese Stories, 264–92.
1. In the Ming dynasty, Huguang consisted of what are now Hubei and Hunan Provinces. Xiangyang Prefecture was located in the northern part of what is now Hubei.
2. The six preliminaries are: giving presents to the prospective bride’s family, providing written documentation of the prospective bride’s name and date of birth, securing through divination by the groom’s family of a good omen endorsing the marriage, sending a letter and wedding gifts to the bride’s family (whose letter of acceptance confirms the marriage), requesting approval by the bride’s family of an auspicious date for the wedding, and the groom’s going in person to bring the bride home.
3. “Clouds and rain” is a metaphor for sexual encounters. It was first used in the prose poem “Gao tang fu,” attributed to Song Yu (c. 290–C. 223 B.C.E.).
4. The seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is a festival that celebrates the annual meeting across the Milky Way of the stars Herdboy and Weaving Maiden. On the day of the festival, women set out fruit o erings to Weaving Maiden and prayed that they would be blessed with better skills in sewing and embroidery. As the festival was known as Qiqiao (Praying for Skills), the third (san) daughter of the Wang family, born on that date, was thus called Sanqiao (The Third Blessed).
5. Xishi, also known as Xizi, was a legendary beauty of the state of Yue in the Warring States period (475–221 B.C.E.).
6. Nanwei was a famous beauty in the court of Duke Wen of Jin (636–628 B.C.E.) in the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 B.C.E.).
7. The bodhisattva Guanyin, the embodiment of compassion, was popularly conceived in late imperial China as a beautiful young woman.
8. A mace in the Ming dynasty equalled 3.69 grams.
9. Song Yu was a disciple of the great poet Qu Yuan (ca. 340–278 B.C.E.). See also note 3 of this story.
10. Pan Yue (265–419), courtesy name Anren, but more often known as Pan An, personifies male beauty.
11. Hejian fu, “debauched woman,” was a term first used by Liu Zongyuan (773–819) in his “Story of Hejian.” It was later used to refer to Pan Jinlian (Gold Lily), a debauched woman in the Ming novel The Plum in the Golden Vase.
12. Liu Bang (256–195 B.C.E.) was the founder of the Han dynasty. Xiang Yu (232– 202 B.C.E.), king of Chu, was his major rival in contending for the throne. Before he became emperor, Liu Bang enlisted the service of Han Xin (d. 196 B.C.E.) and built a platform for a grand ceremony honoring him as grand marshal. Later, Han Xin proved to be instrumental in the defeat of Xiang Yu.
13. Linqing is in present-day Shandong Province.
14. Sima Xiangru (179–117 B.C.E.), one of the most celebrated fu (prose poem) writers in the history of Chinese literature, is also known for his romance with Zhuo Wenjun. The two eloped after their first meeting.
15. According to Song dynasty folklore, Pan Bizheng, a native of Henan, fell in love with the Taoist priestess Chen Miaochang. The two were later joined in matrimony.
16. The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first month. For the Clear and Bright (Qingming) Festival in April, people visit the graves of their ancestors.
17. The seven o enses by a wife that warranted divorce were: failure to produce a son, adultery, failure to serve the parents-inlaw, verbal viciousness, theft, jealousy, and a›iction with foul disease.
18. Jingkou is present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu.
19. Hepu is a pearl-producing area in present-day Guangxi Autonomous Region.
20. According to a legend from the Eastern (or Later) Han dynasty (25–220), the pearl-bearing oysters that abounded in the sea o the coast of Hepu County gradually migrated away because successive prefects were insatiably avaricious. When Meng Chang became prefect and put an end to all corruption, the oysters returned.
21. According to a legend from the Jin dynasty (265–420), Zhang Hua (232–300) saw that there was an aura over Fengcheng that bespoke of hidden precious swords. After he appointed Lei Huan as prefect of Fengcheng, Lei Huan dug up a pair of swords and presented one to Zhang Hua, keeping the other for himself. After both men died, the swords were seen at Yanping Ferry, where they joined together and changed into two dragons.
2. Censor Chen Ingeniously Solves the Case of the Gold Hairpins and Brooches
Story 2 has been partially translated as “The Clever Judgment of Censor Chen Lien” by E. C. Chu, in China Journal 10:59–66 (1929); and partially translated as “The Case of the Gold Hairpins” by P. C. Yao, in Renditions 118–36 (Autumn, 1975).
1. Pei Du (765–839) of the Tang dynasty was, before his rise to power, touring the Fragrant Temple one day when he found two jade belts and a belt made of rhinoceros horn that a woman had obtained as a loan with which to redeem her father from prison. Pei Du returned the belts to her, an act that was believed to have earned him merit in the otherworld and accounted for his attaining the post of prime minister later in his life.
2. See note 2 of story 1 in this collection.
3. Legend has it that in the Song dynasty, Qian Yulian entered into a betrothal with Wang Shipeng against the wishes of her stepmother. Later, when Wang Shipeng was demoted and sent away, her stepmother forced her to marry her rich nephew Sun Ruquan, whereupon Qian Yulian tied a rock to herself and jumped into the Ou River, but was rescued.
4. A tribute student was one who was admitted into the National University as a nominee of local Confucian schools for advanced study and subsequent admission to the civil service.
5. Burning incense was a way of expressing gratitude to a deity, a spirit, or a benefactor to whom one had no other means of o ering thanks.
3. Han the Fifth Sells Her Charms in New Bridge Town
Story 3 has been translated as “Han Wuniang Sells Her Charms at the New Bridge Market” by Robert C. Miller, in Ma and Lau, eds., Traditional Chinese Stories, 312–24.
1. Poems on Historical Events is a collection of poems by Hu Zeng (fl. 860). An otherwise obscure poet, he is most frequently cited for poems on historical sites in the earliest historical narratives in the vernacular, the pinghua.
2. It was in a horse stable that the abovementioned Duke Ling of Chen was killed by Xia Zhengshu, the son of his mistress.
3. This is a reference to King Chen and his two concubines’ hiding themselves in a dry well.
4. This was part of the Grand Canal project that linked the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers.
5. Yuwen Huaji was a subordinate of Emperor Yang.
6. The two capitals were Chang’an and Luoyang.
7. See note 8 of story 1.
8. Mount Gen Gate was the northeast gate of the city of Lin’an.
9. According to traditional Chinese medical knowledge, there are three pulses in each wrist.
4. Ruan San Redeems His Debt in Leisurely Clouds Nunnery
1. Xiang Chang (courtesy name, Ziping) of the Eastern Han dynasty was a recluse who refused to accept appointments for office, abandoned all family duties after his children were married, and spent the rest of his life touring scenic mountains. Hence, to marry o a child is to “fulfill the wish of Xiang Ziping.”
2. The Song Western Capital, Xijing, is present-day Luoyang, Henan.
3. The Song Eastern Capital is present-day Kaifeng, Henan.
4. The xiao is a vertical bamboo flute.
5. The sheng is a reed-pipe wind instrument.
6. Song Yu (see also notes 3 and 9 of story 1) said in one of his prose poems ( fu) that a beautiful girl stole furtive glances at him from over the neighbor’s wall for a period of three years.
7. Zhuo Wenjun, daughter of an immensely rich family in the Han dynasty, eloped with Sima Xiangru after the latter played the lute to her in covert courtship. See also note 14 of story 1.
8. See note 15 of story 1.
9. Zongruan means “a descendant or a member of the Ruan family.”
10. The caves in Big You Mountain and Small You Mountain in Hunan were said to be full of books left there by people of the Qin dynasty.
5. Penniless Ma Zhou Meets His Opportunity through a Woman Selling Pancakes
Story 5 has been translated as “Wine and Dumplings” by Cyril Birch, in Feng, trans. Birch, Stories from a Ming Collection, 103–15.
1. The academicians Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, et al. constituted the Institute of Education (Wenxueguan), founded by Emperor Taizong.
2. It was actually not until the Song dynasty that there came to be eighteen regional military commanders in the empire.
3. This is a metaphor for a sovereign (dragon) meeting his minister (tiger).
4. This refers to Tao Yuanming (Tao Qian, 365–427) who, in refusing to “stoop low for the sake of five piculs of rice,” resigned from his post and spent the rest of his life as a recluse, farming in his native village. See also note 3 of story 8.
5. Han prime minister Xiao He (d. 193 B.C.E.) recommended to Liu Bang the services of Han Xin, who was instrumental in helping Liu Bang (256–195 B.C.E.) found the Han dynasty.
6. Wei Wuzhi recommended to Liu Bang (see note 5 above) the services of Chen Ping, who later became prime minister.
7. On Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu’s name), see notes 5 and 6 above.
8. This refers to the story that Han Xin (d. 196 B.C.E.), before he became commander in chief under Liu Bang (see notes 5, 6, and 7 above), was fishing when an old woman washing clothes by the river noticed that he looked hungry and gave him some food. After he rose to power, Han Xin sought out the old woman and gave her a reward of a thousand pieces of gold. See also note 12 of story 1.
9. Persian merchants trading with China were known as connoisseurs of jewelry and antiques.
6. Lord Ge Gives Away Pearl Maiden
1. On King You’s beacon fires on Mount Li, see the first paragraph of story 3.
2. Ge also means “kudzu vine.”
3. See note 5 of story 5.
4. On Han Xin, see note 12 of story 1 and note 8 of story 5.
5. On the Clear and Bright Festival, see note 16 of story 1.
6. Yang Yuhuan (Yang Guifei; 719–56) was a favorite consort of Emperor Xuanzong (Minghuang; r. 712–55) of the Tang dynasty.
7. Zhao Feiyan (d. 1 B.C.E.) was a court lady in the service of Emperor Cheng (r. 32–6 B.C.E.) of the Han dynasty and was later made empress.
8. On Xishi, see note 5 of story 1.
9. On Nanwei, see note 6 of story 1.
10. Ma Zhou is the main character in story 5.
11. A green dragon symbolizes luck, and a white tiger misfortune.
12. In 911, the king of Jin put the Later Liang army to rout at Baixiang (in present-day Hebei) in a major battle with Li Cunzhang as the commander of the Jin army.
13. During the Warring States period, Prince Zhao of Yan had a stage erected southeast of Yishui and piled a thousand pieces of gold upon the platform in a bid to recruit men of worth. The stage thus came to be called the “platform of gold.”
7. Yang Jiao’ai Lays Down His Life for the Sake of Friendship
Story 7 has been translated as “Yang Jiao Throws Away His Life in Fulfillment of a Friendship” by William Dolby in The Perfect Lady by Mistake and Other Stories by Feng Menglong, 144–58. In the original text, there is a note appended to the title: “One text reads: ‘Yang Jiao’ai Dies to Fight Jing Ke.’”
1. The Qiang tribes lived mostly in areas that are now in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan.
2. The Liang Mountains are in present-day Shaanxi.
3. Guang Yu Ji is possibly a variant title of Guang yu tu, an official Ming Dynasty atlas of the empire.
4. In the Spring and Autumn period, ordinary grand master (zhong da fu) was around the middle of the nine official ranks.
5. Jing Ke (d. 227 B.C.E.) is famous for his failed assassination attempt against the First Emperor of Qin (r. 221–210 B.C.E.). He took on the ill-fated mission for Prince Dan of Yan (d. ca. 222 B.C.E.).
8. Wu Bao’an Abandons His Family to Ransom His Friend
Story 8 has been translated as “The Journey of the Corpse” by Cyril Birch in Feng, trans. Birch, Stories from a Ming Collection, 129– 49; and as “Wu Pao-an Ransoms His Friend” by John Kwan-Terry, in Ma and Lau eds., Traditional Chinese Stories, 4–18.
1. According to traditional decorum, a host does not introduce his wife to ordinary guests.
2. Yang Jiao’ai and Zuo Botao are the heroes of story 7.
3. Tao Yuanming expressed such a wish in his prose poem ( fu) “The Return” (Gui qu lai ci). See also note 4 of story 5.
4. Ji Kang (courtesy name Shuye, 223– 62), severed his friendship with Shan Tao, who recommended him to office against his wishes.
5. Liu Xiaobiao was the courtesy name of Liu Jun (462–521).
6. Gong Yu, in the reign of Emperor Yuandi (48–33 B.C.E.) of the Han dynasty, had such a close friendship with Wang Ji that they would assume or leave office at about the same time. Contemporaries said of them, “When Wang takes office, Gong Yu dusts his cap, ready for his own appointment.”
7. On Jing Ke, see note 5 of story 7.
8. Ban Chao (C.E. 33–103) of the Eastern Han dynasty was sent by Emperor Ming to regions to the west of China and established alliances with over fifty states. See also note 17 of story 21.
9. Fu Jiezi was an imperial envoy to the Western Regions under Emperor Zhao (86– 74 B.C.E.) of the Western Han dynasty.
10. Empress Wu Zetian (r. 684–704) was the only female sovereign in Chinese history.
11. Zhuge Liang (courtesy name Kongming, 181–234), was adviser to Liu Bei (162– 223), founder of the kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period (220–265). Meng Huo was chieftain of the tribes living in what is now Yunnan.
12. The Jian Mountains are in present-day Sichuan.
13. The Wuman tribes lived in what is now Yunnan.
14. Ma Yuan (14 B.C.E.–C.E. 49) was a general who set up bronze pillars at the border of Jiaozhi (in what is now Vietnam) to commemorate the success of his military expedition.
15. The duke of Ji of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1028 B.C.E.) remonstrated with the cruel King Zhou (d. 1027 B.C.E.) to no avail and, feigning madness, ran away as a slave.
16. Su Wu (140–60 B.C.E.), as envoy from the Han emperor to the Huns, was detained by the Huns and made to herd sheep near Lake Baikal in Siberia. He returned to China nineteen years later.
17. Yu Fan (courtesy name Zhongxiang, 164–226) was a subject of Sun Ce and Sun Quan of the state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.
18. The central plains are the regions along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.
19. Yangping, also known as Wuyang County, was in what is now Shandong.
20. See note 19.
21. A line from “Mugua,” in The Book of Songs.
22. See note 16. When the Chinese asked for Su Wu’s release, the Huns said he was already dead. It was not until after the Chinese side claimed that the emperor had shot down a wild goose carrying a letter from Su Wu, proving that he was alive, that the Huns relented and set Su Wu free.
9. Duke Pei of Jin Returns a Concubine to Her Rightful Husband
1. Heng and Ji are in present-day Hebei.
2. Zi and Qing are in present-day Shandong.
3. Kuaiji is now pronounced Guiji.
4. See note 16 of story 1.
5. According to “The Biography of Zhu Fu,” in The History of the Later [Eastern] Han Dynasty (Hou Han shu), a pig in Liaodong was very proud of the whiteness of its o spring, but, once it crossed the river, it was astounded to see that all the pigs there were white.
6. Literally, “When your time goes, a thunderbolt will smash the stone tablet of the Jianfu Temple.” This is from a Song dynasty (960–1279) story: When the famous essayist and poet Fan Zhongyan (989–1052) was prefect of Raozhou, a poverty-stricken scholar went to seek his help. Fan Zhongyan o ered to make him one thousand rubbings of a Jianfu Temple stone tablet with inscriptions by the most popular calligrapher of the day, Ouyang Xun, for each would be worth a thousand in cash. On the very night before the rubbings were to be done, the stone tablet was destroyed by a thunderbolt.
7. Literally, “When your time comes, the wind will send you to the Pavilion of Prince Teng.” This is from a Tang dynasty legend about Wang Bo (640–676), a famous poet and master of prose. He was on his way to visit his father in Jiangxi when a gust of wind blew him to the prefect’s banquet in the Pavilion of Prince Teng in the city of Nanchang by the West River, and that was how he came to write his best-known piece, “A Preface to the Poem ‘Pavilion of Prince Teng.’”
10. Magistrate Teng Settles the Case of Inheritance with Ghostly Cleverness
Story 10 has been translated as “The Hidden Will” by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, in The Courtesan’s Jewel Box, 89–116; and as “Magistrate T’eng and the Case of Inheritance” by Susan Arnold Zonana, in Ma and Lau, eds., Traditional Chinese Stories, 485–501.
1. Xie An (320–385) once asked his sons and nephews why parents would wish their sons success in life. A nephew, Xie Xuan, answered, “It is just as one would wish to have orchids and jade trees grow in his own yard.” Hence, “orchids and jade trees” has become a metaphor for children who bring their parents honor.
As legend has it, in the Han dynasty there lived three brothers—Tian Zhen, Tian Qing, and Tian Guang—who, in the process of dividing up their deceased parents’ property, talked about cutting up the redbud tree in the yard. Suddenly, the tree withered and died. Awed by the sight, the three brothers decided not to divide their inheritance, whereupon the tree came back to life again.
2. In imperial China, the lunar calendar prepared by the Directorate of Astronomy had to be approved by the emperor before it was put to use, hence the term “imperial calendar.” It was also called the “yellow calendar” because its cover was yellow.
3. On the first birthday of a boy, parents, as dictated by tradition, put various objects on a tray for the boy to choose from. The first thing he laid his hands on was understood to indicate his future aspirations.
4. Chinese families often give children of the same generation names with one character in common as a mark of their generational identity within the family or clan.
5. One mu is equivalent to roughly onesixth of an acre.
6. It is believed that on the night the soul of the deceased is to return home to wreak havoc, family members should leave the house to keep themselves out of harm’s way.
7. Lord Guan (Guan Yu; d. 220), a sworn brother of Liu Bei (see note 11 of story 8) in the Three Kingdoms period, is, to this day, revered as a central figure in the folk pantheon and is the embodiment of fidelity to commitments.
8. Master Guigu was a leading political strategist of the Warring States period (475– 221 B.C.E.).
11. Zhao Bosheng Meets with Emperor Renzong in a Teahouse
1. Blue clouds are a metaphor for high office.
2. The rivers’ high tide in the second and third months of the year, when peach blossoms are in bloom, is often referred to as the “peach blossom tide.” It is also a time when carp are believed to gather at Dragon Gate Hill by the Yellow River near Hejin County, Shanxi. Legend has it that those carp that could jump over Dragon Gate Hill became dragons, hence the analogy of candidates passing the imperial examinations to carp jumping over the Dragon Gate.
3. “Weicheng” is a poem by the famous poet Wang Wei (701–61) on the sorrow of separation between friends.
4. In ancient times, willow branches were broken to be given as parting gifts because the words “willow” (liu) and “to stay” (liu) are homophones.
5. Feasts customarily were given by the emperor in honor of those who passed the imperial civil service examinations at the metropolitan level and became jinshi.
6. “Phoenix tower” refers to a woman’s living quarters. It may also imply an eligible daughter of a rich and eminent family.
7. The four treasures of the scholar’s study are brush-pen, ink slab, ink-stone, and paper.
8. The poem “Nine Arguments,” attributed to Song Yu, starts with a line describing his melancholy. See also notes 3 and 9 of story 1, and note 6 of story 4.
9. Jiang Yan (444–505) wrote a prose poem titled “On Resentment” (Hen fu).
10. Han Yu (768–824), a major figure in the history of Chinese literature, was once exiled to the far south for having criticized Emperor Xianzong.
11. Su Qin (d. 317 B.C.E.), of the Warring States period, was shunned by his kinsmen for having returned home impoverished after a prolonged journey to find employment.
12. A thin fabric made of yellow grass was specific to the region of Suzhou in the Song dynasty.
13. This is the character xu 旭 in Zhao Xu’s name.
14. Wind and clouds are a metaphor for a scholar’s receiving recognition from the imperial government. The expression appears in the original text as “wind and rain,” but the word “rain” must be a misprint.
15. Zhao was the surname of the imperial family during the Song dynasty.
16. Sent as imperial envoy to the peoples of the southwest, Sima Xiangru passed by his hometown, where he had lived in poverty, and was honored by all local officials and his father-in-law. See also note 14 of story 1, and note 7 of story 4.
17. Su Qin, a native of Luoyang of the period of the Warring States, had been humiliated by his kith and kin. Later, when he passed by his hometown after his rise to power, his relatives did not even dare to look at him because, in his sister-in-law’s words, “You’re now a powerful man loaded with gold.” See also note 11 above.
12. The Courtesans Mourn Liu the Seventh in the Spring Breeze
1. The character for “poems” (shi) in this text appears in Quan Tang shi (A complete collection of Tang poems) as shu (letter, book, document). South Mountain is located about three miles south of Xiangyang in modern north-central Hubei.
2. In the Chinese lunar calendar, spring marks the beginning of a year.
3. Meng Haoran (689–740) spent most of his life on South Mountain.
4. The Eastern Capital (Dongjing) in the Tang dynasty is now Luoyang, Henan, but this prologue story most probably took place in Chang’an, the Tang Western Capital.
5. According to Quan Tang shi, this line should be “Faint clouds bedim the Milky Wa y. ”
6. These lines refer to the huge Dongting Lake outside of the city of Yueyang, Hunan. Opinions di er as to whether Yun and Meng were separate marshes or a single one.
7. It is “Emperor Shenzong” in the original text, but as Emperor Shenzong’s reign did not begin until 1068, fifteen years after Liu’s death, the author must have had Emperor Renzong in mind, the words ren and shen being pronounced the same way in his native Wu dialect. Later in the story when the emperor is mentioned again, he is referred to as “Emperor Renzong.”
8. The character jian, “adultery,” consists of three identical component parts, each being the character nü, “woman.”
9. Qin Guan (1049–1100), courtesy name Shaoyou, was a famous ci poet.
10. “Chang’an” was sometimes used to refer, in general, to the capital and, in this case, to the Song Eastern Capital, Bianliang.
11. See note 3 of story 1.
12. In the original poem as it appears in Quan Song ci (The complete collection of Song ci poems), this line is “In letters of late, there is nothing but empty talk.” The author changed it to suit the story line.
13. Zhang Youyu probably is Zhang Chou (1577–1643), a native of Wu, five years younger than Feng Menglong.
14. Lü Wang, popularly known as Taigong Wang, Jiang Taigong, or Jiang Ziya, was a miliary strategist who did not rise to eminence until, while fishing by the Wei River when he was about eighty years old, he was accosted by King Wen of the Zhou dynasty (ca. 1027–256 B.C.E.).
15. Literally, “He shall supervise the rating of officials in the Imperial Secretariat twenty-four times,” an allusion to the fact that Guo Ziyi (697–781), prime minister in the Tang dynasty, supervised the rating of Imperial Secretariat officials twenty-four times in his long career.
16. Pei Du was granted the title of duke of Jin by Emperor Xianzong of the Tang dynasty. See also note 1 of story 2.
17. On Guo Ziyi, see note 15.
18. Wen Tianxiang (1236–83) is remembered for his courage in facing death after being captured by the Mongols.
19. The Bureau of Remonstrance was an agency of the central government, first established in 1020, charged with scrutinizing and criticizing policy decisions.
20. “In moonlight and breeze” ( feng qian yue xia) also means “in love.”
21. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor is the supreme sovereign of heaven.
22. See note 16 of story 1.
13. Zhang Daoling Tests Zhao Sheng Seven Times
1. Tang Yin (courtesy name, Bohu; 1470–1524) was a painter and calligrapher, and appears as a romantic figure in popular literature.
2. Zhang Liang (courtesy name Zifang; d. 189 B.C.E.) is known for his failed attempt to assassinate the First Emperor of Qin. Later he served as advisor to Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty. On Liu Bang, see also note 12 of story 1, and notes 5 and 6 of story 5.
3. Also romanized Tao-te Ching, the Daode jing is a short text attributed to the philosopher Lao Zi. It is the best-known text in classical Taoist philosophy and the book that has most frequently been translated from Chinese to English.
4. Fuxi is one of the legendary Three Sovereigns who ruled in antiquity. See also note 2 of the title page and preface to the 1620 edition, and note 2 of story 25.
5. Physiognomists believe that the forehead ridge and long arms indicate potential wealth and high social status.
6. As legend has it, Prince Hui of Qin of the Warring States period wanted to wage war against the state of Shu (present-day Sichuan) but, unable to find any thoroughfare leading to Shu, had five bulls carved of stone and hid gold under their tails, claiming that the bulls excreted gold droppings. Fu Li, the prince of Shu, was taken in and sent five strong men to pull the stone bulls to Shu, thus revealing the secret passage.
7. The Red Terrace, in folk tradition, is a residence of gods.
8. Sala is probably a fictitious kingdom, but it could refer to the ancient kingdom of Sravasti in northwest India.
9. Taoist alchemists believed that the longer the firing process was and the more frequently the elixir was returned to the crucibles, the more powerful the elixir would be.
10. Liuxia Hui, a court official of the state of Lu in the Spring and Autumn period, was known for his stoic indi erence to sexual temptation.
11. Master Lü Chunyang, also known as Lü Dongbin, is one of the Eight Immortals in Taoist legends.
14. Chen Xiyi Rejects Four Appointments from the Imperial Court
1. Chen Tuan (d. 989) was a famous scholar recluse.
2. Peng Zu was a legendary figure in the time of the sage king Yao (before 2100 B.C.E.) who was said to have lived for eight hundred years.
3. The Yellow Court Canon and Lao Zi are central texts of “inner alchemy” and Taoist philosophy.
4. The seven emotions are joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire.
5. In Buddhist terms, the six desires are the six sexual attractions arising from color, form, carriage, voice, softness, and features. The expression has come to mean human desires in general.
6. Zhenwu or Xuanwu was a legendary figure of the Han dynasty who was said to have crossed the Eastern Sea and received a double-edged sword from a god. Then he went into the mountains, from which he later ascended to heaven. Because he watched over the northern region by the order of the Lord on High, the title Xuanwu became identified with the serpent-entwined tortoise that symbolizes the north.
7. This is a reference to Xuanwu. See note 6.
8. Zhao Kuangyin was the founder of the Song dynasty.
9. The Khitans were a Tatar people who dominated north China from the tenth to the twelfth century and established the Liao dynasty (916–1125).
10. The Duangong reign period lasted for only two years. There could not have been a fifth year.
15. The Dragon-and-Tiger Reunion of Shi Hongzhao the Minister and His Friend the King
Title: The dragon represents a sovereign, and the tiger his minister.
1. “Red-tailed fish” is a metaphor for assiduous workers, for the ancients believed that when tired, fish would turn red in the tail. The prefects referred to probably are previous distinguished prefects of Yingzhou: Yan Shu (991–1055), Ouyang Xiu (1007–72), and Lu Gongzhu (1018–89). Ouyang Xiu, also a historian, epigrapher, statesman, and leading personality of his time, was prefect of Yingzhou before Su Shi (see note 2 below) was. The Double-Ninth Festival, on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, is celebrated by climbing hills and drinking chrysanthemum wine. The Hall of Stars was where Ouyang Xiu, while prefect of Yingzhou, met with his literati friends.
2. Su Shi (Su Dongpo, 1037–1101), one of the greatest men of letters in the history of Chinese literature, requested in 1091 to leave the Hanlin Academy and was assigned a few months later as prefect not of Hangzhou but of Yingzhou (present-day Fuyang, Anhui). There was in Yingzhou a West Lake (referred to in the poem), which the author apparently mistook for West Lake in Hangzhou, hence the confusion.
3. It was actually in the fourth year of the Xining reign period (1071) that Su Shi assumed the post of controller general of Hangzhou.
4. Hong Mai (1123–1202) was the author of The Records of Yijian, a collection of nearly 2,700 stories that deal with dreams, relations between the human and supernatural worlds, the origins of poems, etc.
5. See note 7 of story 11.
6. Zhang Ziwei or Zhang Nie (1096–1148). His literary works are collected in Ziwei ji.
7. The “jasper pool” is a metaphor for the abode of the gods in heaven.
8. As yet unidentified.
9. Wang Tanshou of Song (420–79) of the Southern Dynasties, a good singer, was told about Xie An’s wish to hear him sing. One day, when Xie An was giving a feast in the East Earth Mountains, Wang Tanshou rode there on horseback, sang a song, and left.
10. Cao Xiangu was a female Taoist of the Song dynasty.
11. Zhu Shuzhen was a native of Qiantang (Hangzhou) in the Song dynasty. Unhappy in her marriage, she wrote ci poems of a mostly melancholy nature.
12. On Qin Shaoyou, see note 9 of story 12.
13. The prince of Ning was the brother of Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, and a skilled flute player.
14. Huan Yi, prefect of Jiangzhou in the Jin dynasty, was also an accomplished flute player.
15. Cai Yi of the Han dynasty was passing through a place called Keting when he noticed that a piece of bamboo used as a house rafter could be made into a wonderful flute.
16. Yan Zhaoliang is being taken to the netherworld, as the story goes on to tell.
17. The Bamboo Grove Temple, located near Mount Tai, is often reflected in the clouds like a mirage after a rainfall.
18. It was believed that the size of one’s gallbladder determined one’s degree of courage.
19. Shi Xindao is as yet unidentified.
20. In classical poetry, plum blossoms and willow catkins are often used as metaphors for snowflakes. Mount Yu, on the border of Jiangxi and Guangdong, is famous for its abundance of plum blossoms. Zhang Terrace was a feature in the king of Qin’s palace in the Warring States period.
21. Han Shizhong (1089–1151) was a famous general who successfully repelled attacks by invading Jurchen troops.
22. Yao (pre-Xia era), Shun (pre-Xia era), Yu (Xia dynasty), and Tang (Shang dynasty) are all revered as sage kings.
23. Chen Ping, a prime minister in the Han dynasty, su ered from poverty before his rise to prominence.
24. Mr. Lü of Shanfu married his daughter Lü Si to Liu Bang, who later became the first emperor of the Han dynasty, and his daughter Lü Xu to Fan Kuai, Liu Bang’s subordinate.
25. Yang Hu, a military commander of the Western (Former) Jin dynasty (265–316), recommended that Du Yu replace him after his death to carry out his plan to expand the empire.
26. Bao Shu and Guan Zhong, of the state of Qi in the Spring and Autumn period, were good friends, one serving Prince Xiaobai, the other serving Prince Jiu. Later, when Xiaobai assumed the throne as King Huan of Qi, Prince Jiu died in defeat, and Guan was thrown into prison. It was through the recommendation of Bao Shu that King Huan appointed Guan Zhong to office. For more on these two, see story 7.
27. Xiao He, prime minister under the first emperor of the Han dynasty, formulated the larger part of the Han penal code. See also note 5 of story 5.
28. The Palace Command (Diansi or Dianqiansi) was the administrative headquarters that controlled the imperial armies.
29. See note 9 of story 14.
16. The Chicken-and-Millet Dinner for Fan Juqing, Friend in Life and Death
Story 16 has been translated as “Fan Chu Ching’s Eternal Friendship” by John Lyman Bishop in his The Colloquial Short Story in China, 88–103.
1. The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month. On this day, it is a Chinese tradition to drink chrysanthemum wine, climb up mountains, and deck the hair with dogwood sprays. Wang Wei’s famous poem “Thinking of My Brothers in Shandong on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month” mentions dogwood as a reminder of a brother’s absence.
2. It was believed that ghosts, unable to partake of food, could only consume the aroma.
3. The Analects, 2:22. This sentence refers to the virtue of fidelity.
4. The Analects, 12:7. This does not fit the notion of fidelity in this context but refers to the trust that people place in their government, although the Chinese character for both concepts, out of context, is the same (xin).
5. According to the biography of Fan Shi in Fan Ye’s History of the Later Han Dynasty, it was Fan Shi who went to the funeral of Zhang Shao, who had died of an illness. Zhang Shao’s mother saw Fan Juqing “approaching with loud wails of grief in a white carriage drawn by a white horse.”
6. In the Han dynasty, the Court for Dependencies was responsible for receiving tributary envoys at court.
17. Shan Fulang’s Happy Marriage in Quanzhou
1. Jiaru, in what is now Luoyang, was the capital of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 B.C.E.). The dynasty is divided, according to the location of the capital, into Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou, and altogether lasted about eight hundred years.
2. In the Song dynasty, Luoyang was also known as the Western Capital.
3. The Jurchen people established their own dynasty, the Jin, between 1115 and 1122 and drove the Song dynasty south of the Huai River. The Jin was destroyed in 1234 by the Mongols.
4. Wolipu (d. 1127), the second son of Aguda (Ogda), Emperor Taizu (r. 1115–22) of the Jin (Jurchen) dynasty. (See note 3 above.)
5. Bianjing (or Bianliang), the “Capital on the Bian [River]” from which the Song ruling house fled, is present-day Kaifeng, Henan.
6. Yingtianfu was in what is now Henan.
7. Bianzhou is another name for Bianjing.
8. Zhang Chang of the Han dynasty often painted his wife’s eyebrows for her.
9. Luoyang was known as the Western Capital in the Song dynasty, as is explained in note 2, but much earlier, in the Zhou dynasty, it was called the Eastern Capital, while Chang’an was the Western Capital.
10. Lady Zhao was the wife of Sun Quan (182–252), King of Wu, who reigned over the entire region southeast of the Yangzi River. She was said to have woven hair into bed curtains.
18. Yang Balao’s Extraordinary Family Reunion in the Land of Yue
Story 18 has been translated as “The Strange Adventures of Yang Balao” by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, in Lazy Dragon, 25–44.
1. Wei Qing (d. 106 B.C.E.) was a slave who later rose to prominence and married Princess Pingyang, sister of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty.
2. Duke Shao Ping was reduced to poverty after the fall of the Qin dynasty.
3. Tianjin Bridge was southwest of Luoyang.
4. A story in the “Five Vermin” (Wu du) chapter of Han Fei Zi, by the philosopher Hen Fei (ca. 280–233 B.C.E.), tells of a peasant who saw a hare run into a tree trunk and die, whereupon he gave up farming and sat beside the tree, waiting for another hare to do the same.
5. On customs for naming children, see note 4 of story 10.
6. On Su Wu, see note 16 of story 8. When Su Wu herded sheep during his years as a captive of the Huns, he used his sta denoting his official status to show his loyalty to the imperial court of the Han dynasty. After nineteen years, all of the ox-hair on the sta had worn o .
7. Hong Hao (1088–1115) was sent on a mission as secretary of the Ministry of Rites to the Jurchens and was kept captive by them for fifteen years.
8. On Fengcheng swords, see note 21 of story 1.
9. On Hepu pearls, see note 20 of story 1.
19. Yang Qianzhi Meets a Monk Knight-Errant on a Journey by Boate
1. Sichuan actually is north of Anzhuang.
2. Lianzhou is now Lian County, Guangdong.
3. Weiqing County is in present-day Qingzhen County, Guizhou.
4. Qiongzhou is now Hainan Province.
5. Pianqiao County is in present-day Shibing County, Guizhou.
6. On Lady Yang, see note 6 of story 6.
7. Soldiers accompanying Emperor Minghuang on his flight from Chang’an blamed Lady Yang for the disaster that befell the empire and demanded her death. See also note 6 of story 6.
8. Aman was a court lady well liked by Lady Yang.
9. The magistrate and assistant magistrate were appointed by the imperial court, whereas the post of pacification commissioner was a hereditary one assumed by natives. The pacification commissioner was responsible for controlling bandits and disruptive aboriginal tribes.
10. On Empress Feiyan, see note 7 of story 6.
11. The twelve notes of ancient Chinese music were believed to correspond to the number of months in a year.
20. Chen Congshan Loses His Wife on Mei Ridge
1. On the green dragon and white tiger, see note 11 of story 6.
2. The Quanzhen order of Taoism, founded by Wang Chongyang, was the most important of the three new Taoist sects in north China during the Jurchen (Jin) dynasty.
3. This is, in Taoist belief, the uppermost of the thirty-six levels of heaven.
4. A woodsman in the state of Zheng forgot where he hid the deer that he had killed and thought he had dreamt about it. Another man heard about this, found the deer, and took it home. Then the woodsman remembered in a dream the place where he had hidden the deer and, in the same dream, also saw the man who got the deer. The two men brought the case to court. When asked for his judgment, the state counselor said, “I can’t tell what is dream and what is not.”
5. Zhuang Zhou or Zhuang Zi (ca. 369–286 B.C.E.) was a Taoist philosopher. According to the book that bears his name, he once dreamed that he was a butterfly, which did not know that it was Zhuang Zhou. When he awoke suddenly, he found himself Zhuang Zhou again, but he did not know whether he was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamed that he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that it was Zhuang Zhou.
6. Zhang Sengyao of the Southern Liang dynasty (502–557) was adept at painting landscapes and Buddha images.
7. On “clouds and rain,” see note 3 of story 1.
21. Qian Poliu Begins His Career in Lin’an
1. Laizi, or Laolaizi, a hermit in the state of Chu in the Spring and Autumn period, was said to have worn clothing colored like that of a child when he was seventy to please his aged parents. This line is meant to praise Qian Liu (see note 5) for his filial piety.
2. Xie Tiao (464–499) was a famous poet.
3. The Hall of Fame was Lingyan Pavilion in Chang’an, where Tang emperor Taizong (r. 627–49) had the portraits of twenty-four men of great merit painted on the walls.
4. Huang Chao (d. 884) was leader of a major peasant rebellion toward the end of the Tang dynasty.
5. Qian Liu (852–932), king of the Wu and Yue regions in the period of the Five Dynasties, is the title character of this story.
6. In fact, Qian Liu had but thirteen prefectures under his rule.
7. Xiang Yu (232–202 B.C.E.), major rival of Liu Bang (see also note 12 of story 1, and notes 5–7 of story 5) in contending for the throne, was from an aristocratic family, whereas Liu Bang, who defeated Xiang Yu and became the first emperor of the Han dynasty, was of humble background.
8. Lord Mengchang (Tian Wen; d. 297 B.C.E.) of the period of the Warring States was born on the fifth day of the fifth month. Children born in that month were believed to be potential dangers to their parents, but his mother kept him in spite of his father’s wishes to the contrary.
9. The stories of Dou Wen and Houji follow in the text.
10. The son was Dou Wen of the poem above.
11. See note 5 of story 10.
12. Deng Ai (197–264) was a general of the state of Wei.
13. This refers to Essence of the Yijing [The book of changes] of Zhou by Zhu Xi (1130–1200), one of the most influential philosophers in Chinese history. The Confucian classics he annotated and edited were standard textbooks for literati education for almost six centuries until 1905, when the civil service examination system was abolished.
14. The Peach Garden pledge of brotherhood was that among Liu Bei (162–223), Guan Yu (see also note 7 of story 10), and Zhang Fei (d. 221). There is a reference to this pledge in story 31. See Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel, trans. Moss Roberts, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), chap. 1.
15. On Jing Ke, see note 5 of story 7. It was said that Jing Ke’s noble spirit so moved the heavens that a white rainbow appeared in the sky. It was by the Yishui River that Prince Dan of Yan saw Jing Ke o on his mission to assassinate the First Emperor of Qin.
16. On Fengcheng swords, see note 21 of story 1.
17. Of humble origin, Ban Chao was enfeo ed as a noble lord later in life. See also note 8 of story 8.
18. Deng Tong of the Han dynasty was an immensely rich court favorite with the authority to mint his own money. But he lost favor with the new emperor and later died of hunger in prison. See story 9.
19. The Tianmu Mountain chain extends to the county of Qiantang.
20. Sea Gate (Haimen), in Zhejiang, is where the Qiantang River flows into the sea.
21. Gou Jian (d. 465 B.C.E.), king of Yue, was defeated by the king of Wu, but by acting humble to fool his enemies, he eventually wiped out the kingdom of Wu.
22. The certificates of redemption were in the form of iron tablets issued by the imperial court of those who had rendered meritorious service to exempt them and their descendants from charges of crime.
23. Quoted from the biography of Xiang Yu in Sima Qian’s (ca. 145–ca. 85 B.C.E.) Records of the Grand Historian (Shi ji).
22. Zheng Huchen Seeks Revenge in Mumian Temple
1. This is a reference to Phoenix Hill in Hangzhou.
2. On Sea Gate, see note 20 of story 21.
3. Emperor Wu (r. 265–90) of the Jin dynasty ordered Jia Chong to be the commander in chief in the campaign against the state of Wu. Afraid that he might lose, Jia Chong advised against the operation. Later, when the Jin army did crush Wu, Jia Chong was overcome with shame and fear.
4. Yu Xin, a poet of the Wu region, was sent as emissary to Western Wei during the reign of Emperor Yuan (r. 552–54) of the Liang dynasty and was never allowed to return. He wrote a number of nostalgic poems.
5. On Xishi, see note 5 of story 1.
6. This poem actually was written not by Zhang Zhiyuan, but by Zhang Yining (courtesy name Zhidao, 1301–70).
7. On Su Dongpo, see note 2 of story 15.
8. In the famous story “Orphan of the Zhao Clan,” set during the reign of Duke Jing of the state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn period, Tu’an Gu killed the entire Zhao clan except Zhao Shuo’s wife, who fled to the depths of the palace, where she gave birth to a son, Zhao Wu. Cheng Ying and Gongsun Chujiu, retainers of the Zhao family, saved the orphan, who later sought revenge against Tu’an Gu.
9. The nine women’s professions are Buddhist nun, Taoist priestess, fortune-teller, dealer in human traffic, matchmaker, witch, procuress, doctor, and midwife.
10. Jia Sidao and Jia Yuhua were, in fact, cousins.
11. On Han Shizhong, see note 21 of story 15.
12. The Huai region is between the Huai River in the north and the Yangzi River in the south, in present-day Anhui and Jiangsu.
13. In a common metaphor, a minister’s ruling of the state was referred to as cooking.
14. The Green Seedling Method was a law promulgated by Chief Councilor Wang Anshi (1021–86) whereby the state lent farmers funds at planting time and was paid back at harvest at an interest rate much lower than the usurious rate in the private market. For all its good intentions, the policy in the end aggravated rather than alleviated the farmers’ debts.
15. See note 5 of story 10.
16. Jingxiang is in present-day Hubei.
17. Jia Sidao issued a new paper currency called Guanzi to replace Huizi, which the Ministry of Revenue had issued since 1160.
18. See note 14 of story 12.
19. Yi Yin was a prime minister in the Shang dynasty.
20. On the Clear and Bright Festival, see note 16 of story 1.
21. Lao Zi, the founder of Taoism, was said to have crossed Yougu Pass on the back of a green bu alo to live the life of a recluse.
22. Cao Cao (courtesy name Mengde; 155–220), prime minister in the Han dynasty and later king of the state of Wei, was a military strategist as well as a famous poet. See also note 6 of story 31.
23. Neither Dong Zhuo (d. 192) nor Cao Cao (see note 22 above) took the throne himself, but each had an emperor under his control.
24. Zhang Jun (1068–1154), Han Shizhong (1089–1154), Liu Qi (1098–1162), and Yue Fei (1103–42) are remembered for their accomplishments in repelling the advances of Jurchen invaders.
25. On Zhang Liang, see note 2 of story 13.
26. Huo Guang (d. 68 B.C.E.) e ectively controlled the court for twenty years, but only three years after he died, his entire clan was exterminated.
27. Quanzhou is present-day Fujian.
28. The event described here occurred during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong (r. 998–1022), not Renzong (r. 1023–63).
29. In the first year of the Jingde reign period (1004–7) under Emperor Zhenzong, the Liao swept south in an invasion against the Song. Kou Zhun (961–1023), the prime minister, led an expedition to Chanyuan (in present-day Henan) and killed the leading Liao general. However, the advocates of appeasement prevailed and negotiated peace in a treaty historically known as the Treaty of Chanyuan.
30. Autumn Valley Pavilion was built by Jia Sidao for his sumptuous garden.
23. Zhang Shunmei Finds a Fair Lady during the Lantern Festival
1. See note 16 of story 1.
2. Story 12 is about Liu Yong (Liu the Seventh).
24. Yang Siwen Meets an Old Acquaintance in Yanshan
Story 24 has been translated as “Strange Encounter in Yanshan” by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, in Chinese Literature (December, 1961): 46–68.
1. Hu Haoran was an obscure poet of the Song dynasty. The editors of Quan Song ci (The complete collection of Song ci poems) (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1965) attribute this poem to Chao Chongzhi.
2. Felicity Pool and Five Peaks Temple were in Bianliang (present-day Kaifeng), the Eastern Capital of the Northern Song dynasty.
3. Yanshan Prefecture is in present-day Beijing.
4. On the Jurchens, see note 3 of story 17.
5. Prince Su was Zhao Shu, son of Emperor Huizong.
6. During the Jingkang period (1126) Emperors Huizong and Qinzong were captured by the Jurchens, the Northern Song dynasty perished, and many residents of Kaifeng, the capital, fled to Yanshan.
7. The badge was a pass for access to the palace grounds.
8. In the Song dynasty, the Diplomacy Section was a unit in the Bureau of Military A airs that handled correspondence and diplomatic exchanges between the imperial court and foreign peoples.
9. Su Xiaoqing was a famous courtesan from Luzhou who figured in a popular love story during the Song dynasty.
10. Mengjiangnü was a legendary figure. Her husband, Fan Xiliang, being one of the conscripted laborers building the Great Wall, she undertook a long journey to deliver winter clothes to him, but by the time she arrived there, he had already died. Her bitter wails caused the Great Wall to collapse, revealing her husband’s remains. She later threw herself into the sea and drowned.
11. Jinling is present-day Nanjing.
12. On The Records of Yijian, see note 4 of story 15.
13. Guo Xi was a famous landscape painter of the Northern Song dynasty.
14. On Chen Miaochang, see note 15 of story 1.
15. On the Clear and Bright Festival, see note 16 of story 1.
16. When performing exorcism, a Taoist priest would draw a magic charm, burn it, and have the ashes eaten by the person believed to be possessed by a ghost.
17. Qiantang was another name for Hangzhou.
18. According to legend, Cao E, of Shangyu County in the Eastern Han dynasty, wailed with grief for seventeen days as she went along the river to find her father’s drowned corpse. She then threw herself into the river. Five days later, she reemerged with her father’s body.
19. Qu Yuan (ca. 340–278 B.C.E.), one of the best known figures in traditional Chinese culture, drowned himself in the Milo River.
25. Yan Pingzhong Kills Three Men with Two Peaches
1. See note 1 of story 3.
2. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were legendary rulers in antiquity. According to the most common belief, the Three Sovereigns are Fuxi, whose reign supposedly began around 2800 B.C.E., Shennong (Divine Farmer); and Huangdi (Yellow Emperor). The Five Emperors, according to Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, are Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao, and Shun.
3. On Zhuge Liang, see note 11 of story 8.
26. Shen Xiu Causes Seven Deaths with One Bird
Story 26 has been translated as “The Canary Murders” by Cyril Birch, in Feng, trans. Birch, Stories from a Ming Collection, 155–171.
1. Ninghai is present-day Hangzhou.
2. Geyao (lit., “Older Brother’s kiln”) refers to the work of Zhang Shengyi, the famous potter of Dragon Spring Country of Song times. The porcelain of his younger brother was called Diyao (Younger Brother’s kiln).
3. This is borrowed from a line in The Analects of Confucius: “The lack of self-restraint in small matters will bring ruin to great plans” (The Analects: 15:27; trans. D. C. Lau. [Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books, 1979]).
27. Jin Yunu Beats the Heartless Man
Story 27 has been translated as “The Beggar Chief’s Daughter” by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, in The Courtesan’s Jewel Box, 141–53; and as “The Lady Who Was a Beggar” by Cyril Birch, in Feng, trans. Birch, Stories from a Ming Collection, 19–36.
1. In the Qin dynasty, Kuaiji Prefecture was in Wu County (present-day Suzhou). In the Eastern Han dynasty, the boundaries of the prefecture were redrawn and it became Shanyin County (present-day Shaoxing County). Zhu Maicheng was a native of Wu County.
2. On Jiang Taigong, see note 14 of story 12.
3. Gan Luo was a native of the state of Qin during the Warring States period. He was granted a royal title at the age of twelve for his meritorious service to the state.
4. Present-day Xi’an is the site of the Han Western Capital.
5. Yan Zhu was a native of Kuaiji and filled the post of ordinary grand master under Emperor Wudi.
6. On the washer woman and Han Xin, see note 8 of story 5.
7. Xi Fuji was a minister of the state of Cao in the Spring and Autumn period. When Chong’er, prince of the state of Jin, fled to the state of Cao, his wife had a premonition that Chong’er would return home later and rise to power. She advised her husband to receive the Prince. Later, after becoming the duke of Jin, Chong’er led an invasion into the state of Cao but granted amnesty to the entire Xi clan.
8. Zhang Lihua, a great beauty, was a concubine of the last ruler of the Chen dynasty (583–89).
9. Zhong Kui is, in folklore, a fighter of demons.
10. On the seven o enses, see note 17 of story 1.
11. Wuwei County is in present-day Anhui Province.
12. The six senses are sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought. In Buddhist legend, the six senses assumed shapes and tormented Amita Buddha to distract him from his spiritual devotions.
13. Song Hong, of the Eastern Han dynasty, declined Emperor Guangwu’s o er of marriage to an imperial princess, Guangwu’s sister, with these words.
14. When Yuan Wei of the Eastern Han dynasty was seeking a husband for his niece, he saw Huang Yun and said, “If only I could find such a nephew-in-law.” When these words reached him, Huang Yun promptly divorced his wife.
28. Li Xiuqing Marries the Virgin Huang with Honor
1. On Empress Wu Zetian, see note 10 of story 8. Zhuang Jiang was the wife of Duke Zhuang of the state of Wei in the Spring and Autumn period. She was viewed traditionally as a less than virtuous woman who, upon the advice of her tutoress, later made every e ort to cultivate her character. Cao Lingnü, née Xiahou Lingnü, was the wife of Cao Wenshu of the Wei dynasty (220–65). When pressed to remarry after Cao Wenshu’s death, she protested by cutting o her nose and an ear. Ban Zhao was the daughter of Ban Biao of the Eastern Han dynasty, sister of Ban Gu, and the wife of Cao Shishu. A learned and talented scholar, she helped finish Ban Gu’s History of the Han Dynasty. Ban Jieyu, a poetically inclined imperial consort of Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Han dynasty, was later demoted to the position of maid to the empress dowager. Su Ruolan was the wife of Dou Tao of the Jin dynasty, prefect of Qinzhou, who distanced himself from her after he took a second wife. Su wove into pieces of brocade melancholy poems addressed to Dou that could be read a great number of ways. Shen Manyuan was a woman poet of the Southern Liang dynasty who is believed to have written five volumes of poetry, all of which have been lost. Li Qingzhao (1084–1151) was China’s greatest woman poet. On Zhu Shuzhen, see note 11 of story 15. Feng Liao was the wife of the regent marshall of the state of Wusun. She was also an imperial envoy to that state. Lady Ren was the concubine of Cui Ning, a regional commander in the Tang dynasty. When the city of Chengdu came under attack while Cui Ning was away at the capital, she contributed family assets for financing the recruitment of thousands of soldiers and led the troops in pushing back the invaders. Lady Xi was the wife of Feng Bao, prefect of Gaoliang in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589). After his death, Lady Xi ruled the region south of the Wuling Mountains. Princess Pingyang was the daughter of Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu (r. 618–26) of the Tang dynasty, and the wife of Chai Shao. When Chai Shao rose in arms to follow Li Yuan, Princess Pingyang raised an army of women to join the campaign. Madam Liu was otherwise known as the Banner-Bearing Woman Warrior of the Jin dynasty. In the thirteenth year of the reign period Jiading (1208–24) under Emperor Ningzong of the Song dynasty, Li Quan was driving Jin troops into a valley when Madam Liu appeared on her horse and repelled his forces.
2. Tiying was the daughter of Chunyu Yi of the Han dynasty. When her father was condemned to corporal punishment, she followed him to the capital, Chang’an, and submitted a request to the imperial court that she be allowed to work as a maidservant in a government institution to redeem her father. Emperor Wen eventually pardoned him.
3. On engagement preliminaries, see note 2 of story 1.
4. There was a rather obscure play titled “The Story of Spring Peach” that was perhaps written in the early Ming dynasty, but the reference here might be to a better-known play based on it by Xu Wei (1521–93) titled “The Female Zhuangyuan.”
5. The relationship between Honest Huang and Zhang Sheng is confusing here. Huang introduced his daughter as Zhang Sheng, his nephew. The words “nephew” and “grandson” share the same pronunciation in the Wu dialect, which was the editor’s mother tongue, but the characters are written di erently. It is unclear whether the mistaking of their relationship as that of grandson and grandfather is a matter of confusion on the part of those making the comment or an error on the part of the author or editor. In any case, the “mistake” is perpetuated by Shancong below.
29. Monk Moon Bright Redeems Willow Green
1. The surname Liu means “willow.”
2. Lin’an is present-day Hangzhou.
3. The eminent monk Hao Congshen of the Tang dynasty, abbot of Bodhisattva Monastery in Zhaozhou (in present-day Zhao County, Hebei), was known as the Monk of Zhaozhou.
4. Sakyamuni preached his sermons at Holy Vulture Peak, Grdhrakuta, in ancient India.
5. The five Buddhist commandments are against killing, stealing, engaging in sensual indulgence, lying, and consuming liquor and meat.
6. Mount Gaoting is northeast of Hangzhou.
7. This means that Abbot Yutong’s status has been greatly reduced.
8. “The West” refers to the Western Pure Land in Buddhist belief.
9. A round carved wooden fish is used by monks to keep time in chanting; a long one is used to summon monks to meals in the monastery.
10. In Buddhism, it is believed that the world consists of the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.
11. On the four treasures, see note 7 of story 11.
30. Abbot Mingwu Redeems Abbot Wujie
1. Logic would require one of the Tang reign titles, not one from the Song. However, the fact that the main part of this narrative begins in this reign period might somewhat account for its otherwise inexplicable appearance here.
2. In Buddhist terms, to “go to the West” is to die.
3. Ge Hong (courtesy name, Zhichuan; 281–341) was a Taoist scholar who allegedly achieved enlightenment by a well on Mount Tianzhu.
4. On Huang Chao, see note 4 of story 21.
5. Shu is present-day Sichuan.
6. On Su Dongpo (Su Shi), see note 2 of story 15.
7. Kumarajiva (344–413) was an eminent Indian monk and a great translator of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. In a state of drunkenness one night, he was forcibly locked in a room with a girl. Like Abbot Wujie in this story, he broke the monastic prohibition against sex.
8. Sangha is a Buddhist religious community.
9. The five Classics are: The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Changes, The Book of Rites and The Spring and Autumn Annals. The Three Histories are: Records of the Grand Historian, History of the Han Dynasty and History of the Later Han Dynasty.
10. On Su Shi, see note 2 of story 15.
11. Huizhou being in present-day Guangdong, Danzhou in present-day Hai’nan, Lianzhou in present-day Guangdong, and Yongzhou in present-day Guizhou, Dongpo was being sent, for all practical purposes, to the ends of the earth.
31. Sima Mao Disrupts Order in the Underworld and Sits in Judgment
1. Monk Hui’an lived during the Southern Song dynasty.
2. On the four treasures of the study, see note 7 of story 11.
3. The five mountains are Mount Tai in Shandong, Mount Heng in Hunan, the Hua Mountains in Shaanxi, the Heng Mountains in Shanxi, and the Song Mountains in Henan. The four seas were believed in ancient times to be the Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern Seas.
4. Han Xin, Peng Yue (d. 196 B.C.E.), and Ying Bu (d. 195 B.C.E.) were advisers to Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han dynasty. On Han Xin, see also note 12 of story 1 and note 8 of story 5. On Liu Bang, see also note 12 of story 1, notes 5–7 of story 5, and note 7 of story 21. Ding Gong, also known as Ding Gu, was a general under Xiang Yu (232–202 B.C.E.), Liu Bang’s major opponent in contending for the throne. When Ding Gong laid a siege against Liu Bang, the latter talked him into withdrawing his troops. After Liu Bang became emperor, Ding Gong went for an audience, and Liu Bang killed him. Qi-shi was a concubine of Liu Bang.
5. In his youth, Han Xin was once challenged by a bully to crawl between his legs. Han Xin swallowed his pride and did as he was told.
6. For stories about Cao Cao and the following reincarnated characters, see Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel, trans. Moss Roberts. See also note 22 of story 22.
7. On Sun Quan, see note 10 of story 17.
8. On Liu Bei, see note 11 of story 8.
9. On Zhuge Liang, see note 11 of story 8.
10. On Zhang Fei, see note 14 of story 21.
11. Guan Yu is, to this day, revered as a central figure in the folk pantheon and is the embodiment of fidelity to commitments. There are also temples to Zhang Fei.
12. The future emperor is Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan, nicknamed Adou.
32. Humu Di Intones Poems and Visits the Netherworld
1. “Hui” here can be and often is pronounced “Kuai” or even “Gui.” “Hui” is the most modern pronunciation.
2. Wanyan Chang was a cousin of Emperor Taizu of the Jin. On Taizu, see note 4 of story 17.
3. On Yama, king of hell, see story 31.
4. The Yanyue Hall is where Li Linfu (d. 752), prime minister in the Tang dynasty, drew up his schemes to bring about the downfall of other court ministers.
5. See story 21, which is about the life of Qian Liu (Qian Poliu).
6. A yaksha is a malevolent spirit in Buddhist belief.
7. Zhang Dun was a court minister of the Northern Song dynasty known for his persecution of other officials. Cai Jing (1045–1126) was another notorious evil minister. Wang Fu was a collaborator of Cai Jing. Zhu Mian (1075–1126) a collaborator of Cai Jing, was known for his notorious project transporting ornamental rocks from the south to please Emperor Huizong. Geng Nanzhong, a court official in the reign of Emperor Qinzong of the Song dynasty, advocated making territorial concessions to the Jin invaders. Ding Daquan was a greedy and evil court minister of the Southern Song period who died in exile. Han Tuozhou (1151–1207) was a powerful minister in the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Song dynasty. Shi Miyuan (d. 1232) murdered Han Tuozhou and replaced him as prime minister. Story 22 is a story about Jia Sidao.
33. Old Man Zhang Grows Melons and Marries Wennü
Story 33 has been translated as “The Fairy’s Rescue” by Cyril Birch, in Feng, trans. Birch, Stories from a Ming Collection, 175–198.
1. Xie Lingyun (385–433) was a famous poet in the Six Dynasties period.
2. On Su Dongpo (Su Shi), see note 2 of story 15.
3. On Tao Qian (Tao Yuanming), see note 4 of story 5, and note 3 of story 8.
4. Xie Daoyun was Xie Lingyun’s sister. See note 1 above.
5. Huang Tingjian (courtesy name, Luzhi; 1045–1105) was a famous poet, but this poem is believed to have been written by the author of the story.
6. On Li Qingzhao, see note 1 of story 28.
7. Zhao Chongzhi (Zhao Shuyong) was a Northern Dynasties poet. This poem too is believed to have been written by the author of the story.
8. Hibiscus Town is a legendary fairyland.
9. Li Jing, or Devaraja Li, is the mythological Pagoda Bearer.
10. Yuan An (courtesy name, Shaogong; d. 92) was once found lying in bed half frozen during a snowstorm. When asked why he chose to stay indoors, he explained that although he was hungry, he did not wish to go out and beg from people.
11. The Whitemarsh is a mythical beast.
12. Bodhidharma is reputed to have been the first patriarch of the Chan School of Buddhism in China.
13. On Liuxia Hui, see note 10 of story 13. Magu is the only female among the eight sages of popular Taoism. The Jade Maiden and the Golden Boy are a maid and a page in the service of Taoist immortals. The Wushan Goddess is the mythical figure that gave rise to the expression “clouds and rain” as a metaphor for sexual encounters. See also note 3 of story 1. On the Weaving Maiden, see note 4 of story 1.
14. Wang Sengbian (d. 555) was a general of the Liang dynasty who quelled a rebellion by Hou Jing.
15. According to one legend, the First Emperor of Qin (r. 221–209 B.C.E.) wanted to construct a stone pier at the seashore so that he could watch the sunrise. An immortal used his powers to drive the stones into the sea with his whip. Xia’ao, son of Hanzhuo of the Xia dynasty (ca. 2100–ca. 1600 B.C.E.), was a master in naval warfare and could maneuver ships over dry land.
16. The Blue Gate refers to the blue southeast city gate of Chang’an, where Zhao Ping, duke of Dongling, grew his famous melons when he was reduced to poverty after the fall of the Qin dynasty.
17. The legendary precious Tai’e sword was made in the Spring and Autumn period by Ouyezi and Ganjiang.
18. Mount Mao, located in present-day Jiangsu, was traditionally associated with Taoist legends.
19. According to Accounts of Extraordinary Happenings (Shu yi ji) by Ren Fang of the Later Liang dynasty, a man named Wang Zhi was chopping firewood when he saw some children singing. One of the children gave Wang Zhi an object that resembled the pit of a date. Zhi put it in his mouth and felt instantly relieved of hunger. When the children said after a little while, “Why are you still here?” Wang Zhi saw that the handle of his axe had rotted away. Upon his return, none of his contemporaries was to be found.
20. According to a belief popular at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Lao Zi left China and turned himself into Buddha.
21. The Materia Medica (Ben cao) is a compendium on herbs and medicines dating from the Han dynasty.
34. Mr. Li Saves a Snake and Wins Chenxin
1. Source unidentified.
35. The Monk with a Note Cleverly Tricks Huangfu’s Wife
Story 35 has been partially translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang as “The Monk’s Billetdoux,” in The Courtesan’s Jewel Box, 52–64.
1. Yu Gate, also called the Dragon Gate, allegedly was built by the Great Yu. See note 2 of story 11.
2. To break o branches from cassia trees growing on the moon is a metaphor for passing the imperial examinations.
3. The two-character (two-syllable) surnames used in the poem are Gongsun, Duanmu, Ximen, Wenren, Tuoba, Yuwen, Dugu, Goulong, Murong, and Lüqiu. The meaning of each of the surnames is given within brackets.
4. Zhang Fei (d. 221) was a brave warrior and a sworn brother of Liu Bei.
5. Magistrate Qian was a great grandson of Qian Liu (Qian Poliu), the title character of story 21.
36. Song the Fourth Greatly Torments Tightwad Zhang
Story 36 has been translated as “Sung the Fourth Raises Hell with Tightwad Chang” by Timothy C. Wong, in Ma and Lau, eds., Traditional Chinese Stories, 535–54.
1. Mount Jiang, also known as Mount Zhong, is east of the present-day city of Nanjing.
2. On Hu Zeng, see note 1 of story 3.
3. Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun (see note 14 of story 1) ran a small wineshop for a time.
4. The walls of wineshops were often decorated with paintings of drunken immortals or poets.
5. Dingzhou was upgraded to Zhongshan Prefecture in the third year of the Zhenghe reign period under Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. Located in present-day Hebei Province, it was famous in the Song times for its production of porcelain.
6. This describes the character “Zhao.”
37. Emperor Wudi of the Liang Dynasty Goes to the Land of Extreme Bliss through Ceaseless Cultivation
1. Legend has it that in the Eastern Han dynasty, Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao were in the Tiantai Mountains collecting medicinal herbs when two immortal maidens o ered them some peppered rice and kept them for half a year. By the time they went back, their descendants were already into the seventh generation.
2. Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn period, the daughter of Prince Mu of Qin was married to Xiao Shi, who with a flute could imitate the sound of a phoenix. When a phoenix came in response, the couple got on its back and flew away.
3. According to legend, Pei Hang of the Tang dynasty was crossing Blue Bridge when he asked for some soy milk from an old woman, who called forth her daughter Yunying to give it to him. Pei Hang asked for Yunying’s hand in marriage, but the old woman said, “You must produce a jade pestle as a betrothal gift.” Later, when Pei Hang obtained a jade pestle, he married Yunying, and the couple passed over into the immortal world.
4. On Vulture Peak, see note 4 of story 29.
5. Xiao Yi, in fact, was the older brother of Xiao Yan, Emperor Wudi of the Liang (r. 502–49) who, in this story, is Young Master Huang Furen reincarnated.
6. This in fact happened after, not before, Xiao Yan became Emperor Wudi of the Liang.
7. Chen Baxian [r. 557–59], founder of the Chen dynasty, was in fact not born until 503, one year after Xiao Yan became emperor.
8. Zheng Shaoshu was Zheng Zhi’s brother. The name appears erroneously in the text as “Zheng Shaoji.”
9. Jiankang (now Nanjing) was the capital of the Qi dynasty.
10. The nine dignities are chariot and horse, royal raiment, musical chimes for audiences with the emperor, vermilion doors, the right of access through an inner staircase to the emperor, palace guards, battle-axes, bows and arrows, and instruments for sacrificial rituals.
11. The Avalamba Festival, or the Festival of All Souls, first observed in the time of Emperor Wudi of the Liang, is a Buddhist festival held on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for the purpose of releasing souls of the dead from purgatory and feeding “hungry ghosts.”
12. The Liang Emperor’s Repentance, a ten-volume work, came to be used for the prayer services at Avalamba Festivals.
13. Zhi Dun (courtesy name, Daolin) died in 366. The monk who had a close relationship with Emperor Wudi of the Liang was Bao Zhi (418–514).
14. According to Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, the state of Tiaozhi was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
15. Mingzhou is present-day Ningbo, Zhejiang.
16. The surname Hou shares the same pronunciation as the word for “monkey.”
17. Chen Shi (104–187) was considered a man of great integrity. See his biography in Fan Ye’s History of the Later Han Dynasty (Hou Han shu).
18. Zhang Rang (d. 189) was a notorious eunuch in the Han court. See his biography in The History of the Later Han Dynasty.
38. Ren the Filial Son with a Fiery Disposition Becomes a God
1. Parents with only a daughter would often have her and their son-in-law live with them rather than with his parents, as was customary.
2. These are said to be words on a sign put up over a spot where money was hidden. The saying is used to refer to people guilty of some wrongdoing who give themselves away by overly protesting their innocence.
3. Nü Wa, a principal character in Chinese mythology, is a goddess who smelted stones of five colors to patch up the sky after it had been damaged.
4. On the green dragon and white tiger, see note 11 of story 6.
5. In the Song dynasty, convicts sentenced to death wore paper flowers in their hair on their way to the execution ground.
39. Wang Xinzhi Dies to Save the Entire Family
Story 39 has been translated as “Wang Xinshi’s Death, and It Saved His Whole Family” by John Page and C. T. Hsia, in Renditions: 6–30 (Spring 1985).
1. The famous Su Dike is on West Lake in the city of Lin’an (present day Hangzhou), capital of the Southern Song dynasty.
2. Bianjing, present-day Kaifeng, was the Song capital before the court moved south. Also see note 5 of story 17.
3. On Wei Wuzhi, see note 6 of story 5.
4. On “When your time comes,” see note 7 of story 9.
5. On “When your time goes,” see note 6 of story 9.
6. Jiyang District is in present-day Hainan Province.
7. Guo Xie and Zhu Jia were knights-errant of the Han dynasty.
8. On the position of pacification commissioner, see note 9 of story 19.
9. Tian Wen (d. 297 B.C.E.), with the title Lord Mengchang, was known for his generosity and maintained more than three thousand retainers in his household. See also note 8 of story 21.
40. Shen Xiaoxia Encounters the Expedition Memorials
Story 40 has been translated as “A Just Man Avenged” by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, in The Courtesan’s Jewel Box, 154–96.
1. The Jiajing emperor of the Ming dynasty was inclined toward Taoism.
2. Guan Longfeng, a legendary court minister during the last years of the Xia dynasty (ca. 2100–ca. 1600 B.C.E.), was put to death for his remonstrations against the tyrant King Jie.
3. Bi Gan, uncle of King Zhou of the Shang dynasty, was killed for his remonstrations against the King.
4. Wang Zhu of the Song dynasty wrote a number of “Poems on Prodigies” that were later compiled into a popular children’s primer. The original four lines are as follows:
Study hard while you are young;
Your writing will bring you a fine career.
Those in court officials’ robes, one and all, Have gained office through nothing but books.
5. The original four lines are:
The Son of Heaven favors the worthy;
Your writing gains you recognition.
All other pursuits are of little worth;
To study is the noblest of them all.
6. On Zhuge Liang, see note 11 of story 8.
7. Guan Fu of the Western Han dynasty was known for his wine-induced outbursts against Prime Minister Tian Fen. He was later killed by the latter.
8. Although Cao Cao held the Han emperor hostage, he never took the step of usurping the dynasty, but his son Cao Pi (187–226) did, after Cao Cao’s death. See also note 22 of story 22, and note 6 of story 31.
9. Yingzhou is in present-day Shanxi Province.
10. A narrative that trails o is a convention used in vernacular stories to create suspense until the action alluded to takes place.
11. After the death of Xiang Yu, his rival Liu Bang ordered the arrest of Xiang Yu’s aide Ji Bu. He was given shelter by a man named Zhu of the state of Lu.
12. The Linqing in the text is apparently located in the vicinity of Jining, where Secretary Feng lives, and is not the present-day Linqing at the Shandong border, about one hundred miles northwest of Jining.
13. This is a method of divination. The writing in the sand is supposed to be a revelation from the gods.
14. The three judicial offices were the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review.
15. On the Five Classics, see note 9 of story 30.
16. On tribute students, see note 4 of story 2.
17. Zhangjiawan was a major port during the Ming dynasty.