19

Yang Qianzhi Meets a Monk Knight-Errant on a Journey by Boat

Yang Yi, courtesy name Qianzhi, was a native of Yongjia of Zhejiang. Ever since childhood, his was a carefree soul that rose above petty concerns. An erudite scholar who wrote in a grand and exuberant style, he was appointed to be magistrate of Anzhuang County in Guizhou. Anzhuang County reached beyond the Five Ridges and shared a border with Sichuan to the south.¹ It teemed with barbarians with a love for poisons and fights rather than decorum and polite letters, who worshipped ghosts and spirits and practiced black magic. It was also a region rich in gold, silver, and treasures of every description.

During the Song dynasty, it was the tradition that the emperor would hold audiences in the front hall for officials about to leave for provincial posts. They would be asked to compose poems for the occasion to let themselves be judged for administrative aptitude. In the third month of the second year of the Jianyan reign period [1128], upon Yang Yi’s departure by order of the court, Emperor Gaozong asked him, “What office will you be holding?”

Yang Yi replied, “Magistrate of the county of Anzhuang in Guizhou.”

The emperor continued, “Have you made any inquiries about the scenery and local customs there?” Thereupon Yang Yi presented a poem that read,

Nodding approvingly for a long while after hearing the poem, the emperor, moved to compassion, said, “You do indeed have my sympathy for being appointed to such a faraway place. Go ahead for now. I will have you transferred back before long.”

Yang Yi took a tearful leave of the emperor and left the court. Once outside, he ran into Military Commissioner Guo Zhongwei. After an exchange of greetings, Guo Zhongwei said, “I heard that you have been assigned to Anzhuang. What’s to be done about it?”

“With diseases spreading in the miasma-filled air,” said Yang Yi, “I am nine times more likely to die than to survive. I thought of refusing to go, and yet I have no other choice. But if I go, I will surely die there. What advice do you have?”

“The only thing I can think of,” said Zhongwei, “is for the two of us to ask for more information from my benefactor Judge Zhou. He has been demoted to serve in Lianzhou² and is also leaving soon.” The two men accordingly went to see Judge Zhou Wang.

Yang Yi bowed twice and said, “I, Yang Yi, having recently been appointed to office in the remote Anzhuang County, am here to ask for your advice.”

Hastening to return the greeting, Zhou Wang said, “Anzhuang is a region frequented by barbarians who all know how to use black magic to poison and cast spells over people. If you can subdue them, their treasures will all be yours. If not, you’ll have good reason to watch out for yourself. You must not take your wife with you, so as to keep her away from harassment by local officials.”

With tears coursing down his cheeks, Yang Yi lamented, “What am I to do?”

Out of sympathy for Yang Yi, Zhou Wang continued, “I have been demoted to a post in Lianzhou, which means I can go with you as far as the Guangdong border. I’ll take care of all the travel expenses. You don’t have to worry about that.”

The two visitors took their leave. Yang Yi waited over half a month for Zhou Wang to start the journey with him. After treating them to wine by way of bidding farewell, Guo Zhongwei went about his own business.

Zhou Wang and Yang Yi then proceeded to Zhenjiang, where they hired a big boat. They occupied several big cabins in the middle, but the boatmen rented out the rest of the cabins to make some money. Among the thirty to forty passengers, there was a traveling monk on his way to Mount Wudang of Huguang on a pilgrimage. Claiming to be from Mount Funiu in Henan Province, the monk was a most rude man, with no regard for manners. None of the twelve or thirteen men in his cabin liked him, but he insisted on their serving him hot tea and meals. His cabinmates said, “Monks are supposed to be compassionate, discreet, and free from desires. But you, on the contrary, are trying to take advantage of us!”

The monk retorted, “You’re nothing but a bunch of worthless men. Consider yourselves lucky that I still want your service instead of finding you too filthy.” He continued to pour out a stream of curses, which so angered the men that they started cursing him back. Some even hit him. All calm and collected, the monk pointed at those who were cursing him and said, “Stop your curses!” Thereupon they immediately stopped, unable to utter another sound. Then he pointed at those who were hitting him and said, “Stop your blows!” Thereupon they stopped, their hands gone limp. (An extraordinary man must be in possession of extraordinary abilities. He who judges people with his naked eyes is nothing less than a petty rogue.) Collapsing on the floor of the cabin, they stared into the air, stupefied. Those who did not curse or hit the monk were terrified at the sight and called out, “Good grief ! There’s an evil spirit here!”

These desperate cries drew spectators from all the other cabins. Zhou and Yang also emerged from their central cabins to take a look and were alarmed at what they saw. Before they could ask questions of the monk, the latter, seeing that Zhou and Yang were dressed like officials, rose and saluted the two men, saying, “I am a monk from Mount Funiu, on this boat of yours on my way to visit the temple on Mount Wudang. These men have been bullying me. You two honorable gentlemen, please stand up for me.”

“They were wrong to curse and hit you,” said Zhou Wang, “but you were not behaving like a compassionate monk, either.”

“If you two gentlemen are pleading on their behalf,” said the monk, “I will readily forgive them.” He touched the lips of those who had been struck dumb and said, “Speak!” At his command, the dumb-struck ones regained their speech. Then he pulled at the hands of those who had lost their use and said, “Move!” The men did indeed raise their hands. It was like a stage performance. All the onlookers on the boat burst into laughter.

Zhou Wang whispered to Yang Yi, “This is a monk who practices sorcery. He’s the kind of man we are looking for. Why don’t you invite him to your cabin to ask for his advice?”

Yang Yi agreed. “Right you are. Since my family is not with me, he can stay in my cabin.” Turning to the monk, he said, “Since you don’t get along with your cabinmates, why don’t you move into my cabin? I’ll take care of the tea and meals.”

The monk demurred. “I really shouldn’t disturb you.” So saying, he followed Yang Yi to his cabin.

The two men spent the next three or four days discussing the Buddhist classics as well as a airs of the world. There was nothing that the monk was ignorant of. Yang Yi kept talking about the hardships of the journey to get the monk’s attention. When the subject of his assumption of office in Anzhuang County was brought up, the monk said, “If you are going to Anzhuang, you must be fully prepared,” whereupon Yang Yi told the monk about his concerns.

The monk said, “My name is Li. I am a native of Yazhou, Sichuan, but I have some relatives who moved to Weiqing County,³ and I have brothers and sisters there, too. When I go back, I will look for someone skilled in sorcery to accompany you and make sure that you are safe. If I can’t find anyone, do not leave too rashly by yourself, because I’ll change my plans and go with you as far as Guangli instead of to Mount Wudang.” (Those who help others at the sacrifice of their own interests are heroes, one and all.)

With profuse thanks, Yang Yi confided in the monk all his worries, sparing no detail. Yang Yi’s candor, sincerity, and amiableness increased the monk’s respect for him. Aware of Mr. Yang’s straitened circumstances, he took out from his shoulder-bag about ten taels of gold of the finest quality and fifty to sixty taels of loose silver and o ered them to Mr. Yang for his travel expenses. Yang Yi declined the o er time and again. It was only at the monk’s firm insistence that Mr. Yang finally conceded.

Without realizing it, they had spent half a month on the boat, which now came to the region of Guangdong and Qiongzhou.⁴ Zhou Wang said to Mr. Yang, “To the east is Lianzhou, my destination. I should keep you company for a while longer, but since you have this kind monk here to take care of you, my services can well be dispensed with. I am leaving now, and, should the will of heaven grant it, I will see you again in future.” Turning to the monk, he said, “Everything is now in your hands.”

The monk assured him by saying, “Don’t worry. I know what to do.”

Zhou Wang set out some wine and food and bade farewell to Mr. Yang and the monk. After drinking for quite some time, Zhou Wang asked for a small boat and went on his way.

After traveling for another few days, Mr. Yang and the monk arrived in the county of Pianqiao.⁵ The monk said to Yang Yi, “This is where my family lives. Just tie the boat to the pier and wait for me here while I go to look for someone to take up the job. I’ll be back soon.” Flinging his bag and his sta across his shoulders, he took himself o .

Seven or eight days went by without any news from the monk. Yang Yi grew anxious. However, knowing the monk to be a reliable man incapable of false promises, he continued to wait hopefully. On the ninth day, the monk appeared with seven or eight men carrying two loads of trunks, baskets, and some food. There also came, heading for the boat, a sedan-chair, from which, when curtains were lifted up, emerged a beautiful woman (How extraordinary!) of about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age. How did she look? As the poem says,

There is another poem that says,

After the monk, the woman, and Mr. Yang exchanged greetings, the monk called over a family with a maidservant, his adopted daughter, and two page boys and bade them kowtow to Yang Yi. Pointing at the woman, the monk said, “This is a niece of mine. As she is a widow, I brought her here to serve you. She’s capable of sorcery, an art she started learning in childhood. With her taking care of everything, no harm will come to you for the rest of the journey.” This said, he ordered that the luggage be brought onto the boat. The evening was too advanced for the monk and the others to spend the night elsewhere than on the boat. The maidservant and the girl went into the kitchen to prepare a meal. After everyone had eaten, Li-shi, the widow, gave to the boatmen a tip of half a tael of silver out of her own purse. Now that he had gained a beautiful woman, some trunks, and helpers, at no expense to himself, Yang Yi bowed to the monk in gratitude, saying, “I will never be able to repay you for your great kindness.”

The monk said, “Everything that happens is predestined rather than a result of human e ort.”

After some wine, the monk and the others retired to their respective cabins, whereas Mr. Yang and Li-shi shared the main cabin and spent a most tender night together.

On the following day, after rising and having breakfast with the rest of the company, the monk took leave of Mr. Yang and Li-shi, reminding her, “As I already told you the other day, be prudent and never put on airs. I will see you again when Mr. Yang gets a reappointment to a better place.” The monk watched the boat sail away before he turned around.

Li-shi was as gentle, capable, and intelligent as she was bewitchingly beautiful. The mutual love between her and Mr. Yang was not any less tender than that between a married couple. In about ten more days, they came upon the Zangke River, which, being confluent with the Chuan River of Sichuan in the east and Dianchi Lake in Yelang Prefecture in the west, was so turbulent that it was hardly navigable even with no wind. Upon approaching the mouth of the river, a boatman had to have a full stomach before he could start the crossing. Once he set sail, there was no way he could stop, because he would be driven forward by the wind and the waves. Worse still, the boatman also had to maneuver his way through the reef that infested the river. A single bump and the boat would be lost. The well-prepared boatmen were just about to blow a horn to announce the start of the crossing when Li-shi hastily admonished Mr. Yang, “We cannot go yet. We need to stay here for another three days before the wind will die down.”

Mr. Yang said, “But there is no wind now. Why can’t we move ahead?”

Li-shi answered, “A big windstorm is coming any moment now. Believe me and steer the boat into a small harbor to seek shelter from the storm.”

Taking this to be a chance to test Li-shi’s skills, Yang Yi asked a boatman, “Are there any harbors around here?”

The boatman said, “Yes, there’s Stone Bridge Harbor ahead of us. Northwest of the harbor is a town with lots of residents and no lack of anything. That’ll be a nice place to steer the boat to.”

“In that case, let’s go there quickly,” said Yang Yi.

The boatmen started the boat, and no sooner had they arrived at the mouth of the harbor than a windstorm came racing in from the northwest, blowing up dust at first, and then uprooting trees and turning the green water into a turbid mass of black. The towering waves, with their eerie howls, struck terror into people’s hearts. The storm destroyed goodness knows how many boats, and its fury did not subside until sunset. Li-shi had the girl and the maidservant serve tea and supper, and then, after cleaning up everything, went to bed.

The following day, the storm rose again. After it died down in the afternoon, a few small boats came to sell products from the town’s market. Mr. Yang had his men buy some fresh fruit and local products for Li-shi as a token of his appreciation for her knowledge of astronomy and the arts of sorcery.

On another boat, a peddler was hawking his betel-pepper paste. How does it taste? There is a poem in evidence:

“I have heard,” said Mr. Yang, “that betel-pepper paste is a delicacy in Yunnan and Sichuan, but I have never tried it. Why don’t we buy some for Madam?” So saying, he had a boatman ask the peddler how much a jar of the paste would cost.

“Five hundred full strings of cash,” said the peddler.

“In that case,” said Yang Yi, “send a page boy into the cabin and ask Madam for money.”

The page boy went in and asked Li-shi for money to buy the paste with.

“Don’t buy the paste,” said she. “We’ll get into trouble if we do.”

At the page boy’s report, Yang Yi said, “How can a jar of paste get us into any trouble! Madam is saying this only because she hates to spend money on such an expensive thing,” whereupon he gave the barbarian peddler some silver out of his own money, bought the jar of paste, and took it into the cabin. When the lid was taken o , the aroma filled the air. The color was as lovely as red agate, and the taste sweet and delicious. With great alacrity, Li-shi put the lid back on, saying, “My lord, you must not eat any of this, because trouble is sure to follow. Betel peppers are not native to this region but are products of Vietnam. The tree resembles the paper mulberry tree in its trunk and the mulberry tree in its leaves. The leaves grow to be two or three inches long, but there aren’t many of them. The fruit ripens in the frost of the ninth month and is picked and made into paste by the natives. It is a delicacy o ered to the royal court. This jar of paste was stolen, and they are coming after the thief.”

It turned out that this jar of betel-pepper paste was bought at great price in Vietnam by a rich man who made the trip there by order of the county magistrate, who in turn was commissioned by the director of the Department of State A airs. The latter did not dare keep the paste for himself but intended to present the exotic delicacy to the emperor. It was after he had gone through numerous hardships and much expense, to the point of bankruptcy, that he managed to lay his hands on one jar of the paste. Before he could pour the contents into a silver jar to present to the director of the Department of State A airs through the county magistrate, the jar was stolen by a barbarian. The loss of the jar so alarmed the rich man’s entire family that they put up wanted posters everywhere as if this were a murder case. At a tip from an informed source, the rich man took a group of government soldiers and embarked on an express boat, and the whole company of twenty to thirty men, armed with swords and spears, and, amid the clangor of drums and gongs, swept forward to Magistrate Yang’s boat to get back the jar of paste.

When the battle boat was within only half an arrow’s range from his boat, Magistrate Yang hid himself in the cabin, terrified, and said to Li-shi, “What’s to be done?”

She answered, “I told you not to buy from that man, and now look at what has happened. In this land of the barbarians, they kill at the slightest provocation. There is no regard whatsoever for decorum and law!” But she continued, “Don’t panic.” So saying, she had a page boy bring in a basin of water. Chanting some incantations, she drew a line in the water and the battle boat got stuck, unable to budge so much as an inch however hard the men rowed. There it was, transfixed in the midst of the water, unable to move back or forth. The men on the battle boat were seized with fear. “There must be some sorcerer on that boat,” they exclaimed. “Get a better sorcerer, quick!”

Li-shi, meanwhile, sent over a boatman, who, using the local dialect, addressed the other side in these words: “Please do not be angry. Our boat happens to be here to seek shelter from the windstorm. When a peddler came to sell a jar of betel-pepper paste, we bought it from him, knowing nothing about how he had come by that jar. The jar has not been touched. We are more than willing to return it to you without asking for our money back.”

At this sensible explanation, now knowing that the jar of paste remained intact, the soldiers said, “As long as you return it, we’ll give you back your silver.”

After reporting to Magistrate Yang, the boatman took the jar over to the other side and got back the silver in return. Neither side resorted to force. After Li-shi drew her finger back and forth a few times in the water-filled basin, the battle boat glided away smoothly, taking the thief to the county court for indictment. Magistrate Yang said to Li-shi, “Luckily, you were here to save me from trouble.”

“Just do as I say in the future,” said Li-shi, “and I can guarantee that nothing will happen to you.” (It’s not a bad deal at all for a henpecked husband to have such a woman for wife.)

The following day, the windstorm died down. Truly,

After breakfast, the boat started on its way across the river.

They moved ahead or stopped for a rest as they wished and gradually drew near Anzhuang. All of the employees of the local yamen were there to greet them. Assistant Magistrate Xu, the only other official in the county apart from his superior, the magistrate, also came to exchange greetings and was the first one to return to the county seat. When they entered the county, they were met by sedan-chair carriers, who took the baggage and carried Li-shi in a sedan-chair big enough for four people. The attendants and maids were provided with two small sedan-chairs and several horses and escorted to their destination. Next to go was Magistrate Yang. Accompanied by a native drum band, the procession of the new county magistrate attracted many spectators from far and near. Upon arrival in his yamen, Magistrate Yang went directly into the back quarters to make sure that Li-shi and the rest of his entourage were all settled down before he came out to meet the assistant magistrate. After mutual greetings, they sat down for wine and food.

While drinking, Magistrate Yang said to Mr. Xu, “Having but just arrived, I know nothing about local customs. I will need your advice.”

“I wouldn’t presume to o er any! It is I who need your guidance.” Mr. Xu then continued, “In our neighboring region, Malong, there is a Pacification Commissioner Xue. Being a descendant of Xue Rengui [614–83] of the Tang dynasty, his wealth rivals that of a kingdom. The local native tribes listen only to him. Though our posts are of a di erent order than his,⁹ it is a custom at the yamen for any new magistrate to pay him a visit right after o ering incense at the temple. He will then return the courtesy as the beginning of a friendly relationship. I hope you will keep that in mind.”

Magistrate Yang assured him, “I will.” He went on to ask, “How far is Malong from here?”

“About forty li.”

Their conversation then drifted to other county matters.

After they finished drinking, they went to their own quarters of the yamen. When Magistrate Yang told Li-shi about Pacification Commissioner Xue, she said, “Mr. Xue may be young, but he is a most cunning man. Yet, if you go out of your way to befriend him, he’ll even let you share some of his wealth. We’ll still be in his power even after we leave here. The last thing to do is to show him contempt because of his status as a local official. Do not slight him in any way.” She continued, “Within the next three days, a sorcerer dressed in red will come to see you. Don’t be coaxed into standing up. Just ignore him, however rude and insulting he is.” Magistrate Yang made a mental note of this.

Three days later, after the ceremony of incense-burning in the temple of the local deities, Magistrate Yang held his court and all his subordinates came to pay their respects. At the end of the disposal of official business, a local native wearing a square cap and a red robe with a round neckline walked up to the magistrate from below the steps and said, without falling to his knees, “Please rise. Here is an old man greeting you.”

The magistrate asked, “Which county are you from? Are you related in any way to this yamen?”

Instead of answering the questions, the old man repeated, “Please rise. An old man is greeting you.”

Though he tried to ignore the provocations, the magistrate thought that his dignity was at stake, for the scene was attracting more attention. Fearing that he would become a laughing stock, he ended up letting his anger get the better of him, though he did remember the part of Li-shi’s admonitions about not standing up. “Take the old man away and beat him hard!” he called out to the lictors. Two of them ran up to take the old man away for a beating, but the latter was too strong for them, standing defiantly with squared shoulders while exclaiming, “You can’t beat me!” At the insistence of the county magistrate, all the lictors present swarmed up, overpowered the old man, and gave him ten strokes with a heavy rod. As the clerks came forward to ask for mercy on behalf of the old man, Mr. Yang thundered, “Drive him out!”

The old man said on his way out, “You take it easy!”

The magistrate had expected this first court session to mark an auspicious beginning of a successful term of office. Now that his day was ruined by that brute of an old man, he pulled himself together with an e ort and disposed of some official business before he dismissed the gathering and returned dejectedly to his private quarters. Li-shi said upon seeing him, “I told you not to pay any attention to a man in red, and yet you had to have a showdown with him.”

Magistrate Yang was quick to defend himself: “I did follow your advice by remaining seated, and he was given only ten strokes.”

“He is the very man here to beat me in a contest of magic power. Had you stood up, he would have changed into a demon to haunt you at night. Had you yielded to him like a coward, you might as well have given up your office to him. All the clerks and lictors are his men. You and I have no power over them. After this beating, instead of coming to haunt you, he will come at night to kill you.”

“What’s to be done?”

“Don’t worry. Just set your mind at ease. I know how to deal with him when night comes.”

Yang Yi said, “I am totally in your hands.”

When evening set in, they ate supper and cleared away the table. In all four corners of the room, Li-shi drew four magic figures with white powder and added one in the empty space in the middle. Then she made Mr. Yang sit on the figure in the middle and told him, “When a monster appears at night to frighten you, you must remain absolutely still. Just sit here and don’t be afraid.” Then she dressed herself up, took out a big gold brooch three to four inches in length, placed some incense candles and a vermilion magic talisman in front of the gods’ images, and sat waiting outside the white circle.

Around the second watch of the night, the sounds of a rainstorm began to draw near, becoming louder and louder until, upon reaching the eaves, a sinister-looking thing flew into the house with a tremendous bang. The size of a tea saucer, the thing charged at Mr. Yang, who could see not much more than a blur. But it stopped at the border of the white circle. All it could do was fly around the circle without being able to get in. Mr. Yang trembled with fear. Li-shi began to chant some incantations and burned a magic figure in the air, a move so e ective that the evil thing’s movements slowed down. In less time than it takes to describe in words, Li-shi mustered up all her strength, fixed her eyes upon the evil thing, and shouted, “Stop!” At the same time, she raised her right hand to grab at the evil thing, which dodged by diving down toward the ground. Taking advantage of the dive, Lishi bent down and pressed it with her hands against the ground. When she picked it up with both hands, there for them to see was a most hideous batlike thing with black and white stripes all over its body and a long, blood-red beak.

Petrified with fear, Mr. Yang did not get up until quite some time later. Li-shi said to him, “This evil thing is, in fact, that old man in a changed form. If it’s beaten to death here and now, the old man would be dead, too, but then we’d have a problem on our hands because his numerous descendants would certainly come to seek revenge. Let me keep him here for the time being.” So saying, she lifted the two wings, joined them together, and pinned them down with a gold needle on the magic figure in the white circle. The evil thing could not make the slightest movement. After covering it with an inverted basket to prevent cats and mice from hurting it, Li-shi retired to her room with the magistrate.

The following morning when the court began its session, about twenty neatly dressed old men came and knelt down in front of the magistrate, saying, “We are all relatives and neighbors of Old Man Pang, who is now held by you after his impudent a ront against you last night. Please be so kind as to forgive him this time and only this time. We will surely bring him with us to show our allegiance to you.”

The magistrate said, “You should have known that I would not have dared to hold office in this place if I did not know some sorcery. I am not going to kill him. I’ll just wait and see if he can get himself out alive.”

The old men pleaded again, “We will not hide anything from you. The a airs of this county have always been in his hands as well as ours. The officials have never been in control. But now that we are convinced of your power, we dare not o end you again. If you let Old Man Pang go, the entire county will be yours.”

The magistrate continued, “You may all rise. I will do as I see fit.”

The old men withdrew in eager deference.

After dismissing the court session, Yang Yi went back to Li-shi and told her about the old men’s pleas for mercy. Li-shi said, “He is not to be released until tomorrow when they come again to ask for clemency.”

One more night went by. The following day, when the county magistrate sat in court, the same group of old men came again to plead on their knees. So piteous did they sound that the magistrate said, “For your sake, I will forgive him this time, but I will show absolutely no clemency if he gives o ense again.”

The old men bowed in gratitude and left. When the magistrate retired to his private quarters, Li-shi said, “Now we can let him go.”

That night, Li-shi walked into the white circle and pulled out the gold needle. The evil thing immediately flew away.

When the thing reached home, Old Man Pang rose from his bed and thanked the other old men, saying, “I thought I would never get to see you again. The county magistrate is all right. It’s the mistress who’s the one to fear. I don’t know where she learned her art, but it’s di erent from ours. In a couple of days, I’ll go with you to pay our respects to him and o er gifts. Let’s not provoke him ever again.”

After being treated to some wine and food, the old men took leave of each other, saying, “We’ll gather together someday and go to pay him our respects.”

In the meantime, Mr. Yang retired into his private quarters and thanked Li-shi.

“Today is the day to see Commissioner Xue,” she reminded him.

“But we’ll have to put together some gifts first.”

“The gifts are ready,” said Li-shi. “Satin with flowers embroidered in gold thread, two bolts of patterned ko-hemp cloth, a scroll by a famous calligrapher, and an antique ink slab.” (Nice gifts.) The gifts, all prepared, were ready to be brought out. Yang Yi did not have to worry about a thing. He now went out to get some sedan-chairs, carriers, and horses, and started on his way before the night was out. He arrived in Malong at daybreak.

The pacification commissioner’s yamen was a large, imposing compound protected on all sides by a brick wall. Within the walled compound of about twenty li in circumference were halls, terraces, ponds, and towers, with every appearance of a royal palace. The county magistrate sent someone in to announce his arrival. In a short while, he was invited in. Commissioner Xue himself came out to greet him. At the entrance of the main hall, the two men, after much demurring, crossed the threshold at the same time. After more salutations in the hall, County Magistrate Yang was invited to the back hall for some tea. After some polite small conversation, the magistrate was invited to the garden terrace for dinner.

Though of small stature, Magistrate Yang made a favorable impression on Mr. Xue by the breadth of his knowledge, his style of conversation, his poetic inclinations, and his capacity for wine. As a test of the magistrate’s literary talent, Commissioner Xue had his men bring out a purple-gold antique mirror and said, “This mirror made of purple gold is most smooth and shiny. On the back of the mirror are four divination trigrams, each of which, when tapped, gives a di erent sound. The middle area, when tapped, sounds like a musical stone. Emperor Cheng of the Han held this mirror for Empress Feiyan¹⁰ when she painted her eyebrows. Under the influence of an aphrodisiac, the emperor was murmuring tender words in front of this mirror when he died.”

Holding the mirror in his hand, Yang Yi saw that it was indeed an antique of great value. Then and there, he wrote a poem that said,

Without even bothering to add punctuation marks, Mr. Yang handed the poem over to Mr. Xue, who read it carefully over and over again and praised it profusely, saying that it showed literary talent seen only in the Han and calligraphy worthy of the Jin, and that he was a rare genius of the likes of Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, and Luo Binwang of the Tang dynasty. He took out an even more curious small antique mirror and asked for one more poem, whereupon Mr. Yang wrote,

After reading it, Xue exclaimed, “What a fascinating poem!” His respect and admiration for Mr. Yang grew even further. He kept him for five days, treating him each day to fine feasts. At Mr. Xue’s inquiry about the Old Man Pang incident, Mr. Yang gave him a full account, and both men laughed. Yang Yi insisted on taking his leave to return to his county, but Xue would not hear of it. “May I ask how old you are?” he said,

Mr. Yang replied, “I have frittered away thirty-six years.”

“I am twenty-six years old, ten years your junior.” Thereupon he honored Yang as his older brother. Joyfully, they pledged brotherhood. A farewell feast was laid out, in the course of which wine vessels worth over two thousand taels of gold and silver were o ered to Mr. Yang. The latter repeatedly declined, but Mr. Xue said, “Since we are brothers now, we don’t have to stand on ceremony. I have quite enough to live on, whereas you are a newcomer who can do with some help. In the future, I will often send gifts your way. Do not reject them.”

Mr. Yang bowed in gratitude, took leave of Mr. Xue, and returned to the county yamen, where he saw Old Man Pang, accompanied by that group of old men, coming to him with sheep, wine, bolts of silk and satin, and a hundred taels of silver each, totaling over two thousand taels. At the sight of such an abundance of gifts, Magistrate Yang said, “You shouldn’t have gone to such trouble. I cannot very well take this.”

The old men said, “This is just a slight token of our sentiments. You are di erent from all of your predecessors. Though the local people are not easy to rule, they are most simple and honest. If we have pledged allegiance to you, no one in this county would dare stir up any trouble. In the future, we will be o ering you more tokens of our allegiance.”

Impressed with their eagerness to please him, Mr. Yang kept them in his residence for some wine and food. They then took their leave with bows of gratitude.

According to an old local custom, anyone filing an official complaint had to pay an advance of three-tenths of a tael of silver, regardless of which way the verdict might turn out. If an official received a good many such complaints during his term of office, his income would be greatly supplemented. In murder cases, if a more lenient settlement was wished for, the plainti would, along with neighbors and witnesses, assess the financial status of the murderer and request that the county magistrate divide the defendant’s property into three portions—one for the magistrate himself to keep, one for the plainti , and one for the defendant. This was a way to win favor with the magistrate. Another custom prevalent among the natives was to send gifts, from far and near, to the magistrate upon every festive occasion.

During over three years’ time in Anzhuang, County Magistrate Yang amassed quite a fortune. Every time he received a gift, he deposited it with Commissioner Xue, and in due course, the magistrate found himself quite a rich man. One day, he said to Mr. Xue, “It is said that contentment is a virtue. What with your kind and generous gifts and my own income, I now have enough to live on. I have already handed in my resignation. My only worry is how to get my possessions home. Please help me, my brother.”

Mr. Xue replied, “Since you have already resigned, there is no way I can keep you any longer. As for the possessions you’ve collected over time, I will have them loaded onto boats. Don’t you worry.”

After Yang Yi took his leave, Mr. Xue laid out a farewell feast and loaded on Yang’s boat, ahead of time, farewell gifts worth a thousand taels of gold. Upon returning to the county yamen, Yang Yi summoned the old men and addressed them as follows: “I am much obliged for your kindness to me in my three years’ stay here. I have retired, and while bidding farewell to you, I would like to present you with some parting gifts. I am leaving with the very same few pieces of luggage that I came here with. You will see for yourselves in the hall.”

The old men protested, “Having nothing to present you with, how can we dream of accepting gifts from you?” Each of them ended up receiving a small gift and went cheerfully back.

On the day of the magistrate’s departure, the local people turned out with flowers and candles to see him o and noticed that the magistrate had few pieces of luggage. Little did they know that Commissioner Xue had already made previous arrangements for the shipping of his possessions, so as to make Mr. Yang look as if he were carrying nothing away with him. After embarking on the boat, Mr. Yang and Li-shi set out on the journey back to where they had come from.

It was an uneventful journey. More than a month later, they came upon the place near Li-shi’s home where they had moored their boat the last time they passed by. As they approached the bank, there for all to see were the monk and several other men waiting for them. They got on the boat and exchanged joyous greetings with Mr. Yang. Li-shi also came to pay her respects to the monk. Mr. Yang had some wine set out so they could talk to catch up on what each had gone through since they last met.

When Mr. Yang acquainted the monk with his experience in Anzhuang County, the monk replied, “I know everything. You don’t have to tell me. I’m here today on account of my niece. She is married. I brought her to you against all sense of propriety, because I saw that you could not go to your appointed office without her help. Thank heavens, you are now back, safe and sound. My niece cannot follow you any farther because she has to return to her husband. The material possessions are all at your disposal.”

At these words, Mr. Yang burst into tears. With loud wails, he threw himself at the feet of Li-shi and the monk, saying, “Woe is me! I’d be better o dead.” He drew out a knife and aimed it at his throat, but before he could plunge it down, Li-shi held him in her arms, snatched away the knife, and also broke down in sobs. The monk tried to pacify them by saying, “Don’t feel so bad. Parting is inevitable. I promised to return her to her husband, and a monk keeps his word.” (What kind of man is this husband, to make the monk abide by his word?)

With tears in his eyes, County Magistrate Yang said, “You two can take away all my possessions. It’s only the pain of parting with her that I cannot stand.”

Moved by such sincerity, the monk said, “I have a solution. We can all retire for the night now and take leave of each other tomorrow.”

Mr. Yang and Li-shi talked away the whole night without so much as closing their tear-filled eyes for a moment. The following morning, after toilette and breakfast, the monk suggested that Yang’s wealth accumulated while at his post be divided into ten portions, saying, “Six-tenths will go to the Honorable Mr. Yang, three-tenths to my niece, and one-tenth to me.” No one raised any objections. Li-shi and Mr. Yang held on to each other desperately, as if the parting were a matter of life and death.

After Li-shi had gone ashore and Mr. Yang’s boat started moving away, the monk said, “You’re going to have a most perilous journey by water. I will accompany you all the way to Lin’an before I turn back. We will surely not be doing any robbing, but at least we shouldn’t be robbed by others.” The monk accompanied Magistrate Yang all the way to Lin’an, where the latter kept him at his home over his protests for two months and showered him with gifts. Mr. Yang also wrote a letter to Li-shi to send her his greetings and thus started an unending stream of correspondence. There is a poem in evidence: