22 SITTING IN A THATCHED HUT, TUIZHI SIGHS TO HIMSELF

Struck by fierce wind and rain at the twelfth watch,

Tuizhi regrets his earlier errors.

If the trigrams kan and li exchanged their places in the body,

Pure yin would be completely stripped away and pure yang would exult.

Then Tuizhi’s lonely desolation would end,

And, like the womb-born crane, he would gather strength in the evening sun.

Turning back to pick up the Metal in the Water

Is much better than driving away crocodiles in Chaozhou.

In the hut there was no bedstead, mattress, or coverlet for Tuizhi to use; neither was there the light of a lamp which would give him at least his shadow for company. He was all alone, cut off from Heaven and Earth. The only thing he could do was to fasten the door tightly and take a nap sitting on the chair. However, though he wanted to sleep, his mind was full of sorrow and anxiety. The rattling noises of the wind were in his ear and so he tossed and turned, and couldn’t get a wink of sleep. Therefore he improvised a lyric to the tune “Clear River” to pass the long night:

“At the first watch,

As dusk is falling I cannot sleep,

Facing my shadow, I am all alone.

I intended to maintain my loyalty and virtue—

It was nothing but wishful thinking!

Two tears roll down my cheeks.

“At the second watch,

I am unable to stop my flowing tears,

As snow crowds the Blue Pass road.

Looking back toward Chang’an,

The road is long and there is no news.

The words spoken in the beginning surely were not wrong.

“At the third watch,

A wild snowstorm blows again,

And outside the door a ghost is saying:

Your horse will not escape with its life;

Where will you rest all alone?

Han Yu must have created much bad karma in previous lives.

“At the fourth watch,

A rooster crows, but the sky has not yet brightened.

I hear a tiger roaring by the mountainside.

My soul is filled with anxious agitation,

Life and death are truly hard to secure.

Having no way of escaping from the maze,

I can only blame the divine immortals.

“At the fifth watch,

The golden pheasant cries three times,

And the east becomes brighter imperceptibly.

Quickly I get up and straighten out my clothes,

Planning to go up to the Blue Pass,

And let the snowstorm bury my body.”

The whole night Tuizhi was unable to sleep, but kept sighing until daybreak. He was just about to arrange saddle and reins and mount his horse when he saw it lying stiff and dead on the ground.

On seeing it with its legs stretched out and its eyes without their shine, he stamped his foot, beat his breast, and wailed loudly. “When we started out in Chang’an, there were four of us. Although it was a solitary journey, I did not feel distressed by loneliness. Then Zhang Qian and Li Wan were carried off by tigers, and from morning to evening I had only my horse to rely upon. It rode over rough paths and dangerous roads. It stepped through high snow and layered ice. It was hungry, but I had no fodder to give to it. It was cold, but I had no straw for it to sleep on. I was still hoping to hurry on to Chaozhou and serve in office there for a while. Once I had received an imperial pardon, my horse and I would once more have galloped through the streets of Chang’an. Today it has perished in this wilderness and I am left behind in a thatched hut. This was all determined in a previous existence and so I do not bear a grudge—but how am I to reach Chaozhou?”

Sunk in his grief, Tuizhi shaped the things on his mind into a poem which he inscribed on the wall of the hut:

A sealed epistle submitted at dawn to Ninefold Heaven—

Exiled at dusk to Chaozhou, eight thousand leagues to travel.

Wishing to save His Sagacious Brilliance from treacherous evils,

Could I have cared for the years that remain in my withered limbs?

Having chanted the first four lines, he was thinking about the second half of the poem when he remembered the couplet on the petals of the golden lotus, which fit the events of that day well. So he continued to chant:

“Clouds straddle the mountains of Qin—where is my home?

Snows crowd the pass at Blue Pass—my horse will not move.”

Tuizhi was just going to compose the final couplet when his brush froze so that he could not write with it any more and had to lay it down. Now he finally came to understand that his own life was as ephemeral as a lamp in the snow, or snow on top of a stove. With his whole heart and mind he was hoping to see Xiangzi coming to his rescue. However, as it was no solution to stay in the hut all by himself, he continued to walk on.

He had not walked half a mile when suddenly a tiger blocked the road again. Tuizhi cried out, “This time I am done for! Nephew Xiangzi, why are you still not coming to save me?”

At that moment he saw a man standing in midair and shouting at the tiger, “Wicked beast, you must not harm people! Get back!” The tiger became as tame as a house cat or a dog. It hung its head and let its ears droop, gave a roar, and left.

When Tuizhi saw this, he desperately called out, “Save me, immortal from Great Veil Heaven, save me! I am willing to follow you and cultivate myself. No longer do I want to be an official.”

“Uncle, Uncle, I am not some immortal from Great Veil Heaven,” Xiangzi said. “I am your nephew Xiangzi come to see you. Why don’t you recognize me?”

Tuizhi embraced Xiangzi and amidst tears and sobs said, “I should have listened to you earlier. On the whole journey I have suffered many hardships—why didn’t you come earlier to save me?” He gave Xiangzi a detailed account of the events of the journey, and then said, “I just wrote a poem on the wall of the hut to give expression to my sorrow. Because my brush froze, I could only finish six verses. On this joyous occasion of our meeting, I shall complete the poem.”

“Which couplets does your poem consist of?” Xiangzi asked.

“Listen, I’ll recite it to you:

“A sealed epistle submitted at dawn to Ninefold Heaven—

Exiled at dusk to Chaozhou, eight thousand leagues to travel.

“Wishing to save His Sagacious Brilliance from treacherous evils,

Could I have cared for the years that remain in my withered limbs?

“Clouds straddle the mountains of Qin—where is my home?

Snows crowd the pass at Blue Pass—my horse will not move.

“I know what the reason must be that makes you come so far—

The better to gather my bones from shores of miasmic water.”¹

“Uncle, do not vex yourself,” Xiangzi said. “I know all about it. Let me ask you: do you still want to assume your post and serve as an official, or do you now have other plans?”

With a wave of his hand, Tuizhi said, “Thanks to the protection of Heaven and the ancestors, I have escaped the clutches of death. I shall devote myself fully to cultivation and the pursuit of the Dao in hopes of a fruitful outcome. I no longer want to serve as an official.” He improvised a lyric to the tune “Stable Song” to explain his feelings to Xiangzi:

“I earnestly right my former wrongs,

And will no longer be an official and incur troubles.

I will discard my seal of office with its purple ribbon,

My ivory tablet and black boots,

My embroidered court robes.

I will regard the ruler’s grace and my friends’ amity as flying ashes,

And abandon all dissipations, entanglements, wine, and obligations.

Escaping beyond all limitations,

With all my heart I only wish for pure cultivation in a propitious place.”

“Uncle, since you have turned your heart toward the Dao, if you cultivate yourself single-mindedly, you are sure to ascend to the realm of the immortals,” Xiangzi said. “However, there is no master in these mountains. Whom shall we ask to transmit the marvelous elixir formulae to you?”

“He who has heard the Dao before me is my teacher.² Since you have already become an immortal, I shall honor you as my teacher. Why bother looking for another master?” Tuizhi responded.

“Father and son do not transmit their minds to each other; uncle and nephew find it difficult to transmit the Dao to each other,” Xiangzi told him. “This definitely won’t do.”

“The way you speak you seem to suspect that I have no respect for my teacher or the Dao, and that in my heart I am not sincere,” Tuizhi said. “If I ever have the slightest thought of backsliding, may I fall into Avici hell forever!”

“You brought me up—how could I not know your heart?” replied Xiangzi. “There is no need to make oaths. The problem is that if you violate the deadline set by the court, your family will be implicated. What shall we do about that?”

“All my heart is set on cultivating myself,” Tuizhi said. “I pay them no heed.”

“That’s as maybe, but your incorruptibility, honesty, and moderation are well known among your contemporaries. How could you change your character just because of your banishment? Come to think of it, the right thing to do is still for you to go and assume your post in time to meet the court’s deadline, and only then to go and cultivate yourself.”

“It would be useless for me to go all by myself,” Tuizhi said. “If I were to meet another tiger on the road ahead, I’d certainly forfeit my life.”

“In that case I shall go with you,” Xiangzi told him. “Once we’ve attended to some official business and left a good reputation in Chaozhou, I shall use Former Heaven’s Marvelous Method of Release from the Corpse to change your appearance, and announce that you have suffered a stroke and died while attending to your duties. I’ll change my shape and return to Chang’an, where I will report your death and request that you be awarded posthumous honors. And then I’ll help you seek a teacher with whom you can inquire into the Dao. In this way you will do your duty to the Emperor by not violating the court’s orders, even while completing your excellent reputation as an official among the people. In between you will obtain the marvelous formulae of eternal life. Won’t that be just perfect?”

Overjoyed upon hearing Xiangzi’s words, Tuizhi said, “I completely rely on you; we’ll do as you suggest.” When they resumed Tuizhi’s journey, Xiangzi didn’t ride a cloud or walk on the mist, but followed Tuizhi in enduring the hardships of travel and braving the cold.

After walking for two days, they saw a gate tower in the far distance. Xiangzi said, “Ahead is Chaozhou Prefecture. There will certainly be someone to welcome you. You’d better put on your official’s cap and girdle to receive them.”

Tuizhi put on his official dress and seated himself in the Ten-Mile Pavilion. And sure enough, an agent dressed in a blue robe and a small cap came forward and asked, “Where do you serve in office? For what purpose have you come here?”

“My master is the Minister of Rites,” Xiangzi said. “His name is Han. Because his memorial against the Buddha bone offended the emperor, he has been banished as a magistrate to this area. Today he has come to assume his office.”

“So you’re our new magistrate,” the agent said. “Please, sit for a while, as I go to inform the officials so that they may come out to welcome you.”

Having thus spoken, he ran into the town as if for his life and informed the local officials. Soon a large number of officials, local elders, teachers, and students came hurrying out of the city to welcome Tuizhi, carrying colorful embroidered banners.

After each of them had performed his greetings, Tuizhi ordered, “This is a highly auspicious day and I therefore want to assume my official duties right away. Prepare for my inspection all registers, regulations, and laws that I need to know about.” With one voice the officials acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Tuizhi then took his seat in an official’s sedan chair, carried by four men. Surrounded by police runners and bailiffs, preceded by drums and banners, he entered the city and took up residence in the yamen.

The next morning he ascended the reception hall and examined the files and documents. He burned incense at the temple of the city god, calculated the contents of the granary, and inspected the prison. Having acquitted himself of these various duties, he had a public announcement posted that instructed the population to present in detail what great benefits were to be promoted in this area, and what evils to be reformed, so that action could be taken on these issues. Greedy and corrupt officials exploiting commoners; powerful clans and local bullies abusing the people—all who had been wronged without gaining redress should state their cases in detail so that they could be acted upon.

Within two days of this announcement’s posting, many commoners of all ages crowded into the yamen’s hall, knelt on the floor, and petitioned the magistrate, “Sir, as you have newly assumed your office, we do not dare say too much, but there is a song that’s been passed down for a long time that we would like to recite to you, so that you can form your own opinion.”

“What kind of song is it? Let me hear it,” Tuizhi said. The people sang,

“Chaozhou once lay on the ocean shore,

Where the tides took their turns.

Since ancient times officials never stayed for long,

And a crocodile has been doing harm for many years.”

“The tides have their natural indications. Why talk of it?” Tuizhi said. “As for being an official, every day that one is in office one should take care of that day’s affairs. There is a saying, ‘Serving as an elder for a day, striking the bell for a day.’ Why waste so many words on this?”

“The words of the song have been transmitted for a long time and we do not know how they arose,” the people said. “However, since ancient times people have spoken of ‘serving as governor of the capital for five days,’ which is an example of how short periods of office can be.”

“Don’t waste my time with idle words,” Tuizhi said. “Explain to me in detail the issue of the harmful crocodile.”

“This place is close to the ocean,” the people said. “Several years ago a large sea creature emerged in great waves from the sea, its body several dozen feet long. From morning to evening it comes in and goes out with the seawater. As it makes the water surge, it overflows and ruins the people’s fields. The creature’s tail is also several dozen feet long, and when it sees oxen, goats, horses, or other livestock on the shore, it drags them into the water with that tail and devours them. If it sees people lingering behind, it pulls them too into the water with its tail, and eats them. Therefore people fear it greatly and call it a crocodile. These past years it has devoured innumerable people and livestock. Of ten houses nine are empty, and the survivors subsist in loneliness and poverty. None of the previous magistrates could control it. Sir, you must first eradicate this calamity to save the people.”

“What does the crocodile look like?” Tuizhi asked.

The people said, “It has the head of a dragon and the mouth of a lion, the tail of a tiger and the body of a snake. When it swims in the sea, its body covers several miles. It devours men and livestock indiscriminately.”

“You may withdraw,” Tuizhi said. “I will deal with it.” The people filed out of the yamen one after another. Tuizhi was about to leave the hall himself and return to his office, when he saw a man with dishevelled hair come in to lodge a lawsuit. The man wailed so loudly that his cries of sorrow reached the sky.

“What lawsuit are you bringing?” Tuizhi asked. “Don’t cry, just explain it to me slowly.”

The man said, “My surname is Liu, my personal name Ke. I am bringing suit in a murder case.”

“Who is the victim?” Tuizhi asked. “What is the name of the murderer? Where does he live now?”

“I fish every day at Qinqiaokou,” Liu Ke said. “At home there is only my mother, who every day brings me food to eat. Yesterday it was already past noon, but my mother hadn’t come with my lunch. I couldn’t wait any longer and returned home along the river.

“I don’t know who killed my mother and threw her into the river, but there remained only a pair of shoes on the riverbank. Truly this is a great injustice with no place to find redress. I hope you, sir, will pity me and take on the case.”

“This is a murder case with an unknown perpetrator,” Tuizhi said. “Quickly fill out a form, and I will dispatch people to look for the murderer and indemnify you for your mother’s death.”

Liu Ke knocked his head and said, “Your honor, I cannot write. Let me lodge the suit verbally.”

“Without a written charge it is difficult to arrest anyone,” Tuizhi said. “Since you can’t write, just explain it clearly and I’ll have a clerk write it down for you.”

Liu Ke said,

“The plaintiff Liu Ke brings suit in a murder case: On this day in this month, my mother Mme. Zhang was killed and disposed of by someone. Her body has not been found, and only a pair of embroidered shoes remains as evidence. Submissively I beg that the murderer be arrested and questioned on the circumstances that led to this death, and that restitution be paid for my mother’s death. I urgently submit this suit.”

As Liu Ke recited this, Tuizhi ordered a clerk to write it down sentence for sentence, and then dismissed Liu Ke. When he returned to his office alone, he thought to himself, “The people all said that the crocodile is wont to devour people and livestock and does no small amount of harm. Could it be that the mother of Liu Ke also was dragged into the river by the crocodile? But in that case, how did she come to take off her shoes on the riverbank?”

He then called Xiangzi and explained what Liu Ke had told him. With his eyes of wisdom, Xiangzi already knew of this matter, and was waiting for Tuizhi’s return to his office to discuss ways of solving the problem.

It just so happened that Tuizhi called him, and so Xiangzi told him, “This crocodile has already been bringing disaster for a long time. The previous officials have avoided it assiduously, just waiting to be promoted and reassigned, happy to get away from this place. Who was there to concern himself with driving it away? Thus this great calamity has taken shape. Uncle, tomorrow when you come to your office you should write an official proclamation of warning and sacrifice it to lay plaint with Heaven and Earth. I’ll dispatch the two celestial generals Ma and Zhao to put the document in the mouth of the crocodile, drive it into the deep sea, and lock it up there so that it can harm the people no longer. Afterwards you will demonstrate plainly the circumstances of the death of Liu Ke’s mother. Then your loyalty will be seen to illumine Heaven and Earth, and your trustworthiness will be seen to affect every creature. As a result the gentry and commoners of the whole prefecture will establish a shrine and arrange prayers in your honor. Won’t that be just perfect?”

Following Xiangzi’s suggestions, Tuizhi went to his office the next morning, took a sheet of placard paper, rubbed ink, and wielded the brush to compose the “Essay in Sacrifice to the Crocodile”:

On a certain date, Han Yu, prefect of Chaozhou, has his military judge Qin Ji take a goat and a pig and throw them into the deep waters of Wu Creek as food for the crocodile. He then is to address it as follows:

When in ancient times the former kings possessed the land, they set fire to the mountains and the swamp, and with nets, ropes, fish spears, and knives expelled the reptiles and snakes and evil creatures that did harm to the people, and drove them out beyond the four seas. When there came later kings of lesser power who could not hold so wide an empire, even the land between the Yangtze and the Huai Rivers they wholly abandoned and gave up to the Man and the Yi, to Chu and to Yue, let alone Chao, which lies between the five peaks and the seas, some ten thousand miles from the capital. Here it was that the crocodiles lurked and bred, and it was truly their rightful place. But now a Son of Heaven has succeeded to the throne of Tang, who is godlike in his wisdom, merciful in peace, and fierce in war. All between the four seas and within the six directions is his to hold and to care for; still more the land trod by the footsteps of Yu and near to Yangzhou, administered by prefects and magistrates, whose soil pays tribute and taxes to supply the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, to the ancestral altars and to all the deities. The crocodile and the prefect cannot together share this ground.

The prefect has received the command of the Son of Heaven to protect this ground and take charge of its people; but you, crocodile, goggle-eyed, are not content with the deep waters of the creek, but seize your advantage to devour the people and their stock, the bears and boars, stags and deer, to fatten your body and multiply your sons and grandsons. You join issue with the prefect and contend with him for mastery. The prefect, though weak and feeble, will not bow his head and humble his heart before a crocodile; nor will he look on timorously and be put to shame before his officers and his people by leading unworthily a borrowed existence in this place. But having received the command of the Son of Heaven to come here as an officer, he cannot but dispute with you, crocodile, and if you have understanding, do you hearken to the governor’s words:

To the south of the prefecture of Chao lies the great sea, and in it there is room for creatures as large as the whale or roc, as small as the shrimp or crab, all to find homes in which to live and feed. Crocodile, if you set out in the morning, by the evening you would be there. Now, crocodile, I will make an agreement with you. Within three full days, you will take your ugly brood and remove southward to the sea, and so give way before the appointed officer of the Son of Heaven. If within three days you cannot, I will go to five days; if within five days you cannot, I will go to seven. If within seven days you cannot, this shall mean that finally you have refused to remove, and though I be prefect you will not hear and obey my words; or else that you are stupid and without intellect, and that even when a prefect speaks you do not hear and understand.

Now those who defy the appointed officers of the Son of Heaven, who do not listen to their words and refuse to make way before them, who from stupidity and lack of intellect do harm to the people and to other creatures, all shall be put to death. The prefect will then choose skillful officers and men, who shall take string bows and poisoned arrows and conclude matters with you, crocodile, nor stop until they have slain you utterly. Do not leave repentance until too late!³

Having finished the essay, Tuizhi sent a military judge by the name of Qin Ji to carry it to the riverbank and throw it into the water.

Ever since the crocodile had come to the Chaozhou River, it had surfaced every day to swim around. When it encountered people or animals, it would reach with its tail to the bank, coil the tail around the unfortunate victim, drag it into the water, and devour it. Therefore everyone was terrified and did not dare go to the riverbank. If the crocodile got nothing to eat, it would churn up waves, block the channel, and let the billows rise until the river flooded the land both inside and outside the city. People could neither live nor die, and they had no place to find shelter.

When Qin Ji received Tuizhi’s proclamation and thought about having to go to the river, he feared that he might encounter the crocodile, which would rise to swallow him. But when he thought about not going there, he feared that he might receive a heavy flogging and be removed from office, as new magistrates tended to be very strict. He considered it this way and that way, hesitated, and didn’t know what to do. Eventually he had no choice but to gather his courage and run to the riverbank, taking along several people and some sacrificial items. When he arrived, the crocodile was already there, watching him, its head raised, its huge mouth open.

Reader, let me say that the crocodile used to come to the riverbank every day to do violent mischief and commit all manner of evil deeds. Why, then, was it so submissive and tame on this day, just staring ahead without moving?

It was because Han Xiangzi had dispatched the two celestial generals Ma and Zhao, who had secretly bound the monster. They were only to wait for Qin Ji to throw the proclamation into its mouth, and then to drive it away into the deep sea. Qin Ji, of course, did not know this state of affairs; he only knew that the crocodile would eat any people it met. When from afar he saw it with raised head and open mouth, at first he became so frightened that his hands and feet went limp and he could not move. He broke out in a cold sweat all over his body and crumpled into a trembling heap on the ground.

When, after shaking for more than a double hour, he opened his eyes again to look, the monster was still in the same position, and all its awesome power seemed to have gone. Considering this, he said, “The crocodile has always been extremely violent and wild. Why is it that today, when Lord Han has sent me to deliver the proclamation, it’s just sitting there dull and staring without moving at all? Isn’t that strange?”

As he was still pondering, suddenly the sky darkened, thunder rolled and lightning flashed, and a great rain came down as if poured from a basin. The Chao River looked as if it was pushed about, gushing up high, although not a drop overflowed onto the river bank. Qin Ji had no choice but to gather his courage, brave the rain, and throw the proclamation into the monster’s mouth.

Once it had the proclamation in its mouth, the monster lowered its head, closed its mouth, and mournfully passed from sight. As if exorcised, it vanished in an instant.

Qin Ji’s eyes were all blurred and darkened with fear, and so he did not know that the crocodile had already left. He grasped the opportunity to quickly push the pig, the goat, and the other sacrificial items into the water, turned around, and ran for his life.

By the time he reached the yamen, Tuizhi was still sitting in the courtroom. Gasping for air, Qin reported, “Pig … goat … proclamation … proclamation … pig … goat.”

“You look startled,” Tuizhi said. “Rest a while and catch your breath, and then tell it to me slowly.”

After a long time Qin said, “The pig, goat, and proclamation were all swallowed by the crocodile. I barely escaped with my life!”

“Is the crocodile still there?” Tuizhi asked.

“Yes, it is still there!” Qin Ji answered. “After swallowing the proclamation, it swam away.”

“If after swallowing the proclamation it moved away into the deep sea, why do you say it is still there?” Tuizhi said.

Qin Ji thought for a long time and then responded, “It almost frightened me to death, and in my confusion my response was wrong.” Then he explained in detail how he went to deliver the proclamation, and described the appearance of the crocodile.

“I owe you my gratitude,” Tuizhi said. He called for a silver ingot to be fetched from the vault and given in reward to Qin Ji. Then he ordered Qin Ji to return home and rest for the night. Tomorrow he should come again to the yamen to await further orders. Qin Ji thanked Tuizhi and withdrew.

After Tuizhi returned to his office, he told Xiangzi about Qin Ji. Xiangzi said, “Uncle, tomorrow morning you should ascend the hall and write an announcement to be made known to the whole population. It will display the virtue of your administration, which affects even beasts and fish.”

The next day Tuizhi wrote the announcement, and sent Qin Ji to post it in many places. This is what he wrote:

An official announcement by Han, the prefect of Chaozhou: When I first took over the administration of this region, I wished to act on behalf of the nation and the people. Whatever was beneficial was to be promoted, whatever was harmful was to be reformed. If due to my negligence just one man were to lose his home, it would be as if I had pushed him into a ditch myself.⁴ Now, there was a crocodile which had been causing harm for a long time already. My predecessors had not expelled it, and as result the people were unable to follow their livelihood. When I learned that Liu Ke’s mother had been devoured by the crocodile, I was greatly aggrieved. Consequently I issued a proclamation and dispatched the military judge Qin Ji to throw it into the monster’s mouth and thereby drive it out into the sea. Fortunately, Heaven took pity on your unjust suffering, and the Emperor’s benevolent mercy worked far and wide, touching both the stupid and the clever. Thus without wasting a single arrow, or expending any miltary forces, within a single day an old menace was exterminated all at once. Overjoyed, I proclaim to you that from now on everyone is to follow his livelihood peacefully, without being disturbed by ill omens or being confused by unnatural deaths and as a result getting into difficulties. As for bringing accusations against others, although Liu Ke has lodged a suit because he was suffering grievously from his mother’s violent death, he should calm his mind and accept his fate so as to fulfill his filial piety. He must no longer implicate and harm innocent persons and thereby create a disturbance.

When it was posted, people all over the prefecture gathered in crowds to read it, and there was none who did not sigh in appreciation and say, “If it hadn’t been for our magistrate’s divine powers, nine out of ten of us would have died, and who could have righted this wrong and redressed this injustice? Such an announcement truly is a mercy bestowed on ten thousand generations.”

A single thought of refined sincerity evokes Heaven’s response,

And so the crocodile has now gone to its demise.

From now on, Chaozhou will enjoy peace and happiness,

And in history his name will be fragrant for a thousand years.

If you don’t know what happened afterwards, please look at the next chapter.