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Han the Fifth Sells Her Charms in New Bridge Town

This quatrain, quoted from Poems on Historical Events by Hu Zeng¹, relates how King You [r. 781–771 B.C.E.] of the Zhou dynasty showered favors on his favorite concubine, Baosi, and how he tried by every conceivable means to please her. In order to win a smile from her, he lit the beacon fires on Mount Li that were signals of distress to the feudal lords. Believing the king to be in danger, the lords came rushing over with their troops to the rescue, only to find, upon arrival at the king’s halls, that nothing was amiss. Baosi exploded with mirth. Later, when western tribes raised armies and invaded the empire, none of the lords bothered to come to the king’s aid, and King You perished at the barbarians’ hands at the foot of Mount Li.

Again, in the Spring and Autumn period, there was a Duke Ling of the state of Chen who had an illicit relationship with Lady Xia, mother of Xia Zhengshu, and, with his retainers Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu, spent his days and nights at her home drinking and making merry. Out of shame and spite, Zhengshu shot the duke to death with an arrow.

Later, in the Six Dynasties period [222–589], the king of Chen was so enamored of Zhang Lihua and Lady Kong that he composed the song “Jade Tree and Flowers of the Rear Court” in praise of their beauty and wallowed in lecherous pleasures to the neglect of a airs of government. When pursued by Sui soldiers, he had nowhere to hide and threw himself, together with his two concubines, into a well, but they were captured by the Sui general Han Qinhu.

Thus, his kingdom perished. (Lust leads to ruin of oneself as well as the kingdom. How fearsome! How dreadful! How infuriating!) As the poem says,

Emperor Yang [r. 605–17] of the Sui dynasty was infatuated, in the same fashion, with Consort Xiao. In order to view the scenery of Yangzhou, he conscripted a million laborers with Ma Shudu as overseer and dredged the Bian River for over a thousand li.⁴ Numerous laborers died in the process. He also built phoenix ships and dragon boats and made palace maids pull them along the river amidst music that could be heard a hundred li away from both shores. Later, Yuwen Huaji⁵ rose in rebellion at Jiangdu and killed Emperor Yang at the foot of Wugong Terrace. His empire also came to an end. There is a poem in evidence:

In the Tang dynasty, Emperor Minghuang doted on the beautiful Consort Yang, spending his springs in outings with her and his nights cavorting with her alone, little knowing that she was, in the meantime, having an illicit a air with An Lushan, who was known to the public as her adopted son. One day, Emperor Minghuang ran into her when she had just finished a game of clouds and rain with An Lushan, her hairpin out of place, her hair in disarray. Though she got by with some excuse or other, the emperor grew suspicious from then on and sent An Lushan away to Yuyang as a regional commander. Still longing for Consort Yang, An Lushan raised an army in rebellion. Truly,

Emperor Minghuang could do no better than lead the assembly of officials in fleeing from the capital. At the foot of the Mawei Hills, his troops mutinied and demanded Consort Yang’s death. Emperor Minghuang continued on to Western Shu. It was not until General Guo Ziyi [697–781] fought with all his might for several years that the two capitals⁶ were recovered.

It was the lust for feminine beauty that caused all the rulers I have cited above to lose their kingdoms and bring about their own undoing. How can the benighted man of the street not take warning and guard against his lust?

Storyteller, why all this talk about guarding against one’s lust?

Well, let me now tell of a young man who, instead of heeding the warning, got himself involved with a woman, nearly wrecked his own body, ruined his family’s prosperous business, and caused quite a sensation in the town of New Bridge. The a air has been made into a romantic story to

As the story goes, in the Song dynasty, ten li outside the prefecture of Lin’an was the town of Lake Villa, and another five li away was the town of New Bridge, in which there lived a rich man, Squire Wu, whose wife Pan-shi bore him an only son called Wu Shan. Wu Shan later married, and his wife Yu-shi bore him a child who was now four years old. What with the silk-floss shop in the front portion of his house, his money-lending business, and his speculations in grain, Squire Wu amassed a sizable fortune and filled his trunks with gold and silver and his granaries with rice and grain. He built another house in the town of Gray Bridge five li away and had his son Wu Shan take care of a new shop, with the help of a manager. The shipments of silk floss he received at home were forwarded to the new shop to be sold to local weavers. Wu Shan being a clever and handsome man with some rudimentary knowledge about decorum and a practical turn of mind averse to frivolity, Squire Wu knew he had nothing to worry about, for his son was not the kind to get himself into trouble.

Wu Shan would start his day in the shop early in the morning and return home after night fell. With the shop occupying only the front section of the house, the rest of the house was empty. One day, Wu Shan was detained at home and did not arrive at the shop until high noon. Upon entering, what did he see but four or five men moving into the empty quarters of the house trunks, baskets, tables, benches, and other pieces of furniture from two barges that were moored in the river behind the house. From the barges also emerged a middle-aged fat woman, an old woman, and a young woman, all of whom walked right into the house, an event that was destined to cause Wu Shan to be

Wu Shan asked the manager, “Who are these people moving into my house like this without permission?”

The manager replied, “They came from the city. Because the men of the family were called away to serve the yamen, the women cannot find a place to stay on such short notice and have asked Old Fan next door to plead on their behalf so that they can stay here for just two or three days. I was about to report to you when you came in.”

Wu Shan was about to lose his temper when he saw the young woman adjust her sleeves and step forward with a deep bow of greeting. “Please do not be angry, sir,” she said. “This has nothing to do with the manager. It was I who made bold to come here without any prior notice, because of the lack of time to do otherwise. Please forgive us and let us stay for three or four days until we have found a house to move into. Rent will be paid according to established practice.”

Wu Shan’s expression softened. “In that case,” said he, “I don’t mind if you stay longer. Please make yourselves comfortable,” whereupon the young woman went to busy herself with the trunks and baskets. Itching with the desire to help, Wu Shan also went to carry a few pieces of the household e ects.

Storyteller, didn’t you say that Wu Shan was a down-to-earth kind of man not given to frivolity? If so, why did his anger turn to joy at the sight of this woman, so much so that he even gave her a helping hand?

Well, you must realize that when he was at home, he was under the strict control of his parents, who forbade him to get near any place that was less than decent. Being a clever, good-looking, and energetic man, he was not as unexcitable as a piece of wood. Now, when his parents were not around, how could he, a man in the prime of youth, not be aroused at the sight of such an attractive woman right in his shop?

Both the fat woman and the young woman said, “Please don’t exert yourself like this, sir.”

Wu Shan replied, to the joy of everyone present, “Since you’ll be staying here, we’re like family. Why stand on ceremony?”

When night fell, Wu Shan returned home, but not without first telling the manager to draw up a lease with the new tenants. The manager promised to do as he was told, but of this, we shall speak no further.

Let us resume our story. Wu Shan returned home, but he did not tell his parents about the new tenants. That night, all his thoughts were with the young woman. The following morning, he rose bright and early, and, after he was properly done up, he called his page boy Shoutong to follow him and swaggered his way to the shop. Truly,

After Wu Shan arrived in the shop and made some sales, the servant of the new tenants came in with an invitation to tea, for they were ready to give him the lease. Wu Shan had been hoping for a chance to enter their quarters of the house, and, rejoicing at the well-timed invitation, he got up and went in. Radiant with smiles, the young woman stepped out to greet him. “Please come in and have a seat,” said she. Wu Shan sat down in the middle hall. The old woman and the fat one also came in to greet him, and so, there he was, in the company of three women.

Wu Shan asked, “May I ask your surname? Why don’t I see a man in your family?” (How is he to know that this is not a decent family?)

“My unworthy husband is named Han,” said the fat woman. “He and our son are footmen in the yamen. They leave home early and come back late. Official business keeps them away from home.”

After a while, Wu Shan lowered his head and threw a furtive glance at the young woman. With her flirtatious eyes fixed on Wu Shan, the young woman asked, “May I make so bold as to ask how old you are, sir?”

“I have frittered away twenty-four years. May I ask your age?”

“There must be a predestined bond between us. I’m also twenty-four. I moved out of the city only to meet you, who happen to be my age! This bears out the saying ‘Those destined for each other will meet, however great the distance.’ ”

At such a turn of the conversation, the old woman and the fat one stood up and departed on some excuse, leaving the young woman making suggestive remarks to Wu Shan as the two sat facing each other. Wu Shan had thought that she was from a good family and had decided to let her stay, with no more intention than to be able to flirt with her. Little did he expect her to try to seduce him when they were hardly acquainted. Realizing that the woman was not a decent sort, he was about to leave, when she drew nearer to sit by his side. Coquettishly, she said, “Show me the gold hairpin on your head, sir.” Wu Shan took o his cap and was on the point of removing the hairpin, when the young woman held his hair knot with one hand and, with the other, pulled out the hairpin. Rising, she said, “Let’s go upstairs. I have something to say to you.” So saying, she mounted the stairs. Wu Shan followed up the stairs to get his hairpin back. Indeed,

Wu Shan went up the stairs and cried, “Young lady, please give me back my hairpin. I need to go back home now to take care of some business.”

“You and I have a predestined marriage bond. Don’t you give me any more of your false pretenses. Come and enjoy the bed with me.”

Wu Shan protested, “That can’t be done! It won’t look good if people find out. Besides, there are too many curious eyes and ears around here.”

Before he could go down, the woman, exhibiting all her charms, put her arms around him, pressed herself against him, and pulled his pants down with her slender and soft fingers. Unable to curb his passion, which was rising like a flame, he went to bed with her, hand in hand, and the two plunged into a game of clouds and rain. After the intimacy was over, they sat up, holding each other in an embrace. Wu Shan asked in a pleasantly surprised tone, “Sister, what’s your name?”

“I am the fifth child in the family. The name I was given at birth is Saijin [Good as Gold]. When I was older, my parents came to call me Jinnu [Gold Maid]. May I make so bold as to ask what your seniority is among your siblings and what business you are in?”

“I am the only child. My family is in the silk and money-lending business. We are quite well known in the town of New Bridge for our wealth. This shop here is my own.” (It is understandable to boast of one’s wealth to someone inferior, but little did he know that these words would make him a patron of that family.)

Jinnu was inwardly delighted. “To be able to get myself such a rich man is not a bad deal at all,” she thought to herself.

The truth of the matter is that the woman was an unlicensed prostitute, a so-called “private nest” not openly in business. She provided the only source of income for the household. The old woman was the fat woman’s mother, and Jinnu was the fat one’s daughter. The fat woman came from a decent family and got into this line of business only because her husband, a good-fornothing, could hardly eke out a living on his own. Jinnu, being a pretty girl with some rudimentary education, had been married o but was sent back to her parents because of her illicit a airs with other men. As coincidence would have it, the fat woman, by this time, was approaching the age of fifty, and her clients had been dwindling in number. With her daughter to replace her, the business not only went on but expanded in a big way. However, someone reported them to the authorities, and, in panic, they left the town where they lived and moved to this place to flee from trouble. Their path, alas, crossed that of Wu Shan, whom they lured right into their well-laid trap. Why was there no man in the family? As a matter of fact, the father and son had developed the habit of slipping away whenever they saw a client coming. Whoever took a fancy to Jinnu would fall into her trap, and Wu Shan was not the only one.

Let us come back to our story. Jinnu said, “We moved here on short notice in great haste and are therefore short of money. Would you lend us five taels of silver? Please don’t turn me down.”

Wu Shan gave his consent, rose, and adjusted his clothes and cap. Jinnu gave his gold hairpin back to him. The two of them went downstairs and resumed their seats in the main hall. Wu Shan thought to himself, “I’ve been here for quite some time now. I’m afraid the neighbors will start to talk.” Another cup of tea later, Jinnu invited him to stay for lunch, an o er that he declined. “I’ve stayed for too long,” said he. “I can’t stay for lunch, but I’ll send over the money shortly.”

“This afternoon, I’ll get some food and wine ready for you. Do come!” After these words, Wu Shan went out into the shop.

It so happened that a neighbor had seen Wu Shan enter the interior of the house. It was a two-story house with two six-room sections, one of which was occupied by Jinnu and the other by the silk shop, but the story above the shop was empty. This busybody, wondering what could be keeping Wu Shan for so long inside, had sneaked into that empty room and, crouching by the partition, saw everything that happened.

When Wu Shan returned to his seat in the shop, several neighbors came in and said to him, “Congratulations! Young Master Wu!” Wu Shan already had a suspicion that he had been somehow found out, and now that he was being laughed at, he countered, his face flushed crimson, “What nonsense is this? What’s there to congratulate me about?” Thereupon, the one who had seen the goings-on, Shen Erlang, owner of the general store across the street, said, “Why bother to deny it! After the gold hairpin was taken out, what did you go up for?” As the words struck him right on his sore spot, Wu Shan rose to go under some excuse, without being able to come up with a reply. The neighbors blocked his way. “We’ll put some silver together for a celebration!” Ignoring their remarks, Wu Shan left in a hu , heading in a westerly direction.

He walked to his maternal uncle’s house, the Pan household, and asked for lunch there. In no hurry, he paced to the door, borrowed a small scale from a shop, weighed out two taels of silver from the amount he had on him for buying silk, and tucked away the two taels in his sleeve. He hung idly about and did not return to the shop until late afternoon.

“The new tenants are inviting you for a drink, sir,” said the manager.

At this point, the old servant appeared to say, “Where have you been, sir? I couldn’t find you anywhere. We’ve prepared some food and wine for you. There are no other guests, besides the manager.”

Wu Shan and the manager thus went to the room where the dinner table was already all laid out with the usual fare of fish, meat, wine, and fruit. With Wu Shan in the seat of honor, Jinnu sitting opposite, and the manager on the side, the servant started serving the wine. A few cups later, the manager, well aware of what was afoot, said he needed to close the shop and left.

Without much capacity for wine, Wu Shan drank to his heart’s content with Jinnu after the manager was gone but, after more than ten cups, began to feel the e ects of the wine. Giving Jinnu the silver that he had in his sleeve, he rose and said to her, taking her hand, “I have something to say to you. This thing is not all that appropriate. The neighbors all know about it and have been making fun of me. Should my parents get wind of this, what’s to be done? There are too many curious eyes and wicked, unforgiving tongues around here. Some might be so resentful as to spread vicious lies around and make life hard for us. Sister, as I see it, it would be best for you to find a more quiet place. I’ll often come to see you.”

“You are right. Let me talk it over with my mother.”

At this moment, the old servant brought in two cups of tea. After the tea, the two again indulged in some amorous sport. As Wu Shan got ready to leave, he reminded her, “I won’t come again, to avoid gossip. After you’ve found another place, have the servant tell me so that I can come and see you o .” Having said this, Wu Shan went back into the shop, gave some instructions to the manager, and returned home, and there we shall leave him.

It being dark after she saw Wu Shan o , Jinnu remounted the stairs, washed o her heavy makeup, and went down again for supper, after which she related to her parents everything Wu Shan had said about the necessity of moving. They then retired for the night.

The following morning, the fat woman told the servant to find out quietly what the neighbors were talking about. Accordingly, the old man stood outside the door for a while and then sat idly for a while in front of Zhang Dalang’s rice shop next door. All he heard was gossip by the neighbors about Wu Shan’s a air with the woman. Upon returning home, the old man said to the fat woman, “All those wagging tongues around here don’t make this the best neighborhood to live in.”

“We moved here,” said the fat woman, “because of harassment in the city, hoping to find a nice place to live in permanently. Who would have thought we would run into such neighbors again!” With a sigh, she told her husband to go and look for another house while she kept watch on the neighbors’ reaction, before deciding on the next thing to do.

To come back to Wu Shan, after he returned home that day, he pleaded illness to his parents and, without telling them the real reason, stopped going to the shop, for fear of incurring further gossip. The manager took care of the shop all by himself.

Jinnu was not used to such peace and quiet in the house. Therefore, the old servant again set about inviting former clients, and the business resumed. (Of course.) At first, the neighbors had been aware only of Wu Shan’s visits, but later, at the sight of the busy traffic, they realized this was a veritable business establishment. Some busybody said, “Ours is a decent neighborhood. How can we tolerate such filth among us? It is often said that ‘fornication leads to murder.’ Fights of jealousy can end up in killing, and we the neighbors would all be implicated.” Before the words were quite out of their mouths, the old servant had already gone home to report what the neighbors were saying again today. The fat woman, with no one to vent her spleen on, lashed out at the old woman: “Who are you afraid of, at your rotten old age? Why don’t you go out to get at those cursed tongue-wagging bastards?”

So the old woman got up and went out the door. “Which cursed tongue-wagging bastards are farting again?” she screamed. “If you dare to take me on, I’ll have it out with you even if I have to die for it! Which family doesn’t have visits from relatives?”

When the neighbors heard her, they said, “What a shameless old bitch! She’s hurling abuses at us neighbors when she should have apologized for the naughty things they do at home!”

Shen Erlang, the general-store owner, was about to take the old woman on when someone who was not given to meddling in other people’s a airs stopped him with these words: “Let her be. Don’t argue with this half-dead old thing. Just drive them away and that’ll be that.”

Having cursed unchallenged for some time, the old woman went back into the house.

The neighbors went to the manager and said to him, “You should have known better than to allow such unsavory characters to live here. Instead of apologizing for their own behavior, they sent the old woman to curse us. You must have heard her. If we report the matter to Squire Wu, your boss, it won’t reflect too well on you.”

The manager said, “Please don’t be angry, my good neighbors. You don’t have to say another word. I’ll tell them to move as soon as possible.”

Having said what they had come to say, the neighbors went o . The manager immediately stepped inside and said to the fat woman, “You must quickly find a place and move out of here. Don’t drag me into any of this. With things the way they are, you’ll know no peace if you stay.”

“Say no more,” the fat woman replied. “My husband is already looking for a house in the city. We’ll be out of here anytime now.” At this, the manager went o .

The fat woman said to Jinnu, “We’ll be moving into the city tomorrow morning. We can send the old man quietly to Young Master Wu to tell him about this, but his parents must not know.”

With these instructions, the old servant betook himself to Squire Wu’s silk shop in New Bridge Town, but, without the courage to go straight in, he stood under the eaves of a house across the street while keeping an eye on the shop. Before long, Wu Shan was seen emerging from the house at a leisurely pace. At the sight of the old servant, he hurried over and led the old man away from his own door to a silk weaver’s house, where they sat down. “What message do you bring?” asked Wu Shan.

“I am sent here to let you know that Fifth Sister is moving into the city tomorrow, just as you told her to.”

“That’s the best way out,” said Wu Shan. “But where in the city exactly are you moving to?”

“To Cross Bridge Street, south of the Patrol Battalion’s Wool Camp.” Wu Shan took out a piece of silver of about two mace’s⁷ worth and said, handing it to the old man, “Go ahead and buy yourself a cup of wine with this. Tomorrow at noon, I’ll come to see the family o .” The old man tucked away the silver, said his thanks, and returned home.

At about nine the following morning, Wu Shan had Shoutong follow him to a grocery store by Brocade Bridge, where he bought two packages of dried fruit. With the page boy carrying the packages, the two wended their way to the shop in Gray Bridge. After the greetings, Wu Shan went over with the manager the daily sales accounts. Wu Shan then rose and went inside to see Jinnu and her mother. The initial amenities over, he took the dried fruit from the page boy and produced a packet of silver from his gown, saying, “The two packages of dried fruit are for Sister to make tea with. The three taels of silver are to help you toward the moving expenses. I’ll come to see you after you’ve settled down.”

Jinnu took the dried fruit and the silver, and rose with her mother from their seats to thank him, saying, “How can we deserve such a great favor?”

“Don’t thank me. We’ll be seeing more of each other.” So saying, he got up and looked around, and saw that all the trunks, baskets, and furniture had already been carried down onto the boats.

“When will you come to see me again?” asked Jinnu.

“In three to five days at most.”

After bidding Wu Shan adieu, Jinnu and her family moved into the city that very day. Indeed,

Wu Shan was prone to su er from summer sickness. When the full heat of summer came on, he would feel tired, and his body would grow emaciated. As it was the beginning of the sixth month, he engaged the services of an acupuncturist to give him moxibustion treatments on his back. Since he needed to be nursed back to health, he stopped going to the shop. His thoughts were constantly with Jinnu, but the pain of the moxibustion kept him indoors.

Let us retrace our steps and turn our attention to Jinnu, who moved to Cross Bridge Street on the seventeenth day of the fifth month. That street happened to be inhabited mostly by soldiers’ families averse to her profession. Moreover, it was a secluded street with hardly any traffic. (Moved to the wrong place again.) The fat woman said to her, “Mr. Wu promised us that day that he would come within three to five days of our move. It’s been one month now. Why hasn’t he shown up? If he comes this way, he’ll surely drop in to see us.”

Jinnu suggested, “Why don’t we send the servant to the shop at Gray Bridge to see him?”

Accordingly, the old man went out Mount Gen Gate⁸ to the silk shop in Gray Bridge to see the manager. After the greetings, the manager said, “What brings you here, Grandfather?”

“I’m here to see Young Master Wu.”

“He’s having moxibustion treatments at home. He hasn’t recovered, so he hasn’t been here for a long time.”

“When you go back, please send him a message and let him know that I’ve been here to see him.”

Without delay, the old servant took leave of the manager and returned home for a report to Jinnu.

“I see. So he’s having moxibustion treatments at home,” said Jinnu. “That’s why he hasn’t come.”

That day, after consulting her mother, Jinnu had the servant buy two pieces of pig maw and clean them. She then stu ed them with sweet rice and lotus seeds and cooked them until tender. The following morning, she prepared some ink and, spreading out a piece of colored stationery, wrote a letter with her brush-pen:

Upon finishing the letter, she folded it and sealed it with a piece of paper. After packing the pig maw into a box and wrapping it up with a piece of cloth, she handed the letter and the box to the servant, saying, “Be sure to deliver it into Young Master Wu’s hands when you get to his house.”

With the box in his hand and the letter in his bosom, the old man went out of the house, down the street, out Wulin Gate, and into the town of New Bridge, where he sat down on a curbstone by the door of Squire Wu’s house. The page boy Shoutong, who happened to come out, saw the old man. “Grandpa, where did you just come from? Why are you sitting here?”

The old man pulled the boy to a quiet, secluded place and said, “I’m here to speak to your master. I’ll be waiting here. You tell him I’m here.”

Promptly Shoutong turned around, and before he had gone for long, Wu Shan walked slowly out. The old man made haste to greet him with a bow. “Master, I’m glad you look fine.”

“Well, Grandpa,” said Wu Shan. “What is it you’ve got in the box?”

“Fifth Sister is concerned about your moxibustion treatments and cooked two pieces of pig maw for you, for lack of anything better.”

Wu Shan led the old man to a wineshop and asked, after they had taken their seats upstairs, “How’s the new place?”

The old man replied, “It’s miserable.” So saying, he handed the letter over to Wu Shan, who opened it and, after reading it, folded it as before and put it in his sleeve. Then he opened the box, took out one piece of maw and told the waiter to put it on a plate, cut it up, and serve it with two flasks of warmed wine.

“Grandpa, please help yourself to the food and wine while I go home to write a reply for you to take back.”

“Please go ahead,” said the old man.

Wu Shan went back to his own bedroom, wrote the reply surreptitiously, and weighed out five taels of silver. He then returned to the wineshop and had a few drinks with the old servant.

“Thank you very much for the good wine,” said the old man, “but I can’t have any more.” As he rose to go, Wu Shan gave him the silver and the letter of reply, saying, “The five taels of silver are to help the family with daily expenses. Please tell Fifth Sister that I will surely come to pay her a visit in two or three days.” The old man tucked away the silver and the letter and went downstairs. Wu Shan saw him out of the wineshop.

Evening had set in when the old man got home and gave Jinnu the silver and the letter of reply. She opened the letter and read it by the lamp. It said,

Jinnu and her mother were happy beyond measure with the silver, but, of this, no more need be said.

Wu Shan stayed around in the wineshop until evening. Taking the other piece of pig maw with him, he returned quietly to his own bedroom and said to his wife, “An acquaintance of mine, a weaver, heard that I was under moxibustion treatments and kindly gave me two cooked pieces of pig maw. I ate one with a friend before I came back. This one I brought home for you.”

His wife said, “Then you must reciprocate tomorrow.” That evening, Wu Shan ate the piece of maw with his wife in their own room, unbeknownst to his parents.

Two days went by. On the third day, the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, Wu Shan rose bright and early and said to his parents, “I have been absent from the shop for quite some time. Luckily I have recovered now and feel ready to go today. I also need to collect money from some weavers in Shrine Lane in the city. I’ll be back soon.”

“Go ahead, but don’t overtax yourself,” said his father.

Wu Shan took leave of his father, asked for a sedan-chair, and went on his way, followed by the page boy Shoutong holding an open umbrella. As it turned out, Jinnu almost took away Wu Shan’s life on this visit. Indeed,

Wu Shan mounted the sedan-chair and, before he knew it, found himself in the town of Gray Bridge. He alit from the sedan-chair and greeted the manager. With his thoughts obsessed with Jinnu, he sat for only a short while before he rose and told the manager, “I am going into the city to settle some weavers’ accounts. We’ll go over your daily accounts when I come back.”

Well aware of where he was heading, the manager did not presume to stop him but confined himself to this advice: “Having just recovered, you can’t a ord to walk around too much, for you’ll only bring on the pain again.” Wu Shan ignored him and mounted the sedan-chair. The carriers, as previously instructed, headed straight for Mount Gen Gate. They then wound their way to South Cross Bridge near Wool Camp and asked for the Han family from the town of Lake Villa. Someone said, pointing at a house, “It’s the door next to the medicine shop.” After Wu Shan got down from the sedan chair, Shoutong knocked at the door. The old servant opened the door and, at the sight of Wu Shan, hurried inside to make the announcement. As Wu Shan walked in, the mother and daughter greeted him with ingratiating smiles, saying, “It’s so seldom that we have such a distinguished guest! What wind brought you here today?”

After the necessary amenities with the mother and daughter, he was led inside to sit down for a cup of tea. “I’ll show you my room,” Jinnu said and took him upstairs to her own room. Indeed,

Upstairs in Jinnu’s room, Jinnu and Wu Shan were as happy as fish in water and as inseparable as lacquer and glue. They poured into each other’s ears the usual words of tender love. The occasion naturally called for a feast. The old servant carried the dishes upstairs, moved the mirror stand, and set the dishes on the dressing table. The old man then went down and did not dare to go up again until Jinnu asked him for more wine. As the two of them sat side by side, Jinnu poured out a cup of wine and o ered it to Wu Shan with both hands, saying as she did so, “You were never absent from my thoughts while you were undergoing moxibustion treatments.”

Wu Shan took over the cup and replied, “I failed to keep my promise because of the moxibustion treatments.” After he downed the wine, he filled a cup to o er to Jinnu in return. More than ten cups later, their passion was aroused, and, amid reminiscences of the old days, they experienced the very height and fulfillment of their love. After the intimacy was over, they rose, washed their hands, and started another bout of drinking. Though their eyes were bleary with wine, they were still burning with lingering desires. Wu Shan had abstained from sex for a month while undergoing the moxibustion treatments. Now that he was with Jinnu, how could he be content with only one round? (Only he who can manage to stay unperturbed at such a moment is a worthy man. Someone counters, “A worthy man doesn’t get himself into such a fix.” I reply with a smile, “That’s not the way it is.”) He should have been a dead man by now, for Jinnu had thrown his soul and his spirit into confusion. He plunged into another round with rekindled passion. Truly,

Afterward, Wu Shan found himself fighting a losing battle against fatigue and mental confusion. Without eating anything, he lay down on the bed and went to sleep. Seeing him sleeping, Jinnu walked downstairs and told the sedan-chair carriers waiting outside, “The master had a few cups of wine and is now asleep upstairs. You two gentlemen please wait for a while. Do not rush him.”

“We wouldn’t dare,” they said.

Jinnu went back upstairs and lay down by Wu Shan’s side.

In the meantime, Wu Shan had barely closed his eyes before he heard someone cry out, “How nicely you sleep, Young Master Wu!” After a few more repetitions, Wu Shan saw, through his wine-sodden eyes, a big fat monk in a worn-out monk’s robe, a pair of monk’s shoes on his bare feet, and a yellow silk sash around his waist, signaling a greeting to him. Wu Shan jumped up from bed and returned the greeting, saying, “Master, which monastery are you from? Why are you calling my name?”

“I am the abbot of Water and Moon Monastery at Mulberry Garden. My disciple having died, I am here to recruit you because, judging from your physiognomy, I believe you are not richly blessed by fate. Glory and splendor being out of reach, you might as well opt for a life of austerity, renounce the world, and become a disciple of mine.”

“What a senseless monk you are!” said Wu Shan. “My parents are in their fifties, and I am their only son, with the responsibility to continue the family line and family tradition. How can I become a monk?”

“But that is your only choice,” said the monk. “If you still want to seek glory and splendor, you’ll die in no time. Do as I say and come with me.”

“What nonsense is this?” asked Wu Shan. “This is a woman’s boudoir. What are you, a monk, doing here?”

Opening his eyes wide, the monk cried, “Are you coming or not?”

“You unreasonable bald ass! Why are you pestering me like this!”

In a rage, the monk dragged Wu Shan o . When reaching the staircase, Wu Shan cried out in protest. At a violent push from the monk, he tumbled downstairs, head first. (These are all meant to be scenes in a dream.) He woke up in a start with cold sweat all over his body. When he opened his eyes, he found Jinnu still asleep. So it had been nothing but a dream. In something of a trance, he sat up in bed and for quite some time stared blankly into the air. Jinnu also woke up and said to him, “How well you slept! It’s so seldom that you come. Rest now. Don’t leave until tomorrow morning.”

“But my parents must be worried about me. I have to go now. I’ll be back to see you again some other day.”

Jinnu rose to see about the serving of some refreshments. Wu Shan stopped her, saying, “I don’t feel well enough to eat anything.” Noticing that he did look ill, Jinnu dared not insist. After adjusting his clothes and cap, Wu Shan went downstairs, took leave of Jinnu and her mother, and hastily mounted the sedan-chair.

In the darkness of the evening, Wu Shan thought to himself in the sedan-chair, “What a strange dream I had, and it was broad daylight, too!” Seized with alarm and worry, he felt a stomachache coming on, but, being in the sedan-chair, there was nothing he could do. Wishing he could be home sooner, he told the sedan-chair carriers to move faster. By the time he arrived home at last, the pain was overwhelming. He jumped o the sedan-chair, rushed into the house and up the stairs, and sank down on the night-stool. Each spasm of pain was followed by a fit of diarrhea, discharging nothing but blood-red water. (Illness that he brings upon himself.) Only a considerable while later did he throw himself into bed, his head in a whirl, his eyes blurred, his limbs weary, and his bones aching all over. As a matter of fact, the excessive indulgence in lust was too much for his weak constitution not richly endowed with life’s vital force.

Having noticed his son’s greenish complexion, Squire Wu ran up the stairs and stood aghast. “You look awful, Son!” he said.

“I had too many drinks at a client’s house and took a nap there,” Wu Shan tried to explain. “When I woke up hot and thirsty, I drank a bowl of cold water, which gave me cramps, and now it’s diarrhea.” Before the words were quite out of his mouth, he gnashed his teeth as a shiver ran through him. A cold sweat broke out, but his body felt as hot as burning charcoal. Squire Wu rushed downstairs and called a doctor.

“The pulse is almost gone,” said the doctor. “This case is beyond me.”

After much piteous pleading for him to do whatever he could to save Wu Shan, the doctor said, “This is not diarrhea but something caused by excessive indulgence in sex, which depleted his vital force. Such cases of the loss of yang are usually hopeless. I will now prescribe a dose of medicine to help restore his vital force. If, after he takes the medicine, his fever subsides and his pulse comes back, he may have a chance.” (Medicine can’t kill.) The doctor got together a prescription for Wu Shan and left. To his parents’ repeated questions, Wu Shan shook his head and remained silent.

At about the first watch of the night, Wu Shan took the medicine and lay down on his pillow. Suddenly the monk appeared to him again. Standing by the bedside, he said, “Wu Shan! Why are you trying so hard to hang on to life? You’d do well to go with me.” (The Buddha seeks out only those predestined to join the order.)

“Go away! Leave me alone!” Before Wu Shan could say another word, the monk tied his yellow silk sash around Wu Shan’s neck and pulled him along. (Unmistakably a dream.) Holding on to the bed frame, Wu Shan gave a shout and woke up with a start, only to realize that it was again a dream. When he opened his eyes, he saw in front of him his parents and his wife.

“What did you see that made you wake up in alarm?” asked his parents.

Feeling disconcerted, Wu Shan knew that he would not be able to hold out any longer, and he told his parents everything about his a air with Jinnu and his dreams about the monk. As he broke down in sobs, his parents and his wife were also reduced to tears. His son being so critically ill, Squire Wu saw fit not to scold him but to comfort him with solacing words.

After the confession, Wu Shan fainted several times. Upon regaining consciousness, he said to his wife tearfully, “Serve my parents well and take good care of our son. The revenues of the silk shop should be enough for daily expenses.”

His wife replied between sobs, “Just relax and get well. Don’t worry about anything for now.”

With a sigh, Wu Shan had a maid help him sit up and said to his parents, “I am dying. You brought up this unfilial son in vain. Perhaps it is dictated by my ill fate that I should run into my nemesis at this time of my life. Regrets are too late now! (Too late indeed.) Please warn other young men not to follow in my footsteps and do something that should not be done, for they’ll only end up losing their lives. A man’s life is precious. Those who fall easily for feminine charms should take this lesson from my experience. After I die, please throw my body into the river. That’ll be my way of apologizing for having neglected my wife and son and failed to support my parents.” Barely had he closed his eyes after saying these words than the monk appeared to him again. Wu Shan pleaded with him, “My master, what have I done to you to make you haunt me like this?”

“This poor monk died in the place where you were because I violated the commandment forbidding lust. I have been stranded in hell ever since without being able to extricate myself. The other day, when I happened to see you in the act of love-making in broad daylight, my heart gave a leap and I wanted to have you as a companion in the underworld.” Having said this, he disappeared.

Upon waking up, Wu Shan told his parents about the dream. Squire Wu said, “So it was an aggrieved soul pestering you.” In haste, he went out the door into the street, where he lit incense and candles, laid out some food offerings, and prayed to heaven, “Please show compassion and spare my son’s life. I will go to the place where you died and hold a prayer service for you.” Having said this prayer, he burned some paper money.

Squire Wu returned upstairs after evening had set in and saw Wu Shan sleeping on the bed with his face turned toward the wall. All of a sudden, he sat up and said with his eyes wide open, “Squire, I violated Tathagata Buddha’s commandment against lust and committed suicide at Wool Camp. When your son also went there to indulge in his lust, I could hardly avoid recalling what I had done. I wanted to have him replace me or ask him to hold a service for my salvation. Your o erings of food and paper money as well as your promises of a service for me have made me decide to let go of your son and stop haunting him. I will now go back to Wool Camp to wait for your prayer service, and if I get reincarnated, I will never come again.” Barely were the words out of his mouth than Wu Shan joined his palms in a salute and woke up. His face regained its former color. His wife felt his body and found that the fever had gone. He rose from bed to relieve himself and realized that the diarrhea had also stopped. The entire family rejoiced and summoned the same physician they had engaged before. “His six pulses⁹ are back,” said the doctor. “He’ll pull through.” (Lucky man.) After taking for several days the herb medicine prescribed by the doctor, Wu Shan gradually recovered.

Squire Wu engaged some monks and held a service in Jinnu’s house for an entire day and night. Jinnu’s family dreamt that a fat monk walked away with his sta .

After resting for six months, Wu Shan went back to his business in New Bridge Town. One day, his conversation with the manager turned to the subject of what had happened to him. He said remorsefully, “People of this world must, by all accounts, guard against unconscionable behavior, for it is true that reprobation comes both from fellow men and ghosts of the netherworld, and I almost lost my life for having failed to take heed.” Henceforth, he mended his ways and never paid Jinnu another visit. (An atonement for his misconduct.) None of the relatives and neighbors aware of the situation did not hold him in respect. Verily,