20 AT THE VILLAGE OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, A FISHERMAN AND A WOODCUTTER OPEN TUIZHI’S MIND

Commanding the ether and eating clouds, you’ll accompany Lord Lao;

Controlling your pneuma and tired of the world, you cross the border of Heaven.

Invert the Five Phases and you will complete the Golden Tripod;

Take refuge in the Three Lumina and you will reach the Purple Vapors of Heaven.

As you play an immortal tune on the zither,

In your embroidered bag there is bound to be a text of Jade Vacuity.

If you set your hopes on escaping the world of dust,

Then from the Purple Mansions and Red Jade Palaces crimson clouds will emerge.

The place in the grove was called Three Mountains Village. The only settlement for three hundred miles around, it consisted of three to four hundred households. As each of them had several daughters, together there were seven to eight hundred young women, and therefore it was also called the Village of Beautiful Women.

Reader, shall I tell you why there were so many young women in this place? Because Tuizhi refused to cultivate himself, Lan Caihe had deliberately materialized this village, complete with an inn. He ordered Bright Moon and Cool Breeze to change into beautiful women, who were to use their seductive powers to test Tuizhi’s heart when he came to the village to seek shelter from the snow.

And indeed, struggling against the wind and snow, Tuizhi together with Zhang Qian and Li Wan hurried to the village gate. When they saw that there was an inn, they were overjoyed. Hastily Tuizhi descended from his horse and whispered in Zhang Qian’s ear, “When we are in the inn, don’t tell them that I am the Minister of Rites Han, but just say that I am a trader on the way to Chaozhou to settle accounts with my business partner.”

Zhang Qian nodded, shouldered the luggage, and went ahead. Tuizhi followed him into the inn, chose a seat, and sat down. The waiter came over and asked, “Would you like some wine?”

“How could I do without wine on such a cold day?” Tuizhi said. “First heat up some top quality wine, and afterward we’ll have some food.”

“We have first rate wine, and it’s hot, too, but it’s very strong,” the waiter said.

“Drinking wine without getting drunk is like being buried alive,” answered Tuizhi. “Who would buy weak wine that doesn’t make you drunk?”

“Since ancient times it has been said, ‘If wine doesn’t intoxicate a man, he intoxicates himself; if lust does not confuse a man, he confuses himself,’” said the waiter. “That’s why I don’t recommend that you drink our wine.”

“What place is this?” Tuizhi asked.

“It is called the Three Mountains Village of Beautiful Women.”

“‘A beautiful lad can ruin an older head; beautiful women can tangle a tongue.’¹ Since ancient times we have been thus warned. Why was this place name chosen?” Tuizhi asked.

“That’s a long story. The three to four hundred families in our village have only been able to produce beautiful daughters, but not a single son. Now grown up, none of these daughters has been given in marriage. That is why it is called the Three Mountains Village of Beautiful Women. For example, the keeper of this inn has a daughter called Bright Moon Immortal. She is now thirty-eight years old, and a fortune-teller has said that any moment a noble man will arrive who will make her his second wife. But when will that noble man come? If he fails to turn up for another year, she’ll be thirty-nine, and her hair will soon turn white. Bright Moon Immortal has a younger sister called Cool Breeze Immortal, who is thirty-one this year. The fortune-teller said that her eight characters contain a secure destiny of three sons. The innkeeper is thinking of giving her to someone as a concubine, hoping to reap the blessings later on when she gives birth to sons.”

Tuizhi was just going to question him further when Zhang Qian became impatient and shouted at the waiter, “Are you going to serve us heated wine or not? The way you just go on idly gossiping, you don’t seem like someone who has to make a living!”

When the waiter heard Zhang Qian, he turned around in a hurry and brought wine and food, which he placed on the table. He poured a bowl of hot wine and set it before Tuizhi. Tuizhi lifted it and drank.

He had just finished one bowl when a man came in by a side door. When he noticed Tuizhi, he looked more closely and said, “My daughter Bright Moon Immortal dreamt last night of a noble man, wearing a headcloth, dressed in court robes, and holding an ivory tablet. He came into her chamber to celebrate the wedding night. I must pay close attention to all passersby, lest I overlook that person.” Then he went back inside.

The waiter laughed and said, “You see, on such a snowy and freezing day, my boss is still asleep and dreaming of spring.”

When Tuizhi heard these words, he felt his heart give a jump; he wanted to speak, but did not. The waiter came closer and asked, “Where do you come from? For what purpose are you traveling to Chaozhou?”

“I pooled my capital with a partner who went to Chaozhou to engage in trade,” Tuizhi said. “It’s been a long time and he hasn’t come back, so now I am seeking him out to settle accounts.”

The waiter said,

“Settling accounts, settling accounts

Will give you nothing but trouble;

But if you are willing to doctor your accounts,

Everything will be taken care of.”

Just then a beautiful woman appeared on the upper floor of the sumptuous building across the yard. Leaning on the balustrade and twisting the pearly curtain in her hand, she sang,

“I heard people speak of a meritorious minister praying,

Whereupon auspicious snow fell in profusion at the Southern Altar.

He saved the common people from their suffering,

And the withered stalks of grain received moisture.

Today a high minister has come,

Even though since ancient times a noble man has been hard to find.

With gathered sleeves I bow bashfully,

Unable not to honor him.”

When Tuizhi heard her voice, which was like that of an oriole warbling among high trees, he quickly raised his head to look. Enchanted by the beautiful sounds, his soul flew out beyond Heaven and scattered among the Nine Empyreans. He looked left and right, and then his gaze came to rest on the woman. Her eyes were clear and bright like autumn ripples in finely slanted streams; her eyebrows were blackened and knit in a shy frown, ineffably expressive of her feelings.

Having watched her for a while, Tuizhi called, “Heat up more wine!” When the waiter came over with the wine pot, Tuizhi asked him, “What is the name of your boss?”

“He is called Jia Sizhen.”²

“How many surnames are there among the households of this village?”

“All are Jia,”³ the waiter said.

“The upper floor of that sumptuous building over there—does it contain the innkeeper’s family’s sleeping quarters?” Tuizhi inquired further. “Or are the guest chambers located there?”

“The master’s sleeping quarters are in the seventh house in the back,” the waiter said. “The upper floor of that building holds the sleeping chamber of his daughter Bright Moon Immortal.”

“It is getting dark and it is snowing heavily,” Tuizhi said. “Are there any good inns on the road ahead where we could stay?”

“The next inn is far away. In such snow you won’t reach it. We have excellent accommodations at this inn, but you have to make your own decision,” responded the waiter.

“In that case, clean a room for us and let us stay the night,” Tuizhi said. “We’ll travel on tomorrow morning.”

“The rooms and beds are all clean. There is no need to sweep them. The room on the lower floor of Bright Moon Immortal’s house is very tidy and refined. You could stay there,” the waiter suggested.

“The lower floor will be fine,” Tuizhi said. He ordered Zhang Qian and Li Wan to bring the luggage, and followed the waiter to the room on the lower floor, which turned out to be very elegant and refined indeed. Rejoicing secretly, Tuizhi pulled over a chair and sat by the balustrade.

Soon he heard the creaking sound of a door. A man stepped out. It was none other than the innkeeper Jia. Tuizhi rose to greet him.

Jia Sizhen bowed very courteously and responded, “Greetings to you, my lord.”

Tuizhi returned the bow and said, “I am just an old trader passing through and spending a night at your worthy place. Why do you call me ‘lord’?”

“My daughter Bright Moon Immortal dreamt last night that a noble man would celebrate the wedding night with her,” Jia Sizhen said. “So far no other guests but you three have arrived to stay at my inn. This happens to correspond with my daughter’s dream. If they are destined for each other, two people will meet even if they are a thousand miles apart. I wish to give my two daughters to you in marriage, my lord, so as to make this auspicious dream come true.”

When Tuizhi heard these words his heart gave a leap. He whispered to Zhang Qian, “I don’t have a son. If I marry these two women and they give birth to at least one son, then the Han family will have a descendant to continue its line. But would that son count as coming from the main wife or from a secondary wife?”

“As long as you get a son, who cares about that?” Zhang Qian said. “As long as there’s a fertile womb to impregnate, you’ll have a son, and that’s all that counts.”

“I beg to disagree,” Li Wan said.

“What is your opinion of the circumstances?” Tuizhi whispered.

“In this heavy snow, we might as well turn this fellow’s trick against him,” Li Wan said. “You agree to marry into his family and stay here for some time, during which you eat his food and sleep with his daughters. As soon as the weather clears up, we’ll be off quickly to go to your posting. If you receive a pardon and return home, you won’t even need a waystation, but can come back by this route. If your second wife has in the meantime given birth to a son, you just take him back home, and never mind your old wife’s jealousy. If she hasn’t yet given birth to a son, you tell her that you’ll send someone to fetch her once you are home, without actually doing so, of course. If you conceal this matter from your first wife, you will save your ears the din of noisy complaints. What do you think, master?”

Tuizhi thought for a while, his head lowered, and then said, “What Li Wan says makes sense.” Turning around and stepping forward, he said to Jia Sizhen, “I truly should not have deceived you. I was Minister of Rites at the Court. My surname is Han. Because I criticized the reception of the Buddha bone, I am being banished to Chaozhou as a magistrate. I am now more than fifty years old and would thus fit the middle-aged noble man your daughter saw in her dream. However, as my wife is still alive, your daughter could only become my second wife. This you need to discuss with her.”

“A fortune-teller calculated that a noble man would soon come to take her as his second wife,” Jia Sizhen said. “Besides, it accords with her dream. She’d be content to be your housemaid, let alone a second wife. There is no need to discuss it with her.”

When Tuizhi saw the innkeeper accept his offer, a smile spread all over his face, so that he looked like a child eating sugar or a beggar picking up a treasure.

Right away Jia Sizhen called to a slave girl, “Quickly ask my two daughters to come. On this auspicious day they will be married to the noble lord Han.”

Soon, amidst the tinkling of jewelry and the fragrant waft of perfume, four slave girls called Biaozhi, Zhibiao, Xiqi, and Qixi led out Bright Moon Immortal and Cool Breeze Immortal to greet Tuizhi. Tuizhi thereupon went through the wedding rites with them and retired to the gauze-screened bed.

In the bedroom on the upper floor a table with wine and fruit was set up. Was this wine false or real?

Dear reader, listen: that wine was the same that Tuizhi had given Xiangzi to drink at his birthday banquet. At the time Xiangzi had dispatched a celestial general to convey it here and set it out on this day to test whether Tuizhi would remember it.

Bright Moon Immortal took up a golden cup, filled it with Green Ant wine, and handing it to Tuizhi said,

“As we float our cups of Lamb wine,

Snow falls profusely and the day is not yet over.

I am glad we were fated to meet,

To join in union as phoenix and simurgh.

In that union

We shall together laugh and be joyful.

Please loosen your robes—

Tonight’s love

Will give us overflowing happiness for a hundred years.”

Tuizhi accepted the wine and drank it. Cool Breeze Immortal poured another cup and, handing it to Tuizhi, sang,

“Jade cups and fragrant liquor—

I am glad that a new friend turns out to be an old relationship.

I only wish that we will be bound together while our hair is black,

And harmonize still when it has turned white.

We must not abandon each other half way.

Please loosen your robe,

Take pity on the new and discard the old—

Storms and downpours pummel the budding spring.”

Taking the wine in his hand, Tuizhi asked, “My brides, do these two slave girls already have husbands?”

“If we sisters only today came to serve a noble man, how could the slave girls be married?” Bright Moon Immortal said.

“Since they have no husbands, let’s take advantage of this auspicious night to marry Zhibiao to Zhang Qian and Biaozhi to Li Wan, allowing them too a taste of married bliss,” Tuizhi said.

“It shall be done as you order,” said Bright Moon Immortal.

Right away, Tuizhi called Zhang Qian and Li Wan and said, “My wives give Zhibiao and Biaozhi to you in marriage. Knock your heads and thank them.”

Zhang Qian pulled Tuizhi aside and whispered to him, “Master,

“You just see their external beauty,

But give no thought to the possibility that these are not human beings.

I remember that the boatman said,

‘If you can pass by the Village of Beautiful Women,

Then you can count as a Gentleman of the Hanlin Academy.’

See, this morning’s scenery

Clearly was an artificial creation.

If they swindled us out of our travel purse

And disappeared in a gust of wind,

Then we’d be in deep trouble, even if we were divine immortals.”

“Save your breath,” Tuizhi said. “This is a stroke of good luck for me.”

“Do not speak of good luck. I am afraid it may turn out to be bad luck,” Zhang Qian replied.

Tuizhi shouted at him, “When I was a high minister at court, I saw innumerable strange things. What we encountered today was an insignificant incident, but you keep on babbling and complaining because of it! If it weren’t that my wife would accuse me of being short-tempered, I would send you back home. So I forgive you this once.”

Apologizing profusely, Zhang Qian withdrew.

Bright Moon Immortal bowed with gathered sleeves and said, “Sir, do not blame that small-minded man for his transgression. Please don’t be angry any more.”

Biaozhi and Zhibiao brought a new headcloth, boots, and clothes, and handed them to Tuizhi so that he could change into them. Tuizhi hurriedly stripped off his old clothes and gave them to Xiqi and Qixi to take away. As he was putting on the new clothes, he ordered Zhang Qian and Li Wan to wait in the corridor outside. Bright Moon Immortal and Cool Breeze Immortal took Tuizhi’s hands and sang,

“Whether our family is poor or not,

We shall pass autumn and winter resting at ease.

Although we have no fields or possessions,

Our meager belongings still rival those of Deng Tong.”

Looking around him, Tuizhi replied,

“You laugh at my poverty, but my Dao is not poor.

This autumn or winter, the emperor’s grace will change.

Although the years of half a century are not few,

To beget a son would be my good fortune.”

Bright Moon Immortal laughed and said, “The Jade Maid was eighty years old when she became pregnant with Lao Dan. I am only thirty-eight and my younger sister thirty-one—just the right age for childbirth. Please go to bed first. We will both come to keep you company.”

Tuizhi was just going to undress and climb into bed when suddenly his belt grew tighter and tighter, as if someone were pulling it like a rope. He seemed to be pulled up and suspended from it in the air. When he opened his eyes to look again, there was no one around. Terrified, Tuizhi shouted and bellowed like thunder.

“Right about now the master should be enjoying the pleasures of the wedding night,” Zhang Qian said. “Why is he shouting? Those two wives are probably difficult to handle.”

“I rather think he may be reaching the climax of intercourse,” Li Wan said. But when the two of them looked closely, there were no more houses and no beautiful women to be seen. The only thing they saw was Tuizhi, dangling high up in a pine tree. From the tip of a branch hung a white piece of paper, on which was written the following poem:

I laugh at you, stupid and befuddled old Confucian;

Your lust, greedy official, brought this chagrin upon you.

Now that you hang bound from the pine branch,

Why don’t you submit another memorial in court?

Zhang Qian climbed quickly up and freed Tuizhi. Shame filled Tuizhi’s face, and when he saw the poem he became even more embarrassed. Uncertain what to do, he suddenly heard a voice singing indistinctly. When he looked around, he saw a woodcutter coming along. He carried a bundle of firewood on a pole over his shoulder and sang a song while treading the snow. As he came closer, Tuizhi could hear that it was a mountain song:

“Holding my ax to gather firewood, I set out early.

My wife’s orders were really worth listening to:

‘After the morning rain the mountains are slippery,

So do not walk in dangerous places!’”

When Tuizhi heard this song, two tears flowed down his face, and he called to Zhang Qian, “That woodcutter and his wife may just be uneducated commoners, but they know to avoid dangerous places. The ancients said, ‘A high official will always be in danger.’ I didn’t understand to avoid it and brought this anguish upon myself. I cannot compare myself to these commoners.”

Just then the woodcutter arrived. Zhang Qian said to him, “My master has suffered this misfortune because of his efforts on behalf of the nation and the people. As you live in these deep mountains and valleys, your granary must have some grain, and your loom some cloth to spare. As the saying goes, ‘A man who has clothes to wear and food to eat definitely won’t be one who has no firewood under his stove, no rice in his jar, and gets a meal only every now and then.’ Why do you brave the cold and the dew to cut wood?”

“We have special terms for cutting wood in the four seasons,” the woodcutter said.

“Mountain wood is cut as the season requires—what special terms would there be?” Tuizhi asked.

“Sir, don’t show off your cleverness and laugh at my lack of education,” the woodcutter replied. “We call cutting wood in the spring ‘making a start.’ We call cutting wood in the summer ‘advancing onwards.’ We call cutting wood in the autumn ‘cultivating oneself well.’ We call cutting wood in the winter ‘pulling out branches in the cold.’”⁴

When Tuizhi heard the words “pulling out branches in the cold,” he silently thought to himself, “Very strange. Everything this woodcutter says contains a satirical jab. Now he has also mentioned my name—clearly there is a hidden message somewhere.”

“Brother woodcutter! Don’t give yourself such literary airs—it’s like wielding an ornate axe in front of Lu Ban, the carpenter god,” Zhang Qian said. “Let me ask you something: if we want to travel to Chaozhou, which road should we take to find places to stay overnight?”

“All within the Four Seas are brethren; in all four directions there live people,” the woodcutter replied. “Choose a place to stay according to your lot and it’ll do. Why bother asking me?”

Zhang Qian shouted, “It is exactly because there are no people around here and we have to choose a convenient route that I asked you. What’s the point of the rubbish you talk? What’s more, my master is a high court official who is passing through here because he has been banished to Chaozhou. He has encountered this great snowfall and asked you the way. He is not a lowly minion—how come you speak so glibly and deceitfully? If we were in the streets of Chang’an, I’d give you a thorough beating with my cudgel and have you exposed in a cangue at the crossroads.”

“Zhang Qian, keep it down and hold my horse,” Tuizhi said. “I’ll ask him myself.”

Tuizhi grabbed hold of the woodcutter and said, “When I, Han Yu, was at court, I brought about benefits and removed harm, acted for the nation and was concerned for the people. At the Southern Altar I prayed for snow and brought relief to many places. But now that I suffer adversity, no one comes to rescue me.”

“You, sir, say you are a high court official,” the woodcutter said. “So why aren’t you in those red towers and warm pavilions right now, where they roast lambs and heat wine, burn charcoal and light incense, as they gamble surrounded by courtesans. Instead you have hastened to this place—isn’t it rather inconvenient?”

“I am only here because the emperor has banished me as a magistrate to Chaozhou,” Tuizhi said. “I’ve lost my way and cannot travel on. I hope that you, brother, will instruct me as to where I can find the main road to Chaozhou, and whether there are places to stay overnight.”

“So, you, sir, are an old scholar, yet you don’t even know your way,” said the woodcutter. “As for the road to Chaozhou, I’ll tell you something. That road is rough, dangerous, and difficult to travel.”

“My orders are very strict and I cannot do anything about the situation,” Tuizhi said. “Even if it is hard to travel, I still have to go. Let me just ask you one more thing. How much further is it from here?”

“The distance is only two or three thousand miles, but there are few inhabited places and many obstacles,” the woodcutter said. “Listen as I explain it to you slowly,

“Old scholar, don’t be hasty,

Let me explain it to you in detail.

Ahead there is the Yellow Earth Gorge,

A dangerous place indeed.

Your feet have to tread a steep slope,

While your hands need to hold on to creepers and vines.

Your hands need to hold on fast;

Your feet need to tread securely.

If you lose your hold,

You will fall to your death.

Having rounded one mountain,

Walking becomes more difficult with every step.

There are many spirits and monsters,

Who will block your path.”

“Who says there are spirits and monsters?” Tuizhi said.

The woodcutter said,

“Dark leopards are the censors,

Black bears the prefects.

Goblins are the assistant prefects,

Sprites the protector-generals.

Wolves are the magistrates,

Fierce tigers the policemen.

Musk deer and muntjacs are the clerks and soldiers,

Rabbits and common deer the subjects.

The lions and goats run shops,

Where they buy and sell human flesh.”

“How could animals be officials or merchants? I don’t believe a word you are saying,” Tuizhi said.

The woodcutter continued,

“There is also an old monkey spirit of many years,

Whose chief stock-in-trade is dried meat.

Strike up an acquaintance with him—

He knows the road to Chaozhou.

If you want to know about good and bad fortune,

The oracle sticks in the temple do not err.

If you receive three inauspicious oracles in a row,

It will strike fear into your heart.

In the Qin Mountains master and servants will be separated;

Your horse will die as you cross the Blue Pass.

At that time things will be out of your control;

Life and death are dealt out by Heaven.

I am a mountain man,

And do not understand the paths of scholars.

If you want to go to Chaozhou,

Ask the fisherman at the mountain river.”

When Tuizhi heard these words he was paralyzed with fear. He caught hold of the woodcutter and said, “Brother woodcutter, tell me honestly. Which road should I take? Don’t just scare me with your words.”

“You’re not listening to me,” the woodcutter said. “I was speaking in vain. At the river in the east there is a fisherman who is used to traveling the lakes and rivers, visiting cities and markets to engage in trade. He has a good knowledge of roads, go and ask him.”

While Tuizhi turned his head to look for the river, the woodcutter vanished without a trace. Fearfully Tuizhi called to Zhang Qian, “Where did the woodcutter go?”

“We were both here, but we didn’t see where he went,” Zhang Qian and Li Wan said.

“I was just questioning him when he tricked me into turning my head and looking for the river in the east,” Tuizhi said. “When I turned around again, he was gone. Did I waste half the day talking with a ghost?”

“Master, forget about him. We have to get going,” Zhang Qian said.

“Not so fast,” Tuizhi said. “There really is a fisherman at the river. Wait until I’ve talked to him. There will still be time to leave then.”

By and by, Tuizhi arrived at the riverbank and called out, “Brother fisherman, how far is it from here to Chaozhou?”

“If you want to go to Chaozhou, you have plenty of time!” the fisherman said.

“I have heard that the land route is not easy,” Tuizhi said. “Is the water route safe?”

“It’s possible to take the water route, but this fool is asleep and has not yet awakened,” the fisherman said.

“You’re a fisherman and you’re talking with me right now,” Tuizhi said. “How can you say you aren’t yet awake?”

“I am no fisherman,” the fisherman said, “but there is a fool here right before my eyes.”⁵

“Fisherman, may I ask your exalted name?” Tuizhi asked. What is the number of your years? Where is your exalted residence?”

“An exalted name, great age, and exalted residence merely serve to attract misfortune,” the fisherman replied. “I conceal my name and live in a cave. I don’t keep count of time and don’t fear the wind and waves. I am nothing but a fisherman catching turtles on the ocean,⁶ and cannot compare myself to a famous minister at court.”

“It’s very well if you cherish such high ideals, but you seem to be lacking in knowledge,” said Tuizhi.

“I don’t argue about right or wrong; I am unmoved by favor or disgrace,” the fisherman said. “When I catch fish, I exchange them for a pot of good wine and drink until I fall down helplessly drunk. Using the bow of my boat as a pillow, I sleep as the evening sun sets in the west. It’s a very happy life. What knowledge do I lack?”

Tuizhi said, “Haven’t you heard that

“In a quiet night and cold water the fish won’t bite,

And your boat will return empty under the bright moon.⁷

“In weather such as today’s, the rivers and streams are all frozen, yet you are fishing here. Doesn’t that show a lack of knowledge?”

“When you speak of fish not biting in cold water, they are those high-placed fish who already had a change of heart,” said the fisherman. “What I am fishing for is that cold fish⁸ which struggles against the current, thrashes its tail, shakes its head, and swallows the hook without chance of escape.”

Tuizhi said to Zhang Qian, “Very strange! A while ago that woodcutter mentioned my name, and just now this fisherman did the same. Strange indeed!”

“What’s strange about it?” Zhang Qian said. “He’s just talking glib nonsense. Let me give him a beating and he won’t dare to shoot his mouth off any longer.” When the fisherman heard that Zhang Qian wanted to beat him, he covered his mouth with his hand and gave a great laugh. He crossed the river and vanished on the other bank.

“Damn! Was that another ghost?” Tuizhi said.

“Where’s the ghost?” Zhang Qian said.

“A ghost that tricked three clear-eyed men for half a day,” remarked Li Wan.

“There are five kinds of ghosts. Which kind was he?” asked Zhang Qian.

“What do you mean by ‘five kinds of ghosts’?” Li Wan asked.

“There is one kind that speaks sweet and beautiful words and cheats people into taking a great liking to him, leaving them quite unaware that he’s just waiting to stab them in the back,” Zhang Qian said. “This kind is called the gentle ghost. Another kind is rough and hard, and his words feign foolishness. In his heart he covets other people’s things, but he won’t utter a polite request. He just pretends to close his door tightly and to be unconcerned if people won’t give him their things. This is called the malicious ghost. Yet another kind is the one who, on seeing other people’s possessions, desires them, but can’t get himself to ask for them. When he sees these things given to other people, envy arises in his heart and he bears a grudge against them. This is called the resentful ghost.

“The fourth kind wants some possession of another, but when the conversation turns to that object, he talks around it and builds up a situation where the other will fall quite unaware into his trap and end up giving that thing to him. It’s like the ant which stealthily snatches people’s possessions. This is called the ant ghost. Finally, there is the kind that points east while speaking of the west, and uses the south to mirror the north. He conducts official business on other people’s behalf, makes marriage matches, posts security on the sale of land, and adopts sons and daughters. This kind is called the daylight ghost. This fisherman and the woodcutter were probably this kind of confidence-tricking daylight ghost.”

“I have seen a ghost—I will probably have to die!” Tuizhi said.

“Everyone knows daylight ghosts like that—they won’t drive people to their deaths,” Zhang Qian said.

“Master, be in doubt no longer,” Li Wan said. “By my reckoning, it was Master Xiangzi who changed into a fisherman and a woodcutter to convert you. Those weren’t ghosts!”

And really, the woodcutter was Xiangzi, while Lan Caihe had taken on the shape of the fisherman. With their words they ridiculed Tuizhi, but he did not realize it, and in the end it was Li Wan who guessed correctly.

“Baseless guessing won’t do us any good,” Zhang Qian said. “We should hurry on and look for an inn to spend the night. Tomorrow we can resume our journey refreshed.”

“Zhang Qian, hold my horse,” Tuizhi said, “while I compose a rhapsody to unburden my mind:

“Snow,

It is the essence of rain and dew,

The auspicious omen of a year of rich harvests.

One flake is called goose down;

Two flakes are called phoenix ears;

Three flakes are called a collection;

Four flakes are called an accumulation;

Five flakes are called a celestial flower;

Six flakes are called a six-petalled blossom.

Pneumata rise and fall;

A chilly wind covers the universe.

The grains’ flavors are strong or light,

As the crops grow luxuriantly.

In substance pure, it is transformed;

Riding the ether, it flurries down.

On meeting forms, it makes them new;

Instantly cleansed, they turn to light.⁹

The heavenly artisan cuts water with his scissors,¹⁰

And the universe is filled with flying cotton.

Snow has four aesthetic qualities:

Its stillness in falling to the ground without a sound.

Its purity that does not stain when it melts on clothes.

Its whiteness which drops from on high to spread out evenly.

Its brilliance whose reflected light falls through windows.

It penetrates curtains and doors,

Is sprinkled densely on houses of song,

Their paired roof tiles seemingly adorned with silver.

It covers the houses and fills the ditches,

Blowing wildly around the monks’ huts.¹¹

Kingfisher towers all appear to trail white silk.

Formed into a lion, its aspect is strong and virile,

Falling like crowded pear blossoms and metal blades, it adds to the chill.

Like white silk snipped to pieces it glitters brightly;

Piled up like willow catkins and thin gauze it brings forth cold.

I think of the woodcutter who loses his way on the mountain paths,

And of the fisherman who stops fishing and returns to the southern bank.

The roads are blocked to the traveler;

The guest does not have a companion.

I see a lonely village,

With a fluttering flag advertising wine for sale.

I hear a lonely wild goose,

But receive no word from anyone.

In confused profusion the white egrets fly in groups,

While the white roc beats its wings.

The whole mountain is covered in layers of jade,

And the wanderer’s soul loses its way.

Ten thousand households are sealed in by this powder,

And the traveler must go hungry.

Afraid of the cold, the pauper prays to Lord Heaven that he may reduce the snowfall by a third;

Enjoying the scenery, the scions of noble families wish that the snow god may add a few feet to the snow cover.

It is good for old pines,

It is good for cultivation,

And it is good for strangely formed rocks that rise steeply.

It is good for stones in bizarre shapes,

It is good for old plum trees,

And it is good for the seclusion of deep mountains.

Though one may say it is an auspicious omen for a year of good harvests,

What about this auspicious omen?

For the paupers in the streets of Chang’an,

Good omens are fine, but there should not be too many.”

By the time Tuizhi completed his rhapsody, his brush was frozen and his hand stiff; he looked chilled to the bone. Zhang Qian said, “Master, it is snowing more heavily all the time. What are we going to do?”

“The wind sweeps the ground, the snow serves as lighting,” Tuizhi said. “In ancient times there were those like Su Wu of the Han dynasty who ate snow and gnawed the felt of their clothing. However, even though I haven’t mastered Yuan An’s art of sleeping in the deep snow, how could I decline a journey of a thousand miles just because it is hard to travel?”

“Master, previously you wouldn’t listen, but remained attached to your position and reputation and refused to cultivate yourself,” Zhang Qian said. “Today the snow blocks the road in front of us, and above our heads crows are cawing and owls are hooting.”

Tuizhi remained silent and pressed on, feeling miserable and fearful. But the wind blew wilder all the time and the snow fell ever more densely. Hungry and weak, Tuizhi got off his horse and sought shelter from the snow with his companions, even while improvising a song to the tune “Goat on the Mountainside”:

“The road is long.

I won’t reach Blue Pass.

My regrets are deep;

Hunger and cold are difficult to bear.

In the expanse of white,

The horse cannot go forward.

With slow steps,

I advance and retreat and suffer many falls.

When the dreaming soul is lost,

It is hard to call back from afar with just a few words.

And it is truly hard to foretell what will happen in the end.

My fate is against me, the time inauspicious,

Yet in my heart I remain loyal to the emperor.

On the bleak and wild mountain,

Snow swirls chaotically through forests and across marshes;

As misery meets my eye, the crow calls out.”

Having chanted this poem, Tuizhi was overcome by sadness. He got back on his horse and moved on. After several miles they came to a hollow, from which several roads led out. Which was the one to Chaozhou?

While they were at a loss what to do, a herdboy came along, looking all around, searching for his ox. Tuizhi wanted to ask him the way, but feared that he might be humiliated again. Then he had an idea and called to the herdboy, “Boy, what are you looking for?”

“I’ve lost an ox and I am looking for it here,” the herdboy replied.

“Where did you lose it?”

“I followed this ox from Chang’an, and all the way it has been unwilling to turn back. Then, somehow I suddenly lost sight of it.”

“I saw an ox, but I’m not sure whether it was yours,” Tuizhi said. “If you agree to show us the road to Chaozhou, I’ll guide you to the place where you can find the ox.”

“Don’t try to trick me!” the herdboy said. “My ox looks pure and extraordinary, and its shape is strange. This is an unusual ox—you wouldn’t be able to recognize it.”

“Your ox, like any other, has four legs and two horns, a thin tail and large head, a rope through its nose, and blinkers over its eyes. What’s unusual about it?” Tuizhi said.

“There are many famous oxen in this world, but none can compare to mine,” the herdboy said. “I’ll describe them to you: If sitting on its back you pull the halter three times and still can’t make it turn its towering head, it’s a strong ox. When it hangs its head and pulls in its tail, unwilling to push the mill and sleeping on the ground, it’s a lazy ox. When it raises its tail to shit, leaving behind its excrement, it’s a stinking ox. When, on being beaten with the thorny stick, it’s completely fearless and wildly charges left and right, it’s a wild ox. When its whole body is covered in sores and its backbone is rotten, its flesh wasted away and its legs weak, then it’s a diseased ox. When its head doesn’t move when you step on its tail, and it seems to be neither dead nor alive, then it’s a dull ox. If it pulls the plough to work the field, without ever stopping, it’s a stupid ox. If a person has ten thousand strings of money, but won’t spend any, eating only ginger and drinking bitter vinegar, holding on so stingily to his wealth that people shake their heads at him, he is nicknamed ‘village ox.’ And if someone wears on his head a scholar’s cap, gives himself airs as he plays football, and imitates the vices of well-born wastrels, he is called a ‘robber ox.’ My ox is of a glossy black color unmatched by any other. It’s not like ordinary oxen of the human world. If I don’t find it today, my master’s whip will truly give me cause to be anxious.”

“When formerly Laozi left by the Hangu Pass, instructed Yin Xi, and delivered the Tathagatha, he was also riding a black ox,” Tuizhi said. “You are no divine immortal—why do you speak of looking for a black ox?”

Laughing, the herdboy said, “Although I am not a divine immortal, neither am I an ordinary man. Why don’t you abandon your official position and cultivate yourself with me? Don’t go to Chaozhou!”

“My nephew Han Xiangzi admonished me numerous times to leave the family, yet I wasn’t willing to follow him. Why would I today agree to follow a boy like you?”

“I know that Han Xiangzi. He’s a divine immortal of the Upper Eight Grottoes. If you don’t follow me to cultivate yourself, that’s your ill fortune,” the herdboy answered.

When Tuizhi heard the herdboy say that he knew Han Xiangzi, he said, “Brother herdboy, I would like to meet with Han Xiangzi. Where is he now? May I trouble you to tell him from me that I am calling on him to come and save me? If he tarries another few days, I will certainly have died in this deep mountain wilderness.”

“Sir, though you served at court, you don’t understand at all,” the herdboy said.

“What is it that I don’t understand?”

“You want me speak to the divine immortal Han and call on him to come meet with you—that shows your lack of understanding.”

“Brother herdboy, what you don’t know is that, first, I am under orders from the emperor; second, Xiangzi is my nephew; third, I raised him as a child; and fourth, Xiangzi promised to come to the Blue Pass and rescue me. That’s why I ask you to look for him.”

“Immortals have escaped from the bonds of fame and profit; they have abandoned father, mother, wife, and children,” the herdboy said. “Their mind is not attached to anything anymore. Why would he be concerned about his uncle?”

“If he doesn’t agree to come, I’d rather die than go and seek him out,” Tuizhi said.

“If that’s the case, please suit yourself, but take care not to miss the emperor’s deadline,” said the herdboy.

“Brother herdboy, you grew up here. Do you know what place this is?” Tuizhi asked.

Pointing with his hand, the herdboy said, “In that forest ahead of you there stands a great stone stele. On it are written some words. Go and look at it and you will know the name of this place.”

Tuizhi reined in his horse and looked ahead. On the stele were written the words “Blue Pass, Qin Mountains.” Sighing, he said, “When Xiangzi came home, he said that I would undergo suffering when I got to this place, but I wouldn’t believe him. Who could have known that today I would meet with such calamity, yet he doesn’t come to rescue me. What shall I do?”

“Master, it seems that you came here in this wintry weather not of your own choosing, but because of the time limit set by the emperor,” Zhang Qian said. “As an immortal, the young master isn’t willing to come and expose himself to trouble.”

“Master, don’t harbor resentments,” Li Wan added. “There must be people living somewhere deep in that forest. Let’s hurry on and find an inn to spend the night. Then we can make further deliberations.”

In a long drought I prayed for sweet rain;

Away from home I hope to meet an old friend.

If I can be rescued by him,

This will be my good fortune.

If you don’t know whether people lived in the forest or not, please listen to the explanations in the next chapter.