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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chinese Fairy Book, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Chinese Fairy Book
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: R. Wilhelm
+
+Illustrator: George W. Hood
+
+Translator: Frederick H. Martens
+
+Release Date: September 8, 2009 [EBook #29939]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHINESE FAIRY BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                  THE
+              CHINESE FAIRY
+                  BOOK
+
+               EDITED BY
+             DR. R. WILHELM
+
+  TRANSLATED AFTER ORIGINAL SOURCES BY
+          FREDERICK H. MARTENS
+
+
+             [Illustration]
+
+
+   WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY
+             GEORGE W. HOOD
+
+
+                NEW YORK
+       FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+               PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+          _Copyright, 1921, by_
+       FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+          _All Rights Reserved_
+
+
+
+
+    BOOKS IN THE "FAIRY SERIES"
+
+      _The English Fairy Book_
+      _The Welsh Fairy Book_
+      _The Irish Fairy Book_
+      _The Scottish Fairy Book_
+      _The Italian Fairy Book_
+      _The Hungarian Fairy Book_
+      _The Indian Fairy Book_
+      _The Jewish Fairy Book_
+      _The Swedish Fairy Book_
+      _The Chinese Fairy Book_
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: "THE CROWS COME FLYING AND FORM A BRIDGE OVER WHICH
+    THE WEAVING MAIDEN CROSSES THE SILVER RIVER."
+                                                  --_Page 40_]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The fairy tales and legends of olden China have in common with the
+"Thousand and One Nights" an oriental glow and glitter of precious
+stones and gold and multicolored silks, an oriental wealth of
+fantastic and supernatural action. And yet they strike an exotic note
+distinct in itself. The seventy-three stories here presented after
+original sources, embracing "Nursery Fairy Tales," "Legends of the
+Gods," "Tales of Saints and Magicians," "Nature and Animal Tales,"
+"Ghost Stories," "Historic Fairy Tales," and "Literary Fairy Tales,"
+probably represent the most comprehensive and varied collection of
+oriental fairy tales ever made available for American readers. There
+is no child who will not enjoy their novel color, their fantastic
+beauty, their infinite variety of subject. Yet, like the "Arabian
+Nights," they will amply repay the attention of the older reader as
+well. Some are exquisitely poetic, such as "The Flower-Elves," "The
+Lady of the Moon" or "The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden"; others
+like "How Three Heroes Came By Their Deaths Because Of Two Peaches,"
+carry us back dramatically and powerfully to the Chinese age of
+Chivalry. The summits of fantasy are scaled in the quasi-religious
+dramas of "The Ape Sun Wu Kung" and "Notscha," or the weird sorceries
+unfolded in "The Kindly Magician." Delightful ghost stories, with
+happy endings, such as "A Night on the Battlefield" and "The Ghost Who
+Was Foiled," are paralleled with such idyllic love-tales as that of
+"Rose of Evening," or such Lilliputian fancies as "The King of the
+Ants" and "The Little Hunting Dog." It is quite safe to say that these
+Chinese fairy tales will give equal pleasure to the old as well as the
+young. They have been retold simply, with no changes in style or
+expression beyond such details of presentation which differences
+between oriental and occidental viewpoints at times compel. It is the
+writer's hope that others may take as much pleasure in reading them as
+he did in their translation.
+
+    FREDRICK H. MARTENS.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+    PREFACE                                                          v
+
+
+    NURSERY FAIRY TALES
+
+    CHAPTER
+
+          I WOMEN'S WORDS PART FLESH AND BLOOD                       1
+
+         II THE THREE RHYMSTERS                                      4
+
+        III HOW GREED FOR A TRIFLING THING LED A MAN TO LOSE A
+              GREAT ONE                                              6
+
+         IV WHO WAS THE SINNER?                                      9
+
+          V THE MAGIC CASK                                          10
+
+         VI THE FAVORITE OF FORTUNE AND THE CHILD OF ILL LUCK       11
+
+        VII THE BIRD WITH NINE HEADS                                13
+
+       VIII THE CAVE OF THE BEASTS                                  17
+
+         IX THE PANTHER                                             20
+
+          X THE GREAT FLOOD                                         24
+
+         XI THE FOX AND THE TIGER                                   27
+
+        XII THE TIGER'S DECOY                                       28
+
+       XIII THE FOX AND THE RAVEN                                   29
+
+        XIV WHY DOG AND CAT ARE ENEMIES                             30
+
+
+    LEGENDS OF THE GODS
+
+         XV HOW THE FIVE ANCIENTS BECAME MEN                        35
+
+        XVI THE HERD BOY AND THE WEAVING MAIDEN                     37
+
+       XVII YANG OERLANG                                            42
+
+      XVIII NOTSCHA                                                 44
+
+        XIX THE LADY OF THE MOON                                    53
+
+         XX THE MORNING AND THE EVENING STAR                        55
+
+        XXI THE GIRL WITH THE HORSE'S HEAD OR THE SILKWORM
+              GODDESS                                               56
+
+       XXII THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN                                     58
+
+      XXIII THE FIRE-GOD                                            61
+
+       XXIV THE THREE RULING GODS                                   62
+
+        XXV A LEGEND OF CONFUCIUS                                   64
+
+       XXVI THE GOD OF WAR                                          66
+
+
+    TALES OF SAINTS AND MAGICIANS
+
+      XXVII THE HALOS OF THE SAINTS                                 71
+
+     XXVIII LAOTSZE                                                 73
+
+       XXIX THE ANCIENT MAN                                         75
+
+        XXX THE EIGHT IMMORTALS (I)                                 76
+
+       XXXI THE EIGHT IMMORTALS (II)                                82
+
+      XXXII THE TWO SCHOLARS                                        84
+
+     XXXIII THE MISERLY FARMER                                      88
+
+      XXXIV SKY O'DAWN                                              90
+
+       XXXV KING MU OF DSCHOU                                       95
+
+      XXXVI THE KING OF HUAI NAN                                    99
+
+     XXXVII OLD DSCHANG                                            102
+
+    XXXVIII THE KINDLY MAGICIAN                                    107
+
+
+    NATURE AND ANIMAL TALES
+
+      XXXIX THE FLOWER-ELVES                                       119
+
+         XL THE SPIRIT OF THE WU-LIAN MOUNTAIN                     124
+
+        XLI THE KING OF THE ANTS                                   125
+
+       XLII THE LITTLE HUNTING DOG                                 127
+
+      XLIII THE DRAGON AFTER HIS WINTER SLEEP                      130
+
+       XLIV THE SPIRITS OF THE YELLOW RIVER                        131
+
+        XLV THE DRAGON-PRINCESS                                    137
+
+       XLVI HELP IN NEED                                           142
+
+      XLVII THE DISOWNED PRINCESS                                  151
+
+     XLVIII FOX-FIRE                                               161
+
+
+    GHOST STORIES
+
+       XLIX THE TALKING SILVER FOXES                               165
+
+          L THE CONSTABLE                                          168
+
+         LI THE DANGEROUS REWARD                                   174
+
+        LII RETRIBUTION                                            177
+
+       LIII THE GHOST WHO WAS FOILED                               180
+
+        LIV THE PUNISHMENT OF GREED                                184
+
+         LV THE NIGHT ON THE BATTLEFIELD                           186
+
+        LVI THE KINGDOM OF THE OGRES                               189
+
+       LVII THE MAIDEN WHO WAS STOLEN AWAY                         196
+
+      LVIII THE FLYING OGRE                                        199
+
+        LIX BLACK ARTS                                             201
+
+
+    HISTORIC LEGENDS
+
+         LX THE SORCERER OF THE WHITE LOTUS LODGE                  209
+
+        LXI THE THREE EVILS                                        212
+
+       LXII HOW THREE HEROES CAME BY THEIR DEATHS BECAUSE OF
+              TWO PEACHES                                          215
+
+      LXIII HOW THE RIVER GOD'S WEDDING WAS BROKEN OFF             218
+
+       LXIV DSCHANG LIANG                                          220
+
+        LXV OLD DRAGONBEARD                                        223
+
+       LXVI HOW MOLO STOLE THE LOVELY ROSE-RED                     231
+
+      LXVII THE GOLDEN CANISTER                                    235
+
+     LXVIII YANG GUI FE                                            240
+
+       LXIX THE MONK OF THE YANGTZE-KIANG                          243
+
+
+    LITERARY FAIRY TALES
+
+        LXX THE HEARTLESS HUSBAND                                  251
+
+       LXXI GIAUNA THE BEAUTIFUL                                   261
+
+      LXXII THE FROG PRINCESS                                      271
+
+     LXXIII ROSE OF EVENING                                        280
+
+      LXXIV THE APE SUN WU KUNG                                    288
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+    "The crows come flying and form a bridge over which the
+      Weaving Maiden crosses the Silver River"          _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+    "Beside it stood a Cassia-tree"                                 54
+
+    "'And I crossed the water on the shoe'"                         90
+
+    "A fisherboy dived into the water and brought up a pearl
+      from beneath the chin of a black dragon"                     138
+
+    "Tsian Tang brought out a platter of red amber on which
+      lay a carbuncle"                                             156
+
+    "Then he took his master and Rose-Red upon his back and
+      flew with them over the steep walls"                         234
+
+
+
+
+NURSERY FAIRY TALES
+
+
+
+
+THE CHINESE FAIRY BOOK
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+WOMEN'S WORDS PART FLESH AND BLOOD
+
+
+Once upon a time there were two brothers, who lived in the same house.
+And the big brother listened to his wife's words, and because of them
+fell out with the little one. Summer had begun, and the time for
+sowing the high-growing millet had come. The little brother had no
+grain, and asked the big one to loan him some, and the big one ordered
+his wife to give it to him. But she took the grain, put it in a large
+pot and cooked it until it was done. Then she gave it to the little
+fellow. He knew nothing about it, and went and sowed his field with
+it. Yet, since the grain had been cooked, it did not sprout. Only a
+single grain of seed had not been cooked; so only a single sprout shot
+up. The little brother was hard-working and industrious by nature, and
+hence he watered and hoed the sprout all day long. And the sprout grew
+mightily, like a tree, and an ear of millet sprang up out of it like a
+canopy, large enough to shade half an acre of ground. In the fall the
+ear was ripe. Then the little brother took his ax and chopped it down.
+But no sooner had the ear fallen to the ground, than an enormous Roc
+came rushing down, took the ear in his beak and flew away. The little
+brother ran after him as far as the shore of the sea.
+
+Then the bird turned and spoke to him like a human being, as follows:
+"You should not seek to harm me! What is this one ear worth to you?
+East of the sea is the isle of gold and silver. I will carry you
+across. There you may take whatever you want, and become very rich."
+
+The little brother was satisfied, and climbed on the bird's back, and
+the latter told him to close his eyes. So he only heard the air
+whistling past his ears, as though he were driving through a strong
+wind, and beneath him the roar and surge of flood and waves. Suddenly
+the bird settled on a rock: "Here we are!" he said.
+
+Then the little brother opened his eyes and looked about him: and on
+all sides he saw nothing but the radiance and shimmer of all sorts of
+white and yellow objects. He took about a dozen of the little things
+and hid them in his breast.
+
+"Have you enough?" asked the Roc.
+
+"Yes, I have enough," he replied.
+
+"That is well," answered the bird. "Moderation protects one from
+harm."
+
+Then he once more took him up, and carried him back again.
+
+When the little brother reached home, he bought himself a good piece
+of ground in the course of time, and became quite well to do.
+
+But his brother was jealous of him, and said to him, harshly: "Where
+did you manage to steal the money?"
+
+So the little one told him the whole truth of the matter. Then the big
+brother went home and took counsel with his wife.
+
+"Nothing easier," said his wife. "I will just cook grain again and
+keep back one seedling so that it is not done. Then you shall sow it,
+and we will see what happens."
+
+No sooner said than done. And sure enough, a single sprout shot up,
+and sure enough, the sprout bore a single ear of millet, and when
+harvest time came around, the Roc again appeared and carried it off in
+his beak. The big brother was pleased, and ran after him, and the Roc
+said the same thing he had said before, and carried the big brother to
+the island. There the big brother saw the gold and silver heaped up
+everywhere. The largest pieces were like hills, the small ones were
+like bricks, and the real tiny ones were like grains of sand. They
+blinded his eyes. He only regretted that he knew of no way by which he
+could move mountains. So he bent down and picked up as many pieces as
+possible.
+
+The Roc said: "Now you have enough. You will overtax your strength."
+
+"Have patience but a little while longer," said the big brother. "Do
+not be in such a hurry! I must get a few more pieces!"
+
+And thus time passed.
+
+The Roc again urged him to make haste: "The sun will appear in a
+moment," said he, "and the sun is so hot it burns human beings up."
+
+"Wait just a little while longer," said the big brother. But that very
+moment a red disk broke through the clouds with tremendous power. The
+Roc flew into the sea, stretched out both his wings, and beat the
+water with them in order to escape the heat. But the big brother was
+shrivelled up by the sun.
+
+    Note: This fairy-tale is traditionally narrated. The
+    Roc is called _pong_ in Chinese, and the treasures on
+    the island are spoken of as "all sorts of yellow and
+    white objects" because the little fellow does not know
+    that they are gold and silver.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE THREE RHYMSTERS
+
+
+Once there were three daughters in a family. The oldest one married a
+physician, the second one married a magistrate; but the third, who was
+more than usually intelligent and a clever talker, married a farmer.
+
+Now it chanced, once upon a time, that their parents were celebrating
+a birthday. So the three daughters came, together with their husbands,
+to wish them long life and happiness. The parents-in-law prepared a
+meal for their three sons-in-law, and put the birthday wine on the
+table. But the oldest son-in-law, who knew that the third one had not
+attended school, wanted to embarrass him.
+
+"It is far too tiresome," said he, "just to sit here drinking: let us
+have a drinking game. Each one of us must invent a verse, one that
+rimes and makes sense, on the words: 'in the sky, on the earth, at the
+table, in the room,' And whoever cannot do so, must empty three
+glasses as a punishment."
+
+All the company were satisfied. Only the third son-in-law felt
+embarrassed and insisted on leaving. But the guests would not let him
+go, and obliged him to keep his seat.
+
+Then the oldest son-in-law began: "I will make a start with my verse.
+Here it is:
+
+    "In the sky the phenix proudly flies,
+    On the earth the lambkin tamely lies,
+    At the table through an ancient book I wade,
+    In the room I softly call the maid."
+
+The second one continued: "And I say:
+
+    "In the sky the turtle-dove flies round,
+    On the earth the ox paws up the ground,
+    At the table one studies the deeds of yore,
+    In the room the maid she sweeps the floor."
+
+But the third son-in-law stuttered, and found nothing to say. And when
+all of them insisted, he broke out in rough tones of voice:
+
+    "In the sky--flies a leaden bullet,
+    On the earth--stalks a tiger-beast,
+    On the table--lies a pair of scissors,
+    In the room--I call the stable-boy."
+
+The other two sons-in-law clapped their hands and began to laugh
+loudly.
+
+"Why the four lines do not rime at all," said they, "and, besides
+they do not make sense. A leaden bullet is no bird, the stable-boy
+does his work outside, would you call him into the room? Nonsense,
+nonsense! Drink!"
+
+Yet before they had finished speaking, the third daughter raised the
+curtain of the women's room, and stepped out. She was angry, yet she
+could not suppress a smile.
+
+"How so do our lines not make sense?" said she. "Listen a moment, and
+I'll explain them to you: In the sky our leaden bullet will shoot your
+phenix and your turtle-dove. On the earth our tiger-beast will devour
+your sheep and your ox. On the table our pair of scissors will cut up
+all your old books. And finally, in the room--well, the stable-boy can
+marry your maid!"
+
+Then the oldest son-in-law said: "Well scolded! Sister-in-law, you
+know how to talk! If you were a man you would have had your degree
+long ago. And, as a punishment, we will empty our three glasses."
+
+    Note: This is also a fairy-tale traditionally handed
+    down.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+HOW GREED FOR A TRIFLING THING LED A MAN TO LOSE A GREAT ONE
+
+
+Once upon a time there was an old woman, who had two sons. But her
+older son did not love his parents, and left his mother and brother.
+The younger one served her so faithfully, however, that all the people
+spoke of his filial affection.
+
+One day it happened that there was a theatrical performance given
+outside the village. The younger son started to carry his mother there
+on his back, so that she might look on. But there was a ravine before
+the village, and he slipped and fell down in the middle of it. And his
+mother was killed by the rolling stones, and her blood and flesh were
+sprinkled about everywhere. The son stroked his mother's corpse, and
+wept bitterly. He was about to kill himself when, suddenly, he saw a
+priest standing before him.
+
+The latter said: "Have no fear, for I can bring your mother back to
+life again!" And as he said so, he stooped, gathered up her flesh and
+bones, and laid them together as they should be. Then he breathed upon
+them, and at once the mother was alive again. This made the son very
+happy, and he thanked the priest on his knees. Yet on a sharp point of
+rock he still saw a bit of his mother's flesh hanging, a bit about an
+inch long.
+
+"That should not be left hanging there either," said he, and hid it in
+his breast.
+
+"In truth, you love your mother as a son should," said the priest.
+Then he bade the son give him the bit of flesh, kneaded a manikin out
+of it, breathed upon it, and in a minute there it stood, a really
+fine-looking little boy.
+
+"His name is Small Profit," said he, turning to the son, "and you may
+call him brother. You are poor and have not the wherewithal with which
+to nourish your mother. If you need something, Small Profit can get it
+for you."
+
+The son thanked him once more, then took his mother on his back again,
+and his new little brother by the hand, and went home. And when he
+said to Small Profit: "Bring meat and wine!" then meat and wine were
+at hand at once, and steaming rice was already cooking in the pot. And
+when he said to Small Profit: "Bring money and cloth!" then his purse
+filled itself with money, and the chests were heaped up with cloth to
+the brim. Whatever he asked for that he received. Thus, in the course
+of time, they came to be very well off indeed.
+
+But his older brother envied him greatly. And when there was another
+theatrical performance in the village, he took his mother on his
+back--by force--and went to it. And when he reached the ravine, he
+slipped purposely, and let his mother fall into the depths, only
+intent to see that she really was shattered into fragments. And sure
+enough his mother had such a bad fall that her limbs and trunk were
+strewn around in all directions. He then climbed down, took his
+mother's head in his hands, and pretended to weep.
+
+And at once the priest was on hand again, and said: "I can wake the
+dead to life again, and surround white bones with flesh and blood!"
+
+Then he did as he had done before, and the mother came to life again.
+But the older brother already had hidden one of her ribs on purpose.
+He now pulled it out and said to the priest: "Here is a bone left.
+What shall I do with it?"
+
+The priest took the bone, enclosed it in lime and earth, breathed upon
+it, as he had done the other time, and it became a little man,
+resembling Small Profit, but larger in stature.
+
+"His name is Great Duty," he told his older brother, "if you stick to
+him he will always lend you a hand."
+
+The son took his mother back again, and Great Duty walked beside him.
+
+When he came to their courtyard door, he saw his younger brother
+coming out, holding Small Profit in his arms.
+
+"Where are you going?" he said to him.
+
+His brother answered: "Small Profit is a divine being, who does not
+wish to dwell for all time among men. He wants to fly back to the
+heavens, and so I am escorting him."
+
+"Give Small Profit to me! Don't let him get away!" cried the older
+brother.
+
+Yet, before he had ended his speech, Small Profit was rising in the
+air. The older brother then quickly let his mother drop on the ground,
+and stretched out his hand to catch Small Profit. But he did not
+succeed, and now Great Duty, too, rose from the ground, took Small
+Profit's hand, and together they ascended to the clouds and
+disappeared.
+
+Then the older brother stamped on the ground, and said with a sigh:
+"Alas, I have lost my Great Duty because I was too greedy for that
+Small Profit!"
+
+    Note: In China--usually on festive days or because of
+    some religious celebration--a provisional stage is
+    erected before the village or temple, and a play given.
+    Permanent theaters are to be found only in the large
+    cities.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+WHO WAS THE SINNER?
+
+
+Once upon a time there were ten farmers, who were crossing a field
+together. They were surprised by a heavy thunder-storm, and took
+refuge in a half-ruined temple. But the thunder drew ever nearer, and
+so great was the tumult that the air trembled about them, while the
+lightning flew around the temple in a continuous circle. The farmers
+were greatly frightened, and thought that there must be a sinner among
+them, whom the lightning would strike. In order to find out who it
+might be, they agreed to hang their straw hats up before the door, and
+he whose hat was blown away was to yield himself up to his fate.
+
+No sooner were the hats outside, than one of them was blown away, and
+the rest thrust its unfortunate owner out of doors without pity. But
+as soon as he had left the temple the lightning ceased circling
+around, and struck it with a crash.
+
+The one whom the rest had thrust out, had been the only righteous one
+among them, and for his sake the lightning had spared the temple. So
+the other nine had to pay for their hard-heartedness with their lives.
+
+    Note: A traditionally narrated fairy-tale.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE MAGIC CASK
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a man who dug up a big, earthenware cask in
+his field. So he took it home with him and told his wife to clean it
+out. But when his wife started brushing the inside of the cask, the
+cask suddenly began to fill itself with brushes. No matter how many
+were taken out, others kept on taking their place. So the man sold the
+brushes, and the family managed to live quite comfortably.
+
+Once a coin fell into the cask by mistake. At once the brushes
+disappeared and the cask began to fill itself with money. So now the
+family became rich; for they could take as much money out of the cask
+as ever they wished.
+
+Now the man had an old grandfather at home, who was weak and shaky.
+Since there was nothing else he could do, his grandson set him to work
+shoveling money out of the cask, and when the old grandfather grew
+weary and could not keep on, he would fall into a rage, and shout at
+him angrily, telling him he was lazy and did not want to work. One
+day, however, the old man's strength gave out, and he fell into the
+cask and died. At once the money disappeared, and the whole cask began
+to fill itself with dead grandfathers. Then the man had to pull them
+all out and have them buried, and for this purpose he had to use up
+again all the money he had received. And when he was through, the cask
+broke, and he was just as poor as before.
+
+    Note: "The Magic Cask" is a traditionally narrated tale.
+    In Northern China wooden casks or barrels are unknown.
+    Large vessels, open at the top, of earth or stone are
+    used to hold water and other liquids.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE FAVORITE OF FORTUNE AND THE CHILD OF ILL LUCK
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a proud prince who had a daughter. But the
+daughter was a child of ill luck. When it came time for her to marry,
+she had all her suitors assemble before her father's palace. She was
+going to throw down a ball of red silk among them, and whoever caught
+it was to be her husband. Now there were many princes and counts
+gathered before the castle, and in their midst there was also a
+beggar. And the princess could see dragons crawling into his ears and
+crawling out again from his nostrils, for he was a child of luck. So
+she threw the ball to the beggar and he caught it.
+
+Her father asked angrily: "Why did you throw the ball into the
+beggar's hands?"
+
+"He is a favorite of Fortune," said the princess, "I will marry him,
+and then, perhaps, I will share in his good luck."
+
+But her father would not hear of it, and since she insisted, he drove
+her from the castle in his rage. So the princess had to go off with
+the beggar. She dwelt with him in a little hut, and had to hunt for
+herbs and roots, and cook them herself, so that they might have
+something to eat; and often they both went hungry.
+
+One day her husband said to her: "I will set out and seek my fortune.
+And when I have found it, I will come back again and fetch you." The
+princess was willing, and he went away, and was gone for eighteen
+years. Meanwhile the princess lived in want and affliction, for her
+father remained hard and merciless. If her mother had not secretly
+given her food and money, no doubt she would have starved to death
+during all that time.
+
+But the beggar found his fortune, and at length became emperor. He
+returned and stood before his wife. She however, no longer recognized
+him: She only knew that he was the powerful emperor.
+
+He asked her how she were getting along.
+
+"Why do you ask me how I am getting along?" she replied. "I am too far
+beneath your notice."
+
+"And who may your husband be!"
+
+"My husband was a beggar. He went away to seek his fortune. That was
+eighteen years ago, and he has not yet returned."
+
+"And what have you done during all those long years?"
+
+"I have been waiting for him to return."
+
+"Do you wish to marry some one else, seeing that he has been missing
+so long?"
+
+"No, I will remain his wife until I die."
+
+When the emperor saw how faithful his wife was, he told her who he
+was, had her clothed in magnificent garments, and took her with him to
+his imperial palace. And there they lived in splendor and happiness.
+
+After a few days the emperor said to his wife: "We spend every day in
+festivities, as though every day were New Year."
+
+"And why should we not celebrate," answered his wife, "since we have
+now become emperor and empress?"
+
+Yet his wife was a child of ill luck. When she had been empress no
+more than eighteen days, she fell sick and died. But her husband lived
+for many a long year.
+
+    Note: "The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill
+    Luck" is a traditionally narrated fairy-tale. The dragon
+    is the symbol of imperial rule, and the New Year's
+    feasts, which old and young celebrate for weeks, is the
+    greatest of Chinese festivals.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE BIRD WITH NINE HEADS
+
+
+Long, long ago, there once lived a king and a queen who had a
+daughter. One day, when the daughter went walking in the garden, a
+tremendous storm suddenly came up and carried her away with it. Now
+the storm had come from the bird with nine heads, who had robbed the
+princess, and brought her to his cave. The king did not know whither
+his daughter had disappeared, so he had proclaimed throughout the
+land: "Whoever brings back the princess may have her for his bride!"
+
+Now a youth had seen the bird as he was carrying the princess to his
+cave. This cave, though, was in the middle of a sheer wall of rock.
+One could not climb up to it from below, nor could one climb down to
+it from above. And as the youth was walking around the rock, another
+youth came along and asked him what he was doing there. So the first
+youth told him that the bird with nine heads had carried off the
+king's daughter, and had brought her up to his cave. The other chap
+knew what he had to do. He called together his friends, and they
+lowered the youth to the cave in a basket. And when he went into the
+cave, he saw the king's daughter sitting there, and washing the wound
+of the bird with nine heads; for the hound of heaven had bitten off
+his tenth head, and his wound was still bleeding. The princess,
+however, motioned to the youth to hide, and he did so. When the king's
+daughter had washed his wound and bandaged it, the bird with nine
+heads felt so comfortable, that one after another, all his nine heads
+fell asleep. Then the youth stepped forth from his hiding-place, and
+cut off his nine heads with a sword. But the king's daughter said: "It
+would be best if you were hauled up first, and I came after."
+
+"No," said the youth. "I will wait below here, until you are in
+safety." At first the king's daughter was not willing; yet at last she
+allowed herself to be persuaded, and climbed into the basket. But
+before she did so, she took a long pin from her hair, broke it into
+two halves and gave him one and kept the other. She also divided her
+silken kerchief with him, and told him to take good care of both her
+gifts. But when the other man had drawn up the king's daughter, he
+took her along with him, and left the youth in the cave, in spite of
+all his calling and pleading.
+
+The youth now took a walk about the cave. There he saw a number of
+maidens, all of whom had been carried off by the bird with nine heads,
+and who had perished there of hunger. And on the wall hung a fish,
+nailed against it with four nails. When he touched the fish, the
+latter turned into a handsome youth, who thanked him for delivering
+him, and they agreed to regard each other as brothers. Soon the first
+youth grew very hungry. He stepped out in front of the cave to search
+for food, but only stones were lying there. Then, suddenly, he saw a
+great dragon, who was licking a stone. The youth imitated him, and
+before long his hunger had disappeared. He next asked the dragon how
+he could get away from the cave, and the dragon nodded his head in the
+direction of his tail, as much as to say he should seat himself upon
+it. So he climbed up, and in the twinkling of an eye he was down on
+the ground, and the dragon had disappeared. He then went on until he
+found a tortoise-shell full of beautiful pearls. But they were magic
+pearls, for if you flung them into the fire, the fire ceased to burn
+and if you flung them into the water, the water divided and you could
+walk through the midst of it. The youth took the pearls out of the
+tortoise-shell, and put them in his pocket. Not long after he reached
+the sea-shore. Here he flung a pearl into the sea, and at once the
+waters divided and he could see the sea-dragon. The sea-dragon cried:
+"Who is disturbing me here in my own kingdom?" The youth answered: "I
+found pearls in a tortoise-shell, and have flung one into the sea, and
+now the waters have divided for me."
+
+"If that is the case," said the dragon, "then come into the sea with
+me and we will live there together." Then the youth recognized him for
+the same dragon whom he had seen in the cave. And with him was the
+youth with whom he had formed a bond of brotherhood: He was the
+dragon's son.
+
+"Since you have saved my son and become his brother, I am your
+father," said the old dragon. And he entertained him hospitably with
+food and wine.
+
+One day his friend said to him: "My father is sure to want to reward
+you. But accept no money, nor any jewels from him, but only the little
+gourd flask over yonder. With it you can conjure up whatever you
+wish."
+
+And, sure enough, the old dragon asked him what he wanted by way of a
+reward, and the youth answered: "I want no money, nor any jewels. All
+I want is the little gourd flask over yonder."
+
+At first the dragon did not wish to give it up, but at last he did let
+him have it, after all. And then the youth left the dragon's castle.
+
+When he set his foot on dry land again he felt hungry. At once a table
+stood before him, covered with a fine and plenteous meal. He ate and
+drank. After he had gone on a while, he felt weary. And there stood an
+ass, waiting for him, on which he mounted. After he had ridden for a
+while, the ass's gait seemed too uneven, and along came a wagon, into
+which he climbed. But the wagon shook him up too, greatly, and he
+thought: "If I only had a litter! That would suit me better." No more
+had he thought so, than the litter came along, and he seated himself
+in it. And the bearers carried him to the city in which dwelt the
+king, the queen and their daughter.
+
+When the other youth had brought back the king's daughter, it was
+decided to hold the wedding. But the king's daughter was not willing,
+and said: "He is not the right man. My deliverer will come and bring
+with him half of the long pin for my hair, and half my silken kerchief
+as a token." But when the youth did not appear for so long a time, and
+the other one pressed the king, the king grew impatient and said: "The
+wedding shall take place to-morrow!" Then the king's daughter went
+sadly through the streets of the city, and searched and searched in
+the hope of finding her deliverer. And this was on the very day that
+the litter arrived. The king's daughter saw the half of her silken
+handkerchief in the youth's hand, and filled with joy, she led him to
+her father. There he had to show his half of the long pin, which
+fitted the other exactly, and then the king was convinced that he was
+the right, true deliverer. The false bridegroom was now punished, the
+wedding celebrated, and they lived in peace and happiness till the end
+of their days.
+
+    Note: "The Bird With Nine Heads" is a traditionally
+    narrated fairy-tale. The long hair needle is an example
+    of the halved jewel used as a sign of recognition by
+    lovers (see No. 68, "Yang Gui Fe"). The "Fish" in the
+    cave is the dragon's son, for like East Indian
+    _Nagaradjas_, the Chinese dragons are often sea-gods.
+    Gourd flasks often occur as magic talismans in Chinese
+    fairy-tales, and spirits who serve their owners are
+    often imprisoned in them. See No. 81.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE CAVE OF THE BEASTS
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a family in which there were seven
+daughters. One day when the father went out to gather wood, he found
+seven wild duck eggs. He brought them home, but did not think of
+giving any to his children, intending to eat them himself, with his
+wife. In the evening the oldest daughter woke up, and asked her mother
+what she was cooking. The mother said: "I am cooking wild duck eggs. I
+will give you one, but you must not let your sisters know." And so she
+gave her one. Then the second daughter woke up, and asked her mother
+what she was cooking. She said: "Wild duck eggs. If you will not tell
+your sisters, I'll give you one." And so it went. At last the
+daughters had eaten all the eggs, and there were none left.
+
+In the morning the father was very angry with the children, and said:
+"Who wants to go along to grandmother?" But he intended to lead the
+children into the mountains, and let the wolves devour them there. The
+older daughters suspected this, and said: "We are not going along!"
+But the two younger ones said: "We will go with you." And so they
+drove off with their father. After they had driven a good ways, they
+asked: "Will we soon get to grandmother's house?" "Right away," said
+their father. And when they had reached the mountains he told them:
+"Wait here. I will drive into the village ahead of you, and tell
+grandmother that you are coming." And then he drove off with the
+donkey-cart. They waited and waited, but their father did not come. At
+last they decided that their father would not come back to fetch them,
+and that he had left them alone in the mountains. So they went further
+and further into the hills seeking a shelter for the night. Then they
+spied a great stone. This they selected for a pillow, and rolled it
+over to the place where they were going to lie down to sleep. And then
+they saw that the stone was the door to a cave. There was a light in
+the cave, and they went into it. The light they had seen came from the
+many precious stones and jewels of every sort in the cave, which
+belonged to a wolf and a fox. They had a number of jars of precious
+stones and pearls that shone by night. The girls said: "What a lovely
+cave this is! We will lie right down and go to bed." For there stood
+two golden beds with gold-embroidered covers. So they lay down and
+fell asleep. During the night the wolf and fox came home. And the
+wolf said: "I smell human flesh!" But the fox replied: "Oh, nonsense!
+There are no human beings who can enter our cave. We lock it up too
+well for that." The wolf said: "Very well, then let us lie down in our
+beds and sleep." But the fox answered: "Let us curl up in the kettles
+on the hearth. They still hold a little warmth from the fire." The one
+kettle was of gold and the other of silver, and they curled up in
+them.
+
+When the girls rose early in the morning, they saw the wolf and the
+fox lying there, and were much frightened. And they put the covers on
+the kettles and heaped a number of big stones on them, so that the
+wolf and the fox could not get out again. Then they made a fire. The
+wolf and the fox said: "Oh, how nice and warm it is this morning! How
+does that happen?" But at length it grew too hot for them. Then they
+noticed that the two girls had kindled a fire and they cried: "Let us
+out! We will give you lots of precious stones, and lots of gold, and
+will do you no harm!" But the girls would not listen to them, and kept
+on making a bigger fire. So that was the end of the wolf and the fox
+in the kettles.
+
+Then the girls lived happily for a number of days in the cave. But
+their father was seized with a longing for his daughters, and he went
+into the mountains to look for them. And he sat right down on the
+stone in front of the cave to rest, and tapped his pipe against it to
+empty the ashes. Then the girls within called out: "Who is knocking at
+our door?" And the father said: "Are those not my daughters' voices?"
+While the daughters replied: "Is that not our father's voice?" Then
+they pushed aside the stone and saw that it was their father, and
+their father was glad to see them once more. He was much surprised to
+think that they should have chanced on this cave full of precious
+stones, and they told him the whole story. Then their father fetched
+people to help him carry home the jewels. And when they got home, his
+wife wondered where he had obtained all these treasures. So the father
+and daughters told her everything, and they became a very wealthy
+family, and lived happily to the end of their days.
+
+    Note: "The Cave of the Beasts" is traditionally
+    narrated.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+THE PANTHER
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters and a little
+son. And one day the mother said to her daughters: "Take good care of
+the house, for I am going to see grandmother, together with your
+little brother!" So the daughters promised her they would do so, and
+their mother went off. On her way a panther met her, and asked where
+she were going.
+
+She said: "I am going with my child to see my mother."
+
+"Will you not rest a bit?" asked the panther.
+
+"No," said she, "it is already late, and it is a long road to where my
+mother lives."
+
+But the panther did not cease urging her, and finally she gave in and
+sat down by the road side.
+
+"I will comb your hair a bit," said the panther. And the woman allowed
+the panther to comb her hair. But as he passed his claws through her
+hair, he tore off a bit of her skin and devoured it.
+
+"Stop!" cried the woman, "the way you comb my hair hurts!"
+
+But the panther tore off a much larger piece of skin. Now the woman
+wanted to call for help, but the panther seized and devoured her. Then
+he turned on her little son and killed him too, put on the woman's
+clothes, and laid the child's bones, which he had not yet devoured, in
+her basket. After that he went to the woman's home, where her two
+daughters were, and called in at the door: "Open the door, daughters!
+Mother has come home!" But they looked out through a crack and said:
+"Our mother's eyes are not so large as yours!"
+
+Then the panther said: "I have been to grandmother's house, and saw
+her hens laying eggs. That pleases me, and is the reason why my eyes
+have grown so large."
+
+"Our mother had no spots in her face such as you have."
+
+"Grandmother had no spare bed, so I had to sleep on the peas, and they
+pressed themselves into my face."
+
+"Our mother's feet are not so large as yours."
+
+"Stupid things! That comes from walking such a distance. Come, open
+the door quickly!"
+
+Then the daughters said to each other: "It must be our mother," and
+they opened the door. But when the panther came in, they saw it was
+not really their mother after all.
+
+At evening, when the daughters were already in bed, the panther was
+still gnawing the bones he had brought with him.
+
+Then the daughters asked: "Mother, what are you eating?"
+
+"I'm eating beets," was the answer.
+
+Then the daughters said: "Oh, mother, give us some of your beets,
+too! We are so hungry!"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I will not give you any. Now be quiet and go to
+sleep."
+
+But the daughters kept on begging until the false mother gave them a
+little finger. And then they saw that it was their little brother's
+finger, and they said to each other: "We must make haste to escape
+else he will eat us as well." And with that they ran out of the door,
+climbed up into a tree in the yard, and called down to the false
+mother: "Come out! We can see our neighbor's son celebrating his
+wedding!" But it was the middle of the night.
+
+Then the mother came out, and when she saw that they were sitting in
+the tree, she called out angrily: "Why, I'm not able to climb!"
+
+The daughters said: "Get into a basket and throw us the rope and we
+will draw you up!"
+
+The mother did as they said. But when the basket was half-way up, they
+began to swing it back and forth, and bump it against the tree. Then
+the false mother had to turn into a panther again, lest she fall down.
+And the panther leaped out of the basket, and ran away.
+
+Gradually daylight came. The daughters climbed down, seated themselves
+on the doorstep, and cried for their mother. And a needle-vender came
+by and asked them why they were crying.
+
+"A panther has devoured our mother and our brother," said the girls.
+"He has gone now, but he is sure to return and devour us as well."
+
+Then the needle-vender gave them a pair of needles, and said: "Stick
+these needles in the cushion of the arm chair, with the points up."
+The girls thanked him and went on crying.
+
+Soon a scorpion-catcher came by; and he asked them why they were
+crying. "A panther has devoured our mother and brother," said the
+girls. "He has gone now, but he is sure to return and devour us as
+well."
+
+The man gave them a scorpion and said: "Put it behind the hearth in
+the kitchen." The girls thanked him and went on crying.
+
+Then an egg-seller came by and asked them why they were crying. "A
+panther has devoured our mother and our brother," said the girls. "He
+has gone now, but he is sure to return and devour us as well."
+
+So he gave them an egg and said: "Lay it beneath the ashes in the
+hearth." The girls thanked him and went on crying.
+
+Then a dealer in turtles came by, and they told him their tale. He
+gave them a turtle and said: "Put it in the water-barrel in the yard."
+And then a man came by who sold wooden clubs. He asked them why they
+were crying. And they told him the whole story. Then he gave them two
+wooden clubs and said: "Hang them up over the door to the street." The
+girls thanked him and did as the men had told them.
+
+In the evening the panther came home. He sat down in the armchair in
+the room. Then the needles in the cushion stuck into him. So he ran
+into the kitchen to light the fire and see what had jabbed him so; and
+then it was that the scorpion hooked his sting into his hand. And when
+at last the fire was burning, the egg burst and spurted into one of
+his eyes, which was blinded. So he ran out into the yard and dipped
+his hand into the water-barrel, in order to cool it; and then the
+turtle bit it off. And when in his pain he ran out through the door
+into the street, the wooden clubs fell on his head and that was the
+end of him.
+
+    Note: "The Panther" in this tale is in reality the same
+    beast as "the talking silver fox" in No. 49, and the
+    fairy-tale is made up of motives to be found in "Little
+    Red Riding-Hood," "The Wolf and the Seven Kids," and
+    "The Vagabonds."
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+THE GREAT FLOOD
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a widow, who had a child. And the child was
+a kind-hearted boy of whom every one was fond. One day he said to his
+mother: "All the other children have a grandmother, but I have none.
+And that makes me feel very sad!"
+
+"We will hunt up a grandmother for you," said his mother. Now it once
+happened that an old beggar-woman came to the house, who was very old
+and feeble. And when the child saw her, he said to her: "You shall be
+my grandmother!" And he went to his mother and said: "There is a
+beggar-woman outside, whom I want for my grandmother!" And his mother
+was willing and called her into the house; though the old woman was
+very dirty. So the boy said to his mother: "Come, let us wash
+grandmother!" And they washed the woman. But she had a great many
+burrs in her hair, so they picked them all out and put them in a jar,
+and they filled the whole jar. Then the grandmother said: "Do not
+throw them away, but bury them in the garden. And you must not dig
+them up again before the great flood comes."
+
+"When is the great flood coming?" asked the boy.
+
+"When the eyes of the two stone lions in front of the prison grow red,
+then the great flood will come," said the grandmother.
+
+So the boy went to look at the lions, but their eyes were not yet
+red. And the grandmother also said to him: "Make a little wooden ship
+and keep it in a little box." And this the boy did. And he ran to the
+prison every day and looked at the lions, much to the astonishment of
+the people in the street.
+
+One day, as he passed the chicken-butcher's shop, the butcher asked
+him why he was always running to the lions. And the boy said: "When
+the lions' eyes grow red then the great flood will come." But the
+butcher laughed at him. And the following morning, quite early, he
+took some chicken-blood and rubbed it on the lions' eyes. When the boy
+saw that the lions' eyes were red he ran swiftly home, and told his
+mother and grandmother. And then his grandmother said: "Dig up the jar
+quickly, and take the little ship out of its box." And when they dug
+up the jar, it was filled with the purest pearls and the little ship
+grew larger and larger, like a real ship. Then the grandmother said:
+"Take the jar with you and get into the ship. And when the great flood
+comes, then you may save all the animals that are driven into it; but
+human beings, with their black heads, you are not to save." So they
+climbed into the ship, and the grandmother suddenly disappeared.
+
+Now it began to rain, and the rain kept falling more and more heavily
+from the heavens. Finally there were no longer any single drops
+falling, but just one big sheet of water which flooded everything.
+
+Then a dog came drifting along, and they saved him in their ship. Soon
+after came a pair of mice, with their little ones, loudly squeaking in
+their fear. And these they also saved. The water was already rising to
+the roofs of the houses, and on one roof stood a cat, arching her back
+and mewing pitifully. They took the cat into the ship, too. Yet the
+flood increased and rose to the tops of the trees. And in one tree sat
+a raven, beating his wings and cawing loudly. And him, too, they took
+in. Finally a swarm of bees came flying their way. The little
+creatures were quite wet, and could hardly fly. So they took in the
+bees on their ship. At last a man with black hair floated by on the
+waves. The boy said: "Mother, let us save him, too!" But the mother
+did not want to do so. "Did not grandmother tell us that we must save
+no black-headed human beings?" But the boy answered: "We will save the
+man in spite of that. I feel sorry for him, and cannot bear to see him
+drifting along in the water." So they also saved the man.
+
+Gradually the water subsided. Then they got out of their ship, and
+parted from the man and the beasts. And the ship grew small again and
+they put it away in its box.
+
+But the man was filled with a desire for the pearls. He went to the
+judge and entered a complaint against the boy and his mother, and they
+were both thrown into jail. Then the mice came, and dug a hole in the
+wall. And the dog came through the hole and brought them meat, and the
+cat brought them bread, so they did not have to hunger in their
+prison. But the raven flew off and returned with a letter for the
+judge. The letter had been written by a god, and it said: "I wandered
+about in the world of men disguised as a beggar woman. And this boy
+and his mother took me in. The boy treated me like his own
+grandmother, and did not shrink from washing me when I was dirty.
+Because of this I saved them out of the great flood by means of which
+I destroyed the sinful city wherein they dwelt. Do you, O judge, free
+them, or misfortune shall be your portion!"
+
+So the judge had them brought before him, and asked what they had
+done, and how they had made their way through the flood. Then they
+told him everything, and what they said agreed with the god's letter.
+So the judge punished their accuser, and set them both at liberty.
+
+When the boy had grown up he came to a city of many people, and it was
+said that the princess intended to take a husband. But in order to
+find the right man, she had veiled herself, and seated herself in a
+litter, and she had had the litter, together with many others, carried
+into the market place. In every litter sat a veiled woman, and the
+princess was in their midst. And whoever hit upon the right litter, he
+was to get the princess for his bride. So the youth went there, too,
+and when he reached the market place, he saw the bees whom he had
+saved from the great flood, all swarming about a certain litter. Up he
+stepped to it, and sure enough, the princess was sitting in it. And
+then their wedding was celebrated, and they lived happily ever
+afterward.
+
+    Note: "The Great Flood" is traditionally narrated and a
+    diluvian legend seems to underlie it. Compare with
+    Grimm's fairy-tale (No. 73) "The Queen of the Bees."
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE FOX AND THE TIGER
+
+
+Once a fox met a tiger. The latter bared his teeth, stretched out his
+claws, and was about to devour him. But the fox spoke and said: "My
+dear sir, you must not think that you are the only king of beasts.
+Your courage does not compare with my own. Let us walk together, and
+do you keep behind me. And if men catch sight of me and do not fear
+me, then you may devour me." The tiger was willing, and so the fox led
+him along a broad highway. But the travelers, when they saw the tiger
+in the distance, were all frightened and ran away.
+
+Then the fox said: "How about it? I went in advance, and the men saw
+me and had not as yet seen you."
+
+And thereupon the tiger drew in his tail and ran away himself.
+
+The tiger had remarked quite well that the men were afraid of the fox,
+but he had not noticed that the fox had borrowed the terror he
+inspired from him.
+
+    Note: This universally known fable is traditionally
+    narrated. Animal fables are very rare in China.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE TIGER'S DECOY
+
+
+That the fox borrowed the terror he inspired from the tiger is more
+than a simile; but that the tiger has his decoy is something we read
+about in the story books, and grandfathers talk about a good deal,
+too. So there must be some truth in it. It is said that when a tiger
+devours a human being, the latter's spirit cannot free itself, and
+that the tiger then uses it for a decoy. When he goes out to seek his
+prey, the spirit of the man he has devoured must go before him, to
+hide him, so that people cannot see him. And the spirit is apt to
+change itself into a beautiful girl, or a lump of gold or a bolt of
+silk. All sorts of deceptions are used to lure folk into the mountain
+gorges. Then the tiger comes along and devours his victim, and the new
+spirit must serve as his decoy. The old spirit's time of service is
+over and it may go. And so it continues, turn by turn. Probably that
+is why they say of people who are forced to yield themselves up to
+cunning and powerful men, in order that others may be harmed: "They
+are the tiger's decoys!"
+
+    Note: This tale is traditionally narrated.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+THE FOX AND THE RAVEN
+
+
+The fox knows how to flatter, and how to play many cunning tricks.
+Once upon a time he saw a raven, who alighted on a tree with a piece
+of meat in his beak. The fox seated himself beneath the tree, looked
+up at him, and began to praise him.
+
+"Your color," he began, "is pure black. This proves to me that you
+possess all the wisdom of Laotzse, who knows how to shroud his
+learning in darkness. The manner in which you manage to feed your
+mother shows that your filial affection equals that which the Master
+Dsong had for his parents. Your voice is rough and strong. It proves
+that you have the courage with which King Hiang once drove his foes to
+flight by the mere sound of his voice. In truth, you are the king of
+birds!"
+
+The raven, hearing this, was filled with joy and said: "I thank you! I
+thank you!"
+
+And before he knew it, the meat fell to earth from his opened beak.
+
+The fox caught it up, devoured it and then said, laughing: "Make note
+of this, my dear sir: if some one praises you without occasion, he is
+sure to have a reason for doing so."
+
+    Note: Traditionally narrated, it may be taken for
+    granted that this is simply AEsop's fable in Chinese
+    dress. The manner of presentation is characteristically
+    Chinese. For "the wisdom of Laotzse" compare, p. 30,
+    "The Ancient's Book of Wisdom and Life": "Who sees his
+    light, yet dwells in darkness." Master Dsong was King
+    Dsi's most faithful pupil, renowned for his piety. The
+    raven is known in China as "the bird of filial love,"
+    for it is said that the young ravens bring forth the
+    food they have eaten from their beaks again, in order to
+    feed the old birds.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+WHY DOG AND CAT ARE ENEMIES
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a man and his wife and they had a ring of
+gold. It was a lucky ring, and whoever owned it always had enough to
+live on. But this they did not know, and hence sold the ring for a
+small sum. But no sooner was the ring gone than they began to grow
+poorer and poorer, and at last did not know when they would get their
+next meal. They had a dog and a cat, and these had to go hungry as
+well. Then the two animals took counsel together as to how they might
+restore to their owners their former good fortune. At length the dog
+hit upon an idea.
+
+"They must have the ring back again," he said to the cat.
+
+The cat answered: "The ring has been carefully locked up in the
+chest, where no one can get at it."
+
+"You must catch a mouse," said the dog, "and the mouse must gnaw a
+hole in the chest and fetch out the ring. And if she does not want to,
+say that you will bite her to death, and you will see that she will do
+it."
+
+This advice pleased the cat, and she caught a mouse. Then she wanted
+to go to the house in which stood the chest, and the dog came after.
+They came to a broad river. And since the cat could not swim, the dog
+took her on his back and swam across with her. Then the cat carried
+the mouse to the house in which the chest stood. The mouse gnawed a
+hole in the chest, and fetched out the ring. The cat put the ring in
+her mouth and went back to the river, where the dog was waiting for
+her, and swam across with her. Then they started out together for
+home, in order to bring the lucky ring to their master and mistress.
+But the dog could only run along the ground; when there was a house in
+the way he always had to go around it. The cat, however, quickly
+climbed over the roof, and so she reached home long before the dog,
+and brought the ring to her master.
+
+Then her master said to his wife: "What a good creature the cat is! We
+will always give her enough to eat and care for her as though she were
+our own child!"
+
+But when the dog came home they beat him and scolded him, because he
+had not helped to bring home the ring again. And the cat sat by the
+fireplace, purred and said never a word. Then the dog grew angry at
+the cat, because she had robbed him of his reward, and when he saw her
+he chased her and tried to seize her.
+
+And ever since that day cat and dog are enemies.
+
+    Note: "Why Dog and Cat are Enemies." This fairy-tale is
+    given in the current popular version.
+
+
+
+
+LEGENDS OF THE GODS
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+HOW THE FIVE ANCIENTS BECAME MEN
+
+
+Before the earth was separated from the heavens, all there was was a
+great ball of watery vapor called chaos. And at that time the spirits
+of the five elemental powers took shape, and became the five Ancients.
+The first was called the Yellow Ancient, and he was the ruler of the
+earth. The second was called the Red Lord, and he was the ruler of the
+fire. The third was called the Dark Lord, and he was the ruler of the
+water. The fourth was known as the Wood Prince, and he was the ruler
+of the wood. The fifth was called the Mother of Metals, and ruled over
+them. These five Ancients set all their primal spirit into motion, so
+that water and earth sank down. The heavens floated upward, and the
+earth grew firm in the depths. Then they allowed the waters to gather
+into rivers and seas, and hills and plains made their appearance. So
+the heavens opened and the earth was divided. And there were sun, moon
+and all the stars, wind, clouds, rain, and dew. The Yellow Ancient set
+earth's purest power spinning in a circle, and added the effect of
+fire and water thereto. Then there came forth grasses and trees, birds
+and beasts, and the tribes of the serpents and insects, fishes and
+turtles. The Wood Prince and the Mother of Metals combined light and
+darkness, and thus created the human race as men and women. And thus
+the world gradually came to be.
+
+At that time there was one who was known as the True Prince of the
+Jasper Castle. He had acquired the art of sorcery through the
+cultivation of magic. The five Ancients begged him to rule as the
+supreme god. He dwelt above the three and thirty heavens, and the
+Jasper Castle, of white jade with golden gates, was his. Before him
+stood the stewards of the eight-and-twenty houses of the moon, and the
+gods of the thunders and the Great Bear, and in addition a class of
+baneful gods whose influence was evil and deadly. They all aided the
+True Prince of the Jasper Castle to rule over the thousand tribes
+under the heavens, and to deal out life and death, fortune and
+misfortune. The Lord of the Jasper Castle is now known as the Great
+God, the White Jade Ruler.
+
+The five Ancients withdrew after they had done their work, and
+thereafter lived in quiet purity. The Red Lord dwells in the South as
+the god of fire. The Dark Lord dwells in the North, as the mighty
+master of the somber polar skies. He lived in a castle of liquid
+crystal. In later ages he sent Confucius down upon earth as a saint.
+Hence this saint is known as the Son of Crystal. The Wood Prince
+dwells in the East. He is honored as the Green Lord, and watches over
+the coming into being of all creatures. In him lives the power of
+spring and he is the god of love. The Mother of Metals dwells in the
+West, by the sea of Jasper, and is also known as the Queen-Mother of
+the West. She leads the rounds of the fairies, and watches over change
+and growth. The Yellow Ancient dwells in the middle. He is always
+going about in the world, in order to save and to help those in any
+distress. The first time he came to earth he was the Yellow Lord, who
+taught mankind all sorts of arts. In his later years he fathomed the
+meaning of the world on the Ethereal Mount, and flew up to the radiant
+sun. Under the rule of the Dschou dynasty he was born again as Li
+Oerl, and when he was born his hair and beard were white, for which
+reason he was called Laotsze, "Old Child." He wrote the book of
+"Meaning and Life" and spread his teachings through the world. He is
+honored as the head of Taoism. At the beginning of the reign of the
+Han dynasty, he again appeared as the Old Man of the River, (Ho Schang
+Gung). He spread the teachings of Tao abroad mightily, so that from
+that time on Taoism flourished greatly. These doctrines are known to
+this day as the teachings of the Yellow Ancient. There is also a
+saying: "First Laotsze was, then the heavens were." And that must mean
+that Laotsze was that very same Yellow Ancient of primal days.
+
+    Note: "How the Five Ancients Became Men." This
+    fairy-tale, the first of the legends of the gods, is
+    given in the version current among the people. In it the
+    five elemental spirits of earth, fire, water, wood and
+    metal are brought into connection with a creation myth.
+    "Prince of the Jasper Castle" or "The White Jade Ruler,"
+    Yu Huang Di, is the popular Chinese synonym for "the
+    good lord." The phrase "White Jade" serves merely to
+    express his dignity. All in all, there are 32 other Yu
+    Huangs, among whom he is the highest. He may be compared
+    to Indra, who dwells in a heaven that also comprises 33
+    halls. The astronomic relationship between the two is
+    very evident.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+THE HERD BOY AND THE WEAVING MAIDEN
+
+
+The Herd Boy was the child of poor people. When he was twelve years
+old, he took service with a farmer to herd his cow. After a few years
+the cow had grown large and fat, and her hair shone like yellow gold.
+She must have been a cow of the gods.
+
+One day while he had her out at pasture in the mountains, she suddenly
+began to speak to the Herd Boy in a human voice, as follows: "This is
+the Seventh Day. Now the White Jade Ruler has nine daughters, who
+bathe this day in the Sea of Heaven. The seventh daughter is beautiful
+and wise beyond all measure. She spins the cloud-silk for the King and
+Queen of Heaven, and presides over the weaving which maidens do on
+earth. It is for this reason she is called the Weaving Maiden. And if
+you go and take away her clothes while she bathes, you may become her
+husband and gain immortality."
+
+"But she is up in Heaven," said the Herd Boy, "and how can I get
+there?"
+
+"I will carry you there," answered the yellow cow.
+
+So the Herd Boy climbed on the cow's back. In a moment clouds began to
+stream out of her hoofs, and she rose into the air. About his ears
+there was a whistling like the sound of the wind, and they flew along
+as swiftly as lightning. Suddenly the cow stopped.
+
+"Now we are here," said she.
+
+Then round about him the Herd Boy saw forests of chrysophrase and
+trees of jade. The grass was of jasper and the flowers of coral. In
+the midst of all this splendor lay a great, four-square sea, covering
+some five-hundred acres. Its green waves rose and fell, and fishes
+with golden scales were swimming about in it. In addition there were
+countless magic birds who winged above it and sang. Even in the
+distance the Herd Boy could see the nine maidens in the water. They
+had all laid down their clothes on the shore.
+
+"Take the red clothes, quickly," said the cow, "and hide away with
+them in the forest, and though she ask you for them never so sweetly
+do not give them back to her until she has promised to become your
+wife."
+
+Then the Herd Boy hastily got down from the cow's back, seized the red
+clothes and ran away. At the same moment the nine maidens noticed him
+and were much frightened.
+
+"O youth, whence do you come, that you dare to take our clothes?" they
+cried. "Put them down again quickly!"
+
+But the Herd Boy did not let what they said trouble him; but crouched
+down behind one of the jade trees. Then eight of the maidens hastily
+came ashore and drew on their clothes.
+
+"Our seventh sister," said they, "whom Heaven has destined to be
+yours, has come to you. We will leave her alone with you."
+
+The Weaving Maiden was still crouching in the water.
+
+But the Herd Boy stood before her and laughed.
+
+"If you will promise to be my wife," said he, "then I will give you
+your clothes."
+
+But this did not suit the Weaving Maiden.
+
+"I am a daughter of the Ruler of the Gods," said she, "and may not
+marry without his command. Give back my clothes to me quickly, or else
+my father will punish you!"
+
+Then the yellow cow said: "You have been destined for each other by
+fate, and I will be glad to arrange your marriage, and your father,
+the Ruler of the Gods, will make no objection. Of that I am sure."
+
+The Weaving Maiden replied: "You are an unreasoning animal! How could
+you arrange our marriage?"
+
+The cow said: "Do you see that old willow-tree there on the shore?
+Just give it a trial and ask it. If the willow tree speaks, then
+Heaven wishes your union."
+
+And the Weaving Maiden asked the willow.
+
+The willow replied in a human voice:
+
+    "This is the Seventh day,
+    The Herd Boy his court to the Weaver doth pay!"
+
+and the Weaving Maiden was satisfied with the verdict. The Herd Boy
+laid down her clothes, and went on ahead. The Weaving Maiden drew them
+on and followed him. And thus they became man and wife.
+
+But after seven days she took leave of him.
+
+"The Ruler of Heaven has ordered me to look after my weaving," said
+she. "If I delay too long I fear that he will punish me. Yet, although
+we have to part now, we will meet again in spite of it."
+
+When she had said these words she really went away. The Herd Boy ran
+after her. But when he was quite near she took one of the long needles
+from her hair and drew a line with it right across the sky, and this
+line turned into the Silver River. And thus they now stand, separated
+by the River, and watch for one another.
+
+And since that time they meet once every year, on the eve of the
+Seventh Day. When that time comes, then all the crows in the world of
+men come flying and form a bridge over which the Weaving Maiden
+crosses the Silver River. And on that day you will not see a single
+crow in the trees, from morning to night, no doubt because of the
+reason I have mentioned. And besides, a fine rain often falls on the
+evening of the Seventh Day. Then the women and old grandmothers say to
+one another: "Those are the tears which the Herd Boy and the Weaving
+Maiden shed at parting!" And for this reason the Seventh Day is a rain
+festival.
+
+To the west of the Silver River is the constellation of the Weaving
+Maiden, consisting of three stars. And directly in front of it are
+three other stars in the form of a triangle. It is said that once the
+Herd Boy was angry because the Weaving Maiden had not wished to cross
+the Silver River, and had thrown his yoke at her, which fell down just
+in front of her feet. East of the Silver River is the Herd Boy's
+constellation, consisting of six stars. To one side of it are
+countless little stars which form a constellation pointed at both ends
+and somewhat broader in the middle. It is said that the Weaving Maiden
+in turn threw her spindle at the Herd Boy; but that she did not hit
+him, the spindle falling down to one side of him.
+
+    Note: "The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden" is retold
+    after an oral source. The Herd Boy is a constellation in
+    Aquila, the Weaving Maiden one in Lyra. The Silver River
+    which separates them is the Milky Way. The Seventh Day
+    of the seventh month is the festival of their reunion.
+    The Ruler of the Heavens has nine daughters in all, who
+    dwell in the nine heavens. The oldest married Li Dsing
+    (comp. "Notscha," No. 18); the second is the mother of
+    Yang Oerlang (comp. No. 17); the third is the mother of
+    the planet Jupiter (comp. "Sky O'Dawn," No. 34); and the
+    fourth dwelt with a pious and industrious scholar, by
+    name of Dung Yung, whom she aided to win riches and
+    honor. The seventh is the Spinner, and the ninth had to
+    dwell on earth as a slave because of some transgression
+    of which she had been guilty. Of the fifth, the sixth
+    and the eighth daughters nothing further is known.
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+YANG OERLANG
+
+
+The second daughter of the Ruler of Heaven once came down upon the
+earth and secretly became the wife of a mortal man named Yang. And
+when she returned to Heaven she was blessed with a son. But the Ruler
+of Heaven was very angry at this desecration of the heavenly halls. He
+banished her to earth and covered her with the Wu-I hills. Her son,
+however, Oerlang by name, the nephew of the Ruler of Heaven, was
+extraordinarily gifted by nature. By the time he was full grown he had
+learned the magic art of being able to control eight times nine
+transformations. He could make himself invisible, or could assume the
+shape of birds and beasts, grasses, flowers, snakes and fishes, as he
+chose. He also knew how to empty out seas and remove mountains from
+one place to another. So he went to the Wu-I hills and rescued his
+mother, whom he took on his back and carried away. They stopped to
+rest on a flat ledge of rock.
+
+Then the mother said: "I am very thirsty!"
+
+Oerlang climbed down into the valley in order to fetch her water, and
+some time passed before he returned. When he did his mother was no
+longer there. He searched eagerly, but on the rock lay only her skin
+and bones, and a few blood-stains. Now you must know that at that time
+there were still ten suns in the heavens, glowing and burning like
+fire. The Daughter of Heaven, it is true, was divine by nature; yet
+because she had incurred the anger of her father and had been banished
+to earth, her magic powers had failed her. Then, too, she had been
+imprisoned so long beneath the hills in the dark that, coming out
+suddenly into the sunlight, she had been devoured by its blinding
+radiance.
+
+When Oerlang thought of his mother's sad end, his heart ached. He took
+two mountains on his shoulders, pursued the suns and crushed them to
+death between the mountains. And whenever he had crushed another
+sun-disk, he picked up a fresh mountain. In this way he had already
+slain nine of the ten suns, and there was but one left. And as Oerlang
+pursued him relentlessly, he hid himself in his distress beneath the
+leaves of the portulacca plant. But there was a rainworm close by who
+betrayed his hiding-place, and kept repeating: "There he is! There he
+is!"
+
+Oerlang was about to seize him, when a messenger from the Ruler of the
+Heaven suddenly descended from the skies with a command: "Sky, air and
+earth need the sunshine. You must allow this one sun to live, so that
+all created beings may live. Yet, because you rescued your mother, and
+showed yourself to be a good son, you shall be a god, and be my
+bodyguard in the Highest Heaven, and shall rule over good and evil in
+the mortal world, and have power over devils and demons." When Oerlang
+received this command he ascended to Heaven.
+
+Then the sun-disk came out again from beneath the portulacca leaves,
+and out of gratitude, since the plant had saved him, he bestowed upon
+it the gift of a free-blooming nature, and ordained that it never need
+fear the sunshine. To this very day one may see on the lower side of
+the portulacca leaves quite delicate little white pearls. They are the
+sunshine that remained hanging to the leaves when the sun hid under
+them. But the sun pursues the rainworm, when he ventures forth out of
+the ground, and dries him up as a punishment for his treachery.
+
+Since that time Yang Oerlang has been honored as a god. He has
+oblique, sharply marked eyebrows, and holds a double-bladed,
+three-pointed sword in his hand. Two servants stand beside him, with a
+falcon and a hound; for Yang Oerlang is a great hunter. The falcon is
+the falcon of the gods, and the hound is the hound of the gods. When
+brute creatures gain possession of magic powers or demons oppress men,
+he subdues them by means of the falcon and hound.
+
+    Note: Yang Oerlang is a huntsman, as is indicated by his
+    falcon and hound. His Hound of the Heavens, literally
+    "the divine, biting hound" recalls the hound of Indra.
+    The myth that there were originally ten suns in the
+    skies, of whom nine were shot down by an archer, is also
+    placed in the period of the ruler Yau. In that story the
+    archer is named Hou I, or I (comp. No. 19). Here,
+    instead of the shooting down of the suns with arrows, we
+    have the Titan motive of destruction with the mountains.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+NOTSCHA
+
+
+The oldest daughter of the Ruler of Heaven had married the great
+general Li Dsing. Her sons were named Gintscha, Mutscha and Notscha.
+But when Notscha was given her, she dreamed at night that a Taoist
+priest came into her chamber and said: "Swiftly receive the Heavenly
+Son!" And straightway a radiant pearl glowed within her. And she was
+so frightened at her dream that she awoke. And when Notscha came into
+the world, it seemed as though a ball of flesh were turning in circles
+like a wheel, and the whole room was filled with strange fragrances
+and a crimson light.
+
+Li Dsing was much frightened, and thought it was an apparition. He
+clove the circling ball with his sword, and out of it leaped a small
+boy whose whole body glowed with a crimson radiance. But his face was
+delicately shaped and white as snow. About his right arm he wore a
+golden armlet and around his thighs was wound a length of crimson
+silk, whose glittering shine dazzled the eyes. When Li Dsing saw the
+child he took pity on him and did not slay him, while his wife began
+to love the boy dearly.
+
+When three days had passed, all his friends came to wish him joy. They
+were just sitting at the festival meal when a Taoist priest entered
+and said: "I am the Great One. This boy is the bright Pearl of the
+Beginning of Things, bestowed upon you as your son. Yet the boy is
+wild and unruly, and will kill many men. Therefore I will take him as
+my pupil to gentle his savage ways." Li Dsing bowed his thanks and the
+Great One disappeared.
+
+When Notscha was seven years old he once ran away from home. He came
+to the river of nine bends, whose green waters flowed along between
+two rows of weeping-willows. The day was hot, and Notscha entered the
+water to cool himself. He unbound his crimson silk cloth and whisked
+it about in the water to wash it. But while Notscha sat there and
+whisked about his scarf in the water, it shook the castle of the
+Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea to its very foundations. So the
+Dragon-King sent out a Triton, terrible to look upon, who was to find
+out what was the matter. When the Triton saw the boy he began to
+scold. But the latter merely looked up and said: "What a
+strange-looking beast you are, and you can actually talk!" Then the
+Triton grew enraged, leaped up and struck at Notscha with his ax. But
+the latter avoided the blow, and threw his golden armlet at him. The
+armlet struck the Triton on the head and he sank down dead.
+
+Notscha laughed and said: "And there he has gone and made my armlet
+bloody!" And he once more sat down on a stone, in order to wash his
+armlet. Then the crystal castle of the dragon began to tremble as
+though it were about to fall apart. And a watchman also came and
+reported that the Triton had been slain by a boy. So the Dragon-King
+sent out his son to capture the boy. And the son seated himself on the
+water-cleaving beast, and came up with a thunder of great waves of
+water. Notscha straightened up and said: "That is a big wave!"
+Suddenly he saw a creature rise out of the waves, on whose back sat an
+armed man who cried in a loud voice: "Who has slain my Triton?"
+Notscha answered: "The Triton wanted to slay me so I killed him. What
+difference does it make?" Then the dragon assailed him with his
+halberd. But Notscha said: "Tell me who you are before we fight." "I
+am the son of the Dragon-King," was the reply. "And I am Notscha, the
+son of General Li Dsing. You must not rouse my anger with your
+violence, or I will skin you, together with that old mud-fish, your
+father!" Then the dragon grew wild with rage, and came storming along
+furiously. But Notscha cast his crimson cloth into the air, so that it
+flashed like a ball of fire, and cast the dragon-youth from his
+breast. Then Notscha took his golden armlet and struck him on the
+forehead with it, so that he had to reveal himself in his true form as
+a golden dragon, and fall down dead.
+
+Notscha laughed and said: "I have heard tell that dragon-sinews make
+good cords. I will draw one out and bring it to my father, and he can
+tie his armor together with it." And with that he drew out the
+dragon's back sinew and took it home.
+
+In the meantime the Dragon-King, full of fury, had hastened to
+Notscha's father Li Dsing and demanded that Notscha be delivered up to
+him. But Li Dsing replied: "You must be mistaken, for my boy is only
+seven years old and incapable of committing such misdeeds." While they
+were still quarreling Notscha came running up and cried: "Father, I'm
+bringing along a dragon's sinew for you, so that you may bind up your
+armor with it!" Now the dragon broke out into tears and furious
+scolding. He threatened to report Li Dsing to the Ruler of the Heaven,
+and took himself off, snorting with rage.
+
+Li Dsing grew very much excited, told his wife what had happened, and
+both began to weep. Notscha, however, came to them and said: "Why do
+you weep? I will just go to my master, the Great One, and he will know
+what is to be done." And no sooner had he said the words than he had
+disappeared. He came into his master's presence and told him the whole
+tale. The latter said: "You must get ahead of the dragon, and prevent
+him from accusing you in Heaven!" Then he did some magic, and Notscha
+found himself set down by the gate of Heaven, where he waited for the
+dragon. It was still early in the morning; the gate of Heaven had not
+yet been opened, nor was the watchman at his post. But the dragon was
+already climbing up. Notscha, whom his master's magic had rendered
+invisible, threw the dragon to the ground with his armlet, and began
+to pitch into him. The dragon scolded and screamed. "There the old
+worm flounders about," said Notscha, "and does not care how hard he is
+beaten! I will scratch off some of his scales." And with these words
+he began to tear open the dragon's festal garments, and rip off some
+of the scales beneath his left arm, so that the red blood dripped out.
+Then the dragon could no longer stand the pain and begged for mercy.
+But first he had to promise Notscha that he would not complain of
+him, before the latter would let him go. And then the dragon had to
+turn himself into a little green snake, which Notscha put into his
+sleeve and took back home with him. But no sooner had he drawn the
+little snake from his sleeve than it assumed human shape. The dragon
+then swore that he would punish Li Dsing in a terrible manner, and
+disappeared in a flash of lightning.
+
+Li Dsing was now angry with his son in earnest. Therefore Notscha's
+mother sent him to the rear of the house to keep out of his father's
+sight. Notscha disappeared and went to his master, in order to ask him
+what he should do when the dragon returned. His master advised him and
+Notscha went back home. And all the Dragon Kings of the four seas were
+assembled, and had bound his parents, with cries and tumult, in order
+to punish them. Notscha ran up and cried with a loud voice: "I will
+take the punishment for whatever I have done! My parents are
+blameless! What is the punishment you wish to lay upon me?" "Life for
+life!" said the dragon. "Very well then, I will destroy myself!" And
+so he did and the dragons went off satisfied; while Notscha's mother
+buried him with many tears.
+
+But the spiritual part of Notscha, his soul, fluttered about in the
+air, and was driven by the wind to the cave of the Great One. He took
+it in and said to it: "You must appear to your mother! Forty miles
+distant from your home rises a green mountain cliff. On this cliff she
+must build a shrine for you. And after you have enjoyed the incense of
+human adoration for three years, you shall once more have a human
+body." Notscha appeared to his mother in a dream, and gave her the
+whole message, and she awoke in tears. But Li Dsing grew angry when
+she told him about it. "It serves the accursed boy right that he is
+dead! It is because you are always thinking of him that he appears to
+you in dreams. You must pay no attention to him." The woman said no
+more, but thenceforward he appeared to her daily, as soon as she
+closed her eyes, and grew more and more urgent in his demand. Finally
+all that was left for her to do was to erect a temple for Notscha
+without Li Dsing's knowledge.
+
+And Notscha performed great miracles in his temple. All prayers made
+in it were granted. And from far away people streamed to it to burn
+incense in his honor.
+
+Thus half a year passed. Then Li Dsing, on the occasion of a great
+military drill, once came by the cliff in question, and saw the people
+crowding thickly about the hill like a swarm of ants. Li Dsing
+inquired what there were to see upon the hill. "It is a new god, who
+performs so many miracles that people come from far and near to honor
+him." "What sort of a god is he?" asked Li Dsing. They did not dare
+conceal from him who the god was. Then Li Dsing grew angry. He spurred
+his horse up the hill and, sure enough, over the door of the temple
+was written: "Notscha's Shrine." And within it was the likeness of
+Notscha, just as he had appeared while living. Li Dsing said: "While
+you were alive you brought misfortune to your parents. Now that you
+are dead you deceive the people. It is disgusting!" With these words
+he drew forth his whip, beat Notscha's idolatrous likeness to pieces
+with it, had the temple burned down, and the worshipers mildly
+reproved. Then he returned home.
+
+Now Notscha had been absent in the spirit upon that day. When he
+returned he found his temple destroyed; and the spirit of the hill
+gave him the details. Notscha hurried to his master and related with
+tears what had befallen him. The latter was roused and said: "It is Li
+Dsing's fault. After you had given back your body to your parents,
+you were no further concern of his. Why should he withdraw from you
+the enjoyment of the incense?" Then the Great One made a body of
+lotus-plants, gave it the gift of life, and enclosed the soul of
+Notscha within it. This done he called out in a loud voice: "Arise!" A
+drawing of breath was heard, and Notscha leaped up once more in the
+shape of a small boy. He flung himself down before his master and
+thanked him. The latter bestowed upon him the magic of the fiery
+lance, and Notscha thenceforward had two whirling wheels beneath his
+feet: The wheel of the wind and the wheel of fire. With these he could
+rise up and down in the air. The master also gave him a bag of
+panther-skin in which to keep his armlet and his silken cloth.
+
+Now Notscha had determined to punish Li Dsing. Taking advantage of a
+moment when he was not watched, he went away, thundering along on his
+rolling wheels to Li Dsing's dwelling. The latter was unable to
+withstand him and fled. He was almost exhausted when his second son,
+Mutscha, the disciple of the holy Pu Hain, came to his aid from the
+Cave of the White Crane. A violent quarrel took place between the
+brothers; they began to fight, and Mutscha was overcome; while Notscha
+once more rushed in pursuit of Li Dsing. At the height of his
+extremity, however, the holy Wen Dschu of the Hill of the Five
+Dragons, the master of Gintscha, Li Dsing's oldest son, stepped forth
+and hid Li Dsing in his cave. Notscha, in a rage, insisted that he be
+delivered up to him; but Wen Dschu said: "Elsewhere you may indulge
+your wild nature to your heart's content, but not in this place."
+
+And when Notscha in the excess of his rage turned his fiery lance upon
+him, Wen Dschu stepped back a pace, shook the seven-petaled lotus from
+his sleeve, and threw it into the air. A whirlwind arose, clouds and
+mists obscured the sight, and sand and earth were flung up from the
+ground. Then the whirlwind collapsed with a great crash. Notscha
+fainted, and when he regained consciousness found himself bound to a
+golden column with three thongs of gold, so that he could no longer
+move. Wen Dschu now called Gintscha to him and ordered him to give his
+unruly brother a good thrashing. And this he did, while Notscha,
+obliged to stand it, stood grinding his teeth. In his extremity he saw
+the Great One floating by, and called out to him: "Save me, O Master!"
+But the latter did not notice him; instead he entered the cave and
+thanked Wen Dschu for the severe lesson which he had given Notscha.
+Finally they called Notscha in to them and ordered him to be
+reconciled to his father. Then they dismissed them both and seated
+themselves to play chess. But no sooner was Notscha free than he again
+fell into a rage, and renewed his pursuit of his father. He had again
+overtaken Li Dsing when still another saint came forward to defend the
+latter. This time it was the old Buddha of the Radiance of the Light.
+When Notscha attempted to battle with him he raised his arm, and a
+pagoda shaped itself out of red, whirling clouds and closed around
+Notscha. Then Radiance of Light placed both his hands on the pagoda
+and a fire arose within it which burned Notscha so that he cried
+loudly for mercy. Then he had to promise to beg his father's
+forgiveness and always to obey him in the future. Not till he had
+promised all this did the Buddha let him out of the pagoda again. And
+he gave the pagoda to Li Dsing; and taught him a magic saying which
+would give him the mastery over Notscha. It is for this reason that Li
+Dsing is called the Pagoda-bearing King of Heaven.
+
+Later on Li Dsing and his three sons, Gintscha, Mutscha and Notscha,
+aided King Wu of the Dschou dynasty to destroy the tyrant Dschou-Sin.
+
+None could withstand their might. Only once did a sorcerer succeed in
+wounding Notscha in the left arm. Any other would have died of the
+wound. But the Great One carried him into his cave, healed his wound
+and gave him three goblets of the wine of the gods to drink, and three
+fire-dates to eat. When Notscha had eaten and drunk he suddenly heard
+a crash at his left side and another arm grew out from it. He could
+not speak and his eyes stood out from their sockets with horror. But
+it went on as it had begun: six more arms grew out of his body and two
+more heads, so that finally he had three heads and eight arms. He
+called out to his Master: "What does all this mean?" But the latter
+only laughed and said: "All is as it should be. Thus equipped you will
+really be strong!" Then he taught him a magic incantation by means of
+which he could make his arms and heads visible or invisible as he
+chose. When the tyrant Dschou-Sin had been destroyed, Li Dsing and his
+three sons, while still on earth, were taken up into heaven and seated
+among the gods.
+
+    Note: Li Dsing, the Pagoda-bearing King of Heaven, may
+    be traced back to Indra, the Hindoo god of thunder and
+    lightning. The Pagoda might be an erroneous variant of
+    the thunderbolt Vadjra. In such case Notscha would be a
+    personification of the thunder. The Great One (Tai I),
+    is the condition of things before their separation into
+    the active and passive principles. There is a whole
+    genealogy of mythical saints and holy men who took part
+    in the battles between King Wu of Dschou and the tyrant
+    Dschou-Sin. These saints are, for the most part,
+    Buddhist-Brahminic figures which have been reshaped. The
+    Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea also occurs in the tale
+    of Sun Wu Kung (No. 74). "Dragon sinew" means the spinal
+    cord, the distinction between nerves and sinews not
+    being carefully observed. "Three spirits and seven
+    souls": man has three spirits, usually above his head,
+    and seven animal souls. "Notscha had been absent in the
+    spirit upon that day": the idol is only the seat of the
+    godhead, which the latter leaves or inhabits as he
+    chooses. Therefore the godhead must be summoned when
+    prayers are offered, by means of bells and incense. When
+    the god is not present, his idol is merely a block of
+    wood or stone. Pu Hain, the Buddha of the Lion, is the
+    Indian Samantabharda, one of the four great Boddhisatvas
+    of the Tantra School. Wen Dschu, the Buddha on the
+    Golden-haired Mountain Lion, (Hou), is the Indian
+    Mandjusri. The old Buddha of the Radiance of the Light,
+    Jan Dong Go Fu, is the Indian Dipamkara.
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE LADY OF THE MOON
+
+
+In the days of the Emperor Yau lived a prince by the name of Hou I,
+who was a mighty hero and a good archer. Once ten suns rose together
+in the sky, and shone so brightly and burned so fiercely that the
+people on earth could not endure them. So the Emperor ordered Hou I to
+shoot at them. And Hou I shot nine of them down from the sky. Besides
+his bow, Hou I also had a horse which ran so swiftly that even the
+wind could not catch up with it. He mounted it to go a-hunting, and
+the horse ran away and could not be stopped. So Hou I came to Kunlun
+Mountain and met the Queen-Mother of the Jasper Sea. And she gave him
+the herb of immortality. He took it home with him and hid it in his
+room. But his wife who was named Tschang O, once ate some of it on the
+sly when he was not at home, and she immediately floated up to the
+clouds. When she reached the moon, she ran into the castle there, and
+has lived there ever since as the Lady of the Moon.
+
+On a night in mid-autumn, an emperor of the Tang dynasty once sat at
+wine with two sorcerers. And one of them took his bamboo staff and
+cast it into the air, where it turned into a heavenly bridge, on which
+the three climbed up to the moon together. There they saw a great
+castle on which was inscribed: "The Spreading Halls of Crystal Cold."
+Beside it stood a cassia tree which blossomed and gave forth a
+fragrance filling all the air. And in the tree sat a man who was
+chopping off the smaller boughs with an ax. One of the sorcerers said:
+"That is the man in the moon. The cassia tree grows so luxuriantly
+that in the course of time it would overshadow all the moon's
+radiance. Therefore it has to be cut down once in every thousand
+years." Then they entered the spreading halls. The silver stories of
+the castle towered one above the other, and its walls and columns were
+all formed of liquid crystal. In the walls were cages and ponds, where
+fishes and birds moved as though alive. The whole moon-world seemed
+made of glass. While they were still looking about them on all sides
+the Lady of the Moon stepped up to them, clad in a white mantle and a
+rainbow-colored gown. She smiled and said to the emperor: "You are a
+prince of the mundane world of dust. Great is your fortune, since you
+have been able to find your way here!" And she called for her
+attendants, who came flying up on white birds, and sang and danced
+beneath the cassia tree. A pure clear music floated through the air.
+Beside the tree stood a mortar made of white marble, in which a jasper
+rabbit ground up herbs. That was the dark half of the moon. When the
+dance had ended, the emperor returned to earth again with the
+sorcerers. And he had the songs which he had heard on the moon written
+down and sung to the accompaniment of flutes of jasper in his
+pear-tree garden.
+
+    Note: This fairy-tale is traditional. The archer Hou I
+    (or Count I, the Archer-Prince, comp. Dschuang Dsi), is
+    placed by legend in different epochs. He also occurs in
+    connection with the myths regarding the moon, for one
+    tale recounts how he saved the moon during an eclipse by
+    means of his arrows. The Queen-Mother is Si Wang Mu
+    (comp. with No. 15). The Tang dynasty reigned 618-906
+    A.D. "The Spreading Halls of Crystal Cold": The goddess
+    of the ice also has her habitation in the moon. The hare
+    in the moon is a favorite figure. He grinds the grains
+    of maturity or the herbs that make the elixir of life.
+    The rain-toad Tschan, who has three legs, is also placed
+    on the moon. According to one version of the story,
+    Tschang O took the shape of this toad.
+
+  [Illustration: "BESIDE IT STOOD A CASSIA-TREE."
+                                                  --_Page 54_]
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE MORNING AND THE EVENING STAR
+
+
+Once upon a time there were two stars, sons of the Golden King of the
+Heavens. The one was named Tschen and the other Shen. One day they
+quarreled, and Tschen struck Shen a terrible blow. Thereupon both
+stars made a vow that they would never again look upon each other. So
+Tschen only appears in the evening, and Shen only appears in the
+morning, and not until Tschen has disappeared is Shen again to be
+seen. And that is why people say: "When two brothers do not live
+peaceably with one another they are like Tschen and Shen."
+
+    Note: Tschen and Shen are Hesperus and Lucifer, the
+    morning and evening stars. The tale is told in its
+    traditional form.
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+THE GIRL WITH THE HORSE'S HEAD OR THE SILKWORM GODDESS
+
+
+In the dim ages of the past there once was an old man who went on a
+journey. No one remained at home save his only daughter and a white
+stallion. The daughter fed the horse day by day, but she was lonely
+and yearned for her father.
+
+So it happened that one day she said in jest to the horse: "If you
+will bring back my father to me then I will marry you!"
+
+No sooner had the horse heard her say this, than he broke loose and
+ran away. He ran until he came to the place where her father was. When
+her father saw the horse, he was pleasantly surprised, caught him and
+seated himself on his back. And the horse turned back the way he had
+come, neighing without a pause.
+
+"What can be the matter with the horse?" thought the father.
+"Something must have surely gone wrong at home!" So he dropped the
+reins and rode back. And he fed the horse liberally because he had
+been so intelligent; but the horse ate nothing, and when he saw the
+girl, he struck out at her with his hoofs and tried to bite her. This
+surprised the father; he questioned his daughter, and she told him the
+truth, just as it had occurred.
+
+"You must not say a word about it to any one," spoke her father, "or
+else people will talk about us."
+
+And he took down his crossbow, shot the horse, and hung up his skin in
+the yard to dry. Then he went on his travels again.
+
+One day his daughter went out walking with the daughter of a
+neighbor. When they entered the yard, she pushed the horse-hide with
+her foot and said: "What an unreasonable animal you were--wanting to
+marry a human being! What happened to you served you right!"
+
+But before she had finished her speech, the horse-hide moved, rose up,
+wrapped itself about the girl and ran off.
+
+Horrified, her companion ran home to her father and told him what had
+happened. The neighbors looked for the girl everywhere, but she could
+not be found.
+
+At last, some days afterward, they saw the girl hanging from the
+branches of a tree, still wrapped in the horse-hide; and gradually she
+turned into a silkworm and wove a cocoon. And the threads which she
+spun were strong and thick. Her girl friend then took down the cocoon
+and let her slip out of it; and then she spun the silk and sold it at
+a large profit.
+
+But the girl's relatives longed for her greatly. So one day the girl
+appeared riding in the clouds on her horse, followed by a great
+company and said: "In heaven I have been assigned to the task of
+watching over the growing of silkworms. You must yearn for me no
+longer!" And thereupon they built temples to her in her native land,
+and every year, at the silkworm season, sacrifices are offered to her
+and her protection is implored. And the Silkworm Goddess is also known
+as the girl with the Horse's Head.
+
+    Note: This tale is placed in the times of the Emperor
+    Hau, and the legend seems to have originated in
+    Setchuan. The stallion is the sign of the zodiac which
+    rules the springtime, the season when the silkworms are
+    cultivated. Hence she is called the Goddess with the
+    Horse's Head. The legend itself tells a different tale.
+    In addition to this goddess, the spouse of Schen Nung,
+    the "Divine Husbandman," is also worshiped as the
+    goddess of silkworm culture. The Goddess with the
+    Horse's Head is more of a totemic representation of the
+    silkworm as such; while the wife of Schen Nung is
+    regarded as the protecting goddess of silk culture, and
+    is supposed to have been the first to teach women its
+    details. The spouse of the Yellow Lord is mentioned in
+    the same connection. The popular belief distinguishes
+    three goddesses who protect the silkworm culture in
+    turn. The second is the best of the three, and when it
+    is her year the silk turns out well.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN
+
+
+The Queen of Heaven, who is also known as the Holy Mother, was in
+mortal life a maiden of Fukien, named Lin. She was pure, reverential
+and pious in her ways and died at the age of seventeen. She shows her
+power on the seas and for this reason the seamen worship her. When
+they are unexpectedly attacked by wind and waves, they call on her and
+she is always ready to hear their pleas.
+
+There are many seamen in Fukien, and every year people are lost at
+sea. And because of this, most likely, the Queen of Heaven took pity
+on the distress of her people during her lifetime on earth. And since
+her thoughts are uninterruptedly turned toward aiding the drowning in
+their distress, she now appears frequently on the seas.
+
+In every ship that sails a picture of the Queen of Heaven hangs in the
+cabin, and three paper talismans are also kept on shipboard. On the
+first she is painted with crown and scepter, on the second as a maiden
+in ordinary dress, and on the third she is pictured with flowing hair,
+barefoot, standing with a sword in her hand. When the ship is in
+danger the first talisman is burnt, and help comes. But if this is of
+no avail, then the second and finally the third picture is burned. And
+if no help comes then there is nothing more to be done.
+
+When seamen lose their course among wind and waves and darkling
+clouds, they pray devoutly to the Queen of Heaven. Then a red lantern
+appears on the face of the waters. And if they follow the lantern they
+will win safe out of all danger. The Queen of Heaven may often be seen
+standing in the skies, dividing the wind with her sword. When she does
+this the wind departs for the North and South, and the waves grow
+smooth.
+
+A wooden wand is always kept before her holy picture in the cabin. It
+often happens that the fish-dragons play in the seas. They are two
+giant fish who spout up water against one another till the sun in the
+sky is obscured, and the seas are shrouded in profound darkness. And
+often, in the distance, one may see a bright opening in the darkness.
+If the ship holds a course straight for this opening it will win
+through, and is suddenly floating in calm waters again. Looking back,
+one may see the two fishes still spouting water, and the ship will
+have passed directly beneath their jaws. But a storm is always near
+when the fish dragons swim; therefore it is well to burn paper or wool
+so that the dragons do not draw the ship down into the depths. Or the
+Master of the Wand may burn incense before the wand in the cabin. Then
+he must take the wand and swing it over the water three times, in a
+circle. If he does so the dragons will draw in their tails and
+disappear.
+
+When the ashes in the censer fly up into the air without any cause,
+and are scattered about, it is a sign that great danger is
+threatening.
+
+Nearly two-hundred years ago an army was fitted out to subdue the
+island of Formosa. The captain's banner had been dedicated with the
+blood of a white horse. Suddenly the Queen of Heaven appeared at the
+tip of the banner-staff. In another moment she had disappeared, but
+the invasion was successful.
+
+On another occasion, in the days of Kien Lung, the minister Dschou
+Ling was ordered to install a new king in the Liu-Kiu Islands. When
+the fleet was sailing by south of Korea, a storm arose, and his ship
+was driven toward the Black Whirlpool. The water had the color of ink,
+sun and moon lost their radiance, and the word was passed about that
+the ship had been caught in the Black Whirlpool, from which no living
+man had ever returned. The seaman and travelers awaited their end with
+lamentations. Suddenly an untold number of lights, like red lanterns,
+appeared on the surface of the water. Then the seamen were overjoyed
+and prayed in the cabins. "Our lives are saved!" they cried, "the Holy
+Mother has come to our aid!" And truly, a beautiful maiden with golden
+earrings appeared. She waved her hand in the air and the winds became
+still and the waves grew even. And it seemed as though the ship were
+being drawn along by a mighty hand. It moved plashing through the
+waves, and suddenly it was beyond the limits of the Black Whirlpool.
+
+Dschou Ling on his return told of this happening, and begged that
+temples be erected in honor of the Queen of Heaven, and that she be
+included in the list of the gods. And the emperor granted his prayer.
+
+Since then temples of the Queen of Heaven are to be found in all
+sea-port towns, and her birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of
+the fourth month with spectacles and sacrifices.
+
+    Note: "The Queen of Heaven," whose name is Tian Hou, or
+    more exactly, Tian Fe Niang Niang, is a Taoist goddess
+    of seamen, generally worshiped in all coast towns. Her
+    story is principally made up of local legends of Fukien
+    province, and a variation of the Indian Maritschi (who
+    as Dschunti with the eight arms, is the object of quite
+    a special cult). Tian Hou, since the establishment of
+    the Manchu dynasty, is one of the officially recognized
+    godheads.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+THE FIRE-GOD
+
+
+Long before the time of Fu Hi, Dschu Yung, the Magic Welder, was the
+ruler of men. He discovered the use of fire, and succeeding
+generations learned from him to cook their food. Hence his descendants
+were intrusted with the preservation of fire, while he himself was
+made the Fire-God. He is a personification of the Red Lord, who showed
+himself at the beginning of the world as one of the Five Ancients. The
+Fire-God is worshiped as the Lord of the Holy Southern Mountain. In
+the skies the Fiery Star, the southern quarter of the heavens and the
+Red Bird belong to his domain. When there is danger of fire the Fiery
+Star glows with a peculiar radiance. When countless numbers of
+fire-crows fly into a house, a fire is sure to break out in it.
+
+In the land of the four rivers there dwelt a man who was very rich.
+One day he got into his wagon and set out on a long journey. And he
+met a girl, dressed in red, who begged him to take her with him. He
+allowed her to get into the wagon, and drove along for half-a-day
+without even looking in her direction. Then the girl got out again and
+said in farewell: "You are truly a good and honest man, and for that
+reason I must tell you the truth. I am the Fire-God. To-morrow a fire
+will break out in your house. Hurry home at once to arrange your
+affairs and save what you can!" Frightened, the man faced his horses
+about and drove home as fast as he could. All that he possessed in the
+way of treasures, clothes and jewels, he removed from the house. And,
+when he was about to lie down to sleep, a fire broke out on the hearth
+which could not be quenched until the whole building had collapsed in
+dust and ashes. Yet, thanks to the Fire-God, the man had saved all his
+movable belongings.
+
+    Note: "The Fire-God" (comp. with No. 15). The Holy
+    Southern Mountain is Sung-Schan in Huan. The Fiery Star
+    is Mars. The constellations of the southern quarter of
+    the heavens are grouped by the Chinese as under the name
+    of the "Red Bird." The "land of the four rivers" is
+    Setchuan, in the western part of present-day China.
+
+
+
+
+XXIV
+
+THE THREE RULING GODS
+
+
+There are three lords: in heaven, and on the earth and in the waters,
+and they are known as the Three Ruling Gods. They are all brothers,
+and are descended from the father of the Monk of the Yangtze-kiang.
+When the latter was sailing on the river he was cast into the water by
+a robber. But he did not drown, for a Triton came his way who took him
+along with him to the dragon-castle. And when the Dragon-King saw him
+he realized at once that there was something extraordinary about the
+Monk, and he married him to his daughter.
+
+From their early youth his three sons showed a preference for the
+hidden wisdom. And together they went to an island in the sea. There
+they seated themselves and began to meditate. They heard nothing, they
+saw nothing, they spoke not a word and they did not move. The birds
+came and nested in their hair; the spiders came and wove webs across
+their faces; worms and insects came and crawled in and out of their
+noses and ears. But they paid no attention to any of them.
+
+After they had meditated thus for a number of years, they obtained the
+hidden wisdom and became gods. And the Lord made them the Three Ruling
+Gods. The heavens make things, the earth completes things, and the
+waters create things. The Three Ruling Gods sent out the current of
+their primal power to aid in ordering all to this end. Therefore they
+are also known as the primal gods, and temples are erected to them all
+over the earth.
+
+If you go into a temple you will find the Three Ruling Gods all seated
+on one pedestal. They wear women's hats upon their heads, and hold
+scepters in their hands, like kings. But he who sits on the last
+place, to the right, has glaring eyes and wears a look of rage. If you
+ask why this is you are told: "These three were brothers and the Lord
+made them the Ruling Gods. So they talked about the order in which
+they were to sit. And the youngest said: 'To-morrow morning, before
+sunrise, we will meet here. Whoever gets here first shall have the
+seat of honor in the middle; the second one to arrive shall have the
+second place, and the third the third.' The two older brothers were
+satisfied. The next morning, very early, the youngest came first,
+seated himself in the middle place, and became the god of the waters.
+The middle brother came next, sat down on the left, and became the god
+of the heavens. Last of all came the oldest brother. When he saw that
+his brothers were already sitting in their places, he was disgusted
+and yet he could not say a word. His face grew red with rage, his
+eyeballs stood forth from their sockets like bullets, and his veins
+swelled like bladders. And he seated himself on the right and became
+god of the earth." The artisans who make the images of the gods
+noticed this, so they always represent him thus.
+
+    Note: "The Three Ruling Gods" is set down as told by the
+    people. It is undoubtedly a version of the Indian
+    Trimurti. The meaning of the terrible appearance of the
+    third godhead, evidently no longer understood by the
+    people, points to Siva, and has given rise to the
+    fairy-tale here told. As regards the Monk of the
+    Yangtze-kiang, comp. with No. 69.
+
+
+
+
+XXV
+
+A LEGEND OF CONFUCIUS
+
+
+When Confucius came to the earth, the Kilin, that strange beast which
+is the prince of all four-footed animals, and only appears when there
+is a great man on earth, sought the child and spat out a jade whereon
+was written: "Son of the Watercrystal you are destined to become an
+uncrowned king!" And Confucius grew up, studied diligently, learned
+wisdom and came to be a saint. He did much good on earth, and ever
+since his death has been reverenced as the greatest of teachers and
+masters. He had foreknowledge of many things. And even after he had
+died he gave evidence of this.
+
+Once, when the wicked Emperor Tsin Schi Huang had conquered all the
+other kingdoms, and was traveling through the entire empire, he came
+to the homeland of Confucius. And he found his grave. And, finding his
+grave, he wished to have it opened and see what was in it. All his
+officials advised him not to do so, but he would not listen to them.
+So a passage was dug into the grave, and in its main chamber they
+found a coffin, whose wood appeared to be quite fresh. When struck it
+sounded like metal. To the left of the coffin was a door, which led
+into an inner chamber. In this chamber stood a bed, and a table with
+books and clothing, all as though meant for the use of a living
+person. Tsin Schi Huang seated himself on the bed and looked down. And
+there on the floor stood two shoes of red silk, whose tips were
+adorned with a woven pattern of clouds. A bamboo staff leaned against
+the wall. The Emperor, in jest, put on the shoes, took the staff and
+left the grave. But as he did so a tablet suddenly appeared before his
+eyes on which stood the following lines:
+
+    O'er kingdoms six Tsin Schi Huang his army led,
+    To ope my grave and find my humble bed;
+    He steals my shoes and takes my staff away
+    To reach Schakiu--and his last earthly day!
+
+Tsin Schi Huang was much alarmed, and had the grave closed again. But
+when he reached Schakiu he fell ill of a hasty fever of which he died.
+
+    Note: The Kilin is an okapi-like legendary beast of the
+    most perfected kindness, prince of all the four-footed
+    animals. The "Watercrystal" is the dark Lord of the
+    North, whose element is water and wisdom, for which last
+    reason Confucius is termed his son. Tsin Schi Huang
+    (B.C. 200) is the burner of books and reorganizer of
+    China famed in history. Schakiu (Sandhill) was a city in
+    the western part of the China of that day.
+
+
+
+
+XXVI
+
+THE GOD OF WAR
+
+
+The God of War, Guan Di, was really named Guan Yu. At the time when
+the rebellion of the Yellow Turbans was raging throughout the empire,
+he, together with two others whom he met by the wayside, and who were
+inspired with the same love of country which possessed him, made a
+pact of friendship. One of the two was Liu Be, afterward emperor, the
+other was named Dschang Fe. The three met in a peach-orchard and swore
+to be brothers one to the other, although they were of different
+families. They sacrificed a white steed and vowed to be true to each
+other to the death.
+
+Guan Yu was faithful, honest, upright and brave beyond all measure. He
+loved to read Confucius's "Annals of Lu," which tell of the rise and
+fall of empires. He aided his friend Liu Be to subdue the Yellow Turbans
+and to conquer the land of the four rivers. The horse he rode was known
+as the Red Hare, and could run a thousand miles in a day. Guan Yu had a
+knife shaped like a half-moon which was called the Green Dragon. His
+eyebrows were beautiful like those of the silk-butterflies, and his eyes
+were long-slitted like the eyes of the Phenix. His face was scarlet-red
+in color, and his beard so long that it hung down over his stomach.
+Once, when he appeared before the emperor, the latter called him Duke
+Fairbeard, and presented him with a silken pocket in which to place his
+beard. He wore a garment of green brocade. Whenever he went into battle
+he showed invincible bravery. Whether he were opposed by a thousand
+armies or by ten thousand horsemen--he attacked them as though they were
+merely air.
+
+Once the evil Tsau Tsau had incited the enemies of his master, the
+Emperor, to take the city by treachery. When Guan Yu heard of it he
+hastened up with an army to relieve the town. But he fell into an
+ambush, and, together with his son, was brought a captive to the
+capital of the enemy's land. The prince of that country would have
+been glad to have had him go over to his side; but Guan Yu swore that
+he would not yield to death himself. Thereupon father and son were
+slain. When he was dead, his horse Red Hare ceased to eat and died. A
+faithful captain of his, by name of Dschou Dsang, who was
+black-visaged and wore a great knife, had just invested a fortress
+when the news of the sad end of the duke reached him. And he, as well
+as other faithful followers would not survive their master, and
+perished.
+
+At the time a monk, who was an old compatriot and acquaintance of Duke
+Guan was living in the Hills of the Jade Fountains. He used to walk at
+night in the moonlight.
+
+Suddenly he heard a loud voice cry down out of the air: "I want my
+head back again!"
+
+The monk looked up and saw Duke Guan, sword in hand, seated on his
+horse, just as he appeared while living. And at his right and left
+hand, shadowy figures in the clouds, stood his son Guan Ping and his
+captain, Dschou Dsang.
+
+The monk folded his hands and said: "While you lived you were upright
+and faithful, and in death you have become a wise god; and yet you do
+not understand fate! If you insist on having your head back again, to
+whom shall the many thousands of your enemies who lost their lives
+through you appeal, in order to have life restored to them?"
+
+When he heard this the Duke Guan bowed and disappeared. Since that
+time he has been without interruption spiritually active. Whenever a
+new dynasty is founded, his holy form may be seen. For this reason
+temples and sacrifices have been instituted for him, and he has been
+made one of the gods of the empire. Like Confucius, he received the
+great sacrifice of oxen, sheep and pigs. His rank increases with the
+passing of centuries. First he was worshiped as Prince Guan, later as
+King Guan, and then as the great god who conquers the demons. The last
+dynasty, finally, worships him as the great, divine Helper of the
+Heavens. He is also called the God of War, and is a strong deliverer
+in all need, when men are plagued by devils and foxes. Together with
+Confucius, the Master of Peace, he is often worshiped as the Master of
+War.
+
+    Note: The Chinese God of War is a historical personality
+    from the epoch of the three empires, which later joined
+    the Han dynasty, about 250 A.D. Liu Be founded the
+    "Little Han dynasty" in Setchuan, with the aid of Guan
+    Yu and Dschang Fe. Guan Yu or Guan Di, i.e., "God
+    Yuan," has become one of the most popular figures in
+    Chinese legend in the course of time, God of War and
+    deliverer in one and the same person. The talk of the
+    monk with the God Guan Di in the clouds is based on the
+    Buddhist law of Karma. Because Guan Di--even though his
+    motives might be good--had slain other men, he must
+    endure like treatment at their hands, even while he is a
+    god.
+
+
+
+
+TALES OF SAINTS AND MAGICIANS
+
+
+
+
+XXVII
+
+THE HALOS OF THE SAINTS
+
+
+The true gods all have halos around their heads. When the lesser gods
+and demons see these halos, they hide and dare not move. The Master of
+the Heavens on the Dragon-Tiger Mountain meets the gods at all times.
+One day the God of War came down to the mountain while the mandarin of
+the neighboring district was visiting the Master of the Heavens. The
+latter advised the mandarin to withdraw and hide himself in an inner
+chamber. Then he went out to receive the God of War. But the mandarin
+peeped through a slit in the door, and he saw the red face and green
+garment of the God of War as he stood there, terrible and
+awe-inspiring. Suddenly a red halo flashed up above his head, whose
+beams penetrated into the inner chamber so that the mandarin grew
+blind in one eye. After a time the God of War went away again, and the
+Master of the Heavens accompanied him. Suddenly Guan Di said, with
+alarm: "Confucius is coming! The halo he wears illumines the whole
+world. I cannot endure its radiance even a thousand miles away, so I
+must hurry and get out of the way!" And with that he stepped into a
+cloud and disappeared. The Master of the Heavens then told the
+mandarin what had happened, and added: "Fortunately you did not see
+the God of War face to face! Whoever does not possess the greatest
+virtue and the greatest wisdom, would be melted by the red glow of
+his halo." So saying he gave him a pill of the elixir of life to eat,
+and his blind eye gradually regained its sight.
+
+It is also said that scholars wear a red halo around their heads which
+devils, foxes and ghosts fear when they see it.
+
+There was once a scholar who had a fox for a friend. The fox came to
+see him at night, and went walking with him in the villages. They
+could enter the houses, and see all that was going on, without people
+being any the wiser. But when at a distance the fox saw a red halo
+hanging above a house he would not enter it. The scholar asked him why
+not.
+
+"Those are all celebrated scholars," answered the fox. "The greater
+the halo, the more extensive is their knowledge. I dread them and do
+not dare enter their houses."
+
+Then the man said: "But I am a scholar, too! Have I no halo which
+makes you fear me, instead of going walking with me?"
+
+"There is only a black mist about your head," answered the fox. "I
+have never yet seen it surrounded by a halo."
+
+The scholar was mortified and began to scold him; but the fox
+disappeared with a horse-laugh.
+
+    Note: This tale is told as traditionally handed down.
+    The Master of the Heavens, Tian Schi, who dwells on the
+    Lung Hu Schan, is the so-called Taoist pope.
+
+
+
+
+XXVIII
+
+LAOTSZE
+
+
+Laotsze is really older than heaven and earth put together. He is the
+Yellow Lord or Ancient, who created this world together with the other
+four. At various times he has appeared on earth, under various names.
+His most celebrated incarnation, however, is that of Laotsze, "The Old
+Child," which name he was given because he made his appearance on
+earth with white hair.
+
+He acquired all sorts of magic powers by means of which he extended
+his life-span. Once he hired a servant to do his bidding. He agreed to
+give him a hundred pieces of copper daily; yet he did not pay him, and
+finally he owed him seven million, two hundred thousand pieces of
+copper. Then he mounted a black steer and rode to the West. He wanted
+to take his servant along. But when they reached the Han-Gu pass, the
+servant refused to go further, and insisted on being paid. Yet Laotsze
+gave him nothing.
+
+When they came to the house of the guardian of the pass, red clouds
+appeared in the sky. The guardian understood this sign and knew that a
+holy man was drawing near. So he went out to meet him and took him
+into his house. He questioned him with regard to hidden knowledge, but
+Laotsze only stuck out his tongue at him and would not say a word.
+Nevertheless, the guardian of the pass treated him with the greatest
+respect in his home. Laotsze's servant told the servant of the
+guardian that his master owed him a great deal of money, and begged
+the latter to put in a good word for him. When the guardian's servant
+heard how large a sum it was, he was tempted to win so wealthy a man
+for a son-in-law, and he married him to his daughter. Finally the
+guardian heard of the matter and came to Laotsze together with the
+servant. Then Laotsze said to his servant: "You rascally servant. You
+really should have been dead long ago. I hired you, and since I was
+poor and could give you no money, I gave you a life-giving talisman to
+eat. That is how you still happen to be alive. I said to you: 'If you
+will follow me into the West, the land of Blessed Repose, I will pay
+you your wages in yellow gold. But you did not wish to do this.'" And
+with that he patted his servant's neck. Thereupon the latter opened
+his mouth, and spat out the life-giving talisman. The magic signs
+written on it with cinnabar, quite fresh and well-preserved, might
+still be seen. But the servant suddenly collapsed and turned into a
+heap of dry bones. Then the guardian of the pass cast himself to earth
+and pleaded for him. He promised to pay the servant for Laotsze and
+begged the latter to restore him to life. So Laotsze placed the
+talisman among the bones and at once the servant came to life again.
+The guardian of the pass paid him his wages and dismissed him. Then he
+adored Laotsze as his master, and the latter taught him the art of
+eternal life, and left him his teachings, in five thousand words,
+which the guardian wrote down. The book which thus came into being is
+the Tao Teh King, "The Book of the Way and Life." Laotsze then
+disappeared from the eyes of men. The guardian of the pass however,
+followed his teachings, and was given a place among the immortals.
+
+    Note: The Taoists like to assert that Laotsze's journey
+    to the West was undertaken before the birth of Buddha,
+    who, according to many, is only a reincarnation of
+    Laotsze. The guardian of the Han-Gu pass is mentioned
+    by the name of Guan Yin Hi, in the Lia Dsi and the
+    Dschuang Dsi.
+
+
+
+
+XXIX
+
+THE ANCIENT MAN
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a man named Huang An. He must have been
+well over eighty and yet he looked like a youth. He lived on cinnabar
+and wore no clothing. Even in winter he went about without garments.
+He sat on a tortoise three feet long. Once he was asked: "About how
+old might this tortoise be?" He answered: "When Fu Hi first invented
+fish-nets and eel-pots he caught this tortoise and gave it to me. And
+since then I have worn its shield quite flat sitting on it. The
+creature dreads the radiance of the sun and moon, so it only sticks
+its head out of its shell once in two thousand years. Since I have had
+the beast, it has already stuck its head out five times." With these
+words he took his tortoise on his back and went off. And the legend
+arose that this man was ten thousand years old.
+
+    Note: Cinnabar is frequently used in the preparation of
+    the elixir of life (comp. No. 30). Fu Hi is "the
+    life-breeding breath." Tortoises live to a great age.
+
+
+
+
+XXX
+
+THE EIGHT IMMORTALS (I)
+
+
+There is a legend which declares that Eight Immortals dwell in the
+heavens. The first is named Dschung Li Kuan. He lived in the time of
+the Han dynasty, and discovered the wonderful magic of golden
+cinnabar, the philosopher's stone. He could melt quicksilver and burn
+lead and turn them into yellow gold and white silver. And he could fly
+through the air in his human form. He is the chief of the Eight
+Immortals.
+
+The second is named Dschang Go. In primal times he gained hidden
+knowledge. It is said that he was really a white bat, who turned into
+a man. In the first days of the Tang dynasty an ancient with a white
+beard and a bamboo drum on his back, was seen riding backward on a
+black ass in the town of Tschang An. He beat the drum and sang, and
+called himself old Dschang Go. Another legend says that he always had
+a white mule with him which could cover a thousand miles in a single
+day. When he had reached his destination he would fold up the animal
+and put it in his trunk. When he needed it again, he would sprinkle
+water on it with his mouth, and the beast would regain its first
+shape.
+
+The third is named Lu Yuan or Lu Dung Bin (The Mountain Guest). His
+real name was Li, and he belonged to the ruling Tang dynasty. But when
+the Empress Wu seized the throne and destroyed the Li family to almost
+the last man, he fled with his wife into the heart of the mountains.
+They changed their names to Lu, and, since they lived in hiding in the
+caverns in the rocks, he called himself the Mountain Guest or the
+Guest of the Rocks. He lived on air and ate no bread. Yet he was fond
+of flowers. And in the course of time he acquired the hidden wisdom.
+
+In Lo Yang, the capital city, the peonies bloomed with special
+luxuriance. And there dwelt a flower fairy, who changed herself into a
+lovely maiden with whom Guest of the Rocks, when he came to Lo Yang,
+was wont to converse. Suddenly along came the Yellow Dragon, who had
+taken the form of a handsome youth. He mocked the flower fairy. Guest
+of the Rocks grew furious and cast his flying sword at him, cutting
+off his head. From that time onward he fell back again into the world
+of mundane pleasure and death. He sank down into the dust of the
+diurnal, and was no longer able to wing his way to the upper regions.
+Later he met Dschung Li Kuan, who delivered him, and then he was taken
+up in the ranks of the Immortals.
+
+Willowelf was his disciple. This was an old willow-tree which had
+drawn into itself the most ethereal powers of the sunrays and the
+moonbeams, and had thus been able to assume the shape of a human
+being. His face is blue and he has red hair. Guest of the Rocks
+received him as a disciple. Emperors and kings of future times honor
+Guest of the Rocks as the ancestor and master of the pure sun. The
+people call him Grandfather Lu. He is very wise and powerful. And
+therefore the people still stream into Grandfather Lu's temples to
+obtain oracles and pray for good luck. If you want to know whether you
+will be successful or not in an undertaking, go to the temple, light
+incense and bow your head to earth. On the altar is a bamboo goblet,
+in which are some dozens of little lottery sticks. You must shake them
+while kneeling, until one of the sticks flies out. On the
+lottery-stick is inscribed a number. This number must then be looked
+up in the Book of Oracles, where it is accompanied by a four-line
+stanza. It is said that fortune and misfortune, strange to think,
+occur to one just as foretold by the oracle.
+
+The fourth Immortal is Tsau Guo Gui (Tsau the Uncle of the State). He
+was the younger brother of the Empress Tsau, who for a time ruled the
+land. For this reason he was called the Uncle of the State. From his
+earliest youth he had been a lover of the hidden wisdom. Riches and
+honors were no more to him than dust. It was Dschung Li Kuan who aided
+him to become immortal.
+
+The fifth is called Lan Tsai Ho. Nothing is known of his true name,
+his time nor his family. He was often seen in the market-place, clad
+in a torn blue robe and wearing only a single shoe, beating a block of
+wood and singing the nothingness of life.
+
+The sixth Immortal is known as Li Tia Guai (Li with the iron crutch).
+He lost his parents in early youth and was brought up in his older
+brother's home. His sister-in-law treated him badly and never gave him
+enough to eat. Because of this he fled into the hills, and there
+learned the hidden wisdom.
+
+Once he returned in order to see his brother, and said to his
+sister-in-law: "Give me something to eat!" She answered: "There is no
+kindling wood on hand!" He replied: "You need only to prepare the
+rice. I can use my leg for kindling wood, only you must not say that
+the fire might injure me, and if you do not no harm will be done."
+
+His sister-in-law wished to see his art, so she poured the rice into
+the pot. Li stretched one of his legs out under it and lit it. The
+flames leaped high and the leg burned like coal.
+
+When the rice was nearly boiled his sister-in-law said: "Won't your
+leg be injured?"
+
+And Li replied angrily: "Did I not warn you not to say anything! Then
+no harm would have been done. Now one of my legs is lamed." With these
+words he took an iron poker and fashioned it into a crutch for
+himself. Then he hung a bottle-gourd on his back, and went into the
+hills to gather medicinal herbs. And that is why he is known as Li
+with the Iron Crutch.
+
+It is also told of him that he often was in the habit of ascending
+into the heavens in the spirit to visit his master Laotsze. Before he
+left he would order a disciple to watch his body and soul within it,
+so that the latter did not escape. Should seven days have gone by
+without his spirit returning, then he would allow his soul to leave
+the empty tenement. Unfortunately, after six days had passed, the
+disciple was called to the death-bed of his mother, and when the
+master's spirit returned on the evening of the seventh day, the life
+had gone out of its body. Since there was no place for his spirit in
+his own body, in his despair he seized upon the first handy body from
+which the vital essence had not yet dispersed. It was the body of a
+neighbor, a lame cripple, who had just died, so that from that time on
+the master appeared in his form.
+
+The seventh Immortal is called Hang Siang Dsi. He was the nephew of
+the famous Confucian scholar Han Yu, of the Tang dynasty. From his
+earliest youth he cultivated the arts of the deathless gods, left his
+home and became a Taoist. Grandfather Lu awakened him and raised him
+to the heavenly world. Once he saved his uncle's life. The latter had
+been driven from court, because he had objected when the emperor sent
+for a bone of Buddha with great pomp. When he reached the Blue Pass in
+his flight, a deep snowfall had made the road impassable. His horse
+had floundered in a snow-drift, and he himself was well-nigh frozen.
+Then Hang Siang Dsi suddenly appeared, helped him and his horse out of
+the drift, and brought them safely to the nearest inn along the Blue
+Pass. Han Yu sang a verse, in which the lines occurred:
+
+    Tsin Ling Hill 'mid clouds doth lie,
+      And home is far, beyond my sight!
+    Round the Blue Pass snow towers high,
+      And who will lead the horse aright?
+
+Suddenly it occurred to him that several years before, Hang Siang Dsi
+had come to his house to congratulate him on his birthday. Before he
+had left, he had written these words on a slip of paper, and his uncle
+had read them, without grasping their meaning. And now he was
+unconsciously singing the very lines of that song that his nephew had
+written. So he said to Hang Siang Dsi, with a sigh: "You must be one
+of the Immortals, since you were able thus to foretell the future!"
+
+And thrice Hang Siang Dsi sought to deliver his wife from the bonds of
+earth. For when he left his home to seek the hidden wisdom, she sat
+all day long yearning for his presence. Hang Siang Dsi wished to
+release her into immortality, but he feared she was not capable of
+translation. So he appeared to her in various forms, in order to try
+her, once as a beggar, another time as a wandering monk. But his wife
+did not grasp her opportunities. At last he took the shape of a lame
+Taoist, who sat on a mat, beat a block of wood and read sutras before
+the house.
+
+His wife said: "My husband is not at home. I can give you nothing."
+
+The Taoist answered: "I do not want your gold and silver, I want you.
+Sit down beside me on the mat, and we will fly up into the air and you
+shall find your husband again!"
+
+Hereupon the woman grew angry and struck at him with a cudgel.
+
+Then Hang Siang Dsi changed himself into his true form, stepped on a
+shining cloud and was carried aloft. His wife looked after him and
+wept loudly; but he had disappeared and was not seen again.
+
+The eighth Immortal is a girl and was called Ho Sian Gu. She was a
+peasant's daughter, and though her step-mother treated her harshly she
+remained respectful and industrious. She loved to give alms, though
+her step-mother tried to prevent her. Yet she was never angry, even
+when her step-mother beat her. She had sworn not to marry, and at last
+her step-mother did not know what to do with her. One day, while she
+was cooking rice, Grandfather Du came and delivered her. She was still
+holding the rice-spoon in her hand as she ascended into the air. In
+the heavens she was appointed to sweep up the fallen flowers at the
+Southern Gate of Heaven.
+
+    Note: The legends of the Eight Immortals, regarded as
+    one group, do not go back further than the Manchu
+    dynasty, though individual ones among them were known
+    before. Some of the Immortals, like Han Siang Dsi, are
+    historic personages, others purely mythical. In the
+    present day they play an important part in art and in
+    the art-crafts. Their emblems also occur frequently:
+    Dschung Li Kuan is represented with a fan. Dschang Go
+    has a bamboo drum with two drum-sticks (and his donkey).
+    Lu Dung Bin has a sword and a flower-basket on his
+    back. Tsau Guo Gui has two small boards, (Yin Yang Ban),
+    which he can throw into the air. Li Tia Guai has the
+    bottle-gourd, out of which emerges a bat, the emblem of
+    good fortune. Lan Tsai Ho, who is also pictured as a woman,
+    has a flute. Han Siang Dsi has a flower-basket and a
+    dibble. Ho Sian Gu has a spoon, usually formed in the
+    shape of a lotus-flower.
+
+
+
+
+XXXI
+
+THE EIGHT IMMORTALS (II)
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a poor man, who at last had no roof to
+shelter him and not a bite to eat. So, weary and worn, he lay down
+beside a little temple of the field-god that stood by the roadside and
+fell asleep. And he dreamed that the old, white-bearded field-god came
+out of his little shrine and said to him: "I know of a means to help
+you! To-morrow the Eight Immortals will pass along this road. Cast
+yourself down before them and plead to them!"
+
+When the man awoke he seated himself beneath the great tree beside the
+field-god's little temple, and waited all day long for his dream to
+come true. At last, when the sun had nearly sunk, eight figures came
+down the road, which the beggar clearly recognized as those of the
+Eight Immortals. Seven of them were hurrying as fast as they could,
+but one among them, who had a lame leg, limped along after the rest.
+Before him--it was Li Tia Guai--the man cast himself to earth. But the
+lame Immortal did not want to bother with him, and told him to go
+away. Yet the poor man would not give over pleading with him, begging
+that he might go with them and be one of the Immortals, too. That
+would be impossible, said the cripple. Yet, as the poor man did not
+cease his prayers and would not leave him, he at last said: "Very
+well, then, take hold of my coat!" This the man did and off they went
+in flying haste over paths and fields, on and on, and even further on.
+Suddenly they stood together high up on the tower of Pong-lai-schan,
+the ghost mountain by the Eastern Sea. And, lo, there stood the rest
+of the Immortals as well! But they were very discontented with the
+companion whom Li Tia Guai had brought along. Yet since the poor man
+pleaded so earnestly, they too allowed themselves to be moved, and
+said to him: "Very well! We will now leap down into the sea. If you
+follow us you may also become an Immortal!" And one after another the
+seven leaped down into the sea. But when it came to the man's turn he
+was frightened, and would not dare the leap. Then the cripple said to
+him: "If you are afraid, then you cannot become an Immortal!"
+
+"But what shall I do now?" wailed the man, "I am far from my home and
+have no money!" The cripple broke off a fragment of the battlement of
+the tower, and thrust it into the man's hand; then he also leaped from
+the tower and disappeared into the sea like his seven companions.
+
+When the man examined the stone in his hand more closely, he saw that
+it was the purest silver. It provided him with traveling money during
+the many weeks it took him to reach his home. But by that time the
+silver was completely used up, and he found himself just as poor as he
+had been before.
+
+    Note: Little field-god temples, Tu Di Miau, are
+    miniature stone chapels which stand before every
+    village. As regards the field-god, see No. 51.
+
+
+
+
+XXXII
+
+THE TWO SCHOLARS
+
+
+Once upon a time there were two scholars. One was named Liu Tschen and
+the other Yuan Dschau. Both were young and handsome. One spring day
+they went together into the hills of Tian Tai to gather curative
+herbs. There they came to a little valley where peach-trees blossomed
+luxuriantly on either side. In the middle of the valley was a cave,
+where two maidens stood under the blossoming trees, one of them clad
+in red garments, the other in green. And they were beautiful beyond
+all telling. They beckoned to the scholars with their hands.
+
+"And have you come?" they asked. "We have been waiting for you
+overlong!"
+
+Then they led them into the cave and served them with tea and wine.
+
+"I have been destined for the lord Liu," said the maiden in the red
+gown; "and my sister is for the lord Yuan!"
+
+And so they were married. Every day the two scholars gazed at the
+flowers or played chess so that they forgot the mundane world
+completely. They only noticed that at times the peach-blossoms on the
+trees before the cave opened, and at others that they fell from the
+boughs. And, at times, unexpectedly, they felt cold or warm, and had
+to change the clothing they were wearing. And they marveled within
+themselves that it should be so.
+
+Then, one day, they were suddenly overcome by homesickness. Both
+maidens were already aware of it.
+
+"When our lords have once been seized with homesickness, then we may
+hold them no longer," said they.
+
+On the following day they prepared a farewell banquet, gave the
+scholars magic wine to take along with them and said:
+
+"We will see one another again. Now go your way!"
+
+And the scholars bade them farewell with tears.
+
+When they reached home the gates and doors had long since vanished,
+and the people of the village were all strangers to them. They crowded
+about the scholars and asked who they might be.
+
+"We are Liu Tschen and Yuan Dschau. Only a few days ago we went into
+the hills to pick herbs!"
+
+With that a servant came hastening up and looked at them. At last he
+fell at Liu Tschen's feet with great joy and cried: "Yes, you are
+really my master! Since you went away, and we had no news of any kind
+regarding you some seventy years or more have passed."
+
+Thereupon he drew the scholar Liu through a high gateway, ornamented
+with bosses and a ring in a lion's mouth, as is the custom in the
+dwellings of those of high estate.
+
+And when he entered the hall, an old lady with white hair and bent
+back, leaning on a cane, came forward and asked: "What man is this?"
+
+"Our master has returned again," replied the servant. And then,
+turning to Liu he added: "That is the mistress. She is nearly a
+hundred years old, but fortunately is still strong and in good
+health."
+
+Tears of joy and sadness filled the old lady's eyes.
+
+"Since you went away among the immortals, I had thought that we should
+never see each other again in this life," said she. "What great good
+fortune that you should have returned after all!"
+
+And before she had ended the whole family, men and women, came
+streaming up and welcomed him in a great throng outside the hall.
+
+And his wife pointed out this one and that and said: "That is so and
+so, and this is so and so!"
+
+At the time the scholar had disappeared there had been only a tiny boy
+in his home, but a few years old. And he was now an old man of eighty.
+He had served the empire in a high office, and had already retired to
+enjoy his old age in the ancestral gardens. There were three
+grand-children, all celebrated ministers; there were more than ten
+great-grand-children, of whom five had already passed their examinations
+for the doctorate; there were some twenty great-great-grand-children, of
+whom the oldest had just returned home after having passed his induction
+examinations for the magistracy with honor. And the little ones, who
+were carried in their parents' arms, were not to be counted. The
+grand-children, who were away, busy with their duties, all asked for
+leave and returned home when they heard that their ancestor had
+returned. And the girl grand-children, who had married into other
+families, also came. This filled Liu with joy, and he had a family
+banquet prepared in the hall, and all his descendants, with their wives
+and husbands sat about him in a circle. He himself and his wife, a
+white-haired, wrinkled old lady, sat in their midst at the upper end.
+The scholar himself still looked like a youth of twenty years, so that
+all the young people in the circle looked around and laughed.
+
+Then the scholar said: "I have a means of driving away old age!"
+
+And he drew out his magic wine and gave his wife some of it to drink.
+And when she had taken three glasses, her white hair gradually turned
+black again, her wrinkles disappeared, and she sat beside her husband,
+a handsome young woman. Then his son and the older grand-children
+came up and all asked for a drink of the wine. And whichever of them
+drank only so much as a drop of it was turned from an old man into a
+youth. The tale was bruited abroad and came to the emperor's ears. The
+emperor wanted to call Liu to his court, but he declined with many
+thanks. Yet he sent the emperor some of his magic wine as a gift. This
+pleased the emperor greatly, and he gave Liu a tablet of honor, with
+the inscription:
+
+    "The Common Home of Five Generations"
+
+Besides this he sent him three signs which he had written with his own
+imperial brush signifying:
+
+    "Joy in longevity"
+
+As to the other of the two scholars, Yuan Dschau, he was not so
+fortunate. When he came home he found that his wife and child had long
+since died, and his grand-children and great-grand-children were
+mostly useless people. So he did not remain long, but returned to the
+hills. Yet Liu Tschen remained for some years with his family, then
+taking his wife with him, went again to the Tai Hills and was seen no
+more.
+
+    Note: This tale is placed in the reign of the Emperor
+    Ming Di (A.D. 58-75). Its motive is that of the legend
+    of the Seven Sleepers, and is often found in Chinese
+    fairy tales.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIII
+
+THE MISERLY FARMER
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a farmer who had carted pears to market.
+Since they were very sweet and fragrant, he hoped to get a good price
+for them. A bonze with a torn cap and tattered robe stepped up to his
+cart and asked for one. The farmer repulsed him, but the bonze did not
+go. Then the farmer grew angry and began to call him names. The bonze
+said: "You have pears by the hundred in your cart. I only ask for one.
+Surely that does you no great injury. Why suddenly grow so angry about
+it?"
+
+The bystanders told the farmer that he ought to give the bonze one of
+the smaller pears and let him go. But the farmer would not and did
+not. An artisan saw the whole affair from his shop, and since the
+noise annoyed him, he took some money, bought a pear and gave it to
+the bonze.
+
+The bonze thanked him and said: "One like myself, who has given up the
+world, must not be miserly. I have beautiful pears myself, and I
+invite you all to eat them with me." Then some one asked: "If you have
+pears then why do you not eat your own?" He answered: "I first must
+have a seed to plant."
+
+And with that he began to eat the pear with gusto. When he had
+finished, he held the pit in his hand, took his pick-ax from his
+shoulder; and dug a hole a couple of inches deep. Into this he thrust
+the pit, and covered it with earth. Then he asked the folk in the
+market place for water, with which to water it. A pair of curiosity
+seekers brought him hot water from the hostelry in the street, and
+with it the bonze watered the pit. Thousands of eyes were turned on
+the spot. And the pit could already be seen to sprout. The sprout grew
+and in a moment it had turned into a tree. Branches and leaves
+burgeoned out from it. It began to blossom and soon the fruit had
+ripened: large, fragrant pears, which hung in thick clusters from the
+boughs. The bonze climbed into the tree and handed down the pears to
+the bystanders. In a moment all the pears had been eaten up. Then the
+bonze took his pick-ax and cut down the tree. Crash, crash! so it went
+for a while, and the tree was felled. Then he took the tree on his
+shoulder and walked away at an easy gait.
+
+When the bonze had begun to make his magic, the farmer, too, had
+mingled with the crowd. With neck outstretched and staring eyes he had
+stood there and had entirely forgotten the business he hoped to do
+with his pears. When the bonze had gone off he turned around to look
+after his cart. His pears had all disappeared. Then he realized that
+the pears the bonze had divided had been his own. He looked more
+closely, and the axle of his cart had disappeared. It was plainly
+evident that it had been chopped off quite recently. The farmer fell
+into a rage and hastened after the bonze as fast as ever he could. And
+when he turned the corner, there lay the missing piece from the axle
+by the city wall. And then he realized that the pear-tree which the
+bonze had chopped down must have been his axle. The bonze, however,
+was nowhere to be found. And the whole crowd in the market burst out
+into loud laughter.
+
+    Note: The axle in China is really a handle, for the
+    little Chinese carts are one-wheel push-carts with two
+    handles or shafts.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIV
+
+SKY O'DAWN
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a man who took a child to a woman in a
+certain village, and told her to take care of him. Then he
+disappeared. And because the dawn was just breaking in the sky when
+the woman took the child into her home, she called him Sky O'Dawn.
+When the child was three years old, he would often look up to the
+heavens and talk with the stars. One day he ran away and many months
+passed before he came home again. The woman gave him a whipping. But
+he ran away again, and did not return for a year. His foster-mother
+was frightened, and asked: "Where have you been all year long?" The
+boy answered: "I only made a quick trip to the Purple Sea. There the
+water stained my clothes red. So I went to the spring at which the sun
+turns in, and washed them. I went away in the morning and I came back
+at noon. Why do you speak about my having been gone a year?"
+
+Then the woman asked: "And where did you pass on your way?"
+
+The boy answered: "When I had washed my clothes, I rested for a while
+in the City of the Dead and fell asleep. And the King-Father of the
+East gave me red chestnuts and rosy dawn-juice to eat, and my hunger
+was stilled. Then I went to the dark skies and drank the yellow dew,
+and my thirst was quenched. And I met a black tiger and wanted to ride
+home on his back. But I whipped him too hard, and he bit me in the
+leg. And so I came back to tell you about it."
+
+  [Illustration: "'AND I CROSSED THE WATER ON THE SHOE.'"
+                                                  --_Page 91_]
+
+Once more the boy ran away from home, thousands of miles, until he
+came to the swamp where dwelt the Primal Mist. There he met an old man
+with yellow eyebrows and asked him how old he might be. The old man
+said: "I have given up the habit of eating, and live on air. The
+pupils of my eyes have gradually acquired a green glow, which enables
+me to see all hidden things. Whenever a thousand years have passed I
+turn around my bones and wash the marrow. And every two thousand years
+I scrape my skin to get rid of the hair. I have already washed my
+bones thrice and scraped my skin five times."
+
+Afterward Sky O'Dawn served the Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. The
+Emperor, who was fond of the magic arts, was much attached to him. One
+day he said to him: "I wish that the empress might not grow old. Can
+you prevent it?"
+
+Sky O'Dawn answered: "I know of only one means to keep from growing
+old."
+
+The Emperor asked what herbs one had to eat. Sky O'Dawn replied: "In
+the North-East grow the mushrooms of life. There is a three-legged
+crow in the sun who always wants to get down and eat them. But the
+Sun-God holds his eyes shut and does not let him get away. If human
+beings eat them they become immortal, when animals eat them they grow
+stupefied."
+
+"And how do you know this?" asked the Emperor.
+
+"When I was a boy I once fell into a deep well, from which I could not
+get out for many decades. And down there was an immortal who led me to
+this herb. But one has to pass through a red river whose water is so
+light that not even a feather can swim on it. Everything that touches
+its surface sinks to the depths. But the man pulled off one of his
+shoes and gave it to me. And I crossed the water on the shoe, picked
+the herb and ate it. Those who dwell in that place weave mats of
+pearls and precious stones. They led me to a spot before which hung a
+curtain of delicate, colored skin. And they gave me a pillow carved of
+black jade, on which were graven sun and moon, clouds and thunder.
+They covered me with a dainty coverlet spun of the hair of a hundred
+gnats. A cover of that kind is very cool and refreshing in summer. I
+felt of it with my hands, and it seemed to be formed of water; but
+when I looked at it more closely, it was pure light."
+
+Once the Emperor called together all his magicians in order to talk
+with them about the fields of the blessed spirits. Sky O'Dawn was
+there, too, and said: "Once I was wandering about the North Pole and I
+came to the Fire-Mirror Mountain. There neither sun nor moon shines.
+But there is a dragon who holds a fiery mirror in his jaws in order to
+light up the darkness. On the mountain is a park, and in the park is a
+lake. By the lake grows the glimmer-stalk grass, which shines like a
+lamp of gold. If you pluck it and use it for a candle, you can see all
+things visible, and the shapes of the spirits as well. It even
+illuminates the interior of a human being."
+
+Once Sky O'Dawn went to the East, into the country of the fortunate
+clouds. And he brought back with him from that land a steed of the
+gods, nine feet high. The Emperor asked him how he had come to find
+it.
+
+So he told him: "The Queen-Mother of the West had him harnessed to her
+wagon when she went to visit the King-Father of the East. The steed
+was staked out in the field of the mushrooms of life. But he trampled
+down several hundred of them. This made the King-Father angry, and he
+drove the steed away to the heavenly river. There I found him and rode
+him home. I rode three times around the sun, because I had fallen
+asleep on the steed's back. And then, before I knew it, I was here.
+This steed can catch up with the sun's shadow. When I found him he was
+quite thin and as sad as an aged donkey. So I mowed the grass of the
+country of the fortunate clouds, which grows once every two-thousand
+years on the Mountain of the Nine Springs and fed it to the horse; and
+that made him lively again."
+
+The Emperor asked what sort of a place the country of the fortunate
+clouds might be. Sky O'Dawn answered: "There is a great swamp there.
+The people prophesy fortune and misfortune by the air and the clouds.
+If good fortune is to befall a house, clouds of five colors form in
+the rooms, which alight on the grass and trees and turn into a colored
+dew. This dew tastes as sweet as cider."
+
+The Emperor asked whether he could obtain any of this dew. Sky O'Dawn
+replied: "My steed could take me to the place where it falls four
+times in the course of a single day!"
+
+And sure enough he came back by evening, and brought along dew of
+every color in a crystal flask. The Emperor drank it and his hair grew
+black again. He gave it to his highest officials to drink, and the old
+grew young again and the sick became well.
+
+Once, when a comet appeared in the heavens, Sky O'Dawn gave the
+Emperor the astrologer's wand. The Emperor pointed it at the comet and
+the comet was quenched.
+
+Sky O'Dawn was an excellent whistler. And whenever he whistled in full
+tones, long drawn out, the motes in the sunbeams danced to his music.
+
+Once he said to a friend: "There is not a soul on earth who knows who
+I am with the exception of the astrologer!"
+
+When Sky O'Dawn had died, the Emperor called the astrologer to him
+and asked: "Did you know Sky O'Dawn?"
+
+He replied: "No!"
+
+The Emperor said: "What do you know?"
+
+The astrologer answered: "I know how to gaze on the stars."
+
+"Are all the stars in their places?" asked the Emperor.
+
+"Yes, but for eighteen years I have not seen the Star of the Great
+Year. Now it is visible once more."
+
+Then the Emperor looked up towards the skies and sighed: "For eighteen
+years Sky O'Dawn kept me company, and I did not know that he was the
+Star of the Great Year!"
+
+    Note: The mother of Sky O'Dawn, (Dung Fang So) who makes
+    so mysterious an appearance on earth, according to one
+    tradition, is the third daughter of the Lord of the
+    Heavens. (Comp. Note to No. 16). Dung Fang So is an
+    incarnation of the Wood Star or Star of the Great Year
+    (Jupiter). The King-Father of the East, one of the Five
+    Ancients, is the representative of wood (comp. No. 15).
+    Red chestnuts, like fire-dates, are fruits of the gods,
+    and bestow immortality. Sky O'Dawn was an excellent
+    whistler. Whistling is a famous means of magic among the
+    Taoists. The Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, was a prince
+    who is reputed to have devoted much attention to the
+    magic arts. He reigned from 140 to 86 B.C. The
+    three-legged crow in the sun is the counterpart of the
+    three-legged ram-toad in the moon. The Red River recalls
+    the Weak River by the Castle of the Queen-Mother of the
+    West.
+
+
+
+
+XXXV
+
+KING MU OF DSCHOU
+
+
+In the days of King Mu of Dschou a magician came out of the uttermost
+West, who could walk through water and fire, and pass through metal
+and stone. He could make mountains and rivers change place, shift
+about cities and castles, rise into emptiness without falling, strike
+against solid matter without finding it an obstruction; and he knew a
+thousand transformations in all their inexhaustible variety. And he
+could not only change the shape of things but he could change men's
+thoughts. The King honored him like a god, and served him as he would
+a master. He resigned his own apartments that the magician might be
+lodged in them, had beasts of sacrifice brought to offer him, and
+selected sweet singers to give him pleasure. But the rooms in the
+King's palace were too humble--the magician could not dwell in them;
+and the King's singers were not musical enough to be allowed to be
+near him. So King Mu had a new palace built for him. The work of
+bricklayers and carpenters, of painters and stainers left nothing to
+be desired with regard to skill. The King's treasury was empty when
+the tower had reached its full height. It was a thousand fathoms high,
+and rose above the top of the mountain before the capital. The King
+selected maidens, the loveliest and most dainty, gave them fragrant
+essences, had their eyebrows curved in lines of beauty, and adorned
+their hair and ears with jewels. He garbed them in fine cloth, and
+with white silks fluttering about them, and had their faces painted
+white and their eyebrows stained black. He had them put on armlets of
+precious stones and mix sweet-smelling herbs. They filled the palace
+and sang the songs of the ancient kings in order to please the
+magician. Every month the most costly garments were brought him, and
+every morning the most delicate food. The magician allowed them to do
+so, and since he had no choice, made the best of it.
+
+Not long afterward the magician invited the King to go traveling with
+him. The King grasped the magician's sleeve, and thus they flew up
+through the air to the middle of the skies. When they stopped they
+found they had reached the palace of the magician. It was built of
+gold and silver, and adorned with pearls and precious stones. It
+towered high over the clouds and rain; and none could say whereon it
+rested. To the eye it had the appearance of heaped-up clouds. All that
+it offered the senses was different from the things of the world of
+men. It seemed to the King as though he were bodily present in the
+midst of the purple depths of the city of the air, of the divine
+harmony of the spheres, where the Great God dwells. The King looked
+down, and his castles and pleasure-houses appeared to him like hills
+of earth and heaps of straw. And there the King remained for some
+decades and thought no more of his kingdom.
+
+Then the magician again invited the King to go traveling with him once
+more. And in the place to which they came there was to be seen neither
+sun nor moon above, nor rivers or sea below. The King's dazzled eyes
+could not see the radiant shapes which showed themselves; the King's
+dulled ears could not hear the sounds which played about them. It
+seemed as though his body were dissolving in confusion; his thoughts
+began to stray, and consciousness threatened to leave him. So he
+begged the magician to return. The magician put his spell upon him,
+and it seemed to the King as though he were falling into empty space.
+
+When he regained consciousness, he was sitting at the same place where
+he had been sitting when the magician had asked him to travel with him
+for the first time. The servants waiting on him were the same, and
+when he looked down, his goblet was not yet empty, and his food had
+not yet grown cold.
+
+The King asked what had happened. And the servants answered, "The King
+sat for a space in silence." Whereupon the King was quite bereft of
+reason, and it was three months before he regained his right mind.
+Then he questioned the magician. The magician said: "I was traveling
+with you in the spirit, O King! What need was there for the body to go
+along? And the place in which we stayed at that time was no less real
+than your own castle and your own gardens. But you are used only to
+permanent conditions, therefore visions which dissolve so suddenly
+appear strange to you."
+
+The King was content with the explanation. He gave no further thought
+to the business of government and took no more interest in his
+servants, but resolved to travel afar. So he had the eight famous
+steeds harnessed, and accompanied by a few faithful retainers, drove a
+thousand miles away. There he came to the country of the great
+hunters. The great hunters brought the King the blood of the white
+brant to drink, and washed his feet in the milk of mares and cows.
+When the King and his followers had quenched their thirst, they drove
+on and camped for the night on the slope of the Kunlun Mountain, south
+of the Red River. The next day they climbed to the peak of Kunlun
+Mountain and gazed at the castle of the Lord of the Yellow Earth.
+Then they traveled on to the Queen-Mother of the West. Before they got
+there they had to pass the Weak River. This is a river whose waters
+will bear neither floats nor ships. All that attempts to float over it
+sinks into its depths. When the King reached the shore, fish and
+turtles, crabs and salamanders came swimming up and formed a bridge,
+so that he could drive across with the wagon.
+
+It is said of the Queen-Mother of the West that she goes about with
+hair unkempt, with a bird's beak and tiger's teeth, and that she is
+skilled in playing the flute. Yet this is not her true figure, but
+that of a spirit who serves her, and rules over the Western sky. The
+Queen-Mother entertained King Mu in her castle by the Springs of Jade.
+And she gave him rock-marrow to drink and fed him with the fruit of
+the jade-trees. Then she sang him a song and taught him a magic
+formula by means of which one could obtain long life. The Queen-Mother
+of the West gathers the immortals around her, and gives them to eat of
+the peaches of long life; and then they come to her with wagons with
+purple canopies, drawn by flying dragons. Ordinary mortals sink in the
+Weak River when they try to cross. But she was kindly disposed to King
+Mu.
+
+When he took leave of her, he also went on to the spot where the sun
+turns in after running three thousand miles a day. Then he returned
+again to his kingdom.
+
+When King Mu was a hundred years old, the Queen-Mother of the West
+drew near his palace and led him away with her into the clouds.
+
+And from that day on he was seen no more.
+
+    Note: King Mu of Dschou reigned from 1001 to 946 B.C.
+    With his name are associated the stories of the
+    marvelous travels into the land of the far West, and
+    especially to the Queen-Mother (who is identified by
+    some with Juno). The peaches of immortality suggest the
+    apples of the Hesperides. (Comp. with the story of "The
+    Ape Sun Wu Kung.")
+
+
+
+
+XXXVI
+
+THE KING OF HUAI NAN
+
+
+The King of Huai Nan was a learned man of the Han dynasty. Since he
+was of the blood royal the emperor had given him a kingdom in fee. He
+cultivated the society of scholars, could interpret signs and foretell
+the future. Together with his scholars he had compiled the book which
+bears his name.
+
+One day eight aged men came to see him. They all had white beards and
+white hair. The gate-keeper announced them to the King. The King
+wished to try them, so he sent back the gate-keeper to put
+difficulties in the way of their entrance. The latter said to them:
+"Our King is striving to learn the art of immortal life. You gentlemen
+are old and feeble. How can you be of aid to him? It is unnecessary
+for you to pay him a visit."
+
+The eight old men smiled and said: "Oh, and are we too old to suit
+you? Well, then we will make ourselves young!" And before they had
+finished speaking they had turned themselves into boys of fourteen and
+fifteen, with hair-knots as black as silk and faces like
+peach-blossoms. The gate-keeper was frightened, and at once informed
+the King of what had happened. When the King heard it, he did not even
+take time to slip into his shoes, but hurried out barefoot to receive
+them. He led them into his palace, had rugs of brocade spread for
+them, and beds of ivory set up, fragrant herbs burned and tables of
+gold and precious stones set in front of them. Then he bowed before
+them as pupils do before a teacher, and told them how glad he was that
+they had come.
+
+The eight boys changed into old men again and said: "Do you wish to go
+to school to us, O King? Each one of us is master of a particular art.
+One of us can call up wind and rain, cause clouds and mists to gather,
+rivers to flow and mountains to heave themselves up, if he wills it
+so. The second can cause high mountains to split asunder and check
+great streams in their course. He can tame tigers and panthers and
+soothe serpents and dragons. Spirits and gods do his bidding. The
+third can send out doubles, transform himself into other shapes, make
+himself invisible, cause whole armies to disappear, and turn day into
+night. The fourth can walk through the air and clouds, can stroll on
+the surface of the waves, pass through walls and rocks and cover a
+thousand miles in a single breath. The fifth can enter fire without
+burning, and water without drowning. The winter frost cannot chill
+him, nor the summer heat burn him. The sixth can create and transform
+living creatures if he feel inclined. He can form birds and beasts,
+grasses and trees. He can transplace houses and castles. The seventh
+can bake lime so that it turns to gold, and cook lead so that it turns
+to silver; he can mingle water and stone so that the bubbles
+effervesce and turn into pearls. The eighth can ride on dragons and
+cranes to the eight poles of the world, converse with the immortals,
+and stand in the presence of the Great Pure One."
+
+The King kept them beside him from morning to night, entertained them
+and had them show him what they could do. And, true enough, they could
+do everything just as they had said. And now the King began to distil
+the elixir of life with their aid. He had finished, but not yet
+imbibed it when a misfortune overtook his family. His son had been
+playing with a courtier and the latter had heedlessly wounded him.
+Fearing that the prince might punish him, he joined other discontented
+persons and excited a revolt. And the emperor, when he heard of it,
+sent one of his captains to judge between the King and the rebels.
+
+The eight aged men spoke: "It is now time to go. This misfortune has
+been sent you from heaven, O King! Had it not befallen you, you would
+not have been able to resolve to leave the splendors and glories of
+this world!"
+
+They led him on to a mountain. There they offered sacrifices to
+heaven, and buried gold in the earth. Then they ascended into the
+skies in bright daylight. The footprints of the eight aged men and of
+the king were imprinted in the rock of the mountain, and may be seen
+there to this very day. Before they had left the castle, however, they
+had set what was left of the elixir of life out in the courtyard. Hens
+and hounds picked and licked it up, and all flew up into the skies. In
+Huai Nan to this very day the crowing of cocks and the barking of
+hounds may be heard up in the skies, and it is said that these are the
+creatures who followed the King at the time.
+
+One of the King's servants, however, followed him to an island in the
+sea, whence he sent him back. He told that the King himself had not
+yet ascended to the skies, but had only become immortal and was
+wandering about the world. When the emperor heard of the matter he
+regretted greatly that he had sent soldiers into the King's land and
+thus driven him out. He called in magicians to aid him, in hope of
+meeting the eight old men himself. Yet, for all that he spent great
+sums, he was not successful. The magicians only cheated him.
+
+    Note: The King of Huai Nan was named Liu An. He belonged
+    to the Han dynasty. He dabbled largely in magic, and
+    drew to his court many magicians whose labors are
+    collected in the philosophical work which bears his
+    name. Liu An lived at the time of the Emperor Wu (see
+    No. 34). The latter having no heirs, Liu An entered into
+    a conspiracy which, however, was discovered. As a
+    consequence he killed himself, 122 B.C. Our fairy-tale
+    presents these events in their legendary transformation.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVII
+
+OLD DSCHANG
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a man who went by the name of Old Dschang.
+He lived in the country, near Yangdschou, as a gardener. His neighbor,
+named Sir We, held an official position in Yangdschou. Sir We had
+decided that it was time for his daughter to marry, so he sent for a
+match-maker and commissioned her to find a suitable husband. Old
+Dschang heard this, and was pleased. He prepared food and drink,
+entertained the match-maker, and told her to recommend him as a
+husband. But the old match-maker went off scolding.
+
+The next day he invited her to dinner again and gave her money. Then
+the old match-maker said: "You do not know what you wish! Why should a
+gentleman's beautiful daughter condescend to marry a poor old gardener
+like yourself? Even though you had money to burn, your white hair
+would not match her black locks. Such a marriage is out of the
+question!"
+
+But Old Dschang did not cease to entreat her: "Make an attempt, just
+one attempt, to mention me! If they will not listen to you, then I
+must resign myself to my fate!"
+
+The old match-maker had taken his money, so she could not well refuse,
+and though she feared being scolded, she mentioned him to Sir We. He
+grew angry and wanted to throw her out of the house.
+
+"I knew you would not thank me," said she, "but the old man urged it
+so that I could not refuse to mention his intention."
+
+"Tell the old man that if this very day he brings me two white
+jade-stones, and four hundred ounces of yellow gold, then I will give
+him my daughter's hand in marriage."
+
+But he only wished to mock the old man's folly, for he knew that the
+latter could not give him anything of the kind. The match-maker went
+to Old Dschang and delivered the message. And he made no objection;
+but at once brought the exact quantity of gold and jewels to Sir We's
+house. The latter was very much frightened and when his wife heard of
+it, she began to weep and wail loudly. But the girl encouraged her
+mother: "My father has given his word now and cannot break it. I will
+know how to bear my fate."
+
+So Sir We's daughter was married to Old Dschang. But even after the
+wedding the latter did not give up his work as a gardener. He spaded
+the field and sold vegetables as usual, and his wife had to fetch
+water and build the kitchen fire herself. But she did her work without
+false shame and, though her relatives reproached her, she continued to
+do so.
+
+Once an aristocratic relative visited Sir We and said: "If you had
+really been poor, were there not enough young gentlemen in the
+neighborhood for your daughter? Why did you have to marry her to such
+a wrinkled old gardener? Now that you have thrown her away, so to
+speak, it would be better if both of them left this part of the
+country."
+
+Then Sir We prepared a banquet and invited his daughter and Old
+Dschang to visit him. When they had had sufficient to eat and drink he
+allowed them to get an inkling of what was in his mind.
+
+Said Old Dschang: "I have only remained here because I thought you
+would long for your daughter. But since you are tired of us, I will be
+glad to go. I have a little country house back in the hills, and we
+will set out for it early to-morrow morning."
+
+The following morning, at break of dawn, Old Dschang came with his
+wife to say farewell. Sir We said: "Should we long to see you at some
+later time, my son can make inquiries." Old Dschang placed his wife on
+a donkey and gave her a straw hat to wear. He himself took his staff
+and walked after.
+
+A few years passed without any news from either of them. Then Sir We
+and his wife felt quite a longing to see their daughter and sent their
+son to make inquiries. When the latter got back in the hills he met a
+plow-boy who was plowing with two yellow steers. He asked him: "Where
+is Old Dschang's country house?" The plow-boy left the plow in the
+harrow, bowed and answered: "You have been a long time coming, sir!
+The village is not far from here: I will show you the way."
+
+They crossed a hill. At the foot of the hill flowed a brook, and when
+they had crossed the brook they had to climb another hill. Gradually
+the landscape changed. From the top of the hill could be seen a
+valley, level in the middle, surrounded by abrupt crags and shaded by
+green trees, among which houses and towers peeped forth. This was the
+country house of Old Dschang. Before the village flowed a deep brook
+full of clear, blue water. They passed over a stone bridge and reached
+the gate. Here flowers and trees grew in luxurious profusion, and
+peacocks and cranes flew about. From the distance could be heard the
+sound of flutes and of stringed instruments. Crystal-clear tones rose
+to the clouds. A messenger in a purple robe received the guest at the
+gate and led him into a hall of surpassing splendor. Strange
+fragrances filled the air, and there was a ringing of little bells of
+pearl. Two maid-servants came forth to greet him, followed by two rows
+of beautiful girls in a long processional. After them a man in a
+flowing turban, clad in scarlet silk, with red slippers, came floating
+along. The guest saluted him. He was serious and dignified, and at the
+same time seemed youthfully fresh. At first We's son did not recognize
+him, but when he looked more closely, why it was Old Dschang! The
+latter said with a smile: "I am pleased that the long road to travel
+has not prevented your coming. Your sister is just combing her hair.
+She will welcome you in a moment." Then he had him sit down and drink
+tea.
+
+After a short time a maid-servant came and led him to the inner rooms,
+to his sister. The beams of her room were of sandalwood, the doors of
+tortoise-shell and the windows inlaid with blue jade; her curtains
+were formed of strings of pearls and the steps leading into the room
+of green nephrite. His sister was magnificently gowned, and far more
+beautiful than before. She asked him carelessly how he was getting
+along, and what her parents were doing; but was not very cordial.
+After a splendid meal she had an apartment prepared for him.
+
+"My sister wishes to make an excursion to the Mountain of the
+Fairies," said Old Dschang to him. "We will be back about sunset, and
+you can rest until we return."
+
+Then many-colored clouds rose in the courtyard, and dulcet music
+sounded on the air. Old Dschang mounted a dragon, while his wife and
+sister rode on phenixes and their attendants on cranes. So they rose
+into the air and disappeared in an easterly direction. They did not
+return until after sunset.
+
+Old Dschang and his wife then said to him: "This is an abode of the
+blessed. You cannot remain here overlong. To-morrow we will escort you
+back."
+
+On the following day, when taking leave, Old Dschang gave him eighty
+ounces of gold and an old straw hat. "Should you need money," said he,
+"you can go to Yangdschou and inquire in the northern suburb for old
+Wang's drug-shop. There you can collect ten million pieces of copper.
+This hat is the order for them." Then he ordered his plow-boy to take
+him home again.
+
+Quite a few of the folks at home, to whom he described his adventures,
+thought that Old Dschang must be a holy man, while others regarded the
+whole thing a magic vision.
+
+After five or six years Sir We's money came to an end. So his son took
+the straw hat to Yangdschou and there asked for old Wang. The latter
+just happened to be standing in his drug-shop, mixing herbs. When the
+son explained his errand he said: "The money is ready. But is your hat
+genuine?" And he took the hat and examined it. A young girl came from
+an inner room and said: "I wove the hat for Old Dschang myself. There
+must be a red thread in it." And sure enough, there was. Then old Wang
+gave young We the ten million pieces of copper, and the latter now
+believed that Old Dschang was really a saint. So he once more went
+over the hills to look for him. He asked the forest-keepers, but they
+could tell him naught. Sadly he retraced his steps and decided to
+inquire of old Wang, but he had also disappeared.
+
+When several years had passed he once more came to Yangdschou, and was
+walking in the meadow before the city gate. There he met Old Dschang's
+plow-boy. The latter cried out: "How are you? How are you?" and drew
+out ten pounds of gold, which he gave to him, saying: "My mistress
+told me to give you this. My master is this very moment drinking tea
+with old Wang in the inn." Young We followed the plow-boy, intending
+to greet his brother-in-law. But when he reached the inn there was no
+one in sight. And when he turned around the plow-boy had disappeared
+as well. And since that time no one ever heard from Old Dschang again.
+
+    Note: The match-maker, according to Chinese custom--and
+    the custom of other oriental peoples--is an absolutely
+    necessary mediator between the two families. There are
+    old women who make their living at this profession.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVIII
+
+THE KINDLY MAGICIAN
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a man named Du Dsi Tschun. In his youth he
+was a spendthrift and paid no heed to his property. He was given to
+drink and idling. When he had run through all his money, his relatives
+cast him out. One winter day he was walking barefoot about the city,
+with an empty stomach and torn clothes. Evening came on and still he
+had not found any food. Without end or aim he wandered about the
+market place. He was hungry, and the cold seemed well nigh
+unendurable. So he turned his eyes upward and began to lament aloud.
+
+Suddenly an ancient man stood before him, leaning on a staff, who
+said: "What do you lack since you complain so?"
+
+"I am dying of hunger," replied Du Dsi Tschun, "and not a soul will
+take pity on me!"
+
+The ancient man said: "How much money would you need in order to live
+in all comfort?"
+
+"If I had fifty thousand pieces of copper it would answer my purpose,"
+replied Du Dsi Tschun.
+
+The ancient said: "That would not answer."
+
+"Well, then, a million!"
+
+"That is still too little!"
+
+"Well, then, three million!"
+
+The ancient man said: "That is well spoken!" He fetched a thousand
+pieces of copper out of his sleeve and said: "That is for this
+evening. Expect me to-morrow by noon, at the Persian Bazaar!"
+
+At the time set Du Dsi Tschun went there, and, sure enough, there was
+the ancient, who gave him three million pieces of copper. Then he
+disappeared, without giving his name.
+
+When Du Dsi Tschun held the money in his hand, his love for
+prodigality once more awoke. He rode pampered steeds, clothed himself
+in the finest furs, went back to his wine, and led such an extravagant
+life that the money gradually came to an end. Instead of wearing
+brocade he had to wear cotton, and instead of riding horseback he went
+to the dogs. Finally he was again running about barefoot and in rags
+as before, and did not know how to satisfy his hunger. Once more he
+stood in the market-place and sighed. But the ancient was already
+there, took him by the hand and said: "Are you back already to where
+you were? That is strange! However, I will aid you once more!"
+
+But Du Dsi Tschun was ashamed and did not want to accept his help. Yet
+the ancient insisted, and led him along to the Persian Bazaar. This
+time he gave him ten million pieces of copper, and Du Dsi Tschun
+thanked him with shame in his heart.
+
+With money in hand, he tried to give time to adding to it, and saving
+in order to gain great wealth. But, as is always the case, it is hard
+to overcome ingrown faults. Gradually he began to fling his money away
+again, and gave free rein to all his desires. And once more his purse
+grew empty. In a couple of years he was as poor as ever he had been.
+
+Then he met the ancient the third time, but was so ashamed of himself
+that he hid his face when he passed him.
+
+The ancient seized his arm and said: "Where are you going? I will help
+you once more. I will give you thirty million. But if then you do not
+improve you are past all aid!"
+
+Full of gratitude, Du Dsi Tschun bowed before him and said: "In the
+days of my poverty my wealthy relatives did not seek me out. You alone
+have thrice aided me. The money you give me to-day shall not be
+squandered, that I swear; but I will devote it to good works in order
+to repay your great kindness. And when I have done this I will follow
+you, if needs be through fire and through water."
+
+The ancient replied: "That is right! When you have ordered these
+things ask for me in the temple of Laotsze beneath the two mulberry
+trees!"
+
+Du Dsi Tschun took the money and went to Yangdschou. There he bought a
+hundred acres of the best land, and built a lofty house with many
+hundreds of rooms on the highway. And there he allowed widows and
+orphans to live. Then he bought a burial-place for his ancestors, and
+supported his needy relations. Countless people were indebted to him
+for their livelihood.
+
+When all was finished, he went to inquire after the ancient in the
+temple of Laotsze. The ancient was sitting in the shade of the
+mulberry trees blowing the flute. He took Du Dsi Tschun along with him
+to the cloudy peaks of the holy mountains of the West. When they had
+gone some forty miles into the mountains, he saw a dwelling, fair and
+clean. It was surrounded by many-colored clouds, and peacocks and
+cranes were flying about it. Within the house was a herb-oven nine
+feet high. The fire burned with a purple flame, and its glow leaped
+along the walls. Nine fairies stood at the oven, and a green dragon
+and a white tiger crouched beside it. Evening came. The ancient was no
+longer clad like an ordinary man; but wore a yellow cap and wide,
+flowing garments. He took three pellets of the White Stone, put them
+into a flagon of wine, and gave them to Du Dsi Tschun to drink. He
+spread out a tiger-skin against the western wall of the inner chamber,
+and bade Du Dsi Tschun sit down on it, with his face turned toward the
+East. Then he said to him: "Now beware of speaking a single word--no
+matter what happens to you, whether you encounter powerful gods or
+terrible demons, wild beasts or ogres, or all the tortures of the
+nether world, or even if you see your own relatives suffer--for all
+these things are only deceitful images! They cannot harm you. Think
+only of what I have said, and let your soul be at rest!" And when he
+had said this the ancient disappeared.
+
+Then Du Dsi Tschun saw only a large stone jug full of clear water
+standing before him. Fairies, dragon and tiger had all vanished.
+Suddenly he heard a tremendous crash, which made heaven and earth
+tremble. A man towering more than ten feet in height appeared. He
+called himself the great captain, and he and his horse were covered
+with golden armor. He was surrounded by more than a hundred soldiers,
+who drew their bows and swung their swords, and halted in the
+courtyard.
+
+The giant called out harshly: "Who are you? Get out of my way!"
+
+Du Dsi Tschun did not move. And he returned no answer to his
+questions.
+
+Then the giant flew into a passion and cried with a thundering voice:
+"Chop off his head!"
+
+But Du Dsi Tschun remained unmoved, so the giant went off raging.
+
+Then a furious tiger and a poisonous serpent came up roaring and
+hissing. They made as though to bite him and leaped over him. But Du
+Dsi Tschun remained unperturbed in spirit, and after a time they
+dissolved and vanished.
+
+Suddenly a great rain began to fall in streams. It thundered and
+lightninged incessantly, so that his ears rang and his eyes were
+blinded. It seemed as though the house would fall. The water rose to a
+flood in a few moments' time, and streamed up to the place where he
+was sitting. But Du Dsi Tschun remained motionless and paid no
+attention to it. And after a time the water receded.
+
+Then came a great demon with the head of an ox. He set up a kettle in
+the middle of the courtyard, in which bubbled boiling oil. He caught
+Du Dsi Tschun by the neck with an iron fork and said: "If you will
+tell me who you are I will let you go!"
+
+Du Dsi Tschun shut his eyes and kept silent. Then the demon picked
+him up with the fork and flung him into the kettle. He withstood the
+pain, and the boiling oil did not harm him. Finally the demon dragged
+him out again, and drew him down the steps of the house before a man
+with red hair and a blue face, who looked like the prince of the
+nether world. The latter cried: "Drag in his wife!"
+
+After a time Du Dsi Tschun's wife was brought on in chains. Her hair
+was torn and she wept bitterly.
+
+The demon pointed to Du Dsi Tschun and said: "If you will speak your
+name we will let her go!"
+
+But he answered not a word.
+
+Then the prince of evil had the woman tormented in all sorts of ways.
+And she pleaded with Du Dsi Tschun: "I have been your wife now for ten
+years. Will you not speak one little word to save me? I can endure no
+more!" And the tears ran in streams from her eyes. She screamed and
+scolded. Yet he spoke not a word.
+
+Thereupon the prince of evil shouted: "Chop her into bits!" And there,
+before his eyes, it seemed as though she were really being chopped to
+pieces. But Du Dsi Tschun did not move.
+
+"The scoundrel's measure is full!" cried the prince of evil. "He shall
+dwell no longer among the living! Off with his head!" And so they
+killed him, and it seemed to him that his soul fled his body. The
+ox-headed demon dragged him down into the nether regions, where he
+tasted all the tortures in turn. But Du Dsi Tschun remembered the
+words of the ancient. And the tortures, too, seemed bearable. So he
+did not scream and said not a word.
+
+Now he was once more dragged before the prince of evil. The latter
+said: "As punishment for his obstinacy this man shall come to earth
+again in the shape of a woman!"
+
+The demon dragged him to the wheel of life and he returned to earth
+in the shape of a girl. He was often ill, had to take medicine
+continually, and was pricked and burned with hot needles. Yet he never
+uttered a sound. Gradually he grew into a beautiful maiden. But since
+he never spoke, he was known as the dumb maid. A scholar finally took
+him for his bride, and they lived in peace and good fellowship. And a
+son came to them who, in the course of two years was already beyond
+measure wise and intelligent. One day the father was carrying the son
+on his arm. He spoke jestingly to his wife and said: "When I look at
+you it seems to me that you are not really dumb. Won't you say one
+little word to me? How delightful it would be if you were to become my
+speaking rose!"
+
+The woman remained silent. No matter how he might coax and try to make
+her smile, she would return no answer.
+
+Then his features changed: "If you will not speak to me, it is a sign
+that you scorn me; and in that case your son is nothing to me,
+either!" And with that he seized the boy and flung him against the
+wall.
+
+But since Du Dsi Tschun loved this little boy so dearly, he forgot the
+ancient's warning, and cried out: "Oh, oh!"
+
+And before the cry had died away Du Dsi Tschun awoke as though from a
+dream and found himself seated in his former place. The ancient was
+there as well. It must have been about the fifth hour of the night.
+Purple flames rose wildly from the oven, and flared up to the sky. The
+whole house caught fire and burned like a torch.
+
+"You have deceived me!" cried the ancient. Then he seized him by the
+hair and thrust him into the jug of water. And in a minute the fire
+went out. The ancient spoke: "You overcame joy and rage, grief and
+fear, hate and desire, it is true; but love you had not driven from
+your soul. Had you not cried out when the child was flung against the
+wall, then my elixir would have taken shape and you would have
+attained immortality. But in the last moment you failed me. Now it is
+too late. Now I can begin brewing my elixir of life once more from the
+beginning and you will remain a mere mortal man!"
+
+Du Dsi Tschun saw that the oven had burst, and that instead of the
+philosopher's stone it held only a lump of iron. The ancient man cast
+aside his garments and chopped it up with a magic knife. Du Dsi Tschun
+took leave of him and returned to Yangdschou, where he lived in great
+affluence. In his old age he regretted that he had not completed his
+task. He once more went to the mountain to look for the ancient. But
+the ancient had vanished without leaving a trace.
+
+    Note: The "pieces of copper" are the ancient Chinese
+    copper coins, with a hole in the middle, usually hung on
+    strings to the number of 500 or 1000. Money had a
+    greater purchasing value in ancient China, however, than
+    in the China of to-day. The "Persian Bazaar": During the
+    reign of the Tang dynasty China maintained an active
+    intercourse with the West, traces of which are at
+    present being investigated in Central Asia. At that time
+    Persian bazaars were no novelty in the city of Si-An-Fu,
+    then the capital. "Herb-oven": a tripod kettle used for
+    brewing the elixir of life, with which the fairies,
+    dragon and tiger (both the last-mentioned
+    star-incarnations) are connected. In order to prepare
+    the elixir the master must have absolute endurance. It
+    is for this reason that he had placed Du Dsi Tschun in
+    his debt by means of kindness. The yellow cap which the
+    master wears is connected with the teachings of the
+    Yellow Ancient (comp. w. No. 15). The "prince of the
+    nether world," Yan Wang, or Yan Lo Wang, is the Indian
+    god Yama. There are in all ten princes of the nether
+    world, of whom the fifth is the highest and most feared.
+    "Obstinacy," literally; his real offense is reticence,
+    or the keeping secret of a thing. This quality belongs
+    to the Yin, the dark or feminine principle, and
+    determines Du Dsi Tschun's reappearance on earth as a
+    woman. "Purple flames rose wildly from the oven": Though
+    Du Dsi Tschun had overcome his other emotions, so that
+    fear and terror did not affect him, love, and love in
+    its highest form, mother-love, still remained in him.
+    This love created the flames which threatened to destroy
+    the building. The highest point in Taoism--as in
+    Buddhism--is, however, the absolute negation of all
+    feeling.
+
+
+
+
+NATURE AND ANIMAL TALES
+
+
+
+
+XXXIX
+
+THE FLOWER-ELVES
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a scholar who lived retired from the world
+in order to gain hidden wisdom. He lived alone and in a secret place.
+And all about the little house in which he dwelt he had planted every
+kind of flower, and bamboos and other trees. There it lay, quite
+concealed in its thick grove of flowers. With him he had only a boy
+servant, who dwelt in a separate hut, and who carried out his orders.
+He was not allowed to appear before his master unless summoned. The
+scholar loved his flowers as he did himself. Never did he set his foot
+beyond the boundaries of his garden.
+
+It chanced that once there came a lovely spring evening. Flowers and
+trees stood in full bloom, a fresh breeze was blowing, the moon shone
+clearly. And the scholar sat over his goblet and was grateful for the
+gift of life.
+
+Suddenly he saw a maiden in dark garments come tripping up in the
+moonlight. She made a deep courtesy, greeted him and said: "I am your
+neighbor. We are a company of young maids who are on our way to visit
+the eighteen aunts. We should like to rest in this court for awhile,
+and therefore ask your permission to do so."
+
+The scholar saw that this was something quite out of the common, and
+gladly gave his consent. The maiden thanked him and went away.
+
+In a short time she brought back a whole crowd of maids carrying
+flowers and willow branches. All greeted the scholar. They were
+charming, with delicate features, and slender, graceful figures. When
+they moved their sleeves, a delightful fragrance was exhaled. There is
+no fragrance known to the human world which could be compared with it.
+
+The scholar invited them to sit down for a time in his room. Then he
+asked them: "Whom have I really the honor of entertaining? Have you
+come from the castle of the Lady in the Moon, or the Jade Spring of
+the Queen-Mother of the West?"
+
+"How could we claim such high descent?" said a maiden in a green gown,
+with a smile. "My name is Salix." Then she presented another, clad in
+white, and said: "This is Mistress Prunophora"; then one in rose, "and
+this is Persica"; and finally one in a dark-red gown, "and this is
+Punica. We are all sisters and we want to visit the eighteen
+zephyr-aunts to-day. The moon shines so beautifully this evening and
+it is so charming here in the garden. We are most grateful to you for
+taking pity on us."
+
+"Yes, yes," said the scholar.
+
+Then the sober-clad servant suddenly announced: "The zephyr-aunts have
+already arrived!"
+
+At once the girls rose and went to the door to meet them.
+
+"We were just about to visit you, aunts," they said, smiling. "This
+gentleman here had just invited us to sit for a moment. What a
+pleasant coincidence that you aunts have come here, too. This is such
+a lovely night that we must drink a goblet of nectar in honor of you
+aunts!"
+
+Thereon they ordered the servant to bring what was needed.
+
+"May one sit down here?" asked the aunts.
+
+"The master of the house is most kind," replied the maids, "and the
+spot is quiet and hidden."
+
+And then they presented the aunts to the scholar. He spoke a few
+kindly words to the eighteen aunts. They had a somewhat irresponsible
+and airy manner. Their words fairly gushed out, and in their
+neighborhood one felt a frosty chill.
+
+Meanwhile the servant had already brought in table and chairs. The
+eighteen aunts sat at the upper end of the board, the maids followed,
+and the scholar sat down with them at the lowest place. Soon the
+entire table was covered with the most delicious foods and most
+magnificent fruits, and the goblets were filled with a fragrant
+nectar. They were delights such as the world of men does not know! The
+moon shone brightly and the flowers exhaled intoxicating odors. After
+they had partaken of food and drink the maids rose, danced and sung.
+Sweetly the sound of their singing echoed through the falling gloam,
+and their dance was like that of butterflies fluttering about the
+flowers. The scholar was so overpowered with delight that he no longer
+knew whether he were in heaven or on earth.
+
+When the dance had ended, the girls sat down again at the table, and
+drank the health of the aunts in flowing nectar. The scholar, too, was
+remembered with a toast, to which he replied with well-turned phrases.
+
+But the eighteen aunts were somewhat irresponsible in their ways. One
+of them, raising her goblet, by accident poured some nectar on
+Punica's dress. Punica, who was young and fiery, and very neat, stood
+up angrily when she saw the spot on her red dress.
+
+"You are really very careless," said she, in her anger. "My other
+sisters may be afraid of you, but I am not!"
+
+Then the aunts grew angry as well and said: "How dare this young chit
+insult us in such a manner!"
+
+And with that they gathered up their garments and rose.
+
+All the maids then crowded about them and said: "Punica is so young
+and inexperienced! You must not bear her any ill-will! To-morrow she
+shall go to you switch in hand, and receive her punishment!"
+
+But the eighteen aunts would not listen to them and went off.
+Thereupon the maids also said farewell, scattered among the
+flower-beds and disappeared. The scholar sat for a long time lost in
+dreamy yearning.
+
+On the following evening the maids all came back again.
+
+"We all live in your garden," they told him. "Every year we are
+tormented by naughty winds, and therefore we have always asked the
+eighteen aunts to protect us. But yesterday Punica insulted them, and
+now we fear they will help us no more. But we know that you have
+always been well disposed toward us, for which we are heartily
+grateful. And now we have a great favor to ask, that every New Year's
+day you make a small scarlet flag, paint the sun, moon and five
+planets on it, and set it up in the eastern part of the garden. Then
+we sisters will be left in peace and will be protected from all evil.
+But since New Year's day has passed for this year, we beg that you
+will set up the flag on the twenty-first of this month. For the East
+Wind is coming and the flag will protect us against him!"
+
+The scholar readily promised to do as they wished, and the maids all
+said with a single voice: "We thank you for your great kindness and
+will repay it!" Then they departed and a sweet fragrance filled the
+entire garden.
+
+The scholar, however, made a red flag as described, and when early in
+the morning of the day in question the East Wind really did begin to
+blow, he quickly set it up in the garden.
+
+Suddenly a wild storm broke out, one that caused the forests to bend,
+and broke the trees. The flowers in the garden alone did not move.
+
+Then the scholar noticed that Salix was the willow; Prunophora the
+plum; Persica the peach, and the saucy Punica the Pomegranate, whose
+powerful blossoms the wind cannot tear. The eighteen zephyr-aunts,
+however, were the spirits of the winds.
+
+In the evening the flower-elves all came and brought the scholar
+radiant flowers as a gift of thanks.
+
+"You have saved us," they said, "and we have nothing else we can give
+you. If you eat these flowers you will live long and avoid old age.
+And if you, in turn, will protect us every year, then we sisters, too,
+will live long."
+
+The scholar did as they told him and ate the flowers. And his figure
+changed and he grew young again like a youth of twenty. And in the
+course of time he attained the hidden wisdom and was placed among the
+Immortals.
+
+    Note. Salix: the names of the "Flower Elves" are given
+    in the Chinese as family names, whose sound suggests the
+    flower-names without exactly using them. In the
+    translation the play on words is indicated by the Latin
+    names. "Zephyr-aunts": In Chinese the name given the
+    aunt is "Fong," which in another stylization means
+    "wind."
+
+
+
+
+XL
+
+THE SPIRIT OF THE WU-LIAN MOUNTAIN
+
+
+To the west of the gulf of Kiautschou is the Wu-Lian Mountain, where
+there are many spirits. Once upon a time a scholar who lived there was
+sitting up late at night, reading. And, as he stepped out before the
+house, a storm rose up suddenly, and a monster stretched out his claws
+and seized him by the hair. And he lifted him up in the air and
+carried him away. They passed by the tower which looks out to sea, a
+Buddhist temple in the hills. And in the distance, in the clouds, the
+scholar saw the figure of a god in golden armor. The figure looked
+exactly like the image of Weto which was in the tower. In its right
+hand it held an iron mace, while its left pointed toward the monster,
+and it looked at it with anger. Then the monster let the scholar fall,
+right on top of the tower, and disappeared. No doubt the saint in the
+tower had come to the scholar's aid, because his whole family
+worshiped Buddha dutifully.
+
+When the sun rose the priest came and saw the scholar on his tower. He
+piled up hay and straw on the ground; so that he could jump down
+without hurting himself. Then he took the scholar home, yet there
+where the monster had seized his hair, the hair remained stiff and
+unyielding. It did not improve until half a year had gone by.
+
+    Note: This legend comes from Dschungschong, west of the
+    gulf of Kiautschou. "The tower which looks out to sea,"
+    a celebrated tower which gives a view of the ocean. At
+    present the people give this name to the Tsingtau Signal
+    Station. Weto (Sanscrit, Veda), a legendary Boddhisatva,
+    leader of the hosts of the four kings of heaven. His
+    picture, with drawn sword, may be found at the entrance
+    of every Buddhist temple. In China, he is often
+    represented with a mace (symbolizing a thunderbolt)
+    instead of a sword. When this is the case he has
+    probably been confused with Vaisramana.
+
+
+
+
+XLI
+
+THE KING OF THE ANTS
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a scholar, who wandered away from his home
+and went to Emmet village. There stood a house which was said to be
+haunted. Yet it was beautifully situated and surrounded by a lovely
+garden. So the scholar hired it. One evening he was sitting over his
+books, when several hundred knights suddenly came galloping into the
+room. They were quite tiny, and their horses were about the size of
+flies. They had hunting falcons and dogs about as large as gnats and
+fleas.
+
+They came to his bed in the corner of the room, and there they held a
+great hunt, with bows and arrows: one could see it all quite plainly.
+They caught a tremendous quantity of birds and game, and all this game
+was no larger than little grains of rice.
+
+When the hunt was over, in came a long procession with banners and
+standards. They wore swords at their side and bore spears in their
+hands, and came to a halt in the north-west corner of the room. They
+were followed by several hundred serving-men. These brought with them
+curtains and covers, tents and tent-poles, pots and kettles, cups and
+plates, tables and chairs. And after them some hundreds of other
+servants carried in all sorts of fine dishes, the best that land and
+water had to offer. And several hundred more ran to and fro without
+stopping, in order to guard the roads and carry messages.
+
+The scholar gradually accustomed himself to the sight. Although the
+men were so very small he could distinguish everything quite clearly.
+
+Before long, a bright colored banner appeared. Behind it rode a
+personage wearing a scarlet hat and garments of purple. He was
+surrounded by an escort of several thousands. Before him went runners
+with whips and rods to clear the way.
+
+Then a man wearing an iron helmet and with a golden ax in his hand
+cried out in a loud voice: "His Highness is graciously pleased to look
+at the fish in the Purple Lake!" Whereupon the one who wore the
+scarlet hat got down from his horse, and, followed by a retinue of
+several hundred men, approached the saucer which the scholar used for
+his writing-ink. Tents were put up on the edge of the saucer and a
+banquet was prepared. A great number of guests sat down to the table.
+Musicians and dancers stood ready. There was a bright confusion of
+mingled garments of purple and scarlet, crimson and green. Pipes and
+flutes, fiddles and cymbals sounded, and the dancers moved in the
+dance. The music was very faint, and yet its melodies could be clearly
+distinguished. All that was said, too, the table-talk and orders,
+questions and calls, could be quite distinctly heard.
+
+After three courses, he who wore the scarlet hat said: "Quick! Make
+ready the nets and lines for fishing!"
+
+And at once nets were thrown out into the saucer which held the water
+in which the scholar dipped his brush. And they caught hundreds of
+thousands of fishes. The one with the scarlet hat contented himself
+with casting a line in the shallow waters of the saucer, and caught a
+baker's dozen of red carp.
+
+Then he ordered the head cook to cook the fish, and the most varied
+dishes were prepared with them. The odor of roasting fat and spices
+filled the whole room.
+
+And then the wearer of the scarlet hat in his arrogance, decided to
+amuse himself at the scholar's expense. So he pointed to him and said:
+"I know nothing at all about the writings and customs of the saints
+and wise men, and still I am a king who is highly honored! Yonder
+scholar spends his whole life toiling over his books and yet he
+remains poor and gets nowhere. If he could make up his mind to serve
+me faithfully as one of my officials, I might allow him to partake of
+our meal."
+
+This angered the scholar, and he took his book and struck at them. And
+they all scattered, wriggling and crawling out of the door. He
+followed them and dug up the earth in the place where they had
+disappeared. And there he found an ants' nest as large as a barrel, in
+which countless green ants were wriggling around. So he built a large
+fire and smoked them out.
+
+    Note: This charming tale is taken from the Tang Dai
+    Tsung Schu.
+
+
+
+
+XLII
+
+THE LITTLE HUNTING DOG
+
+
+Once upon a time, in the city of Shansi, there lived a scholar who
+found the company of others too noisy for him. So he made his home in
+a Buddhist temple. Yet he suffered because there were always so many
+gnats and fleas in his room that he could not sleep at night.
+
+Once he was resting on his bed after dinner, when suddenly two little
+knights with plumes in their helmets rode into the room. They might
+have been two inches high, and rode horses about the size of
+grasshoppers. On their gauntleted hands they held hunting falcons as
+large as flies. They rode about the room with great rapidity. The
+scholar had no more than set eyes on them when a third entered, clad
+like the others, but carrying a bow and arrows and leading a little
+hunting dog the size of an ant with him. After him came a great throng
+of footmen and horsemen, several hundred in all. And they had hunting
+falcons and hunting dogs by the hundred, too. Then the fleas and gnats
+began to rise in the air; but were all slain by the falcons. And the
+hunting dogs climbed on the bed, and sniffed along the walls trailing
+the fleas, and ate them up. They followed the trace of whatever hid in
+the cracks, and nosed it out, so that in a short space of time they
+had killed nearly all the vermin.
+
+The scholar pretended to be asleep and watched them. And the falcons
+settled down on him, and the dogs crawled along his body. Shortly
+after came a man clad in yellow, wearing a king's crown, who climbed
+on an empty couch and seated himself there. And at once all the
+horsemen rode up, descended from their horses and brought him all the
+birds and game. They then gathered beside him in a great throng, and
+conversed with him in a strange tongue.
+
+Not long after the king got into a small chariot and his bodyguards
+saddled their horses with the greatest rapidity. Then they galloped
+out with great cries of homage, till it looked as though some one were
+scattering beans and a heavy cloud of dust rose behind them.
+
+They had nearly all of them disappeared, while the scholar's eyes
+were still fixed on them full of terror and astonishment, and he could
+not imagine whence they had come. He slipped on his shoes and looked;
+but they had vanished without a trace. Then he returned and looked all
+about his room; but there was nothing to be seen. Only, on a brick
+against the wall, they had forgotten a little hunting dog. The scholar
+quickly caught it and found it quite tame. He put it in his paint-box
+and examined it closely. It had a very smooth, fine coat, and wore a
+little collar around its neck. He tried to feed it a few bread-crumbs,
+but the little dog only sniffed at them and let them lie. Then it
+leaped into the bed and hunted up some nits and gnats in the folds of
+the linen, which it devoured. Then it returned and lay down. When the
+night had passed the scholar feared it might have run away; but there
+it lay, curled up as before. Whenever the scholar went to bed, the dog
+climbed into it and bit to death any vermin it could find. Not a fly
+or gnat dared alight while it was around. The scholar loved it like a
+jewel of price.
+
+But once he took a nap in the daytime, and the little dog crawled into
+bed beside him. The scholar woke and turned around, supporting himself
+on his side. As he did so he felt something, and feared it might be
+his little dog. He quickly rose and looked, but it was already
+dead--pressed flat, as though cut out of paper!
+
+But at any rate none of the vermin had survived it.
+
+    Note: This tale is taken from the Liau Dschai ("Strange
+    Stories") of P'u Sung Lang (b. 1622). It is a parallel
+    of the preceding one and shows how the same material
+    returns in a different working-out.
+
+
+
+
+XLIII
+
+THE DRAGON AFTER HIS WINTER SLEEP
+
+
+Once there was a scholar who was reading in the upper story of his
+house. It was a rainy, cloudy day and the weather was gloomy. Suddenly
+he saw a little thing which shone like a fire-fly. It crawled upon the
+table, and wherever it went it left traces of burns, curved like the
+tracks of a rainworm. Gradually it wound itself about the scholar's
+book and the book, too, grew black. Then it occurred to him that it
+might be a dragon. So he carried it out of doors on the book. There he
+stood for quite some time; but it sat uncurled, without moving in the
+least.
+
+Then the scholar said: "It shall not be said of me that I was lacking
+in respect." With these words he carried back the book and once more
+laid it on the table. Then he put on his robes of ceremony, made a
+deep bow and escorted the dragon out on it again.
+
+No sooner had he left the door, than he noticed that the dragon raised
+his head and stretched himself. Then he flew up from the book with a
+hissing sound, like a radiant streak. Once more he turned around
+toward the scholar, and his head had already grown to the size of a
+barrel, while his body must have been a full fathom in length. He gave
+one more snaky twist, and then there was a terrible crash of thunder
+and the dragon went sailing through the air.
+
+The scholar then returned and looked to see which way the little
+creature had come. And he could follow his tracks hither and thither,
+to his chest of books.
+
+    Note: This tale is also from the "Strange Stories." The
+    dragon, head of all scaled creatures and insects,
+    hibernates during the winter according to the Chinese
+    belief. At the time he is quite small. When the first
+    spring storm comes he flies up to the clouds on the
+    lightning. Here the dragon's nature as an atmospheric
+    apparition is expressed.
+
+
+
+
+XLIV
+
+THE SPIRITS OF THE YELLOW RIVER
+
+
+The spirits of the Yellow River are called Dai Wang--Great King. For
+many hundreds of years past the river inspectors had continued to
+report that all sorts of monsters show themselves in the waves of the
+stream, at times in the shape of dragons, at others in that of cattle
+and horses, and whenever such a creature makes an appearance a great
+flood follows. Hence temples are built along the river banks. The
+higher spirits of the river are honored as kings, the lower ones as
+captains, and hardly a day goes by without their being honored with
+sacrifices or theatrical performances. Whenever, after a dam has been
+broken, the leak is closed again, the emperor sends officials with
+sacrifices and ten great bars of Tibetan incense. This incense is
+burned in a great sacrificial censer in the temple court, and the
+river inspectors and their subordinates all go to the temple to thank
+the gods for their aid. These river gods, it is said, are good and
+faithful servants of former rulers, who died in consequence of their
+toil in keeping the dams unbroken. After they died their spirits
+became river-kings; in their physical bodies, however, they appear as
+lizards, snakes and frogs.
+
+The mightiest of all the river-kings is the Golden Dragon-King. He
+frequently appears in the shape of a small golden snake with a square
+head, low forehead and four red dots over his eyes. He can make
+himself large or small at will, and cause the waters to rise and fall.
+He appears and vanishes unexpectedly, and lives in the mouths of the
+Yellow River and the Imperial Canal. But in addition to the Golden
+Dragon-King there are dozens of river-kings and captains, each of whom
+has his own place. The sailors of the Yellow River all have exact
+lists in which the lives and deeds of the river-spirits are described
+in detail.
+
+The river-spirits love to see theatrical performances. Opposite every
+temple is a stage. In the hall stands the little spirit-tablet of the
+river-king, and on the altar in front of it a small bowl of golden
+lacquer filled with clean sand. When a little snake appears in it, the
+river-king has arrived. Then the priests strike the gong and beat the
+drum and read from the holy books. The official is at once informed
+and he sends for a company of actors. Before they begin to perform the
+actors go up to the temple, kneel, and beg the king to let them know
+which play they are to give. And the river-god picks one out and
+points to it with his head; or else he writes signs in the sand with
+his tail. The actors then at once begin to perform the desired play.
+
+The river-god cares naught for the fortunes or misfortunes of human
+beings. He appears suddenly and disappears in the same way, as best
+suits him.
+
+Between the outer and the inner dam of the Yellow River are a number
+of settlements. Now it often happens that the yellow water moves to
+the very edge of the inner walls. Rising perpendicularly, like a wall,
+it gradually advances. When people see it coming they hastily burn
+incense, bow in prayer before the waters, and promise the river-god a
+theatrical performance. Then the water retires and the word goes
+round: "The river-god has asked for a play again!"
+
+In a village in that section there once dwelt a wealthy man. He built
+a stone wall, twenty feet high, around the village, to keep away the
+water. He did not believe in the spirits of the river, but trusted in
+his strong wall and was quite unconcerned.
+
+One evening the yellow water suddenly rose and towered in a straight
+line before the village. The rich man had them shoot cannon at it.
+Then the water grew stormy, and surrounded the wall to such a height
+that it reached the openings in the battlements. The water foamed and
+hissed, and seemed about to pour over the wall. Then every one in the
+village was very much frightened. They dragged up the rich man and he
+had to kneel and beg for pardon. They promised the river-god a
+theatrical performance, but in vain; but when they promised to build
+him a temple in the middle of the village and give regular
+performances, the water sank more and more and gradually returned to
+its bed. And the village fields suffered no damage, for the earth,
+fertilized by the yellow slime, yielded a double crop.
+
+Once a scholar was crossing the fields with a friend in order to visit
+a relative. On their way they passed a temple of the river-god where a
+new play was just being performed. The friend asked the scholar to go
+in with him and look on. When they entered the temple court they saw
+two great snakes upon the front pillars, who had wound themselves
+about the columns, and were thrusting out their heads as though
+watching the performance. In the hall of the temple stood the altar
+with the bowl of sand. In it lay a small snake with a golden body, a
+green head and red dots above his eyes. His neck was thrust up and his
+glittering little eyes never left the stage. The friend bowed and the
+scholar followed his example.
+
+Softly he said to his friend: "What are the three river-gods called?"
+
+"The one in the temple," was the reply, "is the Golden Dragon-King.
+The two on the columns are two captains. They do not dare to sit in
+the temple together with the king."
+
+This surprised the scholar, and in his heart he thought: "Such a tiny
+snake! How can it possess a god's power? It would have to show me its
+might before I would worship it."
+
+He had not yet expressed these secret thoughts before the little snake
+suddenly stretched forth his head from the bowl, above the altar.
+Before the altar burned two enormous candles. They weighed more than
+ten pounds and were as thick as small trees. Their flame burned like
+the flare of a torch. The snake now thrust his head into the middle of
+the candle-flame. The flame must have been at least an inch broad, and
+was burning red. Suddenly its radiance turned blue, and was split into
+two tongues. The candle was so enormous and its fire so hot that even
+copper and iron would have melted in it; but it did not harm the
+snake.
+
+Then the snake crawled into the censer. The censer was made of iron,
+and was so large one could not clasp it with both arms. Its cover
+showed a dragon design in open-work. The snake crawled in and out of
+the holes in this cover, and wound his way through all of them, so
+that he looked like an embroidery in threads of gold. Finally all the
+openings of the cover, large and small, were filled by the snake. In
+order to do so, he must have made himself several dozen feet long.
+Then he stretched out his head at the top of the censer and once more
+watched the play.
+
+Thereupon the scholar was frightened, he bowed twice, and prayed:
+"Great King, you have taken this trouble on my account! I honor you
+from my heart!"
+
+No sooner had he spoken these words than, in a moment, the little
+snake was back in his bowl, and just as small as he had been before.
+
+In Dsiningdschou they were celebrating the river god's birthday in his
+temple. They were giving him a theatrical performance for a birthday
+present. The spectators crowded around as thick as a wall, when who
+should pass but a simple peasant from the country, who said in a loud
+voice: "Why, that is nothing but a tiny worm! It is a great piece of
+folly to honor it like a king!"
+
+Before ever he had finished speaking the snake flew out of the temple.
+He grew and grew, and wound himself three times around the stage. He
+became as thick around as a small pail, and his head seemed like that
+of a dragon. His eyes sparkled like golden lamps, and he spat out red
+flame with his tongue. When he coiled and uncoiled the whole stage
+trembled and it seemed as though it would break down. The actors
+stopped their music and fell down on the stage in prayer. The whole
+multitude was seized with terror and bowed to the ground. Then some of
+the old men came along, cast the peasant on the ground, and gave him a
+good thrashing. So he had to cast himself on his knees before the
+snake and worship him. Then all heard a noise as though a great many
+firecrackers were being shot off. This lasted for some time, and then
+the snake disappeared.
+
+East of Shantung lies the city of Dongschou. There rises an
+observation-tower with a great temple. At its feet lies the
+water-city, with a sea-gate at the North, through which the flood-tide
+rises up to the city. A camp of the boundary guard is established at
+this gate.
+
+Once upon a time there was an officer who had been transferred to
+this camp as captain. He had formerly belonged to the land forces, and
+had not yet been long at his new post. He gave some friends of his a
+banquet, and before the pavilion in which they feasted lay a great
+stone shaped somewhat like a table. Suddenly a little snake was seen
+crawling on this stone. It was spotted with green, and had red dots on
+its square head. The soldiers were about to kill the little creature,
+when the captain went out to look into the matter. When he had looked
+he laughed and said: "You must not harm him! He is the river-king of
+Dsiningdschou. When I was stationed in Dsiningdschou he sometimes
+visited me, and then I always gave sacrifices and performances in his
+honor. Now he has come here expressly in order to wish his old friend
+luck, and to see him once more."
+
+There was a band in camp; the bandsmen could dance and play like a
+real theatrical troupe. The captain quickly had them begin a
+performance, had another banquet with wine and delicate foods
+prepared, and invited the river-god to sit down to the table.
+
+Gradually evening came and yet the river-god made no move to go.
+
+So the captain stepped up to him with a bow and said: "Here we are far
+removed from the Yellow River, and these people have never yet heard
+your name spoken. Your visit has been a great honor for me. But the
+women and fools who have crowded together chattering outside, are
+afraid of hearing about you. Now you have visited your old friend, and
+I am sure you wish to get back home again."
+
+With these words he had a litter brought up; cymbals were beaten and
+fire-works set off, and finally a salute of nine guns was fired to
+escort him on his way. Then the little snake crawled into the litter,
+and the captain followed after. In this order they reached the port,
+and just when it was about time to say farewell, the snake was already
+swimming in the water. He had grown much larger, nodded to the captain
+with his head, and disappeared.
+
+Then there were doubts and questionings: "But the river-god lives a
+thousand miles away from here, how does he get to this place?"
+
+Said the captain: "He is so powerful that he can get to any place, and
+besides, from where he dwells a waterway leads to the sea. To come
+down that way and swim to sea is something he can do in a moment's
+time!"
+
+    Note: "The Spirits of the Yellow River." The place of
+    the old river-god Ho Be (Count of the Stream), also
+    mentioned in No. 63, has to-day been taken by the Dai
+    Wang in the popular belief. These spirits are thought to
+    have placed many hindrances in the way of the erection
+    of the railroad bridge across the Yellow River. The
+    "spirit-tablet": images of the gods were first
+    introduced in China by the Buddhists. The old custom,
+    which Confucianism and ancestor-worship still follow,
+    holds that the seat of the gods is a small wooden tablet
+    on which the name of the god to be honored is written.
+    Theatrical performances as religious services are as
+    general in China as they were in ancient Greece.
+    Dsiningdschou is a district capital on the Imperial
+    Canal, near the Yellow River.
+
+
+
+
+XLV
+
+THE DRAGON-PRINCESS
+
+
+In the Sea of Dungting there is a hill, and in that hill there is a
+hole, and this hole is so deep that it has no bottom.
+
+Once a fisherman was passing there who slipped and fell into the hole.
+He came to a country full of winding ways which led over hill and dale
+for several miles. Finally he reached a dragon-castle lying in a great
+plain. There grew a green slime which reached to his knees. He went
+to the gate of the castle. It was guarded by a dragon who spouted
+water which dispersed in a fine mist. Within the gate lay a small
+hornless dragon who raised his head, showed his claws, and would not
+let him in.
+
+The fisherman spent several days in the cave, satisfying his hunger
+with the green slime, which he found edible and which tasted like
+rice-mush. At last he found a way out again. He told the district
+mandarin what had happened to him, and the latter reported the matter
+to the emperor. The emperor sent for a wise man and questioned him
+concerning it.
+
+The wise man said: "There are four paths in this cave. One path leads
+to the south-west shore of the Sea of Dungting, the second path leads
+to a valley in the land of the four rivers, the third path ends in a
+cave on the mountain of Lo-Fu and the fourth in an island of the
+Eastern Sea. In this cave dwells the seventh daughter of the
+Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea, who guards his pearls and his
+treasure. It happened once in the ancient days, that a fisherboy dived
+into the water and brought up a pearl from beneath the chin of a black
+dragon. The dragon was asleep, which was the reason the fisherboy
+brought the pearl to the surface without being harmed. The treasure
+which the daughter of the Dragon-King has in charge is made up of
+thousands and millions of such jewels. Several thousands of small
+dragons watch over them in her service. Dragons have the peculiarity
+of fighting shy of wax. But they are fond of beautiful jade-stones,
+and of kung-tsing, the hollowgreen wood, and like to eat swallows. If
+one were to send a messenger with a letter, it would be possible to
+obtain precious pearls."
+
+  [Illustration: "A FISHERBOY DIVED INTO THE WATER AND BROUGHT UP A
+    PEARL FROM BENEATH THE CHIN OF A BLACK DRAGON."
+                                                  --_Page 138_]
+
+The emperor was greatly pleased, and announced a large reward for
+the man who was competent to go to the dragon-castle as his messenger.
+
+The first man to come forward was named So Pi-Lo. But the wise man
+said: "A great-great-great-great-grandfather of yours once slew more
+than a hundred of the dragons of the Eastern Sea, and was finally
+himself slain by the dragons. The dragons are the enemies of your
+family and you cannot go."
+
+Then came a man from Canton, Lo-Dsi-Tschun, with his two brothers, who
+said that his ancestors had been related to the Dragon-King. Hence
+they were well liked by the dragons and well known to them. They
+begged to be entrusted with the message.
+
+The wise man asked: "And have you still in your possession the stone
+which compels the dragons to do your will?"
+
+"Yes," said they, "we have brought it along with us."
+
+The wise man had them show him the stone; then he spoke: "This stone
+is only obeyed by the dragons who make clouds and send down the rain.
+It will not do for the dragons who guard the pearls of the sea-king."
+Then he questioned them further: "Have you the dragon-brain vapor?"
+
+When they admitted that they had not, the wise man said: "How then
+will you compel the dragons to yield their treasure?"
+
+And the emperor said: "What shall we do?"
+
+The wise man replied: "On the Western Ocean sail foreign merchants who
+deal in dragon-brain vapor. Some one must go to them and seek it from
+them. I also know a holy man who is an adept in the art of taming
+dragons, and who has prepared ten pounds of the dragon-stone. Some one
+should be sent for that as well."
+
+The emperor sent out his messengers. They met one of the holy man's
+disciples and obtained two fragments of dragon-stone from him.
+
+Said the wise man: "That is what we want!"
+
+Several more months went by, and at last a pill of dragon-brain vapor
+had also been secured. The emperor felt much pleased and had his
+jewelers carve two little boxes of the finest jade. These were
+polished with the ashes of the Wutung-tree. And he had an essence
+prepared of the very best hollowgreen wood, pasted with sea-fish lime,
+and hardened in the fire. Of this two vases were made. Then the bodies
+and the clothing of the messengers were rubbed with tree-wax, and they
+were given five hundred roasted swallows to take along with them.
+
+They went into the cave. When they reached the dragon-castle, the
+little dragon who guarded the gate smelled the tree-wax, so he
+crouched down and did them no harm. They gave him a hundred roasted
+swallows as a bribe to announce them to the daughter of the
+Dragon-King. They were admitted to her presence and offered her the
+jade caskets, the vases and the four hundred roasted swallows as
+gifts. The dragon's daughter received them graciously, and they
+unfolded the emperor's letter.
+
+In the castle there was a dragon who was over a thousand years old. He
+could turn himself into a human being, and could interpret the
+language of human beings. Through him the dragon's daughter learned
+that the emperor was sending her the gifts, and she returned them with
+a gift of three great pearls, seven smaller pearls and a whole bushel
+of ordinary pearls. The messengers took leave, rode off with their
+pearls on a dragon's back, and in a moment they had reached the banks
+of the Yangtze-kiang. They made their way to Nanking, the imperial
+capital, and there handed over their treasure of gems.
+
+The emperor was much pleased and showed them to the wise man. He said:
+"Of the three great pearls one is a divine wishing-pearl of the third
+class, and two are black dragon-pearls of medium quality. Of the seven
+smaller pearls two are serpent-pearls, and five are mussel-pearls. The
+remaining pearls are in part sea-crane pearls, in part snail and
+oyster-pearls. They do not approach the great pearls in value, and yet
+few will be found to equal them on earth."
+
+The emperor also showed them to all his servants. They, however,
+thought the wise man's words all talk, and did not believe what he
+said.
+
+Then the wise man said: "The radiance of wishing-pearls of the first
+class is visible for forty miles, that of the second class for twenty
+miles, and that of the third for ten miles. As far as their radiance
+carries, neither wind nor rain, thunder nor lightning, water, fire nor
+weapons may reach. The pearls of the black dragon are nine-colored and
+glow by night. Within the circle of their light the poison of serpents
+and worms is powerless. The serpent-pearls are seven-colored, the
+mussel-pearls five-colored. Both shine by night. Those most free from
+spots are the best. They grow within the mussel, and increase and
+decrease in size as the moon waxes and wanes."
+
+Some one asked how the serpent and sea-crane pearls could be told
+apart, and the wise man answered: "The animals themselves recognize
+them."
+
+Then the emperor selected a serpent-pearl and a sea-crane pearl, put
+them together with a whole bushel of ordinary pearls, and poured the
+lot out in the courtyard. Then a large yellow serpent and a black
+crane were fetched and placed among the pearls. At once the crane
+took up a sea-crane pearl in his bill and began to dance and sing and
+flutter around. But the serpent snatched at the serpent-pearl, and
+wound himself about it in many coils. And when the people saw this
+they acknowledged the truth of the wise man's words. As regards the
+radiance of the larger and smaller pearls it turned out, too, just as
+the wise man had said.
+
+In the dragon-castle the messengers had enjoyed dainty fare, which
+tasted like flowers, herbs, ointment and sugar. They had brought a
+remnant of it with them to the capital; yet exposed to the air it had
+become as hard as stone. The emperor commanded that these fragments be
+preserved in the treasury. Then he bestowed high rank and titles on
+the three brothers, and made each one of them a present of a thousand
+rolls of fine silk stuff. He also had investigated why it was that the
+fisherman, when he chanced upon the cave, had not been destroyed by
+the dragons. And it turned out that his fishing clothes had been
+soaked in oil and tree-wax. The dragons had dreaded the odor.
+
+    Note: As regards the Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea, see
+    Nos. 18 and 74. The pearl under the dragon's chin comes
+    from Dschuang Dsi. With regard to So Pi-Lo and
+    Lo-Dsi-Tschun, see No. 46.
+
+
+
+
+XLVI
+
+HELP IN NEED
+
+
+Some twenty miles east of Gingdschou lies the Lake of the Maidens. It
+is several miles square and surrounded on all sides by thick green
+thickets and tall forests. Its waters are clear and dark-blue. Often
+all kinds of wondrous creatures show themselves in the lake. The
+people of the vicinity have erected a temple there for the Dragon
+Princess. And in times of drought all make pilgrimage there to offer
+up prayers.
+
+West of Gingdschou, two hundred miles away, is another lake, whose god
+is named Tschauna, and who performs many miracles. During the time of
+the Tang dynasty there lived in Gingdschou a mandarin by name of
+Dschou Bau. While he was in office it chanced that in the fifth month
+clouds suddenly arose in the sky, piling themselves up like mountains,
+among which wriggled dragons and serpents; they rolled up and down
+between the two seas. Tempest and rain, thunder and lightning arose so
+that houses fell to pieces, trees were torn up by the roots, and much
+damage was done the crops. Dschou Bau took the blame upon himself, and
+prayed to the heavens that his people might be pardoned.
+
+On the fifth day of the sixth month he sat in his hall of audience and
+gave judgment; and suddenly he felt quite weary and sleepy. He took
+off his hat and laid down on the cushions. No sooner had he closed his
+eyes than he saw a warrior in helmet and armor, with a halberd in his
+hand, standing on the steps leading to the hall, who announced: "A
+lady is waiting outside who wishes to enter!" Dschou Bau asked him:
+"Who are you?" The answer was: "I am your door-keeper. In the
+invisible world I already have been performing this duty for many
+years." Meanwhile two figures clad in green came up the steps, knelt
+before him and said: "Our mistress has come to visit you!" Dschou Bau
+rose. He beheld lovely clouds, from which fell a fine rain, and
+strange fragrances enchanted him. Suddenly he saw a lady clad in a
+simple gown, but of surpassing beauty, float down from on high, with a
+retinue of many female servants. These were all neat and clean in
+appearance, and waited upon the lady as though she were a princess.
+When the latter entered the hall she raised her arms in greeting.
+Dschou Bau came forward to meet her and invited her to be seated. From
+all sides bright-colored clouds came floating in, and the courtyard
+was filled with a purple ether. Dschou Bau had wine and food brought
+and entertained them all in the most splendid way. But the goddess sat
+staring straight before her with wrinkled brows, and seemed to feel
+very sad. Then she rose and said with a blush: "I have been living in
+this neighborhood for many years. A wrong which has been done me,
+permits me to pass the bounds of what is fitting, and encourages me to
+ask a favor of you. Yet I do not know whether you wish to save me!"
+
+"May I hear what it is all about," answered Dschou Bau. "If I can help
+you, I will be glad to place myself at your disposal."
+
+The goddess said: "For hundreds of years my family has been living in
+the depth of the Eastern Sea. But we were unfortunate in that our
+treasures excited the jealousy of men. The ancestor of Pi-Lo nearly
+destroyed our entire clan by fire. My ancestors had to fly and hide
+themselves. And not long ago, our enemy Pi-Lo himself wanted to
+deliver an imperial letter in the cave of the Sea of Dungting. Under
+the pretext of begging for pearls and treasures, he wished to enter
+the dragon-castle and destroy our family. Fortunately a wise man saw
+through his treacherous purpose, and Lo-Dsi-Tschun and his brothers
+were sent in his stead. Yet my people did not feel safe from future
+attacks. For this reason they withdrew to the distant West. My father
+has done much good to mankind and hence is highly honored there. I am
+his ninth daughter. When I was sixteen I was wedded to the youngest
+son of the Rock-Dragon. But my good husband had a fiery temper, which
+often caused him to offend against the laws of courtesy, and in less
+than a year's time the punishment of heaven was his portion. I was
+left alone and returned to the home of my parents. My father wished me
+to marry again; but I had promised to remain true to the memory of my
+husband, and made a vow not to comply with my father's wish. My
+parents grew angry, and I was obliged to retire to this place in view
+of their anger. That was three years ago. Who could imagine that the
+contemptible dragon Tschauna, who was seeking a wife for his youngest
+brother, would try to force the wedding-gift upon me? I refused to
+accept it; but Tschauna knew how to gain his point with my father, and
+was determined to carry out his intention. My father, regardless of my
+wishes, promised me to him. And then the dragon Tschauna appeared with
+his youngest brother and wanted to carry me off by sheer force of
+arms. I encountered him with fifty faithful followers, and we fought
+on the meadow before the city. We were defeated, and I am more than
+ever afraid that Tschauna will attempt to drag me off. So I have
+plucked up courage to beg you to lend me your mercenaries so that I
+may beat off my foes and remain as I am. If you will help me I will be
+grateful to you till the end of my days."
+
+Dschou Bau answered: "You come from a noble family. Have you no
+kinsfolk who will hasten to help you in your need, that you are
+compelled to turn to a mortal man?"
+
+"It is true that my kinsfolk are far-famed and numerous. If I were to
+send out letters and they came to my aid, they would rub out that
+scaly scoundrel Tschauna as one might rub garlic. But my deceased
+husband offended the high heavens and he has not yet been pardoned.
+And my parents' will, too, is opposed to mine, so that I dare not call
+upon my kinsfolk for help. You will understand my need." Then Dschou
+Bau promised to help her, and the princess thanked him and departed.
+
+When he awoke, he sighed long thinking over his strange experience.
+And the following day he sent off fifteen hundred soldiers to stand
+guard by the Lake of the Maidens.
+
+On the seventh day of the sixth month Dschou Bau rose early. Darkness
+still lay before the windows, yet it seemed to him as though he could
+glimpse a man before the curtain. He asked who it might be. The man
+said: "I am the princess's adviser. Yesterday you were kind enough to
+send soldiers to aid us in our distress. But they were all living men,
+and such cannot fight against invisible spirits. You will have to send
+us soldiers of yours who have died, if you wish to aid us."
+
+Dschou Bau reflected for a time, and then it occurred to him that of
+course such must be the case. So he had his field-secretary examine
+the roster to see how many of his soldiers had fallen in battle. And
+the latter counted up to some two thousand foot-soldiers and
+five-hundred horsemen. Dschou Bau appointed his deceased officer Mong
+Yuan as their leader, and wrote his commands on a paper which he
+burned, in order thus to place them at the princess's disposal. The
+living soldiers he recalled. When they were being reviewed in the
+courtyard after their return, a soldier suddenly fell unconscious. It
+was not until early the following morning that he came to his senses
+again. He was questioned and replied: "I saw a man clad in red who
+approached me and said: 'Our princess is grateful for the aid your
+master has so kindly given her. Yet she still has a request to make
+and has asked me to call you.' I followed him to the temple. The
+princess bade me come forward and said to me: 'I thank your master
+from my heart for sending me the ghost soldiers, but Mong Yuan, their
+leader is incapable. Yesterday the robbers came with three thousand
+men, and Mong Yuan was beaten by them. When you return and again see
+your master, say that I earnestly beg him to send me a good general.
+Perhaps that will save me in my need.' Then she had me led back again
+and I regained consciousness."
+
+When Dschou Bau had heard these words, which seemed to fit strangely
+well with what he had dreamed, he thought he would try to see if this
+were really the case. Therefore he chose his victorious general
+Dschong Tschong-Fu to take the place of Mong Yuan. That evening he
+burned incense, offered wine and handed over to the princess this
+captain's soul.
+
+On the twenty-sixth of the month news came from the general's camp
+that he had suddenly died at midnight on the thirteenth. Dschou Bau
+was frightened, and sent a man to bring him a report. The latter
+informed him that the general's heart had hardly ceased to beat, and
+that, in spite of the hot summer weather, his body was free from any
+trace of decay. So the order was given not to bury him.
+
+Then one night an icy, spectral wind arose, which whirled up sand and
+stones, broke trees and tore down houses. The standing corn in the
+fields was blown down. The storm lasted all day. Finally, the crash of
+a terrific thunderbolt was heard, and then the skies cleared and the
+clouds scattered. That very hour the dead general began to breathe
+painfully on his couch, and when his attendants came to him, he had
+returned to life again.
+
+They questioned him and he told them: "First I saw a man in a purple
+gown riding a black horse, who came up with a great retinue. He
+dismounted before the door. In his hand he held a decree of
+appointment which he gave me, saying: 'Our princess begs you most
+respectfully to become her general. I hope that you will not refuse.'
+Then he brought forth gifts and heaped them up before the steps.
+Jade-stones, brocades, and silken garments, saddles, horses, helmets
+and suits of mail--he heaped them all up in the courtyard. I wished to
+decline, but this he would not allow, and urged me to enter his
+chariot with him. We drove a hundred miles and met a train of
+three-hundred armored horsemen who had ridden out to escort me. They
+led me to a great city, and before the city a tent had been erected in
+which played a band of musicians. A high official welcomed me. When I
+entered the city the onlookers were crowded together like walls.
+Servants ran to and fro bearing orders. We passed through more than a
+dozen gates before we reached the princess. There I was requested to
+dismount and change my clothes in order to enter the presence of the
+princess, for she wished to receive me as her guest. But I thought
+this too great an honor and greeted her below, on the steps. She,
+however, invited me to seat myself near her in the hall. She sat
+upright in all her incomparable beauty, surrounded by female
+attendants adorned with the richest jewels. These plucked lute-strings
+and played flutes. A throng of servitors stood about in golden girdles
+with purple tassels, ready to carry out her commands. Countless crowds
+were assembled before the palace. Five or six visitors sat in a circle
+about the princess, and a general led me to my place. The princess
+said to me: 'I have begged you to come here in order to entrust the
+command of my army to you. If you will break the power of my foe I
+will reward you richly.' I promised to obey her. Then wine was
+brought in, and the banquet was served to the sound of music. While we
+were at table a messenger entered: 'The robber Tschauna has invaded
+our land with ten thousand footmen and horsemen, and is approaching
+our city by various roads. His way is marked by columns of fire and
+smoke!' The guests all grew pale with terror when they heard the news.
+And the princess said: 'This is the foe because of whom I have sought
+your aid. Save me in my hour of need!' Then she gave me two chargers,
+a suit of golden armor, and the insignia of a commander-in-chief, and
+bowed to me. I thanked her and went, called together the captains, had
+the army mustered and rode out before the city. At several decisive
+points I placed troops in ambush. The enemy was already approaching in
+great force, careless and unconcerned, intoxicated by his former
+victories. I sent out my most untrustworthy soldiers in advance, who
+allowed themselves to be beaten in order to lure him on. Light-armed
+men then went out against him, and retreated in skirmish order. And
+thus he fell into my ambush. Drums and kettledrums sounded together,
+the ring closed around them on all sides and the robber army suffered
+a grievous defeat. The dead lay about like hemp-stalks, but little
+Tschauna succeeded in breaking through the circle. I sent out the
+light horsemen after him, and they seized him before the tent of the
+enemy's commanding general. Hastily I sent word to the princess, and
+she reviewed the prisoners before the palace. All the people, high and
+low, streamed together, to acclaim her. Little Tschauna was about to
+be executed in the market place when a messenger came spurring up with
+a command from the princess's father to pardon him. The princess did
+not dare to disobey. So he was dismissed to his home after he had
+sworn to give up all thought of realizing his traitorous plans. I was
+loaded with benefits as a reward for my victory. I was invested with
+an estate with three thousand peasants, and was given a palace, horses
+and wagons, all sorts of jewels, men-servants and women-servants,
+gardens and forests, banners and suits of mail. And my subordinate
+officers, too, were duly rewarded. On the following day a banquet was
+held, and the princess herself filled a goblet, sent it to me by one
+of her attendants, and said: 'Widowed early in life, I opposed the
+wishes of my stern father and fled to this spot. Here the infamous
+Tschauna harassed me and well-nigh put me to shame. Had not your
+master's great kindness and your own courage come to my assistance,
+hard would have been my lot!' Then she began to thank me and her tears
+of emotion flowed like a stream. I bowed and begged her to grant me
+leave of absence, so that I might look after my family. I was given a
+month's leave and the following day she dismissed me with a splendid
+retinue. Before the city a pavilion had been erected in which I drank
+the stirrup-cup. Then I rode away and when I arrived before our own
+gate a thunder-peal crashed and I awoke."
+
+Thereupon the general wrote an account of what had happened to Dschou
+Bau, in which he conveyed the princess's thanks. Then he paid no
+further heed to worldly matters, but set his house in order and turned
+it over to his wife and son. When a month had passed, he died without
+any sign of illness.
+
+That same day one of his officers was out walking. Suddenly he saw a
+heavy cloud of dust rising along the highway, while flags and banners
+darkened the sun. A thousand knights were escorting a man who sat his
+horse proudly and like a hero. And when the officer looked at his
+face, it was the general Dschong Tschong-Fu. Hastily he stepped to the
+edge of the road, in order to allow the cavalcade to pass, and
+watched it ride by. The horsemen took the way to the Lake of the
+Maidens, where they disappeared.
+
+    Note: The expression: "Dschou Bau took the blame upon
+    himself" is explained by the fact that the territorial
+    mandarin is responsible for his district, just as the
+    emperor is for the whole empire. Since extraordinary
+    natural phenomena are the punishment of heaven, their
+    occurrence supposed the guilt of man. This train of
+    thought is in accord with the idea, as in this case,
+    that differences occurring among the spirits of the air
+    lead to misfortune, since where virtue is in the
+    ascendant in the mortal world, the spirits are prevented
+    from giving way to such demonstrations. "Drums and
+    kettledrums sounded together": the kettledrums sounded
+    the attack, and the drums the retreat. The simultaneous
+    sounding of both signals was intended to throw the
+    enemy's army into disorder.
+
+
+
+
+XLVII
+
+THE DISOWNED PRINCESS
+
+
+At the time that the Tang dynasty was reigning there lived a man named
+Liu I, who had failed to pass his examinations for the doctorate. So
+he traveled home again. He had gone six or seven miles when a bird
+flew up in a field, and his horse shied and ran ten miles before he
+could stop him. There he saw a woman who was herding sheep on a
+hillside. He looked at her and she was lovely to look upon, yet her
+face bore traces of hidden grief. Astonished, he asked her what was
+the matter.
+
+The woman began to sob and said: "Fortune has forsaken me, and I am in
+need and ashamed. Since you are kind enough to ask I will tell you
+all. I am the youngest daughter of the Dragon-King of the Sea of
+Dungting, and was married to the second son of the Dragon-King of Ging
+Dschou. Yet my husband ill-treated and disowned me. I complained to my
+step-parents, but they loved their son blindly and did nothing. And
+when I grew insistent they both became angry, and I was sent out here
+to herd sheep." When she had done, the woman burst into tears and lost
+all control of herself. Then she continued: "The Sea of Dungting is
+far from here; yet I know that you will have to pass it on your
+homeward journey. I should like to give you a letter to my father, but
+I do not know whether you would take it."
+
+Liu I answered: "Your words have moved my heart. Would that I had
+wings and could fly away with you. I will be glad to deliver the
+letter to your father. Yet the Sea of Dungting is long and broad, and
+how am I to find him?"
+
+"On the southern shore of the Sea stands an orange-tree," answered the
+woman, "which people call the tree of sacrifice. When you get there
+you must loosen your girdle and strike the tree with it three times in
+succession. Then some one will appear whom you must follow. When you
+see my father, tell him in what need you found me, and that I long
+greatly for his help."
+
+Then she fetched out a letter from her breast and gave it to Liu I.
+She bowed to him, looked toward the east and sighed, and, unexpectedly,
+the sudden tears rolled from the eyes of Liu I as well. He took the
+letter and thrust it in his bag.
+
+Then he asked her: "I cannot understand why you have to herd sheep. Do
+the gods slaughter cattle like men?"
+
+"These are not ordinary sheep," answered the woman; "these are
+rain-sheep."
+
+"But what are rain-sheep?"
+
+"They are the thunder-rams," replied the woman.
+
+And when he looked more closely he noticed that these sheep walked
+around in proud, savage fashion, quite different from ordinary sheep.
+
+Liu I added: "But if I deliver the letter for you, and you succeed in
+getting back to the Sea of Dungting in safety, then you must not use
+me like a stranger."
+
+The woman answered: "How could I use you as a stranger? You shall be
+my dearest friend."
+
+And with these words they parted.
+
+In course of a month Liu I reached the Sea of Dungting, asked for the
+orange-tree and, sure enough, found it. He loosened his girdle, and
+struck the tree with it three times. At once a warrior emerged from
+the waves of the sea, and asked: "Whence come you, honored guest?"
+
+Liu I said: "I have come on an important mission and want to see the
+King."
+
+The warrior made a gesture in the direction of the water, and the
+waves turned into a solid street along which he led Liu I. The
+dragon-castle rose before them with its thousand gates, and magic
+flowers and rare grasses bloomed in luxurious profusion. The warrior
+bade him wait at the side of a great hall.
+
+Liu I asked: "What is this place called?"
+
+"It is the Hall of the Spirits," was the reply.
+
+Liu I looked about him: all the jewels known to earth were there in
+abundance. The columns were of white quartz, inlaid with green jade;
+the seats were made of coral, the curtains of mountain crystal as
+clear as water, the windows of burnished glass, adorned with rich
+lattice-work. The beams of the ceiling, ornamented with amber, rose in
+wide arches. An exotic fragrance filled the hall, whose outlines were
+lost in darkness.
+
+Liu I had waited for the king a long time. To all his questions the
+warrior replied: "Our master is pleased at this moment to talk with
+the priest of the sun up on the coral-tower about the sacred book of
+the fire. He will, no doubt, soon be through."
+
+Liu I went on to ask: "Why is he interested in the sacred book of the
+fire?"
+
+The reply was: "Our master is a dragon. The dragons are powerful
+through the power of water. They can cover hill and dale with a single
+wave. The priest is a human being. Human beings are powerful through
+fire. They can burn the greatest palaces by means of a torch. Fire and
+water fight each other, being different in their nature. For that
+reason our master is now talking with the priest, in order to find a
+way in which fire and water may complete each other."
+
+Before they had quite finished there appeared a man in a purple robe,
+bearing a scepter of jade in his hand.
+
+The warrior said: "This is my master!"
+
+Liu I bowed before him.
+
+The king asked: "Are you not a living human being? What has brought
+you here?"
+
+Liu I gave his name and explained: "I have been to the capital and
+there failed to pass my examination. When I was passing by the Ging
+Dschou River, I saw your daughter, whom you love, herding sheep in the
+wilderness. The winds tousled her hair, and the rain drenched her. I
+could not bear to see her trouble and spoke to her. She complained
+that her husband had cast her out and wept bitterly. Then she gave me
+a letter for you. And that is why I have come to visit you, O King!"
+
+With these words he fetched out his letter and handed it to the king.
+When the latter had read it, he hid his face in his sleeve and said
+with a sigh: "It is my own fault. I picked out a worthless husband
+for her. Instead of securing her happiness I have brought her to shame
+in a distant land. You are a stranger and yet you have been willing to
+help her in her distress, for which I am very grateful to you." Then
+he once more began to sob, and all those about him shed tears.
+Thereupon the monarch gave the letter to a servant who took it into
+the interior of the palace; and soon the sound of loud lamentations
+rose from the inner rooms.
+
+The king was alarmed and turned to an official: "Go and tell them
+within not to weep so loudly! I am afraid that Tsian Tang may hear
+them."
+
+"Who is Tsian Tang?" asked Liu I.
+
+"He is my beloved brother," answered the king. "Formerly he was the
+ruler of the Tsian-Tang River, but now he has been deposed."
+
+Liu I asked: "Why should the matter be kept from him?"
+
+"He is so wild and uncontrollable," was the reply, "that I fear he
+would cause great damage. The deluge which covered the earth for nine
+long years in the time of the Emperor Yau was the work of his anger.
+Because he fell out with one of the kings of heaven, he caused a great
+deluge that rose and covered the tops of five high mountains. Then the
+king of heaven grew angry with him, and gave him to me to guard. I had
+to chain him to a column in my palace."
+
+Before he had finished speaking a tremendous turmoil arose, which
+split the skies and made the earth tremble, so that the whole palace
+began to rock, and smoke and clouds rose hissing and puffing. A red
+dragon, a thousand feet long, with flashing eyes, blood-red tongue,
+scarlet scales and a fiery beard came surging up. He was dragging
+along through the air the column to which he had been bound, together
+with its chain. Thunders and lightnings roared and darted around his
+body; sleet and snow, rain and hail-stones whirled about him in
+confusion. There was a crash of thunder, and he flew up to the skies
+and disappeared.
+
+Liu I fell to earth in terror. The king helped him up with his own
+hand and said: "Do not be afraid! That is my brother, who is hastening
+to Ging Dschou in his rage. We will soon have good news!"
+
+Then he had food and drink brought in for his guest. When the goblet
+had thrice made the rounds, a gentle breeze began to murmur and a fine
+rain fell. A youth clad in a purple gown and wearing a lofty hat
+entered. A sword hung at his side. His appearance was manly and
+heroic. Behind him walked a girl radiantly beautiful, wearing a robe
+of misty fragrance. And when Liu I looked at her, lo, it was the
+dragon-princess whom he had met on his way! A throng of maidens in
+rosy garments received her, laughing and giggling, and led her into
+the interior of the palace. The king, however, presented Liu I to the
+youth and said: "This is Tsian Tang, my brother!"
+
+Tsian Tang thanked him for having brought the message. Then he turned
+to his brother and said: "I have fought against the accursed dragons
+and have utterly defeated them!"
+
+"How many did you slay?"
+
+"Six hundred thousand."
+
+"Were any fields damaged?"
+
+"The fields were damaged for eight hundred miles around."
+
+"And where is the heartless husband?"
+
+"I ate him alive!"
+
+  [Illustration: "TSIAN TANG BROUGHT OUT A PLATTER OF RED AMBER ON
+    WHICH LAY A CARBUNCLE."
+                                                  --_Page 157_]
+
+Then the king was alarmed and said: "What the fickle boy did was not
+to be endured, it is true. But still you were a little too rough
+with him; in future you must not do anything of the sort again." And
+Tsian Tang promised not to.
+
+That evening Liu I was feasted at the castle. Music and dancing lent
+charm to the banquet. A thousand warriors with banners and spears in
+their hands stood at attention. Trombones and trumpets resounded, and
+drums and kettledrums thundered and rattled as the warriors danced a
+war-dance. The music expressed how Tsian Tang had broken through the
+ranks of the enemy, and the hair of the guest who listened to it rose
+on his head in terror. Then, again, there was heard the music of
+strings, flutes and little golden bells. A thousand maidens in
+crimson and green silk danced around. The return of the princess was
+also told in tones. The music sounded like a song of sadness and
+plaining, and all who heard it were moved to tears. The King of the
+Sea of Dungting was filled with joy. He raised his goblet and drank
+to the health of his guest, and all sorrow departed from them. Both
+rulers thanked Liu I in verses, and Liu I answered them in a rimed
+toast. The crowd of courtiers in the palace-hall applauded. Then the
+King of the Sea of Dungting drew forth a blue cloud-casket in which
+was the horn of a rhinoceros, which divides the water. Tsian Tang
+brought out a platter of red amber on which lay a carbuncle. These
+they presented to their guest, and the other inmates of the palace
+also heaped up embroideries, brocades and pearls by his side.
+Surrounded by shimmer and light Liu I sat there, smiling, and bowed
+his thanks to all sides. When the banquet was ended he slept in the
+Palace of Frozen Radiance.
+
+On the following day another banquet was held. Tsian Tang, who was not
+quite himself, sat carelessly on his seat and said: "The Princess of
+the Dungting Sea is handsome and delicately fashioned. She has had
+the misfortune to be disowned by her husband, and to-day her marriage
+is annulled. I should like to find another husband for her. If you
+were agreeable it would be to your advantage. But if you were not
+willing to marry her, you may go your way, and should we ever meet
+again we will not know each other."
+
+Liu I was angered by the careless way in which Tsian Tang spoke to
+him. The blood rose to his head and he replied: "I served as a
+messenger, because I felt sorry for the princess, but not in order to
+gain an advantage for myself. To kill a husband and carry off a wife
+is something an honest man does not do. And since I am only an
+ordinary man, I prefer to die rather than do as you say."
+
+Tsian Tang rose, apologized and said: "My words were over-hasty. I
+hope you will not take them ill!" And the King of the Dungting Sea
+also spoke kindly to him, and censured Tsian Tang because of his rude
+speech. So there was no more said about marriage.
+
+On the following day Liu I took his leave, and the Queen of the
+Dungting Sea gave a farewell banquet in his honor.
+
+With tears the queen said to Liu I: "My daughter owes you a great debt
+of gratitude, and we have not had an opportunity to make it up to you.
+Now you are going away and we see you go with heavy hearts!"
+
+Then she ordered the princess to thank Liu I.
+
+The princess stood there, blushing, bowed to him and said: "We will
+probably never see each other again!" Then tears choked her voice.
+
+It is true that Liu I had resisted the stormy urging of her uncle, but
+when he saw the princess standing before him in all the charm of her
+loveliness, he felt sad at heart; yet he controlled himself and went
+his way. The treasures which he took with him were incalculable. The
+king and his brother themselves escorted him as far as the river.
+
+When, on his return home, he sold no more than a hundredth part of
+what he had received, his fortune already ran into the millions, and
+he was wealthier than all his neighbors. He decided to take a wife,
+and heard of a widow who lived in the North with her daughter. Her
+father had become a Taoist in his later years and had vanished in the
+clouds without ever returning. The mother lived in poverty with the
+daughter; yet since the girl was beautiful beyond measure she was
+seeking a distinguished husband for her.
+
+Liu I was content to take her, and the day of the wedding was set. And
+when he saw his bride unveiled on the evening of her wedding day, she
+looked just like the dragon-princess. He asked her about it, but she
+merely smiled and said nothing.
+
+After a time heaven sent them a son. Then she told her husband:
+"To-day I will confess to you that I am truly the Princess of Dungting
+Sea. When you had rejected my uncle's proposal and gone away, I fell
+ill of longing, and was near death. My parents wanted to send for you,
+but they feared you might take exception to my family. And so it was
+that I married you disguised as a human maiden. I had not ventured to
+tell you until now, but since heaven has sent us a son, I hope that
+you will love his mother as well."
+
+Then Liu I awoke as though from a deep sleep, and from that time on
+both were very fond of each other.
+
+One day his wife said: "If you wish to stay with me eternally, then we
+cannot continue to dwell in the world of men. We dragons live ten
+thousand years, and you shall share our longevity. Come back with me
+to the Sea of Dungting!"
+
+Ten years passed and no one knew where Liu I, who had disappeared,
+might be. Then, by accident, a relative went sailing across the Sea of
+Dungting. Suddenly a blue mountain rose up out of the water.
+
+The seamen cried in alarm: "There is no mountain on this spot! It must
+be a water-demon!"
+
+While they were still pointing to it and talking, the mountain drew
+near the ship, and a gaily-colored boat slid from its summit into the
+water. A man sat in the middle, and fairies stood at either side of
+him. The man was Liu I. He beckoned to his cousin, and the latter drew
+up his garments and stepped into the boat with him. But when he had
+entered the boat it turned into a mountain. On the mountain stood a
+splendid castle, and in the castle stood Liu I, surrounded with
+radiance, and with the music of stringed instruments floating about
+him.
+
+They greeted each other, and Liu I said to his cousin: "We have been
+parted no more than a moment, and your hair is already gray!"
+
+His cousin answered: "You are a god and blessed: I have only a mortal
+body. Thus fate has decreed."
+
+Then Liu I gave him fifty pills and said: "Each pill will extend your
+life for the space of a year. When you have lived the tale of these
+years, come to me and dwell no longer in the earthly world of dust,
+where there is nothing but toil and trouble."
+
+Then he took him back across the sea and disappeared.
+
+His cousin, however, retired from the world, and fifty years later,
+and when he had taken all the pills, he disappeared and was never seen
+again.
+
+    Note: The outcast princess is represented as "herding
+    sheep." In Chinese the word sheep is often used as an
+    image for clouds. (Sheep and goats are designated by the
+    same word in Chinese.) Tsian Tang is the name of a
+    place used for the name of the god of that place. The
+    deluge is the flood which the great Yu regulated as
+    minister of the Emperor Yau. It is here represented in
+    an exaggerated sense, as a deluge.
+
+
+
+
+XLVIII
+
+FOX-FIRE
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a strong young farmer who came home late
+one evening from market. His way led him past the gardens of a wealthy
+gentleman, in which stood a number of tall buildings. Suddenly he saw
+something shining floating in the air inside the gardens, something
+which glowed like a ball of crystal. He was astonished, and climbed
+the wall around the gardens, but there was not a human being in sight;
+all he saw was, at a distance, something which appeared to be a dog,
+looking up at the moon. And whenever it blew its breath out a ball of
+fire came out of its mouth, and rose to the moon. And whenever it drew
+its breath in the ball sank down again, and it caught it in its jaws.
+And so it went on without a stop. Then the farmer realized that it was
+a fox, who was preparing the elixir of life. He hid in the grass and
+waited until the ball of fire came down again, at about the height of
+his own head. Then he stepped hastily from his hiding-place, took it
+away and at once swallowed it. And he could feel it glow as it passed
+down his throat into his stomach. When the fox saw what had happened
+he grew angry. He looked furiously at the farmer, but feared his
+strength. For this reason he did not dare attack him, but went angrily
+on his way.
+
+From that time on the farmer-boy could make himself invisible, was
+able to see ghosts and devils, and had intercourse with the
+spirit-world. In cases of sickness, when people lay unconscious, he
+could call back their souls, and if some one had committed a sin he
+could plead for them. He earned much money owing to these gifts.
+
+When he reached his fiftieth year, he withdrew from all things and
+would no longer exercise his arts. One summer evening he was sitting
+in his courtyard, enjoying the cool air. While there he drank a number
+of goblets of wine, and by midnight had fallen fast asleep. Suddenly
+he awoke, feeling ill. It seemed as though some one were patting him
+on the back, and before he knew it, the ball of fire had leaped out
+from his throat. At once a hand reached for it and a voice said: "For
+thirty long years you kept my treasure from me, and from a poor
+farmer-lad you have grown to be a wealthy man. Now you have enough,
+and I would like to have my fire-ball back again!"
+
+Then the man knew what had happened, but the fox was gone.
+
+    Note: The thought underlying the story is the belief
+    that the fox prepares the elixir of life out of his own
+    breath, which he allows to rise to the moon. If a thief
+    can rob him of the elixir he gains supernatural powers.
+
+
+
+
+GHOST STORIES
+
+
+
+
+XLIX
+
+THE TALKING SILVER FOXES
+
+
+The silver foxes resemble other foxes, but are yellow, fire-red or
+white in color. They know how to influence human beings, too. There is
+a kind of silver fox which can learn to speak like a man in a year's
+time. These foxes are called "Talking Foxes."
+
+South-west of the bay of Kaiutschou there is a mountain by the edge of
+the sea, shaped like a tower, and hence known as Tower Mountain. On
+the mountain there is an old temple with the image of a goddess, who
+is known as the Old Mother of Tower Mountain. When children fall ill
+in the surrounding villages, the magicians often give orders that
+paper figures of them be burned at her altar, or little lime images of
+them be placed around it. And for this reason the altar and its
+surroundings are covered with hundreds of figures of children made in
+lime. Paper flowers, shoes and clothing are also brought to the Old
+Mother, and lie in a confusion of colors. The pilgrimage festivals
+take place on the third day of the third month, and the ninth day of
+the ninth month, and then there are theatrical performances, and the
+holy writings are read. And there is also an annual fair. The girls
+and women of the neighborhood burn incense and pray to the goddess.
+Parents who have no children go there and pick out one of the little
+children made of lime, and tie a red thread around its neck, or even
+secretly break off a small bit of its body, dissolve it in water and
+drink it. Then they pray quietly that a child may be sent them.
+
+Behind the temple is a great cave where, in former times, some talking
+foxes used to live. They would even come out and seat themselves on
+the point of a steep rock by the wayside. When a wanderer came by they
+would begin to talk to him in this fashion: "Wait a bit, neighbor;
+first smoke a pipe!" The traveler would look around in astonishment,
+to see where the voice came from, and would become very much
+frightened. If he did not happen to be exceptionally brave, he would
+begin to perspire with terror, and run away. Then the fox would laugh:
+"Hi hi!"
+
+Once a farmer was plowing on the side of the mountain. When he looked
+up he saw a man with a straw hat, wearing a mantle of woven grass and
+carrying a pick across his shoulder coming along the way.
+
+"Neighbor Wang," said he, "first smoke a pipeful and take a little
+rest! Then I will help you plow."
+
+Then he called out "Hu!" the way farmers do when they talk to their
+cattle.
+
+The farmer looked at him more closely and saw then that he was a
+talking fox. He waited for a favorable opportunity, and when it came
+gave him a lusty blow with his ox-whip. He struck home, for the fox
+screamed, leaped into the air and ran away. His straw hat, his mantle
+of woven grass and the rest he left lying on the ground. Then the
+farmer saw that the straw hat was just woven out of potato-leaves; he
+had cut it in two with his whip. The mantle was made of oak-leaves,
+tied together with little blades of grass. And the pick was only the
+stem of a kau-ling plant, to which a bit of brick had been fastened.
+
+Not long after, a woman in a neighboring village became possessed. A
+picture of the head priest of the Taoists was hung up in her room,
+but the evil spirit did not depart. Since there were none who could
+exorcise devils in the neighborhood, and the trouble she gave was
+unendurable, the woman's relatives decided to send to the temple of
+the God of War and beg for aid.
+
+But when the fox heard of it he said: "I am not afraid of your Taoist
+high-priest nor of your God of War; the only person I fear is your
+neighbor Wang in the Eastern village, who once struck me cruelly with
+his whip."
+
+This suited the people to a T. They sent to the Eastern village, and
+found out who Wang was. And Wang took his ox-whip and entered the
+house of the possessed woman.
+
+Then he said in a deep voice: "Where are you? Where are you? I have
+been on your trail for a long time. And now, at last, I have caught
+you!"
+
+With that he snapped his whip.
+
+The fox hissed and spat and flew out of the window.
+
+They had been telling stories about the talking fox of Tower Mountain
+for more than a hundred years when one fine day, a skilful archer came
+to that part of the country who saw a creature like a fox, with a
+fiery-red pelt, whose back was striped with gray. It was lying under a
+tree. The archer aimed and shot off its hind foot.
+
+At once it said in a human voice: "I brought myself into this danger
+because of my love for sleep; but none may escape their fate! If you
+capture me you will get at the most no more than five thousand pieces
+of copper for my pelt. Why not let me go instead? I will reward you
+richly, so that all your poverty will come to an end."
+
+But the archer would not listen to him. He killed him, skinned him
+and sold his pelt; and, sure enough, he received five thousand pieces
+of copper for it.
+
+From that time on the fox-spirit ceased to show itself.
+
+    Note: The silver fox is known in Chinese as "Pi," the
+    same word also being used for "panthers," since this
+    legendary beast partakes of the nature of both animals.
+    "The Old Mother" is really the mother-goddess of the
+    Taischan. But in other localities she is chiefly honored
+    as a child-giving goddess. "A picture of the head priest
+    of the Taoists": Talismans painted by the head priest of
+    the Taoists or the Taoist pope, the so-called "Master of
+    the Heavens," (Tian Schi) have special virtues against
+    all kinds of sorcery and enchantment. The war god Guan
+    Di also is appealed to as a savior in all sorts of
+    emergencies.
+
+
+
+
+L
+
+THE CONSTABLE
+
+
+In a city in the neighborhood of Kaiutschou there once lived a
+constable by the name of Dung. One day when he returned from a hunt
+after thieves the twilight had already begun to fall. So before he
+waded through the stream that flowed through the city he sat down on
+the bank, lit a pipe and took off his shoes. When he looked up, he
+suddenly saw a man in a red hat dressed as a constable crouching
+beside him.
+
+Astonished, he inquired: "Who are you? Your clothes indicate that you
+are a member of our profession, but I have never yet seen you among
+the men of our local force. Tell me, pray, whence you come?"
+
+The other answered: "I am weary, having come a long journey, and would
+like to enjoy a pipeful of tobacco in your company. I am sure you will
+not object to that."
+
+Dung handed him a pipe and tobacco.
+
+But the other constable said: "I do not need them. Just you keep on
+smoking. It is enough for me to enjoy the odor."
+
+So they chatted awhile together, and together waded through the
+stream. And gradually they became quite confidential and the stranger
+said: "I will be quite frank with you. I am the head constable of the
+Nether World, and am subject to the Lord of the Great Mountain. You
+yourself are a constable of reputation here in the upper world. And,
+because of my skill, I have standing in the world below. Since we are
+so well suited to each other, I should like to enter into a bond of
+brotherhood with you."
+
+Dung was agreeable and asked: "But what really brings you here?"
+
+Said the other: "In your district there lives a certain Wang, who was
+formerly superintendent of the granaries, and at that time caused the
+death of an officer. This man has now accused him in the Nether World.
+The King of the Nether World cannot come to a decision in the case,
+and therefore has asked the Lord of the Great Mountain to settle it.
+The Lord of the Great Mountain has ordered that Wang's property and
+life be shortened. First his property is to be sequestered here in the
+upper world, and then his soul is to be dragged to the nether one. I
+have been sent out by the Judge of the Dead to fetch him. Yet the
+established custom is, when some one is sent for, that the constable
+has first to report to the god of the city. The god of the city then
+issues a summons, and sends one of his own spirit constables to seize
+the soul and deliver it over to me. Only then may I take it away with
+me."
+
+Dung asked him further particulars; but the other merely said: "Later
+on you will see it all for yourself."
+
+When they reached the city Dung invited his colleague to stay at his
+home, and entertained him with wine and food. But the other only
+talked and touched neither the goblet nor the chop-sticks.
+
+Said Dung: "In my haste I could not find any better meal for you. I am
+afraid it is not good enough."
+
+But his guest replied: "Oh no, I am already surfeited and satisfied! We
+spirits feed only on odors; in which respect we differ from men."
+
+It was late at night before he set out to visit the temple of the city
+god.
+
+No sooner did morning dawn than he reappeared to take farewell and
+said: "Now all is in order: I am off! In two years' time you will go
+to Taianfu, the city near the Great Mountain, and there we will meet
+again."
+
+Dung began to feel ill at ease. A few days later, in fact, came the
+news that Wang had died. The district mandarin journeyed to the dead
+man's natal village in order to express his sympathy. Among his
+followers was Dung. The inn-keeper there was a tenant of Wang's.
+
+Dung asked him: "Did anything out of the ordinary happen when Sir Wang
+died?"
+
+"It was all very strange," answered the inn-keeper, "and my mother who
+had been very busy in his house, came home and fell into a violent
+fever. She was unconscious for a day and a night, and could hardly
+breathe. She came to on the very day when the news of Sir Wang's death
+was made public, and said: 'I have been to the Nether World and I met
+him there. He had chains about his neck and several devils were
+dragging him along. I asked him what he had done, but he said: "I have
+no time to tell you now. When you return ask my wife and she will tell
+you all!"' And yesterday my mother went there and asked her. And
+Wang's wife told her with tears: 'My master was an official, but for a
+long time he did not make any head-way. He was superintendent of the
+granaries in Nanking, and in the same city was a high officer, with
+whom my master became very intimate. He always came to visit at our
+house and he and my master would talk and drink together. One day my
+master said to him: "We administrative mandarins have a large salary
+and a good income besides. You are an officer, and have even reached
+the second step in rank, yet your salary is so small that you cannot
+possibly make it do. Have you any other income aside from it?" The
+officer replied: "We are such good friends that I know I can speak
+openly to you. We officers are compelled to find some additional
+sources of revenue in order that our pockets may not be altogether
+empty. When we pay our men we make a small percentage of gains on the
+exchange; and we also carry more soldiers on our rosters than there
+actually are present. If we had to live on our salaries we would die
+of hunger!"
+
+"'When my husband heard him say this he could not rid himself of the
+idea that by disclosing these criminal proceedings the State would be
+indebted to him, and that it would surely aid his plans for
+advancement. On the other hand, he reflected that it would not be
+right to abuse his friend's confidence. With these ideas in his mind
+he retired to his inner rooms. In the courtyard stood a round
+pavilion. Lost in heavy thought, he crossed his hands behind his back,
+and for a long time walked round and round the pavilion. Finally he
+said with a sigh: "Charity begins at home; I will sacrifice my
+friend!" Then he drew up his report, in which the officer was
+indicted. An imperial order was issued, the matter was investigated,
+and the officer was condemned to death. My husband, however, was at
+once increased in rank, and from that time on advanced rapidly. And
+with the exception of myself no one ever knew anything of the matter.'
+When my mother told them of her encounter with Wang in the Nether
+World, the whole family burst into loud weeping. Four tents full of
+Buddhist and Taoist priests were sent for, who fasted and read masses
+for thirty-five days in order that Wang might be delivered. Whole
+mountains of paper money, silk and straw figures were burned, and the
+ceremonies have not as yet come to an end."
+
+When Dung heard this he was very much frightened.
+
+Two years later he received an order to journey to Taianfu in order to
+arrest some robbers there. He thought to himself: "My friend, the
+spirit, must be very powerful indeed, to have known about this trip so
+far in advance. I must inquire for him. Perhaps I will see him again."
+
+When he reached Taianfu he sought out an inn.
+
+The inn-keeper received him with the words: "Are you Master Dung, and
+have you come from the bay of Kaiutschou?"
+
+"I am the man," answered Dung, alarmed, "how do you happen to know
+me?"
+
+The inn-keeper replied: "The constable of the temple of the Great
+Mountain appeared to me last night and said: 'To-morrow a man by the
+name of Dung who is a good friend of mine is coming from the bay of
+Kaiutschou!' And then he described your appearance and your clothes to
+me exactly, and told me to make careful note of them, and when you
+came to treat you with the greatest consideration, and to take no pay
+from you, since he would repay me lavishly. So when I saw you coming
+everything was exactly as my dreams had foretold, and I knew you at
+once. I have already prepared a quiet room for you, and beg that you
+will condescend to make yourself at ease."
+
+Joyfully Dung followed him, and the inn-keeper waited on him with the
+greatest consideration, and saw that he had great plenty to eat and to
+drink.
+
+At midnight the spirit arrived. Without having opened the door, he
+stood by Dung's bedside, gave him his hand, and asked how things had
+gone with him since he had last seen him.
+
+Dung answered all his questions and thanked him into the bargain for
+appearing to the inn-keeper in a dream.
+
+He continued to live for some days at the inn. During the day he went
+walking on the Great Mountain and at night his friend came to visit
+him and talked with him, and at the same time asked him what had
+happened to Sir Wang.
+
+"His sentence has already been spoken," answered the other. "This man
+pretended to be conscientious, and traitorously brought about the
+death of his friend. Of all sins there is no greater sin than this. As
+a punishment he will be sent forth again into the world as an animal."
+Then he added: "When you reach home you must take constant care of
+your health. Fate has allowed you seventy-eight years of mortal life.
+When your time is up I will come to fetch you myself. Then I will see
+that you obtain a place as constable in the Nether World, where we can
+always be together."
+
+When he had said this, he disappeared.
+
+    Note: "The Constable" is a tale of modern origin. The
+    Lord of the Great Mountain (Taischan) is even greater
+    than Yan Wang, the God of Death. His Temple of the
+    Easterly Holy Mountain (Dung Yuo Miau), is to be found
+    in every district capital. These temples play an
+    important part in the care of the dead before interment.
+
+
+
+
+LI
+
+THE DANGEROUS REWARD
+
+
+Once upon a time a man named Hu-Wu-Bau, who lived near the Great
+Mountain, went walking there one day. And there, under a tree, he met
+a messenger in a red robe who called out to him: "The Lord of the
+Great Mountain would like to see you!" The man was much frightened,
+but dared offer no objection. The messenger bade him shut his eyes,
+and when he was allowed to open them again after a short time, he
+found himself standing before a lofty palace. He entered it to see the
+god. The latter had a meal prepared for him and said: "I only sent for
+you to-day because I had heard you intended traveling to the West. And
+in that case I should like to give you a letter to take to my
+daughter."
+
+"But where is your daughter?" asked the man.
+
+"She is married to the river-god," was the reply. "All you need to do
+is to take along the letter lying there. When you reach the middle of
+the Yellow River, beat against the side of the ship and call out:
+'Greencoat!' Then some one will appear and take the letter from you."
+
+And with these words he handed Hu-Wu-Bau the letter, and he was taken
+back again to the upper world.
+
+When he came to the Yellow River on his journey, he did what the Lord
+of the Great Mountain had told him, and cried: "Greencoat!" And sure
+enough, a girl in green garments rose from the water, took him by the
+hand and told him to close his eyes. Then she led him into the palace
+of the river-god and he delivered the letter. The river-god
+entertained him splendidly, and thanked him as best he knew how. At
+parting he said: "I am grateful that you have made this long journey
+to see me. I have nothing to give you, however, save this pair of
+green silk shoes. While you are wearing them you can keep on walking
+as long as you like and never grow weary. And they will give you the
+second sight, so that you will be able to see the spirits and gods."
+
+The man thanked him for the gift and returned to his ship. He
+continued on his journey to the West, and after a year had passed,
+came back again. When he reached the Great Mountain, he thought it
+would be fit and proper to report to the god. So he once more knocked
+against the tree and gave his name. In a moment the red-clad messenger
+appeared and led him to the Lord of the Mountain. So he reported that
+he had delivered the letter to the river-god, and how all things were
+there, and the Lord of the Mountain thanked him. During the meal which
+the god had prepared for him, he withdrew for a few moments to a quiet
+spot. Suddenly he saw his deceased father, bound and loaded with
+chains, who together with several hundred other criminals, was doing
+menial labor.
+
+Moved to tears, he asked: "O my father, why are you here?"
+
+His father replied: "During my life on earth I happened to tread on
+bread, hence I was condemned to hard labor at this spot. I have passed
+two years in this manner, yet their bitterness has been unspeakable.
+Since you are acquainted with the Lord of the Mountain, you might
+plead for me, and beg him to excuse me from this task and make me the
+field-god in our village."
+
+His son promised to do so, and went back and pleaded with the Lord of
+the Mountain as he had agreed. The latter seemed inclined to listen to
+his prayer, yet said warningly: "The quick and the dead tread
+different paths. It is not well for the dead and the living to abide
+near one another permanently."
+
+The man returned home. Yet, in about a year's time nearly all his
+children had died. In the terror of his heart he turned to the Lord of
+the Great Mountain. He beat on the tree; the red-coat came and led him
+into the palace. There he told of his misfortune and begged the god to
+protect him. The Lord of the Mountain smiled: "Did I not tell you in
+the start that the quick and the dead tread different paths, and that
+it is not well if they abide near each other permanently? Now you see
+what has happened!" Yet he sent his messenger to fetch the man's
+father. The father came and the god spake to him as follows: "I
+forgave you your offense and sent you back to your home as a
+field-god. It was your duty to bring happiness to your family.
+Instead, nearly all of your grand-children have died off. Why is
+this?"
+
+And the father said: "I had been away from home so long that I was
+overjoyed to return. Besides I had meat and drink in overflowing
+measure. So I thought of my little grand-children and called them to
+me."
+
+Then the Lord of the Great Mountain appointed another field-god for
+that village, and also gave the father another place. And from that
+time no further misfortune happened to the family of Hu-Wu-Bau.
+
+    Note: The Lord of the Great Mountain was originally
+    Huang Fe-Hu, a faithful servant of the tyrant
+    Dschou-Sin. Because of an insult offered him, he joined
+    King Wu, and when the latter overcame the tyrant, was
+    made Lord of the Mountain, and overlord of the ten
+    princes of the nether world.
+
+
+
+
+LII
+
+RETRIBUTION
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a boy named Ma, whose father taught him
+himself, at home. The window of the upper story looked out on the rear
+upon a terrace belonging to old Wang, who had a garden of
+chrysanthemums there. One day Ma rose early, and stood leaning against
+the window, watching the day dawn. And out came old Wang from his
+terrace and watered his chrysanthemums. When he had just finished and
+was going in again, along came a water-carrier, bearing two pails on
+his shoulders, who seemed to want to help him. But the old man grew
+annoyed and motioned him off. Yet the water-carrier insisted on
+mounting the terrace. So they pulled each other about on the
+terrace-edge. It had been raining, the terrace was slippery, its
+border high and narrow, and when the old man thrust back the
+water-carrier with his hand, the latter lost his balance, slipped and
+tumbled down the slope. Then the old man hastened down to pick him up;
+but the two pails had fallen on his chest and he lay there with feet
+outstretched. The old man was extremely frightened. Without uttering a
+sound, he took hold of the water-carrier's feet, and dragged him
+through the back door to the bank of the stream which flowed by the
+garden. Then he fetched the pails and set them down beside the corpse.
+After that he went home, locked the door and went to bed again.
+
+Little Ma, in spite of his youth, thought it would be better to say
+nothing about an affair of this kind, in which a human life was
+involved. He shut the window and withdrew. The sun rose higher, and
+soon he heard a clamor without: "A dead man is lying on the
+river-bank!" The constable gave notice, and in the afternoon the judge
+came up to the beating of gongs, and the inspector of the dead knelt
+down and uncovered the corpse; yet the body showed no wound. So it was
+said: "He slipped and fell to his death!" The judge questioned the
+neighbors, but the neighbors all insisted that they knew nothing of
+the matter. Thereupon the judge had the body placed in a coffin,
+sealed it with his seal, and ordered that the relatives of the
+deceased be found. And then he went his way.
+
+Nine years passed by, and young Ma had reached the age of twenty-one
+and become a baccalaureate. His father had died, and the family was
+poor. So it came about that in the same room in which he had formerly
+studied his lessons, he now gathered a few pupils about him, to
+instruct them.
+
+The time for examinations drew near. Ma had risen early, in order to
+work. He opened the window and there, in the distant alley, he saw a
+man with two pails gradually drawing nearer. When he looked more
+closely, it was the water-carrier. Greatly frightened, he thought that
+he had returned to repay old Wang. Yet he passed the old man's door
+without entering it. Then he went a few steps further to the house of
+the Lis; and there went in. The Lis were wealthy people, and since
+they were near neighbors the Mas and they were on a visiting footing.
+The matter seemed very questionable to Ma, and he got up and followed
+the water-carrier.
+
+At the door of Li's house he met an old servant who was just coming
+out and who said: "Heaven is about to send a child to our mistress! I
+must go buy incense to burn to the gods in order to show our
+gratitude!"
+
+Ma asked: "Did not a man with two pails of water on his shoulder just
+go in?"
+
+The servant said there had not, but before he had finished speaking a
+maid came from the house and said: "You need not go to buy incense,
+for I have found some. And, through the favor of heaven, the child has
+already come to us." Then Ma began to realize that the water-carrier
+had returned to be born again into the life of earth, and not to exact
+retribution. He wondered, though, for what merit of his the former
+water-carrier happened to be re-born into so wealthy a family. So he
+kept the matter in mind, and from time to time inquired as to the
+child's well-being.
+
+Seven more years went by, and the boy gradually grew up. He did not
+show much taste for learning, but he loved to keep birds. Old Wang was
+still strong and healthy. And though he was by this time more than
+eighty years old, his love for his chrysanthemums had only increased
+with age.
+
+One day Ma once more rose early, and stood leaning against his window.
+And he saw old Wang come out upon his terrace and begin to water his
+chrysanthemums. Little Li sat in the upper story of his house flying
+his pigeons. Suddenly some of the pigeons flew down on the railing of
+the flower-garden. The boy was afraid they might fly off and called
+them, but the pigeons did not move. The boy did not know what to do:
+he picked up stones and threw them at the birds. By mistake one of
+them struck old Wang. The old man started, slipped, and fell down over
+the terrace. Time passed and he did not rise. He lay there with his
+feet outstretched. The boy was very much frightened. Without uttering
+a sound he softly closed his window and went away. The sun gradually
+rose higher, and the old man's sons and grandsons all came out to look
+for him. They found him and said: "He slipped and fell to his death!"
+And they buried him as was the custom.
+
+    Note: This little tale, from the "Sin Tsi Hia," is a
+    literary masterpiece because of the exactness with which
+    the punishment follows upon the act, long after the
+    latter has been forgiven, and all chance of mishap
+    seemed to have passed.
+
+
+
+
+LIII
+
+THE GHOST WHO WAS FOILED
+
+
+There are ghosts of many kinds, but the ghosts of those who have hung
+themselves are the worst. Such ghosts are always coaxing other living
+people to hang themselves from the beams of the roof. If they succeed
+in persuading some one to hang himself, then the road to the Nether
+World is open to them, and they can once more enter into the wheel of
+transformation. The following story of such a ghost is told by persons
+worthy of belief.
+
+Once upon a time there lived a man in Tsing Tschoufu who had passed
+his military examination, and had been ordered to Tsinanfu to report
+for duty. It was at the season of rains. So it happened that evening
+came on before he could reach the town-inn where he had expected to
+pass the night. Just as the sun was setting he reached a small village
+and asked for a night's lodging. But there were only poor families in
+the village who had no room for him in their huts. So they directed
+him to an old temple which stood outside the village, and said he
+could spend the night there.
+
+The images of the gods in the temple were all decayed, so that one
+could not distinguish one from the other. Thick spider-webs covered
+the entrance, and the dust lay inches high everywhere. So the soldier
+went out into the open, where he found an old flight of steps. He
+spread out his knapsack on a stone step, tied his horse to an old
+tree, took his flask from his pocket and drank--for it had been a hot
+day. There had been a heavy rain, but it had just cleared again. The
+new moon was on the decline. The soldier closed his eyes and tried to
+sleep.
+
+Suddenly he heard a rustling sound in the temple, and a cool wind
+passed over his face and made him shudder. And he saw a woman come out
+of the temple, dressed in an old dirty red gown, and with a face as
+white as a chalk wall. She stole past quietly as though she were
+afraid of being seen. The soldier knew no fear. So he pretended to be
+asleep and did not move, but watched her with half-shut eyes. And he
+saw her draw a rope from her sleeve and disappear. Then he knew that
+she was the ghost of one who had hung herself. He got up softly and
+followed her, and, sure enough, she went into the village.
+
+When she came to a certain house she slipped into the court through a
+crack in the door. The soldier leaped over the wall after her. It was
+a house with three rooms. In the rear room a lamp was burning dimly.
+The soldier looked through the window into the room, and there was a
+young woman of about twenty sitting on the bed, sighing deeply, and
+her kerchief was wet through with tears. Beside her lay a little
+child, asleep. The woman looked up toward the beam of the ceiling. One
+moment she would weep and the next she would stroke the child. When
+the soldier looked more closely, there was the ghost sitting up on the
+beam. She had passed the rope around her neck and was hanging herself
+in dumb show. And whenever she beckoned with her hand the woman looked
+up toward her. This went on for some time.
+
+Finally the woman said: "You say it would be best for me to die. Very
+well, then, I will die; but I cannot part from my child!"
+
+And once more she burst into tears. But the ghost merely laughed and
+coaxed her again.
+
+So the woman said determinedly: "It is enough. I will die!"
+
+With these words she opened her chest of clothes, put on new garments,
+and painted her face before the mirror. Then she drew up a bench and
+climbed up on it. She undid her girdle and knotted it to the beam. She
+had already stretched forth her neck and was about to leap from the
+bench, when the child suddenly awoke and began to cry. The woman
+climbed down again and soothed and quieted her child, and while she
+was petting it she wept, so that the tears fell from her eyes like a
+string of pearls. The ghost frowned and hissed, for it feared to lose
+its prey. In a short time the child had fallen asleep again, and the
+woman once more began to look aloft. Then she rose, again climbed on
+the bench, and was about to lay the noose about her neck when the
+soldier began to call out loudly and drum on the window-pane. Then he
+broke it and climbed into the room. The woman fell to the ground and
+the ghost disappeared. The soldier recalled the woman to
+consciousness, and then he saw something hanging down from the beam,
+like a cord without an end. Knowing that it belonged to the ghost of
+the hanged woman he took and kept it.
+
+Then he said to the woman: "Take good care of your child! You have
+but one life to lose in this world!"
+
+And with that he went out.
+
+Then it occurred to him that his horse and his baggage were still in
+the temple. And he went there to get them. When he came out of the
+village there was the ghost, waiting for him in the road.
+
+The ghost bowed and said: "I have been looking for a substitute for
+many years, and to-day, when it seemed as though I should really get
+one, you came along and spoiled my chances. So there is nothing more
+for me to do. Yet there is something which I left behind me in my
+hurry. You surely must have found it, and I will ask you to return it
+to me. If I only have this one thing, my not having found a substitute
+will not worry me."
+
+Then the soldier showed her the rope and said with a laugh: "Is this
+the thing you mean? Why, if I were to give it back to you then some
+one is sure to hang themselves. And that I could not allow."
+
+With these words he wound the rope around his arm, drove her off and
+said: "Now be off with you!"
+
+But then the ghost grew angry. Her face turned greenish-black, her
+hair fell in wild disorder down her neck, her eyes grew bloodshot, and
+her tongue hung far out of her mouth. She stretched forth both hands
+and tried to seize the soldier, but he struck out at her with his
+clenched fist. By mistake he hit himself in the nose and it began to
+bleed. Then he sprinkled a few drops of blood in her direction and,
+since the ghosts cannot endure human blood, she ceased her attack,
+moved off a few paces and began to abuse him. This she did for some
+time, until the cock in the village began to crow. Then the ghost
+disappeared.
+
+In the meantime the farmer-folk of the village had come to thank the
+soldier. It seems that after he had left the woman her husband had
+come home, and asked his wife what had happened. And then for the
+first time he had learned what had occurred. So they all set out
+together along the road in order to look for the soldier outside the
+village. When they found him he was still beating the air with his
+fists and talking wildly. So they called out to him and he told them
+what had taken place. The rope could still be seen on his bare arm;
+yet it had grown fast to it, and surrounded it in the shape of a red
+ring of flesh.
+
+The day was just dawning, so the soldier swung himself into his saddle
+and rode away.
+
+    Note: This tale has been handed down traditionally, and
+    is given as told among the people.
+
+
+
+
+LIV
+
+THE PUNISHMENT OF GREED
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived a man south of the Yangtze-kiang. He had
+taken a position as a teacher in Sutschoufu, on the border of
+Shantung. But when he got there he found that the schoolhouse had not
+yet been completed. Yet a two-story building in the neighborhood had
+been rented, in which the teacher was to live and hold school in the
+meantime. This house stood outside the village, not far from the river
+bank. A broad plain, overgrown with tangled brush, stretched out from
+it on every side. The teacher was pleased with the view.
+
+Well, one evening he was standing in the door of his house watching
+the sun go down. The smoke that rose from the village chimneys
+gradually merged with the twilight shadows. All the noises of the day
+had died away. Suddenly, off in the distance, along the river bank, he
+beheld a fiery gleam. He hurried away at once in order to see what it
+might be. And there, on the bank, he found a wooden coffin, from which
+came the radiance he had noticed. Thought the teacher to himself: "The
+jewels with which they adorn the dead on their journey shine by night.
+Perhaps there are gems in the coffin!" And greed awoke in his heart,
+and he forgot that a coffin is a resting-place of the dead and should
+be respected. He took up a large stone, broke the cover of the coffin,
+and bent over to look more closely. And there in the coffin lay a
+youth. His face was as white as paper, he wore a mourning turban on
+his head, his body was wrapped in hempen garments, and he wore straw
+sandals on his feet. The teacher was greatly frightened and turned to
+go away. But the corpse had already raised itself to a sitting
+posture. Then the teacher's fear got the better of him, and he began
+to run. And the corpse climbed out of its coffin and ran after him.
+Fortunately the house was not far away. The teacher ran as fast as he
+could, flew up the steps and locked the door after him. Gradually he
+caught his breath again. Outside there was not a sound to be heard. So
+he thought that perhaps the corpse had not followed him all the way.
+He opened the window and peered down. The corpse was leaning against
+the wall of the house. Suddenly it saw that the window had been
+opened, and with one leap it bounded up and in through it. Overcome by
+terror, the teacher fell down the stairs of the house, and rolled
+unconscious to the bottom of the flight. And when he did so the
+corpse fell down on the floor of the room above.
+
+At the time the school children had all long since gone home. And the
+owner of the house lived in another dwelling, so that no one knew
+anything about what had happened. On the following morning the
+children came to school as usual. They found the door locked, and when
+they called no one answered. Then they broke down the door and found
+their teacher lying unconscious on the ground. They sprinkled him with
+ginger, but it took a long time before he woke from his coma. When
+they asked he told them all that had occurred. Then they all went
+upstairs and took away the corpse. It was taken outside the village
+limits and burned, and the bones which remained were once more laid in
+the coffin. But the teacher said, with a sigh: "Because of a moment's
+greed, I nearly lost my life!" He resigned his position, returned home
+and never, through all the days of his life, did he speak of gain
+again.
+
+    Note: The corpse wears a mourning turban and is dressed
+    in mourning. According to local tradition, young people
+    who die before their parents, are laid in their coffins
+    clad in mourning, so that even in death they may do
+    their duty and be able to mourn their parents when the
+    latter shall have died. The tale is taken from the Su
+    Tsi Hia.
+
+
+
+
+LV
+
+THE NIGHT ON THE BATTLEFIELD
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a merchant, who was wandering toward
+Shantung with his wares, along the road from the South. At about the
+second watch of the night, a heavy storm blew up from the North. And
+he chanced to see an inn at one side of the road, whose lights were
+just being lit. He went in to get something to drink and order
+lodgings for the night, but the folk at the inn raised objections. Yet
+an old man among them took pity on his unhappy situation and said: "We
+have just prepared a meal for warriors who have come a long distance,
+and we have no wine left to serve you. But there is a little side room
+here which is still free, and there you may stay overnight." With
+these words he led him into it. But the merchant could not sleep
+because of his hunger and thirst. Outside he could hear the noise of
+men and horses. And since all these proceedings did not seem quite
+natural to him, he got up and looked through a crack in the door. And
+he saw that the whole inn was filled with soldiers, who were sitting
+on the ground, eating and drinking, and talking about campaigns of
+which he had never heard. After a time they began calling to each
+other: "The general is coming!" And far off in the distance could be
+heard the cries of his bodyguard. All the soldiers hurried out to
+receive him. Then the merchant saw a procession with many paper
+lanterns, and riding in their midst a man of martial appearance with a
+long beard. He dismounted, entered the inn, and took his place at the
+head of the board. The soldiers mounted guard at the door, awaiting
+his commands, and the inn-keeper served food and drink, to which the
+general did full justice.
+
+When he had finished his officers entered, and he said to them: "You
+have now been underway for some time. Go back to your men. I shall
+rest a little myself. It will be time enough to beat the assembly when
+the order to advance is given."
+
+The officers received his commands and withdrew. Then the general
+called out: "Send Asti in!" and a young officer entered from the left
+side of the house. The people of the inn locked the gates and withdrew
+for the night, while Asti conducted the long-haired general to a door
+at the left, through a crack of which shone the light of a lamp. The
+merchant stole from his room and looked through the crack in the door.
+Within the room was a bed of bamboo, without covers or pillows. The
+lamp stood on the ground. The long-bearded general took hold of his
+head. It came off and he placed it on the bed. Then Asti took hold of
+his arms. These also came off and were carefully placed beside the
+head. Then the old general threw himself down on the bed crosswise,
+and Asti took hold of his body, which came apart below the thighs, and
+the two legs fell to the ground. Then the lamp went out. Overcome by
+terror the merchant hurried back to his room as fast as he could,
+holding his sleeves before his eyes, and laid down on his bed, where
+he tossed about sleepless all night.
+
+At last he heard a cock crow in the distance. He was shivering. He
+took his sleeves from his face and saw that dawn was stealing along
+the sky. And when he looked about him, there he was lying in the
+middle of a thick clump of brush. Round about him was a wilderness,
+not a house, not even a grave was to be seen anywhere. In spite of
+being chilled, he ran about three miles till he came to the nearest
+inn. The inn-keeper opened the door and asked him with astonishment
+where he came from at that early hour. So the merchant told him his
+experiences and inquired as to the sort of place at which he had spent
+the night. The inn-keeper shook his head: "The whole neighborhood is
+covered with old battlefields," was his reply, "and all sorts of
+supernatural things take place on them after dark."
+
+    Note: This tale is taken from the Sin Tsi Hia.
+
+
+
+
+LVI
+
+THE KINGDOM OF THE OGRES
+
+
+In the land of Annam there once dwelt a man named Su, who sailed the
+seas as a merchant. Once his ship was suddenly driven on a distant
+shore by a great storm. It was a land of hills broken by ravines and
+green with luxuriant foliage, yet he could see something along the
+hills which looked like human dwellings. So he took some food with him
+and went ashore. No sooner had he entered the hills than he could see
+at either hand the entrances to caves, one close beside the other,
+like a row of beehives. So he stopped and looked into one of the
+openings. And in it sat two ogres, with teeth like spears and eyes
+like fiery lamps. They were just devouring a deer. The merchant was
+terrified by this sight and turned to flee; but the ogres had already
+noticed him and they caught him and dragged him into their cave. Then
+they talked to each other with animal sounds, and were about to tear
+his clothes from his body and devour him. But the merchant hurriedly
+took a bag of bread and dried meat out and offered it to them. They
+divided it, ate it up and it seemed to taste good to them. Then they
+once more went through the bag; but he gestured with his hand to show
+them that he had no more.
+
+Then he said: "Let me go! Aboard my ship I have frying-pans and
+cooking-pots, vinegar and spices. With these I could prepare your
+food."
+
+The ogres did not understand what he was saying, however, and were
+still ferocious. So he tried to make them understand in dumb show, and
+finally they seemed to get an idea of his meaning. So they went to the
+ship with him, and he brought his cooking gear to the cave, collected
+brush-wood, made a fire and cooked the remains of the deer. When it
+was done to a turn he gave them some of it to eat, and the two
+creatures devoured it with the greatest satisfaction. Then they left
+the cave and closed the opening with a great rock. In a short space of
+time they returned with another deer they had caught. The merchant
+skinned it, fetched fresh water, washed the meat and cooked several
+kettles full of it. Suddenly in came a whole herd of ogres, who
+devoured all he had cooked, and became quite animated over their
+eating. They all kept pointing to the kettle which seemed too small to
+them. When three or four days had passed, one of the ogres dragged in
+an enormous cooking-pot on his back, which was thenceforth used
+exclusively.
+
+Now the ogres crowded about the merchant, bringing him wolves and deer
+and antelopes, which he had to cook for them, and when the meat was
+done they would call him to eat it with them.
+
+Thus a few weeks passed and they gradually came to have such
+confidence in him that they let him run about freely. And the merchant
+listened to the sounds which they uttered, and learned to understand
+them. In fact, before very long he was able to speak the language of
+the ogres himself. This pleased the latter greatly, and they brought
+him a young ogre girl and made her his wife. She gave him valuables
+and fruit to win his confidence, and in course of time they grew much
+attached to each other.
+
+One day the ogres all rose very early, and each one of them hung a
+string of radiant pearls about his neck. They ordered the merchant to
+be sure and cook a great quantity of meat. The merchant asked his wife
+what it all meant.
+
+"This will be a day of high festival," answered she, "we have invited
+the great king to a banquet."
+
+But to the other ogres she said: "The merchant has no string of
+pearls!"
+
+Then each of the ogres gave him five pearls and his wife added ten, so
+that he had fifty pearls in all. These his wife threaded and hung the
+pearl necklace about his neck, and there was not one of the pearls
+which was not worth at least several hundred ounces of silver.
+
+Then the merchant cooked the meat, and having done so left the cave
+with the whole herd in order to receive the great king. They came to a
+broad cave, in the middle of which stood a huge block of stone, as
+smooth and even as a table. Round it were stone seats. The place of
+honor was covered with a leopard-skin, and the rest of the seats with
+deerskins. Several dozen ogres were sitting around the cave in rank
+and file.
+
+Suddenly a tremendous storm blew up, whirling around the dust in
+columns, and a monster appeared who had the figure of an ogre. The
+ogres all crowded out of the cave in a high state of excitement to
+receive him. The great king ran into the cave, sat down with his legs
+outstretched, and glanced about him with eyes as round as an eagle's.
+The whole herd followed him into the cave, and stood at either hand of
+him, looking up to him and folding their arms across their breasts in
+the form of a cross in order to do him honor.
+
+The great king nodded, looked around and asked: "Are all the folk of
+the Wo-Me hills present?"
+
+The entire herd declared that they were.
+
+Then he saw the merchant and asked: "From whence does he hail?"
+
+His wife answered for him, and all spoke with praise of his art as a
+cook. A couple of ogres brought in the cooked meat and spread it out
+on the table. Then the great king ate of it till he could eat no more,
+praised it with his mouth full, and said that in the future they were
+always to furnish him with food of this kind.
+
+Then he looked at the merchant and asked: "Why is your necklace so
+short?"
+
+With these words he took ten pearls from his own necklace, pearls as
+large and round as bullets of a blunderbuss. The merchant's wife
+quickly took them on his behalf and hung them around his neck; and the
+merchant crossed his arms like the ogres and spoke his thanks. Then
+the great king went off again, flying away like lightning on the
+storm.
+
+In the course of time heaven sent the merchant children, two boys and
+a girl. They all had a human form and did not resemble their mother.
+Gradually the children learned to speak and their father taught them
+the language of men. They grew up, and were soon so strong that they
+could run across the hills as though on level ground.
+
+One day the merchant's wife had gone out with one of the boys and the
+girl and had been absent for half-a-day. The north wind was blowing
+briskly, and in the merchant's heart there awoke a longing for his old
+home. He took his son by the hand and went down to the sea-shore.
+There his old ship was still lying, so he climbed into it with his
+boy, and in a day and a night was back in Annam again.
+
+When he reached home he loosened two of his pearls from his chain,
+and sold them for a great quantity of gold, so that he could keep
+house in handsome style. He gave his son the name of Panther, and when
+the boy was fourteen years of age he could lift thirty hundred weight
+with ease. Yet he was rough by nature and fond of fighting. The
+general of Annam, astonished at his bravery, appointed him a colonel,
+and in putting down a revolt his services were so meritorious that he
+was already a general of the second rank when but eighteen.
+
+At about this time another merchant was also driven ashore by a storm
+on the island of Wo-Me. When he reached land he saw a youth who asked
+him with astonishment: "Are you not from the Middle Kingdom?"
+
+The merchant told him how he had come to be driven ashore on the
+island, and the youth led him to a little cave in a secret valley.
+Then he brought deer-flesh for him to eat, and talked with him. He
+told him that his father had also come from Annam, and it turned out
+that his father was an old acquaintance of the man to whom he was
+talking.
+
+"We will have to wait until the wind blows from the North," said the
+youth, "then I will come and escort you. And I will give you a message
+of greeting to take to my father and brother."
+
+"Why do you not go along yourself and hunt up your father?" asked the
+merchant.
+
+"My mother does not come from the Middle Kingdom," replied the youth.
+"She is different in speech and appearance, so it cannot well be."
+
+One day the wind blew strongly from the North, and the youth came and
+escorted the merchant to his ship, and ordered him, at parting, not to
+forget a single one of his words.
+
+When the merchant returned to Annam, he went to the palace of
+Panther, the general, and told him all that had happened. When Panther
+listened to him telling about his brother, he sobbed with bitter
+grief. Then he secured leave of absence and sailed out to sea with two
+soldiers. Suddenly a typhoon arose, which lashed the waves until they
+spurted sky-high. The ship turned turtle, and Panther fell into the
+sea. He was seized by a creature and flung up on a strand where there
+seemed to be dwellings. The creature who had seized him looked like an
+ogre, so Panther addressed him in the ogre tongue. The ogre,
+surprised, asked him who he was, and Panther told him his whole story.
+
+The ogre was pleased and said: "Wo-Me is my old home, but it lies
+about eight thousand miles away from here. This is the kingdom of the
+poison dragons."
+
+Then the ogre fetched a ship and had Panther seat himself in it, while
+he himself pushed the ship before him through the water so that it
+clove the waves like an arrow. It took a whole night, but in the
+morning a shoreline appeared to the North, and there on the strand
+stood a youth on look-out. Panther recognized his brother. He stepped
+ashore and they clasped hands and wept. Then Panther turned around to
+thank the ogre, but the latter had already disappeared.
+
+Panther now asked after his mother and sister and was told that both
+were well and happy, so he wanted to go to them with his brother. But
+the latter told him to wait, and went off alone. Not long after he
+came back with their mother and sister. And when they saw Panther,
+both wept with emotion. Panther now begged them to return with him to
+Annam.
+
+But his mother replied: "I fear that if I went, people would mock me
+because of my figure."
+
+"I am a high officer," replied Panther, "and people would not dare to
+insult you."
+
+So they all went down to the ship together with him. A favorable wind
+filled their sails and they sped home swiftly as an arrow flies. On
+the third day they reached land. But the people whom they encountered
+were all seized with terror and ran away. Then Panther took off his
+mantle and divided it among the three so that they could dress
+themselves.
+
+When they reached home and the mother saw her husband again, she at
+once began to scold him violently because he had said not a word to
+her when he went away. The members of his family, who all came to
+greet the wife of the master of the house, did so with fear and
+trembling. But Panther advised his mother to learn the language of the
+Middle Kingdom, dress in silks, and accustom herself to human food.
+This she agreed to do; yet she and her daughter had men's clothing
+made for them. The brother and sister gradually grew more fair of
+complexion, and looked like the people of the Middle Kingdom.
+Panther's brother was named Leopard, and his sister Ogrechild. Both
+possessed great bodily strength.
+
+But Panther was not pleased to think that his brother was so
+uneducated, so he had him study. Leopard was highly gifted; he
+understood a book at first reading; yet he felt no inclination to
+become a man of learning. To shoot and to ride was what he best loved
+to do. So he rose to high rank as a professional soldier, and finally
+married the daughter of a distinguished official.
+
+It was long before Ogrechild found a husband, because all suitors were
+afraid of their mother-in-law to be. But Ogrechild finally married one
+of her brother's subordinates. She could draw the strongest bow, and
+strike the tiniest bird at a distance of a hundred paces. Her arrow
+never fell to earth without having scored a hit. When her husband went
+out to battle she always accompanied him, and that he finally became a
+general was largely due to her. Leopard was already a field marshal at
+the age of thirty, and his mother accompanied him on his campaigns.
+When a dangerous enemy drew near, she buckled on armor, and took a
+knife in her hand to meet him in place of her son. And among the
+enemies who encountered her there was not a single one who did not
+flee from her in terror. Because of her courage the emperor bestowed
+upon her the title of "The Superwoman."
+
+    Note: The ogres here mentioned are the primitive
+    inhabitants of the Island of Ceylon, also called
+    Rakshas, who appear in legend as man-devouring monsters.
+
+
+
+
+LVII
+
+THE MAIDEN WHO WAS STOLEN AWAY
+
+
+In the western portion of the old capital city of Lo Yang there was a
+ruined cloister, in which stood an enormous pagoda, several hundred
+stories high. Three or four people could still find room to stand on
+its very top.
+
+Not far from it there lived a beautiful maiden, and one very hot
+summer's day she was sitting in the courtyard of her home, trying to
+keep cool. And as she sat there a sudden cyclone came up and carried
+her off. When she opened her eyes, there she was on top of the pagoda,
+and beside her stood a young man in the dress of a student.
+
+He was very polite and affable, and said to her: "It seems as though
+heaven had meant to bring us together, and if you promise to marry me,
+we will be very happy." But to this the maiden would not agree. So the
+student said that until she changed her mind she would have to remain
+on the pagoda-top. Then he produced bread and wine for her to satisfy
+her hunger and thirst, and disappeared.
+
+Thereafter he appeared each day and asked her whether she had changed
+her mind, and each day she told him she had not. When he went away he
+always carefully closed the openings in the pagoda-top with stones,
+and he had also removed some of the steps of the stairs, so that she
+could not climb down. And when he came to the pagoda-top he always
+brought her food and drink, and he also presented her with rouge and
+powder, dresses and mandarin-coats and all sorts of jewelry. He told
+her he had bought them in the market place. And he also hung up a
+great carbuncle-stone so that the pagoda-top was bright by night as
+well as by day. The maiden had all that heart could wish, and yet she
+was not happy.
+
+But one day when he went away he forgot to lock the window. The maiden
+spied on him without his knowing it, and saw that from a youth he
+turned himself into an ogre, with hair as red as madder and a face as
+black as coal. His eyeballs bulged out of their sockets, and his mouth
+looked like a dish full of blood. Crooked white fangs thrust
+themselves from his lips, and two wings grew from his shoulders.
+Spreading them, he flew down to earth and at once turned into a man
+again.
+
+The maiden was seized with terror and burst into tears. Looking down
+from her pagoda she saw a wanderer passing below. She called out, but
+the pagoda was so high that her voice did not carry down to him. She
+beckoned with her hand, but the wanderer did not look up. Then she
+could think of nothing else to do but to throw down the old clothes
+she had formerly worn. They fluttered through the air to the ground.
+
+The wanderer picked up the clothes. Then he looked up at the pagoda,
+and quite up at the very top he saw a tiny figure which looked like
+that of a girl; yet he could not make out her features. For a long
+time he wondered who it might be, but in vain. Then he saw a light.
+
+"My neighbor's daughter," said he to himself, "was carried away by a
+magic storm. Is it possible that she may be up there?"
+
+So he took the clothes with him and showed them to the maiden's
+parents, and when they saw them they burst into tears.
+
+But the maiden had a brother, who was stronger and braver than any one
+for miles around. When the tale had been told him he took a heavy ax
+and went to the pagoda. There he hid himself in the tall grass and
+waited for what would happen. When the sun was just going down, along
+came a youth, tramping the hill. Suddenly he turned into an ogre,
+spread his wings and was about to fly. But the brother flung his ax at
+him and struck him on the arm. He began to roar loudly, and then fled
+to the western hills. But when the brother saw that it was impossible
+to climb the pagoda, he went back and enlisted the aid of several
+neighbors. With them he returned the following morning and they
+climbed up into the pagoda. Most of the steps of the stairway were in
+good condition for the ogre had only destroyed those at the top. But
+they were able to get up with a ladder, and then the brother fetched
+down his sister and brought her safely home again.
+
+And that was the end of the enchantment.
+
+    Note: In this tale the ogre is a Yakscha or a Fe Tian Ya
+    Tscha.
+
+
+
+
+LVIII
+
+THE FLYING OGRE
+
+
+There once lived in Sianfu an old Buddhist monk, who loved to wander
+in lonely places. In the course of his wanderings he once came to the
+Kuku-Nor, and there he saw a tree which was a thousand feet high and
+many cords in breadth. It was hollow inside and one could see the sky
+shining down into it from above.
+
+When he had gone on a few miles, he saw in the distance a girl in a
+red coat, barefoot, and with unbound hair, who was running as fast as
+the wind. In a moment she stood before him.
+
+"Take pity on me and save my life!" said she to him.
+
+When the monk asked her what was the trouble, she replied: "A man is
+pursuing me. If you will tell him you have not seen me, I will be
+grateful to you all my life long!"
+
+With that she ran up to the hollow tree and crawled into it.
+
+When the monk had gone a little further, he met one who rode an
+armored steed. He wore a garment of gold, a bow was slung across his
+shoulders, and a sword hung at his side. His horse ran with the speed
+of lightning, and covered a couple of miles with every step. Whether
+it ran in the air or on the ground, its speed was the same.
+
+"Have you seen the girl in the red coat?" asked the stranger. And when
+the monk replied that he had seen nothing, the other continued:
+"Bonze, you should not lie! This girl is not a human being, but a
+flying ogre. Of flying ogres there are thousands of varieties, who
+bring ruin to people everywhere. I have already slain a countless
+number of them, and have pretty well done away with them. But this one
+is the worst of all. Last night the Lord of the Heavens gave me a
+triple command, and that is the reason I have hurried down from the
+skies. There are eight thousand of us under way in all directions to
+catch this monster. If you do not tell the truth, monk, then you are
+sinning against heaven itself!"
+
+Upon that the monk did not dare deceive him, but pointed to the hollow
+tree. The messenger of the skies dismounted, stepped into the tree and
+looked about him. Then he once more mounted his horse, which carried
+him up the hollow trunk and out at the end of the tree. The monk
+looked up and could see a small, red flame come out of the tree-top.
+It was followed by the messenger of the skies. Both rose up to the
+clouds and disappeared. After a time there fell a rain of blood. The
+ogre had probably been hit by an arrow or captured.
+
+Afterward the monk told the tale to the scholar who wrote it down.
+
+    Note: This flying ogre is also of the Yakscha tribe.
+
+
+
+
+LIX
+
+BLACK ARTS
+
+
+The wild people who dwell in the South-West are masters of many black
+arts. They often lure men of the Middle Kingdom to their country by
+promising them their daughters in marriage, but their promises are not
+to be trusted. Once there was the son of a poor family, who agreed to
+labor for three years for one of the wild men in order to become his
+son-in-law. At the end of that time the wedding was celebrated, and
+the couple were given a little house for a home. But no sooner had
+they entered it than the wife warned her husband to be on his guard,
+since her parents did not like him, and would seek to do him harm. In
+accordance with the custom she entered the house first with a lighted
+lantern, but when the bridegroom followed her she had disappeared. And
+thus it went, day by day. During the daytime she was there, but when
+evening came she disappeared.
+
+And one day, not long after they had been married, his wife said to
+him: "To-morrow morning my mother celebrates her birthday, and you
+must go to congratulate her. They will offer you tea and food. The tea
+you may drink, but be sure not to touch any of the food. Keep this in
+mind!"
+
+So the following day the wife and husband went to her mother's home
+and offered their congratulations. Her parents seemed highly pleased,
+and served them with tea and sweets. The son-in-law drank, but ate
+nothing, though his wife's parents, with kind words and friendly
+gestures, kept urging him to help himself. At last the son-in-law did
+not know what to do, and thought that surely they could mean him no
+ill. And seeing the fresh caught eels and crabs on the plate before
+him, he ate a little of them. His wife gave him a reproachful glance,
+and he offered some excuse for taking his leave.
+
+But his mother-in-law said: "This is my birthday. You simply must
+taste my birthday noodles!"
+
+With that she placed a great dish before him, filled with noodles that
+looked like threads of silver, mingled with fat meat, and spiced with
+fragrant mushrooms. During all the time he had been living in the
+country the son-in-law had never yet seen such an appetizing dish. Its
+pleasant odor rose temptingly to his nostrils, and he could not resist
+raising his chop-sticks. His wife glanced over at him, but he
+pretended that he did not see her.
+
+She coughed significantly, but he acted as though he did not hear.
+Finally she trod on his foot under the table; and then he regained
+control of himself.
+
+He had not as yet eaten half of the food and said: "My hunger is
+satisfied."
+
+Then he took leave, and went off with his wife.
+
+"This is a serious matter," said the latter. "You would not listen to
+my words, and now you will surely have to die!"
+
+But still he did not believe her, until he suddenly felt terrible
+pains, which soon grew unbearable, so that he fell to the ground
+unconscious. His wife at once hung him up by the feet from the beam of
+the roof, and put a panful of glowing charcoal under his body, and a
+great jar of water, into which she had poured sesame oil, in front of
+the fire, directly below his mouth. And when the fire had heated him
+thoroughly, he suddenly opened his mouth--and can you imagine what
+came out of it? A squirming, crawling mass of poisonous worms,
+centipedes, toads and tadpoles, who all fell into the jar of water.
+Then his wife untied him, carried him to bed, and gave him wine
+mingled with realgar to drink. Then he recovered.
+
+"What you ate in the belief that they were eels and crabs," said his
+wife, "were nothing but toads and tadpoles, and the birthday noodles
+were poisonous worms and centipedes. But you must continue to be
+careful. My parents know that you have not died, and they will think
+up other evil plans."
+
+A few days later his father-in-law said to him: "There is a large tree
+growing on the precipice which juts over the cave. In it is the nest
+of the phenix. You are still young and able to climb, so go there
+quickly and fetch me the eggs!"
+
+His son-in-law went home and told his wife.
+
+"Take long bamboo poles," said she, "and tie them together, and fasten
+a curved sword at the top. And take these nine loaves of bread and
+these hens' eggs, there are seven times seven of them. Carry them
+along with you in a basket. When you come to the spot you will see a
+large nest up in the branches. Do not climb the tree, but chop it down
+with the curved sword. Then throw away your poles, and run for dear
+life. Should a monster appear and follow you, throw him the loaves of
+bread, three loaves at a time, and finally throw down the eggs on the
+ground and make for home as quickly as you can. In this way you may
+escape the danger which threatens you."
+
+The man noted all she said exactly and went. And sure enough he saw
+the bird's nest--it was as large as a round pavilion. Then he tied his
+curved sword to the poles, chopped at the tree with all his strength,
+laid down his poles on the ground and never looked around but ran for
+dear life. Suddenly he heard the roaring of a thunder-storm rising
+above him. When he looked up he saw a great dragon, many fathoms long
+and some ten feet across. His eyes gleamed like two lamps and he was
+spitting fire and flame from his maw. He had stretched out two feelers
+and was feeling along the ground. Then the man swiftly flung the
+loaves into the air. The dragon caught them, and it took a little time
+before he had devoured them. But no sooner had the man gained a few
+steps than the dragon once more came flying after him. Then he flung
+him more loaves and when the loaves came to an end, he turned over his
+basket so that the eggs rolled over the ground. The dragon had not yet
+satisfied his hunger and opened his greedy jaws wide. When he suddenly
+caught sight of the eggs, he descended from the air, and since the
+eggs were scattered round about, it took some time before he had
+sucked them all. In the meantime the man succeeded in escaping to his
+home.
+
+When he entered the door and saw his wife, he said to her, amid sobs:
+"It was all I could do to escape, and I am lucky not to be in the
+dragon's stomach! If this sort of thing keeps up much longer I am
+bound to die!"
+
+With these words he kneeled and begged his wife pitifully to save his
+life.
+
+"Where is your home?" asked his wife.
+
+"My home is about a hundred miles away from here, in the Middle
+Kingdom, and my old mother is still living. The only thing that
+worries me is that we are so poor."
+
+His wife said: "I will flee with you, and we will find your mother.
+And waste no regrets on your poverty."
+
+With that she gathered up all the house held in the way of pearls and
+precious stones, put them in a bag and had her husband tie it around
+his waist. Then she also gave him an umbrella, and in the middle of
+the night they climbed the wall with the aid of a ladder, and stole
+away.
+
+His wife had also said to him: "Take the umbrella on your back and run
+as fast as ever you can! Do not open it, and do not look around! I
+will follow you in secret."
+
+So he turned North and ran with all his might and main. He had been
+running for a day and a night, had covered nearly a hundred miles, and
+passed the boundaries of the wild people's country, when his legs gave
+out and he grew hungry. Before him lay a mountain village. He stopped
+at the village gate to rest, drew some food from his pocket and began
+to eat. And he looked around without being able to see his wife.
+
+Said he to himself: "Perhaps she has deceived me after all, and is not
+coming with me!"
+
+After he had finished eating, he took a drink from a spring, and
+painfully dragged himself further. When the heat of the day was
+greatest a violent mountain rain suddenly began to fall. In his haste
+he forgot what his wife had told him and opened his umbrella. And out
+fell his wife upon the ground.
+
+She reproached him: "Once more you have not listened to my advice. Now
+the damage has been done!"
+
+Quickly she told him to go to the village, and there to buy a white
+cock, seven black tea-cups, and half a length of red nettlecloth.
+
+"Do not be sparing of the silver pieces in your pocket!" she cried
+after him as he went off.
+
+He went to the village, attended to everything, and came back. The
+woman tore the cloth apart, made a coat of it and put it on. No sooner
+had they walked a few miles before they could see a red cloud rising
+up in the South, like a flying bird.
+
+"That is my mother," said the woman.
+
+In a moment the cloud was overhead. Then the woman took the black
+tea-cups and threw them at it. Seven she threw and seven fell to earth
+again. And then they could hear the mother in the cloud weeping and
+scolding, and thereupon the cloud disappeared.
+
+They went on for about four hours. Then they heard a sound like the
+noise of silk being torn, and could see a cloud as black as ink, which
+was rushing up against the wind.
+
+"Alas, that is my father!" said the woman. "This is a matter of life
+and death, for he will not let us be! Because of my love for you I
+will now have to disobey the holiest of laws!"
+
+With these words she quickly seized the white cock, separated its head
+from its body, and flung the head into the air. At once the black
+cloud dissolved, and her father's body, the head severed from the
+trunk, fell down by the edge of the road. Then the woman wept
+bitterly, and when she had wept her fill they buried the corpse.
+Thereupon they went together to her husband's home, where they found
+his old mother still living. They then undid the bag of pearls and
+jewels, bought a piece of good ground, built a fine house, and became
+wealthy and respected members of the community.
+
+    Note: Realgar: The Chinese believe that realgar is a
+    mithridate and tonic.
+
+
+
+
+HISTORIC LEGENDS
+
+
+
+
+LX
+
+THE SORCERER OF THE WHITE LOTUS LODGE
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a sorcerer who belonged to the White Lotus
+Lodge. He knew how to deceive the multitude with his black arts, and
+many who wished to learn the secret of his enchantments became his
+pupils.
+
+One day the sorcerer wished to go out. He placed a bowl which he
+covered with another bowl in the hall of his house, and ordered his
+pupils to watch it. But he warned them against uncovering the bowl to
+see what might be in it.
+
+No sooner had he gone than the pupils uncovered the bowl and saw that
+it was filled with clear water. And floating on the water was a little
+ship made of straw, with real masts and sails. They were surprised and
+pushed it with their fingers till it upset. Then they quickly righted
+it again and once more covered the bowl. By that time the sorcerer was
+already standing among them. He was angry and scolded them, saying:
+"Why did you disobey my command?"
+
+His pupils rose and denied that they had done so.
+
+But the sorcerer answered: "Did not my ship turn turtle at sea, and
+yet you try to deceive me?"
+
+On another evening he lit a giant candle in his room, and ordered his
+pupils to watch it lest it be blown out by the wind. It must have been
+at the second watch of the night and the sorcerer had not yet come
+back. The pupils grew tired and sleepy, so they went to bed and
+gradually fell asleep. When they woke up again the candle had gone
+out. So they rose quickly and re-lit it. But the sorcerer was already
+in the room, and again he scolded them.
+
+"Truly we did not sleep! How could the light have gone out?"
+
+Angrily the sorcerer replied: "You let me walk fifteen miles in the
+dark, and still you can talk such nonsense!"
+
+Then his pupils were very much frightened.
+
+In the course of time one of his pupils insulted the sorcerer. The
+latter made note of the insult, but said nothing. Soon after he told
+the pupil to feed the swine, and no sooner had he entered the sty than
+his master turned him into a pig. The sorcerer then at once called in
+a butcher, sold the pig to the man, and he went the way of all pigs
+who go to the butcher.
+
+One day this pupil's father turned up to ask after his son, for he had
+not come back to his home for a long time. The sorcerer told him that
+his son had left him long ago. The father returned home and inquired
+everywhere for his son without success. But one of his son's
+fellow-pupils, who knew of the matter, informed the father. So the
+father complained to the district mandarin. The latter, however,
+feared that the sorcerer might make himself invisible. He did not dare
+to have him arrested, but informed his superior and begged for a
+thousand well-armed soldiers. These surrounded the sorcerer's home and
+seized him, together with his wife and child. All three were put into
+wooden cages to be transported to the capital.
+
+The road wound through the mountains, and in the midst of the hills up
+came a giant as large as a tree, with eyes like saucers, a mouth like
+a plate, and teeth a foot long. The soldiers stood there trembling and
+did not dare to move.
+
+Said the sorcerer: "That is a mountain spirit. My wife will be able to
+drive him off."
+
+They did as he suggested, unchained the woman, and she took a spear
+and went to meet the giant. The latter was angered, and he swallowed
+her, tooth and nail. This frightened the rest all the more.
+
+The sorcerer said: "Well, if he has done away with my wife, then it is
+my son's turn!"
+
+So they let the son out of his cage. But the giant swallowed him in
+the same way. The rest all looked on without knowing what to do.
+
+The sorcerer then wept with rage and said: "First he destroys my wife,
+and then my son. If only he might be punished for it! But I am the
+only one who can punish him!"
+
+And, sure enough, they took him out of his cage, too, gave him a
+sword, and sent him out against the giant. The sorcerer and the giant
+fought with each other for a time, and at last the giant seized the
+sorcerer, thrust him into his maw, stretched his neck and swallowed
+him. Then he went his way contentedly.
+
+And now when it was too late, the soldiers realized that the sorcerer
+had tricked them.
+
+    Note: The Lodge of the White Lotus is one of the secret
+    revolutionary societies of China. It harks back to Tung
+    Tian Giau Dschu as its founder. Compare note to No. 18.
+    The "mountain spirit," of course, is an optical illusion
+    called up by the sorcerer, by means of which he frees
+    his family and himself from the soldiers.
+
+
+
+
+LXI
+
+THE THREE EVILS
+
+
+Once upon a time, in the old days, there lived a young man by the name
+of Dschou Tschu. He was of more than ordinary strength, and no one
+could withstand him. He was also wild and undisciplined, and wherever
+he was, quarrels and brawls arose. Yet the village elders never
+ventured to punish him seriously. He wore a high hat on his head,
+adorned with two pheasants' wings. His garments were woven of
+embroidered silk, and at his side hung the Dragonspring sword. He was
+given to play and to drinking, and his hand was inclined to take that
+which belonged to others. Whoever offended him had reason to dread the
+consequences, and he always mixed into disputes in which others were
+engaged. Thus he kept it up for years, and was a pest throughout the
+neighborhood.
+
+Then a new mandarin came to that district. When he had arrived, he
+first went quietly about the country and listened to the people's
+complaints. And they told him that there were three great evils in
+that district.
+
+Then he clothed himself in coarse garments, and wept before Dschou
+Tschu's door. Dschou Tschu was just coming from the tavern, where he
+had been drinking. He was slapping his sword and singing in a loud
+voice.
+
+When he reached his house he asked: "Who is weeping here so
+pitifully?"
+
+And the mandarin replied: "I am weeping because of the people's
+distress."
+
+Then Dschou Tschu saw him and broke out into loud laughter.
+
+"You are mistaken, my friend," said he. "Revolt is seething round
+about us like boiling water in a kettle. But here, in our little
+corner of the land, all is quiet and peaceful. The harvest has been
+abundant, corn is plentiful, and all go happily about their work. When
+you talk to me about distress I have to think of the man who groans
+without being sick. And who are you, tell me that, who instead of
+grieving for yourself, are grieving for others? And what are you doing
+before my door?"
+
+"I am the new mandarin," replied the other. "Since I left my litter I
+have been looking about in the neighborhood. I find the people are
+honest and simple in their way of life, and every one has sufficient
+to wear and to eat. This is all just as you state. Yet, strange to
+say, when the elders come together, they always sigh and complain. And
+if they are asked why, they answer: 'There are three great evils in
+our district!' I have come to ask you to do away with two of them, as
+to the third, perhaps I had better remain silent. And this is the
+reason I weep before your door."
+
+"Well, what are these evils?" answered Dschou Tschu. "Speak freely,
+and tell me openly all that you know!"
+
+"The first evil," said the mandarin, "is the evil dragon at the long
+bridge, who causes the water to rise so that man and beast are drowned
+in the river. The second evil is the tiger with the white forehead,
+who dwells in the hills. And the third evil, Dschou Tschu--is
+yourself!"
+
+Then the blush of shame mounted to the man's cheek, and he bowed and
+said: "You have come here from afar to be the mandarin of this
+district, and yet you feel such sympathy for the people? I was born in
+this place and yet I have only made our elders grieve. What sort of a
+creature must I be? I beg that you will return home again. I will see
+to it that matters improve!"
+
+Then he ran without stopping to the hills, and hunted the tiger out of
+his cave. The latter leaped into the air so that the whole forest was
+shaken as though by a storm. Then he came rushing up, roaring, and
+stretching out his claws savagely to seize his enemy. Dschou Tschu
+stepped back a pace, and the tiger lit on the ground directly in front
+of him. Then he thrust the tiger's neck to the ground with his left
+hand, and beat him without stopping with his right, until he lay dead
+on the earth. Dschou Tschu loaded the tiger on his back and went home.
+
+Then he went to the long bridge. He undressed, took his sword in his
+hand, and thus dived into the water. No sooner had he disappeared,
+than there was a boiling and hissing, and the waves began to foam and
+billow. It sounded like the mad beating of thousands of hoofs. After a
+time a stream of blood shot up from the depths, and the water of the
+river turned red. Then Dschou Tschu, holding the dragon in his hand,
+rose out of the waves.
+
+He went to the mandarin and reported, with a bow: "I have cut off the
+dragon's head, and have also done away with the tiger. Thus I have
+happily accomplished your command. And now I shall wander away so that
+you may be rid of the third evil as well. Lord, watch over my country,
+and tell the elders that they need sorrow no more!"
+
+When he had said this he enlisted as a soldier. In combat against the
+robbers he gained a great reputation and once, when the latter were
+pressing him hard, and he saw that he could not save himself, he bowed
+to the East and said: "The day has come at last when I can atone for
+my sin with my life!" Then he offered his neck to the sword and died.
+
+    Note: A legendary tale rather than a folk-story, with a
+    fine moral.
+
+
+
+
+LXII
+
+HOW THREE HEROES CAME BY THEIR DEATHS BECAUSE OF TWO PEACHES
+
+
+At the beginning of his reign Duke Ging of Tsi loved to draw heroes
+about him. Among those whom he attached to him were three of quite
+extraordinary bravery. The first was named Gung Sun Dsia, the second
+Tian Kai Giang, the third Gu I Dsi. All three were highly honored by
+the prince, but the honor paid them made them presumptuous, they kept
+the court in a turmoil, and overstepped the bounds of respect which
+lie between a prince and his servants.
+
+At the time Yan Dsi was chancellor of Tsi. The duke consulted him as
+to what would be best to do. And the chancellor advised him to give a
+great court banquet and invite all his courtiers. On the table, the
+choicest dish of all, stood a platter holding four magnificent
+peaches.
+
+Then, in accordance with his chancellor's advice, the Duke rose and
+said: "Here are some magnificent peaches, but I cannot give one to
+each of you. Only those most worthy may eat of them. I myself reign
+over the land, and am the first among the princes of the empire. I
+have been successful in holding my possessions and power, and that is
+my merit. Hence one of the peaches falls to me. Yan Dsi sits here as
+my chancellor. He regulates communications with foreign lands and
+keeps the peace among the people. He has made my kingdom powerful
+among the kingdoms of the earth. That is his merit, and hence the
+second peach falls to him. Now there are but two peaches left; yet I
+cannot tell which ones among you are the worthiest. You may rise
+yourselves and tell us of your merits. But whoever has performed no
+great deeds, let him hold his tongue!"
+
+Then Gung Sun Dsia beat upon his sword, rose up and said: "I am the
+prince's captain general. In the South I besieged the kingdom of Lu,
+in the West I conquered the kingdom of Dsin, in the North I captured
+the army of Yan. All the princes of the East come to the Duke's court
+and acknowledge the overlordship of Tsi. That is my merit. I do not
+know whether it deserves a peach."
+
+The Duke replied: "Great is your merit! A peach is your just due!"
+
+Then Tian Kai Giang rose, beat on the table, and cried: "I have fought
+a hundred battles in the army of the prince. I have slain the enemy's
+general-in-chief, and captured the enemy's flag. I have extended the
+borders of the Duke's land till the size of his realm has been
+increased by a thousand miles. How is it with my merit?"
+
+The Duke said: "Great is your merit! A peach is your just due!"
+
+Then Gu I Dsi arose; his eyes started from their sockets, and he
+shouted with a loud voice: "Once, when the Duke was crossing the
+Yellow River, wind and waters rose. A river-dragon snapped up one of
+the steeds of the chariot and tore it away. The ferry-boat rocked like
+a sieve and was about to capsize. Then I took my sword and leaped into
+the stream. I fought with the dragon in the midst of the foaming
+waves. And by reason of my strength I managed to kill him, though my
+eyes stood out of my head with my exertions. Then I came to the
+surface with the dragon's head in one hand, and holding the rein of
+the rescued horse in the other, and I had saved my prince from
+drowning. Whenever our country was at war with neighboring states, I
+refused no service. I commanded the van, I fought in single combat.
+Never did I turn my back on the foe. Once the prince's chariot stuck
+fast in the swamp, and the enemy hurried up on all sides. I pulled the
+chariot out, and drove off the hostile mercenaries. Since I have been
+in the prince's service I have saved his life more than once. I grant
+that my merit is not to be compared with that of the prince and that
+of the chancellor, yet it is greater than that of my two companions.
+Both have received peaches, while I must do without. This means that
+real merit is not rewarded, and that the Duke looks on me with
+disfavor. And in such case how may I ever show myself at court again!"
+
+With these words he drew his sword and killed himself.
+
+Then Gung Sun Dsia rose, bowed twice, and said with a sigh: "Both my
+merit and that of Tian Kai Giang does not compare with Gu I Dsi's and
+yet the peaches were given us. We have been rewarded beyond our
+deserts, and such reward is shameful. Hence it is better to die than
+to live dishonored!"
+
+He took his sword and swung it, and his own head rolled on the sand.
+
+Tian Kai Giang looked up and uttered a groan of disgust. He blew the
+breath from his mouth in front of him like a rainbow, and his hair
+rose on end with rage. Then he took sword in hand and said: "We three
+have always served our prince bravely. We were like the same flesh and
+blood. The others are dead, and it is my duty not to survive them!"
+
+And he thrust his sword into his throat and died.
+
+The Duke sighed incessantly, and commanded that they be given a
+splendid burial. A brave hero values his honor more than his life. The
+chancellor knew this, and that was why he purposely arranged to incite
+the three heroes to kill themselves by means of the two peaches.
+
+    Note: Duke Ging of Tsi (Eastern Shantung) was an older
+    contemporary of Confucius. The chancellor Yan Dsi, who
+    is the reputed author of a work on philosophy, is the
+    same who prevented the appointment of Confucius at the
+    court of Tsi.
+
+
+
+
+LXIII
+
+HOW THE RIVER-GOD'S WEDDING WAS BROKEN OFF
+
+
+At the time of the seven empires there lived a man by the name of
+Si-Men Bau, who was a governor on the Yellow River. In this district
+the river-god was held in high honor. The sorcerers and witches who
+dwelt there said: "Every year the river-god looks for a bride, who
+must be selected from among the people. If she be not found then wind
+and rain will not come at the proper seasons, and there will be scanty
+crops and floods!" And then, when a girl came of age in some wealthy
+family, the sorcerers would say that she should be selected. Whereupon
+her parents, who wished to protect their daughter, would bribe them
+with large sums of money to look for some one else, till the sorcerers
+would give in, and order the rich folk to share the expense of buying
+some poor girl to be cast into the river. The remainder of the money
+they would keep for themselves as their profit on the transaction. But
+whoever would not pay, their daughter was chosen to be the bride of
+the river-god, and was forced to accept the wedding gifts which the
+sorcerers brought her. The people of the district chafed grievously
+under this custom.
+
+Now when Si-Men entered into office, he heard of this evil custom. He
+had the sorcerers come before him and said: "See to it that you let me
+know when the day of the river-god's wedding comes, for I myself wish
+to be present to honor the god! This will please him, and in return he
+will shower blessings on my people." With that he dismissed them. And
+the sorcerers were full of praise for his piety.
+
+So when the day arrived they gave him notice. Si-Men dressed himself
+in his robes of ceremony, entered his chariot and drove to the river
+in festival procession. The elders of the people, as well as the
+sorcerers and the witches were all there. And from far and near men,
+women and children had flocked together in order to see the show. The
+sorcerers placed the river-bride on a couch, adorned her with her
+bridal jewels, and kettledrums, snaredrums and merry airs vied with
+each other in joyful sound.
+
+They were about to thrust the couch into the stream, and the girl's
+parents said farewell to her amid tears. But Si-Men bade them wait and
+said: "Do not be in such a hurry! I have appeared in person to escort
+the bride, hence everything must be done solemnly and in order. First
+some one must go to the river-god's castle, and let him know that he
+may come himself and fetch his bride."
+
+And with these words he looked at a witch and said: "You may go!" The
+witch hesitated, but he ordered his servants to seize her and thrust
+her into the stream. After which about an hour went by.
+
+"That woman did not understand her business," continued Si-Men, "or
+else she would have been back long ago!" And with that he looked at
+one of the sorcerers and added: "Do you go and do better!" The
+sorcerer paled with fear, but Si-Men had him seized and cast into the
+river. Again half-an-hour went by.
+
+Then Si-Men pretended to be uneasy. "Both of them have made a botch of
+their errand," said he, "and are causing the bride to wait in vain!"
+Once more he looked at a sorcerer and said: "Do you go and hunt them
+up!" But the sorcerer flung himself on the ground and begged for
+mercy. And all the rest of the sorcerers and witches knelt to him in a
+row, and pleaded for grace. And they took an oath that they would
+never again seek a bride for the river-god.
+
+Then Si-Men held his hand, and sent the girl back to her home, and the
+evil custom was at an end forever.
+
+    Note: Si-Men Bau was an historical personage, who lived
+    five centuries before Christ.
+
+
+
+
+LXIV
+
+DSCHANG LIANG
+
+
+Dschang Liang was a native of one of those states which had been
+destroyed by the Emperor Tsin Schi Huang. And Dschang Liang determined
+to do a deed for his dead king's sake, and to that end gathered
+followers with whom to slay Tsin Schi Huang.
+
+Once Tsin Schi Huang was making a progress through the country. When
+he came to the plain of Bo Lang, Dschang Liang armed his people with
+iron maces in order to kill him. But Tsin Schi Huang always had two
+traveling coaches which were exactly alike in appearance. In one of
+them he sat himself, while in the other was seated another person.
+Dschang Liang and his followers met the decoy wagon, and Dschang Liang
+was forced to flee from the Emperor's rage. He came to a ruined
+bridge. An icy wind was blowing, and the snowflakes were whirling
+through the air. There he met an old, old man wearing a black turban
+and a yellow gown. The old man let one of his shoes fall into the
+water, looked at Dschang Liang and said: "Fetch it out, little one!"
+
+Dschang Liang controlled himself, fetched out the shoe and brought it
+to the old man. The latter stretched out his foot to allow Dschang
+Liang to put it on, which he did in a respectful manner. This pleased
+the old man and he said: "Little one, something may be made of you!
+Come here to-morrow morning early, and I will have something for you."
+
+The following morning at break of dawn, Dschang Liang appeared. But
+the old man was already there and reproached him: "You are too late.
+To-day I will tell you nothing. To-morrow you must come earlier."
+
+So it went on for three days, and Dschang Liang's patience was not
+exhausted. Then the old man was satisfied, brought forth the Book of
+Hidden Complements, and gave it to him. "You must read it," said he,
+"and then you will be able to rule a great emperor. When your task is
+completed, seek me at the foot of the Gu Tschong Mountain. There you
+will find a yellow stone, and I will be by that yellow stone."
+
+Dschang Liang took the book and aided the ancestor of the Han dynasty
+to conquer the empire. The emperor made him a count. From that time
+forward Dschang Liang ate no human food and concentrated in spirit. He
+kept company with the four whitebeards of the Shang Mountain, and with
+them shared the sunset roses in the clouds. Once he met two boys who
+were singing and dancing:
+
+    "Green the garments you should wear,
+    If to heaven's gate you'd fare;
+    There the Golden Mother greet,
+    Bow before the Wood Lord's feet!"
+
+When Dschang Liang heard this, he bowed before the youths, and said to
+his friends: "Those are angel children of the King Father of the East.
+The Golden Mother is the Queen of the West. The Lord of Wood is the
+King Father of the East. They are the two primal powers, the parents
+of all that is male and female, the root and fountain of heaven and
+earth, to whom all that has life is indebted for its creation and
+nourishment. The Lord of Wood is the master of all the male saints,
+the Golden Mother is the mistress of all the female saints. Whoever
+would gain immortality, must first greet the Golden Mother and then
+bow before the King Father. Then he may rise up to the three Pure Ones
+and stand in the presence of the Highest. The song of the angel
+children shows the manner in which the hidden knowledge may be
+acquired."
+
+At about that time the emperor was induced to have some of his
+faithful servants slain. Then Dschang Liang left his service and went
+to the Gu Tschong Mountain. There he found the old man by the yellow
+stone, gained the hidden knowledge, returned home, and feigning
+illness loosed his soul from his body and disappeared.
+
+Later, when the rebellion of the "Red Eyebrows" broke out, his tomb
+was opened. But all that was found within it was a yellow stone.
+Dschang Liang was wandering with Laotsze in the invisible world.
+
+Once his grandson Dschang Dau Ling went to Kunlun Mountain, in order
+to visit the Queen Mother of the West. There he met Dschang Liang.
+Dschang Dau Ling gained power over demons and spirits, and became the
+first Taoist pope. And the secret of his power has been handed down in
+his family from generation to generation.
+
+    Note: "In a yellow robe," is an indication of Taoism:
+    compare with No. 38. "The Book of Hidden Complements"
+    (Yin Fu Ging). Compare with Lia Dsi, Introduction.
+
+
+
+
+LXV
+
+OLD DRAGONBEARD
+
+
+At the time of the last emperor of the Sui dynasty, the power was in
+the hands of the emperor's uncle, Yang Su. He was proud and
+extravagant. In his halls stood choruses of singers and bands of
+dancing girls, and serving-maids stood ready to obey his least sign.
+When the great lords of the empire came to visit him he remained
+comfortably seated on his couch while he received them.
+
+In those days there lived a bold hero named Li Dsing. He came to see
+Yang Su in humble clothes in order to bring him a plan for the
+quieting of the empire.
+
+He made a low bow to which Yang Su did not reply, and then he said:
+"The empire is about to be troubled by dissension and heroes are
+everywhere taking up arms. You are the highest servant of the imperial
+house. It should be your duty to gather the bravest around the throne.
+And you should not rebuff people by your haughtiness!"
+
+When Yang Su heard him speak in this fashion he collected himself,
+rose from his place, and spoke to him in a friendly manner.
+
+Li Dsing handed him a memorial, and Yang Su entered into talk with him
+concerning all sorts of things. A serving-maid of extraordinary beauty
+stood beside them. She held a red flabrum in her hand, and kept her
+eyes fixed on Li Dsing. The latter at length took his leave and
+returned to his inn.
+
+Later in the day some one knocked at his door. He looked out, and
+there, before the door, stood a person turbaned and gowned in purple,
+and carrying a bag slung from a stick across his shoulder.
+
+Li Dsing asked who it was and received the answer: "I am the
+fan-bearer of Yang Su!"
+
+With that she entered the room, threw back her mantle and took off her
+turban. Li Dsing saw that she was a maiden of eighteen or nineteen.
+
+She bowed to him, and when he had replied to her greeting she began:
+"I have dwelt in the house of Yang Su for a long time and have seen
+many famous people, but none who could equal you. I will serve you
+wherever you go!"
+
+Li Dsing answered: "The minister is powerful. I am afraid that we will
+plunge ourselves into misfortune."
+
+"He is a living corpse, in whom the breath of life grows scant," said
+the fan-bearer, "and we need not fear him."
+
+He asked her name, and she said it was Dschang, and that she was the
+oldest among her brothers and sisters.
+
+And when he looked at her, and considered her courageous behavior and
+her sensible words, he realized that she was a girl of heroic cast,
+and they agreed to marry and make their escape from the city in
+secret. The fan-bearer put on men's clothes, and they mounted horses
+and rode away. They had determined to go to Taiyuanfu.
+
+On the following day they stopped at an inn. They had their room put
+in order and made a fire on the hearth to cook their meal. The
+fan-bearer was combing her hair. It was so long that it swept the
+ground, and so shining that you could see your face in it. Li Dsing
+had just left the room to groom the horses. Suddenly a man who had a
+long curling mustache like a dragon made his appearance. He came along
+riding on a lame mule, threw down his leather bag on the ground in
+front of the hearth, took a pillow, made himself comfortable on a
+couch, and watched the fan-bearer as she combed her hair. Li Dsing saw
+him and grew angry; but the fan-bearer had at once seen through the
+stranger. She motioned Li Dsing to control himself, quickly finished
+combing her hair and tied it in a knot.
+
+Then she greeted the guest and asked his name.
+
+He told her that he was named Dschang.
+
+"Why, my name is also Dschang," said she, "so we must be relatives!"
+
+Thereupon she bowed to him as her elder brother.
+
+"How many are there of you brothers?" she then inquired.
+
+"I am the third," he answered, "and you?"
+
+"I am the oldest sister."
+
+"How fortunate that I should have found a sister to-day," said the
+stranger, highly pleased.
+
+Then the fan-bearer called to Li Dsing through the door and said:
+"Come in! I wish to present my third brother to you!"
+
+Then Li Dsing came in and greeted him.
+
+They sat down beside each other and the stranger asked: "What have you
+to eat?"
+
+"A leg of mutton," was the answer.
+
+"I am quite hungry," said the stranger.
+
+So Li Dsing went to the market and brought bread and wine. The
+stranger drew out his dagger, cut the meat, and they all ate in
+company. When they had finished he fed the rest of the meat to his
+mule.
+
+Then he said: "Sir Li, you seem to be a moneyless knight. How did you
+happen to meet my sister?"
+
+Li Dsing told him how it had occurred.
+
+"And where do you wish to go now?"
+
+"To Taiyuanfu," was the answer.
+
+Said the stranger: "You do not seem to be an ordinary fellow. Have you
+heard anything regarding a hero who is supposed to be in this
+neighborhood?"
+
+Li Dsing answered: "Yes, indeed, I know of one, whom heaven seems
+destined to rule."
+
+"And who might he be?" inquired the other.
+
+"He is the son of Duke Li Yuan of Tang, and he is no more than twenty
+years of age."
+
+"Could you present him to me some time?" asked the stranger.
+
+And when Li Dsing has assured him he could, he continued: "The
+astrologers say that a special sign has been noticed in the air above
+Taiyuanfu. Perhaps it is caused by the very man. To-morrow you may
+await me at the Fenyang Bridge!"
+
+With these words he mounted his mule and rode away, and he rode so
+swiftly that he seemed to be flying.
+
+The fan-bearer said to him: "He is not a pleasant customer to deal
+with. I noticed that at first he had no good intentions. That is why I
+united him to us by bonds of relationship."
+
+Then they set out together for Taiyuanfu, and at the appointed place,
+sure enough, they met Dragonbeard. Li Dsing had an old friend, a
+companion of the Prince of Tang.
+
+He presented the stranger to this friend, named Liu Wendsing, saying:
+"This stranger is able to foretell the future from the lines of the
+face, and would like to see the prince."
+
+Thereupon Liu Wendsing took him in to the prince. The prince was
+clothed in a simple indoor robe, but there was something impressive
+about him, which made him remarked among all others. When the stranger
+saw him, he fell into a profound silence, and his face turned gray.
+After he had drunk a few flagons of wine he took his leave.
+
+"That man is a true ruler," he told Li Dsing. "I am almost certain of
+the fact, but to be sure my friend must also see him."
+
+Then he arranged to meet Li Dsing on a certain day at a certain inn.
+
+"When you see this mule before the door, together with a very lean
+jackass, then you may be certain I am there with my friend."
+
+On the day set Li Dsing went there and, sure enough he saw the mule
+and the jackass before the door. He gathered up his robe and descended
+to the upper story of the inn. There sat old Dragonbeard and a Taoist
+priest over their wine. When the former saw Li Dsing he was much
+pleased, bade him sit down and offered him wine. After they had
+pledged each other, all three returned to Liu Wendsing. He was engaged
+in a game of chess with the prince. The prince rose with respect and
+asked them to be seated.
+
+As soon as the Taoist priest saw his radiant and heroic countenance he
+was disconcerted, and greeted him with a low bow, saying: "The game is
+up!"
+
+When they took their leave Dragonbeard said to Li Dsing: "Go on to
+Sianfu, and when the time has come, ask for me at such and such a
+place."
+
+And with that he went away snorting.
+
+Li Dsing and the fan-bearer packed up their belongings, left Taiyuanfu
+and traveled on toward the West. At that time Yang Su died, and great
+disturbance arose throughout the empire.
+
+In the course of a few days Li Dsing and his wife reached the
+meeting-place appointed by Dragonbeard. They knocked at a little
+wooden door, and out came a servant, who led them through long
+passages. When they emerged magnificent buildings arose before them,
+in front of which stood a crowd of slave girls. Then they entered a
+hall in which the most valuable dowry that could be imagined had been
+piled up: mirrors, clothes, jewelry, all more beautiful than earth is
+wont to show. Handsome slave girls led them to the bath, and when they
+had changed their garments their friend was announced. He stepped in
+clad in silks and fox-pelts, and looking almost like a dragon or a
+tiger. He greeted his guests with pleasure and also called in his
+wife, who was of exceptional loveliness. A festive banquet was served,
+and all four sat down to it. The table was covered with the most
+expensive viands, so rare that they did not even know their names.
+Flagons and dishes and all the utensils were made of gold and jade,
+and ornamented with pearls and precious stones. Two companies of girl
+musicians alternately blew flutes and chalameaus. They sang and
+danced, and it seemed to the visitors that they had been transported
+to the palace of the Lady of the Moon. The rainbow garments fluttered,
+and the dancing girls were beautiful beyond all the beauty of earth.
+
+After they had banqueted, Dragonbeard commanded his servitors to bring
+in couches upon which embroidered silken covers had been spread. And
+after they had seen everything worth seeing, he presented them with a
+book and a key.
+
+Then he said: "In this book are listed the valuables and the riches
+which I possess. I make you a wedding-present of them. Nothing great
+may be undertaken without wealth, and it is my duty to endow my sister
+properly. My original intention had been to take the Middle Kingdom in
+hand and do something with it. But since a ruler has already arisen to
+reign over it, what is there to keep me in this country? For Prince
+Tang of Taiyuanfu is a real hero, and will have restored order within
+a few years' time. You must both of you aid him, and you will be
+certain to rise to high honors. You, my sister, are not alone
+beautiful, but you have also the right way of looking at things. None
+other than yourself would have been able to recognize the true worth
+of Li Dsing, and none other than Li Dsing would have had the good
+fortune to encounter you. You will share the honors which will be your
+husband's portion, and your name will be recorded in history. The
+treasures which I bestow upon you, you are to use to help the true
+ruler. Bear this in mind! And in ten years' time a glow will rise far
+away to the South-east, and it shall be a sign that I have reached my
+goal. Then you may pour a libation of wine in the direction of the
+South-east, to wish me good fortune!"
+
+Then, one after another, he had his servitors and slave-girls greet
+Li Dsing and the fan-bearer, and said to them: "This is your master
+and your mistress!"
+
+When he had spoken these words, he took his wife's hand, they mounted
+three steeds which were held ready, and rode away.
+
+Li Dsing and his wife now established themselves in the house, and
+found themselves possessed of countless wealth. They followed Prince
+Tang, who restored order to the empire, and aided him with their
+money. Thus the great work was accomplished, and after peace had been
+restored throughout the empire, Li Dsing was made Duke of We, and the
+fan-bearer became a duchess.
+
+Some ten years later the duke was informed that in the empire beyond
+the sea a thousand ships had landed an army of a hundred thousand
+armored soldiers. These had conquered the country, killed its prince,
+and set up their leader as its king. And order now reigned in that
+empire.
+
+Then the duke knew that Dragonbeard had accomplished his aim. He told
+his wife, and they robed themselves in robes of ceremony and offered
+wine in order to wish him good fortune. And they saw a radiant crimson
+ray flash up on the South-eastern horizon. No doubt Dragonbeard had
+sent it in answer. And both of them were very happy.
+
+    Note: Yang Su died in the year 606 A.D. The Li Dsing of
+    this tale has nothing in common with Li Dsing, the
+    father of Notscha (No. 18). He lived as a historical
+    personage, 571-649 A.D. Li Yuan was the founder of the
+    Tang dynasty, 565-635 A.D. His famous son, to whom he
+    owed the throne, the "Prince of Tang," was named Li Schi
+    Min. His father abdicated in 618 in his favor. This tale
+    is not, of course, historical, but legendary. Compare
+    with the introduction of the following one.
+
+
+
+
+LXVI
+
+HOW MOLO STOLE THE LOVELY ROSE-RED
+
+
+At the time when the Tang dynasty reigned over the Middle Kingdom,
+there were master swordsmen of various kinds. Those who came first
+were the saints of the sword. They were able to take different shapes
+at will, and their swords were like strokes of lightning. Before their
+opponents knew they had been struck their heads had already fallen.
+Yet these master swordsmen were men of lofty mind, and did not lightly
+mingle in the quarrels of the world. The second kind of master
+swordsmen were the sword heroes. It was their custom to slay the
+unjust, and to come to the aid of the oppressed. They wore a hidden
+dagger at their side and carried a leather bag at their belt. By magic
+means they were able to turn human heads into flowing water. They
+could fly over roofs and walk up and down walls, and they came and
+went and left no trace. The swordsmen of the lowest sort were the mere
+bought slayers. They hired themselves out to those who wished to do
+away with their enemies. And death was an everyday matter to them.
+
+Old Dragonbeard must have been a master swordsman standing midway
+between those of the first and of the second order. Molo, however, of
+whom this story tells, was a sword hero.
+
+At that time there lived a young man named Tsui, whose father was a
+high official and the friend of the prince. And the father once sent
+his son to visit his princely friend, who was ill. The son was young,
+handsome and gifted. He went to carry out his father's instructions.
+When he entered the prince's palace, there stood three beautiful
+slave girls, who piled rosy peaches into a golden bowl, poured sugar
+over them and presented them to him. After he had eaten he took his
+leave, and his princely host ordered one of the slave girls, Rose-Red
+by name, to escort him to the gate. As they went along the young man
+kept looking back at her. And she smiled at him and made signs with
+her fingers. First she would stretch out three fingers, then she would
+turn her hand around three times, and finally she would point to a
+little mirror which she wore on her breast. When they parted she
+whispered to him: "Do not forget me!"
+
+When the young man reached home his thoughts were all in confusion.
+And he sat down absent-mindedly like a wooden rooster. Now it happened
+that he had an old servant named Molo, who was an extraordinary being.
+
+"What is the trouble, master," said he. "Why are you so sad? Do you
+not want to tell your old slave about it?"
+
+So the boy told him what had occurred, and also mentioned the signs
+the girl had made to him in secret.
+
+Said Molo: "When she stretched out three fingers, it meant that she is
+quartered in the third court of the palace. When she turned round her
+hand three times, it meant the sum of three times five fingers, which
+is fifteen. When she pointed at the little mirror, she meant to say
+that on the fifteenth, when the moon is round as a mirror, at
+midnight, you are to go for her."
+
+Then the young man was roused from his confused thoughts, and was so
+happy he could hardly control himself.
+
+But soon he grew sad again and said: "The prince's palace is shut off
+as though by an ocean. How would it be possible to win into it?"
+
+"Nothing easier," said Molo. "On the fifteenth we will take two
+pieces of dark silk and wrap ourselves up in them, and thus I will
+carry you there. Yet there is a wild dog on guard at the slave girl's
+court, who is strong as a tiger and watchful as a god. No one can pass
+by him, so he must be killed."
+
+When the appointed day had come, the servant said: "There is no one
+else in the world who can kill this dog but myself!"
+
+Full of joy the youth gave him meat and wine, and the old man took a
+chain-hammer and disappeared with it.
+
+And after no more time had elapsed than it takes to eat a meal he was
+back again and said: "The dog is dead, and there is nothing further to
+hinder us!"
+
+At midnight they wrapped themselves in dark silk, and the old man
+carried the youth over the tenfold walls which surrounded the palace.
+They reached the third gateway and the gate stood ajar. Then they saw
+the glow of a little lamp, and heard Rose-Red sigh deeply. The entire
+court was silent and deserted. The youth raised the curtain and
+stepped into the room. Long and searchingly Rose-Red looked at him,
+then seized his hand.
+
+"I knew that you were intelligent, and would understand my sign
+language. But what magic power have you at your disposal, that you
+were able to get here?"
+
+The youth told her in detail how Molo had helped him.
+
+"And where is Molo?" she asked.
+
+"Outside, before the curtain," was his answer.
+
+Then she called him in and gave him wine to drink from a jade goblet
+and said: "I am of good family and have come here from far away. Force
+alone has made me a slave in this palace. I long to leave it. For
+though I have jasper chop-sticks with which to eat, and drink my wine
+from golden flagons, though silk and satin rustle around me and jewels
+of every kind are at my disposal, all these are but so many chains and
+fetters to hold me here. Dear Molo, you are endowed with magic powers.
+I beg you to save me in my distress! If you do, I will be glad to
+serve your master as a slave, and will never forget the favor you do
+me."
+
+The youth looked at Molo. Molo was quite willing. First he asked
+permission to carry away Rose-Red's gear and jewels in sacks and bags.
+Three times he went away and returned until he had finished. Then he
+took his master and Rose-Red upon his back, and flew away with them
+over the steep walls. None of the watchmen of the prince's palace
+noticed anything out of the way. At home the youth hid Rose-Red in a
+distant room.
+
+When the prince discovered that one of his slave-girls was missing,
+and that one of his wild dogs had been killed, he said: "That must
+have been some powerful sword hero!" And he gave strict orders that
+the matter should not be mentioned, and that investigations should be
+made in secret.
+
+Two years passed, and the youth no longer thought of any danger.
+Hence, when the flowers began to bloom in the spring, Rose-Red went
+driving in a small wagon outside the city, near the river. And there
+one of the prince's servants saw her, and informed his master. The
+latter sent for the youth, who, since he could not conceal the matter,
+told him the whole story exactly as it had happened.
+
+Said the prince: "The whole blame rests on Rose-Red. I do not reproach
+you. Yet since she is now your wife I will let the whole matter rest.
+But Molo will have to suffer for it!"
+
+  [Illustration: "THEN HE TOOK HIS MASTER AND ROSE-RED UPON HIS BACK
+    AND FLEW WITH THEM OVER THE STEEP WALLS."
+                                                  --_Page 234_]
+
+So he ordered a hundred armored soldiers, with bows and swords, to
+surround the house of the youth, and under all circumstances to take
+Molo captive. But Molo drew his dagger and flew up the high wall.
+Thence he looked about him like a hawk. The arrows flew as thick as
+rain, but not one hit him. And in a moment he had disappeared, no one
+knew where.
+
+Yet ten years later one of his former master's servants ran across him
+in the South, where he was selling medicine. And he looked exactly as
+he had looked ten years before.
+
+    Note: This fairy-tale has many features in common with
+    the fairy-tales of India, noticeably the use of the sign
+    language, which the hero himself does not understand,
+    but which is understood by his companion.
+
+
+
+
+LXVII
+
+THE GOLDEN CANISTER
+
+
+In the days of the Tang dynasty there lived a certain count in the
+camp at Ludschou. He had a slave who could play the lute admirably,
+and was also so well versed in reading and writing that the count
+employed her to indite his confidential letters.
+
+Once there was a great feast held in the camp. Said the slave-girl:
+"The large kettledrum sounds so sad to-day; some misfortune must
+surely have happened to the kettledrummer!"
+
+The count sent for the kettledrummer and questioned him.
+
+"My wife has died," he replied, "yet I did not venture to ask for
+leave of absence. That is why, in spite of me, my kettledrum sounded
+so sad."
+
+The count allowed him to go home.
+
+At that time there was much strife and jealousy among the counts along
+the Yellow River. The emperor wished to put an end to their
+dissensions by allying them to each other by marriages. Thus the
+daughter of the Count of Ludschou had married the son of the old Count
+of Webo. But this did not much improve matters. The old Count of Webo
+had lung trouble, and when the hot season came it always grew worse,
+and he would say: "Yes, if I only had Ludschou! It is cooler and I
+might feel better there!"
+
+So he gathered three thousand warriors around him, gave them good pay,
+questioned the oracle with regard to a lucky day, and set out to take
+Ludschou by force.
+
+The Count of Ludschou heard of it. He worried day and night, but could
+see no way out of his difficulties. One night, when the water-clock
+had already been set up, and the gate of the camp had been locked, he
+walked about the courtyard, leaning on his staff. Only his slave-girl
+followed him.
+
+"Lord," said she, "it is now more than a month since sleep and
+appetite have abandoned you! You live sad and lonely, wrapped up in
+your grief. Unless I am greatly deceived it is on account of Webo."
+
+"It is a matter of life and death," answered the count, "of which you
+women understand nothing."
+
+"I am no more than a slave-girl," said she, "and yet I have been able
+to guess the cause of your grief."
+
+The count realized that there was meaning in her words and replied:
+"You are in truth an extraordinary girl. It is a fact that I am
+quietly reflecting on some way of escape."
+
+The slave-girl said: "That is easily done! You need not give it a
+thought, master! I will go to Webo and see how things are. This is the
+first watch of the night. If I go now, I can be back by the fifth
+watch."
+
+"Should you not succeed," said the count, "you merely bring misfortune
+upon me the more quickly."
+
+"A failure is out of the question," answered the slave-girl.
+
+Then she went to her room and prepared for her journey. She combed her
+raven hair, tied it in a knot on the top of her head, and fastened it
+with a golden pin. Then she put on a short garment embroidered with
+purple, and shoes woven of dark silk. In her breast she hid a dagger
+with dragon-lines graved on it, and upon her forehead she wrote the
+name of the Great God. Then she bowed before the count and
+disappeared.
+
+The count poured wine for himself and waited for her, and when the
+morning horn was blown, the slave-girl floated down before him as
+light as a leaf.
+
+"Did all go well?" asked the count.
+
+"I have done no discredit to my mission," replied the girl.
+
+"Did you kill any one?"
+
+"No, I did not have to go to such lengths. Yet I took the golden
+canister at the head of Webo's couch along as a pledge."
+
+The count asked what her experience had been, and she began to tell
+her story:
+
+"I set out when the drums were beating their first tattoo and reached
+Webo three hours before midnight. When I stepped through the gate, I
+could see the sentries asleep in their guard-rooms. They snored so
+that it sounded like thunder. The camp sentinels were pacing their
+beats, and I went in through the left entrance into the room in which
+the Count of Webo slept. There lay your relative on his back behind
+the curtain, plunged in sweet slumber. A costly sword showed from
+beneath his pillow; and beside it stood an open canister of gold. In
+the canister were various slips. On one of them was set down his age
+and the day of his birth, on another the name of the Great Bear God.
+Grains of incense and pearls were scattered over it. The candles in
+the room burned dimly, and the incense in the censers was paling to
+ash. The slave-girls lay huddled up, round about, asleep. I could have
+drawn out their hair-pins and raised their robes and they would not
+have awakened. Your relative's life was in my hand, but I could not
+bring myself to kill him. So I took the golden canister and returned.
+The water-clock marked the third hour when I had finished my journey.
+Now you must have a swift horse saddled quickly, and must send a man
+to Webo to take back the golden canister. Then the Lord of Webo will
+come to his senses, and will give up his plans of conquest."
+
+The Count of Ludschou at once ordered an officer to ride to Webo as
+swiftly as possible. He rode all day long and half the night and
+finally arrived. In Webo every one was excited because of the loss of
+the golden canister. They were searching the whole camp rigorously.
+The messenger knocked at the gate with his riding-whip, and insisted
+on seeing the Lord of Webo. Since he came at so unusual an hour the
+Lord of Webo guessed that he was bringing important information, and
+left his room to receive the messenger. The latter handed him a letter
+which said: "Last night a stranger from Webo came to us. He informed
+us that with his own hands he had taken a golden canister from beside
+your bed. I have not ventured to keep it and hence am sending it back
+to you by messenger." When the Lord of Webo saw the golden canister he
+was much frightened. He took the messenger into his own room, treated
+him to a splendid meal, and rewarded him generously.
+
+On the following day he sent the messenger back again, and gave him
+thirty thousand bales of silk and a team of four horses along as a
+present for his master. He also wrote a letter to the Count of
+Ludschou:
+
+"My life was in your hand. I thank you for having spared me, regret my
+evil intentions and will improve. From this time forward peace and
+friendship shall ever unite us, and I will let no thought to the
+contrary enter my mind. The citizen soldiery I have gathered I will
+use only as a protection against robbers. I have already disarmed the
+men and sent them back to their work in the fields."
+
+And thenceforward the heartiest friendship existed between the two
+relatives North and South of the Yellow River.
+
+One day the slave-girl came and wished to take leave of her master.
+
+"In my former existence," said the slave-girl, "I was a man. I was a
+physician and helped the sick. Once upon a time I gave a little child
+a poison to drink by mistake instead of a healing draught, and the
+child died. This led the Lord of Death to punish me, and I came to
+earth again in the shape of a slave-girl. Yet I remembered my former
+life, tried to do well in my new surroundings, and even found a rare
+teacher who taught me the swordsman's art. Already I have served you
+for nineteen years. I went to Webo for you in order to repay your
+kindness. And I have succeeded in shaping matters so that you are
+living at peace with your relatives again, and thus have saved the
+lives of thousands of people. For a weak woman this is a real service,
+sufficient to absolve me of my original fault. Now I shall retire from
+the world and dwell among the silent hills, in order to labor for
+sanctity with a clean heart. Perhaps I may thus succeed in returning
+to my former condition of life. So I beg of you to let me depart!"
+
+The count saw that it would not be right to detain her any longer. So
+he prepared a great banquet, invited a number of guests to the
+farewell meal, and many a famous knight sat down to the board. And all
+honored her with toasts and poems.
+
+The count could no longer hide his emotion, and the slave-girl also
+bowed before him and wept. Then she secretly left the banquet-hall,
+and no human being ever discovered whither she had gone.
+
+    Note: This motive of the intelligent slave-girl also
+    occurs in the story of the three empires. "On her
+    forehead she wrote the name of the Great God": Regarding
+    this god, Tai I, the Great One, compare annotation to
+    No. 18. The God of the Great Bear, i.e., of the
+    constellation. The letters which are exchanged are quite
+    as noticeable for what is implied between the lines, as
+    for what is actually set down.
+
+
+
+
+LXVIII
+
+YANG GUI FE
+
+
+The favorite wife of the emperor Ming Huang of the Tang dynasty was
+the celebrated Yang Gui Fe. She so enchanted him by her beauty that he
+did whatever she wished him to do. But she brought her cousin to the
+court, a gambler and a drinker, and because of him the people began to
+murmur against the emperor. Finally a revolt broke out, and the
+emperor was obliged to flee. He fled with his entire court to the land
+of the four rivers.
+
+But when they reached a certain pass his own soldiers mutinied. They
+shouted that Yang Gui Fe's cousin was to blame for all, and that he
+must die or they would go no further. The emperor did not know what to
+do. At last the cousin was delivered up to the soldiers and was slain.
+But still they were not satisfied.
+
+"As long as Yang Gui Fe is alive she will do all in her power to
+punish us for the death of her cousin, so she must die as well!"
+
+Sobbing, she fled to the emperor. He wept bitterly and endeavored to
+protect her; but the soldiers grew more and more violent. Finally she
+was hung from a pear-tree by a eunuch.
+
+The emperor longed so greatly for Yang Gui Fe that he ceased to eat,
+and could no longer sleep. Then one of his eunuchs told him of a man
+named Yang Shi Wu, who was able to call up the spirits of the
+departed. The emperor sent for him and Yang Shi Wu appeared.
+
+That very evening he recited his magic incantations, and his soul left
+its body to go in search of Yang Gui Fe. First he went to the Nether
+World, where the shades of the departed dwell. Yet no matter how much
+he looked and asked he could find no trace of her. Then he ascended to
+the highest heaven, where sun, moon and stars make their rounds, and
+looked for her in empty space. Yet she was not to be found there,
+either. So he came back and told the emperor of his experience. The
+emperor was dissatisfied and said: "Yang Gui Fe's beauty was divine.
+How can it be possible that she had no soul!"
+
+The magician answered: "Between hill and valley and amid the silent
+ravines dwell the blessed. I will go back once more and search for her
+there."
+
+So he wandered about on the five holy hills, by the four great rivers
+and through the islands of the sea. He went everywhere, and finally
+came to fairyland.
+
+The fairy said: "Yang Gui Fe has become a blessed spirit and dwells in
+the great south palace!"
+
+So the magician went there and knocked on the door. A maiden came out
+and asked what he wanted, and he told her that the emperor had sent
+him to look for her mistress. She let him in. The way led through
+broad gardens filled with flowers of jade and trees of coral, giving
+forth the sweetest of odors. Finally they reached a high tower, and
+the maiden raised the curtain hanging before a door. The magician
+kneeled and looked up. And there he saw Yang Gui Fe sitting on a
+throne, adorned with an emerald headdress and furs of yellow swans'
+down. Her face glowed with rosy color, yet her forehead was wrinkled
+with care.
+
+She said: "Well do I know the emperor longs for me! But for me there
+is no path leading back to the world of men! Before my birth I was a
+blessed sky-fairy, and the emperor was a blessed spirit as well. Even
+then we loved each other dearly. Then, when the emperor was sent down
+to earth by the Lord of the Heavens, I, too, descended to earth and
+found him there among men. In twelve years' time we will meet again.
+Once, on the evening of the seventh day, when we stood looking up at
+the Weaving Maiden and the Herd Boy, we swore eternal love. The
+emperor had a ring, which he broke in two. One half he gave to me, the
+other he kept himself. Take this half of mine, bring it to the
+emperor, and tell him not to forget the words we said to each other in
+secret that evening. And tell him not to grieve too greatly because of
+me!"
+
+With that she gave him the ring, with difficulty suppressing her
+sobs. The magician brought back the ring with him. At sight of it the
+emperor's grief broke out anew.
+
+He said: "What we said to each other that evening no one else has ever
+learned! And now you bring me back her ring! By that sign I know that
+your words are true and that my beloved has really become a blessed
+spirit."
+
+Then he kept the ring and rewarded the magician lavishly.
+
+    Note: The emperor Ming Huang of the Tang dynasty ruled
+    from 713 to 756 A.D. The introduction to the tale is
+    historical. The "land of the four rivers" is Setchuan.
+
+
+
+
+LXIX
+
+THE MONK OF THE YANGTZE-KIANG
+
+
+Buddhism took its rise in southern India, on the island of Ceylon. It
+was there that the son of a Brahminic king lived, who had left his
+home in his youth, and had renounced all wishes and all sensation.
+With the greatest renunciation of self he did penance so that all
+living creatures might be saved. In the course of time he gained the
+hidden knowledge and was called Buddha.
+
+In the days of the Emperor Ming Di, of the dynasty of the Eastern
+Hans, a golden glow was seen in the West, a glow which flashed and
+shone without interruption.
+
+One night the emperor dreamed that he saw a golden saint, twenty feet
+in height, barefoot, his head shaven, and clothed in Indian garb
+enter his room, who said to him: "I am the saint from the West! My
+gospel must be spread in the East!"
+
+When the ruler awoke he wondered about this dream, and sent out
+messengers to the lands of the West in order to find out what it
+meant.
+
+Thus it was that the gospel of Buddha came to China, and continued to
+gain in influence up to the time of the Tang dynasty. At that time,
+from emperors and kings down to the peasants in the villages, the wise
+and the ignorant alike were filled with reverence for Buddha. But
+under the last two dynasties his gospel came to be more and more
+neglected. In these days the Buddhist monks run to the houses of the
+rich, read their sutras and pray for pay. And one hears nothing of the
+great saints of the days gone by.
+
+At the time of the Emperor Tai Dsung, of the Tang dynasty, it once
+happened that a great drought reigned in the land, so that the emperor
+and all his officials erected altars everywhere in order to plead for
+rain.
+
+Then the Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea talked with the Dragon of the
+Milky Way and said: "To-day they are praying for rain on earth below.
+The Lord of the Heavens has granted the prayer of the King of Tang.
+To-morrow you must let three inches of rain fall!"
+
+"No, I must let only two inches of rain fall," said the old dragon.
+
+So the two dragons made a wager, and the one who lost promised as a
+punishment to turn into a mud salamander.
+
+The following day the Highest Lord suddenly issued an order saying
+that the Dragon of the Milky Way was to instruct the wind and cloud
+spirits to send down three inches of rain upon the earth. To
+contradict this command was out of the question.
+
+But the old dragon thought to himself: "It seems that the Dragon-King
+had a better idea of what was going to happen than I had, yet it is
+altogether too humiliating to have to turn into a mud salamander!" So
+he let only two inches of rain fall, and reported back to the heavenly
+court that the command had been carried out.
+
+Yet the Emperor Tai Dsung then offered a prayer of thanks to heaven.
+In it he said: "The precious fluid was bestowed upon us to the extent
+of two inches of depth. We beg submissively that more may be sent
+down, so that the parched crops may recover!"
+
+When the Lord of the Heavens read this prayer he was very angry and
+said: "The criminal Dragon of the Milky Way has dared diminish the
+rain which I had ordered. He cannot be suffered to continue his guilty
+life. So We Dschong, who is a general among men on earth, shall behead
+him, as an example for all living beings."
+
+In the evening the Emperor Tai Dsung had a dream. He saw a giant enter
+his room, who pleaded with hardly restrained tears: "Save me, O
+Emperor! Because of my own accord I diminished the rainfall, the Lord
+of the Heavens, in his anger, has commanded that We Dschong behead me
+to-morrow at noon. If you will only prevent We Dschong from falling
+asleep at that time, and pray that I may be saved, misfortune once
+more may pass me by!"
+
+The emperor promised, and the other bowed and left him.
+
+The following day the emperor sent for We Dschong. They drank tea
+together and played chess.
+
+Toward noon We Dschong suddenly grew tired and sleepy; but he did not
+dare take his leave. The emperor, however, since one of his pawns had
+been taken, fixed his gaze for a moment on the chess-board and
+pondered, and before he knew it We Dschong was already snoring with a
+noise like a distant thunder. The emperor was much frightened, and
+hastily called out to him; but he did not awake. Then he had two
+eunuchs shake him, but a long time passed before he could be aroused.
+
+"How did you come to fall asleep so suddenly!" asked the emperor.
+
+"I dreamed," replied We Dschong, "that the Highest God had commanded
+me to behead the old dragon. I have just hewn off his head, and my arm
+still aches from the exertion."
+
+And before he had even finished speaking a dragon's head, as large as
+a bushel-measure, suddenly fell down out of the air. The emperor was
+terribly frightened and rose.
+
+"I have sinned against the old dragon," said he. Then he retired to
+the inner chambers of his palace and was confused in mind. He remained
+lying on his couch, closed his eyes, said not a word, and breathed but
+faintly.
+
+Suddenly he saw two persons in purple robes who had a summons in their
+hands. They spoke to him as follows: "The old Dragon of the Milky Way
+has complained against the emperor in the Nether World. We beg that
+you will have the chariot harnessed!"
+
+Instinctively the emperor followed them, and in the courtyard there
+stood his chariot before the castle, ready and waiting. The emperor
+entered it, and off they went flying through the air. In a moment they
+had reached the city of the dead. When he entered he saw the Lord of
+the High Mountain sitting in the midst of the city, with the ten
+princes of the Nether World in rows at his right and left. They all
+rose, bowed to him and bade him be seated.
+
+Then the Lord of the High Mountain said: "The old Dragon of the Milky
+Way has really committed a deed which deserved punishment. Yet Your
+Majesty has promised to beg the Highest God to spare him, which prayer
+would probably have saved the old dragon's life. And that this matter
+was neglected over the chess-board might well be accounted a mistake.
+Now the old dragon complains to me without ceasing. When I think of
+how he has striven to gain sainthood for more than a thousand years,
+and must now fall back into the cycle of transformations, I am really
+depressed. It is for this reason I have called together the princes of
+the ten pits of the Nether World, to find a way out of the difficulty,
+and have invited Your Majesty to come here to discuss the matter. In
+heaven, on earth and in the Nether World only the gospel of Buddha has
+no limits. Hence, when you return to earth great sacrifices should be
+made to the three and thirty lords of the heavens. Three thousand six
+hundred holy priests of Buddha must read the sutras in order to
+deliver the old dragon so that he may rise again to the skies, and
+keep his original form. But the writings and readings of men will not
+be enough to ensure this. It will be necessary to go to the Western
+Heavens and thence bring words of truth."
+
+This the emperor agreed to, and the Lord of the Great Mountain and the
+ten princes of the Nether World rose and said as they bowed to him:
+"We beg that you will now return!"
+
+Suddenly Tai Dsung opened his eyes again, and there he was lying on
+his imperial couch. Then he made public the fact that he was at fault,
+and had the holiest among the priests of Buddha sent for to fetch the
+sutras from the Western Heavens. And it was Huan Dschuang, the Monk of
+the Yangtze-kiang, who in obedience to this order, appeared at court.
+
+The name of this Huan Dschuang had originally been Tschen. His father
+had passed the highest examinations during the reign of the preceding
+emperor, and had been intrusted with the office of district mandarin
+on the Yangtze-kiang. He set out with his wife for this new district,
+but when their ship reached the Yellow River it fell in with a band of
+robbers. Their captain slew the whole retinue, threw father Tschen
+into the river, took his wife and the document appointing him
+mandarin, went to the district capital under an assumed name and took
+charge of it. All the serving-men whom he took along were members of
+his robber-band. Tschen's wife, however, together with her little boy,
+he imprisoned in a tower room. And all the servants who attended her
+were in the confidence of the robbers.
+
+Now below the tower was a little pond, and in this pond rose a spring
+which flowed beneath the walls to the Yellow River. So one day
+Tschen's wife took a little basket of bamboo, pasted up the cracks and
+laid her little boy in the basket. Then she cut her finger, wrote down
+the day and hour of the boy's birth on a strip of silk paper with the
+blood, and added that the boy must come and rescue her when he had
+reached the age of twelve. She placed the strip of silk paper beside
+the boy in the basket, and at night, when no one was about, she put
+the basket in the pond. The current carried it away to the
+Yangtze-kiang, and once there it drifted on as far as the monastery on
+the Golden Hill, which is an island lying in the middle of the river.
+There a priest who had come to draw water found it. He fished it out
+and took it to the monastery.
+
+When the abbot saw what had been written in blood, he ordered his
+priests and novices to say nothing about it to any one. And he brought
+up the boy in the monastery.
+
+When the latter had reached the age of five, he was taught to read the
+holy books. The boy was more intelligent than any of his
+fellow-students, soon grasped the meaning of the sacred writings, and
+entered more and more deeply into their secrets. So he was allowed to
+take the vows, and when his head had been shaven was named: "The Monk
+of the Yangtze-kiang."
+
+By the time he was twelve he was as large and strong as a grown man.
+The abbot, who knew of the duty he still had to perform, had him
+called to a quiet room. There he drew forth the letter written in
+blood and gave it to him.
+
+When the monk had read it he flung himself down on the ground and wept
+bitterly. Thereupon he thanked the abbot for all that the latter had
+done for him. He set out for the city in which his mother dwelt, ran
+around the yamen of the mandarin, beat upon the wooden fish and cried:
+"Deliverance from all suffering! Deliverance from all suffering!"
+
+After the robber who had slain his father had slipped into the post he
+held by false pretences, he had taken care to strengthen his position
+by making powerful friends. He even allowed Tschen's wife, who had now
+been a prisoner for some ten years, a little more liberty.
+
+On that day official business had kept him abroad. The woman was
+sitting at home, and when she heard the wooden fish beaten so
+insistently before the door and heard the words of deliverance, the
+voice of her heart cried out in her. She sent out the serving-maid to
+call in the priest. He came in by the back door, and when she saw that
+he resembled his father in every feature, she could no longer restrain
+herself, but burst into tears. Then the monk of the Yangtze-kiang
+realized that this was his mother and he took the bloody writing out
+and gave it to her.
+
+She stroked it and said amid sobs: "My father is a high official, who
+has retired from affairs and dwells in the capital. But I have been
+unable to write to him, because this robber guarded me so closely. So
+I kept alive as well as I could, waiting for you to come. Now hurry to
+the capital for the sake of your father's memory, and if his honor is
+made clear then I can die in peace. But you must hasten so that no one
+finds out about it."
+
+The monk then went off quickly. First he went back to his cloister to
+bid farewell to his abbot; and then he set out for Sianfu, the
+capital.
+
+Yet by that time his grandfather had already died. But one of his
+uncles, who was known at court, was still living. He took soldiers and
+soon made an end of the robbers. But the monk's mother had died in the
+meantime.
+
+From that time on, the Monk of the Yangtze-kiang lived in a pagoda in
+Sianfu, and was known as Huan Dschuang. When the emperor issued the
+order calling the priests of Buddha to court, he was some twenty years
+of age. He came into the emperor's presence, and the latter honored
+him as a great teacher. Then he set out for India.
+
+He was absent for seventeen years. When he returned he brought three
+collections of books with him, and each collection comprised
+five-hundred and forty rolls of manuscript. With these he once more
+entered the presence of the emperor. The emperor was overjoyed, and
+with his own hand wrote a preface of the holy teachings, in which he
+recorded all that had happened. Then the great sacrifice was held to
+deliver the old Dragon of the Milky Way.
+
+    Note: The emperor Tai Dsung is Li Schi Min, the Prince
+    of Tang mentioned in No. 65. He was the most glorious
+    and splendid of all Chinese rulers. The "Dragon-King of
+    the Eastern Sea" has appeared frequently in these
+    fairy-tales. As regards the "Lord of the High Mountain,"
+    and the ten princes of the Nether World, comp. Nos. 38
+    and 50. The Highest Lord is Yu Huang, the Lord of Jade
+    or of Nephrite. Huan Dschuang was originally known as
+    Tschen. Regarding his father's fate subsequent to his
+    being drowned, and that of his sons in the spirit-world
+    see No. 24. The "bamboo basket" is a Moses motive which
+    occurs in other Chinese fairy-tales. "The Monk of the
+    Yangtze-kiang" is, literally, (in Chinese, Giang Liu Ho
+    Schang) "The monk washed ashore by the stream." "Wooden
+    fish": A hollow piece of wood in the form of a fish,
+    which is beaten by the Buddhists as sign of
+    watchfulness. Three collections of books--the Tripitaka.
+    As regards one of the legendary companions of Huan
+    Dschuang on his journey, see No. 74.
+
+
+
+
+LITERARY FAIRY TALES
+
+
+
+
+LXX
+
+THE HEARTLESS HUSBAND
+
+
+In olden times Hanchow was the capital of Southern China, and for that
+reason a great number of beggars had gathered there. These beggars
+were in the habit of electing a leader, who was officially entrusted
+with the supervision of all begging in the town. It was his duty to
+see that the beggars did not molest the townsfolk, and he received a
+tenth of their income from all his beggar subjects. When it snowed or
+rained, and the beggars could not go out to beg, he had to see to it
+that they had something to eat, and he also had to conduct their
+weddings and funerals. And the beggars obeyed him in all things.
+
+Well, it happened that there was a beggar king of this sort in Hanchow
+by the name of Gin, in whose family the office had been handed down
+from father to son for seven generations. What they had taken in by
+way of beggars' pence they had lent out on interest, and so the family
+had gradually become well-to-do, and finally even rich.
+
+The old beggar-king had lost his wife at the age of fifty. But he had
+an only child, a girl who was called "Little Golden Daughter." She had
+a face of rare beauty and was the jewel of his love. She had been
+versed in the lore of books from her youth up, and could write,
+improvise poems and compose essays. She was also experienced in
+needlework, a skilled dancer and singer, and could play the flute and
+zither. The old beggar-king above all else wanted her to have a
+scholar for a husband. Yet because he was a beggar-king the
+distinguished families avoided him, and with those who were of less
+standing than himself he did not wish to have anything to do. So it
+came about that Little Golden Daughter had reached the age of eighteen
+without being betrothed.
+
+Now at that time there dwelt in Hanchow, near the Bridge of Peace, a
+scholar by the name of Mosu. He was twenty years of age, and
+universally popular because of his beauty and talent. His parents were
+both dead, and he was so poor that he could hardly manage to keep
+alive. His house and lot had long since been mortgaged or sold, and he
+lived in an abandoned temple, and many a day passed at whose end he
+went hungry to bed.
+
+A neighbor took pity on him and said to him one day: "The beggar-king
+has a child named Little Golden Daughter, who is beautiful beyond all
+telling. And the beggar-king is rich and has money, but no son to
+inherit it. If you wish to marry into his family his whole fortune
+would in the end come to you. Is that not better than dying of hunger
+as a poor scholar?"
+
+At that time Mosu was in dire extremity. Hence, when he heard these
+words he was greatly pleased. He begged the neighbor to act as a
+go-between in the matter.
+
+So the latter visited the old beggar-king and talked with him, and the
+beggar-king talked over the matter with Little Golden Daughter, and
+since Mosu came from a good family and was, in addition, talented and
+learned, and had no objection to marrying into their family, they were
+both much pleased with the prospect. So they agreed to the proposal,
+and the two were married.
+
+So Mosu became a member of the beggar-king's family. He was happy in
+his wife's beauty, always had enough to eat and good clothes to wear.
+So he thought himself lucky beyond his deserts, and lived with his
+wife in peace and happiness.
+
+The beggar-king and his daughter, to whom their low estate was a thorn
+in the flesh, admonished Mosu to be sure to study hard. They hoped
+that he would make a name for himself and thus reflect glory on their
+family as well. They bought books for him, old and new, at the highest
+prices, and they always supplied him liberally with money so that he
+could move in aristocratic circles. They also paid his examination
+expenses. So his learning increased day by day, and the fame of it
+spread through the entire district. He passed one examination after
+another in rapid succession, and at the age of twenty-three was
+appointed mandarin of the district of Wu We. He returned from his
+audience with the emperor in ceremonial robes, high on horseback.
+
+Mosu had been born in Hanchow, so the whole town soon knew that he had
+passed his examination successfully, and the townsfolk crowded
+together on both sides of the street to look at him as he rode to his
+father-in-law's house. Old and young, women and children gathered to
+enjoy the show, and some idle loafer called out in a loud voice:
+
+"The old beggar's son-in-law has become a mandarin!"
+
+Mosu blushed with shame when he heard these words. Speechless and out
+of sorts he seated himself in his room. But the old beggar-king in the
+joy of his heart did not notice his ill humor. He had a great
+festival banquet prepared, to which he invited all his neighbors and
+good friends. But most of the invited guests were beggars and poor
+folk, and he insisted that Mosu eat with them. With much difficulty
+Mosu was induced to leave his room. Yet when he saw the guests
+gathered around the table, as ragged and dirty as a horde of hungry
+devils, he retired again with disdain. Little Golden Daughter, who
+realized how he felt, tried to cheer him up again in a hundred and one
+ways, but all in vain.
+
+A few days later Mosu, with his wife and servants, set out for the new
+district he was to govern. One goes from Hanchow to Wu We by water. So
+they entered a ship and sailed out to the Yangtze-kiang. At the end of
+the first day they reached a city where they anchored. The night was
+clear and the moonrays glittered on the water, and Mosu sat in the
+front part of the ship enjoying the moonlight. Suddenly he chanced to
+think of the old beggar-king. It was true that his wife was wise and
+good, but should heaven happen to bless them with children, these
+children would always be the beggar's nephews and nieces, and there
+was no way of preventing such a disgrace. And thus thinking a plan
+occurred to him. He called Little Golden Daughter out of the cabin to
+come and enjoy the moonlight, and she came out to him happily. Men
+servants and maid servants and all the sailors had long since gone to
+sleep. He looked about him on all sides, but there was no one to be
+seen. Little Golden Daughter was standing at the front of the ship,
+thinking no evil, when a hand suddenly thrust her into the water. Then
+Mosu pretended to be frightened, and began to call out: "My wife made
+a misstep and has fallen into the water!"
+
+And when they heard his words, the servants hurried up and wanted to
+fish her out.
+
+But Mosu said: "She has already been carried away by the current, so
+you need not trouble yourselves!" Then he gave orders to set sail
+again as soon as possible.
+
+Now who would have thought that owing to a fortunate chance, Sir Hu,
+the mandarin in charge of the transportation system of the province,
+was also about to take charge of his department, and had anchored in
+the same place. He was sitting with his wife at the open window of the
+ship's cabin, enjoying the moonlight and the cool breeze.
+
+Suddenly he heard some one crying on the shore, and it sounded to him
+like a girl's voice. He quickly sent people to assist her, and they
+brought her aboard. It was Little Golden Daughter.
+
+When she had fallen into the water, she had felt something beneath her
+feet which held her up so that she did not sink. And she had been
+carried along by the current to the river-bank, where she crept out of
+the water. And then she realized that her husband, now that he had
+become distinguished, had forgotten how poor he had been, and for all
+she had not been drowned, she felt very lonely and abandoned, and
+before she knew it her tears began to flow. So when Sir Hu asked her
+what was the matter, she told him the whole story. Sir Hu comforted
+her.
+
+"You must not shed another tear," said he. "If you care to become my
+adopted daughter, we will take care of you."
+
+Little Golden Daughter bowed her thanks. But Hu's wife ordered her
+maids to bring other clothes to take the place of the wet ones, and to
+prepare a bed for her. The servants were strictly bidden to call her
+"Miss," and to say nothing of what had occurred.
+
+So the journey continued and in a few days' time Sir Hu entered upon
+his official duties. Wu We, where Mosu was district mandarin, was
+subject to his rule, and the latter made his appearance in order to
+visit his official superior. When Sir Hu saw Mosu he thought to
+himself: "What a pity that so highly gifted a man should act in so
+heartless a manner!"
+
+When a few months had passed, Sir Hu said to his subordinates: "I have
+a daughter who is very pretty and good, and would like to find a
+son-in-law to marry into my family. Do you know of any one who might
+answer?"
+
+His subordinates all knew that Mosu was young and had lost his wife.
+So they unanimously suggested him.
+
+Sir Hu replied: "I have also thought of that gentleman, but he is
+young and has risen very rapidly. I am afraid he has loftier
+ambitions, and would not care to marry into my family and become my
+son-in-law."
+
+"He was originally poor," answered his people, "and he is your
+subordinate. Should you care to show him a kindness of this sort, he
+will be sure to accept it joyfully, and will not object to marrying
+into your family."
+
+"Well, if you all believe it can be done," said Sir Hu, "then pay him
+a visit and find out what he thinks about it. But you must not say
+that I have sent you."
+
+Mosu, who was just then reflecting how he might win Sir Hu's favor,
+took up the suggestion with pleasure, and urgently begged them to act
+as his go-between in the matter, promising them a rich reward when the
+connection was established.
+
+So they went back again and reported to Sir Hu.
+
+He said: "I am much pleased that the gentleman in question does not
+disdain this marriage. But my wife and I are extremely fond of this
+daughter of ours, and we can hardly resign ourselves to giving her up.
+Sir Mosu is young and aristocratic, and our little daughter has been
+spoiled. If he were to ill-treat her, or at some future time were to
+regret having married into our family, my wife and I would be
+inconsolable. For this reason everything must be clearly understood in
+advance. Only if he positively agrees to do these things would I be
+able to receive him into my family."
+
+Mosu was informed of all these conditions, and declared himself ready
+to accept them. Then he brought gold and pearls and colored silks to
+Sir Hu's daughter as wedding gifts, and a lucky day was chosen for the
+wedding. Sir Hu charged his wife to talk to Little Golden Daughter.
+
+"Your adopted father," said she, "feels sorry for you, because you are
+lonely, and therefore has picked out a young scholar for you to
+marry."
+
+But Little Golden Daughter replied: "It is true that I am of humble
+birth, yet I know what is fitting. It chances that I agreed to cast my
+lot with Mosu for better or for worse. And though he has shown me but
+little kindness, I will marry no other man so long as he lives. I
+cannot bring myself to form another union and break my troth."
+
+And thus speaking the tears poured from her eyes. When Sir Hu's wife
+saw that nothing would alter her resolve, she told her how matters
+really stood.
+
+"Your adopted father," said she, "is indignant at Mosu's
+heartlessness. And although he will see to it that you meet again, he
+has said nothing to Mosu which would lead him to believe that you are
+not our own daughter. Therefore Mosu was delighted to marry you. But
+when the wedding is celebrated this evening, you must do thus and so,
+in order that he may taste your just anger."
+
+When she had heard all this, Little Golden Daughter dried her tears,
+and thanked her adopted parents. Then she adorned herself for the
+wedding.
+
+The same day, late at evening, Mosu came to the house wearing golden
+flowers on his hat, and a red scarf across his breast, riding on a
+gaily trapped horse, and followed by a great retinue. All his friends
+and acquaintances came with him in order to be present at the festival
+celebration.
+
+In Sir Hu's house everything had been adorned with colored cloths and
+lanterns. Mosu dismounted from his horse at the entrance of the hall.
+Here Sir Hu had spread a festival banquet to which Mosu and his
+friends were led. And when the goblet had made the rounds three times,
+serving-maids came and invited Mosu to follow them to the inner rooms.
+The bride, veiled in a red veil, was led in by two maid-servants.
+Following the injunctions of the master of the ceremony, they
+worshiped heaven and earth together, and then the parents-in-law.
+Thereupon they went into another apartment. Here brightly colored
+candles were burning, and a wedding dinner had been prepared. Mosu
+felt as happy as though he had been raised to the seventh heaven.
+
+But when he wanted to leave the room, seven or eight maids with bamboo
+canes in their hands appeared at each side of the door, and began to
+beat him without mercy. They knocked his bridal hat from his head, and
+then the blows rained down upon his back and shoulders. When Mosu
+cried for help he heard a delicate voice say: "You need not kill that
+heartless bridegroom of mine completely! Ask him to come in and greet
+me!"
+
+Then the maids stopped beating him, and gathered about the bride, who
+removed her bridal veil.
+
+Mosu bowed with lowered head and said: "But what have I done?"
+
+Yet when he raised his eyes he saw that none other than his wife,
+Little Golden Daughter, was standing before him.
+
+He started with fright and cried: "A ghost, a ghost!" But all the
+servants broke out into loud laughter.
+
+At last Sir Hu and his wife came in, and the former said: "My dear
+son-in-law, you may rest assured that my adopted daughter, who came to
+me while I was on my way to this place, is no ghost."
+
+Then Mosu hastily fell on his knees and answered: "I have sinned and
+beg for mercy!" And he kowtowed without end.
+
+"With that I have nothing to do," remarked Sir Hu, "if our little
+daughter only gets along well with you, then all will be in order."
+
+But Little Golden Daughter said: "You heartless scoundrel! In the
+beginning you were poor and needy. We took you into our family, and
+let you study so that you might become somebody, and make a name for
+yourself. But no sooner had you become a mandarin and a man of
+standing, than your love turned into enmity, and you forgot your duty
+as a husband and pushed me into the river. Fortunately, I found my
+dear adopted parents thereby. They fished me out, and made me their
+own child, otherwise I would have found a grave in the bellies of the
+fishes. How can I honorably live again with such a man as you?"
+
+With these words she began to lament loudly, and she called him one
+hard-hearted scoundrel after another.
+
+Mosu lay before her, speechless with shame, and begged her to forgive
+him.
+
+Now when Sir Hu noticed that Little Golden Daughter had sufficiently
+relieved herself by her scolding, he helped Mosu up and said to him:
+"My dear son-in-law, if you repent of your misdeed, Little Golden
+Daughter will gradually cease to be angry. Of course you are an old
+married couple; yet as you have renewed your vows this evening in my
+house, kindly do me a favor and listen to what I have to say: You,
+Mosu, are weighed with a heavy burden of guilt, and for that reason
+you must not resent your wife's being somewhat indignant, but must
+have patience with her. I will call in my wife to make peace between
+you."
+
+With these words Sir Hu went out and sent in his wife who finally,
+after a great deal of difficulty, succeeded in reconciling the two, so
+that they agreed once more to take up life as husband and wife.
+
+And they esteemed and loved each other twice as much as they had
+before. Their life was all happiness and joy. And later, when Sir Hu
+and his wife died, they mourned for them as if in truth they had been
+their own parents.
+
+    Note: "To marry into": as a rule the wife enters the
+    home of her husband's parents. But when there is no male
+    heir, it is arranged that the son-in-law continues the
+    family of his wife's parents, and lives in their home.
+    The custom is still very prevalent in Japan, but it is
+    not considered very honorable in China to enter into a
+    strange family in this way. It is characteristic that
+    Mosu, as a punishment for disdaining to "marry into" a
+    family the first time, is obliged to "marry into" a
+    second time, the family of Sir Hu.
+
+    The costume here described is still the wedding-costume
+    of China. "Little Golden Daughter" said: "You heartless
+    scoundrel!"; despite her faithfulness, in accordance
+    with Chinese custom, she is obliged to show her anger
+    over his faithlessness; this is necessary before the
+    matter can be properly adjusted, so that she may
+    "preserve her face."
+
+
+
+
+LXXI
+
+GIAUNA THE BEAUTIFUL
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a descendant of Confucius. His father had a
+friend, and this friend held an official position in the South and
+offered the young man a place as secretary. But when the latter
+reached the town where he was to have been active, he found that his
+father's friend had already died. Then he was much embarrassed, seeing
+that he did not have the means to return home again. So he was glad to
+take refuge in the Monastery of Puto, where he copied holy books for
+the abbot.
+
+About a hundred paces west of the monastery stood a deserted house.
+One day there had been a great snowfall, and as young Kung
+accidentally passed by the door of the house, he noticed a well
+dressed and prepossessing youth standing there who bowed to him and
+begged him to approach. Now young Kung was a scholar, and could
+appreciate good manners. Finding that the youth and himself had much
+in common, he took a liking to him, and followed him into the house.
+It was immaculately clean; silk curtains hung before the doors, and on
+the walls were pictures of good old masters. On a table lay a book
+entitled: "Tales of the Coral Ring." Coral Ring was the name of a
+cavern.
+
+Once upon a time there lived a monk at Puto who was exceedingly
+learned. An aged man had led him into the cave in question, where he
+had seen a number of volumes on the book stands. The aged man had
+said: "These are the histories of the various dynasties." In a second
+room were to be found the histories of all the peoples on earth. A
+third was guarded by two dogs. The aged man explained: "In this room
+are kept the secret reports of the immortals, telling the arts by
+means of which they gained eternal life. The two dogs are two
+dragons." The monk turned the pages of the books, and found that they
+were all works of ancient times, such as he had never seen before. He
+would gladly have remained in the cave, but the old man said: "That
+would not do!" and a boy led him out again. The name of that cave,
+however, was the Coral Ring, and it was described in the volume which
+lay on the table.
+
+The youth questioned Kung regarding his name and family, and the
+latter told him his whole history. The youth pitied him greatly and
+advised him to open a school.
+
+Kung answered with a sigh: "I am quite unknown in the neighborhood,
+and have no one to recommend me!"
+
+Said the youth: "If you do not consider me altogether too unworthy and
+stupid, I should like to be your pupil myself."
+
+Young Kung was overjoyed. "I should not dare to attempt to teach you,"
+he replied, "but together we might dedicate ourselves to the study of
+science." He then asked why the house had been standing empty for so
+long.
+
+The youth answered: "The owner of the house has gone to the country.
+We come from Shensi, and have taken the house for a short time. We
+only moved in a few days ago."
+
+They chatted and joked together gaily, and the young man invited Kung
+to remain overnight, ordering a small boy to light a pan of charcoal.
+
+Then he stepped rapidly into the rear room and soon returned saying:
+"My father has come."
+
+As Kung rose an aged man with a long, white beard and eyebrows stepped
+into the room and said, greeting him: "You have already declared your
+willingness to instruct my son, and I am grateful for your kindness.
+But you must be strict with him and not treat him as a friend."
+
+Then he had garments of silk, a fur cap, and shoes and socks of fur
+brought in, and begged Kung to change his clothes. Wine and food were
+then served. The cushions and covers of the tables and chairs were
+made of stuffs unknown to Kung, and their shimmering radiance blinded
+the eye. The aged man retired after a few beakers of wine, and then
+the youth showed Kung his essays. They were all written in the style
+of the old masters and not in the new-fangled eight-section form.
+
+When he was asked about this, the youth said with a smile: "I am quite
+indifferent to winning success at the state examinations!" Then he
+turned to the small boy and said: "See whether the old gentleman has
+already fallen asleep. If he has, you may quietly bring in little
+Hiang-Nu."
+
+The boy went off, and the youth took a lute from an embroidered case.
+At once a serving-maid entered, dressed in red, and surpassingly
+beautiful. The youth bade her sing "The Lament of the Beloved," and
+her melting tones moved the heart. The third watch of the night had
+passed before they retired to sleep.
+
+On the following morning all rose early and study began. The youth was
+exceptionally gifted. Whatever he had seen but once was graven in his
+memory. Hence he made surprising progress in the course of a few
+months. The old custom was followed of writing an essay every five
+days, and celebrating its completion with a little banquet. And at
+each banquet Hiang-Nu was sent for.
+
+One evening Kung could not remove his glance from Hiang-Nu. The youth
+guessed his thoughts and said to him: "You are as yet unmarried. Early
+and late I keep thinking as to how I can provide you with a charming
+life companion. Hiang-Nu is the serving-maid of my father, so I cannot
+give her to you."
+
+Said Kung: "I am grateful to you for your friendly thought. But if the
+girl you have in mind is not just as beautiful as Hiang-Nu, then I
+would rather do without."
+
+The youth laughed: "You are indeed inexperienced if you think that
+Hiang-Nu is beautiful. Your wish is easily fulfilled."
+
+Thus half a year went by and the monotonous rainy season had just
+began. Then a swelling the size of a peach developed in young Kung's
+breast, which increased over night until it was as large as a tea-cup.
+He lay on his couch groaning with pain, and unable to eat or to sleep.
+The youth was busy day and night nursing him, and even the old
+gentleman asked how he was getting along.
+
+Then the youth said: "My little sister Giauna alone is able to cure
+this illness. Please send to grandmother, and have her brought here!"
+
+The old gentleman was willing, and he sent off his boy.
+
+The next day the boy came back with the news that Giauna would come,
+together with her aunt and her cousin A-Sung.
+
+Not long after the youth led his sister into the room. She was not
+more than thirteen or fourteen years of age, enchantingly beautiful,
+and slender as a willow-tree. When the sick man saw her he forgot all
+his pain and his spirits rose.
+
+The youth said to his sister Giauna: "This is my best friend, whom I
+love as a brother! I beg of you, little sister, to cure him of his
+illness!"
+
+The maiden blushed with confusion; then she stepped up to the
+sick-bed. While she was feeling his pulse, it seemed to him as though
+she brought the fragrance of orchards with her.
+
+Said the maiden with a smile: "No wonder that this illness has
+befallen him. His heart beats far too stormily. His illness is serious
+but not incurable. Now the blood which has flowed has already
+gathered, so we will have to cut to cure."
+
+With that she took her golden armlet from her arm and laid it on the
+aching place. She pressed it down very gently, and the swelling rose a
+full inch above the armlet so that it enclosed the entire swelling.
+Then she loosed a pen-knife with a blade as thin as paper from her
+silken girdle. With one hand she held the armlet, and with the other
+she took the knife and lightly passed it around the bottom of the
+ring. Black blood gushed forth and ran over mattress and bed. But
+young Kung was so enchanted by the presence of the beautiful Giauna
+that not only did he feel no pain, but his one fear was that the whole
+affair might end too soon, and that she would disappear from his
+sight. In a moment the diseased flesh had been cut away, and Giauna
+had fresh water brought and cleansed the wound. Then she took a small
+red pellet from her mouth, and laid it on the wound, and when she
+turned around in a circle, it seemed to Kung as though she drew out
+all the inflammation in steam and flames. Once more she turned in a
+circle, and he felt his wound itch and quiver, and when she turned for
+the third time, he was completely cured.
+
+The maiden took the pellet into her mouth again and said: "Now all is
+well!" Then she hastened into the inner room. Young Kung leaped up in
+order to thank her.
+
+True, he was now cured of his illness, but his thoughts continued to
+dwell on Giauna's pretty face. He neglected his books and sat lost in
+day-dreams.
+
+His friend had noticed it and said to him: "I have at last succeeded,
+this very day, in finding an attractive life companion for you."
+
+Kung asked who she might be.
+
+"The daughter of my aunt, A-Sung. She is seventeen years of age, and
+anything but homely."
+
+"I am sure she is not as beautiful as Giauna," thought Kung. Then he
+hummed the lines of a song to himself:
+
+    "Who once has seen the sea close by,
+      All rivers shallow streams declares;
+    Who o'er Wu's hill the clouds watched fly,
+      Says nothing with that view compares."
+
+The youth smiled. "My little sister Giauna is still very young," said
+he. "Besides, she is my father's only daughter, and he would not like
+to see her marry some one from afar. But my cousin A-Sung is not
+homely either. If you do not believe me, wait until they go walking in
+the garden, and then you may take a look at them without their knowing
+it."
+
+Kung posted himself at the open window on the look-out, and sure
+enough, he saw Giauna come along leading another girl by the hand, a
+girl so beautiful that there was none other like her. Giauna and she
+seemed to be sisters, only to be told apart by a slight difference in
+age.
+
+Then young Kung was exceedingly happy and begged his friend to act for
+him in arranging the marriage, which the latter promised to do. The
+next day he came to Kung, and told him amid congratulations that
+everything was arranged. A special court was put in order for the
+young pair, and the wedding was celebrated. Young Kung felt as though
+he had married a fairy, and the two became very fond of each other.
+
+One day Kung's friend came to him in a state of great excitement and
+said: "The owner of this house is coming back, and my father now
+wishes to return to Shensi. The time for us to part draws near, and I
+am very sad!"
+
+Kung wished to accompany them, but his friend advised him to return to
+his own home.
+
+Kung mentioned the difficulties in the way, but the youth replied:
+"That need not worry you, because I will accompany you."
+
+After a time the father came, together with A-Sung, and made Kung a
+present of a hundred ounces of gold. Then the youth took Kung and his
+wife by the hand, and told them to close their eyes. As soon as they
+did so off they went through the air like a storm-wind. All Kung could
+notice was that the gale roared about his ears.
+
+When some time had passed the youth cried: "Now we have arrived!" Kung
+opened his eyes and saw his old home, and then he knew that his friend
+was not of human kind.
+
+Gaily they knocked at the door of his home. His mother opened it and
+when she saw that he had brought along so charming a wife she was
+greatly pleased. Then Kung turned around to his friend, but the latter
+had already disappeared.
+
+A-Sung served her mother-in-law with great devotion, and her beauty
+and virtue was celebrated far and near. Soon after young Kung gained
+the doctorate, and was appointed inspector of prisons in Shensi. He
+took his wife along with him, but his mother remained at home, since
+Shensi was too far for her to travel. And heaven gave A-Sung and Kung
+a little son.
+
+But Kung became involved in a dispute with a traveling censor. The
+latter complained about Kung and he was dismissed from his post.
+
+So it happened that one day he was idling about before the city, when
+he saw a handsome youth riding a black mule. When he looked more
+closely he saw that it was his old friend. They fell into each others'
+arms, laughing and weeping, and the youth led him to a village. In the
+midst of a thick grove of trees which threw a deep shade, stood a
+house whose upper stories rose to the skies. One could see at a glance
+that people of distinction lived there. Kung now inquired after sister
+Giauna, and was told that she had married. He remained over night and
+then went off to fetch his wife.
+
+In the meantime Giauna arrived. She took A-Sung's little son in her
+arms and said: "Cousin, this is a little stranger in our family!"
+
+Kung greeted her, and again thanked her for the kindness she had shown
+him in curing his illness.
+
+She answered with a smile: "Since then you have become a distinguished
+man, and the wound has long since healed. Have you still not forgotten
+your pain?"
+
+Then Giauna's husband arrived, and every one became acquainted. And
+after that they parted.
+
+One day the youth came sadly to Kung and said: "We are threatened by a
+great misfortune to-day. I do not know whether you would be willing to
+save us!"
+
+Kung did not know what it might be; but he gladly promised his aid.
+Then the youth called up the entire family and they bowed down in the
+outer court.
+
+He began: "I will tell you the truth just as it is. We are foxes. This
+day we are threatened by the danger of thunder. If you care to save
+us, then there is a hope that we may manage to stay alive; if not,
+then take your child and go, so that you are not involved in our
+danger."
+
+But Kung vowed that he would share life and death with them.
+
+Then the youth begged him to stand in the door with a sword in his
+hand, and said: "Now when the thunder begins to roll you must stand
+there and never stir."
+
+Suddenly dark clouds rose in the sky, and the heavens grew gloomy as
+if night were closing down. Kung looked about him, but the buildings
+had all disappeared, and behind him he could only see a high barrow,
+in which was a large cave whose interior was lost in darkness. In the
+midst of his fright he was surprised by a thunderbolt. A heavy rain
+poured down in streams, and a storm wind arose which rooted up the
+tallest trees. Everything glimmered before his eyes and his ears were
+deafened. But he held his sword in his hand, and stood as firm as a
+rock. Suddenly in the midst of black smoke and flashes of lightning,
+he saw a monster with a pointed beak and long claws, which was
+carrying off a human body. When he looked more closely he recognized
+by the dress that it was Giauna. He leaped up at the monster and
+struck at him with his sword, and at once Giauna fell to the ground.
+A tremendous crash of thunder shook the earth, and Kung fell down
+dead.
+
+Then the tempest cleared away, and the blue sky appeared once more.
+
+Giauna had regained consciousness, and when she saw Kung lying dead
+beside her she said amid sobs: "He died for my sake! Why should I
+continue to live?"
+
+A-Sung also came out, and together they carried him into the cave.
+Giauna told A-Sung to hold his head while her brother opened his
+mouth. She herself took hold of his chin, and brought out her little
+red pellet. She pressed it against his lips with her own, and breathed
+into his lungs. Then the breath came back to his throat with a
+rattling noise, and in a short time he was himself once more.
+
+So there was the whole family reunited again, and none of its members
+had come to harm. They gradually recovered from their fright, and were
+quite happy: when suddenly a small boy brought the news that Giauna's
+husband and his whole family had been killed by the thunder. Giauna
+broke down, weeping, and the others tried to comfort her.
+
+Finally Kung said: "It is not well to dwell too long amid the graves
+of the dead. Will you not come home with me?"
+
+Thereupon they packed up their belongings and went with him. He
+assigned a deserted garden, which he carefully walled off, to his
+friend and his family as a dwelling-place. Only when Kung and A-Sung
+came to visit them was the bolt drawn. Then Giauna and her brother
+played chess, drank tea and chatted with them like members of the same
+family.
+
+But Kung's little son had a somewhat pointed face, which resembled a
+fox's, and when he went along the street, the people would turn
+around and say: "There goes the fox-child!"
+
+    Note: "Not in the new-fangled eight-section form": Ba Gu
+    Wen Dschang, i.e., essays in eight-section form,
+    divided according to strict rules, were the customary
+    theses in the governmental examinations in China up to
+    the time of the great educational reform. To-day there
+    is a general return to the style of the old masters, the
+    free form of composition. "The danger of thunder": Three
+    times the foxes must have escaped the mortal danger of
+    thunder.
+
+
+
+
+LXXII
+
+THE FROG PRINCESS
+
+
+There where the Yangtze-kiang has come about half-way on its course to
+the sea, the Frog King is worshiped with great devotion. He has a
+temple there and frogs by the thousand are to be found in the
+neighborhood, some of them of enormous size. Those who incur the wrath
+of the god are apt to have strange visitations in their homes. Frogs
+hop about on tables and beds, and in extreme cases they even creep up
+the smooth walls of the room without falling. There are various kinds
+of omens, but all indicate that some misfortune threatens the house in
+question. Then the people living in it become terrified, slaughter a
+cow and offer it as a sacrifice. Thus the god is mollified and nothing
+further happens.
+
+In that part of the country there once lived a youth named Sia
+Kung-Schong. He was handsome and intelligent. When he was some six or
+seven years of age, a serving-maid dressed in green entered his home.
+She said that she was a messenger from the Frog King, and declared
+that the Frog King wished to have his daughter marry young Sia. Old
+Sia was an honest man, not very bright, and since this did not suit
+him, he declined the offer on the plea that his son was still too
+young to marry. In spite of this, however, he did not dare look about
+for another mate for him.
+
+Then a few years passed and the boy gradually grew up. A marriage
+between him and a certain Mistress Giang was decided upon.
+
+But the Frog King sent word to Mistress Giang: "Young Sia is my
+son-in-law. How dare you undertake to lay claim to what does not
+belong to you!" Then Father Giang was frightened, and took back his
+promise.
+
+This made Old Sia very sad. He prepared a sacrifice and went to his
+temple to pray. He explained that he felt unworthy of becoming the
+relation of a god. When he had finished praying a multitude of
+enormous maggots made their appearance in the sacrificial meat and
+wine, and crawled around. He poured them out, begged forgiveness, and
+returned home filled with evil forebodings. He did not know what more
+he could do, and had to let things take their course.
+
+One day young Sia went out into the street. A messenger stepped up to
+him and told him, on the part of the Frog King that the latter
+urgently requested Sia to come to him. There was no help for it; he
+had to follow the messenger. He led him through a red gateway into
+some magnificent, high-ceilinged rooms. In the great hall sat an
+ancient man who might have been some eighty years of age. Sia cast
+himself down on the ground before him in homage. The old man bade him
+rise, and assigned him a place at the table. Soon a number of girls
+and women came crowding in to look at him. Then the old man turned to
+them and said: "Go to the room of the bride and tell her that the
+bridegroom has arrived!"
+
+Quickly a couple of maids ran away, and shortly after an old woman
+came from the inner apartments, leading a maiden by the hand, who
+might have been sixteen years of age, and was incomparably beautiful.
+The old man pointed to her and said: "This is my tenth little
+daughter. It seemed to me that you would make a good pair. But your
+father has scorned us because of our difference in race. Yet one's
+marriage is a matter that is of life-long importance. Our parents can
+determine it only in part. In the end it rests mainly with one's
+self."
+
+Sia looked steadily at the girl, and a fondness for her grew in his
+heart. He sat there in silence. The old man continued: "I knew very
+well that the young gentleman would agree. Go on ahead of us, and we
+will bring you your bride!"
+
+Sia said he would, and hurried to inform his father. His father did
+not know what to do in his excitement. He suggested an excuse and
+wanted to send Sia back to decline his bride with thanks. But this Sia
+was not willing to do. While they were arguing the matter, the bride's
+carriage was already at the door. It was surrounded by a crowd of
+greencoats, and the lady entered the house, and bowed politely to her
+parents-in-law. When the latter saw her they were both pleased, and
+the wedding was announced for that very evening.
+
+The new couple lived in peace and good understanding. And after they
+had been married their divine parents-in-law often came to their
+house. When they appeared dressed in red, it meant that some good
+fortune was to befall them; when they came dressed in white, it
+signified that they were sure to make some gain. Thus, in the course
+of time, the family became wealthy.
+
+But since they had become related to the gods the rooms, courtyards
+and all other places were always crowded with frogs. And no one
+ventured to harm them. Sia Kung-Schong alone was young and showed no
+consideration. When he was in good spirits he did not bother them, but
+when he got out of sorts he knew no mercy, and purposely stepped on
+them and killed them.
+
+In general his young wife was modest and obedient; yet she easily lost
+her temper. She could not approve her husband's conduct. But Sia would
+not do her the favor to give up his brutal habit. So she scolded him
+because of it and he grew angry.
+
+"Do you imagine," he told her, "that because your parents can visit
+human beings with misfortune, that a real man would be afraid of a
+frog?"
+
+His wife carefully avoided uttering the word "frog," hence his speech
+angered her and she said: "Since I have dwelt in your house your
+fields have yielded larger crops, and you have obtained the highest
+selling prices. And that is something after all. But now, when young
+and old, you are comfortably established, you wish to act like the
+fledgling owl, who picks out his own mother's eyes as soon as he is
+able to fly!"
+
+Sia then grew still more angry and answered: "These gifts have been
+unwelcome to me for a long time, for I consider them unclean. I could
+never consent to leave such property to sons and grandsons. It would
+be better if we parted at once!"
+
+So he bade his wife leave the house, and before his parents knew
+anything about it, she was gone. His parents scolded him and told him
+to go at once and bring her back. But he was filled with rage, and
+would not give in to them.
+
+That same night he and his mother fell sick. They felt weak and could
+not eat. The father, much worried, went to the temple to beg for
+pardon. And he prayed so earnestly that his wife and son recovered in
+three days' time. And the Frog Princess also returned, and they lived
+together happily and contented as before.
+
+But the young woman sat in the house all day long, occupied solely
+with her ornaments and her rouge, and did not concern herself with
+sewing and stitching. So Sia Kung-Schong's mother still had to look
+out for her son's clothes.
+
+One day his mother was angry and said: "My son has a wife, and yet I
+have to do all the work! In other homes the daughter-in-law serves her
+mother-in-law. But in our house the mother-in-law must serve the
+daughter-in-law."
+
+This the princess accidentally heard. In she came, much excited, and
+began: "Have I ever omitted, as is right and proper, to visit you
+morning and evening? My only fault is that I will not burden myself
+with all this toil for the sake of saving a trifling sum of money!"
+The mother answered not a word, but wept bitterly and in silence
+because of the insult offered her.
+
+Her son came along and noticed that his mother had been weeping. He
+insisted on knowing the reason, and found out what had happened.
+Angrily he reproached his wife. She raised objections and did not wish
+to admit that she had been in the wrong. Finally Sia said: "It is
+better to have no wife at all than one who gives her mother-in-law no
+pleasure. What can the old frog do to me after all, if I anger him,
+save call misfortunes upon me and take my life!" So he once more drove
+his wife out of the house.
+
+The princess left her home and went away. The following day fire broke
+out in the house, and spread to several other buildings. Tables,
+beds, everything was burned.
+
+Sia, in a rage because of the fire, went to the temple to complain:
+"To bring up a daughter in such a way that she does not please her
+parents-in-law shows that there is no discipline in a house. And now
+you even encourage her in her faults. It is said the gods are most
+just. Are there gods who teach men to fear their wives? Incidentally,
+the whole quarrel rests on me alone. My parents had nothing to do with
+it. If I was to be punished by the ax and cord, well and good. You
+could have carried out the punishment yourself. But this you did not
+do. So now I will burn your own house in order to satisfy my own sense
+of justice!"
+
+With these words he began piling up brush-wood before the temple,
+struck sparks and wanted to set it ablaze. The neighbors came
+streaming up, and pleaded with him. So he swallowed his rage and went
+home.
+
+When his parents heard of it, they grew pale with a great fear. But at
+night the god appeared to the people of a neighboring village, and
+ordered them to rebuild the house of his son-in-law. When day began to
+dawn they dragged up building-wood and the workmen all came in throngs
+to build for Sia. No matter what he said he could not prevent them.
+All day long hundreds of workmen were busy. And in the course of a few
+days all the rooms had been rebuilt, and all the utensils, curtains
+and furniture were there as before. And when the work had been
+completed the princess also returned. She climbed the stairs to the
+great room, and acknowledged her fault with many tender and loving
+words. Then she turned to Sia Kung-Schong, and smiled at him
+sideways. Instead of resentment joy now filled the whole house. And
+after that time the princess was especially peaceable. Two whole years
+passed without an angry word being said.
+
+But the princess had a great dislike for snakes. Once, by way of a
+joke, young Sia put a small snake into a parcel, which he gave her and
+told her to open. She turned pale and reproached him. Then
+Sia-Kung-Schong also took his jest seriously, and angry words passed.
+
+At last the princess said: "This time I will not wait for you to turn
+me out. Now we are finally done with one another!" And with that she
+walked out of the door.
+
+Father Sia grew very much alarmed, beat his son himself with his
+staff, and begged the god to be kind and forgive. Fortunately there
+were no evil consequences. All was quiet and not a sound was heard.
+
+Thus more than a year passed. Sia-Kung-Schong longed for the princess
+and took himself seriously to task. He would creep in secret to the
+temple of the god, and lament because he had lost the princess. But no
+voice answered him. And soon afterward he even heard that the god had
+betrothed his daughter to another man. Then he grew hopeless at heart,
+and thought of finding another wife for himself. Yet no matter how he
+searched he could find none who equalled the princess. This only
+increased his longing for her, and he went to the home of the Yuans,
+to a member of which family it was said she had been promised. There
+they had already painted the walls, and swept the courtyard, and all
+was in readiness to receive the bridal carriage. Sia was overcome with
+remorse and discontent. He no longer ate, and fell ill. His parents
+were quite stunned by the anxiety they felt on his account, and were
+incapable of helpful thought.
+
+Suddenly while he was lying there only half-conscious, he felt some
+one stroke him, and heard a voice say: "And how goes it with our real
+husband, who insisted on turning out his wife?"
+
+He opened his eyes and it was the princess.
+
+Full of joy he leaped up and said: "How is it you have come back to
+me?" The princess answered: "To tell the truth, according to your own
+habit of treating people badly, I should have followed my father's
+advice and taken another husband. And, as a matter of fact, the
+wedding gifts of the Yuan family have been lying in my home for a long
+time. But I thought and thought and could not bring myself to do so.
+The wedding was to have been this evening and my father thought it
+shameful to have the wedding gifts carried back. So I took the things
+myself and placed them before the Yuan's door. When I went out my
+father ran out beside me: 'You insane girl,' he said, 'so you will not
+listen to what I say! If you are ill-treated by Sia in the future I
+wash my hands of it. Even if they kill you you shall not come home to
+me again!'"
+
+Moved by her faithfulness the tears rolled from Sia's eyes. The
+servants, full of joy, hurried to the parents to acquaint them with
+the good news. And when they heard it they did not wait for the young
+people to come to them, but hastened themselves to their son's rooms,
+took the princess by the hand and wept. Young Sia, too, had become
+more settled by this time, and was no longer so mischievous. So he and
+his wife grew to love each other more sincerely day by day.
+
+Once the princess said to him: "Formerly, when you always treated me
+so badly, I feared that we would not keep company into our old age.
+So I never asked heaven to send us a child. But now that all has
+changed, and I will beg the gods for a son."
+
+And, sure enough, before long Sia's parents-in-law appeared in the
+house clad in red garments, and shortly after heaven sent the happy
+pair two sons instead of one.
+
+From that time on their intercourse with the Frog-King was never
+interrupted. When some one among the people had angered the god, he
+first tried to induce young Sia to speak for him, and sent his wife
+and daughter to the Frog Princess to implore her aid. And if the
+princess laughed, then all would be well.
+
+The Sia family has many descendants, whom the people call "the little
+frog men." Those who are near them do not venture to call them by this
+name, but those standing further off do so.
+
+    Note: "Little frog men," Wa Dsi, is the derogatory name
+    which the North Chinese give the Chinese of the South on
+    occasion.
+
+
+
+
+LXXIII
+
+ROSE OF EVENING
+
+
+On the fifth day of the fifth month the festival of the Dragon Junk is
+held along the Yangtze-kiang. A dragon is hollowed out of wood,
+painted with an armor of scales, and adorned with gold and bright
+colors. A carved red railing surrounds this ship, and its sails and
+flags are made of silks and brocade. The after part of the vessel is
+called the dragon's tail. It rises ten feet above the water, and a
+board which floats in the water is tied to it by means of a cloth.
+Upon this board sit boys who turn somersaults, stand on their heads,
+and perform all sorts of tricks. Yet, being so close to the water
+their danger is very great. It is the custom, therefore, when a boy is
+hired for this purpose, to give his parents money before he is
+trained. Then, if he falls into the water and is drowned, no one has
+him on their conscience. Farther South the custom differs in so much
+that instead of boys, beautiful girls are chosen for this purpose.
+
+In Dschen-Giang there once lived a widow named Dsiang, who had a son
+called Aduan. When he was no more than seven years of age he was
+extraordinarily skilful, and no other boy could equal him. And his
+reputation increasing as he grew, he earned more and more money. So it
+happened that he was still called upon at the Dragon Junk Festival
+when he was already sixteen.
+
+But one day he fell into the water below the Gold Island and was
+drowned. He was the only son of his mother, and she sorrowed over him,
+and that was the end of it.
+
+Yet Aduan did not know that he had been drowned. He met two men who
+took him along with them, and he saw a new world in the midst of the
+waters of the Yellow River. When he looked around, the waves of the
+river towered steeply about him like walls, and a palace was visible,
+in which sat a man wearing armor and a helmet. His two companions said
+to him: "That is the Prince of the Dragon's Cave!" and bade him kneel.
+
+The Prince of the Dragon's Cave seemed to be of a mild and kindly
+disposition and said: "We can make use of such a skilful lad. He may
+take part in the dance of the willow branches!"
+
+So he was brought to a spot surrounded by extensive buildings. He
+entered, and was greeted by a crowd of boys who were all about
+fourteen years of age.
+
+An old woman came in and they all called out: "This is Mother Hia!"
+And she sat down and had Aduan show his tricks. Then she taught him
+the dance of the flying thunders of Tsian-Tang River, and the music
+that calms the winds on the sea of Dung-Ting. When the cymbals and
+kettledrums reechoed through all the courts, they deafened the ear.
+Then, again, all the courts would fall silent. Mother Hia thought that
+Aduan would not be able to grasp everything the very first time; so
+she taught him with great patience. But Aduan had understood
+everything from the first, and that pleased old Mother Hia. "This
+boy," said she, "equals our own Rose of Evening!"
+
+The following day the Prince of the Dragon's Cave held a review of his
+dancers. When all the dancers had assembled, the dance of the Ogres
+was danced first. Those who performed it all wore devil-masks and
+garments of scales. They beat upon enormous cymbals, and their
+kettledrums were so large that four men could just about span them.
+Their sound was like the sound of a mighty thunder, and the noise was
+so great that nothing else could be heard. When the dance began,
+tremendous waves spouted up to the very skies, and then fell down
+again like star-glimmer which scatters in the air.
+
+The Prince of the Dragon Cave hastily bade the dance cease, and had
+the dancers of the nightingale round step forth. These were all lovely
+young girls of sixteen. They made a delicate music with flutes, so
+that the breeze blew and the roaring of the waves was stilled in a
+moment. The water gradually became as quiet as a crystal world,
+transparent to its lowest depths. When the nightingale dancers had
+finished, they withdrew and posted themselves in the western
+courtyard.
+
+Then came the turn of the swallow dancers. These were all little
+girls. One among them, who was about fifteen years of age, danced the
+dance of the giving of flowers with flying sleeves and waving locks.
+And as their garments fluttered, many-colored flowers dropped from
+their folds, and were caught up by the wind and whirled about the
+whole courtyard. When the dance had ended, this dancer also went off
+with the rest of the girls to the western courtyard. Aduan looked at
+her from out the corner of his eye, and fell deeply in love with her.
+He asked his comrades who she might be and they told him she was named
+"Rose of Evening."
+
+But the willow-spray dancers were now called out. The Prince of the
+Dragon Cave was especially desirous of testing Aduan. So Aduan danced
+alone, and he danced with joy or defiance according to the music. When
+he looked up and when he looked down his glances held the beat of the
+measure. The Dragon Prince, enchanted with his skill, presented him
+with a garment of five colors, and gave him a carbuncle set in golden
+threads of fish-beard for a hair-jewel. Aduan bowed his thanks for the
+gift, and then also hastened to the western courtyard. There all the
+dancers stood in rank and file. Aduan could only look at Rose of
+Evening from a distance, but still Rose of Evening returned his
+glances.
+
+After a time Aduan gradually slipped to the end of his file and Rose
+of Evening also drew near to him, so that they stood only a few feet
+away from each other. But the strict rules allowed no confusion in the
+ranks, so they could only gaze and let their souls go out to each
+other.
+
+Now the butterfly dance followed the others. This was danced by the
+boys and girls together, and the pairs were equal in size, age and the
+color of their garments. When all the dances had ended, the dancers
+marched out with the goose-step. The willow-spray dancers followed the
+swallow dancers, and Aduan hastened in advance of his company, while
+Rose of Evening lingered along after hers. She turned her head, and
+when she spied Aduan she purposely let a coral pin fall from her hair.
+Aduan hastily hid it in his sleeve.
+
+When he had returned, he was sick with longing, and could neither eat
+nor sleep. Mother Hia brought him all sorts of dainties, looked after
+him three or four times a day, and stroked his forehead with loving
+care. But his illness did not yield in the least. Mother Hia was
+unhappy, and yet helpless.
+
+"The birthday of the King of the Wu River is at hand," said she. "What
+is to be done?"
+
+In the twilight there came a boy, who sat down on the edge of Aduan's
+bed and chatted with him. He belonged to the butterfly dancers, said
+he, and asked casually: "Are you sick because of Rose of Evening?"
+Aduan, frightened, asked him how he came to guess it. The other boy
+said, with a smile: "Well, because Rose of Evening is in the same case
+as yourself."
+
+Disconcerted, Aduan sat up and begged the boy to advise him. "Are you
+able to walk?" asked the latter. "If I exert myself," said Aduan, "I
+think I could manage it."
+
+So the boy led him to the South. There he opened a gate and they
+turned the corner, to the West. Once more the doors of the gate flew
+open, and now Aduan saw a lotus field about twenty acres in size. The
+lotus flowers were all growing on level earth, and their leaves were
+as large as mats and their flowers like umbrellas. The fallen blossoms
+covered the ground beneath the stalks to the depth of a foot or more.
+The boy led Aduan in and said, "Now first of all sit down for a little
+while!" Then he went away.
+
+After a time a beautiful girl thrust aside the lotus flowers and came
+into the open. It was Rose of Evening. They looked at each other with
+happy timidity, and each told how each had longed for the other. And
+they also told each other of their former life. Then they weighted the
+lotus-leaves with stones so that they made a cozy retreat, in which
+they could be together, and promised to meet each other there every
+evening. And then they parted.
+
+Aduan came back and his illness left him. From that time on he met
+Rose of Evening every day in the lotus field.
+
+After a few days had passed they had to accompany the Prince of the
+Dragon Cave to the birthday festival of the King of the Wu River. The
+festival came to an end, and all the dancers returned home. Only, the
+King had kept back Rose of Evening and one of the nightingale dancers
+to teach the girls in his castle.
+
+Months passed and no news came from Rose of Evening, so that Aduan
+went about full of longing and despair. Now Mother Hia went every day
+to the castle of the god of the Wu River. So Aduan told her that Rose
+of Evening was his cousin, and entreated her to take him along with
+her so that he could at least see her a single time. So she took him
+along, and let him stay at the lodge-house of the river-god for a few
+days. But the indwellers of the castle were so strictly watched that
+he could not see Rose of Evening even a single time. Sadly Aduan went
+back again.
+
+Another month passed and Aduan, filled with gloomy thoughts, wished
+that death might be his portion.
+
+One day Mother Hia came to him full of pity, and began to sympathize
+with him. "What a shame," said she, "that Rose of Evening has cast
+herself into the river!"
+
+Aduan was extremely frightened, and his tears flowed resistlessly. He
+tore his beautiful garments, took his gold and his pearls, and went
+out with the sole idea of following his beloved in death. Yet the
+waters of the river stood up before him like walls, and no matter how
+often he ran against them, head down, they always flung him back.
+
+He did not dare return, since he feared he might be questioned about
+his festival garments, and severely punished because he had ruined
+them. So he stood there and knew not what to do, while the
+perspiration ran down to his ankles. Suddenly, at the foot of the
+water-wall he saw a tall tree. Like a monkey he climbed up to its very
+top, and then, with all his might, he shot into the waves.
+
+And then, without being wet, he found himself suddenly swimming on
+the surface of the river. Unexpectedly the world of men rose up once
+more before his dazzled eyes. He swam to the shore, and as he walked
+along the river-bank, his thoughts went back to his old mother. He
+took a ship and traveled home.
+
+When he reached the village, it seemed to him as though all the houses
+in it belonged to another world. The following morning he entered his
+mother's house, and as he did so, heard a girl's voice beneath the
+window saying: "Your son has come back again!" The voice sounded like
+the voice of Rose of Evening, and when she came to greet him at his
+mother's side, sure enough, it was Rose of Evening herself.
+
+And in that hour the joy of these two who were so fond of each other
+overcame all their sorrow. But in the mother's mind sorrow and doubt,
+terror and joy mingled in constant succession in a thousand different
+ways.
+
+When Rose of Evening had been in the palace of the river-king, and had
+come to realize that she would never see Aduan again, she determined
+to die, and flung herself into the waters of the stream. But she was
+carried to the surface, and the waves carried and cradled her till a
+ship came by and took her aboard. They asked whence she came. Now Rose
+of Evening had originally been a celebrated singing girl of Wu, who
+had fallen into the river and whose body had never been found. So she
+thought to herself that, after all, she could not return to her old
+life again. So she answered: "Madame Dsiang, in Dschen-Giang is my
+mother-in-law." Then the travelers took passage for her in a ship
+which brought her to the place she had mentioned. The widow Dsiang
+first said she must be mistaken, but the girl insisted that there was
+no mistake, and told Aduan's mother her whole story. Yet, though the
+latter was charmed by her surpassing loveliness, she feared that Rose
+of Evening was too young to live a widow's life. But the girl was
+respectful and industrious, and when she saw that poverty ruled in her
+new home, she took her pearls and sold them for a high price. Aduan's
+old mother was greatly pleased to see how seriously the girl took her
+duties.
+
+Now that Aduan had returned again Rose of Evening could not control
+her joy. And even Aduan's old mother cherished the hope that, after
+all, perhaps her son had not died. She secretly dug up her son's
+grave, yet all his bones were still lying in it. So she questioned
+Aduan. And then, for the first time, the latter realized that he was a
+departed spirit. Then he feared that Rose of Evening might regard him
+with disgust because he was no longer a human being. So he ordered his
+mother on no account to speak of it, and this his mother promised.
+Then she spread the report in the village that the body which had been
+found in the river had not been that of her son at all. Yet she could
+not rid herself of the fear that, since Aduan was a departed spirit,
+heaven might refuse to send him a child.
+
+In spite of her fear, however, she was able to hold a grandson in her
+arms in course of time. When she looked at him, he was no different
+from other children, and then her cup of joy was filled to
+overflowing.
+
+Rose of Evening gradually became aware of the fact that Aduan was not
+really a human being. "Why did you not tell me at once?" said she.
+"Departed spirits who wear the garments of the dragon castle, surround
+themselves with a soul-casing so heavy in texture that they can no
+longer be distinguished from the living. And if one can obtain the
+lime made of dragon-horn which is in the castle, then the bones may be
+glued together in such wise that flesh and blood will grow over them
+again. What a pity that we could not obtain the lime while we were
+there!"
+
+Aduan sold his pearl, for which a merchant from foreign parts gave him
+an enormous sum. Thus his family grew very wealthy. Once, on his
+mother's birthday, he danced with his wife and sang, in order to
+please her. The news reached the castle of the Dragon Prince and he
+thought to carry off Rose of Evening by force. But Aduan, alarmed,
+went to the Prince, and declared that both he and his wife were
+departed spirits. They examined him and since he cast no shadow, his
+word was taken, and he was not robbed of Rose of Evening.
+
+    Note: "Rose of Evening" is one of the most idyllic of
+    Chinese art fairy-tales. The idea that the departed
+    spirit throws no shadow has analogies in Norse and other
+    European fairy-tales.
+
+
+
+
+LXXIV
+
+THE APE SUN WU KUNG
+
+
+Far, far away to the East, in the midst of the Great Sea there is an
+island called the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. And on this mountain
+there is a high rock. Now this rock, from the very beginning of the
+world, had absorbed all the hidden seed power of heaven and earth and
+sun and moon, which endowed it with supernatural creative gifts. One
+day the rock burst, and out came an egg of stone. And out of this
+stone egg a stone ape was hatched by magic power. When he broke the
+shell he bowed to all sides. Then he gradually learned to walk and to
+leap, and two streams of golden radiance broke from his eyes which
+shot up to the highest of the castles of heaven, so that the Lord of
+the Heavens was frightened. So he sent out the two gods,
+Thousandmile-Eye and Fine-Ear, to find out what had happened. The two
+gods came back and reported: "The rays shine from the eyes of the
+stone ape who was hatched out of the egg which came from the magic
+rock. There is no reason for uneasiness."
+
+Little by little the ape grew up, ran and leaped about, drank from the
+springs in the valleys, ate the flowers and fruits, and time went by
+in unconstrained play.
+
+One day, during the summer, when he was seeking coolness, together
+with the other apes on the island, they went to the valley to bathe.
+There they saw a waterfall which plunged down a high cliff. Said the
+apes to each other: "Whoever can force his way through the waterfall,
+without suffering injury, shall be our king." The stone ape at once
+leaped into the air with joy and cried: "I will pass through!" Then he
+closed his eyes, bent down low and leaped through the roar and foam of
+the waters. When he opened his eyes once more he saw an iron bridge,
+which was shut off from the outer world by the waterfall as though by
+a curtain.
+
+At its entrance stood a tablet of stone on which were graven the
+words: "This is the heavenly cave behind the water-curtain on the
+Blessed Island of Flowers and Fruits." Filled with joy, the stone ape
+leaped out again through the waterfall and told the other apes what he
+had found. They received the news with great content, and begged the
+stone ape to take them there. So the tribe of apes leaped through the
+water on the iron bridge, and then crowded into the cave castle where
+they found a hearth with a profusion of pots, cups and platters. But
+all were made of stone. Then the apes paid homage to the stone ape as
+their king, and he was given the name of Handsome King of the Apes. He
+appointed long-tailed, ring-tailed and other monkeys to be his
+officials and counselors, servants and retainers, and they led a
+blissful life on the Mountain, sleeping by night in their cave castle,
+keeping away from birds and beasts, and their king enjoyed untroubled
+happiness. In this way some three hundred years went by.
+
+One day, when the King of the Apes sat with his subjects at a merry
+meal, he suddenly began to weep. Frightened, the apes asked him why he
+so suddenly grew sad amid all his bliss. Said the King: "It is true
+that we are not subject to the law and rule of man, that birds and
+beasts do not dare attack us, yet little by little we grow old and
+weak, and some day the hour will strike when Death, the Ancient, will
+drag us off! Then we are gone in a moment, and can no longer dwell
+upon earth!" When the apes heard these words, they hid their faces and
+sobbed. But an old ape, whose arms were connected in such a way that
+he could add the length of one to that of the other, stepped forth
+from the ranks. In a loud tone of voice he said: "That you have hit
+upon this thought, O King, shows the desire to search for truth has
+awakened you! Among all living creatures, there are but three kinds
+who are exempt from Death's power: the Buddhas, the blessed spirits
+and the gods. Whoever attains one of these three grades escapes the
+rod of re-birth, and lives as long as the Heavens themselves."
+
+The King of the Apes said: "Where do these three kinds of beings
+live?" And the old ape replied: "They live in caves and on holy
+mountains in the great world of mortals." The King was pleased when he
+heard this, and told his apes that he was going to seek out gods and
+sainted spirits in order to learn the road to immortality from them.
+The apes dragged up peaches and other fruits and sweet wine to
+celebrate the parting banquet, and all made merry together.
+
+On the following morning the Handsome King of the Apes rose very
+early, built him a raft of old pine trees and took a bamboo staff for
+a pole. Then he climbed on the raft, quite alone, and poled his way
+through the Great Sea. Wind and waves were favorable and he reached
+Asia. There he went ashore. On the strand he met a fisherman. He at
+once stepped up to him, knocked him down, tore off his clothes and put
+them on himself. Then he wandered around and visited all famous spots,
+went into the market-places, the densely populated cities, learned how
+to conduct himself properly, and how to speak and act like a well-bred
+human being. Yet his heart was set on learning the teaching of the
+Buddhas, the blessed spirits and the holy gods. But the people of the
+country in which he was were only concerned with honors and wealth.
+Not one of them seemed to care for life. Thus he went about until nine
+years had passed by unnoticed. Then he came to the strand of the
+Western Sea and it occurred to him: "No doubt there are gods and
+saints on the other side of the sea!" So he built another raft,
+floated it over the Western Sea and reached the land of the West.
+There he let his raft drift, and went ashore. After he had searched
+for many days, he suddenly saw a high mountain with deep, quiet
+valleys. As the Ape King went toward it, he heard a man singing in the
+woods, and the song sounded like one the blessed spirits might sing.
+So he hastily entered the wood to see who might be singing. There he
+met a wood-chopper at work. The Ape King bowed to him and said:
+"Venerable, divine master, I fall down and worship at your feet!" Said
+the wood-chopper: "I am only a workman; why do you call me divine
+master?" "Then, if you are no blessed god, how comes it you sing that
+divine song?" The wood-chopper laughed and said: "You are at home in
+music. The song I was singing was really taught me by a saint." "If
+you are acquainted with a saint," said the Ape King, "he surely cannot
+live far from here. I beg of you to show me the way to his dwelling."
+The wood-chopper replied: "It is not far from here. This mountain is
+known as the Mountain of the Heart. In it is a cave where dwells a
+saint who is called 'The Discerner.' The number of his disciples who
+have attained blessedness is countless. He still has some thirty to
+forty disciples gathered about him. You need only follow this path
+which leads to the South, and you cannot miss his dwelling." The Ape
+King thanked the wood-chopper and, sure enough, he came to the cave
+which the latter had described to him. The gate was locked and he did
+not venture to knock. So he leaped up into a pine tree, picked
+pine-cones and devoured the seed. Before long one of the saint's
+disciples came and opened the door and said: "What sort of a beast is
+it that is making such a noise?" The Ape King leaped down from his
+tree, bowed, and said: "I have come in search of truth. I did not
+venture to knock." Then the disciple had to laugh and said: "Our
+master was seated lost in meditation, when he told me to lead in the
+seeker after truth who stood without the gate, and here you really
+are. Well, you may come along with me!" The Ape King smoothed his
+clothes, put his hat on straight, and stepped in. A long passage led
+past magnificent buildings and quiet hidden huts to the place where
+the master was sitting upright on a seat of white marble. At his right
+and left stood his disciples, ready to serve him. The Ape King flung
+himself down on the ground and greeted the master humbly. In answer to
+his questions he told him how he had found his way to him. And when he
+was asked his name, he said: "I have no name. I am the ape who came
+out of the stone." So the master said: "Then I will give you a name. I
+name you Sun Wu Kung." The Ape King thanked him, full of joy, and
+thereafter he was called Sun Wu Kung. The master ordered his oldest
+disciple to instruct Sun Wu Kung in sweeping and cleaning, in going in
+and out, in good manners, how to labor in the field and how to water
+the gardens. In the course of time he learned to write, to burn
+incense and read the sutras. And in this way some six or seven years
+went by.
+
+One day the master ascended the seat from which he taught, and began
+to speak regarding the great truth. Sun Wu Kung understood the hidden
+meaning of his words, and commenced to jerk about and dance in his
+joy. The master reproved him: "Sun Wu Kung, you have still not laid
+aside your wild nature! What do you mean by carrying on in such an
+unfitting manner?" Sun Wu Kung bowed and answered: "I was listening
+attentively to you when the meaning of your words was disclosed to my
+heart, and without thinking I began to dance for joy. I was not giving
+way to my wild nature." Said the master: "If your spirit has really
+awakened, then I will announce the great truth to you. But there are
+three hundred and sixty ways by means of which one may reach this
+truth. Which way shall I teach you?" Said Sun Wu Kung: "Whichever you
+will, O Master!" Then the Master asked: "Shall I teach you the way of
+magic?" Said Sun Wu Kung: "What does magic teach one?" The Master
+replied: "It teaches one to raise up spirits, to question oracles, and
+to foretell fortune and misfortune." "Can one secure eternal life by
+means of it?" inquired Sun Wu Kung. "No," was the answer. "Then I will
+not learn it." "Shall I teach you the sciences?" "What are the
+sciences?" "They are the nine schools of the three faiths. You learn
+how to read the holy books, pronounce incantations, commune with the
+gods, and call the saints to you." "Can one gain eternal life by means
+of them?" "No." "Then I will not learn them." "The way of repose is a
+very good way." "What is the way of repose?" "It teaches how to live
+without nourishment, how to remain quiescent in silent purity, and sit
+lost in meditation." "Can one gain eternal life in this way?" "No."
+"Then I will not learn it." "The way of deeds is also a good way."
+"What does that teach?" "It teaches one to equalize the vital powers,
+to practise bodily exercise, to prepare the elixir of life and to hold
+one's breath." "Will it give one eternal life?" "Not so." "Then I will
+not learn it! I will not learn it!" Thereupon the Master pretended to
+be angry, leaped down from his stand, took his cane and scolded: "What
+an ape! This he will not learn, and that he will not learn! What are
+you waiting to learn, then?" With that he gave him three blows across
+the head, retired to his inner chamber, and closed the great door
+after him.
+
+The disciples were greatly excited, and overwhelmed Sun Wu Kung with
+reproaches. Yet the latter paid no attention to them, but smiled
+quietly to himself, for he had understood the riddle which the Master
+had given him to solve. And in his heart he thought: "His striking me
+over the head three times meant that I was to be ready at the third
+watch of the night. His withdrawing to his inner chamber and closing
+the great door after him, meant that I was to go in to him by the back
+door, and that he would make clear the great truth to me in secret."
+Accordingly he waited until evening, and made a pretense of lying down
+to sleep with the other disciples. But when the third watch of the
+night had come he rose softly and crept to the back door. Sure enough
+it stood ajar. He slipped in and stepped before the Master's bed. The
+Master was sleeping with his face turned toward the wall, and the ape
+did not venture to wake him, but knelt down in front of the bed. After
+a time the Master turned around and hummed a stanza to himself:
+
+    "A hard, hard grind,
+      Truth's lesson to expound.
+    One talks oneself deaf, dumb and blind,
+      Unless the right man's found."
+
+Then Sun Wu Kung replied: "I am waiting here reverentially!"
+
+The Master flung on his clothes, sat up in bed and said harshly:
+"Accursed ape! Why are you not asleep? What are you doing here?"
+
+Sun Wu Kung answered: "Yet you pointed out to me yesterday that I was
+to come to you at the third watch of the night, by the back door, in
+order to be instructed in the truth. Therefore I have ventured to
+come. If you will teach me in the fulness of your grace, I will be
+eternally grateful to you."
+
+Thought the Master to himself: "There is real intelligence in this
+ape's head, to have made him understand me so well." Then he replied:
+"Sun Wu Kung, it shall be granted you! I will speak freely with you.
+Come quite close to me, and then I will show you the way to eternal
+life."
+
+With that he murmured into his ear a divine, magical incantation to
+further the concentration of his vital powers, and explained the
+hidden knowledge word for word. Sun Wu Kung listened to him eagerly,
+and in a short time had learned it by heart. Then he thanked his
+teacher, went out again and lay down to sleep. From that time forward
+he practised the right mode of breathing, kept guard over his soul and
+spirit, and tamed the natural instincts of his heart. And while he did
+so three more years passed by. Then the task was completed.
+
+One day the Master said to him: "Three great dangers still threaten
+you. Every one who wishes to accomplish something out of the ordinary
+is exposed to them, for he is pursued by the envy of demons and
+spirits. And only those who can overcome these three great dangers
+live as long as the heavens."
+
+Then Sun Wu Kung was frightened and asked: "Is there any means of
+protection against these dangers?"
+
+Then the Master again murmured a secret incantation into his ear, by
+means of which he gained the power to transform himself seventy-two
+times.
+
+And when no more than a few days had passed Sun Wu Kung had learned
+the art.
+
+One day the Master was walking before the cave in the company of his
+disciples. He called Sun Wu Kung up to him and asked: "What progress
+have you made with your art? Can you fly already?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," said the ape.
+
+"Then let me see you do so."
+
+The ape leaped into the air to a distance of five or six feet from the
+ground. Clouds formed beneath his feet, and he was able to walk on
+them for several hundred yards. Then he was forced to drop down to
+earth again.
+
+The Master said with a smile: "I call that crawling around on the
+clouds, not floating on them, as do the gods and saints who fly over
+the whole world in a single day. I will teach you the magic
+incantation for turning somersaults on the clouds. If you turn one of
+those somersaults you advance eighteen thousand miles at a clip."
+
+Sun Wu Kung thanked him, full of joy, and from that time on he was
+able to move without limitation of space in any direction.
+
+One day Sun Wu Kung was sitting together with the other disciples
+under the pine-tree by the gate, discussing the secrets of their
+teachings. Finally they asked him to show them some of his
+transforming arts. Sun Wu Kung could not keep his secret to himself,
+and agreed to do so.
+
+With a smile he said: "Just set me a task! What do you wish me to
+change myself into?"
+
+They said: "Turn yourself into a pine-tree."
+
+So Sun Wu Kung murmured a magic incantation, turned around--and there
+stood a pine-tree before their very eyes. At this they all broke out
+into a horse-laugh. The Master heard the noise and came out of the
+gate, dragging his cane behind him.
+
+"Why are you making such a noise?" he called out to them harshly.
+
+Said they: "Sun Wu Kung has turned himself into a pine-tree, and this
+made us laugh."
+
+"Sun Wu Kung, come here!" said the Master. "Now just tell me what
+tricks you are up to? Why do you have to turn yourself into a
+pine-tree? All the work you have done means nothing more to you than a
+chance to make magic for your companions to wonder at. That shows
+that your heart is not yet under control."
+
+Humbly Sun Wu Kung begged his forgiveness.
+
+But the Master said: "I bear you no ill will, but you must go away."
+
+With tears in his eyes Sun Wu Kung asked him: "But where shall I go?"
+
+"You must go back again whence you came," said the Master. And when
+Sun Wu Kung sadly bade him farewell, he threatened him: "Your savage
+nature is sure to bring down evil upon you some time. You must tell no
+one that you are my pupil. If you so much as breathe a word about it,
+I will fetch your soul and lock it up in the nethermost hell, so that
+you cannot escape for a thousand eternities."
+
+Sun Wu Kung replied: "I will not say a word! I will not say a word!"
+
+Then he once more thanked him for all the kindness shown him, turned a
+somersault and climbed up to the clouds.
+
+Within the hour he had passed the seas, and saw the Mountain of
+Flowers and Fruits lying before him. Then he felt happy and at home
+again, let his cloud sink down to earth and cried: "Here I am back
+again, children!" And at once, from the valley, from behind the rocks,
+out of the grass and from amid the trees came his apes. They came
+running up by thousands, surrounded and greeted him, and inquired as
+to his adventures. Sun Wu Kung said: "I have now found the way to
+eternal life, and need fear Death the Ancient no longer." Then all the
+apes were overjoyed, and competed with each other in bringing flowers
+and fruits, peaches and wine, to welcome him. And again they honored
+Sun Wu Kung as the Handsome Ape King.
+
+Sun Wu Kung now gathered the apes about him and questioned them as to
+how they had fared during his absence.
+
+Said they: "It is well that you have come back again, great king! Not
+long ago a devil came here who wanted to take possession of our cave
+by force. We fought with him, but he dragged away many of your
+children and will probably soon return."
+
+Sun Wu Kung grew very angry and said: "What sort of a devil is this
+who dares be so impudent?"
+
+The apes answered: "He is the Devil-King of Chaos. He lives in the
+North, who knows how many miles away. We only saw him come and go amid
+clouds and mist."
+
+Sun Wu Kung said: "Wait, and I will see to him!" With that he turned a
+somersault and disappeared without a trace.
+
+In the furthest North rises a high mountain, upon whose slope is a
+cave above which is the inscription: "The Cave of the Kidneys." Before
+the door little devils were dancing. Sun Wu Kung called harshly to
+them: "Tell your Devil-King quickly that he had better give me my
+children back again!" The little devils were frightened, and delivered
+the message in the cave. Then the Devil-King reached for his sword and
+came out. But he was so large and broad that he could not even see Sun
+Wu Kung. He was clad from head to foot in black armor, and his face
+was as black as the bottom of a kettle. Sun Wu Kung shouted at him:
+"Accursed devil, where are your eyes, that you cannot see the
+venerable Sun?" Then the devil looked to the ground and saw a stone
+ape standing before him, bare-headed, dressed in red, with a yellow
+girdle and black boots. So the Devil-King laughed and said: "You are
+not even four feet high, less than thirty years of age, and
+weaponless, and yet you venture to make such a commotion." Said Sun Wu
+Kung: "I am not too small for you; and I can make myself large at
+will. You scorn me because I am without a weapon, but my two fists can
+thresh to the very skies." With that he stooped, clenched his fists
+and began to give the devil a beating. The devil was large and clumsy,
+but Sun Wu Kung leaped about nimbly. He struck him between the ribs
+and between the wind and his blows fell ever more fast and furious. In
+his despair the devil raised his great knife and aimed a blow at Sun
+Wu Kung's head. But the latter avoided the blow, and fell back on his
+magic powers of transformation. He pulled out a hair, put it in his
+mouth, chewed it, spat it out into the air and said: "Transform
+yourself!" And at once it turned into many hundreds of little apes who
+began to attack the devil. Sun Wu Kung, be it said, had eighty-four
+thousand hairs on his body, every single one of which he could
+transform. The little apes with their sharp eyes, leaped around with
+the greatest rapidity. They surrounded the Devil-King on all sides,
+tore at his clothes, and pulled at his legs, until he finally measured
+his length on the ground. Then Sun Wu Kung stepped up, tore his knife
+from his hand, and put an end to him. After that he entered the cave
+and released his captive children, the apes. The transformed hairs he
+drew to him again, and making a fire, he burned the evil cave to the
+ground. Then he gathered up those he had released, and flew back with
+them like a storm-wind to his cavern on the Mountain of Flowers and
+Fruits, joyfully greeted by all the apes.
+
+After Sun Wu Kung had obtained possession of the Devil-King's great
+knife, he exercised his apes every day. They had wooden swords and
+lances of bamboo, and played their martial music on reed pipes. He
+had them build a camp so that they would be prepared for all dangers.
+Suddenly the thought came to Sun Wu Kung: "If we go on this way,
+perhaps we may incite some human or animal king to fight with us, and
+then we would not be able to withstand him with our wooden swords and
+bamboo lances!" And to his apes he said: "What should be done?" Four
+baboons stepped forward and said: "In the capital city of the Aulai
+empire there are warriors without number. And there coppersmiths and
+steelsmiths are also to be found. How would it be if we were to buy
+steel and iron and have those smiths weld weapons for us?"
+
+A somersault and Sun Wu Kung was standing before the city moat. Said
+he to himself: "To first buy the weapons would take a great deal of
+time. I would rather make magic and take some." So he blew on the
+ground. Then a tremendous storm-wind arose which drove sand and stones
+before it, and caused all the soldiers in the city to run away in
+terror. Then Sun Wu Kung went to the armory, pulled out one of his
+hairs, turned it into thousands of little apes, cleared out the whole
+supply of weapons, and flew back home on a cloud.
+
+Then he gathered his people about him and counted them. In all they
+numbered seventy-seven thousand. They held the whole Mountain in
+terror, and all the magic beasts and spirit princes who dwelt on it.
+And these came forth from seventy-two caves and honored Sun Wu Kung as
+their head.
+
+One day the Ape King said: "Now you all have weapons; but this knife
+which I took from the Devil-King is too light, and no longer suits me.
+What should be done?"
+
+Then the four baboons stepped forward and said: "In view of your
+spirit powers, O king, you will find no weapon fit for your use on all
+the earth! Is it possible for you to walk through the water?"
+
+The Ape King answered: "All the elements are subject to me and there
+is no place where I cannot go."
+
+Then the baboons said: "The water at our cave here flows into the
+Great Sea, to the castle of the Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea. If
+your magic power makes it possible, you could go to the Dragon-King
+and let him give you a weapon."
+
+This suited the Ape King. He leaped on the iron bridge and murmured an
+incantation. Then he flung himself into the waves, which parted before
+him and ran on till he came to the palace of water-crystal. There he
+met a Triton who asked who he was. He mentioned his name and said: "I
+am the Dragon-King's nearest neighbor, and have come to visit him."
+The Triton took the message to the castle, and the Dragon-King of the
+Eastern Sea came out hastily to receive him. He bade him be seated and
+served him with tea.
+
+Sun Wu Kung said: "I have learned the hidden knowledge and gained the
+powers of immortality. I have drilled my apes in the art of warfare in
+order to protect our mountain; but I have no weapon I can use, and
+have therefore come to you to borrow one."
+
+The Dragon-King now had General Flounder bring him a great spear. But
+Sun Wu Kung was not satisfied with it. Then he ordered Field-Marshal
+Eel to fetch in a nine-tined fork, which weighed three thousand six
+hundred pounds. But Sun Wu Kung balanced it in his hand and said: "Too
+light! Too light! Too light!"
+
+Then the Dragon-King was frightened, and had the heaviest weapon in
+his armory brought in. It weighed seven thousand two hundred pounds.
+But this was still too light for Sun Wu Kung. The Dragon-King assured
+him that he had nothing heavier, but Sun Wu Kung would not give in and
+said: "Just look around!"
+
+Finally the Dragon-Queen and her daughter came out, and said to the
+Dragon-King: "This saint is an unpleasant customer with whom to deal.
+The great iron bar is still lying here in our sea; and not so long ago
+it shone with a red glow, which is probably a sign it is time for it
+to be taken away."
+
+Said the Dragon-King: "But that is the rod which the Great Yu used
+when he ordered the waters, and determined the depth of the seas and
+rivers. It cannot be taken away."
+
+The Dragon-Queen replied: "Just let him see it! What he then does with
+it is no concern of ours."
+
+So the Dragon-King led Sun Wu Kung to the measuring rod. The golden
+radiance that came from it could be seen some distance off. It was an
+enormous iron bar, with golden clamps on either side.
+
+Sun Wu Kung raised it with the exertion of all his strength, and then
+said: "It is too heavy, and ought to be somewhat shorter and thinner!"
+
+No sooner had he said this than the iron rod grew less. He tried it
+again, and then he noticed that it grew larger or smaller at command.
+It could be made to shrink to the size of a pin. Sun Wu Kung was
+overjoyed and beat about in the sea with the rod, which he had let
+grow large again, till the waves spurted mountain-high and the
+dragon-castle rocked on its foundations. The Dragon-King trembled with
+fright, and all his tortoises, fishes and crabs drew in their heads.
+
+Sun Wu Kung laughed, and said: "Many thanks for the handsome present!"
+Then he continued: "Now I have a weapon, it is true, but as yet I have
+no armor. Rather than hunt up two or three other households, I think
+you will be willing to provide me with a suit of mail."
+
+The Dragon-King told him that he had no armor to give him.
+
+Then the ape said: "I will not leave until you have obtained one for
+me." And once more he began to swing his rod.
+
+"Do not harm me!" said the terrified Dragon-King, "I will ask my
+brothers."
+
+And he had them beat the iron drum and strike the golden gong, and in
+a moment's time all the Dragon-King's brothers came from all the other
+seas. The Dragon-King talked to them in private and said: "This is a
+terrible fellow, and we must not rouse his anger! First he took the
+rod with the golden clamps from me, and now he also insists on having
+a suit of armor. The best thing to do would be to satisfy him at once,
+and complain of him to the Lord of the Heavens later."
+
+So the brothers brought a magic suit of golden mail, magic boots and a
+magic helmet.
+
+Then Sun Wu Kung thanked them and returned to his cave. Radiantly he
+greeted his children, who had come to meet him, and showed them the
+rod with the golden clamps. They all crowded up and wished to pick it
+up from the ground, if only a single time; but it was just as though a
+dragon-fly had attempted to overthrow a stone column, or an ant were
+trying to carry a great mountain. It would not move a hair's breadth.
+Then the apes opened their mouths and stuck out their tongues, and
+said: "Father, how is it possible for you to carry that heavy thing?"
+So he told them the secret of the rod and showed them its effects.
+Then he set his empire in order, and appointed the four baboons
+field-marshals; and the seven beast-spirits, the ox-spirit, the
+dragon-spirit, the bird-spirit, the lion-spirit and the rest also
+joined him.
+
+One day he took a nap after dinner. Before he did so he had let the
+bar shrink, and had stuck it in his ear. While he was sleeping he saw
+two men come along in his dream, who had a card on which was written
+"Sun Wu Kung." They would not allow him to resist, but fettered him
+and led his spirit away. And when they reached a great city the Ape
+King gradually came to himself. Over the city gate he saw a tablet of
+iron on which was engraved in large letters: "The Nether World."
+
+Then all was suddenly clear to him and he said: "Why, this must be the
+dwelling-place of Death! But I have long since escaped from his power,
+and how dare he have me dragged here!" The more he reflected the
+wilder he grew. He drew out the golden rod from his ear, swung it and
+let it grow large. Then he crushed the two constables to mush, burst
+his fetters, and rolled his bar before him into the city. The ten
+Princes of the Dead were frightened, bowed before him and asked: "Who
+are you?"
+
+Sun Wu Kung answered: "If you do not know me then why did you send for
+me and have me dragged to this place? I am the heaven-born saint Sun
+Wu Kung of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. And now, who are you?
+Tell me your names quickly or I will strike you!"
+
+The ten Princes of the Dead humbly gave him their names.
+
+Sun Wu Kung said: "I, the Venerable Sun, have gained the power of
+eternal life! You have nothing to say to me! Quick, let me have the
+Book of Life!"
+
+They did not dare defy him, and had the scribe bring in the Book. Sun
+Wu Kung opened it. Under the head of "Apes," No. 1350, he read: "Sun
+Wu Kung, the heaven-born stone ape. His years shall be three hundred
+and twenty-four. Then he shall die without illness."
+
+Sun Wu Kung took the brush from the table and struck out the whole ape
+family from the Book of Life, threw the Book down and said: "Now we
+are even! From this day on I will suffer no impertinences from you!"
+
+With that he cleared a way for himself out of the Nether World by
+means of his rod, and the ten Princes of the Dead did not venture to
+stay him, but only complained of him afterward to the Lord of the
+Heavens.
+
+When Sun Wu Kung had left the city he slipped and fell to the ground.
+This caused him to wake, and he noticed he had been dreaming. He
+called his four baboons to him and said: "Splendid, splendid! I was
+dragged to Death's castle and I caused considerable uproar there. I
+had them give me the Book of Life, and I struck out the mortal hour of
+all the apes!" And after that time the apes on the Mountain no longer
+died, because their names had been stricken out in the Nether World.
+
+But the Lord of the Heavens sat in his castle, and had all his
+servants assembled about him. And a saint stepped forward and
+presented the complaint of the Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea. And
+another stepped forward and presented the complaint of the ten Princes
+of the Dead. The Lord of the Heavens glanced through the two
+memorials. Both told of the wild, unmannerly conduct of Sun Wu Kung.
+So the Lord of the Heavens ordered a god to descend to earth and take
+him prisoner. The Evening Star came forward, however, and said: "This
+ape was born of the purest powers of heaven and earth and sun and
+moon. He has gained the hidden knowledge and has become an immortal.
+Recall, O Lord, your great love for all that which has life, and
+forgive him his sin! Issue an order that he be called up to the
+heavens, and be given a charge here, so that he may come to his
+senses. Then, if he again oversteps your commands, let him be punished
+without mercy." The Lord of the Heavens was agreeable, had the order
+issued, and told the Evening Star to take it to Sun Wu Kung. The
+Evening Star mounted a colored cloud and descended on the Mountain of
+Flowers and Fruits.
+
+He greeted Sun Wu Kung and said to him: "The Lord had heard of your
+actions and meant to punish you. I am the Evening Star of the Western
+Skies, and I spoke for you. Therefore he has commissioned me to take
+you to the skies, so that you may be given a charge there."
+
+Sun Wu Kung was overjoyed and answered: "I had just been thinking I
+ought to pay Heaven a visit some time, and sure enough, Old Star, here
+you have come to fetch me!"
+
+Then he had his four baboons come and said to them impressively: "See
+that you take good care of our Mountain! I am going up to the heavens
+to look around there a little!"
+
+Then he mounted a cloud together with the Evening Star and floated up.
+But he kept turning his somersaults, and advanced so quickly that the
+Evening Star on his cloud was left behind. Before he knew it he had
+reached the Southern Gate of Heaven and was about to step carelessly
+through. The gate-keeper did not wish to let him enter, but he did not
+let this stop him. In the midst of their dispute the Evening Star came
+up and explained matters, and then he was allowed to enter the
+heavenly gate. When he came to the castle of the Lord of the Heavens,
+he stood upright before it, without bowing his head.
+
+The Lord of the Heavens asked: "Then this hairy face with the pointed
+lips is Sun Wu Kung?"
+
+He replied: "Yes, I am the Venerable Sun!"
+
+All the servants of the Lord of the Heavens were shocked and said:
+"This wild ape does not even bow, and goes so far as to call himself
+the Venerable Sun. His crime deserves a thousand deaths!"
+
+But the Lord said: "He has come up from the earth below, and is not as
+yet used to our rules. We will forgive him."
+
+Then he gave orders that a charge be found for him. The marshal of the
+heavenly court reported: "There is no charge vacant anywhere, but an
+official is needed in the heavenly stables." Thereupon the Lord made
+him stablemaster of the heavenly steeds. Then the servants of the Lord
+of the Heavens told him he should give thanks for the grace bestowed
+on him. Sun Wu Kung called out aloud: "Thanks to command!" took
+possession of his certificate of appointment, and went to the stables
+in order to enter upon his new office.
+
+Sun Wu Kung attended to his duties with great zeal. The heavenly
+steeds grew sleek and fat, and the stables were filled with young
+foals. Before he knew it half a month had gone by. Then his heavenly
+friends prepared a banquet for him.
+
+While they were at table Sun Wu Kung asked accidentally:
+"Stablemaster? What sort of a title is that?"
+
+"Why, that is an official title," was the reply.
+
+"What rank has this office?"
+
+"It has no rank at all," was the answer.
+
+"Ah," said the ape, "is it so high that it outranks all other
+dignities?"
+
+"No, it is not high, it is not high at all," answered his friends.
+"It is not even set down in the official roster, but is quite a
+subordinate position. All you have to do is to attend to the steeds.
+If you see to it that they grow fat, you get a good mark; but if they
+grow thin or ill, or fall down, your punishment will be right at
+hand."
+
+Then the Ape King grew angry: "What, they treat me, the Venerable Sun,
+in such a shameful way!" and he started up. "On my Mountain I was a
+king, I was a father! What need was there for him to lure me into his
+heaven to feed horses? I'll do it no longer! I'll do it no longer!"
+
+Hola, and he had already overturned the table, drawn the rod with the
+golden clamps from his ear, let it grow large and beat a way out for
+himself to the Southern gate of Heaven. And no one dared stop him.
+
+Already he was back in his island Mountain and his people surrounded
+him and said: "You have been gone for more than ten years, great king!
+How is it you do not return to us until now?"
+
+The Ape King said: "I did not spend more than about ten days in
+Heaven. This Lord of the Heavens does not know how to treat his
+people. He made me his stablemaster, and I had to feed his horses. I
+am so ashamed that I am ready to die. But I did not put up with it,
+and now I am here once more!"
+
+His apes eagerly prepared a banquet to comfort him. While they sat at
+table two horned devil-kings came and brought him a yellow imperial
+robe as a present. Filled with joy he slipped into it, and appointed
+the two devil-kings leaders of the vanguard. They thanked him and
+began to flatter him: "With your power and wisdom, great king, why
+should you have to serve the Lord of the Heavens? To call you the
+Great Saint who is Heaven's Equal would be quite in order."
+
+The ape was pleased with this speech and said: "Good, good!" Then he
+ordered his four baboons to have a flag made quickly, on which was to
+be inscribed: "The Great Saint Who Is Heaven's Equal." And from that
+time on he had himself called by that title.
+
+When the Lord of the Heavens learned of the flight of the ape, he
+ordered Li Dsing, the pagoda-bearing god, and his third son, Notscha,
+to take the Ape King prisoner. They sallied forth at the head of a
+heavenly warrior host, laid out a camp before his cave, and sent a
+brave warrior to challenge him to single combat. But he was easily
+beaten by Sun Wu Kung and obliged to flee, and Sun Wu Kung even
+shouted after him, laughing: "What a bag of wind! And he calls himself
+a heavenly warrior! I'll not slay you. Run along quickly and send me a
+better man!"
+
+When Notscha saw this he himself hurried up to do battle.
+
+Said Sun Wu Kung to him: "To whom do you belong, little one? You must
+not play around here, for something might happen to you!"
+
+But Notscha cried out in a loud voice: "Accursed ape! I am Prince
+Notscha, and have been ordered to take you prisoner!" And with that he
+swung his sword in the direction of Sun Wu Kung.
+
+"Very well," said the latter, "I will stand here and never move."
+
+Then Notscha grew very angry, and turned into a three-headed god with
+six arms, in which he held six different weapons. Thus he rushed on to
+the attack.
+
+Sun Wu Kung laughed. "The little fellow knows the trick of it! But
+easy, wait a bit! I will change shape, too!"
+
+And he also turned himself into a figure with three heads and with six
+arms, and swung three gold-clamp rods. And thus they began to fight.
+Their blows rained down with such rapidity that it seemed as though
+thousands of weapons were flying through the air. After thirty rounds
+the combat had not yet been decided. Then Sun Wu Kung hit upon an
+idea. He secretly pulled out one of his hairs, turned it into his own
+shape, and let it continue the fight with Notscha. He himself,
+however, slipped behind Notscha, and gave him such a blow on the left
+arm with his rod that his knees gave way beneath him with pain, and he
+had to withdraw in defeat.
+
+So Notscha told his father Li Dsing: "This devil-ape is altogether too
+powerful! I cannot get the better of him!" There was nothing left to
+do but to return to the Heavens and admit their overthrow. The Lord of
+the Heavens bowed his head, and tried to think of some other hero whom
+he might send out.
+
+Then the Evening Star once more came forward and said: "This ape is so
+strong and so courageous, that probably not one of us here is a match
+for him. He revolted because the office of stablemaster appeared too
+lowly for him. The best thing would be to temper justice with mercy,
+let him have his way, and appoint him Great Saint Who Is Heaven's
+Equal. It will only be necessary to give him the empty title, without
+combining a charge with it, and then the matter would be settled." The
+Lord of the Heavens was satisfied with this suggestion, and once more
+sent the Evening Star to summon the new saint. When Sun Wu Kung heard
+that he had arrived, he said: "The old Evening Star is a good fellow!"
+and he had his army draw up in line to give him a festive reception.
+He himself donned his robes of ceremony and politely went out to meet
+him.
+
+Then the Evening Star told him what had taken place in the Heavens,
+and that he had his appointment as Great Saint Who Is Heaven's Equal
+with him.
+
+Thereupon the Great Saint laughed and said: "You also spoke in my
+behalf before, Old Star! And now you have again taken my part. Many
+thanks! Many thanks!"
+
+Then when they appeared together in the presence of the Lord of the
+Heavens the latter said: "The rank of Great Saint Who Is Heaven's
+Equal is very high. But now you must not cut any further capers."
+
+The Great Saint expressed his thanks, and the Lord of the Heavens
+ordered two skilled architects to build a castle for him East of the
+peach-garden of the Queen-Mother of the West. And he was led into it
+with all possible honors.
+
+Now the Saint was in his element. He had all that heart could wish
+for, and was untroubled by any work. He took his ease, walked about in
+the Heavens as he chose, and paid visits to the gods. The Three Pure
+Ones and the Four Rulers he treated with some little respect; but the
+planetary gods and the lords of the twenty-eight houses of the moon,
+and of the twelve zodiac signs, and the other stars he addressed
+familiarly with a "Hey, you!" Thus he idled day by day, without
+occupation among the clouds of the Heavens. On one occasion one of the
+wise said to the Lord of the Heavens: "The holy Sun is idle while day
+follows day. It is to be feared that some mischievous thoughts may
+occur to him, and it might be better to give him some charge."
+
+So the Lord of the Heavens summoned the Great Saint and said to him:
+"The life-giving peaches in the garden of the Queen-Mother will soon
+be ripe. I give you the charge of watching over them. Do your duty
+conscientiously!"
+
+This pleased the Saint and he expressed his thanks. Then he went to
+the garden, where the caretakers and gardeners received him on their
+knees.
+
+He asked them: "How many trees in all are there in the garden?"
+
+"Three thousand six hundred," replied the gardener. "There are
+twelve-hundred trees in the foremost row. They have red blossoms and
+bear small fruit, which ripens every three thousand years. Whoever
+eats it grows bright and healthy. The twelve hundred trees in the
+middle row have double blossoms and bear sweet fruit, which ripens
+every six thousand years. Whoever eats of it is able to float in the
+rose-dawn without aging. The twelve hundred trees in the last row bear
+red-striped fruit with small pits. They ripen every nine thousand
+years. Whoever eats their fruit lives eternally, as long as the
+Heavens themselves, and remains untouched for thousands of eons."
+
+The Saint heard all this with pleasure. He checked up the lists and
+from that time on appeared every day or so to see to things. The
+greater part of the peaches in the last row were already ripe. When he
+came to the garden, he would on each occasion send away the caretakers
+and gardeners under some pretext, leap up into the trees, and gorge
+himself to his heart's content with the peaches.
+
+At that time the Queen-Mother of the West was preparing the great
+peach banquet to which she was accustomed to invite all the gods of
+the Heavens. She sent out the fairies in their garments of seven
+colors with baskets, that they might pick the peaches. The caretaker
+said to them: "The garden has now been entrusted to the guardianship
+of the Great Saint Who is Heaven's Equal, so you will first have to
+announce yourselves to him." With that he led the seven fairies into
+the garden. There they looked everywhere for the Great Saint, but
+could not find him. So the fairies said: "We have our orders and must
+not be late. We will begin picking the peaches in the meantime!" So
+they picked several baskets full from the foremost row. In the second
+row the peaches were already scarcer. And in the last row there hung
+only a single half-ripe peach. They bent down the bough and picked it,
+and then allowed it to fly up again.
+
+Now it happened that the Great Saint, who had turned himself into a
+peach-worm, had just been taking his noon-day nap on this bough. When
+he was so rudely awakened, he appeared in his true form, seized his
+rod and was about to strike the fairies.
+
+But the fairies said: "We have been sent here by the Queen-Mother. Do
+not be angry, Great Saint!"
+
+Said the Great Saint: "And who are all those whom the Queen-Mother has
+invited?"
+
+They answered: "All the gods and saints in the Heavens, on the earth
+and under the earth."
+
+"Has she also invited me?" said the Saint.
+
+"Not that we know of," said the fairies.
+
+Then the Saint grew angry, murmured a magic incantation and said:
+"Stay! Stay! Stay!"
+
+With that the seven fairies were banned to the spot. The Saint then
+took a cloud and sailed away on it to the palace of the Queen-Mother.
+
+On the way he met the Bare-Foot God and asked him: "Where are you
+going?"
+
+"To the peach banquet," was the answer.
+
+Then the Saint lied to him, saying: "I have been commanded by the
+Lord of the Heavens to tell all the gods and saints that they are
+first to come to the Hall of Purity, in order to practise the rites,
+and then go together to the Queen-Mother."
+
+Then the Great Saint changed himself into the semblance of the
+Bare-Foot God and sailed to the palace of the Queen-Mother. There he
+let his cloud sink down and entered quite unconcerned. The meal was
+ready, yet none of the gods had as yet appeared. Suddenly the Great
+Saint caught the aroma of wine, and saw well-nigh a hundred barrels of
+the precious nectar standing in a room to one side. His mouth watered.
+He tore a few hairs out and turned them into sleep-worms. These worms
+crept into the nostrils of the cup-bearers so that they all fell
+asleep. Thereupon he enjoyed the delicious viands to the full, opened
+the barrels and drank until he was nearly stupefied. Then he said to
+himself: "This whole affair is beginning to make me feel creepy. I had
+better go home first of all and sleep a bit." And he stumbled out of
+the garden with uncertain steps. Sure enough, he missed his way, and
+came to the dwelling of Laotzse. There he regained consciousness. He
+arranged his clothing and went in. There was no one to be seen in the
+place, for at the moment Laotzse was at the God of Light's abode,
+talking to him, and with him were all his servants, listening. Since
+he found no one at home the Great Saint went as far as the inner
+chamber, where Laotzse was in the habit of brewing the elixir of life.
+Beside the stove stood five gourd containers full of the pills of life
+which had already been rolled. Said the Great Saint: "I had long since
+intended to prepare a couple of these pills. So it suits me very well
+to find them here." He poured out the contents of the gourds, and ate
+up all the pills of life. Since he had now had enough to eat and
+drink he thought to himself: "Bad, bad! The mischief I have done
+cannot well be repaired. If they catch me my life will be in danger. I
+think I had better go down to earth again and remain a king!" With
+that he made himself invisible, went out at the Western Gate of
+Heaven, and returned to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, where he
+told his people who received him the story of his adventures.
+
+When he spoke of the wine-nectar of the peach garden, his apes said:
+"Can't you go back once more and steal a few bottles of the wine, so
+that we too may taste of it and gain eternal life?"
+
+The Ape King was willing, turned a somersault, crept into the garden
+unobserved, and picked up four more barrels. Two of them he took under
+his arms and two he held in his hands. Then he disappeared with them
+without leaving a trace and brought them to his cave, where he enjoyed
+them together with his apes.
+
+In the meantime the seven fairies, whom the Great Saint had banned to
+the spot, had regained their freedom after a night and a day. They
+picked up their baskets and told the Queen-Mother what had happened to
+them. And the cup-bearers, too, came hurrying up and reported the
+destruction which some one unknown had caused among the eatables and
+drinkables. The Queen-Mother went to the Lord of the Heavens to
+complain. Shortly afterward Laotzse also came to him to tell about the
+theft of the pills of life. And the Bare-Foot God came along and
+reported that he had been deceived by the Great Saint Who Is Heaven's
+Equal; and from the Great Saint's palace the servants came running and
+said that the Saint had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. Then
+the Lord of the Heavens was frightened, and said: "This whole mess is
+undoubtedly the work of that devilish ape!"
+
+Now the whole host of Heaven, together with all the star-gods, the
+time-gods and the mountain-gods was called out in order to catch the
+ape. Li Dsing once more was its commander-in-chief. He invested the
+entire Mountain, and spread out the sky-net and the earth-net, so that
+no one could escape. Then he sent his bravest heroes into battle.
+Courageously the ape withstood all attacks from early morn till
+sundown. But by that time his most faithful followers had been
+captured. That was too much for him. He pulled out a hair and turned
+it into thousands of Ape-Kings, who all hewed about them with
+golden-clamped iron rods. The heavenly host was vanquished, and the
+ape withdrew to his cave to rest.
+
+Now it happened that Guan Yin had also gone to the peach banquet in
+the garden, and had found out what Sun Wu Kung had done. When she went
+to visit the Lord of the Heavens, Li Dsing was just coming in, to
+report the great defeat which he had suffered on the Mountain of
+Flowers and Fruits. Then Guan Yin said to the Lord of the Heavens: "I
+can recommend a hero to you who will surely get the better of the ape.
+It is your grandson Yang Oerlang. He has conquered all the beast and
+bird spirits, and overthrown the elves in the grass and the brush. He
+knows what has to be done to get the better of such devils."
+
+So Yang Oerlang was brought in, and Li Dsing led him to his camp. Li
+Dsing asked Yang Oerlang how he would go about getting the better of
+the ape.
+
+Yang Oerlang laughed and said: "I think I will have to go him one
+better when it comes to changing shapes. It would be best for you to
+take away the sky-net so that our combat is not disturbed." Then he
+requested Li Dsing to post himself in the upper air with the magic
+spirit mirror in his hand, so that when the ape made himself
+invisible, he might be found again by means of the mirror. When all
+this had been arranged, Yang Oerlang went out in front of the cave
+with his spirits to give battle.
+
+The ape leaped out, and when he saw the powerful hero with the
+three-tined sword standing before him he asked: "And who may you be?"
+
+The other said: "I am Yang Oerlang, the grandson of the Lord of the
+Heavens!"
+
+Then the ape laughed and said: "Oh yes, I remember! His daughter ran
+away with a certain Sir Yang, to whom heaven gave a son. You must be
+that son!"
+
+Yang Oerlang grew furious, and advanced upon him with his spear. Then
+a hot battle began. For three hundred rounds they fought without
+decisive results. Then Yang Oerlang turned himself into a giant with a
+black face and red hair.
+
+"Not bad," said the ape, "but I can do that too!"
+
+So they continued to fight in that form. But the ape's baboons were
+much frightened. The beast and planet spirits of Yang Oerlang pressed
+the apes hard. They slew most of them and the others hid away. When
+the ape saw this his heart grew uneasy. He drew the magic
+giant-likeness in again, took his rod and fled. But Yang Oerlang
+followed hard on his heels. In his urgent need the ape thrust the rod,
+which he had turned into a needle, into his ear, turned into a
+sparrow, and flew up into the crest of a tree. Yang Oerlang who was
+following in his tracks, suddenly lost sight of him. But his keen eyes
+soon recognized that he had turned himself into a sparrow. So he flung
+away spear and crossbow, turned himself into a sparrow-hawk, and
+darted down on the sparrow. But the latter soared high into the air as
+a cormorant. Yang Oerlang shook his plumage, turned into a great
+sea-crane, and shot up into the clouds to seize the cormorant. The
+latter dropped, flew into a valley and dove beneath the waters of a
+brook in the guise of a fish. When Yang Oerlang reached the edge of
+the valley, and had lost his trail he said to himself: "This ape has
+surely turned himself into a fish or a crab! I will change my form as
+well in order to catch him." So he turned into a fish-hawk and floated
+above the surface of the water. When the ape in the water caught sight
+of the fish-hawk, he saw that he was Yang Oerlang. He swiftly swung
+around and fled, Yang Oerlang in pursuit. When the latter was no
+further away than the length of a beak, the ape turned, crept ashore
+as a water-snake and hid in the grass. Yang Oerlang, when he saw the
+water-snake creep from the water, turned into an eagle and spread his
+claws to seize the snake. But the water-snake sprang up and turned
+into the lowest of all birds, a speckled buzzard, and perched on the
+steep edge of a cliff. When Yang Oerlang saw that the ape had turned
+himself into so contemptible a creature as a buzzard, he would no
+longer play the game of changing form with him. He reappeared in his
+original form, took up his crossbow and shot at the bird. The buzzard
+slipped and fell down the side of the cliff. At its foot the ape
+turned himself into the chapel of a field-god. He opened his mouth for
+a gate, his teeth became the two wings of the door, his tongue the
+image of the god, and his eyes the windows. His tail was the only
+thing he did not know what to do with. So he let it stand up stiffly
+behind him in the shape of a flagpole. When Yang Oerlang reached the
+foot of the hill he saw the chapel, whose flagpole stood in the rear.
+Then he laughed and said: "That ape is really a devil of an ape! He
+wants to lure me into the chapel in order to bite me. But I will not
+go in. First I will break his windows for him, and then I will stamp
+down the wings of his door!" When the ape heard this he was much
+frightened. He made a bound like a tiger, and disappeared without a
+trace in the air. With a single somersault he reached Yang Oerlang's
+own temple. There he assumed Yang Oerlang's own form and stepped in.
+The spirits who were on guard were unable to recognize him. They
+received him on their knees. So the ape then seated himself on the
+god's throne, and had the prayers which had come in submitted to him.
+
+When Yang Oerlang no longer saw the ape, he rose in the air to Li
+Dsing and said: "I was vying with the ape in changing shape. Suddenly
+I could no longer find him. Take a look in the mirror!" Li Dsing took
+a look in the magic spirit mirror and then he laughed and said: "The
+ape has turned himself into your likeness, is sitting in your temple
+quite at home there, and making mischief." When Yang Oerlang heard
+this he took his three-tined spear, and hastened to his temple. The
+door-spirits were frightened and said: "But father came in only this
+very minute! How is it that another one comes now?" Yang Oerlang,
+without paying attention to them, entered the temple and aimed his
+spear at Sun Wu Kung. The latter resumed his own shape, laughed and
+said: "Young sir, you must not be angry! The god of this place is now
+Sun Wu Kung." Without uttering a word Yang Oerlang assailed him. Sun
+Wu Kung took up his rod and returned the blows. Thus they crowded out
+of the temple together, fighting, and wrapped in mists and clouds once
+more gained the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.
+
+In the meantime Guan Yin was sitting with Laotzse, the Lord of the
+Heavens and the Queen-Mother in the great hall of Heaven, waiting for
+news. When none came she said: "I will go with Laotzse to the
+Southern Gate of Heaven and see how matters stand." And when they saw
+that the struggle had still not come to an end she said to Laotzse:
+"How would it be if we helped Yang Oerlang a little? I will shut up
+Sun Wu Kung in my vase."
+
+But Laotzse said: "Your vase is made of porcelain. Sun Wu Kung could
+smash it with his iron rod. But I have a circlet of diamonds which can
+enclose all living creatures. That we can use!" So he flung his
+circlet through the air from the heavenly gate, and struck Sun Wu Kung
+on the head with it. Since he had his hands full fighting, the latter
+could not guard himself against it, and the blow on the forehead
+caused him to slip. Yet he rose again and tried to escape. But the
+heavenly hound of Yang Oerlang bit his leg until he fell to the
+ground. Then Yang Oerlang and his followers came up and tied him with
+thongs, and thrust a hook through his collar-bone so that he could no
+longer transform himself. And Laotzse took possession of his diamond
+circlet again, and returned with Guan Yin to the hall of Heaven. Sun
+Wu Kung was now brought in in triumph, and was condemned to be
+beheaded. He was then taken to the place of execution and bound to a
+post. But all efforts to kill him by means of ax and sword, thunder
+and lightning were vain. Nothing so much as hurt a hair on his head.
+
+Said Laotzse: "It is not surprising. This ape has eaten the peaches,
+has drunk the nectar and also swallowed the pills of life. Nothing can
+harm him. The best thing would be for me to take him along and thrust
+him into my stove in order to melt the elixir of life out of him
+again. Then he will fall into dust and ashes."
+
+So Sun Wu Kung's fetters were loosed, and Laotzse took him with him,
+thrust him into his oven, and ordered the boy to keep up a hot fire.
+
+But along the edge of the oven were graven the signs of the eight
+elemental forces. And when the ape was thrust into the oven he took
+refuge beneath the sign of the wind, so that the fire could not injure
+him; and the smoke only made his eyes smart. He remained in the oven
+seven times seven days. Then Laotzse had it opened to take a look. As
+soon as Sun Wu Kung saw the light shine in, he could no longer bear to
+be shut up, but leaped out and upset the magic oven. The guards and
+attendants he threw to the ground and Laotzse himself, who tried to
+seize him, received such a push that he stuck his legs up in the air
+like an onion turned upside down. Then Sun Wu Kung took his rod out of
+his ear, and without looking where he struck, hewed everything to
+bits, so that the star-gods closed their doors and the guardians of
+the Heavens ran away. He came to the castle of the Lord of the
+Heavens, and the guardian of the gate with his steel whip was only
+just in time to hold him back. Then the thirty-six thunder gods were
+set at him, and surrounded him, though they could not seize him.
+
+The Lord of the Heavens said: "Buddha will know what is to be done.
+Send for him quickly!"
+
+So Buddha came up out of the West with Ananada and Kashiapa, his
+disciples. When he saw the turmoil he said: "First of all, let weapons
+be laid aside and lead out the Saint. I wish to speak with him!" The
+gods withdrew. Sun Wu Kung snorted and said: "Who are you, who dare to
+speak to me?" Buddha smiled and replied: "I have come out of the
+blessed West, Shakiamuni Amitofu. I have heard of the revolt you have
+raised, and am come to tame you!"
+
+Said Sun Wu Kung: "I am the stone ape who has gained the hidden
+knowledge. I am master of seventy-two transformations, and will live
+as long as Heaven itself. What has the Lord of the Heavens
+accomplished that entitles him to remain eternally on his throne? Let
+him make way for me, and I will be satisfied!"
+
+Buddha replied with a smile: "You are a beast which has gained magic
+powers. How can you expect to rule here as Lord of the Heavens? Be it
+known to you that the Lord of the Heavens has toiled for eons in
+perfecting his virtues. How many years would you have to pass before
+you could attain the dignity he has gained? And then I must ask you
+whether there is anything else you can do, aside from playing your
+tricks of transformation?"
+
+Said Sun Wu Kung: "I can turn cloud somersaults. Each one carries me
+eighteen thousand miles ahead. Surely that is enough to entitle me to
+be the Lord of the Heavens?"
+
+Buddha answered with a smile: "Let us make a wager. If you can so much
+as leave my hand with one of your somersaults, then I will beg the
+Lord of the Heavens to make way for you. But if you are not able to
+leave my hand, then you must yield yourself to my fetters."
+
+Sun Wu Kung suppressed his laughter, for he thought: "This Buddha is a
+crazy fellow! His hand is not a foot long; how could I help but leap
+out of it?" So he opened his mouth wide and said: "Agreed!"
+
+Buddha then stretched out his right hand. It resembled a small
+lotus-leaf. Sun Wu Kung leaped up into it with one bound. Then he
+said: "Go!" And with that he turned one somersault after another, so
+that he flew along like a whirlwind. And while he was flying along he
+saw five tall, reddish columns towering to the skies. Then he thought:
+"That is the end of the world! Now I will turn back and become Lord of
+the Heavens. But first I will write down my name to prove that I was
+there." He pulled out a hair, turned it into a brush, and wrote with
+great letters on the middle column: "The Great Saint Who Is Heaven's
+Equal." Then he turned his somersaults again until he had reached the
+place whence he had come. He leaped down from the Buddha's hand
+laughing and cried: "Now hurry, and see to it that the Lord of the
+Heavens clears his heavenly castle for me! I have been at the end of
+the world and have left a sign there!"
+
+Buddha scolded: "Infamous ape! How dare you claim that you have left
+my hand? Take a look and see whether or not 'The Great Saint Who Is
+Heaven's Equal,' is written on my middle finger!"
+
+Sun Wu Kung was terribly frightened, for at the first glance he saw
+that this was the truth. Yet outwardly he pretended that he was not
+convinced, said he would take another look, and tried to make use of
+the opportunity to escape. But Buddha covered him with his hand,
+shoved him out of the gate of Heaven, and formed a mountain of water,
+fire, wood, earth and metal, which he softly set down on him to hold
+him fast. A magic incantation pasted on the mountain prevented his
+escape.
+
+Here he was obliged to lie for hundreds of years, until he finally
+reformed and was released, in order to help the Monk of the
+Yangtze-kiang fetch the holy writings from out of the West. He honored
+the Monk as his master, and thenceforward was known as the Wanderer.
+Guan Yin, who had released him, gave the Monk a golden circlet. Sun Wu
+Kung was induced to put it on, and it at once grew into his flesh so
+that he could not remove it. And Guan Yin gave the Monk a magic
+formula by means of which the ring could be tightened, should the ape
+grow disobedient. But from that time on he was always polite and
+well-mannered.
+
+    Note: This tale, like "The Pilgrim's Progress," is an
+    allegory, the ape symbolizing the human heart. Yet
+    despite its allegorical character, a number of
+    mythological and fairy-tale motives are incorporated in
+    it. The ape himself suggests Hanumant, the companion of
+    Rama. Yo Huang is the Lord of the Heavens. The stone ape
+    is the stone heart of natural man. The Buddhas, blessed
+    spirits and gods, represent the ideals of Buddhism,
+    Taoism and Confucianism. Sun Wu Kung: In Chinese apes
+    are called Hu Sun, but the word Hu having an unlucky
+    meaning, the Master chooses Sun as a family name, while
+    at the same time the letter-sign is freed from the
+    radical indicating an animal. Wu Kung--"the magic
+    awaking to nothingness" (Nirwana). The different ways:
+    magic, the way of raising spirits; the sciences: The
+    three faiths are: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism; to
+    these are added six "schools": the Yin-Yang School, the
+    Mo-Di School, Medicine, War, Law, Miscellaneous, so that
+    nine directions in all are represented. Quiescence is
+    the Taoism for non-activity, while Action is the Taoism
+    for care of the body, as inaugurated by We Be Yang. The
+    Devil-King of Chaos, i.e., sensuality, whose seat is
+    supposed to be in Kidneys. "Red garments," colors, here
+    all have an allegorical meaning. Death, i.e., Yama. The
+    Evening Star is the star of metal; Sun Wu Kung also
+    personifies a metal, hence the Evening Star appears as
+    his apologist. As regards Li Dsing and Notscha see No.
+    18. As regards the Queen Mother of the West, see No. 15.
+    As regards Yang Oerlang, see No. 17. Guan Yin is
+    generally worshipped throughout China as the Feminine
+    goddess. The motive of the magic flight is found
+    frequently in fairy-tales the world over. Guan Yin is
+    often represented holding a vase, Bau Ping. Laotzse's
+    circlet or ring is the Tao. The eight elemental powers,
+    i.e., Ba Gua. Buddha: while Sun Wu Kung is equipped to
+    struggle against all external powers, he is conquered by
+    Buddha, who does not combat him, but subdues him by his
+    omnipresence. The Monk of the Yangtze-kiang is Huan
+    Dschuang, see No. 69. The circlet or ring which can be
+    made tighter when the ape does not obey, reappears in
+    Hauff's fairy-tale of "The Young Englishman," as a
+    cravat.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Archaic spelling, e.g. rimes, phenix, is preserved as printed. Variable
+spelling has been made consistent where there was a prevalence of one
+form; otherwise it is preserved as printed, e.g. Kaiutschou &
+Kiautschou, Laotzse & Laotsze.
+
+Punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation, and capitalisation
+of proper nouns, has been made consistent. Typographic errors, e.g.
+omitted or transposed letters, have been repaired.
+
+The following amendments have been made:
+
+    Page 24--repeated 'the' deleted--"... "The Wolf and the
+    Seven Kids," ..."
+
+    Page 76--(I) added to end of title for consistency with
+    the table of contents--"THE EIGHT IMMORTALS (I)"
+
+    Page 82--omitted word Lan added--"Lan Tsai Ho, who is also
+    pictured as a woman, ..."
+
+    Page 82--(II) added to end of title for consistency with
+    the table of contents--"THE EIGHT IMMORTALS (II)"
+
+    Page 85--omitted word Yuan added--""We are Liu Tschen and
+    Yuan Dshau. Only a few days ago ...""
+
+    Page 289--superfluous 'the' deleted before 'Evening'--"Only,
+    the King had kept back Rose of Evening ..."
+
+Page 186--mentions the "Su Tsi Hia"--other similar references in the
+text are to the "Sin Tsi Hia" but, as the transcriber has been unable
+to confirm whether this is from the same source, it has been preserved
+as printed.
+
+Page 224--refers to a serving-maid holding a "red flabrum in her
+hand." Flabrum is a Latin word for breeze. This may be a typo for
+flagrum, a kind of scourge, but as it is impossible to be certain, it
+has been preserved as printed.
+
+Page 227--mentions a man who "descended to the upper story"--this
+should probably read "ascended to the upper story" but has been
+preserved as printed.
+
+Page 278--mentions a man "now, when young and old"--this may be an
+error for "young and bold" but has been preserved as printed.
+
+A number of the notes to the stories refer to other stories. On page
+17, there is a reference to No. 81. There is no story with this
+number, and, as the transcriber was unable to determine which story
+the author was referring to, it has been preserved as printed.
+
+The following amendments to references have also been made:
+
+    Page 17--67 amended to 68, and Fee amended to Fe--"...
+    (see No. 68, "Yang Gui Fe")."
+
+    Page 24--48 amended to 49--"... the same beast as "the
+    talking silver fox" in No. 49, ..."
+
+    Page 41--37 amended to 34--"... (comp. "Sky O'Dawn," No.
+    34); ..."
+
+    Page 52--73 amended to 74--"... occurs in the tale of Sun
+    Wu Kung (No. 74)."
+
+    Page 64--68 amended to 69--"As regards the Monk of the
+    Yangtze-kiang, comp. with No. 69."
+
+    Page 75--31 amended to 30--"... frequently used in the
+    preparation of the elixir of life (comp. No. 30)."
+
+    Page 83--63 amended to 51--"As regards the field-god, see
+    No. 51."
+
+    Page 137--62 amended to 63--"... the old river-god Ho Be
+    (Count of the Stream), also mentioned in No. 63, ..."
+
+    Page 142--75 amended to 74--"As regards the Dragon-King
+    of the Eastern Sea, see Nos. 18 and 74."
+
+    Page 142--45 amended to 46--"With regard to So Pi-Lo and
+    Lo-Dsi-Tschun, see No. 46."
+
+    Page 251--64 amended to 65--"... the Prince of Tang
+    mentioned in No. 65."
+
+    Page 251--49 amended to 50--"... and the ten princes of
+    the Nether World, comp. Nos. 38 and 50."
+
+    Page 251--73 amended to 74--"As regards one of the
+    legendary companions of Huan Dschuang on his journey,
+    see No. 74."
+
+    Page 329--68 amended to 69--"The Monk of the
+    Yangtze-kiang is Huan Dschuang, see No. 69."
+
+Illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in
+the middle of a paragraph. The frontispiece illustration and advertising
+material has been moved to follow the title page.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chinese Fairy Book, by Various
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