Original Text
In Fengyang there was a scholar who went out to pursue his studies, telling his wife before leaving, "I shall return in half a year." Yet ten months passed without any word from him, and his wife, straining her neck in eager anticipation of his return, grew exceedingly anxious.
One night, as his wife had just lain down, she saw the moonlight flickering beyond the window screen, and her heart was filled with thoughts of separation and longing for her husband. While she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, a beautiful woman appeared, adorned with pearl flowers in her hair and wearing a bright red cape, who lifted the curtain and entered. Smiling, she asked, "Sister, do you not wish to see your lord?" The wife quickly rose and responded. The beauty invited her to go together. The wife feared the distance would be hard to travel, but the beauty said there was no need to worry. Taking her hand, she led her out, and they walked forward under the moonlight. After about the distance of an arrow's flight, the wife felt the beauty was walking very swiftly, while she herself struggled to keep pace, so she called out for the beauty to wait a little, saying she would return home to change into overshoes. The beauty made her sit by the roadside, then took off her own shoes and lent them to her. The wife happily put them on, and fortunately they fit perfectly. They rose again, and this time she walked as if flying. After some time, they saw a scholar riding a white mule approaching. When the scholar saw his wife, he was greatly startled, dismounted quickly, and asked, "Where are you going?" The wife replied, "I was planning to visit you." The scholar then looked at the beauty and asked who she was, but before the wife could answer, the beauty covered her mouth with a smile and said, "Do not inquire further. It has not been easy for the lady to travel this road, and you, my lord, have been riding the mule through the night; both man and beast must be weary. My home is not far from here; let us go there to rest, and we can proceed at dawn." A village appeared just a few steps away, so they all went together. Entering the courtyard, the beauty woke a maidservant who was already asleep and had her attend to the guests, saying, "The moonlight is bright and clear tonight; there is no need to light candles. Let us sit on the stone couch on the small terrace." The scholar tied his mule to a pillar under the eaves and then sat down. The beauty said to the wife, "The shoes were not quite comfortable; you must have been tired on the journey. Now that you have a mount to return home, please return my shoes to me." The wife thanked her repeatedly and gave the shoes back to the beauty.
Before long, wine, dishes, and refreshments were laid out. The beautiful woman poured wine as she said, "Husband and wife have been long separated; tonight we reunite. This humble cup of wine is offered to express congratulations." The scholar also raised his cup in response. Host and guest engaged in lively conversation, back and forth without distinction. The scholar could only stare at the beautiful woman, repeatedly using frivolous words to flirt. The couple had just come together, yet not a single word of warmth or concern was exchanged. The beautiful woman also conveyed her feelings with her eyes and eyes, speaking seductive and ambiguous words to tempt. The wife merely sat silently, feigning ignorance and stupidity. After a long while, the two gradually became drunk, their words growing more intimate. The beautiful woman then brought out a large goblet to urge the guest to drink; the scholar declined, citing drunkenness, but she pressed him even more relentlessly. The scholar laughed and said, "If you sing me a little tune, I will drink." The beautiful woman did not refuse, immediately plucking the strings with her ivory pick and singing: "At dusk, I shed my remaining makeup, the west wind outside the window chills through the gauze. Listening to the sound of plantain leaves, a shower of fine rain falls. Where can I idly chat with someone? Gazing with longing eyes, I see no one returning home, tears streaming like hemp. Now I think of him, now I hate him, holding a red embroidered shoe to cast a ghostly divination." After finishing, she laughed and said, "This is a folk song circulating in the streets and alleys, hardly worthy of your appreciation. Yet, as it is favored by current custom, I merely imitate it clumsily." Her voice was soft and tender, her words and manner affectionate and unrestrained. The scholar's heart was stirred, as if he could no longer control his emotions.
After a while, the beautiful woman feigned drunkenness, rose from her seat and left, and the scholar also stood up and followed her out. For a long time, they did not return. The maidservant, growing weary, lay down in the corridor and fell asleep. The wife sat alone, desolate and without companion, her heart filled with resentment that she could hardly bear. She thought of stealing away home, but the night was pitch-black and she could not recall the path. Restless and at a loss, she rose to go and see. As she drew near the window, she faintly heard the sounds of their amorous dalliance. Listening more closely, she even heard her husband recounting to the beautiful woman all the intimate endearments he usually shared with her. At this point, the wife's hands trembled with rage, her heart could not contain itself, and she could endure no more. She thought it better to go out and throw herself into a ravine to die. Just as she was about to leave in her fury, she suddenly saw her younger brother Sanlang arrive on horseback. He hastily dismounted and asked what was the matter. The wife told him everything. Sanlang was enraged and immediately followed his sister back, charging straight into the courtyard. The bedroom door was still tightly shut, and the two inside were still whispering on the pillow. Sanlang lifted a stone as large as a peck measure and hurled it at the window lattice, breaking several bars at once. Suddenly, a cry came from within: "The young master's head is broken! What is to be done?" Hearing this, the wife was startled into loud weeping and said to her brother, "I did not ask you to kill him! What now?" Sanlang glared and said, "You kept weeping and calling for me, and now that I have vented my anger, you protect him and blame your brother? I am not used to being ordered about by a girl like you!" With that, he turned and left. The wife tugged at his clothes and said, "If you do not take me with you, what am I to do?" Sanlang pushed his sister to the ground, pulled himself free, and departed. The wife suddenly awoke and realized it was all a dream.
The next day, the scholar indeed returned home, riding a white mule. His wife was greatly astonished but said nothing. That night, the scholar also had a dream, and when he recounted what he had seen and heard, it matched his wife's dream exactly, leaving them both deeply alarmed and bewildered. Before long, Third Brother, hearing that his brother-in-law had returned from afar, came to pay his respects. During their conversation, he said to his brother-in-law, "Last night I dreamed that you had come back, and today I see it is indeed true—truly a most strange affair." The scholar laughed and replied, "Fortunately, I was not crushed to death by a large stone." Third Brother, startled, asked for an explanation, and the scholar told him of his dream, which made Third Brother even more astonished. It turned out that on that same night, Third Brother had also dreamed of meeting his sister weeping in distress and had angrily thrown a stone. The dreams of all three were in perfect accord, yet none knew who the beautiful woman truly was.
Commentary
Lu Xun, in his "A Brief History of Chinese Fiction: Imitations of Tang and Jin Novels in the Qing Dynasty and Their Offshoots," pointed out that "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" contains many incidents derived from Tang dynasty chuanqi tales, and the first example he cited was "The Scholar of Fengyang." Indeed, "The Scholar of Fengyang" was influenced by Bai Xingjian's "Three Dreams" from the Tang dynasty. However, "Three Dreams" elucidates the concept that "dreams may differ from the ordinary: sometimes one dreams of a place and another encounters it; sometimes one does something and another dreams of it; or sometimes two people share the same dream," with the story's characters merely engaging in bidirectional interactions, stitching together three unrelated narrative fragments through a core narrative idea. In contrast, "The Scholar of Fengyang" narrates the shared dream experience of a woman, consumed by longing for her absent husband, with her husband and younger brother, concluding that "the three dreams coincided," meaning the three individuals had the same dream, which differs from the three distinct dreams in "Three Dreams" and does not point to the same direction.
"The Scholar of Fengyang" is clearly influenced by "The Record of Three Dreams," yet it demonstrates great creativity. "The Record of Three Dreams" focuses on elucidating principles, recounting the strangeness of identical dreams, while "The Scholar of Fengyang" emphasizes the depiction of psychological activity, narrating the peculiarity of dreams while highlighting the wife's longing, worry, and anguish for her husband who has traveled far with his bookcase. Among these, the wife's parting sorrow in the Scholar of Fengyang, the folk song sung by the beautiful woman with its intimate and accessible quality, and the frank, rustic yet spirited dialogue between the wife and her younger brother leave a profound impression.