Original Text
The scholar Sang Xiao, styled Ziming, was a native of Yizhou. Orphaned young, he lodged at Red Flower Port. Fond of quietude and self-content, he spent all his time sitting still and reading in his chamber, except for twice daily going to his eastern neighbor's for meals. One day, the eastern neighbor's scholar happened to visit Sang's dwelling and jestingly said, "Living alone, are you not afraid of ghosts and fox-spirits?" Sang replied with a smile, "What fear has a true man of ghosts or foxes? If a male comes, I have my sharp sword; if a female comes, I open my door and welcome her." The eastern neighbor's scholar returned and, after consulting with friends, had a courtesan climb over the wall by a ladder and then tap at the door. Sang peered through the crack, asking who it was; the courtesan answered that she was a ghost. Sang was greatly terrified, his teeth chattering with fear. The courtesan lingered a while and then left. The next morning, the eastern neighbor's scholar came to Sang's study; Sang recounted the previous night's affair and said he wished to return home early. The neighbor clapped his hands and said, "Why did you not open the door and welcome her?" Sang then realized that the previous night's event was a trick, and so he settled down as before.
After half a year had passed, one night a woman came knocking at his door. Sang Sheng, thinking it was his friend playing another trick on him, opened the door and invited her in, only to find a beauty of unparalleled allure, one whose loveliness could topple cities and kingdoms. Startled, he asked where she came from, and the woman said, "My name is Lianxiang, and I am a courtesan from West Street." At that time, there were many brothels in Honghua Bu, so Sang Sheng believed her readily. They then extinguished the lamp and retired to bed together, sharing an intimacy of the deepest affection. From then on, she came once every three to five days.
One evening, Sang Sheng sat alone in deep thought when suddenly a young woman glided gracefully into the room. Believing her to be Lian Xiang, he rose to greet her. But upon seeing her face, he realized she was not Lian Xiang; she appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen, with delicate sloping shoulders and flowing hair, elegant and charming, moving with a light and graceful step. Startled, Sang suspected she might be a fox spirit. The young woman said, "I come from a respectable family, my surname is Li. I have admired your noble character and longed for your affection." Delighted, Sang stepped forward and took her hand, which felt as cold as ice. He asked, "Why is your hand so cold?" Miss Li replied, "Since childhood, I have been frail and cold-natured, and now I have come through the frost and dew of the night—how could I not be icy?" Soon, she undressed, and it was clear she was a virgin. She said, "For the sake of our destined bond, I have entrusted my delicate and tender self entirely to you. If you do not find me too plain, I wish to serve you forever by your pillow and mat. Is there anyone else in this house?" Sang said, "No one else, only a neighboring courtesan, and she does not come often." Miss Li said, "You must be careful to avoid her. I am not like those from the brothel; you must keep this secret and not reveal it. When she comes, I will go; when she goes, I will come." At cockcrow, Miss Li prepared to leave, giving Sang an embroidered shoe, saying, "This is something I wore on my foot; fondling it can convey your longing. But when others are present, do not play with it." Sang took it and saw it was pointed and delicate, like a knot-untying awl, and he was greatly pleased. The next evening, when no one was about, Sang took out the embroidered shoe to admire and toy with it. Suddenly, Miss Li appeared as if borne on the wind, and they were intimate once more. From then on, whenever Sang brought out the shoe, Miss Li would inevitably come in response to his thought. Sang found this strange and asked her about it; Miss Li laughed and said, "It is all a matter of coincidence."
One evening, Lotus Fragrance arrived and asked in alarm, "Why, sir, are you so spiritless and weary?" Scholar Sang replied, "I have not felt it myself." Lotus Fragrance then took her leave, promising to return in ten days. After she departed, Lady Li came every night without fail. She asked, "Why has your beloved not visited for so long?" Sang told her of their agreement. Lady Li smiled and inquired, "Between Lotus Fragrance and myself, which do you find more beautiful?" Sang said, "Both are peerless beauties, though Lotus Fragrance's skin is somewhat warmer." Lady Li's countenance changed, and she said, "You say we are both beauties, but that is merely flattery to my face. She must surely be a celestial maiden from the Moon Palace, and I cannot compare to her." With that, she grew quite displeased. Counting on her fingers, Lady Li calculated that the ten-day period had arrived, and she bade Sang not to reveal her presence, intending to secretly observe Lotus Fragrance. The next night, Lotus Fragrance indeed came, her laughter and soft words most intimate. When they retired to bed, she started in alarm, crying, "Alas! In but ten days, how have you become so worn and wasted? Surely you have encountered something untoward?" Sang asked what she meant, and she replied, "I discern it from your spirit and breath; your pulse is thin and tangled like disordered silk—this is the mark of a ghostly encounter." The following night, Lady Li came, and Sang asked, "What think you of Lotus Fragrance?" She said, "She is indeed beautiful. I said before that such a beauty could not be of this world, and truly she is a fox spirit. When she departed, I followed her and know she dwells in a cave on South Mountain." Sang suspected Lady Li was jealous, and so he answered her with indifference.
After a night had passed, Lotus Fragrance arrived, and Scholar Sang jested, saying, "I never believed it when someone said you were a fox spirit." Lotus Fragrance hastily asked, "Who said that?" Scholar Sang replied with a smile, "I was only joking with you myself." Lotus Fragrance said, "What difference is there between a fox and a human?" Scholar Sang answered, "To be beguiled by a fox brings illness, and in severe cases, death, which is why it is feared." Lotus Fragrance said, "That is not so. At your age, after three days of intimacy, your vital essence can be restored. Even if I were a fox, what harm would there be? If one indulges nightly without cease, a human is far more dangerous than a fox. Among those in the world who die from consumption brought on by lust, are they all killed by foxes? Nevertheless, someone must have spoken ill of me." Scholar Sang vehemently denied any such thing, but Lotus Fragrance pressed him relentlessly, and at last, unable to avoid it, he told her. Lotus Fragrance said, "I already suspected why you were so weary. But how could it be so severe? Could she not be human? Do not reveal this; tomorrow night, I shall spy on her as she spied on me." That night, when Li came, after only a few words, they heard a cough outside the window, and she fled in haste. Lotus Fragrance entered and said, "You are in danger! She is truly a ghostly being! If you cling to her beauty and do not break off quickly, your death is near!" Scholar Sang, thinking she was jealous, remained silent. Lotus Fragrance said, "I long knew you could not forget your passion, but I cannot bear to see you die. Tomorrow I will bring medicine to cure your yin poison. Fortunately, the root of the illness is still shallow; in ten days, you will recover. You must share my bed, and I will watch over your healing." The next night, Lotus Fragrance indeed came with medicine. Scholar Sang took it, and within moments, he had a violent purge two or three times, feeling his organs cleared and his spirit instantly refreshed. Though he was deeply grateful to Lotus Fragrance, he still did not believe that Li was a ghost.
Lianxiang accompanied Sang Sheng in bed every night, sharing the same quilt. Whenever Sang Sheng wished to engage in intimate relations with her, she always refused him. After several days, Sang Sheng's body grew stronger. Before leaving, Lianxiang repeatedly exhorted him to sever ties with Miss Li, and Sang Sheng pretended to agree. When Sang Sheng closed the door and lit the lamp, he could not help but think of Miss Li as he gazed upon the embroidered shoes. Suddenly, Miss Li arrived, and since they had not met for several days, she appeared somewhat resentful. Sang Sheng said, "She has been performing witchcraft to heal me every night; please do not be angry, for my heart remains steadfastly devoted to you." Miss Li then became pleased. Sang Sheng whispered on the pillow, "I love you deeply, yet someone says you are a ghost." Miss Li was silent for a long time, then cursed, "It must be that seductive fox spirit who has bewitched you! If you do not break with her, I shall never come again!" Thereupon, she wept with sobs. Sang Sheng comforted and coaxed her in every way, until at last she ceased crying.
On the following night, Lotus Fragrance arrived and, learning that Miss Li had come again, said angrily, "You are determined to court death!" Scholar Sang smiled and replied, "Why must you be so jealous of her?" Lotus Fragrance, even more incensed, said, "I have removed the root of death you planted; what then would one who is not jealous be like?" Scholar Sang, excusing himself with a jest, said, "She claimed that my recent illness was the work of a fox spirit." Lotus Fragrance then sighed and said, "Truly, as you say, if you remain so obstinate and refuse to see the truth, should you encounter any mishap, even with a hundred mouths, how could I explain myself? Let me take my leave now; in a hundred days, I shall come to see you by your bedside." Scholar Sang could not detain her, and Lotus Fragrance departed in anger.
From this point on, Lady Li came every night without fail, and after about two months had passed, Scholar Sang felt his entire body growing weary and languid. At first he tried to console himself, but he grew thinner day by day, until he could only manage to drink a single bowl of thin congee. He intended to return home to recuperate, yet he lingered with reluctant attachment, unable to bear a sudden departure. Thus he struggled on for several more days, until his illness became so severe that he could no longer rise from his bed. A neighboring scholar, seeing him in such a grave state, sent a servant boy each day to bring him some food. At this point, Sang finally began to suspect Lady Li, and said to her, "I regret that I did not heed Lianxiang's advice in the beginning, and now I have come to this pass!" With these words, he closed his eyes. After the space of an hour, he revived and opened his eyes to look around; Lady Li had already departed, and from that day forward, she never came again.
Song Tao, emaciated and gaunt, lay in his empty study, yearning for Lotus Fragrance as a starving man longs for a bountiful harvest. One day, as he was lost in thought, someone suddenly lifted the curtain and entered—it was Lotus Fragrance herself. Approaching his sickbed, she said mockingly, "You country bumpkin, did I not speak the truth?" Song Tao sobbed for a long time, repeatedly admitting his fault and begging Lotus Fragrance to save his life. She replied, "Your illness has reached the marrow; there is truly no remedy. I have only come to bid you farewell, to prove that I am not jealous." Overcome with grief, Song Tao said, "There is something beneath my pillow; please destroy it for me." Lotus Fragrance retrieved an embroidered shoe, brought it to the lamp, and toyed with it, turning it over and over. Suddenly, Li the girl entered and, catching sight of Lotus Fragrance, turned to flee. Lotus Fragrance blocked the door with her body, and Li, frantic, could find no way out. Song Tao reproached Li, who could not utter a word. Lotus Fragrance laughed and said, "Today I have the chance to confront you face to face. I once said that the gentleman's illness might not be unrelated to me—what do you say now?" Li bowed her head in admission of fault. Lotus Fragrance said, "How could such a lovely person turn love into enmity?" Li knelt, weeping bitterly, and begged for mercy and forgiveness. Lotus Fragrance helped her up and inquired about her background. Li said, "I am the daughter of Magistrate Li, who died young and was buried outside the wall. I am like a spring silkworm—though dead, my remaining silk has not been fully spun. To be intimate with the gentleman was my wish; to cause his death was never my intention." Lotus Fragrance asked, "I have heard that ghosts desire human death, so they can be together forever—is this true?" Li replied, "No. Two ghosts together bring no joy; if there were joy, would there be a lack of young men in the underworld?" Lotus Fragrance said, "How foolish! To engage nightly in such acts—even a human cannot bear it, let alone with a ghost." Li asked, "Foxes can kill people—how do you avoid this?" Lotus Fragrance said, "Those who harm others are the ones who steal human vitality to replenish themselves; I am not such a fox. Thus, there are foxes in the world that do not harm, but there are absolutely no ghosts that do not harm, for the yin energy of ghosts is too heavy."
Upon hearing their conversation, Song Tao realized that the tales of ghosts and foxes were all true, and fortunately, having grown accustomed to their company, he no longer felt such fear. Yet, reflecting that he had but a breath left and would not live long, he could not help but burst into loud sobs. Lotus Fragrance looked at Lady Li and asked, "How will you treat the young master?" Lady Li blushed and confessed she had no remedy. Lotus Fragrance laughed and said, "I fear that once the young master regains his strength, the vinegar wife will crave plums, adding sourness upon sourness." Lady Li adjusted her robe and said solemnly, "If there were a master physician who could cure the young master's ailment, allowing me not to fail him, I would naturally return forever to the underworld; how would I dare to shamelessly show my face again in the mortal world?" Lotus Fragrance untied a small pouch, took out medicine, and said, "I long anticipated this day. Since our parting, I went to the Three Mountains to gather herbs, and it took over three months to prepare the remedy. Even one afflicted with a chronic illness near death will recover upon taking it. However, the disease arose from a certain cause, and that same thing must serve as the catalyst, which compels me to seek your aid." Lady Li asked, "What is needed?" Lotus Fragrance said, "A bit of fragrant spittle from a cherry mouth. I will place the pill in his mouth, and I trouble you to breathe a little saliva mouth-to-mouth." Upon hearing this, Lady Li's face flushed crimson, and she looked about in embarrassment, then lowered her head to gaze at her shoes. Lotus Fragrance teased her, saying, "Sister's greatest pride is only her embroidered shoes!" Lady Li grew even more ashamed, not knowing whether to bow her head or lift it, as if there were no place for her to hide. Lotus Fragrance added, "This sort of task is usually quite familiar to you; why are you so reluctant today?" With that, she placed the pill into Song Tao's mouth, turned, and urged Lady Li to deliver the spittle. Lady Li, having no choice, sent her saliva over. Lotus Fragrance said, "Another mouthful." Lady Li spat again. After three or four such exchanges, Song Tao had already swallowed the pill, and soon his stomach rumbled like thunder. Lotus Fragrance placed another pill and breathed a mouthful of air into him directly. Song Tao felt a fiery heat in his lower abdomen, and his spirits were instantly revived. Lotus Fragrance said, "It is done!" Upon hearing the crow of the rooster, Lady Li departed, looking back at every step. Because Song Tao had just recovered from a serious illness and still needed to convalesce, unable to go to the eastern neighbor for meals, Lotus Fragrance locked the main gate from the outside, pretending that Song Tao had returned to his hometown, thus cutting off all intercourse, while she guarded him day and night. Lady Li came every night without fail, attending to him diligently, treating Lotus Fragrance like an elder sister, and Lotus Fragrance also deeply cherished Lady Li.
Three months later, Sang Sheng recovered his health, and Lady Li then ceased to visit for several days at a time. When she did come occasionally, she would only look in and leave, and whenever they met, she was always downcast and unhappy. Lotus Fragrance often urged Lady Li to stay the night, but she invariably refused. Once, Sang Sheng pursued Lady Li outside and forcibly carried her back inside; her body was as light as a straw effigy. Unable to escape, Lady Li lay down sideways in her clothes, curling up so that her body measured less than two feet in length. Lotus Fragrance pitied her all the more and secretly allowed Sang Sheng to embrace her intimately, but no matter how he shook her, she would not awaken. After Sang Sheng had slept and awakened, he found her gone. More than ten days passed, and Lady Li did not come again. Sang Sheng missed her deeply and often took out the embroidered shoe to toy with it. Lotus Fragrance said, "Lady Li is so graceful and lovely that even I am fond of her, let alone a man!" Sang Sheng replied, "In the past, whenever I played with the embroidered shoe, she would come; I always harbored some suspicion, yet I never imagined she was a ghost. Now, facing this shoe and recalling her voice and countenance, it is truly heartbreaking." With these words, he shed tears.
Prior to this, there was a wealthy family named Zhang whose daughter, called Yan'er, was only fifteen years old. She died from an illness that prevented her from sweating. After a night, she revived and rose up, immediately trying to run away. The Zhang family locked the doors, and she could not escape. The girl herself said, "I am the soul of the Tongpan's daughter. I was cherished by Scholar Sang, and the shoes I gave him are still with him. I am truly a ghost; what use is it to confine me?" The Zhang family, hearing her words had some basis, pressed her on why she had come here. The girl lowered her head in thought, looked left and right, and was herself bewildered, not knowing what had happened. Someone said that Scholar Sang had returned home due to illness, but the girl insisted this was a lie, leaving the Zhang family utterly perplexed. A scholar from the eastern neighbor, hearing of this, climbed over the wall to investigate and saw Sang sitting face to face with a beautiful woman. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, he burst in and confronted them, but in the tension, the beauty had already vanished. The eastern scholar, startled, pressed Sang for the truth, and Sang laughed, saying, "Did I not tell you earlier? If a female comes, keep her." When the eastern scholar spoke of Yan'er's affair, Sang opened the door and immediately wished to go to the Zhang family to investigate, but he was troubled by having no proper reason.
When Mother Zhang heard that Sang Sheng had indeed not returned, she found it even more strange and sent an old maid to ask for the slippers. Sang Sheng then brought out the embroidered shoes and gave them to her. Yan'er was overjoyed to receive the embroidered shoes and tried them on, but they were more than an inch too small for her feet, which greatly astonished her. She took up a mirror to look at herself and suddenly realized with a start that she had been reborn in another's body, so she recounted the whole story to Mother Zhang, who then believed her. The girl wept bitterly before the mirror, saying, "In my former appearance, I thought myself quite pleasing, yet whenever I saw Sister Lianxiang, I still felt inferior. Now I have become like this—worse than a ghost in life!" Holding the embroidered shoes, she wailed loudly, and no amount of consolation could stop her. Only after she had wept her fill did she cover herself with a quilt and lie stiffly still. When offered food, she refused it, and her entire body began to swell. For seven days she neither ate nor drank, yet she did not die, and gradually the swelling subsided. Later, feeling ravenously hungry, she finally began to eat. After a few days, an itch spread all over her body, and her skin peeled off entirely. When she rose in the morning, her sleeping shoes fell to the ground; picking them up and putting them on, she found them vastly too large. Then she took out the former embroidered shoes and tried them on—they fit perfectly in width and length, and she was overjoyed. She lifted the mirror again to look, and her brows, eyes, and face were exactly as before, filling her with uncontrollable delight. After washing and dressing, she went to see her mother, and everyone who beheld her was utterly astonished.
Lianxiang, upon hearing of this strange affair, urged Sang Sheng to seek a matchmaker, but because of the vast disparity in wealth between the two families, they dared not proceed immediately. It happened that on the birthday of Zhang's mother, Sang Sheng followed her sons and sons-in-law to offer congratulations. When Zhang's mother saw Sang Sheng's name card, she deliberately had Yanni peek from behind the curtain to recognize the guest. Sang Sheng arrived last, and the girl rushed out swiftly, seized his sleeve, and wished to return with him. Zhang's mother scolded her, and only then did the girl withdraw in embarrassment. Sang Sheng looked at her closely and found her to be the very image of Miss Li; unable to hold back his tears, he knelt on the ground and would not rise. Zhang's mother helped him up, not deeming his behavior improper. After Sang Sheng left, he begged the girl's uncle to act as matchmaker. Zhang's mother then planned to choose an auspicious day and invite Sang Sheng to become a son-in-law living in her home.
Song Sheng returned and told Lianxiang about it, discussing how to handle the matter. Lianxiang was sorrowful for a long time and intended to leave Song Sheng and go elsewhere. Song Sheng was greatly startled and wept. Lianxiang said, "You are going to another's home for a wedding night; if I follow along, what face would I have?" Song Sheng then planned to first return together to his hometown, and afterward marry Yan'er. Lianxiang agreed. Song Sheng informed the Zhang family of this matter. When the Zhang family heard that Song Sheng already had a wife, they angrily reproached and interrogated him. Yan'er strongly argued on his behalf, and thus they consented to Song Sheng's request. On the appointed day, Song Sheng personally went to welcome the bride. The furnishings and arrangements in the Zhang household were very crude and simple, but when they returned to Song Sheng's home, from the main gate to the hall, everything was covered with carpets, and hundreds of lanterns glittered brilliantly, like a cluster of flowers and brocade. Lianxiang supported the bride into the bridal chamber, lifted the veil, and they were as joyful as before. Lianxiang accompanied them in drinking the nuptial cup and carefully inquired about the strange matter of her return to life. Yan'er said, "At that time, I was depressed and melancholy, only feeling that I was a ghostly being, ashamed of my own form. Since the day we parted, I was too angry to return to my grave, drifting with the wind, and whenever I saw living people, I could not help but envy them. By day, I clung to the grasses and trees, and by night, I wandered freely. That day, I happened upon the Zhang household and saw a young maiden lying on the bed, so I attached myself to her body. Unexpectedly, I came back to life." Upon hearing this, Lianxiang fell silent, as if lost in thought.
After two months, Lianxiang gave birth to a son. She then fell gravely ill from childbirth, weakening day by day. One day, grasping Yan'er's arm, she said, "I entrust this little one to your care; let you bear the burden—my child is your child." Yan'er shed tears and did her utmost to comfort her. Physicians were summoned, but Lianxiang always refused them. Her illness grew ever more severe, and at the moment of her passing, her breath was like a thread of silk suspended in the air; Sang Sheng and Yan'er wept bitterly in grief. Suddenly, Lianxiang opened her eyes and said, "Do not be so! You delight in life, but I am content to die. If fate allows, we may meet again in ten years." With these words, she died. When Sang Sheng lifted the coverlet to prepare her for burial, her body had transformed into a fox. Unable to bear treating her as a different creature, he gave her a grand burial. Her son was called Fox-Child, and Yan'er raised him as if he were her own. Every year at the Qingming Festival, she would carry the child to weep at Lianxiang's grave.
Later, Scholar Sang passed the provincial examination and his family gradually became prosperous, but Yanyan had not borne any children. The fox-child was very clever, yet frail and often ill. Thus Yanyan frequently planned to take a concubine for Sang. One day, a maidservant suddenly reported, "Outside the gate there is an old woman with her daughter, wishing to sell her." Yanyan bade them enter, and upon seeing them, could not help but start in astonishment, exclaiming, "Sister Lianxiang has been reborn!" Scholar Sang looked at the girl and found her strikingly like Lianxiang, and he too was startled. Yanyan asked, "How old is she?" The old woman replied, "Fourteen years." "What price do you ask for her betrothal?" The old woman said, "I have only this one daughter. I only wish for her to have a good home, where I too may have a place to eat, and my old bones not be cast into a ditch or pit after death—that would be enough." Scholar Sang kept the old woman's daughter with a generous sum. Yanyan took the young girl by the hand and led her into the inner chamber, then, lifting her chin, said with a smile, "Do you recognize me?" The girl answered, "I do not." When asked her surname, she said, "My surname is Wei. My father was a seller of rice water in Xucheng, and he died three years ago." Yanyan counted on her fingers for a moment, and realized that Lianxiang had been dead for exactly fourteen years. She then scrutinized the young girl closely; every aspect of her bearing and expression was utterly like Lianxiang. So she patted her on the head and called out, "Sister Lianxiang, Sister Lianxiang! The promise of a reunion after ten years was indeed not a lie." The girl suddenly awoke as if from a great dream, and cried out in realization, "Ah!" Then she stared intently at Yanyan. Scholar Sang laughed and said, "This is truly 'the swallow returns, as if we have met before.'" The young girl, tears streaming down her face, said, "Yes. I heard from my mother that I could speak from birth, and everyone thought it inauspicious, so they made me drink dog's blood, and thus I forgot my past karmic ties. Only today have I awakened as from a great dream. Madam, are you not the younger sister Li who was ashamed to be a ghost?" Then they spoke together of their past lives, mingling sorrow and joy.
One day, the Cold Food Festival arrived, and Yan'er said, "This is the day each year when I weep for my elder sister together with my husband." So they all ascended to the grave site, where the wild grass had long grown thick and tangled, and the young trees had thickened to the girth of a man's arm. Lianxiang also sighed deeply for a long while. Yan'er said to Scholar Sang, "I have shared a bond of friendship with Sister Lianxiang across two lifetimes, and I cannot bear to be parted from her; we should have our bones interred together in the same tomb." Scholar Sang heeded Yan'er's words, opened the grave of Lady Li, retrieved her remains, and then buried them together with Lianxiang's bones. When relatives and friends heard of this strange affair, they all donned ceremonial robes and came to the grave site, with several hundred people arriving unbidden.
In the ninth year of the Kangxi reign, I traveled southward and, upon reaching Yizhou, was halted by rain and took rest at an inn. There was a man named Liu Zijing, whose cousin presented me with a work titled "The Biography of Sang Sheng," written by their schoolmate Wang Zizhang, comprising over ten thousand characters, which I had the fortune to read through. What is recorded here is merely a general outline.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: Alas! The dead yearn for rebirth, while the living seek death—what is most rare in this world if not the human form? Why then do those who possess this precious human form so often cast it aside, brazenly clinging to life with less dignity than a fox, or silently perishing with less renown than a ghost?
Commentary
The fox maiden Lianxiang and the female ghost Li Shi each fell deeply in love with Scholar Sang, and to live with him as husband and wife in the mortal world, "the dead sought life, and the living sought death," showing their profound devotion to him. Lianxiang, in particular, handled the complex relationships between herself, Sang, and Li Shi with remarkable grace. After reading the tale "Lianxiang," Wang Yuyang praised her especially, saying, "How virtuous is Lianxiang! Among women I have seen few like her, let alone among foxes!" However, modern readers often focus on and admire their undying love for Sang, overlooking Pu Songling's depiction of Lianxiang and Li Shi, especially Lianxiang's lack of jealousy. In his "Commentary by the Historian of the Strange," Pu Songling remarked that some people "live shamelessly, inferior to foxes, or die in obscurity, worse than ghosts," which actually encompasses two aspects—both their steadfast love for Sang and their sharing of one husband without jealousy, even becoming as close as sisters.
"Lotus Fragrance" is quite representative among the ghost and fox-spirit tales in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio." It reveals the characteristics of fox maidens and female ghosts in their romantic entanglements with humans: they come and go swiftly yet do not vanish without a trace, often leaving behind offspring and fulfilling the destiny of marriage. A dialogue between the fox maiden and the female ghost in the tale is most noteworthy. Lotus Fragrance asks the female ghost: "I have heard that ghosts benefit from human death, so that they may gather forever in the afterlife—is this true?" Li replies: "Not so. When two ghosts meet, there is no joy; if there were, would there be a lack of young men in the underworld?" This provides an answer for all the female ghosts in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" who seek love in the mortal world. Lotus Fragrance says: "There are foxes that do not harm people, but there are certainly no ghosts that do not harm people, for their yin energy is too strong." This defines the yin and gentle image of female ghosts. Li asks Lotus Fragrance: "A fox can cause human death—how is it that you alone do not?" Lotus Fragrance replies: "Those are of the sort who practice the art of stealing vitality; I am not of that kind." This delineates the two types of relationships between fox maidens and humans in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio." Although the romantic patterns between fox spirits, ghosts, and humans are entirely fabricated by Pu Songling, they are romantic and intriguing, serving as the essential key to interpreting the tales of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio."