Original Text
In Henan there was a man surnamed Zhang, whose family originally hailed from Shandong. During the great upheavals at the end of the Ming dynasty in Shandong, his wife was seized by northern soldiers, and as he frequently traveled to Henan, he settled there and took a new wife. This wife bore him a son named Ne. Soon after, she died, and he married again, this time a woman who gave birth to a son named Cheng. The second wife, Niu, was exceedingly cruel and harbored great jealousy toward the son of the first wife, Zhang Ne, treating him like a slave, giving him only the poorest food and meanest supplies. She sent him into the mountains to gather firewood, demanding that he bring back a full load each day; if he failed, she would beat and berate him without mercy, causing him great suffering. As for Zhang Cheng, she would secretly hoard all the good food for him alone and sent him to study. As Cheng grew older, he was naturally filial to his parents and loving toward his elder brother, and could not bear to see his brother toiling so harshly; he often privately urged his mother to treat his brother more kindly, but she would not listen.
One day, Zhang Na went into the mountains to gather firewood, but before he had collected enough, a sudden storm of wind and rain arose, so he took shelter beneath a rocky overhang. When the rain stopped, night had fallen, and he was ravenously hungry, so he shouldered his bundle of wood and returned home. Niu Shi, seeing that the firewood was insufficient, flew into a rage and refused to give Zhang Na any food. Zhang Na, burning with hunger, went into the room and collapsed stiffly onto the bed. Zhang Cheng returned from school and, noticing his brother's listless demeanor, asked, "Are you ill?" Zhang Na replied, "I am hungry." Zhang Cheng inquired as to the reason, and Zhang Na told him the truth, whereupon Zhang Cheng departed with a heavy heart. After a while, Zhang Cheng brought back some flatbread for his brother to eat. Zhang Na asked where the bread had come from, and Zhang Cheng said, "I stole a bit of flour and had the neighbor woman make it for me. Just eat it, and don't speak of it." Zhang Na ate the bread and then admonished his younger brother, saying, "Do not do this again in the future; if it is discovered, you will be implicated. Besides, eating one meal a day will not starve me to death." Zhang Cheng replied, "Brother, you are naturally frail; how can you be expected to cut so much firewood!"
The next day, after Zhang Cheng had eaten, he secretly went up the mountain to the place where his brother was cutting firewood. When Zhang Ne saw him, he asked in surprise, "Why have you come?" Zhang Cheng replied, "To help you cut firewood." Zhang Ne asked again, "Who sent you?" Zhang Cheng said, "I came of my own accord." Zhang Ne said, "Not to mention that a younger brother does not know how to cut firewood, even if he did, I could not let you do it." So he urged him to go back quickly. Zhang Cheng would not listen, breaking branches with his hands and feet to help his brother, and added, "Tomorrow I should bring an axe." Zhang Ne drew near his brother, preventing him from working, and seeing that his fingers were broken and his shoes worn through, said sorrowfully, "If you do not go back quickly, I will cut my own throat with this axe!" Only then did Zhang Cheng return. Zhang Ne accompanied him halfway before turning back. After Zhang Ne finished cutting firewood and returned, he went to the school and instructed the teacher, saying, "My younger brother is young and should be kept under control. There are many tigers and wolves in the mountains." The teacher said, "Before noon, I did not know where he had gone, and I have already punished him with the ruler." When Zhang Ne returned home, he said to Zhang Cheng, "You see, you were punished for not listening to me." Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "No." The next day, Zhang Cheng went again with an axe hidden in his bosom. Zhang Ne said in alarm, "I told you not to come, why have you come again?" Zhang Cheng did not answer but busied himself cutting firewood, sweat streaming down his face without a moment's rest. When he estimated there was enough for a bundle, he left without taking his leave. The teacher again rebuked Zhang Cheng, and Zhang Cheng then told him the truth. The teacher sighed at Zhang Cheng's virtue and no longer forbade him. Zhang Ne repeatedly tried to stop Zhang Cheng from cutting firewood, but Zhang Cheng would not listen.
One day, Zhang Cheng and several others were cutting firewood in the mountains when suddenly a tiger leaped out; the men hid in fear, but the tiger seized Zhang Cheng and fled. Because the tiger moved slowly while carrying a man, Zhang Ne caught up with it. Zhang Ne raised his axe and struck the tiger with all his might, hitting its hip bone; the tiger, maddened by pain, dashed away, and Zhang Ne could not pursue it further. Zhang Ne returned weeping bitterly, and the others tried to comfort and console him, but he wept even more sorrowfully, saying, "My younger brother is no ordinary brother; moreover, he died for my sake—how can I go on living?" With these words, he took the axe and struck his own neck. The men hurriedly stopped him, but the axe had already cut more than an inch into his neck, blood gushed forth like a fountain, and he immediately fainted. The men were greatly alarmed, tore off their clothes to bind his wound, and helped him home. Niu Shi, weeping and cursing, said, "You have killed my son, and now you think to fob me off with a slash to your own neck?" Zhang Ne groaned and replied, "Mother, do not be distressed. My brother is dead; I shall surely not live!" Zhang Ne lay in bed, his wound aching unbearably, unable to sleep, and he wept day and night, leaning against the wall. His father, fearing he too might die, sometimes came to the bedside to feed him a little food, but whenever Niu Shi saw this, she would scold him endlessly. Zhang Ne then refused even to eat, and after three days, he died.
In the village there was a shaman who performed exorcisms. Zhang Na encountered him on the road, told him all his past sufferings, and inquired about his younger brother's whereabouts. The shaman said he did not know, so he turned and led Zhang Na to search. They arrived at a prefectural city and saw a man in black clothes coming out from the city. The shaman stopped the man and asked on Zhang Na's behalf about his brother's whereabouts. The man in black took a ledger from his pouch and flipped through it; it contained the names of over a hundred men and women, but there was no prisoner named Zhang Cheng. The shaman suspected it might be in another register, but the man in black said, "This road is under my jurisdiction; how could I make a mistake in arrests?" Zhang Na did not believe him and insisted the shaman accompany him into the city. Within the city, new ghosts and old ghosts came and went; some he recognized, and he approached to ask, but all said they did not know. Suddenly there was a commotion, and all cried out, "The Bodhisattva has come!" Looking up, they saw a majestic figure in the sky, radiating light in all directions, and the whole world became bright. The shaman congratulated him, saying, "Great fortune for you, eldest son! The Bodhisattva only comes to the underworld once every few decades to relieve all sufferings, and today you have encountered this." With that, he pulled Zhang Na to kneel down. The multitude of ghost prisoners clamored in chaos, pressing their palms together and chanting the cries for mercy and salvation, their noise shaking heaven and earth. The Bodhisattva sprinkled sweet dew with a willow branch, the fine droplets like dust. After a moment, the mist withdrew, the light vanished, and the Bodhisattva was gone. Zhang Na felt the dew on his neck, and the pain from the axe wound ceased. The shaman then led him back to the world of the living; seeing the gate of his dwelling, they parted ways. After being dead for two days, Zhang Na suddenly revived. He recounted all he had seen and heard, saying that Zhang Cheng was not dead. Niu Shi thought Zhang Na was fabricating lies to deceive her and instead berated him. Zhang Na, full of grievance with no way to prove himself, touched his wound and found it completely healed. He struggled to stand, bowed to his father, and said, "I will go to the ends of the earth to find my brother. If I cannot find him, I will never return in this life. I beg you, Father, to consider me as dead." Old Zhang took his son to a secluded place, wept bitterly, and dared not detain him.
After Zhang Nuo left home, he went to all the major thoroughfares to inquire after his younger brother's whereabouts. When his traveling funds ran out, he begged for food as he walked. After more than a year, he arrived at Jinling, clad in tattered garments, his body bent as he trudged along the road. By chance, he saw a dozen or so horsemen passing by, and he stepped aside to the roadside. Among the riders was one who seemed to be an official, about forty years of age, flanked by sturdy attendants on fierce steeds, guarding him closely. A young man on a small pony kept staring at Zhang Nuo. Thinking him a noble youth, Zhang Nuo dared not look directly at him. The young man paused his whip for a moment, then suddenly dismounted and cried out, "Is that not my elder brother?" Zhang Nuo looked up and saw clearly that it was Zhang Cheng. He grasped his hand and wept bitterly. Zhang Cheng also wept, saying, "How has my brother come to such a state?" Zhang Nuo recounted the truth, and Zhang Cheng grieved even more. The horsemen all dismounted to inquire, then reported to the official. The official ordered a horse to be given to carry Zhang Nuo, and they rode side by side back home, where they asked in detail about the whole affair.
It turned out that after the tiger had carried off Zhang Cheng, it had dropped him by the roadside at some unknown hour, and he lay there for an entire night. It happened that Zhang Biejia was returning from the capital and passed by that place; seeing that Zhang Cheng had a refined and scholarly appearance and was in a pitiable state, he took care of him, and Zhang Cheng gradually regained consciousness. When asked about his home, it was already far away, so Zhang Biejia brought him back to his residence. Once there, he applied medicinal ointments to Zhang Cheng's wounds, and after a few days, they healed completely. Zhang Biejia had no grown son, so he treated Zhang Cheng as his own. Just now, Zhang Cheng had been accompanying Zhang Biejia on an excursion, and he recounted all his circumstances to his elder brother.
As they were speaking, Vice Commissioner Zhang entered, and Zhang Nuo repeatedly bowed in gratitude. Zhang Cheng went to the inner chamber to fetch silk garments for his elder brother to wear, then they set out wine and talked freely. Vice Commissioner Zhang asked, "In your noble family in Henan, are there any other relatives?" Zhang Nuo replied, "None. My father was originally from Shandong in his youth, and only later moved to Henan." Vice Commissioner Zhang said, "I too am from Shandong. Under which district does your native place fall?" Zhang Nuo answered, "I once heard my father say it belongs to Dongchang Prefecture." Vice Commissioner Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "We are fellow townsmen! Why did he move to Henan?" Zhang Nuo said, "At the end of the Ming dynasty, Qing troops invaded and captured my former mother. My father suffered from the chaos of war, and his family property was entirely destroyed. Since he often traveled west for trade and was familiar with the route, he settled there." Vice Commissioner Zhang asked in astonishment, "What is your father's name?" Zhang Nuo told him. Upon hearing this, Vice Commissioner Zhang stared at Zhang Nuo for a moment, then lowered his head in thought, and quickly hurried into the inner chamber. Shortly after, the old lady came out. After Zhang Nuo and the others paid their respects to the old lady, she asked Zhang Nuo, "Are you the grandson of Zhang Bingzhi?" Zhang Nuo replied, "Yes." The old lady wept bitterly and said to Vice Commissioner Zhang, "This is your younger brother." Zhang Nuo and his brothers did not understand what was happening. The old lady said, "I married your father for three years, then we were separated. I went north and was assigned to the Black Banner Lord. Half a year later, I gave birth to your elder brother. After another half year, the Banner Lord died, and your brother inherited this official position through his father's merit. Now he has resigned from office. Because I constantly longed for my homeland, I left the banner registry and restored our original family lineage. I sent people many times to Dongchang to inquire, but there was no news at all. How could I have known that your father had moved west!" She then said to Vice Commissioner Zhang, "You treated your younger brother as a son—that is too much fortune to bear!" Vice Commissioner Zhang said, "When I asked Zhang Cheng before, he never mentioned being from Shandong. I suppose he was too young to remember." Then they ranked themselves by age: Vice Commissioner Zhang, at forty-one, was the eldest; Zhang Cheng, at sixteen, was the youngest; Zhang Nuo, at twenty-two, who had been the eldest in the original household, became the second.
Assistant Zhang, the second son, was overjoyed to have found his two younger brothers. They all slept together, pouring out their hearts about the family's misfortunes, and made plans to journey together to Henan. The old mother worried that the household in Henan might not welcome them, but Assistant Zhang said, "If they accept us, we shall live together; if not, we will part ways. Under heaven, is there a home that does not recognize its own father?" So they sold their estate, prepared their luggage, and set a day to travel westward. Upon arriving at their hometown, Zhang Na and Zhang Cheng hurried ahead to report the news to their father. Since Zhang Na had left, the father's wife had soon died, leaving him a solitary old man, a lonely shadow with only his own form for company, enduring a dreary bachelor's life. Suddenly seeing Zhang Na enter, he was so startled and overjoyed that he could not believe his eyes; and when he saw Zhang Cheng alive as well, he was so delighted he could not speak, only weeping uncontrollably. Zhang Na then told him that Assistant Zhang and his mother had also arrived. The father was so astonished that he stopped crying, feeling neither joy nor sorrow, merely standing there dumbfounded. Before long, Assistant Zhang arrived and paid his respects to his father. The old mother took the old man by the hand, and they wept face to face. When the father saw the many maids and servants that had come, filling the house inside and out, he felt utterly discomposed, not knowing whether to sit or stand. Zhang Cheng, noticing his mother was absent, inquired and learned she had already passed away. He wailed in grief until he fainted, and it took the time of a meal for him to revive. Assistant Zhang then produced money to build a grand residence with halls, and also hired a tutor to teach his two younger brothers. The Zhang family suddenly flourished; horses pranced by the troughs, and crowds laughed and chattered in the halls, so that they became a great and wealthy household in the region.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: When I heard this story, I shed tears several times from beginning to end. A lad of barely ten, willingly venturing into the mountains to gather firewood to aid his abused elder brother, moved me to exclaim, "Has a figure like Wang Lan truly appeared again?" Thus my first tears fell. When the tiger carried off Zhang Cheng, I could not help but cry out, "How could Heaven's way be so benighted!" and wept a second time. When the brothers unexpectedly reunited, I wept for joy. Gaining an unexpected elder brother yet adding a fresh sorrow, I shed tears for Zhang Biejia's plight. When the family was reunited, with its startling encounters and unlooked-for happiness, I wept without cause for Old Zhang. I wonder if in later ages there will be any who weep as readily as I do?
Commentary
War and chaos were a major cause of the joys and sorrows of family reunions and separations. During the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, Li Zicheng's peasant uprising, the fall of the Ming dynasty, the establishment of the Qing dynasty, and even the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories caused countless families to be torn apart, with wives separated from husbands and children from parents. A tale of "a family reunited" like that in "Zhang Cheng" was indeed as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
The core of the story "Zhang Cheng" reflects the conflict between a stepmother and her husband's children from a previous marriage, as well as the fraternal affection between half-brothers. The stepmother's fierce and shrewish nature, the father's cowardice, and especially the loving care between the young brothers Zhang Cheng and Zhang Ne leave a deep impression. Dan Minglun, a commentator on "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," remarked: "This is a tale of filial piety and brotherly love, with extraordinary events and extraordinary writing; reading it thrice can move one's heart and nature; pondering it can refine one's literary style."
The most crucial aspect of depicting the joys and sorrows of family reunions and separations lies in establishing a reasonable structural thread, and in this regard, the present tale fully demonstrates Pu Songling's skill as a novelist. Pu Songling himself likely took considerable pride in this, for at the end he remarked, "Having heard this tale to its conclusion, my tears fell several times," and added, "I wonder if there will be later generations with a disposition to weep as readily as I have," which can be taken both as a boastful remark and as a key to unlocking the structure of this story.