Original Text
There was a man who performed a trick with a bucket, which was large enough to hold a single sheng of rice, had no bottom, and was completely empty, much like any ordinary conjuring trick. The man spread two mats on the street, placed a sheng of rice into the bucket, and when he immediately took it out, the bucket contained a full sheng of white rice. He then poured the rice onto the mats, and repeated the process, so that in a short while both mats were piled high with white rice. Afterward, he scooped the rice back into the empty bucket, sheng by sheng, and when all was done, he lifted the bucket to show the crowd, and it was still empty. The marvel of this trick lay in the vast quantity of rice produced.
Li Jianian of Lijin, while strolling one day in Yanzhen, came to a pottery kiln and wished to buy a large jar, but failing to agree on a price with the kiln's owner, he departed. That night, over sixty jars not yet fired in the kiln suddenly vanished without a trace. The kiln owner, greatly alarmed, suspected Li Jianian of the deed and went to his dwelling to beseech him. Li Jianian feigned ignorance of the matter. The owner pleaded with him repeatedly, whereupon Li said, "I have removed them from the kiln for you, not a single jar damaged. Go and see—are they not beneath the Kuixing Tower?" The owner, following his directions, went to look and indeed found them all there. The Kuixing Tower stood on the southern mountain of Yanzhen, three li from the kiln. The kiln owner hired men to transport them, and it took three days to finish the task.
Commentary
This chapter contains two accounts of magical arts, both characterized by concise and clear narration, each with its own distinctive features in the telling.
The first tale, consisting of merely sixty-nine characters, includes a commentary alongside its narrative, recounting the marvel of a barrel trick. The second tale, one hundred and three characters in length, presents a complete story with plot conflict, dialogue, and a clear beginning and end. Amidst the magic, it also relates the extraordinary anecdotes of Li Jiantian, known as the Immortal Li of Lijin County.
Li Jiantian was a contemporary of Pu Songling, and his miraculous deeds were frequently recorded in the literature of the time; for instance, the "Xianji" section of the Lijin County New Gazette from the twelfth year of the Kangxi reign recorded several instances of his prophecies concerning the late Ming and early Qing periods. Wang Yuyang's "Chibei Outan: Tan Yi San" under the entry "Li Shenxian" also recorded one instance where he divined the future prospects for Li Chengxiang of Zhanhua.