Original Text
A certain Grand Historian, having been bewitched by a fox spirit, grew weak and ill. He exhausted all methods of drawing talismans and reciting incantations to expel the fox, but to no avail, so he requested leave to return to his native village, hoping to escape its harassment. Yet wherever the Grand Historian went, the fox spirit followed. In great terror and at a loss, he one day arrived at Zhuozhou, where outside the gate there was a physician shaking a bell, claiming he could subdue fox spirits. The Grand Historian invited the physician inside, who prescribed a medicine—a love potion for men and women. The physician bade the Grand Historian take the drug and enter his chamber to couple with the fox, which had taken the form of a woman, with irresistible vigor. The fox began to evade him, begging the Grand Historian to stop, but he heeded not and grew even more fierce in his actions. The fox struggled and writhed, yet could not escape, and after a while fell silent. Upon close inspection, the fox had revealed its true form and lay dead.
In our village in days of old, there was a certain scholar who was a lecher, boasting that in all his life he had never been able to fully indulge his desires. One night, he lodged alone in an empty courtyard with no neighbors around. Suddenly, a woman appeared before his door, and though the door was not opened, she entered. The scholar knew she was a fox spirit, yet he joyfully embraced her. As soon as the woman had loosened her garments, the scholar thrust himself into her without restraint. The fox maiden, in great pain and alarm, let out a shrill cry like a hawk escaping its tether, leaped up, and fled through the window. The scholar still gazed out the window, calling out in a tender voice, pleading and hoping she would return, but all around had fallen silent. Truly, this scholar was a fierce conqueror of fox spirits! He ought to hang a sign at his door proclaiming "Fox Expeller" and take up that as his livelihood.
Commentary
These are two tales concerning the art of the bedchamber, bearing the character of jokes, from which one may imagine the playful and humorous side of Pu Songling when he composed the Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
What distinguishes a joke from a story lies in the depiction of details. These two short tales both place great emphasis on detailed description, for instance, both highlight the phrase "irresistibly sharp," and both employ the character "grief." In the first tale, it is "grieving and begging to stop," while in the second, it is "grievingly calling out, hoping for its return." Though the subjects differ, both possess a hue of black humor.