Original Text
When Prefect Gao Mingtu governed Chenzhou, there was a young woman of the Su family washing clothes by the river. In the river lay a large stone, upon which Su crouched. A strand of waterweed, emerald green and supple, most lovely, floated and swayed upon the surface, circling the stone three times. Su beheld it, and her heart stirred with emotion. Returning home, she soon found herself with child, and her belly gradually swelled. Her mother secretly questioned her about the matter, and Su told her the truth, leaving her mother perplexed. Several months later, Su gave birth to a son. She had intended to abandon the child in the alley, but her heart could not bear it, so she placed the boy in a chest and raised him there. From then on, she vowed never to marry, to show her resolve in raising her son to adulthood. Yet, bearing a child without wedlock remained a shameful thing. Thus, when the boy reached seven years of age, he had never been seen by anyone outside. One day, the son suddenly said to Su, "Your child grows older; how can he be confined at home forever? Let me depart, and no longer burden my mother." Su asked where he would go, and the son replied, "I am not of human seed; I shall raise my head among the ravines and soar into the clouds." Su wept and asked when he would return, and he answered, "When my mother is on her deathbed, I shall come back. After I leave, if you need anything, open the chest where I was hidden, and you will surely find what you desire." Having spoken, he bid his mother farewell and departed. Su went out to look, but her son had vanished without a trace. Su told her mother, who was also greatly astonished.
From then on, Su Nu held fast to her original resolve, living in dependence on her mother, while their family circumstances grew increasingly impoverished. One day, as she prepared the morning meal, there was no rice to be had; she looked up to the heavens, yet found no recourse. Suddenly, Su Nu recalled her son's parting instructions, and opening the chest, she indeed found white rice, with which she made breakfast. From that day forward, whenever she sought anything, her wishes were fulfilled. After three years, Su Nu's mother fell ill and passed away; all funeral expenses were taken from the chest. Having buried her mother, Su Nu lived alone for thirty years, never once stepping beyond the gate. One day, a neighbor woman came to Su Nu's home to borrow fire, and seeing her sitting alone in the empty room, chatted with her for a while before departing. Not long after, the neighbor woman suddenly beheld a rainbow cloud swirling around Su Nu's chamber, like a great canopy, and within the cloud stood a figure in resplendent attire; upon closer inspection, it was Su Nu herself. The cloud lingered in the air for a long time, then rose higher and higher until it vanished from sight. The neighbors, filled with wonder, peered into Su Nu's home and saw her dressed in her finest, sitting upright, already passed away. The community, knowing she had no kin, planned to pool funds for her burial. Suddenly, a young man entered from outside, tall and handsome, who thanked them all. The neighbors, aware that Su Nu had once had a son, harbored no suspicion. The youth paid for his mother's burial, planted two peach trees before her grave, bid farewell to the crowd, and departed. As he took a few steps, a rainbow cloud rose beneath his feet, and he vanished. Thereafter, the two peach trees blossomed and bore fruit, sweet and fragrant, and the locals called them "Su's Immortal Peach Trees." Year after year, they flourished with lush foliage, never withering. Officials who served in that region often took peaches from them to gift to friends and relatives.
Commentary
Compared to "The Hibernating Dragon," "The Immortal Su" has a broader foundation in folk legends. In terms of a dragon being born into an ordinary commoner's family and being exceptionally filial to its mother, this tale is likely very similar to the legend of "Bald-Tailed Old Li" that circulates in Shandong, Heilongjiang, and other regions.
Su Shi remained unmarried yet became pregnant; at the moment of death, she "sat in elegant attire, composed and still," while colorful clouds encircled her dwelling; before her grave, a peach tree "bore fruit sweet and fragrant," which was indeed most wondrous, yet the "child-concealing casket" that threaded through the tale must not be overlooked. Feng Zhenluan, a commentator on Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, remarked: "A woman must have something to rely upon; otherwise, even if her resolve is steadfast, alone and solitary, how could she endure for thirty years?"