Original Text
Mr. Li, whose courtesy name was Wang Chun, had a grandfather who was the closest friend of my granduncle Yutian Gong. One night, Mr. Li's grandfather dreamed that Yutian Gong came to his house, his expression gloomy as he chatted idly. Mr. Li's grandfather asked, "For what reason have you come here?" Yutian Gong replied, "I am about to set out on a long journey, so I have come to bid you farewell." Mr. Li's grandfather inquired further, "Where are you going?" Yutian Gong answered, "Far away." With these words, he stepped out of the gate. Mr. Li's grandfather escorted him, following him into a valley, where he saw a great fissure in a stone cliff. Yutian Gong clasped his hands in farewell to Mr. Li's grandfather, then turned his back to the crevice and slowly retreated into it. Though Mr. Li's grandfather called out to him repeatedly, he did not respond, and thus Mr. Li's grandfather awoke from his dream. At daybreak, Mr. Li's grandfather recounted the dream to Granduncle Li Jingyi and urged him to prepare mourning gifts, saying, "Yutian Gong is already dead!" Granduncle Li Jingyi suggested first sending someone to ascertain the truth, and only then, if it were so, to offer condolences. Mr. Li's grandfather would not listen, but instead donned plain white garments and went straight to Yutian Gong's home. Upon arriving at the gate, he saw the funeral banners already hanging high above the door.
Alas! How the ancients treated their friends with such unwavering trust, whether in life or in death. This shows that the ancient record of Zhang Shao's coffin refusing to advance toward the grave until his friend Fan Shi arrived and offered his condolences, after which it finally settled peacefully into the tomb—how could such a tale be false!
Commentary
Feng Zhenluan, in his commentary on "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," remarked: "This book frequently recounts events from the regions of Mount Zuo and You, as well as from Zichuan County. The personal affairs and social interactions of the author of the Strange Tales can also be faintly discerned." The tale of the profound bond between Li Wangchun and Pu Shengwen, which transcends life and death, brings to mind the friendship between Li Ximei and Pu Songling—for indeed, theirs was a friendship spanning generations.
This tale contains many dialogues, yet all are exceedingly brief; the longest spans but nine characters, and three utterances consist of merely two words each, truly a "somber exchange of words," succinct yet laden with gravity.