Original Text
A man from Changqing County, who made his living selling cloth, was staying as a guest in Tai'an. Hearing of a diviner skilled in the art of astrology and fate, he went to inquire about his fortune. The diviner calculated for a while and said, "Your luck is very ill-fated; you should return home quickly." The cloth merchant, filled with fear, took his money and headed north. On the road, he encountered a man in short clothes, who seemed like a yamen runner. Gradually they fell into conversation and became familiar and cordial with each other. The cloth merchant repeatedly bought food and drink, inviting the short-clothed man to share them, and the man was deeply grateful. The cloth merchant asked what business the short-clothed man was about, and he replied, "I am going to Changqing County to arrest someone." When asked whom he was to arrest, the short-clothed man produced an official document and let him examine it himself; the first name written on it was the cloth merchant's own. Startled, the merchant cried, "Why are you arresting me?" The short-clothed man said, "I am no living man, but a runner from the Eastern Fourth Office of Mount Hao. It seems your allotted lifespan has come to an end." The cloth merchant wept and begged for deliverance. The ghost runner said, "I can do nothing. However, there are many names on the document, and gathering them all will take some time. You should hurry home to settle your affairs, and I will summon you last—this is my repayment for your friendship." Soon they came to a river where the bridge had collapsed, and travelers were struggling to wade across. The ghost runner said, "You are about to die, and not a single coin can you take with you. Please build a bridge here at once to benefit travelers; though it will cost you much money, it may not be without some benefit to you." The cloth merchant deeply agreed with this advice.
After the cloth merchant returned home, he told his wife to prepare the coffin and burial garments, and also set a deadline to gather workmen to build a new bridge. Many days passed, yet the ghostly messenger never came, and the cloth merchant began to feel a secret doubt. One day, the ghostly messenger suddenly arrived and said, "I have already reported the matter of building the bridge to the City God, who has forwarded it to the underworld. The underworld has decreed that this deed may extend your lifespan. Now your name has been removed from the official register, and I have come specially to inform you." The cloth merchant, overjoyed, expressed his gratitude. Later, the cloth merchant went again to Mount Tai, and unable to forget the ghostly messenger's kindness, he reverently burned paper money and called out the messenger's name in sacrifice. Just as he left the temple gate, he saw the ghostly messenger rushing over, saying, "You have nearly ruined me! Fortunately, the chief officer of the Eastern Four Bureaus was just then handling official business and did not know of this; if he had learned of it, what could have been done!" The messenger accompanied the cloth merchant a few steps and said, "Do not come here again in the future. If I have business to the north, I will naturally take a detour to visit you." Then he bade farewell and departed.
Commentary
"The Cloth Merchant" tells of a cloth trader who, upon learning of his appointed death date, heeds the advice of a death-summoning demon and builds a bridge as a good deed, thereby extending his own life.
In traditional Chinese culture, there has long been a lack of the concept of gratitude toward the nation and service to society. What is called charity mostly stems from the belief that "good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds bring evil retribution," that is, "a family that accumulates good deeds will have abundant blessings, while a family that accumulates evil deeds will have abundant calamities." Although the ghostly attendant's suggestion was based on the idea that "you are about to die, and not even a single coin will go with you," in olden times it could indeed awaken the foolish of the world, promoting the development of charity from the perspective of gain and loss. However, after entering the modern civil society, the Chinese concept of charity should evolve with the times.