Original Text
Wang Ding of Gaoyou County, styled Xianhu, was a man of ardent and generous disposition, bold and powerful, with a wide circle of friends. At eighteen, before he could marry, his betrothed died. Whenever he traveled far, he would be gone for years without returning. His elder brother, Wang Nai, a renowned scholar north of the Yangtze, cherished deep fraternal affection and urged Wang Ding to stay home, planning to find him a wife. Wang Ding refused, took a boat to Zhenjiang, and called on a friend. Finding the friend away, he rented a room in an inn's attic. There he beheld the river's clear, rolling waves and the Golden Mountain standing out distinctly, filling his heart with delight. The next day, the friend came to invite Wang Ding to stay at his home, but Wang Ding declined and did not go.
After more than half a month, Wang Ding dreamed one night of a young lady, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a dignified and lovely appearance, who came to his bed and made love with him, and upon waking he found he had emitted semen. He found it quite strange but still thought it was merely by chance. When night came again, he dreamed of the same young lady once more. This continued for three or four nights. Greatly perplexed, he dared not extinguish the lamp, and though his body lay on the bed, he remained constantly vigilant. Yet as soon as his eyes closed, he dreamed of the young lady approaching again, and just as they were in the midst of intimacy, he suddenly awoke, hastily opened his eyes, and saw a maiden as beautiful as a celestial fairy truly and clearly held in his arms. When the young lady saw Wang Ding awake, she appeared quite shy. Although Wang Ding knew she was not human, he was still delighted, and without pausing to inquire about the circumstances, he indulged in passionate lovemaking with her. The young lady seemed unable to bear it, saying, "You are so violent, no wonder others dare not tell you face to face." Wang Ding then asked about her situation. The young lady replied, "My name is Wu Qiuyue. My late father was a renowned scholar, deeply versed in the divination arts of the Book of Changes, and he cherished me greatly, but said my life would be short, so he did not allow me to marry. Later, at the age of fifteen, I indeed died young, and my father buried me east of the pavilion, making the grave not rise above the ground, nor setting up a tombstone, but only placing a stone tablet beside the coffin, inscribed with: 'Daughter Qiuyue, buried but without a mound, after thirty years, she will marry Wang Ding.' Now thirty years have passed, and you have come just at this time. My heart rejoiced, and I wished to offer myself to you, but felt ashamed, so I used dreams to meet with you." Wang Ding was also overjoyed and sought to complete the act again. Wu Qiuyue said, "I need some yang vitality to seek rebirth, and truly cannot withstand such a storm. Our future marital bliss will be endless, why must it be tonight?" Then she rose and departed. The next day, Wu Qiuyue came again to Wang Ding, sat facing him, chatting and jesting, as joyful as a living person. When they extinguished the lamp and went to bed, she was no different from a living being. But when Wu Qiuyue rose, the emissions flowed freely, staining the bedding.
One night, under the bright and crystalline moonlight, the two strolled in the courtyard. Wang Ding asked Wu Qiuyue, "Are there cities in the underworld?" Wu Qiuyue replied, "They are just like those in the mortal world. The city of the underworld is not here; it lies about three or four li away. But there, they treat night as day." Wang Ding asked, "Can the living go to see it?" Wu Qiuyue answered, "It is possible." Wang Ding begged to visit, and Wu Qiuyue agreed. They set off under the moonlight, Wu Qiuyue drifting ethereally, moving as swiftly as a gust of wind, with Wang Ding straining to keep up. Suddenly they arrived at a place, and Wu Qiuyue said, "It is not far now." Wang Ding looked around but saw nothing. Wu Qiuyue dabbed saliva on the corners of Wang Ding's eyes; when he opened them, his vision was twice as sharp as usual, and he saw the night as clearly as day. At once, he beheld a city shrouded in misty clouds, with pedestrians bustling like at a market fair. Shortly, two black-clad constables passed by, dragging three or four bound men, the last of whom looked very much like his elder brother, Wang Nai. Wang Ding approached and saw it was indeed his brother, and asked in alarm, "Brother, how did you come here?" Wang Nai, upon seeing Wang Ding, wept and said, "I myself do not know for what reason I was forcibly arrested." Wang Ding said indignantly, "My brother is a gentleman of propriety and righteousness; how could he be bound so harshly!" He then begged the two constables to temporarily loosen the ropes. The constables refused, glaring at Wang Ding with arrogance. Wang Ding grew furious and argued with them, but Wang Nai stopped him, saying, "This is the command of the officials; they must act according to the law. But I lack funds, and they demand bribes, which is truly cruel. Brother, go back and raise some money for me." Wang Ding grabbed Wang Nai's arm and wept bitterly. The constables, enraged, suddenly yanked the rope around Wang Nai's neck, causing him to fall. Seeing this, Wang Ding's anger flared beyond control; he drew his sword and instantly cut off one constable's head. The other constable screamed, and Wang Ding struck off his head as well. Wu Qiuyue, greatly alarmed, said, "Killing officials is an unforgivable crime! If you delay in fleeing, disaster will strike! Quickly find a boat and head north; when you return home, do not remove your brother's funeral banner, shut the gates, and do not go out for seven days, and all will be safe." Wang Ding then helped his brother hire a small boat that very night and sped northward. When Wang Ding reached home, he saw mourners still at the gate and realized his brother had indeed died. He closed and locked the door; as soon as he entered, his brother had vanished. Inside the house, he found his brother had revived and was crying out, "I am starving! Quickly bring some soup and cakes!" At that time, Wang Nai had been dead for two days, and the family was utterly astounded. Wang Ding explained the whole story. After seven days, they opened the gate and removed the funeral banner, and only then did people learn that Wang Nai had come back to life. Relatives and friends came to inquire, and Wang Ding had to fabricate a tale in reply.
Wang Ding's thoughts turned once again to Wu Qiuyue, and he grew restless with longing. He thus journeyed south once more, returning to the same attic where he had stayed before. Lighting a lamp and candle, he waited for a long time, but Wu Qiuyue never came. As Wang Ding, drowsy and half-asleep, was about to retire, he saw a woman approach, who said, "Miss Qiuyue sends word to you: the other day, because the official was killed and the murderer fled, she was seized and is now held in prison, where the jailers mistreat her. She daily hopes for your arrival, so you may devise a plan for her." Wang Ding's heart filled with grief and rage, and he followed the woman. They came to a city, entering through the western outer gate, and the woman pointed to a large door, saying, "Miss Qiuyue is temporarily imprisoned here." Wang Ding entered the gate and saw many buildings, with numerous prisoners confined, but no sign of Wu Qiuyue. Passing through a smaller door, he saw light emanating from a tiny room. Approaching the window, he beheld Wu Qiuyue sitting on a bed, covering her face with her sleeve, sobbing and weeping. Beside her, two jailers were pinching her cheeks and fondling her feet, teasing and molesting her, causing her to weep even more bitterly. One jailer embraced her neck and said, "You are a convict now—why still cling to chastity?" Wang Ding's fury blazed, and without a word, he drew his blade and charged straight into the room, striking down both jailers like cutting hemp stalks, then seized Wu Qiuyue and fled, unnoticed by anyone. Just as they reached the inn, Wang Ding suddenly awoke. He was marveling at the ominous dream when he saw Wu Qiuyue standing there, gazing at him with tender eyes. Startled, he rose and pulled her to sit down, recounting the dream to her. Wu Qiuyue said, "It was all real, not a dream." Alarmed, Wang Ding asked, "What is to be done?" She sighed and replied, "This is fate's decree. The end of the month was to be my rebirth date, but now matters are urgent—how can we wait? You must quickly dig up my burial place, carry me home, and call my name frequently each day; after three days, I will revive. However, my time in the underworld is not yet fulfilled, so my bones are still soft and my feet weak—I cannot manage household chores for you." With that, she hastened to leave, then turned back and said, "I almost forgot—what if the underworld pursues us? When I was alive, my father taught me a talisman script, saying that after thirty years, we could wear the talismans as a couple." She then asked for a brush and swiftly wrote two talismans, saying, "Wear one yourself, and paste the other on my back." Wang Ding escorted her out, marking the spot where she vanished, and dug down about a foot, revealing a coffin that had already decayed. Beside it stood a small stone tablet, inscribed with the very words Wu Qiuyue had spoken. Opening the coffin, he saw her face as lifelike as in life. He carried her into the house; her clothes dissolved into dust in the wind. After pasting the talisman on her, he wrapped her tightly in bedding, carried her to the riverbank, hailed a moored boat, and pretended that his younger sister had fallen gravely ill and needed to be taken home. Fortunately, a strong south wind blew, and by daybreak, they had arrived at his village.
He carried Wu Qiuyue home, settled her properly, and only then informed his elder brother and sister-in-law. The entire family stared in panic and alarm, yet dared not voice their doubts outright. Wang Ding opened the bedding and called out Wu Qiuyue's name repeatedly, and at night he slept embracing her corpse. The body gradually grew warm day by day; after three days, Wu Qiuyue revived, and within seven days she could walk on the ground. She changed her clothes and went to pay respects to her sister-in-law, her graceful form as exquisite as that of a celestial maiden. Yet whenever she took more than ten steps, she needed someone to support her, otherwise she would sway in the wind as if about to fall. Seeing this, people thought that Wu Qiuyue's affliction only added to her charm. Wu Qiuyue often advised Wang Ding, saying, "Your sins are too deep; you should accumulate virtue and chant sutras diligently to show repentance, or else your lifespan may not be long." Wang Ding had never believed in Buddhism before, but from then on he converted to the Dharma with utmost sincerity, and thereafter he lived in peace without further misfortune.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: I would propose a law be established: "Whoever kills a government runner shall be punished three degrees less severely than if he had killed a commoner." For there is not one among such men who does not deserve death. Thus, to eliminate a harmful lackey is to uphold the law; even if the action is somewhat harsh, it cannot be called cruel. Moreover, the underworld has no fixed statutes—if one encounters a villain, hacking with knives, sawing apart, or boiling in a cauldron are not considered excessive. As long as the deed brings great satisfaction to the people, the King of Hell will deem it righteous. How could anyone guilty of an offense that requires the underworld to pursue them hope to escape?
Commentary
"Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" contains many chapters that use tales of ghosts, fox spirits, and flower demons to expose the ugliness of the human world. The chapter "Wu Qiuyue" is a piece that criticizes the vile faces of yamen runners in reality. In this chapter, Pu Songling writes about Wang Ding witnessing in the underworld his elder brother being "cruelly extorted for bribes" by yamen runners, who "violently yanked his neck chain," and seeing his beloved being "pinched on the cheeks and pulled by the shoes, teased and mocked," thus "a blaze of fury filled his chest," and he "immediately beheaded the black-clad runner," "one stroke per runner, cutting them down like hemp." In the "Historian's Commentary," he praises and echoes this, saying: "I wish to propose a law to the throne: 'Whoever kills a public servant shall have his crime reduced by three degrees compared to an ordinary person.' For these creatures are all deserving of death."
Pu Songling expressed the same view in his works "On Good Governance" and "Admonitions for Officials," stating: "Every yamen runner possesses the talent to manipulate laws and twist justice, and every one of them harbors the intent to deceive officials and harm the people. They must tempt officials into greed before they can satisfy their insatiable desires; they must lure officials into cruelty before they can bolster their own tiger-like ferocity." "The beatings and curses inflicted by underlings, the extortions demanded by petty clerks—all are visited upon the virtuous with brutal force." His fiction and essays thus mirror and echo each other in perfect harmony.
Although this piece merely uses a romantic tale to express the author's deep hatred for the yamen runners of his time, the love story between Wang Ding and Wu Qiuyue, especially the character and demeanor of the young maiden Wu Qiuyue—whether it be her meeting with Wang Ding in a dream as foretold by her father, or her premature rebirth due to Wang Ding's killing of the yamen runners, and even after her rebirth, where she appears "graceful and ethereal, no different from a celestial being, yet beyond ten paces she must be supported to walk, otherwise she sways with the wind, often on the verge of falling; those who saw her thought it a bodily ailment, which only added to her charm"—all are vividly depicted, possessing a unique style.