Original Text
Mr. Gao Nian Dong, a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, once recounted that during the Chongzhen era, there was a monkey immortal known as Jing Shan. This immortal possessed an old man from Hejian, engaging in discussions on poetry and prose, foretelling fortune and misfortune, speaking eloquently and tirelessly. When dishes of fruits and delicacies were placed on the table, he would eat and drink heartily, leaving the cups and plates in disarray, though he remained invisible. At that time, Mr. Gao Nian Dong's grandfather lay ill in bed. Someone wrote a letter saying, 'Hou Jing Shan is an aged man of the Way; one cannot fail to meet him.' Mr. Gao then sent servants with a carriage to fetch the old man. The old man arrived and stayed for an entire day, yet the monkey immortal still did not appear. They had to burn incense and offer sacrifices again. Suddenly, they heard a voice from the rooftop exclaiming loudly, 'What a fine household!' Everyone looked up in astonishment at the roof. Shortly after, a voice spoke from the eaves. The old man rose and said, 'The great immortal has arrived.' The company, in a relaxed and carefree manner, followed the old man out to welcome the immortal, and then they heard the sound of clasped hands in greeting. Upon entering the room, the immortal burst into loud laughter and engaged in hearty conversation. At that time, the Gao brothers were still students, having just returned from the provincial examination. The immortal said, 'Your examination papers are not bad, but you are not well-versed in the classics; you need to be more diligent. The path to high office is drawing near.' The two brothers respectfully inquired about their grandfather's illness. The immortal replied, 'Life and death are great matters; the principles behind them are difficult to explain.' Thus, both brothers understood that their grandfather's illness was beyond cure. Not long after, Mr. Gao's grandfather passed away.
In former times there was a man who kept a monkey and performed with it in the countryside. The monkey broke its chain and fled, and though the man gave chase, he could not catch it, and the monkey escaped into the mountains. Several decades later, people could still see it; it moved with a swift and elusive gait, and fled at the sight of any human. By and by it began to sneak into villages to steal fruits and other foods, yet no one could catch a glimpse of it. One day, a villager discovered it and gave chase across the wilds, shooting it dead. However, the monkey's ghost did not know that it had died; it only felt its body as light as a leaf, and could travel a hundred li in a single breath. So it went to attach itself to an old man in Hejian, saying, "If you will honor and serve me, I shall make you wealthy." And it styled itself Jing Shan.
In Changsha there was a monkey with a golden chain tied around its neck, often appearing in the homes of scholar-officials; whoever saw it was sure to encounter some joyful event. If offered fruits, it would eat them. No one knew whence it came or whither it went. A man over ninety years old said, "When I was young, I saw a plaque on its golden chain bearing the insignia of a princely mansion from the former Ming dynasty." It seems the creature had become an immortal.
Commentary
This piece and the previous one, "The Upper Immortal," are companion pieces, likely composed at the same time. Both depict folk rituals of "invoking spirits" and are connected to Gao Nian Dong. The difference is that the earlier story, "The Upper Immortal," summoned a fox spirit, with Gao Nian Dong merely involved in the events. In "Hou Jing Shan," a monkey spirit is summoned, and Gao Nian Dong serves both as the narrator and as one whose ancestors are implicated in the affair. From these two tales, it is evident that Gao Nian Dong was a man deeply respected by the author, who placed considerable faith in spirit-summoning practices; in a sense, he could be considered Pu Songling's kindred spirit, and his preface to "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" was no perfunctory work. When he wrote that preface, he declared, "Works like 'Nuo Gao' and 'Yi Jian' can share the same merit as the Six Classics," staunchly supporting the collection, and his vow, "If you will be a promoter of phantoms, how could I refuse to be a Lu Zhonglian for 'Qi Xie'?" was no empty boast. In this story, the monkey spirit's praise of Gao Nian Dong's family as a "good household" is likely a deliberate flattering remark woven into Pu Songling's narrative.