Original Text
Jin Shengse was a man of Jinning. He married the daughter of the Mu family from the same village, and she bore him a son, who was just one year old. Jin Shengse suddenly fell ill, and believing he would surely die, he said to his wife, "After I am gone, you must remarry; do not remain a widow!" His wife, hearing this, spoke sweet words and made solemn vows, swearing to remain chaste until death. Jin Shengse then waved his hand, called his mother, and said, "After I die, I entrust you to care for my son; do not let his mother keep her widowhood." His mother wept and agreed. Soon after, Jin Shengse indeed passed away. Mu's mother came to offer condolences, and after weeping, she said to Jin's mother, "Heaven has sent misfortune, and my son-in-law has died suddenly. My daughter is still so young; what is to become of her?" Jin's mother, in her grief and sorrow, was filled with anger and indignation at these words, and replied vehemently, "She must remain a widow!" Mu's mother felt ashamed and said no more. That evening, Mu's mother stayed with her daughter through the night and whispered to her, "Any man can be a husband. With your good looks, why worry about finding a suitable match? A young woman who does not seek a new home early, but only stares at the child in swaddling clothes, is she not a fool? If they insist you keep your widowhood, do not show them a pleasant face." It happened that Jin's mother passed by and overheard some of these words, which made her even more furious. The next day, Jin's mother said to Mu's mother, "My son left a will, originally not wanting his wife to remain a widow. Since she is now so impatient, she must indeed keep her widowhood!" Mu's mother left in a rage. That night, Jin's mother dreamed of her son, who came with tears streaming down his face, urging her not to force Mu's daughter to remain a widow, and she found this strange. She sent word to the Mu family, agreeing that after her son's funeral, Mu's daughter could marry as she pleased. However, upon consulting a geomancer, she learned that the direction of the grave was unfavorable that year, so the funeral was delayed. Mu's daughter, wishing to show herself off and hasten her remarriage, did not refrain from applying powder and rouge even during the mourning period. While living in her mother-in-law's house, she wore plain clothes, but when she returned to her own family, she donned new and gaudy attire. When Jin's mother learned of this, she thought it very improper, but because the woman was soon to become another man's wife, she endured it in silence. Thus, Mu's daughter grew even more brazen.
In the village there was a scoundrel named Dong Gui, who upon seeing the wooden woman took a fancy to her and bribed an old woman neighbor of the Jin family to convey his affections to her. At midnight, Dong Gui climbed over the wall from the old woman's house to the wooden woman's dwelling and thus engaged in illicit relations with her. Their trysts continued for over ten days, and the scandal spread far and wide, though only the mother of Jin remained unaware. The wooden woman's chamber was attended at night only by a young maidservant, who was her confidante. One night, as the two were entwined in passion, they heard a coffin rattle with a sound like a firecracker. The maidservant, lying on a bed in the outer room, saw the deceased Jin Shengse emerge from behind the curtain, holding a sword, and stride into the inner chamber. Soon after, cries of alarm from Dong Gui and the wooden woman were heard. Before long, Dong Gui fled out stark naked. Shortly thereafter, Jin Shengse dragged the wooden woman out by her hair, and she wailed loudly. The mother of Jin, roused by the noise, saw the wooden woman run out naked. As she was about to open the door, she called out to her but received no answer. Chasing after her outside, she found the surroundings silent and still, with no trace of the wooden woman, who had vanished without a trace. The mother of Jin entered the wooden woman's chamber, where the lamp still burned. She saw a pair of men's shoes and summoned the maidservant, who then emerged trembling and recounted all the strange events, leaving them both staring at each other in astonishment.
Dong Gui fled to the home of an old neighbor woman, curling up and crouching in a corner. After a long while, when he could no longer hear any human voices, he finally rose to his feet. He was completely naked, shivering with cold, and wished to borrow some clothes from the old woman's house. Spying a room in the courtyard with its double doors left ajar, he slipped inside. Groping in the darkness, he touched a woman's foot upon the bed and realized it was the old woman's daughter-in-law. A lecherous thought seized him, and while the woman still slept, he stealthily climbed onto the bed and violated her. When the woman awoke, she asked, "Have you returned?" He replied, "I have returned." The woman harbored not the slightest suspicion and thus indulged with him in passionate intimacy.
It turned out that the neighbor's son had gone to the northern village on business, instructing his wife to bolt the door and await his return. When he came back, he heard noises within the house and grew suspicious; listening closely, he discerned words and tones of the most lewd and lascivious nature. Enraged, he seized a weapon and burst inside. Dong Gui, terrified, scrambled under the bed to hide, but the neighbor's son rushed over and slew him. He then sought to kill his wife, who tearfully pleaded that it was all a misunderstanding, so he spared her. Yet, not knowing who lay beneath the bed, the neighbor's son summoned his mother, who brought a lamp; shining it, she recognized Dong Gui. Looking closer, they saw he was already gasping for breath; when asked how he came to be there, he could still confess the whole affair. However, his wounds bled profusely, and soon he breathed his last. The old mother, panic-stricken, said to her son, "To catch adulterers, one must catch both; now that you have killed but one, what will you do?" The son, left with no choice, then slew his wife as well.
That night, as Wood Father was sleeping, he heard a sound like fire outside his door. Going out to look, he saw flames on the eaves, and the arsonist was still hesitating, not yet fled. Wood Father shouted loudly, and all the family rushed over. Fortunately, the fire had just started and was easy to extinguish. Wood Father ordered the family to take weapons and bows to search for and capture the arsonist. The family saw a figure, as nimble as an ape, leaping over the wall. Beyond the wall was the Wood family's peach orchard, surrounded by a high and sturdy wall. Several family members climbed a ladder to look, but saw no trace of the arsonist, only something at the base of the wall still faintly moving. When they called out, there was no answer, so they shot an arrow, and it felt soft. Opening the gate to investigate, they found a woman lying naked there, the arrow having pierced her chest and forehead. Holding up a torch to examine her closely, it turned out to be the Wood family's daughter, the Jin family's wife. The family, horrified, reported this to the master. Wood Father and Wood Mother were frightened to death, not knowing why this had happened. The Wood girl's eyes were tightly shut, her face ashen, her breath as thin as a silken thread. Wood Father ordered someone to pull out the arrow that had struck her forehead, but it could not be removed. Stepping on her head with his foot, they finally pulled it out. The Wood girl let out a faint moan, blood gushed forth, and she breathed her last. Wood Father was greatly terrified and could think of no plan.
After daybreak, Wood's father informed Metal's mother of the truth, kneeling upright and begging for forgiveness. Metal's mother, however, felt no resentment or anger at all; she merely recounted the matter to Wood's father, telling him that the Wood family should bury their daughter themselves. Metal Shengse had a cousin named Metal Shengguang, who went angrily to the Wood household, enumerating and rebuking the Wood daughter's past shameful deeds. Wood's father, ashamed and dejected, could only give some money to send him home. Yet, no one ever knew who had secretly consorted with the Wood daughter. Soon after, the neighbor's son came forward to confess to the crime of catching an adulterer and committing murder; the authorities lightly reprimanded him and let him go. But his wife's elder brother, Ma Biao, who was always fond of litigation, then submitted a plaint to seek justice for his sister. The authorities arrested the neighbor's old mother, who, terrified, confessed the entire affair from beginning to end. The authorities then summoned Metal's mother, who pleaded illness and sent Metal Shengguang to testify in her stead, revealing all the details. Thus, the earlier case was reopened, and both Wood's father and mother were implicated, with every circumstance thoroughly investigated. Wood's mother, for inciting her daughter to remarry, was convicted of promoting licentiousness and sentenced to be flogged; she was allowed to pay a fine to redeem the punishment, which drained the family's entire fortune. The neighbor's old mother, for acting as a go-between for the adulterer, was beaten to death, and thus the case was concluded.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: How truly divine was the son of the Jin family! His earnest admonition to the wooden woman to remarry was a mark of great wisdom. He took no one's life, yet all grievances were redressed—can this not be called divine? The old neighbor woman, who lured another's wife into adultery, ended up having her own daughter-in-law violated; the wooden mother, who doted on her daughter, ultimately brought about her ruin. Alas, "If you wish to know the future cause, look to the present deed"—the retribution upon the Jin son was so swift that it required no waiting for a future life to be settled.
Commentary
According to modern concepts of marriage, it is a perfectly free matter for a widow to remarry. Yet during the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, this was a grave social issue. The wife of Jin Shengse, desiring to remarry, brought about a great social tragedy: those who died by private vengeance included not only Jin Shengse's wife, but also the rogue Dong Gui and the wife of a neighbor's son; those punished by official law included an old neighbor woman beaten to death and Jin Shengse's mother-in-law flogged. This does not even account for the economic losses of Old Man Mu's family, whose home was burned, who were extorted, and whose property was utterly exhausted. All of this was orchestrated by the ghost of Jin Shengse himself, so that it was said, 'He killed no one, yet all grievances were avenged.' In truth, Jin Shengse was inconsistent in word and deed, extremely hypocritical and venomous. Pu Songling praised him, saying, 'How clear-sighted he was!' and 'Could he not be called divine?' This reflects the orthodox marital morality and harsh laws of that era, as well as Pu Songling's endorsement of such views.
The male protagonist of this tale is surnamed Jin, and the female protagonist is surnamed Mu; according to the ancient Chinese theory of the Five Elements, Metal overcomes Wood, which would portend misfortune in marriage. This is likely the reason why the story introduces both their surnames at the very outset.
This chapter has considerable merit in its literary description. For instance, the differing mindsets and tangled emotions of Jin Shengse's mother and mother-in-law regarding the remarriage of Jin Shengse's wife are depicted with meticulous detail, closely adhering to human nature. When Jin Shengse's wife and Dong Gui were in the midst of their intimate bliss, his ghost emerged from the coffin to punish them, narrated alternately from the perspectives of his wife, Dong Gui, the maidservant, and Jin's mother, shifting scenes and switching viewpoints with both economy of prose and effective enhancement of the tense and terrifying atmosphere. Dan Minglun commented: "Just as their passions were fully engaged, he came abruptly, appearing and vanishing, with color and sound, thus seizing the opportunity to exact retribution, as if balancing accounts. Each time one reads it, it brings both delight and a gasp of astonishment."