Original Text
In Yizhou, the family of Songta, a Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office, had always been devoted to geomancy, so much so that even the women of the inner chambers could read such books and understand their principles. When Songta passed away, his two sons established separate households and each sought a burial site for their father. Hearing of anyone skilled in geomancy, they would race a thousand li to recruit them into their service. Thus, the geomancers invited by the two families numbered over a hundred, and daily they rode in succession across the wilds, dividing into eastern and western factions, coming and going like two armies. After more than a month, each brother selected an auspicious burial ground—one claimed it would ensure a marquisate for descendants, the other that it would yield a prime minister. Unable to agree, they grew obstinate and ceased consulting each other, simultaneously preparing the graves, with colored tents and banners separately arranged. When the funeral carriage reached the crossroads, each brother led his household to contest for it, from dawn till dusk unable to decide, until all the guests departed. The pallbearers changed shoulders ten times, utterly exhausted, and finally abandoned the coffin by the roadside. As the burial was halted, they gathered workmen to build a shelter over the coffin to protect it from wind and rain. The elder brother erected a hut beside the shelter, leaving servants to guard the coffin, and the younger brother did likewise. When the elder built another hut, the younger followed suit, and after three years, the place had grown into a village.
Many years later, when the two brothers had both passed away, the elder brother's wife and the younger brother's wife at last consulted together and resolved to break down the irreconcilable enmity that had existed between their husbands; they rode together in a carriage to the countryside to inspect the two burial plots that had been chosen, and both declared them unsuitable, so they jointly prepared a generous fee and invited a geomancer to select another site. Every time a location was proposed, they insisted on a map being drawn for the two sisters-in-law to examine and decide whether it was acceptable. Several maps were brought each day, but all were found fault with and rejected. After more than ten days, a single plot was finally chosen. When the elder sister-in-law saw the map, she exclaimed with joy, "This one will do." She showed it to the younger sister-in-law, who said, "This place will ensure that our family produces a military graduate first." So Song Junchu was buried there. Three years later, Song Junchu's eldest grandson indeed passed the provincial military examination and became a military juren.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: Master Qingwu's art of geomancy may indeed hold some truth, but to become obsessed with it and blindly believe is to sink into folly. How much worse when one, driven by anger and rivalry, leaves a coffin abandoned by the roadside, neglecting even the principles of filial piety and fraternal duty—how can one then hope to secure blessings for one's descendants through the feng shui of a grave? The conduct of these two sisters-in-law within the women's quarters is truly worthy of being passed down.
Commentary
Because Pu Songling was naturally curious and romantic, and his tales required narrative appeal and legendary quality, there are many folk legends about geomancy in the stories of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, such as The Sisters' Marriage Exchange and Marquis of Yangwu. Even in this piece, where he mocks the art of geomancy, he still concludes the story by saying, "Three years after the burial, the eldest grandson of the lord indeed passed the military examination at the county school," and in the "Historian of the Strange says" section, he remarks, "The art of the Black Crow may have some truth to it." However, this does not represent Pu Songling's formal stance on geomancy. His true position on the matter is expressed in his work Common Words for Daily Use, where he writes: "The art of fengshui has been passed down since ancient times, and its mysterious words are worth hearing." "Only nobles and ministers come to inspect burial grounds; when have nobles and ministers ever been seen visiting graves? When a good man happens to see his sons and grandsons rise to honor, the geomancers boast that the veins of the earth are blessed." "In ancient times, people buried their dead within three months of mourning, and should not trust the geomancers' claim that bones must be long delayed."