Original Text
Xu Hongru, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, obtained a heretical book that could command ghosts and spirits. He tried it briefly, and all who witnessed it were astonished, with followers flocking to him like ducks to water. Thus he secretly harbored rebellious intentions. He produced a mirror, claiming it could reveal one's entire life. Hanging it in the courtyard, he let people look into it themselves; some saw themselves in a turban, some in a gauze hat, others in embroidered robes with a sable-tail ornament on their official cap, each image different. People grew even more amazed. News spread swiftly, and those seeking to view the mirror came in an endless stream, their sweat falling like rain. Xu Hongru then declared, "All who see themselves as civil or military officials in the mirror are those destined by the Tathagata for the Dragon Flower Assembly. You must strive and not retreat." He then looked into the mirror himself, and it showed him wearing a crown with tassels and a dragon-embroidered robe, appearing as a veritable emperor. Everyone looked at each other in shock, then knelt and prostrated themselves. Thus Xu Hongru raised a banner and brandished a battle-axe, proclaiming himself king, and the people joyfully leaped to follow him, hoping to match the image in the mirror. Within a few months, he gathered tens of thousands of followers, and the people of Teng County and Yi County were all awed and submissive to his power. Later, the imperial court sent a great army to suppress him. A certain Adjutant Peng, a man from Changshan, was exceptionally brave and skilled in martial arts. The White Lotus Sect sent two young female warriors to meet him in battle. Both wielded double swords, sharp as frost, riding large horses that snorted and neighed fiercely. The three clashed on horseback, darting back and forth from morning till evening, but the women could not wound Adjutant Peng, nor could he defeat them. After three days of bitter struggle, Adjutant Peng, exhausted, died of asthma. When Xu Hongru was later executed and his followers interrogated, it was learned that the women's swords were made of wood and their horses were wooden stools. To have a real general slain by false soldiers and horses—truly a strange affair.
Commentary
The White Lotus Sect is a folk religious organization with a very long history in China, having instigated numerous popular uprisings that were repeatedly suppressed. Whether regarding its emergence as a religion or the occurrence of its rebellions, the causes are exceedingly complex.
The rebellion led by Xu Hongru's White Lotus Sect occurred in the second year of the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty (1622), not far from Pu Songling's time, and mainly took place in the Shandong region, so it is frequently mentioned in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. This narrative reveals the reasons for the rise of the White Lotus Sect and the secrets of their combat equipment; although it is merely hearsay, it also reflects the views of Shandong literati toward the sect at that time. The battle scenes described at the end of the tale are concise yet ethereal and vivid. Yu Tang praised it, saying: "The events are indeed strange and bizarre, and the writing is equally fantastical."