Original Text
The Prince of Lu in Huaiqing Prefecture was dissolute and debauched. He often went among the people, and upon seeing a beautiful woman, would seize her and take her by force. There was a man named Wang whose wife was spotted by the Prince of Lu, who then sent carriages and horses directly into Wang's home. The woman wept and refused to submit, but was forcibly carried away. Wang escaped and hid near the tomb of Nie Zheng, hoping that as his wife passed by, he could bid her a distant farewell. Soon, his wife approached, and seeing her husband, she wailed and fell to the ground. Wang, overcome with grief, could not help but cry out loud. The servants, recognizing him as Wang, seized him and prepared to beat him severely. Suddenly, a man emerged from the tomb, gripping a steel blade, his demeanor fierce and imposing, and thundered, "I am Nie Zheng! How dare you seize a virtuous woman! Considering you act under orders, I will spare you for now. Convey this message to the lawless Prince of Lu: If he does not reform his evil ways, his head will soon be severed!" The terrified servants abandoned the carriage and fled, and the man re-entered the tomb and vanished. The husband and wife kowtowed in gratitude at Nie Zheng's tomb before returning home, still fearing that the Prince of Lu's orders might come again. After more than ten days passed with no further word, their hearts finally settled. From then on, the Prince of Lu's tyranny was somewhat restrained.
The Chronicler of the Strange says: When I read the "Biographies of Assassins" in the Records of the Grand Historian, I admire only Nie Zheng. He risked his life to repay the kindness of one who understood him, possessing the righteousness of Yu Rang; in broad daylight he dared to assassinate the Han prime minister Xia Lei, showing the bravery of Zhuan Zhu; before his death he mutilated his own face to avoid implicating his flesh and blood, displaying the wisdom of Cao Mo. As for Jing Ke, his strength was insufficient to murder the tyrannical King of Qin, allowing him to tear his sleeve and flee, while Jing Ke himself met his doom. He rashly borrowed the head of General Fan—when could it ever be repaid? This is an eternal regret, and a matter for Nie Zheng's scorn. I have heard from unofficial histories that Jing Ke's grave was dug open by the ghosts of Yang Jiao'ai and Zuo Botao. If this is true, then Jing Ke achieved no fame in life and lost his righteousness after death. Compare this with Nie Zheng's righteous wrath in punishing depravity—how do the worthy and the unworthy reflect upon themselves? Alas! Nie Zheng's virtue is thereby all the more confirmed beyond doubt.
Commentary
Whether Nie Zheng has a tomb, whether there is a corpse within that tomb, and whether a corpse from a thousand years past can revive and manifest its spirit—these are matters of historical mystery that cannot be deeply probed, nor need they be. The world is full of injustices, yet why did Nie Zheng react so fiercely only to the tyranny of the Prince of Lu? This tale merely borrows the revival and spectral manifestation of Nie Zheng to intimidate and halt the infamous atrocity of the late Ming Prince of Lu, who forcibly seized a commoner's daughter, thus expressing Pu Songling's view, as recorded in the "Biographies of Assassins" in the Records of the Grand Historian, that he esteemed Nie Zheng while belittling Jing Ke. This reading experience likely held universal appeal among the scholar-officials who perused the Records of the Grand Historian, otherwise the story of Zuo Botao and Yang Jiao'ai joining forces to combat the fierce ghost of Jing Ke would not have arisen.