Original Text
In Pingcheng County there lived a scholar named Leng, who in his youth was exceedingly dull-witted, unable to master even a single classic by the time he was over twenty. Suddenly a fox came to dwell with him intimately, and every night they were heard conversing until dawn; though his brothers pressed him, he would not reveal a word. After many days, he suddenly lost his senses: whenever he took up a topic to compose an essay, he would shut the door and sit in silence, only to burst into loud laughter shortly after. Peeping in, one saw his hand never ceasing from the brush, and in a moment a complete eight-legged essay was finished. Upon reading it, the thoughts were found to be exquisite and profound. That year he entered the county school, and the next year he became a stipendiary student. Whenever he entered the examination hall, he would laugh loudly, his laughter echoing throughout the hall, and thus the nickname "Laughing Scholar" became widely known. Fortunately, the examining official had left the hall to rest elsewhere and did not hear it. Later, he encountered a strict examiner who sat upright in the hall all day. Suddenly hearing laughter, the examiner grew very angry, dragged Leng in, and was about to punish him. The attending officer explained on his behalf that he suffered from a mental disorder. The examiner's anger somewhat subsided, and he released him but struck his name from the student rolls. From then on, Leng feigned madness, finding pleasure in poetry and wine. He wrote four volumes of "Madman's Drafts," which were transcendent and unconventional, quite delightful to read.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: A laugh behind closed doors—how is this different from the state of sudden enlightenment cherished by the Buddhists? To produce fine writing after a hearty laugh is itself a joyful affair; why should one be expelled from the academy for such a reason? Was not this examiner utterly absurd!
Scholar Sun Jingxia went to visit a friend. Arriving outside his friend's window, he heard no speech, only a sound of "chichi" laughter, which occurred several times in quick succession. Suspecting that his friend was amusing himself with someone, he entered the room and saw only the man alone inside, which struck him as strange. Only then did his friend burst out laughing and say, "Having nothing better to do, I was just reviewing some jokes in my mind."
In the city there lived a scholar named Gong, who kept a donkey of exceedingly stubborn and clumsy disposition. Whenever he encountered a pedestrian on the road, he would just have time to clasp his hands from the saddle and apologize, saying, "I am in haste and cannot dismount; pray do not take offense," when, before the words were out of his mouth, the donkey would already lie down flat on the path, and this happened every time without fail. Gong was deeply mortified and angered, so he consulted with his wife, asking her to pretend to be a passerby while he mounted the donkey and rode around the courtyard, bowing to her and reciting the same speech he used on the road. The donkey indeed lay down again, whereupon Gong stabbed it fiercely with a sharp awl. Just then a friend came to call and, as he was about to knock, heard Gong inside saying, "I am in haste and cannot dismount; pray do not take offense." A moment later he heard the same words again. Greatly puzzled, the friend knocked and asked the reason, and Gong told him the truth, whereupon both burst into hearty laughter.
These two tales may be appended to the story of Leng Sheng and passed down together.
Commentary
The case of Leng Sheng is a phenomenon that Pu Songling observed during his long career in education. First, it questions whether there exists in the process of education a sudden enlightenment akin to that spoken of in Buddhism, as Zhu Xi once chanted: 'Last night, spring waters rose along the riverbank; the mighty warship felt as light as a feather. In the past, all efforts to push it were in vain; today, it drifts freely in the current.' Pu Songling clearly acknowledged this phenomenon of sudden enlightenment. Second, it asks whether education should tolerate individuality and allow for the freedom of innate nature; Pu Songling was evidently broad-minded and enlightened, advocating for the breaking of rigid conventions.