Original Text
In Ju County there lived two brothers surnamed Shang, the elder wealthy and the younger poor, their homes separated only by a wall. During the Kangxi reign, a great famine struck, and the younger brother's family was so destitute they could not even obtain food. One day, nearing noon, the second son Shang had not yet prepared a meal; he paced about in hunger, utterly helpless. His wife urged him to go beg from his elder brother, but Shang said, "It is useless. If our elder brother had pity on our poverty, he would have found a way to help us long ago." His wife insisted, so he sent their son instead. Soon the boy returned empty-handed. Shang said, "What did I tell you!" His wife then pressed the child to recount what his uncle had said. The boy replied, "Uncle hesitated, his eyes fixed on Aunt, who said to me, 'Brothers have already divided the household; each must eat from his own pot. Who can look after whom?'" Hearing this, Shang and his wife fell silent, and for the time being, they traded some worn-out household items for chaff and husks to eat.
In the village, there were three or four ruffians who, seeing that Elder Shang had wealth, climbed over the wall into his courtyard one night. Elder Shang and his wife were startled from their dreams and hastily beat on a basin, crying out loudly. The neighbors, all envious of them, did not come to their aid. Forced to it, they hurriedly called for Younger Shang. When Younger Shang heard his sister-in-law's cries for help, he wished to go rescue them. His wife stopped him, forbidding him to go, and shouted loudly to the sister-in-law, "The brothers have already divided the household; each bears his own calamities—who cares for whom anymore!" Shortly after, the bandits broke down Elder Shang's door, bound him and his wife, and used red-hot irons to brand them, so that the couple's screams were most pitiful. Younger Shang said, "They are indeed heartless, but we cannot sit by and watch our brother die without rescue!" So he led his son and leaped over the wall, shouting loudly. Younger Shang and his son were naturally brave and strong, and the people held them in awe; the thieves, fearing that they might summon others to help, all fled. When Younger Shang looked upon his elder brother and sister-in-law, both their legs were scorched black; he helped them onto the bed, summoned the maids and servants back, and then returned home.
Although Elder Shang was injured, his property suffered no loss. He said to his wife, "The wealth that remains now was preserved entirely thanks to my younger brother; I should give him a share." His wife replied, "If you had a good brother, you would not have endured such hardship!" Elder Shang then fell silent. Younger Shang's family had run out of food, and he thought that this time his elder brother would surely repay him, but after a long while, there was no sign of it. Younger Shang's wife could not wait any longer and sent their son with a sack to Elder Shang's house to borrow grain; the son brought back a peck of millet. Younger Shang's wife, finding it too little, grew angry and wanted to return it, but Younger Shang stopped her. After two months, Younger Shang's family could no longer bear their hunger. Younger Shang said, "Now there is no other way to make a living; we might as well sell the house to our elder brother. If my brother fears my leaving him far away, perhaps he will not take our deed and might still help us. Even if not, we could get a dozen silver taels and manage to survive." His wife thought this very reasonable and sent their son with the deed to see Elder Shang. Elder Shang told his wife about this and said, "Even if my younger brother is not good, he is still my own flesh and blood. If he leaves, we will be isolated; it would be better to return the deed to him and give him some money to help." His wife said, "What you say is wrong. His talk of leaving is actually a threat; if we do as you suggest, we will fall right into his trap. Do people without brothers all die? We can build our walls high and high enough to defend ourselves. It would be better to keep his deed, let him go elsewhere, and thus expand our own residence." Having settled the matter, they had Younger Shang affix his seal to the deed, paid him the house money, and sent him on his way. Younger Shang then moved to a neighboring village.
It turned out that the lawless ruffians in the village, upon hearing that Second Brother Shang had moved away, once again broke into the home of Elder Brother Shang. They bound Elder Brother Shang, beat and flogged him, subjecting him to all manner of tortures, a most pitiful sight, and all the money in the house was given to them to ransom his life. As the bandits departed, they opened the granary and summoned the poor villagers to take whatever they wished, and in an instant, all the grain was carried off. The next day, Second Brother Shang only then learned of this and rushed to see, finding his brother already senseless and unable to speak; he opened his eyes and looked at his younger brother, merely clawing at the bed mat with his hands. Before long, he died. Second Brother Shang, enraged, brought a complaint to the county magistrate. The chief bandit had already fled and could not be apprehended. Over a hundred villagers who had taken the rice were all poor folk from the village, and the authorities could do nothing about it. Elder Brother Shang left behind a son only five years old, and the family was now destitute; the child often ran to his uncle's house on his own, staying for several days and refusing to return, and when they tried to send him away, he would cry without stopping. Second Brother Shang's wife showed no kindness in her expression. Second Brother Shang said, "His father was unrighteous, but what crime has the son committed?" So he bought several steamed cakes and personally took the child back. A few days later, again avoiding his wife, he secretly carried a load of rice to his sister-in-law, to help her raise the child. This became a regular practice. After several more years, Elder Brother Shang's family had sold all their fields and houses, and Elder Brother Shang's wife had enough money from the sale to support herself, so Second Brother Shang ceased going to his elder brother's home.
In a later year, famine struck again, and the roads were often strewn with the bodies of those who had starved to death. Merchant Second's household had also grown larger, leaving him unable to care for others. Merchant First's son, now fifteen years old, was frail and unable to take up any trade, so he was sent to carry a basket and follow his uncle's son in selling sesame cakes. One night, Merchant Second dreamed that his elder brother came to him, his face sorrowful, and said, "I heeded your sister-in-law's words wrongly, and thus lost the bond of brotherhood. You, younger brother, bore no grudge, which truly shames me. That old house we sold still stands vacant; go quickly and rent it to move in. Beneath the grass clump behind the house, some money is hidden; dig it up, and you may gain modest wealth. Let my worthless son follow you, but as for that gossipy woman, I detest her deeply—do not concern yourself with her." Merchant Second awoke, finding it strange. He offered a high price to the landlord to rent the house, and only after moving in did he indeed dig up five hundred taels of silver. From then on, he no longer had his son and nephew sell cakes, but instead had the brothers open a shop on the street. The nephew was very clever, keeping accounts and calculating sums without error, and was also honest and cautious; whenever money came or went, he reported even a single coin to his uncle. Merchant Second grew even fonder of the nephew. One day, the nephew tearfully begged his uncle to give his mother a little grain. Merchant Second's wife was unwilling, but Merchant Second, seeing the nephew's filial piety, granted his sister-in-law a monthly allowance of money and grain. After several years, Merchant Second's family became even wealthier. When Merchant First's wife died of illness, Merchant Second, now aged, divided the property with his nephew, giving him half of the family fortune.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: I have heard that Merchant Elder would neither lightly accept nor give away a single coin, and he was indeed a man of self-restraint. Yet he blindly obeyed his wife's words, remained muddled and silent, showed cold indifference to his own flesh and blood, and ultimately perished due to his miserliness. Alas! What is there to wonder at in this! Merchant Second began in poverty but later attained wealth and honor. What virtue did he possess? Only that he did not blindly follow his wife's words. Alas! Though their actions differed, the measure of their character was far apart.
Commentary
The tale illustrates the importance of fraternal bonds through the shifting fortunes of two brothers, rich and poor. In China's feudal society, a patriarchal clan system based on male bloodlines emphasized kinship ties. The "Book of Songs" in the poem "Tang Di" says: "The cherry blossom blooms, radiant and bright; among all people, none are like brothers. In the face of death and danger, brothers deeply care; on the plains and marshes, brothers seek each other out. The wagtails on the moor, brothers rush to aid; though friends may be good, they only sigh. Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but unite against outside foes; though friends may be many, they offer no real help." In Confucian thought, a wife is essentially of a different surname, hence the saying in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms": "Brothers are like limbs, wives like garments; garments may be mended when torn, but limbs once severed cannot be rejoined."
When reading this tale, two points merit attention. First, Pu Songling does not suggest that a wife's words should never be heeded, but rather that they should not be followed entirely—there is a sense of proportion in "not strictly obeying the inner chambers' counsel." Second, the wives of the elder and younger merchants are alike in prioritizing their own small family interests while disregarding fraternal bonds; the only difference is that one acts openly and the other covertly, one appears earlier and the other later, and the younger merchant's wife's "inner chambers' counsel" is less conspicuous, easily overlooked because the younger merchant himself takes the lead.