Original Text
Feng Yunting was a native of Taihang. He happened to travel to the county seat and rested in his lodging during the day. Feng, then young and recently widowed, felt lonely and desolate, his thoughts drifting into tender melancholy. As he stared absently at the wall, he noticed the shadow of a woman, faintly resembling a painting, and thought it was a hallucination born of excessive longing. But after a long while, the shadow neither moved nor faded, and Feng found it strange. He stood up to look, and the woman's form became clearer; drawing closer, he saw it was a young girl, her face sorrowful, her tongue protruding, and a rope looped around her delicate neck. Feng stared in shock, and the woman seemed about to step down from the wall. Knowing she was a ghost who had hanged herself, but emboldened by the daylight, he was not overly afraid and said to her, "Young lady, if you have some grievous injustice, I can do my utmost to help you." The shadow on the wall actually descended and said, "We meet by chance like floating duckweed, how dare I rashly trouble you with a great matter? Yet my remains in the underworld cannot retract my tongue, nor remove the rope from my neck. I beg you to break and burn this beam, and your kindness will be as heavy as a mountain." Feng promised her, and the woman vanished at once. Feng summoned the landlord and told him what he had seen, asking about the matter. The landlord said, "This house was the Mei family's residence ten years ago. One night, a thief broke in and was caught by the Meis, who sent him to the magistrate's office for the jailer to handle. The jailer accepted a bribe of three hundred coins from the thief and falsely accused the Mei daughter of adultery with the thief, intending to bring her to court for interrogation. Upon hearing this, the Mei girl hanged herself. Later, her parents died one after another, and the house came into my possession. Guests often see strange things, but there is no way to dispel them." Feng told the landlord what the ghost had said. They discussed dismantling the house and replacing the beam, but hesitated due to the high cost, so Feng contributed money and effort to help with the reconstruction.
After the reconstruction, Feng Yunting still resided in this room. One night, the plum spirit came again. After expressing her gratitude, her face was filled with joy and her demeanor was enchanting. Feng Yunting was deeply fond of her and wished to share a bed with her. The plum spirit said with shame, "If I were to unite with you now, not only would my gloomy yin aura harm you, but such an act would also wash away the humiliation I suffered in life, which even the waters of the Western River could not cleanse. Our union has its destined time, and it is not yet." Feng Yunting asked, "When will that be?" The plum spirit smiled but did not answer. He then asked, "Would you like some wine?" She replied, "I do not drink." Feng Yunting said, "Facing a beauty, staring with dull eyes—what pleasure is there in that?" The plum spirit said, "In my life, the only game I knew was 'playing at horses.' But playing it with two people is too dull, and it is too late at night to find a chessboard. Now, with this long night and nothing to pass the time, let us play the game of string figures." Feng Yunting agreed. They sat knee to knee, raised their fingers, and began to twist the string. After a long while, they created many intricate patterns. Feng Yunting grew puzzled and did not know how to proceed. The plum spirit explained while using her chin to guide him, and the patterns grew ever more wondrous and varied. Feng Yunting laughed and said, "This is the ultimate skill of the boudoir." The plum spirit said, "I devised this myself. With just two strings, one can create countless patterns; people simply do not study it carefully." As the night deepened, both grew weary. Feng Yunting insisted that she sleep with him, but the plum spirit said, "We in the underworld do not sleep. Please rest yourself. I know a little of massage and wish to use my skill to help you into dreamland." Feng Yunting agreed. She placed her hands together and gently massaged him, from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. Wherever her hands passed, his bones felt as if they had melted into comfort. Then she clenched her fists and lightly tapped him, as if striking a ball of cotton, bringing an indescribable ease throughout his body. When she reached his waist, Feng Yunting could barely keep his eyes open or his mouth from slackening. When she tapped his thighs, he fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke, it was nearly noon. He felt his joints light and relaxed, utterly different from before. His heart grew even fonder of the plum spirit, and he called out to her as he circled the room, but there was no answer.
When the sun set behind the mountains, Plum Blossom Maiden finally arrived. Feng Yunting asked, "Where do you dwell, that I must call out to you so?" She replied, "Ghosts have no fixed abode; most reside beneath the earth." Feng said, "Is there a crevice in the ground to accommodate you?" She answered, "Ghosts cannot see the earth, just as fish cannot see water." Feng grasped her wrist and said, "If you could be reborn, I would bankrupt my family to marry you." She smiled and said, "There is no need to bankrupt your family." They chatted and laughed until midnight, when Feng earnestly begged her to share his bed. She said, "Do not pester me. There is a courtesan from Zhejiang named Loving Qing who has just taken up residence to my north; she is quite charming. Tomorrow night, let her come with me to take my place and keep you company—what say you?" Feng agreed. The next evening, a young woman indeed arrived with Plum Blossom Maiden, about thirty years old, with roving eyes and a hint of frivolity in her manner. The three sat together intimately, playing the game of beating the horse. When the game ended, Plum Blossom Maiden rose and said, "Our delightful meeting is at its peak, but I must take my leave for now." Feng tried to detain her, but she vanished like a wisp of smoke. Feng then went to bed with Loving Qing, and they indulged in the utmost pleasures of love. Feng asked about her background, but she was evasive and would not say, merely stating, "If you, my lord, take a fancy to me, just tap the north wall with your finger and softly call 'Gourd Seed,' and I will come at once. If you call three times and I do not appear, it means I am occupied, and you should call no more." At dawn, she departed through a crack in the north wall. The next day, Plum Blossom Maiden came. Feng inquired about Loving Qing, and she said, "She was summoned by Young Master Gao to accompany him at a feast, so she could not come." They talked by lamplight. Plum Blossom Maiden seemed on the verge of speaking, her lips parting only to stop. Feng pressed her repeatedly, but she would not say, merely sighing softly. Feng did his utmost to jest and frolic with her, and only after the fourth watch did she leave. From then on, Plum Blossom Maiden and Loving Qing frequently visited Feng's dwelling, their laughter echoing through the night until dawn, so that all in the city came to know of it.
In the yamen there was a magistrate's clerk, also from a distinguished family of Zhejiang. His wife had committed adultery with a servant and was divorced and sent back to her family. He then married a woman named Gu, and they were deeply in love, but unexpectedly she died after just one month, and the clerk mourned her greatly. Hearing that Feng Yunting's house harbored a spirit medium, he wished to inquire whether he could reunite with Gu in the underworld, so he rode his horse to visit Feng Yunting. At first, Feng Yunting wanted nothing to do with his affair, but the clerk pleaded incessantly. Feng Yunting then set out wine and invited him to sit, promising to summon the ghostly courtesan. At dusk, Feng Yunting knocked on the north wall and called out, and before the third call, Aiqing entered. When Aiqing looked up and saw the clerk, her face instantly changed, and she turned to leave, but Feng Yunting quickly blocked her with his body. The clerk stared intently, flew into a rage, seized a large bowl, and hurled it at Aiqing, who vanished in an instant. Feng Yunting was greatly startled, not knowing the reason, and was about to ask, when from the dark chamber emerged an old woman, who cursed the clerk loudly, saying, "You greedy, despicable rogue! You have ruined my family's money tree! You must pay me thirty strings of cash in compensation!" With the staff in her hand, she struck the clerk on the head. The clerk clutched his head in pain and cried out, "This woman is Gu, my wife! She died very young, and I was grieving beyond measure. I never thought she would become a ghost and lose her chastity. What business is this of yours, old woman?" The old woman fumed, "You are nothing but a scoundrel from Zhejiang, who bought a petty official post and now struts about with your nose in the air! When you hold office, do you distinguish right from wrong? With three hundred cash in your sleeve, you call any man your father! You have incurred the wrath of gods and men, and your death is near at hand. Your parents begged the King of Hell on your behalf, willing to offer their beloved daughter-in-law to a brothel to repay your debts of greed—do you not know this?" With that, she struck him again with her staff. The clerk howled in agony. Feng Yunting, utterly astonished and unable to intervene, saw Meiniu emerge from the room. She glared, stuck out her tongue, her face turning terrifyingly pale, and approached the clerk, piercing his ear with a long hairpin. Feng Yunting was horrified and shielded the clerk with his body, but Meiniu was furious beyond measure. Feng Yunting pleaded with her, "Even if he is guilty, if he dies in my lodging, the blame will fall on me. Spare the rat for the sake of the vase—please think of me." Only then did Meiniu pull the old woman back, saying, "Let him keep his life for now, for my sake, so as not to implicate Feng." At that moment, the clerk fled in panic, covering his head. When he returned to the yamen, he suffered from an unbearable headache and died by midnight.
On the second night, Meiniu emerged with a smile and said, "How delightful! This long-suppressed anger has finally been vented!" Feng Yunting asked, "What grievance did you have with him?" Meiniu replied, "As I told you before, the magistrate accepted bribes and falsely accused me of adultery, and I have harbored this resentment for a long time. I often thought of asking you to help clear my name, but I felt ashamed that I had done nothing to benefit you, so I hesitated to speak. By chance, I heard the commotion in your room and secretly listened and watched, never expecting that it was my very enemy." Feng Yunting exclaimed in surprise, "So this is the man who framed you?" Meiniu said, "He has served as a minor official here for eighteen years, and I have been dead from injustice for sixteen winters and summers." Feng Yunting then asked, "Who was that old woman?" Meiniu answered, "She was an old procuress." Feng Yunting inquired about Aiqing, and Meiniu said, "She is ill." Meiniu smiled charmingly and said, "I once told you that our meeting was destined, and now it is truly not far off. You once said you would spend your entire fortune to marry me—do you remember?" Feng Yunting replied, "Even today, that is still my wish." Meiniu said, "Let me tell you the truth: on the day I died, I was reborn into the family of Zhan Xiaolian in Yan'an. But because my grievance was unavenged, I have lingered here until now. Please make a silk bag for a ghost, so that I may follow you. When you go to the Zhan family to propose marriage, it will surely be accepted with a single word." Feng Yunting worried that the disparity in status between himself and the Zhan family might lead to failure. Meiniu said, "Go without fear, and do not worry." Feng Yunting heeded her words. Meiniu instructed, "On the road, you must not call out to me. On the wedding night, hang this bag containing my ghostly soul over the bride's head and urgently cry out, 'Do not forget! Do not forget!'" Feng Yunting remembered this. As soon as he opened the bag, Meiniu leaped into it.
Feng Yunting, carrying a cloth sack, journeyed to Yan'an. Upon inquiry, he indeed found a man named Zhan Xiaolian, who had a daughter of remarkable beauty but afflicted with dementia; she would often extend her tongue beyond her lips, panting like a dog in summer heat. Though sixteen years old, no one had come to propose marriage, and her parents were so distressed they fell ill. Feng Yunting presented his card at the Zhan family gate, and upon meeting, introduced his lineage. Returning, he sent a matchmaker to propose. Zhan Xiaolian, overjoyed, accepted Feng as a son-in-law. The Zhan girl's dementia was severe; she knew no decorum, and the family had two maids escort her to the bridal chamber. When the maids left, she unbuttoned her robe, baring her bosom, and grinned foolishly at Feng. Feng placed the sack containing the ghost of Plum Maiden over her head, chanting, "Forget not, forget not." The girl stared intently at Feng, as if pondering something. Feng smiled and said, "Do you not recognize me?" He lifted the sack for her to see. She then understood, quickly covered her garment, and the two chatted and laughed joyfully. The next morning, Feng went to pay respects to his father-in-law. Zhan Xiaolian consoled him, saying, "My foolish daughter knows nothing; since you have deigned to accept her, if you wish, there are many clever maids in the house, and I will not begrudge giving them to you." Feng vehemently denied that the girl was demented, leaving Zhan puzzled. Shortly after, the girl appeared, her demeanor entirely proper, astonishing Zhan greatly. She merely smiled behind her hand. When Zhan pressed her with questions, she hesitated, too shy to speak, so Feng recounted the general story. Zhan was overjoyed and cherished his daughter even more. He had his son, Zhan Dacheng, study with his son-in-law, providing ample provisions. After over a year, Zhan Dacheng grew somewhat weary of Feng, and the two brothers-in-law became increasingly discordant; the servants also found fault with Feng, gossiping endlessly. Zhan Xiaolian, heeding these slanders, treated Feng less kindly than before. The Zhan girl, perceiving this, said to Feng, "One cannot long dwell in a father-in-law's house; those who do are always held in low esteem. Before the rift becomes open, we should quickly return home." Feng agreed with her wisdom and told Zhan Xiaolian of his intent to take his wife home. Zhan wished to keep his daughter, but she refused. The Zhan father and son, greatly angered, provided no carriage or horses. The girl used her own dowry to hire a carriage and return. Later, Zhan Xiaolian sent word for his daughter to visit, but she steadfastly refused. Only after Feng passed the provincial examination did the two families resume relations.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: Is it truly human nature that the lower the official rank, the greater the greed? That petty constable, for the sake of three hundred coins, falsely accused another of adultery, utterly losing his conscience. Heaven took away his beautiful wife, and in the underworld made her a courtesan, while the constable himself met a violent death from his own misdeeds. Alas! Such retribution is truly fearsome!
During the Jiazi year of the Kangxi reign, the constable of Beiqiu was the most greedy and cunning, and the common people all deeply resented him. Suddenly his wife was abducted by a swindler. Someone posted a missing person notice on his behalf: "A certain official, through his own carelessness, has lost one wife. She carries nothing with her, only seven feet of red silk, wrapped around a single silver ingot, with upturned edges and fine patterns, without any flaw or damage." This can be considered a small punishment for a man of frivolous character.
Commentary
This story weaves ghostly events throughout, taking the romance between a human and a spirit as its main plot, yet its true intent lies in condemning and warning against corrupt officials. The county jailer in the tale, having accepted only three hundred coins in bribes from a thief, falsely accused an innocent maiden of unchastity, driving Mei Nü to hang herself from the shame. This so enraged Pu Songling that he arranged in the narrative for the jailer to "lose his virtuous wife, enter a brothel, and ultimately meet a violent death."
According to the appended notes: "The clerk of Beiqiu was the most corrupt and deceitful, and the people all resented him. Suddenly his wife was seduced by a cunning man and fled with him," and so forth. The clerk in "The Plum Maiden" was likely modeled after the clerk of Zichuan County, imbued with a profoundly realistic critical tone. Beiqiu was the name for Zichuan County during the Liu Song dynasty, and only those deeply familiar with historical geography and ancient allusions would understand Pu Songling's intended reference.
Although the political critique in this tale is exceedingly sharp, it is interwoven with the most delicate details of human customs and folkways: the tender and affectionate Mei Nü playing the thread game with Feng Yunheng, giving him a massage, joining the Zhejiang courtesan Ai Qing in the game of horse-racing, and Mei Nü resolutely leaving her natal home with Feng Yunheng—all narrated at a leisurely pace, brimming with human warmth. In the climax of this story, Mei Nü and the old crone chance upon the corrupt constable, and the two of them, with fierce voices and stern countenances, denounce him in turn, the scene eerie and impassioned. These depictions render the tale vivid and substantial, possessing political direction yet far removed from the pitfalls of mere illustration and abstraction.