Original Text
There was a gentleman named Liu from Shaanxi, who once served as the magistrate of Xinghua County. A Taoist priest presented him with a potted tree; upon inspection, it was a tangerine tree as slender as a finger, and he declined to accept it. Liu had a young daughter, then only six or seven years old, who happened to be celebrating her birthday. The priest said, "This is not worthy of your honor's appreciation, but I offer it as a birthday gift for the young miss." Liu then accepted it. The girl, upon seeing it, was overjoyed and placed it in her chamber, tending to it with great care morning and evening, fearing lest the little tree should suffer harm. When Liu's term of office ended, the tangerine tree had grown to the thickness of a man's arm, and that year it bore its first fruit. As Liu prepared to pack up and depart, deeming the tree too heavy and cumbersome, he intended to abandon it. The girl clung to the tree and wept bitterly. Her family deceived her, saying, "We are only leaving temporarily and shall return soon." Believing this, she ceased her crying. Yet fearing that some strong person might carry the tree away, she watched as the family planted it beneath the steps, and only then did the entire household depart.
The girl returned to her hometown and was later betrothed to the Zhuang family as a bride. Master Zhuang passed the imperial examinations in the Bingxu year and was appointed magistrate of Xinghua County. The lady was overjoyed, thinking that more than a decade had passed and the tangerine tree must have perished. Upon arriving in Xinghua, she found the tree had grown to the size of a man's embrace, laden with fruit numbering in the thousands. Inquiring of the former yamen runners, they all said, "Since Lord Liu departed, the tree has flourished but never borne fruit; this is its first harvest." All were even more astonished. Magistrate Zhuang served in Xinghua for three years, and each year the tangerine tree yielded abundant fruit. In the fourth year, the tree withered and did not blossom. Lady Zhuang said to her husband, "Your tenure here will not last much longer." By autumn, he was indeed relieved of his post.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: Could it be that the orange tree had a predestined bond with the maiden Liu? How else could such coincidences occur! The tree bearing fruit seemed to express gratitude, while its refusal to bloom appeared to mourn their parting. Even plants and trees behave thus—how much more so for human beings?
Commentary
This passage is a reflection inspired by the legend of the tangerine tree. The words in "The Historian of the Strange remarks" are clearly derived from the phrase in "A New Account of the Tales of the World" that says, "If even things are thus, how much more so for men?" However, in "A New Account of the Tales of the World," the great changes in the willow tree evoke a lament over how quickly life passes and youth never returns; whereas Pu Songling, through the tangerine tree's empathetic response to the daughter of Lord Liu, contemplates humanity's longing for and reaction to a kindred spirit, and suggests that the intensity of such feelings must far surpass that of the tangerine tree.