Original Text
Liu Zhongkan, a native of Luoyang, was dull-witted from childhood but exceptionally fond of reading, often shutting himself in to study diligently, never associating with others. One day, as he was reading, he suddenly noticed the room filled with a strange, exquisite fragrance, and soon after heard the tinkling of jade pendants and other ornaments. Startled, Liu looked up and saw a beautiful woman entering, her hairpins and earrings shimmering with dazzling light, and her attendants all dressed in palace attire. Liu hastily prostrated himself on the ground, but the woman stepped forward and helped him up, saying, "How is it that you were so arrogant before and now are so respectful?" Liu, even more terrified, replied, "Who are you, a celestial being from some realm? I have never had the honor of meeting you before. When did I ever show you disrespect?" The woman smiled and said, "How short a time has passed since we parted, and you are already so muddled! Was it not you who sat bolt upright, grinding bricks?" She then spread out embroidered silk bedding, set out fine wine, and drew Liu to sit with her, drinking and discussing matters ancient and modern, her knowledge vast and profound. Liu, utterly bewildered, knew not how to respond. The woman said, "I have only once attended a feast at the Jasper Pool; you have passed through several lifetimes, and all your wits have fled!" She ordered her attendants to stew a crystal paste for Liu to drink. After drinking it, he suddenly felt his mind become clear and lucid. Soon night fell, and the attendants departed, leaving only the two of them. They extinguished the lamp, undressed, and lay together, finding great joy. Before dawn, the palace maids returned. The woman rose and dressed herself exactly as before, her hair not a strand out of place, needing no re-combing. Liu, reluctant to part, pressed her for her name. The woman replied, "It would not harm to tell you, sir, but I fear it would only add to your doubts. I am none other than Lady Zhen, and you are the reincarnation of Liu Gonggan. In times past, you suffered because of me, and my heart could not bear it. Today's meeting is to repay your devotion." Liu asked, "Where is Emperor Wen of Wei?" Lady Zhen said, "Cao Pi was but a worthless son of his villainous father. I merely played for a few years among those wealthy and noble ones, and afterward gave them no more thought. Cao Pi, because of his father Cao Cao's deeds, has long been detained in the underworld; his present state is unknown. As for Prince Chen, Cao Zhi, he manages documents for the Supreme Deity and is occasionally seen." Then Liu saw a dragon-drawn carriage stop in the courtyard. Lady Zhen gave him a jade fat box, bid him farewell, mounted the carriage, and rode away on the clouds.
From that point forward, Liu Zhongkan's literary talent greatly improved. Yet he spent his days yearning for the beautiful woman, lost in deep contemplation as if struck senseless, and within a few months his body grew increasingly frail. His mother, unaware of the cause, was deeply troubled. An old maidservant in the household suddenly said to Liu Zhongkan, "Is the young master pining for someone in his heart?" Liu Zhongkan, startled that she had divined his thoughts, confessed the matter to her. The old maidservant said, "The young master might try writing a letter; I can deliver it for you." Liu Zhongkan, both surprised and delighted, replied, "You possess divine arts, which I never realized before. If you can truly accomplish this, I shall never forget your kindness." So he wrote a letter, folded it, and handed it to the old maidservant, who set off immediately. By midnight, she returned and said, "Fortunately, there was no mishap. When I first arrived at the gate, the guard mistook me for a demon and tried to bind me. Then I presented the young master's letter, and he took it inside. Shortly after, I was summoned in, and the lady sighed unceasingly, saying we could not meet again, and wished to write a reply. I said, 'The young master is terribly emaciated; a mere letter will not cure him.' The lady pondered for a long while, then set down her brush and said, 'Trouble you to go back and tell Master Liu: I shall soon send him a fine wife.' As I was leaving, the lady further instructed me, saying, 'What I just said was for the sake of long-term plans; as long as it is not divulged, we may be together forever.'" Liu Zhongkan waited joyfully.
The next day, an old woman indeed arrived at the dwelling of Liu Zhongkan's mother, leading a young girl of peerless beauty. The old woman introduced herself as a widow of the Chen family, and the girl as her daughter, named Sixiang, whom she wished to betroth to Liu's household. Liu's mother was greatly taken with the girl, and when she spoke of betrothal gifts, the old woman would accept nothing, remaining until the wedding rites were completed before departing. Only Liu Zhongkan knew the secret truth, and he asked Sixiang in private, 'What relation are you to the lady?' Sixiang replied, 'I was a singing girl at the Bronze Sparrow Terrace.' Liu suspected she was a ghost, but Sixiang said, 'I am no ghost. Both the lady and I are listed among the immortals; by chance we committed a fault and were banished to the mortal realm. The lady has already regained her immortal station, but my term is not yet fulfilled. She petitioned the Heavenly Gods to let me serve her temporarily, and my comings and goings are all at her command, thus I may long remain by your side to attend you.' One day, a blind old crone leading a yellow dog came to the Liu house begging, tapping a bamboo clapper and singing vulgar street songs. Sixiang came out to look, but before she could steady herself, the yellow dog broke its rope and lunged to bite. Sixiang fled in terror, her robe torn by the dog's jaws. Liu Zhongkan hastily struck the dog with a staff, but the dog, enraged, tore at the fallen strip of cloth until it was shredded into pieces. The blind crone seized the dog by the scruff, tied it anew with a rope, and led it away. Liu entered the room to see Sixiang, who was still trembling with fright. He asked, 'You are an immortal—how can you fear a dog?' Sixiang replied, 'You do not know: this dog is the reincarnation of Cao Cao. He likely resents that I did not abide by the decree of chastity he left behind in his final command.' Liu wished to buy the dog and beat it to death, but Sixiang forbade it, saying, 'The Heavenly Emperor has punished him by turning him into a dog—how can one presume to kill him?' Two years passed, and all who saw Sixiang marveled at her beauty, but when asked whence she came, her answers were vague and confused, so that many suspected she was a demon. Liu's mother pressed Liu Zhongkan, and he revealed a little of Sixiang's origins. Liu's mother, greatly alarmed, warned her son to sever ties with Sixiang, but Liu would not listen. Secretly, Liu's mother summoned a sorcerer to perform rites in the courtyard. No sooner had he drawn the ritual circle on the ground than Sixiang appeared with a mournful countenance and said, 'I had hoped we would grow old together, but now that my mother-in-law suspects me, our fate is broken. For me to leave is no difficult matter, but I fear it cannot be done by mere incantations!' She then took a bundle of kindling, lit it, and cast it onto the steps. In an instant, thick smoke shrouded the house, so that none could see another, and a sound like thunder shook the air. When the smoke cleared, the sorcerer lay dead, blood oozing from his seven orifices. Liu entered the room to find Sixiang vanished. He called for the old maidservant to inquire, but she too was gone. Liu told his mother, 'The old maidservant was likely a fox spirit.'
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: At first she was wed to the Yuan family, then ultimately to the Cao family, and later she still harbored affections for Liu Gonggan—such conduct is unbefitting an immortal. Yet, speaking impartially, why should the son of the treacherous tyrant Cao Cao, who usurped the Han dynasty, be entitled to a chaste wife? When the yellow dog that Cao Cao became beholds the former singing girls at the Bronze Sparrow Terrace, it should awaken him to the folly of his obsession with making his wives and concubines remain chaste, yet how is it that his jealousy still lingers? Alas! The treacherous tyrant had no leisure to pity himself, yet later generations still pity him!
Commentary
This story weaves together the romantic unions and separations of immortals and mortals, with a plot that is ordinary and characters rather mediocre, yet it elucidates Pu Songling's judgment on the figures and events of the Cao Wei period during the Three Kingdoms. The characters involved include Empress Zhen, Liu Zhen, Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and the Bronze Sparrow Terrace performers. The narrative fabricates emotional entanglements between Empress Zhen, Cao Pi, and Liu Zhen, as well as Cao Cao's deathbed distribution of incense and his lingering attachment to his concubines, all of which intensely express Pu Songling's loathing and hatred for the historical figure Cao Cao. Regarding Cao Cao, aside from the third volume's "The Judge of Hell," the tenth volume's "Cao Cao's Tomb," and this story, the "Quick Tune" in Pu Songling's "Strange Tales in Vernacular Songs" also touches upon him. In his poem "Reading History," he explains the reason for his hatred of Cao Cao: "After the Han, usurpation became habitual, as if from one hand. The Nine Bestowals were eagerly sought, the abdication memorials long prepared. They bestowed upon themselves and then declined, their demeanor utterly vile. Usurpers claimed titles for three generations, their clans exterminated by the hundreds. At the time they felt no remorse, a thousand years later they still make men retch!" This story uses the form of fiction to express the historical sentiment of "At the time they felt no remorse, a thousand years later they still make men retch."