Original Text
Wen Ruchun came from a prominent family in Shaanxi. From childhood, he was fond of playing the zither, and even when traveling and lodging at inns, he never forgot to bring his instrument. Once, on a journey to Shanxi, he passed by an ancient temple. He tied his horse outside and entered the temple to rest. Inside, he saw a Daoist priest in coarse robes sitting in meditation in the corridor, with a bamboo staff leaning against the wall and a cloth bag containing a zither. This stirred Wen Ruchun's passion, so he asked, "Are you also skilled at playing the zither?" The priest replied, "I play but poorly, and I seek a master from whom to learn." He then untied the cloth bag and handed the zither to Wen Ruchun. Upon inspection, Wen saw that the wood grain was exceptionally fine, and when he lightly plucked the strings, the sound was clear and extraordinary. Delighted, Wen played a short tune. The priest smiled faintly, as if unimpressed. Wen then exerted all his skill and played another piece. The priest laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad! But it is still insufficient to be my teacher." Wen, feeling the priest's words were somewhat boastful, handed the zither back and asked him to play. The priest took the zither, placed it on his knee, and as soon as he touched the strings, a gentle breeze began to stir. After a moment, flocks of birds gathered, covering all the trees in the courtyard. Wen was utterly astonished and immediately bowed to the priest as his master, begging to learn the art. The priest taught him three times, and Wen, fully focused and listening intently, gradually grasped the rhythm of the piece. The priest then had him try to play, correcting any discordant notes, and said, "Your skill now has no equal in the mortal world." From then on, Wen refined his technique with even greater diligence, eventually mastering an unparalleled art.
Later, on his way back, when he was still several dozen li from home, night fell and a torrential rain began, leaving him with no place to take shelter. Wen Ruchun spotted a small village by the roadside and hurried over. Without pausing to choose carefully, he saw a gate and rushed inside. Entering the house, he found it silent and empty. After a moment, a young girl emerged, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a beauty that seemed celestial. Lifting her head and seeing the guest, she was startled and turned back inside. Wen Ruchun, who was not yet married, felt an instant attraction to her. Shortly after, an elderly woman came out and asked the guest his purpose. Wen Ruchun gave his name and requested lodging. The old woman said, "Lodging is possible, but we lack a bed. If you do not mind the discomfort, you may sleep on a spread of straw." Before long, she brought a candle and laid straw on the ground, treating him with great warmth. Wen Ruchun asked her surname, and she replied that it was Zhao. He then asked, "Who is that young lady?" The old woman said, "She is Huanniang, my niece." Wen Ruchun said, "I do not fear my own humble and shallow state; I wish to form a marriage alliance with your family. What do you think?" The old woman frowned and said, "I dare not agree to this matter." Wen Ruchun pressed for the reason, but she said it was difficult to explain. He felt a deep sense of loss and had to let it go. After the old woman left, Wen Ruchun saw that the straw laid out was damp and rotten, unfit for sleeping, so he sat upright and played his zither to while away the long night. When the rain stopped, he hastened home, braving the lingering drizzle.
In the county town, there lived a retired vice minister named Ge, who delighted in befriending refined scholars and men of letters. Wen Ruchun happened to visit him one day and, at the host's request, played the zither. At that moment, a female figure was faintly visible behind the door curtain, eavesdropping, when suddenly a gust of wind blew the curtain aside, revealing a maiden of sixteen or seventeen, of surpassing beauty. It turned out that Minister Ge had a daughter, whose pet name was Liangong, skilled in composing poetry and lyrics, and famed for her beauty far and wide. Wen Ruchun's heart stirred with love, and returning home, he told his mother, asking her to send a matchmaker to propose marriage; but Minister Ge, deeming the Wen family's fortunes too humble, refused. However, Liangong, ever since hearing the zither music, had secretly conceived a fondness for Wen Ruchun, often longing to hear his exquisite playing again; but Wen, dejected by the rejection of his suit, never again set foot at the Ge household.
One day, Liang Gong picked up an old letter paper in the garden, upon which was written a lyric to the tune of "Cherishing the Remaining Spring," the words of which read:
From hatred grew obsession, turning thoughts into longing, daily toppled by love's sway. The crabapple, tipsy with bloom; the willow, wounded by spring—both share the same aching heart. How can new sorrows and old griefs, though mowed down, spring back like green grass? Since parting, I dwell only in a realm of helplessness, passing dawn and dusk. Today, my brows are knit with sorrow, my eyes worn out with gazing—I vow to abandon all hope! The fragrant quilt begrudges my dreams, the jade water-clock startles my soul; how can I sleep well? Do not say a long night is like a year; to me, a year is shorter than a watch: after the third watch, three years have passed—who among us can remain young?
Liang Gong recited it several times, greatly admiring the lyric. She tucked the letter into her sleeve and returned to her room, where she took out a sheet of patterned letter paper and copied it neatly, placing it on her desk. After a while, she went to look for it but could not find it, thinking it must have been blown away by the wind. It happened that Master Ge passed by his daughter's chamber door and picked it up, believing it to be a poem composed by Liang Gong. Disgusted by the frivolity of the words, he burned it, unable to bear reproaching his daughter, but hastened to find her a husband. Just then, the son of the Lin Yi Commissioner Liu came to seek a match, and Master Ge deemed the union favorable, though he wished to see the young man himself. Liu's son arrived in splendid attire, his bearing and countenance refined and handsome. Master Ge was greatly pleased and entertained him lavishly. After sitting for a while, Liu's son took his leave, but a woman's shoe was found dropped beneath his seat. Master Ge was instantly repulsed by the young man's frivolity, summoned the matchmaker, and related the matter. Liu's son vehemently denied any involvement, but Master Ge would not listen, and the betrothal was called off.
Originally, the Ge family possessed a rare variety of green chrysanthemums, which they kept secret from outsiders, and Liang Gong cultivated these green chrysanthemums in her own boudoir. In Wen Ruchun's courtyard, one or two chrysanthemum plants suddenly turned green; when friends heard of this, they came to his home to admire them, and Wen Ruchun treasured these green chrysanthemums dearly. One morning, as he went into the courtyard to look, he found beside the flower bed a letter bearing the lyrics of the poem "Cherishing the Remaining Spring." He read it over and over, but could not tell whence the letter had come. Because the character "Spring" was his own name, he grew even more suspicious, and placed it on his desk to annotate it word by word and line by line, his comments somewhat frivolous. Just then, Lord Ge, hearing that Wen's chrysanthemums had turned green, was greatly astonished and came personally to Wen Ruchun's study. Seeing the poem, he took it up to read. Wen Ruchun, feeling his comments were too frivolous, snatched it away and crumpled it into a ball. Lord Ge caught only a line or two, and recognized it as the very poem he had found at his daughter's door; he was deeply perplexed, and even suspected that the green chrysanthemums had been a gift from Liang Gong. Returning home, he told his wife of this and urged her to interrogate Liang Gong. Liang Gong, upon hearing this, wept and threatened to die, but since no one had witnessed the matter, it could not be proven. Fearing that the affair might become known to outsiders, his wife thought it best to marry their daughter to Wen Ruchun. Lord Ge also found this plan agreeable, and so he sent word to Wen Ruchun, who was overjoyed. That very day, he invited guests to a feast of green chrysanthemums, during which he burned incense and played the qin, continuing until late into the night. After retiring, his page boy heard the qin sounding by itself; at first he thought it was another servant playing for amusement, but when he found no one there, he told Wen Ruchun. Wen Ruchun came to listen himself, and indeed it was true. The notes were halting and rough, as if imitating his own playing but not yet mastered. He lit a lamp and rushed into the room, but saw nothing. Wen Ruchun took the qin away, and until dawn it made no sound. He thus surmised that it was a fox, seeking to learn from him as a master, and so each night he played a piece for it, leaving the qin for it to play, like a teacher, and every night he lay in wait to eavesdrop on the music. By the sixth or seventh night, the melody it produced was worthy of being listened to.
After Wen Ruchun married, the couple spoke of past events and thus learned the reason for their union, but they did not know where the poem had come from. Liangong, hearing of the strange matter of the qin playing itself without being touched, went to listen and said, "This is not a fox spirit; the tone is mournful and has a ghostly sound." Wen Ruchun was not quite convinced. Liangong said that her family possessed an ancient mirror that could reveal spirits. The next day, she sent someone to fetch it, and when the qin began to sound, she entered the room holding the mirror and lit a lamp to look. Indeed, there was a woman in the room, who in panic hid in a corner, unable to conceal herself further. Upon close inspection, it was Huan Niang of the Zhao family. Wen Ruchun was greatly startled and pressed her with questions. Huan Niang wept and said, "I acted as your matchmaker—can it be said that I have no kindness toward you? Why do you press me so harshly?" Wen Ruchun had the ancient mirror removed and made an agreement with Huan Niang not to flee, which she accepted. Thus the mirror was put away. Huan Niang sat at a distance and said, "I was the daughter of a prefect, dead now for a hundred years. From childhood, I loved to play the qin and zheng; the zheng I had mastered somewhat, but the qin I never learned properly, and in the underworld I deeply regretted this. When you visited my home, I was able to hear your beautiful qin playing and was filled with admiration. I regretted being a ghost and unable to serve you, so I secretly arranged a suitable match for you to repay your affection. The woman's shoe under Liu Gongzi's seat and the vulgar poem 'Xiyuchun' were both my doing. My gratitude to you as a teacher has been no small effort." Upon hearing this, Wen Ruchun and his wife bowed together in thanks. Huan Niang said, "I have learned more than half of your qin technique, but I have not yet grasped its spirit. Please play for me once more." Wen Ruchun played as she requested and explained the method in detail. Huan Niang was overjoyed and said, "I have now fully learned it!" Then she rose to leave. Liangong, who was skilled at the zheng, heard that Huan Niang was also adept and wished her to play a piece. Huan Niang did not refuse, and the tunes and scores she played were unknown in the mortal world. Liangong kept time and enjoyed it, then asked to learn from her. Huan Niang had someone bring a brush and wrote down eighteen scores for Liangong, then prepared to take her leave again. Wen Ruchun and his wife earnestly tried to detain her, but Huan Niang said sadly, "Your love is so deep, and you are kindred spirits; how could a luckless one like me have such fortune? If there is fate, we shall meet again in a future life." She then produced a scroll and gave it to Wen Ruchun, saying, "This is my portrait. If you do not forget the matchmaker, hang it in your bedchamber, and when you are happy, light a stick of incense and play a tune before it, as if I were receiving it in person." With these words, she went out the door and vanished.
Commentary
This piece recounts a romantic tale between music enthusiasts. Pu Songling was a writer of many talents. From his ability to compose folk songs and dramas, emphasizing that "lyrics should be clear in tone, dialogue vivid in expression, with but a single measure of song, relying on your tenfold effort in singing," and criticizing the people of his time: "Rhyme need not be plucked and strummed on strings; if it possesses abundant grace, it is rhyme itself," as well as his intimate knowledge of the zither's appraisal in the "Inner Compilation of Household Affairs," it is evident that he possessed profound cultivation in music, and it was no accident that he chose the romantic tales of musicians as his creative subject.
Although this story narrates the eventual union of Wen Ruchun and Liang Gong, the true matchmaker behind the scenes, and indeed the central figure of the tale, is Huan Niang, who also shared a passion for music. Being a ghost herself and unable to wed Wen Ruchun, Huan Niang secretly orchestrated the marriage between Wen Ruchun and Liang Gong. The slipper left behind by Master Liu, who sought Liang Gong's hand, the poem "Cherishing the Remaining Spring" that Liang Gong copied and which was discovered by her father before being passed to Wen Ruchun for commentary, and the transformation of the chrysanthemums in Wen Ruchun's garden into a green hue—all these were the painstakingly crafted designs of Huan Niang. Though Huan Niang appears only briefly at the beginning and end of the tale, she embodies genuine emotion and a touching grace, leaving a profound impression. The poem "Cherishing the Remaining Spring," with its winding and lingering tones, as if weeping and confiding, was written by Huan Niang to unite the couple, yet it also reveals her own sorrow over her ill-fated existence and her ardent longing for love, expressed with utmost clarity. Structurally, this story is quite distinctive: after Wen Ruchun's failed pursuit of Huan Niang, her thread seems to break; yet in the unfolding romance between Wen Ruchun and Liang Gong, unexpected events and coincidences repeatedly occur, laying down foreshadowing; only at the tale's conclusion does the narrative return to Huan Niang, revealing that all prior surprises and coincidences were her arrangements. Feng Zhenluan praised the story, saying, "The interweaving of separation and reunion is exquisitely crafted, a truly marvelous and unparalleled legend."