Original Text
Zhou Tianyi, a tribute scholar from Huai Shang, was fifty years old and had only one son named Kechang, whom he doted upon excessively. When Kechang reached thirteen or fourteen, he was a handsome youth but had no fondness for study, often playing truant to frolic with other children, unwilling to return home all day. Zhou Tianyi indulged him in this. One day, Kechang had not come back by nightfall, and the Zhou family began to search for him, only to find he had vanished without a trace. Zhou Tianyi and his wife wailed bitterly, their grief beyond endurance.
After more than a year had passed, Kechang suddenly returned on his own, saying, "I was deceived by a Taoist priest, but fortunately I was not harmed. Taking advantage of the priest's absence, I managed to escape." Zhou Tianyi was overjoyed and did not press him further. When he set Kechang to his studies again, he found the boy twice as bright as before. Within a year, his skill in composition had greatly improved, and he entered the county school examinations, gaining a reputation. The prominent families of the region vied to form marriage alliances with his house, but Kechang was unwilling. Magistrate Zhao had a daughter of considerable beauty, and Zhou Tianyi, disregarding Kechang's wishes, forced the match. After the wedding, the young couple chatted and laughed together in great harmony, yet Kechang always slept alone and never shared the bed with his wife. Another year passed, and Kechang passed the provincial examination, becoming a juren. Zhou Tianyi was even more gratified. But as he gradually approached old age, he daily longed for a grandson, and so once hinted at the matter to Kechang, who remained indifferent, as if ignorant of the affairs between man and woman. His mother could no longer contain herself and nagged him incessantly. Kechang's face darkened, and he left the house, saying, "I have long wished to leave this home; the only reason I did not depart at once was out of gratitude for my parents' nurturing kindness. Truly, I cannot make my wife conceive to fulfill your wishes. Pray let me go, for he who can comply with your desires is soon to come." His mother pursued him and seized his garment, but Kechang fell to the ground; when she looked, only his clothes and cap remained. The mother was struck with terror, suspecting that Kechang had already died and that this must have been his ghost. She could do nothing but sigh in sorrow.
The next day, Kechang suddenly returned home on horseback with a servant, throwing the entire household into utter consternation. When they approached and questioned him, he said that he had been deceived by villains and sold to a wealthy merchant's family; the merchant had no son and thus adopted him as his own. After Kechang became his son, the merchant unexpectedly fathered a child of his own, and Kechang, longing for home, was sent back by the merchant. When they inquired about his studies, he was as dull-witted as before, and only then did they realize that this was the true Kechang, while the one who had passed the imperial examinations and earned the rank of provincial graduate was a ghost in disguise. Yet, secretly relieved that the matter had not been exposed, they allowed the real Kechang to inherit the title of provincial graduate. When he entered the inner chamber, his wife greeted him with great warmth and familiarity, but Kechang was extremely shy and bashful, like a newlywed groom. Within a year, a son was born.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: The ancients said that a fool has his fortune, but only if there is a hint of foolishness in his features—between his nose, mouth, brows, and eyes—then good fortune will follow him; as for those who are as sharp as spirits and demons, even ghosts are unwilling to associate with them. A man who appears somewhat foolish may obtain official rank without passing examinations and gain a beautiful wife without seeking her hand in marriage, let alone those who already have some backing and add to it by scheming and currying favor!
Commentary
Zhou Kechang did not delight in study and was exceedingly dull and stubborn, yet he unexpectedly attained the rank of a filial and incorrupt scholar and married a renowned beauty from a noble family—all due to a mysterious, enlightened ghost who assumed his identity. Why this ghost took his place need not be deeply investigated, nor can it be fully fathomed; it is precisely for this reason that Pu Songling remarked: "The ancients said that mediocrity brings fortune to men; there must be some trace of mediocrity in the features of the nose, mouth, eyebrows, and eyes before fortune follows." "Where mediocrity resides, the laurel of success can be attained without entering the examination hall, and a beautiful woman can be obtained without personal welcome—how much more so when there is a slight advantage, augmented by sneaky maneuvers?" This is a bitter and indignant statement, for he saw many mediocre men acquire all they desired, while a man as intelligent and diligent as himself spent his entire life "pitifully achieving nothing."