Original Text
In Luoyang there lived a young gentleman named Sun Qi, who married the daughter of Prefect Jiang, and the couple loved each other deeply. But after only twenty days, his wife died, and Sun Qi was overcome with grief beyond measure. He thus left his home and took up residence in a mountain villa. One rainy day, as Sun Qi lay resting in the daytime with no one else in the room, he suddenly noticed a pair of women's feet beneath the curtain of the inner chamber. Surprised, he asked who it was. A woman lifted the curtain and entered, appearing to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in plain and neat clothes, with a slightly dark, pockmarked face, like a poor girl. Sun Qi thought she must be a tenant from the village and scolded, "If you have business, you should speak with the servants—how dare you enter unbidden!" The woman smiled softly and said, "I am not from the village. My ancestral home is in Shandong, and my surname is Lü. My father was a scholar. My childhood name is Wubing. I came with my father to a foreign land, but lost my parents early. Admiring you, sir, as a gentleman of a renowned family, I wish to serve as a maid attending your studies." Sun Qi smiled and replied, "Your intention is good, but I live here with servants, which is truly inconvenient. When I return home, I shall formally engage you with proper rites." Lü Wubing hesitated and said, "I know I am plain and unlearned; how dare I hope to become your wife? I only wish to be a handmaid by your desk, and I trust I would not hold a book upside down." Sun Qi said, "Taking a maid also requires choosing an auspicious day." With that, he pointed to the bookshelf and asked her to fetch the fourth volume of the "Comprehensive Calendar," to test her. Lü Wubing found it at once, glanced through it herself, then handed it to Sun Qi, smiling, "Today the River Dipper Star is not in the chamber." Hearing this teasing remark, Sun Qi felt somewhat stirred and secretly kept Lü Wubing in the room. When she had nothing to do, she would dust the desk, arrange the books, burn incense, and polish the incense burner, making the entire room neat and bright, which greatly pleased Sun Qi.
When evening came, he sent his servants to lodge elsewhere. Lü Wubing, with downcast eyes and a deferential manner, attended to Sun Qi with utmost diligence. When Sun Qi told her to go to sleep, she took her candle and left. In the middle of the night, Sun Qi awoke to find someone sleeping at the head of his bed. Reaching out his hand, he recognized Lü Wubing, so he grasped her and shook her awake. Startled, she rose and stood by the bedside. Sun Qi said, "Why did you not go to sleep in another room? The head of the bed is no place for you to rest." Lü Wubing replied, "I am timid and afraid." Sun Qi took pity on her and placed a pillow on the inner side of the bed, letting her lie down. Suddenly, from her breath he caught a fragrance, as pure as the scent of lotus stamens, and found it most strange. He called her to share his pillow, and before he knew it, his heart was stirred with longing. He slept with her and grew deeply fond of her. Yet he thought that keeping her hidden in the house was not a good plan, and taking her home would invite gossip. Sun Qi had an aunt who lived a dozen doors away, so he devised a scheme: let Lü Wubing secretly stay first at his aunt's house, and then later find a way to marry her. Lü Wubing praised this plan as excellent and said, "Your aunt, I know well. There is no need for you to inform her beforehand; let me go now." Sun Qi saw her off, and she climbed over the wall and departed.
Sun Qi's maternal aunt was a widow. One morning, just as she opened the door, Lu Wubing slipped inside. The aunt asked who she was, and Lu Wubing replied, "Your nephew sent me to pay respects to you, Aunt. The young master wishes to return to his hometown, but the journey is long and he lacks a carriage, so he asked me to stay with you for a time." The aunt believed her and allowed her to stay. When Sun Qi returned home, he falsely claimed that his aunt had a maidservant whom she wished to give him, and sent someone to bring Lu Wubing back. From then on, Lu Wubing attended Sun Qi in all his daily activities, whether rising, resting, sitting, or lying down. As time passed, Sun Qi grew even fonder of her and took her as a concubine. Later, when a prominent family sought a marriage alliance with him, he refused, harboring a desire to grow old with Lu Wubing alone. Lu Wubing, learning of this, earnestly urged him to take a wife, so he married a woman named Xu, yet he always doted on Lu Wubing. Sun Qi's wife, Xu, was very virtuous and did not mind where her husband spent the night, and Lu Wubing, in turn, treated Xu with even greater respect, so the wife and concubine lived in perfect harmony. Xu bore a son named Ajian, whom Lu Wubing adored, often carrying him about and playing with him as if he were her own. When the child was just three years old, he left his wet nurse and slept with Lu Wubing, refusing to go even when Xu called him. Not long after, Xu fell ill and died. On her deathbed, she instructed Sun Qi: "Wubing loves our son the most; you may make Ajian her child and elevate Wubing to the position of wife." After burying Xu, Sun Qi wished to follow her instructions and informed his clan of his intention, but they all said it could not be done. Lu Wubing also vehemently declined, so the matter was dropped.
In the same county there was a Palace Graduate Wang, whose daughter had just been widowed and wished to remarry Sun Qi. Sun Qi truly had no desire to take another wife, but the Wang family repeatedly sent matchmakers to propose the match. The matchmakers also spoke of how beautiful the Wang daughter was, and the Sun family, admiring the Wang family's influence, together urged Sun Qi to agree to the marriage. Sun Qi, too, became enticed and married the Wang daughter. She was indeed very beautiful, but exceedingly arrogant and fastidious about her clothing and belongings; if she disliked anything, she would destroy or discard it. Sun Qi, because he loved her, could not bear to cross her. Within a few months of her arrival, Sun Qi spent every night in her chamber, and wherever Lu Wubing appeared before her, everything she did was deemed wrong. From time to time, the Wang daughter would even vent her anger on her husband, causing several great quarrels. Sun Qi was deeply distressed and thus often slept alone. This, in turn, angered the Wang daughter. Sun Qi could no longer endure it and, using some excuse, went to the capital to escape the torment of this shrewish wife. The Wang daughter blamed Lu Wubing for her husband's departure. Lu Wubing, meek and submissive, served the Wang daughter with utmost care, yet the Wang daughter remained displeased. One night, the Wang daughter ordered Lu Wubing to sleep beneath her bed as a servant on duty, and A Jian ran to sleep with Lu Wubing. Whenever Lu Wubing was called to attend to the Wang daughter, A Jian would cry. The Wang daughter grew very annoyed and scolded incessantly. Lu Wubing hastily called for the wet nurse to take A Jian away, but A Jian refused to go with her; when the wet nurse tried to force him, A Jian cried even more bitterly. The Wang daughter, in a great rage, beat A Jian severely, and only then did he go with the wet nurse.
A Jian consequently fell ill with a fright-induced ailment and could not eat. Lady Wang would not allow Lü Wubing to see A Jian. A Jian wept all day long, and Lady Wang scolded the wet nurse, ordering her to throw A Jian to the ground. A Jian cried until his voice was hoarse and his breath was spent, screaming for water, but Lady Wang refused to let him have any. By evening, Lü Wubing, taking advantage of Lady Wang's absence, secretly went to give A Jian water. When A Jian saw Lü Wubing, he abandoned the water, grabbed hold of Lü Wubing's garment, and wept bitterly without stopping. Lady Wang, hearing this, stormed out in a fury. As soon as A Jian heard Lady Wang's voice, he stopped crying, stiffened his body, and fell to the ground, dead. Lü Wubing wailed loudly. Lady Wang cursed angrily, "You vile slave, making such a disgraceful scene! Do you think you can threaten me with the child's death? Let it be not merely a child of the Sun family—even if it were the heir of a princely mansion, the daughter of Minister Wang would bear the responsibility." Lü Wubing sobbed, choked back her tears, and begged to buy a coffin for the child. Lady Wang refused and ordered the corpse to be thrown into the wilderness immediately. After Lady Wang left, Lü Wubing secretly felt A Jian's body and found his limbs still warm. She quietly said to the wet nurse, "Hurry and take the child away; wait for me in the wilds, and I will come at once. If A Jian is dead, we will bury him together; if he still lives, we will raise him together." The wet nurse replied, "Very well." Lü Wubing entered the house, took some jewelry, and then caught up with the wet nurse. Together they looked at A Jian, who had already revived. The two were overjoyed and planned to go to a mountain villa to seek refuge with an aunt. The wet nurse worried that Lü Wubing's bound feet would hinder her walking, but Lü Wubing went ahead and waited for her, moving like a gust of wind, so that the wet nurse had to run desperately to keep up. By the second watch of the night, A Jian's condition became critical, and he could go no further. They had to take a side path into a village and came to the door of a farmhouse, leaning against the gate to await dawn. When they could endure no longer, they knocked to beg for lodging, exchanged the jewelry for silver, summoned a witch doctor and a physician, but in the end, they could not save him. Lü Wubing covered her face and wept, saying, "Nurse, take good care of the child; I am going to seek his father." When the wet nurse heard this, she thought Lü Wubing's words were absurd, and while she was still astonished, Lü Wubing had already vanished. The wet nurse was terrified.
On this day, Sun Qi was in the capital, lying in bed to rest, when Lu Wubing suddenly slipped in quietly. Sun Qi sat up in astonishment, saying, "Have I just lain down and fallen into a dream?" Lu Wubing grasped his hand, sobbing, stamping her feet in grief, tears streaming down, yet unable to utter a word. After a long while, she finally burst into loud weeping and said, "I have endured countless hardships and fled with A Jian to Yang..." Before she could finish, she wailed loudly, collapsed to the ground, and vanished. Sun Qi was greatly alarmed, still thinking it a dream. He summoned his servants to look, and there on the floor lay Lu Wubing's clothes and shoes, quite real and distinct; everyone found this strange occurrence hard to fathom. Sun Qi immediately prepared his luggage and traveled homeward through the night.
When Sun Qi arrived home and learned that his son had died and Lü Wubing had fled, he beat his chest and wept bitterly. In his speech, he offended Wang, who retorted with sharp words. Enraged, Sun Qi drew a knife, but the maids and servants hurriedly pulled him back. Unable to approach Wang, he hurled the knife from a distance; the blade's back struck Wang's forehead, drawing blood. With disheveled hair, she shrieked and ran out, intending to report to her family. Sun Qi dragged her back and beat her countless times with a club, tearing her clothes into shreds and covering her body with bruises, leaving her unable to turn over from the pain. He ordered her carried to her room for care, planning to divorce her once her wounds healed. When Wang's brothers heard of this, they were furious and led a crowd to his gate to demand satisfaction. Sun Qi also gathered strong servants armed with weapons to resist. The two sides exchanged curses all day before dispersing. Still unsatisfied, the Wang family sued Sun Qi in court. Under his servants' protection, Sun Qi entered the city and pleaded his case in the hall, detailing Wang's various misdeeds. The magistrate, unable to subdue Sun Qi, sent him to the county school's instructor to be admonished, hoping to appease the Wang family. Instructor Zhu, also from a noble lineage, was upright and unyielding. After learning the facts, he said angrily, "Does the magistrate think I am a base and shameless instructor who would extort money for wicked deeds and lick the hemorrhoids of the powerful? I cannot stoop to such beggarly behavior!" He refused to accept the case, and Sun Qi returned home with dignity. The Wang family, left with no recourse, hinted to relatives and friends to mediate, hoping Sun Qi would come to the Wang house to apologize. Sun Qi refused, and even after a dozen mediation attempts, nothing was achieved. As Wang's injuries gradually healed, Sun Qi thought of divorcing her but feared her family would not accept her, so he let things continue as before.
His concubine had died and his son had perished, Sun Qi grieved day and night, yearning to find A Jian's wet nurse to inquire about the details. Thus he recalled Lu Wubing's words about "fleeing to Yang," and there was a nearby village called Yangjiatuan; suspecting they might be there, he went to ask, but no one knew of them. Someone said that fifty li away there was a place called Yanggu, so Sun Qi sent a rider to investigate, and indeed he found them. It turned out that A Jian's illness had gradually improved, and when he met the searchers, he was overjoyed and returned home with them. Upon seeing his father, A Jian burst into loud wailing, and Sun Qi also shed tears. When Lady Wang heard that A Jian was still alive, she rushed out in a fury, intending to curse him again. A Jian, still weeping, saw Lady Wang and, terrified, quickly threw himself into his father's arms, as if begging to be hidden. Sun Qi lifted him up and saw that his breath had stopped. He urgently called to him, and after a while, A Jian revived. Sun Qi said angrily, "I do not know how cruelly she mistreated the child to make my son so frightened!" So he wrote a letter of divorce and sent Lady Wang back to her family. The Wang family indeed refused to accept her and sent her back again. Sun Qi, having no choice, lived separately with his son in another courtyard, having no dealings with Lady Wang. The wet nurse recounted in detail some of Lu Wubing's strange circumstances, and only then did Sun Qi understand that Lu Wubing was a ghost. Grateful for her kindness, he buried her clothes and shoes and erected a tombstone inscribed with the words: "The Tomb of Lu Wubing, Ghost Wife." Soon after, Lady Wang gave birth to a son, but she actually strangled the child. Sun Qi, even more enraged, divorced her again and sent her back to her family, but the Wang family sent her back once more. Sun Qi then wrote a complaint and brought the case to the higher authorities, but because of Wang Tianguan's influence, the case was not accepted. Later, Wang Tianguan died, and Sun Qi continued to press his lawsuit until the court finally decreed that Lady Wang be divorced and sent back. From then on, Sun Qi never remarried, only taking a maidservant as a concubine.
After Wang returned to her parents' home, her reputation for ferocity spread far and wide, and for three or four years, no one came to propose marriage. Suddenly, Wang repented of her ways, but the matter was already beyond remedy. An old maidservant from the Sun household came to Wang's home, and Wang received her with great warmth, shedding tears before her. The maidservant guessed that Wang might be longing for her former husband, Sun Qi. Upon returning, she told Sun Qi, who merely smiled and paid it no heed. Another year or so passed, and Wang's mother also passed away, leaving her solitary and without support. Her elder brother and his wife, as well as her younger brother's wife, all despised her, and Wang felt increasingly adrift, often weeping all day long. A poor scholar had lost his wife, and Wang's elder brother planned to give her a generous dowry to marry her off to him, but Wang refused. She frequently secretly entrusted travelers to convey her regards to Sun Qi, weeping as she asked them to relay her remorse, but Sun Qi paid no attention.
One day, Wang, accompanied by a maidservant, secretly mounted a donkey and rode straight to Sun Qi's home. Sun Qi had just come out of his house when Wang met him, knelt at the foot of the steps, and wept without ceasing. Sun Qi tried to drive her away, but Wang grabbed his robe and knelt again. Sun Qi firmly refused, saying, "If we were to live together again, it might be tolerable as long as no trouble arises. But once something happens, your brothers are like wolves and tigers, and if you wanted a divorce again, how could it be managed?" Wang said, "I have come here secretly, and there is absolutely no reason for me to return. If you keep me, I will stay; otherwise, I will die here! Moreover, I married you at twenty-one and was divorced and sent back to my family at twenty-three. Even if I had ten faults, is there not a single shred of affection?" With these words, she took off a bracelet, placed both feet together, slipped the bracelet over them, and covered it with her sleeve, saying, "On the day we married, we burned incense and swore vows of love—do you not remember even a little of that?" Upon hearing this, Sun Qi's eyes also filled with tears, and he ordered a servant to help Wang into the house. Yet he still suspected Wang of some trickery and wanted to obtain a written pledge from her brothers. Wang said, "I came here on my own—how could I have the face to beg my brothers for anything? If you do not trust me, I have a tool for self-harm hidden here. Let me cut off a finger to prove my sincerity." Then she drew a sharp knife from her waist, and right by the bedside, she stretched out her left hand and severed a finger, blood gushing like a spring. Sun Qi was greatly alarmed and hastily bandaged the wound. Wang's face turned pale with pain, but she did not utter a single groan; instead, she smiled and said, "Today my dream of yellow millet has ended. I only wish to borrow a small room here to cultivate myself—why must you still doubt?" Sun Qi then had his son and concubine move to another dwelling, while he himself came and went between the two houses of his wife and concubine. He also sought out good doctors and fine medicines daily to treat Wang's finger wound, and after more than a month, it healed completely. From then on, Wang abstained from meat and wine, and spent her days merely closing the door and reciting Buddhist scriptures.
After some time, Wang saw that household affairs were left unattended, so she said to Sun Qi, "I came back this time intending to take no part in anything, but now seeing such wasteful spending, I fear our descendants may starve to death. With no other choice, I must steel myself to manage things again." She then gathered all the maids and servants, ordering them to spin and weave daily. The servants, knowing she had begged to return, looked down on her and whispered mockeries behind her back, but Wang pretended not to hear. Soon she inspected their work, flogging and punishing the lazy ones without mercy, and only then did they grow fearful. Through a curtain, she personally taught the stewards how to keep accounts, managing the ledgers with meticulous care. Sun Qi was overjoyed and had his son and concubine come to pay respects to Wang. A-Jian was then nine years old, and Wang cared for him with all her heart; when the boy went to school in the morning, she often saved tasty treats for him to eat after class, and gradually A-Jian grew fond of her. One day, A-Jian was throwing stones at a sparrow when Wang happened to pass by; a stone struck her on the head, and she fell to the ground instantly, remaining unconscious for a long while. Sun Qi flew into a rage and beat A-Jian. When Wang revived, she tried her utmost to stop him, saying joyfully, "I once mistreated a child, and my heart has never forgiven itself; today, happily, this debt is canceled." Sun Qi thus loved her even more, but Wang often refused to let him stay the night, sending him to the concubine's quarters. Over the next few years, Wang bore several children, but none survived; she said, "This is my retribution for killing a son in the past." After A-Jian married, Wang entrusted external affairs to him and internal matters to his wife. One day she told Sun Qi, "I will die on such-and-such a day." Sun Qi did not believe her. Wang prepared her own coffin and burial clothes, and on that day, she donned her shroud, lay down in the coffin, and died, her face as serene as in life, while a strange fragrance filled the room. Only after the coffin was sealed did the scent slowly dissipate.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: When one loves another in their heart, it is not originally about the beauty or ugliness of appearance. How do we know that Mao Qiang and Xi Shi were not deemed beautiful solely by the subjective eyes of those who adored them? Yet, consider a person like Lü Wubing—if she had not encountered the jealousy of a shrewish wife, her virtuous nature would never have been revealed, and she might nearly have been ridiculed as a person of peculiar habits. As for the primary wife, Wang, her karmic roots were originally deep and profound, and thus, with a sudden awakening, she immediately set foot upon the righteous path. Those who enter the realm of hell are all the wealthy and noble who have never undergone hardship.
Commentary
Lü Wubing is a rare female character in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," described as "slightly dark and much freckled, like a girl from a poor family." Pu Songling endowed her with all the gentle and virtuous qualities that women of that era possessed: "clothes plain and clean" depicts her aesthetic attitude and diligence; "willing to be a literary maid of Kangcheng" writes of her knowledge and understanding of propriety; "today the River Dipper is not in the chamber" illustrates her erudition and humor; "wiping the table, arranging books, burning incense, and cleaning the tripod, making the whole room bright and spotless" portrays her skill in household management; "the breath that comes from her is as clear as the heart of a lotus" reveals her inner elegance; "she earnestly urged him to take a wife" and "served Xu with increasing respect" record her contentment with her concubine status and her adherence to feminine virtue. Most notably, the story highlights Lü Wubing's maternal love for Xu's wife's child, "holding him as if he were her own. The child, only three years old, left his wet nurse to sleep with Wubing." This is further emphasized in the conflict between Lü Wubing and Wang Tianguan's daughter, where her protection of the child is brought to the fore. Because this is the most rare quality of a concubine and stepmother, the greatest aspect of maternal nature in women, and also the most important criterion in Confucian thought, which values progeny above all. "Wubing loves the child most; she may be made his mother, or even be elevated to the principal wife," is the dying mother's evaluation of Lü Wubing.
The female counterpart to Lu Wubing is the daughter of Minister Wang, who, though described as "gorgeous in appearance," is depicted as shrewish and arrogant, especially in her cruel treatment of the sole heir of Master Sun. In this sense, Pu Songling remarks in the "Historian's Commentary": "What the heart desires does not originally lie in beauty or ugliness. How do we know that Mao Qiang and Xi Shi are not merely deemed beautiful by those who love them?" This statement carries two meanings. First, it suggests that the capacity for love does not depend on one's physical attractiveness or lack thereof. Second, it implies that those considered the most beautiful in the world are often so only through the subjective perception of their admirers. Thus, it establishes the notion that inner beauty of character is far more important than outward appearance.
The novel's final depiction of Minister Wang's daughter experiencing a sudden awakening and repentance, though stemming from Pu Songling's tolerance for human nature and his longing for its renewal, appears somewhat digressive, diluting the intensity of Lu Wubing's story.