Original Text
A certain Mr. Gu from south of the Yangtze, lodging in Jixia, suddenly suffered a severe swelling of his eyes, groaning day and night, and no medicine proved effective. After more than ten days, the pain gradually subsided, but whenever he closed his eyes, he would see a grand mansion with four or five courtyards, all with their gates wide open, and in the innermost courtyard figures moved to and fro, though too distant to discern clearly. One day, as he gazed intently, he suddenly found himself inside the mansion. Passing through three gates without seeing a soul, he came upon a great hall facing south, its floor covered with red felt. Glancing around, he saw the room filled with infants—some sitting, some lying, some crawling—countless in number. Startled, he saw a man emerge from behind the hall, who said upon seeing him, "The Little Prince mentioned that a distant guest had arrived at the gate, and indeed it is so." He then invited Gu to enter. Gu dared not, but the man insisted, so he went in. Gu asked, "What place is this?" The man replied, "This is the residence of the Ninth Prince's heir. The heir has just recovered from a bout of malaria, and today relatives and friends gather to celebrate. You, sir, are fortunate to have come." Before he finished speaking, another man rushed in, urging them to hurry along.
After a while, they arrived at a residence adorned with carved pavilions and vermilion railings, where a grand hall faced north, with nine massive pillars before it. Gu Sheng ascended the steps and entered the hall, which was already filled with guests. He saw a young man seated facing north and knew this must be the prince, so he knelt and prostrated himself below the hall. Everyone in the room rose to their feet. The prince took Gu Sheng by the hand and bade him sit facing east. As wine was served, the sound of drums and music swelled, and singing girls entered the hall to perform the opera "The Celebration of Huafeng." They had just finished the third act when the innkeeper and his servant came to summon Gu Sheng for his midday meal, calling him incessantly by his bedside. He heard them clearly but, fearing the prince might learn of it, pretended to change his clothes and stepped out. Looking up, he saw the sun at its zenith and noticed the servant standing by his bed; only then did he realize he had never left the inn.
Gu Sheng was anxious to return to the hall, so he ordered his servant to close the door and leave. As soon as he closed his eyes, he saw the same palace as before and hurriedly entered by the original path. Passing the hall where he had earlier seen the infant, he found it empty of the child, but there were dozens of old women, with disheveled hair and hunched backs, some sitting and some lying down. Seeing Gu Sheng, they shouted in harsh voices, "Whose wicked boy is this, sneaking in here to spy!" Gu Sheng, both startled and frightened, dared not argue and hurried to the rear courtyard, ascending the steps to sit in his original seat. Then he saw that the prince's chin had grown a beard over a foot long. The prince, seeing Gu Sheng, smiled and asked, "Where have you been? The play has already reached the seventh act." So he took out a large goblet and punished Gu Sheng by making him drink. After a while, the play ended, and another program was presented; Gu Sheng selected "Peng Zu Marries a Wife." The singing girl then poured wine from a coconut gourd, which held about five pecks. Gu Sheng rose from his seat and declined, saying, "Your subject has an eye ailment and dares not drink to intoxication." The prince said, "Since you have an eye ailment, there is an imperial physician here who can examine you." Then a guest from the eastern seat rose, came over, parted Gu Sheng's eyelids with two fingers, and applied a white ointment like congealed fat with a jade hairpin, instructing him to close his eyes and rest a little. The prince ordered an attendant to lead him into an inner chamber and let him lie down. As soon as he lay down for a short while, he found the bed and mattress fragrant and soft, and thus fell asleep.
Not long after, he suddenly heard a sound like the deafening crash of percussion instruments, and was immediately startled awake. Thinking the opera had not yet ended, he opened his eyes to see that it was actually the sound of an inn dog licking an oil pot. Yet his eye ailment was cured. When he closed his eyes again, no vision appeared.
Commentary
This passage describes the hallucinations caused by an eye ailment.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Sheng saw the infant in the grand mansion transform into an old woman, while the young prince "grew a beard over a foot long beneath his chin." Later, after applying the eye ointment within the grand mansion, his condition began to slightly ease. The tale of "Gu Sheng" and "The Pupil's Words" are likely among the rare classical Chinese stories that take eye ailments as their subject. It is noteworthy that, although this piece is filled with strange and uncanny elements, it is remarkably close to real life in many respects. For instance, "using two fingers to part the eyelids, applying a white ointment like lard with a jade hairpin, and instructing him to close his eyes and rest for a while" recreates the treatment of eye diseases during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Descriptions such as "whenever he closed his eyes, he would see a grand mansion, with four or five courtyards, all gates wide open, and at the deepest part, figures moving about, but too far to discern clearly" reflect the psychological suggestion of prolonged eye closure. In particular, this story does not merely focus on eye disease but comprehensively depicts Gu Sheng's visual, auditory, and sensory hallucinations, which align perfectly with the pathological and physiological responses of someone suffering from a long-term eye condition. All of this demonstrates Pu Songling's deep observation and extensive knowledge of ophthalmic diseases.