Original Text
On Mount Wuyi there was a sheer cliff a thousand feet high, and people often found aloeswood and jade fragments at its base. The prefect, hearing of this, led several hundred men to construct a scaling ladder, intending to ascend and witness this marvel; after three years the ladder was completed. The prefect climbed up, and when he was nearly at the top, he saw a giant foot thrust down, its big toe thicker than a washing club, and heard a voice from above shout: "If you do not descend, you shall fall!" The prefect, greatly alarmed, hurried down. No sooner had he reached the ground than the ladder's framework snapped as if rotted, and everything collapsed from top to bottom.
Commentary
This chapter, along with the preceding "Gold Ingots" and "Inkstone," records local products. What distinguishes them is that these accounts do not statically describe curiosities but dynamically narrate stories, while also carrying allegorical and reasoning qualities, embodying the characteristics of such sections in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio." The essence of this story is as the immortal boat commented: "When people are free from selfish desires, they can all reach the pinnacle. But once the thought of profit arises, they will inevitably be driven away by the spirits."