Original Text
Xi Fangping was a native of Dong'an. His father, named Xi Lian, was by nature straightforward and honest. Because he had a feud with a wealthy man named Yang in the neighborhood, Yang died first, and a few years later, Xi Lian fell gravely ill. On his deathbed, he said to his family, "Yang has now bribed the underworld officials to flog me." Shortly thereafter, his entire body became swollen and red, and he died with a loud, agonized scream. Xi Fangping was so grief-stricken that he could not eat. He said, "My father was an honest man, not skilled in speech, and now he is being bullied by a violent ghost. I must go to the underworld to seek justice for him." From then on, he stopped speaking, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing, appearing as if in a daze—for his soul had already left his body.
Xi Fangping felt he had just left his home, not knowing where to find his father; whenever he saw a passerby on the road, he would ask where the county seat was. Before long, he entered the city. His father was already imprisoned. Arriving at the prison gate, he saw from afar his father lying under the eaves, looking utterly exhausted. Xi Lian raised his eyes and saw his son, tears streaming down his face, and said to him, "The jailers have all been bribed; they torture me day and night without rest, and my legs are already cruelly mangled!" Xi Fangping was filled with rage upon hearing this and loudly cursed the jailers: "If my father is guilty, there is naturally the king's law; how can you dead ghosts be allowed to manipulate things as you please!" Then he left the prison, took out a brush, and wrote a plaint. After finishing, he happened upon the City God of the county holding court in the morning; Xi Fangping cried out his grievance and submitted the plaint. The man named Yang, learning of this, grew fearful and, after bribing everyone inside and out, came forth to confront him. The City God of the county deemed Xi Fangping's accusation lacking evidence and declared him in the wrong. With his pent-up wrath having no outlet, he traveled over a hundred li through the dark night to the prefectural city and lodged a complaint against the various misdeeds of the county City God's underlings with the prefectural City God. After a delay of half a month, the plaint was finally heard. The prefectural City God had him beaten with a plank and still sent the case back to the county City God for retrial. Xi Fangping was taken back to the county yamen, subjected to all manner of tortures, and his grievous injustice remained unredressed. The county City God, fearing he might appeal again, ordered the runners to escort him back home.
The lictors escorted him to the gate and then departed. Xi Fangping, unwilling to return home in such a state, secretly made his way back to the Palace of King Yama to accuse the prefectural and county City Gods of cruelty and greed. King Yama immediately summoned the two City Gods for confrontation. They secretly sent trusted confidants to Xi Fangping, offering him a thousand taels of gold to drop the case, but he paid them no heed. After a few days, the innkeeper said to him, "Your stubbornness has gone too far; even the officials seeking peace you have flatly refused. I have heard they have sent chests of gifts to King Yama, and I fear your situation is not auspicious." Xi Fangping dismissed this as mere gossip and did not take it seriously. Soon, a black-robed lictor came to summon him to court. As he entered the hall, King Yama's face was dark with anger; without allowing him to speak in his defense, he ordered twenty strokes of the bamboo. Xi Fangping cried out loudly, "What crime have I committed?" King Yama remained expressionless, as if he had not heard. As the blows fell, Xi Fangping shouted, "These strokes are deserved—who told me to have no money!" King Yama grew even more furious and ordered the fire-bed prepared. Two minor demons dragged Xi Fangping from the hall, where on the eastern steps lay an iron bed with blazing flames beneath, its surface glowing red. They stripped him and threw him onto the bed, pressing and kneading him repeatedly. The pain pierced his heart and lungs; his bones and flesh were scorched black, and he wished only for death. After about an hour, a demon said, "It is enough," and helped him up, urging him to dress and walk, though he could only hobble. Brought back before the throne, King Yama asked, "Do you still dare to bring accusations?" Xi Fangping replied, "Such great injustice remains unavenged; my heart will not rest. If I said I would not appeal, I would be deceiving you. I must appeal!" King Yama demanded, "What do you accuse?" Xi Fangping answered, "All that I have suffered, I will speak." Enraged, King Yama ordered him sawn asunder. Two demons led him out, where stood a wooden pillar nine or eight feet high, with two planks placed face-up, stained with blood. As they prepared to bind him, a shout came from the hall: "Xi Fangping!" The demons brought him back. King Yama asked again, "Do you still dare to appeal?" He replied, "I must appeal!" King Yama ordered him taken down and sawn immediately. Descending the hall, the demons clamped him between the planks and bound him to the pillar. As the saw began to cut, he felt his skull gradually split, the pain unbearable, yet he gritted his teeth and did not cry out. A demon remarked, "This fellow is truly stout!" The saw rumbled on, reaching his chest. Another demon said, "This man is filial and without guilt; let the saw veer slightly, so as not to damage his heart." He felt the blade slant downward, causing even greater agony. After a while, his body was sawn in two. When the ropes were loosened, both halves fell to the ground. A demon reported loudly to the hall, and the order came to join the halves and bring him up. The demons pushed the halves together and dragged him forward. Xi Fangping felt a seam from head to foot, pain as if about to split anew; after half a step, he collapsed. One demon drew a silk sash from his waist and handed it to him, saying, "I give you this sash to honor your filial piety." He tied it around his waist, and instantly his whole body felt comfortable, free from pain. He entered the hall and prostrated himself. King Yama repeated his earlier question, and Xi Fangping, fearing further torment, answered, "I will not appeal." King Yama immediately ordered him sent back to the world of the living.
The lictors led Xi Fangping out through the northern gate, pointed out the road for his return, and then turned away and departed. Xi Fangping thought to himself that the underworld was even more corrupt than the mortal realm, yet there was no way to make the Jade Emperor aware of this. It was said among the people that Erlang, the god of Guankou, was a relative of the Jade Emperor, wise and upright in his judgments; if he could lodge a complaint there, it might yield extraordinary results. Secretly pleased that the two lictors had already left, he turned and headed south. As he hurried along, the two lictors caught up and said, "The King suspected you would not return, and indeed you have not." They then seized him and brought him back before the King of Hell. Xi Fangping thought to himself that this time the King would be even more enraged, and the suffering he would endure would be even more severe. Unexpectedly, the King showed no anger at all and said to him, "You are indeed very filial. But your father's grievance has already been redressed by me. He has now been reborn into a wealthy and noble family; why must you still cry out for justice everywhere? Now I will send you home, granting you a fortune of a thousand gold pieces and a lifespan of a hundred years. Will this satisfy your wishes?" Having spoken, he wrote it down in the register of life and death, stamped it with the great seal, and let Xi Fangping see it himself. After expressing his thanks, Xi Fangping descended from the hall. The little demons followed him out the door, and once on the road, they drove him forward, cursing, "You cunning thief! You keep stirring up trouble, making us run back and forth until we are dead tired! If you do it again, we will throw you into the great millstone and grind you to dust!" Xi Fangping glared at them and shouted, "What do you little demons think you are doing? I was born to delight in knives and saws, and I have no patience for the rod. Let us go back together to see the King; if he orders me to return home on my own, why should I trouble you to escort me?" With that, he turned and ran back. The two little demons, terrified, coaxed him with kind words to return. Xi Fangping deliberately feigned a limp, walking very slowly, stopping by the roadside to rest after every few steps. The demons burned with anger but dared not say another word.
After traveling for about half a day, they arrived at a village where a house stood with its door half open. The little ghost pulled him to sit down together, and he sat on the threshold. Taking advantage of his inattention, the little ghost pushed him through the door. Just as his startled soul began to settle, he looked and saw that he had already turned into an infant. In anger, he wailed loudly, refusing to suckle, and died after only three days. His soul drifted aimlessly, still fixated on reaching Guankou. After running for perhaps several dozen li, he suddenly saw a procession adorned with bird feathers approaching, with banners and long halberds blocking the road. He tried to cross the road to avoid the cortege, but inadvertently collided with the honor guard. The leading horsemen seized him, bound him, and brought him before the carriage. Xi Fangping looked up and saw a young man seated inside the carriage, dignified in appearance and quite imposing. The man asked Xi Fangping, "Who are you?" Xi Fangping, with his chest full of pent-up grievance and anger, and guessing that this must be a high official with the power to dispense fortune and misfortune, detailed the sufferings he had endured. The young man in the carriage ordered his bonds to be loosened and allowed him to follow behind the carriage. Before long, they arrived at a place where over a dozen officials stood by the roadside to greet them. The young man acknowledged each of them in turn. Then, pointing to Xi Fangping, he said to one official, "This is a man from the lower realm who is about to lodge a complaint with you. You should promptly judge the rights and wrongs for him." Xi Fangping inquired of the attendants and learned that the man in the carriage was the Ninth Prince, son of the Jade Emperor, and the official he had addressed was none other than Erlang Shen. Xi Fangping observed Erlang Shen, who was tall and slender with a full beard, not at all as he was depicted in the mortal world.
After the Ninth Prince departed, Xi Fangping followed Erlang God to a government office, where he saw his father, the man named Yang, and all the yin officials and runners from the underworld. After a while, several more people emerged from a prison cart—namely, the King of Hell, along with the City God of the prefecture and the City God of the county. During the confrontation in the hall, everything Xi Fangping had said proved true. The three officials trembled in terror, like rats crouching on the ground. Erlang God took up his brush and immediately rendered a verdict. Before long, the judgment was announced from the hall, and all those involved in the case were ordered to come and read it. The verdict read as follows:
It has been found that the King of Hell, who holds the title of sovereign in the underworld and receives his mandate from the Jade Emperor, ought to have been incorruptible and just, serving as a model for all officials, and should not have stooped to graft and corruption, inviting censure. Yet he flaunts his power and authority, vainly boasting of his exalted rank; cruel and avaricious, he has defiled the integrity expected of a minister. With axes and knives, he has extorted and exploited, draining the very skin and bones of the weak and humble; like a whale devouring fish, or a fish preying on shrimp, he bullies the feeble, treating the lives of the common folk as pitiful as ants. He deserves only to have the waters of the Western River drawn to wash his entrails; the iron bed on the Eastern Wall should be heated red, that he may taste the bitter fruit of his own devices.
The City God of the prefecture and the City God of the county: as the parent officials of the people, they receive the mandate of the Supreme Emperor to govern the populace. Though their rank is low, those who devote themselves utterly do not shrink from bending their backs; even when sometimes pressed by the power of their superiors, men of resolve should not yield. Yet you collude from top to bottom, like fierce eagles and kites, heedless of the people's poverty; and you act arrogantly and tyrannically, like cunning monkeys, not even sparing the starving ghosts. You are only intent on corrupting the law for gain, truly human-faced but beast-hearted! You deserve to have your marrow scraped and your hair plucked, and be temporarily sentenced to death in the underworld; you should have your human skin flayed and be clothed in beast hide, to be reborn as livestock in your next life.
The runner said: "Since you serve as an underling in the underworld, you are no longer human. You should only perform good deeds within the yamen, that you might perhaps be reborn as a man; how dare you stir up waves in the sea of suffering and commit even greater heinous crimes? Relying on your strength and acting with violence, your face is as cold as frost; charging about recklessly and howling madly, you block the great road like a fierce tiger. Displaying your might in the underworld, you make all know the arrogance of prison officials; abetting the cruel tyranny of a benighted magistrate, you cause everyone to fear him as they would a butcher. You ought to have your limbs chopped off in the execution ground; and be cast into a great cauldron to be boiled, your bones and sinews fished out."
Yang the Rich: Amassing wealth without benevolence, cunning and full of deceit. With the gleam of gold, he shrouded the entire underworld, causing the Hall of King Yama to be filled with dark, sinister winds; the stench of copper tainted the very air, leaving the City of the Wrongfully Dead utterly devoid of sunlight and moonlight. The lingering odor of his riches could even command minor demons, his power so great it rivaled the gods. His family estate should be confiscated and seized to reward the filial Xi Fangping. The aforementioned criminal is to be immediately escorted to the Eastern Peak Emperor for execution of punishment.
Erlang Shen then addressed Xi Lian, saying, "Considering your son's filial piety and righteousness, and your own gentle and virtuous nature, I grant you an additional thirty-six years of life in the mortal realm." Thereupon, he dispatched two attendants to escort them back home.
Xi Fangping copied down the judgment, and along the way, father and son recited it together. When they reached home, Xi Fangping was the first to revive, and he had his family open his father's coffin to look; the stiff, cold corpse was still like ice, but after waiting a full day, the body gradually grew warm and revived. When they sought the judgment document again, it was already gone. From then on, the Xi family grew increasingly wealthy; within three years, fine fields covered the land. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Yang family declined, and their buildings and fields were all possessed by the Xi family. Some villagers wished to buy the Yang family's land, but in their dreams, a spirit rebuked them, saying, "This is Xi property—how can you claim it?" At first, they did not quite believe this, but when they tilled the land, after a year they reaped not a single grain, and had to sell it back to Xi Fangping's family. Xi Fangping's father lived to over ninety years of age before he died.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: Everyone speaks of the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, yet they do not know that life and death are two separate realms, where consciousness and perception become blurred; moreover, if one does not know whence one comes, how can one know whither one goes? How much more so when one dies and dies again, and lives and lives anew? But once the resolve of loyalty and filial piety is firmly set, it remains forever clear and unchanging—how extraordinary, Xi Fangping, how truly great!
Commentary
In "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," there are many chapters that expose the darkness of feudal officialdom, and these chapters share two common characteristics: first, they reveal Pu Songling's clear understanding of the entire judicial system of feudal society; second, the protagonists in these chapters are not only victims but also heroes who resolutely struggle against corrupt officials and ultimately achieve victory, being masters of their fate and unyielding avengers.
"Xi Fangping," though narrating events that occur in the underworld, is in fact an allegory for the darkness of the mortal realm. The City God, the Prefectural Judge, and the King of Hell represent the various officials, great and small, of the human world, while the incident's origin is a twisted reflection of how powerful landlords collude with government authorities to oppress the common people.
"Xi Fangping" is profoundly incisive in exposing the darkness of officialdom under feudal society. It does not merely attack the corruption and lawlessness of one or two officials, but dissects the entire judicial system of feudal society—from prison wardens and runners, to the City God and the Prefectural Judge, all the way up to the King of Hell—creating a "gallery of a hundred uglinesses" within that system. Although it is a tale of legal cases, its focus lies not in the bewildering twists and complexities of the case itself, but in the protagonist's unyielding struggle to redress a wrongful verdict against corrupt officials. To seek justice for his father, neither the barrier between the mortal and the underworld could stop him, nor the persecution of the authorities intimidate him; cruel tortures could not break him, nor could a thousand pieces of gold or a lifespan of a hundred years deceive him. Even when reborn as an infant, he never forgot his vengeance, and "after three days he died, his soul wavering and never forgetting Guankou." Truly, as the author comments: "With unwavering loyalty and filial piety, he could not be moved through ten thousand calamities."
In terms of Xi Fangping's unyielding struggle against the darkness of feudal judicial systems, in terms of his persistent spirit of 'great grievances unavenged, his heart will not die,' and in terms of his heroic resolve that cannot be subdued by force nor corrupted by wealth and honor, the image of Xi Fangping embodies the national character of the Chinese people rich in the spirit of struggle, offering multifaceted inspiration to the oppressed and humiliated in feudal society, and carrying profound educational significance.