Original Text
Ma Zicai was a native of Shuntian. His family had been devoted to chrysanthemums for generations, but Ma Zicai was especially fond of them. Whenever he heard of a fine variety, he would insist on acquiring it, even if it meant traveling a thousand li without fear of hardship. One day, a guest from Jinling lodged at his home, claiming that a relative of his had one or two varieties of chrysanthemums not found in the north. Ma Zicai's heart stirred at once; he promptly packed his bags and followed the guest to Jinling. The guest went to great lengths to procure for him two tender sprouts, which Ma Zicai treasured like precious gems, carefully wrapped them, and hurried homeward. Halfway along the road, he encountered a young man riding a donkey, following behind an oiled-canvas carriage. The youth appeared elegant and unrestrained in bearing. Ma Zicai gradually drew near and struck up a conversation; the young man claimed his surname was Tao, and his speech was refined and cultured. He asked Ma Zicai where he had come from, and Ma Zicai told him truthfully. Tao said, "There are no inherently bad varieties of flowers; it all depends on the grower's cultivation and watering." Ma Zicai then discussed with him the methods of growing chrysanthemums, and they talked with great delight. He then asked, "Where are you headed?" Tao replied, "My sister has grown weary of Jinling and wishes to move north to the region of Hebei." Ma Zicai said joyfully, "Though my home is quite poor, I still have rooms where you might lodge. If you do not disdain my humble abode, there is no need to trouble yourselves seeking other lodgings." Tao walked to the carriage and consulted with his sister. The person inside pushed aside the curtain to speak; it was a peerless beauty of about twenty years of age. She looked at her brother and said, "A small dwelling is no concern, but I hope the courtyard can be a bit larger." Ma Zicai agreed to her request, and so the brother and sister followed him home.
South of Ma Zicai's home there was an abandoned garden, with only three or four small cottages. Tao Sheng took a liking to it and took up residence there. Each day they would come to the northern courtyard to help Ma Zicai cultivate chrysanthemums. For those that had already withered, they would pull them out by the roots and replant them, and none failed to revive. But Tao Sheng was quite impoverished, and every day he ate with the Ma family, so it seemed that no cooking fire was lit in the Tao household. Ma Zicai's wife, née Lü, also grew fond of Tao's sister, and from time to time would give them some grain as aid. Tao's sister, whose childhood name was Huang Ying, was very skilled in conversation and often went to Lü's room to spin and do needlework together with her. One day, Tao Sheng said to Ma Zicai, "Your family is not overly wealthy, and we daily impose upon your table as a burden to our friend—how can this continue indefinitely? For the present plan, selling chrysanthemums would suffice to make a living." Ma Zicai, always upright and straightforward, upon hearing Tao's words, held him in great contempt and said, "I have always regarded you as a man of refined and lofty character, one who should be content in poverty; but today you utter such words—this is to turn the place of chrysanthemum cultivation into a marketplace, truly an insult to the chrysanthemum." Tao Sheng smiled and said, "To earn one's own living cannot be called greed or baseness; to take flower-selling as a profession cannot be deemed vulgar. A man certainly should not stoop to seek wealth and rank, but neither must he stubbornly cling to poverty." Ma Zicai fell silent, and Tao Sheng rose and left. From then on, whenever Ma Zicai discarded any withered branches or inferior seedlings, Tao Sheng would gather them up and take them away. Moreover, from that time, the Tao household no longer came to the Ma family for meals; only occasionally, when invited, would they come once.
Soon, as the chrysanthemums were about to bloom, a clamor like that of a market fair arose before Tao's gate. Ma Zicai, finding this strange, went to spy on the scene. There he saw buyers loading flowers onto carts and carrying them on their shoulders, an endless stream on the road. All the chrysanthemums were of rare varieties, never seen before. Disgusted by Tao's greedy and base behavior, Ma resolved to break off relations with him, but also resented his hoarding of fine chrysanthemum seeds. So he knocked on Tao's door, intending to confront him face to face. Tao came out, took his hand, and led him into the garden. There, the once barren courtyard of about half an acre was now entirely planted with rows of chrysanthemums, leaving no idle ground except for the few small huts. Where flowers had been dug up, new cuttings were inserted to fill the gaps, and every bud in the beds was exquisite beyond compare. Upon closer inspection, Ma recognized them as the very stems he had previously pulled up and discarded. Tao went inside to fetch wine and food, setting a feast by the chrysanthemum beds, saying, "Because of my poverty, I cannot uphold a lofty and pure reputation, but fortunately, I earn some money daily, enough to indulge in drunken revelry." After a while, a voice from within called out, "Sanlang!" Tao answered and went in, soon returning with delicacies, expertly cooked. Taking the opportunity, Ma asked, "Why has your sister not yet married?" Tao replied, "The time is not yet ripe." Ma pressed, "When will it be?" Tao answered, "In forty-three months." Ma further inquired, "What does that mean?" Tao merely smiled and fell silent. The two drank heartily to their full satisfaction before parting. The next day, Ma visited Tao again and found that the newly planted chrysanthemum shoots had already grown over a foot tall. Greatly astonished, he earnestly begged Tao to teach him the technique. Tao said, "This skill cannot be imparted by words, and besides, you do not use it for a livelihood; what use would it be to learn it?" After a few more days, the bustle before Tao's gate gradually subsided, and Tao packed his chrysanthemums in rush mats, loaded several carts, and traveled far away. A year later, when spring was nearly half over, Tao returned with exotic southern flowers, opened a flower shop in the city, and sold all his stock within ten days, then went home to plant more chrysanthemums. Those who had bought flowers from Tao the previous year found that the roots they had kept had all degenerated into inferior varieties, forcing them to purchase again from Tao. From then on, Tao's family grew wealthier day by day: within a year, they added a new room; within two years, they built a large house. All construction and undertakings were decided by Tao himself, without consulting Ma Zicai. Gradually, the land where chrysanthemums had once been planted was all covered with buildings. Tao also bought a field outside the wall, surrounded it with a high fence, and planted it entirely with chrysanthemums. When autumn came, Tao shipped all the flowers away and did not return until the following spring had passed. Ma Zicai's wife died of illness, and he wished to marry Huang Ying, so he secretly sent someone to sound out her intentions. Huang Ying merely smiled, appearing to consent, but said she would wait for Tao's return.
After more than a year had passed, Tao still had not returned. Huang Ying urged the servants to cultivate chrysanthemums just as when Tao was at home. When they earned money, she would consult with the merchants and purchase twenty qing of fertile land outside the village, causing the Tao family estate to grow ever more prosperous. One day, a visitor suddenly arrived from Eastern Guangdong, bearing a letter written by Tao. Ma Zicai opened it and read that Tao instructed his sister to marry Ma Zicai. Checking the date of the letter, it was exactly the day Ma Zicai's wife had died. Recalling the time they had drunk together in the garden, it was precisely forty-three months ago, and Ma Zicai found this deeply strange. He handed the letter to Huang Ying and asked, "Where was the betrothal gift sent?" Huang Ying firmly refused to accept any betrothal gifts. She also felt that Ma Zicai's home was too humble and wanted him to move south to the Tao residence, as if he were a son-in-law marrying into the family. Ma Zicai disagreed and chose an auspicious day to perform the wedding rites. After Huang Ying married Ma Zicai, she opened a door in the wall connecting to the southern courtyard and went there daily to oversee the servants. Ma Zicai felt ashamed that his wife was wealthier than he, and often instructed Huang Ying to keep the property of the northern and southern estates separate and register them distinctly to avoid confusion. Yet whatever the household needed, Huang Ying would fetch from the southern estate. Within half a year, everything in sight in the house was from the Tao family. Ma Zicai immediately sent people to return each item one by one and warned them not to take any more. But within ten days, the house was again filled with Tao family goods. After this back-and-forth several times, Ma Zicai did not find it troublesome. Huang Ying laughed and said, "Even Chen Zhongzi of the Warring States, for all his purity, was not as toilsome as you!" Ma Zicai felt ashamed and ceased his inspections, leaving everything to Huang Ying's arrangements. Huang Ying then summoned craftsmen, prepared materials, and began extensive construction, which Ma Zicai could not prevent. After a few months, the buildings of the two estates connected, and the two families finally merged into one, with no boundary discernible.
But Huang Ying, complying with Ma Zicai's wishes, closed the door and ceased to make a living by selling chrysanthemums, yet their household expenses still surpassed those of the great and noble families. Ma Zicai felt uneasy in his heart and said, "For thirty years I have cultivated a character of purity and integrity, and now I am dragged down by you. Living in this world, I rely solely on my wife for sustenance—this is utterly lacking in the spirit of a true man. Others pray for wealth, but I only wish for poverty!" Huang Ying replied, "I am not a covetous person, but if I can slightly enrich our household, it will prevent future generations from thinking that Tao Yuanming was born with a bone of poverty and could never rise to prominence in a hundred generations. I merely wish that my ancestor, the Magistrate of Pengze, should not be ridiculed by later ages. Yet it is hard for the poor to become rich, but easy for the rich to become poor. The money by your bedside is yours to squander; I will not begrudge it." Ma Zicai said, "To squander another's wealth is also a shameful thing." Huang Ying answered, "You do not wish to be rich, and I do not wish to be poor. There is no other way but to live apart; let the pure be pure, and the turbid be turbid—what harm is there between us?" So Huang Ying built a thatched cottage in the garden and selected a beautiful maid to attend to Ma Zicai. Ma Zicai settled there contentedly. But after a few days, he began to yearn painfully for Huang Ying. He sent someone to invite her, but she refused to come; unable to bear it, he went to her himself. He took to visiting her every other night, and this became a habit. Huang Ying laughed at him and said, "Eating at the eastern house and sleeping at the western house—this is the way of a woman of Qi; should a man of integrity behave thus?" Ma Zicai laughed too, having no words to reply, and so they once again lived together as before.
Later, Ma Zicai went to Jinling on business, coinciding with the autumn season when chrysanthemums were in full bloom. One morning, passing by a flower shop, he saw many chrysanthemums displayed inside, each one of superior quality. His heart stirred with suspicion that these were grown by Tao Sheng. After a while, the shopkeeper came out, and indeed it was Tao Sheng. Ma Zicai was overjoyed, recounting the sentiments of their long separation, and thus lodged with Tao Sheng. Ma Zicai invited Tao Sheng to return north with him, but Tao Sheng said, "Jinling is my homeland; I wish to marry here. I have already saved a modest sum of money; may I trouble you to take it to my sister? I will return home by year's end." Ma Zicai would not listen, pressing his request even more earnestly, and added, "Our household is already quite prosperous; you can enjoy the fruits of leisure without needing to engage in trade." Ma Zicai sat in the shop, instructing his servant to negotiate prices on his behalf, selling the flowers at reduced rates until they were all gone within a few days. Then he urged Tao Sheng to pack his belongings, hired a boat, and returned north. Upon entering the gate, they saw Huang Ying had already cleaned the house, with beds and bedding neatly arranged, as if she had known in advance that her brother would return. From the time Tao Sheng came back, he unpacked his luggage, supervised the laborers, and extensively repaired the garden pavilions. Every day, he played chess and drank wine with Ma Zicai, never entertaining any other guests. When they sought a wife for him, he declined. Huang Ying then sent two maids to attend to his daily needs, and after three years, a daughter was born.
Tao Sheng was always a heavy drinker and had never been seen thoroughly drunk. Ma Zicai had a friend named Zeng Sheng, whose capacity for wine was equally unmatched. One day, Zeng happened to pass by Ma's house, and Ma invited him to compete with Tao to see who could drink more. The two reveled together, lamenting only that they had not met sooner. From the hour of the Dragon until the fourth watch of the night, each had drained over a hundred jugs. Zeng fell into a drunken stupor, slumbering heavily in his seat. Tao rose to return to bed, but as he stepped out, he stumbled into a chrysanthemum bed. His body toppled, his clothes fell to the ground, and as soon as they touched the earth, he transformed into a chrysanthemum plant, as tall as a man, bearing over a dozen blossoms, each larger than a fist. Ma was terrified and rushed back to inform Huang Ying. Huang Ying hurried over, pulled the chrysanthemum from the ground, and laid it down, saying, "How could he get so drunk!" She covered it with his clothes and told Ma to leave with her, warning him not to look again. At dawn, Ma went to check and saw Tao lying beside the chrysanthemum bed. He then realized that the siblings were chrysanthemum spirits and cherished them even more. After revealing his true form, Tao became even more unrestrained in his drinking, often sending invitations to Zeng, and the two became bosom friends. On the day of the Flower Festival, Zeng visited with two servants carrying a jar of medicinal wine, vowing to finish it with Tao. The jar was nearly empty, yet neither was very drunk. Ma secretly added another jug, and they drained that too. Zeng, utterly exhausted, was carried home by his servants. Tao lay down on the ground and turned back into a chrysanthemum. Ma, now accustomed to this, was not alarmed. He pulled it up as Huang Ying had done and watched over it to observe its changes. After a long while, the leaves grew increasingly withered. Alarmed, he hurried to tell Huang Ying. Upon hearing this, she was horrified and cried, "You have killed my brother!" She rushed over and saw that the roots were already dead. Overcome with grief, she broke off a stem, planted it in a pot, and brought it into her room, watering it daily. Ma was filled with remorse and resentment toward Zeng. A few days later, he heard that Zeng had died of drunkenness. The chrysanthemum in the pot gradually sprouted, and by the ninth month, it bloomed with short stems and pink flowers that smelled of wine. Ma named it "Drunken Chrysanthemum" and found that watering it with wine made it flourish. Later, Tao's daughter grew up and married into a noble family. Huang Ying lived to old age without any further anomalies.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: A man like the "Azure Mountain and White Clouds," who died from drunkenness, is mourned by the world, yet he himself may not have been without joy. To plant such chrysanthemums in the courtyard is like seeing a dear friend, like beholding a beautiful woman—one must not fail to seek out such chrysanthemums!
Commentary
Although this tale depicts a romantic union between a man and a chrysanthemum spirit, its central focus lies in exploring matters of personal character, spirit, and the societal issues of human life.
Sister Huang Ying and her brother were neither flower farmers, nor merchants, nor traditional scholars, but rather the ideal personality archetype in Pu Songling's mind—the free-spirited scholar of renown, a "man of the green hills and white clouds."
This passage discusses two issues: one is how to view merchants and commercial behavior, which is primarily embodied in Tao Sheng's words to Ma Zicai: "To earn one's own living by labor is not greed, and to make a living by selling flowers is not vulgar. A man should not seek wealth by improper means, but neither must he strive for poverty." This self-defense criticizes the traditional disdain for merchants held by scholars of the time and defends commerce and commercial behavior. The other issue is how to view wealth and poverty. Which is better, wealth or poverty? What is poverty? What is wealth? What impact do wealth and poverty have on a person's moral character? In the author's view, it is a legitimate desire for people to pursue a prosperous life, as long as the means of seeking wealth are not dirty or improper. The conflict between Ma Zicai and Huang Ying after their union is partly due to male pride, but more so to a debate over whether living a wealthy life is justified and whether one can continue to maintain pure virtue. In Ma Zicai's view, contentment in poverty and devotion to moral principles are noble, while Tao Sheng and Huang Ying hold the opposite view, believing that wealth is not a disgrace and that a prosperous life does not affect one's integrity: "The pure remain pure, and the impure remain impure." In fact, Ma Zicai did not lose any of his pure virtue after becoming wealthy. As for the conflict between Ma Zicai and Huang Ying, it ultimately ends with Huang Ying's victory, which is certainly affirmed by the author.
The language of this tale is both meaningful and humorous, bearing a strong resemblance to the style of "A New Account of the Tales of the World." At the story's end, a beautiful imagination is bestowed: the chrysanthemum transformed by Scholar Tao is named "Drunken Tao," which "emits a wine fragrance when smelled" and "flourishes when watered with wine," leaving an endless lingering charm.