Original Text
Yu Ke was a man from Hunan, though which prefecture or county he hailed from has been forgotten. His family was poor, and after failing the imperial examinations, he set out for home, but his travel funds were entirely exhausted. Too ashamed to beg, he was severely hungry and temporarily rested in the Temple of King Wu. After bowing and praying before the deity's statue, he came out and lay down beneath the corridor. Suddenly, a man arrived and led him to see King Wu, where the man knelt and reported, "The Black Robe Company still lacks one man; he can fill the vacancy." King Wu said, "Very well," and ordered someone to give Yu Ke a black robe. As soon as the black robe was donned, Yu Ke transformed into a crow, flapped his wings, and flew out. He saw that his companions had already gathered, so he followed them, and together they flew off, each alighting on the masts of boats. The travelers on the boats vied to toss up pieces of meat, and the crows caught them in midair to eat. Yu Ke imitated their actions, and soon he was full. He flew down to perch on a treetop, appearing quite content. After two or three days, King Wu took pity on him for having no mate and paired him with a female crow named Zhu Qing. They loved each other dearly and were very happy. Whenever Yu Ke went foraging for food, he was very tame and had no caution at all. Zhu Qing often advised him, but he never heeded her. One day, some Manchu soldiers passed by and struck Yu Ke in the chest with a pellet from a slingshot. Fortunately, Zhu Qing carried him away in her beak, so he was not captured. The crows were enraged and together flapped their wings, stirring up waves that rose and capsized all the boats. Zhu Qing brought food to feed Yu Ke, but his wound was too severe, and after a day, he died. Yu Ke suddenly felt as if waking from a dream and found himself lying in the Temple of King Wu. It turned out that nearby residents had seen him dead, not knowing who he was, and upon feeling his body, which was still warm, they had someone come to check on him from time to time. At this point, they asked him about his circumstances, pooled some money, and sent him home.
Three years later, Yu Ke passed by that place again and went to pay homage at the Temple of King Wu. He set out food and called the crows to come down and eat together, praying, "If Zhu Qing is here, please stay." After the crows finished eating, they all flew away together. Later, Yu Ke passed the imperial examination on his return and again went to the Temple of King Wu to offer sacrifices, presenting pigs and sheep as offerings. After the ceremony, he laid out a great feast to entertain his old crow companions and prayed once more to Zhu Qing. That night, Yu Ke lodged in a village by the lake. As he sat upright under the lamplight, suddenly something like a bird fluttered down before his table. When Yu Ke looked, it was a beautiful woman of about twenty. She smiled and said, "Are you well since we last met?" Startled, Yu Ke asked who she was, and she replied, "Do you not recognize Zhu Qing?" Overjoyed, Yu Ke asked where she had come from. Zhu Qing said, "I am now the goddess of the Han River, and I seldom have the chance to return to my old home. Earlier, the crow messenger twice conveyed your heartfelt intentions, so I have come especially to be with you." Yu Ke was even more delighted and grateful, and they were like a long-separated husband and wife reunited, filled with boundless joy and deep affection. Yu Ke planned to take her back south with him, while Zhu Qing wished to invite him west. They discussed it but could not decide. The next morning, when Yu Ke awoke from his sleep, he found Zhu Qing already up. Opening his eyes, he saw a grand hall lit by towering candles in splendid brilliance, and realized he was no longer on the boat. Startled, he rose and asked, "What place is this?" Zhu Qing smiled and said, "This is Hanyang. My home is your home—why must you go south?" As day gradually dawned, maids and servants came bustling in, and wine and dishes were already laid out. They set a low table on the large bed and sat facing each other, drinking. Yu Ke asked, "Where is my servant now?" Zhu Qing replied, "He is on the boat." Yu Ke worried that the boatman could not wait long, but Zhu Qing said, "It is no trouble; I will inform him on your behalf." So they spent day and night in laughter and feasting, so happy that they forgot about returning home.
The boatman awoke from his dream and suddenly found himself at Hanyang, greatly astonished. Yu Ke's servant, searching for his master, could find no trace of him. The boatman thought to go elsewhere, but the mooring rope could not be untied, so he and the servant had no choice but to wait on the boat. After more than two months, Yu Ke suddenly wished to return home and said to Zhu Qing, "Here I am, cut off from all my relatives. Moreover, you and I are husband and wife in name, yet you refuse to visit my home—why is that?" Zhu Qing replied, "Do not speak of my inability to go; even if I did, your household already has a wife—how would you arrange for me? It is better to settle me here as your separate residence." Yu Ke only regretted the great distance that prevented him from coming often. Zhu Qing brought out the black garment and said, "Your old clothes are still here. If you miss me, put on this garment and you will arrive; when you do, I will untie it for you." Then she prepared a grand feast to see him off. Yu Ke, drunk, fell asleep and awoke to find himself already on the boat. Looking around, he was at the original mooring place on Lake Dongting. The boatman and servant were both there; seeing him, they were greatly startled and asked where he had been. Yu Ke himself felt melancholy and amazed. By his pillow was a bundle; opening it, he found clothes and shoes given by Zhu Qing, with the black garment folded inside. A embroidered pouch was tied to his waist; feeling it, he found it stuffed full of coins. So Yu Ke sailed southward, reached the opposite shore, generously rewarded the boatman, and departed.
After returning home for several months, Yu Ke deeply missed Zhu Qing, so he secretly took out the black garment and put it on. Instantly, two wings sprouted from his ribs, and with a sudden whoosh, he soared into the sky. In about two hours, he reached the Han River. Circling in the air, he looked down and saw a cluster of buildings on a solitary island, so he descended. A maidservant had already spotted him and called out loudly, "The master has returned!" Shortly after, Zhu Qing came out and instructed the attendants to help Yu Ke remove the black garment, and he felt all his feathers fall off at once. Zhu Qing took his hand and led him inside, saying, "You have come at the right time, for I am about to give birth." Yu Ke joked, "Is it to be born from the womb or hatched from an egg?" Zhu Qing replied, "I am now a deity; my flesh, skin, and bones have all been transformed, and I am no longer as I was before." A few days later, Zhu Qing indeed gave birth. The child was wrapped in a thick membrane, resembling a large egg, and when opened, it was a boy. Yu Ke was overjoyed and named him Han Chan. Three days later, all the goddesses of the Han River arrived, bringing many clothes, food, and treasures to offer congratulations. They were all beautiful women, none over thirty years of age. They entered the room, approached the bedside, and pressed their thumbs on the child's nose, a practice called "prolonging life." After the goddesses departed, Yu Ke asked, "Who were those who just came?" Zhu Qing said, "They are all my peers. The last one, dressed in lotus-white garments, is the fairy from the legend of Zheng Jiaofu, who met her at Hangu and received a jade pendant as a gift." Several months later, Zhu Qing sent Yu Ke back by boat. The boat moved without sails or oars, gliding along as if by itself. Upon reaching the shore, a horse was already waiting, held by an attendant by the roadside, and Yu Ke thus returned home. From then on, the two maintained a constant exchange between their realms.
After several more years, Hanchan grew increasingly handsome and refined, and Yuke cherished him dearly. His wife, Lady He, who suffered from infertility, often longed to see Hanchan. Yuke informed Zhuqing of this, and she prepared travel arrangements, sending her son back with his father, agreeing on a three-month term. When Hanchan arrived at Yuke's home, Lady He loved him even more than if he were her own child, and after more than ten months, she was reluctant to let him return. One day, Hanchan suddenly fell ill with a fatal disease and died, plunging Lady He into unbearable grief. Yuke hurried to the Han River to tell Zhuqing, and upon entering her home, he saw Hanchan lying barefoot on the bed. Overjoyed, he asked Zhuqing what had happened. Zhuqing said, "You violated the agreed time far too long. I also missed him deeply, so I summoned him back." Yuke then explained that Lady He could not bear children and thus cherished the boy. Zhuqing replied, "Wait until I give birth to another child, then I will let Hanchan return." After another year or more, Zhuqing gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl; the boy was named Hansheng, and the girl Yupei. Yuke then took Hanchan back home. However, he found it inconvenient to travel three or four times a year, so he moved his household to Hanyang. When Hanchan reached twelve years of age, he entered the prefectural school. Zhuqing, believing that no beautiful woman in the mortal world was worthy to be his wife, summoned Hanchan back and arranged a marriage for him before letting him return home. The bride's name was Zhiniang, also the daughter of a divine maiden. Later, when Lady He died, Hansheng and his sister Yupei both came to attend the funeral. After the burial, Hansheng remained behind, and Yuke took Yupei away, never to return again.
Commentary
This is a beautiful fairy tale about crows.
In a certain sense, this piece can be regarded as a companion piece to "Woven into Silk." The story also unfolds on Lake Dongting, the protagonist is likewise a failed scholar, and it too draws upon a Tang dynasty legend for reference (see "The Mountain of Lord Wu" in volume 462 of the Extensive Records of the Taiping Era), yet its richness of imagination and loftiness of conception far surpass that tale.
The first half of the tale recounts how Yu Ke, donning a black garment, transforms into a crow and takes Zhu Qing as his wife; after being shot down, Zhu Qing remains steadfastly by his side—this is merely a novelized version of a folk legend. The truly captivating part of the story, which also embodies the creative essence of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" and showcases its wondrous and romantic imagination, unfolds in the latter half. It describes how Yu Ke, having regained human form, reunites with Zhu Qing, who has become the goddess of the Han River, and the two live an ordinary married life as humans. Not only does it depict Yu Ke once again donning the black robe, where "two wings sprout from his ribs, and he soars aloft with a rustling sound," and upon reaching their destination, "many hands gently untie the knots, and he feels the feathers shed completely," but also their child is born "wrapped in a thick caul, like a giant egg, and when broken, it is a boy"—transcending the simplistic patterns of earlier folk tales. Moreover, it portrays the marital life of Yu Ke and Zhu Qing as warm, harmonious, sweet, and novel, rich with deep human tenderness yet not devoid of magical romance; upon closing the book and reflecting, one is lost in a serene longing.