Original Text
A wealthy official and gentleman went to Yangzhou to purchase a concubine, and after inspecting several households, he found none to his liking. At last, an old woman offered for sale a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years, whose graceful bearing and exquisite beauty were matched by her mastery of various arts. The official was overjoyed and paid a high price to acquire her. That night, as they retired to bed, he caressed the maiden's skin, which was as smooth as fine oil. Delighted, he reached to touch her private parts, only to discover that she was a male. Greatly alarmed, he pressed for an explanation. It turned out that the old woman had purchased a handsome boy, deliberately adorned and dressed him as a girl, and set up this trap to deceive. At dawn, the official sent his servants to find the old woman, but she had already vanished without a trace. The official was deeply vexed, not knowing what to do. Just then, a fellow provincial graduate from Zhejiang came to visit, and the official recounted the matter. The graduate asked to see the boy, and upon meeting him, was greatly pleased, and redeemed him at the original price, taking him away.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: If one can encounter a true kindred spirit, even the offer of a beauty like Nan Zhiwei would not be exchanged for it. That old woman was truly ignorant—why needlessly go to the trouble of disguising a man as a woman!
Commentary
The majority of human individuals experience sexual attraction toward the opposite sex, which aligns with their biological instinct to procreate. However, in the course of animal evolution, a portion of human individuals have exhibited a separation between sexual orientation and reproductive instinct, namely the phenomenon of homosexuality, the causes of which remain not entirely clear.
"Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" contains several stories addressing the issue of same-sex love, and this is one of them. From the "Historian of the Strange's commentary," it is evident that Pu Songling held a rather lenient attitude toward homosexuality, which, aside from being influenced by the prevailing customs among Ming and Qing dynasty literati, likely aligns with his philosophy of emotionalism. Since Pu Songling affirmed love between humans and non-human entities such as ghosts, foxes, and flower spirits, believing that "with unwavering devotion, even spirits and gods can be reached," it naturally follows that on the matter of human same-sex love, he would maintain that "if one encounters a true soulmate, even the beauty Nanwei cannot compare."