Original Text
Li Xin was a gambler. One day, while napping in the daytime, he suddenly saw his former gambling companions Wang Da and Feng Jiu arrive, inviting him to go gamble together. Li Xin, forgetting that they were already ghosts, gladly followed them. Upon leaving the door, Wang Da went to invite Zhou Ziming from the village, while Feng Jiu led Li Xin ahead, arriving at a temple east of the village. Before long, Zhou Ziming indeed came with Wang Da. Feng Jiu produced paper cards, and they all agreed to start gambling. Li Xin said, "I came out in haste without any gambling funds, disappointing your generous invitation—what can be done?" Zhou Ziming also said he had no money. Wang Da said, "Master Huang the Eighth of Swallow Valley lends money at high interest; let us all go borrow from him, and he will surely lend." Thus the four went together. In a drifting, ethereal manner, they arrived at a large village, where grand mansions and lofty courtyards stretched continuously. Wang Da pointed to a gate and said, "This is Master Huang's residence." An old servant came out from the gate, and Wang Da explained their purpose. The servant immediately went in to report, soon returning to say that by the master's command, he invited Wang Da and Li Xin to meet. Wang and Li entered within, where they saw Master Huang, a youth of about eighteen or nineteen, speaking with a smile and a cordial demeanor. Master Huang produced a string of large coins and handed them to Li Xin, saying, "I know you are an honest and upright man, so I do not mind lending to you, but Zhou Ziming I cannot trust." Wang Da tactfully pleaded on Zhou Ziming's behalf. Master Huang asked Li Xin to act as guarantor, but Li Xin refused. Wang Da urged him from the side, and Li Xin finally agreed, whereupon Master Huang also lent Zhou Ziming a thousand coins. The two came out, handed the money to Zhou Ziming, and recounted Master Huang's words to spur Zhou Ziming into repaying the debt.
They emerged from Swallow Valley and saw a woman approaching; she was the wife of a certain Zhao from the village, known for her quarrelsome and scolding nature. Feng Jiu said, "There is no one here; let us give this shrew a taste of hardship." So he and Wang Da seized Zhao's wife and dragged her back into the valley. The woman let out a loud wail, but Feng Jiu scooped up a handful of earth and stuffed it into her mouth. Zhou Ziming commended, "For such a vixen, a wooden stake should be thrust into her private parts!" Feng Jiu then stripped off her trousers and forcibly inserted a long stone slab. The woman fell into a dead faint. The crowd then dispersed, returning to the temple to resume their gambling.
From noon until midnight, Li Xin won repeatedly, leaving Feng Jiu and Zhou Ziming completely bankrupt. Li Xin then took out a large sum of money, including interest, and gave it all to Wang Da, asking him to repay Young Master Huang on his behalf. Wang Da, in turn, distributed the money to Zhou Ziming and Feng Jiu, and they resumed gambling. Shortly after, a clamor arose, and a man rushed in shouting, "The City God himself has come to arrest the gamblers! He is already here!" The crowd was thrown into panic. Li Xin abandoned his money and fled over the wall, while the others, preoccupied with their coins, were all seized and bound. Outside the temple gate, they indeed saw a divine figure seated on a horse, with over twenty gamblers tied in a line behind him. Before dawn, they had reached the county town, entered through the city gates, and arrived at the yamen. The City God, facing south with his back to the north, took his seat and summoned the prisoners to the hall, calling their names from a register. After the roll call, he ordered sharp axes to chop off their middle fingers, then had their eyes painted with black and red colors respectively, and paraded them through three rounds of the streets. The escorts demanded bribes to remove the colors, and all the gamblers paid up. Only Zhou Ziming refused, claiming he had no money. The escorts proposed to collect the payment at his home, but Zhou Ziming still refused. The escort pointed at him and cursed, "You are truly an iron bean, impossible to crack even when fried!" Then, with a bow, they took their leave and departed. Zhou Ziming left the city, moistened his sleeve with saliva, and wiped his eyes as he walked. When he reached the riverbank and looked at his reflection, the black and red colors had not come off. He scooped water to wash them, but they would not fade, and he returned home full of regret and resentment.
Previously, the woman of the Zhao family had gone back to her parents' home on some business, and when it grew late and she had not yet returned, her husband went to fetch her. Upon reaching the mouth of the valley, he found his wife lying by the roadside, and from her appearance, he knew she had encountered a ghost. He removed the mud from her mouth and carried her back home. Gradually, the Zhao woman regained consciousness and was able to speak, and only then did she realize there was something still lodged within her private parts; she then, with much difficulty, had it drawn out. Only then did she recount her ordeal. Zhao was greatly enraged and immediately rushed to the county yamen to accuse Li Xin and Zhou Ziming. The magistrate issued a summons, but Li Xin had just awakened, and Zhou Ziming was still in a deep slumber, as if dead. The magistrate, believing Zhao's accusation to be false, had Zhao beaten and also put his wife in the cangue; neither of the Zhao couple could offer any defense. The next day, when Zhou Ziming awoke, his eyes suddenly turned one red and one black, and he cried out in pain from his fingers. Upon inspection, the sinews of his middle finger were already severed, with only the skin still attached, and after a few days, it completely fell off. The black and red color on his eyes had penetrated deep into the flesh, and all who saw him could not help but cover their mouths and laugh. One day, Wang Da came to demand repayment of a debt, and Zhou Ziming, with a harsh voice, merely said he had no money, so Wang Da left in a fury. When his family asked him what had happened, they learned the whole story. Everyone thought that the spirits and ghosts showed no partiality and urged him to repay the money. Zhou Ziming argued stubbornly that he would not, saying, "Nowadays, even the officials favor those who default on debts; the human world and the underworld should be the same, especially when it comes to gambling debts!"
The next day, two ghosts arrived, announcing that Young Master Huang had lodged a complaint against him at the county court and that he was to be arrested and brought before the magistrate for interrogation. Li Xin also saw the ghostly messengers coming and was ordered to serve as a witness, so Zhou Ziming and Li Xin both died at the same time. They met outside the village, where Wang Da and Feng Jiu were also present. Li Xin said to Zhou Ziming, "You still carry those red and black eyes—dare you face the official?" Zhou Ziming replied with the same words he had used before. Knowing his stinginess, Li Xin said, "Since you have no conscience, I will go see Huang Baguaren and settle the debt for you." So they all went together to Young Master Huang's house. Li Xin entered and explained his intention, but Huang refused, saying, "Who owes the money? Why should you repay it?" Li Xin came out and told Zhou Ziming, and they discussed pooling some money, pretending it was Zhou Ziming's to repay Huang. Zhou Ziming grew even more indignant and spoke rudely to Huang. The ghosts then escorted them all away. After a short while, they reached the county town and appeared before the City God. The City God roared, "You scoundrel! The paint on your eyes is still there, and yet you try to deny the debt!" Zhou Ziming said, "Young Master Huang lent money at usurious rates and lured me into gambling, which is why I was punished." The City God summoned the Huang family servant and said angrily, "Your master opened a gambling den to entice people into gambling, and still dares to demand repayment?" The servant replied, "When the money was taken, Young Master Huang did not know it was for gambling. Our master's home is in Swallow Valley, and the gamblers were caught at Guanyin Temple, a distance of over ten li. Our master has never engaged in running a gambling establishment." The City God looked at Zhou Ziming and said, "You borrowed money and refused to repay it, and instead fabricate lies to slander an innocent man! If there is such a thing as lacking conscience, you are the epitome of it!" He then ordered punishment. Zhou Ziming again complained that Huang's interest was too high. The City God asked, "How much have you repaid?" Zhou Ziming said, "Truly, not a single cent." The City God said angrily, "You have not even repaid the principal, and yet you speak of interest?" He then ordered Zhou Ziming to be beaten thirty strokes and immediately sent back to the world of the living to repay his creditor. Two ghosts escorted Zhou Ziming home, demanding bribes and not allowing him to revive immediately. They tied him to a latrine and ordered him to send a dream to his family. His family burned twenty paper ingots, which, after the fire died, turned into two taels of silver and two thousand cash. Zhou Ziming used the two taels to repay the debt and the two thousand cash to bribe the escorting ghosts, who then released him to return home. When Zhou Ziming revived, his buttocks were covered with sores, festering with pus and blood, and it took several months to heal. Later, the woman Zhao dared not curse anymore, but Zhou Ziming, though he had only four fingers and his eyes remained red and black, continued to gamble. From this, it can be seen that gamblers are truly not human!
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: The reason there are injustices in the world is entirely due to officials overcorrecting past wrongs. In former times, wealthy men used usurious loans, demanding double repayment for every single unit lent, to seize the daughters of good families, and no one dared to speak out. If anyone expressed discontent, the rich would send letters to the authorities, who would then use the law to shield them. Thus, the local officials of old were nothing more than servants to the powerful and influential. Later, some wise men discovered this abuse and reversed everything entirely. Some individuals borrowed large sums to engage in trade, became wealthy merchants, donned brocade and silk, feasted on delicacies, built mansions, and purchased fertile fields, yet forgot the source of their wealth. When asked to repay the debt, they would glare in anger. When the matter was brought to court, the magistrate would declare, 'I am not a lackey for others.' How is this different from the Lazy Remnant Monk having no time to wipe away the tears of common folk? I have often said that the officials of old were sycophantic, while those of today are absurd. Sycophants certainly deserve condemnation, but the absurd are equally detestable. To compel a lender to accept only meager interest—does this benefit only the rich?
When Zhang Shinian served as the magistrate of Zichuan County, he detested gambling above all else. His methods, such as blackening gamblers' faces and parading them through the city, were akin to those of the underworld, though he stopped short of cutting off fingers; thus, gambling was effectively banned. Zhang was adept at drawing inferences and uncovering hidden truths. Amid his busy official duties, whenever someone appeared before him, he would seize the moment to inquire in detail about their residence, age, family members, and occupation. After this thorough questioning, he would offer words of encouragement before dismissing them. One man, having paid his taxes and submitted his receipt, thought himself free of trouble and prepared to leave the hall. Zhang halted him, questioned him carefully, and then asked, "Why do you gamble?" The man vehemently denied it, claiming he had never gambled in his life. Zhang smiled and said, "You still carry gambling implements at your waist." Upon searching him, it was indeed so. Everyone marveled at his prescience, but none could fathom the method behind it.
Commentary
This tale carries a strong admonitory message. What does it warn against? It warns men against gambling and, incidentally, warns women against being fond of quarreling and skilled in scolding. These were likely deep-rooted maladies in the rural villages of that time.
The tale recounts how mortal gamblers and their counterparts in the underworld joined forces in gambling, and while their fervor for the game was at its peak, they encountered the City God on his nightly patrol and were severely punished. The conclusion describes the gamblers returning to the mortal realm, where the gambler Zhou Ziming, upon regaining consciousness, found that his buttocks had swollen into a mound, festering with pus and blood, and it took several months for him to recover. Yet Zhou, with his four fingers marked by red and black ink spots, continued to gamble as before. This reveals that gamblers are hardly human! The story's moral is abundantly clear. The punishment inflicted upon the gamblers in the underworld was quite inventive: the City God ordered that their index fingers be chopped off with a sharp axe, and then their eyes were painted with black ink and red vermilion, after which they were paraded three times around the market. However, when one considers the appendix appended to the tale, which states that when Zhang Shinian served as the magistrate of Zichuan County, he detested gambling above all else. His method of painting faces and parading offenders through the city was exactly like the underworld's punishment, though the penalty did not extend to severing fingers, and yet gambling ceased entirely. Then everything becomes clear: the invention of this punitive measure originated with Zhang Shinian, and the tale was crafted based on his achievements in prohibiting gambling.