Original Text
Xi Chengli was a scholar from Chengdu who had one wife and one concubine. The concubine, surnamed He, was known by the pet name Zhaorong. His wife died early, and he remarried a woman named Shen, who was by nature jealous and abusive toward He, even involving Xi Chengli in her spite. Shen quarreled all day long, so that the household could never find peace. Xi Chengli, enraged, left home and never returned. After his departure, He gave birth to a son named Danan. With Xi Chengli gone, Shen ostracized He, refusing to let her eat at the same table and doling out grain to her on a strict schedule. As Danan grew older, money grew scarce, and He took up spinning to supplement their income. Seeing the children in the private school reciting their lessons, Danan wished to study as well. His mother, thinking him too young, tentatively sent him to try. Danan was exceptionally bright, learning several times more than the other children. The teacher, amazed by his talent, offered to waive his tuition fees, so He let Danan continue his studies, paying only a small token. After two or three years, Danan had mastered the classics. One day, returning from school, he asked his mother, "The five or six boys in the school all ask their fathers for money to buy cakes. Why do I have no father?" His mother replied, "When you are older, I will tell you." Danan said, "I am only seven or eight now; when will I ever grow up?" His mother answered, "On your way to school, when you pass the Temple of Lord Guan, you should go in and bow to him, praying that he will help you grow quickly." Danan believed her and, from then on, whenever he passed the temple, he would go in and worship. When his mother learned of this, she asked, "What prayers do you offer?" Danan laughed and said, "I only pray that he will let me grow to sixteen or seventeen by next year." His mother laughed at him. Yet Danan's studies and his body grew apace; by the time he was ten, he looked like a boy of thirteen or fourteen, and his eight-legged essays were already complete. One day, Danan said to his mother, "You once said that when I grew up, you would tell me where my father is. Now is the time." His mother replied, "Not yet, not yet." After another year had passed, Danan had grown to manhood and pressed his mother more urgently, so He recounted the whole story in detail. Danan was overcome with grief and resolved to seek his father. He said, "You are still too young; your father's fate is unknown—how can you find him so easily?" Danan said nothing but left, and by noon had not returned. His mother went to the school to ask the teacher and learned that Danan had not come back after breakfast. Greatly alarmed, she hired men to search everywhere, but there was no trace of him.
After leaving home, the elder son ran along the main road, but he was utterly at a loss as to where to go. It happened that he encountered a man heading to Kuizhou, who claimed his surname was Qian. The elder son begged for food along the way and followed behind him. Qian found him too slow and hired a horse for him, spending all the money they had. When they reached Kuizhou, they ate together, and Qian secretly poisoned the food, but the elder son noticed nothing. Qian took him to a large temple, falsely claiming the boy was his own son who had fallen ill with no means for treatment, and wished to sell him to the monks. The monks, seeing the elder son’s handsome and extraordinary appearance, vied to buy him. Qian took the money and left. The monks fed him water, and the elder son gradually regained consciousness. The abbot, learning of this, came to examine him and, finding his features remarkable, slowly questioned him, thus uncovering the truth. The abbot took pity on him and gave him some money to leave. There was a scholar from Luzhou named Jiang, who was returning home after failing the imperial examinations. On the way, he inquired about the elder son’s situation, praised his filial piety, and took him along. When they reached Luzhou, the elder son became a steward in Jiang’s household. For over a month, he made inquiries everywhere. Someone mentioned a merchant from Fujian named Xi, so the elder son bid farewell to Scholar Jiang and set out for Fujian. Jiang gave him clothes and shoes, and the neighbors also pooled money to assist him. On the road, the elder son met two cloth merchants heading to Fujian and invited them to travel together. After some distance, the merchants, spying money in the elder son’s pouch, lured him to a secluded spot, bound his hands and feet, took his money bag, and fled. By chance, an old man named Chen from Yongfu passed by, untied him, and took him home in a cart. Chen was very wealthy, and merchants from all directions were often his clients. Chen instructed the traveling merchants to inquire about Xi Chengli and kept the elder son to study with his own sons. Thus, the elder son stayed in Chen’s household and ceased his wandering, but the farther he went from home, the more his news became cut off.
Concubine He had lived alone for three or four years, when Shen withheld her allowance and pressured her to remarry. He's resolve remained unshaken, so Shen forcibly sold her to a merchant from Chongqing, who took her away by force. That night, He cut herself with a knife, and the merchant dared not press her; once her wound healed, he resold her to a merchant from Yanting. At Yanting, He stabbed herself in the heart, exposing even her innards. The merchant, terrified, applied medicine to her wound. After it healed, He begged to become a nun. The merchant said, "I have a business friend who is impotent and often seeks someone to manage his household. This is no different from being a nun, and it may somewhat compensate me for the money I spent on you." He agreed. The merchant sent her by cart to the friend's home. Upon entering the gate, the master came out to greet her—it was Xi Chenglie. It turned out that Xi had abandoned his scholarly pursuits for trade, and the merchant, seeing him without a wife, had presented He to him. When they met, both were astonished and grieved, each recounting the sorrows of their separation. Xi then learned that his son was still searching for him and had not returned. Xi entrusted the travelers to help inquire about Danan's whereabouts. Thus, Concubine He was elevated from concubine to wife. However, He, having endured many hardships, was frail and ill, unable to manage household affairs, and urged Xi to take a concubine. Xi, mindful of past calamities, refused her request. He said, "If I were one to vie for the favors of the bedchamber, I would have remarried and borne children years ago—how could I have come to this day with you? Moreover, the pain others inflicted on me still aches in my heart—how could I inflict that pain on another and repeat the same mistake?" Xi then instructed his companions to purchase an older concubine, over thirty years of age. Half a year later, the companions indeed brought back a concubine. Upon entering the door, they saw it was his wife Shen, and both were utterly astonished.
Prior to this, Shen had lived alone for over a year. Her elder brother Shen Bao urged her to remarry, and she agreed. However, because the Xi family's nephews obstructed the sale of her family's fields, she could not dispose of them. Shen then sold her own belongings, accumulating several hundred taels of silver, which she brought back to her brother's home. A merchant from Baoning, hearing that Shen's dowry was substantial, bribed Shen Bao with much money and deceitfully took Shen as his wife. But this merchant was old and infirm, unable to fulfill the duties of a husband. Shen resented her brother, grew restless at home, and caused a great uproar by threatening to hang herself or jump into a well. The merchant, enraged, stripped her of her wealth and sold her as a concubine, but everyone found her too old. When the merchant was about to go to Kuizhou, he took her along. In the merchant community, he encountered Xi Chenglie, who happened to take a liking to her, and so he sold her and departed. Upon seeing Xi Chenglie, Shen felt both shame and fear, unable to utter a word. Xi Chenglie inquired of his companions, learned the general situation, and said, "If you had met a robust man, you would have stayed in Baoning, and we would never have seen each other again—this too is fate. But today, I am buying a concubine, not taking a wife. You may first go see Zhaorong and perform the rites of a concubine paying respects to the wife." Shen felt deeply humiliated. Xi Chenglie said, "When you were the principal wife, how was it then?" He Shi tried to persuade Xi Chenglie, but he would not relent, and with a staff in hand, he forced Shen. Shen, having no choice, performed the rites to He Shi. Yet Shen always disdained to serve He Shi and only worked in other rooms. He Shi was lenient with her in all matters and could not bear to criticize her for being lazy or diligent. Xi Chenglie often conversed and drank with Zhaorong, ordering Shen to stand by and serve. He Shi then sent a maidservant to replace Shen, not allowing her to come.
It happened that Chen Sizong arrived at Yanting to serve as magistrate, and Xi Chenglie had a minor dispute with a villager, who then filed a lawsuit against Xi, accusing him of forcing his wife into concubinage. Chen Sizong dismissed the case and scolded the villager away. Xi Chenglie was overjoyed and was privately praising Magistrate Chen's kindness with He. After the first watch of the night, a servant suddenly knocked at the door and entered to report, "The magistrate has arrived." Xi Chenglie was greatly startled and hurriedly searched for his clothes and shoes, but the magistrate had already reached the bedroom door. Xi became even more panicked, not knowing what to do. He looked closely and rushed out to greet him, saying, "This is my son!" With that, she burst into tears, and Magistrate Chen also prostrated himself on the ground, weeping sorrowfully. It turned out that Da Nan had taken the surname Chen from Old Man Chen and had already become an official. Initially, when Chen Gong traveled to the prefecture where he was to serve, he took a detour through his hometown and learned that both his mothers had remarried, causing him to beat his chest and weep in anguish. The Xi clan, knowing that Da Nan had become prominent, returned the fields and houses they had forcibly occupied. Chen Gong then left a servant to manage affairs regularly, hoping his father might return. Soon after, he received his appointment to serve in Yanting and considered abandoning his post to search for his father, but Old Man Chen earnestly dissuaded him. Just then, a fortune-teller happened by, and Chen Gong asked him to cast a divination. The fortune-teller said, "The small becomes great, the young becomes elder; seeking a man yields a woman, seeking one person yields two: it is auspicious for officialdom." Chen Gong thus assumed his post. Because he had not found his kin, he abstained from meat and wine during his tenure. On this day, upon receiving the villager's complaint, he saw Xi Chenglie's name and grew suspicious. He secretly sent a household servant to investigate thoroughly and confirmed it was indeed his father. So he traveled incognito by night. Upon seeing his mother, he became even more convinced of the fortune-teller's accuracy. When Chen Gong left his father's house, he instructed that it not be publicized and gave two hundred taels of silver for his father to prepare travel gear and return to his hometown. When Xi Chenglie returned home, he found the gates and doors newly renovated, with many cattle, horses, and servants, already presenting a grand household scene. Shen, seeing Da Nan's wealth and power, became even more self-restrained. Her brother Shen Bao, indignant, filed a lawsuit to contest the position of principal wife for his sister. The magistrate, after investigating the facts, angrily said, "Greedy for property, you urged your sister to remarry; she has already changed two husbands—what face do you have to argue over the former status of principal or concubine?" He then gave Shen Bao a severe beating. From then on, the hierarchy of senior and junior was firmly established. Shen acknowledged He as her younger sister, and He treated her as an elder sister, sharing clothes, food, and drink without selfishness. At first, Shen feared He would seek revenge, but now she felt even more ashamed and regretful. Xi Chenglie also forgot Shen's past misdeeds, instructing everyone in the household to address her as Grandmother, but the official honors and titles never fell upon her.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: How inscrutable are the ways of the Creator, who confounds the multitude with such marvelous contrivances! Xi Chenglie, unable to assert himself between wife and concubine, was but a mediocre and insignificant man. Had it not been for a filial son like Da Nan and a virtuous mother like Lady He, how could such a wondrous union have come to pass, allowing him to sit back and enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of his days!
Commentary
This tale showcases its legendary nature from two aspects. One thread involves the young child Da Nan journeying a thousand li in search of his father. The other thread concerns the reversal of status between Xi Chenglie's wife and concubine during this process, where the concubine He became the principal wife, while the original wife Shen became the concubine. The first thread serves as an introduction to the second, which is the story's focus and core. Pu Songling remarked in the "Historian of the Strange's commentary": "The upheaval of mortal beings is beyond comprehension—how ingenious is the Creator's design!" This refers precisely to the legendary reversal of status between wife and concubine.
In feudal society, the distinction between wife and concubine was strictly defined. The "Tang Code with Commentary" states: "If a man treats his wife as a concubine, he shall be sentenced to two years of penal servitude, and the proper order shall be restored." And: "If a man treats his concubine or female servant as his wife, he shall be sentenced to one and a half years of penal servitude, and the proper order shall be restored." In the story "Da Nan," the reversal of roles between wife and concubine is attributed by the author first to Xi Chengli's mediocrity and lack of manly vigor, second to Shen Shi's failure to observe wifely virtue, and finally to the son and concubine being a "filial son and virtuous mother." Is the author's viewpoint correct? Probably not entirely. In truth, the primary reason was that He Shi's son became an official. If Da Nan had been Shen Shi's son, no matter how virtuous and chaste He Shi might have been, or how shrewish and jealous Shen Shi, the positions of wife and concubine would never have been reversed.
Although this tale possesses a legendary quality, the contrived nature of its plot is too apparent and its didactic tone too heavy. For instance, the notion that both He and Shen managed to preserve their chastity while being captured and sold is utterly absurd.