Original Text
Young Master Wei was a scion of a prominent family in Xianyang, given to debauchery and lechery, defiling every maidservant or married woman of even slight comeliness. He once carried several thousand taels of silver, intending to visit all the famed courtesans under heaven, and there was no bustling district he did not explore. With those courtesans of lesser beauty, he would stay but two nights before departing; those who pleased him, he would tarry with for a hundred days. His uncle, a renowned official retired to his home, was greatly angered by his dissolute conduct, and thus engaged a distinguished tutor, purchased a separate house, and ordered Young Master Wei to study behind closed doors alongside the other Wei scions. At night, Young Master Wei, seeing his tutor asleep, would climb over the wall to return home, returning just before dawn, making this a daily habit. One night, he stumbled and broke his arm, whereupon the tutor discovered his secret and reported it to his uncle. His uncle beat him severely, not ceasing until he could not rise, then applied medicine. After his wounds healed, his uncle made a pact with him: if he excelled in his studies twice as much as the others and wrote fine essays, he would not forbid his going out; if he secretly absconded, he would be flogged as before. But Young Master Wei was most clever, often surpassing the tutor's assigned lessons in his reading. After several years, he passed the provincial examination and became a juren. He wished to secretly break the pact, but his uncle restrained him. When he journeyed to the capital for the metropolitan examination, his uncle sent an old servant to accompany him, giving him a diary to record Young Master Wei's every word and deed, so for several years he committed no transgression. Later, Young Master Wei passed the metropolitan examination and became a jinshi, whereupon his uncle slightly relaxed his restrictions. Young Master Wei sometimes wished to indulge himself, but fearing his uncle's knowledge, he would assume the surname Wei when entering a brothel.
One day, Scholar Wei passed through Xi'an and encountered a young actor named Luo Huiqing, who was sixteen or seventeen years old, as delicate and beautiful as a well-bred maiden. Wei took a great liking to him, invited him to stay the night, and bestowed generous gifts upon him. Hearing that Luo Huiqing's newlywed wife was exceptionally charming, Wei privately hinted at his desire. Luo showed no reluctance and that night indeed brought his wife along; the three of them slept together in one bed. After lingering for several days, Wei grew even fonder of them and wished to take the couple back home with him. He asked about Luo's family, and Luo replied, "My mother died early, but my father is still alive. I was not originally surnamed Luo. When my mother was young, she served as a maid in the Wei household in Xianyang, then was sold to the Luo family. Four months later, I was born. If I could accompany you, sir, I might also inquire about my father." Startled, Wei asked the mother's surname, and Luo said, "Her surname was Lü." Wei was horrified, drenched in cold sweat, for Luo's mother had once been a maid in his own household. Speechless, Wei, as dawn broke, bestowed many gifts upon Luo, urging him to change his profession and cease being an actor. Pretending to have other business, he promised to return for Luo on his way home, then took his leave and departed.
Later, Wei Gongzi became the magistrate of Suzhou. There was a courtesan named Shen Weiniang, whose elegance and charm were unparalleled. Wei Gongzi took a great liking to her and kept her for intimate companionship. He joked, "Does your name come from the line 'A spring breeze song, Du Weiniang'?" Shen Weiniang replied, "No. When my mother was seventeen, she was a famous courtesan. A young gentleman from Xianyang, who shared your surname, stayed with her for three months and pledged to marry her. After he left, my mother was eight months pregnant and gave birth to me. She named me Wei, which is actually my surname. Before parting, that gentleman gave my mother a pair of golden mandarin ducks, which are still with us. But he never returned, and my mother died of grief and resentment. When I was three, an old woman named Shen adopted me, so I took her surname." Hearing this, Wei Gongzi was overcome with shame and remorse, feeling utterly disgraced. After a moment of silence, he quickly devised a plan. He suddenly rose, lit a lamp, and called Shen Weiniang to drink, secretly placing poison in her cup. As soon as she swallowed it, her mind became disordered, and she groaned and screamed. People gathered and saw she was dead. Wei Gongzi summoned the entertainer, handed over the body, and bribed him heavily. But those who were close to Shen Weiniang were powerful figures; hearing of her tragic death, they were indignant and gave the entertainer much money to incite him to file a lawsuit. Wei Gongzi, terrified, spent his entire fortune to cover up his crime, and eventually, due to his reckless behavior, he was dismissed from office.
When Wei Gongzi returned home, he was only thirty-eight years old and deeply regretted his past conduct. His five or six wives and concubines had all failed to bear him a son. He thought of adopting his uncle's grandson as his heir, but his uncle, considering Wei's lack of virtue in his household, feared that the grandson would be corrupted by bad habits if sent to live with him. Though he agreed to the adoption, he insisted that it must wait until Wei was old before the grandson would be transferred to his home. Wei was greatly angered and wished to summon Luo Huiqing back, but all in his household deemed it improper, so he desisted. Several years later, he suddenly fell ill, constantly beating his chest and saying, "Debauching maidservants and spending nights in brothels—truly that is not the conduct of a man!" His uncle, hearing this, sighed and said, "He is about to die!" Thereupon, he sent the son of his second son to Wei's home, bidding the boy acknowledge Wei as his father. After a little more than a month, Wei Gongzi indeed passed away.
The Chronicler of Strange Tales remarks: Secretly consorting with maidservants and frequenting brothels—the corrupting influence of such deeds need hardly be discussed. Yet for a man to have his own child call another man father is already a matter of deep shame. And then the spirits and ghosts, in their mockery and humiliation, lure him into debauchery with his own daughter. He does not tear open his own heart or sever his own head in remorse, but merely sweats profusely, even going so far as to poison his own daughter—is this not a beast wearing a human face? Nevertheless, the offspring of a libertine gentleman, even when born amidst the pleasures of the boudoir, often prove to be masters of their craft in the realm of romance.
Commentary
Wei Gongzi, relying on his power and wealth, debauched many women, but in the end he was punished. The punishment consisted of three aspects: first, "taking his own flesh and blood and calling another man father"—Luo Huiqing and Shen Weiniang, who were actually Wei Gongzi's children, were given different surnames. Second, "eating his own excrement"—without knowing it, Wei Gongzi had sexual relations with his own son Luo Huiqing and his daughter Shen Weiniang. Third, all these children were engaged in what society deemed the basest of professions, that of sexual servitude.
More than a hundred years after Pu Songling, the French short story writer Guy de Maupassant also wrote works on similar themes, "The Hermit" and "A Son," in which he castigated male protagonists who relied on wealth and indulged in lechery. However, the methods of punishment reflect the differences between Eastern and Western cultures.