Original Text
When Mr. Zhu Huiyin served as the Governor of Guangdong, merchants traveling to and fro often came to report unresolved cases of murder without a body. Some were travelers who had journeyed a thousand miles, only to disappear without a trace; others were groups of several people who set out together, never to be heard from again. Such cases accumulated in great numbers, impossible to solve. At first, when complaints were lodged, the authorities would issue warrants to arrest the murderers, but as similar cases multiplied, the officials eventually ignored them. Upon taking office, Zhu Huiyin examined all the old cases and found that the complaints reported over a hundred deaths, while those who had come from afar and vanished without a clue numbered even more, beyond count. Deeply shocked and grieved, he pondered tirelessly, to the point of neglecting sleep and food. He consulted all his colleagues and subordinates but could find no good solution. Thus, Zhu Huiyin devoutly bathed and fasted, then prayed to the City God for a strategy to solve the cases. After the sacrifice, he lay down to rest in the fasting chamber, and in a daze, he saw an official enter with a tablet tucked into his belt. Zhu asked, "What office do you hold?" The man replied, "I am Liu, the City God." "What do you have to say?" Liu answered, "Snow at the temples, clouds born from the sky, wood floating on water, a door set in a wall." With that, Liu vanished. Awakening, Zhu knew these four phrases were a riddle but could not decipher them. He tossed and turned all night, then suddenly realized: "'Snow at the temples' is the character 'old'; 'clouds born from the sky' is 'dragon'; 'wood floating on water' is the character 'boat'; 'a door set in a wall' is 'door'; is this not 'Old Dragon Boat Door'?" It turned out that in the northeast of Guangdong, there were two rivers called Xiaoling and Languan, originating from Laolongjin, flowing into the South Sea, and northern travelers often entered Guangdong from there. Zhu then dispatched some military officers, secretly instructing them in a plan, and captured the boatmen of Laolongjin, over fifty in total, who confessed without torture. It turned out that these water bandits, under the guise of ferrying passengers, would lure travelers onto their boats, administer knockout drugs or burn suffocating incense to render them unconscious, then cut open their bellies, stuff them with stones, and sink them to the riverbed. Truly a tragedy of the utmost degree! After these unresolved murder cases were brought to light, joy spread far and wide, and poems praising Zhu Huiyin could fill a collection.
The Chronicler of the Strange remarks: To cut open a belly, stuff it with stones, and sink a person to the riverbed—truly this is the utmost in grievous injustice; yet those officials who are like wooden figures, utterly indifferent to the people's sufferings, is it only in Guangdong that such darkness prevails without a ray of light? When Mr. Zhu Huiyin arrived, the gods and spirits manifested their power, and the unjust cases were brought to light—how wondrous was that! But Mr. Zhu did not possess four eyes or two mouths; it was merely that his breast was filled with an immense concern for the people's hardships. Those high-ranking dignitaries, when they go forth, are guarded by soldiers bearing halberds and swords, and when at home, they are steeped in the fragrance of orchids and musk; though they have attained the pinnacle of honor, in their essence, how are they different from the old dragon boatmen?
Commentary
Zhu Huiyin was the father of Pu Songling's friend Zhu Xiang; during Zhu Huiyin's tenure as the governor of Guangdong, Zhu Xiang visited his father there, and it is likely that upon his return he recounted his father's anecdotes to Pu Songling. However, according to Lu Zhan'en's "Detailed Annotations of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio with Illustrations and Poems," which cites "Master Zhu's Sacrificial Oration to the City God" and "A Public Petition from Scholars and Commoners of Various Provinces," the story of "The Old Dragon Boatman" may have already been widely circulated at the time, as Pu Songling wrote it based on current events that occurred in the year Wuchen of the Kangxi reign (1688).
It is indeed true that Zhu Huiyin issued a formal proclamation to the City God. In his "Essay of Sacrifice to the City God," it is written: "In the twenty-seventh year of the Kangxi reign, during the winter month of October, on the fifteenth day, the Censor-in-Chief of the Right, Zhu, Governor of Guangdong and other regions, overseeing military affairs, grain supplies, and salt laws, respectfully offered one sheep and one pig in sacrifice to the City God, declaring... The case of boatmen robbing and murdering passengers is especially grievous and strange. For instance, in the case of Zhu Zhaoyun, both master and servant lost their lives. In the case of Wu Xueyi, three lives—master and two servants. In the case of Xie Junqing, five lives—men and women alike... It is said that recently Xie Junqing, in his helplessness, has daily burned his plaints and wept before the god's temple. Perhaps the god, taking pity on him, has thus inspired a revelation within my heart?" However, the dramatic dialogue between Zhu Huiyin and the City God was likely a creation of Pu Songling, with phrases such as "snow upon the temples, clouds rising at the horizon, drifting logs in the water, and a door set in the wall" possibly inspired by the Tang dynasty tale "The Story of Xie Xiao'e." The narrative of the case largely follows the "Public Appeal from the Scholars and Commoners of All Provinces," wherein the description "under the guise of ferry passage, luring passengers aboard, then administering sleeping potions or burning stupefying incense, rendering them unconscious, before cutting open their bellies to fill them with stones and sinking them to the riverbed" directly adapts the original wording from that appeal.
In his commentary titled "The Chronicler of the Strange remarks," Pu Songling denounced the muddled and dark judicial system of the early Qing dynasty, expressing his concern for the interests of merchants.