Original Text
Tian Zicheng, a man from Jiangning, was crossing Lake Dongting when his boat capsized and he drowned. His son, Tian Liangsi, a jinshi degree holder from the late Ming dynasty, was still in his mother's arms at the time. Upon hearing of her husband's death, his wife Du Shi took poison and died. Tian Liangsi was raised by his step-grandmother and grew to adulthood, eventually taking an official post in Hubei. After a little over a year, he was ordered by his superiors to go to Hunan on official business. When he reached Lake Dongting, he wept bitterly and returned to Hubei. Reporting that his abilities were insufficient, he was demoted to the position of assistant magistrate and assigned to Hanyang County. He declined to take up the post, but his superiors compelled him to go, so he had no choice but to assume the office. Yet he constantly wandered among the rivers and lakes, indulging in pleasure, and did not hold himself to the duties of an official.
One evening, Tian Liangsi's boat was moored by the riverbank when suddenly the sound of a bamboo flute drifted over, its melody rising and falling in a most captivating manner. He strolled off under the moonlight, and after walking about half a li, he spotted a few thatched huts in the wilderness, with lamplight flickering within. Approaching the window, he peered inside and saw three men drinking together. At the head of the table sat a scholar, around thirty years of age; at the foot, an old man; and on the side, the youngest, who had been playing the flute. As the tune ended, the old man clapped in admiration, but the scholar, facing the wall, seemed lost in thought, as if he had not heard. The old man said, "Brother Lu Shi must have composed a fine poem—pray recite it aloud, so we may all enjoy it together." The scholar then intoned:
The river was filled with wind and moonlight, cold and desolate, as withered grasses and scattered flowers turned to mud.
The clouds and mountains stretching a thousand miles cannot be reached by flight, yet every night my dreaming soul wanders to the west of Bamboo Bridge.
His chanting voice was mournful and desolate. The old man chuckled and said, "Brother Lu Ten has relapsed into his old ways." He then poured a large cup of wine and said, "This old man cannot compose a matching poem, so let me sing a song to enliven the wine." Thereupon he sang a verse of "Lanling Fine Wine." When the song ended, all those seated burst into hearty laughter.
The young man stood up and said, "Let me see what time it is now." As he stepped out the door, he suddenly caught sight of Tian Liangsi, clapped his hands, and exclaimed, "There is someone outside the window—all our wild antics have been exposed!" With that, he pulled Tian Liangsi into the room, and the assembled company all bowed in greeting. The old man bade Tian Liangsi sit opposite the young man. When Tian Liangsi tried the cup, he found the wine was cold, so he declined to drink. The young man rose, made a torch from reeds to warm the wine flask, and then handed it to Tian Liangsi. Tian Liangsi also ordered his attendant to fetch money to buy more wine, but the old man firmly stopped him. He then inquired about the guest's hometown and surname, and Tian Liangsi recounted his life story. The old man paid his respects and said, "So you are our former magistrate. My surname is Jiang, and I am a native of this place." Pointing to the young man, he said, "This is Du Yehou from Jiangxi." Then, indicating the scholar, he added, "And this is Brother Lu Shi, who shares your hometown." From the moment he saw Tian Liangsi, Brother Lu Shi had been quite haughty and did not treat him with courtesy. Tian Liangsi then asked, "Where does your family reside? With such noble bearing and talent, why have I never heard of you?" Brother Lu Shi replied, "I have been wandering abroad for so long that even my relatives no longer recognize me. Alas, how lamentable!" His words were filled with sorrow and anguish.
The old man waved his hand to stop him and said, "When good friends meet, it is not for drinking and playing drinking games that we should prattle on with such tedious talk, which only displeases the ear!" So he raised his cup and drank, then said, "I have a drinking game here; let us all join in, and whoever cannot perform shall be penalized with a drink. This game requires each person to cast three dice at a time, and the rule is that the sum of two dice must equal the number on the third die, and one must also recite an allusion that matches the numbers." The old man cast first, throwing a one, two, and three, and then chanted, "Three plus one and two make the same sum, the chicken and millet feast for three years with Lord Fan: friends meet joyfully." Next came the young man, who cast a pair of twos and a single four, and said, "I am not a learned man, knowing only some vulgar allusions; if I speak poorly, do not mock me. Four plus two twos make the same sum, four men gather in the ancient city: brothers meet joyfully." Scholar Lu cast a pair of ones and a single two, and sang, "Two plus two ones make the same sum, Lu Xiang holds the old man with both hands: father and son meet joyfully." Tian Liangsi cast the same numbers as Scholar Lu, and sang, "Two plus two ones make the same sum, Mao Rong offers two dishes to entertain Lin Zong: host and guest meet joyfully."
After the drinking game concluded, Tian Liangsi rose to take his leave. Lu Shixiong then stood up and said, "We have not yet fully expressed our fellowship as fellow townsmen; why must you depart so hastily? I still have questions to ask you, so please stay a while longer." Tian Liangsi sat down again and asked, "What is it you wish to inquire about?" Lu Shixiong replied, "I had a close friend, by the name of so-and-so, who drowned in Lake Dongting. Is he of the same clan as you?" Tian Liangsi said, "He was my late father. How did you come to know him?" Lu Shixiong answered, "We were close friends in our youth. On the day he died, I alone witnessed it, and I gathered his bones and buried them by the riverbank." Tian Liangsi, weeping, bowed to Lu Shixiong and begged him to point out the location of his father's grave. Lu Shixiong said, "Come here tomorrow, and I shall show it to you. In truth, it is not hard to recognize; a few paces from here, you will see a grave with a clump of reeds, exactly ten stalks in number." Tian Liangsi, his face streaming with tears, clasped his hands in farewell to the company and departed.
Tian Liangsi returned to the boat and could not sleep the entire night, feeling that Brother Lu Shi's expressions and words all seemed to have hidden meanings. The next day, at the break of dawn, Tian Liangsi went to seek Brother Lu Shi, but upon arriving at the place, he found that the previous day's houses had all vanished, which filled him with even greater astonishment. He then followed the location Brother Lu Shi had pointed out to search for the grave, and indeed found it. There was a clump of reeds growing on the grave, and when he counted them, they exactly matched the number Brother Lu Shi had mentioned. He suddenly realized that all of Brother Lu Shi's words had been allegorical, and that the person he had seen the previous night was none other than his father's ghost. He made detailed inquiries among the locals and learned that twenty years ago, there was a wealthy old man named Gao who was very charitable; whenever someone drowned, he would retrieve the body and bury it properly, so several graves had been established there. He then opened the grave, retrieved his father's bones, resigned from his official post, and returned to his hometown. Upon returning home, he recounted everything to his grandmother, and when they compared notes, Brother Lu Shi's appearance and form were exactly like Tian Zicheng's. Jiangxi's Du Yehu was Tian Liangsi's cousin, who had drowned in the river at the age of nineteen, and later his father had drifted to Jiangxi. Tian Liangsi also understood that after Lady Du died, she was buried west of Bamboo Bridge, which was why Brother Lu Shi's poem contained the line "Night after night, my dreaming soul wanders west of Bamboo Bridge." He only wondered who the old man was.
Commentary
This chapter shares similarities with "Xue Weiniang," both depicting the reunion of separated fathers and children, where even after one party has died and become a ghost, they remain fixated on the custom of burying their bones in their homeland, imbued with a strong sense of familial ethics. The difference lies in that "Xue Weiniang" focuses on a father-daughter reunion, while "Tian Zicheng" centers on a father-son reunion; "Xue Weiniang" highlights a winding narrative, showcasing storytelling technique, whereas "Tian Zicheng" emphasizes the mother's chastity and the son's filial piety, the bond of blood thicker than water, demonstrating the author's poetic skill. The poems in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" are mostly ghost poems, not only filled with melancholy and eerie ghostly atmosphere but also seamlessly aligned with the characters' personalities and circumstances, showing a clear influence from Li He's poetry. The poem chanted by Tian Zicheng's ghost, "The river wind and moon are cold and bleak, withered grass and fallen flowers turn to mud. A thousand miles of clouds and mountains cannot be crossed, yet every night my dreaming soul reaches west of Bamboo Bridge," vividly portrays the suffering of a lonely ghost, drowned in Lake Dongting, longing for his wife, while also serving to unify the structure of the entire chapter.