Chinese Mythology and Tales
The Six Dynasties 123
"Now you should make food and drink for a thousand people," the magician replied. "if you feed the impoverished among the common people, your parents will then be released." When that had been done, the parents were found back in the hall again.
(Lu, pp. 202-203; TPYL, 737.3270a) Tr. Michael Broschat
Translator's Note: Certain difficulties with this story, as well as its lack of unity, seem to arise from its origin as an incomplete transmission of an Indian Buddhist tale.
(32) Chi Chung-san and the Ghostly Musician
Chi Chung-san1 was of a very high character indeed. He liked to wander about and stop as his mind dictated. Once when he was traveling to the southwest, he arrived at a pavilion several tens of li outside of Loyang called Hua-yang where he put up for the night. There was absolutely no one around that night, so he was alone in the pavilion. Since in the past people had been killed there, travelers stopping there often regarded the pavilion as very inauspicious. But Chi was of a quiet and relaxed temperament and had no fears at all.
During the first watch of the night he picked up his zither and played a few tunes in an elegant tone and easy manner. Then, from out of thin air a voice praised his performance.
Strumming his zither he called out to the voice, "Who are you, sir?"
"I am a dead person," it answered. "I have been hidden away here for some thousands of years. I've come out to listen because when I heard you playing just now, the sounds were so pure and harmonious, just as I used to enjoy so much. My death was unfortunately not what my fate had in store for me, so my corpse is in mutilated shreds. It
1 Chi (or Hsi) K'ang (223-262), who held the position of Chung-san ta-fu (Palace Attendant Grandee) in the Wei court; for his biographies, see San-kuo chih 21, pp. 605ff. and Chin shu 49, pp. 1369ff.
124 Classical Chinese Tales i
would not be right for me to meet you. It's just that I love your playing and would like to approach you, hoping you won't be revolted. Please continue to play a few more tunes."
Chi began once again, and beating the rhythm on his instrument, said, "it's already getting late. Why don't you reveal yourself. Of what importance is the corporeality of mortality!"2
A person's head appeared, supported by a pair of hands. "Hearing you play, I'm overcome with happiness. It's as
if I were momentarily reborn!" They then spoke together of the fine points of music.
The corpse spoke clearly and eloquently. "Please let me have the zither for a moment," the head
asked of Chung-san. Chung-san handed over the zither and the corpse played
several tunes, but none were extraordinary. Only the tune "Kuang-ling-san" was beyond comparison in its exquisiteness. Chung-san learned it from him and after only half of the night he had gotten it down completely. None of what he had learned and played before could be compared with it.
The corpse made Chung-san swear that he would never teach the tune to another person. Nor was he to reveal his name. At dawn, he said to Chung-san, "Although I've known you only this one night, it is worth one thousand years. Now we have to part and never meet again--how sad it is!"
(Lu, pp. 198-99; TPKC, 317.11) Tr. Michael Broschat
Note: This is a piece that apparently grew out of, and subsequently enhanced, Chi Kang's legendary reputation for his rendition of the "Kuang-ling-san" (Strains of Kuang-ling). The story provides an explanation of the supposedly "otherworldly" quality of the tune (and its rendition), at the same time it shows the power of music to move even the spirit of the dead. Chi was executed by Ssu-ma Chao and was said to have asked for a zither to play this particular tune before his death. He also wrote a "Fu on the Zither" (Ch'in fu).
2 This is an allusion to a phrase from the Taoist text, Chuang-tzu.
178 Classical Chinese Tales i
(59) Sun YUan-pi, the Avenging Ghost
Wang Fan, magistrate of Fu-yang County [in Chekiang Province] during the Chin Dynasty [265-420], had a concubine, Peach Flower, who was an enchanting beauty. She carried on adulterous liaisons with Wang's subalterns, Ting Feng and Shih Hua-ch'i.
Once, when Wang was away on a journey, Sun Yuan-pi, his quartermaster, heard the tinkling of bangles and pendants in Ting Feng's house, and went to investigate. He saw Peach Flower in bed with Ting. Yuan-pi knocked on the door and denounced them to their faces. Peach Flower promptly stood up, gathered up her skirt, rearranged her temple curls, and scurried off to an inner chamber.
Yuan-pi also saw Hua-ch'i wearing a musk sachet on his belt that had belonged to Peach Flower.
The two men were terrified that YUan-pi would report them, so they accused him of having had an affair with Peach Flower. Wang Fan was imperceptive and did not investigate this further, so he had Yuan-pi killed. Ch'en Ch ao, present at the time, had pressed for Yuan-pi s conviction.
Later, when Wang Fan was serving in a different office, Ch'en Ch'ao journeyed forth from the city to see him. He traveled as far as Ch'ih-t'ing Mountain [in modern Kansu Province], where it thundered and rained at dusk. Suddenly Ch'ao was taken by his arm and leg and dragged through a swamp. A flash of lightning revealed a ghost. His face was black and blue, and his eyes were without pupils. He said, "I am Sun Yuan-pi. I registered my complaint with the Emperor of Heaven, and judgement has already been reached. Long have I waited for you, and finally we meet!"
Ch'ao kowtowed until his blood flowed. The ghost said, "As Wang Fan was the principal party throughout this affair, he should be killed first. Chia Ching-p'o and Sun Wen-tu,1 of the Hall of Dark Mystery in Mount T'ai,2 together preside over the Registry of Birth and Death. The spirit of Peach Flower has already been confined at the
1 Chia was a scholar of the Eastern Han, who served under Emperor Ho-ti (r. 88-105); nothing is known of Sun's life.
2 Regarding Mount T'ai as a stop for the spirit of the deceased, see "Chiang Chi's Dead Son," n. 2, p. 000.--Ed.
The Six Dynasties 179
Blue Woman Pavilion. That is the name of the third hell in the Yellow Springs,3 and is reserved for female spirits." Toward daybreak, the ghost suddenly disappeared.
When Ch'ao came to Yang-chou and arrived at Wang's house, he dared not tell him what had happened. But then he saw the ghost come in from outside and pass through Wang's bed curtains. That night, soon after falling asleep, Wang had a terrible nightmare. His family called him, but were unable to wake him up. They led a black ox in and faced it toward him, placing a peach-wood figurine on the left side to hold the reins.4 Toward dawn there came a brief respite, but in ten days he was dead. His concubine also died violently.
Ch'ao fled to Ch'ang-kan Temple and changed his name to Ho Kuei. Five years later, during the festival on the third day of the third month,5 he was enjoying wine by a river bank. He said, "I finally no longer need live in terror of that ghost." He then lowered his head, and there in the stream was the ghost's image. The ghost reached out his hand and gouged Ch'ao's nose. Blood gushed forth, amounting to more than a quart. In several days he was dead.
(HYC, 20b-22a; TPKC, 129.2) Tr. Chris Connery
Note: Adultery, conspiracy, betrayal, and revenge--the story here has all the ingredients for the making of a powerful drama. Although the piece fails to explore their dramatic potential fully and places emphasis on just the theme of vengeance, one can still feel the force of the violence contained in this potent mix.
3 I.e., the world of the dead. 4 A practice designed to exorcise evil ghosts. 5 A day of lustration; see "Lu Ch'ung" (22), n. 2.--Ed.