Chinese Folklore Tales

J. Macgowan Rev.

Description

Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism have been major influences on Chinese folklore tales. Events of legend and history, romance and human nature, explanations of nature and landscape, and themes of the supernatural; these are some of the explorations of Chinese myths, legends and fables. This compilation contains the following eleven stories: The Widow Ho Kwang-Jui and the God of the River The Beautiful Daughter of Liu-Kung The Fairy Bonze The Mysterious Buddhist Robe The Vengeance of the Goddess "The Wonderful Man" The God of the City The Tragedy of the Yin Family Sam-Chung and the Water Demon The Reward of a Benevolent Life

Sujets

• Short story

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781775414001
• Langue: English

Extrait

CHINESE FOLKLORE TALES
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REV. J. MACGOWAN
 
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Chinese Folklore Tales From a 1910 edition.
ISBN 978-1-775414-00-1
© 2009 THE FLOATING PRESS.
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
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Contents
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I - The Widow Ho II - Kwang-Jui and the God of the River III - The Beautiful Daughter of Liu-Kung IV - The Fairy Bonze V - The Mysterious Buddhist Robe VI - The Vengeance of the Goddess VII - "The Wonderful Man" VIII - The God of the City IX - The Tragedy of the Yin Family X - Sam-Chung and the Water Demon XI - The Reward of a Benevolent Life
I - The Widow Ho
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One day in the early dawn, a distinguished mandarin was leaving thetemple of the City God. It was his duty to visit this temple on thefirst and fifteenth of the moon, whilst the city was still asleep, tooffer incense and adoration to the stern-looking figure enshrinedwithin.
This mandarin was Shih-Kung, and a juster or more upright official didnot exist in all the fair provinces of the Empire. Wherever his namewas mentioned it was received with the profoundest reverence andrespect; for the Chinese people have never lost their ideal of Tien-Li,or Divine Righteousness. This ideal is still deeply embedded in thehearts of high and low, rich and poor; and the homage of all classes,even of the most depraved is gladly offered to any man whoconspicuously displays this heavenly virtue.
As Shih-Kung was being carried along in his sedan chair, with hisnumerous retinue following closely behind him, he happened to notice ayoung woman walking in the road in front of him, and began to wonderwhat it was that had brought her out at such an unusually early hour.She was dressed in the very deepest mourning, and so after a littlemore thought he concluded that she was a widow who was on her way tothe grave of her late husband to make the usual offerings to his spirit.
All at once a sudden, furious whirlwind screamed about the woman andseemed determined to spend its force upon her; but beyond her nothingwas touched by it. Not a leaf on the trees near by was moved, and nota particle of dust on the road, except just where she stood, was in theleast agitated by the fierce tempest that for the moment raged aroundher.
As Shih-Kung gazed at this strange occurrence, the woman's outer skirtwas blown up in the air, and he saw that underneath was another garmentof a rich crimson hue. He then knew at once that there was somethingradically wrong, for no woman of ordinary virtuous character would everdare to wear such a glaring colour, while she pretended to be in deepmourning. There was something suspicious, too, in the sudden tornadothat blew with such terrific violence round the woman only. It was notan accident that brought it there. It was clearly the angry protest ofsome spirit who had been foully misused, and who was determined thatthe wrong-doer should not escape the penalty for the evil she hadcommitted.
Calling two of his runners to him, Shih-Kung ordered them to follow thewoman and to see where she was going and what she did there, and thento report to him immediately.
The two detectives obeyed his instructions to thevery letter, and found that she went to a cemeterywhich lay on the hillside at the outskirts of thetown. She had brought with her a goodly supplyof gold and silver paper-money, such as is usuallyoffered to the dead to enable them to purchase foodand other necessaries in the Land of Shadows, Shewas preparing to set these on fire in order that theymight reach the spirit for whom they were intended,when, much to the amazement of the runners,another tornado came with the same violence asbefore, and scattered the paper in all directionsso that not a single piece was left to offer to thedead.
All this was duly reported to Shih-Kung, who atonce sent a dispatch to the county magistrate,commanding him to investigate the case thoroughly, andgiving him all the particulars of the extraordinaryoccurrences which had been witnessed.
This inferior mandarin was greatly puzzled as tohow he should act in the matter. No complaint hadreached him from anyone concerning the woman,and he had not a particle of evidence on whichto proceed against her. In these circumstances, hedetermined to make an appeal to the City Godto reveal to him a mystery that was beyond hispowers to unravel. Accordingly, close upon thehour of midnight, he repaired to the temple of thisfamous idol and lay down to sleep, believing that, ifhe did so, he would be granted some revelationwhich would deliver him from his difficulties.
During the early hours of the morning, close uponthe break of day, a vision seemed to pass clearlybefore the mandarin's eyes.
He saw the grim god come out of his shrine andappear beyond the yellow curtains which hide hisfeatures from the unholy gaze of the crowds thatevery day flock to his temple. Immediately in frontof him floated in the air the coflin of a full-grownman, which gradually settled on the table just belowthe altar, on which are placed the brazen bowlscontaining the ashes of the countless incense-sticksburned before the god to gain his favour.
After the lapse of but a moment the sleepingmagistrate saw a man step up out of the surroundingdarkness and take his stand at the head of thecoffin.
There was something very familiar in the appearanceof this mysterious individual who stood there sosolemnly, and the mandarin felt that he had seenhim before. Suddenly he recognized him as theCoroner of his own district, with whom he had oftenacted and whose reports were frequently submittedto him in cases where murder was suspected. Hewas so amazed by this discovery that he woke with astart, when the whole scene at once vanished fromhis gaze, and he could see nothing but the idol in itsshrine, surrounded by the tawdry untidy articles thatmake up the furnishing of a temple.
By this time the dawn was sending its pale, silverlight into the great, gloomy building ; so the magistratearose and hurried back to his yamen with alightened heart, for the god had revealed to him thatthe grim secret which had so far evaded him lay inthe coffin of the dead, and was to be solved there and there only. Hiscourse now seemed easy, and it was with a mind full of relief that heentered his home.
He at once issued a warrant for the arrest of the widow, and at thesame time sent officers to bring the coffin that contained the body ofher husband from its burying-place.
When the widow appeared before the mandarin, she denied that she knewanything of the cause of her husband's death. He had come home drunkone night, she declared, and had fallen senseless on the ground. Aftera great deal of difficulty, she had managed to lift him up on to thebed, where he lay in a drunken slumber, just as men under the influenceof liquor often do, so that she was not in the least anxious ordisturbed about him. During the night she fell asleep as she watchedby his side, and when she woke up she found to her horror that he wasdead.
"That is all that can be said about the case," she concluded, "and ifyou now order an examination of the body, it simply means that you havesuspicions about me, for no other person was with him but myself whenhe died. I protest therefore against the body being examined. If,however, you are determined to do so, I warn you that if you find nosigns of violence on it, you expose yourself according to the laws ofChina to the punishment of death."
"I am quite prepared to take the responsibility," replied the mandarin,"and I have already ordered the Coroner to open the coffin and to makea careful examination of the body."
This was accordingly done, but no trace of injury, not even theslightest bruise, could be discovered on any part of the dead man'sbody.
The county magistrate was greatly distressed at this result of theenquiry, and hastened to Shih-Kung in order to obtain his advice as towhat steps he should now take to escape the punishment of death whichhe had incurred by his action. The Viceroy agreed that the matter hadindeed assumed a most serious aspect. "But you need not be anxious,"he added, "about what you have done. You have only acted by my orders,and therefore I assume all responsibility for the proceedings which youhave adopted to discover the murderer."
Late in the afternoon, as the sun began to disappear behind themountains of the west, Shih-Kung slipped out by a side door of hisyamen, dressed as a peddler of cloth, and with pieces of various kindsof material resting on his shoulders. His disguise was so perfect thatno one, as he passed down the street, dreamed of suspecting thatinstead of being a wandering draper, he was in reality theGovernor-General of the Province, who was trying to obtain evidence ofa murder that had recently been committed in his own capital.
Travelling on down one street after another, Shih-Kung came at last tothe outskirts of the town, where the dwellings were more scattered andthe population was less dense. By this time it was growing dark, sowhen he came to a house that stood quite apart by itself, he knocked atthe door. An elderly woman with a pleasant face and a motherly lookabout her asked him in a kind and gentle voice what he wanted.
"I have taken the liberty," he replied, "of coming to your house to seewhether you would not kindly allow me to lodge with you for the night.I am a stranger in this region," he continued, "and have travelled farfrom my home to sell my cloth. The night is fast falling, and I knownot where to spend it, and so I beg of you to take