Output:
The minister went into the main hall of the yamen and asked his daughter to come out and see him. His daughter, who had been longing to go out, felt too ashamed to face her father and so was on the point of hanging herself.

When Xuanzang learned of this he went as fast as he could to save her, fell on his knees, and said, “Your son and my grandfather have come here with an army to avenge my father. That brigand has been arrested, so there is no need at all for you to kill yourself. If you die mother, I won’t be able to stay alive.” The minister too came into the residence to talk her out of it.


Output:
“They say that a woman should only have one husband in her life,” she said to them. “I was bitterly grieved at the death of my husband at that brigand’s hands, and could not bear the disgrace of marrying his murderer; but as I was carrying my husband’s child I had to swallow the shame of staying alive. Now, thank goodness, my son has grown up and my father has brought an army to avenge my husband but how could I have the face to see you. The only way I can make up for it to my husband is to kill myself.”

“My child,” said the minister, “this was not a case of abandoning morality for the sake of material gain. You acted under duress, and did nothing to be ashamed of.” Father and daughter then embraced each other and wept, while Xuanzang sobbed too. “There is no need for the two of you to be so distressed,” said the minister, wiping away his tears. “Today I have captured our enemy, that rebel, and now I must deal with him.” He got up and went to the execution ground.


Output: As it happened, the assistant prefect of Jiangzhou had sent constables to arrest the other pirate, Li Biao, and they brought him in. The minister was very pleased, and he ordered that Liu Hong and Li Biao were to be put under a close guard. They were each given a hundred strokes of the heavy pole, and statements were taken from them about how and why they had committed the wicked murder of Chen Guangrui. Then Li Biao was nailed on a wooden donkey and pushed to the market-place, where he was sliced into a thousand pieces, after which his head was hung up on public display. Liu Hong was taken to the Hongjiang Estuary where he had murdered Chen Guangrui. The minister, his daughter and Xuanzang went to the riverside, where they made offerings and libations to the emptiness and cut out Liu Hong’s heart and liver while he was still alive to sacrifice to Chen Guangrui. They also burnt a funerary address.


Output:
The bitter lamentations of the three of them startled the underwater palace. A patrolling yaksha demon handed the funerary address to the dragon king. When he had read it, the dragon king sent Marshal Turtle to ask Chen Guangrui to come and see him.

“Congratulations, sir, congratulations,” said the dragon king. “Your lady, your son and your father-in-law are all sacrificing to you on the bank. I shall now return your soul to you and give you an As-You-Will pearl, two rolling pearls, ten pieces of mermaid silk, and a belt of jade studded with pearls. Today you will be reunited with you wife, your son and your mother.” Chen Guangrui bowed to him over and over again to express his gratitude. The dragon king then told a yaksha to take Chen Guangrui’s body out to the estuary, where he was to return the soul to it; and the yaksha obediently went off.


Output:
When she had wailed for her husband and sacrificed to him, Miss Tin tried to jump into the water to drown herself, but with a desperate effort Xuanzang managed to keep hold of her. Just at this tense moment they saw a corpse floating towards the bank. Miss Yin, rushing forward to see who it was, recognized it as that of her husband and started a great wailing. Everyone else had now come up to look, and they saw Chen Guangrui open his fist and stretch his foot as his body gradually began to move. Suddenly he sat up, to their great astonishment. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was his wife, his father-in-law and the young monk all weeping beside him.

“What are you all doing here?” he asked.


Output:
“What are you all doing here?” he asked.

“After you were killed I gave birth to this son,” replied his wife, “and by a piece of good fortune he was brought up by the abbot of the Jinshan Temple. When he came to find me I sent him to see my father; and when my father knew what had happened he submitted a memorial at court and brought an army here to arrest your murderer, whose heart and liver we have just plucked from his living body to sacrifice to you. But how is it that your soul has been returned to you, husband?”

“It is all because we bought and released that golden carp when we were staying at the Ten Thousand Flowers Inn: the carp, it turned out, was the local dragon king. When that treasonous murderer pushed me into the water I was rescued by the dragon king, who has given me back my soul and presented me with all the treasures I have on me. I never had any idea that you had borne this son, or that my father-in-law had avenged me. Our sorrows are now at an end. This is a very happy moment indeed.”


Output:
When the other officials heard what had happened they all came to offer their congratulations, and the minister gave a banquet to thank all his subordinates. The army set off on its return journey that same day. When they reached the Ten Thousand Flowers Inn the minister ordered them to encamp while Guangrui and Xuanzang went to the inn to find the old lady. The night before she had dreamt of a withered tree blossoming again while magpies made a clamorous din behind the building.

“Perhaps my grandson has come,” she thought, and while the words were still in her mind she saw Guangrui and his son at the gate of the inn.


Output:
“Isn’t this my grandmother?” said the little monk; and the moment Guangrui saw his aged mother he kowtowed to her. Mother and son embraced in tears; then he told her all about what had happened. The innkeeper’s account was presented and settled, and then they set off for the capital. When they reached the minister’s residence, Guangrui, his wife, his mother and Xuanzang all went in to see the minister’s wife, who was overcome with joy and told the servants to lay on a large banquet to celebrate.

“We can call today’s banquet a ‘reunion banquet,’” said the minister, and the whole household was indeed happy.


Output:
When the Tang Emperor entered the throne hall early the next morning, Minister Yin stepped forward and submitted a memorial giving a detailed account of what had happened, and recommending Chen Guangrui as a man whose talents could be put to great use. The Tang Emperor approved the memorial and ordered that Chen Guangrui should be appointed a Scholar in order to take part in administration at court. As Xuanzang had decided to follow the contemplative life he was sent to cultivate his conduct in the Hongfu Temple. Later on Miss Yin finally ended her life in a quiet and honorable way, and Xuanzang went back to the Jinshan Temple to report to Abbot Faming. If you don’t know what happened afterwards, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Ten

With a Stupid Plan the Dragon King Breaks the Laws of Heaven

Minister Wei Sends a Letter to an Officer of Hell


Output: We shall not discuss how Chen Guangrui performed his duties or Xuanzang cultivated his conduct; instead we shall talk about two wise men who lived beside the banks of the River Jing outside the city of Chang’an. One was an old fisherman called Zhang Shao and the other was a woodcutter called Li Ding. They were both advanced scholars who had never taken the official examination, lettered men of the mountains. One day, when Li Ding had sold his load of firewood and Zhang Shao had sold his basketful of carp in Chang’an city, they went into a tavern, drank till they were half tipsy, and strolled slowly home along the banks of the Jing, each holding a bottle in his hand.


Output:
“Brother Li,” said Zhang Shao, “it seems to me that people who struggle for fame kill themselves for it; those who compete for profit die for it; those who accept honors sleep with a tiger in their arms; and those who receive imperial favours walk around with snakes in their sleeves. Taking all in all, we are much better off living free among our clear waters and blue hills: we delight in our poverty and follow our destinies.”

“You are right, Brother Zhang,” said Li Ding, “but your clear waters have nothing on my blue hills.”

“Your blue hills are not a patch on my clear waters,” retorted Zhang Shao, “and here is a lyric to the tune of The Butterfly Loves the Flowers to prove it:

The skiff is tiny amid the misty expanse of waves;

Calmly I lean against the single sail,

Listening to the voice of Xishi the beauty.

My thoughts and mind are cleared; I have no wealth or fame

As I toy with the waterweed and the rushes.

“To count a few gulls makes the journey happy.

In the reedy bend, under the willow bank,


Output:
In the reedy bend, under the willow bank,

My wife and children smile with me.

The moment I fall asleep, wind and waves are quiet;

No glory, no disgrace, and not a single worry.”

“Your clear waters are no match for my blue hills,” said Li Ding, “and there is another lyric to the same tune to prove it. It goes:

The cloudy woods are covered with pine blossom.

Hush! Hear the oriole sing,

As if it played a pipe with its cunning tongue.

With touches of red and ample green the spring is warm;

Suddenly the summer’s here as the seasons turn.

“When autumn comes the look of things is changed;

The scented chrysanthemum

Is enough for my pleasure.

Soon the cruel winter plucks all off.

I am free through four seasons, at nobody’s beck and call.”

“You don’t enjoy the good things in your blue hills that I do on my clear waters,” replied the fisherman, “and I can prove it with another lyric to the tune of The Partridge Heaven:

In this magic land we live off the cloudy waters;


Output:
With a sweep of the oar the boat becomes a home.

We cut open the live fish and fry the green turtle

As steam coils from the purple crab and the red shrimps bubble.

Green reed shoots,

Sprouts of water-lilies,

Better still, water chestnuts and the gorgon fruit,

Delicate louts roots and seeds, tender celery,

Arrowhead, reed-hearts and bird-glory blossom.”

“Your clear waters cannot compare with my blue hills when it comes to the good things they provide,” said the woodcutter, and I can cite another lyric to the tune The Partridge Heaven as evidence:

Mighty crags and towering peaks reach to the sky;

A grass hut or a thatched cottage is my home.

Pickled chicken and duck are better than turtles or crabs,

Roebuck, boar, venison, and hare beat fish and shrimps.

The leaves of the tree of heaven,

Yellow chinaberry sprouts,

And, even better, bamboo shoots and wild tea,

Purple plums and red peaches, ripe gages, and apricots,

Sweet pears, sharp jujubes, and osmanthus blossom.”


Output:
“Your blue hills are really nothing on my clear waters,” replied the fisherman, “and there is another lyric to the tune Heavenly Immortal:

In my little boat I can stay where I like,

Having no fear of the many misty waves.

Drop the hook, cast wide the net, to catch fresh fish:

Even without fat or sauce,

They taste delicious

As the whole family eats its meal together.

“When there are fish to spare I sell them in Chang’an market

To buy good liquor and get a little drunk.

Covered with my grass cloak I sleep on the autumn river,

Snoring soundly

Without a care,

Not giving a damn for honour and glory.”

“Your clear waters still aren’t as good as my blue mountains,” came back the woodcutter, “and I too have a Heavenly Immortal lyric to prove it:

Where I build a little thatched hut under the hill

The bamboo, orchid, plum, and pine are wonderful.

As I cross forests and mountains to look for dry firewood

Nobody asks awkward questions,

And I can sell

As much or as little as the world wants.


Output:
As much or as little as the world wants.

I spend the money on wine and I’m happy,

Content with my earthenware bowl and china jug.

When I’ve drunk myself blotto I lie in the shade of the pine.

No worries,

No books to balance;

What do I care about success or failure?”

“Brother Li,” said the fisherman, “you don’t make as easy a living in the hills as I do on the water, and I can prove it with a lyric to the tune The Moon on the West River:

The smartweed’s flowers are picked out by the moon

While the tangled leaves of rushes sway in the wind.

Clear and distant the azure sky, empty the Chu river:

Stir up the water, and the stars dance.

Big fish swim into the net in shoals;

Little ones swallow the hooks in swarms;

Boiled or fried they taste wonderful—

I laugh at the roaring river and lake.”

“Brother Zhang,” replied the woodcutter, “the living I make in the hills is much easier than yours on the water, and I can prove it with another Moon on the West River lyric:


Output:
Withered and leafless rattan fills the paths,

Old bamboo with broken tips covers the hillside.

Where vines and creepers tangle and climb

I pull some off to tie my bundles.

Elms and willows hollow with decay,

Pines and cedars cracked by the wind—

I stack them up against the winter cold,

And whether they’re sold for wine or money is up to me.”

“Although you don’t do too badly in your hills, your life is not as elegant as mine on the water,” said the fisherman, “as I can show with some lines to the tune The Immortal by the River.

As the tide turns my solitary boat departs;

I sing in the night, resting from the oars.

From under a straw cape the waning moon is peaceful.

The sleeping gulls are not disturbed

As the clouds part at the end of the sky.

Tired, I lie on the isle of rushes with nothing to do,

And when the sun is high I’m lying there still.

I arrange everything to suit myself:

How can the court official compare with my ease

As he waits in the cold for an audience at dawn?”


Output:
“Your life on the water may be elegant, but it’s nothing compared with mine,” replied the woodcutter, “and I have some lines to the same tune to demonstrate the point:

On an autumn day I carry my axe along the greeny path

Bringing the load back in the cool of evening,

Putting wild flowers in my hair, just to be different,

I push aside the clouds to find my way home,

And the moon is up when I tell them to open the door.

Rustic wife and innocent son greet me with smiles,

And I recline on my bed of grass and wooden pillow.

Steamed millet and pear are spread before me,

While the new wine is warm in the pot: This is really civilized.”

“All this is about our living and the ways we provide for ourselves,” said the fisherman. “I can prove to you that your leisure is nowhere near as good as mine with a poem that goes:

Idly I watch the white cranes as they cross the sky;

As I Moor the boat at the river’s bank, a blue door gives me shade.

Leaning on the sail I teach my son to twist a fishing line,


Output:
When rowing’s done I dry the nets out with my wife.

A settled nature can really know the calm of the waves;

A still body feels the lightness of the breeze.

Always to wear a green straw cape and a blue straw hat

Is better than the purple robes of the court.”

“Your leisure doesn’t come up to mine,” replied the woodcutter, “as this poem I shall now recite demonstrates:

With a lazy eye on the white clouds in the distance,

I sit alone in a thatched but, then close the bamboo door.

When there’s nothing to do I teach my son to read;

Sometimes a visitor comes and we play a game of chess.

When I’m happy I take my stick and walk singing along the paths,

Or carry my lute up the emerald hills.

Grass shoes with hempen thongs, a cloak of coarsest cloth,

A mind relaxed: better than wearing silk.”


Output:
A mind relaxed: better than wearing silk.”

“Li Ding,” said the other, “how truly it can be said of us that ‘by reciting some verses we become close friends: What need for golden winecups and a sandalwood table?’ But there is nothing remarkable in just reciting verses; what would you say if we made couplets in which we each contributed a line about our lives as fisherman and woodcutter?”

“Brother Zhang,” said Li Ding, “that is an excellent suggestion. Please be the one to start.” Here are their couplets:

My boat is moored in the green waters amid the misty waves;

My home is in the wilds, deep in the mountains.

How well I like the swollen stream under the bridge in spring;

My delight is a mountain peak swathed in clouds at dawn.

Dragon-sized fresh carp cooked at any time;

Dry, rotten, firewood always keeps one warm.

A full array of hooks and nets to support my old age;

Carrying wood and making twine will keep me till I die.

Lying back in a tiny boat watching the flying geese;


Output:
Reclining beside the grassy path and hearing the wild swans call.

I have no stall in the marketplace of tongues;

I’ve left no trace in the sea of disputation.

The nets hung to dry beside the brook are like brocade;

An axe well honed on rock is sharper than a spear.

Under the shining autumn moon I often fish alone;

I meet nobody on the solitary mountain in spring.

I trade my surplus fish for wine and drink it with my wife;

When I’ve wood to spare I buy a bottle and share it with my sons.

Singing and musing to myself I’m as wild as I care to be;

Long songs, long sighs, I can let myself be crazy.

I invite my brothers and cousins and fellow boatmen;

Leading my friends by the hand I meet the old man of the wilds.

As we play guess-fingers the cups fly fast;

When we make riddles the goblets slowly circulate.

Saute or boiled crab is a delight every morning;

Plenty of fried duck and chicken cooked in ashes every day.

As my simple wife brews tea, my spirits are untrammelled;


Output:
While my mountain spouse cooks supper, my mind is at ease.

At the coming of dawn I wash my stick in the ripples;

When the sun rises I carry firewood across the road.

After the rain I put on my cloak to catch live carp;

I wield my axe before the wind to fell a withered pine.

I cover my tracks and hide from the world, acting the imbecile;

I change my name and pretend to be deaf and dumb.

“Brother Li,” said Zhang Shao. “I unfairly took the first lines just now, so now it’s your turn to compose the first lines while I follow you.” Thus they continued:

The man of the mountains acting mad under wind and moon;

The haughty and unwanted dotard of the river.

With his share of idleness, and able to be quite free;

No sound from his voice as he revels in his peace.

On moonlit nights he sleeps secure in a cottage of thatch;

He lightly covers himself at dusk with clothes of reed.

His passion spent, he befriends the pine and the plum;

He is happy to be the companion of cormorant and gull.


Output:
Fame and profit count for nothing in his mind;

His ears have never heard the clash of arms.

One is always pouring out fresh rice-wine,

The other has wild vegetable soup with every meal.

One makes a living with two bundles of firewood;

The other supports himself with rod and line.

One idly tells his innocent son to sharpen the axe of steel;

The other quietly bids his slow-witted child to mend the nets.

In spring one likes to see the willows turning green;

When the seasons change the other enjoys the rushes’ blue.

Avoiding the summer heat, one trims the new bamboo;

The other gathers water-chestnuts on cool July evenings.

When frost begins, plump chickens are killed each day;

In mid-autumn the crabs are at their best and always in the pot.

When the sun rises in winter, the one is still asleep;

The other keeps cool in the dog days of summer.

Throughout the year one does as he pleases in the hills;

In all four seasons the other is happy on the lake.


Output:
By gathering firewood you can become an Immortal;

There is nothing worldly about fishing.

Sweet smell the wild flowers growing outside my door;

Smooth are the green waves lapping at my boat.

A contented man never speaks of high honors;

A settled nature is stronger than a city wall.

Higher than a city wall for resisting enemy armies;

More illustrious than holding high office and listening to imperial decrees.

Those who are happy with mountains and rivers are few indeed;

Thank Heaven, thank Earth, and thank the spirits.

When the two of them had recited their verses and matched couplets they came to the place where their ways parted and bowed to each other to take their leave. “Brother Li,” said Zhang Shao, “look after yourself on your way home and keep a sharp look-out for tigers up in the hills. If you met with an accident then ‘an old friend would be missing on the road tomorrow.’” This made Li Ding angry.


Output:
“You scoundrel,” he said, “I’m your friend; I’d die for you. How could you put such a curse on me? If I’m killed by a tiger, you’ll be capsized by a wave.”

“I’ll never be capsized!” retorted Zhang Shao.

”‘In nature there are unexpected storms and in life unpredictable vicissitudes,’” quoted Li Ding, “so how can you be sure you’ll never have an accident?”

“Brother Zhang,” replied the fisherman, “despite what you just said, it’s your life that’s insecure, whereas my life is certain: I’m sure that I shan’t have an accident.”

“Your life on the water is very dangerous and insecure,” said the woodcutter, “so how can you be so certain?”


Output:
“There’s something you don’t know,” said Zhang Shao. “Every day I give a golden carp to a fortune-teller on the West Gate Street in Chang’an, and he passes a slip into my sleeve telling me I’ll catch something every time provided I go to the right place. I went to buy a forecast from him today, and he told me that if I cast my nets to the East of the bend in the Jing River and lowered my lines on the Western bank, I would be bound to get a full load of fish and shrimps to take home. Tomorrow I shall go into town to sell them to buy wine, and we can continue our talk then, brother.” With this they parted.

How true it is that if you talk on the road there will be someone listening in the grass. A patrolling yaksha from the Jing River Palace overheard Zhang Shao’s remark about always catching fish and rushed straight back to the palace of crystal to make an urgent report of disaster to the dragon king.


Output: “What disaster?” asked the dragon king, and the yaksha replied, “Your subject was patrolling in the water by the river’s edge when I heard a fisherman and a woodcutter talking. Just when they were parting they sounded very dangerous. The fisherman said that there is a soothsayer on West Gate Street in Chang’an city whose predictions are very accurate. The fisherman gives him a golden carp every day, and he hands the fisherman a slip saying that he’ll catch fish at every attempt. If his calculations are so accurate, won’t all we water folk be wiped out? Shall we fortify the water palace, or shall we make some leaping waves to strengthen Your Majesty’s prestige?”


Output: The dragon king seized his sword in a great rage, intending to go straight to Chang’an city and destroy this fortune-teller, but then his dragon sons and grandsons, shrimp officials, crab soldiers, shad generals, mandarin-fish ministers, and carp premier submitted a joint memorial that read: “We beg Your Majesty not to act in anger. As the saying goes, ‘words overheard are not to be trusted.’ If Your Majesty were to go now you would have to be accompanied by clouds and helped by rain; and if this frightens the common people of Chang’an, Heaven may take offence. Your Majesty is capable of making all sorts of transformations, and of appearing and vanishing unexpectedly; so you should change into a scholar for this visit to Chang’an. If you find that it is true, you will be able to punish him at your leisure; and if it turns out to be false, you will avoid killing an innocent man.” Taking their advice, the dragon king put aside his sword, and without raising clouds or rain he climbed out on the back, shook


Output: clouds or rain he climbed out on the back, shook himself, and turned into a scholar dressed in white. He was


Output:
Handsome and noble,

Towering into the clouds.

His step was stately

And he observed the rules of conduct.

In his speech he showed his respect for Confucius and Mencius,

His manners were those of the Duke of Zhou and King Wen.

He wore a gown of jade-green silk,

A cloth wrapped casually round his head.

Once on the road he strode straight to West Gate Street in Chang’an city, where he saw a crowd of people pushing and shouting. One of them was proclaiming grandiloquently, “He who was born under the Dragon will clash with the one who belongs to the Tiger. Although the cyclical characters are supposed to be in concordance, I’m afraid that the Year Planet may be offended by the Sun.” As soon as he heard this the dragon king knew that this was the place where fortunes were told, so he pushed through the crowds to look inside. He saw:

Four walls covered with pearls,

A room full of silken embroideries,

Incense ever rising from a burner,

Clear water in a porcelain pot.


Output:
Clear water in a porcelain pot.

On either side were paintings by Wang Wei;

High above the seat hung a picture of the Devil Valley Hermit.

An inkstone from Duanxi County,

“Golden smoke” ink,

On which leant a large brush of finest hairs;

A forest of fiery pearls,

The prediction of Guo Pu,

As he diligently compared them to the Tai Zheng Xin Jing.

He was deeply versed in the six lines of the diagrams,

A great expert on the Eight Trigrams.

He understood the principles of Heaven and Earth,

And saw into the feelings of gods and devils.

He knew all about the cyclical numbers,

And had a clear picture of the constellations.

He saw the events of the future,

The events of the past,

As if in a mirror.

Which house would rise,

Which house would fall,

He could tell with divine perception.

He knew when good and bad was coming,

Could predict death and survival.

His words hastened wind and rain;

When he wielded his writing-brush, gods and devils trembled.

His name was written on a signboard:


Output:
His name was written on a signboard:

Master of Divination Yuan Shoucheng.

Who was he? He was Yuan Shoucheng, the uncle of Yuan Tiangang the Imperial Astrologer. He was famous throughout the country, and the leading member of his profession in Chang’an. The dragon king went in to see him, and when they had greeted each other he asked the dragon king to sit down, while a servant brought tea.

“What have you come to ask about, sir?” asked the soothsayer, and the dragon king replied, “I beg you to uncover the secrets of the sky for me.” The soothsayer passed him a slip of paper from his sleeve and said, “Clouds obscure the mountain peak, mist covers the tree tops. If there is to be rain, it will certainly come tomorrow.”

“When will it rain tomorrow,” asked the dragon king, “and how many inches of rain will fall?”


Output:
“Tomorrow the clouds will gather at mid-morning; late in the morning there will be thunder; at noon it will start to rain; and in the early afternoon the rain will finish, after 3 feet 3.48 inches have fallen,” replied the soothsayer.

“I trust that you are not fooling,” said the dragon king. “If it rains tomorrow at the time and to the depth you have predicted I shall pay you a fee of fifty pieces of gold. If it does not rain, or if it does not rain at the time and to the depth you say it will, then I’m telling you straight that I’ll smash up your shopfront, tear down your sign and run you out of Chang’an so that you won’t be able to deceive the people a moment longer.”

“That is entirely up to you,” replied the other cheerfully. “We shall meet again tomorrow after the rain.”

The dragon king took his leave and went back to his watery palace from Chang’an. The greater and lesser water spirits greeted him with the question, “How did Your Majesty’s visit to the soothsayer go?”


Output: “It was all right,” he replied, “but he was a smooth-tongued fortune-teller. When I asked him when it would rain, he said tomorrow. When I asked what time of day it would be and how much would fall, he said that at mid-morning the clouds would gather, late in the morning it would thunder, at noon it would start to rain, and early in the afternoon it would stop raining. He also said that 3 feet 3.48 inches of rain would fall. I made a wager with him that if his prediction turned out to be true, I’d give him fifty ounces of gold; but if he got it at all wrong, I’d smash up his shopfront id drive him out, so that he wouldn’t be able to deceive the public any longer. The watery tribe laughed and said, “Your Majesty is the General Superintendent of the Eight Rivers and the Great Dragon God of the Rain, so only you can know whether there will be rain. How dare he talk such nonsense? That fortune-teller is bound to lose, absolutely bound to.”


Output:
Just as all the dragon sons and grandsons were laughing and talking about this with the fish ministers and crab soldiers a shout was heard from the sky: “Dragon King of the Jing River, prepare to receive an Imperial Decree.” They all looked up and saw a warrior in golden clothes coming towards the watery palace with a decree from the Jade Emperor in his hands. This alarmed the dragon king, who straightened his clothes, stood up solemnly, burnt incense and received the decree. The gold-clad warrior returned to the sky. Giving thanks for the imperial grace the dragon king opened the letter and read:

“We order the Superintendent of the Eight Rivers to travel with thunder and lightning and succor the city of Chang’an with rain.”


Output:
The time and the amount on the decree were exactly the same as those foretold by the soothsayer, which so startled the dragon king that he passed out. When he came round a moment later he said to the watery tribe, “How can there be a man of such powers in the mortal world? He is really someone who knows everything about Heaven and Earth—I’m bound to be beaten by him.”

“Your Majesty should not worry,” submitted General Shad in a memorial. “There will be no difficulty about beating him. Your subject has a humble plan that I can guarantee will shut that scoundrel’s mouth.” When the dragon king asked what the plan was, the general replied, “Make it rain at the wrong time and not quite enough, so that his predictions are wrong, and then you will surely beat him. There will be nothing to stop you smashing his sign to smithereens and running him out of town.” The dragon king accepted his advice and stopped worrying.


Output: The next day he ordered Viscount Wind, Duke Thunder, the Cloud Youth and Mother Lightning to go to the sky above the city of Chang’an. He waited till late in the morning before spreading the clouds, unleashed the thunder at noon, started the rain in the early afternoon, and stopped it in the late afternoon, when only three feet and 0.4 inches had fallen. He had thus changed the times by two hours and reduced the amount of rain by .08 inches. After the rain he dismissed his generals and his hosts and put away his clouds; then he changed back into a white-clad scholar and charged into Yuan Shoucheng’s fortune-telling stall on West Gate Street. Without even asking for an explanation he smashed up Yuan’s sign, his brush, his inkstone, and everything else, while the fortune-teller remained calmly in his chair without moving.


Output: The dragon king brandished the door in the air, ready to hit him with it, and began to pour abuse on him: “You evil man, with all your reckless talk about blessings and disasters; you stinking deceiver of the masses. Your predictions are false, and you talk nonsense. You got the time and the amount of today’s rain quite wrong, but you still sit there so high and mighty. Get out at once if you want me to spare your life.” Yuan Shoucheng, who was as calm and unfrightened as ever, looked up to the sky with a mocking smile.


Output:
“I’m not afraid,” he said, “I’m not afraid. I’ve committed no capital offence, but I fear that you have. You may be able to fool other people, but you can’t fool me. I know who you are. You’re no scholar; you’re the Dragon King of the River Jing. You flouted a decree of the Jade Emperor by changing the time of the rain and cutting down the amount, which is a crime against the laws of Heaven. I’m afraid that you’re for the executioner’s blade on the Dragon-slicing Scaffold. Are you going to keep up that abuse of me?”

On hearing this the dragon king trembled from fear and his hair stood on end. Dropping the door at once he straightened his clothes and made gestures of submission, kneeling to the soothsayer and saying, “Please do not be angry with me, sir; I was only joking. I never thought that it would be taken seriously. Whatever am I to do if I have broken the laws of Heaven? I beg you to save me, sir. If you don’t I shall haunt you after my death.”


Output:
“I can’t save you,” replied Yuan Shoucheng, “but I can suggest one way by which you may be able to save your skin.”

“I beg you to tell me,” implored the dragon king.

“Tomorrow afternoon at half past one you will have to go to the office of the official in charge of personnel, Wei Zheng, to be beheaded. If you want to stay alive you must report at once to the present Tang Emperor, Taizong, as Wei Zheng is a minister of his; and if you can get him to speak for you, you will be all right.” The dragon king took his leave of the soothsayer with tears in his eyes and went away. The sun was setting in the West, and the moon and stars were coming out.

As clouds settle round the mountains the crows fly back to roost,

The travelers on long journeys find inns for the night.

The returning geese sleep on a sandbank by the ford,

As the Milky Way appears.

While the hours push on

A lamp in the lonely village burns with barely a flame.

Pure is the monastery as the reed smoke curls in the breeze;


Output:
Men disappear in the butterfly dream.

As the moon sinks, flower shadows climb the rails,

The stars are a jumble of light.

The hours are called,

The night is already half way through.

The Dragon King of the River Jing did not return to his watery palace but stayed in the sky until the small hours of the morning, when he put away his cloud and his mist horn, and went straight to the gate of the Imperial Palace. At this very moment the Tang Emperor dreamt that he went out of the palace gate to stroll among the flowers in the moonlight. The dragon king at once took human form, went up to him and knelt and bowed before him, crying, “Save me, Your Majesty, save me.”

“Who are you, that we should save you?” asked Taizong.

“Your Majesty is a true dragon,” replied the dragon king, “and I am a wicked dragon. As I have offended against the laws of Heaven, I am due to be beheaded by Your Majesty’s illustrious minister Wei Zheng, the official in charge of personnel, so I have come to beg you to save me.”


Output:
“If you are supposed to be beheaded by Wei Zheng, we can save you, so set your mind at rest and go along now,” said the Tang Emperor. The dragon king, who was extremely happy, kowtowed in thanks and went away.

Taizong remembered his dream when he woke up. It was now half past four in the morning, so Taizong held court before the assembled civil and military officials.

Mist wreathed the palace gates,

Incense rose to the dragon towers.

In the shimmering light the silken screen moves,

As the clouds shake the imperial glory spreads.

Monarch and subject as faithful as Yao and Shun,

Imposing music and ritual rivaling Zhou and Han.

Pages hold lanterns,

Palace women hold fans,

In brilliant pairs.

Pheasant screens,

Unicorn halls,

Shimmering everywhere.

As the call “Long Live the Emperor” goes up,

The Empress is wished a thousand autumns.

When the Rod of Silence descends three times,

The uniformed officials bow to the emperor.

The brightly coloured palace flowers have a heavenly scent;


Output:
The delicate willows on the bank sing royal songs.

Pearl curtains,

Jade curtains,

Are hung high from golden hooks;

Dragon and phoenix fans,

Landscape fans,

Rest by the royal chariot.

Elegant are the civil officials,

Vigorous the generals.

By the Imperial Way high and low are divided;

They stand by rank beneath the palace steps.

The ministers with their purple corded seals ride three elephants.

May the Emperor live as long as Heaven and Earth!

When the officials had all done homage they divided into their groups. The Tang Emperor looked at them one by one with his dragon and phoenix eyes. Among the civil officials he observed Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xu Shiji, Xu Jingzong, Wang Gui and others; and among the military officers he saw Ma Sanbao, Duan Zhixian, Yin Kaishan, Cheng Yaojin, Liu Hongji, Hu Jingde, and Qin Shubao among others. Every one of them was standing there solemnly and with dignity, but he could not see Minister Wei Zheng among them.


Output:
He summoned Xu Shiji into the palace hall and said to him, “We had a strange dream last night in which a man came and bowed to us, claiming that he was the Dragon King of the River Jing. He had broken the laws of Heaven, and was due to be beheaded by the official in the personnel department, Wei Zheng. He begged us to save him, and we agreed. Why is it that the only official missing at court today is Wei Zheng?”

“If this dream is true,” replied Xu Shiji, “Wei Zheng must be summoned to the palace, and Your Majesty must not let him out of doors. Once today is over the Dragon King will be saved.” The Tang Emperor was overjoyed and he sent a personal aide with a decree summoning Wei Zheng to court.


Output: That night the minister Wei Zheng had been reading the stars in his residence and was just burning some precious incense when he heard a crane calling in the sky. It was a messenger from Heaven with a decree from the Jade Emperor ordering him to behead the Dragon King of the River Jing in a dream at half past one the following afternoon. The minister thanked Heaven for its grace, fasted and bathed himself, tried out the sword of his wisdom, and exercised his soul. This was why he did not go to court. When the imperial aide came with a summons he was frightened and nonplussed; but he did not dare to delay in obeying an order from his monarch, so he hurriedly tidied his clothes, tightened his belt, and went to the palace with the summons in his hands. He kowtowed to the Emperor and admitted his fault.


Output:
“We forgive you,” said the Emperor. The officials had not yet withdrawn, so the Emperor now ordered the curtains to be lowered and dismissed them. The only one of them he kept behind was Wei Zheng, whom he ordered to mount the golden chariot and come to his private quarters with him, where they discussed the policies to bring peace and stability to the country.

At about noon he ordered the palace ladies to bring a large weiqi chess set and said, “We shall now have a game of chess.” The Imperial concubines brought in a chess board and set it on the Emperor’s table. Thanking the Tang Emperor for his grace, Wei Zheng started to play with him. As each moved in turn they built up their lines of battle. It was just as the Chess Classic says:

The Way of chess:

The best place is the middle of the board,

The worst is the side,

And the comers are neither good nor bad.

This is the eternal law of chess.

The law says:

“It is better to lose a piece

Than to lose the initiative.


Output:
Than to lose the initiative.

When you are struck on the left, look to the right,

When attacked in the rear, keep an eye on your front.

Sometimes the leader is really behind,

Sometimes the laggard is really ahead.

If you have two ‘live’ areas do not let them be severed;

If you can survive as you are, do not link up.

Do not spread yourself out too thinly,

Do not crowd your pieces too closely.

Rather than being niggardly with your pieces,

Lose them and win the game.

Rather than moving for no reason,

It is better to strengthen your position.

When he has many and you have few,

Concentrate on survival;

When you have many and he has few,

Extend your positions.

The one who is good at winning does not have to struggle;

The one who draws up a good position does not have to fight;

The one who fights well does not lose;

The one who loses well is not thrown into confusion.

Open your game with conventional gambits,

And end by winning with surprise attacks.


Output:
And end by winning with surprise attacks.

When the enemy strengthens himself for no apparent reason,

He is planning to attack and cut you off.

When he abandons small areas and does not rescue them

His ambitions are great.

The man who places his pieces at random

Has no plans;

The man who responds without thinking

Is heading for defeat.

The Book of Songs says:

“Be cautious and careful

As if you were walking on the edge of a precipice.’

This is what it means.”

There is a poem that goes:

The board is the Earth, the chessmen Heaven,

The colours, Positive and Negative,

When you reach that subtle state when all the changes become clear,

You can laugh and brag about the chess-playing Immortals.

As sovereign and minister played their game of chess it was half past one. Although the game was not over, Wei Zheng slumped down beside the table and started to snore, fast asleep.


Output:
“Worthy Minister,” said Taizong with a smile, “you have exhausted your mind in strengthening the country and tired yourself out building the empire; that is why you have fallen asleep without realizing it.” The Emperor said no more and let him sleep. Not long afterwards Wei Zheng woke up, prostrated himself on the floor, and said, “Your subject deserves ten thousand deaths. I fell asleep without knowing what I was doing, and I beg Your Majesty to forgive your subject’s criminal discourtesy to his sovereign.”

“What criminal discourtesy have you committed?” the Emperor asked. “Rise, and take the Pieces off the board so that we may start again.” Wei Zheng thanked him for his grace, and was just taking the pieces in his hand when he heard shouting outside the palace gates. Qin Shubao, Xu Maogong and some others brought in a dragon’s head dripping with blood, threw it to the floor in front of the Emperor, and reported, “Your Majesty,

Seas have gone shallow and rivers have run dry,


Output:
Seas have gone shallow and rivers have run dry,

But such a sight as this was never seen by human eye.”

The Emperor and Wei Zheng rose to their feet and asked where it had come from.

“This dragon’s head fell from a cloud at the crossroads at the end of the Thousand Yard Portico, and your humble subjects dared not fail to report it,” said Qin Shubao and Xu Maogong.

“What does this mean?” the Tang Emperor asked Wei Zheng in astonishment.

“Your subject beheaded it in a dream just now,” replied Wei Zheng, kowtowing.

“But I never saw you move your hand or body when you were dozing,” said the shocked Emperor, “and you had no sword, so how could you have beheaded it?”

“My lord,” replied Wei Zheng, “your subject

Was bodily in your presence,

But far away in my dream.

I was bodily in your presence reaching the end of a game.

When I shut my eyes and felt drowsy;

I went far away in my dream, riding a magic cloud,

Bursting with energy.

That dragon

Was on the Dragon-slicing Scaffold


Output:
That dragon

Was on the Dragon-slicing Scaffold

Where he had been tied by the officers and soldiers of Heaven.

Then your minister said,

‘You have broken the laws of Heaven,

And deserve the death penalty.

I bear a heavenly mandate

To behead you.’

When the dragon heard he was bitterly grieved;

Your subject marshalled his spirits.

When the dragon heard he was bitterly grieved,

Pulled in his claws, laid down his scales and gladly prepared to die.

Your subject marshalled his spirits,

Hitched up his clothes, stepped forward and raised the blade.

With a snick the sword came down,

And the dragon’s head fell into the void.”


Output:
And the dragon’s head fell into the void.”

Emperor Taizong’s feelings on hearing this were mixed. On the one hand he was happy, because he was proud of having so good a minister as Wei Zheng; for with a hero like that in his court he needed to have no worries about the safety of the empire. On the other hand he was distressed, because although he had promised in his dream to save the dragon, it had been executed. He had no choice but to pull himself together and order Qin Shubao to hang the dragon’s head up in the market place as a warning to the common people of Chang’an. He also rewarded Wei Zheng, and then all the officials dispersed.


Output: When he returned to the palace that evening, the Emperor was depressed as he remembered how the dragon had wept so bitterly in his dream, begging to be saved. Yet the dragon had been unable to avoid its doom. After brooding over this for a long time he felt more and more exhausted and uneasy. In the second watch of the night he heard sobbing outside the palace gates, which made him more frightened than ever. As he lay in a fitful sleep, the dragon king of the River Jing reappeared, this time holding a head dripping with blood in his hands.


Output: “Emperor Taizong of the Tang,” he shouted, “give me back my life, give me back my life. Last night you were full of promises to save me, so why did you double-cross me yesterday and order Wei Zheng, the official in charge of personnel, to behead me? Come out, come out, and we shall go to the King of Hell’s place to have this out.” He pulled at the Emperor’s clothes and would not stop shouting. Taizong could find nothing to say, and struggled so hard to get away that he was pouring with sweat. Just at this most awkward moment he saw fragrant clouds and coloured mists to the South. A female Immortal came forward and waved a willow twig, at which the headless dragon went off to the Northwest, weeping pitifully. This Immortal was the Bodhisattva Guanyin, who had come to the East in obedience to the Buddha’s decree to find the man to fetch the scriptures. She was now staying in the temple of the tutelary god of Chang’an, and when she heard the devilish howling she came to chase away the wicked dragon. The dragon


Output: came to chase away the wicked dragon. The dragon then went down to Hell to submit a full report.


Output: When Taizong woke up he shouted, “A ghost, a ghost!” The empresses of the three palaces, the imperial consorts and concubines of the six compounds, the attendants and the eunuchs were all so terrified by this that they lay awake trembling for the rest of the night. Before long it was half past four, and all the military and civil officials were waiting for the morning court outside the palace gates. When dawn came and the Emperor had still not come to court they were so frightened that they did not know what to do.


Output:
It was not till the sun was high in the sky that a decree was brought out that read, “As our mind is not at ease all the officials are excused court.” Six or seven days quickly passed, and all the officials were so anxious that they wished they could rush to the palace gates to see the Emperor and ask after his health, but all that happened was that the Empress issued a decree summoning the royal doctors to the palace to administer medicine. Crowds of officials gathered at the palace gates waiting for news, and when the doctors came out a little later they asked what the matter was.

“His Majesty’s pulse in not as it should be: it is both faint and fast. He murmurs deliriously about having seen a ghost. His pulse stops every ten beats. His five viscera lack all spirit, and I am afraid that the worst must be expected within seven days.” The officials went pale from shock.


Output:
Amid all the panic it was learned that Taizong had sent for Xu Maogong, the Duke Protector Qin Shubao, and Lord Yuchi Jingde. When the three lords received the decree they hurried to the lower story of the side palace. When they had bowed to him, a serious-faced Taizong spoke forcefully to them.

“Illustrious ministers,” he said, “we started to command troops at the age of nineteen, and had many hard years of fighting from then on, conquering the North and the South, defending in the East, and wiping out our enemies in the West; but never once did we see anything sinister or evil. Yet now we are seeing ghosts.”

“Your Majesty has founded an empire and slaughtered men beyond number, so why should you be scared of ghosts?” asked Lord Yuchi.

“You don’t believe us,” the Emperor replied, “but outside our bedroom door at night bricks and tiles fly about and the ghosts and demons howl. It is really terrible. Daytime is passable, but the nights are unbearable.”


Output:
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty,” said Qin Shubao. “Tonight I and Yuchi Jingde shall guard the palace doors to see whether there are any ghosts or not.” Taizong agreed to his suggestion, and after thanking him for his kindness Xu Maogong and the other two generals withdrew. That evening the two of them put on their equipment and took up their positions outside the palace gates in full armour and helmet, with golden maces and battle-axes in their hands. Look how these splendid generals were dressed:

On their heads were golden helmets bright,

On their bodies was armour like dragon scales.

Magic clouds glisten in front of their Heart-protecting Mirrors;

Their lion coats are tightly buckled.

Fresh are the colours of their embroidered belts.

One looks up to the sky with his phoenix eyes, and the stars tremble;

The other’s eyes flash lightning and dim the moonlight.

These true heroes and distinguished ministers

Will be called gate-protectors for a thousand years

And serve as door-gods for ten thousand ages.


Output:
And serve as door-gods for ten thousand ages.

The two generals stood beside the doors till deep into the night, and not a single demon did they see. That night Taizong slept peacefully in the palace and nothing happened. When morning came he called the two generals in and gave them rich rewards.

“We had not been able to sleep for several days since we fell ill,” he said, “but last night was very peaceful, thanks to the awesome might of you two generals. Please go and rest now so that you can guard us again tonight.” The two generals thanked him and left. For the next two or three nights they stood guard and all was quiet; but the Emperor ate less and less as his illness took a turn for the worse. Not wishing to put the two generals to any more trouble, he summoned them to the palace with Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling.


Output: These were the instructions he gave them: “Although we have enjoyed peace for the last two days, we are unhappy about the night-long ordeals we have imposed on Generals Qin and Yuchi. We therefore wish to commission two skilled painters to make faithful portraits of the two generals to paste on the doors so that they may be saved trouble. What do you think?” In obedience to the imperial decree the officials chose two men who could draw a good likeness, and the two generals wore their armour as before while they were painted. Then the pictures were stuck on the doors, and there was no trouble that night.


Output:
The next two or three days were peaceful too but then the Emperor heard bricks and tiles banging and crashing once again at the Hou Zai Gate. He summoned his officials at dawn and said, “There has, thank goodness, been no trouble at the front gates for several days now, but there were noises at the back gates last night that practically scared me to death.” Xu Maogong went forward and submitted this suggestion: “When there was trouble at the front gates Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao protected Your Majesty. Now there is trouble at the back gates Wei Zheng should be ordered to stand guard.”

Taizong approved his suggestion, and ordered Wei Zheng to stand guard at the back gates that night. Wei Zheng received the edict, and that night he put on his best clothes, belted himself tightly, and took up his vigil outside the Hou Zai Gate. He was a true hero. He wore

A black band of silk around his forehead,

A brocade gown loosely belted with jade.

His hood and billowing sleeves caught the frost and dew,


Output:
And he looked more ferocious than the ghost-quellers Shenshu and Yul ti.

On his feet he wore black boots for motionless movement;

In his hand he wielded a keen-edged blade with great ferocity.

He looked around with glaring eyes:

What evil spirit would have dared approach?

No devils were seen all night, but although nothing happened at the front or back gates the Emperor’s condition still deteriorated. One day the Empress Dowager issued an edict summoning the officials to discuss funeral arrangements. Taizong sent for Xu Maogong and gave him orders about affairs of state, instructing him to look after the heir to the throne in the way that Liu Bei, the ruler of Shu, had instructed Zhuge Liang. When he had finished speaking he was bathed and put into clean clothes. All he had to do now was to wait for the end. Then in rushed Wei Zheng, who grabbed hold of his dragon robes and said, “Do not worry, Your Majesty. I can ensure Your Majesty long life.”


Output:
“The disease has reached my heart,” replied the Emperor, “and my life will end at any moment now, so how can you save it?”

“Your subject has a letter here,” said Wei Zheng, “that I am offering to Your Majesty to take with you to the underworld and give to Cui Jue, the judge of Fengdu.”

“Who is this Cui Jue?” asked the Emperor.


Output: “He was one of the officers of Your Majesty’s exalted predecessor. From being magistrate of Cizhou he was promoted to be vice-president of the Ministry of Rites. When he was alive he and I were close friends. Now that he is dead he is in charge of the Registers of Birth and Death in the underworld as judge of Fengdu, and he often comes to see me in my dreams. If you take this letter with you on your journey and give it to him, he is bound to allow Your Majesty to come back out of consideration for your humble subject. I can guarantee that Your Majesty’s soul will return to the sunlight, and the dragon countenance will certainly return to the imperial capital.” Taizong took the letter and put it in his sleeve, then he shut his eyes in death. The empresses, consorts and imperial concubines of the three palaces and the six compounds, the palace servants, the heir to the throne, and the civil and military officials all grieved and dressed in mourning. The imperial coffin lay in state in the White Tiger Hall.


Output:
If you don’t know how Taizong came back to life, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

Chapter Eleven

After Touring the Underworld, Taizong Returns to Life.

By Presenting a Pumpkin Liu Quan Continues His Marriage

A hundred years flow by like water;

A lifetime’s career is no more than a bubble,

The face that yesterday was the color of peach-blossom

Today is edged with snow.

When the white ants’ line of battle collapses, all is illusion;

“Repent, repent,” is the cuckoo’s urgent call.

He who does good in secret can always prolong his life;

Heaven looks after the one who asks no pity.


Output:
Heaven looks after the one who asks no pity.

Taizong was in a daze as his soul went straight to the Tower of Five Phoenixes, in front of which he saw the horsemen of the Imperial Guard who invited him out hunting with them. Taizong was glad to go and they went off into the distance; but after they had been going for some time he found himself walking alone in a wasteland: the horsemen had all disappeared. Just as he was discovering to his alarm that he could not find his way a man appeared not far away, shouting.

“Great Tang Emperor, come here, come here.” On hearing this Taizong looked up and saw him:

A black silk turban,

A rhinoceros-horn belt.

The black silk turban has tabs blowing in the breeze;

The rhinoceros-horn belt has golden mountings.

In his hands an ivory tablet, glowing auspiciously;

His thin silk gown conceals his divine light.

He wears a pair of boots with whitened soles

As he climbs the clouds and grasps the mist,

Holding to his chest the Registers of Life and Death,


Output:
Noting down the quick and the dead.

His tangled hair blows about his ears;

His whiskers dance and fly beside his cheeks.

Once he used to be a Tang minister

But now he judges cases for the King of Hell.

When Taizong went up to him, he fell on his knees beside the path and said, “Your Majesty, please forgive your subject for his crime of failing to come far enough to meet you.”

“Who are you?” asked the Emperor, “and why have you come to meet me?”

“A fortnight ago your humble servant heard the Dragon King of the River Jing bringing a case against Your Majesty in the Senluo Palace because he was executed despite your promise to save him,” replied the other.

“The King of Qinguang of the First Palace sent devil messengers with an urgent summons to Your Majesty to be present when the case is heard between the Three Orders: the Human Order, the Underworld Order and the Water Order. When I heard this I came here to meet Your Majesty. I arrived late, so I beg for forgiveness.”


Output:
“What is your name and position?” asked Taizong.

“When your humble servant was alive I used to serve His Late Majesty. I was magistrate of Cizhou, and later made vice-president of the Ministry of Rites. My name is Cui Jue. I have now been given office in the underworld as the judge in charge of cases at Fengdu.” Taizong, greatly delighted to learn this, went up to him and supported him with his imperial hands as he said, “Sir, you have made a long and exhausting journey. Wei Zheng, our minister, gave us a letter for you; how lucky that we have met.” The judge thanked him and asked where the letter was. Taizong produced it from his sleeve and handed it over to Cui Jue, who received it with a bow. When he opened it he saw that it read as follows:

Your Excellency, Metropolitan Judge, and Venerable Elder Brother Cui,


Output: Remembering our former friendship; I still see and hear you as if you were alive; but many years have now flown by since I last received your pure instruction. On feast days I set out some vegetarian dishes as a sacrifice to you, but I have been unable to divine whether they are enjoyed by you. As I have the good fortune not to have been abandoned by you and you have appeared to me in dreams, I now know that my great elder brother has risen high. But, alas, there is a great gap between the worlds of darkness and of light, and we are unable to meet each other as we are each at different ends of the universe.


Output:
As the Cultured Emperor Taizong has recently passed away of a sudden illness it seems likely that his case will be discussed by the Three Orders, so that he is bound to meet you, elder brother. I beseech you to remember the friendship of the days when you were alive and give His Majesty such assistance as will enable him to return to the sunlight. This would be a great favour, and I shall write again to thank you. I cannot go into all the details of the case here.

Your younger brother kowtows to you.

With affection,

Wei Zheng.


Output:
With affection,

Wei Zheng.

The judge was very pleased when he had read the letter. “I know about how the official Wei of the personnel department beheaded the dragon in a dream the other day,” he said, “and this news filled me with great admiration. He has always looked after my sons and grandsons, and now that I have a letter from him, Your Majesty need have no worries. Your humble servant can undertake to escort Your Majesty back to the light, where you will once more ascend the throne.” Taizong thanked him.


Output: As they were talking a pair of servant boys in black appeared, carrying banners and a precious canopy. “An invitation from King Yama,” they shouted. Taizong and Judge Cui went along with them. A city wall appeared in front of them, and above its gates hung a large tablet on which was written DEVIL GATE OF THE WORLD OF DARKNESS in huge letters of gold. The two lictors waved their banners and led Taizong into the city and along its streets. Beside the road he saw his father and predecessor Li Yuan, as well as his dead brothers Jaincheng and Yuanji, who went up to him and said, “Shimin’s here, Shimin’s here,” using his personal name. They grabbed and hit him, demanding their lives back; and as Taizong could not avoid them they held him fast until Judge Cui ordered a blue-faced devil with terrible fangs to drive them away. Only then was Taizong able to escape from their clutches. After another mile or so he saw a green-tiled tower rising majestically before him.


Output:
A myriad coloured veils of haze drifting about it,

A thousand wisps of red mist dimly appearing.

The flying eaves had monsters at their ends,

The matching tiles of the five roofs were gleaming bright.

Rows of golden studs were driven into the doors,

A length of whitest jade was placed across each threshold.

When the windows faced the light they glowed like the dawn;

Red lightning flashed from the lattice and the blinds.

The tower soared into the azure sky

While porticos led to sumptuous courtyards.

Incense from braziers shaped like beasts perfumed the royal robes;

The light from lanterns of purple gauze was thrown on palace fans.

To the left a row of ferocious bull-headed demons;

To the right were terrible horse-faced devils.

Those who escorted the spirits of the dead had golden tablets;

Those who summoned souls wore white sackcloth.

This place was called the assembly of the underworld,

The Palace of Yama, King of Hell.


Output:
The Palace of Yama, King of Hell.

As Taizong gazed at it from the outside, jade ornaments could be heard tinkling as they swung from the belts of officials, and rare perfumes could be smelt. In front were two pairs of attendants holding lanterns, and behind them the ten generations of kings of the underworld came down the steps. The ten kings were the King of Qinguang, the King of Chujiang, King Songdi, King Wuguan, King Yama, King Impartial, King of Mount Tai, the Metropolitan King, the King of Biancheng, and the King of the Ever-turning Wheel. They came out of the Senluo Palace and bowed to Taizong in greeting. Taizong felt too humble to go forward.

“Your Majesty is a monarch in the world of light, but we are only kings in the world of darkness. It is therefore only right that we should do this, so why this excessive modesty?”


Output:
“We have offended against Your Majesties,” replied Taizong, “so how can we venture to talk in terms of light and darkness, or men and ghosts?” After much yielding Taizong went into the Senluo Palace, and when they had finished bowing to each other they sat down as hosts and guest.

A moment later the King of Qinguang clasped his hands together and said, “Why is it that the ghost dragon of the River Jing has brought a case against Your Majesty, saying that he was executed despite your promise to save him?”


Output: “I had a dream that an old dragon came to ask me to save him,” replied Taizong, “and I did in fact promise that he would come to no harm; but as it turned out his crime was a capital one, for which he was due to be beheaded by the minister in the personnel department, Wei Zheng. We summoned Wei Zheng to come and play chess in the palace, and I never knew that he had beheaded the dragon in a dream. This happened because that officer can come and go miraculously, and also because the dragon king had committed a crime for which he deserved to die. We were in no way to blame for his death.”


Output: When the Ten Kings heard his statement they bowed and replied, “Even before that dragon was born it was written in the registers of the Southern Pole Star that he was destined to die at the hands of a personnel minister, as we have long been aware. But because he has been arguing about the matter we had to send for Your Majesty. When the case has been argued between the three orders we shall send him to the Revolving Prayer-wheel for reincarnation. We hope that Your Majesty will forgive us for forcing you to attend.” Then they ordered the judge in charge of the Registers of Birth and Death to fetch them at once to see how long His Majesty was due to live. Judge Cui hurried to his office and took down the general register of the lengths of the reigns Heaven had allowed to the kings of all the countries of the earth. As he was looking through it he saw to his horror that Emperor Taizong of the Great Tang in the Southern Jambu Continent was due to die in year 13 of his reign. He hurriedly seized a large brush


Output: of his reign. He hurriedly seized a large brush soaked in ink, changed 13 into 33, then he handed the register up. The Ten Kings started at the beginning and read it through until they saw that Taizong was due to reign for thirty-three years.


Output:
“How long has Your Majesty been on the throne?” asked the shocked kings of hell.

“It is now thirteen years since my accession,” Taizong replied.

“Then there is no need for Your Majesty to worry,” said King Yama. “You have twenty years of life ahead of you. Now that you have answered these charges satisfactorily, will you please return to the World of Light.” On hearing this Taizong bowed and thanked the Ten Kings, who then ordered judge Cui and marshal Zhu to return Taizong his soul. As he was leaving the Senluo Palace Taizong raised his hand in salutation and asked the Ten Kings about the prospects for all the members of his family in his palace.

“Good,” they replied, “except that Your Majesty’s younger sister does not seem to be going to live much longer.” Taizong bowed once more to express his thanks.

“When we return to the daylight we shall have nothing with which to show our gratitude except for fruit and melons.”


Output:
“We have gourds, Eastern melons and Western melons, or water-melons, here, but no pumpkins, no Southern melons,” said the Ten Kings.

“When we return to the world of the living we shall send some,” replied Taizong, and with that they raised their clasped hands to each other, bowed, and parted.

The marshal, with a soul-guiding flag in his hand, led the way, and Judge Cui followed with Taizong as they left the office of darkness. Taizong looked up and saw that they were not going the same way as they had come.

“Have we taken the wrong road?” he asked the judge, who replied, “No. In the underworld you can only go; you can never come back. We are now taking Your Majesty out through the Revolving Prayer-wheel; thus you will be able to tour the underworld on your way back to life.” Taizong had no choice but to follow them as they led the way.

After a mile or two he saw a high mountain wrapped in dark clouds down to its foot, while a black mist blotted out the sky.


Output:
“What’s that mountain over there, Mr. Cui?” he asked; and the judge replied, “That is the Dark Mountain of the underworld.”

“However shall we cross it?” Taizong asked in terror.

“Have no fears, Your Majesty; your subjects will lead the way,” answered the judge. Taizong followed them shivering and trembling, and when they had climbed the mountain he looked around him. He saw that it was

Jagged,

Precipitous,

High as the Sichuan ranges,

Lofty as Lushan.

It is not a famous peak of the world of light,

But a crag of the underworld.

Ogres hidden in the clumps of thorns,

Evil monsters lurk behind the cliffs.

Your ears hear no calls of animals or birds,

The eyes can only see fiends.

A dark wind howls,

As black fog spreads.

The dark wind that howls

Is the smoke breathed from the mouths of magic soldiers;

The spreading black fog

Is the vapour belched out by hidden trolls.

Wherever you look the prospect is appalling;

All you can see to left or right is unbridled evil.

To be sure, there are hills,


Output:
To be sure, there are hills,

Peaks,

Ranges,

Caves,

And gullies.

But no grass grows on the hills,

There is no sky for the peaks to touch.

No travelers cross the ranges,

The caves hold no clouds,

No water runs in the gullies.

Before the cliffs there are only goblins,

Below the ranges are trolls.

Savage ghosts shelter in the caves,

Evil spirits hide in the gullies.

All around the mountain

Ox-headed and horse-faced demons howl and roar;

Half hidden from view,

Hungry ghosts and desperate spirits sob to each other.

The judge who claims men’s lives

Cannot wait to deliver the letter;

The marshal who chases souls,

Shouts and roars as he hastens along with his documents.

The swift-footed ones

Swirl along like a tornado;

The catchers of souls

Stand as thick as clouds.

Thanks entirely to the protection of the judge, Taizong crossed the Dark Mountain.


Output:
As they continued on their way they went past very many courts, and from each of them piteous sounds assailed his ear, while the evil ghouls there struck terror into his heart.

“What place is this?” asked Taizong.

“It is the eighteen layers of hell that lie behind the Dark Mountain,” the judge replied.

“What are the eighteen layers?” asked Taizong.

“Listen and I will tell you,” the judge replied.

“The Hanging-by-the-Sinews Hell, the Hell of Injustice, and the Hell of the Pit of Fire.

Loneliness and desolation,

Misery and suffering.

All those here committed the thousand lower sins,

And were sent here for punishment after death.

The Fengdu Hell, the Tongue-extraction Hell, the Flaying Hell:

Howling and wailing,

Terrible anguish.

They offended against Heaven by not being loyal or filial;

They have Buddha-mouths but snake hearts, so fell down here.

The Grinding Hell, the Pounding Hell, the Hell of Drawing and Quartering.

Skin and flesh ripped and torn,

Lips rubbed away till the teeth show.


Output:
Lips rubbed away till the teeth show.

In the blindness of their hearts they did evil things;

For all their fine words they harmed others in secret.

The Ice Hell, the Skin-shedding Hell, the Disemboweling Hell.

Filthy faces and matted hair,

Frowning foreheads and sad eyes.

They all used false measures to cheat the foolish,

Thus piling up disasters for themselves.

The Oil-cauldron Hell, the Hell of Blackness, the Hell of the Mountain of Knives.

Shivering and trembling,

In terrible agony;

Because they used violence against the good

They cower and hunch their shoulders in their suffering.

The Hell of the Pool of Blood, the Avichi Hell, the Hell of the Steelyard Beam,

Where skin is pulled away from the bone,

Arms are broken and tendons cut.

Because they killed for gain,

Butchering living creatures,

They fell into these torments that will not end in a thousand years;

They will always lie here, never to escape.

Every one of them is tightly bound,

Knotted and roped.

Red-faced demons,


Output:
Knotted and roped.

Red-faced demons,

And black-faced demons,

Are sent with their long halberds and short swords.

Ox-headed fiends.

And horse-faced fiends,

With iron clubs and brazen hammers,

Beat them till their wincing faces flow with blood,

As they call on Heaven and Earth and get no answer.

Let no man alive have any illusions:

The devils carry out their orders and release nobody.

Good and evil will always be rewarded:

It is only a question of time.”

Before they had gone much further a group of devil soldiers holding banners knelt down beside the road and said, “The Commissioners of the Bridges welcome you.” The Judge shouted to them that they were to rise and led Taizong across a golden bridge. Taizong saw that there was a silver bridge beside it over which some loyal, filial, worthy, just, and upright people were passing, led by banners. There was a third bridge on the other side with an icy wind roaring across it and waves of blood boiling below amid unbroken howls and wails.


Output:
“What is that bridge called?” Taizong asked, and the Judge replied, “Your Majesty, that is called the Bridge of Punishment, and you must tell people about it when you return to the world of the living. Below the bridge there are

A narrow, precipitous path

Over a mighty, rushing river.

It is like a strip of cloth across the Yangtse,

Or a fiery pit rising up to Heaven.

The icy vapours freeze one to the bone;

Nauseating stenches assail the nostrils.

There is no boat to ferry you

Across the crashing waves.

All who appear are sinful ghosts

With bare feet and matted hair.

The bridge is many miles long

And only three fingers wide;

The drop is a hundred feet,

The waters are infinitely deeper.

Above there are no railings for support,

While trolls snatch their victims from below.

In cangues and bonds

They are driven along the dangerous path by the River of Punishment.

See the ferocity of the divine generals by the bridge;

Watch how the ghosts of the wicked suffer in the river.


Output:
On the branching trees

Hang silken clothes in blue, red, yellow and purple;

In front of the precipice

Squat lewd and shameless women who swore at their parents-in-law.

Copper snakes and iron dogs feast on them at will,

As they constantly fall in the river, never to escape.

There is a poem that goes:

As ghosts wail and spirits howl

The waves of blood tower high.

Countless ghouls with heads of bulls and horses

Guard the bridge with great ferocity.

The commissioners of the bridges had gone away while he was speaking. Taizong’s heart was once more filled with horror, and he nodded his head and sighed silently in his distress, then followed the judge and the Marshal. Before long they crossed the evil River of Punishment and passed the terrors of the Bowl of Blood. Then they came to the City of the Unjustly Slain. Amid the hubbub, shouts of “Li Shimin’s here, Li Shimin’s here,” could be made out, to the terror of Taizong. He saw that his way was blocked by a crowd of maimed and headless spectres.


Output:
“Give us back our lives,” they were all shouting, “give us back our lives.” The panic-stricken Taizong tried to hide, yelling, “Help, Judge Cui, help, help.”

“Your Majesty,” the judge replied, “these are the ghosts of the kings and chieftains of the sixty-four groups of rebels and the seventy-two troops of bandits. They were all killed unjustly, and nobody has given them a home or looked after them. They cannot get themselves reborn as they have no money for the journey, so they are all uncared-for cold and hungry ghosts. If Your Majesty is able to give them some money I can save you.”

“I came here empty-handed,” Taizong replied, “so where could I possibly get any money?”

“Your Majesty,” the judge replied, “there is a man in the world of light who deposited a certain amount of money in the underworld. If Your Majesty is prepared to sign an I.O.U., I will endorse it, and we can borrow his store of money to distribute among these hungry ghosts; then we will be able to continue on our way,”


Output:
“Who is this man?” asked Taizong.

“He is a man of Kaifeng in Henan,” the judge replied, “and his name is Xiang Liang. He has thirteen hoards of gold and silver down here, and if Your Majesty borrows them, all you have to do is repay them when you return to the world of light.” Taizong was very pleased, and only too eager to borrow one. He signed an I.O.U. at once and gave it to the judge, then borrowed a store, which he gave to the marshal to hand out.


Output: “You are to share out this gold and silver and let your Lord of the Great Tang past,” said the judge. “As it is too early in his life, I am under orders from the ten kings to return his soul and tell him to hold a Great Mass when he is back in the world of light to enable all of you to be reborn, so don’t be making any more trouble.” When the ghosts heard what he had to say and were given the gold and silver they all withdrew, murmuring their obedient assent. The judge then told the marshal to wave his soul-leading flag, and Taizong was taken out of the City of the Unjustly Slain and floated along the highway to the daylight.


Output:
After they had been going for a long time they reached the Wheel of the Six Paths of Being. Some people were soaring in the clouds, wearing cloaks of rosy mist. Others were being given office with golden insignia to hang from their waists. Monks and nuns, clergy and lay people, beasts of the field and birds of the air, ghosts and devils—all were pouring under the wheel and each was going along his allotted path.

“What’s all this about?” asked the Tang Emperor.


Output:
“What’s all this about?” asked the Tang Emperor.

“Your Majesty is a man of deep understanding,” the judge replied. “You must be sure to remember all this and tell the living about it. It is called the Wheel of the Six Paths of Being. Those who have done good deeds rise on the Path of the Immortals; those who have been loyal are reborn on the Path of Honour; those who have done their duty to their parents lead their next life on the Path of Happiness; those who have been just return to life on the Path of Man; those who have accumulated merit are reborn on the Path of Wealth; and the evildoers fall down into the Path of Devils.” On hearing this the Tang Emperor nodded and said with a sigh:

“Excellent, truly excellent,

The virtuous come to no harm.

The good heart is always mindful,

The way of goodness always lies open.

“Do not allow evil thoughts to arise;

Thus you will avoid all trouble.

Say not that there is no retribution;

Whether you become a god or a ghost is all determined.


Output:
The judge took Taizong straight to the Gate of Rebirth on the Path of Honour, bowed to him and said, “Your Majesty, this is the way out, where I shall have to take my leave and go back. Marshal Zhu will escort you for the next stage of your journey.”

“I have made you come an awfully long way, sir,” said the Tang Emperor as he thanked him.

“When Your Majesty returns to the world of the living you absolutely must hold a Great Mass to enable those forlorn ghosts to be reborn,” replied the judge. “Don’t on any account forget, as there can only be peace on Earth if there are no vengeance-seeking ghosts in the underworld. Every single wrong will have to be corrected. Teach all people to be good, and then you will be able to assure the continuity of your line and the eternal security of your empire.”


Output:
The Tang Emperor agreed to each of his proposals and took leave of him, then went through the gates with Marshal Zhu. Seeing a fine horse standing ready and saddled inside the gates, the marshal asked Taizong to mount it with the help of his assistants. The horse was as swift as an arrow, and it was soon at the banks of the River Wei, where a pair of golden carp could be seen sporting in the water. Taizong, captivated at the sight, pulled in his horse’s reins and gazed at them.

“Your Majesty,” the marshal said, “please keep moving. We have to enter the city early.” But all the Tang Emperor wanted to do was to look. As he would not move on the marshal grabbed him by the feet and shouted, “Get moving. What are you waiting for?” as he pushed him off his horse and into the River Wei with a splash. Taizong was now free of the underworld and back in the world of the living.


Output:
The civil and military officials of the Tang court, Xu Maogong, Qin Shubao, Yuchi Jingde, Duan Zhixian, Ma Sanbao, Cheng Yaojin, Gao Shilian, Li Shiji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xiao Yu, Fu Yi, Zhang Daoyuan, Zhang Shiheng, Wang Gui and the others, as well as the empresses, imperial consorts and concubines, and pages were all in the White Tiger Hall. They were discussing whether to issue an edict of mourning to inform the world so that the heir could be put on the throne.

Wei Zheng was saying, “Gentlemen, stop this discussion. We must not do that. If the country is alarmed, anything might happen. If we wait for another day our master is bound to come back to life.” Xu Jingzong stepped forward from the lower ranks and protested, “Minister Wei is talking nonsense. As the old saying goes, ‘split water can’t be picked up and the dead can’t come back to life.’ What business have you to be spreading confusion with these groundless claims?”


Output:
“Mr. Xu,” Wei Zheng replied, “I can say truthfully that I have been given instruction in the magic arts since childhood and my predictions are extremely accurate. I can assure you that I have saved His Majesty from death.”

As they were arguing they heard loud shouts of “You’re drowning me, you’re drowning me,” coming from the coffin. The civil officials and the generals were struck with terror; the empresses and consorts shivered. Every one of them had

A face as yellow as a mulberry-leaf after autumn,

A waist as weak as a willow sapling before spring.

The heir went weak at the knees,

As he stood in full mourning, unable to hold up his staff;

The attendants’ souls flew away:

How would it do for them to be wearing mourning hats and clothes?

The consorts and concubines collapsed,

The palace beauties had to lie down.

When the consorts and concubines collapsed,

It was like a gale blowing down withered lotuses.

When the palace beauties lay down

It was like a rainstorm beating young lotuses down.


Output:
All the ministers were terrified

And their limbs went numb;

They shivered and shook,

Struck dumb and stupid.

The White Tiger Hall was like a bridge collapsing,

And the confusion round the coffin

Was like a temple falling down.

All the palace women fled, as not one of them dared to approach the imperial coffin. Luckily the upright Xu Maogong, the trusty Wei Zheng, the brave Qin Shubao, and the ferocious Yuchi Jingde went forward to put their hands on the coffin and shouted, “What is it that worries Your Majesty and makes you speak to us? Tell us, and do not haunt us and scare the royal family.”


Output:
“His Majesty is not haunting us,” Wei Zheng said. “His Majesty has come back to life. Bring tools at once.” They opened the coffin and found Taizong sitting up inside and still shouting, “You’re drowning me. Save me, someone.” Xu Maogong and the others helped him to his feet and said, “There is nothing to fear as you come round, Your Majesty. We are all here to protect you.” The Tang Emperor then opened his eyes and said, “We have been having an awful time: after escaping from the evil demons of the underworld, we were drowned.”

“Relax, Your Majesty, there is nothing to fear. How could you have drowned?” the ministers said. “We were riding along the banks of the River Wei and watching to fishes playing when that deceitful Marshal Zhu pushed us off the horse and made us fall into the river, where we all but drowned.”


Output:
“Your Majesty still has something of the ghost about you,” said Wei Zheng, and he ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to send medicinal potions to settle the spirit and calm the soul at once; he also sent for some thin gruel. After one or two doses of the medicine the Emperor returned to normal and regained full consciousness. The Tang Emperor had been dead for three days and nights before returning to rule the world of the living once more. There is a poem to prove it:

Since ancient times there have been changes of power;

Dynasties have always waxed and waned.

What deed of the kings of old could compare

With the Emperor of Tang returning to life?

As it was evening by then the ministers asked the Emperor to go to bed, and they all dispersed.


Output:
The next day they all took off their mourning garments and put colorful clothes back on. Wearing red robes and black hats, and with their golden seals of office hanging from purple ribbons at their waists, they stood outside the gates of the court awaiting the summons. As for Taizong, after taking the medicine to settle his spirit and calm his soul and drinking some thin gruel he was helped to his bedroom by his ministers. He slept soundly all night, building up his energies, and at dawn he rose. See how he was arrayed as he summoned up his authority:

On his head a hat that thrust into the sky;

On his body a dark yellow robe

Girt with a belt of Lantian jade;

On his feet a pair of Shoes of Success.

The dignity of his bearing

Surpasses all others at court.

His awesome majesty

Is today restored.

What a peaceful and wise Great Tang Emperor,

The king named Li who can die and rise again.


Output:
The king named Li who can die and rise again.

The Tang Emperor entered the throne hall, and when the two groups of civil and military officials had finished acclaiming him they divided into sections according to their ranks. When they heard the decree, “Let all those with business step forward from their sections and submit memorials, and let those with no business retire,” Xu Maogong, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Yuan Tiangang, Li Chunfeng, Xu Jingzong and others stepped forward on the Eastern side; and on the Western side Yin Kaishan, Liu Hongji, Ma Sanbao, Duan Zhixian, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, Yuchi Jingde, Xue Rengui and others stepped forward also.

They advanced together, bowed low before the white jade steps, and asked in a memorial, “Why did it take Your Majesty so long to awake from your dream the other day?”


Output: To this Taizong replied, “The other day we took Wei Zheng’s letter and felt our soul leaving the palace. The horsemen of the Imperial Guard asked us to go hunting with them, and as we were going along the men and their horses all vanished. His Late Majesty and our dead brothers appeared and started to shout at us in a quarrelsome way. Things were getting very awkward when we saw a man in a black hat and gown who turned out to be the judge Cui Jue. When he had shouted at my dead brothers and driven them away we gave him Wei Zheng’s letter. As he was reading it some servants in black holding banners led us in and took us to the Senluo Palace, where the Ten Kings of Hell were all sitting. They said that the dragon of the River Jing had falsely accused us of deliberately killing him after we had promised to save him, so we gave them a full account of what we told you about before. They said that the case had now been settled between the three orders, and ordered that the Registers of Birth and Death be brought


Output: that the Registers of Birth and Death be brought at once so that they could see how long we were due to live. Judge Cui handed up the register, and they saw in it that we were due to reign for thirty-three years, which meant that we had another twenty years of life in front of us. They told Marshal Zhu and Judge Cui to escort us back. We took our leave of the Ten Kings and promised to send them some pumpkins and fruit as a mark of our thanks. After leaving the Senluo Palace we saw in the underworld how the disloyal, the unfilial, those who do not observe the rules of propriety, wasters of foodgrains, bullies, cheats, those who use false measures, adulterers, robbers, hypocrites, deceivers, debauchees, swindlers and the like undergo the agonies of being ground, burnt, pounded and sliced, and suffer the torments of being fried, boiled, hung in mid-air, and skinned. There were tens of thousands of them, far more than our eyes could take in. Then we went through the City of the Unjustly Slain where there were


Output: the City of the Unjustly Slain where there were countless ghosts of the wrongly killed, and all of them, the chieftains of the sixty-four groups of rebels and the spirits of the seventy-two bands of rebels, blocking our way. Luckily Judge Cui acted as our guarantor and lent us one of the hoards of gold and silver of a Mr. Xiang of Henan, with which we were able to buy them off and continue on our way. Judge Cui told us that when we returned to the world of the living we had an inescapable obligation to hold a Great Mass to enable all those forlorn ghosts to be reborn, and with these instructions he took his leave. When I came out under the Wheel of the Six Paths of Being Marshal Zhu invited us to mount a horse. This horse seemed to fly to the banks of the River Wei, where I saw a pair of fish sporting in the water. Just as we were enjoying this sight the marshal grabbed our legs and tipped us into the water, and with that we returned to life.”


Output: When the ministers had heard this they all congratulated him and they compiled a record of it; and all the prefectures and counties of the empire sent in memorials of felicitation.


Output:
Taizong issued a decree of amnesty for all the convicted criminals in the empire and ordered inquiries into the cases of all those held in jail on serious charges. The inspectors submitted to the throne the names of more than four hundred criminals who had been sentenced by the Ministry of Punishments to beheading or strangulation, and Taizong gave them a stay of execution, allowing them to go home to see their families and give their property to their relations; on the same day the following year they were to report to the authorities for their sentences to be carried out. The criminals thanked him for his mercy and withdrew. He also issued a notice about charity for orphans and released three thousand women of all ages from the palace to be married to members of the army. From then on all was well within and without the palace. There is a poem to prove it:

Vast is the mercy of the great Tang Emperor;

He surpasses Yao and Shun in making the people prosper.


Output:
Four hundred condemned men all left their prisons,

Three thousand mistreated women were released from the palace.

All the officials of the empire proclaim the monarch’s long life;

The ministers at court congratulate the Great Dragon.

Heaven responds to the thoughts of the good heart,

Its blessing will protect his seventeen successors.

When he had released the women from the palace and let the condemned men out of prison he issued a notice that was posted throughout the empire. It read:

“Great are Heaven and Earth;

Sun and Moon shine clearly.

Although the universe is vast,

Earth and sky have no room for evil plots.

If you use your wits and skill to cheat people,

You will get retribution in this life;

If you are good at giving and ask for little,

You are sure to find a reward before your future life.

A thousand cunning plans

Cannot compare with living according to one’s lot;

Ten thousand kinds of robbers

Are no match for those who live frugally and accept their fate.


Output:
If you are good and merciful in thought and deed,

What need is there to bother to read the scriptures?

If your mind is full of malice towards others,

To read the whole of the Buddha’s canon would be a waste of time.”


Output: From then on everyone in the country did good deeds. Another notice was issued calling for a worthy man to take pumpkins to the underworld, and at the same time Yuchi Jingde, the Duke of E, was sent to Kaifeng in Henan to visit Xiang Liang and pay him back a hoard of jewels and a hoard of gold and silver. Some days after the notice had been issued a worthy man called Liu Quan from Junzhou came forward to deliver the pumpkins. He came from a family worth ten thousand strings of cash. When his wife Li Cuilian had taken a gold pin from her hair to give as an offering to a monk at the gate, Liu Quan had cursed her for being a loose wife who would not stay in the women’s quarters. Li Cuilian, bitterly resenting this, had hanged herself, leaving a little boy and girl who had been crying night and day ever since. Liu Quan, unable to bear it any longer, wanted only to end his own life and abandon his family and his children. For this reason he had volunteered to deliver the pumpkins in death and came to the Tang


Output: the pumpkins in death and came to the Tang Emperor with the imperial notice in his hand. The Emperor ordered him to go to the Golden Pavilion, where he was to put a pair of pumpkins on his head and some gold in his sleeve and drink poison.


Output:
Liu Quan drank the poison and died. In an instant his soul appeared at the Devil Gate with the pumpkins on his head. The demon officer at the gate asked, “Who are you, and how did you come here?”

“I have come on the orders of Emperor Taizong of the Great Tang to present some pumpkins to the Ten Kings of Hell.” The officer was only too pleased to let him in, and he went straight to the Senluo Palace, and when he was given audience with the Kings of Hell he presented the pumpkins to them and said, “I have brought these pumpkins a great distance in obedience to the decree of the Tang Emperor, who wishes to thank Your Majesties for their great mercy to him.”

“How splendid of the Tang Emperor to be as good as his word,” exclaimed the ten delighted kings as they accepted the pumpkins. Then they asked him what he was called and where he was from.


Output: “I am a commoner of the city of Junzhou,” he replied, “and my name is Liu Quan. As my wife Miss Li hanged herself and left a boy and a girl with nobody to look after them I wanted to abandon my family and children by giving my life for my country, so I brought this offering of pumpkins on behalf of my sovereign, who wanted to thank Your Majesties for your great mercy.” On hearing this the Ten Kings ordered a search for Liu Quan’s wife, Miss Li. The devil messengers soon brought her to the Senluo Palace, outside which Liu Quan was reunited with her. They thanked the Ten Kings for their kindness and told them about the harsh words that had been spoken. On consulting the Registers of Birth and Death, the kings found that they were fated to become Immortals, so they ordered demon officers to take them back at once. The demon officers, however, asked in a report, “As Li Cuilian has been dead for some time her body has perished, so what is her soul to be attached to?”


Output:
“Li Yuying, the sister of the Tang Emperor, is due to die a sudden death today,” said the Kings of Hell, “so we can borrow her body to put Li Cuilian’s soul back into.” On receiving this order the demon officers took Liu Quan and his wife out of the underworld to be brought back to life. If you don’t know how they returned to life, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Twelve

The Tang Emperor Keeps Faith and Holds a Great Mass

Guanyin Appears to the Reincarnated Golden Cicada


Output: When the devil officers left the underworld with Liu Quan and his wife,a dark and whirling wind blew them straight to the great capital Chang’an, where Liu Quan’s soul was sent to the Golden Pavilion and Li Cuilian’s to an inner courtyard of the palace, where Princess Yuying could be seen walking slowing beside some moss under the shade of some blossoming trees. Suddenly the devil officers struck her full in the chest and knocked her over; they snatched the soul from her living body and put Li Cuilian’s soul into the body in its place. With that they returned to the underworld.


Output:
When the palace serving-women saw her drop dead they rushed to the throne hall to report to the three empresses that Her Royal Highness the Princess had dropped dead. The shocked empresses passed the news on to Taizong who sighed and said, “We can well believe it. When we asked the Ten Lords of Hell if young and old in our palace would all be well, they replied that they would all be well except that our younger sister was going to die suddenly. How true that was.”

He and everyone else in the palace went with great sorrow to look at her lying under the trees, only to see that she was breathing very lightly.

“Don’t wail,” the Tang Emperor said, “don’t wail; it might alarm her.” Then he raised her head with his own hand and said, “Wake up, sister, wake up.”

All of a sudden the princess sat up and called out, “Don’t go so fast, husband. Wait for me.”

“Sister, we’re waiting for you here,” said the Emperor.


Output:
The princess lifted her head, opened her eyes, and looked at him. “Who are you?” she asked. “How dare you put your hands on us?”

“It’s your august brother, royal sister,” replied Taizong.


Output: “I’ve got nothing to do with august brothers and royal sisters,” said the princess. “My maiden name is Li, and my full name is Li Cuilian. My husband is Liu Quan, and we both come from Junzhou. When I gave a gold hairpin to a monk at the gate three months ago my husband said harsh words to me about leaving the women’s quarters and not behaving as a good wife should. It made me so angry and upset that I hanged myself from a beam with a white silk sash, leaving a boy and a girl who cried all night and all day. As my husband was commissioned by the Tang Emperor to go to he underworld to deliver some pumpkins, the Kings of Hell took pity on us and let the two of us come back to life. He went ahead, but I lagged behind. When I tried to catch him up I tripped. You are all quite shameless to be mauling me like this. I don’t even know your names.”


Output:
“We think that Her Royal Highness is delirious after passing out when she fell,” said Taizong to the palace women. He sent an order to the Medical Academy for some medicinal potions, and helped Yuying into the palace.

When the Tang Emperor was back in his throne-hall, one of his aides came rushing in to report, “Your Majesty, Liu Quan, the man who delivered the pumpkins, is awaiting your summons outside the palace gates.” The startled Taizong immediately sent for Liu Quan, who prostrated himself before the vermilion steps of the throne.

“What happened when you presented the pumpkins?” asked the Tang Emperor.

“Your subject went straight to the Devil Gate with the pumpkins on my head. I was taken to the Senluo Palace where I saw the Ten Kings of Hell, to whom I presented the pumpkins, explaining how very grateful my emperor was. The Kings of Hell were very pleased. They bowed in Your Majesty’s honour and said, ‘How splendid of the Tang Emperor to be as good as his word.’”


Output:
“What did you see in the underworld?” asked the Emperor.

“I did not go very far there so I did not see much. But when the kings asked me where I was from and what I was called, I told them all about how I had volunteered to leave my family and my children to deliver the pumpkins because my wife had hanged herself. They immediately ordered demon officers to bring my wife, and we were reunited outside the Senluo Palace. Meanwhile they inspected the Registers of Births and Deaths and saw that my wife and I were both due to become Immortals, so they sent devil officers to bring us back. I went ahead with my wife following behind, and although I was fortunate enough to come back to life, I don’t know where her soul has been put.”

“What did the Kings of Hell say to you about your wife?” asked the astonished Emperor.


Output:
“They didn’t say anything,” replied Liu Quan, “but I heard a demon officer say, ‘As Li Cuilian has been dead for some time her body has decomposed.’ To this the Kings of Hell said, ‘Li Yuying of the Tang house is due to die today, so we can borrow her body to put Li Cuilian’s soul back into.’ As I don’t know where this Tang house is or where she lives, I haven’t been able to go and look for her yet.”

The Tang Emperor, who was now very pleased, said to his officials, “When we were leaving the Kings of Hell, we asked them about our family. They said all its members would be well except for my sister. She collapsed and died under the shade of some blossoming trees, and when we hurried over to support her she came to, shouting ‘Don’t go so fast, husband. Wait for me.’ We thought at the time that she was just talking deliriously after passing out, but when we asked her to tell us more her story tallied precisely with Liu Quan’s.”