'I could not bear to hurt you,' said Huang, 'so I kept away. If this is what I must do to win your approval, so be it. But I beg you never to have regrets.'

From that day forth, they made love together every day.

Every three days, Huang asked for another dose of the medicine, and Qi the physician began to be puzzled by the frequency of Shican's visits.

'This drug is one I never prescribe more than three times. I fail to understand why the patient's condition has still not improved.' He put three more doses in a packet and gave it to Shican, adding, 'You yourself look extremely off-colour. Are you sure you are not unwell?'

Shican said he was in perfectly good health, but when the physician took his pulses he exclaimed in alarm, 'Your pulse shows a spirit possession! The illness is deep in the Shao-yin Meridian. If you do not exercise the greatest caution, I fear for your life!'

On his return, Shican spoke of this to Huang.

'What a skilled physician he is!' said Huang with a sigh. 'What he says is true. You see, I am a fox-spirit. I have long feared I would bring you unhappiness and suffering.'

Shican suspected that he was just making this all up, and he kept some of the medicine back, in case he should never return. Then, as time went by, he fell seriously ill and asked the physician to examine him.

'The other day,' said Dr Qi, 'you were not telling me the truth, were you? Your soul is already roaming in the wilderness of death. Even the best physician in the world would be of no avail now!'

Huang came to wait upon Shican every day, and every day his health declined still further.

'You would not heed my words!' protested Huang. 'And now it has come to this!'

Before long, Shican died, and Huang went away, weeping bitterly.

Now before any of this, a certain man, who also came from Tiaoxi and who had as a youth been a friend and fellow-student of Shican's, was selected at the exceptionally young age of seventeen as a Hanlin Academician and censor. At that time, the Provincial Treasurer of Shaanxi was a very corrupt individual who had so successfully bribed the officials at court that no one was willing to denounce his misdemeanours. The young, newly appointed Censor rashly submitted a memorial impeaching the Treasurer, and was promptly dismissed for having stepped beyond the bounds of his office. Meanwhile the corrupt Treasurer was promoted to Governor, and was constantly on the lookout for some means of avenging himself on his critic. The former Censor had as a youth enjoyed a bright reputation and had been much favoured by one of the rebel Princes. The Governor now purchased certain incriminating letters exchanged between the two of them and threatened him with them, whereupon the former Censor, in sheer terror, took his own life, and was soon followed in this by his wife.

The morning after his suicide, he suddenly awoke, seemingly arisen from the dead, and exclaimed, 'I am He Shican!'

He replied to questions exactly as if he were Shican. He had died at the exact same moment as He Shican, and Shican's spirit had clearly returned to life, borrowing the physical frame of his childhood friend, the unfortunate Censor. Nothing would induce him to stay where he was, but he insisted on hurrying off at once to his 'own' former abode.

The Governor got to hear of this strange event and, suspecting some sort of plot, resolved somehow to incriminate his newly resurrected enemy, sending one of his underlings to demand a 'squeeze' of a thousand taels. Shican (in his new life as the revived Censor) pretended to agree that he would pay up, but was deeply depressed at this turn of events. He was sinking further and further into despair, when to his utter astonishment it was announced that Huang was at the door. It was a reunion in which joy and sorrow were mingled. Shican wished to renew their former intimacy at once.

'How many lives do you think you have?' cried Huang.

'This second life of mine has so far been nothing but misery!' exclaimed Shican. 'Another death would be a welcome release.' He proceeded to tell the story of his (the Censor's) persecution at the hands of the man who was now Governor of Shaanxi. Huang brooded on it thoughtfully.

'Fate has been kind to us,' he said after a little while, 'by bringing us together again. You are still single, and that cousin of mine whom I mentioned before is just the person for you: she is beautiful and a resourceful girl, and I am sure she would be able to share and lighten your burden of sorrow.'

Shican expressed a desire to see her.

'That can be easily arranged,' said Huang. 'Tomorrow I shall fetch her to visit my old mother and we can pass this way. I will pretend that you are my sworn brother. I will say that I am thirsty and suggest stopping here for a drink. All you have to say is, "The donkey has bolted!", and I shall know that you agree to my suggestion.'

Once this plan had been made, Huang took his leave.

The following day, at noon, he came by with the girl, and Shican greeted them cordially with clasped hands. He sized up the girl at one glance: she was exquisite, truly a creature of unearthly beauty. Huang asked if they could drink some tea, and Shican invited them both in.

'Don't take it amiss, my dear,' said Huang to his pretty cousin. 'This gentleman is my sworn brother. It is quite proper for us to stop here briefly.'

He helped her down from her donkey, which he tethered outside the entrance. Shican produced tea and gave Huang a meaningful look.

'What you said was an understatement!' he said. 'For this I could happily die!'

Caption

Shican greeted them cordially with clasped hands.

The girl seemed to understand that he was referring to her, and rose from her seat on the couch in an agitated flutter, saying, 'I really think we should be going now!'

Shican meanwhile glanced outside. 'The donkey has bolted!' he cried.

Huang rushed out, and the moment he was out of the room, Shican threw his arms round the girl and began making amorous overtures. She blushed fiercely and, seeming greatly put out, cried for her cousin, but received no reply.

'Surely you have a wife of your own, sir!' she wailed. 'And yet you would stain a maiden's honour in this way!'

Shican protested that he was in fact single, whereupon she changed her tune.

'Make an undying oath never to abandon me! Say that you will never discard me like a fan in autumn, and I will do as you command me.'

Shican swore by the light of the sun, and she resisted him no longer. Afterwards Huang returned, and she reproached him angrily for his conduct.

'This is He Shican,' said Huang, 'a gentleman of some renown, an Academician and a good friend of mine. I can vouch for his character. I am sure your mother would approve if she knew.'

Evening was drawing on, and Shican would not hear of her leaving. She for her part was afraid that Huang's mother would be shocked by their liaison, but Huang volunteered to shoulder the responsibility, and rode off on the donkey, leaving them alone.

Several days later, a lady of forty years or so came by with her maid. She seemed rather distinguished and bore a striking resemblance to Huang's cousin. Shican called to the girl to go out and take a look, and sure enough the woman was her mother.

'What a silly boy young Huang is!' she exclaimed. 'Why on earth didn't he talk to me about this before?'

The girl meanwhile had gone to prepare food in the kitchen, which she served to her mother. After eating the meal, the woman took her leave.

Shican was now happily married to a beautiful wife. But he still felt a cloud of danger looming over him. His wife asked him what was the matter, and he told her the whole story of his trouble with the Governor. She laughed.

'Cousin Huang can sort this out for you. Don't you fret.'

He asked her to explain her meaning.

'I happen to know,' she said, 'that the Governor has two obsessions: one is music, and the other is pretty boys. That's where Huang comes in. He can give the man what he wants most. In that way your danger can be averted, and you can have your revenge.'

Shican was concerned that Huang would refuse to act on his behalf.

'You just have to ask him nicely.'

The very next day, when Huang came, Shican went down on his knees before him. Huang seemed greatly taken aback. 'We have known each other in two lives! We would do anything for each other! Whatever it is you want of me, you don't need to grovel like this.'

Shican told him everything, and Huang looked a little put out by the proposal.

'You brought me here to be this man's wife,' argued his cousin. 'If you let him down now and he comes to grief, what will become of me?'

Huang could see he had no choice but to agree to his friend's request. Shican sent a letter to a friend of his, another censor, by the name of Wang, presenting Huang. Wang understood his purpose and laid on a special banquet for the Governor, telling Huang to dress up for the occasion in woman's clothes and to dance the Devil's Dance. The Governor was utterly captivated by Huang's ravishingly beautiful appearance and begged Censor Wang to let him have the boy, offering a high price, which Wang, after much haggling and show of reluctance, finally accepted. The Governor's joy was now such that he forgot all his previous grudges and quarrels (including his demand for a thousand taels from his enemy the former Censor). From the day Huang entered his household, the Governor could not tear himself away from him for a single moment. He lost all interest in his womenfolk. Huang was wined and dined like a king, gold was showered on him. And six months later, the Governor fell ill and his health continued to deteriorate. When Huang knew that his patron was about to set out on the dark road to death, he bundled his wealth into a cart and took a day off to visit Shican. By the time he returned, the Governor was dead. Huang now spent the money setting himself up in a grand establishment of his own, with maids and servants, and invited his mother and his aunt to come and live with him. Whenever he went out, he did so in great style, and no one knew him for a fox.

I have written a Jesting Judgement, which I here append, in the light of the teaching of the great sage Mencius: 'The coming together in sexual congress of man and woman is one of the great natural bonds in human relations.'

Light and dark, Hot and cool, Dry and moist, So it goes, True counterpoint Of Yin and Yang.

Illicit trysts Twixt men and women Were once thought foul; How much the fouler reeks 10 The passion of Cut Sleeve, Of Half-Eaten Peach, Of love twixt man and man!

Only the mightiest warrior Can penetrate that tiny bird-track!

That narrow grotto Leads to no Peach Blossom Spring: Surely the fisherman Poled up it by mistake!

Our hero forsakes 20 The play of Clouds and Rain, Turns away from The true way Of human consummation, Preferring the up and down Of manual masturbation, Yin and Yang Widdershins, Everything 30 Topsy-turvy.

He abandons the Flowery Pool, For a phony tale Of enlightened Sublimation of desire.

On the Grassless Terrain Of the Barbarian Grotto, The One-Eyed Marshal Leads the charge.

Tethering Red Hare 40 To the Rear Gate of the Barracks, The General Thrusts his halberd.

Seeking to steal the Great Bow From the National Armoury, He bursts the barrier.

In a slippery dream A Yellow Eel wriggled Between the student's thighs, Omen of last night's union.

50 The plums sold by Wang Rong Were juicy but sterile, Their stones hollowed out To put a stop to posterity.

Into the Black Pine Wood Thunders the cavalry; From the Yellow Dragon Palace Surges the tide.

This nefarious pestle Should be snapped off 60 At its root!

This wicked passage Should be blocked up For ever!

64.

THE GIRL FROM NANKING.

A youth by the name of Zhao, from Yishui, was on his way home from a commission in town when he caught sight of a girl in white standing by the side of the road, weeping and seemingly in great distress. One glance sufficed to convey her beauty, and his eyes lingered on her with delight.

'Alas sir!' sobbed the girl. 'Why do you not walk on? Why do you keep staring at me so?'

'I feel so sorry for you,' replied Zhao, 'seeing you here, all alone and weeping in this lonely place.'

'My husband is dead and I have nowhere to go! That is the cause of my distress.'

Zhao asked her why she did not try to find another husband.

'How can I hope to marry again?' she replied. 'I am so alone in the world and helpless. If I could only find a man to turn to, I would happily be his concubine.'

Zhao gladly offered to take her in himself, and she accepted his offer. It was still a long way to his home, and Zhao proposed hiring a carriage, but she declined, walking on ahead of him, flitting effortlessly along like a fairy. When they arrived at Zhao's house, she applied herself diligently to household tasks, fetching water and hulling rice.

Well over two years went by in this way, and then one day she addressed Zhao in the following words: 'I have been touched by your love for me. Soon we will have been together almost three years. Now I must go my own way.'

'But you said you had nowhere to go,' protested Zhao.

'I was not speaking in earnest. Of course I have a home. My father has a herbalist's shop in Nanking. If ever you want to Caption

The girl was out at the back, washing clothes.

see me again, bring some herbs with you and come to visit us. We will give you some money to help with your expenses.'

Zhao busied himself hiring a horse and cart for her, and she took her leave and went on her way, vanishing from his sight before he knew what had happened.

As time went by, Zhao found himself pining for the girl greatly. He bought some herbs and set off for Nanking. On arrival in the city, he deposited his herbs at an inn and was wandering through the streets when suddenly an old herbalist hailed him from the doorway of his shop.

'There goes my son-in-law!'

The old man invited him in. The girl was out at the back of the shop washing clothes, and even when she saw Zhao come in, she neither spoke to him nor smiled, but continued with her washing. Zhao was greatly put out by this and would have left at once had not the old man prevailed upon him to return. But even then the girl continued to ignore him. The old man told his servant to set the table and cook them a meal, and was about to give Zhao a handsome present, when the girl came out and stopped him.

'His luck is thin,' she said. 'Give him too much and he will never live to enjoy it. Give him a little money and write out ten prescriptions for him. That will be enough to set him up in life.'

The old man asked Zhao what herbs he had brought with him.