A brief story for today.
There was a fisherman on the Peach River, one man in a boat, enjoying himself by fishing for wine.
One night, when the tide was flat and the moon was full, the fisherman was about to make a couple of glasses of wine, when a guest knocked on his boat, saying he was thirsty and wanted a glass of wine. The fisherman was quick to ask for a drink, and invited him on board. When I asked him his name, he said he was Zhang Sheng, but I didn’t know whether it was true or not.
So the banquet was set up, and we talked about everything, even the weather. It was not until dawn when the wine and food were finished that the guest left.
That day, the fisherman caught more than twice as many fish as usual, and when he sold the fish and sold the wine, he put two pounds more.
At night, when the guest came again, the fisherman didn’t ask any questions, set out the wine and meat, and continued to drink freely. After three rounds of drinking, the customer smiled and said, “Brother Fisherman, you’re so generous, but you don’t have to pay for my drink, and I’m just helping you to catch fish, so it’s a win-win situation for both of us.
The fisherman was stunned, and the guest said, “Don’t be afraid, Brother Fisherman, I am not a human being, but a drowned ghost in the river. The extra fish you caught today is my help to repay you for the wine you bought me last night. If you don’t mind, we can have more drinks every day from now on.
The fisherman never did anything wrong in his life, and he was not afraid of whether the other party was a man or a ghost, so he said, “Sure, let’s do that.
From then on, every time the fisherman caught fish, he had a good harvest. In the daytime, he sells fish for wine, and at night he gets drunk with people and ghosts, which is a lot of fun.
One night, half a year later, as they were exchanging cups for wine, the ghost suddenly appeared with a sad face, and the fisherman asked, “What’s wrong with the ghost? The ghost said, “I’m going to be reincarnated tomorrow when someone comes to replace me, and I’m here tonight to say goodbye to Brother Fisherman. The fisherman was depressed when he heard the ghost’s reluctant words.
The next day, the fisherman waited by the river, and sure enough, a woman with a small child in her hand walked to the river, tears streaming down her face, threw away the child’s hand, and jumped into the river herself. When the child saw his mother in this way, he cried out and jumped in too.
The fisherman knew that this was the man who had come to take the place of the water demon. It was a tragedy that both mother and child died together, but if he had saved her, he would have prevented the demon from reincarnating, and it was also God’s fate. ……
Just as she was thinking about it, she saw the waves rolling, and the woman took the child by the hand and stepped onto the waves, just as if someone was holding them underwater. When they reached the shore, both mother and son were full of disbelief, but they did not throw themselves into the water again and left in tears.
The fisherman knew that this was the water demon’s impatience and had given up the chance of reincarnation.
At night, the water demon came back and said to the fisherman, “I should have been reincarnated today, but I can’t ask the mother and son to die for me. He said to the fisherman, “I’m supposed to be reincarnated today, but I can’t do it if I want the mother and son to die for me, so I’ll just keep on being the water ghost, and we can drink together anyway.
The fisherman was touched by this, but he could not bear to see a ghost die without saving him. So he served wine and meat again, and drank all night long.
Three years later, the water ghost came back to say goodbye: “Brother Fisherman, the King of Hell rewarded me for my benevolence and reported this matter to the Heavenly Emperor, who named me the God of Land of a certain village in the Southern Wilderness, and I have to leave tomorrow, so I really come to say goodbye. If you miss my old friend, come and see me. I will treat you well, though I can’t see you again.”
The fisherman asked why we couldn’t meet again, and the water demon said it was not for me to decide. He said, “I can’t decide.” He said, “Let’s drink a big glass and leave in tears.
A few days later, the fisherman rowed his boat to Longnan (Longnan County, south of Jiangxi Province), went ashore to a village where the water demon said he would ask about the land shrine, but the villagers were already waiting for him on the road. The villagers said, “Last night, the landlord had a dream that a deceased man would visit the village tomorrow, and asked all villagers to welcome him and be his host.
The fisherman then told the villagers about his past with the water demon, and both sides sighed in admiration.
When they arrived at the shrine, there were incense, candles, wine, meat and other offerings on the incense tray. The fisherman lit incense and wine, prayed to the idol, and said, “Farewell, my departed one. Today, you are here to enjoy the incense and fire, no longer worrying about food and wine, and I believe that your love and benevolence can also benefit the villagers. However, from now on, the autumn night on the Peach River is a lonely boat, and there will be no brother to drink with.
After speaking, I did not feel tears. Suddenly, a breeze of incense came from the throne, ruffled the fisherman’s sleeves, and moved.
After the fisherman’s sacrifice, the villagers competed to invite him to their homes and offered him good food and wine, which was not enough for several days. When the fisherman was about to leave, the villagers earned money for each other. The fishermen went to the land shrine to bid farewell, and were escorted by a breeze of incense until they left on the shore.
Since then, the fishermen visit Longnan once every few years, and each time the miracle is the same as before.
……
The story can be found in the “Record of Ears and Food”, originally titled “The Order of Nan Ye Society”, which should be the original version of the story of “The Water Ghost Ascending to the City God”, which was later spread around Fujian and Guangdong and brought to the stage by several operas.
When I tell this story today, I just wonder why some people are worse than ghosts, even a ghost can’t bear to see a woman commit suicide by throwing herself into the river. Where is the humanity that claims to be superior to ghosts? Will anyone diving in the future have to look to “gweilo” to save them?
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