Renditions
No. 13 (Spring 1980)
By P'u Sung-ling
Translated by Y.K. Martin
JUI-YÜN, A CELEBRATED Courtesan in Hang chow, was without peer in beauty and artistic attainments. When she was fourteen, her "mother," Madame Ts'ai, began preparations for her debut. Jui-yün said to her mother, " As this is the start of my professional career, it must not be done in too casual a manner. You can name the price, Mother, but please leave to me the choice of the client." The Madame agreed to this and set the price at fifteen ounces of silver.
Thereafter, Jui-yün received prospective clients daily. A visitor asking to see her was required to present a gift. If the gift was substantial, Jui-yün would playa game of chess with him or give him a painting in return; if the gift was not substantial, however, she would only ask him to stay for a cup of tea.
As Jui-yün's name had been known for quite some time, from then onwards, wealthy merchants as well as gentlemen of high birth streamed through her door.
Ho of Hang chow had been known from an early age for his literary talent, but he came from a family of modest means. He had been an admirer of Jui-yün's for a long time. Of course he dared not entertain the hope of sharing with her the same dream in a nuptial bed. Nevertheless, he did his best to obtain a modest gift, hoping to be able to catch a glimpse of her beautiful face. Secretly he feared that as she received so many visitors, a poor man like himself was unlikely to catch her eye. When they eventually met and talked, however, she treated him with solicitude. For a long time they sat and talked; all the while the light of love shone in her eyes as she looked at him. She wrote a poem which she presented to him:
What was it he sought from the old woman at Lan-ch'iao
station,
The young man who knocked at dawn asking for broth?
Verily, if your heart is set on finding the pestle of jade,
You do not have to go beyond this world of man.
station,
The young man who knocked at dawn asking for broth?
Verily, if your heart is set on finding the pestle of jade,
You do not have to go beyond this world of man.
Ho was in raptures when he received the poem. But even as he wanted to say something to her, suddenly a young servant girl announced the arrival of another visitor, and he had to take his leave in a hurry.
When he returned home, Ho kept repeating and brooding over the poem till it haunted him even in his dreams. A day or two later, he could restrain himself no longer but after obtaining another gift, went again to see Jui-yün. She was delighted to receive him.
Going up to sit by him she asked quietly, "Can you possibly find the means for us to be together for one night?" "An impoverished scholar like myself," Ho replied, "has only his single-minded devotion to offer to her who appreciates his as yet unrecognized talents. Even today's token gift has exhausted my means. I am content just to be able to gaze upon your beautiful face. How dare I indulge in the vain hope, ever, of having you in my arms?" When Jui-yün heard this, she was sad and dejected, and they sat together in total silence without uttering another word. For a long time Ho just sat there and only left after the Madame tried repeatedly to hasten his departure by sending for Jui-yün.
At home, Ho wondered despondently if he should perhaps pledge all his fortune in order to win her for one night. But how could he endure the pain of parting at dawn? When he thought about that, his fervour evaporated. Thereafter all communication between Ho and Jui-yün ceased.
After several months Jui-yün still had not found a suitable client. The Madame, being rather annoyed, was about to force one on Jui-yün against her will but had not yet done so.
One day, a hsiu-ts'ai came offering a present. Having sat and chatted with Jui-yün for only a short time, he stood up and, pressing her forehead with a finger, exclaimed, "Oh, what a pity! What a pity!" He then left.
When Jui-yün came back into the house after having seen the visitor off, everyone noticed a finger-mark, as black as ink, on her forehead. The more she attempted to wash it off, the more apparent it became. It widened after a few days, and after a year or so, it had spread down her cheeks as far as her nose. Everyone who saw her would fall to sniggering, and no wheel marks from visitors' carriages were visible any longer in front of her door. The Madame took away all of Jui-yün's ornaments and relegated her to the company of servant girls. As she was fragile, she could not stand up to the work she was put to and so became more haggard day by day.
When Hp heard about this he went to see her. He found her in the kitchen, unkempt and as unsightly in appearance as a ghost. Looking up and catching sight of him, she turned to the wall to hide her face.
Ho took pity on her and told the Madame that he was willing to pay the price for her freedom and take her home to be his wife. The Madame consented. Ho sold his rice fields and whatever possessions he had to raise the Tequired sum, and he brought her home. As soon as Jui-yün entered his house she broke into tears, clinging to his dress. She would not be so presumptuous as to be his wife, she said, but would be quite willing to be his concubine until the time he could find a suitable wife. To this Ho replied, "What a man values most in life is to have someone who knows his worth. Even in the prime of your beauty you showed me that you favoured me. How can I, just because your fortunes have declined, forget you now?" Henceforth he never took a wife. All those who heard this tale laughed at him, but the only effect this had on Ho was to make him even more devoted to Jui-yün.
After they had lived together for more than a year, Ho happened to visit Suchow and was guest to the same host as a Mr. Huo.
Out of the blue Mr. Huo asked him, "In Hanchow there was a famous courtesan, Jui-yün. What has become of her?"
"She has got married," Ho replied. "To whom?" Mr. Huo asked.
"To a man not unlike myself," replied Ho.
"If the man is like you," Mr. Huo remarked, "she has found the right man. I wonder what the price was he had to pay for her."
"Owing to a strange illness she contracted, "Ho answered, "she was sold very cheaply. Otherwise, how can a humble person like myself afford to purchase a beauty from such quarters."
"Is this man really as good as yourself?" Mr. Huo asked again.
Seeing that the question Mr. Huo asked was most extraordinary, Ho turned the tables on him.
Mr. Huo replied with a smile, "I will no longer keep the truth from you. I had once seen her beautiful face. As I felt it was most regrettable that a woman like herself, possessing beauty without match, should have the ill luck to be reduced to such a kind of life far away from home, I therefore performed a little trick to dim her glamour in order to preserve her in her purity, saving her for the one who could truly appreciate her."
Quickly Ho asked, "If you could disfigure her face, can you also restore it?"
Smiling, Mr. Huo replied, "Why not. All that is necessary is for this man to show real sincerity in his request."
Ho rose and prostrated himself before Mr. Huo, saying, "I am in fact the one who married Jui-yün."
Delighted, Mr. Huo remarked, "In this world only those who are genuinely talented are capable of love, and beauty or ugliness had no effect on their fidelity. I will go to your house with you and there I will present you with a beautiful woman."
Ho, then, took him home. When they arrived, Ho was about to ask for wine to be brought when Mr. Huo stopped him, saying, "Let me fIrst of all practise my magic so as to make her happy who is preparing the food."
At once he asked for water in a basin, then, with pointed finger like a spear, he wrote on the water.
"If she washes her face with this water," he said, "she will be cured. But she must come in person to thank the healer."
Ho laughed and took the water away. He stood waiting while Jui-yün washed her face. Even as she did so, her face became clean and as radiantly beautiful as in the old days. Husband and wife were both overwhelmed with gratitude for Mr. Huo. But, when they came out together to thank him, Mr. Huo had vanished and was not to be found, even though they searched for him everywhere.
Was he a supernatural being?
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Research Centre for Translation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.