There was in Huaiyang County a scholar surnamed Ye. His given name I do not know. Although he was the most outstanding literary talent in the county, his luck always proved fickle and he failed the imperial civil service examination repeatedly.
Then there came a new magistrate by the name of Ding Chenghe from the northeast. He greatly admired Ye’s essays and invited him over. Delighted by their conversation, he let him stay in the county administrator’s residence, provided him with a lamp so that he might study at night, and often gave him money and grain to support his family.
It was again time for the triennial imperial examinations. Magistrate Ding was full of praise for scholar Ye before the examiner, and Ye topped the list of winners in the county. Ding held still greater hopes for the young scholar. After the examination at the provincial level was over, he asked for scholar Ye’s paper and as he read it, he tapped out the rhythm of the prose and was full of praise. But man’s fortune is determined by fate and however good Ye’s essays were, when the final results were announced, he faced another setback.
He returned from the provincial capital totally dejected and feeling deeply embarrassed for having let his friend down. His face turned wan and sallow and he became so thin there seemed nothing but his bones left. He looked dull, like a wooden statue. When Magistrate Ding heard about this, he invited Ye to his home and tried to comfort him with many kind words, moving Ye to endless tears. Full of sympathy, Ding promised that when he went to the capital to report on his work at the end of his term as magistrate, he would take Ye along. Deeply moved, Ye went back and shut himself up at home.
Soon, scholar Ye was ill and bedridden. Ding sent his envoy to visit him and brought him medicine, money and other goods. But after a hundred doses of the medicine, Ye’s health had not turned in the least for the better. Just around that time, Ding was removed from office for offending his superior and was soon to leave Huaiyang. He wrote a letter to Ye which said something like this: “I will soon return to the northeast. The reason it has taken me so long to depart is because I have been waiting for you. If you come in the morning, we can leave the same evening.” Reading the letter in bed, scholar Ye wept bitterly. Then he asked the messenger to tell his master,”I am too ill to recover in so short a time. Please depart without waiting for me.” When Ding heard the messenger’s report, he did not have the heart to leave and decided to wait until Ye recovered. A few days later, the gateman suddenly announced that Ye had arrived. Overjoyed, Ding went out to greet him. To his inquiry about his health, Ye said, “It has made me feel most uneasy that you should have waited so long on account of my illness. Fortunately, I am now able to accompany you on the journey.” Whereupon, Ding packed his things and got ready to set out early next morning.
Back in his hometown, Ding told his 16-year-old son that he had brought him a teacher. The boy, named Zaichang, spent day and night with Ye. Although he had not learned how to write an essay, he was extremely clever and once he had mastered the art of learning, he could memorize an article after reading it two or three times. Thus, after a year, he was able to write a fine essay at one go. This, plus his father’s prestige, made it possible for him to become a shengyuan (Note: Shengyuan, the equivalent of xiucai, is the title conferred on one who passes the imperial examination at the county level.) Ye taught him all the knowledge he had accumulated over the years of taking the examinations, copying everything down for the young man to study. Zaichang finished all the seven questions without difficulty and came out second among the winners.
One day, Ding said to Ye, “You only had to give a little of your knowledge to my son and he has won a name. And yet your talent has long been neglected. What shall we do about that?” To which scholar Ye replied, “It must be predestined. Now, thanks to the good fortune of you and your son, my works have become known. The world will know it was not because my essays were poorer than the others that half of my life has been wasted. What else can I wish for? Besides, for a scholar, a close and understanding bosom friend is worth more than anything else. Must he be higher in rank than a xiucai to feel gratified?”
However, fearing that Ye’s prolonged stay in the northeast might delay his participation in the imperial examination, Ding urged him to return to Huaiyang. On hearing that, Ye looked sad and a bit unhappy. Not wanting to force him, Ding told his son to take some money and buy his teacher a certificate as a student of the imperial college.
Shortly afterwards, the son passed the highest imperial examination and was given a post on the Board of Rites. He took Ye along to his official residence where they stayed together. A year later, Ye took the imperial examination at Shuntianfu (Note: Shuntianfu is present day Beijing) and won the title of juren. Just then, the young master was placed in charge of the Southern Yellow River Water Channel affairs and he said to Ye, “Where I’m going this time is not far from your hometown. You are now a distinguished official. Your return will be a very happy event.” Ye was delighted. Thus, teacher and student picked an auspicious date and set out for the south.
Arriving at the border of Huaiyang, the young master ordered his servant to get horse and carriage ready to take Ye home. When Ye reached home and saw how desolate it looked, he felt very sad. With hesitation, he entered the courtyard where he found his wife winnowing rice with a fan. On seeing him, she threw the fan on the ground and ran off. Ye said sadly, “I am now a distinguished man. It’s only been three or four years since we last saw each other, how can you not recognize me?” Keeping a distance from him, his wife said, “You’ve been dead for a long time and you talk about being distinguished! The only reason we haven’t buried you is we’re too poor and our sons were too young. We just couldn’t help it. Now, our eldest son has grown up. Very soon he will pick a burial site and bury you. So please don’t make trouble and scare the living!” Scholar Ye felt quite disappointed on hearing this. He stepped inside the house with uncertainty. When he actually saw his own coffin in the room, he collapsed to the ground, and immediately, his body disappeared. Greatly shocked, his wife looked and saw that only his hat and robe and shoes were left lying there, like a skin shed by a snake. She held the clothes in her arms and wept bitterly.
When Ye’s son, coming home from school, saw a horse and carriage in front of the house, he asked where it had come from. Surprised by what he learned, he hurried in to tell his mother. Weeping, his mother told him what had just happened and together they queried the servants in detail until they learned the whole story.
When the young master heard about this from his servants, tears wet the clothes on his chest. He ordered his servants to get his carriage ready and off he went to the Ye family to pay his condolences. He gave them money to bury Ye, according to the rank of a juren.
He also gave a lot of money and goods to Ye’s son, invited a teacher to be his tutor, and asked the imperial examiner to show consideration for the young man. A year later, Ye’s son successfully passed the imperial examination at the county level and became a xiucai.
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