The Li Family in Wei County, Shandong Province, owned a villa. One day, an old man suddenly came along and said he was willing to pay fifty taels of silver a year to rent the house. The owner agreed.
But after the old man left, they didn’t hear from him again, so the owner told his housekeeper to rent it to someone else. The next week, the old man returned and said, “We had agreed that I would rent the house, why have you given it to somebody else?” The Li Family explained their concern. Then the old man said, “I want to live here permanently. The reason I postponed moving in for such a long time was because I had chosen an auspicious date. That’s ten days from now.” So he paid the family one year’s rent in advance, saying, “Don’t worry even if it’s empty the year round.” The owner saw him to the gate and asked him when he planned to move in. The old man told him the date.
Several days past the deadline, there was still no sign anyone was moving in. But when the owner, Li, went to the house to check, he found the gate bolted from the inside. Smoke was rising from the kitchen chimney and the hustle and bustle of people could be heard. Puzzled, Li presented his name card, saying he had come to visit. The old man quickly came to the gate and welcomed him into the house, showing warm hospitality. After he returned home, Li sent someone over with some gifts. The old man tipped him well in return. A few days later, Li gave a dinner for the old man, and they again had a warm and cheerful conversation. Asked where he had come from, the old man said he was from Shaanxi Province. When Li wondered why he had come so far, the old man said, “This place here is blessed land. Shaanxi is no longer a place to live in. There’s going to be big turmoil there.” Now, at the time of this conversation, peace reigned in the country, but Li didn’t bother to ask more. Two days later, the old man sent Li an invitation to a banquet to reciprocate his landlord’s kindness. At the banquet, Li found the furnishings, food and drinks very extravagant. Astonished, he began to suspect the old man of being a retired high official. But the old man, now on good terms with Li, revealed his identity as a fox. Li was so shocked that he spread the news to everyone he met.
When the various officials in the county heard about this rare incident, they flocked to the old man’s house every day to make his acquaintance. The old man always treated them with humility and hospitality. Gradually, the house was frequented by officials from the prefectural government, too. The only exception was the county magistrate of Wei. Whenever he asked to make the old man’s acquaintance, the latter always found some excuse not to see him. The magistrate asked for help from Li, who had no better luck gaining him entry. When Li asked for an explanation, the old man left his seat and came over to Li, whispering in his ear, “Of course, you wouldn’t know. He was an ass in his previous life. Although he looks pompous riding high over the masses, he is one of those who are blinded by greed and whose eyes pop out at the sight of money. Admittedly, I don’t belong to the human race, but I would feel ashamed to have someone like him for company.” Li thought of a good excuse when he reported back to the magistrate. He said the fox feared the magistrate’s power and dared not be in his presence. Taking his word for it, the magistrate gave up trying.
This took place during the eleventh year of the reign of Kangxi(1672). Soon afterwards, a rebellion broke out in Shaanxi. That fox-fairies can forecast the future was thus proved to be true.
The Chronicler of the Tales says, “The ass is a big fellow that kicks and brays when it’s angry. Its eyes are larger than wine cups and when it breathes, it lets out more air than an ox. Not only is the sound of it disgusting; it looks disgusting, too. But all you have to do is lure it with a bundle of dry grass and it will become docile and servile, obediently submitting itself to the muzzle. In this way, it gets to lord it over the people. And it’s no wonder that money can make its eyes pop out. Let’s hope officials will learn from the asses’ negative example and align themselves with the foxes. In that way, their moral conduct will daily improve.”
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