Ma Ji, also known as Dragon Messenger, was a merchant’s son. He had striking good looks and in his untrammeled youth gave himself up to the pleasures of singing and dancing. He frequented the Pear Garden, where he amused himself in the company of the actors. Wrapping his head in a brocade turban he had all the charm of an attractive woman, and hence was given the nickname “Stunner.” He also made a name for himself by being admitted to the prefectural academy at fourteen.
When age and declining health made the young scholar’s father give up business and go into retirement, he said these words to his son: “Those books you have read cannot feed you when you are hungry and cannot keep you warm when you are cold. You should take over my business, son.” From then on Ma devoted part of his attention to matters of investment and profit.
Ma embarked on an ocean voyage with a party of other passengers, but it happened that they were blown off course by a typhoon. After several days the ship came to a city in which all the inhabitants were freakishly ugly. They ran off in an uproar as Ma approached, taking him for a monster. When Ma first saw this he was greatly frightened, but once he realized they were afraid of him, he used their fear to gain the upper hand. Finding a group of them sitting at table, he rushed toward them and, after they dashed away in fright, gulped down the food they left. After a time he went into a mountain village, where some of the inhabitants looked almost human, though they wore the tattered rags of beggars, Ma sat down to rest beneath a tree. The villagers watched him from a distance, not daring to approach. After a while, when they realized that Ma was not a man-eating monster, they finally edged toward him. Ma smiled and talked with them. Although their speech was strange, it was halfway comprehensible. Without being asked, Ma told where he had come from. The delighted villagers told everyone in the neighborhood that the stranger was not violent. Still the freakishly ugly ones stole furtive looks at him and ran off, never daring to come near. Those who did come close had mouths and noses in just about the same places as we do here in China. Together they hunted up wine and served it to Ma.
Ma asked why they had been afraid of him. “I once heard my grandfather say,” one of them replied,” that 8,500 miles to the west lies a land called the Middle Kingdom, and the people there are all grotesque in appearance. I knew it only by hearsay, but now I believe it.”
Ma asked why they were so poor. Someone answered, “In our country what is valued is appearance rather than literary ability. The most handsome among us become high ministers at court; the fairly handsome are given posts in local administrative offices; and the somewhat handsome can support their wives and children in style by winning the favor of some nobleman. As for people like us, we are thought to be bearers of evil fortune, and our parents often abandon us at birth. All the people who cannot bear to abandon their offspring straight-away are thinking about the continuity of their family line.”
“What is the name of this kingdom?” asked Ma.
“The Great Kingdom of the Raksasas,” was the answer. “The capital is ten miles north of here.” Ma asked them to lead him there for a look. And so they arose at cock’s crow the next day and took him there. They reached the capital after daybreak. The walls of the city were built of stone as black as ink, and the storied buildings were nearly a hundred feet high. There were few roof tiles to be seen. Instead, the buildings were covered with shingles of red stone. Ma picked up a loose piece and rubbed it against his armour; it was exactly like cinnabar.
Just then came the time for dismissal of the morning court session at the palace. The villagers pointed to one of the dignitaries who were coming out of the palace gate: “That is the prime minister.” Ma saw that his ears were attached to the back of his head, his nose had three nostrils and his eyelashes covered his eyes like curtains. Then several men came out on horseback. “Those are privy counselors,” said the villagers. As the officials came out in succession, the villagers pointed out their ranks. All of them had grotesque, monstrous faces, but as the lower ranks came out the degree of ugliness gradually abated. Before long Ma started back toward the village. People in the streets who saw him screamed and fell over one another trying to run away, as if they had met with a monster. Only when the villagers had gone to great lengths to reassure them did the city dwellers dare to stand and watch from a distance.
After they returned to the village, everyone in the kingdom, regardless of rank, knew there was an unusual person there. Members of the gentry and court officials, eager to broaden their horizons, told the villagers to invite Ma to visit them, but whenever he showed up at someone’s house, the gatekeeper would close the door, and the men and women alike would only venture to peer at him and speak with him through cracks in the door. This would go on all day without anyone asking him in for a visit.
One villager said, “There is an officer of the guard living in this district who was sent abroad as emissary by our former king. He has had experience with many sorts of people, so he may not be frightened of you.”
They went to the officer’s house and, as the villager had foreseen. he was delighted at their visit and received Ma as an honored guest. Apparently between eighty and ninety years of age, he had goggle eyes and hair that stood out like a hedgehog’s.
“In my youth I went on more diplomatic missions for the king than anyone else, but the Middle Kingdom of China is the one place I have never been. Now I am over a hundred and twenty years old, and at last I have the chance to see someone from your esteemed country. The king simply must be informed of this. Though I have been leading a life of retirement and have not set foot upon the palace steps these past ten years or more, I will make the trip for your sake in the morning.”
Observing all the formalities of a host to his guest, he then had wine and victuals set out. After they had drunk several rounds. he brought out ten or so female entertainers with faces like yaksa monsters, who took turns singing and dancing. All of them wore white brocade turbans on their heads and flowing red robes that dragged on the ground. Ma could not make out the lyrics, but he found the tune and rhythm oddly fascinating. The host watched them with immense enjoyment.
“Do you have entertainment like this in the Middle Kingdom?” he asked.
“Oh yes,” answered Ma.
The host asked him to imitate the music for them, so Ma drummed on the table and performed a song.
“Well if that isn’t most extraordinary!” exclaimed the delighted host. “The melody makes me think of phoenixes calling and dragons roaring. It is unlike anything I have ever heard.” The next day he went to court and recommended Ma to the king. The king gladly commanded that Ma be brought before him, but when a few high counselors claimed that Ma’s monstrous appearance might result in a shock injurious to His Majesty’s health, the order was rescinded. The old officer of the guard came out and gave Ma the news of this crushing disappointment.
Ma stayed with the officer for a long while. One day, when he and his host were in their cups, he smeared his face with soot to look like Zhang Fei and began to dance with sword in hand. The host thought he was attractive and said, “Why don’t you make yourself up as Zhang Fei and go to see the prime minister. I am sure he will be delighted to find a place for you. An ample salary is within your grasp.”
“Hah! It is one thing to play games, but why should I put on a new face to chase after honor and fame?” But when the host insisted、Ma gave in. The host invited the ranking officials to a feast and told Ma to wait on them with his face painted. Before long the guests arrived, and Ma was called out to meet them.
“Isn’t that strange!” said the guests in surprise. “How could someone who was once so ugly turn into such a good looking fellow? Whereupon they all drank together with exceeding joy. Ma swayed with the rhythm as he sang the Yiyang Melody, and every person at the table was positively bowled over. The next day a number of petitions recommending Ma were sent to the throne. The king was so delighted he summoned Ma with a big fanfare. During their first audience the king asked how law and order were maintained in the Middle Kingdom. Ma gave a detailed explanation which met with sighs of admiring approval. The king granted him the favor of dining with him in the royal hostel. When both were mellow with wine, the king said, “I have heard that you are skilled in fine music. Might I be so fortunate as to hear you perform?”So Ma got up to dance. He sang softly and languidly, in the style of the white-turbaned entertainers. The king was overjoyed. On that every day he gave Ma the title of deputy minister. He often dined privately with Ma and showered him with exceptional generosity and favor. After a time the other officials and administrators were fairly certain of the falseness of Ma’s countenance. Wherever he went. he would see people whispering to one another instead of greeting him cordially. Being thus ostracized made Ma ill at ease, so he submitted a request for retirement, but this was not granted. Again he requested official leave, and was given a vacation of three months.
Ma lost no time loading his gold and jewels onto a stage coach and returning to the mountain village. The villagers came out to greet him on their knees. Joyful cries rang through the air when Ma divided gold coins among his old friends.
The villagers said, “Since we lowly folk have been honored by your gifts, we will set out for the ocean bazaar tomorrow and seek precious gems to repay you.”
“Where is the ocean bazaar?” asked Ma.
“Mermen from the four seas gather at the ocean bazaar to trade in pearls and jewels. People from four directions and twelve kingdoms all come to trade with them. Many deities are engaged in pleasurable pastimes there. The sky is filled with clouds, and great waves roll ashore from time to time. People of rank are too concerned for their personal safety to expose themselves to these dangers, so they entrust us with their gold and silk in order to purchase rare treasures for them. Now the date of the bazaar is not distant.
Ma asked how they knew it.
“When red birds are seen flying back and forth over the sea, the opening of the bazaar is seven days away.”
Ma asked their time of departure and expressed a desire to make the trip with them and do some sightseeing. The villagers begged him to consider his personal safety.
“But I am a seafarer. Do you suppose I fear rough weather?” Before long there were people at the gate bringing valuables to invest in the voyage. Ma helped the crew stow the valuables on board the ship. It was a flat-bottomed craft with high gunwales and room for several dozen men. With ten men at the oars it churned up a seething wake and skimmed along like an arrow. After three days they glimpsed buildings and towers one behind the other through the shifting clouds that hung over the water. Trading ships converged on the place like ants. In no time they drew up beneath the city wall, which was made of bricks as long as a man’s body. The battlements towered into the clouds above. Having moored their ship and entered the city, they saw displayed in the bazaar strange treasures and rare gems of dazzling brilliance, many never seen in the world of men.
Just then a young man mounted on a splendid stallion rode up to them. The shopkeepers and buyers scattered before him, saying that he was the “third crown prince of the Eastern Ocean.” As the crown prince rode by, he eyed the scholar and said, “Isn’t this man from a faraway country?” A runner came over to Ma and wanted to know his native land. Ma greeted him from the side of the road and made known the land and people of his birth.
“Since you’ve honored us by coming here, it is plain that there is a deep bond of fate between us!”exclaimed the prince happily. He gave the scholar a mount and invited him to ride alongside. Riding beyond the western wall, they came to the shore of the island, where their mounts neighed and plunged into the water. The scholar was struck dumb with terror, but he soon saw that they were in an open space, with walls of seawater arching above them. Suddenly a palace appeared ahead, its beams made of tortoise shell and its roof tiled with scales of bream. The crystalline walls mirrored the shapes around them with blinding brilliance. Dismounting, the prince motioned Ma inside. At the head of the hall before them was the Dragon Lord. The crown prince informed the throne: “While riding through the bazaar I found this worthy scholar from the Middle Kingdom whom I have brought for an audience with Your Highness.” The scholar stepped forward and made an elaborate bow.
“I see sir, that you are a man of literary accomplishment,”said the Dragon Lord.”I am sure you are good enough to lord it over famous poets of antiquity like Qu Yuan and Song Yu. Might I trouble you to brandish your rafter-sized inkbrush to write a rhapsody on the ocean bazaar? Please do not grudge us your precious words.”
The scholar touched his forehead to the floor in acknowledgement. He was given a crystal inkstone, a dragon-bristle inkbrush, paper with the bright smoothness of snow and an inkstick exuding the fragrance of orchids. Without stopping to think, he completed a piece of over a thousand words and offered it to the throne. The Dragon Lord beat time while reciting the rhymed prose.
“Sir, your great talent has brought much glory to my acquatic kingdom!” he said.
So it was that the hosts of dragondom were assembled for a feast in Glowing-Cloud Palace. After several rounds of wine and several courses of roast meat, the Dragon Lord raised his cup and said to his guest: “I have not yet found a good match for my beloved daughter. Sir, I would like to inflict her upon you. Would this be in accordance with your wishes?”
The scholar rose to his knees from the mat, so overcome with gratitude that he could only stammer, “Yes, yes.” The Dragon Lord turned and spoke to his attendants. Before long a group of court maids led forth a young woman, jade rings tinkling at her waist as she moved. A sudden fanfare rang out. When he had finished bowing the scholar gave her an appraising glance: She was a veritable fairy maiden. She bowed and withdrew.
Soon the drinking ceased. Maids with hair done up in double buns bearing painted candles led the scholar into a side palace. The girl sat there waiting in her finest adornments. The coral bed was studded with a galaxy of gems, and shining pearls the size of spoons were knotted into the tassels that hung outside the canopy. The quilts were fragrant and yielding.
At the crack of dawn, budding young girls and bewitching maids ran in and stood in a row around the bed. The scholar rose, hurried to court and thanked the king. He was given the title of royal son-in-law. Because his rhapsody was rapidly disseminated throughout the four seas, the dragon lords from all quarters sent special envoys to congratulate him and deliver invitations to banquets. The scholar dressed in brocades and rode about on a green, horned dragon. He set forth from the palace with warning shouts to clear his way. An entourage of several dozen mounted knights bearing carved bows and white staffs clustered about him, their armor flashing. There were mounted musicians strumming zithers and others in a carriage playing jade flutes. Within three days the scholar had journeyed to all the oceans. From then on, the name Dragon Messenger resounded throughout the four seas.
A jade tree as big in girth as a man’s embrace grew in the palace. The trunk was shimmeringly transparent, like clear glass, with a pale yellow center slightly thinner than an arm. The leaves resembled green jade and were a bit thicker than copper coins. This profuse foliage cast dense shade, in which the scholar and his bride often sang and chanted poetry. The whole tree was blooming with flowers that looked like gardenias. Each time a petal fell a distinct tinkle could be heard. Upon closer inspection each gleaming, delicate petal seemed to be sculpted of red agate.
Rare birds with feathers of iridescent blue and tails longer than their bodies often alighted on the tree and sang strains every bit as heart-rending as notes from a plaintive jade flute. Every time the scholar heard them, he thought of his homeland. One day he spoke of this to his wife: “Three years have passed since I lost touch with my family. Every time I think of separation from my parents, snivel drips onto my chest and sweat drenches my back. Would you go back with me?”
“Faerie and earth have separate roads,” she said. “They cannot remain together. I cannot bear, for the sake of our marital love, to deny you the happiness of being at your parents’ side. Give me time to think of a way.” The scholar could not help but cry to hear her. His wife, too, heaved a sigh and said, “You cannot have it both ways!”
The next day when the scholar came back to the palace the Dragon Lord said to him: “I am told that you are homesick. How will it be if we have your baggage ready the first thing tomorrow morning?”
The scholar thanked him:”I was a solitary wanderer far from home until you made me your subject and lavished your favor and concern upon me. From the depths of my heart I feel a sincere wish to repay you. Let me go home to visit for a time: I will try to meet with you again.”
When evening came, the girl had set out wine for a farewell. The scholar wanted to set a time to meet again, but she said,”The affinity that bound us together has run out.” The scholar was deeply grieved.
“Go back and care for your parents,” she said. “Show them what a filial son you are. The hundred years of a human life, with its meetings and partings, is like a single day. What is the good of whining like a child? From this day on I shall remain chaste for your sake, and you will be true to me in your thoughts. Though we will be in different places, our hearts will be as one, so we will still be husband and wife. We can grow old together without having to remain side by side day and night. If either of us transgresses this vow, heaven will not bless our marriage. If you worry that there is no one to do the housekeeping, you can take a maid. I have one more thing to tell you. After serving you all this time, I have noticed signs of a joyous event to come. Would you please give this child a name?”
“If the baby is a girl, name her Dragon-Palace; if it is a boy, name him Blessing-Sea,”said the scholar.
His wife begged for a token of their vow The scholar brought out a pair of red jade lotuses he had gotten in the Kingdom of Raksasas and gave them to her.
“Three years from now on the eighth day of the fourth month make sure to sail around South Island,” she said. “I will return your flesh and blood to you.” She filled a fish-skin pouch with pearls and gems, gave it to him and said, “Keep this well. Your family can live off it for generations.”
At the first faint light of dawn the king had a farewell party set up for the departure, and there bounteous gifts were heaped before the scholar. With a parting bow the scholar left the palace. The girl, riding in a cart drawn by white rams, saw him to the shore. He rode onto the beach and dismounted. She bid him farewell, then turned the cart around and left. In a few short moments, she was far away. The waters of the sea closed back together, hiding her from view.
Then the scholar started homeward. His voyage had lasted so long that everyone assumed him dead, but now, to his family’s amazement, he turned up at home. Fortunately his parents were in good health, but his wife had married again. The meaning of the dragon girl’s words “be true to me” finally became clear to him. She must have known of this already. The father wanted to arrange another marriage, but the scholar would not allow it and took a maid instead.
With the appointed time engraved in his mind, the scholar sailed to the island three years later. There he saw two children sitting afloat on the surface of the water. They were amusing themselves by splashing with their hands, yet this neither caused them to move nor to sink. He drew up to them and held out his hands. One child grabbed his wrist and jumped giggling into his arms. The other wailed as if vexed at the scholar for not lending a helping hand. This one too was lifted aboard. A closer look showed that one was a girl and the other a boy. Both had fair, appealing features. On their heads were coronets studded with jade; in the middle of each was one of the red lotuses. One of them bore a brocade pouch. The scholar opened it and found a letter which read:
“I trust that father and mother are in good health. Three years have gone by in a flash: the world of red dust is forever out of reach. The messenger is hard put to cross this great expanse water. Longing has taken shape as dreams: my neck is weary with gazing into the bound-less blue. What good are my regrets? My thoughts now turn to Chang’e, who ran away to the moon only to spend a lone life of loneness in Cassia Mansion, and Weaving Maid, who once threw down her shuttle but to this day ruefully watches her lover from across the Milky Way. Who am I, that I should have everlasting love? Once this thought arises, tears give way to laughter. Two months after we parted, I was blessed, to my amazement, with twins. Now they are babbling in arms, and understand something of speech and laughter. They grab whatever fruits they see and can live without their mother’s milk. Now I worshipfully return them to you. I have decorated their coronets with the red jade lotus flowers you gave me, as a token of the fulfillment of my vow. When you lift the children to your knees and embrace them, it will be like having me at your side. I felt comforted to hear that you are conscientiously observing your vow of yesteryear. I will be faithful to you all my life: unto death there will be no change. I no longer keep perfumed unguents within my trousseau, and the reflection in my mirror has long ago said farewell to powder and mascara. You are like a wayfarer, and I am the wayfarer’s wife. But yet, though the lute and harp are left long unplayed, no one can say they do not harmonize. Now, I trust, my in-laws can be with their grandchildren, though they have never met their daughter-in-law. Thinking of my duty to them, I cannot help feeling much regret. When the time comes for mother’s interment, I will perform my duty by going to mourn at her tomb. Here’s hoping that Dragon-Palace will henceforth remain in good health, and that I will not miss the chance to hold her in my arms. May Blessing-Sea live long and travel back and forth between us. Not having finished all that I wished to say, I entreat you to take good care of yourself.” The scholar pored repeatedly over the letter, wiping tears from his eyes. His two children threw their arms around his neck saying: “Oh please, let’s go back!”
This only added to the scholar’s misery. He caressed them and asked, “Do you children know how to find your home?”Their only answer was to burst into sobs and wail that they wanted to go home.
The scholar looked out over the boundless sea; as far as the eye could see stretched a ravelling mist devoid of human presence, a road leading nowhere through the foggy waves. He held his children close as he made for the ship, and returned in discouragement.
The scholar, knowing that his mother’s days were numbered, made ready her burial accouterments beforehand and planted over a hundred pine and catalpa trees in the enclosure around her tomb. Sure enough, after a year passed, the old woman died. When the hearse reached the final resting place, a woman in hempen mourning clothes stood before the tomb. Suddenly, as the mourners stared in surprise, a fierce wind began to blow and thunder rumbled. This was followed by heavy rain. In the blink of an eye she was gone. Many of the pines and catalpas had died from being transplanted, but after this they all came to life.
As Blessing-Sea grew a little older he thought often of his mother. One day he was seen to throw himself into the sea, and he did not return till several days later. Dragon-Palace, being a girl, could not go, and so she cried in her room day after day. One day the light of the sun dimmed; in an instant the Dragon Lord’s daughter appeared and calmed her: “Someday you will have a family of your own. What good will crying do?” She gave her daughter a dowry consisting of an eight-foot tree of coral, a packet of borneol camphor, one hundred gleaming pearls and a pair of small gold boxes set with eight sorts of gems. Hearing her voice, the scholar burst into the room and took her by the hand, sobbing. In a moment a sharp clap of thunder shook the room, and she was gone.
The Chronicler of the Tales comments: “The ways of the world are no different from the ways of goblins: both would have us paint our faces to curry favor. When it comes to proclivities for eating scabs and such, the whole world is in the same rut. Moderately embarrassing actions receive moderate praise; greatly embarrassing actions receive great praise. If a person were to amble through a city with his true face exposed for all to see, few must be the ones who would not take to their heels in fright. Whose shoulder can the Fool of Lingyang cry on with his fabled jade worth fifteen cities? Alas! Glory and wealth can only be found in castles in the air and ocean bazaars.”
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