From Liaozhai, it depicts the loyal friendship between two scholars. Cheng risks everything to rescue wrongfully‑imprisoned Zhou. Later Cheng becomes an immortal, swapping bodies with Zhou and revealing worldly illusions before they transcend mortal life.
Han Feizi tells exiled Jin minister Zhonghang Wenzi avoided an old acquaintance, a county magistrate who once gifted him zithers and jade to curry favor. The official later seized Wenzi’s carriages to ingratiate his ruler, exposing sycophants’ self-serving betrayal.
“The Willow Scholar” is a symbolic short story from Strange Tales from Liaozhai. Blending myth, fable, and social concern, it explores the relationship between humans, nature, and spirits through the resolution of a locust plague.