From Liaozhai, lazy yet upright Wang Cheng returns a fox‑spirit’s golden hairpin. The kind fox gives him startup funds. After business misfortunes, he strikes fortune with a victorious fighting quail and thrives under the fox’s strict guidance.
This essay compares Cheng Xian (Becoming an Immortal) with Water Margin’s Cui‑ping Mountain episode. It explores how friends push men into irreversible choices, contrasting worldly outlawdom with Taoist immortality and questioning noble‑intentioned cruelty.
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.
From Liaozhai, high‑ranking official Dong Mohan’s household is plagued by a fierce fox‑spirit. Taoist priest Jiao Ming’s red talisman fails. He uses a possessed maid as medium, subdues and expels the fox pack, bringing peace.
From Liaozhai, set after the Xie‑Qian rebellion’s massacre, this tale tells how official Wang Qixiang’s house gets haunted. Ghosts mock his worldly power; only a Buddhist Water‑and‑Land ritual pacifies these aggrieved spirits.
This tale is a rare instance of a woman taking direct, decisive action against a supernatural tormentor, without the help of priests or exorcists. Her cleverness – observing the fox’s habit, waiting for the right moment, and using domestic tools (bottle, wadding, cauldron) – turns her from a passive victim into an active victor.…