The Golden Lotus

CHAPTER 1

When wealth has taken wing, the streets seem desolate.

The strains of flute and stringed zither are heard no more.

The brave long sword has lost its terror; its splendor is tarnished.

The precious lute is broken, faded its golden star.

The marble stairs are deserted; only the autumn dew visits them now.

The moon shines lonely where once were dancing feet and merry songs.

The dancers are departed: the singers have gone elsewhere.

They return no more.

Today they are but ashes in the Western Tombs.

Beautiful is this maiden; her tender form gives promise of sweet womanhood,

But a two-edged sword lurks between her thighs, whereby destruction comes to foolish men.

No head falls to that sword: its work is done in secret,

Yet it drains the very marrow from men's bones.

This poem was written by one Lū Yan [Lū Dongbin], an immortal whose name in religion was Master Chunyang. He lived in the dynasty of Tang and spent his days in the pursuit of virtue and the mortification of the flesh. So he attained to paradise, leaving this mortal world, and there was given to him a seat in the Purple Palace. The gift of immortality was bestowed upon him, and he was made the Governor of the Eight Caverns that are above, whence he brings succor to them in trouble and adversity.

It seems, unfortunately, too true that they who live in this world can never wholly free themselves from their bondage to the Seven Feelings and the Six Desires. There is no escape from the fatal circle of Wine and Women, Wealth and Rage. Sooner or later the end comes to every man, and he must give up his hold upon all of these, for, after death, they will avail him nothing. Experience would seem to show that of these four evils, women and wealth most surely bring disaster. Let us for a moment consider the case of one who falls upon evil times, so that he finds himself in sore need, suffering misfortunes whereof he never dreamed. At night he searches diligently for a grain of rice, and finds the morrow must be foodless. In the morning he rises and looks around the kitchen, but cannot discover even the makings of a fire. His family is hungry and cold; his wife and children are starving, and he knows not where to turn for food. Where shall he find the money to buy wine? Worse even than this, his relatives and friends turn aside their eyes, and show him nothing but coldness and contempt. There may have been a time when the poor wretch had ambitions; now they must perish, for he is in no position to enter into rivalry with others.

Then there is the man who squanders his wealth to purchase the delights of love. It matters not how great that wealth may be, in one adventure he may cast away ten thousand golden pieces. Should he crave for wine, he will find it precious indeed, precious as molten jade, for to the outpouring of amber cups there is no end. Should it be rank he seeks, his wealth may conjure up spirits; a gesture may bring servants running to serve him, and a nod may summon his attendants. Men will flock to his presence and press forward to curry favor with him. They will hasten to abase themselves before his majesty, even to lick his sores and set their tongues where tongue should not be set. Only so long as he maintains his power will this continue: when once his influence is gone, they will shrug their shoulders and wait on him no more. No trial is more hard to bear than this change from hot to cold. Are not both the upstart and they who fawn upon him sufferers from the plague of wealth?

Then there is the danger that is to be had from women. Look around the world, I pray you. Liuxia Hui, though a fair lady seated herself upon his knee, remained unmoved. Where in these days shall we find conduct such as his? And he of Lu, who when a maid would have come to him, made fast his door and would not let her enter; where shall we find one like him? Or to Guan Yunchang who, with a lighted candle, kept chaste watch until the dawn? How many such heroes can history make known to us? What shall we say of those who, though they have four wives already, daily go forth to spend their substance on unlawful loves, unceasingly craving amorous delights? For the moment we will leave them, for there is that kind of lustful beast who cannot see a woman of even ordinary comeliness, without devising a hundred or a thousand plots to seduce her. He ensnares the woman, craving the pleasure of a moment, and for this neglects the affection of his friends, and takes no heed for the governance of his own household. To attain this paltry end, he pours forth countless wealth and casts immeasurable treasure to the dogs. His wantonness exceeds all bounds, and then come disputes, bloodshed, and all manner of evil. He is doomed. His wife and children are forever ruined and his business brought to the dust.

Such a man was Shi Jilun who, for love of his mistress Lu Zhu, died wretchedly in prison, though, at one time, the masses of his wealth were high enough to touch the skies. Another was Bawang [Xiang Yu] of Chu, whose heroism might have uprooted mountains. Because of his madness for Yu Ji [Concubine Yu], his head hung in Gaixia. The gate of Love may be the gate of Life, but just as surely is it the gate of Death. Time and time again our common sense reminds us of this fact; and yet our hearts still carry us away. So do men fall victims to the plague of love.

It is easy to talk thus of women and of wealth, yet there is none who is forever free of these plagues. If, in all the world, there be one who appreciates the truth, he will tell us that all our piles of gold and silver, all the jade we treasure, can never follow us beyond the grave. They are but refuse, no more worth than dust and slime. Our wealth may be so great that nothing can contain it, our rice so plentiful that it may rot because we cannot consume it: to our dead bodies it will be of no avail; all will become corruption and decay. Our lofty palaces and spacious halls will bring no joy to us when we are in the grave. Our silken gowns and our embroidered skirts, our robes of fur and wraps of sable, what are they but worthless rags, for all the pride our bones will take in them?

Those charming dainty maidens who serve our lusts so well, whose skill in self-adornment is so exquisite: when once the veil is torn aside, what shall we find in them but falseness? Are they not like a general who, when the signal is given for battle, can only manifest his valor by the noise he makes?

Those scarlet lips, those white and glistening teeth, that flashing of eyes and dallying with the sleeve: if true understanding were vouchsafed us, we should know them for the loathsome grimaces of the powers of Hell within the palace of the Prince of Hades.

The silken hose, the tiny feet are like the pick and shovel that dig our graves. Soft dalliance upon the pillow, the sport of love upon the bed, are but the forerunners of an eternity wherein, within the Fifth Abode of Hades, we shall be boiled in boiling oil.

Well does the Diamond Sutra speak of this foolish life "as dream and as illusion; as lightning and as dew." For though at the end of life all things are vain, during life men cannot bear the loss even of a trifle. We may be so strong that, unaided, we can lift a cauldron or tow a ship, but, when the end draws near, our bones will lose their strength and our sinews their power. Though our wealth may give us mountains of bronze and valleys of gold, they will melt like snow when the last moment comes. Though our beauty outshine the moon, and the flowers dare not raise their heads to look on us, the day will come when we shall be nothing but corruption, and men will hold their noses as they pass us by. Though we have the cunning of Lu Jia and Sui He, it will avail us nothing when our lips are cold, and no word may issue from our mouths.

Let us then purify our senses, and put upon us the garment of repentance, that so, contemplating the emptiness and illusion of this world, we may free ourselves from the gate of birth and death, and, falling not into the straits of adversity, advance towards perfection. Thus only may we enjoy leisure and good living and still escape the fires of Hell.

I am brought to these reflections upon the true significance of wine and women, wealth and rage, remembering a family that, once flourishing, sank at length into a state of deepest misery. Then neither worldly wisdom nor ingenuity could save it, and not a single relative or friend would put forth a hand to help. For a few brief years the master of this household enjoyed his wealth, and then he died, leaving behind a reputation that none would envy. There were many in that household who always sought to flatter, to do well for themselves, to join in amorous pleasures, to stir up strife, and to turn their influence to their own profit. At first it seemed that all was well with them, yet it was not long before their corpses lay in the shadow, and their blood stained the deserted chamber.

CHAPTER 1

The Brotherhood of Rascals

IN the mighty dynasty of Song, when Huizong was Emperor, and in the Zhenghe period of his reign [1111–1119], there lived at Qinghe, a city of the prefecture of Dongping in Shandong, a dissolute young man whose name was Ximen Qing. He was about twenty-seven years old, and the master of a fine estate. A gay, good-looking fellow, he was, unfortunately, flighty and unstable. His father, Ximen Da, had once traveled through Sichuan and Guangdong dealing in raw medicines, and later he opened a shop near the Town Hall of Qinghe. He lived in a splendid house that had a frontage of five rooms upon the street, and wings that went back even farther. He had a host of servants, and a very considerable number of horses and mules. Though, perhaps, he was not quite a millionaire, he was certainly one of the richest men in the whole district.

Ximen Da and his wife showered affection upon their only child, and allowed him to do exactly as he pleased. While he was still comparatively young, they died. The boy paid scant attention to his studies, idled about, and finally gave himself up entirely to dissipation. Indeed, after his parents' death, he was seldom to be found at home, but spent all his time in the pursuit of forbidden pleasures. He learned to box, to wield the quarterstaff, and to play a good game of chess. He gambled a great deal, and became so skilled in the game of pai that he could distinguish the different pieces by simply touching them. In fact, so far as such accomplishments were concerned, there was very little he did not know.

His friends and acquaintances were wastrels and spongers who spent all their lives in amusing themselves at other people's expense. The chief among them was Ying Bojue, the son of a silk merchant. He had squandered the wealth his father had left him, and had sunk so low that he spent all his time waiting about the Town Hall, ready to go with anyone to the bawdy house, or to dine with the first-comer who would pay for a meal. People nicknamed him Beggar Ying. He was an expert at kickball, backgammon, chess and all sorts of other games.

Then there was Xie Xida. This man's grandfather had been a minor official at Qinghe, and his parents had died while he was still a youth. He wasted his time, and paid no attention to his duties, so he lost his position, and now led a life of leisure. He played the lute.

These two and Ximen Qing were as thick as thieves, and there were several more, of varying degrees of disreputability. One was Zhu Shinian; another Sun Tianhua, also known as Greedy Chops. Then there was Wu Dian'en, who had once been Master of the Yin Yang for the district. He had been dismissed, and now was always to be found hanging about the Town Hall in the hope of finding a job as witness for the officials in their money-lending transactions. In this way he made the acquaintance of Ximen Qing.

Other friends were Yun Lishou, a younger brother of Colonel Yun; Chang Zhijie; Bu Zhidao; and Bai Laiguang, who was also known as Guangtang. When people remarked that this was a strange name, he would become very indignant and enter upon a long explanation, which, by reference to the Book of History, was supposed to show that his tutor, when he had conferred that name upon him, had made an admirable choice. "If there had been anything objectionable about it," he used to say, "I should have changed it long ago, but, obviously, it has important historical associations, and I shall most certainly retain it."

There were, perhaps, ten of them in all, and, when they discovered that Ximen Qing was not only a very rich man, but ready to throw his money about, they led him on to gamble, drink and run after women.

The House of Ximen had fallen upon evil days. It had given to the world an unworthy son, who chose his friends from among those destitute of every virtue. It was inevitably doomed to impoverishment.

Ximen Qing was reckless, but when he took it into his head to bestir himself, he was capable of showing that he was no fool. He lent money to the officials and even had dealings with the four corrupt ministers, Gao, Yang, Tong and Cai. So he came to be mixed up in all kinds of official matters, acting as intervener for people at law, arbitrating in cases of dispute, and, sometimes, acting as stakeholder. The people of Qinghe stood in awe of him and spoke of him as "His Lordship Ximen." His first wife, a Miss Chen, died young, leaving him with a little daughter, and this daughter was now betrothed to Chen Jingji, a relative of Marshal Yang, the Commander of the Imperial Guard at the Eastern Capital.

After the death of his wife, Ximen found himself without a housekeeper, and married the daughter of a certain Captain Wu. This lady was about twenty-five years old. As she was born on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, her parents called her Yueniang ["Moon Lady"], and she was still known by that name after her marriage to Ximen Qing. She was gentle and quiet, a good wife, and faultlessly obedient to her husband. She had three or four maids and serving women to wait upon her, and Ximen Qing had taken his pleasure with all of them.

As a second wife, he married a girl from the bawdy house, called Li Jiao'er, and as his third, a young woman from South Street, who had been his mistress. She was not very strong, and suffered from so many different illnesses that Ximen Qing again went off to "fly with the wind and sport with the moon!"

One day, when Ximen Qing was at home with nothing to do, he said to his wife:

"It is the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, and on the third of next month, I am supposed to be meeting my friends. I think I will entertain them here, and engage a couple of singing girls, so that we can have our amusement at home without needing to go elsewhere. Will you make the necessary arrangements?"

"I wish you wouldn't mention those horrible creatures to me," Wu Yueniang said. "There isn't a decent fellow among them. Day after day, they come here, like messengers of Hell, putting ideas into your silly mind and making an absolute fool of you. Never, since you've known them, have you spent a whole day in your own house. The Third Lady is anything but well, and I think you might give up these drinking parties, for a while at least."

"Generally," Ximen Qing said, "I find your conversation delightful, but today your remarks are a little wearying. To hear you talk, all my friends might be beyond the pale. I don't mind so much what you say about the others, but surely Brother Ying is an honest, entertaining fellow. If we ask him to do anything for us, he never raises any objection, and what he does, he does well. Then Xie Xida is clever as well as conscientious. But there is this much to be said. So long as our meetings are irregular and uncertain, we can never develop our friendship on the proper lines. The next time we all come together, the best thing we can do will be to form a brotherhood, and ever afterwards we shall be able to count upon receiving assistance, if we need any."

"I have nothing against this brotherhood idea," Yueniang said, "though I have no doubt whatever that the others will get more assistance out of you than you are ever likely to get out of them. They will be as much use to you as dancing dolls, and not half so lively."

Ximen Qing laughed. "If I find, by experience, that they are to be trusted, why shouldn't I trust them? As a matter of fact, I'm expecting Brother Ying any moment. When he comes, I'll see what he thinks of the idea."

At that moment an intelligent-looking boy with delicate eyebrows and charming eyes came in. This was Daian, Ximen Qing's body servant. "Uncle Ying and Uncle Xie are outside," he said. "They would like to speak to you."

"I was just talking about them," Ximen said. He hastened to the hall. Ying Bojue was dressed in a new black hat and a shabby blue silk gown. He was sitting in the place of honor with Xie Xida opposite. When Ximen Qing came in, they both jumped up and saluted him with great deference. "We are glad to find you at home, Brother," they said. "We have not seen you for some time." Ximen asked them to sit down, and called for tea.

"You are a nice pair," he told them. "I have had a very anxious time lately. I could not leave the house, but I haven't seen even so much as your shadows."

"What did I say?" Bojue cried. "I knew our brother would be annoyed!" Then he turned to Ximen Qing. "I am not surprised that you are angry with us, but, really, I have been so busy that I haven't known what to do. It is all very well for you to give your orders, but it is not so easy for me to carry them out."

"Where have you been, these last few days?" Ximen asked them. "Yesterday, I went to the Li's to see a young lady called Li Guijie. She is Li Guiqing's younger sister, a niece of your Second Lady. I hadn't seen her for some time, and I must say she has become a very pretty girl. There's no telling what she will be like in the future. Her mother urged me to find a handsome young man to make a woman of her. Really, you yourself would not find her too bad."

"If she is so attractive," Ximen said, "I must go and have a look at her." "Brother," said Xie Xida, "if you don't trust him, you can at least take my word for it."

"Well," said Ximen, "that accounts for yesterday, but what about the day before?"

"A little time ago, our friend Bu Zhidao died, and I have had to spend several days at his house in connection with the funeral arrangements. His wife asked me to tell you how grateful she is for the incense and things you sent her. Her place is so small and the only entertainment she can offer so unworthy, that she did not venture to invite you to the funeral."

"Alas!" Ximen Qing said, "it seems only a few days since I first heard he was ill. I never thought he would die so soon. He once made me a present of a gilded fan, and I was thinking of giving him something in return. Then I heard of his death."

Xie Xida sighed. "Once there were ten of us, now one has gone. By the way, the third of next month is the day for our meeting. We shall be troubling His Lordship to spend some small sum on the day's amusement."

"I have just been telling my wife," Ximen said, "that these meetings, at which we do nothing but eat and drink, do not represent the essential element in our friendship. We ought to decide upon some temple, have an appropriate document drawn up, and band ourselves into a definite brotherhood. Then we shall be pledged to help one another ever afterwards. When the day comes, I will buy the three offerings needed for the sacrifice. I presume you will all be ready to give something towards the expenses, each according to his means. I do not insist on this, but it seems to me that, since we are forming a brotherhood, it will be much more satisfactory if every brother makes some little contribution."

"Certainly, Brother," Ying Bojue said hastily. "A man who never says his own prayers cannot expect to get credit for the incense his wife burns. We must all do something to show that we are in earnest, but I'm afraid we're rather like the warts on a rat's tail, there is not much to be got out of us."

"Oh, you funny dog," Ximen said, laughing. "Nobody expects you to give very much."

"If the brotherhood is to be complete," Xie Xida said, "there should be ten of us. Brother Bu Zhidao is dead. Whom can we find to take his place?"

Ximen Qing thought for a while. Then he said: "My neighbor, Brother Hua, the nephew of Eunuch Hua, is the very man. He spends his money without stint, and goes regularly to the bawdy house. He lives next door, and we are very good friends. I will send a boy to invite him to join us."

Bojue clapped his hands. "Do you mean Hua Zixu, who keeps a girl called Wu Yin'er?"

"That is the man," Ximen Qing said.

"Ask him by all means," Bojue said. "If I can only make friends with him, it will mean another house of call for me."

"You silly rascal," Ximen said, laughing. "To hear you talk about eating, one would imagine you were always on the point of starvation."

They all laughed. After a while, Ximen called Daian, and sent him to Hua's house. "Tell him that we are going to form a brotherhood on the third of next month, and that I shall be honored if he will join us. When you have heard what he says, come back and tell me."

"Shall we come here, or go to a temple?" Bojue asked.

"There are only two temples to go to," Xie Xida said. "One is the Buddhist temple of Eternal Felicity, and the other, the Daoist temple of the Jade Emperor. Either of them would do."

"Not at all," Ximen said. "This forming of a brotherhood is not a Buddhist practice, and, in any case, I don't know the priests of that temple very well. We must go to the Temple of the Jade Emperor. The abbot, Wu, is a good friend of mine; it is quiet there and we shall have room enough."

"You are right, Brother," Bojue said. "He only suggested the temple of Eternal Felicity because the monks there are on such good terms with his wife."

"You old villain," Xie Xida said, laughing. "Here we are, discussing a most serious matter, and you think it a suitable occasion to fart."

They were laughing and talking when Daian came back. "Master Hua was not at home," he said, "but I gave the message to his lady. She was very pleased. ‘If Uncle Ximen is so kind as to invite my husband,' she said, ‘I am sure he will not fail to come. He shall have the message as soon as he comes in, and when the day for the meeting comes, I will remind him.' She gave me two cakes for myself, and told me to give you her respects."

"Brother Hua's wife," Ximen said, "is not only a very pretty woman, but she has intelligence."

They drank another cup of tea, and the two men rose to go. "We will tell the other brothers," they said, "and collect their share of the expenses. Will you make the arrangements with Abbot Wu?"

"Yes," Ximen Qing said, "I'll see to that. Don't let me keep you any longer." He took them to the gate. Before they had gone very far, Ying Bojue turned. "Don't you think it would be fun if we had some singing girls?"

"Yes, indeed," Ximen said, "it will be more amusing if the brothers have someone to laugh and joke with." Bojue made a reverence and went away with Xie Xida.

It was soon the first day of the tenth month. Ximen Qing rose early and was sitting in Yueniang's room when there came a serving boy whose hair had been dressed in grown-up style. He brought with him a gilded and polished card case. First he made a reverence to Ximen Qing; then he came forward and said: "My master, Hua Zixu, sends his compliments. Some time ago you sent your servant with an invitation, but he was out on business and did not personally receive the message. He was told that you are arranging a party on the third of the month, and has sent this small gift, which he trusts you will use as you think fit. Afterwards he hopes you will tell him what his proper share of the expenses amounts to, and he will make up what is lacking."

Ximen Qing took the packet, examined the label upon it, and wrote a receipt for one tael of silver. "This is more than enough," he said; "your master must certainly not send any more. Remind him to keep the day free. He will have to get up very early so as to be ready to go to the temple with the rest of us."

When the boy was going away, Yueniang asked him to wait a moment. She told Yuxiao, the elder of her two maids, to give him two pieces of fruit-cake. "This is instead of tea," she said to him. "When you get home, give my kind regards to your mistress, and tell her that one of these days I am going to ask her to come and have a talk with me." The boy took the cakes, made another reverence, and went out.

A few moments later, Ying Bao, Ying Bojue's boy, came. He, too, was carrying a visiting case. Daian introduced him. "My father has collected these presents from the others," he said, "and hopes you will accept them." Ximen Qing looked at the packets, saw that there were eight in all, and handed them to his wife without opening them. "Use them," he said to her, "to buy something for our visit to the temple." He dismissed Ying Bao.

Soon afterwards he got up and went to see his third wife, who was ill, but he had only just reached her room and sat down when Yuxiao came to tell him that her mistress would like to speak to him again. "Why didn't she say all she had to say before?" Ximen Qing said. He got up and went back to her, finding her with all the packets opened and spread out before her.

"Look here!" she said, laughing. "Ying sends a qian and two fen of bad silver, and the rest, three or five fen apiece. Judging by the color, some red, some yellow, it might be gold. Certainly, I've never seen anything like it in this house before. If you accept it, our reputation will be gone forever. You must send it back at once."

"What a fuss about nothing!" Ximen said. "This is all right. Don't let me hear any more about it." He went out.

The next day, he weighed four taels of silver and told his servant Laixing to buy a pig, a sheep, five or six jars of Jinhua wine, some chickens and ducks, candles and paper offerings. He put five qian in an envelope and told his man Laibao to take it and the other things, and go with Daian and Laixing to the temple of the Jade Emperor. They were to say to the abbot: "Tomorrow, our master proposes to form a solemn brotherhood, and he takes the liberty of asking you to compose an address suitable to the occasion. He would like to take dinner at your temple in the evening, and would be very grateful if you would make the necessary preparations. He will arrive in the morning."

Daian soon returned. He said that he had given the message, and that the abbot agreed.

The day soon passed. The next morning, Ximen Qing washed and dressed, and told Daian to go and ask Hua Zixu to come for breakfast before they joined the others on the expedition to the temple. Soon afterwards, Ying Bojue and the others arrived. They came in, and forming a circle, made reverence together.

"It is time to start," Bojue cried.

"No, breakfast first," Ximen Qing said. He called for tea and refreshments. Afterwards, he changed his clothes for brighter and more handsome attire, and they all set out together for the temple of the Jade Emperor.

Before they had gone very far, they could see the temple gateway. It was lofty and imposing, but the sanctuary, with walls reaching almost to the skies, was more commanding still. It was approached by a gate in the shape of the character ba, covered with a red wash. Within the precincts were three paths, like the character chuan. The buildings were of marble with wave-like markings. The sanctuary, its lofty eaves glittering in green and gold, was in the center. Images of the Three Pure Holy Ones stood in due order in the middle, and at the far end was Laozi, the Old Lord of the Most High, riding upon his black ox.

They entered the second sanctuary, went around, and passing through a side door, came to the abbot's quarters. On either hand grew grasses as green as jasper and flowers as red as coral. There were pine trees and bamboos. On either side of the door hung scrolls. One bore the inscription: "In Paradise, unending are the months, the years," and the other, "In the Vessel of Heaven there lies another world." On the north was a hall the size of three rooms, where the abbot officiated every day at morning and evening prayer.

The temple had been specially decorated for the occasion. In the middle of the north wall hung a picture of the Jade Emperor in the Golden Palace of Paradise, and on both sides were the nobles of the Purple Palace. The four generals, Ma, Zhao, Wen and Guan were there too.

Abbot Wu was standing outside the Hall of the Sacred Scriptures. He welcomed them with a priestly reverence, and Ximen Qing and his friends went in. After taking tea, they all got up and began to look at the pictures. Bai Laiguang took Chang Zhijie by the hand, and they examined the portrait of General Ma. He looked very brave and fierce, but he had three eyes. "I don't understand this," Bai Laiguang said. "We mortals find that with only two eyes it is well to keep one closed. Can he need an extra eye to keep a watch on us and on our misdeeds?"

Ying Bojue overheard him and went over to them. "You silly fellow," he said. "It is on your account alone that he needs an eye more than anybody else."

Everybody laughed, and Chang Zhijie pointed to the picture of General Wen. "Now here," he said, "there really is something out of the ordinary. He is blue from top to toe. I suppose he must be one of Lu Qi's ancestors."

Bojue burst out laughing. "Come over here, Father Abbot," he cried, "and I'll tell you a story.

"Once upon a time, a priest died and came before the Prince of Hades. The Prince bade him give an account of himself. ‘I am a priest,' he said quite simply. Then the Prince ordered one of his officers to search the records and find out what was known of the man. They discovered that he was indeed a priest and a man of excellent character. So the Prince of Hades reprieved him and sent him back to earth.

"When he was once more in the land of the living, he met a man he knew, who worked at a dye works. ‘However did you succeed in getting back, Father?' this man said to him. ‘I only said I was a priest and they sent me back again,' his friend answered. The man remembered this, and when his time came to go before the Prince of Hades, he too declared that he was a priest. The Prince told his officials to examine the man's body. When they came to his hands, they found them both bright blue. ‘What does this mean?' he was asked. ‘That comes from the work I have done on General Wen's thing.' "

They laughed. Then they went to the other side to look at the pictures of red-faced Guan and Zhao. Zhao was a black-faced warrior, with a great tiger standing beside him. Bai Laiguang pointed to the tiger, and cried: "Look at that tiger! He must be one of the kind that don't eat meat, or he wouldn't be going about with a man so amiably."

"What!" said Ying Bojue. "Don't you know the tiger is his most trusted servant?"

Xie Xida, who had been listening, said, "If I had a servant like that, a quarter of an hour of his company would be quite enough. I should always be afraid he might take it into his head to eat me."

Bojue laughed: "That's a nice thing to say," he said to Ximen Qing.

"What's that?" said Ximen.

"Well," Bojue said, "Xie here says he would be afraid a trusted comrade might eat him. You certainly ought to go in fear of your life, for there are seven or eight of us, all trusted comrades, and all ready to feed at your expense at any time."

At that moment the abbot came back to the hall. "Do I hear you speaking of tigers, Gentlemen?" he said. "In this very district of Qinghe, one has recently caused very serious trouble. Scores of travelers, and more than a dozen hunters, have found that to their cost."

"Really?" Ximen Qing cried.

"Yes," said the priest. "I am surprised you gentlemen have not heard about it. I should not have known myself, but a little while ago, one of my young novices went to ask alms at Master Cai's house in Cangzhou, and he had to stay there several days before it was safe to return. Between Qinghe and Cangzhou there is a ridge called Jingyang, and it seems that a dragon-eyed, white-headed tiger has recently been making raids from there in search of human prey. Travelers have been afraid to pass the hill, and have had to form parties when they went that way. The local authorities are now offering a reward of fifty taels to anyone who kills the tiger, but so far, though several attempts have been made, they have all come to nothing. Indeed the hunters have been most unfortunate: they have had nothing but maulings for their pains."

Bai Laiguang jumped up. "We are too busy today, since we have this brotherhood to form, but tomorrow we will go and catch the tiger. It will be one way of putting a little money in our pockets."

"Evidently you don't value your life very highly," Ximen Qing said. The other laughed. "Let me get hold of something to spend, and I don't care what happens."

"That reminds me of another funny story," Ying Bojue said. "Once a man fell into a tiger's clutches, and his son, who wished to rescue him, took a knife and went to kill the beast. But the man, though the tiger had him actually in his jaws, cried out anxiously: ‘Son, mind where you stick that knife. For goodness' sake, don't spoil the tiger's skin.' "

Abbot Wu was now preparing the offerings for sacrifice. When everything was ready, he came forward and said: "Gentlemen, it is time to burn the sacred papers." Then he produced a document. "I have already written the address," he said, "but I should be glad if you would tell me which of you is the elder brother and in what order I am to put the others. If you will kindly arrange yourselves in your due rank, I shall find it easier to write down your honorable names."

At this there was a chorus: "His Lordship comes first, of course," but Ximen Qing held back. "We should rank according to our age," he said. "Brother Ying is older than I am, and it is for him to take the first place." This was not at all what Ying Bojue wished. "Oh, no, Father!" he cried, I should be ruined. In these days, a man is judged by his wealth or by his position, and since there is no getting away from that, there is no point in taking age into consideration. Besides, there are others older than myself. And there are many other reasons why I should not be made elder brother. Both in dignity and moral standing, I do not rank so high as his Lordship. He is a paragon to the whole world. Then again, I have always been called Ying the Second, and if I were made elder brother I should have to be called Ying the Elder. If I met two acquaintances, and one addressed me as Ying the Elder and the other as Ying the Second, I shouldn't know which of them I ought to answer."

Ximen Qing laughed. "You talk such nonsense, anybody might die of laughing," he said. Xie Xida urged him not to decline, but Ximen continued modestly to prefer the others. Finally, after further pressure from Hua, Ying and the rest, he could hold out no longer and took the place of honor. He was followed by Ying Bojue and Xie Xida, and Hua, out of respect for his wealth, was allotted the fourth place. The others arranged themselves in the lower positions. The abbot then filled up the document, lighted candles, and, with all the men standing shoulder to shoulder in their due order, the address was solemnly unfolded and read aloud.

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• The Golden Lotus
• The Brotherhood of Rascals