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= The White Light =
'''白光''' von/by/par Lu Xun (鲁迅)

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[The White Light]

When Chen Shicheng had finished checking the results list of the county examination and returned home, it was already afternoon. He had gone quite early; upon seeing the list, he first searched for the character Chen. There were quite a few Chen characters, and they all seemed to scramble into his eyes, but what followed was never the two characters Shi and Cheng. So he searched again carefully through the round circles of the twelve sheets, and by now all the onlookers had dispersed, yet Chen Shicheng had still not found his name on the list and merely stood there alone before the spirit wall of the examination hall.

Although a cool breeze gently stirred his grizzled short hair, the early winter sun still shone upon him with warmth. But the sun seemed to have made him dizzy; his complexion turned increasingly ashen, and from his weary, red, swollen eyes came a strange glint. By then he had actually long ceased to see any text on the wall; he saw only many dark circles drifting about before his eyes.

To pass as a xiucai, go to the provincial capital for the next examination, win victory after victory... the gentlemen would by every means seek to become relatives, everyone would regard him with reverence as though before a deity, deeply regretting their former frivolity and folly... drive out the miscellaneous tenants from his dilapidated house -- no, he wouldn't even need to ask them to leave; they would go of their own accord -- the house entirely new, flagpoles and honorific plaques at the gate... if one wished to be refined one could become an official in the capital, otherwise it would be better to seek a provincial post... His future, carefully arranged in ordinary times, had once again at this moment collapsed like a sugar pagoda gone damp, leaving nothing but a heap of fragments. Involuntarily he turned his dissipated body around and walked dazedly homeward.

He had just reached his doorway when seven pupils opened their throats in unison and began shrilly reciting their lessons. He was greatly startled; beside his ear a stone chime seemed to have been struck, and he saw seven heads with little queues swaying before his eyes, swaying all over the room, with the black circles dancing among them. He sat down, and they brought him their evening assignments, each face showing an expression of contempt.

"Go home." He hesitated a moment, then said wretchedly.

They bundled up their satchels any which way, tucked them under their arms, and fled in a flash.

Chen Shicheng still saw many little heads mingled with black circles dancing before his eyes, sometimes in disorder, sometimes forming strange patterns, but gradually diminishing and becoming blurred.

"It's over again, this time!"

He was startled and leaped to his feet. The words had clearly come from right beside his ear; when he turned around there was no one there. He seemed to hear a humming chime struck again, and his own mouth said:

"It's over again, this time!"

He suddenly raised a hand and counted on his fingers: eleven, thirteen times -- counting this year, sixteen times -- and not a single examiner had understood literature, blind as bats, a pitiful state of affairs -- and he couldn't help breaking into a titter. But then he grew indignant, snatched his fair copies of the eight-legged essays and examination poems from beneath the cloth of his satchel, and walked out with them. Just as he neared the door, he saw everything was ablaze with brightness, and even a flock of chickens was laughing at him; his heart began pounding wildly, and he had no choice but to retreat back inside.

He sat down again, his eyes glinting with particular intensity. He stared at many things, but all was very blurred -- his future lay before him like a collapsed sugar pagoda, and this future simply expanded, blocking every path.

The cooking smoke of other households had long since died away, the dishes had been washed, yet Chen Shicheng still did not cook his meal. The tenants of other surnames who lodged here knew the old custom well: in years when county examinations fell, upon seeing such eyes after the results were posted, it was best to close one's door early and mind one's own business. First the human voices died away, then the lamps were extinguished one after another, and only the moon appeared slowly in the cold night sky.

The sky was blue-green as a sea, with a few drifting clouds swaying as though someone had rinsed a piece of chalk in a brush washer. The moon poured its cold waves of light upon Chen Shicheng. At first it was merely like a newly polished iron mirror, yet this mirror penetrated Chen Shicheng's entire body with mysterious radiance, casting upon him the shadow of the iron moon.

He was still pacing in the courtyard outside his room. His eyes were now quite clear, and all around was still. But this stillness was suddenly and unaccountably disturbed; beside his ear he distinctly heard a hurried, low voice say:

"Turn left, turn right..."

He pricked up his ears in alarm; the voice then repeated itself more loudly:

"Turn right!"

He remembered. This courtyard was the courtyard where, when his family had not yet fallen so low, he and his grandmother had enjoyed the cool air on summer evenings. He had been barely more than ten years old then, lying on a bamboo couch while his grandmother sat beside it and told him interesting stories. She said she had heard from her own grandmother that the ancestors of the Chen family had been enormously wealthy; this house stood on their ancestral land, and their forebears had buried countless silver ingots. A fortunate descendant would surely find them one day, but so far they had not appeared. As for the location, it was hidden in a riddle:

"Turn left, turn right, go forward, go back; measure gold, measure silver, not by the bushel."

Over this riddle, Chen Shicheng had often pondered secretly even in ordinary times, but unfortunately, just when he thought he had the answer, he immediately felt it didn't fit. Once he had been certain that it must be under the house rented to the Tang family, but he had never found the courage to go and dig; after a while, it seemed entirely wrong again. As for the old marks of digging in his own room, those had all been the deranged actions after previous examination failures; whenever he saw them later, he still felt ashamed and embarrassed.

But today the iron light enveloped Chen Shicheng and came softly to persuade him. If he happened to hesitate, it offered him solemn proof and added an ominous urgency, so that he could not help but turn his gaze back toward his own room.

The white light rose like a white round fan, swaying back and forth, in his room.

"So it is here after all!"

He said this and rushed into the room like a lion, but upon stepping inside, the white light had vanished without a trace; there was only a desolate old room with a few broken desks submerged in the dimness. He stood there in bewilderment, slowly refocusing his eyes, and yet the white light clearly rose again, this time wider, purer white than sulfur flame, more ethereal than morning mist, and right beneath a desk against the east wall.

Chen Shicheng rushed like a lion behind the door, reaching out to grope for the hoe, and bumped into a dark shadow.

The Tongsu Yanyi of Eunuch Sanbao's Voyages to the Western Seas likewise comprises one hundred chapters and is attributed to "the Gentleman of Ernanli." It bears a preface by Luo Maodeng from the autumn of the year Dingyou of the Wanli era (1597); Luo is also the author. The book recounts how during the Yongle era the eunuch Zheng He and Wang Jinghong subdued thirty-nine foreign nations and compelled them to pay tribute. Concerning Zheng He, the Mingshi (chapter 304, "Biographies of Eunuchs") states: "He was from Yunnan, the one commonly known as Eunuch Sanbao. In the third year of Yongle, He and his associates Wang Jinghong and others were dispatched on missions to the Western Seas with over twenty-seven thousand eight hundred soldiers and officers, bearing much gold and silk on great ships... They sailed from the Liujia River in Suzhou to Fujian, and from the Wuhu Gate in Fujian set sail, first reaching Champa, then visiting all nations in succession, proclaiming the Emperor's edicts and bestowing gifts upon their rulers; those who did not submit were cowed by force. On seven missions he visited over thirty nations, and the unnamed treasures obtained were beyond counting, though China's expenditures were also enormous." Since Zheng He's fame resounded throughout the Ming dynasty and was a popular subject, and since after the Jiajing era Japanese pirate raids grew fierce, the people mourned the present weakness and, constrained by old tales, thought not of generals but of palace eunuchs; from vulgar traditions this work was composed. Hence the preface says: "If today the eastern affairs press urgently, how does this compare to the western situation? If we cannot match the western situation, how can we face Lords Wang and Zheng?" Yet the book itself indulges in tales of the bizarre and absurd, quite at odds with the passionate tone of its preface. Chapters one through seven concern the birth of the elder monk Bifeng, his entering the monastery, and the subduing of demons; chapters eight through fourteen concern Bifeng's magical contest with Heavenly Master Zhang; from chapter fifteen onward, Zheng He takes up his commission, recruits soldiers for the western expedition, aided by the Heavenly Master and Bifeng, vanquishing monsters, receiving tribute from all nations, and Zheng He building a temple. The battle descriptions are plagiarized from Journey to the West and Fengshen Yanyi, the writing is crude and digressive, yet the work does contain some folk tales, such as "Five Ghosts Storm the Judge" and "Five Rats Storm the Eastern Capital," which can be found here -- that is its strength. The tale of the five rats seems modeled on the "twin hearts" conflict in Journey to the West; the tale of the five ghosts recounts how foreign warriors slain in battle against the Ming are tried in the underworld, mostly receiving harsh sentences, whereupon they riot and attack the judge. Their exchange runs as follows:

... The five ghosts said: "Even if it was not bribery and selling justice, it was certainly careless investigation." King Yama said: "Who investigated carelessly? Speak, I'm listening." The first to speak was Jiang Laoxing: "I was a commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Jinlianxiang. I forgot my family for my country -- the duty of a subject. Why then do you say I should be sent to the Division for Punishing Evil? By that logic, was I wrong to serve my country?" Judge Cui said: "If the country faced no great peril, how can you call it serving your country?" Jiang Laoxing said: "The Southerners came with a thousand treasure ships, a thousand generals, and a million soldiers, a most precarious situation -- yet you say the country faced no great peril?" Judge Cui said: "The Southerners never destroyed a kingdom, swallowed territory, or coveted treasure -- how then was it precarious?" Jiang Laoxing said: "If the country was not in danger, why would I have killed without cease?" The Judge said: "The Southerners came merely with a letter of submission, which would have sufficed. When did they ever coerce anyone? It was you who insisted on fighting -- is that not killing without cease?" Yao Haigan said: "You are mistaken, Judge! In our Java, five hundred Fish-Eye soldiers were cut in two and three thousand infantrymen boiled into a single pot -- was that our insistence on fighting?" The Judge said: "You brought it all upon yourselves." Round-Eyed Timur said: "Each of us was split into four pieces -- was that our insistence on fighting?" The Judge said: "You brought it upon yourselves too." The Third Prince Panlong said: "I raised my sword and cut my own throat -- was that not their coercion?" The Judge said: "You brought it upon yourselves too." Baili Yan said: "We were burned to ashes -- was that not their coercion?" The Judge said: "You brought it upon yourselves too." All five ghosts cried out together: "What do you mean, 'brought it upon yourselves'? Since ancient times it has been said: 'A killer pays with his life, a debtor pays with money.' They killed us unjustly, and you render a crooked judgment?" The Judge said: "Here the law is applied impartially -- how is it crooked?" The five ghosts said: "If impartially, why do you not order them to give us back our lives?" The Judge said: "They owe you nothing!" The five ghosts said: "The very words 'owe nothing' prove the bias." Being many and loud, the five ghosts shouted in chaos. When the judge saw them coming fiercely, he had no choice but to rise and thunder: "Silence! Who dares spout nonsense here! Am I biased? Is this brush a biased brush?" The five ghosts rushed forward together, snatched the brush from his hand, and said: "An iron brush is impartial. But your brush made of spider-silk has bias (silk/selfishness) in every gap between its teeth -- and you dare claim it is not biased?" ... Chapter 90: "Five Ghosts Storm the Judge at the Palace of Spiritual Radiance"

The Xiyou Bu comprises sixteen chapters; the preface by the Woodcutter of Mount Tianmu states it was written by Nanqian. Nanqian was the monastic name of Dong Shuo of Wucheng after he took the tonsure. Shuo, styled Ruoyu, was born in the year Gengshen of the Wanli era (1620); precocious from childhood, he wished first to recite the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment before studying the Four Books and Five Classics. At ten he could compose essays, at thirteen he entered the county school. Witnessing the bandit troubles in the Central Plains, he abandoned all worldly ambitions. After the fall of the Ming, he shaved his head at Lingyan Temple, took the name Nanqian and the sobriquet Yuehan, and for more than thirty years did not enter a city, keeping company only with fishermen and woodcutters; the world esteemed him as a venerable Buddhist elder. The Xiyou Bu is set after the episode "Three Attempts to Borrow the Banana Leaf Fan"; it tells how Wukong goes begging and is ensnared by the Mackerel Spirit, gradually entering a dream world. He seeks the First Emperor of Qin to borrow the Mountain-Driving Bell to dispel the Flame Mountain. Wandering, he enters the Tower of Ten Thousand Mirrors and falls into great confusion -- seeing the past, seeking the future, now transforming into a beauty, now into the King of Hell, until the Master of the Void calls out and he leaves the dream. The Mackerel Spirit was born at the same time as Wukong, dwelt in the "Division of Illusions," styled itself "Blue-Green World," and all the scenes were its creations, though in truth nothing existed -- they were the "emotions of the Pilgrim." Therefore: "To comprehend the Great Way, one must first break through the root of emotion; to break through the root of emotion, one must first enter into emotion; within emotion, perceive the emptiness of emotion's root, and then step outside emotion to recognize the reality of the root of Dao" (Questions and Answers at the beginning of the book). The Mackerel Spirit, the Blue-Green World, the Little Moon King -- all these signify emotion. Some interpret the expressions "General of the Green Slaughter" and "inverted calendar" as veiled allusions written after the dynastic change, but the entire book is in fact more concerned with satirizing the mores of the late Ming than with grief over the fall of the state. It was presumably written before the Ming's fall and therefore contains only border anxieties, without penetrating the depths of Buddhist philosophy; its main focus corresponds to the spirit of the times, asserting that the Pilgrim had three masters: first the Patriarch, second the monk Tripitaka, third King Mu (Yue Fei): "combining three teachings in one person"

Chapter eighty-four

The Tongsu Yanyi of Eunuch Sanbao's Voyages to the Western Seas likewise comprises one hundred chapters and is attributed to "the Gentleman of Ernanli." It bears a preface by Luo Maodeng from the autumn of the year Dingyou of the Wanli era (1597); Luo is also the author. The book recounts how during the Yongle era the eunuch Zheng He and Wang Jinghong subdued thirty-nine foreign nations and compelled them to pay tribute. Concerning Zheng He, the Mingshi (chapter 304, "Biographies of Eunuchs") states: "He was from Yunnan, the one commonly known as Eunuch Sanbao. In the third year of Yongle, He and his associates Wang Jinghong and others were dispatched on missions to the Western Seas with over twenty-seven thousand eight hundred soldiers and officers, bearing much gold and silk on great ships... They sailed from the Liujia River in Suzhou to Fujian, and from the Wuhu Gate in Fujian set sail, first reaching Champa, then visiting all nations in succession, proclaiming the Emperor's edicts and bestowing gifts upon their rulers; those who did not submit were cowed by force. On seven missions he visited over thirty nations, and the unnamed treasures obtained were beyond counting, though China's expenditures were also enormous." Since Zheng He's fame resounded throughout the Ming dynasty and was a popular subject, and since after the Jiajing era Japanese pirate raids grew fierce, the people mourned the present weakness and, constrained by old tales, thought not of generals but of palace eunuchs; from vulgar traditions this work was composed. Hence the preface says: "If today the eastern affairs press urgently, how does this compare to the western situation? If we cannot match the western situation, how can we face Lords Wang and Zheng?" Yet the book itself indulges in tales of the bizarre and absurd, quite at odds with the passionate tone of its preface. Chapters one through seven concern the birth of the elder monk Bifeng, his entering the monastery, and the subduing of demons; chapters eight through fourteen concern Bifeng's magical contest with Heavenly Master Zhang.

From chapter fifteen onward, Zheng He takes up his commission, recruits soldiers for the western expedition, aided by the Heavenly Master and Bifeng, vanquishing monsters; the nations pay tribute and Zheng He builds a temple. The battle descriptions are plagiarized from Journey to the West and Fengshen Yanyi; the writing is crude and digressive, yet contains folk tales such as "Five Ghosts Storm the Judge" and "Five Rats Storm the Eastern Capital" -- that is its strength. The tale of the five rats seems modeled on the "twin hearts" conflict in Journey to the West. The tale of the five ghosts recounts how foreign warriors slain in battle against the Ming are tried in the underworld, mostly given harsh sentences, then riot and attack the judge. Their exchange:

... The five ghosts said: "Even if not bribery, the investigation was careless." King Yama said: "Who was careless? Speak, I'm listening." Jiang Laoxing said: "I was commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Jinlianxiang. I forgot my family for my country -- a subject's duty. Why send me to the Punishment Division? Was I wrong to serve my country?" Judge Cui said: "If the country faced no great peril, how is it serving your country?" Jiang Laoxing said: "The Southerners with a thousand ships, a thousand generals, millions of soldiers -- a precarious situation -- and you say no great peril?" Judge Cui said: "The Southerners never destroyed a kingdom, swallowed territory, or coveted treasure -- how precarious?" Jiang Laoxing said: "If not in danger, why would I have killed without cease?" The Judge said: "The Southerners came with merely a letter of submission. When did they coerce anyone? You insisted on fighting -- is that not killing without cease?" Yao Haigan said: "You err, Judge! In our Java, five hundred Fish-Eye soldiers cut in two, three thousand infantry boiled in one pot -- our insistence too?" The Judge said: "You brought it upon yourselves." Round-Eyed Timur said: "Each split into four pieces -- our insistence too?" The Judge: "You brought it upon yourselves." Prince Panlong: "I cut my own throat -- was that not their coercion?" The Judge: "You brought it upon yourselves." Baili Yan: "Burned to ashes -- was that not their coercion?" The Judge: "You brought it upon yourselves." All five ghosts cried: "What do you mean 'brought it upon yourselves'? 'A killer pays with his life, a debtor with money.' They killed us unjustly, and you render a crooked judgment?" The Judge: "Here the law is applied impartially -- how crooked?" The five ghosts: "If impartially, why not order them to return our lives?" The Judge: "They owe you nothing!" The five ghosts: "The words 'owe nothing' alone prove the bias." The five loud ghosts shouted in chaos. The Judge, seeing their ferocity, rose and thundered: "Silence! Who dares spout nonsense? Am I biased? Is this brush biased?" The five rushed forward, snatched his brush: "An iron brush is impartial. But your spider-silk brush has bias (silk/selfishness) in every gap -- and you dare claim it is not biased?" ...

Chapter ninety: "Five Ghosts Storm the Judge at the Palace of Spiritual Radiance"

The Xiyou Bu comprises sixteen chapters; the preface by the Woodcutter of Mount Tianmu states it was written by Nanqian. Nanqian was the monastic name of Dong Shuo of Wucheng after he took the tonsure. Shuo, styled Ruoyu, was born in the year Gengshen of the Wanli era (1620); precocious from childhood, he wished first to recite the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment before studying the Four Books and Five Classics; at ten he composed essays, at thirteen he entered the county school. Witnessing the bandit troubles in the Central Plains, he abandoned all worldly ambitions. After the fall of the Ming, he shaved his head at Lingyan Temple, took the name Nanqian and the sobriquet Yuehan, and for more than thirty years did not enter a city, keeping company only with fishermen and woodcutters; the world esteemed him as a venerable Buddhist elder. He left the Shangtang wancan changchou yulu (mentioned by Niu Xiu in Gusheng xubian and Jiang Baoyang in Jiashen chaoshi xiaoji) and the Fengcaoan zazhu, ten collections of poetry and prose. The Xiyou Bu is set after the episode "Three Attempts to Borrow the Banana Leaf Fan"; it tells how Wukong goes begging and is ensnared by the Mackerel Spirit, entering a dream. He seeks the First Emperor of Qin to borrow the Mountain-Driving Bell to dispel the Flame Mountain, enters the Tower of Ten Thousand Mirrors, and falls into great confusion -- seeing the past, seeking the future, transforming into a beauty then into the King of Hell, until the Master of the Void calls him and he leaves the dream. The Mackerel Spirit was born at the same time as Wukong, dwelt in the "Division of Illusions" and styled itself "Blue-Green World"; all scenes were its creations, though nothing truly existed -- they were the "emotions of the Pilgrim." Therefore: "To comprehend the Great Way, one must first break through the root of emotion; this requires entering into emotion; within emotion, perceive the emptiness of emotion's root, then step outside emotion to recognize the reality of the root of Dao" (Questions and Answers at the beginning of the book). The Mackerel Spirit, the Blue-Green World, the Little Moon King -- all signify emotion. Some interpret "General of the Green Slaughter" and "inverted calendar" as veiled allusions after the dynastic change, but the book is more concerned with satirizing late Ming mores. It was presumably written before the Ming's fall and contains only border anxieties without penetrating Buddhist depths; its main focus asserts that the Pilgrim had three masters: the Patriarch, the monk Tripitaka, and King Mu (Yue Fei): "combining three teachings in one person."

Chapter nine. That is all. Yet in the invention of plot and the choice of words, the work is abundant and multifaceted, shimmering and dreamlike; at surprising junctures it is sometimes breathtaking, interspersed with humor that is often brilliant -- truly beyond the reach of other writers of the same period.

The Pilgrim (who had just transformed into the beauties Yu Meiren and Luzhu and departed after the banquet) immediately resumes his true form, looks up, and sees: he is standing before the gate of the goddess Nüwa. The Pilgrim is greatly pleased: "My heaven was smashed to pieces by the Little Moon King's sky-treading messengers, and yesterday the blame was pinned on me. ... I hear Nüwa has long been skilled at mending heaven. Today I shall ask her to mend mine, then weep my way up to the Jasper Palace and clear my name -- a splendid opportunity." He approaches the gate and sees: two black-lacquered panels tightly shut, and on the door a note: "Gone on the twentieth to Xuanyuan's for a chat, back in ten days. Apologies for the inconvenience, hereby respectfully noted." The Pilgrim reads it, turns around, and leaves. In his ear he hears only the cock crow thrice -- dawn is breaking. After traveling several million li, the First Emperor of Qin is still nowhere to be found.

Chapter five

Suddenly he sees a black man sitting atop a high pavilion. The Pilgrim laughs: "So in the world of the ancients there are thieves too -- face smeared with coal, sitting here on public display." A few steps further he says: "It's no rebel. It's a temple of Zhang Fei." Then he thinks: "If it's a Zhang Fei temple, he should be wearing a head-wrap. ... Wearing an emperor's crown with a black face -- this must be the Dark Emperor Da Yu. I'll approach him and ask for secrets on slaying demons and monsters, then I needn't look for the First Emperor any longer." As he draws near, he sees at the base of the platform a stone pole with a white banner bearing six purple characters:

"Xiang Yu, famous knight of the Former Han."

The Pilgrim reads it and bursts into great laughter: "Truly, 'when things have not yet come, cease imagining them, for they never come as one thought.' Old Sun guessed this way and that, ... but who would have thought -- it is none of them, but my distant husband from the Luzhu Tower." Then he considers: "But I came specifically seeking the First Emperor of Qin, to borrow his Mountain-Driving Bell, which is why I entered the world of the ancients. The Hegemon-King of Chu comes after him; now I have seen him, but not the Emperor. I have an idea: I'll go straight up to Xiang Yu on the platform and ask him for news of the First Emperor -- that would be a reliable lead." The Pilgrim jumps up at once and looks closely: beneath the high pavilion... sits a beauty, and at his ear he hears only the call: "Yu Meiren, Yu Meiren!" ... The Pilgrim immediately transforms again into a beauty, ascends the pavilion, draws from his sleeve a piece of ice-silk gauze, and ceaselessly dabs his tears, showing only half his face, gazing at Xiang Yu with an expression half reproachful, half angry. Xiang Yu is greatly alarmed and hurriedly falls to his knees. The Pilgrim turns away; Xiang Yu rushes on his knees to face him, pleading: "My beauty, have pity on your bedfellow and grant me a smile." The Pilgrim says nothing; Xiang Yu has no choice but to weep along. Then the Pilgrim, reddening his peach-blossom face, points at Xiang Yu and says: "Scoundrel! You were a glorious general and could not protect even one woman -- how dare you sit on this high platform?" Xiang Yu only weeps and dares not answer. The Pilgrim shows a hint of compassion, helps him up, and says: "It is said: 'A man's knees are of gold.' Henceforth, do not kneel recklessly!" ...

Chapter six

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