Enchantment and Disenchantment: Love and Illusion in Chinese Literature [Course Book ed.] 9781400863327

Table of contents :
Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
CHAPTER ONE. The Genealogy of Disenchantment
CHAPTER TWO. The Late-Mmg Moment
CHAPTER THREE. Desire and Order in Liao-chai chih-i
CHAPTER FOUR. Beginnings: Enchantment and Irony m Hung-Iou meng
CHAPTER FIVE. Self-Reflexivity and the Lyrical Ideal in Hung-Iou meng
CHAPTER SIX. Disenchantment and Order in Hung-Iou meng
CHAPTER SEVEN. Epilogue: The Compass of Irony
Works Cited
Index

Citation preview

Enchantment and Disenchantment

Enchantment and Disenchantment LOVE AND ILLUSION IN CHINESE LITERATURE

Wai-yee Li

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Copyright © 1993 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New lersey 08540 In the United Kingdom

Princeton University Press, Chichester,

West Sussex All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Pubhcation Data

Li, Wai-yee. Enchantment and disenchantment

love and illusion in Chinese

literature / Wai-yee Li p.

cm

Includes bibliographical references and index. 1, Chinese literature—History and criticism. 3. Illusion in literature PL2275.L68L5

1993

2

Love in literature

I. Title 895.1Ό9—dc20

92-32032

ISBN 0-691-05684-6 Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange This book has been composed in Linotron Aldus Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources Printed in the United States of America 1 0

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For Μ . and m y parents

Contents

Acknowledgments

ix

Abbreviations

xi

CHAPTER ONE

The Genealogy of Disenchantment Fu Rhetoric and the Fictional Imagination Fu Rhetoric and the Feminine Principle The Topos of the Ambiguous Divine Woman The Inward Turn of the Topos of the Ambiguous Divine Woman The Progeny of the Ambiguous Divine Woman

3 10 17 23 33 41

CHAPTER TWO

The Late-Mmg Moment Comic Reconciliation in The Peony Pavilion Detachment through Attachment in The Story of Nan-k'o The Ironic Vision of The Story of Han-tan The Lyrical Solution in The Palace of Everlasting Life The Philosophical Solution in Peach Blossom Fan Enchantment, Disenchantment, and Self-Representation

47 50 64 69 77 81 83

CHAPTER THREE

Desire and Order in Liao-chai chih-i The Confucian Solution to the Problem of Sensual Love P'u Sung-Img and the Taming of the Strange Metamorphosis and Desire Desire and the Order of Formal Symmetry Desire and the Logic of Ironic Inversion The Internal Balance of Desire: Mediation and Complementary Heroines The Structures of Order

89 89 92 100 105 114 122 136

CHAPTER FOUR

Beginnings: Enchantment and Irony m Hung-Iou meng The Rhetoric of Illusion and the Difficulty of Beginning Flaw and Supplement Problems ι η Literary Communication

152 159 163 175

viii

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Contents

The Fate of a Rhetorical Figure From M y t h to History The Illusory Realm of Great Void

179 185 190

CHAPTER FIVE

Self-Reflexivity and the Lyrical Ideal in Hung-Iou meng Lust of t h e Mind Stone as Narrator Enlightenment through Love

202 203 210 216

CHAPTER SIX

Disenchantment and Order in Hung-Iou m e n g The World of the Precious Mirror of Love The Confusion of the M y t h i c and the Magical The Problem of Endings: Order and Return

231 232 242 246

CHAPTER SEVEN

Epilogue: The Compass of Irony

257

W o r k s Cited

269

Index

281

Acknowledgments

WHEN MUCH is owed to many, it is hard to know where to begin. I am grateful to Andrew Plaks, who read an earlier version of this book with scrupulous care. The seriousness with which he takes his own work, and the generosity with which he encourages mine, are deeply reassuring. I have learned a great deal from Kao Yu-kung, whose vast knowledge and fine in­ tuitions inspire me. Earl Miner read portions of the manuscript and gave me sound advice; I thank him for being invariably kind and supportive. My gratitude also to Nathan Sivin, who read the first chapter carefully and raised challenging questions. Stephen Owen has sustained my enthusiasm for the project in many delightful conversations, when he generously shared his ideas with me. His comments on the manuscript have been most helpful. My work has greatly benefited from the astute suggestions of An­ thony Yu, to whom I owe a special debt for years of friendship and encour­ agement. The anonymous readers consulted by Princeton University Press have also given me useful comments, and I thank them for having gone through the manuscript with care. My thanks also to Lorri Hagman, whose conscientious and meticulous copyediting is all the more appreciated for having been twice executed, to Margaret Case for her help in the reviewing process, to the production staff of Princeton University Press for their fine work, and to Cincinnati Art Museum for permitting reproduction of the painting on the jacket. Three institutions have been important for the writing of this book. Princeton University supported me for five years; friends and teachers there made learning a joy and helped me embark on the research that eventually materialized here. The friendship of Miya Satoh, Ch'en Pao-chen, Yang Hsien-ch'ing, the late Liu Hsiang-fei, and Deborah Porter made Princeton my first approximation of home in this country, and has remained a con­ stant source of support over the years. Friends, colleagues, and students at the University of Illinois have nurtured me as a teacher and as a scholar. Among my friends there, Michael Palencia-Roth, Hsieh Yao-hng, and Liao Wanhong deserve special mention for their understanding and generosity. The University of Illinois halved my course load in fall 1989, and during that semester I thought through some of the major problems in the book. The Harvard Society of Fellows, most civilized of institutions, has provided me with the time to think and write, a stimulating intellectual environment, and friends and colleagues who inspire me with their imagination and in­ dustry. I am grateful to Omer Bartov, Paul Holdengraber, Maria del Mar

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Acknowledgments

Sanchez Vivancos, and Emily Sun for happy distractions, challenges to re­ flection, and treasured moments of sharing; for bringing me closer to my work and for taking me away from it. My special thanks also to Diana Morse and Kathryn Lowry for their friendship and for their help in matters ranging from the practical to the bibliographic. As for my parents, Li Chiu and Mak Yuk-Iin, and Ly Nguyen Collins, who has been friend, teacher, and mother in all the years I have known her, no words would suffice for my deep appreciation. It is to them that I dedicate this book.

Abbreviations

c. CCW

CChW CHW CHHW CLW

CS

CShT

CSKW CSKSTW CST CSW CT

CTS

CYC

chiian Ch'iian Chin wen (Complete prose of the Chin dynasty). In Ch'iian Shang-ku San-tai Ch'in Han San-kuo Lzu-ch' ao wen (Complete prose of antiqUIty, the Three Dynastles, Chm and Han dynasties, the Three Kingdoms, and Six Dynasties), edited by Yen K'o-chun. 5 vols. Beijmg: Chung-hua shu-chu, 1965. Ch'iian Ch'i wen (Complete prose of the Ch'i dynasty). In Yen. Ch'iian Han wen (Complete prose of the Han dynasty). In Yen. Ch'iian Hou Han wen (Complete prose of the Later Han dynasty). In Yen. Ch'iian Liang wen (Complete prose of the Liang dynasty). In Yen. Feng Meng-lung, compo Ch'mg-shzh lel-liieh (Anatomy of love: categories and sketches). EdIted by Chang Fu-kao. 2 vols. Shenyang: Ch'un-feng wen-i ch'u-pan-she, 1986. Hung Sheng. Ch' ang-sheng tien (The palace of everlasting life). Edited by Hsu Shuo-fang. BeiJIng: Jen-mm wen-hsueh ch'u-pan-she, 1983. Ch'iian San-kuo wen (Complete prose of the Three Kingdoms). In Yen. Ch'iian Shang-ku San-tal wen (Complete prose of antiquIty and the Three Dynasties). In Yen. Tang Kuei-chang, ed. Ch'iian Sung tz'u (Complete Sung lyrICS). 5 vols. BeIJing: Chung-hua shu-chu, 1965. Ch'uan Sung wen (Complete prose of the Sung dynasty). In Yen. Ch'u tz'u pu-chu (Ch'u tz'u, with annotations and commentarIes). Edited by Hung Hsmg-tsu. Taipei: Kuang-wen shu(hu, 1962. P'eng Ting-ch'iu et al., eds. Ch'iian rang shih (Complete Tang poetry). Punctuated editIOn in 25 vols. Beijing: Chung-hua shu-chu, 1985. Ch'en Ch'ing-hao, ed. Hsm-pien Shih-tou chz Chih-yen Chai p'ing-yii chi-chiao (New edition of the collated Red Inkstone commentary on Hung-lou meng). Taipei: Lien-ching ch'upan-shlh-yeh kung-ssu, 1986.

Xii

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HLM

HLMC LC

SCPP

THS

T PK C THTC

THTTL

Abbreviations

Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in, and Kao 0. H u n g - I ou m e n g (Dream of the red chamber or The story of the stone). Edited by the Chung-kuo I-shu Yen-chiu-yiian Hung-Iou meng Yen-chius o (Chinese A r t a n d Literature Research Institute, H u n g - I o u meng Research Center). 3 vols. Beijing: Jen-min wen-hsueh ch'u-pan-she, 1982. 1-su, ed. H u n g - I o u m e n g chiian (Research material on H u n g Iou meng). Taipei: Li-jen shu-chii, 1981. P'u Sung-ling. Liao-chai chih-ι hui-chiao hui-chu h u i - p ' i n g pen (Liao-chai chih-i, with collected annotations and com­ mentaries). Edited by Chang Yu-he. 2 vols. Shanghai: Shanghai ku-chi ch'u-pan-she, 1978. Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in. H u n g - I o u m e n g san-chia p'ing-pen (Three Commentaries edition of Hung-Iou meng). With comments by Chang Hsin-chih (fl. 1828-1851), Wang Hsi-lien, and Yao Hsieh. 4 vols. Shanghai: Shanghai ku-chi ch'u-pan-she, 1988. K'ung Shang-jen. K ' u n g S h a n g - j e n s h i h h o T a o - h u a s h a n (The poetry of K'ung Shang-jen and Peach Blossom Fan). Edited by Liu Yeh-ch'iu. Honan: Chung-chou shu-hua-she, 1982. T'ai-p'ing k u a n g - c h i . Compiled by Li Fang et al. 10 vols. Bei­ jing: Chung-hua shu-chii, 1981. Reprint of 1961 edition. T'ang Hsien-tsu. T a n g Hsien-tsu chi (Collected works of T'ang Hsien-tsu). Edited by Ch'ien Nan-yang and Hsii Shuo-fang. 4 vols. Shanghai: Jen-mm ch'u-pan-she, 1973. Mao Hsiao-t'ung, ed. T ' a n g Hsien-tsu y e n - c h i u t z u - l i a o h u i pien (Sources for research on T'ang Hsien-tsu). 2 vols. Shanghai: Shanghai ku-chi ch'u-pan-she, 1986.

Enchantment and Disenchantment

CHAPTER ONE

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

IN CHAPTER 5 of the eighteenth-century masterpiece H u n g - I o u m e n g (The dream of the red chamber or The story of the stone [Shih-t'ou chi]), the goddess Disenchantment takes the protagonist Pao-yu by the hand and in­ troduces him to the splendors and dangers of the Illusory Realm of Great Void (T'ai-hsii Huan-ching). The avowed purpose of this dream visit, which culminates in Pao-yii's sexual union with Disenchantment's sister Combin­ ing Beauties (Chien-mei), is "enlightenment through love" or "disenchant­ ment through enchantment." To construct the genealogy of Disenchant­ ment and to trace her prototype to the ambivalent divine woman m the Ch'u tz'u (Songs of Ch'u, ca. 6th-lst cent B.C.) 1 and the fu (a genre of rhyme-prose, verse-essay, prose poem, or rhapsody) from Han and later periods is then more than an exercise in literary typology. Such an inquiry into the rhetorical strategies creating and manipulating illusions emphasizes the role of language and of the feminine element in the development of the idea of the provenance of illusion in, and its transcendence through, love and desire. The opposition and mutual implication of enchantment and dis­ enchantment are realized in such paradoxical formulations as "detachment through attachment" or "transcendence of passion through passion" (i-ch'ing wu-tao or yin-ch'ing ju-tao). Their corollary is "apprehension of reality through illusion" (chi-huan wu-cheri), which implies that the para­ dox in question is also the motive for fiction as well as its justification. The genealogy of disenchantment begins at the moment of enchantment. Enchantment is the process of being drawn into another world that promises sensual and spiritual fulfillment. It is the illusion of power, of the capacity to transcend the human condition. Disenchantment is the awareness of en­ chantment as mere enchantment, a condition of limited duration subject to inevitable demolition. The importance of the paired terms enchantment and disenchantment in Chinese literature is analogous to the centrality of the histor-fictor axis based on reality and its representation in the Western lit­ erary tradition. The main concern in the Chinese context is not so much the 1

The C h ' u t z ' u (lit , "words of Ch'u") is a collection including songs and writings of the

Ch'u culture (6th^lth cent B c ) and early Han (206 B c

-A

D 220) imitations of such works.

The Ch'u tz'u was first compiled and designated as such by the Han exegete Wang Yi (ca. A D 89-158). For a complete English translation, see David Hawkes, The Songs of the South My translations are based on Ch'u tin pu-chu (hereafter CT) (ed

1155])

by Hung Hsing-tsu [1090—

4

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Chapter One

ontoiogical status of the represented world, but rather the function of illu­ sion in literary expression and communication, that is, its relationship to the artist producing the aesthetic illusion and to the audience confronting it. Enchantment is fascination and seduction, associations that arguably re­ turn us to the Ch'u tzu. The quasi-erotic tension and attraction between deity and human, the celebration of display and spectacle, and the seductive power of music in "The Nine Songs" (Chiu ko), the most explicitly reli­ gious and possibly the earliest stratum of the Ch'u tz'u corpus, promise an enchanted world. But even in "The Nine Songs," the mood is already ele­ giac. The deity favors the shaman with his or her gaze, but the gaze is made possible only by distance: The child of God descends on the North Islet, With a faraway and soulful gaze she fills me with melancholy. 2 ( C T , c.2.27, "The Lady of the River Hsiang"

[Hsiang Fu-jen]) In a hall filled with beautiful people, She suddenly singles me out for a pact sealed by mutual gaze. (CT, c.2.30, "The Lesser Goddess of Fate" [Shao Ssu-ming]) 3

The gaze is an invitation to sensual pleasures, but union is ephemeral and separation inevitable: Wordless she entered, she left without taking leave. Riding whirling wind, striding cloud banners No sorrow is greater than the sorrow of living separation, No joy greater than the joy of newfound mutual understanding. Dress of lotus, girdle of mehlotus— She comes in a trice and just as suddenly departs. (CT, c.2.30, "The Lesser Goddess of Fate")

It is impossible for us to know exactly how "The Nine Songs" were per­ formed, and we can only reinvent them for ourselves by supplying a con2

I am responsible for all the translations in this book, unless otherwise indicated

3

Opinions vary on the gender of this deity In S h a n - t a i - k o c h u C h ' u t z ' u , the eighteenth-

century commentator Chiang Chi distinguishes between the solemn tone of "The Greater God of Fate" (Ta Ssu-ming) and the intimate tone of "The Lesser Goddess of Fate" (Shao Ssuming, c 2.12b). The former is concerned with the length of life span, the latter with union and separation ("Afterword" [Yu-lun], c A 26b) goddess of love (Ch'u Yuan fu chin-i, 22)

Kuo Mo-jo suggests that Shao Ssu-ming is a

The association with procreation and fertility may

also suggest a female deity. Chou Hsiin-ch'u believes that while divinities of fate (bsu-ming) were worshipped in different parts of China, in Ch'u they were both female and linked to the tradition of paired goddesses (Chiu-ko hsin-k'ao, 156)

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

·

5

text. In some examples, there are certain things that we are not likely to ever ascertain, such as the gender of the deity or the details of the rituals. However, certain motifs recur as if they are parts of a ritual formula. 4 The deity, for instance, would promise the mortal removal from mundane real­ ity: "I heard the Fair One calls me, / I am about to ascend and leave with her" (CT, c.2.27, "The Lady of the River Hsiang"). In a moment of ecstatic union with the deity, the shaman is lost in rapt self-forgetfulness—the re­ frain is "forget to return" (wang kuei). There is a mood of elation and expansiveness as the shaman adopts the perspective of the divine one: I go up the K'un-lun Mountain and look in the four directions, My heart sprouts wings and revels in the vision of roaring waves. The sun is about to set, m my melancholy I forget to return, And look with longing on the limits of the great river. (CT, c.2 31-32, "River God" |Ho-po])

In this moment of union the shaman roams, perceives, and feels like the divine one. The escape from mortality seems all too possible. We have here the beginning of a long association between eroticism and the quest for im­ mortality: Old age is creeping up on me, If I do not go near you we will be ever more estranged. (CT, c.2.29, "The Greater God of Fate" [Ta Ssu-ming]) Tarrying for the Divine One, oblivious, I forget to return, The years are passing, who will make me fair? (CT, c.2.33, "Mountain Spirit" [Shan-kuei])

The illusion of power seems palpable as the mortal partakes of the epiphany of the deity; the god or goddess is never one single entity, and there always is an impressive entourage and set of paraphernalia, so that the moment of union also means entering an enchanted world. The deities seem, however, to be always in a hurry. The shaman's encounter with the divine one, if it takes place at all, is invariably brief. The mortal lover-worshippers of the elusive deities deck themselves with fragrant plants, wait patiently, and ex­ press their melancholy and expectations in songs. For all that, the inevitable departure of the deity does not augur a moment of disenchantment. Ritual justifies, and is justified through, repetition. Though the moment of ecstatic union is transient, it may yet be enacted again: "A time like this will not easily come again, / If only we could roam and enjoy each other awhile" (CT, c.2.26, "The Goddess of the River Hsiang" [Hsiang-chiin]). 4

David Hawkes discusses the repetition of ritual formula in "The Quest of the Goddess,"

42-68.

6

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Chapter One

These final lines (which are repeated, with slight variations, and in a sim­ ilar context, at the end of "The Lady of the River Hsiang") come on the wake of plaints about the faithlessness of the deity, and show how wistful hopes for future union are not totally tarnished by present disappointment. Disenchantment can come into being only when enchantment is aware of itself as enchantment. In "The Nine Songs," unfulfillment is not yet dis­ enchantment. Although we cannot be certain of the context of performance, these songs convey the impression of innocence and fluidity of boundaries. There is no absolute distance between the shaman-poet and the deity. Roles are assumed or reversed as the shaman impersonates the divine one. 5 The divinities are seduced by human music and the spectacle of worship, as in the case of the Lord of the East: Heaving a long sigh, I am about to ascend, My heart is reluctant, I look back with longing But the music and the spectacle are so enchanting, That whoever looks on forgets to return. (CT, c.2.30-31, "The Lord of the East" [Tung-chiin])

Entranced by the music and the rites of ritual, the Lord of the East over­ comes his nostalgia for his original abode. In "The Nine Songs," something imagined or ritually represented is already immediate and real. The shaman impersonating the deity is already the deity, who thereby sometimes ac­ quires eminently human traits: the sense of unfulfillment, the plaint, the susceptibility to seduction. Boundaries are effaced in the moment of "for­ getting to return." The deity, the shaman-poet, and the audience are lost in a common fascination. Failure to meet the divine being, futile waiting, or melancholic return to this world do not seem to disabuse the shaman-poet or the audience of the possibility of ecstatic union; the mere act of singing of imagined pleasure and powers seems to make them palpable and attain­ able. With Ch'ii Yiian (ca. 340-278 B . C .) the theme of the quest for the divine being gains a secular, political, and allegorical dimension. Through the al­ legorical mode of expression in "Encountering Sorrow" (Li-sao), the deity acquires an aura of high seriousness as the "symbolic other" in the dramatic quest for the fulfillment of political ideals. The faithless deity and the un­ successful quest thus serve to accent the poet's fervent and uncompromising political idealism. "Encountering Sorrow" is difficult partly because it is 5

Again our ignorance of the actual context of performance makes it impossible to ascertain

how this is accomplished. Scholars have often noted how different voices or roles operate in a song. Wang Fu-chih (1619-1692), for example, comments on this phenomenon in "The Greater God of Fate" (Ch'u tz'u t'ung-shih, 34—36)

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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7

almost impossible to draw the line between its magical-religious dimension and its political-allegorical significance. Suffice it to say that for the first time in the Chinese literary tradition enchantment becomes the self-con­ scious projection of an ideal realm, where the poet may escape from a sordid political reality. The inevitably unsuccessful quest and the necessity of re­ turn is now a self-conscious dramatization of disenchantment. The moment of uncertainty and of turning round and looking back [janku ) in "Encountering Sorrow" represents not only nostalgia, moral-politi­ cal duty, or the pressure of historical reality; it also unfolds the internal logic of self-conscious enchantment. The evocation of another realm is here bound up with the poet's profession of faith, his conviction of his own in­ tegrity in troubled times: All of a sudden I turned back, my eyes roamed, 1 resolved to go and see the four corners of the earth, Decked in beautiful and luxuriant garlands, Which waft a fragrance distinct and abundant. People take pleasure m all manner of things, I alone abide by purity, my constant joy Even if I were dismembered, 1 would not waver, For how could my heart be punished likewise? (CT, c.1.7)

The poet's longing for far-off wandering ( yiian-yu ) is tantamount to a de­ fiant assertion that his will would not be dismembered, even if his body were. The expansion of the realm of vision and imagination is then a delib­ erate act of will. An element of reflection and a kind of rhetorical structure foreign to "The Nine Songs" attend such willfulness in "Encountering Sor­ row." The poet's declaration of his intention is followed by two extended speeches. Nii-hsu chides him for his refusal to compromise, and the poet goes south and states his case before Ch'ung-hua (the name of the sageKing Shun, and also the name of a star). After following through the ar­ gument and counterargument for compromise, the poet resolves to "under­ take a quest in realms above and below" (shang-hsia ch'i ch'm-so) to look for his ideal. His quest takes him to the Gate of Heaven, where he is barred from en­ try. He waits, plies the orchids that symbolize his virtue, and moves to another vantage point: In the morning I decided to cross the White River, Climb the Lang-feng Mountain, and tie my horse. Suddenly I looked back and wept bitter tears, 1 grieved that there was no fair lady on the high hill. (CT, c.1.12)

8

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Chapter One

The moment of "looking back" marks the access of doubt. The poet fears that the quest may prove ultimately futile, especially since elevation to an­ other realm is accomplished through an act of sheer will. Denied access to the fair lady on high, the poet turns to goddesses below. Fu-fei (goddess of the River Lo), however, turns out to be fickle and faithless. The lovely daughter of the Lord of Sung (Chien-ti), mythic ancestress of the Shang kings, cannot be reached because of knavish intermediaries (the chattering magpies), while the two daughters of the Lord of Yu have prior claims on their affections. As David Hawkes points out, the unsuccessful quest for the goddess fits Ch'ii Yiian's allegorical purpose. 6 The inconstancy of the deities in "The Nine Songs" is accepted as part of their divine nature and a frequent component of the ritual of worship. In "Encountering Sorrow," however, the quest is thwarted by malice and ill will, as the poet self-consciously dramatizes his disenchantment. In the last part of the poem the poet appeals to the divinations of the shaman Ling-fen and the oracular pronouncement of Wu-hsien, a god who is sometimes identified as a shaman ancestor from the Shang period. An­ other aerial journey ensues, and ends with another moment of looking back: I had ascended the splendors of heaven— Suddenly from on high 1 caught sight of my old home. My groom grieved, and my horses, filled with longing, Arched their heads, looked back, and refused to go on. ( C T , c 1 18)

The moment of hesitation and reflection shows how the poet is stranded between two worlds, the world of calumny, slander, and sordid political in­ trigue, and the world where he may find fulfillment of his ideals. He is reluctant to leave the former, because it also represents responsibility and the possibility of action. The latter bears mulitiple interpretations. The quest for the goddess has been explained as exile and the search for possible employment in another kingdom; or, more generally, as the quest for a world in which the poet can preserve his integrity and exert his will; or simply as the desire to attain shamanistic power. Enchantment is fascination with surface, not quest for meaning; as such it cannot bear the weight of allegory, which implies discontinuous realms of experience, and which stip­ ulates that such discontinuities be bridged on the basis of a constructed co­ herence of meaning. In "Encountering Sorrow," through the mode of alle­ gorical expression, enchantment and disenchantment define the vagaries of lyrical consciousness, its sense of power and futility. Hawkes, "The Quest of the Goddess," 51

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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9

With Han dynasty fu, a genre of court poetry dominant in the following era, the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment comes to be situated squarely in the circuit of literary communication. The court poet creates a literary illusion celebrating the power and grandeur of his royal patron, while at the same time claiming a deeper moral intention. In other words, he purports to disabuse his royal audience of the illusion that all his desires may be fulfilled. In "Encountering Sorrow," the self-consciousness of en­ chantment and disenchantment do not put lyrical expression in doubt. In Han fu, however, enchantment and disenchantment raise issues of masking, sincerity, truth-telling, troping. This explains why the most frequently em­ ployed conceptual schemes in the discussion of fu are the axes of lyricism versus rhetoric and moral persuasion versus ornamentation. In this new genre, rhetorical strategies are used to create and manipulate illusions and to play with the boundaries of enchantment and disenchantment. It is now a question of manipulating illusion for the pleasure and/or moral education of another. In addition, disenchantment is now specifically connected with the question of order. Fu emerged into prominence in the age of the correl­ ative cosmology ( yin-yang wu-hsing) of Han Confucianism, which repre­ sents the most relentless brand of order-building in Chinese cultural his­ tory. FM , too, invokes an orderly and systematic cosmos despite its passion for mclusiveness and penchant for the extraordinary. Han fu tames the erotic and the sensual by including them as part of a general plenitude. The urge to have it all here and now and to bring every­ thing within the compass of order and system is very much the ideology of empire. The elusive deity in the Ch'u tz'u who never has much time for humans becomes in the Han fu a more cooperative figure promising literal immortality to the ruler. In "Encountering Sorrow," the poet, in his quest for the goddess in realms "above and below," rides the phoenix and comes to the Gate of Heaven. But he is refused entry by heaven's porter. Two centuries later, in " FM on the Great Man" (Ta-jen fu) 7 by the great court poet Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju (179-117 B.C.), the Gate of Heaven is no longer an insurmountable obstacle: "I passed through the Gate of Heaven, entered the Palace of God, / Carried the Jade Maiden and returned with her." The apotheosis of pleasure in the world evoked in fu is often realized in the divine woman whose prime passion seems to be the gratification of men. 7

C H W 1 c 21 7a-8a. In "Far-Off Wandering" ("Yiian-yu," C T , c 5 67-72), which bears

close parallels with "Fu on the Great Man," heaven's porter waits expectantly for the poet, who, however, has aspirations for things other than divine women. He seeks secrets of the constellations, proceeds to the Palace of God (Ti-kung), and inquires into Taoist mysteries. Goddesses also feature in this realm of Taoist transcendence, but only as performers of music and dance. The poet is merely a beholder, he invites Fu-fei, and enjoins the goddesses of the River Hsiang to play the nine Shao songs on the zither The question ot whether "Fu on the Great Man" is derived from "Far-Off Wandering," or vice versa, is still widely debated.

10

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Chapter One

It is dissatisfaction with this model—the fear of unlimited pleasure—that accounts for certain fu whose avowed aim is to dispel the aesthetic illusion they are creating. These works sometimes share the topos of an ambivalent divine woman inspiring opposed impulses of attachment and detachment, and the related topos of relishing and resisting temptation. Supposedly re­ storing order, this ambivalent divine woman actually becomes a source of disequilibrium. Herein lies the provenance of the goddess Disenchantment from Hung-Iou meng.

Fu RHETORIC AND THE FICTIONAL IMAGINATION

The focus of this chapter, f u , lays claims to being one of the most rhetorical genres in the Chinese literary tradition. By "rhetorical" I refer primarily to the delight in the artfully manipulative, immodestly expansive, and some­ times willfully paradoxical language so characteristic of Han fu. Such atti­ tudes toward language imply that the poet becomes an actor, constructs a quasi-dramatic frame, and dons a mask as he declaims a torrent of extrava­ gant words. He is self-conscious about the affective power of his language, as evidenced in the representation of the reader-listener in his discourse. The resultant mode of dialogic exchange heightens the sense of drama and performance. However, "rhetoric" is, after all, a Western concept rooted in specific cultural-histoncal contexts. That the origin of Western rhetoric lies in Greek democratic institutions and political oratory seems to be widely acknowl­ edged. E. R. Curtius, for instance, states categorically: "Its genesis is suf­ ficiently clear. Place: Attica, time: after the Persian Wars." 8 The political orator seeks to sway his audience; the means of persuasion are therefore all important. Taking due cognizance of the implications of political eloquence, Werner Jaeger postulates tensions between the "rhetorical ideal of life" and the "philosophical life" in ancient Greece. The purpose of the former is "to create pleasure and win approval," while the latter is "based on knowledge of human nature and of what is best for it." 9 To speak of rhetoric as the "art of persuasion" 10 is to imply that rival perspectives are comparable in ele8

Curtius, E u r o p e a n L i t e r a t u r e a n d t h e L a t i n M i d d l e A g e s , 64

9

Jaeger, P a i d e i a f 2.144. Such polarization is, however, fraught with problems. After all, as

G E. R Lloyd points out, Aristophanes attacked Socrates as a Sophist, and Plato saw as his task the drawing of a clear line between Socrates and the Sophists (Lloyd, The Revolutions of Wis­ dom, 92) Lloyd argues persuasively that in ancient Greece it was the rhetorical situation—the "interaction with audiences" and the "development of new modes of rivalry and competition, calling for new styles of self-justification"—that contributed greatly to "overt innovativeness in speculative thought and corresponding self-distancing from tradition" (101-102)

I thank

Nathan Sivin for bringing Lloyd to my attention 10

Cooper, T h e R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , 7 "So let rhetoric be defined as the faculty [power] of

discovering in the particular case what are the available means of persuasion This is the func-

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

·

11

gance and plausibility. For persuasion can be turned into an art only when truth is no longer self-evident, when "truth" may be approached and opin­ ions formed through disputation or due consideration of different possibil­ ities. The war between philosophy and rhetoric is waged on many fronts. The polarity is expressed, among other things, as the central, essential self versus the social, context-determined self; the serious, purposive life versus the playful, role-enacting life. Are we to infer that similar opportunities for effective political eloquence led to the ascendancy of rhetoric in China? Or that a comparable polarization of the serious and the rhetorical applies m the Chinese tradition? What is being elucidated when we bring m the term "rhetoric" with all its associations? Perhaps the nature of f u and the import of introducing the idea of rhetoric may best be understood through critical judgments on the genre. From Yang Hsiung (53 B.C.-A.D . 18) to the critics of this century, there is a deep suspicion of the dense and elaborate verbal surface of fu. The standard den­ igration of fu is centered around two partially overlapping issues: stylistic excess and dissimulation, that is, a content incommensurate with the re­ splendent verbal resources being marshaled, and a discrepancy between the avowed moral purpose and the insidious pandering to the pleasure of the reader-listener. In other words, fu is reproached for deviating from the "truth of feelings," for flouting the wonted lyrical ideal of sincerity and transparency (in the sense of the presumed continuity running through in­ tention, expression, and affective impact). The pertinent conceptual pairs in the Chinese tradition are then the lyri­ cal versus the rhetorical (which represent the poet-centered and audienceoriented poles of expression respectively) and political idealism versus the rule of self-interest and expediency. Critical discussions of fu are premised on these conceptual pairs, and ultimately devolve on the question of the genesis of the genre. The origin of fu has been traced to the Ch'u tz'u tra­ dition; the historical-political writings about the School of Itinerant Politi­ cian-Diplomats (Tsung-heng Chia, ca. 4th-3d cent, B.C .); 11 and certain other philosophical schools from the same period, including the Sophists (or School of Names [Ming Chia]), 12 the Taoists, and the speculative thinkers tion of no other art [save dialectics] " The Aristotelean dictum is therefore part of an attempt to establish rhetoric as the legitimate counterpart to dialectics 11 Tsung-heng Chia has been translated as "School of Politicians" (Wilhelm, "The Scholars' Frustration," 310-19, 398-^03; Knechtges, The Han Rhapsody, 21), and "persuaders" (Crump, Intrigues, 90-93). 12 Though the term "Sophists" is commonly used in writings in English on the Mmg Chia, the extent to which the analogy with the Greek Sophists may be pursued is still open to ques­ tion Moreover, the category of the Sophist in ancient Greece has also been questioned by classical scholars. Lloyd points out that "there were important overlaps not only between Sophists and natural philosophers, but also and more especially between Sophists and medical writers or lecturers" (The Revolutions of Wisdom, 92-93).

12

·

Chapter One

who gathered in the Chi-hsia Academy in Ch'i. To determine the direction of derivation is to adjudicate the place of fu in the axis polarizing the lyrical and the rhetorical. In C o m p r e h e n s i v e Principles of Literature and History (Wen-shih t'ungi), Chang Hsiieh-ch'eng (1738-1801) suggests that the politician-diplomats' techniques of persuasion exerted a decisive influence on the emergence of fu. 13 Insofar as the politician-diplomats were most concerned with influenc­ ing the decision of the ruler (be it by flattery or by an astute appraisal of the political expediencies of a situation), to press the connection between them and the fu writer is to emphasize how both are audience-oriented, and, moreover, oriented toward comparable audiences (i.e., figures wielding po­ litical power). There is also the implicit suggestion that both fu and the speeches of the politician-diplomats belong to a rhetorical tradition that prizes expediency above truth and sincerity. Conversely, the connection be­ tween the politician-diplomats and the fu writer is suppressed when the critic wants to highlight the essentially lyrical nature of the best specimens of the genre. Hsu Fu-kuan, for example, maintains that there is little con­ nection between the itinerant politician-diplomats and the rise of fu; he emphasizes instead the formative significance of the lyricism and political idealism of the Ch'u tz'u for Han fu. This is part of Hsii's attempt to "re­ habilitate" fu, which is often dismissed in twentieth-century textbook ac­ counts of literary history as a kind of overly ornate and artificial court lit­ erature. According to Hsii, the view of fu as predominantly public and epideictic was perpetuated by Hsiao T'ung (501-531). In Hsiao T'ung's fa­ m o u s a n t h o l o g y , t h e W e n hsiian (Selections of literature), t h e section o n fu begins with panegyrical works on the capitals and concludes with works about "sentiments" (ch'ing). The scale of importance going down from public to private dimensions of experience, from externalized reality to the vagaries of inner life, is therefore evident. 14 Against the interpretation of Han fu as public and rhetorical, Hsii argues that the genre is the true heir to the legacy of the Ch'u tz'u tradition and is therefore essentially lyrical. The question of derivation is rendered more complex by the fact that the various developments suggested earlier as the possible sources of Han fu are inextricably intertwined. Taoism is as much a product of Ch'u culture as is n See Chang Hsueh-ch'eng, W e n - s h i h t'ung-ι chiao-chu, 1 80. However, in Chmo-ch'ou t'ung-ι, appended as the last section in this edition, Chang takes a different position and traces the genealogy of fu to various schools of ancient learning (2 1064—65). Similar arguments on the relationship between fu and the Tsung-heng Chia are put forward by Chang I'ing-lin (1868—1936) in Kuo-ku lun-heng, 123-34; Liu Shih-p'ei (1884—1919), Lun-wen tsa-chi, 69— 70, Waley, The Temple and Other Poems, 18, Wiihelm, "The Scholars' Frustration," 310-19, 398-403, and Knechtges, The Han Rhapsody, 5-6, 21-28 14 Hsu Fu-kuan, "Hsi-Han wen-hsueh lun-lueh," m C h u n g - k u o w e n - h s u e h lun-chi, 350-

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

•

13

the Ch'u tz'u. In his important study Later Mohist Logic, Ethics, and Sci­ ence, A. C. Graham gives a lucid account of how the Sophists, the late Mohists, and the Taoists share a common technical philosophical vocabulary and similar strategies of dialogic reasoning. 15 Any simple "either-or" choice along the lines of the conventional dichotomy of the lyrical and the rhetor­ ical would also fail to do justice to the complexity of the situation. For all its lyricism, the Ch'n tz'u is indebted to the rhetorical tradition. The lyrical voice in "Encountering Sorrow," for instance, expresses itself through a structure of rhetorical argument. The famous critic Liu Hsieh (fl. late 5thearly 6th cent.) suggests as much in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons (Wen-hsin tiao-lung): "Thus does one know that the dazzling brilliance of the sublime thoughts [of the Ch'u tz'u] comes from the daring extravagance of the itinerant politician-diplomats." 16 Liu Hsieh is also illuminating in drawing the analogy between the role of rhetoric in the literature and in the philosophy of the late Warring States period (403-222 B.C.). "Only in the kingdoms of Ch'i and Ch'u did litera­ ture thrive. [In Ch'i] Tsou Yen was widely acclaimed for his 'discourse on heaven,' and Tsou Shih was renowned for 'the carving of dragons'; [in Ch'u] the fine phrases of Ch'ii Yiian rival the sun and the moon, and those of Sung Yii rank with the glory of wind and clouds." 1 7 Here literature (wenhsiieh) is understood in the broad sense of that which is finely expressed through language. Liu Hsieh's statement therefore includes philosophers such as Mencius (ca. 371-289 B.C.), Hsiin Tzu (ca. 298-238 B.C.), and the members of the Chi-hsia Academy in Ch'i. Ch'i and Ch'u were culturally the most important areas in the late Warring States period. Drawing an implicit analogy between the speculative cosmography of Tsou Yen and the supernatural journeys portrayed in the Ch'u tz'u, Liu Hsieh shows that both philosophical and literary writings, in Ch'i and Ch'u (i.e., north and 15 Graham, Later Mohist Logtc Ethics, and Science, esp. 15-21, 61-72. Cf. Graham, Disl puters of the Tao l esp. 75-95,167-70, 176-85, 199-202 16 Liu Hsieh, Wen-Zisin tiao-lung, chap 45, "Changes in Literary History" (Shih-hsii), 2:672. 17 Ibid., 672. Sung Yu is a nebulous figure whose existence, date, and works are widely debated. He is supposed to have been active in the court of Ch'u in the third century B.C. In the Shih chi (Records of the historian), the lofty intent and aspirations of Ch'u Yiian are said to "rival the sun and moon in brightness" (Ssu-ma Ch'ien [145—ca 90 B c ]), Shih chi, c.84.2482, According to Pan Ku (32-92 B c ), the passage that includes this line is taken from Liu An's (d 122 B c.), "Introduction to 'Encountering Sorrow' " (CT, c 1.20) Actually, Liu An might have been inspired by the same metaphor in works attributed to Ch'u Yuan. The line "In Brightness he [I] equals sun and moon" appears in both "Loid in the Clouds" ("Yunchung Chun," CT, c 2.24) from "The Nine Songs" and "Crossing the River" ("She-chiang," CT 1 c 4 52) from "The Nine Works" (Chiu-chang) The phrase "wind and clouds" refers to "Fu on the Wind" ("Feng fu," CSKSTW, c 10 la—16) and the goddess Morning Cloud in "Fu on Kao-t'ang" ("Kao-t'ang fu," CSKSTW, c 10 3a-5b) both attributed to Sung Yu.

14 · Chapter One south) respectively, display similar energy in expanding the realms of the imagination. To arrive at a more balanced view of the spirit of Han f u , we have to relate it to the dramatic sense of language as play and performance, and as a real factor in changing a political situation. Such attitudes toward language were articulated in many literary, historical, and philosophical writings of the preceding era. It is in this sense that one may speak of a "rhetorical tradi­ tion," that is, a tradition of deliberations on, and self-conscious realizations of, the powers and dangers of language. (The narrower definition of the term, preferred by Hellmut Wilhelm and David Knechtges, refers to the recorded speeches of the School of Itinerant Politician-Dipolomats.) In what follows I will explain how fu develops this rhetorical tradition and takes it in the direction of the fictional imagination and the feminine principle. First of all, a brief account of this "rhetorical tradition" is in order. Taking my cue from Liu Hsieh, I submit that the first flowering of rhetoric 18 took place around the fourth century B.C., in Ch'i and Ch'u. I realize that such a statement may seem too bald. Most accounts of the rhetorical tradition in China piously point to the earliest sections in The Book of Documents (Shu ching) as constituting its beginning. 19 But the speeches ascribed to the an­ cient kings are proclamatory in tone; they may directly address an audience, but they are supposed to contain self-evident truths and therefore do not reflect a need to persuade. The age of Confucius and Mo Tzu (5th and 6th cent, B . C .) may also sug­ gest itself as a landmark in the rise of rhetoric. The "craft of speech" (yenyii) is one of the four subjects in the Confucian curriculum, and Confucius places great emphasis on wen (the sense of culture associated with rites, music, civilized institutions, learning, writing, and language). Confucius is also concerned about the rectification of names (cheng-ming), for the moral-political order is sustained by the proper correspondence of things and names. He thus condemns "clever and deceptive language" (ch'iaoyen), a perversion of the proper function of language to embody the true and normative order of things. Mo Tzu, in defining the ideal of a purely 18

The Chinese equivalent of the idea of rhetoric can be t z ' u , w e n , y e n , or s h u o , depending

on context. Shuo is often linked to the act of persuading the ruler to adopt a course of action The dangers and difficulties of such an enterprise are eloquently set forth by Han Fei Tzu (d 233 B.C.) in the chapter "The Difficulties of Persuasion" (Shuo-nan), Han Tei Tzu chi-chieh, c.4.57-63 According to Hsu Shen (fl A D 1st cent ), the word tz'u is linked to litigation. "The character means litigation It combines the graphs and ψ, which mean a bridge of equity The graph means equity" (Shuo-wen chieh-tzu, c 14B 5b) While the tradition of judicial oratory has never existed m China, the idea of litigation lends associations with dis­ putation and conflicting opinions to the etymological history of the word Cf Chou Fa-kao ( Chin-wen ku-hn, 15.8143-4:5 19 Cf Knechtges, T h e H a n R h a p s o d y , 21, Karl 5 Y Kao, "Rhetoric," in Nienhauser, I n d i ­ ana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, 121

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

· 15

functional, transparent language in his rugged, terse style, also deals with the problem of reference in language. But in the age of Confucius and Mo Tzu the splendor and danger of rhetoric had not yet surfaced as the most u r g e n t problem. W e have o n l y t o compare t h e Confucian Analects ( L u n yii) with the writings of Mencius and Hsiin-tzu, or early Mohist with late Mohist writings, to see how the focus on problems of language and reference had become much more insistent by the late Warring States period. The great age of rhetoric began around the fourth century B.C., when political disorder enlarged the scope given to free expression. This was the age when "the tradition of the Way was about to be fragmented under heaven," 20 when "sage kings ceased to rise, feudal lords gave rein to their desires, [and] scholars without positions gloried in their willful argu­ ments." 21 The sense of word-magic—of turning a rich, artful, and supple language into a response to the disorder of the times—was common to all the thinker-rhetoricians of the period. This is perhaps especially true in the case of the Taoists, Sophists, and School of Itinerant Politician-Diplomats. Intellectual historians (e.g., Benjamin Schwartz and Chad Hansen) speak of a "language crisis" of the fourth and third centuries B.C. represented by such Sophists as Hui Shih and Kung-sun Lung. The language question de­ fines a shared perspective or a common denominator for considering dispa­ rate elements. For example, in the case of the Taoists and the itinerant pol­ iticians, the concern for an inexpressible, ultimate Tao and the absence of any concern beyond immediate political expediency, otherwise so different, converged in turning language from being a mere anchor for a fixed moral or metaphysical system into action itself. "The times are out of joint; please allow me to set forth the poem of extreme urgency (kuei-shih)." 22 The conception of language as action ca­ pable of confronting disorder is realized in fu in various ways, including a dialogic, argumentative structure and moments of equivocation (for lan­ guage to impose order on confusion it must itself be malleable and even paradoxical). In this connection it is interesting to note that some of the earliest examples of fu—"Fu on Rites" (Li fu), "Fu on Knowledge" (Chih fu), "Fu on Clouds" (Yiin fu), "Fu on Silkworms" (Ts'an fu), "Fu on the Needle" (Chen fu) by Hsun Tzu (CSKSTW, c.9.9a-10b)—should take the form of the solution to a riddle. The first half of these fu is the question, the description of the moral-philosophical meaning of the object or concept; the solution takes up the second half, and elaborates a series of metaphors 20

This is from the famous description in the last chapter of C h u a n g T z u of the intellectual

scene of the times (Chuang Tzu, Chuang Tzu chi-shih, 4 1069) 2 1 Meng Tzu, M e n c i u s [Meng Tzu], 3B 9 22

Hsiin Tzu, chap 26, "Fu pien" (On f u ) , m H s u n T z u c h i - c h i e h , c 18 16b The word k u e i

in kuei-shih can also mean "strange," "extravagant," or "deviant." The poem describes and criticizes a topsy-turvy world in which all values are reversed

16

·

Chapter One

before providing the answer. This model of solution to a riddle and response to an enigmatic or extravagant statement reappears in many later fu, and is sometimes used as a ploy in indirect criticism of the ruler. The self-conscious manipulation of the resources of rhetoric is also man­ ifest among the speculative thinkers who gathered in the Chi-hsia Academy in Ch'i. While the thought of the Chi-hsia thinkers is diverse and hard to define clearly, there does seem to be a definite link with Huang-Iao Taoism and with the beginnings of a correlative cosmology. 23 "[Tsou] Yen discours­ ing on heaven, [Tsou] Shih carving dragons": perhaps no image is more evocative of the power of rhetoric than that of the extravagantly expansive Tsou Yen (ca. 305-240 B.C .) inventing worlds (both spatial and temporal), which were further elaborated by the intricate verbal skills of Tsou Shih. 2 4 (Tsou Yen was active in the Chi-hsia Academy after Mencius; Tsou Shih was a generation younger than Tsou Yen.) The cosmographic imagination of Tsou Yen, the "transcendental wander­ ings" in the Chuang Tzu, and the journeys into other worlds in the Ch'u tz'u all bear on the development of fu, for the concern of fu is also the evocation of strange new worlds through words. The length and magnitude of scope of the typical Han fu expresses a grand inclusiveness. In the words attributed to Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju: "The mind of the fu writer encompasses the universe, and brings within view all [kinds of] things and people." 25 It has often been said of Han fu that it embodies the aspirations of empire in its expansive conception of the universe and of the ordering function of the 23

Chi is the name of a city gate in the kingdom of Ch'i The use of the word "academy" is

in part merely conventional, since it is not clear from extant sources whether the degree of organization and the extent of royal patronage warrant the use of such a word. Cf

Chang

Ping-nan ed., Chi-hsia kou-ch'en, esp 1-16 Ssu-ma Ch'ien refers to the group that gathered at Chi-hsia as "erudite scholars skilled in letters and the art of persuasion" (wen-hsueh yushui chih shih), "instead of participating in government, they engaged in discussion and dis­ putation" (pu-chih erh ι-lun) (Shih-chi, c 46 1895) Both Ssu-ma Ch'ien and Pan Ku apply the term "Huang-Lao Taoism" to personalities (all ca 3d and 4th cent. B.C.) associated with the Chi-hsia Academy Ssu-ma Ch'ien in the cases of Sung Hsing, T'len P'len, and Shen Tao, Pan Ku in regard to Sung Hsing and Yin Wen-tzu. Cf Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China, esp. 237-54, Kuo Mo-jo, "Chi-hsia Huang-Lao hsueh-p'ai ti p'l-p'an" (A critique of the Chi-hsia and the Huang-Lao Taoist schools of thought), in his Shih p'l-p'an shu (Ten critiques), 152-84. 24

Ssu-ma Ch'ien, S h i h c h i , c.74.2343—50 The detailed accounts of Tsou Yen, Tsou Shih,

and other Chi-hsia thinkers espousing Huang-Iao Taoism testify to their importance and influ­ ence during the early Han 25 "Ta Sheng Ch'in wen tso-fu shu" (In answer to Sheng Ch'in's question on f u writing), CHW, c 22.4b The attribution is dubious, because this piece appears in Ko Hung's (234—305) Hsi-ching tsa-chi (Miscellaneous notes on the western capital), which includes anecdotes of doubtful authenticity Such an assertion on the encyclopedic scope of literature is perhaps more typical of the Six Dynasties period, e g , "Fu on Literature" ("Wen fu," CCW, c 97 la—3b) by Lu Chi (261-303): "To enclose heaven and earth within its forms, / And bring the myriad things under the tip of the brush "

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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17

human mind in relation to it. For want of a better term I would like to designate this quality "worldness," the sense of a world unfolding and ex­ perienced as a totality. Paradoxically, this quality of "worldness" may be linked to impulses to both order and the magical transcendence of order. While the tendencies of Han thought to encompass and systematize reality are very much present m Han fu, through the heritage of the Ch'u tz'u the creation of alternate worlds is infused with a yearning for infinitude and the fluidity of boundaries. 26 Or perhaps order and magical expansiveness are not, after all, mutually exclusive. We recall that Tsou Yen, whose ideas on a correlative cosmographic-political order found an eager audience in his times as well as in early Han, also speculated that in the world China constitutes only one part o u t of e i g h t y - o n e . T h e s h e e r m a g n i t u d e of t h e w o r l d e v o k e d i n H a n fu— elaborately framed, rich in details, with whimsical shifts in scales and pro­ portions, suggestive of order as well as a magical defiance of limits—turns reading into the experience of a sustained and carefully manipulated illu­ sion. Herein lies the affinity between fu rhetoric and the idea of fictionality.

Fu

RHETORIC AND THE FEMININE PRINCIPLE

In addition to a common rhetorical self-consciousness, the various genres that contributed to the emergence of fu all were m one way or another concerned with the public realm and political action. This is perhaps espe­ cially true of the itinerant politician-diplomats and Tsou Yen, to whom the rulers of the Warring States lent willing ears. Political eloquence flourished with the self-consciousness of power. However, with the widening gap be­ tween ruler and ruled, there was a concomitant change in the nature of rhetoric which is sometimes couched in gendered terms: the manly vigor of rhetoric was said to become feminine deviousness. The consolidation of the Han empire meant that the erstwhile itinerant persuader 27 was deprived of a choice of masters and therefore was more limited in freedom of speech and movement. However, even with the uni­ fication of the country under the Ch'in (221-206 B.C .) and the Han, at first the itinerant persuader retained his manner of pointed, vigorous argumen26

Cf Bauer, C h n a u n d d i e H o f f n u n g a u f C l u c k , 135-61 Bauer explains the expansion of

the imaginary as a response to the constriction of space available to the individual, for with the unification and expansion of the Han empire, the space beyond civilization was perceived as receding and diminishing 2 " I want to make a distinction between itinerant persuaders (y u - s h i h or y u - s h u i c h i h s h i h ) and the School of Itinerant Politician-Diplomats The former encompasses the latter, it is of more general application and includes most thinkers of the period who traveled from one princely court to another, eager to see their ideas adopted The word yu suggests the socially uprooted and mobile, after the creation of a unified empire, it suggests potential subversion Cf. Yu Ying-shih, Shth yu Chung-kuo iven-hua, esp 69-83

18

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Chapter One

tation, as evidenced in such early Han writings as Lu Chia's (fl. early 3d cent, B.C .) "New Words" (Hsin yii) or Chia I's (200-168 B.C .) "Discourse on the Faults of Ch'in" (Kuo-Ch'in lun). This is partly explained by the structure of political power during the early Han, when the princely courts still preserved a certain degree of autonomy. But gradually, let us say by the time of Liang Hsiao-wang (d.147 B.C .) and Emperor Wu (r.140-87 B . C . ) , t h e n e w f i g u r e of t h e c o u r t p o e t (yen-yu shih-ts'ung chih ch'en) 2 8 acquired prominence and sometimes merged with the more familiar figure of the itinerant persuader. For example, Tsou Yang (fl. mid 2d cent. B.C.), a poet in the court of Liang, is classed by the historian Pan Ku as belonging to the School of Politician-Diplomats. 29 The difference between the court poet and the itinerant persuader is usu­ ally defined along the axis of ornamentation and persuasion in their respec­ tive attitudes toward rhetoric. In other words, while the persuader may still hope to sway the ruler, the court poet indulges in useless ornamentation in the name of persuasion. Thus Yang Hsiung criticizes Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju for his "beautiful words of scant usefulness" ( wen-li yung-kua). The trade of the court poet is "indirect remonstrance" {feng-chien ), "criticism with a twist" ( chiieh-chien ), or "oblique suggestion" (feng-yu). The much more extreme imbalance of power between the ruler and the ruled no longer ad­ mits of the "half-concealed but barbed criticism" (feng-tz'u ) or the more forceful and direct manner of the itinerant persuader. 30 The principle of "indirect remonstrance" implies that the moral message is rendered acceptable through an ornamental surface. However, there is an inherent tension between ornamentation and persuasion. Northrop Frye explains this as the tension between the aesthetic and pragmatic functions of literature: "The desire to ornament is essentially disinterested, and the desire to persuade essentially the reverse. . . . Ornamental rhetoric acts on its hearers statically, leading them to admire its own beauty or wit; persua­ sive rhetoric tries to lead them kinetically toward a course of action. One articulates emotion, the other manipulates it." 31 However, the most com­ mon reproach against the fu writer is not merely that the presumed moral message disappears beneath the weight of excessive ornamentation, but that 28

The phrase is used by Pan Ku in the preface to " F u on the Two Capitals" ("Liang-tu fu,"

C H H W , c.24.1b). 29

Pan Ku, H a n s h u , c.51 2338-58

30

Ssu-ma Ch'ien writes that "none dared offered direct, forceful criticism [in their f u ] " after

Ch'u Yuan's death (Shih-chi, c 84 2491) Me was referring to T'ang Le, Ching Ch'a, and Sung Yu, all three poets were supposedly active in the court of Ch'u around third century B c 31

A n a t o m y o f C r i t i c i s m , 245 The distinction is adopted by David Knechtges and Karl S Y

Kao (in Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese LiteratureJ in their re­ spective discussions of Chinese rhetoric

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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19

the motive behind ornamentation is not really rooted m a disinterested aes­ thetic consciousness. With imperial pleasure in mind, the fu writer uses an elaborate aesthetic surface to create and manipulate illusions. This rhetoric directed toward pleasure comes to be associated with sen­ suality and unrestraint, and is sometimes represented as an excessively adorned woman. 3 2 1 have in mind Yang Hsiung's oft-quoted criticism of the fu: "The fu of the song writers are beautiful yet decorous; the fu of the court poets are beautiful but excessive and unrestrained." 3 3 "Or put it this way: a woman has beauty, does writing have beauty also? The answer is yes. The worst thing for a woman is to have her inner beauty beclouded by cosmetics; the worst thing for a piece of writing is to have its rules and proportions confounded by excessive rhetoric." 3 4 In resorting to pleasure and in his general subservience, the court poet assumes a feminine role. To represent the ruler-subject relationship in gen­ dered terms (e.g., the emperor as the absent lover, the poet-minister as the abandoned woman) came to be a standard practice in Chinese literature. This convention arguably starts with "Encountering Sorrow," but of course many love songs in The Book of Songs are retroactively explained in like manner. In this so-called "beauties and fragrant plants" [mei-jen hsiangts'ao) tradition, love poetry is sometimes intended, and more often inter­ preted, as political allegory. Usually the poet adopts a female persona long­ ing for her lover, and represents the patron or emperor as the giver of love and life. Sometimes the situation is reversed, as in the second half of "En­ countering Sorrow," when the poet's quest for the goddess symbohzes his political idealism. But the analogy of gender applies to the rhetoric of fu in a specific way. Here feminine self-adornment unfolds through the interplay of seduction and instruction, which renders it morally much more ambig­ uous. Most traditional critics decry this seductiveness as morally reprehen­ sible. While the feminine element serves a moral purpose in the "beauties and fragrant plants" tradition, in fu it is identified with the "way of con­ cubines" (ch'ieh-fu chih tao), the use of devious ploys of self-abnegation to Cf. Richard Lariham's discussion i n T h e M o t i v e s o f E l o q u e n c e (29) of t h e " h a r l o t rheto­ ric." 33

Yang Hsiung, Y a n g T z u f a - y e n , c 2 l b " T h e song w r i t e r s " refer to t h e authors included

m t h e earliest anthology of Chinese poetry, The Book of Songs (Shih ching) There is a similar concern with decorum in Western discussions of rhetoric Tzvetan Todorov quotes Cicero and Albert Yon t o prove his point that " t h e key notion of rhetoric is therefore t h e notion of s u i t ­ ability, appropriateness [prepon, decorum) eloquence

Suitability is t h e basis of efficacity, t h u s of

Speech is above all tunctional, to be functional is to be fitting Such was r h e t ­

oric before its crisis " T h e " c r i s i s " refers to t h e m o m e n t when ornamentation and "literari­ ness" overtook the "appropriate" function of effective persuasion (Theories of the Symbol,

62) 34

Yang Hsiung, Y a n g T z u f a - y e n , c 2 2a

20

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Chapter One

please, flatter, and seek favor. The court poet thereby assumes the role of jester and entertainer (ρ'αι-yu).15 The idea of pleasure is often identified with the representation of woman in the text. In Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju's "Fu on Shang-hn Park" ("Shang-lin fu," CHW, c.21.1a-6b), for instance, the celebration of imperial grandeur and power reaches an apotheosis in the spectacle of the dance of a group of semidivme maidens, comparable in beauty to the goddesses Ch'ing-ch'in and Fufei. But just when pleasure is at its height, the emperor represented m the fu comes to a sudden realization of his duty: Shiny white teeth Glow through lovely smiles, Eyebrows arch gracefully Over eyes casting tender glances. The soul surrenders itself to beauty so inviting, To its side the heart joyfully hastens And thus, when wine and music are at their most intoxicating, the Son of Heaven becomes bemused and thoughtful, as if overcome by a sense of loss He cries, "Alas 1 This is gross extravagance 1 Lest the leisure from government be spent m idleness, I have followed the way of heaven through hunting and killing, 1 6 time and again I rest in this park But 1 fear those who come after me will indulge in wasteful extravagance, become lost in the pursuit of pleasure, and fail to return This is not the way to continue the imperial legacy, to establish and pass on the way of government for one's progeny 1 "

The vision of the semidivine maidens thus represents the apotheosis of plea­ sure as well as the prelude to compunctions of conscience. The emperor hovers at a threshold. On the point of being engulfed completely in a world of fantasy and pleasure, he yet returns to the world of political order. In doing so he participates m the literary tradition that opts for this world 35

Poets themselves sometimes felt this indignity most keenly

Mei Kao (fi 2d cent B c )

"also said that fu writing is like a melange of trickery and jesting, that fu writers are entertain­ ers, and that he regretted having been classed with entertainers" (Pan Ku, Han shu, c 51 2367) But to be classed with jesters and entertainers seems to have been a fairly common plight among scholars or poets in the newly founded empire In his letter to Jen An, Ssu-ma Ch'ien (ca 145—90 Β C ) writes "Those dealing in literature, history and astronomy are almost diviners It is fitting that they should be treated with scant respect by the emperor, kept as jesters and entertainers, and slighted by people" ("Letter to Jen An" [Pao Jen Shao-ch'ing shuj, CHW, c 26 5a—9a) The examples from "The Collected Biographies of Jesters" (Ku-chi lieh-chuan) in the Shih chi show how the position of the jester allowed relative freedom in the criticism of those in power (Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Shih chi, c 126 3197-3214) Cf Shih yu Chung-kuo wen-hua, 113-28

Yu Ying-shih,

3 6 Autumn is thought to embody the spirit of destruction and is thus the proper season for hunting For a complete translation of "Fu on Shang-lin Park," see Burton Watson, Chinese

Rhyme-Prose

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

·

21

when confronted with a choice between this-worldly order and other worldly transcendence. We recall that in The Biography of King Mu (Mu T'ien-tzu chuan, ca. 4th-2d cent. B.C.), King Mu of Chou makes a similar decision to turn back when he meets the Queen Mother of the West. 37 The last lines of "Encountering Sorrow" also come to mind: I had ascended the splendors of heaven— Suddenly from on high I caught sight of my old home. My groom grieved, and my horses, filled with longing, Arched their heads, looked back, and refused to go on.

(cr, c.i.18) However, while the moment of turning back in "Encountering Sorrow" marks anguished choice, the analogous moment in "Fu on Shang-Iin Park" seems an attempt to have it both ways, to legitimize pleasure even while apparently disparaging it. 18 The emperor now understands the pleasures of 37

T h e B i o g r a p h y o f K i n g M u is said to have been discovered m the tomb of a king of Wei in

A D 281 Cf Lieh Tzu, chapter 3, "King Mu of Chou" (Chou Mu Wang)

King Mu of Chou

was hosted by the Queen Mother of the West on K'un-Iun Mountain. They feasted at the Jade Pool, versified and sang for each other. Then the king had a change of heart: "Alas' Instead of perfecting my virtue, I have developed fine discriminations in music and pleasure. Posterity surely will judge me for my lapses f / / (Lieh Tzu, Lieh-tzu chi-shih, 60-61) The king's pro­ nouncement, placed at the end of this account, has the weight of a final statement of disillu­ sionment with the whole journey to the west

In The Biography of King Mu, the encounter

with the Queen Mother of the West and the expression of regret appear earlier (c.3) and are relatively inconspicuous. See Mu T'ien-tzu chuan,c 3 la-lb. On the connection between Lieh Tzu and The Biography of King Mur see A. C Graham, "The Date and Composition of Lieh Tzu," in Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature, 242-45 38

The motif of turning back has a counterpart in the final image of Taoist void in "Far-Off

Wandering" and "Fu on the Great Man," which represents a similar equivocation. (The four lines quoted from "Encountering Sorrow" also appear in "Far-Off Wandering," but the poet does not turn back, he overcomes his nostalgia and continues the journey ) Both poems end with the image of Taoist void· "No earth in the distant depths below, / No sky in the limitless expanse above " And yet both poems, especially "Fu on the Great Man," abound with images of fantastic splendor and magical power. Desire is gratified and transcended at the same time Small wonder then, that Emperor Wu, upon reading the "Fu on the Great Man," was report­ edly "greatly delighted, as if floating away on clouds and wandering between heaven and earth" (Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Shih chi, c.ll7 3063). The representation in "Fu on the Great Man" of the Queen Mother of the West as a weathered old woman tired of her immortality may seem designed to warn the emperor of the futility of the quest for immortality. "To live for­ ever in this state and not die, / Even were it to last for ten thousand ages, is no cause for joy " Actually, by showing disdain for the Queen Mother of the West, the poet may be elevating the epiphany of person in "Fu on the Great Man" to new heights The immortality cult of the time describes emaciated ascetics living in the mountains Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju contrasts such pathetic strivings with the immortality of the Great Man, who consorts with the Jade Maiden, the countenmage of the Queen Mother of the West, as it were, and enjoys immense power in the Taoist paradise The claim to rise above pleasure m the name of morality or philosophy thus defines one perspective that contributes to the sense of totality.

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Chapter One

hunting allegorically, as he moves in a space defined by Confucian virtues and canonical works: He roams in the Enclosure of the Six Arts, Races his steeds on the Paths of Humanity and Righteousness, Feasts his eyes on the Forest of T h e S p r i n g a n d A u t u m n A n n a l s

He adorns himself m the Garden of R i t e s , Speeds through the Fields of D o c u m e n t s .

"In this manner, hunting is indeed commendable and a great joy." Sensual pleasures thus prepare the emperor for the pleasures of moral and spiritual Self -Cultivation. 5 '' The sudden twist in " F u on Shang-Iin Park" is no doubt in line with the principle of "indirect remonstrance," 40 but since there is no explanation as to why the sight of the maidens should first fill the emperor with ecstasy and then inspire him to moral self-examination, the argument is none too convincing. Small wonder, then, that Yang Hsiung, much more aware of the moral ambiguities of the rhetoric of fu, should treat goddesses with extreme severity. 41 To quote from "Fu on Sweet Springs" ("Kan-ch'iian fu," CHW, c.51.3b-6a): Thinking of the Queen Mother of the West, he gladly wishes her long life, He banishes the Jade Maiden, rejects Fu-fei. The Jade Maiden loses the admirers of her clear gaze, Fu-fei can no longer bewitch with her moth eyebrows. Embracing the subtlety and strength of the Way and its power, He abides by divine illumination and seeks its counsel 39

A distinction is hereby established between pleasure and the attitude toward pleasure In

"Fu on Mr. Not-Real" ("Tzu-hsu fu," CHW, c 21 la—3a)—of which "Fu on Shang-Iin Park" represents the second part according to the Shih chi and the Han shu and a separate sequel according to the IVen hsuan—the king of Ch'u enjoys the most extravagant pleasures "in the calmness of nonaction, / dispassionately, with self-restraint " 40

Cf

the comment of the Ch'ing scholar Ho Cho (1661-1722) "The emperor is made to

realize his faults by himself, hence the term 'indirect remonstranstrance '

. The bitter words

and the most earnest criticism appear after the Son of Heaven comes to repent of his error, that is why it can be said that 'the person who speaks up has not incurred blame' " (I-men tushu chi, c 1.11a). The issue of enclosing arable land for the construction of royal pleasure parks was a most urgent one at the time. By the end of the poem the emperor comes to realize that this is wrong 41

In Chang Heng's (78-139) " F u on Thoughts on Deep Mysteries" ("Ssu-hsuan fu,"

CHHW c.52.lb—6a), which in many ways imitates "Encountering Sorrow," the poet is also uncivil to Fu-fei and the Jade Maiden After being rejected by the poet, the goddesses express their longing for him m a song, but the poet is unmoved "I was about to reply but had no time to spare " The goddesses are considered irrelevant to the poet's quest for moral and philo­ sophical transcendence.

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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23

It is only with this proper display of disdain that the emperor gains a higher wisdom. Yang Hsiung is even more severe in "Fu on the Barricade Hunt" ("Yu-lieh fu," CHW 1 c.51.9a): "They flog Fu-fei of the River Lo, / Make offerings of food to Ch'ii Yuan, P'eng, and Hsii." 42 In the quest for Fu-fei in "Encountering Sorrow," the poet Ch'ii Yiian offers his girdle as a pledge of good faith, sends Feng-lung (the god of thunder) to ride the clouds and look for the goddess, and orders Chien-hsiu the go-between (hsiu means beauty, and chien is variously glossed as "lame" [Hawkes], "ineloquent" [Wen I-to], and "sincere" [Tai Chen]) to plead his suit. Fu-fei turns out to be fickle and faithless: "Though fair indeed, she lacks all sense of right con­ duct" (CT, c.1.12). As such she is the diametrical opposite of such examples of political rectitude as Ch'ii Yiian, Peng Hsien (according to the Han exegete Wang I, he was a Shang minister who drowned himself when his loyal counsel was unheeded), and Wu Tzu-hsii. Fu-fei is therefore punished for eluding the questing poet, for symbolically frustrating the fulfillment of his political ideals. Perhaps she is also flogged because she represents the power of fu rhetoric to delight and seduce in the name of moral instruction, as Yang Hsiung becomes increasingly skeptical about the efficacy of "indirect remonstrance." As is well known, Yang Hsiung later repented of his early fu w r i t i n g a n d c o m p a r e d i t t o t h e " c a r v i n g of insect s c r i p t " ( tiao-ch'ung), proper employment only for callow youths. On whether fu can "subtly criticize," he writes: "Criticize! If criticism is accomplished, all is well. But if not, I fear what is criticized would end up being encouraged." 43 THE TOPOS OF THE AMBIGUOUS DIVINE WOMAN

In what follows I concentrate on the topos of the ambivalent divme (or at least divinely beautiful) temptress-instructress, and the related topos of rel­ ishing and resisting seduction. All that I have said about the ambiguities and contradictions in the idea of "indirect remonstrance" by means of a 42

Complete translations of " ¥ u on Sweet Springs" and " F u on the Barricade Hunt" are

included in Knechtges, The Han Rhapsody. According to Yang Hsiung's autobiography in­ cluded in Pan Ku's account of his life, the reference to the rejected goddesses is a pointed criticism of Emperor Ch'eng's favor toward Radiant Consort Chao (Chao Chao-i). "At that time, Radiant Consort Chao was at the height of favor with the emperor. Whenever the em­ peror went to the Sweet Springs, she followed him among the 'panther tails' of the entou­ rage

. . When I wrote, 'He rejects the Jade Maiden and expels Fu-fei,' I was subtly warning

the emperor to be properly solemn and reverent in conducting sacrifices and rituals" (Pan Ku, Han shu, c 87A 3535—36) Cf. Hsu Fu-kuan, Liang Han ssu-hsiang shih, 2 460—75 As Wen I-to points out, the rite of offering food to the river, which later came to be called the Double Fifth (Dragon Boat) Festival, was much older than Ch'ii Yuan The cult of Wu Tzuhsu (a loyal minister who committed suicide and whose remains were cast into the river by the order of Fu-ch'a, the king of Wu) was probably associated with the rite long before Ch'ii Yuan was (Wen l-to ch'uan-chi, 221-38) 43

Y a n g T z u f a - y e n , c.2 la

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Chapter One

word magic invoking a pleasurable illusion is concentrated in her person. She threatens other boundaries as well, for the distinction between lyrical and rhetorical modes of expression (poet-centered and audience-oriented, respectively) is obscured by the implicit identification of the poet with the ambivalent lady. Her looming presence seems to bypass altogether the ex­ planatory scheme polarizing functions of ornamentation and persuasion. By forcing attention on such topics as the truth of experience or the meaning of illusion, she turns rhetoric into rumination on the nature of representa­ tion. As she traverses boundaries of truth and illusion, one may say that she even epitomizes the problem of fictionality. Earlier I suggested that Han f u invokes an orderly cosmos despite its pas­ sion for inclusiveness and penchant for the extraordinary. This is consonant with the spirit of the age; after all, Han fu was contemporaneous with the correlative cosmology of Han Confucianism, the most relentless orderbuilding in Chinese cultural history. Order and balance on the political and cosmic scale are related to confidence of empire and celebration of imperial power. However, Han fu is also heir to magical, shamamstic Ch'u culture. In the Ch'u tz'u, the shaman's spirit journey is a literal departure of the soul from the body in quest of direct communication with the divine pow­ ers. Such intense ecstatic experience cannot be easily accommodated within structures of order, where the relationship with the divine-numinous realm is regulated through officially sanctioned ritual. 44 More generally, the plaints and frustrations of a hopeless quest in the Ch'u tz'u imply extreme emotions and potential disorder. The capricious goddess of the C h ' u t z ' u bequeaths to Han f u the legacy of a figure eluding the ordering and systematizing functions of literary or philosophical structures. She beckons with the promise of a sensuous and aesthetic plenitude, while remaining ultimately inaccessible. Through the allegorical mode of expression in "Encountering Sorrow," she acquires an aura of high seriousness as the "symbolic other" in the drama of the quest for the fulfillment of political ideals. Nevertheless, when she appears in the later poetic tradition, her sensuousness and elusiveness sometimes seem to mesmerize the reader-audience into forgetfulness of the allegorical refer­ ence to a moral-political scheme. In her constant and intractable transfor­ mations she bears comparison with some problems associated with rhetoric: the ambiguities of expression, the break between intention and expression, and the hazards attending literary communication. Li Shang-yin (813-856) brings out these questions in his ambivalent defense of rhetoric which, even as it holds the reader or audience instead of the poet responsible for the 44

Cf Schwartz, T h e W o r l d o f T h o u g h t i n A n c i e n t C h i n a , 35-37, Maspero, L a C h i n e a n ­

tique,195-202

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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25

power of illusion, emphasizes the seductive magic of words in conjuring illusion: Sung Yu's subtle rhetoric is not to blame— Blame it all on King Hsiang, slow to wake up from dreams. Ever since the completion of " F u on Kao-t'ang," The clouds and ram in the sky of Ch'u have always aroused suspicion. 45

In the fu tradition, the topos of the ambivalent goddess is best exemplified i n "Fu o n K a o - t ' a n g , " "Fu o n t h e G o d d e s s " ( " S h e n - n i i f u , " C S K S T W , c.l0.5a-6a), "Fu on Master Teng-t'u Enamored of Beauty" ("Teng-t'u tzu hao-se fu," CSKSTW, c.l0.6a-7a), and "Fu on Indirect Criticism" ("Feng fu," CSKSTW, c.l0.2b-3a), all attributed to Sung Yii, and "Fu on the Beauty" ("Mei-jen fu," CHW, c.22.la-lb), attributed to Ssu-ma Hsiangju. Attribution has been contested in all of these cases, the corpus of Sung Yu being especially nebulous. 46 Whether the situation depicted (i.e., the milieu of the court poet and the king or the emperor) is taken literally or not, the convention of "indirect remonstrance" is evidently operative. It is to the implications of the ambiguous divine woman for this convention that I turn now. "Fu on Kao-t'ang" begins with this line: "In the days of old, King Hsiang of C h ' u r o a m e d w i t h S u n g Y u o n t h e t e r r a c e a t Y i i n - m e n g . " T h e w o r d yu (roam, wander, play), which signifies transcendental journeys of the spirit m the Chuang Tzu and the shaman-poet's quest for the divine being in the Ch'u tz 'u, here describes a pleasure tour of the ruler. The activity of yu is no longer exclusively the poet's own. It becomes a well-controlled game, as the poet undertakes mental excursions with a view to producing certain im45

"Moved" (Yu-kan), in C T S , c 540 6194

46

" F u on Kao-t'ang/' " F u on the Goddess/' and " F u on Master Teng-t'u" are included in

the Wen hsuan "Fu on Indirect Criticism" is recorded in Ku-wen yuan (Garden of classical literature) (ca Ilth cent.). There is a refernce to "Fu on the Beauty" in l-iven lei-chu (Clas­ sified collection of literature) (ca 624), but the text itself is found in Ku-wen yuan Since the works included in I-wen lei-chu and Ku-wen yuan are often of doubtful authenticity, there is much disagreement on the dates of the fu under consideration Except for "Nine Arguments" (Chiu pien), most of the works attributed to Sung Yu have been disputed Cf

Lu K'an-ju,

Sung Yu Lu considers "Nine Arguments" and "Summoning the Soul" (Chao hun) the only authentic attributions Yves Hervouct argues along the same lines in Un Poete de cour sous Ies Han Sseu-ma Stang-jou, 142, η 1 In "Sung Yu wu-fu," Shih Chih-mien tries to support most of the traditional attributions (17-22) Hervouet maintains that "Fu on the Beauty" is not written by Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju (178-80) and concludes that it was composed between the fourth and sixth centuries A D (392) Through a study of changes in rhyme schemes, Chien Tsung-wu argues that "Fu on the Beauty" should be dated to the Western Han (202 B.C.—A.D 9) and that the attribution to Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju is probable (Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju Yang Hsiung chi ch'i fu chih yen-chxu, 118-22). Translations of "Fu on Kao-t'ang," "Fu on Master Tengt'u Enamored of Beauty," and "Fu on Indirect Criticism" appear in Arthur Waley, The Temple and Other Poems Waley accepts the attribution to Sung Yii in all three cases.

26

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Chapter One

pressions on his august listener. By the same token, while the quest for the goddess is impassioned and hopeless in "Encountering Sorrow" and "The Nine Songs," in "Fu on Kao-t'ang" the reality of the goddess is very much a function of Sung Yii's rhetoric. The emphasis is on the process of her creation and the extension of her presence through the poet's word-magic. At first Sung Yii identifies the goddess with a metereological phenome­ non: The king and Sung Yii looked at the Shrine of Kao-t'ang, above which a single column of cloud abruptly rose, suddenly changing its shape, and undergoing myr­ iad transformations in a mere moment. The king asked Yii, "What breath is this ? " Yii answered, "This is the so-called [Goddess] Morning Cloud [Chaoyiin]." The king asked, "What is Morning Cloud ? "

In the famous account of the historical origins of the Shrine of Kao-t'ang that follows, the identification of the goddess with cloud, rain, and wind is confirmed: In days of old the former king once roamed at Kao-t'ang. Overcome with fatigue, he took a nap. He dreamed of a woman, who said, "I am the woman of Mount Wu, the sojourner of Kao-t'ang I heard that you would be roaming here, and wish to serve you on pillow and mat " The king thus favored her. She left with these words, "I am on the sunlit side of Mount Wu, where the high hills are precipitous—at dawn as morning clouds, in the evening as passing rain, mornings and evenings, beneath the sunlit terrace." In the morning when he looked upon the scene, it was as she had said He thus set up a shrine for her, and called it Morning Cloud

47

When the king expresses a desire to visit the shrine, Sung Yii's hyperbolic description of the place implies that the goddess manifests herself in the elements. Visiting the shrine is therefore tantamont to meeting her: "How high! How prominent! How far-ranging in its views! How expansive! How all-encompassing! The source of the ten thousand things! Above it belongs to heaven; beneath it is seen among the rivers. Its wonder, strangeness, and immensity are beyond words." In response to this panegyric, the king asks for a fu on the subject. Sung Yii's ready compliance makes up the rest of the poem. The mainly geographic account of Kao-t'ang, which comprises two-thirds 47 Some scholars believe that the goddess of Mount Wu is related to the Mountain Spirit (Shan-kuei) i n " T h e Nine Songs " Cf. Kuo Mo-jo's interpretation of Ch'ii Yuan, C h ' u Y u a n fu chtn-i, 32. Wen I-to suggests that the fair one on the high hill, whom the poet fails to find as h e looks back i n "Encountering Sorrow," is t h e same goddess of M o u n t W u (Ch'ii Yuan, Lisao chieh-ku, 46)

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

•

27

of the piece, may seem to have little to do with Morning Cloud. 48 Actually the metaphorical extension of the goddess to the entire landscape is implied. In the initial description of the goddess, Sung Yii compares her to objects of nature—trees, steeds, rain, and wind: She first comes out, luxuriant as straight pines. Slowly she advances, glowing like the fair lady who raises her sleeve, shielding her eyes from the sun to look for the one she longs for All of a sudden her aspect changes. Proud and ruthless, she seems to be racing four steeds and unfurling feather banners Chilling she is as wind, and desolate as rain When the wind stops and the rain clears up, [Morning] Cloud is nowhere to be found

The first aspect of the landscape evoked is that of an unruly body of water, even as the goddess is designated as cloud, mist, and rain. Ever-changing like the goddess, immense, mysterious, and awesome, replete with super­ natural beings that "might have been among the spirits, or might have come from the gods," the landscape at first inspires melancholy and fear. But eventually a more friendly world filled with birds and fragrant plants is disclosed. The sacrifices of the shaman enhance the semblance of order. The taming of the wild and unpredictable landscape is complete with the advent of the royal hunt. The king's music seems to surpass in power the music of nature described at the midpoint of the fu. At that earlier juncture, the musical metaphor captures a moment of intense pathos: Slender branches cry in anguish In notes like those of reed music Melodies clear and heavy harmonize In five changes and four confluences. The heart is moved, the ears bent, The inside churned, the breath spent To climb high and look far into the distance Is enough to break one's heart

Toward the end of the poem, the advent of the king is celebrated with stately court music. Though also emotionally charged, the melancholy of the music just sets the stage for a display of royal power. The effortless success of the 48

Ch'ien Chung-shu complains that " F u on Kao-t'ang" has more to do with geography than

with "sentiments" (ch'mg), the category under which it is classified in the Wen hsuan Ch'ien thus joins a chorus of unsympathetic critics. Su Shih (1036-1100) criticizes the Wen Hsuan for its misrepresentations (Ch'iu-ch'ih ρι-chi [Random Notes of Ch'iu-ch'ih] c a 203), and Chang Hsueh-ch'eng takes the anthology to task for its "mistakes in categorizing" {Wen-shih t'ung-ι chiao-chu, 1-82) Ch'ien suggests that "Fu on Kao-t'ang" should be classified along with Sun Ch'o's (4th cent ) "Fu on Roaming in the fien-t'ai Mountain" ("Yu T'len-t'ai shan fu") under the "travels" (yu-lan) section (Kuan-chui pien, 3 869-70)

28

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Chapter One

hunt represents the king's mastery over the landscape. It is also a symbolic repetition of the previous king's erotic encounter with the goddess in a dream. The f u ends with an exhortation to the king: that he should give due attention to affairs of state and ritual purification in preparation for a pro­ spective meeting with the goddess. If there is no anticipation of difficulty, it may be because the elusive goddess is already, at least in the metereological and natural manifestations of her existence, metaphorically brought un­ der subjection through Sung Yu's rhetoric. The meeting with the goddess, probably contrary to the king's expectations, results not only in sexual union but also in a lesson in government: The wind rises, the rain stops, receding across a thousand Ii Properly initiated, the king goes to meet the goddess. He thinks of the ten thousand lands, worries over the wrongs of the country, and opens the way for the wise and talented, who can aid him where he is inadequate Clogged no longer, his nine apertures open, oppressed no more, his spirit brightens His years will be prolonged, and his vi­ tality will last a thousand, ten thousand years

Ho Cho, eager to read a political meaning into the poem, suggests the met­ aphorical identification of the goddess with "the wise and good" (presum­ ably including the poet himself), and of Mount Wu with the eremitic retreat of the virtuous and talented recluse. In other words, the king is asked to seek virtuous helpers with as much enthusiasm as he displays m the attempt to meet the goddess. Ho compares the final lines to "cold water quenching the raging flames [of desire]." 49 Such a moral-political interpretation, how­ ever, cannot accommodate the ambiguity of the sequel. In " F u on the Goddess," the sequel to " F u on Kao-t'ang," Sung Yii is visited by the figure called forth by his own words. 50 But the visitation, unsolicited Hsiao T'ung, C h a o - m m g w e n - h s u a n t a - c h ' e n g , c 2 39^i0 30

In the text in the Wen hsuan, the king is the dreamer, and Sung Yu just describes the

king's dream However, in terms of the plot of the poem, it seems more plausible that Sung Yu should be the dreamer (The similarity of the characters wang (king) and the yu in Sung Yu's name probably accounts for the confusion ) Shen K'uo (1031-1095) points out the inter­ nal inconsistencies involved if King Hsiang is indeed the dreamer The use of the word pai (the respectful form of "say") by the king would be inappropriate Also, the lines "Unnoticed by others, / Yu alone saw her shape" would not fit in (Meng-hsi ρι-t'an chiao-chcng, supplemen­ tary c 1 901) Yao K'uan (d 1161) quotes an ancient yueh-fu poem (yueh-fu shih reters to songs collected by the government's music bureau) to give credence to the idea that Sung Yu is describing his own dream

" I come originally from Mount Wu, / My beauty to no one

disclosed / Only King Huai of Ch'u, / Once spoke of knowing me from dreams", Yao also cites Li Shang-yin "King Hsiang was indeed dreamless on his pillows, / Blame not any patch of cloud on the sunlit terrace" (Yao K'uan, Hsi-hsi t$'ung-yu, quoted in Meng-hsi pi-t'an chiao-chvng, supplementary c 1 901-902) The Ming commentator Chang Feng-i {1527-1613) also interprets the poem as Sung Yu's account of his own dream (Wen-h^uan tsuan-chu p'ing-

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

•

29

and ultimately frustrating, is the reverse of the deliberate act of rhetorical creation which, as I have shown, celebrates the power of words to conjure an illusion and render it compliant to royal wishes. After Sung Yu's display of eloquence, he is troubled by vague, half-remembered shapes, including that of a woman. He dreams of her and forgets almost everything upon waking up. Only m a conscious effort to concentrate his spirit can he recall the dream vision and describe it to the king. In the dream visit, the poet describes a moment of loss of control. There are deliberate verbal echoes of "Fu on Kao-t'ang" in the preliminary description of the goddess, especially in the phrases that mark the stages in the revelation of her charms: "she first comes out," "slowly she advances," "in a mere moment," "all of a sudden her aspect changes." In other words, the capacity for infinite trans­ formations shows that Morning Cloud and the goddess are in fact one and the same figure. She "robs the eyes of power of judgment" because "her shape is indescribable"—the same words have been used to describe the dark trees m Kao-t'ang. The goddess is defined by her liminal state: "she should repose m the land of quietude, / Yet she dances gracefully in the world of men." The ambiguity of her aspect is captured m a cadence built on balanced opposi­ tions: "Seemingly desirous of closeness, yet distant, / As if coming, only to withdraw. . . . About to disappear, yet not quite leaving; / She seems to stand in the middle, turning her head. . . . Intending to depart, yet not breaking off; / Our hearts overcome with foreboding and confusion." Am­ bivalent to the very end, the goddess finally eludes the poet's desire to con­ summate their union, leaving him in profound melancholy in quest of a lost image. In this twin piece the figure of the goddess exposes the inadequacy of the conceptual schemes outlined at the beginning of my discussion. As sug­ gested earlier, the polarization of lyrical and rhetorical modes of expression is no longer viable. In "Fu on the Goddess," the vision is privy to the poet: "Unnoticed by others, Yii alone sees her shape." The experience is described as almost uncommunicable—"Feelings known only to myself—to whom may I divulge them?"—but the structure of dialogue is preserved. We thus have the rhetorical communication of an essentially lyrical experience. In addition, the tension between ornamentation and persuasion is no I i n f c 4.69a) Most Ch'ing commentators agree on this point

Cf

Ho Cho, in Hsiao T'ung,

P'ing-chu Chao-nung wen-hsuan, c 4 25b Chang Yun-ao (1747-1829), Hsuan-hsueh chiaoyen, c 9 22a-23b, Chu Chien (1769-1850), Wen-hsua?i chi-shih, c 15 18h-19a, Hu Shao-ying ( c a 1 9 t h c e n t ) , W e n - h s u a n c h i e n - c h e n g , c 2 1 6 b — 7 a , L i a n g C h a n g - c h u ( c a 1 9 t h c e n t ), W e n hsuan p'ang-cheng, c 19 3b-Aa Hu K'o-chia (ca 19th cent ) suggests in Wen-hsuan k'ao-i (the preface is dated 1810) that the confusion of the characters wang and yu begins in the Annotated Edition by the Five Ministers (Wu-ch'en chu Wen-hsuan) See Hsiao T'ung, Wen hsuati. 907

30

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Chapter O n e

longer the most intriguing issue. The moral message at the end of " F u on Kao-t'ang" is that the king should attend to his kingly duties to earn a meet­ ing with the goddess, a meeting that is, however, already symbolically cel­ ebrated in the illusion of royal power and glory as the wild landscape is brought under control. The exhortation is obviously incommensurate with the rhetoric that dazzles and flatters. However, what is of more abiding interest is that the figure of the elusive goddess, made to serve a rhetoric of ornamentation and persuasion (in the process "naturalized" and brought under control), should escape that context of meaning altogether in the sequel. In this connection, it is interesting to consider Ho Cho's attempt to pur­ sue the analogy between the goddess and the virtuous, talented recluse in "Fu on the Goddess." According to this reading, the "lesson" of the fu is that the recluse has to be approached with due sincerity and propriety, even as the goddess has to be properly wooed, for she would vanish at the slightest hint of indecorous proposition If this interpretation seems some­ what forced, it may be because the goddess is too profoundly ambiguous to represent a consistent moral position: Raising m y bedcurtains and inviting intimacy, S h e wishes t o fully express her heartache and longing, Embracing the purity of chastity, S h e yet finally refuses to comply with me.

The moral-allegorical interpretation is also untenable if we believe that the dreamer is the poet rather than the king. As it stands, what seems most striking about the twin piece is the contrast between the deliberate rhetori­ cal manipulation of illusion in "Fu on Kao-t'ang" and the tentative attempt to recapture an elliptical dream image in "Fu on the Goddess." One may say that the figure of the goddess tests the limits of rhetoric. Enigmatic to the end, she raises questions about truth and representation instead. Closely related to the topos of the enigmatic divine woman is that of relishing and resisting temptation, which is developed in three related works: "Fu on Master Teng-t'u Enamored of Beauty," "Fu on Indirect Crit­ icism," and "Fu on the Beauty." All start with an accusation against the poet linking his erudition to his amorous and susceptible nature (hao-se), self-adornment, and possible designs on the royal harem. 51 The poet's self-defense takes the form of a drama of seduction. Faced with the advances of a supremely beautiful woman, he remains unmoved. In "Fu S1

I n t h e W e s t e r n t r a d i t i o n a s well, r h e t o r i c a l exccss leads t o s u s p i c i o n s of t h e p o e t ' s s e x u a l

mores

Cf

l o d o r o v , T h e o r i e s of t h e S y m b o l

" T h i s m o r a l c o n d e m n a t i o n [of t h e r h e t o r i c a l

f u n c t i o n of p l e a s i n g ] r e a c h e s a k i n d of p i n n a c l e i n Q u i n t i h a n , f o r w h o m d i s c o u r s e is m a s c u l i n e , f r o m w h i c h i t f o l l o w s t h a t o r n a m e n t e d d i s c o u r s e is t h e m a l e c o u r t e s a n uality is superimposed upon lust" (74-75)

t h e vice of h o m o s e x ­

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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31

on Master Teng-t'u," for three years a beautiful woman climbs over the wall, gazing silently and soulfully at the poet. The poet sternly rejects her: "To this day I have withheld consent." By contrast, Sung Yu describes how his accuser, Master Teng-t'u, oblivious to the extreme ugliness of his wife, sired five sons by her. Master Teng-tu is then said to be truly hao-se ; the implication of the phrase thereby changes to "indiscriminately lustful." In "Fu on Indirect Criticism," the poet is accused of dalliance with the king's daughter. To clear himself of this charge, he tells the story of how in the course of a journey he once stopped by a house, the young lady of which, in her parents' absence, offered her love to him. The emotional quotient of t h e s i t u a t i o n i s e x p r e s s e d i n t h e fu t h r o u g h m u s i c : t h e p o e t p l a y s t h e c h ' t n (zither) and the lady twice expresses her longing for him in a song. When the poet finally rejects her, his decision is apparently based solely on moral considerations: "I would sooner kill someone's father and make him an or­ phan than dare to love my host's daughter." In " F u on the Beauty," the motifs of chmbing the wall and expressing desire in a song are woven together in a sequential account of two encoun­ ters. The first adventure rings with echoes of "Fu on Master Teng-t'u." S2 Here the poet is also subjected to the amorous gaze of a beautiful eastern neighbor. Resolutely leaving this lady, the poet travels east, passing through places with names from The Book of Songs suggestive of illicit love: Cheng Wei, Sang-chung, Chen-hui, Shang-kung. 53 Then he comes upon his second adventure, the setting of which is enveloped m an aura of sublimity and mystery: "The house of leisure in Shang-kung, solitary, wreathed in thin mist, with doors closed even in daytime, and dim like the celestial precinct." Assailed by an overwhelming fragrance, the poet enters, only to find a beautiful woman reclining on a sumptuous bed. As in "Fu on Indirect Criticism," she sings and plays the ch'm, expressing her love for the poet through music. Then the drama of seduction takes a more drastic turn, and the relatively explicit advances of the beauty earn for the piece the dubious reputation of being the earliest example of erotic literature in China. 54 The poet's final resistance of temptation is also more abrupt and psychologically nuanced than the simple obedience of a moral imperative in "Fu on Indirect Criti­ cism": "Your subject then stilled his pulse inwardly, squared his heart m Chien Tsung-wu suggests that " F u on the Beauty" predates " F u on Master Teng-t'u" (Ssu-ma hisiang-m, 118-22) Hervouet considers "Fu on the Beauty" a slavish imitation of "Fu on Master Teng-t'u" {Un Poete de cour sous Ies Han, 179-80) The question of chronol­ ogy and the direction of derivation are still widely debated " Places such as Sang-chung and Shang-kung are linked to the celebration in ancient China of spring rites, during which the sexes freely intermingled Ho Hsin identifies these places as sites of worship of a primeval earth-mother goddess {Chu-shen ti ch'i-yuan, 134—37) r>4 Liu Ta-chieh, C h u n $ - k u o w e n - h s u e h f a - c h a n s h i h , 1 146

32

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Chapter One

its proper place, swore with sincerity, determined not to be swayed. With a sweeping gesture he rose, and bade her eternal farewell." In both " FM on Master Teng-t'u" and "Fu on Indirect Criticism," the account of the poet's successful resistance of temptation is followed by royal approval. The king is now convinced that the charges against the dangers of the poet's charm and rhetoric are groundless. Such a statement of revised opinion from the represented audience is omitted in "Fu on the Beauty," which ends abruptly with the poet tearing himself away with great effort from his seductress. It is as if the poet enters into the psychological tensions of the situation so completely that the raison d'etre of the poem, the poet's self-defense, is forgotten. One may say then that the poet elaborates the motif of spurning the love of a beautiful woman to defend himself against the charge of being amorous and susceptible. The metaphor of erotic tension functions on another level. The poet leaves his seductive eastern neighbor because "secretly admiring the king's great virtue, [he] decided to go east." On his way he is detained by the beauty at Shang-kung. If he succeeds in tearing himself away, it is again presumably due to the superior attraction of the king's high virtue. In other words, the poet is quasi-erotically drawn to the king. 55 But if the poet describes himself as being seduced by the represented reader, it is only with a view to entice the actual or implied reader. 56 Since to be amorous and susceptible is associated with poetic eloquence and subtle erudition, by analogy the poet's self-defense applies to his rhet­ oric as well. His words may dazzle and bewitch, but withdrawal from the illusion conjured by word-magic is presented as possible. Indeed, such with­ drawal is morally superior to nonparticipation. In the work itself this is the distinction drawn between "not enamored of beauty and sensual pleasures" (pu hao-se ) and "avoiding beauty and sensual pleasures" (ρι-se). According to the poet, the latter is true of Confucius and Mo Tzu: In ancient times there were those, such as Confucius and Mo Tzu, who avoided sensual pleasures Hearing that [the king of] Ch'i would give them ladies, they 55

The court poet is sometimes referred to contemptuously as a n u n g - c h ' e n (plaything ot a

minister), which sometimes suggests a homosexual relationship On the role of the court poet as possible lover, see Wen I-to, " C h ' u Yuan wen-t'i" (The problem of Ch'u Yuan), in W e n Ito ch'uan-chi, 1 245-58 Wen takes issue with Sun Tz'u-chou, who characterizes Ch'u Yuan as a "plaything of a literary minister" (wen-hsueh mmg-ch'pn), thereby suggesting that the metaphor of the quest for the beloved is more literal than allegorical In Wen's opinion, while Sung Yu (or whoever wrote "Kao-t'ang" and "Goddess") may fittingly be described as a nungch'en, the greatness of Ch'u Yuan lies precisely in his transcendence of that role, from being a mere ming-ch'en he rises to heights of fervent compassion and political idealism 56 In this case, the actual or implied reader would be Liang Hsiao-wang, if this piece was indeed written by Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju while he was in the Liang court However, regardless of

the validity of the attribution, the idea that rhetoric should entice and draw the reader into the world of the text may still be maintained

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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33

fled far, beholding courtly songs, they changed the course of their chariots This is like preventing fire in water, and escaping drowning m the mountains. Not having seen what is desirable, how could they prove that they were above sensual pleasures?

Untested virtue is not real virtue. Rhetoric, like the seductive beautiful woman, is supposed to be a ploy that leads the reader astray, so that he may have a chance to muster the necessary moral resolve to find his way back.

THE INWARD TURN OF THE TOPOS OF THE AMBIGUOUS DIVINE WOMAN The enigmatic goddess has important reverberations in the Chinese literary tradition. When the topos undergoes an mward turn and when the repre­ sented audience is no longer the center of rhetorical concern, the result is much deeper ambiguities. Ts'ao Chih's (192-232) "Fu on the Goddess of the River Lo" ("Lo-shen fu," CSKW, c.13.2-3) raises the topos to new heights of lyricism.'' 7 The process of "internalization," already underway m Sung Yii's "FM on the Goddess," is here carried one step further. The acts of dreaming, forgetting, and remembering in Sung Yii's poem have en­ dowed the theme of the quest for the goddess with a new psychic dimen­ sion. In linking the genesis of his work to inspiration by Sung Yii's dream poem, Ts'ao Chih suggests that the sudden access to his intense visionary experience is also private and dreamlike: And then my soul is swayed, my spirit shaken, All of a sudden my thoughts are dispersed. Not noticing anything as I bow down, I raise my eyes to meet a splendorous vision I see a beauty At the side of the rocks

With this difference: instead of trying to please or persuade a represented reader (i.e., having the king or the emperor as the focus of rhetorical attenr,r

Burton Watson translates " F u on the Goddess of River Lo" in C h i n e s e R h y m e - P r o s e

Besides Ts'ao Chih's work, there is a host of other poems on this theme from the same period Ch'en Lm (ca 155-217), Wang Ts'an (177-217), and Yang Hsiu (175-219) each wrote a "Fu on the Goddess" (CIiHW, c 92 3a, c 90 5a)

Later examples include "Fu on the Goddess" by

Chang Min (ca 4th cent ) (CCW1 c 80 la-lb), "Fu on the Lady of the River" (Chiartg-fei fu) by Hsieh Ling-yun (385—433) (CSW, c 31 l l a - l l b ) , and "Fu on the Goddess on the Water" (Shui-shang shen-nu fu) by Chiang Yen (444—505) (CLW, c 34 2b—3b) These poems include one or more of the following elements which also occur in Ts'ao Chih's poem

statement of

literary inspiration and reference to Sung Yu (Ch'en Lin), and motifs of the dream (Ch'en Lin and Yang Hsiu), the spiritual understanding of the goddess (Yang Hsiu, Wang Ts'an, and Chang Min), her ambivalent aspect (Yang Hsiu, Chang Min, and Chiang Yen), the poet's hesitation and decision to break off (Wang Ts'an and Chiang Yen), and lament of ephemeral union and inevitable separation (Wang Ts'an, Chang Min, and Hsieh Ling-yun)

34

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Chapter One

tion in the poem), here the poetic persona is the royal prmce himself. With his superior powers of vision, he beholds the goddess and describes her to his coachman. With the "class change" of the lyrical speaker, the structure of dialogue becomes minimal, the prince seems to be revealing his vision t o the uninitiated through a lyrical outpouring, rather than trying to please or instruct the represented reader. Both the goddess and the poetic " I " have a much greater dimension of inwardness than their counterparts in

"Fit

on

the Goddess." By inwardness I refer to the psychological complexity of both figures, a complexity born of tensions between conflicting impulses. The goddess's sensuous beauty is matched by her spirituality: " A h , the true excellence of that lovely lady, / Instructed in the rites, conversant with poetry." The poet thus seems certain of her good faith as he unties his girdle jade ( p'ei ) and offers it to her as a pledge of love. 5 8 Yet when the Goddess of the River Lo offers her jade pendant in return and points to the depths of the river to propose an assignation there, he is suddenly seized with fear and indecision. The vision is finally dispelled because of the poet's divided attitude. H e is torn between desire and skepticism: H o l d i n g o n t o t h e h o p e s of a r d e n t love, I y e t fear t h a t t h i s spirit m a y deceive m e M o v e d b y t h e tale of h o w C h i a o - f u w a s c o n f o u n d e d b y faithless w o r d s , ' 9 I waver in uncertainty and melancholy C a l m i n g m y f e a t u r e s a n d stilling m y t h o u g h t s , 1 s u b m i t t h a t f o r m y p a r t 1 abide b y r u l e s of t h e rites

The sense of loss, frustration, and despair is no longer the consequence of an external contingency (an unpredictable goddess), instead it is inextrica­ bly intertwined with lyrical subjectivity (the capacity to experience and ex­ press the world of desire and imagination) and self-reflexivity (the ironic distance from that world and reflection on its meaning), as the intensity of desire is matched by the magnitude of skepticism regarding the legitimacy of desire. The circumstances around this act depart significantly from its antecedents in the C h ' u tz'u

In songs on the Hsiang River goddesses, the shaman-poet throws his jade thumb ring

into the river after despairing of meeting the goddess In "Encountering Sorrow," the poet offers his girdle to Fu-fei, who turns out to be fickle and faithless "Though tair indeed, she lacks all sense of right conduct" (CT, c 1 12) (According to David Hawkes, such recurrence points to the ritual and formulaic nature of these works ["The Quest of the Goddess," 51J ) In these early examples the love pledge is a token ol unswerving devotion and hopes for future union m the face of a capricious goddess's whims By comparison, Ts'ao Chih seems, at least initially, certain of the goddess's good faith S9

Cheng Chiao-fu (a character m a talc attributed to Liu Hsiang [77—6

β c

], but probably

from a later period) meets two beautiful women along the Han River who give him their girdle jades in response to his gift of oranges As he walks on, both they and the girdle jades vanish ( T P K C r C 59 364-65)

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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35

Rejected by the poet, the goddess departs in grief. The poet conveys the ambiguity of her receding figure through a syntax reminiscent of Sung Yii's poem: Her movements conform to no constant pattern— Now unsteady, now sedate. Hard to predict are her starts and stops— Now moving away, now turning back. Her eyes flash fire in a backward glance, Adding radiance to the glow of her jadelike face. With words half-formed yet unspoken, She seems to breathe the fragrance of lonely orchids.

The mutual longing of the poet and the goddess threatens a confusion of the human and the divine-numinous realms. As order is restored, the boundaries are drawn afresh, and even as the departing goddess avows eter­ nal devotion, she speaks for a stern new order: She cranes her white neck, And turns back her clear brow Moving her red hps and speaking slowly, Setting forth the great principle that governs conduct, She grieves that the ways of humans and gods diverge, And regrets that we failed to meet in the days of our youth Raising her gauze sleeves to hide her tears, Which nevertheless flow down her lapels copiously, She laments that our happy meeting must end forever, Mourns that, once parted, we remain in different realms. "There is no way to express my love— 1 will give you these bright earrings from South of the River Though I dwell in the depths of the Great Shadow, My heart is pledged evermore to you, my prince."

According to Li Shan's (7th cent.) annotation in the W e n h s i i a n the f u was originally entitled "FM on Feelings for Chen" (Kan Chen fu) in memory of Ts'ao Chih's youthful, illicit love for the recently deceased Empress Chen, the wife of his brother Ts'ao P'l, Emperor Wen (183-236, r. 220— 227). 6 0 This story is probably apocryphal. The fu has also been interpreted as political allegory, as the poet's indirect avowal of loyalty toward his *° According to Li Shan, Ts'ao P'l gave Ts'ao Chih Empress Chen's pillow after her death On his way back to his fief, Ts'ao Chih passed by the River Lo He thought of Empress Chen, who appeared to him in a vision Ts'ao Chih then composed "Fu on Feelings for Chen " When Emperor Ming (r 227-240, Ts'ao P'i's son, Ts'ao Chih's nephew) saw it, the title was changed to "Fu on the Goddess of the River Lo," presumably because of fear of impropriety (Hsiao T'ung, Wen hsuan, c 19 254)

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Chapter One

brother. Ho Cho writes: "He [Ts'ao Chih] uses Fu-fei as a mouthpiece to express his loyalty toward his brother, thus following the inspirations and manner of Ch'ii Yuan." 61 (Assuming that the poem follows in the venerable tradition of "Encountering Sorrow," there is yet another twist to the theme of quest for the goddess; here the poet identifies with the goddess instead of regarding her as the object of a hopeless quest.) Even taking into account the political dimension of the poem, lyrical intensity here still seems to take precedence over the specific rhetorical intention of influencing Emperor Wen to a policy of greater fraternal toleration. I suggest that the specific topical allusions m both the confessional and political readings should be eschewed. The loss of the goddess symbolizes the poet's sense of the insu­ perable gap between himself and his ideal, which may well include political aspirations and the memory of a lost love. The drama of seduction also undergoes an inward turn. In T'ao Ch'ien's (372-427) "Fu on Stilling the Passions" ("Hsien-ch'ing fu," CCW, c.lll.5a-6b), the seductress is no longer an external agent, but a figure haunting the poet's imagination. All action is internalized, as the question of yielding to or stilling the passions is spun out in a kind of internal dia­ logue. Since the dates of "Fu on Master Teng-t'u Enamored of Beauty," "Fu on Indirect Criticism," and "Fu on the Beauty" are not certain, it is difficult to say whether T'ao Ch'ien wrote with those works in mind. Suffice it to say that "Fu on Stilling the Passions" describes the psychological im­ plications of the theme of relishing and resisting temptation, while the works discussed earlier concentrate more on dramatic action. In his preface, T'ao Ch'ien cites as his models Chang Heng's " F u on Pac­ ifying the Passions" ("Ting-ch'ing fu," CHHW, c.53.9b) and Ts'ai Yung's (132-192) "Fu on Calming the Passions" ("Ching-ch'ing fu," CHHW, c.69.4a). There is a proliferation of the theme of "stilling the passions" in writings from the late Han and Wei-Chin (220-420) periods. One is tempted to relate the phenomenon to the cult of feelings and self-conscious passion of the time; the question of whether sages transcend passions, for example, was a major philosophical problem. 62 Besides the two works men­ tioned in the preface to T'ao's poem, other examples on the same theme include "Fu on Mourning the Aspirations" ("Min-chih fu," CSKW1 61 62

I - m e n t n - s h u c h i , c 1 22b Cf

T ' a n g Y u n g - t ' u n g , " W a n g Pi s h e n g - j e n y u - c h ' i n g l u n " ( W a n g P i ' s p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t

s a g e s h a v e p a s s i o n s ) , i n W e i - C h i n h s u a n - h s u e h l u n - k a o , 77—90 T h e l o c u s classicus of t h i s d i s c u s s i o n a p p e a r s a t t h e e n d of t h e c h a p t e r e n t i t l e d " T e c h ' u n g - f u " ( S i g n s of f u l l n e s s of v i r t u e and power) in the Chuang Tzu (Chuang Tzu, Chuang-tzu chi-shih, 217-21) Angus C Gra­ h a m m a k e s a c o n v i n c i n g case t h a t t h e w o r d c h ' i n g h e r e is m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e l y u n d e r s t o o d a s "genuine" or "essence" (Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Chinese Philosophical Literature, 59-66)

The Genealogy of Disenchantment

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37

c,13.7a) and " F u on Calming Longings" ("Ching-ssu fu," C S K W , c. 13.4a) by Ts'ao Chih, "Fu on Putting a Stop to Desires" ("Chih-yu fu," CHHW, c. 13. la-lb) by Juan Yii (d.212) and another work of the same title by Ch'en Lin ( CHHW, c. 92. la-lb), "Fu on Controlling Wayward Longings" ("Hsien-hsieh fu," CHHW, c.90.2b) by Wang Ts'an, "Fu on Rectifying the Passions" ("Cheng-ch'ing fu," CHHW r c.42.1b-2a) by Ying Yang (d.217), and "Fu on Purifying Longings" ("Ch'ing-ssu fu," CSKW, c.44.10a-llb) by Juan Chi (210-263). 61 These fu follow a pattern: they describe a lady so perfect and a passion so powerful and hopeless that the only resolution is to transcend passion and seek consolation in philosophy. Juan Chi's "Fu on Purifying Longings" is especially interesting. It starts with an avowal of Taoist principles that leaves no room for untoward passions: "I believe that forms visible are not the most beautiful, sounds audible are not the most perfect. . . . Hence only in the most subtle formlessness and the most austere soundlessness can one divine true beauty and perfection. . . . In the tranquility and dispassion of the state of being without desire, aspirations and feelings find their proper and fitting place." However, when the poet descends from gen­ eral principles to the vision and experience of a particular moment (marked by the time phrase shih-shih), the philosophical resolution, for all its sub­ limity, is no proof against the vagaries of poetic susceptibility. Confronted b y " e x q u i s i t e s o u n d s " ( ch't-sheng ) a n d " e x t r a o r d i n a r y b e a u t y " ( shu-se), the poet is cast in profound agitation: My heart is confused and loses its bearings, My feelings, running wild, can no longer be controlled What with the clarity and veracity of my perception and judgment, This is yet as ungraspable and evanescent as clouds and dreams.

The poet compares his mental state to mythic examples of futile quest (K'ua-fu racing with the sun and dying of thirst) and lamentable destiny (Ch'in P'i punished for his transgressions and transformed into a bird). 64 It is only after the vision disappears that the poet reverts to the consolation of philosophy: "Since the myriad things weigh not on my mind, / A mere woman is certainly not worth thoughts of longing." Here Juan Chi seems 63

James Robert Hightower translates and discusses some of these works in his essay "The

Fu of T'ao Ch'ien." A complete English translation of "Fu on Stilling the Passions" appears in T'ao Ch'ien, The Poetry of T'ao Ch'ien, trans. James Robert Hightower In addition to these examples, Chang Heng's "Song of Harmony" (T'ung-sheng ko), which shares a similar rhe­ torical pattern with the ten wishes in "Fu on Stilling the Passions," might also have inspired T'ao Ch'ien. See Lu Ch'in-li, ed , Hsien-Ch'in Han Wei Chin Nan-pei ch'ao shih, 1 178-79 64 The story of K'ua-fu appears in S h a n - h a i c h i n g (Classic of mountains and seas), "Hai-wai p e l c h i n g " ( C l a s s i c of t h e n o r t h b e y o n d t h e s e a s ) , c 8 8 6 F o r t h e s t o r y o f C h ' i n P ' e i , s e e S h a n hai ching, "Hsi-shan ching" (Classic of western mountains), c 2.25

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to be self-consciously dwelling on the claims and limits of the philosophical resolution of passions. In T'ao Ch'ien's " F u on Stilling the Passions," the lady conforms to the model of the genre m being an inaccessible ideal, a paragon of sensuous and spiritual beauty. Her purity and virtue are compared to tinkling jade pen­ dants and the fragrance of lonely orchids: "Her tender feelings dwell but lightly on worldly affairs, / She lodges her graceful spirit with the high clouds." The lady plays the ch'in, not to seduce the poet, but to express her profound understanding of the pathos of mutability. Deeply moved by her music, the poet longs to avow his love, but fears that "he would incur blame by transgressing the rules of the rites." He looks to the phoenix to be his intermediary, but like the poet in "Encountering Sorrow," is anxious that other suitors would supersede him: "My will is confused and unsettled, / My spirit, m an instant, takes flight nine times." The poet then indulges in fantasies of impossible proximity, but the ten wishes turn out to be ten causes for despair. The real pathos lies not in the impossibility of the wishes, but in the fact that, even if the wishes were granted, the result still would be only transient bliss. 65 The logic of inevitable frustration and melancholy is relentlessly spun out: I wish I were the collar of your dress, On which lingers the fragrance of your beautiful head. But when darkness falls, the silken garment is put aside· 1 grieve that the autumn night is too long. 1 wish I were the girdle of your skirt, Which binds your gracious, slender body. I sigh that as warmth and chill vary, You may shed the old one and don the new. I wish I were the gloss on your hair, Which brushes the dark tresses on your sloping shoulders. 1 grieve that the fair one bathes often, For the gloss fades and spends itself with water Cf Ch'ien Chung-shu, K u a n - c h u i p i e n , 4 1222-23. As Ch'ien points out, " F u on Stilling the Passions," in spite of a long line of antecedents and imitations, is profoundly original. It is unique in following through the logic of wish fulfillment "The ten wishes become ten causes for sorrow It goes one level deeper, and is similar to the application of the 'turning word' (hsia chuan-yu) of the Ch'an (Zen) Buddhists " In "The Fu of T'ao Ch'ien" Hightower traces the poet's predecessors and concludes that "Fu on Stilling the Passions" is weak and unoriginal "The development of each conceit is quite mechanical, and what began as a device for relieving monotony becomes monotonous itself" (70-71) The irony and the twists and turns of the fu completely escape Hightower. His complaint that the fu develops "two unrelated moods" (72) shows how he fails to understand the dialectics of attachment and detachment that is the most interesting aspect of "Fu on Stilling the Passions."

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I wish I were the t a i dye on your eyebrow, Which follows your gaze as it rises and roams I grieve that rouge and powder must ever stay fresh, For elaborate makeup renewed will be my unmaking I wish I were the k u a n reeds made into the mat, On which your delicate body rests till autumn I grieve that my place will be taken by the patterned quilt, And it will be another year before 1 am sought again 1 wish I were the silk made into the slippers In which your white feet are shod as they tarry. I grieve that walking and stopping each has its moments— In vain will I be discarded at your bedside In daytime I wish I were your shadow Constantly clinging to your form as you go east and west. I grieve that tall trees cast too much shade, And lament the times when we are not one At night I wish I were your candle Illuminating your jadelike face between two columns I grieve that as the sun spreads its light, My own is in a trice extinguished, my brightness hidden I wish I were the bamboo made into the fan Producing a keen breeze in your soft clasp. I grieve that come the morning when white dew forms, I will look at your lapels and sleeves from afar. I wish I were the wood of the w u - t ' u n g tree Made into a resonant ch'm on your lap I grieve that music—like joy—when intense must turn into sadness, And you will ultimately push me away and stop the music.

In each of these ten wishes, the first two lines describe the poet's fantasy of being transformed into an object close to the lady, and the last two reveal how temporality renders all hopes of permanent union futile. It is the heightened consciousness of the passage of time and the eternal flux of all things that paves the way for the final message of Taoist detachment: "I ponder how my every wish turns against itself, / How bitter longings are in vain." He hopes for a chance encounter, or a meeting in a dream, but all to no purpose. Thus does the poet school himself to transcend passion at the end of the fu. In order to "reason feelings away" ( ι - l i h u a - c h ' i n g ) , poetic rhetoric dis­ plays escalating involuted turns. The tortuousness of this process becomes obvious when we compare Tao Ch'ien's poem to earlier works in which the

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drama of seduction is staged playfully. " F u on Master Teng-t'u Enamored of Beauty" and "Fu on the Beauty" are in some ways comparable to a kind of striptease involving the complicity of both poet and reader. The pleasure of anticipation is unalloyed, even as the final renunciation is painless. In "Fu on Stilling the Passions," it is the fate of pleasure to become more am­ biguous and short-lived. By the same token, the final resolution, for all its clarity, seems anguished and lacking in conviction: Vain are the many thoughts that grieve me We are finally separated by mountains and rivers I welcome the fresh breeze that unburdens me of longings, And consign my weak will to the receding waves 1 refuse such encounters as described in the "Creeping Grass" poem, And recite instead the old songs of the Shao - M n . 6 6 Cleansing the ten thousand thoughts to harbor sincerity, 1 rest my far-reaching feelings at the eight limits of the world

With all possible channels of communication blocked, the poet finally comes to the concluson that the only liberation lies in "stilling the passions." However, despite the vague suggestion of consolation in nature, and his avowed intention of resolving all contradictions, it is not at all clear how release from passion is to be attained. In Hsiao T'ung's preface to T'ao Ch'ien's collected works, he describes the place of "Fu on Stilling the Passions" in T'ao's entire corpus as "the minute flaw in a piece of white jade, . . . what Yang Hsiung described as 'a hundred encouragements and one criticism.' " a The lucid reasoning of the last eight lines, as well as T'ao's declaration of intention m the preface ("So that the wayward yearnings of a perverted heart may be restrained, / And subtle moral criticism may be articulated") apparently fail to convince Hsiao T'ung that the poem is not an incitement to passion, but rather a heroic effort to restrain it. Su Shih takes Hsiao T'ung to task, and asserts that the poem is solidly in the tradition of The Book of Songs: "Just as in the 'Airs of the States' [Kuo-feng], [here] the appreciation of sensual beauty stops short of licentiousness. Even if it is not as proper as the Chou-nan bb

The poem "Creeping Grass" ("Man-ts'ao," S h i h c h m g , no 94) comes from the land of

Cheng, and " t h e airs of Cheng are excessive and licentious" [Cheng--^heng yin, Confucius, Analects, 15 11) The Book of Music (Yueh chi) describes the music of Cheng and Wei as "music of troubled times" (Ιααη-shih chih yin), in Li-chi Chefig chu (7he Book of Rites, with commentary by Cheng Hsuan [127-200], c 11 7b) The Shao-nan poems (no 12-25) are sup­ posed to represent the spirit of propriety and moral seriousness See the "Mao Preface to The Book of Songs" (Mao Shih hsuj "The Chou-nan and Shao-nan poems set forth the way of the proper beginning, they form the basis of the benign influence of the sage kings" (Kuo Shao-ju, Chung~kuo h-tai wen-Inn hsuan, 1 45) 67

T ' a o Y u a n - m i n g c h i , 6b

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songs, how can it be said to deviate from [the lofty intentions of] Ch'ii Yiian and Sung Yii?" 68 We may dismiss Hsiao T'ung's moralistic sentiment and negative judg­ ment, but his perception that the account of passion is more powerful and convincing than that of its "stilling" is basically sound. On the other hand, Su Shih's defense of the moral earnestness of the poem is also justified, but not simply in terms of its "stopping short of licentiousness" (pu-yin). If a n y t h i n g , t h e p o e m p o r t r a y s t h e m o s t a g o n i z i n g " l u s t of t h e m i n d " { i - y i n ) . However, the moral-philosophical dimension does loom large, because there is a serious probing into the possibility of transcending passion. The antidote to passion is sought in the understanding of the transience of hu­ man existence and the ultimate vanity of desires. Of all these the lady who inspires the poet's passion is herself poignantly awareShe mourns that morning glow easily turns into dusk, And grieves that human existence is incessant toil. All would come to an end m a hundred years, How is it then, that joys are few and sorrows many?

In other words, the object of desire also holds forth the promise of the tran­ scendence of desire. We have arrived at one of the most suggestive para­ doxes in the Chinese literary tradition.

THE PROGENY OF THE AMBIGUOUS DIVINE WOMAN

The ambivalent divine woman is a subject of abiding interest in Chinese literature. From The Intimate Biography of Emperor Wu of Han (Han Wuti nei-chuan, ca. 6th cent ) on, many classical and vernacular tales describe an encounter with a woman from the otherworld. However, only rarely does she rise to the status of being a "symbolic other," as is the case in the Ch'u tz'u, "Fu on the Goddess," "Fu on the Goddess of the River Lo," and "Fu on Stilling the Passions." Instead of being a "symbolic other" to whom the poet directs his quest and who remains ultimately inaccessible, she is often merely a kind of "aesthetic object" easily assimilable into the existing socio-political framework. In some later poetry the goddess is only a "met­ aphor for a secular charmer," 69 who may be a courtesan, Taoist nun, or palace beauty. The idea of woman as aesthetic object, which is m some ways the opposite of the motif of the ambivalent and unattainable divme woman, is perhaps best exemplified by so-called "palace-style poetry" (kung-t'i shih). The 6 8 Ibid , c 7.7a—7b " Schafer, T h e D w i n e W o m a n , 71 Schafer discusses the connection between the divine

woman, dragons, water imagery, and the topos of transformation in Chinese cultural history, with a special emphasis on T'ang literature

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range of female emotions in this poetry, which rose to prominence around the fifth and sixth centuries, is notoriously limited: it gravitates toward male desire and ranges from shy expectation to melancholic pining. The poet apparently derives a vicarious pleasure from describing the seductive languor of a woman or from adopting a female voice expressing longing for an absent lover. In this period a new subgenre, "poems on objects" (yungwu shih), developed, in which the beautiful woman is completely objecti­ fied—"object" refers to, among other things, proprietorial rights, as many of the poems are about palace women and singing girls who are literally the property of the emperor. Possession is certain and delay of gratification carefully controlled to heighten the prospective pleasure. Poetry of this kind may seem to employ a rhetoric superficially comparable to that of the works discussed so far, since it also delights in creating an aura of mystery around the woman. Her attitude is often described as ambiguous: "Certain of his love, as if about to come close; / Filled with shyness, she yet refuses to draw near" (Emperor Wu of Liang, Hsiao Yen [464—549], "Midnight Song" [Tzu-yeh ko]); 70 "Flushed and half-intoxicated, / She hid behind fragrant screens" (Emperor Chien-wen of Liang, Hsiao Kang [503-551], "The Beauty" [Mei-nu p'ien]); 71 "Overcome with shyness, she refuses to step out, / Claiming that she is not done with self-adornment" (Hsiao Kang, "A Beautiful Lady Applying Cosmetics in the Morning" [Mei-jen ch'enchuang shih]). 72 In works such as these uncertainty is used to enhance plea­ sure. It is self-consciously produced, masterfully controlled, and compla­ cent. More generally, one may say that ambivalence and mystery come to de­ fine one type of feminine ideal. The story of the Han emperor Wu trying to summon the spirit of Lady Li after her death and being granted a fleeting vision of her, for example, certainly draws from this idea: "Is this she? Is this not she? / I stand and watch— / How late she is in coming!" (Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Ch'e [157-87 B.C.], "Song of Lady Li" [Li Fu-jen ko]). 73 On her deathbed Lady Li refused to show her face to the emperor, in the hope that he would retain memory only of her beauty. 74 The image of the dying Lady Li withholding her presence is echoed in her evanescent image evoked by the Taoist priest behind gauze curtains. The aura of mystery and unpredictability is thus self-consciously cultivated. Such examples also abound in later stories. We recall that Li Wa first abandons her lover and then unaccountably displays unswerving devotion (Po Hsing-chien [77570

Lu Ch'in-li, H s i e n - C h ' i n H a n W e i C h i n N a n - p e i - c h ' a o s h i h , 2 1516

71

Jbjd., 3 1908.

72

Ibid , 3 1953. Ibid , 1 96. See also "Fu on Lady Li" (Li Fu-jen fu) by Emperor Wu, in Pan Ku, H a n s h u ,

73

c.97 A 3953-55 74

Pan Ku, H a n s h u , c 97 A 3951-52

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826], "The Story of Li Wa" [Li Wa chuan], TPKC, c.484.3985-91), and that Ts'ui Ying-ying, one of the most remarkable creations of T'ang (618-907) ch'uan-ch'i fiction (ch'uan-ch'i, literally, "transmitting accounts of the ex­ traordinary," is a genre of classical tales in which themes of love, the fan­ tastic, and extraordinary exploits loom large), hides her emotions and her talents, although in the end the expression of her love is unequivocal (Yiian Chen [779-831], " T h e Story of Ying-ying" [Ying-ying chuan], TPKC, c.488.4012-17). Even so, Yiian Chen compares her to "Wandering clouds, with no fixed abode" ("Poem on Meeting a Fairy" [Hui-chen shih], 4016), 75 and Chang Sheng's excuse for finally abandoning her is the presumed un­ predictability of beautiful woman: "In general, when heaven makes a crea­ ture beautiful, it will result in disaster either for that person, or for those around her. Suppose Ts'ui Ying-ying meets her chance, and becomes rich and powerful, priding herself on favors shown her. She would change into a dragon, horned or otherwise, if not indeed cloud and rain; I would not know the limit of her transformations" (4016). Some of the most beautiful examples of how the divine woman features in prose narrative are the lyrical ch'uan-ch'i stories by Shen Ya-chih (781832), especially "Sorrow on the River Hsiang" ("Hsiang-chung yiian chieh," under the title "Cheng Sheng from the Imperial Academy" [T'aihsiieh Cheng Sheng], TPKC, c.298.2372-73) and "The Story of the Dream of C h ' i n " ( " C h ' i n - m e n g chi," under the title " S h e n Ya-chih", TPKC, c.282.2248-50). In "Sorrow on the River Hsiang," Cheng Sheng takes un­ der his protection a maiden in distress who turns out to be a water goddess temporarily banished to t h e h u m a n world. Well-versed i n t h e C h ' u t z ' u corpus and herself master of the genre, she evokes immediate associations with the elusive deities from those early shamanistic songs. After being parted from Cheng Sheng for ten years, she appears to him in a vision emerging from Lake Tung-t'ing, dancing on the deck of a resplendent boat and singing of the impossibility of union. She vanishes after one long final gaze. In "The Story of the Dream of Ch'in," Shen describes how he enters the ancient kingdom of Ch'in in a dream, becomes an important minister, and marries the princess Nung-yii, the semidivine flute player from myth and legend. He wakes up after the princess dies, and duly records as part of the dream his copious poetic composition mourning her death. In these exam­ ples, death and loss evoke echoes of the ambivalent divine woman, but the women from the otherworld and the men who long for them are not in themselves complex or divided. Ambivalence arises from the sense that su­ preme happiness and fulfillment cannot be sustained in time. Grief and " The allusion is to the goddess Morning Cloud in " F u on K'ao-t'ang/' C S K S T W , c 10 3b

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longing is self-consciously savored and displayed as the deepening of the lyrical experience; as such those feelings do not augur the moment of loss of control that had attended the appearance of the ambiguous divine woman in the works considered earlier. The pattern traced in Shen's tales applies to other famous T'ang ch'uanch'i stories, such as " T h e Story of Ms. J e n " ("Jen-shih chuan," TPKC 1 c.452.3692-97) by Shen Chi-chi (ca. late 8th cent.) and "The Story of Li Chang-wu" ("Li Chang-wu chuan," TPKC, c.340.2698-2701) by Li Chingliang (ca. late 8th cent.). Of course the possiblity of harmoniously integrat­ ing the supernatural woman into the human world, as in Li ch'ao-wei's (ca. late 9th cent.) "The Story of Liu I" ("Liu I chuan," TPKC, c.419.3410-17), also exists. Such a pattern becomes more and more common m later stories. Many notable examples are included in Liao-chai chih-i (Records of the strange from the Liao-chai Studio) by P'u Sung-hng (1640-1715), a seventeenth-century collection of classical tales discussed in chapter 3. Some sto­ ries (very few, it must be owned) in Liao-chai also deal with death and loss, but in the lyrical mode typical of Shen Ya-chih. The interesting nuances and ambiguities in this collection are of another kind; they develop from the process of the recontainment of desire, which is concomitant with the reappropnation of the otherworld for mundane reality. The ambivalence of the supernatural woman often derives from the process of her assimilation into mundane reality. She embodies the fulfillment of desire and at the same time lays down premises of a new order. In this sense, she sums up the double focus at the heart of many stories in the collection: the urge to revel in the infinite gratification of desire, and the parallel urge to keep it within bounds. This represents the classic solution to the tensions between enchantment and disenchantment: to have it both ways, to make enchant­ ment a permanent state by reintegrating desire into schemes of order. The grand exception to all this is the eighteenth-century masterpiece Hung-Iou meng. The central paradox of that book, "enlightenment through love" or "transcendence of passion through passion" returns us to the is­ sues raised in connection with the ambivalent divine woman in fu. As we have seen in "Fu on the Goddess of the River Lo" and "Fu on Stilling the Passions," the problem of persuasion and ornamentation yields pride of place to the dialectics of attachment and detachment, of feeling and negation or transcendence of feeling ( pu-ch'ing ). One of the most illustrious progeny of goddesses embodying or inspiring this dialectic is certainly the goddess Disenchantment from Hung-Iou meng. Her avowed aims of disenchant­ ment through enchantment, of warning against love through initiation into the art of love, and of making Pao-yii understand negativity through the plenitude of experience turn her into a paradoxical figure instrumental to our final understanding of the vision of the book. I mean by the word "vision" not only the philosophy articulated, but also

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Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in's attitude toward the fictional universe he creates. The idea of "enlightenment through love" is not just the paraphrased meaning; it implies that the relationship between the author/narrator and the aes­ thetic illusion is understood as "simultaneous attachment and detachment" (,pu-chi pu-li), 76 the paradox that "unless one is detached, one cannot be attached; unless one is attached, one cannot be detached" f pu-li tse pu-chi, pu-chi tse pu-li). Intense nostalgia tempered with irony makes for greater poignancy. Thus Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in frames his most beautiful of dreams with myths of defiant absurdity. By the same logic, only the poet who writes of the near impossibility of "stilling the passions," can pen lines such as the following: Free and unrestrained, on the waves of the great transformation, Neither happy nor yet fearful When the end comes, it has to come, There is no need for further rumination (T'ao Ch'ien, "Substance, Shadow, Spirit" [Hsing, ymg, shen]) 77

The dialectics of attachment and detachment is of course a Buddhist idea, and the introduction of Buddhism had a profound influence on the rise of Chinese fiction. However, as we have seen, the problems of the status of illusion and of its relationship with writing and reading are already set forth in some examples of fu literature, especially as epitomized by the figure of the ambivalent divine woman. The implied genealogy of Disenchantment I have sketched is thus also something of a history of fictionality in Chinese literature. The kind of philosophical depth that Buddhism adds to the idea of fictionality may be measured by the distance between Disenchantment and the goddess-temptress-instructress figure in early fu literature. I have tried to define the context of the major concerns of this book through the study of a poetic tradition. In the next chapter I bring the general the­ oretical problems outlined here to bear on the late Ming (mid 16th cent, to the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644), the age that discovered radical sub7 6 P u - c h i p u - h is a term that recurs in some Buddhist texts, e g., T a - f a n g - k u a n g Y u a n - c h u e h hsiu-to-lo hao-i ching (Standard version of the definitive meaning of the Sutra of Perfcct En­ lightenment), which describes how the undifferentiated consciousness of perfect enlighten­

ment regards the myriad worlds as "empty flowers, randomly coming into being and randomly d e s t r o y e d , n e i t h e r a t t a c h e d n o r d e t a c h e d , w i t h o u t r e s t r a i n t a n d w i t h o u t l i b e r a t i o n " (in T h e Taishd Tripitaka [Taisho shinshu daizokyo], no 842, 915). Yuan-chueh ching is attributed to the Indian translator Buddhatrata, but it is an apocryphal Chinese text written toward the end of the seventh or the beginning of the eighth century, and was first known in Ch'an circles in Loyang in the early eighth century history of the sutra.

I thank Peter Gregory for information on the textual

" 7 Lu Ch'in-li, H s i e n - C h ' t n H a n W e t - C h t n N a n - p e i ~ c h ' a o s h t h , 2 989—90

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jectivity. This was a specific historical moment when the obsession with self-expression and the transformative power of love charged the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment with a new urgency and complexity. The representative solutions to the tensions and contradictions that devel­ oped f r o m t h i s l a t e - M i n g legacy a r e dealt w i t h i n connection w i t h Liao-chai chih-i. The latter half of the book is devoted to Hung-Iou meng, the most profound treatment of the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment, love and enlightenment, illusion and reality.

CHAPTER TWO

The Late-Ming Moment

IN THE YEAR 1629, Chang Tai (1597-1679) staged a nocturnal theatrical per­ formance at Chin Shan, which he subsequently described m his Dream Memories of T'ao-an (T'ao-an meng-i): In the second year of the Ch'ung-chen era [1629], one day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, J left Chen-chiang for Yen-chou. Towards evening I reached Pei-ku and steered the boat into the estuary. The moon plunged its reflection in the water The river waves engulfed it fitfully, while the mist absorbed it, rose, and lit up the sky. I was taken by surprise, rapturous. By the time I moved the boat towards the Chin Shan Temple, the night watchmen already were making their second drumming round. I passed through the Dragon King Hall into the mam hall All was pitch-dark and silent. Moonlight filtered through the branches, sparse as traces of snow. I called my servant to bring the theatrical appurtenances, lit all the lights in the great hall, and sang arias from operas on Han ChYs great battles at Chin Shan and the Yangtze River The cymbals and drums made so much noise that everybody m the temple got up to see what was happening. An old monk rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, gaping and closing his mouth in turn, overtaken with yawns, laughter, and sneezes all at once. The monks slowly fo­ cused their gaze, trying to decide who it was, when they had come, and for what reason, but no one dared ask anything. By the time the performance was over, it was almost daybreak. We untied the hawser and crossed the river. The monks came to the foot of the mountain, and for a long while followed us with their gaze, without quite making out whether we were humans or monsters or ghosts. 1

The nocturnal performance at the Chin Shan Temple is pointless. That is the beauty of it. That is the point. The monks are rudely awakened and plunged into a dream they cannot comprehend. For all the immediacy and palpability of the experience, it remains opaque, irreducible to meaning. Or rather, its meaning resides in its expressive intent, for it is justified as the spontaneous expression of a whim. Chang Tai obviously relishes the won­ der and bewilderment of the monks. In this he typifies the sensibility of his age: the late-Ming fascination with illusion and sheer delight in its manip­ ulation. 2 Chang Tai, T'ao-an meng-ι, Hsi-hu meng-hsun, 4 The recurrent references to theatrical performances, festivals, fireworks, and lanterns in Dream Memories point to the same preoccupation with illusionism Almost one quarter of the 1

2

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Chapter Two

The passage is divided into halves. The first describes two moments of heightened perception and visionary significance, while the second repre­ sents Chang Tai's response to the unexpected spectacle of beauty in nature. The transformation of the darkness and silence in the temple hall into the sound and fury of a dramatic performance parallels, and might have been inspired by, the magical transformation of the river and the landscape in the moonlight. 3 The repetition of the intense yet ephemeral transformation in­ volves a role reversal. The rapturous observer of an unsought-for vision of beauty shades into the creator of an optical illusion, and in the process he becomes the object observed. 4 There is self-enchantment in drawing an­ other into an illusion, and the sense of power and control in manipulating an illusion is itself illusory; even as Chang Tai overwhelms the monks with the theatrical illusion, he himself already enters into it. The narrow margin between creating an illusion and being part of it raises important questions: what does it mean to be dreamer and/or be dreamed (i.e., be a figment of another's imagination, have one's dreams defined and controlled by an­ other)? What are the possible analogies with the status and function of the aesthetic illusion? How should this be related to the dialectics of enchant­ ment and disenchantment? When we juxtapose this passage with the moving confessional preface of entries in the book are related to the theater, of which Chang Tai was a great connoisseur His family kept its own theatrical troupe 3

An interesting reversal of the shift of perspectives in "Chin Shan" is described in "The

Extra Mid-Autumn Festival" (67). Here the theatrical performance prepares the audience for the vision of art and beauty in nature "Moonlight splashed on the ground like water. Figures in the moonlight glowed as if fresh from a bath. In the middle of the night white clouds rose slowly and imperceptibly from our feet The mountains in front of us all disappeared

The

Incense Burner, Goose Nose, and Heaven Pillar peaks revealed only the topknots of their coif­ fures We seemed to be seeing the mountain snow scene by Mi Fu [famous Sung painter, 10521107] " The painting metaphor implies a conscious framing, while the theatrical illusion pre­ disposes the observer to mental reorganization As a result, the boundary between nature and art is effaced 4

In D r e a m M e m o r i e s , and late-Ming writings in general, there is a self-conscious emphasis

on ways of seeing, the transcendence of habitual perception, and the meaning of observing both others and oneself. In the entry "Watching Snow at the 'Heart of the Lake Pavilion' " (28), tor instance, the significance of the moment is underlined by the contrast between the ordinary person's obliviousness and the mood of provisional intimacy engendered by the chance acquaintances' common appreciation of the snow scene, which is again described with metaphors borrowed from painting Another variation on this theme is "West Lake on the Fifteenth of the Seventh Month" (57), when "there was nothing to see except those who had come to see the moon of the fifteenth of the seventh month." To be on the outermost ring in this "hierarchy of seeing" is to establish some sort of superiority Of the five categories of watchers, four are seen as vulgarity in various guises Only those who "watched the moon without people noticing it, who moreover were neither deliberate nor demonstrative about it" are welcomed as like-minded souls. But even here the repetition, for the fifth time, of the phrase "[I] watched them" (k'an-chih) carries a faint suggestion of superciliousness

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49

Dream Memories, it becomes obvious that fascination with illusion is linked to concern with recovering and representing one's past: And I think over my past life: glory, honor, wealth, all revert to emptiness after passing m the twinkling of an eye. Fifty years amount to one dream. . . . From afar I let my thoughts roam over events past, and commit to writing whatever comes to my memory. I bring these recollections m front of the Buddha, repent­ ing of them one by one . . . Picking up a fragment at random is like wandering along old paths and seeing old friends. "The city walls are the same but not the inhabitants"—for all that, I am consoled. Indeed, one should beware of talking to deluded souls about dreams. . .

Now I am about to wake up from this great

dream called life, and I am still concerned with "the carving of insects," 5 which is just so much sommloquy. 6

Past experiences are illusory and dreamlike. A past moment of conscious enactment of illusion is perhaps even more so, partly because it is based on the kind of whimsical self-indulgence that Chang Tai now claims to con­ demn. ("Different kinds of transgression can be recognized in different kinds of just retribution.") 7 The fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 spelled destruction for his world, and the mere fact of his having lived the good life meant implication in a kind of collective guilt. Chang Tai writes of past experiences, supposedly to repent of them, but even while writing he relives them and feels their power again. Herein lies the ambiguity of the telling of dreams. The act of telling involves distance and reflection, but there is also the danger of self-enchantment. The representation of dreams and il­ lusions called "past life" is destined to be mere somniloquy, for final awak­ ening is silence. To recapitulate: Chang Tai's entry on the nocturnal performance at the Chin Shan Temple sums up several aspects of late-Ming sensibility. First, it shows how the fascination with dreams and illusions is also the celebra­ tion of the human capacity to produce them, a token of implied freedom and autonomy for the dreaming, imagining, or remembering self. 8 Second, the transitions in the passage show a heightened consciousness of the narrow, 5

I e , t r i v i a l l i t e r a r y p u r s u i t s S e e Y a n g H s i u n g ' s d i s m i s s a l o f h i s e a r l y fu writing in chapter

6

Chang Tai, Lang-hsiin wen-chi, 28-29 Chang Tai, T'ao-an meng-i, 28. In his preface to In Quest of Dreams at \Nest Lake (Hsi-hu meng-hsun), Chang Tai claims

1. 7 8

that the West Lake in his memory is more real than the actual West Lake "I was born in troubled times, and I have been away from West Lake for twenty-eight years However, not a day has passed without West Lake entering my dreams, and m that sense the West Lake of my dreams has not parted from me for a day " He goes on to describe how two visits to the ravaged West Lake confirm his belief that the "real" West Lake exists only in memory: "From now on I would turn to the tranquillity of the cottage and the grass mat, treasuring only my old dreams" (7).

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shifting margin between being within and without the illusion, between being dreamer and dreamed, and the ironic implications that arise there­ from. Finally, in linking the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment with a nostalgic and elegiac mood, Chang Tai represents the late-Ming ob­ session with problems of self-expression and truth-telling. Fascination with dreams and illusions is then linked to the problem of self-representation.

COMIC RECONCILIATION IN THE PEONY PAVILION

To speak of the late-Ming moment in Chinese literature is to invoke several intertwined developments: a new awareness of the intensity and transcen­ dent dimension of ch'ing, fascination with and celebration of dreams and illusions, and a certain preciosity in refining and defining nuances of percep­ tion, experience, and expression. I approach these issues here by way of T'ang Hsien-tsu's (1550-1616) "dream plays": The Peony Pamlion (Mutan t'ing), The Story of Nan-k'o (Nan-k'o chi), and The Story of Han-tan (Han-tan chi). (The dream motif in Purple Hanpin [Tzu-ch'ai chi]—con­ ventionally included as one of the four "dream plays"—being far less cen­ tral, I leave it out of the discussion.) There is in late-Ming writing a new emphasis on how illusions arise from human emotions and sentiments (yiian-ch'ing sheng-huan). This returns us to the first point raised about Chang Tai. Fascination with dreams and illusions goes hand in hand with celebration of the intensity and autonomy of subjective projection, the creation of a world through desire and imagi­ nation. The most frequently quoted passage on the expansiveness and transformative power of ch'ing in late-Ming literature is probably T'ang's 1598 preface to The Peony Pavilion: Of all the "women of feelings" in this world, is there ever one like Tu Li-mang! Dreaming of a person she becomes ill, then fatally ill, till she dies after leaving the world her self-portrait After being dead for three years, she could yet, in the dark void, seek her dream-lover and come to life again. One such as Li-mang may truly be called a "soul of feelings" [yu-ch'ing jen]. Love is of origins unknown, yet it runs deep. The living can die for it, and through it the dead can come back to life. That which the living cannot die for, or which cannot resurrect the dead, is not love [ch'ing] at its most supreme. Love m a dream why can't it be real? As if there is any dearth in this world of dreaming ones |or figures one dreams up]! Those for whom love is fulfilled only with service on the pillow, those who have time for intimacy only upon leaving public office— they are squarely in the realm of form and body. . . . Alas 1 Events of the human world cannot be contained by the span of the human life. I am not one of those who have attained final understanding, who can constantly use reason [li] to ap-

TheLate-MingMoment

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51

prehend all things 1 How little it is known that that which cannot be in the realm of reason simply has to be in the realm of love' 4

This justly famous passage deserves closer scrutiny. "Love is of origins un­ known, yet it runs deep." How ch'ing comes into being is a mystery: desire preexists, and is in some ways independent of, the object of desire. It seems appropriate that one of the earliest and most astute formulations of the problem should come from the Wei-Chin period, the age that first discov­ ered the burden of self-conscious passion. 1 0 Chi K'ang (223-262) writes in his reply to a critique of his essay, "On Nourishment of Life" (Ta nan Yangsheng lun): Critique: "When moved [with sexual desire] one seeks a mate, when hungry one seeks food

This is the principle of nature " How true that is' Now I am not

suggesting that one should do without a mate or food, I just want reason and moderation to prevail in the satisfaction of sexual desire and hunger For desire without deliberation is just movement of one's nature [hsing-tung, ι e , pure im­ pulse, natural desire]. To be moved by longing upon full consciousness involves the use of one's mind Natural desire is matched by its object, when it is satisfied there is coincidence of desire and the object of desire. Desire of the mind \chihyung\ directs its quest by its own inner momentum, it is insatiable and potentially infinite What the world needs worry about, and wherein the origin of disaster lies, is desire of the mind, not natural desire. 1 1 9 10

T H T C 1 2 1094 I have in mind the numerous instances of deep and sometimes wayward feelings recorded

in New Words in the Discourse of the Human World (Shih-shuo hsin-yu, comp ca mid 5th cent by Liu I-ch'ing [403-444)), especially in chuan 23, "The Free and Unrestrained" (Jentan) One thinks of Wang Hsin (ca

late 4th cent ), who wept bitterly as he climbed Mount

Mao, describing himself as "certain to die in the end of passion" {Shih-shuo hsin-yu chiaochien, c 23 54), or of Wang Hui-chih (d 388), who, moved by the beauty of the night snow to longing for his friend Tai K'uei (4th cent ), made an overnight journey to visit Tai, only to return without having seen his friend

When questioned, he replied, "I come following a

mood, and when the mood exhausts itself I leave Why do I have to see Tai 7 " (c 23 47) In such examples as these, an impulse or emotion is not simply felt, it is self-consciously savored and cherished The second example also leads us to the paradox of self-conscious spontaneity Wang Hui-chih is very self-consciously following a whim Perhaps the function of the inter­ locutor is precisely to provide the context for a self-conscious statement of spontaneity 1 1 Chi K'ang, C h i K ' a n g c h i c h i a o - c h u , c 4 174 In the essay "On the Nourishment of Life" ("Yang-sheng lun," c 3 143—60), Chi K'ang states from the beginning that immortality (shenhsien) is not to be attained by mere effort and perseverance, but he proceeds to expound on the value of Taoist techniques of "nourishing life" (tao-yang), from basic dietary and breathing exercises to the cultivation of inner calm and detachment "Forget pleasure and your joy will not want, leave living behind and your body will be preserved" (c 3 157) Hsiang Hsiu's (fl 250) critique (c 3 161-67) is based on a more commonsensical point of view The tendency of the mind to exercise itself (hsin-chih) as well as desires and feelings (sheng-ch'ing) are natural and not to be suppressed Mou Tsung-san suggests that Hsiang's argument is deliberately mundane and designed to provoke a lively intellectual debate, and that it represents a stage of

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The extent of coincidence between desire and the object of desire defines the distinction between biological impulse and desire of the mind. Desire of the mind is infinite because it is not determined by sufficient causes. The lateMing drama critic P'an Chih-heng (ca. 1556-1622) writes: "For desire [ch'tngj is drawn to . . . the margin between presence and absence, distance and proximity, existence and nonexistence. Not knowing why it comes into being, ch'ing becomes inexhaustible, and there is [consequently] no need to wonder at the power of ch'ing to allow one to pass from death to life, or from life to death." 12 To fall in love with and die pining for a figure one dreams up is then to endow subjectivity with potential infinitude and willful autonomy. Perhaps this explains w h y it hardly matters that m The Peony Pavilion, the object of the heroine's love, Liu Meng-mei, is a conventional and relatively bland figure. 13 We recall that, while Li-mang's dream is pas­ sion pure and simple, Liu Meng-mei's dream of the heroine links love to worldly ambition. In scene 2, he relates his dream of a beautiful woman standing under a plum tree. She has said to him, "Liu Sheng, Liu Sheng, only when you meet me will you be able to find fulfillment in love and make your way in the world" (THTC, 3:3813). That is why he changes his name to Meng-mei, (Dreaming of Plum [Tree]). Some plays imitating The Peony Pavilion try to improve upon the original by creating a hero more appealing than Liu Meng-mei. 14 But the intensity of Li-mang's passion is not deterhis thinking prior to his commentary on the C h u a n g T z u , which in its turn derives much from Chi K'ang's "Reply" {Ts'ai-hsing yu hsuan-h, 327-29, 237) Chi K'ang's "Reply" (c.4 16195) enlarges upon the importance of the "containment of consciousness" (ι-chu) desire of the mind is to be restrained by inner detachment {t'len) and natural desire (yu-tung) by a sense of h a r m o n y a n d balance (/JO) 12

Ch'en To, Yeh Ch'ang-hai, ed , C h u n g - k u o h - t a i c h u - l u n h s u a n - c h u , 175-76

n

In his dullness Liu Meng-mei is by no means exceptional In early chih-kuai (lit , records

of the strange) and ch'uan-ch'i stories the hero often pales beside the passion and will of the heroine In the section "Transformation and Love" (Ch'ing hua) in Anatomy of Love Cate­ gories and Sketches (Ch'ing-shih lei-lueh), compiled by Feng Meng-Iung (1574—1646) around 1630, there is an account of how a wife, chagrined by her merchant husband's long absence, transforms herself into a wind that prevents merchant ships from going forward The Histo­ rian of Love (Ch'ing-shih Shih) comments "Women have no external affairs to attend to, and their nature is concentrated Once they set their mind on something they can will the most astounding things" (CS, c 11 310) 14

When Feng Meng-Iung rewrote T h e P e o n y P a v i l i o n as T h e D r e a m o f L o v e (Feng-hu

meng), he set out to improve the image of Liu Meng-mei by making him recognize the con­ nection between his dream of Li-niang, the image in the painting, and the nocturnal visit of Li-mang's ghost

In T'ang's play Liu's reaction on each of these occasions is based solely on

sensual attraction of the moment With the recognition passages, a more convincing case can be made for a deeper love and devotion good Liu's flaws" (pu-kuo)

Feng Meng-Iung describes his changes as "making

See "Feng-hu meng ts'ung-p'ing" (General commentary on

Dream of Love), in Mo-han-chai ting-pen ch'uan-ch'i, 3 2 Cf

Cheng Yuan-hsun's (chin-

shih degree [conferred upon success in the civil service examination held in the capital], 1583) preface to Deep in the Dream of Flowers (Meng-hua han)

"1 have always regretted the fact

that Liu Meng-mei is sour in temperament and wooden in nature, and is [therefore] far from

The Late-Mmg Moment

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S3

mined by the character of Liu. She wants to die for love and would have it so. Whether Liu can rise to the occasion and be a deserving partner is a moot point. "Love in a dream: why can't it be real? As if there is any dearth in this world of dreaming ones [or figures one dreams up]!" In a philosophy of radical subjectivity, the margin between dreaming and the wakeful state is immaterial, insofar as the affective power of dream images is no less than that of images from waking life. 15 There is an implicit claim here that love in a dream is more absolute: it is self-generated, independent of any reallife counterpart. It is perhaps more truly transcendent because it rises above corporeality and the phenomenal world. However, the "reality" of love in a dream also involves a narcissistic dimension. (In the passage from Chang Tai's Dream Memories quoted at the beginning of this chapter, the delight in illusion is also based on a kind of narcissistic self-observation [tzushang].) We recall that Li-niang's dream begins with her discovery of beauty (her own and that of nature) and her self-consciousness as an object of desire: The spring a rippling thread of gossamer gleaming sinuous m the sun borne idly across the court. Pausing to straighten the flower heads of hair ornaments, perplexed to find that my mirror stealing its half-glance at my hair has thrown these "gleaming clouds" into alarmed disarray. 16 an equal partner of Lj-niang" (Ying-yuan shih-kao [Poems from the garden of shadows], quoted in THTTL, 2:861) There are also attempts to make Liu Meng-mei a more moral instead of more passionate hero In Ch'en Shih's (chm-shih, 1641) Sequel to the Peony Pavilion (Hsu Mu-tan t'mg), Liu becomes a paragon of virtue, a follower of the famous Confucian thinker Chu Hsi (1130-1200), a loyal minister courageously denouncing Han T'ou-chou (1151-1207), whose misguided policy was responsible for the defeat of the Sung army by the Chin tribe in 1206. See Chu-hai tsung-mu t'i-yao pu-pien (Supplement to summaries of plays comprehen­ sively classified), in THTTL, 2Ί084 l s Cf Wu Wu-shan's (Wu Jen) comment in "Questions on The Peony Pavilion" (Huan-hun chi huo wen) from the Three Wives' Joint Commentary edition ("Wu Wu-shan san-fu hop'mg Mu-tan-t'ing Huan-hun chi," with comments by Ch'en Tung, Tan Tse, and Ch'ien 1 All three ladies were consecutively married to Wu Jen [original name I-i, hao Wu-shan], fl 17th cent ) "What people call real is not 'reality' but sensations of the body But then bodily sensations in dreams are no different. 1 lave we not witnessed someone dreaming of intercourse and ejaculating semen, or someone dreaming of fighting or leaping and thus moving hands and feet? As far as bodily sensations are concerned, reality and dream are one Only the source of affect is different" (THTTL, 2.898) 1 6 Sc 10, "Surprised in a Dream" (Ching meng), THTC, 3 1845 Birch, 43 All the English translations of the play refer to Cyril Birch, The Peony Pavilion

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"A rippling thread of gossamer gleaming sinuous in the sun" ( ch'ing-ssu) is a standard pun for "thoughts of love" (ch'ing-ssu): indefinite, evanes­ cent, and therefore all the more uncontrollable and all-encompassing, it is longing that does not yet know its name. Shying away from the mirror image that looks back, Li-niang is spellbound in a moment of enchantment. The involutions of Li-niang's ch'ing thus imply a certain mirroring process. Before she dies she paints her self-portrait, with a view to preserving for posterity her beauty before it is ravaged by sickness and a slow death. Aside from its function in the plot, 17 the painting is symbolic of the dimension of "tender emotions toward the self" ( tzu-lien ) in this supreme expression of love and longing. Pining for her dream-lover, she paints herself. The willful intensity of passion is rooted in the act of looking into the mirror, of per­ ceiving the self from the viewpoint of the desiring other. However, as C. T. Hsia points out in his study of T'ang Hsien-tsu's plays, there is a basic contradiction between the comic mode and the celebration of the intensity and infinitude of ch'mg. 18 The comic mode seeks to reconcile the conflicting demands of self and society, while the infinitude of ch'ing is best expressed through unfulfillment, the representation of how the desires of the self find no place in the scheme of things. Comic reconciliation in The Peony Pavilion is achieved through the projection of other worlds, the dreamworld and the realm beyond death. Hsia notes that Li-niang is daring and defiant of conventions only in her dream and when she is a "disembod­ ied wandering soul" ( yu-hun) after death. After her resurrection she be­ comes all propriety, a virtuous young lady protesting her virginity as well as the necessity of the proper nuptial rites. The conventional turn in Li-niang's character is quite unmistakable, but one may justly wonder about the seriousness of her protestation. It seems to be no more than playful flirtation; Li-niang is coyly delaying gratification for her eager lover, but not for long: LI-NIANG: YOU have my living self before you yet you must grant my body a spell of rest. [She turns aside] If only for a moment I could calm my loving thoughts. (Sc 36, T H T C , 3 1973, Birch, 208) 17

The painting is later buried along with Tu Li-niang (sc. 20) Liu Meng-mei comes upon it

(sc. 24) and is thoroughly entranced. His invocation of the painted image (sc 26) in some ways echoes Li-niang's quest for her dream (sc 12) It leads to the climax at the midpoint of the play Li-niang's ghost visits him and their union is consummated in the "Realm of Darkness" (sc 28). 18

"Time and Human Conditions in the Plays of T'ang Hsien-tsu," 279.

The Late-Ming Moment

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55

The "Three Wives Joint Commentary" reads: "Such words of evasion are witty and charming: 'If only for a moment / I could calm my loving thoughts/ Not only is she agreeing, she is almost hurrying him." 19 What­ ever Li-niang may say about the proper rites, she and Liu Meng-mei are promptly married after "bowing to heaven and earth" (pai-kao t'ien-ti). 2 0 By traversing different realms of existence Li-niang then has it both ways: she dies and comes back to life because of the intensity of her passion, but once she attains union with Liu Meng-mei in this world, she accepts conventional morality as an inevitable adjunct of marital bliss. In the final scene (sc. 55, "Reunion m Court" [Yuan-chia]), after all misunderstandings have been resolved, Li-niang congratulates herself on having made a most enviable match : "Ah, my parents, there are people who build high towers decked out with colored silks, yet even m broad daylight can't succeed in attracting a son-in-law of official rank. And here I, your daughter, from ghostly caverns of my dreams have made the conquest of no less than the prize candidate. What is this talk now of 'family rank and status'?" 2 1 19

T'ang Hsien-tsu, Y u - m i n g t ' a n g H u a n - h u n chi (Υύ-ming t'ang [lit , White Camellia Hall]

is T'ang Hsien-tsu's studio name, Huan-hun chi [Return of the soul] is an alternative title for T h e P e o n y Pavilion), m t w o c h u a n , c . 1 . 1 8 (no. 1 2 in t h e series N u a n - h u n g s h i h h u i - k ' o c h u a n chii [1919], edited by Liu Shih-heng)

This edition is based on the Ping-ssu kuan (Ice Silk

House) edition, a chin-ch'eng text (i.e , a text presented to the throne) from 1781, with com­ ments by the compiler, whose studio name is K'uai-yti t'ang [Rapid Rain Hall)

Jt includes

commentary from the Ch'ing-hui ko (Pure Radiance Pavilion) edition of 1623 compiled by Wang Ssu-jen (1574—1646) and the Three Wives' Joint Commentary edition, first printed in 1694 It also contains comments from Tsang Mao-hsun (d 1621) and the 1694 edition of Niu Shao-ya's musical revision of the play, Ko-cheng Mu-tan t'ing Han-tan chi tz'u-tiao (Stan­ d a r d i z e d a n d rectified m u s i c a l t u n e s of T h e P e o n y Pavilion a n d T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n ) 20

It is after her marriage that Li-niang confesses that she is still a virgin in spite of their

e a r l i e r t r y s t s : " I w a s a g h o s t t h e n , t h i s t i m e I'll s e r v e y o u w i t h m y r eal b o d y " (sc 3 6 , T H T C , 3.1976) Some critics have found Li-niang's protestation of her virginity somewhat indelicate. Tsang Mao-hsun writes. "Such words should not come from the tan [female lead role]. It would be better for her to not remember at all." "K'uai-yti t'ang" comments. "This is in the manner of the Yuan dramatists [i.e., the exphcitness of the Yuan dramatists is echoed here]" (T'ang Hsien tsu, Yu-ming t'ang Huan-hun chi, c 1.20), 21 Sc 55, T H T C 3 2075 Perhaps it is distaste for this streak of worldhness and complacency 1 in Li-niang's character that influences Chiang Shih-ch'uan's (1725—1785) representation of the

character of Yu Erh-ku in his play The Dream of Lin-ch'uan (Lin-ch'uan meng [T'ang Hsientsu is a native of Lin-ch'uan county in Kiangsi Province])

Erh-ku dies of longing for T'ang

Hsien-tsu after reading The Peony Pavilion. Her appreciation of the play, however, is based on spiritual affinity with the dramatist and has nothing to do with vicarious participation. She does not identify with Tu Li-niang and considers Liu Meng-mei a despicable character—a sen­ sualist and a careerist (sc 10,104). She admires T'ang Hsien-tsu for daring to stand up against the corrupt powers m court, for in doing so he jeopardized his career. In the same breath she criticizes Li-niang for being so intent on marrying a "prize candidate" (sc 4,43) Chiang Shihch'uan thus describes a passion that is at once more abstract, more spiritual, and more literary

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The mood of comic reconciliation is certainly predominant in the play, but this does not have to be interpreted as a consequent discontinuity in Liniang's character. The quest for her dream love shades effortlessly into af­ firmation of a more worldly bliss, even as the otherworld (the realm of dreams and death) complements rather than contravenes mundane reality in The Peony Pavilion. Perhaps the function of comic exuberance is to cover up possible disjunctions or contradictions. The celebration of love is the cel­ ebration of life with its multifarious aspects, sublime as well as mundane. The word "life" (or "vitality," sheng) has a special resonance in T'ang's writings, probably due to the influence of his teacher Lo Ju-fang (1515— 1588). 22 In an essay entitled "Disquisition on the Academy for the Rever­ ence of Life" (Kuei-sheng Shu-yuan shuo), he writes: "The learning of the great man therefore starts with knowing life ( chih-sheng ). From knowing life one learns self-worth, and understands how all forms of life in this world should be held in reverence" ( THTC 1 2:1163). Rediscovery of the ordinary ( p'ing-ch'ang ) , emphasis on spontaneity and naturalness (t'ien-chi tzu-jan), and belief in directness and immediacy ( chien-chieh ) m late-Ming thought, especially the T'ai-chou school, burden mundane reality and sen­ sual experience with the expectation of yielding the most profound insights. A friend once asked Lo Ju-fang, "We speak of contemplation of the mind, or self-knowledge in action, or wide-ranging learning, or meditation, and you, venerable sir, do not seem to particularly approve of any of the above. But who then can speak of the Tao?" [Lo replied,] "This servant boy holding the tea embodies the Tao." 23 Lo goes on to explain how the boy, without being aware of it, lives out "vigilant self-examination and profound rever­ ence" ( chieh-shen k'ung-chu) by doing his job well. The paradox of "unAt the end of the play, Yii Erh-ku and the protagonists of the other three dream plays visit T'ang Hsien-tsu in a dream. Perhaps Chiang is claiming that Erh-ku's nonsensual and un­ w o r l d l y p a s s i o n m a k e s h e r a m o r e w o r t h y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e s p i r i t of T h e P e o n y Pavilion than Tu Li-niang The real Yu Erh-ku of Lou-chiang died at seventeen, after writing a commentary on T h e Peony Pavilion

Chang Ta-fu (1553-1630), a friend of T'ang Hsien-tsu, made a copy of the

commentary and sent it to T'ang, but it did not arrive (THTTL, 2.848)

Deeply touched by

Yu's obsessive appreciation, T'ang wrote "Two Poems Mourning the Lady from Lou-chiang, with Preface" (K'u Lou-chiang nu-tzu erh-shou ping hsii) in 1615 (THTC, 1.654-55) T h e P e o n y Pavilion apparently acquired a cult status, especially among female readers, and stories about its magical, sometimes fatal, appeal proliferated. A certain woman from Neichiang was said to have fallen in love with T'ang after reading the play She drowned herself in the river after discovering that T'ang was already an old man This story, probably apocry­ phal, is recorded in Chiao Hsiin's Chii shuo (in Hsu Fu-ming, ed., Mu-tan t'ing yen-chiu tzuIiao k'ao-shih, 214—15). An actress, Shang Hsiao-ling, was thought to have died of a broken heart while singing an aria from scene 12, "In Quest of Dreams" (Hsun-meng) (ibid , 21718). For the famous story of Feng Hsiao-ch'ing, another ill-fated young woman whose love for The Peony Pavilion is bound up with her sufferings, see ibid , 216-17, and THTTL, 2 868-73. 22

Cf Hsia, "Time and Human Condition in the Plays of T'ang Hsien-tsu," 249-50

23

Huang Tsung-hsi (1610-1695), M i n g - j u h s u e h - a n , 2 7 7 3

The Late-Mmg Moment

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57

conscious heightened consciousness" and the consequent valorization of or­ dinary experience both develop from the equation of the principle of procreation (sheng-sheng) with moral nature (hsing) and truth (/i). This term sheng is also intimately connected with ch'ing. But if love is synonymous with life-force, then it cannot be all sublimity or rarefied spir­ ituality; sheng is simply too formless, unruly, and multifarious for all that. The Peony Pavilion is above all a supremely sensual play. This, then, is the paradox: the philosophical discourse of the day, even while it conjoins the mundane and the concrete with metaphysical truths, is yet suspicious of sexual passion (se and yii). It is T'ang Hsien-tsu's dramatic genius that rec­ onciles contradictions in a comic vision; he turns sensuality into the basis of a passionate longing that transcends life and death, and into the source of parody and laughter. The negation of the body's appetites is comic, the prime examples being the tutor Ch'en Tsui-hang's thwarted attempt to instill moral discipline into his pupil Li-niang (sc. 7) and Sister Stone's extended monologue (sc. 17), in which she spins endless puns by playing with quotations from a school chil­ dren's primer to refer to her adventures as a "stone woman" (shih-nii, a woman with a closed vagina). But so is the affirmation of sensuality. There is an interesting example of this in scene 10, where we have a juxtaposition of two languages: the elevated tone of sentimental professions of love and the crude language describing the sexual act. In the quasi-mystical tone of the lines sung by Liu and Tu, there is a sense of destiny fulfilled and con­ templated with awe and wonder: Somewhere at some past time you and I met. Now we behold each other in solemn awe but do not say m this lovely place we should meet and speak no word. 24

But the Flower God watching over their lovemaking uses rather more detached and cruder language: Ah, how the male force surges and leaps as in the way of a wanton bee he stirs the gale of her desire while her soul trembles 2 4 THTC, 3 1848, Birch 48 Cf Ts'ui Ymg-ymg's ana [act 5, sc 4) m The Western Chamber (Hsi-hsiang chi) for an example of the inexpressibility topos in a solemn moment· "Before I saw him I prepared / A thousand, ten thousand words, / Which all turned into sighs long and short at the moment of union / . All ready to unburden the sorrow of my heart, / And yet at the moment of union I could speak no word" (Wang Shih-fu [fl late 13th-14th cent.], Hsihsiang chi chi-chieh, 317) In the prologue (hsieh-tzu) T'ang Hsien-tzu dwells on the difficulty of writing about love· "Daylong I polished verses for the bowels' torture / for the telling of love, in all life hardest to tell" (THTC, 3 1811, Birch, 1) The second line is a slightly altered quotation from the T'ang poet Ku K'uang (725-814) (CTS, c 267.2967).

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at the dewy brmk of a sweet, shaded vale. A mating of shadows, this, consummation withm the mind, no fruitful Effect but an apparition withm the Cause. Ha, but now my flower palace is sullied by lust. I must use a falling petal to wake her. 25

The Flower God combines graphic descriptions of the lovemaking with ab­ stractions that return us to T'ang Hsien-tsu's preface: "Love in a dream: why can't it be real?" Sexual union is as real in the oneiric state as in waking life; its genesis in thought and desire (hsiang) makes it real. Here the sexual union is literally "brought about through thought" (hsiang net ch'eng [hsiang is the "internal cause," as it were]) and made manifest through material stimuli and sensation (yin chung chien or yin chung hsien [yin is thus the "external cause"]). In his discourse the Flower God thus encom­ passes concrete depictions and conceptual abstractions that remove us from the immediate sentimental professions. The critic Liu Shih-heng (fl. late 19th cent.) comments: "In the middle of a wanton display of love and pas­ sion he [the dramatist] suddenly assumes 'the eye of heaven and the eye­ brow of Ch'an enlightenment' [i.e., suddenly looks at human emotions from the Olympian perspective of irony and detachment]." 26 The irony here, however, is not corrosive and negative; rather, the tone is amused and bemused, compassionate and indulgent. This double perspective of ardent longing and amused detachment (rep­ resented by Li-mang and the Flower God respectively) constitutes the thread of continuity running through T'ang Hsien-tsu's four dream plays. 25

T H T C f 3 1848, Birch, 49 Both Birch and Hsu Shuo-fang, in his annotations on T h e P e o n y

Pavilion (T'ang Hsien-tsu, Mu-tan t'ing, 49), interpret hsiang (mind) and yin (cause) as Bud­ dhist terms

However, these are prominent concepts in early Chinese dream discourse that

predate Buddhism, although they might have later acquired Buddhist connotations

(I thank

Anthony Yu for drawing my attention to the various early references ) Ch'ien Chung-shu suggests that hsiang might be linked to thoughts (mental and affective states) realized m dreams (comparable to Traumtag or die Tagesreste in Freud), while yin might be the physical stimuli that directly affect the dream content of a person sleeping (die Smnesreize) Ch'ien gives an erudite account of the terms in Chinese dream discourse (Kuan-chui pien, 2 488— 500) Cf

Liu Wen-ying, "Chung-kuo ku-tai tui meng ti t'an-suo," 32-39 Liu also gives a

good account of the use of hsiang and yin (esp. 37-39) On late-Ming interest in dreams, cf Tu Fang Lien-che, "Ming Dreams", and Michael Lackner, Der Chinestsche Traumwald, which focuses on two Ming treatises on dreams, Meng-chan ι-chih (The esoteric meanings of dream interpretation) by Ch'en Shih-yuan (fl 16th cent ) and Meng-hn hsuan-chieh (Profound and mysterious interpretations of the forest of dreams) by Ho Tung-ju (1567-1637) Judith Zeitlin also discusses the proliferation of dream discourse in late-Ming writings in her thesis, "Pu Songling's Liaozhai zhiyi and the Chinese Discourse on the Strange," 137-61 26

T'ang Hsien-tsu, Y u - m i n g t ' a n g H u a n - h u n c h i , 1 31b

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It bridges the "ideological break between the first three and the last two plays": 27 the lack of philosophic continuity in T'ang's oeuvre is more ap­ parent than real. To quote the early Ch'ing critic Lu Tz'u-yiin (fl. late 17thearly 18th cent.): The "Four Dreams" all are authored by Lin-ch'uan [T'ang Hsien-tsu], but they seem to come from two different persons. The Story of Han-tan is comparable to clouds e x p a n d i n g o v e r a clear s k y ; w e a r e i n t h e s u b l i m e w o r l d of t h e C h u a n g Tzu. The Story of Nan-k'o is like water returning to the vale of dusk; it realizes the message of ultimate liberation in the Surangama Sutra. The Peony Pavilion is akin to orioles regretting the passing of spring or wild geese mourning the cold moon; it inherits the mood of "Encountering Sorrow." Purple Hairpin alone is loose in structure, fragmented and bland Is it perhaps the product of a first at­ tempt at musical [dramatic] composition } How completely different it is [from the rest of his oeuvre]! It has also been said that The Peony Pavilion dwells on passion a n d love, q u i t e u n l i k e T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n a n d T h e S t o r y of N a n - k ' o . they thus seem to have issued from different hands. Little do they [those who express the above opinion] know that the theme of becoming a Buddha and being reborn in the heavens is already encapsulated m the single striving of obsessive love. Isn't there the line "Through life and death as one wills" ? Or the line "Love built on shadows, formed m thought, appearing in karmic connections"? The mountain monk reads the line "That lingering gaze of her lovely eyes as she departs" and can derive therefrom Ch'an enlightenment. 28 Only those who can 27

Hsia, "Time and Human Condition in the Plays of T'ang Hsien-tsu," 253. There seems

to be a critical consensus that the first three plays (Purple Flute [Tzu-hsiao chi]. Purple Hairpin, and The Peony Pavilion) are about passion, while the last two [The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nan-k'o) are about detachment. (Purple Flute r the earliest of T'ang's dramatic works, is the only other play he wrote besides the four "dream plays.") 2S

The first two lines are from scenc 12 (T H T C , 3 1859) and scene 10 [ T H T C , 3 1849) of T h e

Peony Pavilion respectively The line on the "lingering gaze" is from The Western Chamber, act 1, prologue (Wang Shih-fu, Hsi-hsiang chi chi-chieh, 7) I have not been able to locate the original source of this anecdote. The anecdote about the monk also appears in Anatomy of Love, chiian 15, "Sprouting of Love" (Ch'ing-ya) Ch'iu Ch'iung-shan [Ch'iu Chun (1420-95), Ming writer, political thinker, statesman] passed by a temple, and saw that the four walls were covered with illustrations from The Western Chamber. Ch'iu was astonished - "How could the 'Gate of Emptiness' harbor this ? " The monk replied, "The old monk derived therefrom Ch an enlightenment " Ch'iu asked, "Wherefrom 7 " [The monk| answered, "From the line 'How can I bear the linger­ ing gaze of her lovely eyes as she departs 7 ' " The compiler appends his own comment· "Ch'iu is an amorous man, so the monk manifests an amorous self to expound on the Buddhist dharma" (CS, c 15 466) Yu T'ung (1618-1704) referred to the same anecdote in connection with The Peony Pavilion in a conversation with the K'ang-hsi emperor m 1693. The emperor commended his octopartite essay on the same line from The Western Chamber ("Lin-ch'ii ch'iu-po shih-wen" [Octopartite essay on the "lingering gaze of her lovely eyes as she departs"]) "It is just right for Ch'an disquisition " Yu T'ung replied "In the past there was a monk who had scenes from The Western Chamber

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understand T h e P e o n y P a v i l i o n can truly understand T h e S t o r y o f H a n - t a n and The Story of Nan-k'o.29

The presumed Buddhist message in the lines from The Peony Pavilion quoted by Lu Tz'u-yiin may be summarized as follows: the phenomenal world has a merely contingent existence, life and death are just fictions of the willing self, and love in dreams and illusions is a fit metaphor for attach­ ment under all circumstances, wakeful or otherwise. Perhaps T'ang Hsientsu himself raises the expectation that his play should contain a clue to the transcendence of ch'ing. When once asked by the prime minister Chang Hsin-chien why he had eschewed the role of philosopher-teacher, he replied that he did in fact take up that role, only that "Your Honor expounds on moral nature, while I expound on ch'ing." 30 This may suggest an implicit claim that his discourse on ch'ing has a comparable philosophical dimen­ sion. Ch'en Chi-ju (1558-1639), who quotes the above exchange in his 1623 preface to The Peony Pavilion, proceeds to defend T'ang Hsien-tsu's affir­ mation of ch'ing as a path to philosophical transcendence: The principles of c h ' i e n [male, heaven, the creative principle] and k ' u n [female, earth, the receptive principle] first appear m The Book of Changes [I ching], and the Cheng and Wei songs are not removed from The Book of Songs. Are these not about ch'ing? They [the Confucian philosopher-teachers] compare unfavora­ bly with Lin-ch'uan, who encompassess the desire of men and women through the representation of dreams To awake from dreams in quest of dreams and fail to find them—this is common to the wisest as well as the most foolish. To awake painted on the walls of his square cell, also with this end in mind

Bv the same token. T h e

Peony Pavilion is entirely m accord with Ch an principles, but the people of the world cannot see that. Even the author himself is not aware of that" (THTTL, 2 882) T'ang Hsien-tsu gives a new twist to this idea in his letter to Lo K'uang-hu, who chides him for indulging too much m the language ot love and sensuality (kuo-tan ch'i-yu), but hopes that T'ang may find therein a new detachment T'ang replies "Is it true that with the 'linger­ ing gaze of her lovely eyes as she departs' one can meet the thought that stills all desires (hsinien) '' I am afraid what one can meet is only 'entanglement m love karma five hundred years old' [an allusion to a line from The Western Chamber (Wang Shih-fu, Hsi-hsiang chi chichieh, 5)] How about that? The 'Two Dreams' [The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nank'o] are completed, and the 'language of love and sensuality' will be no more" (THTC, 2 1435). Here we have T'ang Hsien-tsu's ambivalent refusal of the version of "enlightenment through love" that admits of no real contradictions Paradoxically, he does not claim to transcend pas­ sion in the two later plays with prominent Taoist and Buddhist themes. Such transcendence is possible only in silence, and those two plays are not exempt from the "language of love and sensuality " 29 THTTL, 2 681 30

This exchange is also quoted in Chou Liang-kung's (1612-1672) Y t n - s h u w u s h u - y m g ,

(Shadows of books m the house by the trees) (in THTTL, 2 875) Cf Huang Tsung-hsi's poem "Chance Encounter" (Ou-chien)

"The teacher-philosophers in their discourse on moral na­

ture lack clarity, / Thus Yu-rnmg [T'ang Hsien-tsu[ turns it into the love between men and women" (ibid., 2 676)

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from love m quest of love and fail to find it—this is common to the enlightened as well as people like ourselves. To turn dream into wakefulness, to transform ch'tng into moral nature—even those adept at discourse on names and principles would not be able to accomplish this! 31

What Ch'en Chi-ju delivers here is the classic Confucian defense of ch'ing: since love between the sexes is the lowest common denominator in human feelings, it is paradigmatic of human relationships (jen-lun) and can therefore serve as the foundation of morality. Its representation in the Con­ fucian classics is a mark of legitimation. Although T'ang Hsien-tsu himself makes similar claims elsewhere, 3 2 the schoolroom scene in The Peony Pa­ vilion actually overturns such an easy solution to the problem of ch'ing. The tutor Ch'en Tsui-liang's standard Confucian interpretation of the first poem from The Book of Songs purports to "transmute ch'ing into moral nature" (hua-ch'ing kuei-hsing), but instead the poem inspires in Li-niang the longing for spring, life, and love. T'ang is not really justifying ch'ing by claiming that it returns us to pristine moral nature, instead he seems to be saying that ch'ing is of such vastness and force that it rebels against the hierarchy of hsing, ch'ing, and yii (i.e., hsing as moral nature is incipient, latent ch'ing; yii as raw desire is excessive ch'ing). 33 The opposition of moral nature with ch'ing and desire in Neo-Confucianism (the former is seen as primary and good, the latter as being in need of elevation and puri­ fication) is thus superseded, as both moral nature and desire are presented as being potential in and continuous with ch'ing. 34 Herein lies the comic

,2

T H T T L , 2 855 T'ang associates "human feelings" (j e n - c h ' i n g ) with "order and propriety" (m i n g - c h i a o )

in an essay entitled "On the Temple of Master Pure Origins, God of Acting, m I-huang County" ("I-huang hsien hsi-shen Ch'ing-yuan Shih miao chi," THTC 2 1127-30). Master P u r e O r i g i n s ( C h ' i n g - y u a n S h i h ) i s a g o d of a c t i n g w h o " a t t a i n s t h e T a o t h r o u g h p l a y " (i y u hsi te-tao) T'ang suggests that his expression and representation of human emotions function as a kind of moral education. 33

Cf. Wu Jen, "Questions on R e t u r n of t h e S o u l " (Huan-hun chi huo-wen) "What human

beings receive from heaven and earth as they come into being is so-called moral nature. Moral nature manifests itself as feelings, which, when excessive, become desire

. . When Jo-shih

[T'ang Hsien-tsu] talks about feelings, what he means is that feelings manifest themselves in human relationships which have prime beginnings in the relationship of husband and wife Moved by one dream, Li-niang is determined to have the person as her husband, 'undeterred even by death.' These then are right and proper feelings [ch'ing chih cheng] As for the socalled life, death, and karmic causes, T'ang follows the Buddhists" {THTTL, 2-897) The posi­ tion expressed here is close to that of Ch'en Chi-ju The urge to reconcile extends beyond the assimilation of ch'ing to Confucian morality Insofar as The Peony Pavilion draws from both Confucianism and Buddhism, Wu also implies the reconciliation of this worldly commitment and otherworldly transcendence m ch'ing ™ On one level this represents a return to the meaning of the word c h ' i n g as "genuine" or "essence" in pre-Ch'in philosophical discourse, for if ch'ing is the defining essence of a person,

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interest of The Peony Pavilion: the reconciliation of ch'ing with moral order on the one hand, and with sensuality and biological impulse on the other. I want to return to the second point raised in regard to the passage from Dream Memories of T'ao-an: the idea of creating and manipulating an il­ lusion, and the narrow margin between being observer of an illusion and being observed as an illusion. Recast the problem in terms of the literary representation of dreams, and it becomes apparent that dreams function as a framing device that sets characters within the dream apart from those beyond the dream. It is m this spirit that the drama critic Wu Mei (1884— 1939) makes a distinction between t h e "subjective (chu-kuan ti chu-jcn) protagonist" and "objective protagonist" ( k'o-kuan ti chu-jen ) in the plays of T'ang Hsien-tsu; by "subjective," Wu Mei seems to be referring to a closer identification with the authorial point of view. The juxtaposition of two sets of characters expresses the tensions involved in the representation of ch'ing in T'ang Hsien-tsu's plays. Wu Mei points out that, in a manner most uncharacteristic of ch'uan-ch'i drama, T'ang gives unflattering por­ traits of his male protagonists (i.e., Li Yi in Purple Hairpin, Liu Meng-mei in The Peony Pavilion, Lu Sheng in The Story of Han-tan, and Ch'un-yu Fen in The Story of Nan-k'o): Judging from the surface, the main characters of the "Four Dreams" would be Tu Li-mang, Huo Hsiao-yii, Lu Sheng, and Ch'un-yii Fen. Even those who have a deep understanding of the meaning of these works would say no more than that Return of the Soul [The Peony Pavilion] is about ghosts; Purple Hairpin, knightserrant, Han-tan, Taoist immortals, Nan-k'o, Buddhas. Little is it known that Lin-ch'uan's intention is to have the Infernal Judge, the yellow-cloaked knight, Lii Tung-pm, and the monk Ch'i-hsiian as the mam characters. The so-called ghosts, knights-errant, Taoist immortals, and Buddhas refer but to the articulated meaning of the plays, not the author's allegorical meaning. For the first four char­ acters are the puppets on the stage, while the latter four are the manipulators of the puppet-strings. The first four characters are figures in the dream, the latter four are figures beyond the dream. If one takes ghosts, knights-errant, Taoist immortals, and Buddhas as constituting the meaning of the plays, then the sub­ jective protagonists would be the Infernal Judge and his counterpart in the other plays, while Tu Li-niang, Huo Hsiao-yu, and the others are merely objective pro­ tagonists.' 5 it has to be linked to pristine moral nature and desire as part of a spontaneous process. Cf Graham, Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature, 59-66 35

J H J Y L i 2 711-12 Wu Mei might have taken his cue from Liu Shih-heng's 1909 postcript

to his edition of The Peony Pavilion

Liu suggests that unlike most ch'uan-ch'i drama, which

focuses on the male and female protagonists, T'ang Hsien-tsu puts himself in his plays: "Ear­ lier critics know only that the 'Four Dreams' are based on the four vices of drunkenness, lust, greed, and wrath (drunkeness in [The Story o/] Nan-k'o, lust in Return of the Soul, greed in

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Actually the symmetry in this elegant formulation is not perfect. Both the Infernal Judge and the yellow-cloaked knight end up confirming the dream-illusion of the protagonist, while the Taoist Lii Tung-pin and the monk Ch'i-hsuan undermine it. In addition, the Infernal Judge is not on a par with the other three figures; he is definitely more comic, and his control over Li-mang's destiny is more tenuous than the power of his counterparts in the other three dream plays. He initially confronts the ghost of Li-niang with a mixture of disapproval and incredulity (that one can die of a dream or of shock from falling flower petals), but after a lengthy exchange with the Flower God he is finally moved to benign acquiescence; the ghost of Liniang is to "float with the wind" and look for Liu Meng-mei. The Infernal Judge cannot claim a higher authority as the representative of the authorial voice. Like the Flower God, he serves as an agent for comic reconciliation. 36 Through the low style of his language the Flower God reconciles sensuality with spirituality, while the Infernal Judge, with his concern for Confucian morality, reconciles private passion with public order. They represent forces that can potentially destroy the dream illusion, but here they merely facil­ itate the transition between the dreamworld and the real world. More im­ portantly, Li-niang herself is both the dreamer and the figure beyond the dream. As I noted earlier, she reconciles two sets of values in her person. Her zeal in pursuing dreams is matched by her eventual good cheer in ac­ cepting conventional morality. Comedy is the foil to passion and the source of a second perspective on ch'ing in The Peony Pavilion. It is this double perspective—from within the dream and from without, as it were—that establishes the continuity in T'ang Hsien-tsu's plays. But the continuity in T'ang's oeuvre cuts both ways. If one can distill a message of the philosophical transcendence of ch'ing from The Peony Pavilion (and I do not think that such is the message conveyed, although the celebration of passion and sensual reality does in­ volve certain contradictions), it is even more plausible to question the final solution of detachment in The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nan-k'o. In the two later dream plays there seems to be a clearer internal hierarchy between dreamer and manipulator of the dream; Ch'i-hsiian and Lii Tungpin are apparently unequivocal figures of authority with whom the author [ T h e S t o r y o f ] H a n - t a n , and wrath m P u r p l e H a i r p i n ) Little is it known that Ch'i-hsuan m Nan-k'o, the Infernal Judge in Return of the Soul, Ch'un-yang Tzu [Pure-Yang Master, ι e , Lu Tung-pmJ in Han-tan, and the yellow-cloaked knight in Purple Hairpin all are Lin-ch'uan's representations of himself To manifest one's presence to expound on the Buddhist dharma is of course already sui generis. This compassionate urge to awaken the world also shows that the writing develops from philosophical insights. How can it be dismissed in a cavalier fashion as 'the deluded one speaking of his dreams' 7 " (ibid , 2 966) 36

Hou Wai-Iu suggests that the Flower God and the Infernal Judge represent two types of

supernatural forces, for and against ch'ing respectively (TH7TL, 2:1069).

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identifies. Even in these cases, however, the hierarchy of authority is am­ biguous. In a letter to Sun Ssu-chii (chin-shih, 1583), T'ang Hsien-tsu pro­ tests against Sun's interpretation of the plays as setting forth a philosophical solution transcending passion and illusion: "You think that the two dream plays [i.e., The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nan-k'o] destroy the d r e a m illusion (p'o-meng), b u t h o w c a n d r e a m s b e d e s t r o y e d ? " ( THTC, 2:1299).

DETACHMENT THROUGH ATTACHMENT IN THE STORY OF NAN-K'O

As is well known, The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nan-k'o are based, respectively, on Shen Chi-chi's "The World within a Pillow" ("Chen-chung chi," TPKC, c.82.526-28, under the title "Lu Weng," ca. 8th cent.) and Li Kung-tso's (ca. late 8th to early 9th cent.) "The Governor of Nan-k'o" ("Nan-k'o t'ai-shou chuan," TPKC 1 c.475.3910-15, under the ti­ tle "Ch'un-yii Fen"). In these stories about a lifetime experienced in a dream, the message of renunciation and spiritual liberation is stated simply and powerfully at the moment of awakening. "The Governor of Nan-k'o" tells how Ch'un-yii Fen, a one-time military officer who has taken to drinking, dreams of entering a kingdom where he marries the princess and becomes the governor of the province of Nan-k'o (lit., "Southern Branch"). After twenty years of enlightened government and successful military campaigns, his fortune declines. The princess dies, and calumny and slander at court force him to leave. It is only upon his return to the human world that he realizes that the kingdom is in reality an ant colony near his house: He felt deeply the futility of Nan-k'o and was awakened to the extreme brevity of human life. So he rested his spirit in Taoism, and abstained from the pursuit of worldly pleasures [lit , wine and women] Three years later, m the year Tingch'ou [796], he died at home. (TPKC, c 475.3915)

Much more pointedly than is the case in the T'ang tale, the structure of causality in The Story of Nan-k'o now hinges on ch'ing. In his 1600 preface to The Story of Nan-ko, T'ang Hsien-tsu quotes Yiieh Kuang (252-304) on the causes of dreams: " 'One does not dream of riding a carriage and enter­ ing a rat hole [because there is no mental activity ( hsiang ) or physical stim­ ulus [yin) related to such a phenomenon].' 37 Does this theory of mental activity and physical stimulus not apply to The Story of Nan-k'o ? Feelings s e t i n m o t i o n b y t h e i r o w n i n t e n s i t y d r a w h i m i n t o t h e d r e a m w o r l d [i-wang chih ch'ing, tse wei chih she]" (THTC, 2:1096). The protagonist underCf. Liu I-ch'ing, Shih-shuo hsin-yu chiao-chicn, c 4 14

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stands his experience in the same way in the last scene, "Exhaustion of Love" (Ch'ing-chin): I am a man flatly deceived by ants. One hint of desire, a thousand shadow plays Enacted with no understanding and no traces. It all starts where it starts— Where may one establish the karmic causes? (Sc 44, THTC, 4.2274)

In the T'ang story, the ants serve only to convey the message of the vanity of life and of dreams. But the play emphasizes the sentience and human feelings of the ants. It is part of the creed of ch'ing to hold that "the myriad things have feelings" (wan-wu yu-ch'ing). When the emissaries of the ant kingdom are looking for a human husband for the princess, their criterion of judgment is "depth of feelings" (to-ch'ing). In scene 4, "Invitation for Ch'an Disquisition" (Ch'an-ch'ing), we are told that the ants were aspiring listeners to the Buddhist dharma. We also learn in the same act that the entire play is going to be a scheme of salvation and expiation. Five hundred years ago the monk Ch'i-hsiian had unwittingly spilled hot oil into an ant colony and caused the death of the forty-eight thousand ants who had shown a predilection for Buddhist sermons. In order to expiate his crime, Ch'i-hsuan is to facilitate their rebirth in heaven. Ch'un-yii Fen is therefore an agent in Ch'i-hsuan's scheme of redemption. Compassion, the highest form of ch'ing in the Buddhist worldview, thus motivates the plot of the play. The theme of sexual love gains a new prominence in The Story of N a n k'o. Ch'un-yii Fen enters his dreamworld (ju-meng) after two encounters with the emissaries from the ant kingdom. In scene 7, "Chance Encounter" (Ou-chien), they meet in Ch'an Wisdom Temple (Ch'an-chih Ssu). As Ch'un-yii Fen helps one of the ant ladies to hang her kerchief on a bamboo branch, he indulges in the fantasy of being transformed into that object, " h i d d e n in y o u r sleeve, moist with y o u r fragrant prespiration" (THTC, 4:2112). This expression of longing apparently convinces the ant lady that he is a "man of feelings" (yu-ch'ing jen) 38 and therefore a fit mate for the princess. In scene 8, "Attachment to Love" (Ch'ing-chu), after asking Ch'ihsuan Ch'an questions on the origins of suffering and listening to the let­ ter's sermon, Ch'un-yii Fen is granted a glimpse of Princess Yao-fang's phoenix hairpin in a box made of rhinoceros horn. His imagination soars, and he is at the threshold of the dreamworld. The prominence of the theme of love is partly dictated by the convention of the sentimental hero and heroine in ch'uan-ch'i drama. The love between 38

In Buddhist writings this is also a general term for "sentient beings

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Ch'un-yii Fen and the ant princess Yao-fang is of central importance in the enactment of the dream illusion. Sexual attraction is also the cause of strife in the dreamworld. The prince of the neighboring T'an-lo Kingdom invades Nan-k'o because he is enamored of Yao-fang and hopes to secure her for his consort. Scene 38, "Abandonment to Desire" (Sheng-ssu), describes Ch'un-yii Fen's affair with three court ladies after the death of the princess. The reckless pursuit of desire is a fitting fmale in a dream unfolding as a kind of wish fulfillment. But the punitive principle haunting the gratifica­ tion of desire is also operative in the dreamworld; rumors surrounding Ch'un-yii Fen's indiscretion finally force him to return to the human world. The dream illusion is then rooted in attachment, especially erotic passion. In this sense the play is a classic illustration of the idea of "attaining enlight­ enment [detachment] through love [attachment]" and "apprehending real­ ity through illusion." The soteriological function of illusion is emphasized in scene 8. Ch'un-yii Fen's dream occurs right after, and almost as an an­ swer to, his "Ch'an questions" (wen-Ch'an). By the same token, Ch'ihsiian's sermon at the Temple of Filial Piety serves two purposes: it sets the stage for the hero's eventual enlightenment, and also prepares for the en­ actment of his dream. In scene 42, "Awakening" (Hsiin-wu), Ch'un-yii Fen is filled with mel­ ancholy and nostalgia upon his discovery after awakening of the exact geo­ graphical correspondence between his dreamworld and the ant colony. He hopes to bring about the rebirth in heaven of his father and the inhabitants of the ant kingdom through Buddhist piety: "To exhaust my life serving with limited span limitlessness, / So that I, who bring all to the Other Shore [i.e., final enlightenment], though without passions, yet seem to have pas­ sions." 39 It is in part his great compassion that entitles him to Buddhahood. But of even greater importance in the Buddhist scheme is detachment based on the realization of the ultimate vanity of all things. By scene 43, "Trans­ ference of Love" (Chuan-ch'ing), Ch'un-yii Fen finally grasps the import of Ch'i-hsiian's enigmatic gathas (metrical compositions embodying Buddhist teachings and designed to induce enlightenment) from scene 8, which are supposed to warn him against entanglement in illusion. But Ch'i-hsiian deems it necessary to enlighten Ch'un-yii Fen through another illusion: he is to witness those dearest to him ascending to heaven, and just as he is suffering again from t h e delusions of love and attachment (ch'ing-chang), Ch'i-hsiian will separate him from his beloved with a sword. To better grasp the import of this final episode, we may compare it with the ending of the original T'ang tale. In comparison, T'ang Hsien-tsu's dramatic treatment is a much more y ) THTC 4 2262 The second line of the couplet is ambiguous Another possible rendering f is "So that I can bring to the Other Shore the insentient as if they were sentient "

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self-conscious exploration of the dialectics of attachment and detachment in the protagonist's relationship with his dreamworld. The ending of the T'ang tale conveys a more somber mood and a more unequivocal message of de­ tachment. The shadow of death looms large in the earlier work. While in the ant kingdom, the protagonist meets two dead friends and receives a mis­ sive from his dead father. His father's prediction for reunion in the year Ting-ch'ou foreshadows Ch'un-yii Fen's death m that year. The ant king­ dom is then intimately related to imminent death, and the destruction of the ant kingdom in the rainstorm after Ch'un-yii Fen wakes up is swift and arbitrary. It is the finality of death and the brevity of life that make all human endeavors appear insignificant: "The most exalted position and ab­ solute power over a country: are these any different from anthills m the eyes of the enlightened?" ( TPKC , c. 475.3915). The awakened Ch'un-yu Fen is converted to Taoism and an abstemious life upon reflection of the life-m-dream. There is in this detachment almost a note of despair—despair from recognition of the void. The psychic tension between the awakened hero and his dream is not the major concern of the T'ang tale. In The Story of Nan-k'o, however, detachment is not the prod­ uct of dispassionate reflection; it is attained only through the fiercest attach­ ment. Ch'un-yii Fen is granted a vision of his father and the inhabitants of the ant kingdom ascending to heaven. When it is the princess Yao-fang's turn to ascend, his pleas for "reunion in heaven" become most pained and insistent. As they are clinging to one another, Ch'i-hsiian parts them with a sword, and reminds Ch'un-yii Fen of his claim to have been cured of his passion through the knowledge that his wife, lovers, and associates are but ants. C. T. Hsia believes that the argument for detachment at the conclusion of the play is too ready-made to be convincing: 40 CH'UN-YU FEN : Ah, the gold hairpin is a locust twig, the small box is a locust

pod Pshaw' What good are they ? [He throws them away] Only now do I, Ch'un-yii Fen, wake up. The ties between ruler and ruled and among one's km m the human world, are they really different from the world of ants ? All sorrows, joys, rise, and decline are really the same as in Nan-k'o. This is all within a dream—how can they ascend to heaven? I have been deluded all along. (Sc 44, THTC, 4:2274)

According to Hsia's reading, the dramatist is appealing to our prejudice against ants to augment the message of detachment. However, the point is not so much the worthlessness of ants but the fluid transition between two drastically different states of being (ant and human). It is Ch'i-hsiian's sud10

Hsia, "Time and Human Condition in the Plays of T'ang Hsien-tsu," 265

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den prickling of the bubble ("You would think that this being defying death and reborn in heaven is your wife, / Raise your head now—where is she?") that jars Ch'un-yu Fen and convinces him of the vanity of all things, in­ cluding the hope of salvation and rebirth m heaven: Cn 'uN-γϋ FEN - What can I do? It is vain to seek the body of mortals, vain to seek the body of heaven, vain even to seek the body of Buddha Everything is emp­ tiness. T h e ching [male role w i t h painted face, i.e., Ch' i-hsiian]·. (Shouts) What empti­ ness? The sheng [male lead, i.e , C h ' u n - y u Fen]: (Claps his hands and smiles, presses his palms together, and stands still without a word) (Sc. 44, T H T C , 4.2275)

Notwithstanding this final twist, the efficacy of Buddhist rituals in the salvation of the protagonist's father and the inhabitants of the ant kingdom is not itself called into question. Death loses its terror in The Story of N a n k'o. Ch'un-yii Fen attains Buddhahood rather than simply die. The pre­ dicted reunion with his dead father is enacted in an all too palpable illusion. The ascension of Ch'un-yii's father and the ant kingdom inmates may very well be part of the convention of ta t'uan-yiian (great union, grand fmale) in ch'uan-ch'i drama, when all the characters appear on stage together in the last scene. As it is, the consequent sense of bustle (je-nao) makes the message of compassion more compelling than that of detachment. The con­ joining of supreme compassion with the final acceptance of emptiness is of course one of t h e inherent paradoxes of Buddhism. 4 1 In The Story of N a n k'o the imposition of Buddhist cosmology and salvational scheme on the original T'ang tale gives a much greater edge to compassion. In T'ang Hsien-tsu's preface, he emphasizes that Ch'un-yii Fen's salvational enter­ prise is not to be taken lightly, for ants and other insects have a proper place in the Buddhist paradise: "[How can one] bring so many ants to life m heaven and not become a Buddha? The end of dreams is awakening (mengIiao wei chiieh)·, t h e end of love is Buddhahood (ch'ing-liao wei Fo)" ('THTC, 2:1096). As I suggested earlier, the play is premised on the causal efficacy of attachment and erotic passion, which is transmuted into a more general and disinterested compassion in the last two scenes. Here the final detachment transcending compassion nevertheless admits of a salvational 41

Cf. Li Chi-fu, "Hang-chou Ching-shan Ssu Ta-chueh Ch'an-shih pei" (Stele of the Ch'an

Master Great Awakening of the Ching-shan Temple in Hangchow) "Someone once asked the Great Master 'There were two emissaries at the station The postmaster wanted to kill a sheep for them. When the two heard of it, one tried to save the sheep, the other did not. How would their good karma or evil karma differThe Great Master said ' Fhe one who tried to save the sheep is compassionate, the one who did not is liberated from all earthly attachment' (Tung kao et al , eds , Ch'in-ting Ch'uan T'ang wen,c 512 20a) See Ch'ien Chung-shu, Kuan-chui pien r 1-349.

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scheme, unlike the message of detachment in the T'ang tale, which is more a direct reaction to negativity. In the end Ch'un-yii Fen "stands on the ground and becomes a Buddha" (h-ti ch'eng-Fo), silent and still. Precisely because the final apprehension of emptiness is beyond language, gesture, and representation, the audience is left with a much deeper impression of the medial steps of attachment and compassion in the pursuit of enlighten­ ment. Indeed, Ch'un-yii Fen's refusal to give up his illusion is instrumental to his enlightenment. Shen Chi-fei (fl. 1621-34) gives an elegant formula­ tion of this paradox in his preface to the Tu-shen chii (Solitary Depth Stu­ dio) edition (from the Ch'ung-chen era [1628-44] of the Ming dynasty) of

The Story of Nan-k'o: Before Ch'un-yii Fen wakes up, he moves from detachment to attachment; after he wakes up, he moves from attachment to detachment. Only with the deepest feelings is it possible to create a world; only with the exhaustion of feelings is it possible to preserve the void. But then only those with the deepest feelings have the right to speak of the exhaustion of feelings People of the world are false in their wakeful state and are therefore against feelings; Ch'un-yii Fen is genuine m his dream and is therefore filled with the deepest feelings Upon awakening he yet clings to his karmic connections and longs for his km [in the dream]. His singleminded faith admits of no turning back. This is the superior nature of uncompro­ mising devotion. He would not allow his regard [for the inmates of the ant king­ dom] to diminish, and their mutual love is deep For them to be reborn together in Taoli Heaven—how can that be mere chance? 42

THE IRONIC VISION OF THE STORY OF HAN-TAN

If the representation of detachment and spiritual liberation is equivocal in

The Story of Nan-k'o, then the idea of Taoist paradise, with its peculiar combination of the mundane and the magical, and general lack of philo­ sophical depth and consistency, raises even more questions. These issues may be considered in the context of The Story of Han-tan. In "The World within a Pillow," the T'ang story on which The Story of Han-tan is based, the protagonist, Lu Sheng, laments his meager lot on Han-tan Road, where the Taoist Lii Weng promises him satisfaction of all his desires and gives him a pillow. Meanwhile, an innkeeper is cooking millet. Lu Sheng enters the world within the pillow, lives the life he desires, and wakes up to find that the millet is not yet done. He arrives at enlightenment upon contem­ plation of a lifetime's vicissitudes in a dream: "The ways of glory and hu­ miliation, the cycles of distress and success, the principles of gain and loss, the sentiments of death and life: I have known them all. Thus do you, sir, restrain my desires. How dare I not be instructed?" (TPKC, c.8.528). Part « THTTLR 2 1325.

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of Lu Sheng's speech is paraphrased in scene 29 of T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n , "The Awakening," (Sheng-wu). Unlike the T'ang tale, however, this does not mark the end of the play. Following this speech Lu Sheng acknowledges Lii Tung-pin as master (the old man Lii in the T'ang story is here explicitly identified as the Taoist immortal), and repeats his master's injunction that together they will "wander as clouds" (yiin-yu). Lii Tung-pin warns him of prospective hardships, of a monastic regimen and a master ready to pun­ ish. Lu Sheng claims that the adversities he suffered in his dream have pre­ pared him for renunciation and the severest discipline. However, contrary to what one might expect of a representation of how the lesson of detachment is driven home, the mood of the last act, "The Union of Immortals" (Ho-hsien), is anything but stark and austere. Lii Tung-pin has transported Lu Sheng to P'eng-Iai and Fang-chang, the fairy immortal islands, where Lu is to assume the post of "sweeper of fallen blos­ soms": Lu Tung-pin: "Sweeping till no longer surprised that there are no flowers, and no ground either, / At which time it's no delusion to forget broom and forget dustpan" (Sc. 30, THTC, 4:2431). Before Lu takes up his celestial post, the Eight Immortals (Pa-hsien) take turns expounding on his delusions (for he is described as "not having exhausted his deluded attach­ ments" [ch'ih-ch'mg wei-chin]), and he repents of them one by one. The motif of "initiation into the mysteries of enlightenment and immortality" finds antecedents i n Yiian (1279-1368) d r a m a , notably Enlightened t h r o u g h the Yellow Millet Dream on the Han-tan Road (Han-tan tao hsing-wu h u a n g - l i a n g m e n g ) a n d Lu T u n g - p m Intoxicated Three T i m e s a t Y i i e h - y a n g Pavilion (Lu Tung-pin san-tsui Yueh-yang lou) by Ma Chih-yiian (fl. late 13th-14th cent.). 43 But only in The Story of Han-tan does the protagonist wonder whether "becoming an immortal" (ch'eng hsien) is but the grandest and most ephemeral of dreams: Lu SHENG . Old master, your disciple is deluded and foolish—he is afraid that today's encounter with immortals is also a dream. Although awakened from illusions, he is yet fearful that the truth is hard to see THE IMMORTALS· HOW can your spirit still wonder? Even if, like "the deluded one

speaking of dreams," dreams are hard to tell fiom reality, you must know that the dream of wandering with immortals is more certain. (Sc 30, THTC, 4:2431) 43

Cf. Hung Sheng (1645-1704), preface to the c h ' u a n - c h ' i play D r e a m o f Y a n g - c h o u ( Y a n g chou meng ch'uan-ch'i hsu) "In the past Hsien-hsu Tzu suggested that there are twelve cat­ egories in Yuan drama, one of which is 'gods, immortals, and Taoist enlightenment' [shen hsien Tao-hua). So m the Anthology of Yuan Drama (Yuan-chii hsiian) compiled by Tsang Mao-hsun, this category makes up 30 percent Plays such as Huang-hang and Yueh-yang by Ma Tung-Ii [Ma Chin-yiian] are especially good, and [The Story o/] Han-tan by Lin-ch'uan is also excellent" (THTTL, 2 1252) Other Yuan plays with the motif of the Eight Immortals bringing about enlightenment include Willow South of the City (Ch'eng-nan liu), Iron Crutch Li (T'leh-kuai Li), and Bamboo Leaf Boat (Chu-yeh chou)

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The unfolding of a grand finale appears incongruous with the message of detachment and renunciation. "Wandering with immortals" is but another dream (yu-hsien meng); in this sense Lu Sheng's conversion marks only another step in his quest for the infinite gratification of desire (chi-yii) in­ stead of a radical shift in his consciousness. T'ang Hsien-tsu himself sug­ gests as much in his 1601 preface to The Story of Han-tan: fulfillment of the desire for honor and prosperity inspires longing for "pure subtleties and restful expansiveness" (ch'ing-u>ei hsien-k'uang); "to turn round and long for the world of fairy immortals—that, too, is to be expected of great spir­ its" (THTC, 2:1094). The erotic undertone of the motif of wandering with immortals adds another level of ambiguity. 44 In joining the immortals he does not have to turn against the most fundamental of human desires: the desire for permanence, the indefinite prolongation of youth and life. Perhaps it is the worldly nature of Taoist paradises that prompts Yuan Hung-tao (1568-1610) to comment: All worldly events and happenings are just s o many scenes from dreams this idea is amply expressed in The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nan-k'o But the vision of Taoist immortality still falls within the shadow of dreams; how, then, may final awakening be achieved' I am wary of words; I should just bow humbly and ask the question of Tathagata Buddha. 4S

In this sense the world of the Taoist immortals is not truly transcendent. This realm and the dreamworld seem to be parallel mirrors producing infi­ nite reflections. Shen Chi-fei describes it as a kind of reversible double of the dreamworld in his preface to the Tu-shen-chu edition of the play: One may say that life and death are dreaming and awakening on a grand scheme, while dreaming and awakening are life and death on a small scale. Not to dream is living, not to wake up is dreaming; a hundred years pass m the twinkling of an eye. Why can't one efface all gratitude and grudges, forget glories and humilia­ tions, equate sorrows, joys, separation, and union with froth and bubble, and ac­ cept the face and form on Chao-chou Bridge' Alas, in eighty years of vicissitudes and movement across thousands of miles, Lu Sheng has not moved an inch from Chao-chou. How do we know that the various immortals are not just another manifestation of the loved ones from the dream, or that P'eng-lai Island is not another transformation of Fragrant Water Hall, Winding Brook Pond, or Blue Flowers Tower' Mortals dream, immortals also dream The awakened mortals also dream, just as the dreaming immortals also awaken. 46 44

This is most obvious in the T'ang story "Wandering m the Caves of the Immortals" (Yu

h s i e n - k ' u ) b y C h a n g W e n - c h ' e n g (ca l a t e 7 t h - e a r l y 8 t h c e n t . ) (in W a n g P i - c h i a n g e d , T a n g ]en hsiao-shuo, 19-33) 4 5 T H T T L , 2:1244 46

T H T T L , 2 1249 Fragrant Water Hall, Winding Brook Pond, and Blue Flowers Tower are

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To "accept the face and form on Chao-chou Bridge" is the state of con­ sciousness attained by Lu Sheng at the end of the T'ang tale, when he finally realizes the vanity of human striving and worldly ambition. If the message of the earlier work is detachment upon reconciliation with the limitations of the human conditon, then the Taoist paradise in The Story of Han-tan is a grand fantasy of escape. It is this refusal of any fundamental reconciliation with negativity that prompts Shen Chi-fei to ask whether P'eng-lai Island is but an extension of the "dreamscape." (In scene 27, "Apotheosis of De­ sire" [Chi-yu], Lu Sheng has exclaimed that the Blue Flowers Tower com­ mands a view comparable to that of "fairy precincts" [shen-hsien chmgchth].) Feng Meng-Iung ingenuously makes the same point as Shen when he defends the appropriateness of performing Dream of Han-tan (Han-tan meng), his revised version of The Story of Han-tan, on happy and festive occasions: Of the various works of T'ang Hsicn-tsu, P u r p l e H a i r p i n and T h e P e o n y P a v i l i o n are about love and passion, The Story of Nan-k'o dwells on the illusonness of life, and only this [The Story of Han-tan] describes the attainment of enlightenment through love and the apprehension of reality through illusion. Upon reading it even the most hardened worldling is inspired with detachment from the mundane world. It should be ranked first among the "Four Dreams." It is customary to regard the "yellow millet dream" [i.e , The Story of Han-tan] as inauspicious, and nobody dares perform it on happy and festive occasions. But to be prime minister when dreaming and to become an immortal when awakened—what could be more auspicious than that? 4 7

Feng Meng-Iung is apparently unaware of the inconsistencies in his argu­ ment: The Story of Han-tan cannot both inspire otherworldly thoughts and promise a variant of worldly bliss after Lu Sheng's conversion. That he makes the latter assertion confirms our impression that Lu's conversion does not imply a radical shift of consciousness and that the message of de­ tachment is at best ambivalent. Lu Sheng has had the best of both worlds. He lives through extremes of human experience and also manages to escape mortality. Feng Meng-Iung believes that T h e S t o r y o f N a n - k ' o is an unequivocal statement of detachment from illusion as the ultimate truth, while The Story of Han-tan is a more complex exploration of the paradoxical process of "attaining enlightenment through love" and "apprehending reality through illusion." Herein lies its interest and superior literary value. As we names of the buildings in Lu Sheng's compound when he becomes prime minister in his dream. Chao-chou Bridge is where he meets Lu Tung-pin 47

T H T T L , 2:1305

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have seen, the vision of Buddhist enlightenment at the conclusion of The Story of Nan-k'o is not without contradictions. But I agree with Feng Meng-lung's appraisal of t h e greater complexity of The Story of Han-tan chi; this complexity is sustained through playfulness. The play gives a new twist to the formulation "attaining enlightenment (detachment) through love (attachment)." As was pointed out earlier, the Taoist paradise seems more like a continuation rather than a negation or transcendence of the dreamworld. If the detachment at the end is not abso­ lute, the attachment that paradoxically leads up to it is itself less than sublime. Passions do not run deep in Lu Sheng, although he describes himself as "having been bogged down through the word ch'ing all his life" (sc. 30, THTC t 4:2428). The illusion is at its grandest in scene 27, "Apotheosis of Desire," which describes the most exquisite sensual pleasures. The emperor has given Lu Sheng twenty-four beautiful girls skilled in music, dance, and other arts of entertainment. Lu does not accept the gift without first pro­ testing against the dangers of such pleasures. The irony here may be purely facetious; it may also suggest a certain ambivalence in Lu Sheng's attitude toward desire: he savors its intensity, but feels the need to restrain it in order to prolong enjoyment. The moderation of desire for the nourishment of life (yang-sheng) is an important strand in Taoist thinking. In the next two scenes Lu Sheng's health rapidly declines as a result of sexual excesses, but as he explains to his wife, his association with the singing girls is part of a project of "collecting the yin essence to replenish the yang essence" (ts'ai-yin pu-yang or ts'ai-chan, an accepted Taoist practice), with a view to extending his lifespan so that he can take better care of his progeny. It is in this sense that the play is a parody of both the idea of detachment and that of attachment; here ch'ing is not sublime, passionate love, but attachment to sensual pleasures and material well-being. Its apparent intensity and te­ nacity is calculated rather than spontaneous. In The Story of N a n - k ' o , the plot unravels a web of sentimental ties and love relationships, and the titles of the pivotal scenes all contain the word ch'ing. But the prime passion in The Story of Han-tan is worldly ambition or success (kung-ming). In the last scene, Lii Tung-pin sums up the pro­ tagonist's predicament: Lu Sheng enters the dreamworld within the pillow because he was "originally a Confucian scholar on the Han-tan Road, one who had not met recognition, crazed and deluded by thoughts of fulfilling his worldly ambitions" (sc. 30, THTC, 4:2430). The realization of Lu Sheng's ambitions takes an ironic turn. In his dreamworld the fantasy of omnipotence hinges not on his transformation (into, say, a person of superior intellectual or spiritual qualities) but on the transformation of his world. He does not rise to the occasion and become deserving of worldly success; rather, the world suddenly becomes compliant

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to his whims. Worldly success is dissociated from merit and is shown to be intrinsically worthless. Thus Ts'ui-shih, Lu Sheng's wife in his dream, pro­ vides him with money to bribe his way to the highest academic honors and an illustrious career. As a high official he rechannels the Yellow River by submitting obtrusive land masses to a treatment of "steaming with salt and boiling with vinegar" (yen-chen ts'u-chu). (The "taming of the river" has always been the crowning symbol of ultimate achievement in statesman­ ship.) As a general, he successfully repels Turfan invaders by creating dis­ sent m the enemy camp: he implicates an important Turfan general by needle-pointing the message of his rebellion on a thousand fallen red leaves, which are then set drifting on a river flowing through Turfan territory. The success of these implausible schemes, quite apart from their eminently comic effect, directs our attention to the absurdity of the "ways of the world" (shih-ch'ing, su-ch'ing) and the emptiness of worldly ambition. The other side of worldly ambition is worldly vice, on which a lengthy discussion unfolds in scene 3, "Saving the World" (Tu-shih). Lii Tung-pin goes to Yiieh-yang Pavilion on Lake Tung-t'ing (the site of his conversion of the Willow Spirit and Plum Spirit as described in Ma Chih-yiian's play more than three centuries before) to look for a possible candidate for the post of celestial sweeper. He ends up discussing the four vices of excess (drunkenness, lust, greed, wrath) with the clients in a wineshop. 48 While the others contend that the four vices are but the "basis of human nature" (jen chih pen-teng), Lii Tung-pin points to the ultimate futility of it all: "Coming, where do you come from? Going, where do you go?" (THTC, 4:2291). Lii Tung-pin may seem capable of such ultimate questions, but compared to the monk Ch'i-hsuan in The Story of Nan-k'o, he is a somewhat more ambivalent figure. His story, as told in The Works of Lu Ch'un-yang (LM Ch'un-yang wen-chi) and Ma Chih-yiian's play The Yellow Millet Dream, reveals a dreamer's past. In those accounts he is enlightened by Chung-Ii C h ' u a n ( o n e of t h e e i g h t i m m o r t a l s ) i n t h e s a m e m a n n e r t h a t , i n T h e S t o r y of Han-tan, he enlightens Lu Sheng. 49 There is a sense of reversibility or 4S Liu Shih-heng quotes the matching of the four dream plays with the four vices as a stan­ dard interpretation See note 21 49

"Biography of the Immortal" (Chen-jen pen-chuan), in L u C h ' u n - y a n g w e n - c h i , c.l 844-

49 Here Lu's dream is only the first in a series of tests initiating him into Taoist mysteries. Yang Liang-pi's 1588 postscript describes Lu Ch'un-yang wen-chi as a work of uncertain au­ thorship (a lot of the poems are attributed to Lu Tung-pin himself) that was published and circulated by the Ch'ien-tao era (1165-1174} of the Sung dynasty "The World within a Pil­ low" is already included in Lu Ch'un-yang wen-chi as one of the Taoist immortal's salvational acts, although Lu was supposedly born in 799 and the T'ang tale is set m 720 For discussions of why Lu Weng in the T'ang tale should not be identified as Lu Tung-pin, see Wang P'ichiang, T'ang-]en hsiao-shuo, 41—42 "The World within a Pillow" thus becomes part of the Lii Tung-pin lore by assigning to Lu both the role of Lu Sheng and that of Lu Weng

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infinite regress to this game of enacted illusion and induced enlightenment. Wang Ch'ung-ch'ing (1484-1565) wrote this poem about Lii: I have heard of Lu Sheng's dream, But fear that the dream loses its truth m the telling. I smile that c h ' i e n and k ' u n must come to an end, And Lu Weng, too, is someone in a dream

50

Whereas the Buddhist monk Ch'i-hsiian in T h e S t o r y of N a n - k ' o brings metaphysical claims to bear on his control over illusion, Lii's power is more specifically associated with a magical object, namely the pillow. On this power of magical conjuration rests his claim as teacher. There is no real philosophical solution, hence his injunction to Lu Sheng to enjoy the dream of Taoist paradise, because "after all, the dream of wandering with immor­ tals is more certain" (THTC, 4:2431). Both attachment and detachment stop short of transcendence in T h e Story of Han-tan. In this sense this play about renunciation is the most worldly, and also perhaps the most engaged, of T'ang Hsien-tsu's plays. It is no accident that it is most often praised for its pungent social criticism. (Critics from the People's Republic of China have often capitalized upon the earnest social criticism in the play.) T'ang's own checkered career was the result of his courageous defiance of those in power at court. Analogies have been drawn between the evil minister Yu-wen Jung in the play and Chang Chii-cheng (1525-1582), grand secretary and leading minister during the Lung-ch'ing era (1567-1573) and the first years of the Wan-Ii era (15731620), or perhaps Shen Shih-hsing, minister of rites and grand secretary from 1579 to 1591. 51 T'ang Hsien-tsu had defied Chang Chii-cheng and criticized Shen Shih-hsing. The problem with this analogy is that Yu-wen Jung is not much of an evil minister; his machinations serve functions of plot rather than draw attention to his complexity and emotive quotient as a dramatic character. Had T'ang Hsien-tsu intended any topical allusions, he might have taken care to fashion a more compelling and convincing villain. Unlike the other three plays, T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n does not seem to offer a positive message or vision. Its satirical edge is perhaps not the less sharp for all its playfulness, for it is also the most whimsical of T'ang's plays. Much more than The Story of Nan-k'o it imitates the discontinuity and f a n t a s t i c c o m b i n a t i o n s of d r e a m i m a g e s . A s o n e critic p u t s i t : " I n T h e S t o r y 50 Quoted in Chao Hsun, C h u - s h u o , (On drama) in THTTL 2 1258-59. The phrase m e n g r chung ]en (someone in a dream) has the double meaning of "dreamer" and "someone dreamed up " The ontological status of the immortal is thus no more substantial than the rumored dream of Lu Sheng. 51 Cf Chen Hu (chu-jen, 1642), Te-ch'uan-t'ang y e h - y e n hou-chi (Essay on the night feast i n t h e HalJ of Attaining Perfection), in T H T T L , 2 : 1 2 5 0 - 5 2 ; an d Wang Chen-hsiang, C h ' u - h a i tsung-mu t'i-yao (Summaries of plays comprehensively classified), m THTTL, 2 1253-56.

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o f H a n - t a n , the separations and unions, sorrows and joys go through un­ predictable changes from one moment to the next. Clues and rational cau­ sality are suppressed to make for a better depiction of the dreamworld." 5 2 The lapses of causality, sometimes at the expense of the logical development of characters, contribute to our impression of the dramatist's glee in cele­ brating his artistic freedom. Social satire is then woven into this sense of sheer delight in ordering destinies, m equating willing with doing, in tra­ versing opposites of experience. But the ubiquitous irony does not ulti­ mately add up to a vision of the possible transcendence of ch'ing. The problem of c h ' i n g in the late Ming may be summed up as follows: how to endow ch'ing with absolute value without undermining socio-political order and the equilibrium of the self, especially since the valorization of ch'mg seems to be precisely directed to that end. This problem is articulated through the ambiguity of the dream motif in The Peony Pavilion: on the one hand, subjective projection acquires new validity and power, but its sub­ versive implications are also contained. In the words of the Flower God as he pleads with the Infernal Judge to show the ghost of Li-niang clemency: "This girl is guilty of transgression in a dream. It is like 'the dawn breeze, the faint trace of the moon.' " 5 3 The two later dream plays, T h e S t o r y o f N a n - k ' o and T h e S t o r y o f H a n tan, are concerned with the individual's spiritual liberation from ch'ing rather than with the reconciliation of ch'ing with public order. Of the two, The Story of Nan-k'o seems to take issue more seriously with the possibil­ ity of detachment: only those with the power to dream up a world can wake up from this dream called life. The soteriological function of illusion is em­ phasized in Ch'i-hsiian's sermon, which contains a dense web of references to chapter 25, "Universal Gateway" (P'u-men-p'in), of the Lotus Sutra. In that chapter the bodhisattva Kuan-yin manifests herself in the form of the creature to whom she is trying to expound the Buddhist dharma. The dream of the protagonist, as well as theatrical illusion itself, may now aspire to function in the same manner as the bodhisattva's illusionistic technique of enlightenment. What remains unresolved, however, is the problem posed by the enticement of the dream illusion and the very idea of a dispassionate compassion. The solution of T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n is in some ways quite different, though apparently it, too, harps on the theme of "attaining detachment through attachment." As was suggested earlier, nothing in the play escapes 52

Hsii Chung-han, quoted in T H T T L , 2 1244

53

Sc 23, T H T C , 3 1913. The metaphors of dawn breeze and faint moon suggest something

evanescent and insubstantial The phrase may be an allusion to Liu Yung's (ca 985-ca 1053) famous lyric to the tune "Yii-lin-ling" "[After] tonight where will I wake up from the wine ? / By the banks of willows, with the dawn breeze and the faint trace of the moon" (CST, c 1.21).

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the scathing irony of the dramatist. Attachment loses its intensity and de­ tachment its clarity; even the notion of wish fulfillment seems to lack ob­ sessive force. The reconciliation of the private and public realms becomes a moot point; the socio-political order is as irrational as the individual's de­ sires are fatuous. The Story of Han-tan represents not so much a solution to the problem of ch'mg as a playfui and ironic questioning of the various solutions. No final answer emerges from the laughter.

THE LYRICAL SOLUTION IN THE PALACE OF EVERLASTING LIFE

The problem of ch'mg acquired a new urgency under the pressure of the historical moment. The fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 was the cause of much anguish and soul-searching: what, then, was the place for the indivi­ dual's passions in the midst of historical crisis and general collapse? How should the private and public realms be related? In some ways the two greatest plays of the seventeenth century, K'ung Shang-jen's (1648-1718) Peach Blossom Fan (T'ao-hua shan) and Hung Sheng's The Palace of Ever­ lasting Life (Ch'ang-sheng tien) represent attempts to rethink the issue of ch'ing—or, more specifically, the problem of ch'ing as defined by T'ang Hsien-tsu—in the context of questions arising from the new historical sit­ uation. 54 Hung Sheng reaffirms the love between Emperor Hsiian-tsung (r. 713— 756) and his ill-fated consort Yang Kuei-fei, that classic example of private passions being entangled with catastrophic collapse in the public realm (i.e., the An Lu-shan Rebellion in the mid eighth century). While vindicating the lovers, in his preface to The Palace of Everlasting Life Hung Sheng never­ theless claims for his play an injunction to moral vigilance: To leave to coming generations the lesson that grief comes on the heels of extreme happiness such is the implied meaning [of this play]. Throughout the ages, for those who have indulged an overreaching heart and plumbed the depth of desires, 54

The influence of T'ang on the two Jater writers is unmistakable. Hung Sheng writes in

"Introductory Remarks on The Palace of Everlasting Life" (Ch'ang-sheng tien li-yen)

"The

prime minister once said that my play is 'The Peony Pavilion writ large.' That comment is generally thought to be perceptive and judicious. I consider my stylistic flair inferior to that of Lin-ch'uan, but I do not dare trespass the rules of musical composition and adhere closely to t h e m " W u Jen a n d H s u Lin (fl. late 1 7 t h cent.) i n their c o m m e n t a r y edition of T h e Palace of Everlasting Life point out about ten references to the four dream plays. Hung Sheng com­ mends the edition for "fully developing the intended meaning of the play" (THTTL 1 2 88586). In scene 2 of Peach Blossom Fan, when the heroine Li Hsiang-chiin first makes her ap­ pearance, Su K'un-sheng teaches her arias from scene 10 of The Peony Pavilion One comment in scene 36 (the comment might have been penned by K'ung Shang-jen himself) reads "In The Peony Pavilion the dead can come to life again, even as in Peach Blossom Fan the separated can be reunited. I n both cases this is possible because of a firm hold o n t h e root of ch'ing" {THTTL, 2.887)

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disasters and failures have soon followed, and there has not been anyone who has not regretted it. Yii-huan [Yang Kuei-fei] toppled the country and ended up losing her life If consciousness lasts beyond death, how boundless would be the repen­ tance for her passions. Had it not been for her deep chagrin, she would not have become an immortal. Confucius edited The Book of Documents and kept the "Ch'm Declaration," thus showing his approval of the capacity for repentence upon defeat and failure. Is that not similar [to my work] ? But it is difficult to end the music [i.e., the play] on a note of balance and harmony, so I have borrowed from [the legends of] the Moon Palace to bring it about. In short, the moment of listening to the music in the Kuang-han Palace [on the moon] is the same as that of ascension to the heavens as immortals. The two stars are united and reborn m the Taoli Heaven, and all love reverts to illusion. Listening to the bells on a clear night, perhaps one can also all of a sudden wake up from dreams (CShT, 1)

Hung Sheng's claim that his play is a kind of moral drama urging repen­ tance of excessive passion is somewhat offset by the inclusion of a mythic realm that allows passion fulfillment and justification. By removing such fulfillment to another world, however, he suggests that a measure of am­ biguity is retained. To "repent of one's passions" ("Repenting of Love" [Ch'ing hui] is the title of scene 30) is then a redemptive act that reconciles once again the private and public realms. In the second half of the play, Yang Yu-huan's ghost is granted the capacity to examine and reflect upon her past life, but her "repentance" is ambiguous: YANG YU-HUAN : Facing the stars and the moon, the deepest sincerity from the

heart. Bowing to heaven and earth, the careful reflection with bowed head. Heavens above' Heavens above 1 To think that Yang Υύ-huan is punished for her many transgressions with sudden calamity Tonight I repent of my sins and count my wrongdoings, Hoping that the high heavens will watch over me and be my witness. Yet with that one spark of obsessive attachment, I am still submerged in the stream of love, unawakened. For this repentence is of no avail; only heaven can be my witness. (Sc 30, C S h T , 159-60)

This suffices, however, for the local deity, who told her that "this one act of repentence can erase ten thousand wrongs" (sc. 30, CShT, 160). Yang Yuhuan's spirit is thus allowed to wander, so that she can seek to renew her lost love. 5 5 By scene 33, in which the local deity appeals to the Weaver-Maid Star in her behalf, he describes her as a martyr who "gave up her life for 55

The motif of the wandering soul in quest of lost love shows an obvious parallel with T h e

Peony Pavilion

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her country" (wei-kuo chiian-ch'u). The mark of condemnation becomes an act of justification. 56 In the preface, Hung Sheng states that he needs recourse to the mythic realm to create "harmony and balance" (ya-cheng), or, one may say, to resolve the tensions and contradictions created by the pressure of the his­ torical moment. The close juxtaposition of the inner and the outer, the pri­ vate and the public, a standard device in ch'uan-ch'i drama, 57 here takes on special significance as the alternation of historical and mythical scenes. Scenes 11 through 17, for instance, describe the mythic inspiration (Yang Yii-huan learns the music in a dream visit to the Moon Palace in scene 11), creation (scene 12), transmission (Li Mo, a flute player, overhears and learns the tune outside the palace walls), and performance (scene 16) of the "Tune of Rainbow Skirt and Feather Coat" (Ni-ch'ang yii-i ch'ii), but this development is interwoven with scenes marking the progressive disintegra­ tion of the empire: unrest at the frontier (sc. 10,13,17), decadence at court (symbolized by the litchi fruit brought posthaste to Changan from southern China in scene 15). Equally striking is the juxtaposition of scene 37, in which the spirit of Yang Yu-huan confronts and reunites with her resur56

When the Cowherd Star is waiting for his annual meeting with the Weaver Maid Star in

scene 44, he refers to Yu-huan's death as the "greatest and most undeserved calamity of all ages" (sc. 44, CShT, 221) Upon their meeting the two stars confer on the possible reunion of emperor Hsiian-tsung and Yang Yu-huan (it was to these celestial lovers that the emperor and Yu-huan made their vow of eternal union in scene 22), and the only apparent obstacle is the Weaver Maid Star's doubts in regard to the tenacity of the emperor's attachment· "He stopped loving easily, / And was the first to break his vow, / As for Yu-huan, such is her deep passion, that she deludes herself in vain" (sc 44, CShT, 223) This verdict gives a new twist to the idea of repentence: the emperor has to show remorse (hui-hsin) for betraying his vow, which he duly demonstrates in scenes 45 and 46, before he can be reunited with Yu-huan in Tao-Ii Heaven. With the emperor's repentence, the demands of the public realm are resolutely left behind s;

This usually takes the form of "inner chamber" scenes or love scenes juxtaposed with

frontier scenes or scenes with larger historical significance The principle of juxtaposition and alternation also informs the structure of full-length narrative fiction (chang-hui hsiao-shuo). Even a comparatively short form such as the ch'uan-ch'i tale aspires to be inclusive According to Chao Yen-wei (ca 13th cent.), writing ch'uan-ch'i in the T'ang dynasty was one route to officialdom, "for this kind of writing combines several forms and can show talent for historical [or narrative] prose [shih-ts'ai], poetic flair [shih-ρι], and discursive power [ι-lun\" (Yun-Iu man-ch'ao [Random notes of Yiin-Iu], [Chao's 1207 preface], c 8 111)

The practice of sub­

mitting ch'uan-ch'i stories to those in powerful positions was called "scroll warming" (wenchuan). By including different forms, ch'uan-ch'i tales also bring together varying perspec­ tives An interesting example is the source of Hung Sheng's play, Po Chu-i's (772—846) "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" (Ch'ang-hen ko; CTS, c 435 4816-20), and Ch'en Hung's (ca. late 8thearly 9th cent ) accompanying narrative ("The Story of the 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' " [Ch'ang-hen ko chuan], TPKC 1 c.486.3998-^4001). While Po Chu-i 's poem emphasizes the lyr­ ical and mythical mood, Ch'en Hung's narrative is much more sober and critical

In function

and intent it may be compared to the historical scenes in The Palace of Everlasting Life Cf. Ch'en Yin-k'o, Yuan-Pai shih-chien cheng-kao, 1-A4

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rected body before she is reinstated as a celestial immortal, 58 with scene 38, in which Li Kuei-nian, a former court musician, gives a t'an-tz'u (narrative song) version of the historical events pertaining to the decline and imminent disintegration of the empire. But the mythic realm increasingly prevails in the last ten scenes, as the play moves toward the grand finale of the lovers' reunion in the Taoli Heaven. The passion that costs them suffering and separation in this world is also the reason why they earn their place in the celestial realm, for "fairy immortals are basically souls of deep feelings. / Mount P'eng is far, / But with love one can reach it" (sc. 50, CShT, 256). Yang Yii-huan was demoted from her celestial existence because of "earthly desire" (fan-hsin), and now she mysteriously regains her position because of it: "because of feelings g e n u i n e , / s h e is s u m m o n e d back t o t h e fairy m o u n t a i n " (sc. 3 7 , C S h T , 192). The logical inconsistency hardly seems to matter. Hung Sheng is in­ tent on creating a mythic realm that would "make good regrets and sor­ r o w s — a love flawed n o m o r e i n ages t o c o m e " ( p u - h e n t ' i e n - c h ' o u , w a n - k u wu-ch'iieh) (sc. 47, CShT, 243; the scene is entitled "Sorrow Made Good," [Pu hen]). 59 The "Tune of the Rainbow Skirt and Feather Coat," initially a tribute to the sublime passion that faciliatates communication between hu­ man and divine realms, later turns into a symbol of decadence and sensual indulgence at court. Appropriately enough, at the midpoint of the play its notes are interrupted by the war drums from Υϋ-yang 6 0 and its transmis5

* This is one of the few examples in Chinese literature of a character's meeting his or her

double We have only to compare scene 37 with Tnpitaka's vision of his own corpse floating down the river as he approaches his destination in chapter 98 of journey to the West (Hsi-yu ch\, attnb to Wu Ch'eng-en [1500-82], 1105), Monkey's vision of being saved by his "true spirit" (chen-shen) in chapter 10 of Tung Yueh's (1620-1686) Supplement to Journey to the West (Hsi-yu pu, 99), Ch'eng Sheng's encounter with his replica in "Becoming an Immortal" (Ch'eng hsien) in Liao-chai chih-ι (LC, c 1 87-94), or Chia ("fictive") Pao-yii's dream of Chen ("real") Pao-yu in chapter 56 of Hung-Iou meng (HLM, 2 795-96) to appreciate the difference in emphasis In those other examples the encounter with one's double makes for a moment of distance and self-questioning In The Palace of Everlasting Life, by contrast, it is a moment of contradictions resolved and transgressions redeemed. "Ail of a sudden I wake up from deep dreams, / All of a sudden I wake up from deep dreams. / My long lost old self—/ An abrupt reunion of form and spirit

/ Looking back in melancholy and confusion, / Looking back in

melancholy and confusion / Now unmistakably and irrevocably Chuang Chou, / What was being a butterfly all about?" (sc. 37, CShT, 193) There is little room for genuine self-ques­ tioning and reflection in Yang Yii-huan, which is why I use the term "lyrical solution " ™ An obvious allusion to the last two lines of "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" "Heaven and earth, though lasting long, will yet come to an end, / But tins lasting sorrow is for eternity" (CTS, c.435 4820) The same lines are quoted in scene 22, "Secret Vow" (Mi shih), but the word "sorrow" (hen) is changed to "vow" [shih) 60

"The wardrums from Yu-yang, shaking the earth as they approached, / Surprised and

broke the 'Tune of Rainbow Skirt and Feather Coat' " These lines from Po Chii-i's poem are quoted in scene 24 {CShT, 127), although in that scene Yang Yii-huan is singing Li Po's (699762) "Ch'ing-p'ing tiao" lyrics rather than dancing to the "Rainbow Skirt" tune The word p'o (break) in Po Chu-i's line conceals a pun· on the one hand it refers to the interruption of

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sion is a consequence of the disintegration of empire (Li Kuei-nian, in the course of his wanderings, teaches it to the aspiring commoner musician Li Mo in scene 38). But at the end of the play the tune resounds triumphantly and accompanies the ascension of the emperor and his consort to the Taoli Heaven—not the original heavenly version, but Yang Yu-huan's interpre­ tation of it, which Ch'ang-o, the moon goddess, judges to be superior (sc. 50, CShT, 251). 61 It is symbolic of the triumph of human passion in a realm supposedly beyond passion.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOLUTION IN PEACH BLOSSOM FAN

The Palace of Everlasting Life represents the lyrical solution: the willful reaffirmation of ch'ing and the invention of a mythic context to accommo­ date it. By contrast, there is the philosophical solution of Peach Blossom Fan, which stipulates that collapse and disintegration in the public realm leave no room for private passions. In Peach Blossom Fan, the conventional love story between the scholar Hou Fang-yii and the courtesan Li Hsiang-chiin is interwoven with events marking the decline and fall of the Southern Ming court. Toward the end of the play (sc. 40), after a three-year separation, Hou and Li unexpectedly meet at a Taoist service commemorating the martyrs of the recently fallen dynasty. But just as they rejoice over their reunion, Chang Wei, the Taoist priest conducting the ceremony, brutally reminds them of the futility of it all: CHANG: What is this endless chatter? What are you talking about? At this mo­ ment when heaven and earth are turned upside down, you still cling to the roots of attachment and the seeds of desire. Is that not laughable? Hou But you are mistaken! The love between man and woman has always been an essential tenet of human relationships, and sorrow and joy at separation and union are but tokens of deep attachment. How can you, sir, forbid this? CHANG: Pshaw! You two deluded worms! Can you not see? Where is your coun­ try? your home? your ruler? your father? Why can you not of all things cut off this bit of passion and desire? 62

The Taoist priest's categorical statement that "shattered into bits and pieces, the precious mirror of reunion would not last" is promptly accepted by Hou Fang-yii: he breaks into cold sweat, as if "suddenly waking up from a the music by the wardrums, and on the other it is a musical term indicating a gentle, lyrical mood See Ch'en Yin-k'o, Yuan-Po shih-chien cheng-kao, 30. 61 In scene 40, Ch'ang-o sends her attendant, Kuang-huang, to obtain the tune from Yang Yii-huan 62 Sc 40, K'ung Shang-jen, K'ung Shang-jen shih ho t'ao-hua shan (hereafter THS), 212 For an English translation, see K'ung Shang-jen, The Peach Blossom Fan, trans. Harold Acton and Ch'en Shih-hsiang, with the collaboration of CynI Birch

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dream" (sc. 40, T H S , 212). Li Hsiang-chiin also declares her enlightenment, both find a ready Taoist teacher, Hou goes south, and Li north. The abrupt conversion of the lovers has often been criticized as unconvincing and lack­ ing in psychological subtlety. It is, however, in line with the ideological structure of the play. It is the logical culmination of a series of "conver­ sions"—from attachment to detachment, from the role of player to that of observer-commentator—that have been taking place among other charac­ ters. Pien Υϋ-ching, who introduces Li Shang-chiin to the life of a Taoist nun, was herself formerly a courtesan; Ting Chi-chih, who plays an analo­ gous role in regard to Hou, was a musician in the pleasure quarters. (Pien and Ting embraced the Taoist solution in scene 24, when threatened with recruitment into the palace musical establishment of the Southern Ming court.) The Taoist priest Chang Wei had been an imperial guard and tem­ porary magistrate. He escaped into the mountains with a "criminal," the bookshop owner Ts'ai I-so, whom he was supposed to indict. The dilemma of serving under false auspices leaves him no choice but to withdraw from public service altogether. There is a note of despair and desperation in these gestures of withdrawal. The balance or tension between attachment and detachment is built into the elaborate framing device of the play. The four scenes at the beginning, middle, and end (i.e., sc. 1, extra sc. 20, additional sc. 21, and sequel to sc. 40) create a sudden distancing effect, as the characters central to the action step outside the theatrical illusion. Then reality was like a play, Now the play seems only too real. Twice an observer at the side Heaven has preserved the one with cold eyes. (additional sc. 21, T H S , 105)

The keeper of rites who declaims these lines is also the sole speaker in scene 1. Being both inside and outside the theatrical illusion is the enabling act that allows the play to unfold in the first place. He is actually more involved in the action than his claim suggests, but he is also the one who, in the last scene, expounds the solution of philosophical reconciliation with the greatest conviction: The gods have their shortcomings, The sages their lack Who can fulfill their desires? The hole in the earth cannot be filled up, Nor that in heaven patched. Such are the ways of Creation 1 I have fully dispelled

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The sorrows in my breast, Joyously I smile. The river will flow on, The clouds will whirl. Why should I doubt! (sequel to sc. 40, T H S , 217)

There are three beautiful long poems in the last scene. The lines quoted above are followed by a historical poem, an account of how and why the Ming dynasty fell, sung by Liu Ching-t'ing, storyteller turned fisherman (sequel to sc. 40, THS, 217-18). Su K'un-sheng, musician turned woodcut­ ter, sings the last song, which describes his vision of devastated Chin-ling (sequel to sc. 40, THS, 218-19). The mood, especially of the last song, is impassioned and fiercely nostalgic. Historical reflection in one case, and the immediate impact of a revisit to the ravaged capital in the other, both rebel against the philosophical solution set forth in the first poem by the keeper of rites. The mythic realm affirming love against all odds in The Palace of Ever­ lasting Life does not exist in Peach Blossom Fan; perhaps the historical crisis represented in the latter is too close to home to allow such an easy solution. Some kind of existence beyond death is invoked in extra scene 20 and scene 40 (both taking place on the full moon of the seventh month, the Ghost Festival), when Chang Wei, the imperial guard turned Taoist priest, pro­ claims visions of the glory of the martyred imperial family and generals and of the punishment of the corrupt, self-serving ministers responsible for the fall of the dynasty. Here the supernatural realm facilitates poetic justice by redressing the wrongs of history, but it is definitely not the projection of an ideal world wherein human contradictions may be resolved. That burden is left to the philosophical solution itself, to the ideal of reclusion: withdrawal not only from public affairs but also from private passions. However, ideo­ logical coherence notwithstanding, grief and the sense of loss threaten to overwhelm the striving toward philosophical reconciliation, as evidenced by the songs of Su and Liu. The manner in which the keeper of rites, Su, and Liu are hounded off stage by a minor offical determined to ferret out re­ cluses also suggests, from another vantage point, the precariousness of the eremitic ideal itself.

ENCHANTMENT, DISENCHANTMENT, AND SELF-REPRESENTATION

We return now to the third point raised at the beginning of this chapter in connection with the passage from Dream Memories of T'ao-an. There is an obvious analogy between dreams and the aesthetic illusion. The dramatist is both dreamer and the figure manipulating the dream illusion: all three

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share the illusion of freedom and power. By being both, he sustains a si­ multaneous engagement and detachment vis-a-vis the theatrical illusion he creates. The ambiguity involved in the representation of dreams and illu­ sions is thus related to awareness of the contradictions of ch'ing and the problem of self-representation: The year Chia-yin has come around for me again 11614]. Driven still by c h ' t n g , I drain myself with writing plays. . . . Sometimes I am filled with self-pity, yet I am unable to free myself. Alas! The clarity of reflection sharpens one's under­ standing, the darkness of passion blunts it. With much passion and little reflec­ tion, one drifts and sinks. As for the ways I act, it cannot be said that my passion is not great, or that my reflection is insignificant

63

In this passage T'ang Hsien-tsu describes a kind of creative tension that may also apply to his own relationship to the literary illusion he creates. Else­ where in his correspondence he describes his style as "unrestrained selfexpression and defiant expansiveness" (t'ai-tang or t'ai-tang yin-i). In "Re­ ply to Ling Meng-ch'u" (Ta Ling Meng-ch'u shu), he expresses disdain at Lii Yu-sheng's (chin-shih, 1583) attempt to make changes in The Peony Pavilion to make it fit Wu music: In the past there were those who took exception to Mo-chieh's "Plantain m Win­ ter Scene." To remove the plantain and add the plum would indeed make the winter scene properly wintry, but it would no longer be Mo-chieh's "Winter Scene." There is in this mode unrestrained self-expression and defiant expansive­ ness, something beyond brush and ink. ( THTC , 2:1344-45) " "Hsii Ch'i-hsien Lien-she ch'iu-yu wen" (Sequel to "Essay on seeking friends to join the Lotus Society at Ch'i-hsien"), THTC, 2 1161. In Buddhist writings, reflection (hsiang) is often synonymous with enlightenment, and passion (ch'ing) with delusion "Pure reflection means ascension and certain rebirth in heaven is not far off

With little passion and much reflection, ascension

Should passion equal reflection, there will be neither ascension nor fall, but

birth in the human world .

With much passion and little reflection, one merges with in­

ferior forms of existence. . .

Pure passion means sinking, and falling into Avici hell [the last

and deepest of the eight burning hells, where the inmates suffer, die, and are instantly reborn to suffering without interruption (wu-chten)]" (Surangama Sutra, trans by Paramiti in 705, m The Taishd Tripitaka, no. 945, 143). The discussion of the opposition between passion and reflection in Iate-Mmg writings is often ambivalent For example, in Hsu Wei's (1521-1593) The Ch'an Master's Dream (Yu Ch'an-shih ts'ui-hsiang i-meng), the protagonist, the Monk Yu-t'ung, comes on stage declaring that "much reflection and little passion" (hsiang-to ch'mghsiao) is the way to salvation, and "little reflection and much passion" (hsiang-hsiao ch'mgto) is the way to damnation (Hsu Wei, Ssu-sheng yuan, sc 1, 21} However, the play is about his attainment of enlightenment through falling victim to sexual temptation and the karmic cycle. Cf. also the comment of the Historian of Love in Anatomy of Love- "Much reflection and little passion is the beginning of wisdom, little reflection and much passion defines an inferior, obtuse nature

.

However, how can there be reflection without passion? All reflec­

tion develops from passion" (CS, c.19.631)

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In his 1590 letter to his friend Shih Ch'u-yang at Su-chou, he asks for Li Chih's (1527-1602) A Book for Burning (Fen-shu), having heard of it and anticipating deep affinities of spirit. The phrase with which he ends his let­ ter, chi wo t'ai-tang, has the double meaning of "sending me his unre­ strained self-expression" and "finding a proper abode for my unrestrained self-expression" (THTC, 2:1246). T'ang uses a similar phrase, "unre­ strained self-expression and free play" (t'ai-tang yu-i), to praise Hsieh Shao-shen's (H. late 16th cent.) "Poems on Wandering with the Goddess Ma-ku" (Ma-ku yu shih), which seem to be, judging from the title, poems i n t h e s u b g e n r e of " w a n d e r i n g (with) i m m o r t a l s " ( y u - h s i e n shih) ( T H T C , 2:1051). There is an element of self-enchantment in this mode of "unre­ strained self-expression." It is tempting to invest the "Four Dreams" with an autobiographical dimension, and interpret them as the realization of the idea of "enlighten­ ment through love" in T'ang Hsien-tsu's own life or writings. Wang ChiIieh (b.1872) observes, for instance, that "I-ymg (T'ang Hsien-tsu's cour­ tesy name [tzu\) in his later years repented of his passions and immersed himself in Taoism and Buddhism, and expressed the aspiration for other­ w o rldly transcendence. T h e scenes 'Exhaustion of love' i n T h e S t o r y of Nan-k'o and 'Awakening' in The Story of Han-tan certainly provoke deep reflections. They are completely divested of the ornate, sensuous language common among writers of dramatic lyrics and songs" (THTTL, 2:1270-71). T'ang Hsien-tsu's close association with the monk Tzu-p'o is evident in T'ang's later writings. In 1599, one year after he left public office, he wrote "Dreaming and Awakening, with Preface" ("Meng-chueh p'ien, yu hsii," THTC, 1:534—35). In the poem and the prose preface he describes his dream of a beautiful woman. Just as he is admiring her, a message arrives from Tzu-p'o. The message concludes with the two words "great awakening." T'ang also remembers the phrase "Hai-jo-shih." "As if confused and de­ luded, yet seemingly awakened, / I finished reading and woke up startled." From then on he adopted as hao (pen name) Hai-jo-shih or Jo-shih, a ref­ erence t o a Taoist i m m o r t a l f r o m t h e H u a i - n a n T z u . 6 4 This does not mean, however, that he embraced the philosophical solu­ tion of detachment. He writes in a letter to Tsou Mei-yii: "The Two Dreams [The Story of Han-tan and The Story of Nan-k'o] are strangely elusive and ungraspable. It is precisely this elusiveness that fills one with melancholy. Without this one route, one would have to stop at the world 64 See Liu An, H u a i - n a n T z u , c.12 146. "Tao-ying hsun" (Responding to the Way)· "Lu Ao roamed the Northern Sea and saw a man [of superior bearing]. . . Lu Ao said to him,

'Would you be my friend ?/ That person [jo-shih] smiled broadly, ' . . I am meeting Bound­ lessness beyond the Nine Limits I cannot stay long ' That person raised his arms, drew himself up, and soared into the clouds. Lu Ao raised his head to look, desisting only when he could see no more."

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of the First Emperor of Ch'in and Emperor Wu of Han as the final ground (chu-chu chih ti)" (THTC, 2:1363). In other words, Taoism and Buddhism seem to be viable alternatives to the struggle for worldly achievement and acclaim, except that the promise of otherworldly transcendence is ulti­ mately elusive and unattainable. T'ang Hsien-tsu also claims that he "has always lacked the boundless, mysterious nonbeing (huang-hu) of Lao Tzu, and also missed the golden mean {chung-yung) of Confucius" (THTC, 2:1055). The problem of ch'ing eludes both the solution of limits and that of limitlessness. Consequently, the dramatic representation of the philo­ sophical solution is also only provisional—a moment of self-disenchantment. Both self-enchantment and self-disenchantment are bound up with the theatrical illusion, which now becomes a much more convoluted and self-reflexive affair with the dream motif, the invention of a mythic-fantas­ tic realm, and elaborate framing devices. Such self-consciousness in the manipulation of illusion surfaces again in The Palace of Everlasting Life and Peach Blossom Fan, when the burden of history adds another dimension to the problem. Disenchantment in these plays is based on the perspective of historical forces that mock the indivi­ dual's illusion of freedom. Subjective projection can no longer be detached from the pressure of the historical moment. When Tu Li-niang looks into the mirror, dreams up a lover, or paints her self-portrait in The Peony Pa­ vilion, the mirroring process is just innocent, narcissistic self-appreciation. It is also a celebration of the freedom and autonomy of the dreaming self. But in The Palace of Everlasting Life, when Yang Yu-huan dreams of a visit to the Moon Palace, where she learns the "Tune of Rainbow Skirt and Feather Coat," music can no longer be simple self-expression. Through mu­ sic she seals her bond with the emperor and the mythic realm, but it also turns out to be the symbol of her doom. The war drums from Yu-yang interrupt the performance of the "Tune of Rainbow Skirt and Feather Coat," and the transmission of the tune is a consequence of the disintegra­ tion of the empire. Hung Sheng tries to transcend this grim picture of his­ tory as disenchantment by inventing a mythic realm that accommodates the excesses of passion. The same tune that bodes disaster in history resounds triumphantly in the background to celebrate the reunion of the emperor and his consort in the mythic realm. There is an analogous moment of self-expression in Peach Blossom Fan, when Hsiang-chiin spatters her fan with blood in an attempt to resist being forcibly taken as concubine to the household of T'len Yang, a corrupt, pow­ erful minister of the Southern Mmg court. Yang Wen-ts'ung turns the spots of blood into a painting of peach blossoms, hence the title of the play. The peach blossom fan becomes Hsiang-chiin's symbol for herself, which is why she is intent on sending it to Hou Fang-yii. We have here a curious echo of the self-portrait in The Peony Pavilion. In Peach Blossom Fan, self-

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expression and self-appreciation is by definition also a political statement. The illusion of self-containment can hardly mask the grim reality of loss and destruction. The reaction to disenchantment can no longer be the rec­ reation of another moment of enchantment, because the loss here goes far beyond the shattering of the individual's dreams and illusions. It is the col­ lapse of an entire world. The solution offered lies m the acceptance of the irony of being both the player on stage and the audience off stage, being both within and beyond the illusion of freedom and fruitful endeavor. We are reminded of the figures within and beyond the dream in T'ang's plays. However, the tension between being within and without the illusion is much more intense in Peach Blossom Fan, because the voice from without the illusion is charged with both a deep sense of loss and the authority of historical understanding. A similar perspective can be traced through The Palace of Everlasting Life. In scene 38, for instance, the former palace mu­ sician Li Kuei-nien gives a historical overview that is in some ways compa­ rable to the last scene in Peach Blossom Fan, but in close juxtaposition with this is the scene reinstating Yang Υϋ-huan in the mythic realm. The voice of history fades with Li Kuei-nien's song; from scene 39 on the mythic realm takes over. When we come to Hung-Iou meng, it becomes apparent that Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in is deeply influenced by drama, especially the works of T'ang Hsien-tsu, in dealing with the problem of ch'ing. 65 For it is drama that em­ bodies the paradox that self-expression is possible only through imperson­ ation, that the truth can be told only through a mask. 66 The complex dialec65

Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'm intended to write a c h ' u a n - c h ' i play at one point, and H u n g - I o u m e n g

certainly adopts techniques from drama The book contains recurrent allusions to drama and dramatic performances, especially The Western Chamber and The Peony Pavilion On the in­ t e r e s t of T s ' a o H s u e h - c h ' i n a n d h i s f a m i l y i n d r a m a a n d t h e r e f e r e n c e s t o d r a m a i n H n n g - I o u meng, see Chou Ju-ch'ang, Hung-Iou meng hsin-cheng, 2 811-21, Yu Ta-Kang, Hsi-ch'u tsung-heng t'an, 15-68, Hsu Fu-rmng, Hung-Iou meng yu hsi-ch'u ρι-chiao yen-chin In an essay dated 1914 Wang Meng-juan discusses how figural repetition in Hung-Iou meng may be compared to permutations in the relationship between actors and roles in the theater (HLMC, 294). 66

Drama is by definition linked to deliberate fabrication and fictionahty. Hu Ying-Iin (1551-

1602) sums up certain aspects of this phenomenon "Ch'uan-ch'i is a literature of play, and there is nothing in it that is not play Its events should be absurd, not rooted in reality, its names should be turned upside down, not based on facts. To go against this and strive for plausibility or propriety is to no longer have a play So the tunes should be familiar but the male lead is called sheng [which can mean 'unfamiliar'], women are proper company at night, but the female lead is called tan [morning]; events begin at the opening of the play, but the older male lead [who is the first to appear on stage] is called mo [end], the male role with a painted face, all daubed and unclean, is called ching [clean]—all these are names turned upside down Ts'ai Yung at sixty becoming the son-in-law of Tung Cho [The Lute (Ρ'ι-p'a chi)], Yuan Chen breaking up a friendship to marry Ts'ui Ying-ying (The Western Chamber); the lie of a 'husband' of Ch'ien Yu-Iien (Thorn Hairpin [Ching-ch'ai chi]); the illusory brother of Chang Chiu-ch'eng (Fragrant Scent Bag [Hsiang-niang chi])—all these are absurd departures from

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tics between enchantment and disenchantment set up in the works of T'ang Hsien-tsu and the seventeenth-century masters provides a viable escape from t h e generalities and commonplaces that arise from the effort to be and to appear genuine, which is the bane of much late-Ming writing. This is an escape that Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in needs recourse to for his own special confes­ sional mode: the mask of confession and the confession of a mask. By being both Disenchantment and Pao-yii, as it were, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in uses the dream-illusion motif to bring the dialectics of engagement and detachment to bear on his own past and on the ideal of lyrical self-containment in the Chinese tradition. factual events Recent c h ' u a n - c h ' i are like good history, with that development, the ancient spirit of play is no more" (Hu Ying-hn, Chuang-yueh wei-t'an, in Ch'en To and Yeh Ch'anghai, eds , Chung-kuo h-tai chu-lun hsuan-chu,153-54). While Hu assumes a normative order of things tempered with in plays, T'o Shih, in his preface to Hsu Wei's Songs for Cries (Kotai-hsiao) describes the playwright as competing with the ways of the world in defying logic and reason, m the mismatch of thing and name (tien-tao ming-shih) "Instead of leaving one's rise and fall to the contingencies between heaven and earth, one might as well put up a struggle in the general topsy-turviness, so that one is not merely a toy of the Creator" (ibid , 384)

CHAPTER THREE

Desire and Order in Liao-chai chih-i

THE CONFUCIAN SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF SENSUAL LOVE

In the last chapter I referred to Ch'en Chi-ju's defense of the apotheosis of ch'ing in The Peony Pavilion. He maintains that erotic passion actually tells us essential truths about moral nature, and that the representation of love in the Confucian classics is itself a mark of legitimation. Since love is the lowest common denominator in human feelings, it is paradigmatic of hu­ man relationships and can therefore serve as the foundation of morality. It is a position that T'ang Hsien-tsu endorses only playfully and ironically, if at all, in The Peony Pavilion. Ch'en Chi-ju's statement represents the classic solution to problems posed by the subversive potential of ch'ing. One of the most interesting expressions of this position, amidst the veritable chorus on the powers and dangers of passion in late-Ming writings, is found in Anatomy of Love.' This seventeenth-century collection is divided into twenty-four sections. The title of each section is a two-word compound, one of which is always ch'ing; the other modifies it as adjective or adverb (e.g., ch'ing-ch'ih, "ob­ sessive love"; ch'ing-chen, "chaste love"; ch'ing-hua, "metamorphosis and love"; ch'ing-ch'ou, "enmity in love"). In its classificatory scheme this col­ lection purports to give a comprehensive treatment of the causes, manifes­ tations, and consequences of different kinds of love. Although most of the stories are from earlier periods, what marks the work as distinctively a prod­ uct of late-Ming culture is the attempt to turn ch'ing into the measure of all things (and the criterion for classifying narratives), as well as the opin­ ions expressed by the compiler-commentator, who styles himself Historian of Love or Master of Love (Ch'mg Chu-jen). The compiler-commentator waxes effusive over the transcendent dimen­ sion of desire, which is portrayed as a semimaterial force that links human beings to gods and spirits: Thoughts of longing, and yet more thoughts of longing, and one may commune with gods [shen\ and spirits [knei |. For thoughts of longing arise from love, and 1

Hua-yuan Li Mowry translates and discusses the prefaces, and also a selection of the stories

and the comments She supplies convincing evidence that Feng Meng-Iung is indeed the com­ piler-commentator of the anthology (Chinese Love Stories from the "Ch'ing-shih," 25-35).

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gods and spirits are but love crystallized. Should gods and spirits be without love, they would have risen as the ethereal soul [hurt] or sunken as the material soul [p'o]. Why would they linger on and retain the name of "gods" or "spirits"? Spirits partake of the spiritual nature of humans, and gods partake of the spiritual nature of spirits The realms of light and darkness interfuse, just like water mixed with water. (CS, c.8.224)

The raison d'etre of gods and spirits is their ch'ing, without which the man­ ifestation of their existence in the phenomenal world is unaccountable. Ch'ing is thus the means of access to other worlds, for a person of deep feelings is susceptible to extraordinary dreams [ι-meng) and the separation of body and soul (li-hun). Earlier I referred to the close ties between the words "life" and "love" in the world of T'ang Hsien-tsu. In a similar vein, the gatha in the first preface to Anatomy of Love expounds on the potential continuity of ch'ing with the spirit of procreation in the universe: If heaven and earth are without c h ' i n g , They would not have given life to the myriad things. If the myriad things are without c h ' i n g , They would not engage m the cycles of generation Lives lived, ever coming into being and undying, Because c h ' i n g does not die. The four great elements are but illusions, C h ' i n g alone is not false or illusory. (CS, 1)

The preface is penned by Lung Tzu-yu of Wu i which is probably one of Feng Meng-lung's pseudonyms. Linked to the life-giving force in the uni­ verse and validated by supernatural manifestations, ch'ing acquires a new transcendent dimension. In the Anatomy of Love, however, accounts of mi­ raculous affinities are juxtaposed with stories about evil transformations. Well aware of the destructive, subversive potential of ch'ing, Feng MengIung tries to reconcile ch'ing with ethical-socio-political order in two ways: by establishing the continuity of ch'ing with other moral attributes, and by making the distinction between ch'ing (in the sense of "spiritual affinity") and carnal desire. Feng Meng-Iung writes in his comment on the last entry in the section "Unrestrained Love" (Ch'ing-hao): "The deeds of loyalty, filial piety, in­ tegrity, and righteousness in this world are all inspired by ch'ing. This is why Tzu-yu has his theory of the 'daring of love' [ch'ing-tan\" (CS, c.5.161). 2 The same idea is elaborated in the preface: 2

Cf. "On the Limits of the Hero" (Ying-hsiung ch'i-tuan shuo) by Chou Ch'iian, in which

Chou takes issue with the idea that those deeply involved in romantic love cannot rise to great heights of heroism (erh-nu-ch'ing ch'ang, ying-hsiung-ch'i tuan) He asserts that the opposite

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Ever since youth I have been burdened with obsessive ch'ing. To my friends I have given all I had, sharing their happiness and misfortunes. If I hear of someone suffering grave injustice or great extremity, I try to help even if I do not know him, or, if it is not within my power to do so, I sigh for days on end and fail to fall asleep at night. When I see a "person of feelings," I feel the urge to bow low with reverence. Or when an unfeeling person [wu-ch'mg che] turns against me m will and word, I would patiently try to guide him with ch'tng, desisting only when he absolutely refuses to come around. I once said m jest that after my death I will not be able to forget my feelings for people of this world. I must then become a Buddha to deliver the world, and my title should be "Tathagata Buddha of boundless feelings and joy " Those who praise my name and serve me m faith will be protected on all sides by countless "spirits of joy." Even when they en­ counter ill-wishers and foes, all will turn to joy, and there will not be such evil thoughts as anger, hatred, or jealousy. I have also wanted to assemble the re­ markable examples of love stories from time past and present, and write short accounts thereon People will know then that ch'ing is lasting, and so those with­ out feelings will have them [wu-ch'ing hua-yu], and selfish feelings will become selfless [shih-ch'mg hua-kung]. From the village to the kingdom and to the whole world, ch'ing will benignly prevail and the ways of the world may hopefully be changed for the better. (CS, preface)

When Lung Tzu-yu describes himself as being "obsessed with ch'ing" (ch'ing-ch'ih ), he is really referring to a sense of justice or righteousness (i or hsia-ι) and Buddhist compassion. Thus sublimated ch'ing emerges as al­ truistic sentiment, self-forgetfulness, and dedication to the well-being of others. As the basic affinity or connection between self and other, it is the foundation of all human relations. This idea informs the gatha that forms the second half of the first preface: The ten thousand things are like scattered coins— Ch'ing is the only linking thread. What is the compassion of the Buddha? Or the goodness and humanity of the sage ? Eliminate the seeds of ch'ing, And heaven and earth will be chaos. (CS, 2) is true "For in this world those without much do not have much to give up, those who attain the great forgetfulness must in the beginning have much that they cannot forget The world is the embodiment of the concentration of love. When love exists, it can be moved to serve great causes used in service of the ruler, there will be loyalty, in the cause of friendship, there will be trust, m worldly affairs, there will be wisdom

. . That is why I maintain that only

t h o s e w i t h d e e p f e e l i n g s w o u l d n o t fail a s h e r o e s " ( C h u C h i e n - h s i n , e d , Wan-mtng hsiao-

ρ'ιπ-wen hsuan, 1 12—13)

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C h ' i n g is then the ordering principle, the basis of Confucian goodness and humanity and of Buddhist compassion. It is in this spirit that Feng MengIung speaks of the school of ch'ing (ch'ing-chiao), which is further elabo­ rated in the second preface by Chan-chan Wai-shih, another of Feng Menglung's pseudonyms. He maintains that the Six Classics in the Confucian canon all teach through ch'ing. Properly channeled through Confucian ethos, ch'ing becomes the foundation of morality. By contrast, the aspira­ tion to abolish ch'ing in "heterodox teachings" leads only to its distortion and perversion. The first preface reiterates the standard distinction between c h ' i n g and carnal desire. "Those who read the book well will broaden [deepen] their feelings [kuang-ch'mg]; those who do not will yet not be misled into in­ dulgence of desire [tao-yu]" (CS, 1). The line between ch'ing and desire is perhaps best illustrated by the story of Wang in the section "Obsessive Love" (Ch'ing-ch'ih). Wang, a wood merchant from Loyang, is passion­ ately in love with the courtesan T'ang Yii-chan. T'ang is subsequently taken into the harem of the prince of the land. Wang's request to see her again is granted by the prince, on the condition that he first castrate himself. He does. Their meeting is one long, silent, tearful mutual gaze. The Historian of Love comments: The purpose of mutual appreciation is pleasure. Having castrated himself, what use has he for the meeting? Alas, he does that for love. For love is close to desire, but desire is really not love. . .

In its supreme form, love can brave death, let

alone castration 1 One has to call this love, yet one cannot deny that it is sickness and obsession (CS, c 7 187)

The negation of carnal desire is thus taken to be the best metaphor for ob­ sessive attachment. By raising ch'ing above carnal desire, Feng Meng-Iung hopes to contain its subversive potential.

P ' u SuNG-LING AND THE TAMING OF THE STRANGE Feng Meng-Iung's ostensible reason for revising T h e P e o n y P a v i l i o n and T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n u n d e r t h e n e w t i t l e s D r e a m of L o v e a n d D r e a m of Han-tan is prosodic and musical, but in effect he moderates the passion, blunts the irony, and makes them more amenable to his conception of the integration of erotic passion into the Confucian scheme of things. 1 For the sake of symmetry and a more tightly knit causal sequence, he gives greater weight to Liu Meng-mei and his dream, which is mentioned right after Li3

Cf

Catherine Crutchfield Swatek, "Feng Menglong's R o m a n t i c D r e a m / ' esp 150-207,

w h i c h f o cus on the images of the apricot tree and the self-portrait in The Peony Pavilion, and the containment of the erotic intensity of those images in Feng's revised version

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niang's dream and is in a sense its verification (yin-meng). 4 He also devotes a special scene to the newly married couple's sharing and comparing of their dreams (ho-meng). As we saw in the last chapter, the lyrical intensity of The Peony Pavilion derives from the willfulness and uniqueness of Liniang's passion, which, as pure subjectivity, preexists and is in a way inde­ pendent of the object of her love. By constructing a more general causality, Feng Meng-lung heightens the mood of an external, magical agency, and dilutes the subversive implications of Li-niang's passion. Feng also avoids extreme juxtapositions. He removes the explicit sexual references and pseudo-philosophical discourse in the Flower God's aria in the scene of Li-niang's dream, for instance, so as to sustain a sentimental mood. In general he tones down the irony of T'ang Hsien-tsu's plays. This is especially obvious in Dream of Han-tan, m which Lu Sheng becomes a somewhat more sympathetic character. 5 In the previous chapter, I quoted his preface to the play, in which he affirms the Taoist transcendence while at the same time defending the appropriateness of performing the play on festive occasions: "But to be prime minister when dreaming and to become an immortal when awakened—what can be more auspicious than that?" Whereas in The Story of Han-tan T'ang Hsien-tsu treats ironically both attachment and detachment, both passion and its transcendence, Feng in his revised version accepts Lu Sheng's position: to have it both ways, to satisfy worldly ambition and at the same time enjoy a variant of worldly bliss in the transcendent realm. By temperament more conventional than T'ang Hsien-tsu, Feng Menglung celebrates the expansiveness and transformative power of ch'ing and at the same time insists that it must be reintegrated into schemes of order. This classic solution to the problem of tensions between ch'ing and puch'ing is taken up in another work from the seventeenth century, Liao-chai chih-i. In this collection of some 491 tales and anecdotes, mostly fantastic, the problem of ch'ing is more specifically a problem of balance between enchantment and disenchantment. 6 4

Prior to Feng Meng-lung, Shen Ching (1553-1610) complained about the musical irregu­

larities of T'ang's play. The title of his revised version of T'ang's work is The Shared Dream (T'ung-meng chi), which indicates that Shen also wants to invest Liu Meng-mei and his dream with greater significance (THTTL r 2-1079—80) 5 Feng Meng-lung seems to be more interested in general social and political satire. Cf. Swatek, "Feng Menglong's Romantic Dream," 248-94. 6

Ch'en Yin-k'o refers to geographical differences when he mentions the transition of sen­

sibility from late Ming to early Ch'ing. Ch'en suggests that P'u Sung-Iing might have needed recourse to a fantastic realm to create his ideal woman because he was writing in the Ch'i-Lu area (present-day Shantung), where Confucian moral codes were more trenchant than in the south The elusive, relatively uninhibited fox maidens in P'u's stories had real-life counter­ parts in the courtesan culture of the Wu-Yueh area during the late Ming. "As for Ho-tung Chun [the famous courtesan poet Liu Ju-shih], who excelled in poetry and wit, and was elusive

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P'u Sung-ling delights in creating enchanted realms, yet he feels the need to reappropnate the otherworld for mundane reality. The narrator styles himself Historian of the Strange (I-shih Shih), following the model of his­ torical biography set up by Ssu-ma Ch'ien, which maintains a theoretical separation of the objective presentation of events from the historian's direct comments appended at the end. However, he sometimes engages in a rhet­ oric of "the taming of the strange." Intent on showing that the world en­ acted m the narrative is both strange and not strange (its strangeness is its claim to interest, while its quality of being not strange establishes its meaningfulness for the reader), the comments of the Historian of the Strange display a certain ambivalence. Even as he demonstrates the this-worldliness of the supernatural realm, he celebrates its integrity as a separate entity. In some moments in the collection, the analogy between, and sometimes even identity of, the human world and the hypothetical universe of fantasy is affirmed. The comments in "Feng-hsien" (LC, c.9.1177-84), 7 for exam­ ple, point out how changes m worldly fortunes count as much with immor­ tals as with humans: "Alas, in the vacillation between warm ardor and cold aloofness in personal relationships, there is actually no difference between immortals and ordinary mortals" (1184). The analogy is also discussed in "Summer Snow" ("Hsia-hsiieh," c.8.1058-59). In this story, the com­ ments are longer than the text proper; again the movement is from the supernatural world to the human one, from gods susceptible to flattery to humans sharing the same weakness. In "The Mad Taoist" ("Tien Tao-jen," c. 7.960-61), the theme of playful defiance of authority is elaborated on both the magical and the human levels. The human counterpart of the mad Tao­ ist is portrayed in the comments. The irrepressible student Yin Wen-p'mg comes off as "almost rivaling the immortals" (960), and in the process the supernatural element emerges as peripheral. Another story, "Heavenly Palace" ("T'len-kung," c.9.1278-82), goes even further, for here the super­ natural realm is dismantled as a ruse when the Historian of the Strange confirms suspicions brought up at the end of the story that the supposedly celestial rendezvous is staged by a concubine of the powerful and corrupt minister Yen Sung (1480-1567). The otherness of the narrated world is sometimes naturalized through allegory. The comments elucidate the allegorical meaning of the story by supplying obvious clues—often the linguistic trope from which the story is derived in the first place. "The Dream of Wolves" ("Hu-meng," LC, a n d unpredictable i n coming and going, she certainly shared common traits with t h e spirits described i n t h e tales of P'u S u n g - l i n g " (Ch'en Yin-k'o, Liu ]u~shih pieh-chuan, 1 75) " P'u Sung-ling, L i a o - c h a i c h i h - ι h u i - c h i a o h u i - c h u h u i - p ' m g p e n (hereafter L C )

All cita­

tions from t h e text will refer t o this edition. For English translations of some of t h e stories, see Strange Sfones from a Chinese Studio, trans Herbert A Giles, and Strange Tales from Makedo Studio, t r a n s Denis C Mair and Victor H Mair

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c.8.1052-56) is a case in point. In this story old Mr. Pai dreams of entering his son Pai Chia's magistrate office. He is besieged by wolves and also wit­ nesses the metamorphosis of his son into a tiger. Old Mr. Pai wakes up in terror. Turning a deaf ear to his father's pleas, Pai Chia persists in his cor­ ruption and unscrupulous self-advancement. He is subsequently murdered by his erstwhile victims, only to be revived by the gods in a way that puts him in permanent shame. The Historian of the Strange comments: I have pondered over magistrates who are tigers and minor officials who are wolves—their name is legion. Even if the magistrate is no tiger, the minor officials may still be wolves, and there are magistrates who are more deadly than tigers! The failure to look back proves to be a man's downfall Here he [Pai Chia] is revived and made to "look back." Are not the teachings of the gods subtle yet unrelenting' (1055)

To look back {tzu-ku ch'i-hou) means to reflect on oneself and by extension to anticipate the result of one's actions. The idiom materializes as a gro­ tesque punishment when Pai Chia is revived but with his severed head reset on his shoulders in such a manner that "he could see his back with his own eyes" (1055). The metamorphosis of Pai Chia into a tiger and of his subor­ dinates into wolves in the dream of Pai's father is obviously based on a saying from The Book of Rites attributed to Confucius: "Tyranny is more deadly than tigers." The comments do not fail to unravel the allusion. There is a similar literalization of metaphor in "Immortal Kung" ("Kung-hsien," LC, c.7.895-901). "The universe encompassed in one sleeve" (ch'ien-k'un ι-hsiu chung) is originally a Taoist paradox that refers to the mutual implication of limits and hmitlessness. In this story Immortal Kung's sleeve is magically transformed into the place where Kung's friend, Shang Sheng, meets his lover, Hui-ko, who is now forbidden to him, and where eventually Hui-ko gives birth to the child from the illicit union. There is a deliberate reference to the Taoist paradox in the poem written by Shang Sheng and Hui-ko inside Kung's sleeve: "The universe in the sleeve is indeed vast, / It embraces all parted and pining lovers" (898). The His­ torian of the Strange also alludes to this source idea, but the idea of deriva­ tion is turned inside out, so that the story gives credence to what may oth­ erwise pass for a "mere metaphor of the ancients": "The world inside a sleeve" is merely a metaphor of the ancients—but does it really exist? How strange it all is. There is in it heaven and earth, sun and moon. One can marry and have children therein, without the pams of the civil service examination or other vexations of human affairs. How then are the bugs in the sleeve any different from the dogs and fowls of Peach Blossom Spring ? If this place can be turned into a permanent abode, one can grow old there without any regrets. (900-901)

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The strangeness of the world in the preceding narrative is not effaced by the reference to its allegorical underpinning. The philosophical ramifications of the trope as such are not explored. Rather, the narrator-commentator con­ tents himself with expressing his longing for this concretely enacted Utopia. Herein lies the ambiguity of most comments: even as the Historian of the Strange tames the strange and brings the otherworld to this world, he si­ multaneously gestures towards its integrity as a separate entity. In Liao-chai there is a specific focus on the moral law subsuming the projected realm of otherness. The supernatural element is reevaluated and sometimes dismissed as secondary to moral issues in motivating the pro­ gression of events. This takes place in "Ch'u Sheng" (LC, c.8.1081-85), for instance, in which the Historian of the Strange argues that what is truly remarkable is that "Ch'u, before he repays his teacher in person [by being reborn as his son], repays his friend with his spirit [by taking the exami­ nation for himj. His intent and conduct rival the brightness of the sun and the moon; the fact that he is a ghost is hardly the real cause for wonder!" (1085). The comments take a similar turn in "The Princess of West Lake" ("Hsi-hu chu," c.5.646-55): "Gods and spirits are involved in this, but the important thing is the initial impulse of compassion that leads to commu­ nion with them" (654). The defining trait of the immortal is his or her capacity for depth of feeling. The Historian of the Strange comments in "Hsiao-ts'ui" (c.7.1000-1008): "Is she capable of deep feelings because she is a fairy immortal? Or is she a fairy immortal because she is capable of deep feelings?. . . Thus do I realize that the passions of immortals go even more deeply than among the common run of humanity" (1008). The supernatu­ ral is then established as the natural extension of the human moral scheme, as in "Ch'en Hsi-chiu" (c.8.1156-64), in which supernatural intervention is considered an appropriate reward for Ch'en's filial piety: "There is no virtue greater than filial piety; that the gods should prove accessible because of it is proper and reasonable" (1162). As the otherworld is humanized, the immortal is ranked a niche below the sage. In "Yang Ta-yung" (c.9.125657), the Historian of the Strange expresses no regret over Yang's failure to become an immortal: "I say, one additional immortal in heaven is not as important as one additional sage on earth." Similarly, in "Goddess" ("Shen-nii," c.9.1312-21), the commentator concludes that human intelli­ gence surpasses divine calculation. Attention to moral premises also informs the defense of imaginary and fantastic elements in fiction found in Ming and Ch'ing commentaries, which often refer to the presence of similar materials in canonical writings. The prefaces to Liao-chai contain many such apologetic references: Narrow-minded scholars m later periods

. . automatically refer to Confucius's

statement that he would not talk about "the strange, brute force, chaos, or spir-

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its." But after all, who penned the incidents about the mythical bird and the me­ teorites' 1 [Both are recorded in The Spring and Autumn Annals (Ch'un-ch'iu).] Ssu-ma Ch'ien does not disdain to include jesters in his biographies, and Chuang Tzu takes the lead in fabricating "lodged words" [yu-yen] and "goblet words" \chth-yen] [i.e., instances of double meanings and multiple or "overflowing" meanings]. And then are the twenty-one histories all veritable records 7 (Kao Heng's [1612-1697] preface, LC, 1-2). Authors love the strange. The twenty-three histories contain countless references to spirits and the supernatural; why all of a sudden become suspicious in the case of Liao-chat ? One should just appreciate it for its artistic excellence. (Feng Chenluan's [ca. 19th cent.] 1819 essay, "Tu Liao-chai tsa-shuo" [Miscellaneous com­ ments upon reading Liao-chai], 3)

Another commentator, T'ang Meng-Iai (1627-1698), redefines "strange­ ness" in pragmatic terms in his preface: That which is harmful is aberrant, irrespective of general standards for the prob­ able or the strange. So [stories of] the eclipse and of meteorites falling, mythical birds flying and nesting, stones speaking, and dragons fighting cannot be called strange, while untimely expeditions and wars, and rebellious ministers and sons are genuine abberations. (5)

The underlying assumption in these attempts to establish a respectable lin­ eage for the use of supernatural elements in fiction is that extravagance in subject matter is continuous, or coterminous, with the more justifiable ex­ uberance in style. In other words, classical historical and philosophical dis­ course set the precedent for the use of supernatural elements as rhetorical devices in the service of a higher truth. The justification of "recording the strange" (chih-i) is that it lays claim to moral significance and lyrical intensity. As such it inspires wonder but not alienation, which is why I use the word "taming." The latter claim is evident in P'u Sung-ling's autobiographical preface ("Liao-chai tzu-chih"). Ever since Ssu-ma Ch'ien staked his authority as a historian on his personal sufferings and aspirations, it has been customary to explain the origins of a work m those terms. The autobiographical preface of Liao-chai certainly belongs to this tradition of claiming that artistic creation makes up for the deep sense of loss rooted in awareness of the flaws of existence: "I drained my cup and put brush to paper to write the 'book of lonely anguish' [ku-fen c h i h s h u ] . T o t r a n s l a t e t h e b u r d e n o f m y t h o u g h t s a n d f e e l i n g s [chi-t'o] thus [i.e., into fantastic tales], is this not lamentable enough?" ("Liao-chai tzu-chih," LC, 3). The demystification of the supernatural often involves a playful twist to the q u e s t i o n o f w h a t r e a l l y i s s t r a n g e . T h e c o m m e n t s i n " C h ' i n g - o " ( LC,

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c.3.929-37), for example, point out that strangeness does not reside in the world of Taoist magic or Huo Huan's encounter with it in the person of Ch'ing-o; Huo's eventual immortality is but a logical consequence of his filial piety. There is a deliberate shift of focus: what is really incomprehen­ sible is the inconsistency of Huo Huan and Ch'ing-o: "Since they already left their traces in the human world and had children from their marriage, what is wrong with living their allotted span in this world? What can be the reason for abandoning their sons time and again over thirty years? That is indeed strange!" (937). In "One Official" ("I yiian-kuan," c. 12.1704— 1705), the story is strictly human, but "the fact that the official can exert his authority even in the inner chamber is stranger than the world of the spirits" (1705). Similarly, in "The Kingdom of Yaksas" ("Yeh-ch'a kuo," c.3.348-53; [Yaksas are monsters that devour men and beasts]), there is a playful reversal on the perspective of strangeness due to the preoccupation with wifely tyranny. "A yaksa wife is scarcely ever heard of, but upon careful reflection, that is not such a rare phenomenon after all. There is a yaksa at the bedstead in every household" (353). The taming of the strange is not the same as disenchantment. The reappropnation of the otherworld for mundane reality involves the attempt to turn the moment of enchantment into duration through the reintegration of desire into schemes of order. The move to bring the enchanted world down to this world is thus also the process of the recontainment of desire or the quest for a balance between desire and order. In terms of the plot, it means the projection of contradictory urges—to revel in the infinite grati­ fication of desire and to keep desire within bounds—onto the supernatural w o m e n i n m a n y stories i n Liao-chai. There are many moments in the collection when the ordering of events is based on what I propose to call the "structure of desire" (ch'ing). 1 claim only a provisonal heuristic purpose for the understanding of the idea of desire here, by which I mean more than the possessive instinct expressed through sexual passion. Desire is more broadly defined as intentional (con­ scious or otherwise) mental disposition and activity generating, or claiming to generate, possible worlds that tantalize with the promise of satisfaction. If we understand the structure of desire as the demand for and successful appropriation of the object of desire, then emplotment may be seen as a series of retardations in the protagonist's pursuit of wish fulfillment. This hypothesis implies the extension of the pleasure principle to the experience of writing and reading; the author and the reader enjoy vicarious gratifica­ tion in identifying with the drift of the character's desire. However, I prefer to focus on desire as a function of plot, leaving aside for the time being speculations as to whether criticism of a work such as Liao-chai is reducible

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to the celebration of a narcissistic illusion of omnipotence shared by author, reader, and protagonist. To speak of the structure of desire seems a contradiction in terms. Desire is by definition liable to excess and resistant to the imposition of structure. The irreconcilability of desire and the coherent structures of self and soci­ ety, and sometimes narrative itself, is an important theme in Western literature 8 as well as in such Chinese works as the sixteenth-century mas­ terpiece Chin Ving Mei (Golden Lotus) and Hung-Iou meng. The happy endings of many Liao-chai stories, replete with promises of "prosperity ever after," on the other hand, point to the recontainment of desire and the reintegration of other realms of experience into the existent scheme of things. For instance, many stories conclude with references to the protago­ nists' success in the civil service examination, their domestic bliss, abundant wealth, and prosperous progeny: such conventional satisfaction of officially sanctioned goals reads like the perfunctory implementation of socio-ethical order. Wish fulfillment, often represented as the triumph of mind over matter, 9 seems the dominant drive, but paradoxically neither the coherence of reality nor reason is displaced by the gratification of extravagant desires. In these stories there is no irresolvable conflict between the ideal and the real, or between the fulfillment of desire and the existing order, the former being to all appearances painlessly imposed on the latter. Are we to infer then, that 8

The prototype of the convergence of desire and madness is of course D o n Q u i x o t e Exam­

ples may be multiplied easily In Gerard de Nerval's Aureha, for instance, the protagonist's search for an impossible plenitude (union with Aureha) undermines his reason as well as nar­ rative continuity In Balzac's Louis Lambert also, the attempt to satisfy both sensual desire a n d s p i r i t u a l y e a r n i n g r e s u l t s i n m a d n e s s T h e n o t i o n of d e v i l a s d e s i r e ( e g , i n G a u t i e r ' s L a Morte amoureuse or Flaubert's La Tentation de Samt Antoine) makes desire seem at once more absolute, transgressive, and laden with guilt. 9

P'u Sung-Iing is no original thinker, but in some of his essays he does take a stance vis-a-

vis the philosophical trends of his time. For example, in "Preface to 'Apprehension of the Will of Heaven' " ("Hui t'ien-ι" hsii), he expounds on the idea of "the heaven of one's mind" and expresses thoughts with what may be considered idealist echoes "The beginning and the end­ ing [i.e., the ultimate significance] of heaven and earth is the same as the beginning and the ending of a person or a thing. In order to understand the beginning and the ending of heaven and earth, one does not seek the answer in external reality, but rather the understanding is attained in the inch-square space of one's mind" (P'u Sung-Img chi, 1 55) The prime expres­ sion of this idea in the collection is Sun Tzu-ch'u's transformation into a parrot m "A-pao" [LC f c 2 233-39) "He thought to himself if only he were a parrot, he would be able to reach the girl's room just by flapping his wings Even as his mind was concentrating on the thought, his body had effortlessly turned into a parrot" (236) The causal efficacy of mental states can be as much a token of power as a disciplining factor In "P'len-p'ien" (LC, c.3.432-36), the protagonist's passing fantasy of infidelity turns his silk robes into dry leaves. The implicit moral—that one should be vigilantly self-examining—is used by the critic Tan Ming-Iun (ca mid 19th-cent.) to turn the whole tale into a full-blown allegory of moral self-cultivation (436)

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desire is somehow not represented as subversive in Liao-chaU However, without being stridently transgressive or subversive, desire can still be elu­ sive and equivocal; its contradictory urges go beyond purposive mental ac­ tivities, and turn wish fulfillment into a more problematic issue. If such is indeed the case, what is the nature of the order that prevails in the end? Is it the socio-political order (with its underlying ethos and norms) or coher­ ence of the self (i.e., some version of the ideal of self-containment), or is it a sense of order derived from the narrative form itself? To what extent are the strictures of order (the sense of what is permissible) built into the struc­ ture of desire itself? In order to explore the implications of the problem of desire, I would like to turn to the group of flower spirit ( hua-shen ) stones in the collection, including "Hsiang-yu" (LC, c.11.1548-55), "Ko-chin" (c.10.1436-44), "Huang-ying" (c.11.1446-52), and "Ho-hua San-niang-tzu" (c.5.682-86). These stories are characteristic of the collection in being governed by a dou­ ble focus: the urge to revel in the expansiveness of desire and the parallel urge to keep this expansiveness within bounds. They develop in divergent directions and play out different aspects of the problem of desire while shar­ ing a common motif: the metamorphosis of flowers into enticing beauties, a kind of counter-Ovidian metamorphosis. Although I am not suggesting that they are paradigmatic, these stories will serve as a convenient and sug­ gestive starting point for bringing in other stories and summing up certain key ideas in the collection. METAMORPHOSIS AND DESIRE

At this point a certain digression is called for, since the flower spirit stories have to be placed within the context of metamorphosis, a prominent theme in Liao-chai. In addition to the recurrent ploy of fox-spirit-as-beauty, where there are only random references to the physical traits of the fox, and then only when the presentation is negative (as in the reference to the fox tail in "Tung Sheng" [LC, c. 1.133-36]), many stories deal with the fluid boundaries between the human and the nonhuman, cases in which charac­ teristics of the animal are perceptible in its human form. In many examples, residual animalhood is thoroughly compatible with human identity. In "A-ying" (LC, c.7.917-23), the heroine is "gentle and skillful with words" (chiao-wan shan-yen), an unobtrusive reminder that she was a parrot before she became human. The metamorphosis of the white ch'i fish into a young girl in "Pai Ch'iu-lien" (c. 11.1482-88) is only intermittently referred to by her dependence on the water of Lake Tungt'mg. The trim waist of the wasp fairy in "Lady in Green" ("Lii-i nu," c.5.678-79) is an eminently human trait (to describe a woman's small waist as a "wasp waist" [feng-yao] is standard conceit), the pigeon spirit appears

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appropriately enough as a handsome youth in white garb in "A Strange Tale of Pigeons" ("Ko-i," c. 6.839^3), and so on. The emphasis here is on the continuum between states of being, which facilitates the assimilation of the nonhuman into the human realm. This impression is borne out by the focus of critical attention on the language emphasizing continuum: the finesse in description that captures the essence and materiality of the object by giving i t h u m a n expression ( f u - w u chih miao). 1 0 Animalhood is not necessarily experienced as a disability. Indeed, it is s o m e t i m e s s y n o n y m o u s w i t h t h e will t o power. 1 1 I n " H s i a n g K a o " ( L C , c.6.831-33), for example, the protagonist's temporary metamorphosis into a tiger, though involuntary and experienced as a kind of death, allows him to carry out his revenge. In a somewhat more lighthearted vein, Miao Sheng in the story of the same name (c.12.1598-1601) assumes a tiger's form to pounce on self-proclaimed poets out of exasperation with their me­ diocre literary compositions. I referred earlier to Sun Tzu-ch'u's metamor­ phosis into a parrot in "A-pao." In that story, the metamorphosis fulfills the hero's desire for proximity to his beloved. Comparably circumstantial and opportune (yin-shih chih-i) are Yu K'e's metamorphosis into a crow in "Chu-ch'ing" (c. 11.1516-20) and that of a child into a mettlesome cricket in "Crickets" ("Ch'u-chih," c. 4.484—90). Neither is irreversible, and both ward off a threatening crisis and result in an improvement of the characters' condition. Yii K'e is an unsuccessful examination candidate at the nadir of his fortune (a familiar figure in Liao-chai) when he joins the ranks of the "divine crows" in the service of the local deity Wu Wang. His crow mate, 10

Cf Tan Ming-lun's comment in "A-hsien" (LC, c 10 1380-86), "Ko-chin," and "Lady in

Green"· "What is important is that the style should capture the likeness of its subject, so that everything follows its kind" (c.10.1385), "When the author writes about peonies the 'peoniness' is unmistakable, the description cannot apply to other flowers Appreciated together with 'Huang-ying' and 'Hsiang-yii,' one can understand the art of

representing objects"

(c.10.1443), "The descriptions of the colors, voice, form, and spirit [of the wasp fairy] are all carefully derived from the attributes of the wasp" (c 5.679). The Tan Ming-Iun commentary edition (Tan Ming-Iun p'ing-pen) was published in 1842. 11

In the section "Love and Metamorphosis" (Ch'ing-hua) in A n a t o m y of L o v e , there are

numerous stories about ill-fated lovers finding freedom and permanence in other modes of existence, usually conventional symbols of proximity and affinity trees with intertwining branches, mandarin ducks, twin lotuses, etc. A person driven by passion is transformed into an object that embodies one or more qualities of his or her passion, and ch'ing is described as energy, force, and movement The Historian of Love comments "Ch'ing is mainly movement and is without form

It will suddenly move a person without his or her being aware of it

If

the passion has the manifested quality of wind, it would be transformed into wind, for wind m its circular motion is relentless and indefatigable, and as such it partakes of the attributes of c h ' i n g " (CS f c 1 1 3 2 0 ) . T h i s refers t o t h e e n t r y " S h i h - y u G a l e " ( " S h i h - y u f e n g , " C S 1 c.ll 309), in which a woman married to a merchant tries to dissuade her husband from taking a long trip He leaves and fails to return She dies pining for him but lives on as a gale that forces traveling merchants to turn back

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Chu Ch'ing, turns out to be a water goddess. She eventually becomes a loving second wife to whom Yii can fly once he puts on the black jacket that initially brought about his metamorphosis. "Cricket" is often interpreted as an indictment of the government's corruption, for it is the emperor's passion for cricket fights that sets in motion a nationwide search for wonder crickets. Pressure is heightened through every echelon of the bureaucracy; a local official's demand for fighter crickets ruins the protagonist Ch'eng Ming and almost kills his son. 12 But metamorphosis provides the magical solution to Ch'eng Ming's plight. After accidentally killing the cricket that Ch'eng acquires with much effort, Ch'eng's son transforms himself into an invincible cricket that pleases the emperor and brings his beleaguered fa­ ther—along with his persecutors—honor and prosperity before he assumes human form again. Even when the metamorphosis is involuntary and involves images of vi­ olence, as in "P'eng Hai-ch'iu" [LC, c.5.704—709), "The Old Man Tu" ("Tu Weng," c.6.770-71) or "Three Lives" ("San sheng," c.10.1330-32), humor dilutes any sense of insuperable alienation. In "Three Lives," for instance, an undiscerning examiner and his victim entwine their destinies in three lives: in their second lives they are reborn as dogs who fight each other to death, and enmity is finally resolved in their third lives when the unsuc­ cessful candidate becomes the son-in-law of the erstwhile examiner. The idea of metamorphosis as a deserved punishment also establishes a kind of continuity between the human and the bestial states (the bestial traits in these characters are highlighted through metamorphosis). In "P'eng Hai-ch'iu," for example, the immortal P'eng Hai-ch'iu turns Ch'iu Sheng into a horse out of contempt for his base character: "One who is horse yet human must have the horse nature in his human state" (LC, c.5.709). Tu Weng's temporary metamorphosis into a pig is a direct conse­ quence of an impulse of lust. A similar poetic justice is operative in the transformation of Ts'ao Ts'ao into a dog in "Imperial Consort Chen" ("Chen hou," c. 7.981-84), and that of a vicious daughter-in-law mto a pig in "Tu Hsiao-le" (c.12.1603). In these stories the phenomenon of meta­ morphosis becomes less threatening because the reader is placed in a posi­ tion of moral certitude and ironic superiority. There is yet another category of metamorphosis stories in which the phe­ nomenon fascinates by sheer visual magic, with scant regard for causality or moral judgment (i.e., metamorphosis is not experienced as karmic retri­ bution or sudden access to power). A playful mood of magical realization dominates the transformation of lanterns into dogs and of dogs mto women 12

"Cricket" takes place during the reign of the Ming emperor Hsuan-tsung (r 1426-1436)

Shen Te-tu (1578—1642) gives an account of emperor Hsuan-tsung's passion for crickets (Wanh yeh-huo pien, quoted in Chu I-hsuan, Liao-chai chih-ι tzu-hao hui-pien, 137-39, which also includes other accounts of miraculous performances of wonder crickets).

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in "Lantern Dogs" (LC, "Ch'iian teng," c.3.406-407). In "Yu Te" (c.4.439-41), the plot is minimal, and the aesthetic interest of the story is centered on the lyrical description of the visually fascinating metamorpho­ sis of flowers into butterflies as the proverbial drums are beaten to hasten the blossoming of flowers (chi-ku ts'ui-hua). 13 One is tempted to relate such stories to the aesthetic ideal of "fluid transitions between perceptual hori­ zons" (liu-tung) in Chinese discourse on poetry. 14 These linguistic, aesthetic, and moral contextualizations—or, one may say, taming by context—of metamorphosis may be contrasted with the treatment of the same theme in Western literature. From Ovid to Kafka the note of anguish and horror often looms large over the dislocation between the interior and the exterior, the threatened dissipation of the human es­ sence in a nonhuman form. Informing this sense of anxiety is an implicit subject-object axis postulating mind and matter, the ideal and the real, as incommensurable. Are we then to draw the conclusion that such a polariz­ ing axis is not applicable in Liao-chail I suggest that in this work the play with states of being, though less burdened with a sense of clashing opposites, still hinges on a kind of tension—between potentially subversive de­ sire and the constraints of order. Besides being representative of the implications of metamorphosis in Liao-chai, our flower spirits stories are especially pertinent to the issue un­ der consideration, because here metamorphosis is more explicitly tied up with the protagonist's mental state. The object of obsession acquires human form in response to the depth of the protagonist's attachment. Flower-aswoman (and vice versa) is of course a conventional motif in Chinese poetry, especially in the elaborate conceits in "poems on objects" and "songs on objects" (yung-wu tz'u). The metaphor is literalized in these stories which play with the boundaries between flowerhood and womanhood, with a grace not possible in the case of, say, a rat fairy ("A Hsien") or a bookworm spirit ("Su-ch'iu," LC, c.10.1349-58). In these latter examples the idealized woman is invoked without consideration for the antecedent bestial state. In the flower spirit stories, however, aesthetic and erotic passions merge. Appreciation of t h e object is turned into a genuine communion ( k a n - w u ) , and the ideal of a reciprocal relationship in aesthetic contemplation is 1 3 This refers to an anecdote about the T'ang emperor Hsuan-tsung, who caused the willow and apricot trees to bloom with an enthusiastic outburst of ''barbarian drums" (chich-ku) See

Lu Chan-en's fca early 19th cent ) annotation, LC, 440 Lu's annotations were hrst published separately in 1825 An 1843 edition (Kuang-tung Wu-yun-lou k'o-pen [Five Clouds Pavilion of Kuang-tung province edition]) contains both text and annotations 14

L i u - t u n g is one of the modes celebrated in T h e T z v e n t y - f o u r S t y l e s o f P o e t r y (Er-shih-ssu

shih-p'in) by Ssu-k'ung T'u (837-908) (in Kuo Shao-ju, Chung-kuo h-tai wen-lun hsuan, 1.495-500)

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thereby realized. 15 Reciprocal appreciation is a constant theme in classical poetry: I look at the blue mountains, they are so beautiful, 1 suppose they Should see me as beautiful also Between the feeling and the appearance There must be some resemblance. 16

Insofar as such an ideal is enshrined in the conception of the poetic imagi­ nation/ 7 one may infer a subtle reference to the act of writing itself. Artistic genesis is imbued with the same sense of magic with which external reality is transformed through the protagonist's consciousness. The protagonist strives, by means of poetic acts, to possess more than what human beings' estate in the world guarantees him, hence the importance of poetic compo­ sition in "Ko-chin" and "Hsiang-yii." In both cases, poetry aestheticizes desire and enacts another level of reality. 18 To recapitulate, the flower spirit stories are both characteristic of the met­ amorphosis stories in Liao-chai and distinctive m their more self-conscious reference to the process of artistic creation. Significantly/ the last story in the Ch'mg-k'o T'mg edition (1766) is "Flower Goddess" ("Hua-shen," LC, c.6.739^6), 19 which may be read as a kind of lyrical postscript. 20 The story15

Other notable examples of dramatization of the aesthetic moment m L i a o - c h a i include

"The Painted Wall" ("Hua-pi," LC, c.l 14—17) and "Huan-mang" (c.7 985-90) 16

Hsin Ch'i-chi (1140-1207), to the tune "Ho Hsm-Iang/' in C S T r 3 1915

17

That is, the idea that poetry should be based on "the tracing of feelings and the affective

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f o b j e c t s " { y u a n - c h ' i n g t ' z - w u ) S e e Lu C h i , " F u o n L i t e r a t u r e " " S h i h p o e t r y traces feelings with the charm and beauty of patterned silk; / Fu poetry embodies the object with the lucidity and brightness of clear streams" (in CCW, c.97.2a). 18

The convention of making poetry instrumental to key transitions in the plot also appears

in "Lien-so" [LC, c 3 331-37), "Lien-ch'eng" (c 3 362-67), "Wang Kuei-an" (c 12 1631-37), "Lin Ssu-niang" (c 2 286-92), "Kung-sun Chiu-niang" (c 4 477-83), "Hsin Shih-ssu-niang" (c 4 535-47), "Hsi-hou" (c 6.791-94), and "Pai Ch'iu-hen " In this last example the power of words is celebrated in the triumph of poetry over sickness and death. 19

The title of the piece is "Consort Vermilion" (Chiang Fei) in the Chu-hsueh-chai edition

(1752). Liao-chai was first printed about half a century after P'u Sung-ling's death, under the auspices of Chao Ch'i-kao (ca mid 18th cent ), as the so-called Ch'ing-k'o-t'ing edition (in sixteen chuan), upon which most nineteenth-century commentary editions are based. The arrangement of the stones here differs from that in the hand-copied Chu-hsueh-chai edition (in twelve chuan) The latter is believed to be closer to the original, since it corresponds more or less to the sections of the author's manuscript discovered in 1948 See Allan Barr, "The Textual Transmission of Liaozhai zhiyi", and "A Comparative Study of Early and Late Tales in the Liaozhai zhiyi " 20 There

is a section on flower spirits in Τ α ι - p ' i n g k u a n g - c h i { T P K C , c 416 3391-93,

c.417 3394—97). One entry, "Ts'ui Hsuan-hui" (c.416.3392—93), bears comparison with "Flower Goddess." Here the human protagonist also assumes the role of protector of the flow-

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interest in this piece is minimal. P'u Sung-Iing describes a visit to his friend and patron Pi Chi-yu. In Pi's luxuriant garden he dreams of being sum­ moned by two emissaries of the Flower Goddess. At her palace he is asked to compose an "indictment of the Wmd Goddess" (T'u feng-shih chao). He promptly complies with her request, and writes an essay m elaborate par­ allel prose affecting a mock heroic style, which makes up three quarters of the story. It is fitting that P'u Sung-Iing should pay tribute to the Flower Goddess by describing her appreciation of his literary talent, since the main concern of the story is the celebration of the power of words to conjure illusions. Here the narrative voice is performative: utterance and action are identical. The pathos behind this idea becomes apparent when we consider the fact that for the author, a scholar unsuccessful in the civil service ex­ aminations, words remain his only sphere of action. With this m mind, "Flower Goddess" can be read as a self-parody: his aspiration to "have the brush conferred upon him at the imperial court" is ironically realized in a different context. In this piece the decree to compose comes not from the emperor but from the Flower Goddess, the composition concerns not affairs of state but the vices of the Wind Goddess, and the entire episode is pre­ sented as a half-forgotten dream: "1 woke up and recalled the dream; ev­ erything seemed so vivid. But the words of the indictment were half-for­ gotten, so I completed it in a hurry" (740). 21 Another notable point is that all four of the flower spirit stories conclude with images of death and loss, which is by n o means the rule in Liao-chai. The few examples of stories ending with separation and death include "Kung-sun Chiu-mang," "Hua-ku Tzu" (LC, c.5.634—41), "P'ien-p'ien," "Chang A-tuan" (c.5.627-31), "Ai-nii" (c.9.1191-96), "The Kingdom of the Raksasas and the City in the Sea" ("Lo-ch'a hai-shih," c.4.454-65). Of course death here means only the loss of the human form, which need not be regarded as un unmitigated disaster in the world of Liao-chai. All the same, the gratification of desire is not carried to its triumphant denouement in our four stories. This happens for different reasons, which mark out these stories as "limit cases" fraught with intimations for the ambivalence and contradictions involved in wish fulfillment.

DESIRE AND THE ORDER OF FORMAL SYMMETRY

Ko-chin means, literally, "linen scarf," which is the name of a species of purple peony. The plot of the first half of "Ko-chin" is governed by Ch'ang ers against the bad humor of the wind goddess Feng Eighteenth Aunt ( feng is a homophone for wind) 2 1 Cf Tan Ming-lun's comment "The brush was conferred on him at the palace, but only by the flower goddess, and only in a dream What seems like self-aggrandizement is actually self-parody" ( LC 1 740).

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Ta-yung's pursuit of Ko-chin, a peony spirit. It is a tortuous process punc­ tuated by a series of tantalizing postponements. A hint of inaccessibility seems inherent in the conception of the ideal woman, and the frustration of desire at crucial junctures certainly establishes the reader's sympathetic identification with the protagonist. Their union is finally consummated af­ ter several unexpected twists. Ch'ang's fears of imminent separation prove to be groundless, and the ensuing bliss promises to last. The sense of wellbeing is augmented by the union of Ch'ang's younger brother with Kochin's intimate friend Υύ-pan (lit., "jade tablet," a species of white peony). The peony spirits, as is often the case with supernatural women in Liaochai, bring material well-being to their human mates. The illusion of bliss seems to hold out sufficiently well against the threat of demolition by ex­ ternal forces. The Ch'ang household is raided by bandits at the height of its prosperity, but the ethereal beauty of Ko-chin and Yii-pan and their words of quiet authority are sufficient to make the bandits turn back. In "Ko-chin" the experience of plenitude is finally disrupted by insufficient faith in the ideal. In the words of Ko-chin to Ch'ang: "Three years ago, moved by your longing I assumed human form to pay you back. Now that you have become suspicious, how can we still stay together?" (LC, c.10.1442). Attitudes of mind are decisive in transforming external reality and in governing the metamorphosis from flower to woman (and vice versa). Ch'ang's love of peonies is not simply a possessive urge. Rather, it is pre­ sented as a deep, disinterested appreciation that motivates the plot. This point is emphasized by the Historian of the Strange: "The intent in its con­ centration and singleness of purpose can move the realms of the spirits. Even the 'swaying ones' are not devoid of passion" (LC, c.10.1443). 22 There is no indication that Ch'ang Ta-yung perceives the connection between his passion for peonies and his union with Ko-chin. It is left to the reader to turn sequential contiguity into a causal connection: Ko-chin appears im­ mediately after the description of Ch'ang's obsession for peonies as ex­ pressed through intense perception and contemplation, poetry composition, and readiness to face deprivation: The only thing he could do was to loiter in the garden, gazmg at the budding shoots and yearning for their blossoming. And he wrote one hundred quatrains on peonies. Soon enough, the flowers gradually started to bloom. But his re­ sources were becoming depleted, so he pawned his spring clothes, lingered on, and forgot about returning home (1436)

Both this deep reverence for beauty and his later intimation that Ko-chin may be a goddess spring from daring to believe in the ideal. However, pre22

" T h e swaying o n e s " is an allusion to four lines of poetry quoted i n t h e A n a l e c t s

"The

flowers of t ' a n g - h [crab apple o r wild plum], / H o w t h e y are swaying / It is not that I do not t h i n k of y o u , / But y o u r abode is f a r " (Confucius, Analects, 9 30)

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occupation with worldly concerns and rational explanations undermines this faith. To cite the Historian of the Strange: "The shao-fu [provincial official] in his loneliness even considered flowers as his lady. 23 What can be held against flowers that really understand human communication ? 24 Why this insistence on unraveling origins? What a pity that Ch'ang has not at­ tained ultimate understanding" (1443). In a situation common enough in the collection, the heroine is presented as being stronger than the male protagonist. 25 As Ch'ang says to Ko-chin, "I have always been timid and careful. Now, because of you, I am like a widow without anything to live by. I can no longer be my own master" (LC, c. 10.1440). Notwithstanding his ineffectiveness in the real world, he is eager to anchor Ko-chin to a more mundane reality: "He still suspected that she was a fairy and persisted in asking about her surname. She said, 'And yet you take me for a fairy—what need is there for a fairy to be known by a name?' " (1439). Naming is defining, and the disclosure of Ko-chin's surname (symmet­ rically enough, also via a poem) leads to the revelation of her identity and to her subsequent departure. Yet the line between fairy goddess ( h s i e n - j e n ) and evil flower spirit ( hua-yao ) is very fine indeed. Ch'ang has always sus­ pected that Ko-chin is of otherworldly origins, hence his fear that their li­ aison may not last: "My only fear is that, as in Tu Lan-hsiang's [a goddess who sojourns in the human world] union with a mere mortal, everything will end in regrets of separation" (LC, c.10.1439). Why then should the confirmation of that suspicion cause any alarm? It is as if Ch'ang is fright­ ened by the efficacy of his own imagination. It is one thing to suspect that Ko-chin is some sort of fairy immortal, and quite another to be confronted with the fact that she embodies the spirit of the object of his obsession. The illusion of bliss can be maintained only in uncertainty (that is, so long as Ch'ang regards himself as the passive recip­ ient of some inexplicable divine beneficence), hence the importance of the motif of the well-kept secret. The revelation of cause and effect, as Ch'ang 23 An allusion to Po Chu-i's lines from "Poem Written in Jest on the Newly Planted Roses" (Hsi-t'i hsin-tsai ch'iang-wei shih): "W. jut a wife the shao-fu is lonely in spring, / When the flowers bloom he should take them for his lady" (CTS, c.436.1078) 24 "Flowers that really understand human communication" (chieh-yu hua) is a standard way of referring to women "In the eighth month several 'thousand-leaf white lotuses' bloomed in T'ai-i Pond The [T'ang] emperor [Hsuan-tsung] and the royal relatives came to admire the flowers. Those at the side of the emperor sighed with amazement and wonder. The emperor pointed to his consort [Yang Yu-huanJ and said, 'How can they be compared to my flower w h o actually understands h u m a n communication 7 ' " (Wang Jen-yu, 880-956), K'atyuan t'ien-ραο i-shih, 8b 2 5 This is often explained in terms of P'u Sung-ling's biography, with reference to his wife's strength of character Cf "On the Life and Deeds of Liu-shih [P'u Sung-ling's wife]" (Shu Liu-shih hsing-shih), in P'u Sung-hng chi, 1 250-51 Female characters often excel their male partners in passion and will in traditional fiction and drama See chap. 2, η 12

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realizes that the aesthetic and the erotic passions are in fact one, results m loss of the object of desire. On this level, then, the story is about the pathos of dissipation of the ideal through insufficient faith: by questioning its own legitimacy, desire fails to carry the day. 26 However, the sense of loss is not absolute: So Ko-chm and Yii-pan simultaneously raised their respective sons and threw them far. Both infants died as they hit the ground. Even as Ch'ang stared on in shocked dismay, the two ladies vanished. He was filled with remorse and bitter­ ness. Several days later, two peony shrubs grew at the spot where their sons had fallen. They reached a foot overnight, and in the same year they blossomed, one purple and one white. The flowers were as big as plates, and their petals were even more numerous than the usual ko-chin and yu-pan varieties In several years, the bushes became a luxuriant growth. Transplants developed into new varieties that can no longer be identified. From that time on, no other place has been able to rival Loyang for the splendor of its peonies (LC, c 10 1443)

The story thus begins and ends with the image of peonies. Poetry regains its magical status: it functions to summon the illusion and to dispel it. Both the reversion of the ideal woman to flowerhood and the framing references to poetry augment formal symmetry, which contributes to a sense of bal­ ance that makes the loss appear as the conclusion of an interlude and the restoration of equilibrium. Ch'ang's apparent inconsistency can also be in­ terpreted as a necessary condition for closure. Although the plot is explain­ able in terms of the protagonist's lapse of trust, in the final analysis psycho­ logical subtlety is not the main concern. One may say that in "Ko-chin" it is form itself that arrests the expansiveness of desire. To put it differently, the mood of gentle melancholy here is best conveyed by a sense of fulfill­ ment and loss as being inextricably bound, and formal symmetry conve­ niently establishes this paradoxical mutual implication. Quite a number of stories in the collection use structural circularity to keep tendencies towards disorder within bounds. "Ying-ning" (LC, c. 2.147-159) is a case in point. In this story the fox spirit Ying-ning's irrepressible laugh­ ter and obsessive love of flowers motivate the plot as well as lend imagistic unity to the piece. The varying perspectives on the postures of the laughing heroine, framed by associations with flowers, create an eminently pictorial effect. While imagistic unity suggests stasis, the way Ying-ning's laughter sets events in motion also contains intimations of disorder. The heroine's name suggests an immediate association with childlike art26 One is reminded of the moment of hesitation in " F u on the Goddess of the River Lo" when, halfway through the poem, right after the poet and the goddess of the Lo exchange pledges, the poet is torn by skepticism, which eventually banishes the vision of beauty (CSKW, c 13 2-3) See chap 1, 34—35

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lessness and innocence (yitig [baby], ning-hsing-erh [a lovely child]). In the story laughter is indeed synonymous with innocence, spontaneity, daring, defiance of ritual and of authority. 27 Not only does she appear in the most unconventional pose of being shaken with uncontrollable mirth which al­ most knocks her off her perch on a tree, her laughter also exempts her from bearing with the tedium of the marriage ceremony: "When the day came, she was splendidly dressed for the rites of bridal obeisance. But she was laughing so much that she could hardly stand or bend, and the whole thing had to be called off" (LC, c.2.156). Interwoven with the motif of laughter is the instrumental role played by flowers in the love scenes and m the practical joke at the expense of the heroine's lascivious neighbor. Flowers tease with promises of consumma­ tion in the process of Wang Tzu-fu's courtship of Ying-ning. But the flower motif is also burdened with the punitive principle. Ying-ning's neighbor catches a glimpse of her perching on an arbor of mu-hsiang blossoms and becomes quite infatuated. She points to the bottom of the wall, apparently suggesting an assignation there. Anticipating a rendezvous, the neighbor goes there in the evening, but as he embraces the phantom conjured by Ying-ning, he is stung by a scorpion and dies from the wound. The doubleness of the flower motif is echoed in the treatment of laughter: furor over the neighbor's death leads to the turning point in the plot, the suppression of Ymg-ning's laughter. An admonition from her mother-inlaw is raised to the status of a general philosophical statement: "To be thoughtless and wild to that extent! One can tell well in advance that in excessive mirth lies the seed of woe" (LC, c.2.157). Ying-ning's subsequent impassive sobriety goes beyond all pleas for restraint: "And from then on she never laughed. Even when deliberately teased, she would not laugh. But she never looked forlorn either. One evening, she cried in front of Wang Tzu-fu [her husband]" (157). She grieves on account of her improperly in­ terred ghost mother. The binding spell of a spontaneous joy of living, once broken, cannot be reestablished. The story concludes with an apparently insignificant detail. The reader is told that Ying-ning's son "was not the least shy of strangers, he laughed whenever he saw people, and was said to greatly take after his mother in 27 In another story in the collection also, "Leng Sheng" (c 6.847), laughter symbolizes the conflict between self and society After learning his craft from a fox spirit, Leng Sheng excels

in the composition of examination essays, but the sense of irony that accompanies hterary excellence cannot be tolerated by the establishment, and his irrepressible laughter costs him his candidacy "From then on he feigned madness and sought refuge in wine and poetry " The Historian of the Strange comments "With a laugh, he closed the door is this any different from sudden enlightenment m Buddhism'" Spirits and immortals are often defined by their sense of humor and their propensity to laugh at human folly

Prominent examples in the

collection include "The Wit of the Fox Spirits," ("Hu-hsieh," c.4.500-504) and "Island of Immortals" ("Hsien-jen tao," c 7.946-56)

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that regard" (LC, c.2.158). This image harks back to Ying-ning's "beaming smile" (hsiao-jung k'o-chu) in her first encounter with Wang at the begin­ ning of the story. The possibility of exuberant innocence is restituted, but in a subdued and domesticated version. However, the motive for laughter is not so simple as presented up to this point. It is actually possible to take Ying-nmg's confession literally and in­ terpret all her laughter as calculated attempts to test the love of her husband and mother-in-law. Although such a reading is belied by the dominant im­ age of the heroine as a mischievous and spontaneous soul, it is endorsed by the Historian of the Strange: "To see how she giggles and titters foolishly, it would seem as though she is totally mindless; yet the ruse beneath the wall is very clever indeed. And in her mournful love for her ghost mother, laughter turns to tears. Indeed, my Ying-ning conceals herself [lit., "be­ comes a transcendent recluse"] behind her laughter" (LC, c.2.159). To credit Ying-ning with ultimate control adds another level of meaning to structural circularity. Laughter is a self-consciously exploited means of ex­ ercising power under the guise of innocence. Ying-hing's gift of the laugh­ ter to her son makes the reconciliation of spontaneous self-expression and social order potentially possible. By diluting the subversive potential of laughter, the framing images affirm laughter as both artless innocence and an effective weapon against society. While formal symmetry in "Ko-chin" and "Ying-ning" establishes a note of compromise, it surfaces again with a more radical uncertainty m "The Painted Wall." As in "Ko-chin," here an aesthetic situation frames the nar­ rative, and the moment of aesthetic contemplation is dramatized through its association with the erotic. The protagonist, Chu hsiao-lien (second-degree graduate), together with his friend, Meng Lung-t'an, chance to visit an old temple. An old monk is mentioned in passing, but the reader's attention is soon drawn to the setting, which becomes the locus of illusion: Two of the walls had very fine paintings, with vivid figures. On the eastern wall were painted the celestial maidens scattering flowers. Among them was one with her hair hanging down, she was holding flowers with her fingers and smiling. Her lips seemed to part, her liquid, expressive eyes on the point of entrancing. Chu stared at it for a long while, and without realizing it he was robbed of his will and shaken in spirit, lost in deep, oblivious contemplation. Suddenly his body was floating, as if he were riding on clouds, and he found himself transported onto the wall. (14)

"The smiling figure holding flowers with her fingers" ( nien-hua weihsiao ) evokes immediate associations with Buddhist enlightenment. 28 But 28

According to tradition, Ch'an Buddhism traces its origins to the Buddha's holding up a

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here the figure beckons toward the gratification of desire. The motif is re­ peated after the protagonist enters the painting. The girl turns around and waves the flowers from a distance to encourage the advances of the hesitant Chu. The cliche that the Buddhist understanding of emptiness and the hallu­ cinatory experience of sensual fulfillment are paradoxically intertwined may be expressed in another way: desire and its negation are one. Desire undermines itself even as the illusion of plenitude seems complete; between desire satisfied and ultimate satisfaction lies the inevitable reversal. In this story the apex of gratification is marked by the change the protagonist brings about in the object of desire. The girl's companions find out about her lover, chide her for her childish hairstyle, and put her hair up in a coif­ fure. This indicator of the passage from innocence to experience adds the illusion of power to Chu's role in the world of the painting; he is no mere passive agent lured on by a temptress. But just as the protagonist is enjoying the heightened beauty of the girl, forces of disruption break in: The fragrance of orchids and musk suffused his heart, and his joy had not spent itself. All of a sudden he heard the stern and menacing clatter of chi-mo [a kind of leather] boots and the clanking of fetters and chains This was immediately followed by the noise of confused shouts and loud arguments The girl rose in alarm, and stealthily peeped with Chu. They saw an emissary in gold armor, with a face black as lacquer. He was gripping chains [m one hand] and raising a hammer [in the other]. The celestial maidens surrounded him

. The emissary turned

around and surveyed the scene with a hawklike gaze, as if about to undertake a search. The girl was terrified, her face [the color of] dead ashes. [LC, c 1.15)

The intrusion of the emissary is unaccounted for, nor is there any direct confrontation. The threat of exposure is all the more menacing for being imperfectly understood. The emissary is presented through Chu's percep­ tion as the embodiment of imminent, ineluctable punishment. Forgetfulness overtakes Chu as he is reduced to the humiliating posture of hiding under the bed. The intense consciousness of the present that has flower before the assembly. The throngs of listeners were all nonplussed, and only the disciple Kashyapa smiled. The Buddha realized that Kashyapa alone had understood, and so entrusted the true dharma to him The episode realized the idea of the transcendence of language, "com­ munication from mind to mind" (i-hsin ch'uan-hsin) This story does not appear in The Taishd TripJtaka and is merely quoted in Tsung-men tsa-lu (Miscellaneous Buddhist records), where Wang An-shih (1021—1086) describes how he read about the story in Ta-fan t'len-wang wenfo chueh-ι chtng san-chuan (Sutra of the great Indian king questioning the Buddha to settle points of doubt, in three chuan) From Kashyapa the dharma passed through twenty-eight generations in India until it came to Bodhidharma, who arrived in China in A.D . 520 and became the First Patriarch there. Bodhidharma established the line of which Hui-neng (d. 713) became the Sixth Patriarch

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promised to open up new realms of experience and has facilitated the tran­ sition into the illusion of sensual fulfillment in the first place now also leads to a break between past and present and disrupts his sense of identity: Moments passed. He heard a dull buzzing, as if cicadas were crying by his ears, and he felt that fire was issuing forth from his eyes. The situation was quite un­ bearable. All he could do was to wait quietly for the girl's return. He could no longer recall where his body had come from. At that time Meng Lung-t'an was in the hall. Losing sight of Chu in an instant, he queried the monk in suspicion. The monk said with a smile, "He has gone to listen to a disquisition of Buddha's dharma " "Where?" "Not far " In a short while, he tapped his fingers on the wall and cried, "Why has Patron Chu wandered off for so long and failed to return?" Then it became apparent that Chu's figure was painted on the wall. He was stand­ ing straight and bending his head to one side, as if listening to something. The monk cried again, "Your traveling companion has waited for a long time." And then Chu floated down from the wall, ashen of heart and wooden in pose, his eyes staring and his legs weak. (LC, c.1.16)

Chu makes his exit from the world of the painting at the nadir of terror and anxiety. The illusion of superhuman power has given way to a less than human numbness. The monk and the authority figure restoring divine order seem to co­ alesce. The monk's tapping on the wall is apprehended by Chu m the paint­ ing as a thundering knock on the door, presumably made by the emissary in gold armor. The voice from the real world merges with the punitive prin­ ciple in the illusory realm. 29 On this level one can interpret the structural framing (Chu's entry into and exit from the painting) as the assertion of the reality principle that arrests desire. However, there is a doubleness here. Formal symmetry can also be interpreted as a provisional delivery from the hostile forces set in motion by the self-negation of desire. If by the real we mean not only mundane reality but some ultimate vision of emptiness that brackets all desires, then the neat balance makes for even greater ambiguity. When Chu presses the monk with questions, the latter withholds explana­ tion despite his apparently superior understanding: "The monk said with a smile: 'Illusions are produced by the human mind. How can a lowly monk like myself understand it?' Chu was depressed in spirit and resentful; Meng was shocked and no longer his own master. They then rose, went down the steps, and left" (LC, c.1.16). By a curious reversal, however, what is transformed is the world of the 29 This is comparable to the dream experience, when an event outside the dream becomes part of the dreamer's plot, only finally to break the illusion and awaken the dreamer In the last chapter I discussed the hsiang (mental cause) and yin (material cause) of the dream, one may say that in "The Painted Wall" the illusion is caused by hsiang (longing and desire) and broken by yin (the sound of the knock)

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painting rather than the experiential reality outside it. The two characters remain unenlightened, but the erstwhile innocent-looking maiden m the painting now displays a mature, elaborate coiffure: "They looked at the girl holding flowers. Her hair was coiled up in a spiral bun; it was no longer hanging down" (LC, c.1.16). The change in the girl's hairstyle seems to affirm the potency of illusion and Chu's power in the world of the paint­ ing. 3 0 But the Historian of the Strange reinforces the monk's authority "Illusions are produced by the human mind" these words show an understand­ ing of the Tao A person with a licentious mind creates a promiscuous world, with a promiscuous mind he projects a realm of terror. The bodhisattva tries to en­ lighten the foolish and deluded by conjuring a thousand illusions, but these are actually produced by the human mind itself. (17)

The direction of the argument is cautionary, even condemnatory, but the potential of the human mind to create its reality is also implicitly recognized as infinite. "The Painted Wall" is a concentrated expression of some of the key ideas and recurrent structural features m the collection. In the words of the mneteenth-century commentator Ho Shou-ch'i:" "This story contains many words of Buddhist wisdom. The line stating that 'illusions are produced by the human mind' plumbs the depth of crucial ideas. All the various illusory realms in the collection should be viewed in the same manner" (LC, c.1.17). Plot is minimal in this story. In contrast to the series of retardations m "Kochin" and "Ying-ning," here the fulfillment of desire is as effortless as its demolition is instantaneous. Or perhaps the contrast is no more than a dif­ ference m gradation; the idea of the omnipotence of imagination is played out in a series of encounters between the protagonist and the object of desire in the other stories, but m "The Painted Wall" all actions are concentrated in the moment of perception. By capturing the sense of evanescence, this story epitomizes the dual aspects of desire: the consciousness of power and the awareness of inevitable frustration. The device of framing serves to equivocate between these two perspectives. Closure signifies the dissipation In "Chu Ao," which has been cited as a possible s o u r c e of "The Painted Wal]," the girl m the painting steps down into the human world, the human agent does not enter the painting (Chu I-hsuan, Liao-chai chih-ι tzu-hao hui-pien, 9—10) The "painting stories" in A n a t o m y of Love (CS 7 c 9 254—57, 266-67 [chuan 9 is entitled "Illusions of Love" (Ch'ing-huan)}) fol­ low a pattern similar to that in "Chu Ao " The Historian of Love quotes the saying "With the passage of time, an object acquires a spirit/' and adds "If a painting comes from a master, then it is infused with his spirit [ching-shen] In the case of Chang Seng-yao or Wu Tao-tzu, for example, every stroke of their brush reaches the spiritual, transcendental realm [t'ung-hng\ What with being approached by someone in the way of spiritual communion, how can it [the spirit of the painting] fail to acquire form and come to life [ch'u-hsien ]u-sheng] ? " (CS, c 9 256) 3 1 The Ho Shou-ch'i Commentary edition (Ho Shou-ch'i p'mg-pen) was published m 1823

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of an illusion of plenitude, especially in "Ko-chin" and "The Painted Wall," but the order thereby established brings the reader back to the beginning of the story. In this sense structural circularity seems to be an oblique reaffir­ mation of the projective imagination that conjures up the realm of illusion.

DESIRE AND THE LOGIC OF IRONIC INVERSION

In the story "Huang-ying" (the name of the heroine, lit., "yellow blos­ soms," usually chrysanthemums), the problem of desire and the trans­ formation of external reality is treated in more abstract terms than in "Ko-chin." In this story, the protagonist, Ma Tzu-ts'ai, is obsessed with chrysanthemums. Upon hearing of a rare species in Chm-ling, he hurries there to acquire it. On his way he meets a brother and sister named T'ao. The reader is furnished with an obvious clue to the causal connection be­ tween the two treasured shoots Ma acquired m Chm-ling and the appear­ ance of the T'aos. Ma is rewarded for his passion for chrysanthemums with the joys of friendship and conjugal bliss. Huang-ying becomes his wife and T'ao his best friend. Ostensibly this story also deals with the sense of loss—Ma Tzu-ts'ai unintentionally kills T'ao at the end of the story—however, the reversion of the latter from human form to flowerhood is not presented with tragic pathos. Metamorphosis is described as a benign and visually pleasing phe­ nomenon, an impression more evident here than in "Ko-chin." Ma is drink­ ing with T'ao when the latter, in his intoxication, undergoes metamorpho­ sis. "T'ao stood up to go to sleep. As he stepped out the door, he trampled on the chrysanthemum plot, and 'the jade mountain collapsed.' He cast his clothes aside, touched the ground, and was transformed into a chrysanthe­ mum bush as tall as a human being. It had about ten blossoms on it, all bigger than human fists" (LC , c. 11.1451). The metamorphosis is not threatening, partly because it is not presented as irreversible. Huang-ying has only to uproot her brother and cover him properly for him to regain human form. It is when Ma tries to repeat the performance, and fails, on the next occasion that T'ao is drunk, that the metamorphosis is irrevocable. The phrase "the jade mountain collapsed" is an allusion to the drunken but graceful stupor of the third-century poet-philosopher Chi K'ang. 3 2 The allusion is just one instance of how the image of the chrysanthemum is humanized through a dense web of cultural and poetic associations so that it is no longer purely alien matter. These associations chiefly center around 32

Cf Liu I-ch'ing, S h i h - s h u o h s i n - y u c h i a o - c h i e n , c 14 5 "Mr Shan said, 'As for the per­

sonality of Chi Shu-yeh [Chi K'angJ, he is austerely graceful like a lone pine standing by itself, when he is intoxicated, he is impressive like a jade mountain about to collapse " Li An-kuo (Li Feng, ca

3 d cent ) is described with a similar phrase

collapse" (c 14 4)

"falling like a )ade mountain about to

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the famous poet T'ao Ch'ien. In addition to his proverbial fondess for wine and chrysanthemums, there are other more subtle allusions to T'ao's po­ etry. The pointedly named T'ao in our story refuses to teach Ma Tzu-ts'ai about chrysanthemum cultivation on the ground that "words cannot com­ municate it," which may be an echo of the last two lines of the fifth poem in the famous series "Twenty Poems on Drinking Wine" by T'ao Ch'ien: "There is true significance in this, / Only that I forget the words even while trying to explain." 33 Going beyond T'ao Ch'ien, we can find an even earlier reference to chrysanthemums being turned into an aesthetic embodiment of lofty ideals. The very idea of "living on chrysanthemums," for example, can be read as a playful twist to a line in "Encountering Sorrow": "In the evening I dined on the fallen petals of the autumn chrysanthemums." 34 The protagonist inadvertently murders T'ao at the end of the story, when he pulls out the roots of the chrysanthemum and makes the metamorphosis irreversible. But this potentially tragic mistake makes only for a more com­ plete merging of chrysanthemum and person: "When he smelled it, it ex­ uded the fragrance of wine, so he named it 'Intoxicated T'ao' [Tsui T'ao], It thrived when watered with wine" (LC, c. 11.1451). The form of the chry­ santhemum is seen as a genuine realization of, rather than a debilitating prison for, the human spirit. The comments of the Historian of the Strange underline this point: "One [who is a kindred spirit] of blue mountains and white clouds died in intoxication. The whole world lamented it, and yet it is not impossible that he himself might delight in it" (1451). The commen­ tator Tan Ming-Iun regards T'ao's transformation as a return to his true nature because he dies giving full rein to his appetite for wine: The chrysanthemum becomes T'ao, hence the immoderate drinking. When m his intoxication he is transformed at the edge of the small plot of land, T'ao becomes the chrysanthemum. From the time he reveals his origins, his drinking becomes ever more excessive. Therein lies his joy. To be born on the birthday of flowers and be named "Intoxicated T'ao"· he must have satisfied all his desires (1451).

Death loses its anguish in the general mood of philosophical playfulness. The reader recalls another passage in the chapter entitled "The Great and Venerable Teacher" (Ta tsung-shih) in the Chuang Tzu, in which the met­ amorphosis of the human body into the nonhuman is accepted without anx33

Lu Ch'in—li, H s i e n - C h ' i n H a n W e i - C h i n N a n - p e i - c h ' a o s h i h , 2.998.

34

C T , c 1.5 The Sung commentators on "Encountering Sorrow" first started the debate on

whether chrysanthemum petals fall, or, if they merely wither on the stem, what other inter­ pretations the word Io (fallen) should bear Cf. Yu Kuo-en, "Shuo 'ϋ-sao' 'ch'iu-chu chih Ioying' " (A discussion of "the fallen petals of chrysanthemums" in "Encountering Sorrow") in Ch'u-tz'u chi-shih, 48—52 Wen I-to suggests that the word ying (petals) can be written with a rain radical and refers to the yellowish vapor gathering around the chrysanthemum (Ch'u Yuan, Lisao chieh-ku, 15-17).

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iety and sorrow in the spirit of "surrendering bodily forms to go along with the great transformation" (s hun-hua wei-hsing). 3 5 In spite of Ma's regret for letting curiosity get the better of him, T'ao's death augments rather than diminishes the integrity of the ideal world invoked in the story. The com­ ments of the Historian of the Strange emphasize this: "To plant this [the 'Intoxicated T'ao'] m the garden is like seeing a good friend or enjoying the company of a lovely lady. No pains should be spared in seeking it out and cultivating it" (LC, c.11.1452). The intellectual preciosity that turns meta­ morphosis into philosophical play also adds an ironic twist to the emplotment of wish fulfillment. Unlike the situation in "Ko-chin," the protago­ nist's appreciation of chrysanthemums m "Huang-ying" is associated less with aesthetic contemplation than with a set of beliefs that he lives by. His passion for the flower is based on his ideals of rustic simplicity and lofty withdrawal from worldly values. Yet this initial desire for hermetic selfcontainment is challenged by the very object with which he identifies it. Huang-ying's first words conform to our conception of the nature of chry­ santhemums: "It does not matter if the house is shabby, but the courtyard should be spacious" (1446). In other words, poverty hardly matters as long as there is enough space for one to appreciate nature and to enjoy freedom of the spirit. However, Huang-ying later forces Ma to recognize the contradictions of his position. Unwilling to share his wife's wealth, Ma tries to separate his compound from that of Huang-ying, who teases him about the resulting confusion: " 'To eat in the eastern chamber and sleep in the western one: an incorruptible soul should not be like that.' Ma had to laugh at himself. He could say nothing in retort, and so their compounds were reunited as before" (LC, c.11.1450). But the way the T'aos make a fortune from chry­ santhemum cultivation is to Ma tantamount to sacrilege: "To turn [the oc­ cupation under] the eastern fence 36 into a worldly trade is a grave offense against the yellow blossoms!" (1447). In response, T'ao defends his own position: "To live by the fruits of one's labor is not greed; to make a trade 35

"One happens upon the human form, yet one delights in it As for the human form, there

are ten thousand transformations which do not begin to have a limit, the joy therein is then uncountable' The sage therefore roams in the realm from which nothing can escape and where all is preserved.

'If my left arm is gradually transformed into a rooster, I will ask of it the

hours of night, if my right arm is gradually transformed into a pellet, I will use it to get an owl for roasting If my buttocks are transformed into wheels, I will let my spirit be a horse, and so I will ride—what need would 1 have for a carriage 7 For to gain something is a matter of timing, to lose something, a matter of following the flow of things Rest in the right timing, be situated to follow the flow, and one will not be invaded by sadness and joy" (Chuang Tzu, Chuang-tzu chi-shih, 1 243-44, 1 260) 3 6 An allusion to a line—"Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence"—from T'ao Ch'ien's fifth poem on drinking wine (Lu, Hsien-Ch'in Han Wei-chin Nan-pei Chao shih, 2 998)

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of selling flowers is not vulgarity. Of course one should not unscrupulously seek wealth, yet there is no need to assiduously court poverty" (1447). Later in the story, Huang-ying argues for a reversal (fan-an) of the tradi­ tional understanding of the chrysanthemum as the symbol of contentment and pride in poverty: "It is not that 1 am greedy, but if we do not attain some measure of affluence, a thousand years from now people would still say that T'ao Ch'ien is impecumosity incarnate, hence the straitened circumstances of his progeny even after a hundred generations. I am just trying to ward off the sarcasm that may be heaped on our ancestral poet " (1449) Huang-ying's argument is characteristic of the mood of the whole story, which rings with the playfulness of an abstract hypothesis unfolding as a sequence of events. Through an ironic inversion the traditional symbol of the eremitic ideal speaks for transcendence through beating the world at its own game of acquisitiveness. That "Huang-ying" is more conceptual and abstract than other Liao-chai stories also comes through in the nature of Ma Tzu-ts'ai's passion, which has little to do with the primitive possessive urges that we normally asso­ ciate with the word "desire." Indeed, his obsession is almost cerebral, rooted as it is in moral and intellectual convictions. Ma's firm belief m the ideal is shown in his obliviousness to worldly concerns. He does not have the least qualms when he discovers that the T'aos are not human: "Ma came to the realization that brother and sister were chrysanthemum spirits, and he loved and respected them all the more" (LC, c. 11.1451). The story is, then, wish fulfillment in a special sense: with the metamorphosis of the chrysan­ themum spirits into the brother and sister T'ao, Ma's passion for chrysan­ themums converges with love and friendship, but the more abstract values with which he identifies his desire are systematically frustrated. Desire is redefined in the process of being realized, even as the protagonist's insis­ tence o n d e t a c h m e n t is revealed a s a special kind of a t t a c h m e n t (chih-cho). "Huang-ying" is representative of a group of Liao-chai stories that focus on the idea of ch'ih or p'i which, in default of a better translation, may be defined as a mixture of obsessiveness, oblivious innocence, and the faculty of belief. 37 In the collection, the quality of ch'ih usually vindicates itself by virtue of its depth and power; under its rubric beliefs are pressed into the service of desires, and beliefs and desires are conjoined to form the basis of action. The late-Ming legacy of making a virtue of whimsicality and eccen­ tricity is here evident. In late-Ming writings, especially the so-called "in37 Cf. Judith Zeitlin, "P'u Sung-ling's Liaozhai zhiyi and the Chinese Discourse on the Strange," 57-98

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formal essays" ( hsiao-p'in ), unorthodox behavior is often sympathetically portrayed as the consequence of "acting according to one's genuine sensi­ bilities" or "following one's own nature," (shih-hsing, shuai-hsing). 3 , 8 In "Huang-ying," Ma's values are shown to be less absolute than they are presumed to be. But in the world of Liao-chai, commitment to an ideal, even when it appears eccentric or misguided, is usually laudable. It is when there is a lapse of devotion to the object of attachment, as in "A Strange Tale of Pigeons," that the irony becomes cutting. 39 Stubborn convictions come by their proper rewards. As the Historian of the Strange remarks in "A-pao," "In the obsessive nature the will is concentrated [chih-ning]. Those obsessed with books have to excel in letters. Those obsessed with arts and crafts must be superb in their techniques. People who drift and come to nothing in this world all pride themselves on keeping free of obsessions" (LC, c.2.238). This sympathetic treatment of the idea is especially obvious m such love stones as "A-pao," "Mr. Lu's Daughter" ("Lu-kung nu," c.3.294-98), "Ch'ing-o," and "A-hsiu" (c.7.991-98), among many others. Obsessive romantic attachment (ch'ing-ch'ih) is divested of all destructive edges; it is simply equated with naive faith and unquestioning constancy. But devotion to a person and devotion to an object or a pursuit are, after all, quite different. While Ma's love of chrysanthemums still conforms to cultural stereotypes, there are other stories about more wayward obsessions that border on the absurd. The Historian of the Strange warns of the dan­ gers of extreme attachment. In "Shih Ch'ing-hsii" (LC, c.11.1575-79), for example, the protagonist's obsessive love for a piece of stone is treated with great sympathy, but the comments also strike a cautionary note: "The su­ preme specimens of things harbor the cause of disaster" (1578). A similar 38

It is in this spirit that Li Chih turns the "childlike mind (or heart)" (t ' u r t g - h s i n ) into the

measure of all things (Li Chih, Fen shu, c 3 97-98). Chang Tai's epigrammatic lines sum up such sentiments "One cannot befriend those without obsessions [ρ'ΐ\. for they lack deep feel­ ings, nor can one befriend those without faults [tz'u], for they lack the genuine spirit" (T'aoan tneng-i, 39) Chang Tai quotes these lines in his "Biographies of Five Extraordinary Char­ acters" ("Wu ι-jen chuan/' in Lang-hsun iven-chi, 175-88)

He goes on in the same essay.

"The single direction of their deep feelings manifests itself on a small scale as faults and on a large scale as obsessions

. The burden of their obsession is such that they cannot but live

on m their biographies" (176). He employs the same logic m the biographies of his three uncles Their flaws and obsessions constitute their essence and make them worthy of the biog­ rapher's effort "Better to be a flawed jade than a flawless stone" (168). In "Epitaph for My­ self" (Tzu-wei mu-chih-ming), Chang Tai defines himself through his "obsessions and mis­ takes" [ρ'ι ts'o, 201)

The late-Ming valorization of obsessions is echoed in many stories in

Liao-chai, in which the obsessive devotion to objects and pursuits also articulates the indivi­ dual's differences and uniqueness 39

The protagonist Chang Yu-liang, a great lover and collector of pigeons, presents two of

his pigeons to an important official The latter, quite unaware of their worth, has them cooked. The pigeon spirit appears to Chang in a dream dressed as a youth in white who reprimands Chang severely for his betrayal Chang has to give away his pigeons in the end

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voice of warning is raised in "The Bibliophile" ("Shu-ch'ih," c. 11.145357): "As for the things of this world, accumulation leads to jealousy; at­ tachment gives rise to hostile spirits. The spirit of the woman is the incar­ nation of evil karma in books" (1457). But even m these examples, irony never goes so far as to negate the value of obsession. In "Shih Ch'ing-hsii," the Historian of the Strange continues: When it comes to wishing to die for a stone, that is the height of obsessive folly 1 And yet the stone and its master lived and died together Who can say that stones are without feelings' The old saying that "a man of worth dies for someone who really understands him" is no exaggeration 1 If even a stone is like this, how can it be otherwise for human beings' (1578—79)

It may be true that the "supreme specimens of things" (wu chih yu che) harbor the cause of disaster, but as objects of devotion and veneration they also acquire sentience, feelings, and powers of transformation; they become spirits in human form, with a deep spiritual affinity with the character bur­ dened with the obsession. In the world of Liao-chai, by sheer force of will reciprocity of attachment from "mere things" is possible. That the "thing" in question m "Shih Ch'ing-hsii" should be a piece of stone, something proverbially "without feelings" ( wu-ch'mg ), just underlines the point. The general rule seems to be that the quality of ch'ih is presented in a positive light so long as there is an aesthetic or literary aura to the obses­ sion. 40 This applies even in stones about candidates obsessed with success m the civil service examination, if such fixation is based on a genuine con­ cern for scholarship and literary excellence, as in "Yeh Sheng," (LC, c.1.8185), "Yii Ch'ii-o" (c.9.1166-73), and "Su-ch'iu." In "Su-ch'iu," P'u SungIing is pointedly critical of Yii Hsiin-chiu's (a bookworm spirit) obsession with the examination, as if he is trying to distance himself from a similar idee fixe: "Mr Kuan (lit., "bamboo brush holder," ι e., "the scholar") does not have the physiognomy of one who eats meat" 4 1 —this has always been so

His first

40 when the desire for material gain or personal aggrandizement replaces a single-minded devotion to the object or the pursuit, obsession is portrayed with heavy-handed sarcasm Cf "The Gamblers' Talisman" ("Tu-fu," LC, c 3 419—21), and "Wine Madness" ("Chiu-k'uang," c 4 582-87) "The Chess Ghost" ("Ch'i-kuei," c 4 532-34) is something of an exception Al­ though the chess game itself is considered a refined pursuit worthy of a scholar, the ghost's obsession with chess, which ruins him and destroys his chances of being reborn, is not treated sympathetically The king of the underworld summons him to write a commemorative essay to redeem himself, but on the way he becomes engrossed in a chess game and misses his chance His intercessor, Mr Liang, concludes "It is thus, then, that obsessions can bring about a person's downfall'" This judgment is endorsed by the Historian of the Strange, who mocks the chess ghost for not even excelling in the game in spite of his obsession 4 1 Which is to say, scholars are always poor The line is an allusion to Han Yu's (768-824) "Biography of Mao Ying" ("Mao Ying chuan," in Tung Kao et al , eds , Ch'in-ting Ch'uan

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thoughts are clear [Hsun-chiu decided initially not to take the examination], and yet he did not hold on to them consistently. Didn't he know that those blindfolded examiners judge by fate rather than by literary merit' He missed his aim with one blow, and m foolhardy desperation he died How pathetic is the obsession of the bookworm spirit' Sad indeed 1 Heroic soaring is worse than lying low in ob­ scurity (c 10.1358)

Beneath the irony one can sense a lingering sympathy, because the irony is directed as much against the examination system as against its unfortunate victim. P'u Sung-lmg's identification with the unsuccessful candidate is es­ pecially obvious in the story of Yeh Sheng, who forgets about his own death in his obsession with the quest for just appreciation in the examination sys­ tem. His soul· wanders off to his one-time benefactor, helps his son to gain academic honors, and he himself eventually succeeds in passing the exami­ nation. It is only when his soul returns home and meets his wife, who shrinks back in terror, that he realizes he has died. He sees his own coffm, falls to the ground, and vanishes. The comments of the Historian of the Strange develop into an extended fu with autobiographical echoes: 4 2 The soul follows a real friend Does he forget about death ? People who heard the story are skeptical, but I am convinced of its truth

1 look around in appre­

hension, there is no place within the four seas I can call home To be born in this world is just a matter of closing one's eyes and stepping forward, leaving the ups and downs of one's life to the whims of the Creator. There is no dearth under heaven of unappreciated talent such as Yeh Sheng, only how can one get Ting Ling-wei to come again, so that one can follow him in life and death'' Alas' (c 1 84-85)

In "The Bibliophile," the protagonist Lang Yu-chu's obsession with books and his belief in the literal truth of Emperor Chen-tsung's (r.998T ' a n g w e n , c 567 llb-13b) and to a poem by Huang T'mg-chien (1045-1105) "Mr Kuan does not have the physiognomy of one who eats meat, / Brother Square-hole [i e , copper coins or money] has this letter terminating our friendship" (quoted by Lu Chan-en in his annotation, LC, c 10 1357) 42

Cf

Feng Chen-luan's comments "This [the f u as comment] can be read as another ' L u

Lamenting the Fate of Talent Unrecognized' " (LC, c 1 85) This theme has been taken up by Ssu-ma Ch'ien (CHW, c 26 4b-5a), Tung Chung-shu (179-104 Β C ) (CHW, c 23 la-lb), and T'ao Ch'ien (CCl x V, c 111 4a—5a) Feng goes on "I would say that in this piece Liao-chai is writing his condensed autobiography That is why he expresses himself with such bitterness and anguish" (85) Feng comments at the end of the story "The tone is so anguished and melancholy, I wonder whether our author showed the story to Shih Jun-chang (fzw Yu-shan, 1619-1683) or Pei I-chih (ca 17th cent ) ' " Both Shih and Pei were patrons of P'u Sung-hng and would presumably appreciate the tribute paid to the discerning patron-friend Ting Ch'enghe in the story Feng's comments were written in 1818 but not published until the 1891 Four Commentators Joint Commentary edition (Ssu-chia ho-p'ing pen), which also includes com­ ments by Wang Shih-chen (1634—1711), Tan Ming-lun, and Ho Shou-ch'i

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1023) "Exhortation to Learning" (Ch'iian-hsueh p'ien) 43 are also treated with both irony and sympathy. Here the naive faith in book learning is untempered by the desire for recognition or worldly gain. In a manner com­ parable to that in "Huang-ying," ironic inversions here frustrate, fulfill, and then reverse the expectations of the protagonist. Emperor Chen-tsung's maxims "materialize" m a disappointing manner: the "thousand bushels of grain" become rotten grain in a forgotten barn, "houses of gold" appear as a gold-plated piece, and the "face beautiful as jade" turns out to be the figure of a beautiful woman cut from gauze pressed between the pages of Han shu. Instead of becoming skeptical, Lang is more convinced than ever of the validity of his chosen articles of faith. The irony is obvious, yet even as the piece of plated gold accidentally brings Lang a minor fortune, the gauze beauty becomes human in response to his stubborn convictions. As in our other examples, the perception of metamorphosis draws attention to the causal efficacy of the protagonist's consciousness: One day, while he was gazing at the gauze beauty, she suddenly rose from her waist, sat up on the book and smiled. Lang was dumbfounded, and prostrated himself beneath the desk. When he rose, she had grown to a full foot m height. He was even more terrified, and made obeisance again She stepped down from the desk, as graceful a paragon of beauty as ever there was He bowed and asked, "What goddess are you?" The beauty smiled and said, "I am Ms. Yen, named Juyii [Yen Ju-yii, lit., "face beautiful as jade"]. Of course, we have known each other a long time. Day after day I have been favored with your frequent attention, and I feared that if I did not come at least once, in ages to come no one would have faith in the ancients. (LC, c. 11.1454)

Yen's name of course automatically identifies her as the "face beautiful as jade," but she justifies Lang's obsession only to try to cure him of it by instilling m him some appreciation of the art of living. His sexual initiation diverts him from his passion for books, but he still identifies the latter as the ultimate source of all his bliss. When Yen suggests to him that he has to give away his books in order to keep her, he is horrified: "This is your "Exhortation to Learning" "To attain affluence rely not on fertile fields, / Books have their own thousand bushels of grain / To create a comfortable abode there is no need to build great halls, / Books have their own houses of gold / To get married regret not the absence of competent matchmakers, / Books have their own faces beautiful as jade. / On your excursions regret not the absence of an entourage, / The horses and carriages in books are legion / For a man to realize his lifelong aspirations, / He should just apply himself assiduously to the Five Classics " Lang's late father had written down the "Exhortation" and pasted it next to Lang's desk. Lang recited it day and night, protected it with white gauze, and came to believe in its literal truth.

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native land and my very life, how could you say such a thing?" (LC, c.11.1456) The original object of his obsession is demoted and finally destroyed. The magistrate Shih, lured by rumors of Yen Ju-yii's beauty, puts Lang under arrest and ransacks his house. But Yen has disappeared, and the magistrate in his annoyance sets Lang's collection of books on fire. So both beauty and books vanish in the end, and Lang has to be satisfied with revenge and a more conventional happiness. (Lang is finally released and eventually gains a chin-shih degree [conferred upon success in the civil service examination held in the capital], He prays to the tablet of Yen Ju-yu that he might be sent to Fukien to assume office, where he would have a chance of punishing Shih. That wish is granted in the end, and at the end of the story he takes a concubine.) In other words, the realization of Lang's desire and the vindi­ cation of his obsession set in motion forces that lead to its negation. The quality of obsessive attachment seems to disarm irony because of its childlike spontaneity and innocence. By virtue of the nondifferentiation of desire and belief, the pursuit of the object of desire should be all the more uncomplicated for being intense and linear. But here the inconsistencies of desires are exposed in the process of gratification: in both "Huang-ying" and "The Bibliophile" it is the feminine element that causes this internal split. Both Huang-ying and Yen Ju-yii speak for the human feelings that provide the basis for spiritual affinity with the protagonist, while at the same time rebelling against the tyranny of single-minded devotion to an abstract idea. It is in the simultaneous fulfillment and questioning of desire that one can speak of irony. In these stories about obsessions, ironic rever­ sals often develop with a certain abstract and hypothetical playfulness. Ob­ sessions are usually understood as intensely private, if not downright solipsistic. But in these examples, they are portrayed as cultural and linguistic constructs conforming to certain time-honored maxims or cultural stereo­ types. It is by pushing the hypothetical basis of these constructs to their logical extremes that irony unravels the contradictions of desire in a playful and abstract manner.

THE INTERNAL BALANCE OF DESIRE: MEDIATION AND COMPLEMENTARY HEROINES

The story "Hsiang-yii" (Fragrant Jade) begins with concise descriptions of the camellia tree and peony bush in the Taoist temple where the protago­ nist, Huang Sheng, has his temporary study. In view of the general econ­ omy of language in Liao-chai, what may otherwise pass for a casual deco­ rative touch to the setting cannot fail to set up the reader's expectation for a case of metamorphosis. As in "Ko-chin," poetry plays a crucial role. Hsiang-yii first comes to Huang in response to the latter's poem expressing

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wistful longing after a tantalizing glimpse of the two heroines. His "Fifty Poems Mourning Flowers" (K'u-hua shih wu-shih shou) bring back the ghost of Hsiang-yii 44 and also melt the reserve of the initially reluctant Chiang-hsueh (Scarlet Snow]. As in our other stories, in "Hsiang-yii" the free transition between the vegetative and the human states is governed by mental attitudes and the tenacity of attachment. The comments of the Historian of the Strange eu­ logize the quasi-transcendental dimension of passion: "Feelings at their most profound move the realm of spirits and gods. A flower in her ghostly existence follows [her lover|, and a man commits his soul to a plant: are these not attributable to a deep entanglement in passion?" (LC, c.11.1555). The emergence of Hsiang-yii from the peony bush (brought back to life by Huang) is described in a tone of magical realization: While he was lingering there, the flower swayed as if about to pop open, and soon it did. The blossom was as big as a plate, and true enough, a tiny beauty sat among the pistils, she was barely three or four fingers m length. In the twinkling of an eye she floated down gracefully. It was Hsiang-yu. She smiled and said, "I've been waiting for you through wind and rain. How late you are in coming'" (LC, c. 11.1554)

The sense of process is built into the syntax. From being the insubstantial "ghost of the flower" [hua chih kuei], 45 Hsiang-yii materializes first as the blossom, then as the tiny figure in it, and finally as her former self. Mo­ ments of perception form a sequence creating expectations that are fulfilled in the concluding four words "It was Hsiang-yii" (Tse Hsiang-yii yeh). The transformation of the protagonist into a plant at the end of the story reverses the direction of the earlier metamorphoses of Hsiang-yii and Chiang-hsueh. On his deathbed Huang refers to his imminent transfor­ mation with expectant joy. He says to his son, "This is the day of my re­ birth, not the day I die. Why should you grieve?" (c.11.1555). The wanton destruction of this plant (a fate suffered by Hsiang-yii and almost inflicted 44

The male protagonist as giver of love and life to the woman is a recurrent figure in L i a o -

chai 45 Hsiang-yii's explanation of her state as a disembodied spirit is one instance of an appar­ ently rational exegesis of the hierarchy of the supernatural world which abounds m the collec­

tion - "In the past, I was a flower goddess, so I was corporeal [ning lit., "concentrated" j, now, I am a ghost of the flower, hence my diffused state \san] Although we meet, do not take our rendezvous for real. Just regard it as a dream" (LC, c 11 1553). In "Chang A-tuan" (c 5 62731), we are told about the hierarchy of humans, ghosts (kuei), and ghosts of ghosts (chien) In this story the ghost wife of the protagonist, Ch'i Wei-hui, explains to him the affliction of his ghost lover Chang A-tuan. She is pursued by her former husband, now a ghost of a ghost "A human being dies and becomes a ghost, a ghost dies and becomes a ghost of a ghost Ghosts fear ghosts of ghosts, just as humans fear ghosts" (629) For the provenance of the idea of ghosts of ghosts, see Ch'ien Chung-shu, Kuan-chui pien, 2 674-75

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on Chiang-hsueh—a final echo of the theme of the destructive intrusion of the real into the illusion of idyllic bliss)—is followed by the "martyrdom" of the white peony bush and the camellia tree. This union in death strikes the note of a muted apotheosis. The Historian of the Strange comments: "One passed away and two gave up their lives. Even if this is not chastity, they did die for love" (1555). In sum, death and loss do not make desire problematic in this story; instead, they are presented as a kind of quietistic final fulfillment. As in the other two flower-spirit stories, in "Hsiang-yu" the metamor­ phosis of plants into human form highlights the embodiment of cultural associations accrued to the object. Thus Hsiang-yii's passion realizes the idea of luxuriance and exuberance traditionally associated with the peony, and Chiang-hsueh's more detached and reflective attitude towards love—in her own words, "But in my relationship with you, what matters are spiri­ tual affinities rather than carnal passions" (LC, c.11.1551)—is m tune with the ideal of austere perseverance in lofty principles against all odds, such as is conventionally attributed to the camellia. (nai-tung, lit., "withstanding winter"). Typically, the hero wants both, and the contradictory demands of desire are reconciled through the complementary roles of the two heroines as "beloved wife" (ai-ch'i) and "dear friend" (hang-yu). The plot unfolds with a skillful pattern of repetition, as the hero gains access to one woman through the other: by mourning Hsiang-yii, Huang draws Chiang-hsiieh to him; Chiang-hsiieh brings the news of Hsiang-yii's resurrection; Hsiang-yii teaches Huang how to force Chiang-hsiieh to as­ sume human form; respective poetic exchanges defining the relationships between the protagonist and the two heroines share the same rhyme. The harmonious triangle is sealed by the intimacy between the two heroines and the flexibility of Chiang-hsueh's role. Chiang-hsueh comes to Huang after Hsiang-yii's death: "I cannot be as passionate as Hsiang-yii, but perhaps I may console you a little in your loneliness" (LC, c. 11.1551). But Chianghsiieh is doing this partly out of a sense of loyalty and obligation to her peony-spirit friend. After Hsiang-yii's resurrection, Chiang-hsiieh joins them in their happy reunion: "Day after day I have been a surrogate wife, but now I am happy to revert to being a friend" (1554). That evening she discreetly leaves at midnight. Hsiang-yii and Chiang-hsiieh thus realize two complementary facets of love, as suggested by the rather obvious puns in their very names: "fra­ grant jade" and "scarlet snow" have the connotations of "warmth emanat­ ing from coldness" and "coldness with a hidden glow" respectively. To quote the critic Tan Ming-Iun: Fragrant Jade is passionate and Scarlet Snow is cold. One loves passionately, the other with restraint Intense love has a surfeit of desire and leads easily to sepa-

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ration. That reunion is possible after separation is because this love defies death. Restrained love has few desires and is detached. That detachment makes for con­ stancy is because this love has regulatory moderation. (LC, c 11.1551)

Only extremes can yield intensity, but extremes entail the dangers of insta­ bility and impermanence. Chiang-hsueh acts as the extenuating factor by being Huang's consolation in the absence of Hsiang-yii and also the mod­ erating factor on Huang's prime passion. The trio, then, is considered ideal, as it encompasses opposites and duali­ ties in the gratification of desire. This provides an illuminating contrast with the theme of two antinomic functions exercised by the feminine element in European Romantic fiction, in which two female figures often represent an impossible choice between the ideal and the real. In Ε. T. A. Hoffmann's "Der Sandmann," for instance, Nathanael must choose between the merely human Klara and the automaton Olympia (who paradoxically approaches the infinite and the ideal by being nonpersonal and nonhuman), 4 6 and in the process he is driven over the brink of madness. A comparable choice is posed for the student Anselmus in "Der goldne Topf." The spiritual forces in this story are less sinister, yet Anselmus's choice of the magical snake-girl Ser­ pentina over the more earthly charms of Veronica implies the renunciation of the real for the problematic realization of the ideal. Similarly, in Tieck's "Der Runenberg," Christian has to give up domestic bliss with Elizabeth when he follows the beckoning forest goddess (who is only a hideous old woman in the eyes of the world). In Poe's "Ligeia," the unearthly heroine retains her power beyond the grave and controls the narrator's more human mate, Lady Rowena. The transformation of the dying Lady Rowena into Ligeia at the end of the story may be interpreted as a final triumph of the transformative power of the narrator-protagonist's willful subjectivity, or as the assertion of otherness on the part of the object of desire. Examples can be easily multiplied. In all these cases, two female characters are made to represent an irreconcilable attachment to conflicting planes of reality. "Hsiang-yii" is representative of a group of Liao-chai stories that take up the theme of the internal balance of desire in a triangular relationship. Par­ adoxically, desire generates an order germane to itself. This balance is sometimes based on polarity in temperament, as in "Ch'en Yiin-ch'i" (LC, 46 For the Romantic fascination with the automaton, see Heinrich von Kleist's "On the Mar­ ionette Theater": "Grace appears purest in that human form which has either no consciousness or an infinite one, that is, m a puppet or in a god" (243) Only a god could equal inanimate matter in being beyond the limitations of consciousness, and this is the point where the two ends of the circular world meet Herein lies the paradox The sense of power in transcending consciousness is also linked to madness and death "But paradise is locked and the cherubim behind us, we have to travel around the world to see if it is perhaps open again somewhere at the back" (241, Kleist, "Uber das Manonettentheatcr," 62-64)

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c.11.1496-1504), in which the practical competence of Sheng Yun-mien complements the ethereal beauty of the heroine, Ch'en Υϋη-ch'i, to allow the protagonist, Chen Υϋ-sheng, perfect bigamous bliss. The two former Taoist nuns satisfy social and erotic demands respectively. Even when a relationship is not consummated, a woman fulfilling the delicate middle ground between passion and friendship can complement conjugal happiness. "Chiao-na" (LC, c.1.57-66) is a case in point. Unlike the situation of balance in "Hsiang-yii," Chiao-na far overshadows the pro­ tagonist's wife Sung-niang. To quote the Historian of the Strange: When it comes to K'ung Sheng, I do not envy him for marrying a beautiful wife, but I do envy him for having an intimate friend Looking at her makes one forget one's hunger, listening to her dispels one's worries. To have such a friend for occasional chatting and feasting is to enjoy the bliss of a spiritual communion surpassing the greatest sensual pleasures. (65)

P'u Sung-ling seems to be most interested in the subtle blend of intimacy and restraint in the understanding between the protagonist K'ung Hsiieh-Ii and the fox spirit Chiao-na. The point of interest is how the heroine rec­ onciles sentimental attachment (yung-ch'ing) with the observance of pro­ priety (shou-li). The sexual innuendoes of the two healing scenes are quite unmistakable. K'ung Hsiieh-h first meets Chiao-na when she is called upon by her brother to cure him of a swelling protuberance on his chest. She presses her bracelet against it, removes the decaying flesh with a thin blade, then spits out a red pill and rubs it against his chest, which instantly heals: "He was so anxious to be close to her, that not only did he not feel the pam, he was fearful that the operation would be over too soon, that he could not lean against her long enough" (61). He becomes enamored of Chiao-na, but on account of her extreme youth ends up marrying her older cousin Sungniang instead. Toward the end of the story Chiao-na's brother confesses to K'ung that the entire clan are fox spirits, and appeals to him for protection against the clan's predestined destruction by thunder and lightning. K'ung readily agrees, and almost dies in an attempt to save Chiao-na from the clutches of an evil spirit: In a moment the sky cleared up, and Chiao-na regained consciousness. She saw K'ung Sheng dead by the wayside and wailed, "K'ung-lang died for me—how can I live?" Sung-niang also came out, and together they carried Kung Sheng back. Chiao-na had Sung-niang hold his head, and had her brother keep his teeth apart with a gold hairpin. She herself cupped his chin, and used her tongue to pass him the red pill. With her lips against his, she blew air in. The red pill entered his throat with the flow of air. There was a grating sound. Shortly after he came to himself. (LC, c. 1.64)

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By then Chiao-na is married, and she is saddened by imminent separation from K'ung Sheng as the latter plans a return to his native county. But it transpires that the entire family of Chiao-na's husband is also struck by lightning. Chiao-na is overcome with grief, but their deaths conveniently allow her and her husband to move into K'ung Sheng's household. One may suspect a transgressive attachment between K'ung Sheng and Chiaona, yet these tensions are supposedly resolved when all the characters are happily united under one roof at the end of the story: "Enjoying the plea­ sures of chess games, wine, conversations, and feasts, they are just like one family. Hsiao-huan [Kung's son] grew to be graceful and handsome, with just the hint of a fox about him. When he went into the city, everybody knew he was the son of a fox spirit" (65). In yet other examples one heroine restrains the excessive desires of another, as in the relationship between the fox spirit Lien-hsiang and the ghost Lishih in "Lien-hsiang" [LC, c 2.220-32). The story starts off with a practical joke. Sang Hsiao boasts of his fearlessness of ghosts and spirits, and, to test him, a neighbor arranges for a courtesan to pay Sang a nocturnal visit. Sang is taken in by the courtesan's claim of being a ghost, and this becomes the first instance of a series of mistaken identities (the ghost impersonates a courtesan, and the fox spirit is taken for a ghost) which constitute the plot and underline the neat parallels between the two heroines. Sang Hsiao's liaison with Li-shih results in an almost fatal illness. Lienhsiang intercedes, warning of the dangers of overindulgence in carnal plea­ sures and discoursing on the consequences of sexual union with ghosts and fox spirits (the former being invariably deadly, the latter only in cases of excess). But mutual recriminations disappear in the women's joint effort to save Sang. Lien-hsiang is moved to a sincere appreciation of Li's beauty: "Why should a beautiful girl like you make enemies out of love?" (LC, c.2.225); "Such a charming creature! Even 1 am filled with loving tender­ ness—how can it be otherwise for a man ?" (227). 47 Mutual appreciation and devotion persist through karmic cycles and eventually unite the three char­ acters in a harmonious bigamous relationship. Lien-hsiang and Li-shih, to seal their deep bond, have their remains from previous lives buried together. In another story, "Hsiao-hsieh" (LC, c.6.772-79), two lovely ghosts rival each other in mischievousness and subsequently m their asssiduous atten17

T h e locus classicus of this t h e m e appears in Liu I-ch'ing, S h i h - s h u o h s i n - y u c h i a o - c h i e n ,

c 1 9 21 O n e of t h e most interesting examples of such a relationship is found m t h e nine­ t e e n t h - c e n t u r y work Six Chapters of a Floating Life (Fu-sheng hu-chi), in which t h e heroine Yun-niang becomes obsessed with the idea of bringing about t h e union of t h e courtesan H a n yuan and her husband, and dies of grief when she fails to do so (Shen Fu [1763—ca 1808), Fusheng hu-chi, 13—14)

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tion toward the hero T'ao Wang-san, who probably has his incredulity to thank for his good fortune: we are told at the beginning of the story that he has just written "The Sequel to the Treatise on the Nonexistence of Spirits" (Hsu wu-kuei Iun). 4 8 Both ghosts, Hsiao-hsieh and Ch'iu-jung, are suspi­ cious and possessive until a crisis overtakes them. As in "Lien-hsiang," jeal­ ousy is an issue only in the beginning of the story. In most cases, the deep­ est attachment binds the two heroines, and they are often related through repetition and/or contrasts. "Ch'ang-o" ( L C , c.8.1069-79) carries this theme to its logical conclusion. As such it casts new light on the question of how desire and order are re­ lated, and consequently it is worthy of detailed examination. In this story, the moon goddess Ch'ang-o and the fox spirit Tien-tang 4 9 spare no pain to secure each other for the protagonist, Tsung Tzu-mei. Both heroines seem ambivalent about total commitment and thus try to seek each other out as a surrogate mate for Tsung. With this end m view they resort to devious ploys that constitute the first half of the story. As Ch'ang-o says to Tientang when a kind of bigamous stasis is finally established, "After pushing another person into a pit, how can you still hope to escape freely beyond the heavens(1074). The two heroines are defined through repetition and contrast. In the first half of the story, before Ch'ang-o stages her own abduction to end her re­ lationship with Tsung (she has fulfilled her penal sentence of a sojourn on earth), she is fond of pleasantries and games of impersonation. Tsung is especially fascinated by her ability to imitate famous beauties in history through studying their images in paintings. Impersonation m this instance is the realization of the multifarious aspects of desire· Ch'ang-o is no longer one but many. The sense of exhilaration and limitless gratification is summed up by Tsung Tzu-mei: "I married one beauty, and beauties of all past ages are in my bed chamber" (LC, c.8.1071). But even at this early point in the story, extreme satiety is presented as inherently vertiginous, and so the drama that Ch'ang-o arranges for her exit (she stages her own abduction by bandits) immediately follows the description of how desire is given full rein. When Ch'ang-o is reunited with Tsung through the intervention of Tientang, she becomes the champion of propriety and discipline, while Tientang emerges as the extension of Ch'ang-o's earlier personality. With For variants on the story of how a person who writes such a treatise would be visited by a spirit intent to prove him wrong, see Ch'ien Chung-shu, Kuan-chiu pien, 2 784—85, TPKC, c 317 2508, c 319 2526, c 323 2566-67, c 327 2598-99, c 330 2621 49

These are probably "borrow words" (c h i a - c h i e h t z u ) for c h i h - t a n g , a species of spider

T h e a s s o c i a t i o n o f e r o t i c i s m w i t h s p i d e r s p i r i t s a l s o o c c u r s i n W u C h ' e n g - e n ( ? ) , J o u r n e y t o th e West, chaps 72-73, 816—41

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Ch'ang-o's decline of interest in sensual pleasures, Tien-tang has to assume the former's shape to please Tsung. In addition, she tries to seduce Ch'ango through a reenactment of the latter's game of impersonating the beauties in history. One day, while Ch'ang-o is meditating, Tien-tang plays at being the dragon maid waiting on Kuan-yin: Ch'ang-o opened her eyes and asked what was the matter. Tien-tang said, "I am only imitating the dragon maid waiting on Kuan-yin." Ch'ang-o scolded her good-humoredly, and as a punishment made Tien-tang go through the obeisances of the Red Child

50

Tien-tang retied her hair, bowed to the four directions, and

rolled on the ground in twists and turns, exhibiting the most extreme contortions and bending left and right, so that her socks couid touch her ears. Ch'ang-o was amused, and while remaining seated brushed her foot against her. Tien-tang lifted her head, held Ch'ang-o's foot in her mouth, and bit it lightly. In the midst of this mirth and joviality, Ch'ang-o suddenly felt a thread of sensuous longing ris­ ing from the toes and heading straight for the heart Thoughts of sensual pleasure took hold of her, as if she were losing control So she quickly gathered her spirit, and reprimanded Tien-tang. "The fox slave deserves death! So you don't even choose a proper target before employing your seductive wiles?" .

Tien-tang

was ashamed and afraid. She said to Tsung, "Every limb and part of my lady is dear to me. I love her too much, and couldn't help trying too hard to please her. Not only do I not dare, I cannot bear to have any other intentions m my mind." (LC, c 8.1075-76)

Impersonation and play release the subversive potential of desire. The association with excess is transferred from Ch'ang-o to her imitator and double, Tien-tang. Figural repetition is pushed to its logical limit: one char­ acter desires through another. Tien-tang makes up for the lapse of ardor in Ch'ang-o by acquiring the latter's attributes and qualities; at the same time Ch'ang-o exercises a restraining influence. Tsung can enjoy extreme sen­ sual pleasures with the guarantee that such excesses will not go overboard. But when such a balance proves untenable—a maid dies as a result of a miscalculation in the game of playing at being Yang Kuei-fei—the final so­ lution that emerges is stamped with the voice of order: Ch'ang-o said to Tsung "Now I realize that those in elevated positions cannot afford to be careless with a single laugh or frown. Unseemly jests amount to selfabasement, and there is no end to the baleful consequences. Sadness belongs to yin and happiness to yang; yang pushed to its limits gives rise to ym—this is the rule of the cyclical nature of things. The accident of the maid's death is the telling sign [of the inexorable approach of danger] with which spirits and gods admonish us If you persist in your deluded dissipations, then disaster is not far off." Tsung r '°

On the story of the Red Child and how he becomes the attendant of the bodhisattva Kuan-

yin, see Wu Ch'eng-en (>), journey to the West, chaps 40—42, 457-92

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listened respectfully. Tien-tang wept and begged to be set free [from her impulses toward disorder] Ch'ang-o then pinched her ears. After a while she let go. Tientang was lost in thoughtful melancholy. All of a sudden she seemed to be waking up from a dream. She threw herself to the ground, dancing for sheer joy. From then on sobriety and propriety reigned in the inner chambers. None dared to be boisterous. (LC, c.8.1077)

The motif of magical conversion makes the final imposition of order seem arbitrary. But the impulse to turn the heroine (usually a supernatural fig­ ure) into the embodiment of both desire and order is evident in many stories in Liao-chai. Hua Ku-tzu, in the story of the same name [LC, c.5.634-41), for example, "first showed her wisdom in foolishness, and ended up ex­ pressing her love through indifference. Thus does one know that foolish­ ness is extreme wisdom, and indifference is the supreme expression of love. A real fairy immortal indeed!" (comments of the Historian of the Strange, 641). The projection of this ideal is summed up by the critic Tan Ming-Iun: "Only fairy immortals have deep feelings, and only they can restram their feelings. Only fairy immortals are truly happy, and only they do not push happiness to extremes" (c.8.1078). In "Hsiao Ts'ui," the fox spirit Hsiaots'ui, after a blissful union with Wang Yuan-feng, makes herself old and ugly before her time and arranges Yiian-feng's union with a more suitable earthly mate, Chung-shih. Having orchestrated the marriage, Hsiao-ts'ui has made herself look like Chung-shih so as to console Yuan-feng when the time comes for her to leave. The Historian of the Strange comments: "The waning moon becomes full again [i.e., they have a reunion], and she se­ renely takes her leave. Thus do we know that the capacity for deep feelings is greater with fairy immortals than among the common run of humanity!" (c.7.1008). 5 1 The ambivalence is supposedly resolved in the identification of the fairy immortal as a new legislative authority. By the end of "Ch'ang-o," Tientang imitates the disciplinarian Ch'ang-o. The two heroines merge into one point of transcendence, which appears suspiciously like the Confucian pre­ cept of "vigilant caution mindful of the most minute beginnings and the most insidious development" (tu-chien fang-wet). But while there is an un­ derlying feeling that extreme happiness (chi-le) is not realizable or is real­ izable only at the expense of its own destruction, such uncertainty does not diminish the basic thrust of wish fulfillment. The ambivalence persists in the comments of the Historian of the Strange: 51

There is a humorous twist to the idea in "Immortal Kung " When asked whether it is true

that even immortals cannot forget their passions, Kung replies, "Perhaps that is true of im­ mortals Your humble subject is no immortal, so his heart is like withered wood" (LC, c 7 897) Of course the story about how he turns his sleeve into the arena of illicit love for his friend belies that ingenious disclaimer.

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"The extreme of yang gives rise to yin"—how true that is! But with a goddess in my chamber to push my happiness to its limits, dispel my misfortunes, extend my life, and save me from death, that dwelling place is happy and I am content to grow old there And yet the goddess would worry about it? The principle of cyclicity is reasonable enough, but what about those who suffer long without any hope of relief? How can one explain that? Once upon a time there was a man in Sung who tried without success to become an immortal. He often said, "If I could be immortal for one day, I would die without any regret." I can no longer laugh at him. (LC, c. 8.1078)

The harmonious incorporation of antithetical urges m triangular rela­ tionships makes mediation the primary issue at stake. As I have tried to show, "Ch'ang-o" is an especially pertinent example of how one character assimilates the desires of another: Tien-tang relates to Tsung Tzu-mei through Ch'ang-o. The latter becomes a mediator, and the balance between desire and order is developed through her. The motif of mediation is given a new twist in stories where two heroines are connected through a relationship of metaphorical transference rather than one of complementary coexistence. Our fourth flower spirit story, "Lotus Third Lady" ("Ho-hua san-mang-tzu," LC, c.5.682-86), is illumi­ nating m this respect. This tale begins with the protagonist Tsung Hsiangjo's casual liaison with a woman of easy virtue who turns out to be a fox spirit. Tsung's health steadily declines as a result of the latter's insistent sexual demands. Then the usual deus ex machina of a foreign monk appears on the scene. The monk's talisman is used to suck the fox spirit into a spit­ toon. But at the crucial juncture, as Tsung sees the oranges she had brought him scattered on the floor, he is overwhelmed by memories of the latter's affection and releases her. Some time later they meet again. In her gratitude the fox spirit teaches Tsung how to secure a substitute for herself. She sternly refuses when Tsung tries to resume their sexual relationship: "Since disasters befell me, I have attained sudden enlightenment m the great Tao. Why should I let carnal love be the cause of enmity and resent­ ment from others?" (684). The deliberateness of the subsequent quest contrasts with the lighthearted encounter between Tsung and the fox spirit. (He had surprised her in a rendezvous in his fields, and approached her after her partner left in hurried embarrassment. When he asked her name, she was disarmingly candid and impatient: "One passing experience of the spring wind [i.e., one fleeting sexual encounter], and we would separate to go east and west. Why bother to inquire into details? Would 1 be leaving my name for the memo­ rial arch immortalizing my chastity?") By teaching Tsung how to gain mas­ tery over the lotus spirit's metamorphosis, she also initiates him into an-

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other form of desire. She herself has played the part of the uninhibited, readily available woman symbolizing carnal satiation and the threat of death. Her substitute, the lotus spirit, claims to be her replica: "I am an evil fox spirit, and I will cast a spell over you!" (LC, c.5.684). However, in contrast to the fox spirit, by constant metamorphosis she eludes ultimate possession: He pulled her by the arm, but at his touch she was transformed into a curiously shaped stone. It was about a foot in height, and appeared delicate and beautiful from all angles. So he put it on the desk respectfully, burnt incense, bowed again worshipfully, and prayed to it. When night came, he bolted all the doors and filled up all the holes in the walls, for fear that it might disappear. When he looked at it in the morning, it was no longer a stone but had become a silk cape, its fragrance perceptible from a distance. He unfolded it to examine the lapels; there were still traces of cosmetics Tsung covered himself with the cape in an attitude of embrace and lay there Evening came, and he rose to light the lamps. By the time he came back, the girl with her hair hanging down was on the pillows. He was overjoyed and, fearing further metamorphosis, was full of pitiful entreaties before he came to her. (685)

By effecting the metamorphosis from lotus blossom to the beautiful young woman, Tsung may have developed a sense of control over the situ­ ation. But at the point of impending gratification, the girl reverts to being alien matter. This repeats an earlier image: when Tsung pursues the girl on the lake, she disappears just when she seems almost within reach. (She was transformed into a well-hidden lotus blossom, and without his former lov­ er's direction Tsung would not have been able to find her.) 52 Even after their union is consummated, she threatens to disappear or be metamorphosed to check the protagonist's excessive ardor. Tsung therefore does not dare to be too persistent: "And because of that their relationship was harmonious" (c.5.685). Metamorphosis is used to forestall the negative consequences of satiation. But metamorphosis is more than a function of moderation that counterbalances the sensual excesses of the lotus spirit's predecessor in the first half of the story. The precanousness of the heroine's human form also makes the game of pursuit all the more urgent and exciting. The stages of metamorphosis are interesting: between being a stone and being human, the heroine appears as her silk cape. This intermediate state, with its tantalizing proximity to the human body, becomes Tsung Hsiangjo's only consolation at the end of the story. After a union of six or seven S2

This may be an allusion to the qualities of purity and inviolability attributed to the lotus

Cf Chou Tun-i's (1027-1073) essay "Love of Lotus" (Ai-lien shuo), in which he praises the lotus as the "being of superior moral nature" [chun-tzu) among flowers The pride and integ­ rity of the lotus blossom is shown in the manner in which "it may be admired and appreciated from a distance, it is not to be tampered with disrespectfully" (Chou Yuan-kung chi, 446—47)

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years, the lotus spirit disappears without any explanation other than a vague reference to "having paid her due for previous sins (by a sojourn in t h e h u m a n world)" ( s h u - y e h c h ' a n g - m a n ) : She spoke sadly. "Union inevitably ends in separation, for such is the nature of things. Our child will have a great future, and you will live long What else can you ask for· 1 My name was originally 'Ho' [a homophone for 'lotus'l If you ever long for me, just embrace my old things and cry, 'Lotus Third Lady 1 ' You should see something." Even while speaking she broke free: "I'm going 1 " As Tsung looked on in amazement, she had already flown above his head

Tsung leaped,

pulled in desperation, and grabbed her shoe. The shoe fell off to the ground, and turned into a stone swallow. It was redder than vermilion, and clear and transpar­ ent all through like crystal. (LC, c 5.686)

Tsung is left with her shoe and the silk cape by which he had first identified her as the mate the fox spirit intended for him: "Whenever he thought of her, he embraced it [the silk cape] and cried, 'Third Lady!' Then it was as if the girl were there, with the same happy expression and smiling features as of old, only that she said not a word" (686). 53 This final image of evanescent beauty concludes a series of substitutions of the ephemeral for the corporeal. The supernatural agent thus keeps the destructive implications of desire within bounds by transferring the pro­ tagonist's attachment to a more elusive object of desire. This transference is ambiguous: the shift seems to restrain carnal satiation, but the heroine is nevertheless alluring in her very insubstantiality, and her multifarious forms reinforce the sense of the expansiveness of desire. In "Lotus Third Lady," the subtly contrived contrast between the two su­ pernatural women turns the spotlight onto the second character, the substi­ tute. In other examples, the reader's attention is more often than not fo­ cused on the supernatural agent, whose role shifts from that of object of desire to mediator of desire. In "Huan-mang," for instance, the ghost Huan-mang deflects the protagonist Wen Ju-ch'un's attention from herself to a more suitable earthly mate, Liang-kung, and narrative interest centers on the doubleness of her role. Gestures expressing her own longing (espe­ cially the song to the tune "Hsi-yii ch'un") are used to bring about the union of Wen and Liang-kung. The evocative image of c h ' i n playing colors the mood of this story. Music bears the imprint of other realms of existence. The notion of the magical potency of music is introduced in the opening scene when Wen receives 53

Probably an aJJusjon to the famous lines by Lu Yu (1125-1220) "Flowers that c a n under­

stand human communication have an unnecessary attribute, / Stones that cannot speak are the most appealing/' quoted in a comment by a friend of the author as "capturing the spirit of the story" (LC, c.5 686)

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c h ' i n lessons from a mysterious old monk. Both heroines are fascinated by Wen's music. Again aesthetic appreciation shades into erotic passion. The dilemma of an impossible union is solved through musical understanding and aesthetic communion. The ghost Huan-niang abdicates all claims to Wen's affection and instead seeks a compensatory consolation in learning from him the art of the ch'in. The teacher-pupil relationship is repeated when Liang-kung learns the art of the cheng (half-tube zither, usually with sixteen strings) from Huan-niang. This clinches the transference of the ghost heroine's attributes to her earthly substitute. Liang-kung proves to be a friend of genuine understanding (chih-yin, lit., "the friend who under­ stands the music"). On the wedding night of Liang-kung and Wen Juch'un, the notes of hesitant ch'in playing are heard. Liang-kung can tell it is a ghost (Huan-niang) playing. Her discernment seals the bond between her and Huan-niang. The story concludes with the self-effacement of Huan-niang and a final tribute to music: Husband and wife tried their best to persuade her to stay. Huan-niang said sadly, "In your harmonious union [lit , 'the very concord of (the musical instruments) ch'in

and

se,'

a conventional expression that has special relevance here since this

is a musical union], you find true appreciation and understanding in one another. How can one destined for misfortune such as myself enjoy such bliss? If it is m our karma, we will meet again in our next lives " She gave a scroll to Wen and said, "This is my portrait. If the matchmaker is not forgotten, please hang this m your bedchamber When you feel happy, burn a stick of incense and play a tune in front of my portrait. Then it will be as if I receive it [your homage] in person." She moved through the door and disappeared. (LC, c 7.989-90)

Huan-niang the mediator makes a graceful exit, and the conclusion aspires t o t h e poetic ideal of " b e c o m i n g m u s i c t h a t e n d s a n d does n o t e n d " ( y u - y i n pu-chin). In the words of Feng Chen-luan: "It fades, drifts away, and lin­ gers on. 'The music ends, the player cannot be seen, / Only the blue peaks by the river remain' " (990). Another story, "Feng San-niang" ( L C , c.5.610-17), bears from a fresh an­ gle on the idea of mediated desire. In this story, the binding attachment between the two heroines is couched in the language of courtship between the sexes. The conventional motifs for representing a love relationship are used here to chart the mutual attachment of the fox spirit Feng San-niang and her human friend Fan Shih-i-niang. These motifs range from the first fleeting encounter, glances of fascination, and sickness from pining, to Feng's act of climbing over the garden wall. In these developments the fox spirit Feng assumes what is traditionally considered a male role. When Feng must leave to avoid the advances of Fan's lecherous brother, Fan "prostrated

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herself on the bed in inconsolable grief, as if she had lost her mate for life"

(612). The relationship between the two young women shades into the union of Fan with Meng An-jen through the good office of Feng. The exchange of hairpins between the two women as a mark of sisterly affection at the be­ ginning of the story furnishes Feng with the necessary love token for pre­ sentation to Meng on behalf of Fan. Feng tries to define her role as simply that of mediator, but from the beginning confusion arises: "She said, Ί am Ms. Feng, the companion of Fan Shih-i-niang.' Meng was overjoyed and could not wait to inquire into details. He stepped forward to embrace her. Feng resisted and said, Ί am not playing the part of Mao Sui, but that of Ts'ao Ch'iu-sheng' " (LC, c.5.614). 5 4 The knowledge of love is embodied, then, in the supernatural agent, through whom the passive human heroine directs her own desires. 5 5 When Fan tries to trap Feng into a bigamous relationship by compromising the latter's honor, we have a reversal of roles. But instead of the longed-for permanent union, separation becomes inevitable: Feng San-niang woke up and said, "You have served me ill indeed! If I manage not to break the rule of abstinence from sex, I should ascend to the highest heaven when the Tao is accomplished [i.e , through spiritual or alchemical self-cultiva­ tion], Now that I am victimized by your evil conspiracy, this is my fate!" She then rose to take her leave. Fan Shih-i-niang spoke of her sincere intention and sorrowfully pleaded for forgiveness Feng said, "To tell you the truth, I am a fox spirit. As a result of beholding your beauty, love and admiration suddenly sprang up [in me]. I am like a silkworm entangled in its own cocoon, hence today's di­ saster. This is [preordained] ill fortune occasioned by the evil karma of one ob­ sessed by love. Human intervention is not responsible. If I stay on, this evil karma will proliferate, and there will be no end to it all. You, my lady, have much hap­ piness m store for you Please just take care of yourself." As she finished speak­ ing, she disappeared (LC, c.5 616)

Two points are noteworthy in Feng San-niang's parting speech. First, erotic passion is not a separate category in itself. "The evil karma of one obsessed by love" (ch'ing-mo chih chieh) develops from attachment (in all its manifestations) to beauty and/or human feelings. Intimations of attach­ ment, no matter how innocuous on the surface, can unleash destructive forces. 56 Timely withdrawal is presented as the only way to escape the en54

Mao is the classic example of self-recommendation, and Ts'ao that of spreading the fame

of another See Ssu-ma Ch'ien,

Shih-chi, c

76 2366-68; c.100.2731—32

See "Heng-mang" (LC, c.10.1431-1435) for another example of how a fox spirit coaches a woman in the art of seduction S6

An extreme example of this idea is seen in "Weaving Maid" ("Chih-nu,"

LC,

c 9 1221—

24) The heroine describes the simple consciousness of her own charms as an incipient fall from

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tanglement of human desires. Feng San-niang's exit is in conformity with a recurrent idea in Liao-chai·. the incompatibility of desire and spiritual cul­ tivation. Second, Feng's final words show how the treatment of this theme is often ambiguous. Feng refuses to be trapped by the inclusiveness of an­ other's desire, and hopes for a harmonious triangular relationship come to nought. But Feng leaves only after she has initiated Fan into love and mar­ ital bliss. Even when the possibility of transcending ch'ing is recognized, the union of Fan and Meng affirms the value of human attachment. THE STRUCTURES OF ORDER

This brings us to the heart of the problem with which we began: the rela­ tionship between potentially boundless and subversive desire and structures of order. We can now recast the question in different terms: to what extent does the projection of a supernatural realm involve the transcendence of conventional conceptions of order? A woman's active pursuit of the fulfill­ ment of desire is not permissible by traditional standards, but in Liao-chai this is often portrayed in a positive light, sometimes as a courageous defi­ ance of karmic cycles. 57 One may say that this boldness answers the male protagonist's desire to be desired. But the seductive assertiveness of these female figures does not really upset traditional conceptions of order. If they are bold beyond the bounds of propriety, they usually remain constant to the man of their choice. In some stories the narrator takes pains to empha­ size the virginity of the apparently daring and uninhibited heroine, for ex­ ample, "Wu Ch'iu-yueh," (LC 1 c.5.668-72), "Lien-so," (c.3.331-37), and "Lien-hsiang." But m rare cases, even chastity becomes a less important issue as the supernatural woman executes a higher justice. In "The Ugly Fox Spirit" ("Ch'ou-hu," c.8.1107-1109), Mu Sheng starts his association with the ugly fox spirit out of greed. He becomes wealthy through her bounty, and then tries to get rid of her through the help of a Taoist priest. The ugly fox spirit is granted sweet revenge rarely possible for the aban­ doned woman in the human world. She impoverishes Mu Sheng, sends her agent (a creature with a cat's head and a dog's tail) to bite off two of his fingers, and remarries. Empress Chen in the story of the same name ("Chen Hou," LC, c.7.981grace "I have untowardly fallen into the blinding trap of love by displaying my beautiful form to others This eventually led to my defilement by prurient poems" 11223) Weaving Maid's beauty arouses the sexual fantasies of her companion, a seventy-year-old widow, whom Weav­ ing Maid teases tor her unprincipled imagination This opening scene initiates the idea of in­ dulgence in the self-consciousness of beauty Revealing herself to the old woman is only a step away from revealing herself to an aspiring man, an act that results in an irreverent, if not downright obscene, poem from the latter 57

Such heroines are willing to undergo deaths and rebirths in order to attain the human

form necessary for union with the male protagonist

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84) visits Liu Chung, who in a former life was Liu Chen, one of her lovers. The Historian of the Strange comments. "She began with the Yiians, ended with the Ts'aos, and finally fixed her attention on Liu Chen. Fairy immor­ tals should not be like this. But then, m all fairness, why should the usurper son [Ts'ao Ρ'ι] of an evil minister [Ts'ao Ts'aoj be married to a chaste wife ? " (984). In "Miss Huo" ("Huo-nii," c.8.1090-97), the heroine partakes of the qualities of the knight-errant (hsia) in taking justice into her own hands. The Historian of the Strange has to admit: "Is the fairy immortal an im­ mortal ? To marry [lit., to 'change masters'] three times is contrary to chas­ tity, yet she impoverishes the miserly and hastens the doom of the lustful. She is not without deeper intentions" (1097). The supernatural setting functions as a means of removal. Illicit desires are presented m aesthetic images and thereby rendered acceptable. The ren­ dezvous of the hero and heroine in "Wan-hsia" (LC, c.11.1476-81), for instance, is in a way legitimized by the idyllic setting—a bed of fallen lotus petals and screens of enormous lotus leaves. The magic of the supernatural setting places the characters beyond the judgment of conventional morality. Supernatural power that might otherwise seem sinister can also serve good causes. By resorting to the black magic of the White Lotus sect, Hsiao-erh saves an entire village from drought and famine ("Hsiao-erh," c.3.37882). 58

In general, the realm of the strange and the marvelous in Liao-chai de­ lights in spectacle and display, which goes against the emphasis on moder­ ation and restraint in the Confucian scheme of things. In one of the most memorable scenes in "Ko-chin," the two heroines make the bandits beat a hasty retreat by dazzling them with their beauty and dignity. This is a total reversal of the old saying "Accumulation of goods encourages banditry; attention to appearance invites licentiousness." Tan Ming-Iun asserts that immortals alone can afford to defy the rule of moderation: The bandits were attracted by the beautiful women and the abundant wealth. Yet they [the two heroines] first agreed to their demand for gold, then dazzhngly adorned themselves before talking to them. This means that "accumulation of goods" need not "encourage banditry" and that "attention to appearance" need not "mvite licentiousness." But then only fairy immortals can undertake such emergency tactics under dangerous circumstances (LC, c 10.1442)

For all its plethora of gods, ghosts, and spirits, the views espoused in Liaochai are eminently worldly and conservative. There is an abiding relation­ ship between eroticism and immortality in this work. The supernatural 58

In L i a o - c h a i there are recurrent references to the rebellion of the Whi t e Lotus sect O t h e r

examples include "Stealing Peaches" ( " T ' o u - t ' a o , " c 1 32-34), " W h i t e Lotus S e c t " ("Pai-lien chiao," c 4 548-49, c 6 764—65), and " H s i n T z u - y i " (c 8 1141—44} P'u S u n g - h n g probably finds t h e combination here of history and magic suggestive

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woman brings with her the best of all possible worlds, and through her the male protagonist realizes the most basic of human desires, the desire for the indefinite prolongation of youth and life. This is achieved without flouting the existing moral-socio-political order. But if the possible worlds in L i a o - c h a i seem to permit desire full rein, they also generate new systems of order. Often this is no more than a re­ statement of Confucian morality, a prime example is "Ch'ang-o." In other examples we have examined, such as "The Painted Wall" and "Feng Sanniang," the new order is identified with the possiblity of Buddhist or Taoist enlightenment. But the tribute paid to the possibility of renunciation and detachment is often ambivalent. Even in such a positive treatment of the Taoist quest for immortality as "Becoming an Immortal" ("Ch'eng-hsien," LC 1 c. 1.87-94), in which the protagonist, Chou Sheng, concludes that "the g r e a t e s t joy lies i n l e t t i n g g o [of e a r t h l y a t t a c h m e n t s ] " ( ] e n - s h i h t s u i - l e ) , the story ends with him and the friend who initiates him into Taoist mys­ teries, Ch'eng Sheng, delivering their progeny from poverty by teaching t h e m t h e a l c h e m i c a l m a g i c of " t h e g o l d e n t o u c h " ( t i e n - c h i n s h u ) . Of course immortality as conceived in religious Taoism need not involve renunciation at all. In "Pai Yii-yu" (LC, c.3.340-47), the protagonist, Wu Ch'ing-an, gives up earthly happiness in pursuit of a Taoist paradise that promises intensification of merely human pleasures. When Wu's Taoist friend, Pai Yii-yii, first approaches him on the subject of Taoist immortality, Wu is hesitant: "Besides, those in quest of immortality must resolutely cut off all ties of attach­ m e n t , so that the myriad thoughts m a y be stilled. I fear I cannot achieve t h a t . " Wu was concerned about having an heir. enamored of the beautiful ' " Pai also smiled

" Ί have a weakness, I am " 'Your honor, please do not be

enamored of the merely pleasing' [Both are quoting from Mencius, 1 B 5] What about the lady you l o v e 7 " Wu gave all the particulars

Pai suspected that she

might not be all that beautiful Wu said, " H e r fame is spread far and wide—it is not that m y standards are low " Pai smiled faintly and dropped the subject. (341)

Wu is converted only after experiencing the superior sensuous delights of the Taoist paradise in a dream visit. Hoping to consummate his union with the celestial maidens, he pleads with Pai: "Only now do I realize that I have not seen enough" (c.3.343). Renunciation of this world is not oth­ e r w o r l d l y asceticism b u t a rejection of t h e " m e r e l y p l e a s i n g " ( h s i a o - s e ) . His one remaining concern is to have an heir, and the problem is solved when the celestial maiden in purple visits him in a dream and presents him with the offspring of their sexual encounter. The child is named Menghsien, (Dreaming of Immortality). Moreover, Taoist immortality is presented as a family affair. Ko-shih, the girl he intended to marry, insists on the marriage, although he is no longer

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interested. A regular paragon of Confucian virtue, she serves Wu's mother with filial devotion and raises Wu's son born of the celestial maiden: "'With a wife like you, what worry need I have! Just think: if one person attains the Tao, the whole household ascends to the heavens. 59 1 will wander far, and leave everything to you.' She was calm and accepting, and did not try to dissuade him" (LC, c.3.345). Wu takes pains to repay his virtuous wife with the elixir of immortality, which he delivers through the unsuspecting Meng-hsien. In the words of Ko-shih, "This is your father's way of repay­ ing the family [ chia-pao J" (346). The last episode of the story describes the magical potency of the gold bracelet left behind by Meng-hsien's celestial mother (it miraculously encloses and protects the family estate from a rag­ ing fire). Finally, we are told that Ko-shih at fifty looks twenty. The bene­ ficiary of otherworldly transcendence is also the staunch champion of the existing social-moral order. In the last analysis, the theoretical consistency of the order that emerges at the conclusion of the stories is not the crucial issue. Elements from different teachings are frequently mixed together. "Yiieh Chung" (LC, c. 11.154047) is one of the most compelling examples in Liao-chai of how the freedom to follow one's own nature may be reconciled with more general concep­ tions of order, even as different moral-philosophical conceptions of order may find common ground. This is one of the very few moments in the collection when the religious meaning of Buddhist salvation seems to be seriously explored. Yet Yiieh Chung's "Buddha nature" ( Fo-hsing) is synonymous with his filial piety and indiscriminate generosity. His conversion does not involve any drastic reversal of values. As do many other Liao-chai stories, "Yueh Chung" be­ gins with the description of excess and potential disorder. We are told that Yueh Chung is inordinately fond of food and wine, much to his devout mother's distress. Secretly disapproving of his mother's scruples, he would serve her choice meat dishes. He cuts off flesh from his own thigh and offers it as medicine to his ailing mother, who dies of remorse upon learning of his act. Yiieh Chung's grief turns to anger: Chung was mad with grief, and stabbed at his right thigh with a sharp knife so violently that the bones could be seen. The family saved him, covered his wound and put medicine on it. He eventually recovered. Thinking back on his mother's 59

On the worldly transformation of the immortality cult, see Yii Ymg-shih, "Life and Im­ mortality m the Mmd of Han Chma " According to the fang-shth magicians (who claimed to have esoteric knowledge of the secrets of immortality) of the Han dynasty, the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven with his whole suite, including an entire harem of seventy (105). In an account on Liu An from Btographtes of Immortals (Shen-hsien chuan), even chicken and dogs ascend to heaven after partaking of the immortality elixir. For references to how and why cats refuse to join the general ascension, see Ch'ien Chung-shu, Kuan-chut pi en, 2 647-48

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uncompromising chastity and lamenting her foolish piety, he burned the Bud­ dhist image worshipped by her, and set up in its place his mother's tablet, which he worshipped. And when he got drunk, he would frequently weep in front of the tablet. (LC, c. 11.1540)

But blasphemy turns out to be the closest thing to prayer. Yueh Chung becomes seriously ill. His mother comes to him in a vision, heals him, and tells him that she is to be found at the Southern Sea (Nan-hai), a wonted place for Buddhist pilgrimages. On his way there, he meets and comes to know a famous courtesan, Ch'iung-hua. Yiieh Chung's mother coalesces with a bodhisattva to become a figure in the vision revealed to him and his courtesan companion at the Southern Sea: As soon as they [Yiieh Chung and Ch'iung-hua] had prostrated themselves, the whole sea was covered with lotus blossoms that suddenly came into view. On each flower was a figure adorned with necklaces of pearls and precious stones, each figure being for Ch'iung-hua a bodhisattva, and for Chung his mother. Chung shouted and plunged into the sea to run toward his mother. The crowds saw the tens of thousands of lotus blossoms transformed into layers of colored clouds, covering the sea like brocade In a while, the clouds cleared and the sea was calm. Everything vanished, and Chung found himself still by the seaside. (1542)

Just as Yiieh Chung's mother and the bodhisattva become one, so the scar of his self-inflicted wound, the visible token of his filial piety, assumes the shape of two red lotus blossoms (the symbol of Buddhism) when Ch'iunghua touches it one day. Neither Yiieh Chung's disbelief in conventional forms of piety, nor his gluttony and fondness for wine, nor yet his attachment to Ch'iung-hua, his partner in an unconsummated marriage, stand in the way of enlighten­ ment: Chung would now and then say to Ch'iung-hua, "When I'm drunk, please keep out of my way and do not let me see you " She would agree with a smile. One day, when he was completely drunk, he hastily summoned Ch'iung-hua, who appeared in her most dazzling raiments After gazing at her raptly for a long time, he was seized with joy, danced wildly, and cried, "I am enlightened 1 " Instantly sobered, he beheld the world suffused with light and his abode transformed into crystal towers and jade palaces. The vision lasted a long while before it faded away. From then on, he no longer drank at taverns but at home with Ch'iunghua, who kept him company while drinking tea and eating vegetarian dishes One day, when he was slightly intoxicated, he asked Ch'iung-hua to touch his thigh. They saw the scars on his thigh transformed into two red lotus blossoms faintly showing through his flesh. They marveled at them. Chung smiled "When you see these lotuses in full bloom, it will mean the end of our unconsummated mar­ riage of twenty years." Ch'iung-hua believed him. (LC, c. 11.1543^14)

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This passage is more remarkable for its playful tone of magical realization than for its philosophical profundity. The solution is almost too easy. Con­ version does not involve radical shifts of consciousness, nor does it result from confrontation with the contradictions of existence. The problem of combining feeling with its transcendence is solved when Ch'iung-hua be­ comes both the object of devotion and quasi-erotic attachment as well as the instrumental figure of Chung's enlightenment. This fusion of the sacred and the profane repeats the merging of Yiieh Chung's mother and the bodhisattva earlier in the story. In the words of the critic Ho Shou-ch'i, "Those destined to arrive at the Other Shore through a beautiful woman will have the bodhisattva in the form of a beauty discoursing on Buddha's dharma" (LC, c.11.1544). The Historian of the Strange concludes with the reaffirmation of childlike simplicity: Abstinence from meat and wine is [only] the semblance of Buddhahood. Innocent spontaneity is the reality of Buddhahood. Yiieh Chung faced a beautiful woman, and regarded her as a pure-hearted companion in the quest for enlightenment, not as a promise of sensual delight. For them to live together for thirty years, in a state of being both in love and beyond love, is to realize the truth of Buddha­ hood. How can the worldly fathom its meaning 7 (LC, c.11.1546)

A Buddhist solution, if taken seriously, can theoretically put into ques­ tion the fictional illusion in its entirety, since the Buddhist order and sen­ suous reality are opposed. But in "Yiieh Chung," P'u Sung-Iing seems too intent upon harmonizing differences: filial piety and religious devotion be­ come one, and intimations of erotic attachment turn out to be final enlight­ enment. His concern is still the proper rewards of virtue, the materialization of all possible worlds here and now. It is this worldly concern that brings P'u Sung-Iing to provide Yiieh Chung with an heir. (At the beginning of the story, Yiieh Chung marries after his mother's death. Three days later, he decides that he finds sexual intercourse distasteful and divorces his wife, but the brief marriage gives him a son, whom he miraculously encounters after his pilgrimage to the Southern Sea.) The story concludes with the account of a property dispute and the miraculous appearance of Chung's former father-in-law on the scene to protect the rights of Chung's son; these developments seem predictable to the point of banality. To identify structures of order with a Buddhist or Taoist message of renun­ ciation is also to seriously take issue with the status of illusion—the expe­ rience of the fictional illusion and the illusion called life. In the last chapter I referred to T'ang Hsien-tsu's dramatic treatment of two T'ang ch'uan-ch'i stories, "The Governor of Nan-k'o" and "The World within a Pillow," both of which express the oft-repeated sentiment that "life is but a dream" Qen-

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s heng ju-meng). Two stories from Liao-chai, "The Lotus Princess" ("Lienhua kung-chu," LC, c. 6.673-77) and "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream" ("Hsu huang-liang," c.4.518-27) derive their respective plots from the T'ang tales. The religious overtones of the T'ang antecedents are considerably diluted in the later stories. While "Yiieh Chung" is a good example of how the religious solution of renunciation is overladen with the need to reconcile different conceptions of order and to bring into harmony the individual's freedom with a larger order, "The Lotus Princess" and "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream" reveal another problem with the religious message. In these Liao-chai stories, the emphasis has shifted from final affirmation of emptiness to fascination with the power of illusion. The counterpart in "The Lotus Princess" of the ant kingdom in Nan-k'o is a wasp kingdom. Tou Hsu in a dream enters a maze of a world m which "tens of thousands of beams connecting" and "thousands of gates and doors" suggest a labyrinthine wasp nest. Tou Hsii is treated as a guest of honor and introduced to the beautiful Lotus Princess. He is lost in rapt ad­ miration: "The king raised the wine cup and urged him to drink, Tou Hsii was oblivious. The king seemed to guess his thoughts: 'My youngest daughter should be a fitting match for you, but we are ashamed of our dif­ ferent background. What then?' Melancholy and dazed, as if robbed of his mental faculties, Tou Hsii again did not hear anything" (LC, c.6.674). In the middle of the story, Tou wakes up, after failing to respond to the king's proposal and being sent home by an attendant who chides him for his si­ lence. Filled with regret and longing, he tries to pursue his dream: "All of a sudden he woke up. The last glow of the setting sun was already fading. He sat in quiet meditation: he could see everything vividly. Snuffing out the candles in his study in the evening, he hoped that the old dream could be sought again. Yet the Han-tan Road seemed distant and elusive, and he could only sigh with longing" (674). The idea of a self-conscious pursuit of dreams (hsiin-meng), ringing as it does with echoes of Li-niang's quest for her dream in The Peony Pavilion, focuses attention on the palpability of dreams rather than the illusoriness of life. Tou's voluntary quest fails, but the king summons him again. In this second visit, Tou musters enough self-possession to agree to union with the princess. The issue of the status of illusion is taken up again when he reen­ ters the dreamland. Tou says to the Lotus Princess on their wedding night: "The joy of having you before my eyes is so great even death may be forgotten. But I fear that what happened today is merely a dream." The princess covered his mouth and said, "It is clearly you and I—how can this be a dream?" The next morning, after they rose, he playfully put on cosmetics for her Then he took the measurements of her waist and feet. The princess laughed. "Have you gone

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mad?" "I have been deceived by dreams again and again, so I want to remember you as carefully as possible. Even if this is a dream, I will have enough to stir my thoughts of yearning." (LC, c.6.675)

Here the transition between dream and the wakeful state is much more self­ consciously represented than in "The Governor of Nan-k'o." In this the Liao-chai story shows remarkable affinity with T'ang Hsien-tsu's The Story of Nan-k'o. In "The Governor of Nan-k'o," Ch'un-yii Fen, baffled by the new world opened to him, makes a connection between what befalls him and his lost father's border expeditions. (He thinks his father might have established ties with that distant and strange kingdom.) In addition, characters from Ch'un-yii Fen's past (i.e., his father, and his friends Chou I and T'ien Tzuhua) contribute to the illusion of human reality in the ant kingdom. In "The Lotus Princess," Tou Hsii's pursuit of his dream is unencumbered by the recollection of family and friends. In contrast to the T'ang tale, the focus is on the female character to the near exclusion of the social and political im­ plications of Tou Hsii's role in the dreamworld. As in T'ang Hsien-tsu's The Story of Nan-k'o, there is a new emphasis on ch'ing, on the fascination with illusion m general, and with erotic attachment between the male protago­ nist and the woman of his dream in particular. With a sharp critical consciousness, the narrator in "The Governor of Nan-k'o" concludes with the warning that wealth and political power are "no different from anthills in the eyes of those who have attained ultimate understanding." The tone of ominous foreboding and intimations of mor­ tality pervade the T'ang tale. When Ch'un-yii Fen wakes up from his dream, Chou is dead and T'ien seriously ill. The prophecy of destruction is fulfilled when torrential rain sweeps the anthill kingdom away. (The proph­ ecy of imminent disaster is the reason for Ch'un-yii Fen's return to the human world. As an alien presence in the ant kingdom he is accused of being the occasion for the prophecy, and the king is finally persuaded that he should leave.) Ch'un-yii Fen himself dies three years later, fulfilling his father's prophecy of reunion. But the shadow of death does not threaten the world of the Liao-chai tale. It is true that Tou Hsii is ineffective in his dreamworld when the wasp king­ dom is threatened with destruction by a monstrous python of a thousand chang (i.e. more than ten thousand feet). Driven to distraction by the prin­ cess's reproachful grief, he wakes up: The princess said, "This [Tou's compound] is a wonderful place, far superior to our old kingdom. But if I follow you and come here, what can my parents depend on? Please build another house, and our entire kingdom will follow you." Tou found that impracticable. The princess wailed, "If you cannot help when help is most urgently needed, what are you good for?" Tou tried to console her as they

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entered the inner chamber. The princess laid on the bed and cried, and could not be persuaded to stop Tou racked his brain without finding a solution. All of a sudden he woke up, and only then did he realize that he had been dreaming. But the sobbing and crying by his ears persisted. Tou listened more carefully. The sound turned out to be anything but human; two or three wasps were buzzing by his pillow. (LC, c.6 676)

But his powerlessness in the dreamworld can be rectified m his wakeful state. Upon returning to mundane reality, he builds a wasp nest and kills a snake (the python in the dream). The dream may be lost to Tou forever, but he can literally accommodate the alien realm in his world: "The wasps came to Tou's compound and flourished ever more. And there were no further untoward occurrences" (677). Here confidence in the human capacity to pursue illusions and to survive their loss displaces enlightenment as the prime concern. With this shift in emphasis, time is represented differently. "The Governor of Nan-k'o" is concerned with duration and its philosophi­ cal significance: Ch'un-yii Fen lives a life in a dream to wake up and ques­ tion the meaning of this dream called life. "The Lotus Princess" is fasci­ nated with the illusion of the moment. For Tou Hsii the fulfillment of desire is as effortless as its demolition is instantaneous. The wasp kingdom is threatened with destruction on the morrow of Tou Hsu's blissful union with the Lotus Princess. The experience of illusion is apparently best captured through the representation of time as an instant beyond duration. 60 Compared to "The Lotus Princess," issues of social and political responsi­ bility are much more prominent in "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream." What the two stories have in common is a dramatic presentation of the dream-illusion, a perspective that stems from the fascination with idyllic erotic bliss in one instance and with violence in the other, as demonstrated in the morbid description of the punishment meted out to the protagonist, Tseng, in the underworld. In "The World within a Pillow," the dream is narrated in factual language and fashioned as a concise, straightforward biographical account. As pointed out in the previous chapter, the protagonist arrives at enlightenment upon contemplation of a lifetime's vicissitudes in a dream. "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream" goes beyond the sense of calm sequence in its predecessor. Events unfold with illogical rapidity. Tseng's rise and fall are meteoric. At the beginning of the story Tseng is a recent prize candidate dreaming of future greatness. He and his friends visit a Bud60

Aristotle refers to the suspension of time's motion in an enduring present in his discussion

of pleasure (hedone}, in The Nichomachean Ethics, book 10, esp 591-601. Cf. Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mtnd, part 2, "Willing/' 11-19, in which Arendt discusses the relationship between time and mental activities in Augustine, medieval meditation, and Bergson

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dhist temple, where a fortune-teller predicts that Tseng will be prime min­ ister for twenty years. It starts to rain, and Tseng and his friends seek shel­ ter in one of the monks' cottages. Intoxicated by visions of future power, Tseng is already planning what positions to bestow on his associates and relations. At the background of the general merriment is a foreign-looking monk "with deep-set eyes and a high-bridged nose, sitting on a rush mat and, in a haughty and detached manner, not paying Tseng any attention" (LC 1 c.4.518). The rain becomes heavy. Tseng takes a nap, and dreams of being sum­ moned for an imperial audience. His ambition to become prime minister is immediately fulfilled. He returns home to find his old abode transformed into a sumptuous mansion. "He himself did not understand how every­ thing suddenly came to this. But he just had to stroke his beard and murmur a wish for a thunderous response to ensue" (LC, c.4.519) He is granted absolute power to promote and demote anybody at court, and to acquire any woman he might desire. "He looked back at his life and found all his wishes fulfilled" (520). But his fall is just as swift and unpredictable. His abuse of power arouses great resentment, and Pao Ch'eng, the incorruptible judge in popular fiction and drama, submits a lengthy tirade of an indictment against Tseng. The indictment is a neat reversal of the exchange between Lu Sheng and the emperor at the end of "The World within a Pillow" (both Lu's memorial to the throne and the imperial decree praising his achievements mark the apex of glory in Lu's dream). The point of the earlier story is the ultimate vanity of human striving, for even the most useful and glorious life is as transient as foam and bubble. "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream" is in compari­ son much more of a crime and punishment story, and Pao Ch'eng's petition against Tseng focuses on the consequences of abuse of power. The terror of retribution is all too real in the dreamworld. Tseng loses everything, goes into exile, and dies at the hands of his erstwhile victims: "He felt his head making a sound as it fell to the ground, and, when his spirit was still in a state of terror and uncertainty, two demons came to him, bent his arms back and drove him forward" (LC, c.4.523-24). Tseng is brought to the king of judgment in the underworld and undergoes grue­ some torture for his misdeeds as prime minister. In addition to the more conventional mountain of blades and sea of boiling oil that he has to endure, he is made to swallow as molten metal the gold he accumulated in his life­ time: "During his life he had worried about lacking this thing; at that mo­ ment he worried about its abundance!" (525). He is reborn as the daughter of beggars and suffers the most severe deprivations. At fourteen she is sold as a servant-concubine to a Mr. Ku, whose principal wife abuses her in the cruelest manner. All these enact the punitive principle that immediately follows upon desires being given full rein.

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Tseng wakes up in the throes of despair when the beggar girl, falsely accused of murdering her husband, faces execution by flaying. This adds a melodramatic twist to the T'ang tale, in which the transition between dreaming and waking coincides with the movement from natural death at a ripe old age to reflective recollection of a life lived in a dream: She was taken to the site of execution Choked by the injustice visited upon her and bursting with cries of despair, she felt that the Nine Depths and Eighteen Hells were not as dark and vile as this As she was wailmg, she/he heard his traveling companions "Are you having a nightmare?" He woke up with sudden clarity, and saw that the old monk was still sitting cross-legged on his mat. His travel companions chimed in together, "The sun is setting and we are hungry How did you come to sleep soundly for so long?" Tseng got up, anguished and heavy of heart The monk smiled "Did the prophecy of becoming prime minister come true?" Tseng was even more surprised, and begged to be instructed The monk said, "Cultivate your virtue and act out your humanity, and the pit of fire will have its own blue lotuses. What would a mountain monk know?" Tseng had come in triumph, and in dejection he left. From then on he was no longer driven by ambition He went into the mountains, and nobody knew what became of him." [LC, c 4.526)

Although the message of Buddhist renunciation is unmistakable, it also sounds like an afterthought. The reader is more caught up with the dire consequences of unrestrained desire and the drama of inevitable retribution. "The Lotus Princess" and "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream" typify the two directions of worldly concern that run counter to the spirit of reli­ gious renunciation. I have earlier characterized these two tendencies as fas­ cination with idyllic erotic bliss and with avenging violence, respectively. The latter is often understood as the manifestation of a satirical-critical con­ sciousness. P'u Sung-hng is doubtless aware of the evil consequences of the abuse of power, yet this is mixed with an undeniable fascination with grotesquerie in itself, as is evident in the morbid details of the almost gratui­ tous violence inflicted on Tseng in the underworld. 61 Twentieth-century criticism of Liao-chai tends to single out for praise its pointed social criticism, but m the stories the indignation with injustice stops short of reformist zeal. Structures of order are almost never identified with a coherent vision for a better world based on different principles of social and political organization. "The Kingdom of the Raksasas and the City in the Sea" ("Lo-ch'a hai-shih," c.4.454—65; raksasas are malevolent M

A similar fascination with violence informs the stones about shrews and sadistic wives,

e g , "Ma Chieh-fu" ( L C f c 6 721-38J and "Chiang-ch'eng" (c 6 854—64)

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demons and devourers of humans) is typical of a number of stories in the collection that move from satire to pure wish fulfillment.'' 2 As the title suggests, "The Kingdom of the Raksasas and the City in the Sea" is divided into two halves. The first is a caricature of the reversal of values in society. The protagonist Ma Ch'i, a handsome seafaring youth, is shipwrecked on the shore of the kingdom of the raksasas. Ma Ch'i has a series of misadventures in this kingdom where advancement hinges on ug­ liness. The more hideous a person is, the greater his power and glory. Ma is at first taken for a monster, and he is able to protect himself only through the fear he inspires. He once smears his face with coal to perform a sword dance, and is immediately praised for his transformation and urged to seek the patronage of the prime minister with his new face. Ma is indignant: "It's all right to do this in jest, but how can 1 change my face and form for advantage and advancement?" [LC, c.4.457). Ma is eventually persuaded and, with his coal-besmeared face and musical ability, becomes chief min­ ister and the emperor's favorite. The other ministers "came to suspect that his face and form were not his own" (457). Ma is increasingly isolated and finally retires from office. From this point on the critical-satirical edge of the story is effaced. Ma returns to his old friends, the outcasts of the kingdom, and shares his wealth with them. They lead him to the City in the Sea, "where numerous im­ mortals play" [LC, c.4.458). The idea of "play" (yu-hsi) dominates the sec­ ond half of the story as a beautiful new world opens up. 63 The language becomes stylized and studded with poetic cliches in the description of the many splendors of this best of all possible worlds. Here Ma is appreciated for his literary talent. The dragon king calls upon him to compose a fu on the City in the Sea. Ma's ready compliance and distinguished performance win him the dragon princess. All of Ma's wishes are fulfilled in this ideal world, and he is blissfully happy. But when he wants to return to the human world, the dragon prin­ cess cannot follow him. Even their final separation, however, reaffirms a spiritual union that defies distance: 6 2 Cf. Robert Crossley, "Pure and Applied Fantasy, or From Faerie to Utopia" in T h e A e s ­ thetics of Fantasy in Literature and Art, ed Robert C Schlobin, 178. Crossley describes the

tension between the fairy story and the Utopian romance as "the tension between private grat­ ification and social obligation, between the seductions of enchantment and the challenges of reformation, between the perilous realm of faerie and the paradoxical perfection of Utopia." 63 Earlier I referred to the importance of wit and laughter in the projected realm of otherness There are many playful and whimsical moments in Liao-chai, which accounts for its reputation as a work "playing with ghosts and spirits" (ι-kuei wei-hsi) See Liu Υίι-shu, "Ch'ang-t'an" (Ordinary conversations), m Chu I-hsiian, Liao-chai chih-ι tzu-liao hui-pien, 614 Liu main­ tains that this playfulness and exuberance is what distinguishes Liao-chai from the moral and didactic tales of Chi Yun (1724^1805).

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He planned their future meeting. The princess said, "Our destined karmic con­ nection has come to an end." He was overcome with grief. She said, "For you to return home to serve your parents is a mark of your filial piety. As for the meet­ ings and separations of this human life, a hundred years is like day and night. What cause is there for such inconsolable crying? From now on I will be chaste for your sake, and you will keep true to our vows for mine To be of one heart in two places is already true union Why must one have physical proximity to be described as 'growing old together'?" (LC, c.4.461)

The sense of loss is further ameliorated by the delivery to the human world of Ma's son and daughter born of the dragon princess. Ma remains a major beneficiary of the magic realm in the sea although it is no longer accessible to him. With the enactment of the ideal world under the sea, the memory of the injustices of the kingdom of the raksasas is effaced. The abrupt shift from public socio-political satire to private wish fulfillment is also evident in the comments of the Historian of the Strange: Those with painted faces ingratiate and flatter, the ways of the world are fit for demons. The perverse taste for scabs and sores is universal "That which is writ­ ten with a little shame is judged to be quite good; that which is written with great shame is considered vastly superior " As for those who walk in the city proud and erect, it would be rare indeed if people did not run away from them in horror. Where would the mad person of Ling-yang mourn the lack of recognition for the priceless jade m his arms' 1 Alas' Glory and abundance can be sought only among chimeras and mirages

[shen-lou hat-shih: shen is a species of horned dragon

whose breath can take the shapes of mansions and pavilions, thus producing illu­ sions of a city in the sea]! (LC, c.4.464)

Instead of projecting a new order after denigrating the existing scheme of things, the author often reverts to the individual's private fantasy of wish fulfillment. The magical realization m "The Kingdom of Raksasas" is just one obvious example. Similarly, in "Chia Feng-chih" (LC, c. 10.1359-66), the hero, in his disgust with the examination system, seeks escape m Taoist immortality. Again, the focus of attention shifts from a social evil to the problem of self-cultivation, or rather, the wish for a miraculous deliverance. Chia Feng-chih (a homophone for "fictitious official career") is a talented scholar who repeatedly fails in the civil service examination. His friend Lang makes him come up with a medley of the most mediocre lines from works he despises, and casts a spell over him so that he cannot remember anything but those abhorred lines during the examination. Chia wins the highest academic honors, but is so overcome with shame and horror upon rereading his prize candidacy essay that he decides to "hide his traces m the mountains and leave the world forever" (1361). Lang leads him to a Taoist

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master, and from that point on social satire yields pride of place to the quest for Taoist enlightenment. The shift from engagement with the socio-political order to the quest for supreme detachment is drastic. The Taoist master drives Chia away after one night, because he is still attached to his wife. (In a vision conjured by the Taoist master, when his wife comes to reproach him, he consoles and sleeps with her.) When Chia returns to his old village, he finds that a hun­ dred years have passed and that his wife has just awakened from a centurylong slumber. He takes her away from his uncouth descendants: "I really regretted this return, but it cannot be helped now. I have no alternative but to resume my old trade. So long as one is free from shame, honor and prosperity are not difficult to come by" (LC, c.10.1364). He becomes an official through success in the examination. After ten years of service, cal­ umny and slander force him into exile. He leaves with his wife for distant Liao-yang: "Ten years of wealth and glory did not last as long as a dream. Only now do I know that worldly success is hell. How I regret that, unlike Liu Ch'en and Juan Chao [in A.D . 63 they went to the mountains, met two fairies, stayed for half a year, and came back to find that seven generations had passed], I have added another layer of evil karma" (1365). The story ends with Chia's severance of all earthly ties. He and his wife have come to the shore. A huge boat appears, and loud music can be heard. Chia boards that boat, leaving his despairing wife behind. His servant 64 recognizes Lang on the huge boat; the agent who has shown him the way to worldly success becomes the agent for the final miraculous deliverance. A more modest vision of fulfillment is found in "Yii Ch'ii-o," in which fraternal love becomes the final refuge from the madness of the examination system. T'ao Sheng-yu, on his way to the prefectural examination, meets and becomes fast friends with Yii Ch'ii-o. Yii turns out to be a ghost pre­ paring for the examination for officialdom in the underworld. Yii had been luckless when alive, and in the underworld has the misfortune to have among his examiners the blind (Shih K'uang, a connoisseur of music in antiquity who is sometimes described as sightless) and the money-grabbing (Ho Chiao, a third century minister famous for his wealth, miserliness, and obsession with money [ch'ien-ρΊ]). Yii's brilliant essay on overpopulation in hell is thus consigned to oblivion. Then a rather unlikely candidate for judging literary excellence, the third-century general Chang Fei, appears on the scene: "He does his round in the underworld once every thirty years and in the human world once every thirty-five years. The injustice of both 64 This is an oversight on the author's part No servant accompanies Chia on his Taoist adventure, and since he is away for a century, a servant could not possibly recognize Lang. Cf.

H s i e h H e n g - s h e n , " L e t t e r t o H s m g - c h a i " ( Y u Hsing-chai s h u ) , in C h u 1-hsuan, Liao-chai chih-ι tzu-hao hui-pien, 608, Ts'ai-heng tzu, Ch'ung-ming man-lu (Random records of chirp­ ing insects), in ibid., 612

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worlds has to await this old man for rectification" (LC, c.9.1169-70). Yii Ch'ii-o is finally vindicated. Before he assumes his official post, he leaves in T'ao's care his young friend Fang Tzu-chiin, who has earlier refused to take the examination m the underworld upon learning of the identity of the ex­ aminers. Fang is reborn as T'ao's brother. Repeatedly unsuccessful in the examination, T'ao lives in semiretirement and finds peace and joy in teach­ ing his younger brother. "Yu Ch'ii-o" is typical of a number of Liao-chai stories in which P'u Sung-Iing appeals to figures of superior authority and integrity for chastis­ ing evil and rewarding good. By doing so he sidesteps the whole issue of envisioning a new order structured on different principles. Chang Fei in "Yii Ch'ii-o" is just one such figure. The Historian of the Strange draws attention to the deliberate ironic inversion in the presentation of Chang Fei. He describes his impression of the statues of Chang Fei in temples dedicated to him: they conform to the popular image of Chang Fei as one noted only for his military prowness, but are belied by the account of Chang's role as the impartial judge of examiners in the story proper. Yet it is precisely his impatience and intolerance that make him a suitable candidate for castigat­ ing mercilessly the nonsense that passes for scholarship in the civil service examination. 65 His infrequent appearance combines poetic justice with the reality of frustration. The Historian of the Strange exclaims toward the end of his comments: "Alas! Thirty-five years! How late he is in coming!" (LC, c.9.1172). The god Er-Iang in "Hsi Fang-p'ing" (LC, c. 10.1341-48), Pao Ch'eng in "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream," and the hosts of sagacious judges in the ratiocinative stories—for example, Fei Wei-chih 66 in "A Court Case" ("Che-yu," c.9.1249-54), Shih )un-chang 67 in "Yen-chih" (c.10.1367-79), Chu Hung-tso 68 in "Ferrymen at the Old Dragon Ford" ("Lao-lung hsianghu," c. 12.1610-11), Chou Liang-kung m "Court Decision Based on a Poem" ("Shih-yen," c.9.1135-37)—play roles analogous to that of Chang Fei in "Yii Ch'ii-o." The idea that the underworld is as corrupt as the world of the living can be profoundly disturbing, but in Liao-chai justice is often possible through appeal to a deity who is ready to defy the establishment in the otherworld. By investing magical powers in certain individuals who can rectify the situation, P'u Sung-Iing does not have to redefine the existing ethical-socio-political order. 65

In another story, "Huan-hou" (c 12 1672-75], Chang Fei is so intolerant of hypocritical

formalities that he bruises the arms of all of his ostentatiously polite guests. Here the portrait of Chang Fei is very much in line with the popular stereotype 6 6 Fei Wei-chih was magistrate in Chi, P'u Sung-ling's hometown, and was apparently ap­ preciative of P'u's talents "A Court Case" is thus a personal tribute 67

Shih Jun-chang was another patron of P'u Sung-hng.

651

Chu Hung-tso was the father of P'u Sung-ling's friend Chu Hsiang (1670-1707)

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To recapitulate, in the Liao-chai stories, private gratification is harmo­ nized with a sense of order, the ideological basis of which is often the reaf­ firmation of Confucian ethics, mixed with promises of Taoist immortality and references to Buddhist retribution. In most stones in the collection, such a harmonization does not pose a problem. Formal completion overlaps effortlessly with the reaffirmation of socio-ethical order, which may explain why these stories often have fascinating beginnings but disappointingly tame and prosaic endings enumerating perfunctorily the protagonist's worldly prosperity. Most of the stories examined in this chapter seem to be more keenly aware of the subversive implications of desire than is usually the case in Liao-chai. My contention is that for this reason they are the most interesting moments in the collection. For although P'u Sung-Img seems confident about his solutions to the problem of accommodating sub­ jective projection and private gratification within systems of order, the mod­ ern reader may be more skeptical on this point.

CHAPTER FOUR

Beginnings: Enchantment and Irony in Hung-Iou meng

I T IS SOMETHING of a paradox to compare the meanings of such words as "dream" (meng) and "illusion" or "unreality" (huan) in Liao-chai chih-i and Hung-Iou meng. The blatantly fantastic world of Liao-chai, with its plethora of gods, ghosts, and fox spirits, admits of no problematic break between sign and meaning, but to understand Hung-Iou meng, with its dense realistic surface and its fascination with the minutiae of the day-today business of living, one has to grapple with precisely such a disjunction. In projecting a supernatural realm, many Liao-chai tales adopt the model of historical biography and often insist on their veracity. Such assertions have little to do with the reader's literal belief or disbelief. Instead, the rhetoric of verification in Liao-chai demonstrates the ease with which one can ground the supernatural within frames of reference and contexts of mean­ ing, although superficially such a rhetoric often seems to add mere decora­ tive touches. On the whole, the work exudes an innocent confidence con­ cerning the adequacy of its elegant, controlled, and allusive classical prose to the presentation of flights of the imagination. In other words, meaning is often transparent to the aesthetic illusion in Liao-chai. By contrast, Hung-Iou meng forces the reader to confront its own fictionality through the enactment of a mythic-fantastic realm. Again, such insistence bears no necessary relation to literal belief or disbelief. But as literary creation itself becomes a crucial issue, the ground rules or defining conditions of signifi­ cance are themselves called into question. It is true that in L i a o - c h a i P'u Sung-Iing also links the representation of dreams and illusions to ruminations on the status of fictional configuration. "The Dream of Fox Spirits" ("Hu-meng," LC, c.5.618-22) is a case in point. A kind of internal hierarchy is playfully set up as "Ch'ing-feng" [LC, c. 1.112-18), another story in the collection, is adduced as a source of au­ thority. In "The Dream of Fox Spirits," the protagonist Pi Yi-an, nephew of P'u Sung-ling's patron Pi Chi-yu and supposedly an actual friend, dreams up beautiful fox spirits as a result of empathic reading: "Whenever Pi read the story of Ch'ing-feng, his heart was constantly filled with longing. He wanted desperately to meet her, so he stayed upstairs, stilled his mind, and concentrated his thoughts" (618). Pi goes back to his studio and dreams of a middle-aged woman who claims

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to be a fox spirit offering him her daughter to reward him for his stubborn faith. That night she comes with her daughter. After their blissful union Pi is taken to a party at which he meets his lover's three beautiful sisters. The mood of joviality and unrestraint is woven with a subtle erotic undertone. The youngest sister, a girl of about twelve, is sitting on his lap, and he is drinking from the coiffure holder of the eldest sister and the embroidered sock of the second sister. All of a sudden he wakes up, but the smell of wine makes his experience seem all too palpable. In the evening his fox spirit lover (the third sister) comes again and assures him that his dream was no dream: "My sisters feared that you were too wild and loud, so they created a dreamlike state, but it was really not a dream" [LC, c.5.621). The deliberately ambiguous transition between dreaming and waking life is bound up with a playful insistence on the power of the fictional illusion. When Pi discloses the secret of his liaison to his friends, the fox spirit chides him for his indiscretion and becomes infrequent with her visits. One night she announces her imminent departure: She was melancholy for a long while. "How do I compare with Ch'ing-feng in your opinion?" "You're far superior." "I'm afraid I'm not her equal. But Liaochai and you are literary friends—please entreat him to write my story In the ages to come there may not be a lack of admirers [among readers] matching you in love and devotion " Pi said, "I've always wanted to do that, but I'm keeping our association secret as you have charged me to." "I did charge you to do so But now that we are on the point of separation, what need is there for secrecy'" "Where are you going?" "My youngest sister and I have been summoned by the Queen Mother of the West to be guardian spirits of flowers and birds. I won't be able to come again." . . . Pi asked for words of advice. "Level your pride, and your transgressions will be few." She then rose and grasped his hand: "Do see me off." After walking for about one li, they parted with tears. She said, "If we both want to, we may yet meet again." And she left. On the nineteenth day of the twelfth month m the twenty-first year of the K'ang-hsi era [1683], Mr Pi and I were sharing the same k'ang [a brick bed warmed by a fire underneath] m Ch'ojan Hall. He recounted m detail the strange incident I said, "A fox spirit like that will redound to the honor of my composition " And I wrote it down (622-23)

Ho Shou-ch'i comments: "Fox spirits are illusory, the dream of fox spir­ its even more so. That the dreamer should consider the dream of fox spirits not a dream is a yet greater illusion. As the saying goes, 'The dream in the dream is actually not a dream.' Is it a dream or is it not? I can no longer know" [LC , c.5.622). By linking the dialectics of the dreaming and wakeful states with the problem of aesthetic illusion, P'u Sung-Iing comes close to a kind of ironic reflectiveness on his own literary creation. More generally, by adopting the form of historical biography [ s h i h -

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c h u a n ) , with its separation of objective and subjective presentation (a sup­

posedly objective account of a life with the historian's comments appended at the end), P'u Sung-Iing also establishes a play of perspectives that can sometimes call into question the validity of the illusion so painstakingly enacted. "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven" ("Ch'i-t'ien ta-sheng," LC, c. 11.1459-63) is a good example. The story describes how Hsti Sheng is moved to conviction about the reality and power of the Monkey King. Trade takes Hsii Sheng and his brother to Fukien, where the Monkey King cult is popular. Unimpressed by the multitude drawn to the temple of the Monkey King, Hsii Sheng is at first openly derisive and irreverent: "The Monkey King is a mere allegory invented by Ch'iu Ch'u-chi. 1 Why then this devout belief? If he is really divine, be it knife, spear, or thunderbolt, I will bear it [the price of disbelief] myself!" (LC, c.11.1459). Hsii Sheng then becomes seriously ill, but stub­ bornly refuses to recant. He recovers, only to see his believing brother get sick and die. Sheng is overcome with grief and anger: He went to the temple and confronted the deity, "When my brother was sick, he attributed his illness to your anger, and I couldn't clear myself of blame. If you're really divine, you should resurrect the dead, and I'll face north and become your disciple without further ado Otherwise I'll treat you the way you treat the three Taoist immortals, 2 so that my brother in the underworld may at least be disabused of his misguided belief." (1460)

That night Hsii Sheng dreams of the Monkey King, all indignant and se­ vere: "Your brother was ill, and with incompetent doctors you hastened his death. Why blame it on others? But if I do not demonstrate my power a little, the wild and conceited will have yet another excuse to disparage me" (1460). The Monkey King then resurrects Hsii Sheng's brother and rewards the two with abundant wealth. Hsii Sheng is moved to the most devout conviction and reverence. The comments of the Historian of the Strange, however, question the literal veracity of the preceding narrative about the reality and potency of the fictional figure turned popular deity: It once happened that a scholar passed a temple, painted a lute on the wall, and left By the time he returned, the lute had come to be considered a spirit, and it 1

The authorship of J o u r n e y t o t h e W e s t is uncertain, although it is commonly attributed to

Wu Ch'eng-en. The name of Ch'iu Ch'u-chi (1148-1227) is associated with the novel probably only fortuitously he wrote a short work with the same title, quite distinct from the hundredchapter novel as we know it 2

A reference to the Monkey King's exploits in the Cart Slow Kingdom (Ch'e-ch'ih Kuo),

where he removes the statues of three Taoist immortals to the latrme (Wu Ch'eng-en [ ? ], journey to the West, chap 44) The prank is part of a larger project to liberate the Buddhist monks in the kingdom from the servitude imposed on them by the Taoist priests

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attracted numerous worshippers. In things of this world spirits do not have to be self-existent, whatever people invest with magical potency becomes magical. How does this happen 7 Spirits may come to reside where the human mind concentrates itself. A person as straightforward and fearless as Sheng should earn the blessings of heaven anyway, and heaven does not have to assume the form of one with an embroidery needle behind his ear, hairs that can metamorphose into anything, and feet capable of performing somersaults in the clouds and soaring the cerulean heights of heaven! That Sheng ends up being deluded is because he cannot see beyond appearances. (LC, c.ll 1462)

Here the reversal of cause and effect (belief and perception of reality) ex­ plains away the literal reality of the Monkey King as a character in the story. The improbable occurrences are implicitly rationalized as a combi­ nation of mere chance and Sheng's hallucination. But these are so many isolated examples. The majority of tales in L i a o chai do not engage in this kind of playful questioning of the meaning of fictional illusion. Supplement to journey to the Wesf is a remarkably selfconscious exploration of the connection between dreams and fictional rep­ resentation from the same period. Another seventeenth-century writer, Li Yu (1610-1680), also deals with the issue of fictional creation by playing with frames of storytelling. But the irony in these seventeenth-century works seems more light-hearted and whimsical, whereas Hung-Iou meng confronts the same questions with unprecedented existential urgency. I mentioned earlier the devotion to details in H u n g - I o u m e n g . This results in a "reality effect" that partly accounts for the work's reputation in this century as a realistic masterpiece. In addition, ever since Hu Shih (1891— 1962) propounded the "autobiographical theory" in 1921,3 Hung-Iou meng scholarship has concentrated on mapping out the parallels between the his­ torical Ts'ao family and the fictional Chia clan. The most thorough attempt of t h i s k i n d i s C h o u J u - c h ' a n g ' s N e w T e x t u a l R e s e a r c h o n H u n g - I o u m e n g (Hung-Iou meng hsin-cheng). Such critical directions focus on reconstruct­ ing the literal facts behind the fictional illusion, or on explaining the palpa­ bility of the illusion of reality in terms of psychological subtlety or richness of detail. Yet, paradoxically, Hung-Iou meng also forces the reader to con­ front its fictionality through the enactment of a mythic-fantastic realm. In this sense, Hung-Iou meng is probably more burdened with the implica­ tions of the reality-illusion, truth-falsehood (chen-chia) dialectics, and the 3

See " H u n g - I o u m e n g k'ao-cheng" (Textual research on H u n g - I o u m e n g ) , in H u S h i h w e n *

ts'un, 1 575—620, "K'ao-cheng Hung-Iou meng ti hsin ts'ai-hao" (New materials tor textual research on Hung-Iou meng) 3 373—403, "Pa Ch'ien-Iung Keng-ch'en-pen Chih-yen chai ch'ung-p'ing Shth-tou chi ch'ao-pen" (Postscript to the 1760 manuscript edition of The Story of the Stone with Repeated Commentary by Red lnkstone) 4 396-407

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idea of emptiness (k ' u n g ) than any other work in the Chinese h s i a o - s h u o (narrative fiction) tradition. 4 Whereas the supernatural converges with and enriches the mundane world in Liao-chai, in Hung-Iou meng the ironic dis­ junction between mythic representation and mythic significance questions the meaning embodied m the realistic level of the text. The beginning mythic-fantastic frame thus becomes a source of irony, by which I mean that it embodies a certain dimension of self-reflexivity as well "as a more skeptical and reflective attitude toward the time-honored ideal of lyrical self-containment (i.e , direction mward of, and creation of a selfcontained world by, the lyrical intensity of perceptions and experience) in the Chinese tradition. Put differently, it defines a perspective that questions the values informing the more realistic details of the work, the self-contained bliss of the "garden world" as well as the crass corruption of the world beyond the garden. Such a perspective also becomes an occasion to reflect on the meaning of literary creation and the conditions of literary communciation. In T h e T w o W o r l d s of H u n g - I o u m e n g ( H u n g - I o u m e n g ti liang-ko shihchieh), Yii Ying-shih establishes the juxtaposition of the ideal world of the garden with the corrupt world outside. The essay is a laudable attempt to break free from the literal-mindedness inherent in the literary detective work devoted to finding correspondences between the family history of Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in and the world enacted in the novel. Yii identifies as the basic concern of the book the manner in which the real world and the ideal world are fundamentally opposed yet inextricably intertwined. According to Yii, the ideal world of the garden coalesces with the Illusory Realm of Great Void. That the two are closely linked is beyond doubt; as Yii points out, when Pao-yii visits the garden for the first time in chapter 17, he is suddenly overcome by the feeling that he has been there before. He cannot remember exactly when and where, but the reader recalls his dream visit to the Illusory Realm of Great Void in chapter 5. However, the relationship of the garden world to the mythic-fantastic realm is at least as problematic and paradoxical as its relationship to the corrupt, mundane world beyond the garden. For if the garden world is defined by love and sentiments, the mun­ dane world beyond negates the garden because it does not rise to the letter's level (pu chi ch'ing), while the mythic-fantastic realm apparently tran­ scends the garden world (wang ch'ing) by a kind of philosophical resolu­ tion. 5 In the last analysis, in Hung-Iou meng the dialectics of reality and illusion is also the dialectics of feeling and transcendence of feeling. 4

Cf

Anthony C

Yu, " T h e Quebt of Brother A m o r " , and " T h e Stone of Fiction and t h e

Fiction of Stone " 5

T h e t e r m s p u c h i c h ' i n g (not rising to t h e level of c h ' i n g ) a n d i o a n g c h ' i n g (target o r t r a n ­

scend ch'ing) appear in Shih-shuo h s m - y u W h e n Wang Jung's (ca mid 3d to early 4 t h cent ) son died, h e was inconsolable His friend Shan Chien urged him to restrain his excessive grief

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To understand how the mythic-fantastic frame becomes the source of irony, we may begin by exploring the polysemy of the word huan in the book. In the exegesis of the preface, huan refers to past experiences that seem in retrospect merely illusory: 6 "The author himself said: Ί have lived through a series of illusions and dreams. I therefore conceal the real events and, through the idea of the Precious Jade of Numinous Essence, create this book, The Story of the Stone.' " 7 The leap of logic m the word "therefore" (/CM ) conceals a break between experience and the representation of experi­ ence. The causal connection asserted is fraught with ambiguity. Does the author conceal the "real events" (chen-shih) because he recognizes their dreamlike unrecuperability ? Or is concealment a creative act that, paradox­ ically because of its negativity, makes the representation of the "real events" possible? Indeed, what is there to be hidden if the author only lives through a series of illusions? But one thing is certain, dreams and illusions are here retrospective: they invoke past experiences, and the fictional illu­ sion is based on an interpretation of such experiences. It rings with echoes of the common enough sentiment that the mundane, day-to-day business of living has an illusory, dreamlike quality to it. As artistic raw material and the elusive objects of retrospective under­ standing, dreams and illusions (meng-huan) belong to the past. But at the other end of the temporal axis, meng-huan is also subjective illumination and prospective fascination. In Chen Shih-yin's dream in the first chapter, the monk relates how "it so happened that not long ago Divine Attendant Immortal Jade (Shen-ying Shih-che) conceived an intense longing for earthly experiences. He wanted to take advantage of this era of great peace and prosperity to come down to this world in order to live through these Wang replied, "Sages forget [or transcend] feelings, the lowest [among humanity] do not rise to the level of feelings. Where feelings are most intense and concentrated is exactly with people like ourselves'" Some commentators note that in one version it was Wang Yen (3d cent ) whose son has died (Liu I-ch'ing, S h i h - s h u o h s i n - y u c h i a o - c h i e n , c 17 4) 6

The phrase here is "dreams and illusions" ( m e n g - h u a n )

In the Keng-ch'en manuscript,

the preface concludes by drawing attention to the two words "Whenever the words 'dreams' and 'illusions' are used in this chapter, the aim is to catch the reader's attention It is also the central concern and overarching theme of this book " (The Keng-ch'en manuscript dates from 1760, and includes 78 chapters [1-63, 65-66, and 68-80, with 17 and 18 forming one chapter]. Cf Feng Ch'i-yung, Lun Keng-ch'en pen, and Ymg Pi-ch'eng. Lun Shih-tou chi Keng-ch'en pen.) All that I am saying about the word h u a n should apply, with variations, to the word m e n g as well In Hung-Iou meng hsin-cheng, 2 822-31, Chou Ju-ch'ang notes how meng refers to fascination and delusion, as well as the lucidity of awakening In common usage, meng sug­ gests the understanding of past experience as elusive and ungraspable, and is therefore a par­ adoxical combination of the most concrete with the most ineffable 7

Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in and Kao O [ c h i n s h i h , 1788), H u n g - I o u m e n g (hereafter H L M ) , 1 1

The most readable English translation is The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes (vol 1-3) and John Minford (vol 4-5)

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predestined, illusory relationships, and has already registered at the minis­ try of the goddess Disenchantment" (HLM, 1:8). In this context "predes­ tined, illusory relationships" (huan-yiian) point to the future, the prospec­ tive engagement and fascination, conscious or otherwise, with illusion. The name of the goddess Disenchantment (ching-huan, lit., "warning against illusions") incorporates the word huan on the assumption that it designates precisely such succumbing to enchantment. A corollary meaning of h u a n is magical conjuration and magical trans­ formation. At the beginning of the book, the monk "exercises to the full the illusionary art" (HLM, 1:3) to transform Stone into a piece of jade the size of a fan pendant. Upon the first appearance of the monk and the Taoist, with their "uncommon frame and altogether unique aura" (1:2), the com­ mentator Red lnkstone (Chih-yen Chai) remarks that it is their "true image (or form)" (chen-hsiang) (CYC, 6). 8 When they later appear to Chen Shihym as a scabby-headed monk and a lame Taoist, Red lnkstone calls this their "illusory image (or form)" (huan-hsiang) (15). To enter mundane reality the monk and the Taoist have to assume an illusory image, but in this con­ text the deliberately deceptive appearance presumably does not equivocate the "true image." Stone's earthly sojourn is also made possible by his mag­ ical transformation. After his first perusal of the book, Voiding-the-Void Taoist (K'ung-k'ung Tao-jen)' J summarizes the book as an account of how Stone, "being deemed unworthy to repair heaven, entered the world through magical transformation" (HLM, 1:4). Here the sense of deceptive appearance is overtaken by the idea of magical realization that makes expe­ rience possible. The word h u a n is, then, premised on different levels of significance. As the conclusion of retrospective comprehension it implies knowledge; as pro8

Much has been written about the identity of Red lnkstone Suffice it at this point to men­

tion that he (or she, according to Chou Ju-ch'ang, who believes that Red lnkstone is the reallife counterpart of Shih Hsiang-yun [Hung-lou meng hsw-cheng, 2.853-68], cf Kao Yang, Hung-Iou i-chia yen [My interpretation of Hung-Iou meng], 130-132) is definitely a close associate of the author. The two share deep affinities. The commentator shows a profound understanding of the author's intention and might have influenced the final execution Several authors are responsible for the Chih-yen chai commentary

Red lnkstone (Chih-yen Chai),

Crooked Tablet (Ch'i-hu), Pine Studio (Sung-chai), and Plum Stream (Mei-hsi). (The latter two appear only once.) Yu Ying-shih suggests that some of the comments might have been penned by Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'm's close friends, the brothers Aisin Gioro Tun-min (1729-1796) and Tun-ch'eng (1734—1792), both of whom were related to the Manchu royal tamily (HungIou meng ft hang-ko shih-chieh, 147-79) We cannot know tor certain which comments were penned by Red lnkstone, however, for the sake of convenience I will refer to Red Jnkstone as a proper name and as the author of the commentary 9 J own that my translation of K'ung-k'ung Tao-jen's name may seem idiosyncratic. But in the "Final Listing of the Characters' Feelings" (Ch'ing-pang) mentioned by Red lnkstone, m epithets such as "feeling feeling" (ch'ing-ch'ing) and "feeling not-feeling" (ch'ing-pu-ch'ing), the first word seems to function as a verb

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jective engagement it springs from desire. Recast in different terms, we may say that huan encompasses extremes of feeling and "not feeling" or "being beyond feeling" (pu-ch'ing). The bond between love and illusion is set forth in Red Inkstone's comment on the story about the debt of tears. Divine Attendant Immortal Jade waters Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb (Chiang-chu Hsien-ts'ao) by the Spiritual River of the West (Hsi-fang Ling Ho), and Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb is going to repay the gift of life and love with tears. Red Inkstone comments: "By resorting to illusions, the supreme ex­ pression of love is attained. Nothing can compare to it" (CYC, 17). On the other hand, the same technique of illusion conjures up the monk and the Taoist who define a world of "not feeling" or "beyond feeling." These con­ tradictory implications are fused in the Illusory Realm of Great Void and the person of the goddess Disenchantment. In both sets of meanings of the word huan, the ontological status of the enacted events hardly matters, in the sense that dreams and illusions are not understood as the corruption of a substantive reality. The real issue is the attitude toward sentiments and experience. Much of Hung-lou meng is about how the inevitability of knowledge and the fulfillment of desire are implacably opposed. Theoretically, the third meaning suggested above, magical conjuration or transformation, is the more neutral phenomenon as such. It can be in the service of either knowledge or desire. But except for the initial fulfillment of Stone's desire for worldly experiences, the later instances of the magical disruption of the realistic textual surface promise a kind of knowledge (chih-wu). That this knowledge is bound up with desire and is ultimately indefinite or unfinahzed brings us to what I choose to term the "sense of illusory allegory" informing the mythic-fantastic frame of the book.

THE RHETORIC OF ILLUSION AND THE DIFFICULTY OF BEGINNING

I want to start with the implications of the polysemous term meng-huan for the notion of allegory. If meng-huan is both prospective fascination and retrospective knowledge, both ch'mg and pu-ch'ing, we may say that alle­ gory begins and ends in meng-huan. But the implied temporal order is not absolute; the two meanings are too inextricably intertwined to be easily hierarchized. Fascination (hsiian-huo), 10 especially when understood 1 0 Wang Kuo-wei (1877—1927) uses this term in his 1906 essay " H u n g - l o u m e n g p'ing-lun" (An appraisal and discussion of Hung-lou meng) Fascination is contrasted with "the graceful"

or "the beautiful" (yu-mei) and "the sublime" [chuang-mei] The beautiful allows the reader "to regard things as mere external things," whereas the sublime is "an independent operation of the intellect to achieve deep seeing into things" through confrontation with the represen­ tation of painful experience in art Both the beautiful and the sublime attain transcendence and lead the reader from "lust of life" (sheng-huo chih yu) to "pure knowledge" (ch'un-ts'ui chih-

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broadly as the desire for experience and the traditional ideal of lyrical pro­ jection, is itself constitutive of knowledge; this is the central paradox of the book, "enlightenment through love" or "transcendence of passion through passion". This also implies that the allegorical process here is no longer a simple progression to knowledge. In other words, when I use the term "il­ lusory allegory," it is not so much in the sense that the allegory is false, 11 but that allegorical knowledge cannot be considered separately from fasci­ nation with illusion or commitment to the aesthetic surface. Put differently, we are dealing with a certain dividedness that stems from a dialectics of sentimental engagement and ironic detachment in the author's attitude to­ ward the aesthetic illusion he creates. To understand how the different di­ mensions of the term meng-huan inform the allegorical process with irony, we need to examine more closely the meanings of allegorical reference. There are at least two ways to understand allegorical reference. The cor­ respondence may be established between the entire narrative action (or cer­ tain elements in it) and older, usually more authoritative, cultural codifica­ tions (which may be actual texts, literary or otherwise, or belief systems). Or allegorical reference may be realized between different parts of the same work. These possiblities often overlap, with the latter in the service of the former. In this chapter, however, I focus on the second possibility, proceed­ ing on the hypothesis that, in Hung-Iou meng, the mvthic-fantastic ele­ ments, especially in the framing chapters, are related to the more mimetic sections of the narrative through allegorical reference. By virtue of its semblance as a condensing focus of the ground rules of action for the entire text, the mythic-fantastic frame functions as a signi­ fied—a more transparent meaning to which narrative events on the level of a more mundane reality refer. But one may also maintain that the mythicfantastic elements themselves constitute an allegorical sign, the full signif­ icance of which is revealed only in the more realistic parts of the work. This very reversibility rebels against the idea of hierarchy implicit in allegory. 12 Given such a qualification, is use of the term "allegory" still feasible? An oft-repeated objection is that the dual structure of Western allegory s h i h ) Fascination does the opposite it lures the reader from pure knowledge to "lust of life" (HLMC, 247—48) My use of the term is somewhat different from that of Wang Kuo-wei. Here fascination is at once passionate and aware of itself as delusion 11

Tzvetan Todorov defines "illusory allegory" as the assertion of nonmeaning, " a pure in­

carnation of the absurd, of the impossible " His example is Gogol's "The Nose" " O n the one hand it shows that one may produce the impression that there is an allegorical meaning where there is, in fact, no allegorical meaning present On the other hand, in describing the meta­ morphosis of a nose, it narrates the adventures of allegory itself" (The fantastic, 73) Todorov emphasizes the absence or its assertion, I want to stress the constitutive power of illusion, the paradox of knowledge through fascination 12

Cf

Fletcher, A l l e g o r y , 22-23 Edwin Honig's idea of authority springs from a similar

concern (Dark Conceit, 12-16)

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is derived from a dualistic cosmology which is absent in the Chinese tradi­ tion. 13 In other words, a dual structure is itself a response to the disjunctions between the this-worldly and the otherworldly, between sensory appear­ ance and meaning. 14 Such absolute disjunctions may have little relevance for the understanding of Hung-Iou meng, but the series of narrative frames m the book do play with the discontinuity between intelligible worlds in a manner that promises a suggestive comparison with Christian allegory, which Andrew Plaks undertakes in his study Archetype and Allegory in the D r e a m of t h e R e d C h a m b e r . I use the word "allegory," then, to refer to the rhetorical procedure that emphasizes the relationship between different and disjunctive levels of co­ herence in Hung-Iou meng. Such a relationship is premised on a deep con­ cern with interpretation and a purposeful movement toward meaning. 15 One way to conceptualize this is to compare the transparence of "allegorical names" in different parts of the book. Either one can regard the more trans­ parently named characters as generalities whose meanings are only fulfilled and realized in events on a more mundane level, or one can interpret the more mundane events as aspiring to a heightened significance embodied in the more explicitly allegorical names. In Hung-Iou meng, while on the level of everyday reality names of characters can easily be shown to possess a general symbolic significance, it is in the mythic-fantastic realm that names such as Voiding-the-Void Taoist, Real Events Hidden (Chen Shih-yin), False Words Vulgar Language (Chia Yu-ts'un) and the like suggest an even more direct mutual implication of thing and name. That such a relationship of mutual implication is problematic is only one reason why the term "il­ lusory allegory" suggests itself. As 1 stated earlier, by the word "illusory" I hope to evoke the various dimensions of the words meng and huan. If allegory is understood as a reordering of different worlds or different levels of the production of meaning within a text, it should show a purposeful 15

In his treatment of the subject, Andrew Plaks suggests that horizontal, synedochic exten­

sion replaces vertical, metaphorical correspondence in allegorical reference in Hung-Iou meng This implies a radical redefinition of the idea of allegory when it is applied to a Chinese work {Archetype and Allegory in The Dream of the Red Chamber, 109-110). 14

Hnch Auerbach characterizes Western literature as a struggle between sensory appearance

and meaning, "an antagonism which permeates the early, and indeed the whole, Christian view of reality" (Mimesis, 49) 1 5 Most definitions of Western allegory take issue with this idea of a movement toward ultimate meaning achieved through the extension in time of a system of perpendicular corre­ spondences. Andrew Plaks characterizes such movement as an attempted resolution of the problem of duality See Archetype and Allegory, 95-108 This movement toward meaning is sometimes linked to the recuperative intention m criticism Cf Joel Fmeman, "The Structure of Allegorical Desire," in Allegory and Representation, ed Stephen Greenblatt, 28 Fmeman, citing Frye, argues that "the tendency on the part of allegory to read itself,

to prescribe

the direction of its commentary, suggests the formal or phenomenological affinities with the genre of criticism."

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movement toward a kind of knowledge. Yet m e n g - h u a n is both knowledge of and fascination with illusion, perhaps primarily the latter. To explore the ramifications of this paradoxical conjunction of words, and to understand the role of fantasy and irony in the process of allegorical reference between different worlds i n t h e book, let u s t u r n t o t h e first five chapters of H u n g Iou m e n g . Most readers agree that the first five chapters form an extended prologue, an impression confirmed in chapter 6 when the narrator complains with typical doubleness about the overwhelming abundance of material, so much so that he does not know how or where to begin. The narrator's problem is solved by a poor relative of the Chia clan, Liu Lao-lao, whose contingent appearance marks the unfolding of the day-to-day events, or should one say, nonevents, that make up the bulk of the book. Yet this prologue con­ sists of a series of discontinuous moments. On a first reading, the events from chapters 1 through 5 seem to progress with whimsical indirectness rather than rigorous logic; the myth of Nii-kua repairing heaven, Stone's lament, the histories of Chen Shih-yin and Chia Υϋ-ts'un, the discussion between Chia Υϋ-ts'un and Leng Tzu-hsing on the Chia clan, Tai-yii's com­ ing to the Chia household, Hsiieh P'an's lawsuit, Pao-ch'ai's appearance on the scene, and Pao-yii's brief visit to the Illusory Realm of Great Void are apparently unconnected, if not downright haphazard episodes. Instead of a narrative embodying a purposive progression toward knowl­ edge, we have discontinuous moments of dramatic intensity. I use the word "dramatic" advisedly, not so much in the sense of a dramatic confrontation in which the terms of opposition are well defined, but with reference to dramatic gestures and performance. What is at stake is whether the implied audience, represented or otherwise, understand this performance or are merely lost in fascination—if indeed comprehension and enchantment are compatible or separable. It is here that one can speak of the role of irony. Both irony and allegory play with disjunctive frames of reference, but alle­ gory attempts to reestablish a meaningful congruence between disparate worlds; with irony the pose of overcoming the moment of negativity is itself often ironic. 16 As the problem of communication becomes the focus of 16

In his comparison of the temporal structure of allegory and irony, Paul de Man discusses

the temptation to play one against the other, "as if one were intrinsically superior to the other/' but he maintains that "the knowledge derived from both modes is essentially the same" "Rhetoric of Temporality/' (Bhndness and Insight, 226) Cf. The position of Michael and Marianne Shapiro, which I find convincing, that "allegorical discourse, like that in Dante's Commedxa, can include irony among its rhetorical means

But ironic discourse cannot

include allegory without transforming it into irony " Irony is characterized as an essentially metonymic mode of discourse "Whereas allegory is an indirect assertion of a positive, irony is only an indirect commentary upon a purported, probably alazonic [from the Greek word alazon, which means "impostor," someone who tries to be something more, or other than

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attention, metaphorical equivalences between the mythic-fantastic realm and mundane reality are put into question. To the extent that the dialectics between fascination and knowledge renders allegorical reference and sys­ tem-building paradoxical and problematic, one is tempted to relate the use of narrative discontinuity in the beginning chapters to the tension between allegory and irony.

FLAW AND SUPPLEMENT The book is predicated on absurdity. Readers, How, you may ask, did this book come to be? Though a discourse on origins may border on the absurd, careful reflection will show that there is a deep significance to it all. Let your humble narrator explain its origins, so that the reader can be enlightened and undeceived. (HLM, 1 1)

The ever-appreciative Red Inkstone applauds the cleverness of this self-accusation: "To claim his own grounds by owning to absurdity—superb in­ deed!" (CYC, 4). In Beginnings, Edward W. Said bases his reading of texts on the tension between a writer's propositional interpretation and the mo­ lestation of that authority by an awareness of his "confinement to a fictive, scriptive realm," where both reality and language are intractable. 1 7 Accord­ ing to such a model of understanding, the initial self-ascription of absurdity m Hung-Iou meng is a moment of pure negativity that springs from aware­ ness of sham authority. Yet in the same breath the narrator insists on the need for careful reflection (hsi-an). To admit to absurdity, then, suggests limitlessly playful expansiveness, as well as the consciousness of equivoca­ tion. We have here a kind of literary authority not provided for m Said's scheme. This authority develops from the perceptiveness and depth with which the author presents the ironic forces that deflect his desired projection w h a t h e is] t r u t h , a diacritical negative, a glancing allusion which m i g h t o r m i g h t not lead t o f u r t h e r meditation''' (Figuration m Verbal A r t , 9) i n Allegories of Reading, d e M a n seems t o be arguing for a position similar to the Shapiros', although for different reasons In a n exten­ sion of Friednch Schlegel's formulation (in a note from 1797), d e Man defines irony as " t h e p e r m a n e n t parabasis of a n allegory of (figure)

Irony is n o longer a trope but the u n d o i n g

of t h e deconstructive allegory of all tropological cognitions, t h e systematic undoing, m o t h e r words, of understanding As such, far from closing off the tropological s y s t e m , irony enforces t h e repetition of its aberration" (301) As we will see, t h e path of the certainty of knowledge is a troubled o n e in Hung-Iou m e n g

But t h e irony that renders t h e process of allegorical

reference problematic is certainly not t h e "systematic undoing of understanding " Irony as I define it here has little t o do with t h e subversion of proclaimed o r implied t r u t h , instead it is a sustained double perspective on sentiments and love, resting on the dialectics of ch'mg and pu­ ck' ing 17

Edward W Said, B e g i n n i n g s , 8 4

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of a thematic meaning. To claim absurdity has little to do with the sense that the artistic construct is an illusion paling in comparison with reality. Such anxiety is scarcely the issue; instead, the narrator uses the pose of negativity to assert a double perspective on the aesthetic illusion. The process of artistic creation is thus perceived as both inspiration and demystification, a synthesis of enchantment and disenchantment. The mythic-fantastic realm becomes the author's means of distancing himself from the fictional illusion or, perhaps, from his own emotions. This is felt e s p e c i a l l y k e e n l y b e c a u s e of t h e radical j u x t a p o s i t i o n of t h e p r e f a c e ( h u i ch'ien tsung-p'ing), with its moving confessional tone, and this beginning which plays with the idea of absurdity. Most scholars now agree that the preface should be attributed to Ts'ao T'ang-ts'un, the author's cousin or brother, 18 and that it is included by mistake as part of the text proper m the Chia-hsii and the Chia-ch'en manuscripts. 19 Nevertheless, I maintain that the deep affinity between the preface and the work shows through the per­ sistence of the same concerns. Indeed, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'm might not have written the preface, but it is entirely fitting that he should have penned just one such preface. The preface reads. This is t h e opening chapter The author himself said " I have lived t h r o u g h a series of illusions and dreams. I therefore conceal the real events and, t h r o u g h t h e the idea of the Precious Jade of Numinous Essence, create this book, The Story of the Stone Hence the name " C h e n Shih-yin " But t h e n what sorts of events and characters are recorded in t h e book 7 He went on " A s I struggle in this m u n d a n e 18

Ct C Y C , 12 "Hsueh-ch'in had an early work, T h e P r e c i o u s M i r r o r o f L o v e [Feng-yueh

pao-chien], for which his brother [or cousin] T'ang-ts'un wrote the preface Now T'ang-ts'un is dead Looking at the new book, I think of the old one, that is why I have kept the title " 19

The original Chia-hsu manuscript dates from 1754, sixteen chapters (1-8, 13-16, and 2 5 -

28) are extant The original Chia-ch'en manuscript dates from 1784, eighty chapters are ex­ tant In the Chia-hsu manuscript, this passage appears as the fifth entry in the fan-h (general principles of the book) section

In "Hung-Iou meng shih tsen-yang k'ai-tou ti>" (How does

Hung-Iou meng begin?) Ch'en Yu-p'i criticizes the nostalgic tone of the preface as reactionary and regards it as a betrayal of the critical consciousness of the novel He attributes the passage to Red Inkstone and speculates on the latter's intention to gloss over the book's subversive aspects in order to protect it from censorship (Ch'en Yu-p'i et al , Hung-Iou meng lun-ts'ung, 185-94) In H u n g - I o u m e n g y e n (104—109), Chang Ai-hng argues that the preface originally gov­ erned only the first chapter and predates the fan-h She suggests that the preface was written when the title of the book was The Story of the Stone (As is well known, the title changed several times, and different titles have coexisted ) By the time of the/an-/i, which, according to her speculations, was written by Crooked Tablet, Wu Yu-feng (piobably another pseudo­ nym of Crooked Tablet) had already changed the title to Hung-Iou meng (Some comments of Crooked Tablet are included in the Chih-yen chai commentary ) Chang believes that the last few lines of the preface (on the central importance of words such as "dream" and "illusion") are not included in the fan-h because they may seem redundant, as the subtitle of the fan-h is "Themes and Meanings of Hung-Iou meng" (Hutig-Iou meng chih-i)

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world of dust and grime without accomplishing anything, 1 suddenly remember the girls of those bygone days. I go over them one by one, examining and com­ paring them in my mind's eye, and I feel that in action and understanding they were indeed vastly superior to me. How did it come about that I, a presumably dignified man, should compare so unfavorably with those girls? This is indeed a time of deep shame, useless regret, and helpless frustration' At this point in time, 1 want to relate how, relying on the grace of heaven and the virtue of my ances­ tors, at that time of enjoying silks and brocades, relishing rare treats and delica­ cies, m defiance of my father's and brother's attempts to educate me properly, and flouting the advice and admonitions of teachers and friends, I brought myself to this present wretched state, bearing the guilt of half a lifetime wasted and not a single skill acquired, all these, then, I will bring together and record m a volume, so that the world may know that, although my guilt may not be absolved, yet there are all these remarkable girls in the inner chambers who must not be al­ lowed to pass into oblivion because of my worthlessness, or my desire to gloss over my own shortcomings through silence

Even my present poverty—the

thatched beams and wicker lattices, tiled stove and string bed—relieved as it were by the morning breeze and evening moon, willows by the doorsteps and flowers in the garden, does not debar me from being inspired by expansive feelings and the urge to put brush to paper Although I am not learned and lack refinement m my writing, what harm is there in using 'fictive language and vulgar words' [chiay u t s ' u n - y e n ] to spin out and elaborate a story 7 By doing so I can ensure the fame

of those remarkable girls, and at the same time I can delight my audience and dispel their sorrow—is that not fitting 7 Hence the name Chia Yu-ts'un " Whenever the words "dream" and "illusion" appear m this chapter, the pur­ pose is to catch the reader's attention. They also underline the central concern and overarching theme of this book ( H L M , 1 1)

The consciousness of paradox that informs the opening claim of absurdity already permeates the preface in a different way. In the preface, writing is seen as being both more and less than reality. The exegetical passages on the meaning of the names Chen Shih-yin and Chia Yu-ts'un are asymmet­ rical in length, that on Chia Yii-ts'un being far longer 20 The statement of 2 0 The Ch'ing commentator Chang Hsin-chih notes the balance in the apparent imbalance ' T h e big opening and the big closing are like two peaks confronting one another that show

[the author's] supreme skill with words Yet with only one line in the upper sector and ten lines in the lower one, he still maintains a fine balance Such command is rare even among the ancient masters" (Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in, Hung-Iou meng San-chia p'ing-pen [hereafter SCPP} 3) Major editions of Hung-Iou meng San-chia p'ing-pen (Three Commentaries edition of Hung-Iou me?ig), originally named Tseng-p'ing pu-hsiang ch'uan-t'u chin-yu-yuan (The love of gold and jade [an alternate title for Hung-Iou meng] with additional commentary and com­ plete illustrations), appeared in 1884, 1888, and 1889 Included are comments by Wang HsiIien (fl 1832-1875, tzu Hsueh-hsiang, hao Hu-hua Chu-jen [Master Guardian of Flowers}), Chang Hsin-chih (fl 1828-1851, studio name Maio-fu hsuan, hao T'ai-p'ing Hsien-jen [Per-

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concealment is brief and concentrated, even as Chen Shih-yin's story is a concise, symbolic foreshadowing of Chia Pao-yii's final "enlightenment" told in a few pages. To spin out and elaborate (ju-yen) a fictional account is an extended process of filling m the void left by the "concealment of real events." Analogously, Chia Yii-ts'un's shady presence hovers throughout the book, and some speculations on the ending attribute to him a more cru­ cial role in the downfall of the Chia clan. 2 1 The exegesis of fictionality—the explanation of the homophone for Chia's name—is paradoxically based on claims of a meticulous historical method (the author takes great pains to recapture memories of the girls he knew in his youth) and on a confessional tone. I deliberately translate as one sentence the line that begins with "at this point in time (tang tz'u-shih)." The question of syntactical unity apart, I want to capture the energy of the piling clauses. This unusually long sen­ tence (especially by Chinese standards) is powerful partly because there is a certain breathless quality to it, despite neat syntactical parallelisms and ap­ parently logical progression. The central word is "guilt" (tsui), which bears the weight of the cumulative clauses preceding it and which governs the second half of the sentence. There is also a hidden contradiction. The writer seeks to redeem the past through making manifest and passing on to pos­ terity the talents and virtues of the female companions of his youth. Yet according to the Confucian standards by which his existence is considered unfulfilled, such a method of "rectification" can only confirm the flaw. Writing is then an expiatory act that rectifies a flawed existence. This idea is at least as old as Ssu-ma Ch'ien, who describes in his famous letter to Jen An how great writings are the product of suffering and frustration. It is because they [the ancients] have feelings all the deeper, more intense and turned inward for being unexpressed, that is why they tell of what happened in the past, thinking of those in the ages to come.

they withdrew from the world

and wrote to vent their pent-up frustrations and discontent, hoping to leave their writings as a testimony to their ideas and aspirations

. Before my creation

was accomplished I was visited with this calamity I regretted the unfinished state of my work, and I submitted to extreme punishment without rancor. Now that I have completed this work to be hidden in famous mountains and passed on to like-minded souls. .

I feel recompensed for suffering previous humiliations

Even if I die ten thousand deaths, how can I regret It? (CHVV, c 26 5a—9a) son of Leisure of the Great Peace]), and Yao Hsieh (1805-1864, h a o Ta-mei Shan-mm [Resi­ dent of Ta-mei Mountain]) 2 1 Cf Chou Ju-ch'ang, H u n g - I o u m e n g h s m - c h e n g , 2 883-886 Red Inkstone apparently deems Chia Yu-ts'un important enough to be paired with Wang Hsi-feng "Hsi-teng in her

calculation and daring is a match for Yu-ts'un The two of them are veritable 'villainous heroes' (chien-hsiung) in troubled times" (CYC, 186)

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In making good a flawed existence, writing may also aspire to a kind of integrity and perfection denied to lived experiences. The reader is reminded of Li Ho's (791-817) famous lines: "The brush makes good Creation, heaven has no merits" ("Kao-hsuan kuo" [Tall carriages passing], CTS, c.393.981) and "Amidst precious pillows and draping cloudlike hair I choose my spring dreams" ("Ch'un-huai yin" [Spring thoughts], CTS, c.394.4439). 2 2 In a more defiant vein, Li Ho celebrates the power of art to produce cosmic disequilibrium. As if in response to Li P'mg playing the k'ung-hou (here a kind of vertical harp with twenty-three strings), "The hole m heaven that Nii-kua repaired with refined stones / Breaks open— stones crack, the sky is shaken—to make way for the autumn rain" ("Li P'ing k'ung-hou yin" [Li P'ing playing the vertical harp], CTS, c.390.4392). (These lines are sometimes interpreted as the sound of the music itself, or as a description of the natural setting. However, there also seems to be a causal connection between the music and the changes in nature.) If music (and by extension, art) can challenge the work of the divine repairer of heaven, it is on the basis of an implicit claim to forge a higher perfection. It is a standard conceit to compare a writer's consummate artistic achieve­ m e n t t o t h e skill o f " r e f i n i n g s t o n e s a n d r e p a i r i n g h e a v e n " ( h e n - s h i h p u t'len). Here the metaphor has specific bearing on the beginning episode of the book, in which the goddess Νύ-kua refines stones to repair heaven and discards as superfluous the stone who is going to be our hero. Author, nar­ rator, and protagonist seem to coalesce in this opening image. Red Inkstone comments on the lines "Unfit to repair heaven, he entered the world through magical transformation [wu-ts'ai pu-t'ien, huan-hsing ju-shih]": "The eight words sum up a lifetime of shame and regret for the author" (CYC, 9). While identifying with the plight of superfluity, of being consid­ ered unworthy by the repairer of heaven, the author himself becomes the repairer through the act of writing. We may push the metaphor one step further: art supplements or amends [pu) r e a l i t y . W r i t i n g i s a n a t t e m p t e d r e c o n c i l i a t i o n w i t h e x i s t e n c e . Y e t p u is also mere fictionality. The narrative purports to fill the void left by the 2 2 In Yeh-shih chi, Ch'ien Chung-shu notes how the idea of "choosing dreams" (hsuanmeng ) also assumes the priority of art over life (89) Cf Ch'ien Chung-shu, Tan-i In, 60-62

We know from Aisin Gioro Tun-ch'eng's poem to Ts ao Hsueh-ch'in that Ts'ao's poems are distinguished by a strange beauty evoking wonder, a quality reminiscent of Li Ho " I love your poetic brush with its strange, inspired beauty— / It veritably captures Ch'ang-ku's [Li Ho's courtesy name] spirit m breaking all limits and boundaries " ("Poem to Ts'ao Hsuehch'in" [Chi-huai Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in], in Aisin Gioro Tun-ch'eng,

Ssu-sung fang chi,

c 1 2b)

See also "Two Poems on Passing by Yin-fu's [Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in[ Grave" (Kuo Yin-fu mu kan-tso erh-shou) " W h o will put together the fading fragments of Ch'ang-ku's writings? / I am ashamed to speak of Shen Ya-chih of old" (c 1 24a) Shen Ya-chih and Li I Io were friends, a n d L i H o w r o t e a p o e m e n t i t l e d " S e e i n g S h e n Y a - c h i h O f f " ( " S u n g S h e n Y a - c h i h k o , " CTS, c 390 4394)

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"concealment of real events" (c h e n - s h i h y i n - c h ' u ) . While Li Ho's lines are confidently inspirational, under the burden of representing a total realm of experience Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in has to work within the contradictory pulls inherent in the notion of pu as both the fulfillment of reality and its inade­ quate substitution. I suggest that this is the very generic difference between the lyric and the hsiao-shuo narrative. The affirmation of the ideal of selfexpression in lyrics is generally unquestioned, but in hsiao-shuo the simul­ taneity of an expressive impulse and fictional masking turns beginnings into a much more insistent problem. From writing as expiation and recovery of a past reality the author pro­ ceeds to describe writing as fabrication. When he describes his present pov­ erty, the tone of the passage becomes more light-hearted, indeed, almost playful, as conventional self-deprecation combines with a show of deference toward the reader to create a mask of "pure fabrication." To "spin out and elaborate" suggests a sense of play (yu-hsi ρι-mo). The tragic intensity of the book is paradoxically threaded through with the mood of "lovingly lin­ gering over the aesthetic surface" (liu-lien kuang-ching) as Ts'ao Hsiiehch'in adds color, texture, and internal order to this most beautiful of dreams. One thinks of Tai-yu leaning against the doorpost to look at the sprouting bamboo shoot, of entire scenes enacted so as to realize a line from an old poem. 21 One is reminded also of the endless puns and parallelisms: if there are parrots in Tai-yii's rooms, there have to be thrushes in Pao-yii's compound. It is this mood of "unhurried refinement" (hsien-ya) that rebels against teleology. The doom of inevitable destruction gradually steals upon the garden world, yet strangely enough we feel at the same time that the book is potentially interminable as the author sets forth and elaborates mo­ ment after moment of plenitude But to return to the preface. The description of his present poverty in the first two clauses echoes the hints of negativity m the preceding long sentence. Both suggest reasons for silence, yet paradoxically both end up affirming the necessity of writing. The use of grammatical negatives and double negatives—"should not debar" (1/1 wei yu fang), "not learned" ( i pu-hsiieh) , " w i t h o u t r e f i n e m e n t " ( w u - w e n ) , " w h a t h a r m is t h e r e " ( h o fang)—in conjunction with a rhetorical piling of syntactical parallelisms 2 3 See Red inkstone's comment on the scene in which Pao-yu meets Hsiao-hung for the second time in chapter 25 He has just come to know her the evening before, and filled with thoughts of her, he steps into the garden He seems to see her, but she is hidden behind a crab

apple tree, and he dares not advance without an excuse Red Inkstone comments " W h e n I said that the best parts of this book grow out of poems and song lyrics, this is what I meant Perhaps I can ask the reader is this not the line 'Separated from me by the flowers, the person is far off and the corners of the earth are near [in comparison]' 7 It is clear, then, that I was not mistaken in the last few chapters" (CYC, 478) The line quoted is from The Western Chamber, act 2, scene 1 (Wang Shih-fu, Hsi-hsiang chi chi-chieh, 75)

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( t u i - o u ) contribute to an effect of unexpected ironic twists and turns to the argument. There are very few literary precedents for the preface in H u n g - I o u m e n g . The tz'u poet Yen Chi-tao (1031-1106), in his preface to the collection of his poems, Hsiao-shan tz'u, speaks of the remembrance of the singing girls he knew in the past as the raison d'etre of his art, but m his case lyrical i n t e n s i t y l e a v e s n o r o o m f o r i r o n y . T h e m o o d of C h a n g T a i ' s D r e a m M e m ­ ories of T'ao-an and In Quest of Dreams at West Lake seems close enough. In the preface to Dream Memories, we find the same ideas of writing from loss, writing as expiation, and writing from the present perspective of an unjustified existence; the same probing subtlety in unraveling the meanings of dream and memory, the same mixture of nostalgia and irony. With this difference: the irony in Dream Memories is very much bound up with Chang Tai's contrast of past glory with present deprivation, hence the series of puns on the words "repayment" (pao) and "retribution" (ch'iu). Irony does not extend to the act of writing itself. Partly as a result of this, the tone of the book is much more frankly nostalgic and elegiac than that of Hung-Iou meng. (Of course one should bear m mind the basic generic dif­ ferences between the two works.) In its faith in recapturing the immediacy of impressions and experiences, Dream Memories is very much part of the Chinese lyrical tradition. In contrast, in Hung-Iou meng irony introduces a note of genuine skepticism that partly accounts for the work's radical orig­ inality. The striking claim of "bordering on the absurd" (s u i - c h i n h u a n g - t ' a n g ) with which the book begins thus repeats the dialogue between illusion and its destruction, the oscillation between a nostalgic tone and an apologetic one already developed in the preface. Presented as being both more and less than reality, writing encompasses extremes of sentimental engagement and ironic detachment. After owning to absurdity, the narrator claims to explain the origins of the book so that the reader may be "undeceived and enlightened" (hao-jan pu-huo). As I suggested earlier, comprehension, knowledge, and allegory are bound up with one another. Allegory is a way of ordering and system­ atizing reality, and m its encyclopedic mclusiveness it may be regarded as an account of an entire system of knowledge. Statements claiming under­ standing, or its absence, become the refrain in the key scenes in the first five chapters of the book. The occasions for such statements are often confron­ tations staged dramatically: a vista is held up for wonderment and/or the promise of understanding. Insofar as such episodes (for example, the dis­ cussion between Leng Tzu-hsing and Chia Yii-ts'un in chapter 2 or the per­ formance of "Twelve Songs on the Dream of the Red Chamber" [Hung-lou meng ch'ii shih-erh chih] in chapter 5) are attempts to set torth a compre-

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hensive way of looking at the world (or at history, or at the entire book), they seem to approach the evaluative supervention of allegory. By this I do not mean to deny allegory polysemy. However, as Angus Fletcher puts it, "in most cases allegory proceeds toward clarity, away from obscurity, even t h o u g h t h e y m a i n t a i n a p o s e of e n i g m a u p t o t h e v e r y e n d . " 2 4 I n H u n g - I o u meng, however, the promise of allegory is illusory. Instead of pointing to a higher, sadder wisdom, these scenes are just provisional definitions or over­ views of a fundamental disequilibrium of existence caused by ch'ing. They seem provisional because they constitute an inadequate response to the im­ age of lack or flaw with which the book begins. It is to this image I now turn. Chang Hsin-chih writes: "[The book] starts with a flaw in heaven, which is followed by a hollow on earth. Heaven and earth is one great flaw; how can human affairs be otherwise? Hence the book expounds the idea of a flaw." 25 The beginning episode is grounded on imperfection: heaven needs repair. Subsequent events develop from a divine miscalculation: the goddess Niikua melts and molds one more block of stone than she needs and discards it at the root of Green Ridge Peak. Green Ridge (Ch'ing-keng) is a homo­ phone for "roots of desire" (ch'ing-ken). 2b Consciousness is consciousness 24

Fletcher, A l l e g o r y , 87

23

5 C P P , 6 The inscription on the stone begins with this line " A t that time the earth tilted

southeast " The fracture in heaven and the tilting of the earth both result from Kung Kung's (a god of water described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas as a serpentine monster) colli­ sion with the northwestern pillar of heaven (formed by the peak of Pu Chou Shan) in the course of his combat with the mythic ruler Chuan fisu (or, in other versions, with Chu Jung [a god of fire], Kao Hsin [mythic ancestor of Shang and Chou], or Nu-kua) Versions of the myth appear in Huai-nan Tzu (chuan 3, "Patterns of Heaven" [T'len-wen hsun]) and Lieh Tzu (chuan 5, "Questions of T'ang" fT'ang-wenJ) Cf Plaks, Archetype and Allegory, 27-29, Yuan K'o, Chung-kuo ku-tai shen-hua, 54—58 It is interesting to note that the disjunction of heaven and earth is accompanied by the flood image The first word in the compound meaning "flood" (yin-shui, lit "excessive water"), also comes to mean "lust" or "excessive ch'ing " Cosmic disequilibrium is thus associated with excessive c h'mg

Γ he idea that flaw and super­

fluity best define the individual's uniqueness often comes up in late-Ming writings In "Epi­ taph for Myself," Chang Tai describes how he defies categories of wealth and poverty, strength and weakness, wisdom and foolishness, engagement and indifference " [Unsuccessful in vari­ ous pursuits and endeavors,! I can only let the world call me unworthy son, good-for-nothing, stupid person, mediocre scholar, somnolent fellow, dead old goblin " This string of abusive epithets is followed, however, by a list of works Chang Tai had authored, which indicates that he is ironically dramatizing disjunction between self and world rather than being genuinely self-deprecating (Lang-hsun wen-chi. 200) By the late Ming, epithets such as "superfluous person" (tsui-jen), "odd, wayward person" (cht -fen ), "useless person" (fei-jen) often were used to describe oneself By the same token, words such as feng or tien (mad, insane), k'uang or chuan (unreasonable, defiant), ch'ih, ρ'ι, and tz'u sometimes refer to a mixture of radical innocence, naivete, and stubborn faith, in addition to their literal meanings, and can therefore be used almost as terms of praise See note 38 in chapter 3 26 CYC, 5 "He [the author] describes himself as falling into the roots of desire, and there­ fore not fit for repairing heaven

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of lack or inadequacy. Will exists only insofar as it wills against. The pro­ cess of refinement endows Stone with a certain spirituality (ling-hsing it'ung), but the gift of consciousness makes for sorrow and discontent. Stone is deeply ashamed of not being chosen: "Day and night he lamented in grief and mortification" (HLM, 1:2). The sense of discreteness and integrity is always already linked to separation; formation involves the destruction of a more primal perfection, for form or expression is also a sacrifice of possi­ bilities. In the words of Chuang Tzu: "There is a forming and a flawing when Chao-shih plays the ch'in; there is no forming and flawing when Chao-shih does not play the ch'in" (i.e., even the most sublime music de­ tracts from the musical possibilities potential in silence. Chao-shih was a master ch'in player). "Separation is formation, formation is destruction." 27 In Hung-Iou meng scholarship from the People's Republic of China, the fracture in heaven is often interpreted as a metaphor for the breakdown of the existing socio-political order and is taken as a mark of Ts'ao Hsiiehch'in's critical consciousness. The problem with this political interpretation is that it turns the book into a simple, belligerent critique of the system and burdens Stone/Pao-yii with the unlikely role of protorebel and would-be revolutionary. The flaw is not only in the system, but also in the superflu­ ous stone himself. The irony of the book is not merely satire against the establishment delivered with moral certainty; it is also irony against the self. Besides, the disjunction between self and world has dimensions other than the socio-political. Philosophies or thought systems that place the individual in the scheme of things, for instance, are here also called into question because, for all their internal coherence and compelling logic, they cannot accommodate the passions of the self. This explains why the TaoistBuddhist solution of detachment is in the last analysis less than satisfactory, for just as much as the Confucian attitude of engagement and vigilant moral self-cultivation, it seeks to reconcile self and world, and the powerful begin­ ning image of the book is precisely about the impossibility of reconciliation. Artistic creation emerges as an ambivalent solution: it confirms the flaw even while overcoming it. Deemed unfit for a place in the body politic, the creative consciousness can only seek another kind of fulfillment m the act of writing. 28 This repeats the dialectics of life and art developed in the preface. 2 7 Chuang Tzu, chap. 2 , "Making All Things Equal" (Ch'i-wu lun), Chuang Tzu chi-shih, 70, 74-75 28 In a poem attributed to Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in, "Poem on My Painting of a Stone" (Tzu-t'i hua-shih shih), collected in Vei-ι chai chi~kao (Collected manuscripts from the Useless Arts Studio), we have the following lines: "Lacking the appropriate nature to repair heaven, / I yet aspire to return to the original perfection." On the controversy over its authenticity, see Wu En-yu, Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in ι-chu ch'ien-t'an, 239—82, 306—73, and Ch'en Yii-p'i and Liu Shihte, "Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in ti i-chu pien-wei" (inquiry into the authenticity of Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'ins lost works), in their Hung-Iou meng lun-ts'ung, 106—114

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In the beginning, then, is not the Word or the Truth but the Mistake. The first five chapters of Hung-Iou meng are studded with terms such as "source" ( ken-yu), "origins" (lai-Ιή, "wherefrom" (ts'ung-ho erh lai), and "origins and causes" ( yuan-ch'i ), which may pertain to the book, the story, Stone, or other characters. Yet instead of a primary, originary event that constitutes a moment of fullness and authority, the first episode creates an impression that is the opposite of plenitude. The images of Νϋ-kua repair­ ing heaven and of the superfluous stone's ensuing lamentation are deeply paradoxical. The lyrical impulse of self-expression is threaded through with an ironic sense of the aesthetic illusion as an insufficient supplement to the flaws of existence. The repeated use, by Stone himself and by the monk and the Taoist, of the term Obtuse Thing (Ch'un-wu) to describe Stone height­ ens this tension. 29 (In chapters 4, 6 and 16, the narrator calls himself Obtuse Thing and reminds the reader that Stone is supposed to be the narrator.) Disjunctions lie at the root of consciousness and creativity. The latter two represent an attempt to overcome the first. Yet their moment of success is tantamount to self-abolition. Its from this conjunction of futility and neces­ sity that the sense of irony arises. Any account of cosmogony amply embellished with magical numbers should create an illusion of authority, journey to the West is a good exam­ ple. As Red Inkstone points out, the numbers in the account of Nii-kua's repair of heaven are all significant. Twelve and twenty-four may refer to the numbers of notable girls in the Chia clan, and 36,500 alludes to the number of units used to measure the circumference of the encircling heav­ enly sphere (chou-t'ien chih su). (The circumference measures 365.25 de­ grees, and the sun is supposed to move one degree every day and complete the cycle in one year [CYC, 3].) But even as the reader is confronted with this purest form of the magic of names embodying the promise of pansignification (i.e., every particular is justified by a meaningful place in an all-encompassing system), names such as Great Absurdity Mountain (Tahuang Shan) and Groundless Cliff (Wu-chi Ya) reveal an ironically detached narrator questioning this magical significatory process. What immediately follows is the powerful image of the superfluous stone "day and night la­ menting in grief and mortification" ( HLM , 1:2). The trauma of existence breaks through the aesthetic surface with lyrical intensity. The analogies 29 In the Ch'eng-Kao editions the term is often replaced by "this thing" ( t z ' u - z v u ) or simply deleted I take this as one indication of how the editors, who are probably also responsible for

the last forty chapters, show an insufficient understanding of the manuscripts. The Ch'eng-Kao editions include prefaces by Ch'eng Wei-yuan (fl. 1745—1820) and Kao O, who presumably also edited the book The Ch'eng-chia edition (1791) was the first printed edition of the book, upon which all subsequent 120-chapter versions are based The Ch'eng-i edition (1792) was the second "mother copy" on which later editions are based, especially after 1927

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for artistic creation are certainly present: Nii-kua's repair of heaven and Stone's lamentation are procreative acts, and both open the gateway to ex­ perience and expression. Yet their radical juxtaposition with such words as "great absurdity" and "groundless" shows an ironic awareness of how aes­ thetic creation is rooted in nostalgia and delusion. The language of myth in H u n g - I o u m e n g is pervasively ironic. In jour­ ney to the West, the beginning account of cosmogony is replete with logi­ cal-causal connectives such as "this is the reason why" (ku-yiieh) or "this is called" (wei-chih). Such expressions work together with the regularly cadenced sentences to create the impression that a pseudo-philosophical dis­ course is defining and explaining an order temporally anterior and logically prior to the fictional universe. Similarly, in chapter 37 of Wu Chmg-tzu's (1701-1754) Scholars (Ju-lin wai-shih), the ritual language characterized by sentences of solemn brevity and austere precision elevates the T'ai-po Tem­ ple episode to a privileged mode of discourse. No such consistently elevated diction exists in the mythic-fantastic realm in Hung-Iou meng. This be­ comes obvious when we come to the first extended dramatic scene in the book, when the monk and the Taoist come upon the scene as Stone is la­ menting his destiny. The scene is staged dramatically. Stone is the fascinated audience to a conversation between the monk and the Taoist: 30 At first they talked about mountains of clouds and seas of mist, fairy immortals, matters mysterious and abstruse They then came to the human realm, the glories and splendors of the World of Red Dust When Stone heard all this, he was in spite of himself moved to worldly thoughts, and wanted to go to the human world to enjoy such glories and abundance (HLM, 1 2)

Accounts of "fairy immortals, matters mysterious and abstruse" apparently make less enticing narrative than the more mundane pleasures of the World of Red Dust. Irrespective of whether this idea is in itself ironically intended or not, the monk and the Taoist remain responsible for arousing Stone's desire for worldly experience. At the same time they claim to embody a higher knowledge that sees through the futility of such desire: The monk and the Taoist heard him [Stone] to the end, giggled foolishly, and said, "The World of Red Dust has its pleasures, but they cannot be made to last. And then the eight words 'contentment has its imperfections, bliss its evil karma' This passage of about four hundred words is present only in the Chia-hsu manuscript Most critics believe it was deleted in the other versions because the less than conscientious publishers failed toappreciate its relevance See Yu P'mg-po, "Ying-yin Chxh-yen chai ch'ungp'tng S h i h - t o u chi shih-hu hui hou-chi," 323—24 Chao Kang holds the opposite view that the

passage is a later addition to the original in the Keng-ch'en manuscript See also Chao Kang, H n n g - I o u meng l u n - c h i , 122—30 Regardless of its authenticity, I think the passage adds co­

herence as well as dramatic intensity to the story

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are inextricably chained together In the twinkling of an eye extreme happiness turns into grief, and familiar people and things are no more In the end all just amounts to a dream, and the ten thousand states revert to emptiness. You would do better not to go " (1.2-3)

Red Inkstone comments that these four sentences sum up the entire book (CYC, 6). While such banal cliches may claim a kind of weightiness from sheer rhetorical repetition, or just from being conventional wisdom, the poignancy of the episode derives from the recognition of the simultaneous justification and futility of such advice. These four sentences consist of conventional set-phrases set forth in closely paralleled and balanced lines. Appropriately enough, the language of knowledge is poised, though unexciting. In contrast, the monk's prepa­ ration of Stone for worldly experiences is described in a more whimsical and paradoxical tone: The monk went on, "One may credit you with a certain spirituality, yet your nature is obtuse, with nothing to recommend you In this state you are fit only to become a stepping stone All right, I will now use Buddadharma to help you a little. When your sufferings come to an end, you will again return to your origi­ nal nature, and this case will be closed. What do you say to that ? " (HLM, 1 3)

A phrase such as "fit only to become a stepping stone" (lit., "good only for feet to step on," (tzu-hao tien-chiao) is startlingly vivid and powerful partly because it is such a homely metaphor. The hint of the wit of a low style shows through also in the reference to Buddhadharma. There is a hid­ den twist to the monk's prediction of Stone's eventual return to his original nature: it implies that "even the mercy of Buddhadharma has to be repaid" (CYC, 7); there is no real salvation beyond the vagaries of personal experi­ ence. Red Inkstone thinks that the author is here in his playful mood (CYC, 7). The idea of return or repayment is a persistent theme in the book. Before Stone's story begins, the reader is told about its end, when everything will return to oblivion. The obliteration of experience in Stone's return to his original state (fu-huan pen-chih) is ambiguous: his original state is flawed, and his worldly experiences cannot make good this imperfection. Most scholars agree that in the original conception of the book the final episode is about "Stone's return to his original place" (Shih-t'ou kuei-wei) at the root of Green Ridge (Ch'ing-keng) Peak. In other words, he is going to r e t u r n t o t h e s t a t e of " h a v i n g f a l l e n i n t o t h e r o o t s of d e s i r e " ( t o - l o c h ' i n g ken). The monk continues: "In your outward appearance you seem like a spiritual object, but you still lack real value. I must engrave some characters on you, so that people can see at a glance that you are something special" (HLM, 1:3). The monk equates an improvement of Stone's appearance

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(through the engraved characters) with acquisition of "real value" ( s h i h tsai ti hao-ch'u). The characters are not disclosed until chapter 8, when Paoyii shows his jade to Pao-ch'ai. The inscription of characters prefigures the idea of the story written on the stone. Again the reader is reminded of the claim of writing to redeem lived experiences. At the conclusion of this scene, at the threshold of experience, Stone still does not understand the merits he is endowed with or where he is going: "I beg to be enlightened, so that I will be undeceived" (1:3). The monk promises that he will under­ stand m due course. As we have seen, statements concerning understanding are repeated throughout the beginning chapters. Knowledge and the desire for experi­ ence are opposed. The attainment of ultimate knowledge negates experi­ ence, consciousness, and story telling itself; this is evident in the manner in which the desire for experience and the certainty of knowledge are governed by languages of different diction.

PROBLEMS IN LITERARY COMMUNICATION

While the monk is telling Stone about how he will understand m due course, he puts him (now shrunk to the size of a jade fan pendant) in his sleeve and disappears with the Taoist. With a radical shift of temporal frames, the story is already over m the next line. Aeons have passed, and a certain Voidmg-the-Void Taoist is passing by the foot of Green Ridge Peak in search of Taoist enlightenment and immortality, when he comes upon a huge stone with a story written on it. The story thus begins again with an account of an encounter between Stone and his first reader, Voiding-the-Void Taoist. The mythic-fantastic mode continues to be a means of focus that produces the impression of the condensed expression of the meaning of the book, in spite of the shift from a claim of absurdity to that of verisimilitude. The questions raised earlier concerning the relationships between art and life, experience and knowl­ edge, and experience and representation remain crucial issues that are re­ defined with an emphasis on the process of understanding and interpreta­ tion. When the narrator predicates his story on absurdity, he implicitly teases the reader with the question "Do you read me?" After Stone passes from the threshold of experience to the "Other Shore" of knowledge, he asks the same question with a more embattled pose. As Red Inkstone points out, Stone's self-justification to his first reader is a proleptic reply to possible objections to the book: "Anticipating the pedantic arguments that people may want to raise and posing them in advance on their behalf—clever in­ deed!" (CYC, 10). Voiding-the-Void Taoist fears that even if he copies the story, he may not

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be able to find an audience, since the story makes no reference to dynasties or historical periods, major political events or instances of impressive vir­ tue. Stone answers these charges of being ahistorical and trivial by claiming verisimilitude. He is the faithful scribe of what he "studies with his own eyes and ears in half a lifetime" ( H L M , 1:5): "As for the partings and the meetings, the joys and sorrows, the ups and downs of fortune, all these I try to capture and recover by their traces. I have not dared to tamper with them in any way or, merely for the sake of pleasing the reader, to end up losing the true picture." (1:5) Stone claims validity for his story on the ground that it r e c o v e r s reality from literary cliches. He sets his story apart from its literary antecedents and condemns libelous "unofficial histories" [ y e h - s h i h ] , licentious "erotic novels" ( f e n g - y i i e h ρ ι - m o ) , and stereotyped "scholar-beauty romances" ( t s ' a i - t z u c h i a - ] e n t e n g s h u ) . By asserting the originality of his story, Stone emphasizes the book's status as a radical new beginning vis-a-vis the tradi­ tion. Here the most obvious irony is the least significant, the most obvious irony being that Stone's "loyalty to facts" is framed by his dubious author­ ity (he is only the product of an "absurd imagination") and by the earlier idea of the necessity of "fictive language and vulgar words" for expressing truth. 3 1 In this context, the problem of the relationship between art and life is scarcely a question of hierarchy in their respective truth claims. Instead, the difficulty of communication becomes the occasion for irony. The phrase "pursuing and capturing traces" ( t s u i - t s u n g s h e - c h i ) suggests an intimate relationship between writing and experience: writing is itself a form of liv­ ing, even if one does not take literally the metaphor of "recreating past experiences through writing." And yet literary communication stipulates that the book be explained to the world. It is important to remember Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's historical situ­ ation as a lonely genius. He was writing and experimenting in an age when his art was little understood—all the more reason for us to be grateful to Red Inkstone and the small circle of friends and relatives who must have helped Ts'ao to sustain his literary effort. Stone anticipates lack of full com­ prehension among his audience: "I do not [dare] hope for the applause and wonderment of the world, nor is it necessary that people read the book with gladness and eager attention" ( H L M , 1:5). But even "momentary appreci­ ation" (pa-tz'u i - w a n ) should spare the reader "vital energies" (shou-ming It is always possible that Stone may be an unreliable narrator Sun Shu-yu points out, for example, that despite its claim to have broken away from the "scholar-beauty romance" tra­ dition, the book follows ch'uan-ch'i drama m presenting idealized portraits of the main char­ acters The girls in the Grand View Garden (Ta-kuan Yuan) remain somewhat abstract, al­ though they are on the whole more individualized than their models in drama and fiction ("Hung-Iou meng ti ch'uan-t'ung ι-shu kan-hsing," 116-24)

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ken-Ιϊ), "and compared to the pursuit of the vain and the illusory, this spares them the harmful effects of misunderstandings caused by wagging tongues, or the pains of hurrying borne by tiring legs" (1:5). Here the low style is a combination of modesty and ironic playfulness. Stone's claims for his story, though not inconsiderable, do not go beyond the conventional pose of delighting and edifying the reader. But it is as if the very pose of explaining one's own artistic creation to the world is ironic: what is most intensely private can become public only through the ironic distance the writer sets up between himself and his fictional illusion. Even so, misunderstanding is unavoidable. After his first reading, Voiding-the-Void Taoist is skeptical about the book's worth. Upon a second reading he agrees to transmit the story because "Although its main theme is about love, it does no more than record events as they happened. Those works with false attributions and wild claims, which dwell on licentious ren­ dezvous and clandestine pledges, can scarcely measure up to it" (HLM 1:6). His excessive caution earns Red Inkstone's sarcasm: "This Voiding-theVoid Taoist is a bit too small-minded. I suppose he is just one of the world's withered pendants" (CYC, 11). So far the Taoist seems to typify the obtuse reader. Yet in the process of copying and transmitting the book, he undergoes a cycle of conversion: "Because he started off in the Void, he came to the contemplation of Form. Form engendered feelings, by communicating feelings he entered again into form. From form he awoke to the Void" (HLM 1:6). These lines stand out from their context by virtue of their extreme concision. By adding a third element—feelings—in the reformulation of the familiar lines from the Prajna Paramita Sutra (also known as the Heart Sutra [Hsin-ching]), they purport to be yet another summary of the book's meaning. 32 That such a summary should be presented as the experience of reading and understand­ ing the story is significant. Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in seems to be challenging the reader with the possibility of a kind of truth that is coextensive with the experience of unity in communication. The first reader of Stone is also the ideal reader: "He therefore changed his name from Voiding-the-Void Taoist to Monk of Feelings (Ch'ing Seng), and changed the title of the book from The Story of the Stone to The Record of the Monk of Feelings [Ch'ing Seng Iu]" (HLM, 1:6). Renaming is redefinition. As the Taoist experiences con32 The sense of abrupt transition to another kind of language is even more obvious m the manuscript editions. The Ch'eng-chia edition supplies a connective before these hnes: "As a consequence of all these, Voiding-the-Void Taoist The Heart Siitra contains one of the best known references to form and emptiness in the Chinese tradition. "Form is no different from emptiness, emptiness no different from form, form is emptiness, and emptiness form. Of sensations, perceptions, volition, and conscious­ ness, the same is also true" (Wu Ch'eng-en [ ? ], journey to the West, trans. Anthony C Yu, 1:393 The Heart Sutra is quoted m Journey to the West, chap. 19.)

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version in the process of understanding, he turns the book into his own story by inscribing himself on the text. 33 Successive renamings suggest the book's polysemy. The name The Pre­ cious Mirror of Love points to a moral interpretation, as is consistent with the Confucian associations of the namer's name, K'ung Mei-hsi of the East­ ern Lu Region. 34 Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'm goes on to represent himself as the book's editor who, after ten years of reading and after rewriting it five times, renames it The Twelves Beauties of Chin-ling (Chin-ling shih-erh ch'ai). In the poem that follows, the author steps forth in self-explication, as if the psychological pressure of indirectness is too painful: Pages filled with absurd words, A handful of bitter tears. All call the author mad, None his feelings shares. 3 5

The word translated here as "mad" is ch'ih, which, as we have seen in the last two chapters, also means obsession, single-minded devotion, radical in­ nocence, and capacity for depth of feelings. The poem is intensely personal; the artist is alone with his emotions, understood by none. Yet it is presented as a token of the "editor" Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's perfect understanding of the author's intentions. This harks back to the idea of "supplement" brought up earlier. As "editor," Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in encompasses within his project incompletion and the movement toward completion. Red Inkstone com­ ments: "Here the author is precisely like a painter using mist and clouds to create a hazy effect" (CYC, 12). By representing his action of creation as 33

It may seem odd that Voiding-the-Void Taoist, who is seeking Taoist enlightenment

(jang-tao ch'iu-hsien), should end up becoming a Buddhist and renaming himself Monk of Feelings. Perhaps the author is being deliberately playful and cavalier about the distinction between Buddhism and Taoism (implying that any vaguely otherworldly realm evoking the idea of renunciation would suffice)

Chang Ai-Img suggests that the strange combination

shows traces of a different earlier version in which the first reader and scribe of the book is Monk of Limitlessness (Mang-mang Ta-shih, the monk who made his appearance with the Taoist earlier). She bases her hypothesis on a comment by Red Inkstone on an episode in Chen Shih-yin's story, when the monk bursts into tears and asks Chen to give his daughter away: "This is why he is called Monk of Feelings" (CYC, 22). "Record of Monk of Feelings" then refers to how Monk of Limitlessness makes the story his own

Voiding-the-Void Taoist is a

later addition (Hurtg-Iou meng yen, 358) One is tempted to speculate on the reason for the invention of this additional character Is it because Monk of Limitlessness is too unequivocally a representative of the negation of passion ? 34 Most critics agree that this is a reference to Ts'ao T'ang-ts'un, who is being teased for being something of a moralist. The image of the mirror suggests the idea of history as a mirror of human behavior and as a source of moral lessons "And it is also called The Precious Mirror of Love, as a warning against the illicit urges of passion" (CYC, 4) 35

H L M , 1 : 7 Cf Chang Hsin-chih's comment· "In this poem the author's compassion takes

over, he cannot bear to deceive the reader any longer" (SCPP, 6)

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"reading and editing," Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in emphasizes once again the com­ bination of nostalgic empathy and critical distance in his attitude toward the world he creates.

THE FATE OF A RHETORICAL FIGURE

The reader is not allowed to say "at last" when he comes to the beginning of the inscription on the stone. 36 The book begins again and again with radical temporal shifts and new frames of reference, sometimes accompa­ nied by a sudden sense of removal from the purported sphere of action. The inscription starts with the story of Chen Shih-yin. Chen is a prosperous and contented man who comes to lose all he has and finally finds refuge in re­ nunciation of the world and the promise of Taoist enlightenment. For Chen, the beginning of the end is marked by his dream vision of the monk and the Taoist who are on their way to take Stone to the World of Red Dust. Red Inkstone marvels at the cleverness of the connection, for between the last appearance of the monk and the Taoist and this one, the story is already over and has been discussed as a finished product: "They have just come from Green Ridge Peak with Stone in their sleeves. A seamless [wu-hen] transition" ( CYC , 17). The scenario of Chen overhearing the conversation between the monk and the Taoist in his dream repeats earlier situations that turn the possibil­ ity of understanding itself into the issue at stake. Chen's baffled incompre­ hension and request to be enlightened echoes Stone's and Voiding-the-Void Taoist's desire to be enlightened. Again we have the sense of a dramatic spectacle held up for consideration. As usual, the performers involved—in this case, the monk and the Taoist again—seem to be party to a higher knowledge. Hence their pose of ironic distance and their claim to explain the origins or laws of causality of the story. In this instance the monk explains to the Taoist that the story is going to be the earthly consequence of a debt of tears that Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb owes to Divine Attendant Immortal Jade. A word is in order about the iden­ tity of the Divine Attendant. In the Ch'eng-Kao editions, the monk gives an account of how Stone transforms himself into the Divine Attendant: "This is quite an amusing story. What happened was that this stone, being left unused by the goddess Νϋ-kua, made the best of his freedom and went roaming 36

The very idea of an inscription on the stone amounts to a kind of playful insistence on

unalterable finality. Cf. Tiao-hsi yti-ym, The Deluded Person Speaking of Dreams (Ch'ih-jen shuo-meng [1817]) "Speech cannot be trusted, so one relies on the brush. But even the brush is open to doubts, so one has recourse to printing blocks, and finally inscribes the words on metal and stone As for the stone, it is where the trust of all abides, and to which the skeptical appeal for certainty If one doubts the stone, where would one's doubts end ? " (HLMC, 103)

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and wandering everywhere. One day he came to the abode of the goddess Disen­ chantment, who could see that his origins and credentials were unusual, so she made him stay in the Crimson Cloud Palace, and named him Divine Attendant Immortal Jade of the Crimson Cloud Palace." 37 (SCPP, 1:7)

It seems somewhat jarring that the stone lamenting in anguish at the foot of the Green Ridge Peak should be so much master of his own destiny. With a view to making the transition seem less abrupt, the editors of the Ch'engKao editions insert a few lines to emphasize the magical powers of Stone: "After being refined by the goddess, the stone had attained a certain spiri­ tuality. It could freely come and go, and could also expand and shrink at will" (SCPP, 1:4). As such it does not need the monk and the Taoist to take it to the human world, and the contradiction here is not resolved. In the Chia-hsii and Keng-ch'en manuscripts, Stone and Divine Atten­ dant are kept distinct: Divine Attendant is born as Pao-yii, and Stone enters the world as a piece of jade in the newborn Pao-yii's mouth. 38 As such Stone preserves the prerogative of a detached observer. In chapters 4, 6, 8,15, and 18, Stone intrudes as commentator to break the fictional illusion. Red Inkstone also makes a distinction between Brother Stone (Shih-hsiung) and Brother Jade (Yii-hsiung) in his comments, although he is not always con­ sistent; for example, in chapter 8 he refers to the intoxicated Pao-yu as Brother Stone. Of course there is a vital connection between Pao-yii and his jade, between Stone and Divine Attendant, but the Stone/Pao-yu division also becomes the occasion for irony by facilitating a double perspective of engagement and detachment. 39 However, there is also a kind of compelling logic in collapsing the differ­ ences between Stone and Divine Attendant. Deemed unfit for repairing heaven, Stone takes to watering Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb; the gift of life and love to another is then the means to make good (pu) the flaw of his existence. Although we are still in the mythic realm, this explanation of the origins of the story—an account of how love karma unfolds as Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb is born into the human world to repay her debt with tears—embodies a more conventional and sentimental perspective com­ pared with the ironic opening image of Stone being deemed unworthy to repair heaven. To this extent one may say that the complete merging of Stone and Divine Attendant in the Ch'eng-Kao editions shows a confusion 37 "Crimson Cloud" is written as "Crimson Flaw [in the jade]" (both are pronounced c h ' t h hsia) in the Chih-yen Chai manuscripts 38 When the monk explains to Stone the kind of affluence and splendor to which he will be introduced, Red Inkstone comments "Why not add this line 'and choose as master one un­

rivaled in his obsession with love' " (CYC, 8) The comment suggests the separateness of Paoyu and Stone 39

For a comparison of the relationship between Stone and Divine Attendant Immortal Jade

as it appears in the different editions, see Chao Kang, Hung-Iou meng lun-chi, 122-30.

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of the sentimental and ironic modes, or, to put it more accurately, it repre­ sents a general tendency on the part of these editors to subsume the ironic to the sentimental. Nevertheless, I would not want to suppress the more playful echoes per­ taining to this basically sentimental perspective. The idea of fated relation­ ships determined by antecedent existences is of course very much a stockin-trade m the love plots of traditional Chinese literature. Here, the mythic dimension adds poignancy, but there is a backward infusion of the mundane in the mythic past. The unnecessary pain in the relationship between Paoyii and Tai-yu retroactively humanizes, with all the pathos and banality thereof, the entanglement between their supernatural antecedents. Red Inkstone points out that the divine dilemma is but an intensification of the human one: "If love and hatred form one entangled web even m the West­ ern Heaven, what can one expect of mere h u m a n s ( C Y C , 19). The monk displays a kind of sympathetic understanding of this story of the debt of tears. He states its difference from its predecessors, which have not included the minute details of day-to-day existence, and which fail to even come close to expressing the true nature of love. 40 However, the monk's verdict that the story is "amusing" ( hao-hsiao ) sets up an ironic distance between the teller and the tale. The problem, as in the opening scene with Stone, is that there is really no elevated diction that characterizes a language of knowledge. Whimsical­ ity and contingency color the tone of these supernatural beings: The Taoist said, "Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity to go down into the world too and save a few souls' Wouldn't that be a meritorious act?" The monk replied, "This is exactly what I had in mind Why don't you come with me to the palace of Disenchantment to settle the business of this Obtuse Thing 7 When all these souls afflicted with love karma are done with entering the world, you and I will go." (HLM, 1-9)

They appear to be mere agents in a greater scheme over which they have no ultimate control and of which they can claim no absolute understanding. Chen Shih-ym listens to the exchange between the monk and the Taoist, hears everything ( t'ing-te ming-pai), but is quite at a loss. He begs them to explain at least what is the Obtuse Thing. After granting Chen Shih-ym a tantalizing glimpse of Stone (now a piece of jade with the words "Precious Jade of Numinous Essence" [ t'ung-lmg pao-yii] on it), the monk snatches it away from Chen and, together with the Taoist, vanishes into the Illusory Realm of Great Void. Red Inkstone comments: "By deliberately using the word 'illusion,' it is saying that the book already has entered the realm of 4 0 H L M , 1 8 This further reference to the originality of the story is present only in the Chia-hsu manuscript.

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illusion" ( C Y C , 21). Chen tries to follow the monk and the Taoist, but at that point he wakes up. The intimation of knowledge dissolves into irony and equivocation epitomized by the couplet at the gateway to the Illusory Realm of Great Void: "Fiction becomes true when truth is fiction, / Where the unreal is real, real becomes not real" (HLM, 1:9). Allegory is a fiction of truth. But when Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in is playing with such words as "truth," "fiction," "real," and "unreal" (chen, chia, yu, wu), he does not express any overwhelming nostalgia for reality and truth. Instead the very concern for the certainty of knowledge is somehow displaced as irrelevant. The couplet states squarely the paradox of artistic creation. By temporarily suspending or transcending the distinction between reality and illusion, fic­ tion and fact, it dramatizes the dilemma of understanding m terms of lived experience and the experience of the aesthetic illusion. In his dream Chen begs to be enlightened, but is denied access to the "divine mystery" (hsiian-chi). For Chen to really understand the monk's account, he needs to go beyond the latter's irony. In other words, he has to counter the notion of amusing contingency with the experience of existen­ tial urgency. He has to show how it may be too easy for those unburdened with excessive feelings to transcend feelings. He has to be an insider (kochung jen) who knows obsessive attachment. Appropriately enough, he wakes up and feels his fondness for his daughter more deeply than ever. The dream is already lost to him when a scabby-headed monk and a lame Taoist, both to all appearances mad, come on the scene with dire predictions of imminent disaster and oracular proclamations that he would do better to give his daughter to them. The ugliness and apparent madness of figures privy to some higher understanding is a convention at least as old as the Chuang Tzu. But both in their "true form" and "illusory form"—to bor­ row the terms of Red Inkstone—both when they are in Chen's dream and when they are out of it, they are as opaque and elusive as ever with their message. Unlike Voiding-the-Void Taoist, for whom reading is an adequate substi­ tute for lived experience, Chen Shih-yin has to suffer loss and decline before he can be receptive to the message of renunciation and detachment from these preternatural figures. He has lost his daughter and has been reduced to great poverty and distress when the lame Taoist appears again chanting the "Won-Done Song" (David Hawkes's translation of "Hao-liao Ko"). Chen shows his understanding by chanting another song, a kind of elabo­ ration of and commentary on the "Won-Done Song." Considered together, the "Won-Done Song" and its exegetical commentary supplied by Chen ("Hao-liao Ko chu-chieh") imply that truth, instead of being referential, is a coincidence of intention and unity in communication. These are ideas that the account of the story's transmission already takes issue with. The "truth" attained by Voiding-the-Void Taoist and the "editor" Ts'ao Hsueh-

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ch'in lies in their empathy with the author's intention ( c h i h - y m , c h i h - y e n ) . To the extent that they, too, become afflicted with obsessive attachment and are caught in the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment, they are the author's double. (Of course Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'm's pose as editor is mere fictional play, but it also implies that he treats his original experience and the aesthetic illusion he creates as a kind of higher text he is deciphering. His self-understandmg is analogous to the reader's understanding of his work.) Chen's final words of renunciation as he disappears with the lame Taoist—"Let's go!"—should crown the "Won-Done Song" and its commen­ tary as a privileged discourse of truth. Yet the language here is banalized to a degree. Red Inkstone comments: "This kind of song should not be too elegant, for fear that it might not be understood by the less learned, so as it stands it is perfect!" ( CYC , 33). The two songs combine wit with cliches to achieve erudition. Considered on their own they may not be all that pro­ found. But in the context of the story, as part of a dramatic confrontation, they take on power and pathos. 41 Perhaps there is also irony in raising what is at best conventional wisdom, and at worst pious homily, to the level of truth. The basis of the affective power of the two songs is literary, not philo­ sophical. Their impact depends on witty and stark juxtaposition of opposites, and the crucial role they play in a dramatic moment. Their truth lies in the way they dramatize a moment of perfect communion. The first chapter consists, then, of a series of dramatic moments, each of which is characterized by a confrontation between a language of knowledge that is often banal but confident, and a language of desire for or fascination with experience that is ambiguous, playful, and paradoxical. The tension between these two modes of expression becomes the occasion of irony. As we saw m the earlier discussion of late-Ming drama, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in learns much from drama—among other things, the game of impersonation, the idea that the truth can be told only through a mask. To play with the masks of confession is also to be engaged in self-enchantment and self-dis­ enchantment. The truth-fiction dialectics thus merges with that of engage­ m e n t a n d d e t a c h m e n t i n r e g a r d t o o n e ' s e m o t i o n s (ch'ing p u - c h ' i n g ) . Since the beginning scenes are staged as confrontations that dramatize the possiblity of ultimate understanding, the truth-fiction dialectic is no longer separable from the process of interpretation. As I observed m con­ nection with the "Won-Done Song" and its exegetic supplement, truth is not so much a matter of factual veracity, it is the moment of perfect under41

At this juncture it is interesting to note that of the various poetic forms in H u n g - I o u

meng, Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in is at his best with the song (ko and ch'u) forms

Although it is

dangerous to generalize on the intrinsic properties of a literary genre, I suggest that ko and ch'u are often tinged with a certain ironic sensibility They are steeped m sensuality, yet the wjt and low style of the language also imply a kind of ironic self-mockery

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standing and unity in communication. That such a moment should crown the story of Chen Shih-yin seems to imply that Chen is intended as an allegorical figure whose conversion resolves the sense of ironic self-division in the earlier episodes. While in previous dramatic moments the language of desire for experience impresses the reader as more powerful and enticing, in Chen's story the "Won-Done Song" and its exegetic supplement display a robust erudition that apparently overcome the moment of irony and selfequivocation embodied in the couplet at the gateway to the Illusory Realm of Great Void. But the "symbolic quotient" of Chen Shih-yin as an allegorical figure does not simply yield a kind of certified truth. Of course, his conversion is supposedly paradigmatic. It prefigures Pao-yu's "enlightenment" at the end of the book, and his final words "Let's g o a r e echoed in Pao-yu's final exit. Yet Chen departs from Voiding-the-Void Taoist's formula of "attain­ ing enlightenment through love" and "understanding emptiness through form [by implication immersion m love and illusion]" (tzu-se wu-k'ung) for although he loves his daughter dearly, he is free from the "affliction of love karma" (ch'mg-ch'ih), that particular mixture of obsessiveness and perversity in romantic or erotic love that consumes Pao-yii and most of the other characters in the book. Unlike Pao-yii, Chen Shih-yin is barred from entrance into the Illusory Realm of Great Void. His only dealings are with the monk and the Taoist, not with Disenchantment. It is as if Chen's con­ version can have a simple and convincing finality because he is not privy to the paradox of "enlightenment through love," because he is not totally pro­ totypical of things to come. The clarity of a standard religious conversion story disappears with Chen Shih-yin; from now on the paradoxical truth of d r e a m s a n d i l l u s i o n s will t a k e o v e r ( c h e n - c h ' i i chia-lai). Perhaps it is also ironic that the only kind of truth possible in this book, the truth realized through perfect understanding and the harmonious con­ fluence of intentions and meanings, should be represented through the con­ version of Chen Shih-yin, whose name suggests the inexpressibility topos. "Real Events Hidden" implies that truth cannot be expressed, not just that the author is indulging in subterfuge or duplicitous tactics. This is especially interesting when one recalls that in the story about to unfold, the inade­ quacy of words for expressing feelings is a recurrent theme. The moments of silence in the book are almost always applauded by Red Inkstone. 4 2 If perfect communion is expressible in the apprehension of emptiness, as rep­ resented by the "Won-Done Song" and its exegetic supplement, commu­ nication is frustrating, defective and deflective in the love relationships in the book. The best example of this is a scene in chapter 32 in which Pao-yii and Tai-yii stare at each other in dazed silence as their emotions prove too 42

Cf The comments of Red Inkstone in chapters 15 ( CYC, 275), 20 (402), and 32 (555)

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much for words. Perfect communion is passed over in wordlessness. When Pao-yii finally manages to declare his feelings, Tai-yii has walked away and it is Hsi-jen who listens to him. The impossibility of articulation in the world of ch'ing almost makes the facility of expression in Chen's enlightenment seem a little suspect. We have only to compare and contrast Chen Shih-yin with prologue characters in earlier works in the hsiao-shuo tradition, such as Wang Chin in Water Margin (Shui-hu chuan) or Wang Mien in Scholars (Ju-hn wai-shih), to realize how Chen's status as a rhetorical figure places him on a level of existence different from Pao-yii's. Wang Chin and Wang Mien follow higher alternatives that are either incomprehensible or denied by circum­ stances to the major characters in those two works. Wang Chin is persecuted by the authorities, but unlike the 108 Liangshan heroes, he manages to avoid an open declaration of war against the establishment. He escapes to Chiao-chou with his mother, thus combining the virtues of political recti­ tude and filial devotion. In Scholars, Wang Mien realizes the ideal of the artist-recluse-imperial advisor; he rises above the dilemma of "commit­ ment or withdrawal" (ch'in-t'ui ch'u-ch'u) in which all the characters in the book are uneasily caught. Both are model characters who show how "it might have been," given a historical situation shared by the protagonists in the respective works. (Of course, this is truer of Wang Chin. Wang Mien does not share the same historical situation as the other characters in Schol­ ars. He lives two hundred years before the main action, and is thus able to act at a moment of crisis [the founding of the Ming dynasty], while the scholars in the book are situated in a period of slow but irrevocable decline.) In Hung-Iou meng, however, Chen Shih-yin and Pao-yii do not even seem to be sharing the same reality: Chen is more abstract and also more mun­ dane. As a rhetorical figure designating "real events hidden," he seems more abstract; as a member of the scholar-gentry generously helping Chia Υϋ-ts'un to the road of worldly success he seems more mundane: he does not know the world of Pao-yii's fulfillment and longing. FROM MYTH TO HISTORY

Up to this point we have examined several instances of the language of knowledge which also purport to be a summary of the book or a concise statement of its essential meaning. Such a pose is consistent with our impresson that the mythic-fantastic frame functions as a metaphorical con­ densation of the entire book. As we have seen, these claims are questioned in their turn. But from the second chapter on, the language of knowledge assumes a different aspect: it has a greater pretense to system and seems to provide an objective overview. This is true of the discussion between Leng Tzu-hsing and Chia Yu-ts'un in chapter 2 and Pao-yii's dream visit to the

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Illusory Realm of Great Void in chapter 5. As the narrative moves from mythic time to human, historical time, the idea of perspective comes to inform the language of knowledge, perhaps in recognition of the fact that historical understanding is not absolute, since we are inside time. However, the awareness that historical understanding is necessarily partial may also provide the impetus to construct systems. While the beginnings in the first chapter appear to be metaphonc conden­ sations of the entire work in the realm of mythic transformations and mi­ raculous conversions, the discussion between Chia Υϋ-ts'un and Leng Tzuhsing in chapter 2 begins the narrative on a more lateral and more explicitly relevant level, since most of the major characters are introduced in the con­ versation. The use of marginal characters to comment on the main events is a com­ mon motif in Chinese literature. In Peach Blossom Fan, for instance, pe­ ripheral characters provide crucial overviews of the dramatic action at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the play. Such commentaries are obviously intended to show detachment from the urgency of the dramatic present, and they claim to provide a more clear-sighted understanding. In this sense, the process of historical understanding is dramatized along with the historical events themselves. In the deeply moving last scene of Peach Blossom Fan, the keeper of rites (now Taoist temple helper), Su K'un-sheng (pleasurequarter musician turned woodcutter) and Liu Ching-t'ing (storyteller turned fisherman) come together to mourn, remember, and understand the calamity of the fall of the Ming dynasty. These commentators have each in their turn tried to turn the tide, but now the time for action is over. As we saw in chapter 2, the song of the keeper of rites comes closest to offering a philosophical solution, but even in the songs of Liu and Su, one giving a historical account of the fall of the dynasty and the other expressing the pain in a reencounter with the ravaged capital, there is some sort of recon­ ciliation in the grief. All three have become pseudohermits; the elegiac mood is thus mixed with a kind of otherworldly resignation. Although they are hounded off stage by some minor official recruiting hermits to serve the new dynasty, it still seems possible to invoke the eremitic ideal as a viable escape from the pressure of the historical moment. Chia Yii-ts'un and Leng Tzu-hsing depart from such examples of the transcendent commentator. With a facetiousness typical of the narrator, Leng Tzu-hsing claims to start an account of the Chia clan with "a very insignificant but rather unusual incident" (HLM, 1:26), the birth of Pao-yu with a piece of jade in his mouth. When he suggests that Chia Yii-ts'un may be related to the illustrious Chia clan, Yii-ts'un expresses fastidious aversion to "connection making" (p'an-ch'e). But as the story unfolds his unscrupulous opportunism becomes ever more obvious. 43 Leng Tzu-hsing 43

Wang Hsi-Iien suggests in a comment that Chia's reflections should be taken seriously,

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also acts against the implications of his surname (Ieng suggests coldness, indifference, and the "dispassionate observation of the bystander" [lengyen p'ang-kuan]·, CYC, 37) when he makes eager proposals to Υϋ-ts'un on how to seek help from the Chia clan. Red lnkstone comments: Leng is "typ­ ical of those who rush to take advantage of hot stoves" (CYC, 56)—that is, he is "hot in the pursuit of name and gains" (je-chung ming-h). 44 Playing with the obvious puns on the names Leng (cold) and Chia (false or fictive), the conversations between the two realize the idea of "heat developing from coldness, something coming out of nothing (wu-chung sheng yu, which also means "the creation of a fictive account") (CYC, 35). Chang Hsin-chih comments: "To establish the basis (li-an) of the story through fictive lan­ guage and vulgar words—laughable indeed!" 45 What with all these qualifications, the discussion still seems to define the parameters of the story. The picture of decline that Leng paints is by and large accurate. However, his dismissal of Pao-yii as someone who would "without doubt turn into a libertine" (HLM, 1:29) provokes a lengthy re­ tort from Chia Υϋ-ts'un, who sets forth an explanative scheme that at­ tempts to encompass Chinese history in its entirety. From the mythic-fantastic realm of the previous chapter the reader is transposed to a historical panorama. 46 Whereas the three players-turned-commentators in Peach Blossom Fan confront history by trying to come to terms with a palpable historical situ­ ation, Chia's references to historical characters in Hung-Iou meng are rather haphazard. 47 But his claims are sweeping. Even as the first chapter takes issue with the reality-illusion dialectics, the second chapter questions the virtue-vice opposition. 48 Chia Yu-ts'un claims that moral judgement is notwithstanding his dubious moral character "The words should not be invalidated because of his character " (Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in, Tseng-p'ing pu-t'u Shih-t'ou chi, c.2.8) 44

In chapter 7 we learn that he is the son-in-law of Chou Jui's wife (a senior housekeeper in

the Chia family) Through this connection Leng tries to obtain Wang Hsi-feng's help in a court case over the transaction of some antiques This incident might have its share in incriminating Wang Hsi-feng and bringing about the downfall of the Chia clan toward the end of the book. 45

S C P P , 29 The commentator also reads inconsistencies and ambiguities m his argument

as a necessary consequence of his figural status, as does Chou Ch'un (1729—1815) in Yueh Hung-Iou meng sui-ρι (Random notes on reading Hung-Iou meng, 1794 preface), HLMC, 68 46 Or should I say "pseudohistorical," since fictional characters such as Hung-fu and Ts'ui Ying-ying are also included in Chia's scheme This is a typical move to efface the boundaries of fiction and history The arbitrariness of his historical examples is noted by Chang Hsin-chih·

yy This is

strange

yet fitting There is certainly a kind of carelessness and inappropnateness in the way he yokes historical personages to his argument The scheme is set up to include the characters in the book, and provisions are being made for all these being part of 'fictive words and vulgar lan­ guage/ hencc the style of the argument It would be foolish indeed to take the list as the final word on these personages as such" (SCPP, 28). 48

Cf. the comments of the Historian of Love at the end of section 20, "Ghosts of Love"

(Ch'ing-kuei) in Anatomy of Love "Good and evil humors accumulate and do not disperse

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not ultimate, that human nature and destiny are not wholly comprehensible within the narrow space between virtue and vice; perhaps a proper sense of human contradictions can be conveyed only in "fictive language" (Yiits'un's name). His account rebels against the notion that historical judge­ ment—and by extension the judgment of fictional characters—can be a sim­ ple praise and blame ( pao-pien ) affair. A gray zone of moral ambiguity is marked out. Since the main characters in the book are mostly paradoxical combinations of the purest and the most perverse humors, the scene is set for the exploration of "the inside of events," in which contradictory urges and motives have their full play. The author's obvious sympathy with these personalities who are "neither up nor down" ( pu -shang pu-hsia) —most of his examples are poets and artists—implies a re interpretation of history. Instead of tracing moral principles governing the interpretation of events (as in the case of most official historiography), the reader now has to plunge into the unpredictable contrariness of each character's intentions. This has its hazards for interpretation, in reading as in life, hence Chia Yii-ts'un's warning: "Unless one reads widely and expands one's horizons, applies oneself to the investigation of things and the acquisition of knowledge, and expends effort on the deep, intuitive understanding of the Tao and of the nature of Being, one cannot know them [i.e., people born of the radical fusion of opposite humors]" ( HLM , 1:29). Yii-ts'un's pseudomaterialist explanation of the origins of Pao-yii and the other characters has a symmetric elegance for the mind although it does not correspond to the accounts given in the previous chapter. In chapter 1, we are told about Stone's desire for experience and predetermined relationships betweens "souls afflicted with love karma" ( ch'ing-kuei ); nothing is said about conflicting humors. However, the contradiction is insignificant. Yiits'un's scheme can easily supplement the description of "souls afflicted with love karma," for in following contradictory impulses born of the clash be­ tween perversity and high-mindedness, the characters are obeying the laws of sentiment. Yet Υϋ-ts'un's comprehensive interpretive framework based on a sym­ pathetic understanding of ch'ing comes right after his baffled incomprehen­ sion in the encounter with an old monk at the Perfect Knowledge Temple (Chih-t'ung Ssu). This is a strange, short episode, apparently unconnected with the action before and after it. After great ups and downs in his career because they continue to live on through the reverence and fear of people Love [ c h ' i n g ) alone is not so, tombs cannot seal it, coffins cannot confine it, doors and gates cannot bar it, genera­ tions cannot age it. Human love and ghostly love both are entangled and enmeshed, like a madness and a dream, with neither recognition nor knowledge" (CS, c 20 694) The impli­ cation here is that while ethical categories exist as objective criteria through the tacit consent of the crowd, ch'ing does not depend on external validation It is private, defiant of norms, uncontrollable

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Yii-ts'un has become Tai-yii's tutor. One day he goes for a stroll in the countryside and comes upon this couplet on the door of the Perfect Knowl­ edge Temple: "As long as there is a sufficiency behind you, you forget to withdraw your hands. / It is only when there is no road ahead of you, that you think of turning back" (HLM, 1:25). Here, as elsewhere in the book, the language of wisdom is homely, but its impact is not lost on Yii-ts'un; he reflects that "although the language is commonplace and straightfor­ ward, the meaning is profound" (1:25). Red Inkstone considers the com­ ment applicable to the whole book (CYC, 43). Roused to curiosity and ex­ pectation of some story of spectacular downfall and dramatic conversion behind the inscription ("someone must have turned a full somersault therein" [HLM, 1:25]), Υϋ-ts'un seems potentially capable of enlighten­ ment. But the realization of his expectation in the person of a wizened, deaf, and unresponsive monk only repels him. This is a recurrent motif in the book: an invitation to decipherment that fascinates, and the final opacity of the sign that defies comprehension. Even as the simple language of the cou­ plet seems to qualify Yii-ts'un's later erudite metaphysical speculations, his blindness to the meaning of his encounter with the monk sets the bounda­ ries to his expansive scheme. In the words of Red Inkstone: "Υύ-ts'un does not, after all, rise above the ordinary in his understanding. He can recognize Hsi-feng, Pao-yii, Tai-yii, and the like only in their pre-enlightened state, but he cannot recognize them after their awakening" (CYC, 44). 49 In other words, although the Perfect Knowledge Temple episode does not depart ex­ plicitly from the mimetic level of the text, it affords a tantalizing glimpse into a world of higher significance that brackets and mocks the discourse that comes after it. Chia Yii-ts'un has no moral authority, yet he defines the paradox of Paoyii's character in chapter 2, takes Tai-yii to the Chia household in chapter 3, and facilitates the move of Pao-ch'ai into the Chia family in chapter 4. Since he is bringing about the transition to the more realistic level of the text, it is fitting that he should devise an explanative scheme that involves a historical overview. To the extent that this scheme accommodates way­ ward passions, it makes for enchantment and predisposes the reader for sympathy and understanding of the unfolding world. But the historical panorama is framed by a perspective beyond time and history, as symbol49 According to Chang Ai-ling's hypothesis, in the "original" last chapter, after Pao-yu "let go his clinging hands at the hanging cliff" (hsuan-ya sa-shou, ι e., renounced the world and became a monk), he reverts to his original state as the stone at the foot of the Green Ridge Peak The story is now inscribed on him, together with the "Final Listing of the Characters' Feelings" (in which the characters of the book are classified and graded according to the nature and depth of their feelings) Yii-ts'un, who is at that time in political exile, wanders into the mountains and comes upon the stone However, he does not understand the import of the list, hence this comment by Red Inkstone in chapter 2 (Hung-lou meng yen, 345).

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lzed by the person of the deaf and wizened monk, who silently embodies the vision of disenchantment.

THE ILLUSORY REALM OF GREAT VOID

Although the Illusory Realm of Great Void is introduced in Chen Shih-yin's dream in chapter 1, its significance is not fully unraveled until we enter it again through Pao-yii's dream in chapter 5. The feminine element is absent in the first dream. The monk and the Taoist are unequivocal spokesmen for the negation of passion (pu-ch'ing), and, as I pointed out earlier, Chen Shihyin does not know the boundless, obsessive love of Pao-yii. That is why the couplet at the gateway to the Illusory Realm of Great Void can be inter­ preted simply as a warning against the vanity of striving and human attach­ ment. It is a message that Chen Shih-yin understands after he has lost all he had. In chapter 5, on the other hand, the play of illusion (chen-chia) and re­ ality (yu-wu) is much more bound up with the paradox of art and the par­ adox of love, both being the most real and at the same time the most illu­ sory. The mood of the Illusory Realm of Great Void is perhaps best captured not by the couplet at its entrance but by the numerous elegiac couplets in­ side which celebrate beauty and love while mourning their inevitable de­ struction. The following couplet, for instance, is a remarkable combination of enchantment and disenchantment: "Earth in a secret, subtle beauty halfhidden, / Heaven with an unaccepting acceptance burdened" (HLM, 1:83). "If heaven had feelings, it, too, would grow old"(CTS, c.391.4403)—so goes Li Ho's famous line. Here, too, heaven is only reluctantly resigned (wu-k'o nai-ho) to the vagaries of experience and the vicissitudes of exis­ tence; it partakes of the sufferings of ch'ing. But the secret, subtle beauty {yu-wei ling-hsiu) of earth will continue to steal upon one unaware and draw one into enchantment, and the sadness of inevitable frustration will be temporarily forgotten. In chapters 3 and 4, which introduce the two heroines through their con­ nection with Chia Yii-ts'un, the reader is led through a maze of dense de­ tails that contribute to a kind of reality effect. However, even here the mi­ metic surface is not entirely undisrupted. In the first meeting of Pao-yii and Tai-yii, they are reminded of relationships in their antecedent existences ("I have seen this little cousin before" [HLM, c. 1.51J), Pao-yii and Tai-yii be­ ing both, as Red Inkstone puts it, "familiar spirits on the thrice-born stone [san-sheng shih]" (CYC, 17). 50 Tai-yii also relates how she has always suf50

Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb has grown by the thrice-born stone on the bank of the Spiritual

River of the West. The notion of "thrice-born" or "three lives" (san-sheng)—the previous life, this life, and the next life—is based on the Buddhist concept of reincarnation The line quoted by Red Inkstone is from a song in a story entitled "Yuan Kuan" (TPKC, c 387 3090)

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fered from the "sickness of insufficiency" (pu-chu chih cheng), and how a scabby-headed monk tried to convince her parents to give her to him when she was three. The same monk has asked Chen Shih-yin to give his daugh­ ter away in chapter 1. Red Inkstone comments: "Throughout the whole book the scabby-headed monk and the lame Taoist function to point out (tien-ming, 'to draw one's attention to' or 'to enlighten') those lost in love and illusions" (CYC, 65). In spite of these reminders of the fantastic-mythic realm, however, from chapter 3 on the style becomes markedly more real­ istic. In chapter 5, however, another world opens up in Pao-yu's dream vision. The mythic-fantastic elements of the first chapter reassert themselves, again holding out a promise of the symbolic condensation of total signifi­ cance. But the styles of the two chapters are very different. The prose in chapter 1 balances gaily on the paradoxical copresence of lyrical intensity and ironic playfulness. Because the game of worlds is played from the out­ side, as i t were, t h e language is colored with a spirited clarity (shu-tang). Chapter 5, on the other hand, tries to present a grand summation of expe­ rience from the inside by interweaving a more intimate perspective with extreme artifice. The fascination with details in chapters 3 and 4 is carried over into this chapter. The resultant style is steeped in a kind of hyperbolic elaborateness (nung-mi, k'uai-shih). While the mixture of styles is striking in chapter 1, here a more uniformly elevated diction seems to take over. I will show now how the dense and ornate language is an attempt to convey a sense of totality filtered through the prism of fantasy and dream. Stylistic effervescence obscures the transition between dream and waking life. As many critics have pointed out, Pao-yu's dream starts with his en­ trance into Ch'in K'o-ch'mg's room. Once he steps inside he is assailed by a subtle sweet fragrance, a fitting introduction to the allure of incipient in­ toxication. The description of the room's decor in "playful metaphors" (she-p'i t'iao-k'an), as Red Inkstone puts it, "is quite different from what the great brush of the Story of the Stone normally deigns to adopt" (CYC, 118), but the whimsical evocation of erotic objects in history is certainly intended to charge the language with symbolic weight so that the distinction between reality and illusion may be transcended. by Yuan Chiao (ca 9th cent ) "Familiar spirits on the thrice-born stone, / Say no more about [the memory of] appreciating the moon and chanting in the wind / I am put to shame by the beloved friend who has braved great distance [to visit me] / Although my body is changed, my spirit will always remain " "Yuan-kuan" tells of the friendship between Li Yuan and the monk Yuan-kuan, which defies death and rebirth Before his death Yuan-kuan had told his friend of a meeting on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival twelve years hence. At the ap­ pointed time and place Li Yiian meets a shepherd boy whom he recognizes as Yiian Kuan Moved by Li Yuan's constancy, the monk-shepherd yet sternly insists on their different paths and sings the song quoted above The line thus evokes the pathos of remembering and forget­ ting, transcending time and being trapped in time

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The language of the dreamworld aspires to totality and symbolic conden­ sation. It is fitting, then, that Disenchantment's sister, later given to Paoyii in marriage, should be named Combining Beauties. The name is gener­ ally taken to refer to a fusion of Tai-yii and Pao-ch'ai, a union of opposites realizable only in the dreamworld, but of course it may also evoke all the g i r l s i n t h e g a r d e n . T h e r e a r e " t w e l v e b e a u t i e s of C h i n - l i n g " ( C h i n - l i n g shih-erh ch'ai), and twelve is a number of magical inclusivenss. As Red Inkstone points out, "the title consists of only twelve maidens, but there is no person who is not included, no event that is not recorded" (CYC, 131). The language of the dreamworld thus tries to embody a totality of experi­ ence. But such inclusiveness is equivocal, in the sense that ephemerality and plenitude are irrevocably conjoined. In the tradition of the portrayal of paradise in Taoist literature, the Illu­ sory Realm of Great Void is presented as concrete and resplendent. 51 But here the descriptive details are bound up with acts of naming that invest them with symbolic weight and at the same time introduce a kind of seman­ tic instability. Much of Disenchantment's discourse is taken up with the explanation and definition of names. Each scene in the dream vision is marked by an act of naming that on the graphic level involves an extrava­ gant and even surreal effect of fusion and overabundance, and that on the semantic level hides puns referring to dispersion and destruction. The fra­ grance called "marrow of myriad blossoms" (ch'tin-fang sui) is a pun for "the crushing of myriad blossoms." Similar puns apply in the case of the tea named "thousand red in one cave" (ch'ien-hung ι-k'u, "thousand red joining in tears") and the wine named "ten thousand beauties in one cup" (wan-yen t'ung-pei, "ten thousand beauties sharing a common anguish"). Total experience then embraces the experience of its own negativity. When Pao-yii drinks tea and wine in the Illusory Realm, he experiences beauty in its totality and, without realizing it, also experiences its ephemerality and inevitable destruction. Yii Ymg-shih and others have emphasized the intimate links between the Illusory Realm of Great Void and the Grand View Garden. 5 2 There are ob­ vious clues to this connection. The garden was originally named Precious Mirror of Celestial Beings (T'len-hsien Pao-ching). In chapter 5, Red Ink51

The paraphernalia of the otherworldly realm in H u t i g - I o u m e n g is more often Taoist than

Buddhist. "Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb" and "Divine Attendant Immortal Jade" both sound more plausible as names of Taoist figures Chen Shih-yin acheives enlightenment through a Taoist priest Miao-yu is a Taoist priestess In chapter 29 there is a detailed description of Taoist rites for pacifying departed souls at the Pure Void Temple (Ching-hsu Kuan). In general, the author is deliberately vague about the distinction between Buddhism and Taoism as alternative paths of renunciation. There are speculations on strong Taoist beliefs in the Ts'ao family (Yii Ta-kang, Hsi-ch'u tsung-heng fan, 60) Yu also suggests that the great affinity Ts'ao Hsuehch'in feels for Tang Hsien-tsu can be partly explained by the latter's Taoist inclinations ' 2 Cf Yu Ymg-shih, H u n g - I o u m e n g t i h a n g - k o s h i h - c h i e h , 39-68

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stone remarks that, in describing the splendors of the celestial precinct, the author "already set down the blueprint for the House of Imperial Visita­ tion" (CYC, 126). In the course of Pao-yii's naming tour of the garden in chapter 17, he is suddenly struck by the impression of a previous visit. Chia Cheng and his entourage, together with Pao-yii, have come to the marble archway of the main hall. The name "P'eng-lai Fairy Precincts" is sug­ gested and silently dismissed: "Pao-yii was all of a sudden strangely moved and started thinking. It seemed as if he had seen this place before, but try as he did he could not remember when or where" (HLM, 1:237). Although Pao-yii may not remember, the reader can certainly associate this with the archway to the Illusory Realm of Great Void. But if experience in the gar­ den is by definition open-ended, and if in its momentary intensity it is not conducive to an all-embracing vision (ta-kuan), the concentration of a to­ tality of experience in the garden's otherworldly counterpart may lead us to expect a comparably condensed version of total knowledge. The promise of such knowledge is indeed held out, but it is presented as unavailable to hu­ man understanding. What I have said so far about the paradoxical mutual implication of knowl­ edge and the fascination with illusion reaches a new intensity in the person of Disenchantment. This figure is ironic in more ways than one. Supposedly admonishing Pao-yii of the insubstantiality of sensual delights, she is yet introduced with a lengthy fu enumerating her charms. Earlier we examined her genealogy. The fu describing Disenchantment contains obvious verbal echoes from Sung Yii's "Fu on the Goddess" and Ts'ao Chih's "Fu on the Goddess of the River Lo." As with the earlier temptress-instructress fig­ ures, Disenchantment is described as half-hidden, fleeting, and ephemeral. The uncertainty of her aspect and intention is conveyed through a closely balanced syntax: Appearing and disappearing among the flowers, As charming m her joy as in her displeasure. Lingering and hesitating by the waterside, As if about to rise and float away. Her moth eyebrows frowned as she smiled— She seemed about to speak, yet would not Her lotus steps suddenly shifted— Apparently stopping, yet continuing m motion. (.HLM, 1 74)

The ambivalence of Disenchantment's aspect is consonant with the paradox she embodies: disenchantment through enchantment. In the entire book, the only other character whose first appearance is

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graced with some sort of metrical composition is Pao-yii. 53 The two songs describing Pao-yii, written to the tune "Hsi-chiang yiieh" (chap. 3), are doubly ironic. This is the second: He knew not how to cherish his prosperity, Nor how to endure the deprivations of poverty. What shameful waste time unredeemed and lost, To hopes of family and country equally forsworn In uselessness he must come first in the world, In gracelessness he has no peer in history. My word to those in the midst of silks and delicacies Do not imitate the ways of this young person.

(HLM, 1-50) The song obviously creates an ironic distance between the narrator and Paoyii, yet the idea of "uselessness" (wu-ts'ai) harks back to the beginning lament of Stone- he is considered "useless for the task of repairing heaven." Since the author identifies to a great extent with Stone's lament, for he too considers his existence flawed and justifiable perhaps only through writing, the irony cannot be delivered from a position of moral superiority. Also, the concluding two lines amount to a kind of "irony of irony." Pao-yii is raised above the common run of young men complacent in their affluence. In the words of Red Inkstone: "The last two lines are the most important. Those whose only claim to distinction is 'being surrounded by silks and delicacies' may not be unashamed in front of my Brother Jade. We can also know that even those who take after him by halves and quarters are cer­ tainly no stupid, good-for-nothing, rich young men" (CYC, 83). In contrast to the ironic turns of the "Hsi-chiang yiieh" songs, the f u describing Disenchantment is extravagantly laudatory and relies for its ef­ fect on cumulative details. As Red Inkstone points out, it is not a great piece of literature in its own right. But it is in line with the general mood of the chapter, which tries to create an impression of encyclopedic inclusiveness. 54 53

See CYC, 120-21 "According to the general rule of the book, there are no laudatory f u

or idle passages

Yet earlier there are two songs on Pao-yii, and now we have this fu. Why

should this be so ? For as these characters sum up the entire book, the author cannot but resort to this convention

In the earlier songs the author has his deeper intentions, and one can see

their superiority This fu is not that good, even so, it is indispensable " 54

In this respect the spirit of f u finds significant echoes in the whole chapter Many examples

of fu are enveloped in a sense of mystery, which paradoxically coexists with an exhaustively external, usually spatial, presentation (p'u -ch 'en) The imaginary or supernatural realm is ex­ plicitly invoked and lovingly described, only to be dismissed as illusory in the end Prominent examples include "Fu on Shang-hn Park," "Fu on Kao-t'ang," and "Fu on the Goddess " As we saw in the earlier discussion of the genealogy of Disenchantment, the sense of display and the play with illusion in fu, and the pose of turning admonition against sensual pleasure and

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One may press the point even further: the tone of the two "Hsi-chiang yiieh" songs really belongs to that of the first chapter, in which sudden shifts in perspective take issue with the idea of the aesthetic illusion as a whole, and in which irony is more obviously a function of the play with frames of reference. On the other hand, the fu on Disenchantment, like the rest of chapter 5, may seem too intent on presenting a vision of plenitude to leave room for irony. Or perhaps a more intimate and immediate per­ spective creates a sense of wonder that cannot bear too much ironic reflec­ tiveness. Herein lies the twist. It is the gap between the vision of a resplen­ dent spectacle and its meaning that charges with irony the dramatic metaphor that I have been using. The irony in the presentation of Disen­ chantment lies precisely in the discrepancy between the supposed austerity of her principles and the overwhelming sensuousness of her appearance and demeanor. The aura of plenitude enveloping Disenchantment is based on the ambi­ guity of her aspect and intention. By encompassing opposites she tran­ scends the logic of either/or; she is both present and absent, both alluring and forbidding. Moreover, because of the link between her and Ch'in K'och'ing, she is both transgression and its containment. Many Hung-Iou meng scholars have sought to construct the biographical details behind chapter 5, trying to prove or disprove whether the youthful Ts'ao Hsiiehch'in or Red Inkstone had an affair with an older female relative. I do not want to engage in that debate. Suffice it for us to recall that Ch'in K'o-ch'ing leads Pao-yu into his dream—at first he seems to see her walking ahead, and then Disenchantment appears—and he comes out of his dream calling her name, which he has not known but which happens to be the informal name (hsiao-tzu) of Disenchantment's sister. There are definitely deep affinities between K'o-ch'ing and Pao-yii. He passion into their paradoxical affirmation in some examples of f u , help us understand aspects of Chinese fiction, especially for a work such as Hung-Iou meng The enumeration of details and the delight in encyclopedic inclusiveness also inform several scenes in the seventeenth-century dream narrative Supplement to Journey to the West, in a manner comparable to chapter 5 in Hung-Iou meng—for example, the list of colors in Tripitaka's cloak in chapter 1, the list of weapons in chapter 3, the cosmetic set in chapter 7, and the elaborate description of the officials in the Region of Darkness in chapter 8 It is also interesting to note that while both works provide abundant allegorical clues (Supplement contains ubiq­ uitous references to and puns on the word ch'ing), both revel in an aesthetic surface that alle­ gorical decorum can barely sustain

Perhaps this combination is inherent m the paradox of

"disenchantment through enchantment," which is also the presumed message of Supplement. "To attain understanding of the Great Way, it is necessary to first see through roots of desire To see through roots of desire, it is necessary to first live through them Living through desire, one can see the illusory nature of roots of desire in this world Only then can one leave desire behind and know the reality of roots of the Way" ("Hsi-yu pu ta-wen" [Questions and an­ swers on Supplement to Journey to the \Nest\, in Tung Yueh, Hsi-yu pu, 5)

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spits blood when he hears about her death in chapter 13. Whether there is in fact an illicit relationship between them hardly matters. What is impor­ tant in the symbolic scheme of the book is that Pao-yii's sexual initiation in a dream is linked to a sense of transgression, for the embodiment of ideal beauty ("combining beauties") who initiates him into the art of love is somehow connected to his nephew's wife, who is also guilty of an affair with her father-in-law. K'o-ch'ing thus gives credence to the lines describ­ ing her destiny in the main register (one of the books in the Illusory Realm that contain poem-riddles on the fate of Pao-yii's female companions): "Heaven of love and sea of love conjure this body of love, / Love, meeting with its kind, must breed wantonness." 55 Through her figural connection with K'o-ch'ing, Disenchantment comes to represent excess and transgres­ sion. But Combining Beauties / K'o-ch'ing is, after all, only her sister, and Disenchantment also claims final authority for engineering the dream illu­ sion; it is in this sense that she also symbolizes the containment of trans­ gression. Indeed, it seems a piece of the same project that the dream-illusion should function as a bracketing device: with the modulated contours of dreams, intimations of transgression remain intimations. As the authoress of the revelation, Disenchantment seems to attain a measure of authority denied the monk and the Taoist. 56 The note of uncom­ prehending condescension is much more marked in the case of the latter two than in hers. From the beginning, when Pao-yii addresses her as "Sister Fairy" (Shen-hsien Chieh-chieh), to the point when she "hastily takes hold of Pao-yii's hand" (HLM, 1:82) in a gesture of protection as the other fairy maidens express distaste and question his right to be m the Illusory Realm, the reader is constantly reminded of their intimacy. As Red Inkstone puts i t , " o f course D i s e n c h a n t m e n t is a s o u l of deep feelings ( c h ' i n g - c h u n g ) " (CYC, 127). Disenchantment emerges as a kind of composite figure remi3S

H L M , 1 81 Ch'm K'o-ch'ing's name is usually glossed as c h ' i n g k ' o - c h ' i n g , which means

"love taken lightly." Cf Yao Hsieh's comment " 'Ch'in' means ch'ing [love] Loveshouldbe taken lightly [ch'ing k'o-ch'ing] and should not be allowed to become intense and destructive [erh pu k'o-ch'ing] (Ch'ing here means, literally, to overturn, a reference to Li Yen-men's jd circa 87 Β c ] famous poem which introduces Emperor Wu to the dangerous charms of his sister 'One glance leads to the downfall [ch'ing] ot a city, I Two glances the downfall of a kingdom. / Do you not know that cities and kingdoms may fall, / But such a beauty may not be yours ever again 7 ' [Lu Ch'in-li, Hsien-Ch'in Han Wei Chin Nan-pei-ch'ao shih, 1 102] ) This is the main theme of the book" (SCPP, 23) We do not have to agree with Yao Hsieh's moralistic reading, but we can take his cue and gloss Ch'in K'o-ch'ing's name in two ways "love taken lightly" and "love can destroy " 56 In "The Lyric Vision in Chinese Narrative Tradition A Reading of H u n g - I o u m e n g and Ju-ίιη wai-shih," Kao Yu-kung points out that, compared with the monk and the Taoist, Dis­ enchantment is more symbolic "in the sense of revealing the philosophical basis of the sym­ bolism of the work" (238)

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niscent of the important "older women" in Pao-yii's life: Ch'in K'o-ch'ing, Yiian-ch'un, and perhaps even Wang Hsi-feng. Such closeness should facil­ itate understanding, yet communication becomes a problem because Disenchantment's intentions appear contradictory. She tells Pao-yii: The reason I have come here today is that recently a heavy concentration of love karma has coiled and uncoiled itself at this place, and so I hope to be able to find an opportunity to distribute a quantity of amorous thoughts by implanting them in the appropriate breasts. My meeting with you today is also no accident. (1:75)

But Disenchantment gives a different explanation to the other fairy maidens when they protest against Pao-yii's presence in the Illusory Realm. She claims that she sets out to receive the spirit of Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb but brings Pao-yii instead upon the request of the spirits of the lord of Ningkuo and the lord of Jung-kuo. These two venerable ancestral spirits of the Chia clan beg Disenchantment to "above all use such things as love, desire, and pleasure of the senses to shock him out of his perverse indulgence in emotion" ( HLM , 1:82): Thus did they entreat me. I was moved to compassion and brought the boy here. I have already let him peruse fully the destiny registers of the upper-, middle-, and lower-ranked girls m his household, but he remained unenlightened, and so I have brought him to this place for another attempt By letting him experience yet again the illusions of drinking, feasting, and pleasures of the senses, I hope he may be awakened at some point in the future. It is not impossible. (1:82)

The language of knowledge is thus contradictory and governed by a dual thrust of enticement and enlightenment. This contradictormess is trans­ lated into a pattern of concealment in the revelation. As in Chen Shih-yin's encounter with the monk and the Taoist in his dream, here, too, disclosure is tantalizingly incomplete and momentary. Pao-yii is allowed to read the registers so long as he does not understand. As soon as there is a hint that he may grasp their meaning, Disenchantment dissuades him from "puz­ zling over undecipherable riddles" (ta men hu-lu). One Ch'ing reader, Master of Discourse on Stone (Hua-shih Chu-jen), sums up the play of contradictions: Although the realm is called "Illusory," to enter into illusion is already tanta­ mount to experiencing reality, and if the ford is called "Delusion," how can hold­ ing on to delusion lead to enlightenment? The fairy goddess is indeed muddleheaded. Passing on stones of passion, the Master of Emptiness (Kung Shih, i.e., Voidmg-the-Void Taoist) is actually the Master of Passion [Ch'ing Shih]; teach­ ing the art of love, Disenchantment might as well be called Enchantment. 57 H u n g - I o u m e n g c h m g - ι (Essential meanings of H u n g - I o u m e n g , 1879), H L M C , 1 7 6

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The irony of Disenchantment's position gains further reverberations through her association with the implied author. As the sense of dramatic performance is reinforced by framing devices and by mannenstic, abrupt changes of scene, we have the impression that Disenchantment steps out of the aesthetic illusion at will to comment on it by coalescing with the implied author. Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in is self-conscious about the musical irregularities of his songs, 58 and so Disenchantment is made to call the performance to a halt after the first line in order to explain and justify it to the reader: "These songs are not like those in the c h ' u a n - c h ' i drama of your dust-stained world, in which there are always fixed parts of sheng, tan, ching, mo, and so on, and where limits are set by the nine musical tunes and by northern and southern modes Moved by a person or an event, I composed these songs, and they were set to musical accompaniment if by chance 1 hit upon an aria. One who is not in the know cannot appreciate their true wonder. I do not expect you to have a deep understanding of such music. Unless you read the text first and then listen to the songs, you may find them rather insipid." (HLM, 1:84)

Pao-yu is made to read the lyrics while listening to the songs so that he may attain a fuller grasp of their meaning. Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in is probably aware that the songs are not exactly "singable." But in the same breath Disen­ chantment states that only those "in the know" (ko-chung jen) can under­ stand her intention. As Red Inkstone puts it, "The three words ['in the know'] are crucial. I wonder who is 'in the know' > Is Pao-yii 'in the know' ? And then is Stone also 'in the know'? The author as well? The reader too?" (CYC, 128). A kind of "inner circle" is invoked in an almost conspiratorial m a n n e r ; t o be " i n t h e k n o w " suggests " p e o p l e like o u r s e l v e s " ( w o - p e i chung jen). The ambiguities here have important implications for problems of meaning and of authority over discourse. To be "in the know" cannot mean mere intellectual acquiescence to preordained events: it is also a kind of blind openness to experience, which is paradoxically both necessary for and antithetical to ultimate understanding. In "Prelude to the Dream of the Red Chamber" (Hung-lou meng yintzu), which marks the beginning of the performance, the voice of Disen­ chantment seems to merge with that of the author and the narrator: 58

Red Inkstone refers to "northern tunes created by the author himself" ( C Y C , 129) Cf

Yu Ta-kang, Hsi-ch'u ts'ung-heng-t'an, 64. Yu points out that the "Twelve Songs on the Dream of the Red Chamber" violate tonal and prosodic rules, and even the titles of the tunes are fabricated by Ts'ao Instead of taking the fixed roles of sheng, tan, ching, and mo, the twelve fairy maidens sing in unison. The twelve songs involve significant shifts in perspective. For example, the second song is unique in being Pao-yii's direct address to Pao-ch'ai, the sev­ enth, eighth, and ninth songs are sung in the third person, while the fourth, fifth, and tenth songs sound more like direct self-expression from a first-person narrative Cf Hsu Fu-ming, Hung-lou meng yu hsi-ch'u ρι-chiao yen-chiu, 40

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From the beginning, when the world emerged from chaos, Who are the ones with the seed of deep feelings [ c h ' i n g - c h u n g ] ? ( H L M , 1:84)

Red Inkstone comments: "Who else but the author? I must add: but it is not the author either, it is just Stone" (CYC, 129). The song continues: Love deepens with the wind and moon. 59 At this point when heaven is helpless, Days nostalgic and melancholy, And moments heavy with loneliness, I would unburden my foolish heart, And stage this performance of "The Dream of the Red Chamber," elegiac memories of the "gold" and the "jade." 60

Red Inkstone remarks that "the word 'foolish' is a remarkably clever display of self-deprecation" (CYC, 129). The implication is that in this song, with its intensely nostalgic and elegiac mood, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in reverts to the confessional mode. Through her fusion with the implied author Disen­ chantment seems to be lost in a moment of self-enchantment. Notwithstanding Disenchantment's solicitousness, Pao-yii's comprehen­ sion of the songs is limited to an appreciation of their sensual surface: "When Pao-yii listened to these songs, he found them disorganized, vague, elliptical, and without special merit. But the music was moving and melan­ choly, even to the point of drugging the spirit and intoxicating the soul. So he gave up asking 'how' or 'why/ and just tried for the time being to dispel his boredom by listening" (HLM, 1:85). Red Inkstone applauds this piece of "self-criticism and self-contradiction" (tzu-p'i-po) and points out the analogy between Pao-yii and the reader. "The author is saying metaphori­ cally that the readers should read this book, Hung-Iou meng, in the same spirit; it is not necessary to investigate its hidden or allegorical meanings" (CYC, 130). This returns the reader to the elusive promise of understanding held out only to those "in the know"; at the same time the author also 59 Possibly an allusion to Ou-yang Hsiu's (1007-1072) song "There are those of us afflictcd with obsessive passion, / This longing and sadness cannot be blamed on the wind and moon" (to the tune "Yu-lou ch'un," CST, 1 132) "Wind-moon" (feng-yiieh) is a standard way to refer to love and sex In the song on Ch'in K'o-ch'ing, she is described as bringing about her own ruin and that of the famiJy because she is "skilled in the art of dalliance" (feng-ch'ing, lit., "wind feelings") and "endowed with unusual beauty" ( yueh-mao , lit., "moon looks" (HLM, 1 89) 6 0 H L M 1 84 "Gold" ( c h i n ) and "jade" ( y u ) refer of course to Pao-ch'ai with her golden locket and to Pao-yii and Tai-yu with the word "jade" in their names. More generally, the songs mourn the inevitable loss of youth and innocence.

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seems to be humorously dismissing elaborate interpretive frameworks that bypass the aesthetic surface of the work. In this sense chapter 5 dramatizes the process of understanding even more insistently than does chapter 1. The sense of display and spectacle is more resplendent and complex, and the apparently discontinuous scenes progress under a logic of heightening sensuality, culminating in Pao-yii's sexual ini­ tiation with Disenchantment's sister, whose name turns her into a symbolic evocation of all the girls for whom Pao-yii feels affinity. The metaphor of dramatic performance is in some respects opposed to dream experience. The chapter as a whole is not imitative of dream experi­ ence, except at key points of transition between waking and dreaming, and with certain abrupt shift of scene in the dream itself. (Pao-yu is "dazed and confused" [huang-huang hu-hu] when, thoroughly baffled, he puts down the destiny registers [HLM, 1:81(. The same phrase is used to describe the way he carries out Disenchantment's instructions with her sister.) But when Pao-yii reads the destiny registers and listens to the songs, the con­ sciousness of artifice makes the scenes seem more operatic than dreamlike. The dramatic metaphor has even more far-reaching implications. As was suggested earlier, between the spectacle and its meaning is the silence or blankness of incomprehension, and this silence is presented in such a way that the reader empathizes with Pao-yii. The most interesting passages in the chapter describe Pao-yii's reactions, which equivocate the very distinc­ tion between appearance and its hidden meaning. The will to know becomes the cause for delusion. Confronted with the couplet at a palace with the words "the Sea of Pain and the Heaven of Pas­ sion" (Nieh-hai Ch'ing-t'ien) on its gate, Pao-yii is roused to curiosity: High heaven and deep earth mourn that there is no end to passion past and present. Deluded souls, men and women suffer for debts of love that are so hard to pay. Pao-yii saw that and said to himself, Is that so . . . But 1 wonder what is 'passion past and present,' or 'debts of wind and moon' [i.e., 'debts of love'] ? From now on I must make an effort to understand." By merely indulging in that passing thought, Pao-yii had without realizing it invited those evil karma of love to lodge in the innermost recesses of his being (HLM, 1 75)

At his moment of understanding, as when he grasps enough of the meaning of the couplet at the Department of the Ill-fated Fair (Po-ming Ssu) to sigh in melancholy (1:76), his sympathy confirms him in his affliction. At cer­ tain junctures he is completely mystified, as when he confronts the registers and the songs, but at the same time the knowledge embodied by these pro-

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phetic statements is divested of relevance for the immediate present and the immediately felt. This last idea deserves closer scrutiny. Red Inkstone suggests that the idea behind the riddles may be derived from the Tui-pei t'u (lit., "Push back pictures"), a book of prophecies on the destinies of dynasties through­ out history: 61 "This chapter then borrows its principles to teli of the fate of these girls. Such prophecies do not provide food with gossip to go down with tea or wine, nor do they meddle with contemporary politics" (CYC, 123-24). Here Red Inkstone may just be repeating the author's political cautiousness, but he emphasizes a turn from the public to the private that is of crucial significance. These prophetic riddles are not talked about; they are effaced from Pao-yii's memory once he wakes up. In indicating a higher, generalized causality, they come close to being a private version of a sense of historical destiny. But in their essential nature they remain elliptical rid­ dles that cannot be decoded or remembered by the protagonist. Their values lies in their undecipherability; the formula of "enlightenment through feel­ ings" is no longer possible if Pao-yii understands these enigmatic state­ ments, for comprehension and acceptance of their meaning would imply the negation of feelings, spontaneity, freedom, and the will to act. The knowl­ edge offered as substitute for the delusions created by feelings is then just as empty. The only wisdom possible seems to lie in the ability to sustain with spirit and detachment the awareness that both subjective projection and the external necessity limiting it are equally unreliable. The final lesson of the realm of dream and illusion is a lesson in irony. 61

There is an anonymous T u i - p e i - t ' u c h u a n (lit , "Push Back Picture Scroll") in the H i s t o r y

of the Sung Dynasty (Sung shih), "Treatise on the Arts" (I-wen-chih), Section on the Five Elements (Wu-hsing lei). Legend has it that Li Ch'un-feng and Yuan T'len-kang of the T'ang Dynasty were making prophetic pictures to foretell changes in history. When they came to the sixtieth picture, Yiian pushed Li's back to stop him, hence the name "Push Back Picture Scroll." The first Sung emperor, Tai-tsu (r 1115-1123), supposedly tried to stop the circulation of this prophetic book, and, failing to do that, rearranged it and confused its order of events. The omens are vague and equivocal enough to yield several interpretations so that they can be made to suit whatever events transpire

CHAPTER FIVE

Self-Reflexivity and the Lyrical Ideal in Hung-Iou meng

ACCORDING TO Red Inkstone, the last chapter of H u n g - I o u m e n g includes

the "Final Listing of the Characters' Feelings" made up by Disenchantment, in which the major characters of the book are classified and graded according to the depth, scope, and nature of their feelings. This last chapter is unfor­ tunately now lost to us, 1 but Red Inkstone tells us that Pao-yii should be at the top of this list with the paradoxical epithet "feeling not-feeling." What then is the nature of Pao-yu's ch'ing and the meaning of its negation or transcendence? This question has to be considered in terms of the author's attitude toward Pao-yii. Pao-yii fulfills the wonted lyrical ideal of the tra­ dition—spontaneity, intensity, self-containment—while representing the author's unease with that ideal. Much H u n g - I o u m e n g scholarship is devoted to proving and disproving the parallels between the lives of Pao-yii, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in, and Red Ink­ stone. Instead of delving into the biographical details of this debate, I con­ sider the question here in terms of the relationship between the narrator and Pao-yii, especially at such moments when the distance between the two is dramatized through the invocation of the narrator's mythic identity as Stone. 1 propose to gauge the nature of the author's critical reflectiveness, and to evaluate whether there is any coincidence between the transcendence expressed through the narrator's detachment and the sort of knowledge at­ tained by Pao-yii in his moments of disenchantment. Against the conventional reading that Pao-yu progresses toward Bud­ dhist enlightenment as he lives through experiences of joy and sorrow, I submit that there is no real historical or cumulative development in Paoyu's understanding of emptiness and detachment, and explain in this chap­ ter how Pao-yii in his inward experiences is capable of involutions but not 1

A comment by Crooked Tablet in chapter 17/18 (these chapters are merged in the Keng-

ch'en and Chi-mao [1759] manuscript editions) indicates that he read the list in late spring 1762, when he mentions that previous references to the "twelve beauties" are imprecise and based on speculation: "Only when I read the 'Final Listing' of Disenchantment m the last chapter did I know the names of the girls in the main, supplementary, second supplementary, third supplementary, and fourth supplementary registers" (CYC, 331) By 1767, Crooked Tab­ let was bemoaning the loss of this last chapter, although it and the other five or six lost chapters were still included in the Hung-Iou meng that Aisin Gioro Yung-chung (1735-1793) read in 1768 Cf Chang Ai-ling, Hung-Iou meng yen, 319-47

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of irony. In other words, self-reflexivity is more the domain of Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in than of Pao-yii. In this Pao-yii is true to the lyrical ideal, for lyrical intensity is a suspension of the moment, just as enchantment and fascination belong to the moment and have little to do with duration and history. To the extent that sudden enlightenment (tun-wu) is also of the moment and bypasses historical continuity in the heightening of awareness, it too is a manifestation of lyrical consciousness. In order to understand Pao-yii's consciousness, the state of enchantment and the moments of dis­ enchantment, we have to explore how Pao-yii's consciousness is defined by his experience in the Illusory Realm of Great Void and in the garden. We also have to take issue with Disenchantment's description of his "lust of the mind" and the paradoxical epithet "feeling not-feeling."

LUST OF THE MIND

Before Disenchantment brings about the sexual union between Pao-yii and her sister Combining Beauties, she explains to him his special gift and af­ fliction, "lust of the mind" (i-yin): "What I like about you is that you are the most lustful person in the whole world throughout history" (HLM, 1: 90). Pao-yii is much taken aback, for he has not experienced any carnal relationship. Disenchantment goes on to explain the difference between the lust of the insatiable sensualist and Pao-yii's longing: "Although lust is just one principle, there are different meanings to it. What the world calls lustful, for instance, are those seeking pleasure in fair looks, music, or dancing; those who indulge endlessly and indiscriminately in flirtations and lovemaking; those who wish that all the beautiful women m the world would be at their disposal to satisfy their whim of the moment—those are mere sensualist brutes. But your nature has been endowed from birth with this obsessive longing, what we call 'lust of the mind.' The words 'lust of the mind' can be intuitively understood but not spoken of, apprehensible with the spirit yet not communicable through language. Now that you are credited with this attribute, you will of course be a dear friend to the gentler sex, but the ways of the world will be foreign to you Considered strange and eccentric, you will suffer much slander and cal­ umny " (1:90)

Pao-yii's nature is defined by an obsessive longing (ch'ih-ch'ing) and lust of the mind. In chapter 2 I discussed how desire preexists the object of desire in The Peony Pavilion. Here Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in invents an entire myth to charge the idea with new power and broaden its scope. The deep affinity Pao-yii feels for those he knows and loves returns us to Stone's desire for being and experience, which is rooted in a primal flaw (ch'ueh-hsien): the fracture in heaven and his superfluity. This flaw or lack will never be made good, hence the potential infinitude of Pao-yii's desire. (The word yin in i-

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yin means "boundless and excessive." Its application is not limited to sexual passion. Although in most cases its connotations are somewhat pejorative, it also can be neutral or positive, as in shu-yin [total immersion in books]. The word thus points to the propensity for excess and for effacement of boundaries in Pao-yii's being.) Wang Kuo-wei glosses the word yii (jade) in Pao-yu's name as meaning yii (desire) and explains Stone's earthly exis­ tence as t h e result of a "will t o being" o r a "desire for life" (sheng-huo chih yii). 2 While the Schopenhauerian echoes in Wang Kuo-wei's argument do not always clarify the issues at stake, I basically agree with the way he glosses yii here as "desire." Desire is rooted in flaw. We are often reminded of how those "afflicted with love karma"—the elect, as it were—m Hung-Iou meng suffer from a certain lack in their very being. Thus Lin Tai-yii is born with the "sickness of insufficiency," Pao-ch'ai is afflicted from birth with a certain "poisonous humor" (je-tu), and Pao-yu is judged to be quite devoid of the qualities that would allow him to survive and succeed in the human world. Chen Shihyin's daughter, Ying-Iien (a homophone for "worthy of pity"; her name is later changed to Hsiang-ling, a kenning for "mirror," which suggests that her sufferings reflect the destiny in store for the other female characters), the first of the young girls to appear in the book, has a birthmark, and in a sense Pao-yu and the objects of his desire all are marked: it is a mark of superior sensibility and at the same time a mark of fundamental flaw. Disenchantment dismisses as sheer hypocrisy those who claim "appreci­ ation of beauty free from lust" (hao-se pu-yin) and "spiritual affinity dif­ ferent from lust" (ch'ing erh pu-yin): "To appreciate beauty is already lust, to know love and longing even more so" (HLM, 1:90). It is as if Disenchant­ ment is dismantling in advance the categories with which Pao-yu may be classified ("appreciation of b e a u t y " [hao-se] o r "spiritual affinity" [chihch'ing]), categories sublimated enough to turn him into an unproblematic embodiment of spiritual ideals. But the sensual and spiritual realms cannot be easily separated. After all, the culmination of Pao-yu's dream visit to the Illusory Realm of Great Void is his sexual initiation with Disenchantment's sister, and upon waking he repeats the lesson in the art of love with Hsijen. There are also strong hints that he has a sexual relationship with Ch'in Chung and the actor Chiang Yii-hsien. Yet his relationship with the girls in the garden is blithely innocent. (The word ι in i-yin suggests that excesses here are incipient and potential.) Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in certainly tries his best to sustain a paradoxical conjoining of innocence and experience in his depic­ tion of Pao-yii. In the context of the garden world, Pao-yu's "lust of the mind" is mani­ fested as spiritual affinity, innocence, spontaneity, play, and disinterested 2

" H u n g - l o u m e n g p'lng-hm," in H L M C , 250.

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appreciation of his companions. Red Inkstone describes Pao-yu's obsessive longing (ch'ih-ch'ing) as the fashioning of the self to better accommodate and appreciate the wishes and desires of the other (t'i-t'ieh) (CYC, 199). In order to define the nature of Pao-yu's ch'ing, we should explore the mean­ ing of the paradoxical epithet "feeling not-feeling." As mentioned earlier, Red Inkstone refers to the "Final Listing of the Characters' Feelings" in the author's original conception of the book. 3 This is a list made up by Disen­ chantment in which the characters are classified and graded according to their capacity for feeling; the epithets include the character "love" (ch'ing) and another character qualifying it as a verb or adjective. 4 Although the chapter is lost, we know that the epithet for Pao-yii is "feeling not-feeling," and that for Tai-yu "feeling feeling." If we take ch'ing as a verb and pu-ch'ing as a noun, then ch'ing-pu-ch'tng means "feeling deeply even for the insentient or nonfeeling." In chapter 23 Pao-yii is reading The Western Chamber in the garden, and just as he comes to the line "The red petals in legions are falling" (HLM, 1:324), a gust of wind blows over and a shower of peach blossom petals falls, covering his clothes, his book, and all the ground about him: "Pao-yii was about to shake them off, but, fearing that they might be trodden underfoot, he collected them in his gown, went to the water's edge, and shook them in" (1:325). Red Inkstone describes Pao-yu's attitude of loving reverence toward the fallen blossoms as "feeling for the nonfeeling" (CYC, 455). In chapter 19, when Pao-yii worries that the painted image of a beauty may feel lonely and decides to pay her a visit, there is a similar comment: "He was born with an obsessive longing, the so-called 'feeling for the nonfeeling' " (CYC, 354). In chapter 8, Pao-yii treats one of his maids, Ch'ien-hsueh, peremptorily in a fit of bad temper. Red Inkstone points out that the author emphasizes Pao-yu's intoxicated state (ta-tsui). He behaves badly only because he is completely drunk; at other times, "for everything, including that which is devoid of consciousness and feeling, he fashions himself to better appreciate and cherish them because of his own obsessive longing" (CYC, 199). After one brief meeting with Hsiao-hung (chap. 24), he thinks of making her one 3 This is also called "Final Listing of the Characters' Entanglement in Illusion" (h u a n pang) {CYC, 443). 4

This is probably in the manner of the c h u a n titles in A n a t o m y of L o v e , which has an

alternate title, The Precious Mirror of the Heaven of Love (Ch'ing-t'ien pao-chien), an obvious parallel with The Precious Mirror of Love. Chao Kang believes that the list is closely related to each character's monthly allowance (yueh-ch'ien), ι e , his or her place in the economic struc­ ture of the family (see Hua-hsiang t'ung-ch'ou [Fragrance of flowers, stench of copper coins]) Yu Ying-shih gives a more convincing account of how the list should be based on talent, beauty, social status, and, most important of all, the character's emotional connection with P a o - y u ( H u n g - I o u m e n g ti h a n g - k o s h i h - c h i e h , 1 1 0 - 3 6 ) C f . C h o u J u - c h ' a n g , H u n g - I o u m e n g yii Chung-kuo wen-hua, 172-78.

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of his personal maids, but is held back out of consideration for Hsi-jen and the other maids. Red Inkstone comments on his anxious ruminations and attempted anticipation of the wishes of his maids: "Brother Jade would al­ ways treat with deep feelings even that which is without feelings, let alone those who do have feelings" (CYC, 477). Even the most fleeting encounter fills him with ineffable longing: in one of the rare excursions beyond the Chia compound, Pao-yii accompanies Wang Hsi-feng on a trip to make ar­ rangements for Ch'in K'o-ch'ing's burial. At one of their stops, a peasant girl teaches Pao-yu how to work the spinning wheel. As they are leaving, Pao-yu sees the girl, with her young brother in her lap, walking toward them: "He was dying to come down from the carriage and follow her, but knowing full well how that would upset everybody, he could only bid her farewell with his eyes. What with the carriage being so swift and the horses so light-stepped, in a moment she was lost to sight forever" ( HLM, 1:202). In his way of dealing with the world—not the world of public affairs and ambitious striving, but the garden world, the world of beauty, innocence, spontaneity, freedom, and play as symbolized by the girls and the world of nature—Pao-yii lacks a sense of boundary or any awareness of the division of self and other (pu-fen jen-wo). In chapter 58, he indulges in a series of ruminations while looking at an apricot tree past its flowering time. He thinks of Hsiu-yen, who is about to be married: soon she will be like "a tree with a canopy of green leaves and fruit-laden branches." 5 A bird flies past, and Pao-yii imagines it crying with nostalgia for the apricot blossoms: "Only I don't know—when the tree blooms again, will this bird remember to come here to meet the apricot blossoms?" ( HLM , 2:822-23). The Ch'ing commentator Ch'en Ch'i-t'ai (1800-1864) considers this the prime example of Pao-yii's obsessive longing: On the first level, the sight of nature moves him to mourning for a person. The feeling is still simple and straightforward. On the second level, he sees a bird fly past and enters into the finest nuances of its emotions. Such feelings run deep, and cannot be understood by the common run of humanity. On the third level, his thoughts enter the realm of illusion. Feelings pushed to the point of exhaus­ tion breed new feelings. . . . Compared to his imitation of the passage from the Chuang Tzu m chapter 21, this shows an understanding ten times deeper In that passage he just imitates the form; here he gets at the essence. 6 ' Tu Mu (803—853) "I came too late to look for spring, / There is no need for melancholy, mourn not the time of flowering. / The wild wind brought to its last the deep red / Now the green leaves form a canopy, and fruits fill the branches" ("Melancholy" [Ch'ang shih], CTS 1 c 527 6033) According to Chi Yu-kung [chm-shih, 1121) Tu Mu once met a girl in her early teens at Huchow Fourteen years later, when he met her again, she had become a wife and a mother. In his melancholy he composed the above poem (T'ang-shih chi-shth, c 56.879) '· Ch'en Ch'i-t'ai, T ' u n g - h u a f e n g k o p ' t n g H u n g - I o u m e n g c h i - l u , 184—85 (Ch'en's com­ mentary was begun in 1816 and probably finished in the 1850s-I860s )

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Empathetic understanding stipulates that what is imagined is already real. The scene under the apricot tree is thus the perfect setting for Pao-yii's encounter with the actress Ou-kuan, who is mourning for her "wife" on stage, the deceased actress Ti-kuan; the love between the two young ac­ tresses shows how acting establishes reality. An older woman servant rep­ rimands Ou-kuan for burning paper and making offerings in the garden, and Pao-yii defends Ou-kuan by claiming that he is enjoined by the Apricot Spirit to make offerings, and Ou-kuan is doing so only on his behalf. This is an appropriate fib, for the invention of the Apricot Spirit and Ou-kuan's love both spring from the kind of understanding available to lyrical con­ sciousness, in which "true feelings" (chen-ch'ing) and "foolish reasoning" (ch'ih-h) converge. 7 C h ' i n g - p u - c h ' i n g , then, embodies empathetic understanding in the tra­ ditional aesthetic ideal of "union of self and object" (wu-ινο ho-i); it is also, paradoxically, both boundless selflessness and boundless expansion of the ego. The boundary between self and other is effaced in moments of selfforgetfulness (ivang-wo, wang-ch'ing), as when Pao-yii gleefully becomes his maids' servant (HLM, 1:486); when he urges Ling-kuan to take shelter from the rain, quite oblivious to the fact that meanwhile he himself is com­ pletely drenched (1:426); and when, after Υϋ-ch'uan spills hot soup on him, he is all solicitousness toward her and does not notice his own pain (1:482). But the obverse side of this selfless devotion is extreme self-indulgence, the desire that the universal order of things should conform to one's wishes. This becomes evident when we consider the context of these instances of selfless concern for others. Pao-yii is piqued and saddened when he finds out that Ling-kuan is actually obsessed with Chia Ch'iang and is quite in­ different to him. While the scene with Υϋ-ch'uan is touching enough, we are nevertheless reminded of Yii-ch'uan's sister Chin-ch'uan, who commits suicide upon dismissal from Madame Wang's service. She incurs Madame Wang's displeasure because Pao-yii is caught flirting with her, another, more disastrous, instance of a moment of self-forgetfulness. C h ' i n g pu-ch'ing can also mean "feeling too deeply and thus becoming unfeeling" (ch'ing chi pu-ch'ing). In chapter 21, after a vehement argument with Hsi-jen which ends with Hsi-jen's cold indifference toward him, Paoyii tries to console himself with thoughts of letting go: "he could brace himself with the idea that even if they (Hsi-jen and She-yiieh) were dead, he would have to get by anyway" (HLM, 1:291). Red Inkstone comments: Of course none, past or present, can compare to Pao-yii's feelings. But Pao-yii is poisoned by excessive feelings [ch'ing-chi chih tu\; that is why he can do what others cannot bear to do. When one reaches the latter half of the book, this be­ comes quite obvious. Pao-yii can be cruel in a manner that people of the world 7

The title couplet of chapter 58 is· "In the shade of the apricot, the false phoenix weeps for

its illusory mate, / Under the red gauze window, true feelings gauge foolish reasoning "

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cannot bear to be, that is why later we have the chapter on how he "let go his clinging hands at the hanging cliff." 8 Anybody with a wife like Pao-ch'ai and a maid like She-yueh would find it impossible to give up everything to become a monk Such is Yii's lifelong perversity. (CYC, 416)

Only one absolute can yield another. The gesture of final renunciation has this much in common with obsessive attachment: both involve a certain mode of self-denial, and both are rooted in the longing for freedom and unrestraint. With this difference: the prime concern of pu-ch'ing is free­ dom from the burden of desire, while that of ch'ing is freedom to pursue fulfillment of desire. This second reading of ch'ing-pu-ch'ing is the dialec­ tical opposite of the first. In the first reading ch'ing is unproblematic, quasireligious spiritual affinity; its transformative power is unequivocally af­ firmed. The second reading, on the other hand, emphasizes the inevitable self-negation of excessive ch'ing. A third way—by far the most commonsensical and mundane—to inter­ pret ch'ing pu-ch'ing appears in a comment in the Mongolian Prince Palace edition (Meng-fu pen or Wang-fu pen): Perhaps the myriad forms cannot arise or come together without desire [ c h ' i n g ] . Desire is manifested m attachment, when attachments are too numerous the heart lacks a still, fixed image. When the heart is not stilled, numerous illusions and delusions come into being. Just like water being drawn away, one's feelings ebb and one lapses into a state of unfeeling [wu-ch'mg]. This is the case of Paoyu's feeling deeply yet not feeling [to -ch'mg erh pu -ch'ing chth an], something that should claim our attention. (CYC, 568)

The occasion of these comments is a certain Fu Ch'iu-fang, who is named as a possible match for Pao-yii. Just hearing about her extraordinary beauty and talent is enough to move Pao-yii to "love and longing from afar" ( hsiassu yao-ai) (HLM, 1:481). The commentator goes on to explain the logic of how "more is less": 9 "Besides, those who feel for too many are not singleminded in their attachment [fan-ai che pu-chuan]. New ones are added on to old ones; how could there be an end to it all? That is why the heart burdened with multiple deep attachments f to-ch'ing chih hsm] cannot help but sink to the state of nonfeeling [wu-ch'ing chih ti]" (CYC, 569). 8

This phrase probably was in the title of the last chapter.

9

The commentator is probably not one of the authors of the original C h i h - y e n c h a i com­ mentaries The Mongolian Prince Palace edition, the editions with prefaces by Ch'i Liao-sheng (chin-shih, 1782), the so-called ChVHu pen (the Ch'i edition kept in Shanghai) and the Ch'iNing pen (the Ch'i edition kept in Nanking), and the Yu-cheng edition (Yu-cheng pen), pub­ lished in 1912 (large character edition) and 1920 (small character edition) by the Shanghai Yucheng Publishing House, with comments by its owner Ti Pao-hsien (1873-1939) m addition to the Chih-yen chai commentaries probably have a common origin. See CYC, 13-23, 66-73, Chou Ju-ch'ang, Hung-Iou meng hsin-cheng, 941-52, 971-98, 999-1015

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Of the three interpretations of c h ' i n g - p u - c h ' i n g , I regard this as the least compelling, though the most sensible. Pao-yii's feelings do not lack inten­ sity for all the wide range of his sensibilities. The author is presenting an idealized picture of love that combines the capacity to encompass all and to feel very deeply about each individual. Pao-yu has deep emotional ties with almost all the inmates of the garden, ties that are confirmed in emblematic scenes. 10 At the same time there is no doubt that his feelings for Tai-yii are deepest and most intense. The author seems to be postulating a hypothetical metaphysical ideal of a love as deep as it is all inclusive, an obsessive attach­ ment riveted as much on a single individual as on a general idea. Both the second and third interpretations involve a dimension of ironic reflectiveness o n t h e absolute claims of ch'ing. W h a t finally allows ch'ing to resist irony in Hung-Iou meng is, first of all, its link to radical innocence, and second, its presumed inexpressibility. Irony is the consciousness of the gap between self and other, between the real and the ideal, but the garden experience is predicated on innocence, the refusal of such discontinuities. Irony is also a function of a certain kind of language, but Disenchantment describes how "lust of the mind" is not communicable through language; it can be apprehended only intuitively. As we saw in the previous chapter, communication in the love relation­ ships in the book is frustrating and fraught with difficulty. The inadequacy of words is repeatedly emphasized; Red Inkstone points out again and again that the language of love fails to articulate meaning. In chapter 19, m the midst of the hustle and bustle of theatrical performance and family feast in the Eastern Mansion, Pao-yu is suddenly reminded of a scroll in one study. He wants to attend to the beauty in the painting, for fear she may be lone­ some. Red Inkstone applauds this instance of "obsessive longing" expressed " i n s u p r e m e defiance of logic a n d c o m m o n s e n s e " (chi p u - t ' u n g , chi h u shuo). In the studio he surprises his servant, Ming-yen, in the act of making love to a maid, for whom he feels an immediate impulse to protect and cherish. After the girl leaves in hurried embarrassment, Pao-yu asks about her age and Ming-yen seems none too sure. "So it is for nothing that she knows you! What a pity! What a pity!" (HLM, 1:263). Red Inkstone re­ marks that the incident is typical of Pao-yii's uniqueness: "Especially re­ g a r d i n g Tai-yii, h i s befuddled a n d incomprehensible [ h u - l u n pu-chieh] words can actually be [intuitively] understood, but even when understood one cannot articulate their logic. . . . I regard as the greatest and the most beautiful m o m e n t s i n T h e S t o r y of t h e S t o n e t h o s e m o s t obsessed [chihch'ih], most foolish [chih-ai], befuddled and incomprehensible words of Pao-yii and Tai-yii" (CYC, 355). Later on m the same chapter Pao-yii ex10

Cf C Y C , 627: "All cases of love [c h ' i n g - a n ] m the book have to be registered [k u a - h a o ]

through Brother Jade "

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presses regret that Hsi-jen's pretty cousin was not born into a wealthy, cultured family like his own, "whereas impure beings like ourselves do live here." Red Inkstone describes these words as "befuddled and incomprehen­ sible" (CYC, 367). They make Pao-yii unique and place him beyond cate­ gories of ethical judgement. The epithets bestowed on Pao-yu and Tai-yii in the "Final Listing of the Characters' Sentiments" are similarly illogical and paradoxical, not the least because they violate the syntax of the lan­ guage. Red Inkstone goes on: "Later I came across the following in the 'Final Listing': Pao-yii is 'feeling not-feeling,' Tai-yii is 'feeling feeling.' These epithets are naturally assessments of their perversity and obsessiveness. And these summary judgments too are illogical and paradoxical. Su­ perb indeed!" 11 Both words in the compound i - y m rebel against signification—i because of its implication of concealment and indirection; yin by virtue of its mean­ ing of excess and limitlessness. "Lust of the mind" is finally not expressible, just as Disenchantment tells Pao-yu as he is watching the performance of "Twelve Songs on the Dream of the Red Chamber" that "one who is not in the know cannot appreciate their true wonder" (HLM, 1:84). Earlier I quoted Red Inkstone: "The three words ['in the know'] are crucial. I wonder who is 'in the know'? Is Pao-yii 'in the know'? And then is Stone also 'in the know'? The author as welP The reader too?" (CYC, 128) Perhaps, in the last analysis, it is not possible to decide who is "in the know." In the dialectics between the world of ch'ing and that of pu-ch'ing, there is finally a core of mystery. But even as Pao-yii gives up asking how and why and just loses himself in the sensuous musical surface of the twelve songs, artis­ tic expression and communication somehow bypass the insistence on ulti­ mate meaning and unequivocal knowledge. To this extent, one may say that irony here does not imply genuine negativity, as an aesthetic vision emerges from a balance between lyrical effusiveness and reflective doubts concerning subjective projection. The final impression is not unlike the lyr­ ical suspension of symbolic images and figures, when the awareness of the complexity and tensions between irreconcilable opposites balances itself through the acceptance that all answers are merely provisional. STONE AS NARRATOR

Critical opinion is vehemently divided on the question of how much of him­ self Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in puts into Pao-yii. The "autobiographical theory" was implicitly articulated by the Chih-yen chai commentators and by Aisin Gioro Tun-min and Aisin Gioro Tun-ch'eng in their poems on or addressed to Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in. Beyond the circle of the author's close friends and 11

CYC, 367. The phrase "befuddled and incomprehensible words" is used by Red Inkstone

on other occasions to describe the apparent illogicality of Pao-yu's language when he is over­ come with deep feelings (CYC, 414, 709)

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relatives, Yiian Mei (1716-1797) was the first to intimate that Ts'ao Hsiiehch'in was drawing on family history, although there is little basis to his assertion that the Grand View Garden was based on Yiian's own Sui Yuan. One Ch'ing reader, Chiang Shun-i, in an essay dated 1869, "Miscellaneous Notes on Reading Hung-Iou meng" (Tu Hung-Iou meng tsa-chi), stated categorically that the book was autobiographical, although he did not know the identity of the author (HLMC, 208). The theory that Hung-Iou meng is Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's autobiographical hsiao-shuo was seriously pro­ pounded by Hu Shih in 1921, and since then it has held sway. The most thorough attempt to draw parallels between the historical Ts'ao family and the fictional Chia clan is Chou Ju-ch'ang's New Textual Research on HungIou meng. Yu Ying-shih rightly observes that so-called "Hung-Iou meng scholarship" (Hung-hsiieh) is actually "Ts'ao scholarship" (Ts'ao-hsiieh)— study of the life and times of the author, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in. 12 Of course much depends on how literally the correspondence is taken. Chou Juch'ang, for instance, is extremely literal. Chronological discrepancies between the vicissitudes of the Ts'ao family and those of the Chia clan have bred speculation that Pao-yii may be mod­ eled on Red Inkstone, or that he may represent a mixture of the author's and Red Inkstone's youthful reminiscences. Without delving into the his­ torical details of these problems, I would like to maintain that Pao-yii rep­ resents a lyrical ideal shared by Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in, Red Inkstone, and, to a certain extent, the entire culture. If Pao-yii seems to depart radically from conventional conceptions in his elevation of ch'ing to an almost metaphys­ ical level, the ideal of perfect communion with like-mmded souls in a free and self-contained world is certainly very much part of the tradition. In this sense the distance between the narrator and Pao-yii amounts to a kind of critical reflectiveness vis-a-vis the traditional ideal of lyrical selfcontainment. The narrator consistently employs a mildly deprecatory tone toward Pao-yii, but such a tone, interestingly enough, bespeaks intimacy rather than critical distance. Whenever it surfaces, Red Inkstone chides the author for his display of excessive modesty—he writes "ch'i-kan" (lit., "how dare I [accept such modest self-deprecations]")—thus implying that it is precisely at these points that author, narrator, and Pao-yii are most closely identified. Perhaps this is why Pao-yii seems a more palpable and powerful creation than the major heroines in the garden, who are idealized with as much intensity by Pao-yii as by the narrator. One may say that, as lyrical projections of Pao-yii, whom Red Inkstone describes as the "animat­ ing force (or, in another edition, the 'supreme specimen') of all the beau­ ties" (ch'un-fang chih kuan), u they sometimes take on the intensity and 12

Hung-lou meng ti hang-ko shih-chteh, 1-38 CYC, 304: "Pao-yii reigns supreme among all the beauties, that is why the inscriptions in the Grand View Garden have to be composed by him" |this comment appears in the Kengch'en and Chi-mao manuscripts] In the Yu-cheng edition, kuan is written wjth a different 13

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abstractness of poetic images. 14 In contrast to the liberties the narrator takes with Pao-yii, these girls are treated with the utmost admiration. But then, as we have seen, even the deprecatory tone toward Pao-yii does not neces­ sarily imply distance. It is only at certain points in the narrative, when this distance is dramatized through the invocation of the mythic-fantastic realm, that the reader becomes more conscious of a critical stance. When Stone disrupts the fictional illusion with the authority of one beyond experience, we have a moment of self-disenchantment. In the previous chapter, when discussing the distinction between Stone and Divine Attendant Immortal Jade in the various versions, I pointed out that in both the Chia-hsii and the Keng-ch'en manuscripts the two are kept dis­ tinct, and Stone retains the prerogatives of a detached observer. However, even when Stone/Jade and Divine Attendant/Pao-yii are kept distinct, in terms of the conceptual scheme of the book there is a necessary connection between the two, and their separation is partly a function of two different modes of temporal experience: Pao-yii is the quintessential lyrical con­ sciousness defined by the immediacy and intensity of the moment, while Stone-as-narrator, who has returned to his original place at the foot of the Green Ridge Peak, may claim the wisdom of hindsight. Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in experiments with the device of a double perspective only intermittently. Sometimes the aim is just to playfully reinforce the claims of a meticulous "realism," as in chapter 4, when Stone claims to reproduce a copy of the "talisman for protecting a magistracy" (hu-kuan fu), a doggerel on the four great families in the book (Chia, Wang, Hsiieh, and Shih). The erstwhile novice of Bottle-Gourd Temple (now Yamen gate­ keeper) is showing the talisman to Chia Υύ-ts'un as a warning against any rash decision to indict Hsiieh P'an, for he belongs to one of the four great families, whom no magistrate can afford to offend. Of similar import is the example in chapter 15, when Pao-yii surprises Ch'in Chung and the young nun Chih-nung-erh m their rendezvous. Paoyii says to Ch'in Chung, "In a while, when we go to sleep, we'll settle ac­ counts carefully" (HLM, 1:207). But that night Wang Hsi-feng puts the character, which changes the meaning of the phrase c h ' u n - f a n g c h i h k u a n to "the linking thread [the animating forcel of all the beauties " 14

In this connection I would like to note that the depiction of details in the lives of the garden

maidens differs from descriptive passages in the rest of the book, the former being much more like images in paintings One example is the first gathering of the poetry society in chapter 38, in which the girls are portrayed as resting in various postures of charming elegance. For a catalog of the "paintable scenes" in Hung-Iou meng,see Yao Hsieh's Basic Principles on Read­ ing Hung-Iou meng (Tu Hung-Iou meng kang-hng), in HLMC, 172. In contrast, the depiction of the important events in the Chia compound often insists on the materiality of details. Some­ times every detail has a story of its own, for example, the Hui-niang style embroidery (Huiwen) described in chapter 54

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Precious Jade of Numinous Essence under her own pillow: "As to what accounts Pao-yii settled with Ch'in Chung, 1 did not see anything with my own eyes and so did not record it. This is an unsettled, open-ended case, and I do not dare to make things up" (1:207). By taking refuge behind the pose of ignorance—as Stone is temporarily debarred from being an eyewit­ ness—the narrative voice allows the hint of an illicit homosexual relation­ ship between Pao-yii and Ch'in Chung to remain a mere suggestion. This whimsical twist allows the author to maintain a delicate balance in repre­ senting Pao-yu's paradoxical combination of innocence and experience. In Red Inkstone's comments on this passage, he expresses his admiration by borrowing a metaphor from painting, which suggests that stylistic variation is still the main concern. 15 However, in some cases, Stone's interruptions of the fictional surface dramatize the awareness of the precariousness of the lyrical vision, and it is to these examples I turn now. Pao-ch'ai's scrutiny of the Precious Jade of Numious Essence in chapter 8 returns us to the mythic-fantastic realm. In this first extended scene be­ tween Pao-yii and Pao-ch'ai, the reader takes a close look at the jade through the eyes of the latter. The narrator notes somewhat facetiously: "This is the illusory image of that Stone at the foot of Green Ridge Peak on Great Absurdity Mountain" (HLM, 1:122). Stone proceeds to give a graphic picture of this image: That Obtuse Stone also recorded this illusory image together with the ancient style characters inscribed by the scabby-headed monk. Here we have it drawn according to that picture. But m its original form it was very small; that is why it could be held in the mouth of a newborn baby. Now, if I draw it according to its actual size, I am afraid the characters will be too tiny, and the readers would have to strain their eyes to decipher them, which would not be too pleasant. I will therefore just follow its general shape and enlarge it proportionately, so that the readers may read these characters under a lamp even in a state of intoxication. I have taken pams to explain all of these, so that I may defend myself against unjust charges such as "How big can a baby's mouth be, that it can hold such an enor­ mous, obtuse thing? . . ."etcetera. (1:124)

To the best of my knowledge, this kind of Tristram ShandyAike l lengthy excursus pointing to the basis of the fictional illusion has no precedent in 15

Cf

CYC, 275. Red Inkstone finds Stone's disclaimer a masterful touch "And all of a

sudden he makes this judgment It seems self-contradictory, but it is actually the cleverest twist if t h e t h o u s a n d s of m i n u t e details w e r e all b r o u g h t i n t o this book, t h e n T h e S t o r y of the Stone would be really too stilted and tedious So there is recourse to two or three hidden events, which are lightly and casually covered up through Stone's failure to see everything clearly. This heightens the impression that in the limitless expanse of clouds and mist, there are countless mountains and caves."

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the hsiao-shuo tradition. Red lnkstone is highly appreciative of this game of credibility: "And all of a sudden he writes these words, which turn the illusory into the real and the real into the illusory. The author plays with 'truth' and 'fictionality' to his heart's content. This is really extreme cun­ ning. In real life a person has to be honest, but when writing he has to be crafty." 16 This kind of "realistic" device apparently purports to convince the reader of the palpable materiality of the jade and the golden locket, which are both represented pictorially, as talismans and magical objects. The golden locket was given to Pao-ch'ai by a scabby-headed monk. He was apparently the same Priest of Limitlessness who asked Chen Shih-yin to give his daughter away, who asked Tai-yu's parents for her when she was three, and who gave Pao-ch'ai t h e formula for t h e "cold fragrance pills" (leng-hsiang wan). A recognition scene in which there is a mutual appraisal of objects designating a predestined relationship is a belabored cliche in traditional Chinese fiction and drama. 17 However, in this instance, the potency of the magical objects, emphasized in the auspicious words inscribed on them, cannot hold out against the greater forces of destruction. The "predestined relationship of gold and jade" (chin-yii yuan) is fulfilled in a flawed marriage of short du­ ration. 18 The magical talismans promise earthly happiness, but the mythical frame mocks the illusion of perfect union and self-sufficient bliss. This dis­ junction between the mythical and the magical is dramatized in a poem on the jade that serves as a kind of prelude to the description of the jade and the golden locket: The story of Nii-kua refining stone is absurd enough, But beyond this absurdity looms even greater absurdity Giving up a state of genuine, numinous spirituality, Its illusory nature now lodges in an unseemly corporeality. Know then, that when luck fails, gold loses its luster, Sad indeed, but in times out of joint, jade no longer glows. White bones piled up like mountains—all names forgotten— Are none other than the youthful lords and ladies of old { H L M , 1 123-24) it eye 184 Jl l l s

ls

possibly an allusion to the Liang emperor Chien-wen's (Hsiao Kang)

letter to Lord Tang-yang: "The way to establish oneself is quite different from that of writing. To establish oneself one has to be prudent, but to write one needs wanton abandonment" (CLW, 11 la). 17

This is especially true in c h ' u a n - c h ' i drama, in which the play is often named after the

object in question 18

Exactly how flawed or how short is of course a bone of contention among scholars, who

come up with different speculations on how the book ends in Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in's original conception

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In its "doggerel rhetoric" (ta-yu shih) and the sense of unexpected distanc­ ing, the tone of this poem is comparable to that of the "Hsi-chiang yueh" songs in chapter 3. Here a higher perspective that regards all as vanity is set up against a scene of abundance, contentment, and wonder. But the mythic realm also seems absurd [huang-t'ang], less because the supernatural ele­ ments violate human reason than because the promise of ultimate signifi­ cance remains intangible. The state of being a rejected stone is scarcely that of "genuine, numinous spirituality." However, if the mythic realm is ab­ surd, the human world is even more so. The poem tells of a future when talismans will lose their magical potency and forces of destruction will over­ come individual endeavors. The last two lines are especially powerful in enacting the perspective of indifference and detachment (pu-ch'ing), which is radically juxtaposed with the ensuing sentimental scene in which ch'ing is heightened by the aura of magical wonder. It is highly significant that the last instance of Stone's play with the fic­ tional illusion occurs at the moment of greatest glory in the Chia clan, the visit of the imperial concubine Yiian-ch'un. In the words of the ghost of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing, when she appears to Wang Hsi-feng in a dream, warning of imminent disasters and the impermanence of wealth and power, "Soon there will be an extremely felicitous event; its overwhelming excessiveness will be like oil boiling over a raging fire, brilliant flowers laid against bro­ cade" (HLM, 1:175). Just when Yiian-ch'un enters the garden, Stone em­ phasizes his presence as narrator and reminds the reader that his is the per­ spective of innocence and fascination: At that point I thought back on my past, on my disconsolation and loneliness at the foot of Green Ridge Peak on Great Absurdity Mountain. If it were not for the scabby-headed monk and the lame Taoist who brought me to this place, how could I have been able to bask in such glory > Originally I had intended to write some­ thing like an "Ode to Lanterns and Moon" or a "Eulogy to the Imperial Visita­ tion" to commemorate today's events, but I worried about lapsing into cliches rampant in other books. As for the scene of the moment, even an ode or a eulogy can scarcely do justice to its wonder. Although I refrain from such compositions, the reader should be able to imagine the dazzling beauty of it all So I should just save trouble, ink, and paper, and proceed to essentials instead. 19

By reminding the reader that the raison d'etre of the book is the fulfill­ ment of Stone's initial wish, the narrative voice establishes a stance that, by virtue of its memory, should be able to see beyond the present moment. But for the most part we hear a voice lost in fascination as all the details are 1 9 H L M 1:245. Red lnkstone applauds the ingenuity of this interposition "Such a passage 1 of lavish extravagance and elaborate abundance is abruptly cut short by Stone's own words— Has anyone ever come across anything like this in the hsiao-shuo how powerful this is' throughout the ages ? " {CYC, 334).

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lovingly described. (Interestingly enough, when confronted with the gayest bustle and the most resplendent spectacle, Pao-yu is nonchalant and feels the need to remove himself [HLM, 1:262]. This suggests that the author is not consistently following through the distinction between Pao-yu's and Stone's mode of temporal consciousness. Instead, he allows the two to merge at significant points.) When we come to an inscription by Pao-yu, Stone comes forth to explain why the words of a mere child should be adopted in earnest for such a sol­ emn occasion: "For such practice is scarcely appropriate for the Chia clan described throughout The Story of the Stone. Judging by that, we have a great self-contradiction. The readers would not know, so let me, obtuse as I am, explain the reasons, and you will understand" (HLM, 1:246). Pao-yu's naming of the scenic spots and buildings in the garden with titles and cou­ plets realizes the ideal of lyrical self-containment. By such acts of naming he makes the garden his own. We learn in chapter 76 that the girls, espe­ cially Tai-yii, also take part in the naming of the garden. To have the garden named by its inmates emphasizes the discreteness and self-contained spirit of the garden world. But the creation of this ideal space involves practical improbabilities, and the "great self-contradiction" (tzu-hsiang mao-tun) that Stone refers to is but one token of a more general sense of unease about the garden's problematic basis in reality. Of course the "contradiction" is partially resolved when Stone proceeds to explain the intimate relationship between Yiian-ch'un and Pao-yii. Because they are more like mother and child than brother and sister, Pao-yu's inscriptions are kept to please the imperial concubine. A benign but somewhat arbitrary force thus makes pos­ sible the creation of the garden world. 20 (It is upon Yiian-ch'un's behest that Pao-yii and his cousins move into the garden.) Stone's interruption is, as Red Inkstone puts it, "flagrantly contradictory but actually not contradic­ tory" [t'e-fan pu-fan; CYC, 323); its rationalization of the garden world is based on an awareness of the practical improbabilities attending its creation.

ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH LOVE

Translate t - c h ' i n g w u - t a o as "enlightenment through love," "detachment through attachment," "disenchantment through enchantment," or "tran­ scendence of passion through passion," and one may begin to appreciate the range of associations of this paradoxical phrase. If the intermittent com20 Chang Ai-Iing suggests that the inconsistencies in the characters' ages develop from Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in's increasing awareness of the practical impossibility involved. For a young man

and his adolescent femaie cousins to be living together in a garden would have been unthink­ able to the reader of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the earlier manuscripts the characters are in their late teens, but they become younger and younger in the later versions in order to make the situation seem more plausible [Hung-lou merig yen, 94)

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merits of Stone constitute a kind of self-reflexivity qualifying lyrical projec­ tion, is it possible to define an analogous dimension of reflectiveness in terms of Pao-yii's consciousness, especially since he is supposed to realize the paradox of "enlightenment through love"? Is there any coincidence be­ tween the significance embodied in the mythic realm and the sort of knowl­ edge attained by Pao-yii in his moments of attempted transcendence of feel­ ing? In chapter 1 we are told that Voiding-the-Void Taoist "attains enlightenment through love, and through form understands emptiness." As I explained in the previous chapter, this process is summarized in four lines that, by virtue of their abstractness and brevity, create the impression of powerful clarity. But the contradictions inherent in the idea of "enlight­ enment through love" become immediately apparent when it is presented in terms of Pao-yii's experience. In chapters 21 and 22, we see Pao-yii's most deliberate attempts at attain­ ing ultimate understanding, when he is goaded by emotional frustrations to try his hand first at writing a sequel to the chapter entitled "Rifling Trunks" (Ch'ii-ch'ieh) in the Chuang Tzu and then at Ch'an Buddhist gathas. 21 In both cases his emotional dilemma really stems from rivalry and jealousy among the objects of his affection. He tries to please everybody and ends up offending all parties concerned. First Hsi-jen, then Tai-yii and Hsiang-yiin become estranged. Rejection forces upon Pao-yii's consciousness the impos­ sibility of an all-encompassing mclusiveness in his love: "combining beau­ ties" is possible only in a dream. This, then, is the meaning of "enlightenment through love" on the most obvious level: the pains of attachment urge upon Pao-yii the need for de­ tachment. But the dilemma of choice is theoretically not irresolvable. There is a tacit reconciliation among the girls as Hsi-jen shows Pao-yii's gatha to Tai-yii, who reads it together with Pao-ch'ai and then with Hsiang-yiin. The problem of rival claims on his affections is automatically solved when the girls join forces in confronting him with the inadequacy of his under­ standing of Buddhism and Taoism. Youth and innocence sustain ties that keep all of them in the same world, and that world is justified and given the illusion of permanence by the creation of the Grand View Garden. The girls inspire m Pao-yii the aspiration for transcendence of attachment in more ways than one. Not only do they do so in the negative sense of showing how the quest for perfect communication is ultimately frustrating 21 Red inkstone comments: "Pao-yii's Ch'an enlightenment is explained by his feelings, his studies are similarly inspired, his sequel to the Chuang Tzu also Laughable indeed'" (CYC, 440) The reader recalls how Pao-yu starts his formal schooling with ChTn Chung (a homo­ phone for two compounds pronounced ch'ing-chung, meaning "concentration of deep feel­ ings" or "one afflicted with love karma"), with whom he develops strong emotional ties. The close juxtaposition of Ch'an enlightenment and Taoist enlightenment is consistent with the generally loose distinction between the two paths of renunciation in the book.

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anyway ("Even as they [Pao-yii and Tai-yii] got closer, there was, now and then, the inevitable destructive edge that came of the desire for perfection, the most unexpected misunderstandings" [ HLM , 1:90]), they also provide him with the literary model for expressing his enlightenment. Even the serene and distant Pao-ch'ai becomes responsible by reciting to Pao-yu a song to the tune "Chi-sheng-ts'ao" that tells of a monk's renunciation of all human ties: "Naked and without a care I come and go" (1:303). Pao-yii is later to show his understanding of Buddhist detachment by writing an­ other song to the same tune. Pao-ch'ai reads Pao-yii's imitation with amused dismay: "This person is enlightened. And it is all my fault. . . . If one of these days he takes these mad words seriously, keeping this thought in mind because of my song, I will become the prime culprit" (1:308). On another level "enlightenment through love" means that passion and the transcendence of passion involve the same attitudes of mind, namely, spontaneity, intensity, and self-forgetfulness. But it is an equivocal logic; detachment and attachment now seem suspiciously alike. In the last analy­ sis, the momentum of ch'ing is such that it cannot generate the terms for its own arrest. Pao-yii's moments of "enlightenment" are but further in­ stances of "giving full reins to his inclinations and desires" ( jen-hsing ssuch'mg). Those moments represent a spontaneous response to an accidental provocation. In the words of Red Inkstone, they are "immediate, direct, nondeliberate" ( wu-hsin ); 22 the same phrase is used to describe his relation­ ship with the girls. 23 Here, as in other lyrical moments in the book, the intensity of a moment of enlightenment cannot be sustained in time. 22

Cf CYC, 437 "Just think, Pao-yu may be foolish, but how would he dare to intentionally

compete with Chuang-tzu ? .

One can know, then, that aside from what concerns those

beloved maidens, there is really nothing that Pao-yu sets his mind [h-i] on doing. Great things such as the principles of heaven and earth, yin and yang, small things such as glory and honor, prosperity and decline; other matters such as the fashioning of a composition or a line—all these are but spontaneous responses to passing stimuli [sui-fen ch'u-ch'ing]

If by chance he

comes upon them he would not be beside himself with joy, nor would he be too distressed if he loses them It would be a great mistake to see intention and deliberation [yu-hsin] in these matters " Red Inkstone goes on to speculate that if Pao-yu had picked up some other book instead of the Chuang Tzu, he would have written another kind of sequel 23

In chapter 19, when Pao-yu visits Tai-yu and finds her sleeping, he wakes her up

Red

Inkstone comments that in any other book the man would be filled with dishonorable inten­ tions "But here he wakes her up, quite unself-consciously [hao pu tsai-ι] That's why I re­ marked earlier that 'lust does not apply' " (CYC, 379). Red Inkstone makes similar observa­ tions in chapter 26, when by chance Pao-yu strolls to Tai-yu's rooms, forgets himself, and allows words from The Western Chamber to slip out, words that amount to an indirect avowal of love Red Inkstone describes this as "without a trace of deliberation" (ivu ι-ssu hsin-chi), "forgetting himself and forgetting to guard his feelings" (wang-hsing wang-ch'ing, CYC, 507) This spontaneity and directness (wu-hsin) may be related to the ideal of second innocence or innocence regained—the "childlike mind (or heart)"—common to Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This ideal makes for the paradoxical conjoining of innocence and experience in Pao-yu

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In this sense there is no real historical continuity in Pao-yu's inner ex­ periences. Influenced by the model of the bildungsroman, many critics try to emphasize the development of Pao-yu's character. But the book rebels against such a framework. Forgetfulness is the hallmark of Pao-yu's inno­ cence. In chapter 21, after writing his sequel to the passage from "Rifling Trunks" in a state of intoxication, 24 he has a good night's sleep, and on the morrow "the events of the day before were all banished from his thoughts" (HLM 1 1:293). Thus the Buddhist gatha he writes m the following chapter does not represent a deepening of the understanding achieved in writing the sequel to "Rifling Trunks." Enlightenment here is an intellectual exercise that requires, among other things, wit and skill with words. To be enlightened is to be initiated into certain kinds of language, thus Pao-yii patterns his expression closely after the Chuang Tzu and the song "Chi-sheng-ts'ao." By the same token, Taiyii can have the last word in the "game of koans and gathas" because her more nimble wit can play gracefully with the escalating dialectics of "final grounds of enlightenment" (li-chu ching, lit., "place to stand"). Pao-yii has written: ". . . The understanding that passes all expression, / Is where we will take our stand." 25 Tai-yu counters: "With no place to take any stand, / Is one truly free to transcend" (HLM, 1:308-309). What Tai-yu accom­ plishes intuitively with elegance is given a literary-historical context by Pao-ch'ai, w h o quotes from Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch'uan-teng lu) the prototype of Tai-yii 's reply to Pao-yii. Both Hui-neng and Shen-hsiu (ca. 605-706) were disciples of the Fifth Patriarch. Hui-neng became Sixth Patriarch by proving his superior understanding of emptiness. To describe his spiritual state, Shen-hsiu had written of the "constant dust­ ing of the mirror," a metaphor for vigilant purification of the mind. Huineng responded, "But what is is simply not [there is no mirror and no mind], / How can it gather dust?" 26 I noted earlier that Red Inkstone describes the language of love in the book as "befuddled, incomprehensible, and paradoxical." The felicity and even preciosity that the language of enlightenment displays is therefore it­ self suspect. And all this in the name of the inexpressible. For of course Ch'an Buddhism claims a transmission separate from the standard teaching 2 4 Cf. C Y C , 417· / y 'Pao-yu couldn't help writing a sequel in his intoxication'—that is the author's way of claiming his own ground He is saying, Who am I, that I should dare to write

a sequel to the Chuang Tzu7" 25 HLM, 1 308 Chang Hsin-chih suggests that "the last line 'Is where we will take our stand' hints at what life will be like after they move into the garden, this is not the language

of real enlightenment" (SCPP, 339) 26 For a discussion of the problems in Shen-hsiu's g a t h a , and the probable sources of the story, see Ch'en Yin-k'o, Chin-mmg-kuan ts'ung-kao erh-pien, 166-70. Shen-hsiu and Huineng are traditionally regarded as the respective leaders of the Southern school, which empha­ sized sudden enlightenment, and the Northern, which advocated gradual enlightenment

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(chiao-wai pieh-ch'uan), no reliance on words ( pu-li wen-tzu), a direct pointing to the heart ( chih-chth pen-hsin), an encounter with the original nature that makes for Buddhahood (chien-hsing ch'eng-fo). With Pao-yii and the girls the attempt to express the inexpressible or to claim an ever more absolute understanding of emptiness becomes a game, a purely intel­ lectual exercise. Chen Shih-yin's conversion in chapter 1 has a measure of finality because the "Won-Done Song" and its exegetical supplement enact seamless com­ munication and perfect understanding through a robust, earthy language. In contrast, in the instances of "textual mediation" in chapters 21 and 22, Pao-yii's compositions show a marked divergence from his model texts. The iconoclasm in the passage from "Rifling Trunks" ( HLM , 1:292) is general and disinterested in its advocation of a return to natural, primal chaos. De­ stroy beauty, goodness, knowledge, and law, and one may hope for the orig­ inal union with the Tao. The iconoclasm of Pao-yii's sequel is quite differ­ ent. It is a yet more extreme manifestation of his lack of restraint—his wish that the universal order of things should conform to the particular order of his desires. The moral earnestness of a Hsi-jen or She-yueh, and the beauty, wit, and intelligence of a Tai-yii or Pao-ch'ai should be summarily abolished so that he might have some peace of mind. Analogously, the orig­ inal "Chi-sheng-ts'ao" celebrates the exhiliration and freedom of final de­ tachment ("Naked and without a care I come and go"), while Pao-yii's im­ itation looks back with regret and pique to past frustrations: "What was all that previous toiling and suffering for? / And by now, / Trying to think back, this is all so pointless" (1:308). There is, then, a disjunction between the form Pao-yii dabbles in and the extent of his understanding. This is especially true in the case of the gatha, for the abstractness of its language is really alien to his sensibility. We are returned to the paradox of "enlightenment through love." Paoyii's ch'ing rests on a certain nondifferentiation of self and other, and a vague urge to include all forms of beauty within his affection. His sensibil­ i t y is d e f i n e d b y " s p o n t a n e o u s r e s p o n s e s t o passing s t i m u l i " ( sui-fen-ch'uch'ing ); this is the spontaneity and acute sensitivity of a lyrical conscious­ ness that cannot see the boundary between self and other. Perhaps this ex­ plains the external focus in his moments of enlightenment. He writes in the sequel to the passage from "Rifling Trunks": "Ch'ai [Pao-ch'ai], Yii [Taiyii], Hua [Hsi-jen], She [She-yueh] and the like all spread their nets and dig their pits, in order to confuse, ensnare, bewitch, and bring about the downfall of the whole world" (HLM, 1.293). Peace of mind would be re­ stored upon the obliteration of their dangerous charms. 27 Similarly, he is 2"

Cf Wang Hsi-lien's comment "He wishes that Ch'ai, Yu, Hua, and She would by them­

selves be burnt, dispersed, crushed, and destroyed, and fail to seek release or liberation from

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looking outward in his moment of Ch'an enlightenment. He writes a song to the tune "Chi-sheng-ts'ao" for fear that others may not understand his gatha. Red Inkstone comments: "To be enlightened is to obliterate all selfconsciousness [tzu-liao, lit., "finish off oneself"]. What need is there to make others understand? This shows precisely that he has not yet attained real awakening and final enlightenment" (CYC, 440). In Pao-yu's enlightenment as in his ch'tng, the images of beloved ones loom overwhelmingly large. It is therefore entirely appropriate that the en­ lightenment episodes should end with the major heroines' intervention. The girls' position is apparently endorsed by the author. 28 They, too, how­ ever, cannot transcend the bounds of their awareness. This is the distinction between "understanding" (chih-chiieh) and " e n l i g h t e n m e n t " (chieh-wu) made by Pao-yu in his final reflection: the girls may claim only "under­ standing." "If they, whose understanding is so far above mine, are still not yet enlightened, why should I vex myself with the idea?" (HLM, 1:310). We have here a reversal of the sequence implied in the formulation "en­ lightenment through love." The moment of disenchantment and detach­ ment becomes the prelude to the unfolding of a world of enchantment and attachment. 29 In the next chapter Yiian-ch'un decrees that Pao-yu and his female cousins move into the garden. Pao-yii's dismissal of his "enlightenment" as "a joke of the moment" (ishih wan-hua) concludes the first half of chapter 22. In the words of Red Inkstone, the author "casually and lightly wipes everything away" (CYC, 442). The second half of the chapter describes a family feast where the girls make up lantern riddles that fill Chia Cheng with foreboding. The objects that inspire those riddles—firework, kite, abacus, incense clock—all suggest within himself. That is why immediately following that scene he breaks- a hairpin to make his vow, which shows that he is still caught in the evil karma of love" (Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'm, Tsengp'mg pu-t'u Shih-tou-chi, c 21.8) 28

Cf

CYC, 441 "Tai-yu says 'It doesn't matter/ so this cannot matter I have been afraid

that if henceforth Pao-yu and Tai-yii are enlightened, there will be no more story to be read But then Tai-yti is only bemused, and adds that it doesn't matter One can see that Pao-yu cannot be really enlightened I feel somewhat relieved Since Tai-yu knows best Pao-yu's mo­ tives and actions, 1 am totally convinced and feel no need to wait for further confirmation from Pao-yii." In a similar strain, Red Inkstone praises Pao-ch'ai's scathing comment—"These Taoist writ­ ings and Ch'an paradoxes are most apt to pervert one's nature" (HLM, 1 308)—as "the dis­ course of genuine understanding and enlightenment" (CYC, 442). However, Red Inkstone also points out that "none [including the girls] can escape the categories [defining obstacles to tran­ scendence] of Chuang Tzu" (CYC, 438) 29 Cf. CYC, 440. "He had been enlightened the night before, and he was enlightened again that night. Twice did he fail to break through, that was why 'his whole life was wasted' [to-lo ivu-ch'eng] " The concluding phrase may be an echo of the preface, "half a lifetime wasted and not a single skill acquired" (ι-chi wu-ch'eng, pan-sheng lao-tao) (HLM f 1 1).

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destruction and separation. As elliptical prophetic statements, these riddles share in a device also employed in chapters 5 and 63. The close juxtaposition of the two halves of the chapter bring out the gap between the level of Paoyii's understanding, which is built upon an illusion of freedom, and a kind of presentiment, conveyed with a hint of the occult, that the characters are just involuntary victims of fate. The lantern riddles partake of the power of the mythic-fantastic realm in their prophetic bearing on subsequent events. More specifically, they relate to its aspect of pu-ch'ing as an impersonal scheme indifferent to human endeavor. There is, then, a gap between the reflectiveness of lyrical subjectivity, which is a mere deepening of that sub­ jectivity, and the sense of an external, objective system of necessity associ­ ated with the mythic-fantastic realm. On this ominous note Pao-yii and the girls move into the garden (chap. 23). Even as the beginnings of the book are about endings, a moment of disenchantment precedes the move into the enchanted garden world. The garden world defines Pao-yii's consciousness by presenting him with a model for plenitude: "He was completely satisfied; there was nothing else he could ask for" (HLM, 1:322). The poems on the four seasons, "Ssu-chi chi-shih shih," filled with nuanced perception o( sensuous details, describe a world of idyllic timelessness. We may call this the first lyrical moment of innocence, pure sensuousness, and spontaneous creativity. The next stage of the development of this lyrical consciousness is com­ pounded of several things: a heightened awareness of the erotic (suddenly overcome by ennui Pao-yii seeks diversion in popular fiction and drama in which the theme of love is ubiquitous); melancholy upon the realization that external reality is "without feelings"; and mediation through senti­ mental literature, namely, The Western Chamber and The Peony Pavilion. The symbolic act that represents the convergence of these factors is of course Pao-yii's and Tai-yii's joint effort to bury fallen blossoms, yet an­ other instance of mourning the end before the beginning. 30 With the pas­ sage of time and the inevitable demise of beauty, the world shows itself to be "without feelings," but lyrical subjectivity in its willfulness imposes it­ self on this reality with an emblematic gesture that is at once elegiac and sentimental ( yu-ch'ing ). We may call this the second lyrical moment, when lyrical subjectivity is troubled by a sense of loss which it tries to overcome. 30 Among other things, flowers symbolize the inmates of ihe garden. Cf CYC, 332 "Not until now do we have a conclusion of the account of how the Grand View Garden comes into being. The readers probably expend all their powers of concentration on the garden, but I

maintain that these words [lit , 'brush and ink'| are all for the sake of the 'grave of fallen blossoms ' " Red lnkstone describes Tai-yu's "Poem on Burying Fallen Blossoms" ("Tsanghua yin" (chap. 27) as "a gatha for the destiny of the girls" (chu-yen ι-chieh) (CYC, 532), "a small-scale prelude to how all the beauties in the garden return to their place of origin" (CYC, 516)

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But at this point there is as yet no deep sense of inadequacy. Tai-yu insists, and Pao-yii agrees, that the fallen blossoms preserve their purity by disin­ tegrating into the earth in the garden. The elegiac gesture of burying fallen blossoms seals the tie between ch'mg and melancholy. The confidence of negativity overcome is precari­ ous, as Tai-yii is deeply affected when she overhears an aria from the scene "Surprised in a Dream" in The Peony Pavilion: "And all because of your flowerlike youth, / and years swiftly flowing like water" (HLM, 1:327). In the play, Liu Meng-mei sings these lines before making love to Li-niang in her dream, but the erotic undertone is registered in Tai-yii's mind only as profound melancholy. Other lines on the impermanence of all things, the indifference of the natural world, and the inevitable demise of youth, in­ nocence, and beauty crowd into her mind, and she is "seized with pain and intoxication, shaken in soul and spirit" (1:328). There is an analogous scene in chapter 28, when Pao-yii listens to Tai-yii chanting the "Poem on Bury­ ing Fallen Blossoms" and is plunged into inconsolable grief by the aware­ ness of mutability: "One thing led to another in his mind, and he passed from loss to loss in his imagination. How he wished at that very moment to be a being without understanding or sentience [ch'un-wu] completely divested of all knowledge, so that he could escape the Great Creation, and leave the net of dust and grime called life, and find some relief from this deep sadness" (1:385). "A being without understanding or sentience" is the term used by the monk and the Taoist to describe Stone, and it is also how Stone sometimes refers to himself. At a moment when life in the garden world is still charmed and blissful, Pao-yii is overwhelmed by a sense of the futility of it all and aspires to revert to the state that recognizes as vanity the desire for love and life. This, then, is the understanding available to lyrical conscious­ ness, the most compelling version of "enlightenment through love," for it is the capacity to feel deeply that makes for a heightened awareness of neg­ ativity, and it is this awareness that can m turn lead to detachment. If the grief of Pao-yii and Tai-yii m these two scenes seems a little ab­ stract, being, as it were, based on literary allusions and imagined loss, it is because of the paradoxical conjoining of innocence and experience that 1 referred to earlier. The author keeps them in an enchanted world of youth and innocence, yet at the same time he wants them to be capable of under­ standing grief and loss. As a result, events in the garden world (such as the burying of fallen blossoms) are charged with a symbolic quotient or an ex­ pressive weight that they do not always readily bear. However, when Pao-yii and Tai-yii are stricken with grief there is no room for reflection, and the idea of "enlightenment through love" can make sense only when lyrical subjectivity is aware of its own inadequacy. Such awareness does develop in the course of the narrative, notably in chapter

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36, when Pao-yii witnesses a quarrel between Chia Ch'iang and the actress Ling-kuan and realizes his own insignificance in the eyes of Ling-kuan. Only then does he understand the meaning of another scene he had come upon earlier: Ling-kuan repeatedly writing with her hairpin the character ch'iang on the ground, obviously driven by some obsession. Pao-yii later confides to Hsi-jen: "What I said last night was wrong. No wonder Father said that my understanding is limited [lit., 'view the sky through a tube and measure the sea with a calabash']. Last night I said that the tears of all of you would bury me, but that was wrong. I cannot actually have it all. From now on, everybody will have only the share of his or her own tears .

" From then on he felt deeply that all relationships in

life are predestined, that each person has his or her allotted share. Only he would grieve secretly, wondering who would shed tears over his death and bury him. But these are all Pao-yu's innermost thoughts, and I do not dare to presume to put them into words. ( HLM , 1:495-96)

Compared to previous moments of Taoist and Ch'an enlightenment (Taowu, Ch'an-wu), this outburst is less presumptuous and more forthright. The earlier edge of taking delight in his understanding (tzu-hsi) is gone, as the aspiration to transcend gives way to a simple expression of anguish. But here too, Pao-yii's reflections end in a reversion to subjectivity. Also, "en­ lightenment through feelings in Pear Fragrance Court" (ch'mg-wu Lihsiang Yuan) 31 belongs to an isolated moment. The next few chapters are devoted to the poetry society, which marks a fresh effervescence of the play­ ful and creative spirit in the garden world. To the extent that the world of games and disinterested aesthetic activities is self-enclosed, the poetry so­ ciety also defines a mood of lyrical self-containment, and the frustration and resignation of the previous chapter is quite forgotten. A congruence between the self-understanding of lyrical subjectivity and the externally imposed system of significance embodied by the mythic-fantastic realm would give credence to the idea of "enlightenment through love." However, as we have seen, Pao-yu's conscious attempts to achieve transcen­ dence cannot be connected to mythic significance, although the understand­ ing available to the lyrical consciousness is apparently also affirmed by the author. On the other hand, the mythic-fantastic realm recognizes objective reality as being without or beyond feelings and postulates that personal freedom lies in reaching a comparable state of pu-ch'ing, but in its manifes­ tations in the human world it appears vague, elliptical, and contradictory. The lantern riddles mentioned earlier, for instance, ring with intimations of Ή

This is part of the title of chapter 36. "Embroidering mandarin ducks, Pao-ch'ai overhears

a portentous dream in Scarlet Cloud Studio, / Upon realization that relationships are predes­ tined, Pao-yu is enlightened through feelings in Pear Fragrance Court "

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a relentless destiny, but they do not really constitute a kind of knowledge, let alone prescribe a course of action. A more prominent example of this occurs m chapter 25. Hsi-feng and Pao-yii fall victim to sorcery, and the monk and the Taoist appear again to restore magical potency to the Precious Jade of Numinous Essence, so that it can dispel the evil spirits. The monk chants two songs to contrast the past and present states of Stone/Jade/Pao-yii. Stone was free: Unbound by heaven, unrestrained by earth Your heart unburdened with sorrow or joy Just because smelting brought you to numinous essence, You turned to the human world, caught in conflict and misery. ( . H L M , 1:357)

The song harks back to Stone's initial desire for experience, but his freedom was the freedom of superfluity, and he was certainly not unburdened with sorrow. The second song condemns Pao-yu's present indulgence m the bliss of the moment: Smears of powder and traces of rouge have corrupted the precious luster, Closeted in beautiful chambers, you are sunk m sensual joys— From your sweet dreams you must in the end wake up, When love debts are fully paid, the play will be over. (1.357)

The reader is reminded once again that Pao-yii encompasses opposites in his being. He is both desire and illumination ( ming, t'ung-ling), both the Stone beyond passion and Pao-yii caught m his own perceptions and feelings. The first line of the second song suggests that the jade contains within itself an inner light or original illumination. Yet the paradoxical opposition and mu­ tual implication between desire and understanding is not resolved, nor is it brought to bear on Pao-yu's consciousness. The monk's stark warning con­ trasts with the intimate scenes that frame the episode of supernatural inter­ vention. There are good-natured jokes at Tai-yii's expense, there are laugh­ ter and good humor. In the last analysis, despite the magical display, there is no suggestion that lyrical subjectivity is forced to reflect upon itself; the basis of the two realms of significance do not seem to come into contact with each other. Perhaps such contact between lyrical subjectivity and the significance em­ bodied in the fantastic-mythic realm is possible only in dreams, where the symbolic significance realized goes beyond the limits of conscious striving. In chapter 56, about midway through the book, 32 Chia ("fictive") Pao-yii 32

Some critics believe that in its original conception the book had one hundred ten chapters

Cf CYC, 606 Chapters 53 and 54 describe the New Year celebrations, which show that the

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dreams of his double, Chen ("real") Pao-yii. The image of the mirror is crucial in this episode. 33 When Pao-yii wakes up from his dream calling his own name, She-yiieh blames it on the mirror facing his couch. (The big mirrors in Pao-yii's rooms, House of Crimson Jovs [I-hung Yiian], are re­ peatedly brought into play, especially in the naming tour of the garden in chapter 17, and during the visit of Liu Lao-Iao in chapter 41. The link of Pao-yii with the image of the mirror is also emphasized in his lantern riddle in chapter 22.) In Taoist and Buddhist discourse the mirror is often com­ pared to the mmd. The logic of this metaphor stipulates that the unclouded state of the mirror-mind makes for undistorted apprehension of reality. Yet in the phenomenal world the mirror is also the locus of illusion. The mirror image thus reminds the reader that the garden world is rooted in enchant­ ment, and the consciousness responding to it is caught in the dialectics of reality and illusion. To look into the mirror is also to regard oneself from the perspective of nonself. But prior to this consciousness is a more primitive fascination, which describes Liu Lao-lao's reaction when she sees her own mirror image. The inebriated old woman stumbles into Pao-yii's rooms and mistakes her image in the mirror, the figure with flowers in her hair, for that of the mother of her daughter-in-law (HLM, 2:573). Perhaps in her very "com­ monness," Liu Lao-Iao has a rustic simplicity or innocence that links her to Pao-yii and to the primary differentiation of the mirroring process. It is also innocence and nondifferentiation that lies behind the judgement on Pao-yii in the "Final Listing of the Characters' Feelings" as "feeling notfeeling." One interpretation of this, as I pointed out earlier, is "feeling deeply even for the insentient or nonfeeling." In the parlance of traditional poetic criticism, this is the ideal moment of "union of subject and object" in aesthetic creation and contemplation. In such a moment the subject's feelings seem to acquire a transformative and all-inclusive capacity; the il­ lusion of omnipotence takes over. As we have seen, it always comes as something of a shock for Pao-yii to realize that an indifferent world—not the world of practical matters, for which he feels no affinity anyway, but that of apparently like-minded souls—exists beyond his feelings. The dream of another world apart from but identical to his own thus confronts Pao-yii with the primary differentiation between self and other. glories of the Chia clan are still at their apex Thereafter the decline of the family fortune becomes obvious Red Inkstone notes the sense of turning point in chapter 55 He uses a musical metaphor "The way this chapter follows previous chapters is exactly like the melan­ choly yu and shang tunes coming right after the heroic and exuberant huang-chung, ta-lu tunes" [CYC f 652) More recently, Chou Ju-ch'ang has proposed that the author intended the book to have one hundred eight chapters (Ilung-lou meng yu Chung-hua wen-hua, 190-217) 33

On the significance of the image of the mirror m Hun^-Ion meng, see Anthony Yu, "The

Quest of Brother Amor," 86-90

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At first the inmates of this other world abuse Pao-yii, and he looks at himself from the perspective of an alien world that rejects him. This results in a kind of objectification, but only up to a point: "Never has anybody treated me so shabbily before. Why should they insult me like this? Is it possible that another 'me' does exist?" (HLM, 2:795). Objectification stops short of questioning the essence of "Pao-yii." The unfamiliar garden maid­ ens' abusive remarks force him to the conclusion that they reject him out of partiality for another Pao-yii, whose right to their affection and to the other garden world is not doubted. There is perfect symmetry in the dream. Pao-yii is dreamed of and sought after m the same manner that he is dreaming: "The one on the couch hurriedly stepped down to catch hold of him. 'So you are Pao-yii. This isn't a dream then?' Pao-yii said, 'How could this be a dream? This is the truest of the true' " (HLM, 2:796). Only a double with a difference (i.e., being both self and other) can create a distancing effect. But in this episode, the two Pao-yiis are exactly identical, and their fleeting encounter constitutes the moment of truth in the dream. A mirror is set up for lyrical subjectivity, but there is no real sense of distancing from the self or of form­ ing a perspective from the position of the other, as the subject and its reflec­ tion in the mirror are lost in mutual fascination. The idea that one is dreamed up by another mocks one's sense of freedom and autonomy as illusory. But with this setup of parallel mirrors, the "real" Pao-yii fares no better than the "fictive" Pao-yii. There is no higher, more originary, more authoritative consciousness that brackets that of Pao-yii, despite the re­ minder that it is merely "fictive" and rooted in illusion. At the end of chapter 56, Red Inkstone writes: "This is to be immediately followed by the chapter entitled 'Clever Tzu-chiian tests rash Pao-yu with words of love' " (CYC, 655). This could very well be the commentator's reminder to the author of how the section on Pao-yii's dream, which was probably taken from another section or else written later, should fit into the revised version of the book. 34 This episode is not mentioned in the chaptertitle couplet, which may also indicate that it is incorporated later. As it stands, the symbolic quotient of the episode does not seem to be developed or integrated with its context. We are dealing with three partially overlapping sets of opposites: c h ' i n g and pu-ch'ing, lyrical subjectivity and self-reflexivity, and Pao-yii's conscious­ ness and the significance embodied in the mythic-fantastic realm. While Stone's interpositions arguably set up a perspective of self-reflexivity, the point should not be stretched too far, for such a device is employed only on rare occasions, and in a playful and experimental manner. Pao-yii's mo34

Chang Ai-ling, H u n g - I o u m e n g y e n , 271—72

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ments of enlightenment, on the other hand, seem to augur a movement toward the state of pu-ch'ing asserted in the mythic-fantastic realm, yet ultimately such moments represent a deepening of lyrical subjectivity rather than genuine self-distancing. Instead of attaining self-reflexivity through the appropriation of that state of pu-ch'ing, lyrical consciousness ends up by creating its own myth. The elegy on Ch'ing-wen (one of Taiyii's doubles [yin-tzu lit., "shadows"]) in chapter 78 marks precisely such a moment. 35 In "Elegy on the Hibiscus Maid" (Fu-jung nii-erh lei), Pao-yii mourns not only Ch'ing-wen but the disintegration of the garden world. In the words of Red Inkstone, "He weeps not only for Ch'ing-wen, but for an entire world of bygone glory" (CYC, 711). Suspected of having an illicit relationship with Pao-yii, and maligned because of her beauty and willful­ ness, Ch'ing-wen was driven out of the garden by Madame Wang and died a tragic death in neglect and stark poverty. Deprived even of the chance to attend Ch'ing-wen's funeral, Pao-yii returns to the garden and is struck m o r e d e e p l y t h a n e v e r b y i t s d e s o l a t i o n . T h e " s e a r c h of t h e g a r d e n " ( c h ' a o yiian) is the beginning of the end. By the time Pao-yii returns, Pao-ch'ai has moved out, and an oppressive silence takes over. Nature in its unchang­ ing aspect shows a cruel indifference: "He bent to look at the water beneath the embankment. It was still flowing silently and abundantly. He thought to himself, How can such unfeeling things exist on earth?" (HLM, 2:1122). The same thought has filled Pao-yii and Tai-yu with melancholy before, but now the grief is made real by death and loss. Echoes from classical poetry come to mind: If heaven had feelings, it too would grow old. 36 Water flows, flowers fade unrelenting and unfeeling. 37 If trees had feelings, They would not Be so very, very green. 38 55

In one of its more successful moments, the sequel relates the loss of Pao-yu's jade to how

lyrical consciousness loses its myth-making power. In chapter 109, Pao-yu, firm in his belief that Tai-yu has become a goddess after her death, tries in vain to summon her soul in his dreams He momentarily confuses Wu-erh with Ch'ing-wen (through this association Wu-erh becomes another "shadow" [double] of Tai-yu), but it is onl^ a passing delusion The reader is reminded of the lines of Li Shang-yin "The common run of humanity all hanker after pleasures of this world, / Only King Hsiang longs for the world of his dreams" ("Passing the Palace of Ch'u" [Kuo Ch'u-kung], CTS, c 540 6195) and of Yen Chi-tao' "Dreams, even when they do come, are in vain, / How then can I bear it when dreams are no more ? " (to the tune "Juan-lang kuei," CST, 1 238) M Li Ho, "Song of the Bronze Immortal Taking Leave of Han" (Chin-t'ung hsien-jen tz'uHan ko), CTS, c.391.4403. 37

Ts'ui T'u ( c h m - s h i h , 889), "Spring Lvemng" (Ch'un-hsi), C T S , c.679.7783 '* Chiang K'uei (1155—1221), to the tune "Ch'ang-t'ing-yuan man," C S T , 3 2181

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Unfeeling is the red splendor, glorious year after year, I mourn not its fading but its blooming. 3 9

But lyrical consciousness rebels against the tyranny of a world indifferent to human feelings. In chapter 77, Pao-yii explains to Hsi-jen that nature is sentient and has deep affinity with events of the human world. The death of the crab apple tree is thus related to Ch'ing-wen's death. By turning Ch'ing-wen into the hibiscus spirit, Pao-yii reasserts the transformative power of lyrical subjectivity. Although the story of Ch'ing-wen becoming a flower spirit is a mere fabrication made up by a maid on the spur of the moment to please Pao-yii, he eagerly makes the fiction real for himself by willful conviction. 40 Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in turns the writing of "Elegy on the Hibiscus Maid" into an occasion for bringing into play the dialectical relationship between himself and Pao-yii, and between engagement and detachment in his own art. Pao-yii deliberates on an original way to pay his last respects to Ch'ingwen, rites that "would not be unworthy of the two of us" ( HLM , 2:1129): "And then when it comes to an elegy, it must be highly original. . .

It must be

made up of tears and blood, so that each word is a sob and each line a cry. I would rather that excessive grief detract from surface refinement, than that the sincerity of grief be diminished through an elaborate and polished surface. .

. I could not

care less about official advancement, nor will I be read and admired by the world, s o w h y s h o u l d n ' t I just take m y m o d e l f r o m t h e ancient C h ' u s o n g s s u c h a s " [ F u on] Great Words," "Summoning the Soul " .

[CT, c 9 85-92, m which the

shaman-poet summons the soul of a sick or dead king], or "Encountering Sor­ row"? .

. Writing as the heart dictates, following the flow of the brush, becom­

ing playful in moments of pleasure, recording pam in the throes of sorrow, resting content only when words communicate the meaning fully—why should I be con­ fined by worldly conventions'"' Pao-yu was not much of a scholar to begin with, and what with this additional piece of perversity, how could he come up with any good poems or good essays? Indulging freely the desire to write and putting aside 39 Tu Mu "Harmonizing with [i.e , writing a poem to the same tune] Scholar Yang Ytin's 1 Poem on the Fallen Blossoms" (Ho Yang Yun hsiu-ts'ai lo-hua), CTS, c 254 5990. 40 The relationship between the garden maidens and flowers is emphasized throughout In chapter 42, when Liu Lao-Iao explains to Wang Hsi-feng that her daughter's sickness might have been caused by flower spirits, Hsi-feng exclaims, "But of course the garden would have flower spirits!" (HLM, 2 577J in a wine game m chapter 63, each girl gets a bamboo slip designating a flower (A notable exception is Ch'ing-wen, who does not get one because Taiyu has already received the slip for hibiscus, and Ch'ing-wen is the "shadow" of Tai-yii.) According to Yu Ying-shih, Pao-yu also does not get a slip because he is the Chief Flower Spirit (tsung hua-shen). One of Pao-yii's early names was Master of Flowers m the Vermilion Cave (Chiang-tung Hua-chu). He says to the maid who obliges him with the fib, "Not only does each flower have its spirit, in addition to the spirits of different flowers there is the Chief Flower Spirit" (2 1120) See Hung-Iou mcng 11 hang-ko shih-chieh, 50.

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all thoughts of worldly acclaim, he gave full rein to his absurd imagination and actually made up a lengthy lament. ( H L M , 2 1130)

The fib of the hibiscus spirit becomes real for Pao-yii through subjective projection and literary expression. This sentimental or literary "truth" is fashioned as a gesture of defiance as he is confronted with the disintegration of the garden world. Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in apparently identifies with this per­ spective as well as the concomitant claim that the aesthetic illusion justifies itself on the depth of emotional attachment and the fullness of expression. In the Ch'u tz'u tradition, "beauties and fragrant plants" often serve an allegorical intention. Here the direction of metaphorical reference is re­ versed. Instead of being turned into a metaphor for political aspirations, "beauty and hibiscus" are mourned through invoking analogies with vic­ tims of political injustice in history and myth, namely Chia I and Kun [fa­ ther of the sage king Yu, he was executed for his failure to control the floods. He is treated with remarkable sympathy in "Encountering Sor­ row," CT, c.1.8], At some points in this passage it seems as though the author is discours­ ing on his own art. However, while Pao-yu's deliberation appears to be a proleptic reply against charges of an overly meretricious eloquence, it also shows the author's awareness of the disjunction between an elaborate aes­ t h e t i c s u r f a c e a n d sincere expression. T h e reference t o a w o r k s u c h a s " F u on Great Words," 41 famous for its rhetorical play on the gap between words and what they represent, emphasizes this self-consciousness. Among the comments of Red Inkstone on this episode is one probably penned by Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in himself: "Readers, when you come to this point, just treat it as a joke, and your fatigue will find relief" (CYC, 715). In truth, the author succeeds in both "entering into the aesthetic illusion and coming out of it" (ju hu ch'i nei, ch'u hu ch'i wai). 42 In letting Pao-yii dwell on his creation, the author dwells on his own. By affirming the myth-making power of lyrical consciousness and raising himself above it at the same time, Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in probes the basis of lyrical subjectivity with a new under­ standing. 41

" F u on Great Words" (Ta-yen fu) describes a rhetorical contest in which Sung Yii, T'ang

Le, and Ching Ch'a try to outdo each other in giving verbal accounts of something big. What emerges is the conceit that words can willfully create another reality. The fu is attributed to Sung Yu, but it probably comes from a later period {CSKSTW, c 10 2a). 42 Cf. "In his attitude toward life and the world, the poet has to enter into it, and he must also come out of it Only by entering into it can he write, only by coming out of it can he see. He enters into it, hence the sense of experience lived, he comes out of it, hence the higher understanding" (Wang Kuo-wei, Wang Kuo-wei ι-shu, vol 15, jen-chien tz'u-hua [Discourse on the lyrics of the human world], c B 8b).

CHAPTER SIX

Disenchantment and Order in Hung-Iou meng

THE MYTHIC-FANTASTIC realm is invoked in three different ways in H u n g Iou meng. Chapters 4 and 5 take issue with the ironic mode, which brings the mythic-fantastic realm to bear on the paradox of "enlightenment through love" or "disenchantment through enchantment." I use the word "irony" here with three related issues in view: the ineradicable opposition and mutual implication of ch'ing and pu-ch'ing as realized in the book, the same dialectics understood in terms of the author's simultaneous attach­ ment and detachment toward the aesthetic illusion he creates, toward his own past, and m regard to the ideal of lyrical self-containment in the Chi­ nese tradition; and, as a result of this authorial attitude, a sustained dimen­ sion of self-reflexivity on the process of artistic creation and literary com­ munication. Whereas the previous two chapters have dealt with the ironic mode, in this chapter I discuss the melodramatic mode, or rather, two vari­ ations on the melodramatic mode, by establishing the connection between disenchantment and order in the episodes associated with the Precious Mir­ ror of Love and in the sequel to the work There are instances of supernatural disruptions of a more mundane real­ ity in the first eighty chapters that are manifestly not ironic (i.e., the sense of deliberate paradox does not accompany the presentation of these events) or self-reflexive (i.e., these episodes are not concerned with issues of artistic creation and literary communication). I have in mind the story of the Pre­ cious Mirror of Love, the contiguous episodes about Ch'in K'o-ch'ing and Ch'in Chung, and the story of the Yu sisters. Instead of questioning con­ ceptions of order that pass themselves off as certain, ready-made solutions, the mythic-fantastic realm here seems to impose structures of order with confident knowledge; it is invoked to dramatize the opposition between ob­ sessive sexual passion and well-defined moral imperatives. Indeed, the very conception of ch'ing, pu-ch'ing, order, and knowledge in these parts seems to be different from, say, that in the first five chapters of the book. Of the various connotations of the word "illusion" (huan) discussed earlier, that of magical conjuration gains a special place. I focus here on how the follow­ ing three aspects are related: a greater interest in magical conjuration and magical objects, an apparently effortless imposition of order, and a more melodramatic style. We have reason to believe that these parts of the book were written first and that the Illusory Realm of Great Void was a later

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addition. If such is indeed the case, it shows how Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in moves from a relatively conventional understanding of the dialectics of ch'ing and pu-ch'ing to a profoundly paradoxical and original position. The last forty chapters represent a third way of using mythic-fantastic material. The editor-author of this sequel is certainly responsible for the confusion of the mythical and the magical, and for the sentimentalization of the book. (1 do not intend to enter into the controversy on the authorship of the sequel. But this author, whoever he was, must have been well ac­ quainted with the history of the Ts'ao family.) He also employs a more melodramatic style that has something in common with that of the Precious Mirror episodes, with the difference that it is more humorless, moralistic, and frankly sensational. These stylistic traits become most obvious when this author has recourse to the supernatural. Again, the conception of de­ sire, knowledge, and order seems different; and if the mythic-fantastic realm seems more unequivocally than ever to be in the service of order, it may be an inevitable consequence of the problems of endings and closures. In the last forty chapters, the dialectics of ch'ing and pu-ch'ing, and of truth and fiction, yields pride of place to the problem of reconciling different systems of order; namely, Confucian commitment versus Taoist-Buddhist renunciation. In turning the mythic-fantastic realm into a source of em­ blematic stasis, wherein rival conceptions of order are reconciled and linked to the idea of return, the sequel is perhaps more representative of the spirit of the Chinese cultural tradition. That the final solutions seem inadequate testifies to the magnitude of the problem posed with so much understanding and poignancy by Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in.

THE WORLD OF THE PRECIOUS MIRROR OF LOVE

In the fan-li section in the Chia-hsii manuscript, alternate titles of the book are explained: "It is also called The Precious Mttror of Love as a warning against the illicit urges of passion" (CYC, 4). VVe can deduce from Red Inkstone's comments that the title The Precious Mirror of Love is preferred by Ts'ao T'ang-ts'un. 1 When the title is attributed to "K'ung Mei-hsi of the Eastern Lu region" in chapter 1, the author is probably teasing T'ang-ts'un for being too much of a Confucian scholar and somewhat pedantic. Yii P'ing-po believes that The Precious Mirror of Love refers to a separate book, of which portions are incorporated into The Story of the Stone; he suggests that the episodes on Chia jui, the Yu sisters, Ch'in K'o-ch'ing and Ch'in Chung, Hsiang-Iien and Υϋ-ai, and Miss To (To Ku-niang) are prob1

CYC, 12 See chap 4, n. 18

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ably derived from this source. 2 Wu Shih-ch'ang holds a different view, maintaining that the entire Story of the Stone was at one point called The

Precious Mirror of Love. 3 Regardless of the actual intricacies of textual history, I agree with Yii P'ing-po that the episodes he points out—basically, chapters 9 through 16 and the second half of 63 through 69 4 —are characterized by a quite distinct style and tone, although they do not form an integrated whole, and are related to each other more or less by mere contiguity. To this extent we may speak of a world ( ching-chieh ) of the Precious Mirror where love is carnal and transgressive (i.e., ch'ing is often the equivalent of se), and where the mythic-fantastic realm is invoked to reimpose order and to dra­ matize the opposition between obsessive sexual passion and well-defined moral imperatives. The concept of event in these sections is quite different from its counterpart in the garden world. In the Grand View Garden, games, literary gatherings, and petty misunderstandings count as major events. The tempo and scale of events are very different in the world of the Precious Mirror: stories of love and death unfold at a relatively hurried pace. In its stronger story-interest and more melodramatic style, it shows an affinity in spirit with such works as San-yen and Erh-p'ai. 5 2

Yu P'ing-po, "Ying-yin C h i h - y e n c h a i c h ' u n g - p ' i n g S h i h - t o u c h ι shih-lui hui hou-chi/'

314—17. According to Yu P'ing-po, Ch'in K'o-ch'ing's story is the climax of The Precious Mir­ ror of Love, which is, literally, The Precious Mirror of Wind and Moon The characters "wind" [feng) and "moon" (yueh) appear in the song on Ch'in K'o-ch'ing's destiny m chapter 5 "Skilled in the art of dalliance [lit , 'wind feelings'l, / Endowed with unusual beauty [lit , 'moon looks'], / She becomes the root of a family's downfall" (HLM, 1 89) Yu's speculations are based on the idea that since Ch'in K'o-ch'ing's incestuous relationship with her father-inlaw, Chia Chen, is the most glaring example of transgression in the book, it would be a fitting climax for a story warning against the excesses of passion 3

Wu Shih-ch'ang., "Lun C h i h - y e n c h a i c h ' u n g - p ' i n g S h i h - t o u c h i (ch'i-shih-pa hui pen) ti

k'ou-ch'eng, nien-tai ho p'mg-yu " 4 Chapters 64 and 67 are problematic m any case, as they do not appear in the original Kengch'en and Chi-mao manuscripts 5 S a n - y e n (lit., "three words") refers to three works by Feng Meng-Iung Yu-shih mingyen (Instructive words to enlighten the world), 1620, Chmg-shih t'ung-yen (Popular words to admonish the world), 1624, and Hsing-shih heng-yen (Lasting words to awaken the world), 1627. Erh-p'ai (lit., "two strikes") refers to two works by Ling Meng-ch'u (1580-1644) P'aian chtng-ch'i (Striking the desk in amazement) and a second series with the same title In this sense one may say that the world ot the Precious Mirror is closer to "popular" vernacular narrative (min-chien ti, t'ung-su h) in its inspiration, naivete and energy. Also, traditional narrative ploys are employed more frequently The idea of "wreaking havoc" (nao) is a standard topos in traditional fiction, and it appears in the title couplet of chapter 9, in which Pao-yu's page Ming-yen initiates the scene of flying inkstones in the schoolroom (ch'i hsien-i wan-t'ung nao hsiieh-t'ang), and that of chapter 67, in which a tearful and jealous Wang Hsifeng makes a scene in Ning-kuo Mansion (hsuan Feng-chieh k'u-nao Ning-kuo-fu). As a pre­ lude to the encounter between Hsi-feng and Chia Jui, there is a fu on the scene in the garden (chap 11, HLM 1 c.1.160)

This is reminiscent of similar scene-setting metrical compositions

in Hsi-yu chi, and it is the only example of its kind in Hung-Iou meng

The story of Chia

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In the last two chapters I discussed the unresolved tension between ch'ing and pu-ch'mg. As I emphasized throughout, ch'ing goes beyond erotic at­ tachment: it defines the lyrical consciousness. The perspective of pu-ch'ing contained in the mythic-fantastic realm seems to undermine the claims of an all-inclusive, all-transforming ch'ing, but the author's commitment to the traditional lyrical ideal is too deep for such skepticism to become genu­ inely negative. This paradoxical, unresolved tension between ch'ing and puch'ing does not seem to exist in the world of the Precious Mirror, which dispenses with the dimension of interiority that underlies such tension. The world of the Precious Mirror is an external or externalized moral universe, where moral alternatives are heightened and well defined, and where moral judgements that represent the sedimentation of cultural codes have the final word. I use the word "external" or "externalized" with three related issues in view. First, in the garden world, love, especially the attach­ ment between Pao-yii and Tai-yii, is only inadequately expressed by words. We are often reminded of the burden of inexpressible feelings (earlier I re­ ferred to the sense of ultimate mystery as to who is "in the know"), but here all appears to be expressed or expressible. If there are feelings too com­ plex or anguished for words, there will always be some melodramatic ges­ tures adequate to the expression of those feelings (Yu San-chieh's suicide is a case in point). Authorial judgements also seem more explicit in these parts than elsewhere in the book. There is a most uncharacteristic indictment of Yu Erh-chieh: "Although she had now reformed her ways, she was a fallen woman. And the word 'wanton' is enough to cancel out any other good qualities" (HLM, 2:932). 6 Second, the mythic-fantastic realm in the world of the Precious Mirror is more unequivocally aligned with an order based on pu-ch'ing, and it asserts its presence as an external magical agency. Fi­ nally, the world of the Precious Mirror concerns itself with forces in exter­ nal reality, and more specifically with the fate of family fortunes, 7 so that the mythic-fantastic realm expresses itself with a voice of warning and func­ tions as a kind of morality of the occult. The Precious Mirror of Love makes its appearance in the story of Wang Hsifeng and Chia Jui. 8 With its melodramatic gestures, hyperbolic situations, motifs of conspiracies or tricks, and themes of transgression and chastiseLien's seduction of Yu Erh-chieh with a jade pendant (chap. 64) might have been derived from the tale "Wang Kuei-an" in L i a o - c h a i c h i h - ι , (L C , c 12 1632-37). 6

It is possible that this line was added by the author-editor(s) of the 120-chapter version

7

Cf. Chou Ju-ch'ang, H u n g - I o u m e n g y i i C h u n g - h u a w e n - h u a , 197.

8

Cf. the fan-It in the Chia-hsu manuscript: "And when Chia Jui is sick, the lame Taoist

comes with a mirror with the four words 'Precious Mirror of Love' inscribed on it This is a masterful touch [tien-ching, lit , 'the dotting of the eyes that makes the image of the dragon come to life'] that highlights the title The Precious Mirror of Love" (CYC, 4).

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ment, the story is paradigmatic of the related episodes mentioned earlier. The central image of the mirror deserves closer attention. It obviously has little in common with the image of the mirror that we examined in relation to Pao-yii's consciousness. Here the moral focus seems much more accen­ tuated. The reader is reminded of Ssu-ma Kuang's (1019-1086) Compre­ hensive Mirror for the Aid of Government (Tzu-chih t'ung-chien), in which history itself is supposedly turned into a source of object lessons and a guide for government through examples with moral import. But the moral focus here is construed through a central contradiction: the Precious Mirror of Love is double-faced, containing images of both beauty and death. 9 Al­ though it purports to warn against erotic passion with the image of a skel­ eton, it causes death through the dangerous appeal of the image of a beck­ oning beauty. In its dual thrust of enticement and enlightenment, the Precious Mirror seems to be linked to Disenchantment and the Illusory Realm of Great Void presented in chapter 5. 1 0 But there is a basic difference. Although the mirror is made by Disenchantment, the conceptual scheme to which it belongs is closer to the world of the monk and the Taoist. Disenchantment is both ch'ing and pu-ch'ing. The "lesson in the art of love" in chapter 5 is rendered with such elaborate images of beauty that the stated moral purpose seems irrelevant to the dense aesthetic surface. Such aesthetic appeal is absent in t h e world of t h e Precious M i r r o r . T h e compulsion a n d obsession of ch'ing is here primarily physical desire, and has nothing to do with aesthetic plea­ sure or spiritual communion. In other words, the mirror is double-faced, but it does not really share m the ambiguity of Disenchantment's domain. The injunction to seek "salvation" by looking into the skeleton at the back 9

The name Precious Mirror of Love can mean, metaphorically, "a lesson in the art of love "

The Ch'ing novel Precious Mirror for the Appreciation of Flowers (P'in-hua pao-chien) by Ch'en Shen (19th cent ), which almost reads like a guide to pleasure quarters, might have taken its cue from the idea of a Precious Mirror of Love. 10

Cf. CYC, 235. "A 'cry and echo' [ h u - y i n g ] relationship with the dream of the red chamber

[i.e., chap

5]." (The dream appears in the chapter titles of the early manuscripts "In an

o r i g i n a l m a n n e r t h e d r e a m o f t h e r e d c h a m b e r i s e n a c t e d i n a d r e a m " [K'ai s h e n g - m i e n m e n g yen hung-lou meng; the Chia-hsu manuscript, CYC r 112], "He drinks fairy wine and the dream of the red chamber is enacted through songs" [Ym hsien-lao ch'u-yen hung-lou meng; the Keng-ch'en manuscript, HLM r 1 69] ) Red Inkstone's comment pertains to the following lines in the Chia-hsii manuscript "This thing came from the Precious Spirit Palace in the Mysterious Realm of Great Void It was made by the fairy goddess Disenchantment" (CYC, 235) The word "illusory" is added on the side, it may be a reminder to the next copyist that it should be substituted for the word "mysterious" (hsuan) This is the only place that the term Mysterious Realm of Great Void (Tai-hsu Hsuan-chmg) appears The idea of a repre­ sented Illusory Realm of Great Void probably came later in the writing of the book. See Chang Ai-ling, Hung-lou meng yen, 326 and 341 From this one may infer that the use of dreams and illusions for an ironic and self-reflexive mode belongs to a later stage of conceptualization and writing.

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of the mirror may not—indeed, taking psychological realities into account, it cannot—combat the temptation to look into the front side. But the moral itself is clear enough. Upon Chia Jui's death, when his grandfather, Chia Tai-ju, wants to throw the mirror into the fire, a voice in the mirror cries tearfully, "Who told you to look into the front! You yourselves confused the unreal for the real, why should you burn me!" ( HLM , 1:172). Desire is unequivocally equated with destruction, and pu-ch'ing, interpreted here simply as abstinence based on the vigilant self-reminder that the obverse side of desire is death, is set forth as the only solution. In the Chih-yen chat commentary, an insistent analogy is drawn between the entire book and the Precious Mirror. When the lame Taoist describes the mirror as something made by Disenchantment in the Illusory Realm of Great Void, Red Inkstone comments: "This means that the book is just pure fabrication, it is about illusions and the void" (CYC, 235). The mirror is double-faced, which is taken to mean that "the book has a metaphorical intent, on the surface as well as on a deeper level" (CYC, 235). When the lame Taoist orders Chia Jui to shun the front of the mirror and look only into its back, this is interpreted as an injunction to go beyond (lit., "not to read") the front (and by implication the sensuous surface) of the book (CYC, 2 3 6 ) . 1 1 C h i a Tai-ju d e n o u n c e s t h e m i r r o r a s a n " e v i l m i r r o r " (yaoching), and Red Inkstone notes: "This book cannot escape the slander of pedantic Confucians" (CYC, 237). However, the metaphorical relationship between the mirror and the entire book is not self-reflexive in the same manner as are, say, chapters 1 and 5. Even if the mirror is read as a meta­ phor for the whole book, it would mean only that the book, like the mirror, is a repository of moral directives. Whereas the mythic-fantastic elements in those beginning chapters bring the reader to the basis and meaning of artistic creation and literary communication, and are in that sense intensely personal, the metaphorical equivalence between the mirror and the book 12 here has a more external focus that emphasizes the nature of the message and its reception. 11

There are quite a few possible interpretations of "front" (c h e n g - m i e n ) and "back" ( j a n -

mien) If the analogy is followed through, "front" will refer to the story itself and "back" will mean the implied moral message Cf

Chang Hsin-chih's "Principles of Reading" (Tu-fa),

SCPP, 2. More generally, "back" may refer to deeper intentions or implications that diverge from the sensuous surface of the narrative One Ch'ing critic, Hsii Feng-i, interprets "back" as "the covertly expressed" "The 'first attempt [at trying out the lesson of love]' with Hsijen in chapter six is the 'front ' What happens with K'o-ch'ing in the previous chapter is the 'back.' The best parts of the book are all in the 'back.' But unreal dreams and illusions still belong to the 'front' If they are compared to the various illicit relationships of Chia Chen [with Ch'in K'o-ch'ing], Chia Jung [with Wang Hsi-feng ? ], and Chia Ch'iang, those belong to the real 'back' " (Hung-Iou meng ou-te [Random reflections on Hung-Iou meng], HLMC, 78). 12 Here I assume that Red Inkstone is correct about the author's intention The analogy has internal consistency and seems convincing.

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In the world of the Precious Mirror, the appeal to the mythic-fantastic realm is very much part of the desire to express all (i-hsieh wu-yii, lin-li chinchih), or, more specifically, all aspects of the conflict of polarized moral forces. What we remember most vividly from these passages are perhaps certain melodramatic gestures: 13 Chia Jui trying to grab the Precious Mirror as he is dragged away by netherworld agents ( HLM , 1:172); Chia Chen clapping his hands, unable to contain his grief over the death of Ch'in K'och'ing: "What is to be done [for her funeral]? What else but make use of all I have!" (1:177); Yu San-chieh jumping onto the k'ang and heaping abuses on Chia Lien and Chia Chen, at the same time wanton and formi­ dable (2:931); San-chieh committing suicide with the "female" blade of the yiian-yang (lit., "mandarin ducks \aix galenculata}," symbols of conjugal bliss) swords (2:945); or Liu Hsiang-hen drawing the "male" blade to cut off his hair with one stroke as an act of final renunciation (2:946). In the garden world gestures are symbolic; here their intensity is more purely theatrical. These gestures are memorable for their expressive weight, and for a certain quality of surprise or wonder (ch'i). The use of the supernatural is then just a contributing factor in what one may call an "aesthetics of astonishment," 14 which serves to dramatize a moral universe charted by transgressive, and often incestuous, desire and retributive terror. The tragedy of San-chieh's story is that, though she has reformed her ways, 15 she cannot escape the stigma established by a dense web of examples in that moral universe. In the words of Liu Hsiang-Iien to Pao-yii: "In your Eastern Mansion, except for the two stone lions which remain clean, even the cats and dogs are probably unclean" ( HLM , 2:944). The punitive principle is so powerful in this world that even Pao-yii be­ comes party to it: in a most uncharacteristic manner he praises the beauty of Yu San-chieh but hints at possible moral blemishes in her character. Through his fortuitous remark that San-chieh has been staying m the East13

for the role of gestures in expressing the conflict of polarized moral forces, see Peter

Brooks, The Melodramatic Imagination. Balzac, Henry }ames and the Mode of Excess, esp. ρ 35. "The force of melodrama derives from the very origins of theatricality, of seif-dramatization, in the infantile dream world." 14

The phrase is used by Peter Brooks in ibid. The cumulative effect of situations of aston­

ishment and extreme confrontation may explain why some critics find the story of the Yu sisters somehow "excessive " One Ch'ing critic, Ych-ho, writes "Hung-lou meng deals in calm and understated delineations [pai-miao, lit , 'the technique of plain line drawings'], but this section is 'heated' [i e., exaggerated] " He concludes that the story contains interpolations. Yeh Ho (Wild Crane) is a pseudonym, his real name is not known. He was writing around the late nineteenth to early twentieth century

(Tu Hung-Iou meng cha-chi [Notes on reading

Hung-lou meng], HLMC t 290-91) 15 The author of the sequel also makes changes from chapters 64 through 66 so that Sanchieh appears as a chaste woman throughout The various extant manuscripts show discrep­

ancies that seem to suggest that Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'm himself was improving the image of Yu San-chieh in the last few years of his life. See Chang Ai-ling, Hung-lou meng yen, 340.

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ern Mansion, moral imperatives enact a peripeteia that forces San-chieh to commit suicide in the end. As we have seen, this is an external or externalized world grounded in a confidently asserted moral scheme. Consequently, there are few ambigui­ ties. The silence on the circumstances of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing's death seems to amount to an exception. 16 This is the scenario that Hung-Iou meng scholars reconstruct: In the original version of chapter 13 two maids surprise Chia Chen and Ch'in K'o-ch'ing in their rendezvous in Heavenly Fragrance Pa­ vilion. K'o-ch'ing hangs herself out of shame. The two maids fear ven­ geance from the family, so one of them (Jui-chu) kills herself, and the other (Pao-chu) vows to become K'o-ch'ing's "daughter," which means she will guard the tablet of K'o-ch'ing and will not leave the family. The stories of the two maids are preserved in the present version ( HLM,1:178), only their actions are presented as a mark of their loyalty and devotion to K'o-ch'ing. Actually, the description of Chia Chen's excessive grief and the account of the special litanies in chapter 13 already point to the illicit affair between Chia Chen and K'o-ch'ing as the real cause of the latter's death. The tone is subtly but caustically critical of Chia Chen. When the news of K'o-ch'ing's death comes, everybody in the Jung-kuo Mansion is "without exception taken aback, and more than a little suspicious" (1:175). Ts'ao T'ang-ts'un comments: "These nine words give a full sense of what happened in Heav­ e n l y F r a g r a n c e P a v i l i o n . T h i s is w r i t i n g b y n o t w r i t i n g [pu-hsieh chih hsieh]" (CYC , 243). (T'ang-ts'un is probably against the revision dictated by Crooked Tablet. His comment is therefore a form of protest: although Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in had to obey the order of Crooked Tablet, the real mean­ ing of the event is nevertheless subtly conveyed.) In this sense, there is no real silence and, by implication, no real mystery in this world. 16

We know from the C h i h - y e n c h a i commentary that the title of chapter 13 was originally

"Ch'in K'o-ch'ing dies of wantoness in Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion" (Ch'in K'o-ch'ing yinsang T'xen-hsiang Lou) and that Crooked Tablet "ordered" the author to delete certain pas­ sages out of consideration for the family's honor (CYC, 240) Crooked Tablet calls this his "great compassion" (ta-fa tz'u-pei, CYC, 243) and his appreciation of K'o-ch'ing's advice to Wang Hsi-feng (CYC, 240) He also takes pains to blot out any suggestion that Pao-yu might have had an illicit relationship with K'o-ch'ing Pao-yii spits blood upon learning of her death It is probably Crooked Tablet who pens this comment "Pao-yu could see even then that the only person who could be entrusted with the family's affairs was K'o-ch'ing That is why he was so devastated when he heard that K'o-ch'ing had died" (CYC, 244). This is a rather trans­ parent way to try to gloss over Pao-yu's deep feelings for K'o-ch'ing But we are told that even in the original version "the author is using the historian's brush" (CYC, 240) The "historian's brush" (shih-ρι) implies a pointed but indircctly stated moral position that "condemns the intention" (chu-hsm chih pi) This suggests that no explicit account was given even in the original version. The revised version just heightens the indirectness. Crooked Tablet was ap­ parently still somewhat dissatisfied with the revisions and felt (he need to write in defense of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing.

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The main characters in the world of the Precious Mirror—Wang Hsifeng, Ch'in K'o-ch'ing, and Chia Chen—are most intimately connected with the decline and fall of the Chia clan. The encounter between Hsi-feng and Chia Jui takes place in the Ning-kuo Mansion, and most of the episodes in the world of the Precious Mirror are in one way or another related to the Ning-kuo branch of the Chia clan. The reader is reminded of the song on Ch'in K'o-ch'ing in chapter 5: "For the ruin of the family the prime culprit is Ning" (HLM, 1:89). No wonder then, that when a moral focus is dra­ matized through supernatural intervention, the "higher wisdom" is deliv­ ered as a voice of warning on the imminent decline of family fortune. Surprisingly practical advice comes from the otherworld. The ghost of Κ'ο-ch'mg appears to Hsi-feng in a dream and advises the latter on how to be prepared for a drastic change for the worse in family fortune by investing in property near the ancestral graves. (Such property cannot be confiscated even if the family gets into political trouble.) K'o-ch'ing's advice on the economic future of the family, just as much as Chia Chen's extravagance in her funeral, shows how money (ts'ai) and carnal passion are closely con­ nected as the two primary modes of excess in the world of the Precious Mirror. In contrast, the garden world is blithely oblivious to economic re­ ality. Its inmates cannot recognize a pawnshop ticket (chap. 57, H L M , 2:814), and even a maid (She-yueh) does not deign to know exactly how much a tael of silver amounts to (chap. 51, HLM, 2:719). Herein lies the snobbery of that world. It has nothing to do with production, and even demands that the latter's mechanism be gracefully concealed. When Paoch'ai and T'an-ch'un plan to turn the garden's productive potential to good account (chap. 56), they conduct their discussion with copious learned quo­ tations, for "unguided by academic discourse, our enterprise may sink to the vulgar level of the marketplace" (HLM, 2:785). Although their reforms appear sensible, the new policies do lead to the unpleasant intrusion of the older women servants (chaps. 58 and 59). The reader is reminded once again of how uncongenial the mechanism of production is to the garden world. If worldly affairs, the vulgar, and the commonplace (shih-su) are dismissed with disdain by the garden inmates, they find their proper place in the dis­ course of the world of the Precious Mirror. Appropriately enough, the ghost of Κ'ο-ch'mg quotes a variety of common sayings and proverbs to buttress her argument. The voice of warning from the supernatural realm tries to assist human effort to counter a relentless destiny with practical, worldly wisdom, although the attempt is almost foredoomed. K'o-ch'ing's eminently practical advice shows how moral urgency leaves little room for a sense of mystery in the otherworld. The distinction be­ tween mundane reality and the world beyond is playfully effaced in Ch'in Chung's deathbed scene. The netherworld official is intimidated by Pao-yii:

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"As the common saying goes, 'The empire's officials control the empire's people. From time immemorial, the ways of humans and of spirits have been the same, and the principles governing yin and yang are no different. Be he yin or yang, it doesn't hurt to show some respect" (HLM r 1:222). Ch'in Chung obtains a momentary reprieve from the netherworld guards to bid Pao-yu farewell, but the banality of his last words are unexpectedly out of character: "We used to believe that our understanding rose above that of the common herd; only now do I know that I was mistaken. From now on, set your mind on passing the examination with distinction in order to achieve glory and honor." (1:222). Considering the playful context of this message, it cannot be meant too seriously. 17 But there is an awareness that the claim to escape ethical categories has a precarious basis in reality. The voice from beyond the grave is merged with common opinion in the author's gentle self-mockery. Beyond moral homily the mythic-fantastic realm offers a higher perspec­ tive of pu-ch'ing, which is all the more clear-cut for being embodied in con­ crete objects, namely, the mirror and the sword. Moral imperatives become associated with the cold, cruel glaze of the Precious Mirror, "an object be­ yond feelings" (wu-ch'ing chih wu). The yiian-yang swords are "chillingly cold, with a bright gleam, like two autumn streams" (HLM, 2:943). Like the Precious Mirror, they, too, are cold, cruel, and wu-ch'ing, in the spirit of the cliche: "the sword of wisdom cuts through silk threads of amorous attachment" (hui-chien chart ch'ing-ssu). The dimension of the pu-ch'ing here, unlike in the world of Pao-yu, does not involve any sense of paradox or ambiguity. When the spirit of Yu San-chieh appears to Liu Hsiang-lien, we have the impression of "accounts being settled" (chieh-chang), as moral and emotional epithets are enunciated and piled up in balanced cadences: All of a sudden he heard tinkling jade pendants. Yu San-chieh came in from out­ side, with one hand holding the yuart-yang swords, and the other a roll of regis­ ters. She said to Liu Hsiang-lien, "In my infatuation I waited for you for five years. Little did I expect that you would turn out to be as cold of heart as of face. 1 have died for this foolish love Now, at the order of Disenchantment, I am going to the Illusory Realm of Great Void to register all the souls of lovers m her tri­ bunal. From the heaven of love I came, and from the land of love I depart. In my last life I was deluded by love Now, ashamed of my love, I have awakened, and we have nothing to do with each other." (2:945—46) 17

Cf CYC, 300-301 "The entire S t o r y o f t h e S t o n e is plausible and reasonable, and each

event or each word is judiciously put down, but this sort of absurd talk now and then appears too. Is the author being deliberately playful and whimsical ? Here he is having his good laugh, unlike [authors of] other books in which 'ghostly talk' [kuei-hua] is undertaken in all serious­ ness " Red Inkstone also describes the author as "laughing at the ways of the world" and as "deliberately using the foolish talk of the world to set up his own metaphors."

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"As cold of heart as of face" (leng-mien leng-hsin ) or "ashamed of love and awakened" (ch'ih-ch'ing erh chueh) are perfectly apt summary statements that permit no equivocation. Ch'in Chung's death (chap. 16) is immediately followed by the construction of the Grand View Garden (chap. 17). The world of the Precious Mirror seems to give way to the garden world. Perhaps this explains why the story of the Yu sisters (second half of chap. 63) somehow fits in uneasily: appar­ ently they belong to a world that we have left behind since chapter 17. Chapter 25 appears to be in the same category. According to Chang Ai-ling, the second half of chapter 25 and chapter 5 originally formed one chapter. 18 If there is truth to this hypothesis, we would be able to resolve the contra­ diction in the title of chapter 25 in the various manuscript versions: "In the dream of the red chamber the 'Precious Jade of Numinous Essence' encoun­ ters the monk and the Taoist" (Hung-lou meng t'ung-ling yii shuangchen). As it stands, there is not any account of a dream in chapter 25. Pre­ sumably, then, in the original version, Pao-yii loses consciousness after be­ ing possessed by the five demons, and his spirit drifts to the Illusory Realm of Great Void, where Disenchantment grants him glimpses into the destiny of his female companions to warn him against love. However, Pao-yii's ini­ tiation into the art of love would have been unnecessary. A line from the monk's song suggests that by then he already had sexual experience: "For days and nights entangled in erotic pursuits within silken chambers" (HLM , 1:357). Beclouded by indulgence in sensual pleasures, the jade loses its magical potency, and Pao-yii is warned in his dream against persistence in his ways. If Chang Ai-ling's speculation is correct, then this original ver­ sion would have been closer in conception to the world of the Precious Mir­ ror, with its moral imperatives, close association of ch'ing and carnal pas­ sions, well-defined opposition between ch'ing and pu-ch'ing, and unity of magical powers with a higher understanding. But what we have now is of course far more complex and intriguing. With the dream moved to the be­ ginning of the narrative, where Pao-yii is admonished not for carnal desires he knows but for "lust of the mind" (which he doesn't even understand intellectually), and where sexual initiation crowns the warnings against love, we move into the deeply paradoxical realm explored in the last two chapters. In the final analysis, however, the garden world and the world of the Precious Mirror are inextricably bound. As Yii Ying-shih points out, the Grand View Garden is based on Chia She's garden and the Gathered Blos­ soms Garden (Hui-fang Yuan) at the Eastern Mansion, which supplies wa18

Chang Ai-lmg, Hung-lou meng yen, 134—36

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ter to the Grand View Garden. 19 The world of the Precious Mirror is inti­ mately bound up with the decline of the family, which in turn leads irrevocably to destruction of the garden world. The sense of tragedy in the book comes precisely from the feeling that the two worlds cannot be sepa­ rated.

THE CONFUSION OF THE MYTHIC AND THE MAGICAL

Considered as a betrayal of the original, the last forty chapters of H u n g - I o u meng have come in for much vituperation. However, to recognize the in­

feriority of this sequel is not to dismiss it altogether. The 120-chapter ver­ sion as an accomplished literary fact has to be dealt with on its own terms apart from the question of whether it conforms to Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's in­ tention. One defining perspective of the last forty chapters is the confusion of the mythic and the magical. In what follows, I consider this problem in terms of a general sentimentahzation in the sequel of the first eighty chap­ ters, and a redoubled insistence on order as a solution to the problems posed in the book. What I have termed sentimentahzation involves two marked trends in the development of the narrative: evil becomes personalized, and the di­ mensions of ch'ing are reduced to the pathos of a marriage intrigue. Let us first consider the problem of evil. The search of the garden in chapters 73 and 74 is powerful partly because the forces that destroy the garden world are in a way faceless and indefinable. Of course the old women servants who undertake the search and even Lady Wang appear in a negative light, but they seem to be mere agents fulfilling the destiny of the garden world. There is a sense of inevitability to its destruction; the blissful existence of the garden is a fragile illusion that cannot bear too much reality. Individuals such as Chia Chen, Chia She, and Wang Hsi-feng contribute to the fall of the Chia clan through improvidence, greed, and abuse of power, but the process itself is so monumental and irrevocable that it wears the mask of an impersonal fate. After chapter 80, however, evil appears to be personalized. The terror of retribution strikes. Wicked characters—Witch Ma (Ma Taop'o, chap. 80), Hsia Chin-kuei (chap. 103), Concubine Chao (chap. 112)— come by their just deserts, sometimes through supernatural visitation, as in the case of Concubine Chao. Because individual malice is made to bear so much explanative weight, the victims of such wickedness are proportion­ ately featured: the spirit of Tai-yii is heard crying at her old abode (chap. 108), and Yu Erh-chieh appears to Wang Hsi-feng while the latter is seri­ ously ill (chap. 113). The garden becomes haunted (chap. 101-102). "Trees and grass—all seemed t o be evil spirits" ( t s ' a o - m u c h i e h y a o ) ( H L M , 19

Yu Ying-shih, H u n g - I o u m e n g t i h a n g - k o s h i h - c h t e h , 47^18

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3:1429). Not content with the melancholy of simple desolation in the gar­ den, the author of the sequel resorts to sensationalism, with the voice of ominous foreboding delivered by the world of the spirits (although there are also suggestions that the supernatural warnings are actually products of human paranoia, especially in chapter 102). The destruction of the garden world, which has close ties with the mythic realm, is dramatized through magical agency and the occult, and this is possible because here evil is more petty and personal. As we have seen, the dilemma of Pao-yu's c h ' m g may be understood as the problematic attempt of lyrical subjectivity to sustain moments of plen­ itude in time. In its vague yearnings and almost absolute inclusiveness, lyr­ ical consciousness is confronted with problems of much greater import than the question of who would be united with whom in marriage. But in the last forty chapters marriage becomes the prime concern. Tai-yii is plagued throughout by a sense of her helplessness against the workings of a capri­ cious and indifferent fate: after chapter 80 fate assumes the specific shape of an intrigue engineered through personal ill will. In the last forty chapters plot means "to plot against": Wang Hsi-feng masterminds a conspiracy, to which Aunt Hsiieh, Madame Wang, and Grandmother Chia are party, to arrange for the marriage of Pao-ch'ai and Pao-yu, all the while deceiving Pao-yii that he is going to marry Tai-yii. (In this sense the only comparable episodes from the first eighty chapters are the ones about Hsi-feng's plot against Yu Erh-chieh.) Tai-yii becomes explicitly concerned with her union with Pao-yii as never before, hence her nightmare (chap. 82) and attempt to kill herself by slow starvation (chap. 89). The pathos of the melodramatic juxtaposition of her death and Pao-ch'ai's wedding capitalizes upon the reader's sympathy for victimized innocence, which is why I use the word "sentimentalization." For this none too plausible trick of secret substitution to appear less arbitrary, however, Pao-yii cannot be his usual self. The prob­ lem is solved with the magical disappearance of the Precious Jade of Numi­ nous Essence, which reduces Pao-yii to a state of semi-idiocy. The disap­ pearance of the jade is a necessary ploy in the marriage intrigue. As Chen Shih-yin explains in chapter 120: "Pao-yu is Stone, the Precious Jade. Before the Jung and Ning mansions were searched and their worldly goods confiscated, and on the day when Pao-ch'ai and Tai-yii were separated, the Jade had already left the world. This was in part to avoid the impending calamity, m part to bring about the matrimonial union. From then on its worldly karma was complete, and its form and substance returned to the great oneness." (HLM, 3 1644)

By emphasizing the magical attributes of Stone/Jade and its mysterious ties with Pao-yii, the author of the sequel also avoids confronting the develop­ ment of Pao-yii's consciousness as he witnesses the collapse of his world.

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The tendency to sentimentalize is, then, very much bound up with the con­ fusion of the mythic and the magical. As a corollary of this development, the tension between ch'ing and pu-ch'ing that defines the mythic-fantastic realm in chapters 1 and 5 is displaced. As was mentioned earlier, in the interval in which the jade is missing (chaps. 94—115), Pao-yii is separated from his essence and is therefore no longer governed by that dialectics of ch'ing and pu-ch'ing which should otherwise define his sensibility. Instead, a somewhat unexpected candidate, Yuan-yang, is brought into the limelight to exemplify this problem of ch'ing and pu-ch'ing. Yiian-yang is Grandmother Chia's personal maid. Persecuted by Chia She, who wants to have her as his concubine, she has brought the case in front of the matriarch and made a public vow of celibacy. Upon the death of the matriarch, Yuan-yang decides to commit suicide out of loyalty as well as fear of further persecution from Chia She (chap. 111). The spirit of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing then appears to show Yiian-yang how to hang herself. When the deed is done, the spirit of K'o-ch'ing, who styles herself the sister of Dis­ enchantment, tells Yiian-yang that she is going to take her place and that she will be in charge of the Department of Obsessive Love (Ch'ih-ch'ing Ssu) to settle "debts of love" (jeng-ch'ing yueh-chai) in the Illusory Realm of Great Void, because she herself "has seen through worldly love, tran­ scended the Sea of Love, and returned to the Heaven of Love" (HLM, 3:1527): The spirit of Yiian-yang said, "i'm a most unfeeling person. Why should I be counted as a soul of feeling?" That person replied, "But you still don't know. In this world people mistake desires and lust for 'love,' thus they indulge in all kinds of immoral and transgressive acts and call it harmless, inconsequential romantic involvement Little do they know the meaning of the word 'love.' When the emo­ tions of joy, anger, grief, and happiness are still incipient, they exist in a latent state as moral nature; when they become manifest, they become love. As for our kind of love, it exists in a latent state as moral nature It is like a blossom in a bud. 20 Once expressed and full blown, this love is no longer true love." (3:1527) 20

One is reminded of the metaphor of sprouting in A n a t o m y o f L o v e . In c h u a n 15, "Sprout­

ing of Love" (Ch'ing-ya), there are examples of how the sages, philosophers, moralists, states­ men, generals, recluses, and monks throughout history have not been exempt from passion {wet-mien yu-ch'mg) The Historian of Love dilates on how restraint indicates susceptibility "These people all epitomize extreme ch'ing Out of the anxiety that they might suddenly fail to restrain themselves, they go against themselves in advance" (CS, c 15 462) The intimations of ch'ing are as inevitable as the stirring of new life in plants "When plants are moved with the urge to life they sprout Ch'ing is also the urge to life of human beings—who can help 'sprouting'' But to insist that plants need never have sprouted [since they would eventu­ ally die] is to wish heaven and earth would end with severe winter I do not see how that can be 1 " (c 15.467) The metaphor of sprouting equates ch'ing with life-force and recognizes it as inevitable However, the fact it takes the form of "sprouts" in morally and spiritually superior individuals implies that it is most beneficial when its existence is potential and incipient

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The paradox of c h ' i n g and p u - c h ' i n g is resolved through a moral inter­ pretation. Quibbling over the meanings of "feelings that have become man­ ifest" [i-fa chih ch'ing) and "incipient feelings" (wet-fa chih ch'ing), the sister of Disenchantment sounds almost like a Neo-Confucian scholar. 21 In one especially moralistic version (the so-called Ch'eng-chia edition), K'och'ing is in charge not of "debts of love" (jeng-ch'mg yueh-chai) but "pu­ rities and proprieties of love" (jeng-ch'ing yueh-pai). Ch'ing is broadened to include a broad range of emotions that somehow transcend or bypass e r o t i c a t t a c h m e n t . T h e e m p h a s i s is o n p r o p e r e x p r e s s i o n ( f a e r h c h i e h chung-chieh), the most proper expression apparently being nonexpression. If there are hints of mutual attraction between Yiian-yang and Pao-yu in the first eighty chapters, they are here summarily suppressed. 22 Yiian-yang's vow of celibacy and her suicide, as sincere expressions of her true feelings, are considered conducive to a higher harmony and therefore earn her a post under Disenchantment. 211 This is the logic of ethical catego­ ries. One is reminded of the standard Confucian solution to the problem of ch'ing: to "transform feelings into moral nature" (hua-ch'ing kuei-hsing), which ignores the fact that ch'ing is by definition intense, and that only virtue (te) and moral nature can be latent, incipient, controlled, and mod25

The terms i - f a and w e i - f a are from T h e B o o k o f t h e M e a n (Chung-yung), they form part

of the standard vocubulary in Neo-Confucian discourse (The Book of the Mean is a chapter from The Book of Riteb

C h u H s i d es i g n a t e s i t , t o g e t h e r w i t h T h e G r e a t L e a r n i n g , A n a l e c t s ,

and Mencius as the basic "Four Books" in the Confucian Canon ) 22

When Pao-yu sniffs at the back of her neck in chapter 24, Yuan-yang turns around and

calls Hsi-jen Red Inkstone comments "Yiian-yang, too, belongs to the world of illusions and love" (CYC, 461) Chang Hsin-chih also hints at Yuan-yang's secret love for Pao-yu (SCPP, 2 736) 23

Yuan-yang finds favor with most Ch'ing critics This in itself is an indication that in the

sequel she speaks for traditional moral values Some of them believe that the last entry m the mam register in chapter 5 represents both Ch'in K'o-ch'ing and Yuan-yang and express puz­ zlement over the combination of a poem on Ch'in K'o-ch'ing and a picture depicting a young woman hanging herself (whom they could only identify as Yuan-yang) The actual circum­ stances of K'o-ch'mg's death (as it appears in the original version) could not have been known, hence the confusion That the author of the sequel takes pains to show that he knows indicates that he is familiar with the history of the Ts'ao family At the same time, by presenting K'och'ing as something of a moralist, he is also glossing over scandals K'o-ch'ing's speech is an indirect denial of having been involved in an incestuous affair with Chia Chen Cf Chang Ai­ ling, Hung-Iou meng yen,42 The fusion of K'o-ch'ing and Yuan-yang sometimes becomes the basis of a moral interpre­ tation of the book For example, Chou Ch'un writes in Yueh Hung-Iou sui~pi (Random notes on reading Flung-Iou)

"For the main concern of this book is love When love and desire are

given full rem, heavenly principles perish To put Yuan-yang and Ch'in K'o-ch'ing at the end of the 'twelve beauties' is to say that moral principles and reason return when desire has run its course [yu-chin h-lai, ι e , Ch'in K'o-ch'ing represents desire, Yuan-yang, moral princi­ ples!" (HLMC, 70)

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erate. We have only to think back on the notion of "lust of the mind" in chapter 5 to realize the distance between the two conceptions of ch'ing. While both are concerned with latent feelings and differ from carnal love, the latter is potentially infinite and has much more radical, destabilizing implications for the existent scheme of things. But in Yiian-yang's case, "incipient feelings" are presented as a point of balance, rather than a source of disequilibrium. The tension between ch'ing and pu-ch'ing is resolved m a higher ethical synthesis, the closest approximation to this optimal point may be the idea of moral sincerity (ch'eng).

THE PROBLEM OF ENDINGS: ORDER AND RETURN

In the sequel, the paradox of c h ' i n g and p u - c h ' m g , and of reality and illu­ sion, is no longer the prime concern; it yields pride of place to the problem of reconciling different systems of order, namely Confucian responsibility and Taoist-Buddhist renunciation. This latter way of formulating the prob­ lem is much more conventional and readily comprehensible to the Chinese reader. The shift of focus becomes immediately apparent when we compare Chia Pao-yii's dream of Chen Pao-yii in chapter 56 with their meeting in chapter 115. In the dream, reality and illusion engage each other in a series of infinite reflections like two parallel mirrors, but in their actual meeting the issue is Confucian commitment versus the longing for otherworldly de­ tachment and freedom (ch'ao-fan ju-sheng).2'* In the final chapters, the sense of order is closely associated with the idea of return. There seems to be a tacit assumption that some sort of primary stasis lies at the beginning, although, as we have seen, the beginnings of the book do not suggest stasis and order. In chapter 118, Pao-yii and Pao-ch'ai debate on the rival conceptions of a "return to origins" [fan-pen huanyuan). Pao-yii is reading the chapter "Autumn Waters" in the Chuang Tzu, and Pao-ch'ai chides him for ignoring "the fundamental basis of hu­ man character" (jen-p'in ken-ti) Before he had heard her out, Pao-yu put his book down, smiled slightly and said, but don't you know that the ancient sages also talk about 'not losing the heart of the newborn child'' Now what good is the newborn child, except that it doesn't have any knowledge, greed, or envy ?

When it comes to the funda­

mental basis of the human character, who has ever reached that first step of primal :_t We may be quite sure that Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in did not plan such a turn of events There is this line in Chen Shih-yin's commentary on the "Won-Done Song" "In the twinkling of an eve, a beggar by all reviled" (HLM, 1 18) Red Inkstone comments "This describes the fate of Chen Pao-yu, Chia Pao-yu, and the like" (CYC, 32) There is also another comment on Chen Pao-yu returning Chia Pao-yu's lost jade, but that section of the book, if indeed written, is lost Nowhere is there any indication that Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in intended to turn Chen Pao-yu into a spokesman for Confucian morality

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origins?" Pao-ch'ai said, "What the ancient sages meant by 'the heart of the new­ born child' was loyalty and filial piety . . . the so-called 'heart of the newborn child'is none other than compassion and sincere concern for others. . . ." (HLM, 3:1613).

The discussion ends in equivocation. Pao-ch'ai urges Pao-yu to "collect his stray urges" (pa-hsin shou-i-shou) and to try to pass the examination with honor, "Even if you stop at that, you will at least repay in some mea­ sure the grace of heaven and the virtue of your ancestors" (HLM, 3:1614). Pao-yu concurs emphatically. But for Pao-ch'ai the phrase "stop at that" (ts'ung-tz'u erh chih) indicates one step in the progressive integration into t h e o r t h o d o x , established s y s t e m , a n d recalls a phrase f r o m T h e G r e a t Learning (Ta-hsiieh), "abiding at the limits of the highest good" (chih yii chih-shan). For Pao-yii, however, the idea of "stopping at that" amounts to a last concession to conventional morality before his final gesture of renun­ ciation. 25 Whether the "first step of primal origins" (t'ai-chu i - p u ti-wei) refers to an amoral, preconscious state or to the first impulse of compassion, the dominant concern remains the same: return to a higher order. The last five chapters of the book, which return the reader to the mythic-fantastic frame, take due cognizance of the different ideological implications of the notion of return to origins. In chapter 116, Pao-yii is enlightened after revisiting the Illusory Realm of Great Void, now renamed Joyous Land of Eternal Truth (Chen-ju Fu-ti). This second visit is juxtaposed with his father's trip to take the coffins of the matriarch, Ch'in K'o-ch'ing, Wang Hsi-feng, and Tai-yii "back south" (hui-nan). The chapter-title couplet reads: "Regaining the 'Precious Jade of Numinous Essence,' Pao-yii apprehends preordained des­ tiny m the Illusory Realm; Escorting his mother's coffin to their homeland, Chia Cheng fulfills his filial duties." To "apprehend preordained destiny" (wu hsien-yiian) and to "fulfill filial duties" (ch'iian hsiao-tao) parallel, and perhaps complement, each other as rival conceptions of returning to origins. 26 25

In this discussion, the arguments of Pao-yu and Pao-ch'ai are presented with equal vigor

In the earlier episodes of Pao-yii's "attempts at enlightenment," he comes out as less adept than the girls in the "game of koans and gathas " In those scenes, Tai-yu and Pao-ch'ai beat him at his own game Pao-yu and Pao-ch'ai are here explicitly identified with different ideo­ logical positions and, as before, Pao-yu does not win the argument 26

Chang Hsin-chih comments

"From Pao-yu recovering his origins we move to Chia

Cheng burying his mother, this is where the author's deep intentions lie. For the 'Illusory Realm' and 'preordained destiny' of the first half of the chapter is 'false return'

[chta-fu]. This

is 'letting the mind [or heart] go,' not 'refraining from letting the mind (or heart) go' [an allusion to Mencius (6A 10) 'The way of learning is about the quest for the lost mind (or heart)']. Only the act of bringing the coffin back for burial is the solid ground, that is 'not letting the mind go/ that is 'real return'

[chen-fu\"

(SCPP, 4 1902) Writing with a Confucian

bias, Chang valorizes the second half of the chapter and emphasizes how Pao-yii's conversion

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With Buddhist renunciation the convert supposedly places himself out­ side time. But here the mythic-fantastic realm links the Buddhist solution to an antecedent state of existence. Analogously, there is a great emphasis on the temporal dimension of filial piety. In his masterful essay on HungIou meng, Wang Kuo-wei argues that, as an expiatory act atoning for the sins of the fathers, Pao-yu's conversion is filial from a more exalted point of view: Knowing the mistakes of his ancestors, and not being able to bear to bring himself to commit the same mistakes and thereby redouble the burden of guilt: how can this be called unfilial conduct? So Pao-yii's idea that "the monkhood of one son means deliverance for ancestors of seven generations" embodies real insight, in­ sofar as so-called filial piety lies "here" [i e., m Buddhist renunciation] and not "there" [i.e., m conventional coneptions of filial piety]; what is involved is no mere self-justification

27

Without endorsing Wang Kuo-wei's argument in its entirety, we can agree with him that both Pao-yii's conversion and the idea of filial devotion in­ volve a temporal dimension. Many readers find Pao-yii's success in the civil service examination superfluous and offensive, and there is no indication that Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in intended such a development m the narrative. In the scheme of the last forty chapters, however, it is a necessary filial act with which he fulfills his obligation to his human past. We have our final glimpse of Pao-yii through Chia Cheng's eyes 28 : "All of a sudden he saw that at the entrance to his cabin, silhouetted dimly against the snow, was a human figure, with shaven head and bare feet, wrapped in a large cape made of crimson felt That figure knelt down and bowed to Chia Cheng" (HLM, 3:1636). Pao-yii does not say a word, and his expression is an odd mixture of joy and grief (ssu-hsi ssu-pei). The large is qualified by context In a similar vein, he argues tor a relativizing context in chapter 117. "For fear that the reader would mistakenly believe in supernatural intervention, the account of the fulfillment of filial duties immediately follows, for fear that the reader may be misled on the score of 'transcending humanity/ the episode ot degenerate sons taking over the house­ hold comes right after" (SCPP, 4 1922) 27

Wang Kuo-wei, " H u n g - l o u r n e n g p'ing lun," H L M C t 258.

28

At this juncture one should note the juxtaposition ot lather and son in the various "en­

lightenment scenes", the examples already pointed out (chap 116 and 120) have significant precedents in chapters 22, 91, and 92 In chapter 22, the riddle motif, which is so important in the enlightenment paradigm for Pao-yu, also figures in Chui Cheng's forebodings. Pao-yu's "Ch'an talk" (t'an-Ch'an) in chapter 91 is paralleled by Chia Cheng's ruminations on union and separation inspired by the Mother Pearl (Mu-chu) in chapter 92. There is an almost con­ spiratorial echo to Chia Cheng's explanation to his entourage of Pao-yu's departure, as if he cannot hope to make Pao-yii's case comprehensible to the uninitiated "How can you possibly understand?" {HLM, 3 1638) We are told that Chia Cheng in his youth was even more un­ conventional than Pao-yu. Filial devotion, as a return to one's human past, is also an encounter with an antecedent version of oneself.

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cape of crimson felt has often been criticized for its inappropriate opu­ lence. 29 Because the gesture itself seems to invoke a vision of the conver­ gence of the three teachings (i.e., Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism) into one (san-chiao ho-ι), it is dismissed by many modern critics as reac­ tionary or irrelevant. But I consider this one of the more successful mo­ ments in the sequel. The return to the mythic past and to the human past are conflated m a powerful and evocative image. With this the author of the sequel apparently attains his goal: the contradictions between rival concep­ tions of order are momentarily resolved with this image as a moment of lyrical suspension. The emphasis on order and on harmonizing differences changes the com­ plexion of the mythic-fantastic realm. Pao-yii's visit to the Illusory Realm of Great Void is above all initiation into love through a vision of aesthetic plenitude. The paradoxical tension between ch'mg and pu-ch'ing is ex­ pressed through images of great beauty and the experience of exquisite sen­ sual pleasures. In chapter 116, however, the Illusory Realm of Great Void has become the Joyous Land of Eternal Truth. The dilemma embodied in the couplet at the gateway to the Illusory Realm ("Fiction becomes true when truth is fiction, / Where the unreal is real, real becomes not real") gives way to the confident assertion: "Fiction recedes, truth comes, truth p r e v a i l s o v e r fiction, / U n r e a l w a s o n c e real; i t is, a n d i s n o t u n r e a l " ( H L M , 3:1582). Mystery, irony, and paradox are no more, and also banished in their train is the sense of aesthetic plenitude. The Joyous Land of Eternal Truth is a moral universe; its representative figures are the monk and Yiian-yang rather than Disenchantment. Pao-yii sees K'o-ch'ing and wants to ask her where Hsi-feng is. There is no indication that Pao-yu feels any special attachment to her, although in chapter 13 he had spit blood upon hearing the news of her death. The ambiguous connection between Ch'in Κ'ο-ch'mg and the sister of Disenchantment is completely suppressed. Af­ ter the monk leads Pao-yu into the Joyous Land, first San-chieh appears, and then Yiian-yang; for both pu-ch'tng has a specifically moral dimen­ sion. 50 The definmig inscription for this world reads: "Blessings for the vir­ t u o u s , calamities for t h e licentious" [fu-shan h u o - y i n ) . The moral emphasis is accompanied by a melodramatic style, which col24

In the 120-chapter manuscript from the Ch'ien-lung period (1736—1796) ( Ch'ten-lung

pai-nien-hui ch'ao-pen),

the passage simply reads "He was wrapped in a red cape " (Cassocks

are often red or orange in color ) The editor of the Ch'eng-chia version, remembering all too vividly the red felt capes in chapter 49, makes the change here 5 0 As mentioned earlier, the author of the sequel has made changes in chapter 64, 65, and 66 to turn Yu San-chieh into a chaste and blameless character This is consistent with the move to feature her in the Joyous Land of Eternal Truth Cf Chao Kang, 61-78

Man-t'an Hung-Iou meng,

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ors the very context of the dream vision. The dream here is more explicitly a kind of death, 31 informed by the sense of violent jolt associated with wak­ ing up from a dream (ch 'u-meng) as distinct from the imperceptible transi­ tion in entering a dream. Indeed, the text suggests that this is not a dream a t a l l , b u t a j o u r n e y u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e s p i r i t ( hun-p'o, HLM 1 3 : 1 5 8 1 , shenhun, 3:1587). Dilatory, composite figures of unstable identity feature in abrupt transitions of scenes: San-chieh, Yiian-yang, Ch'ing-wen, Ch'in K'o-ch'ing, Wang Hsi-feng, and Tai-yii each make a fleeting appearance. They give the impression that the Joyous Land of Eternal Truth is a kind of higher abode for souls of the dead. True to the sentimental spirit of the sequel, victimized innocence is apotheosized, and Tai-yii appears, rather in­ congruously, in sumptuous regal attire. The characters' brief, silent meet­ ing is a variation of the standard topos of "meeting in heaven again, as in the human world." 32 Melodramatic gestures are ubiquitous. Yu San-chieh, claiming directions from Yiian-ch'un, threatens to sever Pao-yii's earthly ties with one blow of her sword. Beauties metamorphose into monsters pursuing him. The monk who returns the jade and leads Pao-yii into the Joyous Land of Eternal Truth reappears with a mirror, shines it in Pao-yii's face, and claims to be executing the order of Yiian-ch'un. (Perhaps it is a mark of the author's deference for the earthly power structure that prompts him to turn Yiianch'un, herself a helpless victim of fate, into a figure of such authority.) In an instant all the monsters vanish, and everything reverts to a stretch of bleak wilderness. We seem to be in the world of the Precious Mirror, where the potency of the mirror as a magical object is emphasized, not the mythicfantastic realm of chapters 1 and 5, where the process of mirroring is para­ doxically both fascination and the promise of distancing and detachment. In a manner typical of the world of the Precious Mirror, the reversion to the mythic-fantastic realm in the last five chapters also invokes an external or externalized moral universe. If the solutions offered here seem inade­ quate, it is partly because the mythic-fantastic elements in the first five chapters contain a dimension of inferiority not sufficiently dealt with in the endings of the book. In chapter 116, Pao-yii wakes up and remembers his dream. Remembering "cause and consequence" ( yin-kuo ) guarantees knowledge and distance from one's emotions. Chapter 5 tells of initiation into the unknown, chapter 116 of alienation from the known. Pao-yii's mis­ taken impression that he is still in the Grand View Garden reverses the J1

Earlier I discussed Chang Ai-hng's speculations on the oiiginal conception of chapter 5 If

she is correct, that earlier version (a combination of parts of the extant chapter 5 with the second half of chapter 25, which means that Pao-yu's spirit visits the Illusory Realm when, possessed by the five demons, he is on the brink of death) would have had more m common with the dream in chapter 116 32

A line from Po Chu-i's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" (CTS, c 435 4819)

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direction of confusion in chapter 17. As in his dream of Chen Pao-yii in chapter 56, the familiar becomes hostile: "Before and after, cause and con­ sequence, / Know then that one may not meet the dear ones who are so near" (HLM, 3:1582). So goes one half of the couplet on the palace gate in the Joyous Land of Eternal Truth. Pao-yii reads this and says to himself, "So that's how it is! But I would like to ask what is meant by 'cause and consequence, past and future' " (3:1582). The same phrase, "So that's how it is!" (Yiian-lai ju-tz'u!), is used in chapter 5, when he is confronted with a couplet on "love past and present" (ku-chin chih ch'ing) and "debts of passion" (feng-yiieh chih chai). In chapter 5 he is at the threshold of expe­ rience, filled with wonder and curiosity; in chapter 116 the desire to know is linked to his desire for escape from his past experience. Pao-yu's previous unconditional, unthinking love and devotion towards his female compan­ ions changes, and in this dream he looks to them for information and selfprotection. He sees someone who looks like Ch'ing-wen, but claims to be someone else, and he ponders, "Why did she say she is not Ch'ing-wen ? Now my mind is all confused. But I would not worry now, when I get there and meet the Imperial Lady [Tai-yii], even if there is a mistake, I can ask again. After all, women are more compassionate—they'll forgive my mis­ behavior" (3:1586). The tone seems jarring and uncharacteristic of Pao-yii. Why would a term such as "women" (nii-jen) even enter Pao-yu's con­ sciousness when he wants to refer to the girls (nii-erh) he cherishes so much? 33 Such uncharacteristic speech shows this author's limited under­ standing of Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in. The reasoning, too, seems unworthy of the Pao-yii we have come to know. He decides to cash in the goodwill of the girls so that he would find out about "cause and consequence, past and fu­ ture." When the will to understand becomes paramont, it apparently de­ velops a n edge of cruelty and bypasses feelings (wu-ch'ing). Life has to be lived forward and understood backward. The moment of "standing in the middest" 34 cannot transcend itself. In Pao-yu's words, "Yet I d o understand, only m y heart is still in wretched confusion" (HLM 1 3:1409). Prospective grappling with experience leaves little room for retro­ spective patterning. Pao-yu's dream vision is precisely an ascent to a higher level of apprehension that permits such patterning. But the knowledge thus attained is based on resignation to what is predetermined. Enlightenment in this case amounts to being confronted with and making out riddles, re33

Iri the first eighty chapters of the book, Pao-yii never uses the noun-phrase n u - j e n . He

uses it for the first time in chapter 81 (HLM, 3 1163) 3 4 Frank Kermode, T h e S e n s e o f a n E n d i n g , 79 In Kermode's framework, the moment of ''standing in the middest" qualifies an end-oriented dialectics. In other words, the tension between the desire to mime contingency and disorder and the opposing need to create coher­ ence and system makes absolute "end-determination" impossible.

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membering and accepting summary accounts of a relentless destiny. In other words, knowledge is acquiescence to an externally imposed necessity. As I pointed out earlier, the role of the Precious Jade of Numinous Es­ sence as a magical object is highlighted in the sequel. However, the ambig­ uous causal connection between Pao-yii's inner experiences and the vicissi­ tudes of the jade creates the impression that the magical agency is external and arbitrary. 35 The jade disappears in chapters 25 and 94. On both occa­ sions this happens almost immediately after Pao-yii's fitful fascination with the promise of Taoist or Buddhist enlightenment (chapters 21, 22, and 91). There may not be any causal connection in mere sequential proximity, but if losing the jade means losing his inner illumination, the juxtaposition seems to emphasize how Pao-yii swings between poles of delusion and in­ cipient awakening in abrupt alternation (hu-mi hu-wu). The lack of contact between the reflective potential of lyrical subjectivity and the significance embodied in the mythic-fantastic realm is sometimes true of the first eighty chapters as well. But the magical disappearance and return of the jade in the sequel heighten this disjunction between enlight­ enment as grace and enlightenment through human efforts at comprehen­ sion. 36 In this sense, Pao-yii's attempt to return the jade to the monk in chapter 117 is a gesture that should bring together mythic revelation and human understanding. Pushed by the monk's enigmatic question "Where does that jade come from?" (HLM, 3:1592) to an awareness of his own mythic origins, Pao-yii insists on returning the jade, a symbolic renuncia­ tion of desire. "Returning the jade" (huan-yii), is a homophone for "re­ turning desire" (we recall that the jade means both "desire" and "illumi­ nation"). The situation is hyperbolic, the conflict between earthly ties and the desire for transcendence is fully dramatized. But if the expressive weight of Pao-yii's gesture does justice to this conflict, it does not deepen the sense of inner struggle that would make his conversion more moving ,s

For the book to be more than an account of sheer contingencies (the dramatization of

divine whims), it is perhaps inevitable that critics should downplay the importance of super­ natural intervention For instance, Wang Kuo-wei argues that Pao-yii's final "breaking free" (chieh-t'o) is self-engendered (tzu-lu ti), not externally engendered (t'a-lu ti) "The so-called 'jade' is just a representation of 'the desire for being.' Thus being transported into the World of Red Dust is not the doing of the monk and the Taoist, but that of Stone himself, guidance to the Other Shore is also achieved not through the two but by Stone himself" (HLMC, 250). Wang Kuo-wei also uses the paired terms "self-engendered" and "externally engendered" to distinguish Pao-yu's enlightenment from that of the other characters (Hsi-ch'un, Tzu-chuan); the former is 'aesthetic" (mei-hsueh ti), the latter "religious" (tsung-chiao ti) (HLMC, 252). 36

The C h i h - y e n c h a t commentary refers to Wang Hsi-feng coming upon the jade when

sweeping snow, and the jade being returned by Chen Pao-yu, whose family has also declined, and who has become a beggar and then a monk The jade probably disappears more than once in the final chapters now lost to us There is no indication, however, that the disappearance of the jade is accompanied by Pao-yu's loss of reason The repeated disappearance of the jade just creates an uncanny and ominous mood presaging Pao-yu's departure from the human world

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and convincing. The monk has the final word in this episode: "In all things so long as predestined designs are followed, natural, compelling principles will emerge" (HLM, 3:1595). Ultimate understanding is still no more than acquiescence to an external necessity. In chapter 120, we encounter, predictably enough, Chen Shih-yin and Chia Yii-ts'un. But the recapitulation of chapter 1 stops short of returning us to the play on the status of the two characters as rhetorical figures. Instead, Chen Shin-ym presides as an authority figure discoursing on the fate of Stone and "the truth of the Great Void" (Tai-hsii ch'ing; here ch'ing means "the nature or truth of things," which returns us to the meaning of the word in pre-Ch'in philosophical discourse). One may justly wonder how Chen Shih-yin is supposed to be able to discourse on the truth of the Illusory Realm of Great Void, when the whole point of his story m chapter 1 is that he is barred from entrance into the Illusory Realm and that "the truth cannot be told" (chen-shih pu-k'o shuo). With regard to the name Real Events Hidden, the emphasis seems to be on the word "hidden" m chapter 1 and on "real events" or "true facts" in chapter 120. Speaking from the Other Shore of final enlightenment, Chen Shih-yin is full of moral homily: "All these noble ladies came from the Heavens of Passion and the Seas of Retribution. For the female sex throughout the ages, not only is the word 'lust' anathema, even the word 'love' should not be touched upon. . . . Anyone who is entangled in romantic attachment cannot but come to an inglorious end" (HLM, 3:1645). The language of transgression and chastisement again reminds the reader of the world of the Precious Mir­ ror, but with this difference: in the world of the Precious Mirror obsessive sensual passion is treated with understanding and sympathy. Chia Jul is not without dignity in his hopeless obsession. Red Inkstone comments on Chia Jui's dying wish to take the mirror with him: "From Chia Jui's point of view he gets what he asks for [ch'iu-]en te-]en\. 3 7 Who knows whether he might not smile with contentment in the underworld? He is one who would not break free even after death. Sad indeed!" (CYC, 237). , s But in Chen Shih-ym's argument here the tenuous line between love (ch'ing) and lust 3 7 A n a l e c t s , 7 15 Tzu Kung asked Confucius whether Po-i and Shu-ch'i harbored rancor (The two had protested the rule of Chou by starving themselves to death ) Confucius said,

"They asked for righteousness and got it Why should they harbor rancor 7 " 38

Among Ch'ing commentators, T'u Ying (19th cent ) is one of the more sympathetic in his

assessment of Chia Jui "Chia Jui is indeed burdened with an obsessive passion [ya-fu ch'ingch'ih] Ue does not abandon himself to 'thatch and straw' (i e , a lowly, hopeless existence), but wishes instead to enter and appreciate a more exalted realm In this he is a person of lofty aspirations, except that he errs in not knowing himself

Hsi-feng's speedy dispatch of him is

really excessive punishment'" T'u Ying's comment on Chia Jui is from "Hung-lou meng Iuntsan" (Evaluations of Hung-lou meng and its characters), in HLMC, 141 The edition of "Hung-lou meng lun-tsan" is dated 1842

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(;yin ) makes for a categorical warning against ch'ing rather than a more sympathetic understanding of yin. As if overanxious to impose a sense of order, Chen has recourse to platitudinous moral judgements that at best represent an inadequate, arbitrary resolution of the complexities and am­ biguities of ch'ing in the book. In a symmetrical reversal of the order of the characters' appearance at the beginning of the book, the reader proceeds from Chen Shih-yin and Chia Υϋ-ts'un to the monk and the Taoist, Voiding-the-Void Taoist, and Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in. In the account of the book's transmission, the tone suddenly becomes whimsical. We are told that Voiding-the-Void Taoist reads the book for the third time and recopies it (his conversion is not mentioned), but he has the greatest trouble finding someone to edit and distribute it. People are too busy trying to survive or too concerned with worldly ad­ vancement. Familiar ironic twists crop up: the idea of literary creation as a product of "fictive words and vulgar language" and the concern with the difficulty of communication once again emerge as major problems. However, there is no real self-division in this ironic pose. "Ts'ao Hsiiehch'in" (the persona created by the author of the sequel) rebukes Voidingthe-Void Taoist for being literal-minded, and defends "false words and vul­ gar language" on the ground of its internal consistency and the pleasure of reading. He provokes a response that mocks any attempt to make sense of it all: "So this is really elaborating so much absurdity 1 Not only does the author fail to get it, the copyist does not get it either—even the reader fails to get it' It is no more than a playful diversion executed with ink and brush that pleases and edifies!" (HLM, 3:1648). The logicality of the syntax masks a semantic twist—one would expect that t h e word " e v e n " ( ping) should be applied to the author instead. The reader is left with the dubious privilege of being the least likely to "miss it." [Similarly, the concluding gatha pertains to the affective power of the book. The reader moved to empathetic grief should not be mocked for his foolishness, since all share in the dream called life: When the story comes to a heartbreaking point, Absurdity creates an ever deeper sadness From the beginning we all share one dream, Do not laugh at people of this world for their madness. (3 1648)

This is a more gentle irony that assumes a community of appreciative read­ ers, among whom the author of the sequel probably counts himself. In com­ parison, the irony with which the book begins is much more anguished, based as it is on the sense of the artist's solitary confrontation with the dialectics of engagement and detachment, and on the hazards attending lit­ erary communication.

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I have suggested at various points that the mythic-fantastic elements of the sequel have closer affinities with the world of the Precious Mirror of Love than with their apparent counterparts in the first five chapters. But there are differences. The world of the Precious Mirror has its moments of indirectness (the death of Ch'in K'o-ch'ing), doubleness (the death of Chia Jui), and deliberate playfulness (the death of Ch'in Chung). Compared with this, the sequel is more frankly sensational and more preoccupied with har­ mony and moral order, and this becomes especially obvious when it resorts to the use of mythic-fantastic elements. The only exception may be chapter 120, with its moments of subtlety and whimsicality. The moral sense in the world of the Precious Mirror is also more austere and tragic (there is a lin­ gering sympathy for Chia Jui, but he has to die). In the sequel the forces of retribution are ameliorated to create an impression of general revival of the clan (chia-tao fu-hsing) and harmony in the family. Above all, the sequel has little understanding of the irony in the original. One may say that in this it is speaking with the voice of the tradition. 3 9 In its insistent retracing of beginnings [chui-yiian), especially in the last five chapters, the sequel does not really exploit the ironic possibilities involved. Circularity is by definition counterfinal. The multileveled beginning can make the idea of return problematic. 4 0 Is Stone's return to his provenance a 39

In " H u n g - I o u m e n g p'ing-lun," Wang Kuo-wei argues that H u n g - I o u m e n g is a tragic

masterpiece "The spirit of our culture is this-worldly and optimistic and desire for transcendence

In its pessimism

Hung-Iou meng is going against the spirit of our culture,

therein lies its value" (HLMC, 253) The much-criticized "happy ending" (or rather, qualifi­ cation of the tragic ending) of the book is actually very much in the spirit of the culture Perhaps this explains why most Ch'ing critics do not find the endings of the book inadequate When they note the discrepancies between the first eighty chapters and the last forty, they are mainly concerned with stylistic problems or inconsistencies in details of events and character­ ization 40

Ct

Erh-chih Tao-jen, " H u n g - l o u m e n g shuo meng" ("Speaking of dreams in H u n g - I o u

meng," 1812) "T'ang Hsien-tsu writes, 'The end of dreams is awakening, the end of love is Buddahood' [Preface to The Story of Nan-k'o, THTC 2 1096, quoted in chapter 2] One may say that when Pao-yu let go his clinging hands at the hanging cliff, he has awakened from his dream, and his love has come to an end Yet I do not know—after his love has come to an end, will he become a Buddha ? or Stone ? or Divine Attendant Immortal Jade ? Or will he return to the Spiritual River to water the Crimson Pearl Fairy Herb ? This is all so mysterious and in­ triguing that, although I would like to argue further, all words are forgotten" (HLMC, 103) Erh-chih Tao-jen (Taoist of Two Kinds of Knowledge) was a pseudonym His real name was Ts'ai Chia-wan (b 1762) This is the final scene that Chang Ai-Iing reconstructs from the C h i h - y e n c h a i commentary Pao-yu first becomes a monk, and then the Taoist of Infinitude (Miao-miao Chen-jen, the same Taoist who had taken him to the human world) brings him to Creen Ridge Peak to "end his love karma with Buddhist insight" (cheng-hao ch'ing-yuan), which is accomplished by reading his own story on the stone, together with the "Final Listing of the Characters' Feelings " Thus Stone returns to his old place Later Chia Yu-ts'un, who has also chosen renunciation after his exile, comes to the same place, but he reads the story and the list with scant comprehension, hence Red Inkstone's comment in chapter 2 that Chia Yu-ts'un does not recognize Pao-yu, Hsi-feng, and the others "after their awakening" {chi-cheng chih hou) (See chap 4, note 49 )

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rectification of the original flaw? After a third reading, Voiding-the-Void Taoist concludes, "Only then do I know that Brother Stone's worldly ex­ periences have sharpened his perception to the point of luminosity, and have brought him to a perfect awareness of the Tao. One may say that he has no further cause for regret" (HLM, 3:1646). But earlier we are told a different story. In reply to Chen Shih-yin's question as to whether all worldly entanglements have been settled, the monk replies, "The love karma is not yet complete. But the Obtuse Thing has already come back. We have to restore it to its place of origin and record the last part of its life story, so that its earthly sojourn will not have been in vain" ( HLM, 3:1646). As in chapter 1, an imperfect existence is justified by its telling. But the need for justification harks back to other passages qualifying Paoyii's "final exit." After all, in our final image of him, he seems almost to be forcibly taken away by the monk and the Taoist; his expression is "a strange combination of joy and grief" (HLM, 3:1637). However, if Pao-yu's en­ lightenment is qualified, it is not because the meaning of pu-ch'mg is ex­ plored and questioned in the sequel. The Buddhist solution is qualified through an affirmation of Confucian order. Pao-yu's final enlightenment may be the target of irony, but this irony serves a higher sense of harmony, the prime concern being to harmonize the differences between rival concep­ tions of order. In the end, Pao-yii's act is legitimized by the establishment. The emperor grants him the title Taoist Sage of the Supreme Word (Wenmiao Chen-jen). The author of the sequel is apparently confident that the consequent configuration of harmony and of a larger order will inform the reader's sense of ultimate significance, the feeling that the last word has been delivered. 41 This confidence, no less than the imposition of order through balance and harmony, is representative of the spirit of the cultural tradition. In this sense, the inadequacy of the sequel is not the personal failing of one particular author, it is the limitation of an entire culture. It is also a mark of how much ahead of his time Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in was. His sense of the ineradicable opposition and mutual implication of ch'ing and pu-ch'ing, and of the individual resolutely falling outside any system of order (socio-political, religious, ethical, philosophical) because of his ch'ing, brings him to a keener awareness of human contradictions than many other Chinese authors. It also brings him closer to a rebellion against the confi­ dence of the culture to reconcile contradictions and to establish order, har­ mony, and equilibrium. With its encyclopedic mclusiveness, Hung-Iou meng in a sense sums up Chinese culture; at the same time it asks of it difficult questions. Herein lies its greatness. 4 1 In F o e t i c C l o s u r e A S t u d y o f H o w P o e m s E n d , Barbara Hernstein Smith describes this experience as "the sense of truth" and "the conclusiveness, the settled finality, of apparently

self-evident truth" (152)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Epilogue: The Compass of Irony To the tune "Wan-hsi-sha" Mountain temple, uncertain and evanescent, set against the gathering dusk, Precincts uncharted by birds in flight, mountains half-hidden in gloom, In those elevated spheres, the lonely chimes of the ch'tng still the wandering cloud. I try climbing the high peaks to catch a glimpse of the bright moon, And by chance open the "eyes of heaven" to look at the World of Red Dust: What great pity—I am the one who appears in my vision. 1

THE MOMENT when one is both seer and object of vision, both within and without the illusion, is the beginning of irony. In this lyric Wang Kuo-wei tells of the pains involved in the attempt to transcend the human condition. One ascends, spurred on by the aspiration to freedom, only to turn around and see oneself among the earthbound. The unexpected reversal is rooted in the split in Wang Kuo-wei's temperament. He describes himself as being torn between lucid reason and poetic passion: As for philosophy, generally what can be loved cannot be believed, and what can be believed cannot be loved. I know the philosophical truths, yet I love philosoph­ ical errors. Great metaphysics, austere ethics, pure aesthetics, to these of course we are partial. However, if one looks for what can be believed, then it is empiri­ cism in epistemology, hedonism in ethics, and sensationalism m aesthetics. Knowing what can be believed yet failing to love it, feeling what can be loved yet failing to believe it, this is my greatest frustration in the last two or three years. 1 Wang Kuo-wei, W a n g K u o - w e i ι - s h u , vol 5, T i a o - h u a t z ' u (T'lao flowers lyrics), 4a Ch'mg (line 3) originally meant "musical stones" (i e , a musical instrument made from hol­ lowed stones) Here it refers to an instrument (commonly found in Buddhist temples) made of stone or metal, shaped like a carpenter's square, and hung from the apex. The "eyes of heaven" ( t ' l e n - y e n , l i n e 5 ) , w h i c h a l l o w p e n e t r a t i n g v i s i o n o f k a r m i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s ( l i u - t a o Iuti I i u i ) and of myriad phenomena in the world of form (se-chieh), constitute one of five kinds of vision described in Buddhist writings (the other four are "eyes of flesh" [jo-yen], "eyes of wisdom" [hut-yen], "eyes of dharma" [fa-yen], and "eyes of Buddha" [Fo-yen])

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Jt is also the reason why of late my interest gradually has shifted from philosophy to literature I want to seek direct consolation. In short, my temperament is such that, if I want to be a philosopher, then my feelings are too excessive, while my knowledge is too limited, and if I want to be a poet, my feelings are lacking while my rationality is too much in evidence. Poetry? Philosophy? With which will I end my days? Or perhaps it will be between the two n

The corollary of this self-division is the yawning gap between self and world. The above lyric follows another written to the same tune: Heaven's end, merging with the clouds, darkens and hangs low on four sides. A lone wild goose, lost to the rows of its kind, flies against the wind In the vastness and desolation of rivers and lakes, how will you return 7 On the road a metal pellet sees the feathers fall, In the inner chambers delicate white hands try blending the sauces Today the feast is even more merry than on other days. 3

The plight of the lost, lone wild goose provides an additional delicacy and makes for greater merriment at the banquet. The abrupt change of mood and perspective at the midpoint of the lyric is remarkable. The mode of direct address bespeaks sympathy for and affinity with the wild goose, its hopeless striving, and its doom. But in the second half of the lyric, we have a dispassionate description of the refined cruelty of civilization—neither murderous intent nor raw destruction, but only indirect, metonymic refer­ ences to metal pellets, falling feathers, white hands, sauces. And for conclu­ sion: the feast today is merrier than usual. The sense of self-division, as well as the consciousness of the abyss be­ tween subjective experience and objective reality, must on a certain level account for the forces that eventually drove Wang Kuo-wei to suicide. Ch'en Yin-k'o may be referring to the same thing when he describes Wang's anguish as transcending the particularities of historical and geo­ graphical circumstances. He dismisses literal-minded speculations on the reasons for Wang's suicide as ultimately trivial. 4 2

Wang Kuo-wei, W a n g K u o - w e i ι - s h u , vol 5, C h i n g - a n w e n - c h i h s u - p i e n (Sequel to Writ­

ings of Ching-an [Ching-an is Wang Kuo-wei's courtesy name]), second preface, 21a-21b * Wang Kuo-wei, W a n g K u o - w e i ι - s h u , vol 5, T i a o - h u a t z ' u , 4a Critics from the People's Republic of China have often read the fallen wild goose as a metaphor for the fallen Ch'ing dynasty Wang Kuo-wei's sympathetic identification with it therefore brands him as a "reac­ tionary " In defense of Wang Kuo-wei, Hsiao Ai compares the mood of the lyric to Lu Hsun's (1881-1936) short story "Diary of a Madman." In both cases cannibalism and ingestion sym­ bolize the terror of an oppressive society Hsiao Ai regards this as a "progressive streak" sub­ sequently betrayed by Wang Kuo-wei's suicide, which he interprets as a kind of martyrdom for the fallen Ch'ing dynasty (Wang Kuo-wei, Wang Kuo-wei shih-tz'u chien-chiao, 136) 4

Ch'en Yin-k'o's 1934 preface to the writings of Wang Kuo-wei (Wang Ching-an Hsien-

sheng ι-shu hsu), in Wang Kuo-wei ι-shu, vol 1, 2b See also Ch'en's preface to "Elegy on Wang Kuo-wei" (Wang Kuan-t'ang Hsien-sheng wan-tz'u)· "For today's China is facing ca­ lamities and crises without precedent in its several thousand years of history With these ca-

Epilogue

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Perhaps it is Wang Kuo-wei's keen perception of contradictions and an­ titheses in human experience and his refusal of any easy solution that ac­ c o u n t s f o r h i s a f f i n i t y of s p i r i t w i t h T s ' a o H s u e h - c h ' i n . H i s e s s a y o n H u n g Iou meng is one of the most discerning ever written. As he points out in "Hung-Iou meng p'ing-lun," Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's masterpiece, in its tragic sense and its concern with transcendence, really goes against the spirit of t h e c u l t u r e . H o w e v e r , W a n g c o m e s t o h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of H u n g - I o u m e n g via Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, hence the note of anguish m his essay. S u c h d e s p a i r is f o r e i g n t o H u n g - I o u m e n g . The tour de force of Wang Kuo-wei, however, suggests an interesting comparison between the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment and the concept of irony. The sensibility embodied in the two lyrics quoted ear­ lier defines two basic aspects of irony: self-division and the abyss separating the subjective and the objective realms. Elsewhere Wang Kuo-wei discusses how these questions inform the writings of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, 5 but of course they apply to a much broader range of philosophical and lit­ erary writings, especially from the Romantic tradition. One of the central concerns in this book is the power of subjective illumination, the celebration of the human imaginative capacity as a token of implied freedom and auton­ omy for the remembering, dreaming, or imagining self. All these suggest analogies with Romantic aesthetics, but with this difference: under the ae­ gis of Romanticism faith in the capacity of the mind to create other worlds is matched by fear of delusion. Romantic irony is precisely this dialogue between illusion and its destruction. Octavio Paz describes this doubleedged quality of Romantic consciousness as the copresence of analogy and irony: The grotesque, the strange, the bizarre, the original, the irregular and the unique—all these names from Romantic and Symbolist aesthetics are only differ­ ent ways of saymg the same word: death In a world where identity—Christian !amities and crises reaching ever greater extremes, how can those whose very being represents a condensation and realization of the spirit of the culture fail to identify with the fate of the culture and perish along with it ? This is why Kuan-t'ang Hsien-sheng [Wang Kuo-wei] could not but die" ("Yin-k'o Hsien-sheng shih ts'un" [Poetry of Ch'en Yin-k'o], 6, in Ch'en Yink'o, Hart-hu T'ang chi) Ch'en writes in another commemorative inscription on Wang Kuowei (Ch'mg-hua Ta-hsueh Wang Kuan-t'ang Hsien-sheng chi-nien pei ming)- "He died to make manifest his will to independence [of spirit] and freedom His death is not explainable in t e r m s o f p e r s o n a l g r u d g e s o r t h e r i s e a n d fall o f a d y n a s t y " ( C h ' e n Y i n - k ' o , C h i n - m i n g k u a n ts'ung-kao erh-pien, 218) Ch'en thus refutes the theory that Wang Kuo-wei committed sui­ cide as a martyr for the fallen Ch'ing dynasty In Ch'en Yin-k'o wan-nien shih-wen shihcheng, 28-29, Yii Ying-shih dwells on the parallels between the mentality of Wang Kuo-wei and Ch'en Yin-k'o· both were dispossessed of the culture in which they were nurtured and of which they represent a condensation and realization and were thus wen-hua ι-min (lit., "left­ over people of a culture") ς Wang Kuo-wei, "Shu-pen-hua yu Ni-ts'ai·" (Schopenhauer and Nietzsche), in C h i n g - a n wen-chi (Writings of Ching-an), m Wang Kuo-ivei ι-shu, vol 1, 62a-74a

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eternity—has disappeared, death becomes the great exception which absorbs all others and eliminates rules and laws The cure for the universal exception is two­ fold: irony, the aesthetics of the grotesque, the bizarre and the unique; analogy, the aesthetics of correspondences. The first is the child of linear, sequential, un­ repeatable time; the second is the manifestation of cyclical time: the future is in the past and both are in the present

h

If the mind can create other realities, it is on the basis of the assumed continuity between, perhaps even identity of, mind and nature. Such or­ ganic continuity calls for a language of analogy. One is reminded of a cer­ tain passage from Gerard de Nerval's Aurilia, in which the protagonist in a dream vision returns to his past, and finds himself led through a garden by a beautiful woman, whose image eventually merges with her surroundings: She began to grow in a clear shaft of light, m such a way that the flower beds and trees became the patterns and flounces of her clothes, while her face and arms imprinted their contours on the purple clouds in the sky. I lost her even as she became transfigured, because she seemed to vanish in her own immensity. "Oh, don't flee from me!" I cried, .

. "for nature died with you!" 7

But the moment of merging, of mystic union, is also the moment of loss. The promise of embracing nature through the object of desire is immedi­ ately inverted: nature threatens to die with the evanescent figure of the woman. In an instant the garden seems to turn into a graveyard. The wish to transcend the human becomes an escape from below toward the inhu­ man. The belief in a world created by subjective projection is the obverse side of subjectivity's awareness of its negativity. Herein lies the close tie between analogy and irony in Romantic and Symbolist aesthetics. The language of analogy describes the world as a maze of rhythmic cor­ respondences. In this world, writing and, by extension, imagination, be­ come a kind of decipherment. One such moment of analogical vision is the student Anselmus's revelatory experience m the first vigil in "Der goldne Topf" by Ε. T. A. Hoffmann, when he first encounters the snake-girl Ser­ pentina in a background of cosmic correspondence: the little snakes' con­ fused speech is compared to the triple harmony of clear crystal bells; the elder bush, the evening wind, and the sunbeam join in a chorus celebrating the joy of being awakened to a secret inner life. Such a vision is contigent upon the hero's freedom to move between reality and imagination. But the eyes of Veronica (Anselmus's human beloved) and those of Serpentina rep­ resent irreconcilably opposed worlds, although these worlds are also con­ nected through a pattern of repetition. When the free transition between imagination and reality is thwarted, the apparent analogy between the sur6

C h i l d r e n o f t h e M i r e , 74.

7

Gerard de Nerval, P r o m e n a d e s e t s o u v e n i r s , 147

Epilogue

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261

face action and another stratum of mysterious, otherworldly forces col­ lapses. The moment of collapse, when return to the world is no longer pos­ sible, is the point when irony takes over. In the fourth vigil in "Der goldne Topf," the narrator expresses some­ what facetiously his concern over the reader's response: For in these vigils in which 1 describe his extraordinary story, there remains so much of the marvelous (which jolted the lives of ordinary people into the un­ known), that I am fearful that in the end you will believe in neither Anselmus nor in Archivarius Lmdhorst; indeed, you may eventually have some doubt as to Registrator Heerbrand and Dean Paulmann, despite the fact these two honorable people, at least, are still walking the streets of Dresden. 8

In the context of the story, however, the materialist understanding of the universe professed by the representative figures of mundane reality is as fantastic as Lindhorst's magic world; Konrektor Paulmann describes suscep­ tibility to fantasy as a physical disease and recommends that leeches be ap­ plied to one's bottom as a cure. In this sense, there is no sober, sane reality to return to, and Anselmus's withdrawal to the mythic-magical realm may be interpreted as a genuine resolution for the poetic spirit. But there is a final twist to the last vigil. Chained by the commonplace, the narrator is barred from representing Anselmus's blissful existence m the magic world. He claims to be plunged into the melancholic state of the protagonist in the fourth vigil. Only through the help of Lindhorst is he granted a glimpse of Atlantis in the end. What we have here is a distancing from the apotheosis of the poetic imagination, the narrator's ironic awareness that, stranded be­ tween reality and imagination, his own sense of the omnipotence of the spirit is necessarily momentary. Painfully aware of its negation through irony, the spirit of analogy em­ phasizes ever more insistently its freedom; it is this trait that distinguishes the analogical vision of the Romantics from that which informs Christian allegories. In this sense, insistence on the power and freedom of the imagi­ nation conceals suspicion of a void. Fear of the abyss, as the passage quoted earlier indicates, implies among other things anxiety over incomprehension. In his essay "On Incompre­ hensibility" (Uber die Unverstandlichkeit), Fnedrich Schlegel uses the al­ leged incomprehensibility of the Athenaeum to define different types of irony: Finally, there is the irony of irony. . . . For example, if one speaks of irony with­ out using xt, as I have just done; if one speaks of irony ironically without in the process being aware of having fallen into a far more noticeable irony, if one can't disentangle oneself from irony anymore, as seems to be happening in this essay 8

E T. A Hoffmann, T a l e s , 20, D e r g o l d n e T o p f , 35

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on incomprehensibility; if irony turns into a mannerism and becomes, as it were, ironical about the author, if one has promised to be ironical for some useless book without having checked about one's supply and then having to produce it against one's will, like an actor full of aches and pains, and if irony runs wild and can't be controlled any longer. What gods will rescue us from all these ironies ? The only solution is to find an irony that might be able to swallow up all these big and little ironies and leave no trace of them at all. . . . But even this would only be a short-termed solution. I fear that if 1 understand correctly what destiny seems to be hinting at, then soon there will arise a new generation of little ironies, for truly the stars augur the fantastic.

. . Irony is something one simply cannot play games with.

. . . I've already been forced to admit indirectly that the Athenaeum is incom­ prehensible, and because it happened in the heat of irony, I can hardly take it back without in the process doing violence to that irony. 9

To insist on the freedom of radical subjectivity is to risk incomprehensibil­ ity—the negativity of madness and solipsism. Underlying the claims of au­ tonomous subjectivity is a deep skepticism. If art takes it upon itself to re­ cover an alien reality, it is due to a suspicion that what common sense calls reality may be an abyss in disguise. In an aphorism on verisimilitude, Schlegel dissociates the word "verisimilitude" from its commonsensical moorings in the "nearly true" or "somewhat true": "But by its very com­ position, the word cannot mean all this. What appears to be true does not even have to be true in the smallest degree, and yet it must appear positive. Verisimilitude is the object of intelligence, . . . and it is something entirely subjective." 10 To assert that verisimilitude is itself subjective opens the door to incomprehension and chaos. Romantic irony is predicated precisely on awareness of the possibilities and limits of subjective projection. Kierkegaard speaks of "the secret trap door through which one is sud­ denly hurled downward . . . into the infinite nothingness of irony." 11 There is no Chinese equivalent of the word irony, especially if we take into con­ sideration Kierkegaard's sense of the concept as "infinite absolute negativ­ ity." The overwhelming emphasis in the culture on reconciling opposites leaves little room for understanding negativity and absolute contradictions. Here I need recourse to certain examples of proverbial wisdom: "There is a courtesan in m y eyes; there is none in m y mind (or heart)" ( m u - c h u n g y u chi, hsin-chung wu-chi), meaning that true freedom consists in indulging in pleasure and at the same time training the mind and spirit in inner de­ tachment (recall the reference in chapter 1 to the fine distinction between 9 10

Friednch Schlegei's Lucinde and t h e Fragments, 266-67, Kritische Schriften, 347-A8. Friednch Schlegel, Aphorism no 74 from the A t h e n a e u m (1798), trans Ernst Behler and

Roman Stru, in German Romantic Criticism, 124 11

Seren Kierkegaard, T h e Concept of I r o n y , 63—64.

Epilogue

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263

pleasure and the attitude toward pleasure); "The lesser recluse hides in the mountains and marshes, the greater recluse hides at court and in the city" (,hsiao-yin yin-shan-tse, ta-yin yin-ch'ao-shih), meaning that in terms of the socio-political order, equilibrium is preserved by the individual's partic­ ipation in human relations while privately nourishing the innermost and deepest personal life. 12 In some ways the dialectics of enchantment and disenchantment, of feel­ ings and the transcendence of feelings, bears interesting analogies with irony. But formulations such as "understanding reality through illusion" and "attaining enlightenment through love" suggest that opposite, discrete moments are mediated in the direction of a higher unity, while in the Kierkegaardian sense irony mediates opposites in the interest of a higher mad­ ness. The solution of this higher unity in the context of the Chinese tradi­ tion is to have it both ways, to create a world that accommodates both dreaming and waking, both desire and order. If we translate the issues surrounding Romantic irony to the Chinese context, it becomes apparent that skepticism hedging subjective projection is also allayed by belief in the validity of the expressive-affective axis as an integral part of the lyrical ideal. The seamless continuity in inspiration, ex­ pression, and communication (the ideal of chih-yin) is supposed to validate worlds imagined, dreamed up, or remembered. The idea that the meaning of the dream lies in its communication is elegantly expressed by the seven­ teenth-century poet Fu Shan (1606-1684) in his postscript to an essay by his friend Tai T'ing-shih, "Essay on the Red Maple Pavilion" (Tan-feng-ko chi). In his essay Tai describes how he has built the pavilion according to a dream vision, and Fu Shan in his postscript elaborates the analogy between the dream experience and the literary experience: Feng-chung |Tai T'ing-shih] built a pavilion because of a dream, and wrote an essay because of a pavilion. The pavilion resembles his dream, and the essay the pavilion. Who can ascertain the correspondences here? In brief, the dream started it all, and he asked me to write about it Now I am one who can describe dreams. 12 The second saying is often quoted in discussions of the figure of the "mountain person" (shan-jen) in the late Ming (though by no means limited to that context, since the choice of engagement or withdrawal has always been a major concern in Chinese culture) "Mountain person," or related terms such as Taoist (Tao-jen) or "recluse" (chu-shih), are often used as part of courtesy or pen names among the late-Ming literati However, contrary to what one may expect from the appellation, the "mountain person" often was active in urban centers in the Lower Yangtze area The distinction thereby established between "hiding one's heart" (yin-hsin) and "hiding one's traces" [yin-chi) is sometimes targeted in accusations of bad faith Cf Li Chih, " Y u v u Chiao J o - h o u " (Another letter to Chiao Jo-hou [Chiao Hung]), i n Fen S h u , 45—47, S h e n Te-fu, W a n - I i y e h - h u o pien, c 2 3 1 5 4 3 ^ 4 ; Ch'en Wan-i, W a n - M i n g hsiaoρ'ιη y u Ming-chi wen-jen sheng-huo, esp 77-78, Ts'ao Shu-chuan, W a n - M i n g hsing-hng hsiao-ρΊη yen-chiu, esp. 135-40.

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I once observed: Of all the strangest people, events, things, realms, and transfor­ mations m this world, none can surpass the dream. And the brush of the writer, no matter how refined, subtle, mysterious, and ever-changing, cannot capture its tiniest fractions. But at its best literature can be like a dream, in a manner quite inconceivable Feng-chung excels in literature, while my aptitude is not for liter­ ature but for dreaming. I would often recite literary works with Feng-chung and draw him into dreams. Dazed and somnolent, the two of us would wake up and forget about it. I might yet remember part of it, but nothing would remain in Feng-chung's consciousness. And this because I am the teller of the dream and Feng-chung the listener to the dream. What a world of difference between telling of dreams and listening to dreams! Fortunately Feng-chung forgets about it. Were he to remember any of it, I would be the one to lead him into the deep, dark, world of dreams, and there would not be a time for awakening."

Earlier 1 discussed, in the context of late-Ming writings, the heightened consciousness of the precarious margin between being within and without the illusion, between being dreamer and dreamed, as well as the ironic im­ plications of that state. However, the passage from Fu Shan shows how even this kind of uncertainty can be protected from irony. With seamless com­ munication enshrined as part of the lyrical ideal, there cannot be genuine dislocation between the subjective and the objective realms. This is evident from my study of Liao-chai chih-ι, which, as I pointed out before, repre­ sents in some ways the solutions to the problem posed by the late-Ming legacy: how to valorize subjective projection without undermining socio­ political order and equilibrium of the self. On one level H u n g - I o u m e n g seems to echo the ideal of the "shared dream" (t'ung-meng) in literary communication. In earlier chapters I re­ ferred to the intimate literary circle so instrumental to the editing and transmission of the book. A member of that circle, Tun-ch'eng, one of Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in's closest friends, wrote reflections on a dream apparently in­ spired by Hung-Iou meng: ACCOUNT OF A DAYDREAM (CHI WU-MENG)

Wei Chieh asked Yiieh Kuang about dreams. Yiieh said, "They are mental ac­ tivities " Wei said, "Dreams occur when body and soul are not connected. How can they be mental activities?" Yiieh replied, "They are caused by physical stim1 5 "Pa Tan-feng-ko chi" (Postscript to "Essay on Red Maple Pavilion"), in F n S h a n s h i h wen hsuan-chu (Annotated edition of selected poetry and prose of Fu Shan), 438—39 I thank

Stephen Owen for bringing Fu Shan to my attention The word "dream" recurs m Ming and Ch'ing writings on gardens, for example, Ch'i Piaoc hia (1602-1645) claims that his garden is built according to dream visions i"Yu-shan ]u hsiaohsu" [Preface to Remarks on Yu-shan], in Chu Chien-hsin ed , Wan-mmg hsiao-p'tn wen hsuan, 91-93) Cf Jan Stuart, "A Scholar's Garden in Mmg China Dream and Reality," 3151.

Epilogue uh." I am not a sage, and so 1 dream constantly

14

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265

As I brood over dreams when 1

wake up, pondering whether they are [caused by] mental activities or physical stimuli, I cannot understand how they come to be In the summer of the year Ting-ch'ou [1757], I stayed at Pine Pavilion Mountain. In my idleness and bore­ dom, I often followed the example of Tung-p'o ]Su Shih] in the afternoon

I

spread a meal. With a book in my hands I lay on the roof beam, and soon enough I dropped the book and entered the world of dreams After I awoke, yet before having enough time to turn around, my dream still seemed close As I thought about it in the stillness, it seemed faraway and vague, as if it were there yet not there. That moment was like floating on an evanescent boat m the limitless ex­ panse of the blue sea, or like placing myself at the edge of the clouds, wanting to sink yet floating, flying, and swaying m midair All I heard was a couple of bees throwing themselves against the papered windows, and the old horses masticating grass audibly outside the windows The so-called mental activities and physical stimuli, where are they? Alas' If I were not a dreamer, so be it But if dreams would be dreams, why can't I [in a dream] listen to the music of Heavenly Balance, and forget everything else by the side of the emperor of heaven·" 5 Or why can't I head straight for the Great Void, see dragons reined in, plant jade grass, and look down at the realm below, with its nine dots and one stretch of clear, deep water ? Or else be like Lu Sheng on the Han-tan Road; the glory and prosperity enjoyed while millet is being cooked, that too makes for happiness of the moment Or it could be like wandering on Mount Wu, where the pillow and mat of Kao-t'ang too make for pleasures of "mornings and evenings " u Even the butterfly of Chuang Tzu, or the deer of the man from Cheng—there is nothing exceptionable in all that 14

17

See Chuang Tzu, "The Great and Venerable Teacher" "As tor the ancient sages, their

s l e e p i s d r e a m l e s s , t h e i r w a k i n g s t a t e is w i t h o u t w o r r i e s " [ C h u a n g - t z u c h i - s h i h , 1 2 2 8 ) Cf Lieh T z u , " K i n g M u of C h o u " ( C h o u M u - w a n g )

"The spirit has encounters that become

d r e a m s , t h e f o r m , e n g a g e m e n t s t h a t b e c o m e e v e n t s T h a t is w h y t h o u g h t s b y d a y a n d d r e a m s at night are what spirit and form encounter, and that is why for those concentrating their spirit both thoughts and dreams disappear

'The ancient sages forget themselves when awake

a n d d r e a m n o t w h e n a s l e e p ' H o w c a n t h e s e b e e m p t y w o r d s ' ' " (L i e h T z u c h i - s h i h , c 3 6 4 ) II

In 4 9 9 B L , t h e k i n g of C h a o ( C h a o C h i e n - t z u ) h a d a p r o p h e t i c d r e a m t h a t p e r t a i n e d t o

f u t u r e political d e v e l o p m e n t s

T h e m e s s a g e w a s disclosed a f t e r a m e m o r a b l e m u s i c a l e x p e r i ­

e n c e T h e k i n g d e s c r i b e d h i s d r e a m " I w e n t t o t h e r e a l m of t h e h e a v e n l y e m p e r o r F i l l e d w i t h j o y , I r o a m e d w i t h t h e h u n d r e d g o d s a t t h e H e a v e n l y Balance G r e a t m u s i c p l a y e d n i n e f o l d , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e t e n t h o u s a n d d a n c e s T h i s w a s n o t a t all like m u s i c of t h e T h r e e A g e s , i t s sounds moved the spirit" (Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Shih-chi, c 43 1789) lf>

T h e s e r e f e r t o ' T K o n K a o - t ' a n g " b y S u n g Y u (discussed i n c h a p 1 ) , a n d t h e T ' a n g t a l e

" T h e W o r l d w i t h i n a P i l l o w , " o n w h i c h T ' a n g H s i e n - t s u ' s p l a y T h e S t o r y of H a n - t a n ( s e e c h a p 2) a n d t h e Liao-chai c h i h - ι s t o r y " A Sequel to t h e Yellow Millet D r e a m " (see chap

3)

a r e based 17

S e e C h u a n g Tzu, " O n M a k i n g T h i n g s E q u a l " ( C h ' i - w u lun), in C h u a n g - t z u c h i - s h i h ,

1 113

" C h u a n g C h o u [ C h u a n g T z u ] onced d r e a m e d of becoming a b u t t e r f l y H a p p y a n d c a r e ­

f r e e a s b u t t e r f l y , h e t h o u g h t h i s d e s i r e s fulfilled, a n d d i d n o t k n o w a b o u t C h o u All of a s u d d e n

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But then I do not get any of those dreams Instead I merely let my most illusory of bodies enter the most illusory of realms. Life is a great dream, to dream m this big dream, and to speak of dreams m dreams, is to not know where the illusion is going to end If Yueh Kuang is raised from the Region of Nine Springs [the un­ derworld], he, too, must drop his duster in bewilderment and confusion

18

The verbal echoes of Great Void (T'ai-hsu) and "illusory realm" ( h u a n ching) strongly suggest the influence of Hung-Iou meng. 1 9 But here the skepticism is not diminished by the evidence of literary communication. If the wonted solution of the tradition is to combine or reconcile transcendence and sensual gratification, here we have neither, dreams are illusory, waking no less so. Dreams are dreamed because it cannot be helped, they acquire a new opacity. "It is in the world of dreams that irony's unhappy love finds its object." 2 0 The context of this statement is Kierkegaard's account of mythic represen­ tation in Plato. Because irony is constantly striving toward a higher ideality, it ends up appealing to imagination rather than to the rigor of dialectics. We may say that m Hung-Iou meng also, dreams and mythic representation embody a sense of the beyond, the outermost circle, the final mystery that thought cannot cope with. They are no longer translatable into ready-made plots of philsophical transcendence and sensual gratification (although ele­ ments from both are borrowed). Notwithstanding the passage from Tun-ch'eng, it is a measure of Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in's radical originality that the ideal of "shared dream" in literary communication can no longer be automatically invoked in Hung-Iou meng. Instead, there seems to be an intense consciousness of the gap separating he woke up, and there he was, palpably and unmistakably Chou

He did not know whether

Chou dreamed of being a butterfly, or the butterfly dreamed of being Chou

Between being

Chou and being butterfly, there must be a difference, this is the so-called transformation of things " See also Lieh Tzu, "King Mu of Chou," Lieh-tzu chi-shih, c 3 66-67 A woodcutter from Cheng came across a deer, killed it, and had it hidden

He later failed to find it, and

thought the whole incident had been a dream Someone who heard of his account followed the directions and found the deer "He said to his wife 'The woodcutter dreamed of getting a deer and knew not where it was, and now I've found it He really dreamed it then ' His wife said, 'Maybe you dreamed about the woodcutter getting the deer Perhaps the woodcutter doesn't exist Now that you've found the deer, perhaps your dream has turned out to be real ' The husband said, Ί got the deer—why need one know whether he dreams or I dream r The wood­ cutter never quite got over the lost deer That night he dreamed of the place where he hid it, and of the person who found it " When the two claimants for the deer brought the case before the court, the judge decided to divide the deer between them 1 8 The duster is part of the paraphernalia of c h ' i n g - t ' a n (pure, refined conversation) I'un Ch'eng, Ssu-sung t'ang-chi, c 4 14 1 4 Yu Ying-shih discusses how the writings of Tun-ch'eng and Tun-min might have influ­

enced (or been influenced by) Hung-Iou meng and the Chih-yen chai commentary (Hung-Iou meng ti hang-ko shih-chieh, 147-80) 20

Soren Kierkegaard, T h e C o n c e p t o f I r o n y , 139

Epilogue

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the perception-consciousness of the artist and that of the reader. We recall t h e p o e m i n c h a p t e r o n e of H u n g - I o u m e n g : Pages filled with absurd words, A handful of bitter tears. All call the writer mad, None his feelings share. ( H L M , 1:7)

Kierkegaard defines irony with constant references to Socrates, thus recog­ nizing the gap between the individual and the system or polity as the basis of subjective consciousness and of irony. (By the same token, he does not treat Romantic irony with much sympathy because he interprets it as such subjectivity running wild and self-indulgent.) The poem at the beginning of Hung-Iou meng is definitely also based on awareness of the separation between self and world. What finally distinguishes the irony of H u n g - I o u m e n g from the more despairing and anguished Romantic irony is Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's deep com­ mitment to all that he questions: the aesthetic illusion he creates, his own past, and the lyrical ideal of the tradition. Earlier I suggested that the pes­ simism of Wang Kuo-wei's essay is foreign to Hung-Iou meng. This may be explained by the range of Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in's sensibility; in the parlance of Wang's poetic criticism, Ts'ao Hsueh-ch'in is both "subjective poet" (chu-kuan shih-jen) and "objective poet" (k'o-kuan shih-jen), 21 mastering both the world of the poet (shih-jen ching-chieh) and the world of the or­ dinary person (ch'ang-jen ching-chieh). 22 Irony is not caught in an escalat2 1 W a n g Kuo-wei ι-shu, vol 15, Jen-chien tz'u-hua, 2b-3a "The objective poet cannot fail to be versed in the ways of the world The deeper his experience and knowledge, the richer and more v a r y i n g his materials. This is true of the authors of W a t e r M a r g i n and Hung-Iou m e n g As for the subjective poet, he does not need to know much about the world. The less he knows, the truer his feelings This is true of [the famous emperor and song lyricist] Li Yu [937-978] " In Hung-Iou meng, Pao-yu is the "subjective poet" (there are echoes of the entries on Li Yu in )en-chien tz'u-hua when Wang Kuo-wei writes about Pao-yu in "Hung-lou meng pinglun", both are in the end credited with a certain religious spirit in the very innocence and spontaneity of their sensibility). While identifying with that viewpoint, Ts'ao Hsiieh-ch'in also brings in the wealth of his observations of the ways of the world. 2 2 W a n g Kuo-wei ι-shu, vol 10, Ch'ing-chen hsxen-sheng ι-shi (Events in the life of Ch'ingchen), 23a—23b' "Shan-ku [Huang T'mg-chien] said, 'Scenes of beauty in this world offer themselves without discriminating between the wise and the foolish, nevertheless I still suspect that they are expressly designed for people like us ' How true this is' . . . There is the world of the poet and the world of the ordinary person. The world of the poet can be experienced and expressed only by the poet, whose poetry thus elevates and takes one far with intimations of otherworldly transcendence. But there are those who understand and those who do not, and even among those who do the level of understanding varies. As for sorrow, joy, separation, union, or the impressions of exile or travel, ordinary people can experience them, but only poets can express them That is why this kind of poetry enters deeply into one's soul and

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Chapter Seven

ing dialectics; it draws its serenity and mastery from a new perception and understanding of the ordinary. Perhaps this line by Yen Chi-tao, a poet also described as mad, obsessed, and burdened with excessive feelings and innocence ( ch'ih ), best sums up this particular authorial attitude: Lovingly I sort out my old madness

23

"Madness" ( k ' u a n g ) means, of course, not the loss of reason but the gap between the feelings and aspirations of the artist and the uncomprehending world. "Old madness" ( chiu-k'uang ) refers to this yawning gap recognized, mourned, and perhaps suppressed. To "sort out" (Ii) is to give such feelings form and coherence with critical distance. That this is done lovingly and nostalgically ( yin-ch'in ) crowns the involutions of the process of aesthetic creation, its unique combination of enchantment and disenchantment. spreads far and wide The lyrics of Ch'ing-chen [Chou Pang-yen (1057-1121)] belong to the second category " 23 To the tune "Juan-lang kuei," C S T 1 238

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Index

aesthetic o b j e c t , w o m a n as, 4 1

Book

aesthetic surface - of fu, 1 9 , in HLM,

160,

168, 172, 195n, 200, 230, 235

The (Shih ching), 1 9 , 3 1 , 4 0 ,

of Songs,

4 0 n , 6 0 , 61 Book

of the Mean,

The ( C h u n g - y u n g ) , 2 4 4 n

aesthetics of a s t o n i s h m e n t , 2 3 7

B r o o k s , Peter, 2 3 7 n

Aisin G i o r o T u n - c h ' e n g , 1 5 8 n , 1 6 7 n , 2 1 0 ,

Buddha, 4 9 , 6 2 , 6 8 - 6 9 , 7 1 , 9 1 , 1 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 4 1 ,

264, 266, 266n

2 5 5 n , 2 5 6 , Buddha nature, 1 3 9

Aisin Gioro T u n - m i n , 210, 2 6 6 n

B u d d h a d h a r m a , 6 5 , 76, 1 7 4

a l l e g o r y , 8, 1 5 4 , 1 5 9 - 6 3 , 1 6 9 - 7 0 , 2 6 1 ,

Buddhahood, 6 6 , 6 8 , 1 4 1 , 2 2 0 , 2 5 5 n

C h r i s t i a n , 1 6 1 ; and criticism, 1 6 1 n ; eval-

Buddhism, 45, 58n, 61, 61n, 8 5 - 8 6 , 109,

uative s u p e r v e n t i o n o f , 1 7 0 , as fiction of

140, 178n, 192, 217, 218n, 249, Ch'an,

truth, 1 8 2 ; illusory, 1 5 9 - 6 1 , 1 6 0 n ; irony

5 9 n , l l O n , 2 1 7 , 2 1 9 ; and compassion, 9 1 -

and, 1 6 2 - 6 3 , 1 6 2 n , 1 6 3 n ; k n o w l e d g e and,

9 2 , c o s m o l o g y of, 6 8 ; d e t a c h m e n t under,

1 6 9 , of m o r a l self-cultivation, 9 9 ; o t h e r -

1 7 1 , 2 1 8 , discourse of, 2 2 6 , e n l i g h t e n -

ness n a t u r a l i z e d t h r o u g h , 9 4 , political, 1 9 ,

m e n t under, 73, 2 0 2 , 2 1 7 n , 2 5 2 , and in-

3 5 , redefinition of idea of, 1 6 1 , as way of

sight, 2 5 5 n , message of, 6 0 ; and paradise,

ordering and s y s t e m a t i z i n g reality, 1 6 9 ,

6 8 , and piety, 6 6 , and r e n u n c i a t i o n , 1 4 2 ,

Western, 160, 162n

2 3 2 , 2 4 6 , 2 4 8 , and r e t r i b u t i o n , 1 5 1 ; ritu-

Analects,

1 5 , 1 0 6 n , 2 4 5 n , 2 5 3 n . See

also

als of, 6 8 , solution of, 2 4 8 , 2 5 6 , worldview of, 65

Confucius

S e e also gatha

Buddhist

Aristotle, lOn, 144n attachment, 10, 4 4 - 4 5 , 60, 6 6 - 6 9 , 68n, 73, 75, 77, 8 1 - 8 2 , 93, 1 1 7 - 1 9 , 123, 1 2 6 - 2 8 , 133, 1 3 5 - 3 6 , 138, 1 4 0 - 4 1 , 143, 190, 2 0 8 9, 2 1 7 - 2 8 , 2 3 0 - 3 1 , 2 3 4 , 2 4 0 , 2 4 5 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 3 , and d e t a c h m e n t , 3 8 n , 4 5 , 67, 2 3 1 ,

C h a n - c h a n wai-shih (pseud of Feng M e n g lung), 92 Chang Ai-lmg, 164n, 178n, 189n, 216n, 241, 255n C h a n g C h u - c h e n g , 75

detachment through, 3, 64, 66, 76, 2 1 6 ,

C h a n g Feng-i, 2 8 n

illusion and, 6 6 , m e t a m o r p h o s i s in re-

C h a n g H e n g , 2 2 n , 3 6 , 3 7 , "Fu on P a c i f y i n g

sponse to, 1 0 3 ; obsessive, 7 8 , 9 2 , 1 1 8 ,

the P a s s i o n s " ( T i n g - c h ' i n g fu), 3 6 , "Fu on

1 2 2 , 2 0 8 - 9 , 2 8 2 - 8 3 ; p a r o d y of idea of, 7 3 ,

T h o u g h t s on Deep M y s t e r i e s " ( S s u - h s i i a n

reciprocity of, 1 1 9 , r o o t s of, 8 1 , t r a n s -

fu), 2 2 n , " S o n g of H a r m o n y " ( T ' u n g -

gressive, 1 2 7

S e e also ch'ing;

desire; feel-

i n g ; l o v e ; passion

sheng ko), 3 7 Chang Hsin-chih, 165n, 1 7 0 , 1 7 8 n , 187,

A u e r b a c h , Erich, 1 6 1 n

187n, 219n, 245n, 247n, 248n C h a n g H s u e h - c h ' e n g , 12, 1 2 n , 2 7 n ,

Bauer, Wolfgang, 17n

prehensive

Principles

beauties and f r a g r a n t plants ( m e t - j e n

Philosophy

( W e n - s h i h t ' u n g - i ) , 12

19, 2 3 0

hsiang-ts'ao), Biography

of King

Mu,

and

( S h e n - n u fu), 3 3 n C h a n g Tai, 4 7 - 5 0 , 4 8 n , 4 9 n , 1 1 8 , 1 6 9 , " B i -

Birch, C y r i l , 5 8 n Book

of Changes,

Book

of Documents,

ographies of Five E x t r a o r d i n a r y C h a r a c The (1 c h m g ) , 6 0 The ( S h u ching), 14,

2 2 , 78 of Rites,

Com-

C h a n g M i n , 3 3 n , "Fu on t h e G o d d e s s " The ( M u t ' l e n - t z u

chuan), 21

Book

of Literature

t e r s " ( W u l - j e n chuan), 1 1 8 n , Memories

of T'ao-an

Dream

(T'ao-an meng-i),

4 7 , 4 8 n , 4 9 , 6 2 , 8 3 , 1 6 9 , " E p i t a p h for M y The (Li chi), 2 2 , 9 5 , 2 4 5

s e l f " (Tzu-wei m u - c h i h - m i n g ) , 1 1 8 n ,

282

• Index 196n, 202, 205, 2 0 8 - 1 0 , 221, 2 3 1 - 3 5 ,

C h a n g Tai ( c o n t ) 1 7 0 n , In Quest

of Dreams

at West

Lake

2 4 1 - 4 6 , 2 4 4 n , 2 4 9 , 2 5 4 , 2 5 6 , apotheosis of, 8 9 , bypasses a t t a c h m e n t , 2 4 5 ,

(Hsi-hu meng-hsun), 49n, 169 C h a n g W e n - c h ' e n g , 7 1 n , " W a n d e r i n g in the Caves of I m m o r t a l s " (Yu-hsien k'u), 71n Chao Kang, 205n

-ch'ing,

1 5 8 n , 2 0 5 , 2 1 0 , c o n t i n u i t y with m o r a l attributes, 9 0 , and cosmic disequilibrium, 1 7 0 , 1 7 0 n , as criterion for classifying n a r -

Chao Yen-wei, 79n

rative, 8 9 , as distinct from carnal desire,

C h ' e n C h i - j u , 6 0 - 6 1 , 6 1 n , 89

9 0 , 9 2 , elevation of, to m e t a p h y s i c a l level,

Ch'en Ch'i-t'ai, 206

2 1 7 , as e n e r g y , l O l n , as equivalent of se,

C h ' e n H u n g , 7 9 n , " T h e S t o r y of the ' S o n g

2 3 3 , 2 4 1 , excessive, 1 7 0 n , as foundation

of Everlasting S o r r o w ' " ( C h ' a n g - h e n ko

of m o r a l i t y , 9 2 , as " g e n u i n e " or " e s -

chuan), 79n

s e n c e , " 3 6 n , 6 1 n , and impossibility of ar-

C h ' e n Lin, 3 3 n , 3 7 , "Fu on t h e G o d d e s s "

ticulation, 1 8 5 , individual's liberation

( S h e n - n i i fu), 3 3 n ; "Fu on P u t t i n g a Stop

f r o m , 7 6 , inevitable s e l f - n e g a t i o n of, 2 0 8 ,

to D e s i r e s " ( C h i h - y u fu), 3 7

and lyrical consciousness, 2 3 4 , and m e l a n -

C h ' e n S h e n , 2 3 5 n ; Precious Appreciation

Mirror

for

the

( P ' m - h u a pao-

of Flowers

chien), 2 3 5 n C h ' e n S h i h , 5 3 n , Sequel

to the Peony

Pavil-

ion ( H s u M u - t a n t ' i n g ) , 5 3 n Ch'en Ym-k'o, 93, 258, 258n, 259n

of, 8 9 - 9 0 , 9 2 ; sufferings of, 1 9 0 , t r a n -

N o u r i s h m e n t of L i f e " ( Y a n g - s h e n g lun), 5 1 n , reply to H s i a n g H s i u ' s critique of " O n t h e N o u r i s h m e n t of L i f e " (Ta nan Y a n g - s h e n g lun), 5 1 , 5 1 n , 5 2 n C h i a 1, 1 8 , 2 3 0 , " D i s c o u r s e on t h e Faults of

1 3 6 , t r a n s f o r m a t i v e power of, 9 3 , 2 3 4 , as verb, 2 0 5

See also a t t a c h m e n t , desire,

feeling, love, passion, pu-ch'mg;

wit-

Chou C h ' u a n , 9 0 n , " O n the Limits of the H e r o " (Ying-hsiung ch'i-tuan shuo), 9 0 -

C h ' i n " ( K u o - C h ' i n lun), 18

91n

Chiang Chi, 4n

Chou C h ' u n , 2 4 5 n

Chiang K'uei, 228n C h i a n g S h i h - c h ' u a n , 5 5 n , The Dream

of

(Lin-ch'uan meng), 55n, 56n

Chiang Shun-i, 211 C h i a n g Y e n , 3 3 n ; "Fu on the Goddess of the W a t e r " ( S h u i - s h a n g s h e n - n i i fu), 3 3 n Ch'ien Chung-shu, 27n, 38n, 58n, 128n, 139n,167n

C h o u J u - c h ' a n g , 1 5 5 , 2 1 1 , 2 2 6 n , New tual Research lou meng

on Hung-lou

meng

Tex(Hung-

hsin-cheng), 155, 211

Chou P a n g - y e n , 2 6 7 - 2 6 8 n Chou T u n - i , 1 3 2 n , " L o v e of L o t u s " ( A i - h e n shuo), 1 3 2 n C h ' u culture, 3 n , 1 2 , 2 4 Ch'u

Chien Tsung-wu, 25n, 31n chat:

scendent d i m e n s i o n of, 9 0 ; transcending,

ching

C h i - h s i a A c a d e m y , 1 2 , 1 3 , 16, 16n

Chih-yen

158n, 183,

7 6 , as quasi-religious affinity, 2 0 8 , school

C h i K ' a n g , 5 1 , 5 1 n , 5 2 n , 1 1 4 , " O n the

fiction, 5 2 n

problem of, 7 6 , 9 3 , -pu-ch'mg,

of, 9 2 , seeds of, 9 1 , subversive potential

Cheng Yiian-hsiin, 52n

chih-kuai

ture or truth of t h i n g s , " 2 5 3 , obsessive, 9 1 , 2 3 5 , as ordering principle, 9 2 , the 2 0 2 - 3 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 7 - 9 , 2 2 6 , and public order,

Ch'en Yii-p'i, 164n

Lin-ch'uan

c h o l y , 2 2 3 , m o m e n t u m of, 2 1 8 ; as " n a -

tz'u ( S o n g s of C h ' u ) , 3, 3 n , 4 , 9, 1 2 -

13, 1 6 - 1 7 , 2 4 - 2 5 , 34n, 41, 43, 2 3 0

commentary, 158, 158n,

C h ' u Y u a n , 6, 8, 13, 1 3 n , 1 8 n , 2 3 , 2 3 n , 3 2 n ,

175, 208n, 236, 238n, 252n, 255n, com-

3 6 , 4 1 , " E n c o u n t e r i n g S o r r o w " (Li sao),

m e n t a t o r s , 1 5 8 n , 2 1 0 . See also

discussed, 6 - 8 , 9, 1 3 , 1 3 n , 19, 2 1 , 2 1 n ,

Red I n k -

22n, 2 3 - 2 4 , 26, 34n, 36, 38, 59, 115, 115n,

stone Chin

P'mg

Met (Golden Lotus), 9 9

Chmg Ch'a, 18n, 230n ch'ing,

12, 44, 5 0 - 5 2 , 54, 57, 6 0 - 6 5 , 73, 7 6 -

229-30 ch'itan-ch'i

drama, 6 2 , 6 2 n , 8 7 n , 1 9 8 , con-

vention of g i a n d finale in, 6 8 , idealized

78, 81, 84, 8 6 - 8 7 , 8 9 - 9 3 , 98, l O l n , 136,

portraits in, 1 7 6 , juxtaposition of private

143, 156, 159, 163n, 188, 188n, 195n,

and public in, 7 9 ; objects in, 2 1 4 n , senti-

Index

·

283

mental hero and heroine in, 65, and spirit

77, 80-82, 89-90, 92, 98-101, 104-6, 108,

of play, 87n, 88n

111-17, 121-33, 124-25,127-31, 133,

ch'uan-ch'i fiction, 43, 52n, 79n, 141

135-38, 144-46, 159-60, 165, 173-75,

Chuang Tzu, 5n, 36, 97, 116, 171, 218,

179, 195n, 197, 203-1, 207-8, 218, 220,

221n, 265, 265n; Chuang Tzu, 15n, 16,

223,230,232, 235, 244, 245n,251-52,

25, 36n, 52n, 59, 115-16, 171n, 182, 206,

255n, 263, ambivalence toward, 73,

217,217n,218n,219, 246

"Apotheosis of," 73; for being and experi­

Cicero, 19n

ence, 173, 175, 188, 203-4, 225, 252n,

closure, 108, 113, 232

and death, 236, devil as, 99n, and formal

compassion, 32n, 65-66, 68-69, 96, 278n,

symmetry, 105-14, as a function of plot,

197, 238, 247, Buddhist, 91-92, dispas­

98, infinite gratification of, 44, 98, inter­ nal balance of, 122-36, and ironic inver­

sionate, 76 Confucianism, 61n, 218n, 249, associations

sion, 114—22; language of, 183-84, and

of the name K'ung Mei-hsi under, 178;

madness, 99n, male, 42, mediator of, 133,

and attitude of vigilant moral self-cultiva-

of the mind, 51-52, moderation of, 73,

tion, 171, bias of Chang Hsin-chih under,

natural, 51—52, object of, 41, 52-53, 98,

247n; classics of, 61, 89, and commit­

108,111,113,122, 125, 133,203-4, 260,

ment, 232, 246; curriculum of, 14, de­

for perfection, 218, recontamment of, 44,

fense of ch'mg under, 61; ethos of, 92,

98-99, renunciation of, 252, roots of, 170,

151; and goodness, 92, Han, 9, 24, inter­

170n, 174, 195n, 204, self-negation of,

pretation of The Book of Songs under, 61,

112, as semi-material force, 89, structure

moral codes under, 93n, and morality,

of, 98-99; subversive, 103, 129, 151,

61n, 63, 138, 246n, and order, 256, ped­

transcendence of, 41, transcendent dimen­

ants of, 236, philosopher-teachers of, 60;

sion of, 89; transgressive, 237, 241; ulti­

and precept of vigilant caution, 130; and responsibility, 246, and scheme of things,

mate vanity of, 41 See also attachment,

92, 137; scholars of, 73, 232, solution to

ch'mg; feeling, love, passion detachment, 10, 44-45, 58, 63, 66-73, 7577, 82, 84, 93, 117, 125, 138, 149, 180,

problem of sensual love under, 89, 245, standards under, 166; and virtue,139. See

182-83, 186, 201-2, 217-28, 220-21,223,

also neo-Confuciamsm

229, 231, 246, 250, 254; in author's atti­

Confucius, 14-15, 32, 78, 86, 95-96, 106,

tude, 160,169; Buddhist, 171, 218, dialec­

Spring and Autumn Annals, 22 See also

tics of attachment and, 38n, 44—45, 67,

Analects

narrator's, 202, parody of the idea of, 73,

cosmogony, 173 cosmography, 13-14; cosmographic imagi­ nation, 16 cosmology. Buddhist, 68; correlative, 9, 16, 24; duahstic, in Western allegory, 161 court poet, 9, 18—19, 25, as jester and enter­ tainer, 20,32n

perspective of, 215, and reconciliation, 72, Taoist, 39, through attachment, 3, 64, 66— 67, 76, 216; transcending compassion, 68. See also disenchantment; enlightenment dialectics of attachment and detachment, 3 8 n , 4 4 - 4 5 , 6 7 , of c h ' m g a n d p u - c h ' m g , 163n, 210, 231-32, 244, of the dreaming

criticism (chien), 22n, 23, 23n, 41, direct, forceful, 18n; of jesters, 20n, with a twist, 18n

183, 259, 263, end-oriented, 251n; of en­

Crooked Tablet (Ch'i-hu), 158n, 202n, 238,

gagement and detachment in authorial at­

238n Curtius, E R , 10

and waking states, 153, of enchantment and disenchantment, 9, 46, 48, 50, 87-88,

titude, 160, 183, 231, 254, of enlighten­ ment and love, 46, between fascination and knowledge, 163, of feeling and the

de Man, Paul, 162n, 163n

transcendence of feeling, 44, 156, 263, of

demystification, 97,164

final grounds of enlightenment, 219, of life and art, 171, of reality and illusion

desire, 3, 8-9, 15, 18, 26, 28-29, 31, 34, 37, 41, 44, 51, 54, 57-58, 60-62, 66, 69, 71,

[chen-chia], 46, 155—56, 187, 226, and

284

·

Index

dialectics (c o n t . ) rhetoric, lln; rigor of, 266, truth-fiction, 183,232 disenchantment, 3, 6, 9, 14 15, 83, 86-87, 93, 98, 190, 221, 268, combination of en­

moment of, 3, 54, 87, 98, and the mo­ ment, 203, of self, 48—49, 85-86,183, 199, self-conscious, 7, 9, state of, 203 endings, 66-67, 99, 99n, 105, 151, 232, 246, 250, 255n, beginnings about, 222

chantment and, 164, 190, dialectics of en­

enlightenment, 66, 69, 82, 140-41,144,166

chantment and, 9, 46, 48, 50, 87-88, 183,

184-85,189, 192n, 197, 218-21, 221n,

259, 263, through enchantment, 3, 44,

251-53, 256; aesthetic and religious,

193, 195n, 216, 231, genealogy of, 3, 45,

252n, attempts at, 247, Buddhist, 73, 110

history as, 86, and literary communica­

138, 202, 252; Ch'an, 58-59, 217n, 221,

tion, 9, and lyrical consciousness, 9, mo­

224, enticement and, 235, through feel­

ment of, 5, 202-3, 221-22, and order, 9,

ings, 224, as game and intellectual exer­ cise, 219, as grace, 252, gradual, 219n;

231, of self, 86, 183, 212, self-conscious dramatization of, 6, 8—9. See also detach­ ment, enlightenment divine woman, 3, 9-10, 23, 25, 30, 32, 41, 41n, 44—45 dream, 25, 28, 33, 37, 39, 43, 45, 47-50, 52-

through human efforts, 252, illusiomstic technique of, 76, induced, 66, 75, initia­ tion into mysteries of, 70, language of, 219, 219n, literary model for, 218; through love, 3, 44—46, 66, 72-73, 85,

56, 58-60, 62-64, 93, 105, 112n, 123n,

160, 184, 201, 216-18, 220-21, 223-24,

130, 141—46, 149, 152-57, 157n,159,

231, 263, moments of, 220, 228, para­

164-65, 164n,167-69, 174, 179, 182,

digm, 248n, scenes, 248n, sudden, 109n,

188n, 190-91, 195-97, 195n, 200, 215,

131, 203, 219n, Taoist, 138, 149, 175,

217, 224n, 225-27, 228n, 235n, 236n,

178n, 179, 217, 224, 252. See also detach­

237n, 239, 241, 246, 250-51, 250n, 254, 255n, 263-66, 265n, 266n; analogy with

ment, disenchantment Erh-chih Tao-jen, 255n

literary experience, 263, dreamer, 30, 48, 60, 63, 112n, 153, 264, 265, dreamworld, 67, 71, 73, 76, 143—45, 191, fantasy and, 191, as framing device, 62, image, 30, and ironic, self-reflexive mode, 235n; hfeιη-, 64, 67, lifetime experienced in, motif of, 64—67, 141-^7; lover, 54, and mem­ ory, 169, paradoxical truth of, 184, poem, 33, representation of, 152, 155, sharing, 93, 254, 264, 266, verification of, 92-93, vision, 29, 179, 191-92, 250-51, 260, 263, visit, 3, 29, 138, 156, 179, 185, 204

fantasy, 20, 39, 65, 94, 99n, 147n, 148, and dream, 191, 261, of escape, 72, and irony, 162; of omnipotence, 73 "Far-Off Wandering," 9n, 21n fascination, 160n, 162-63, 215, 250; with automaton, 125n, with details, 191, with dream, 49-50, with experience, 183, with grotesquerie, 146, with idyllic erotic bliss, 144, with illusion, 47, 49-50, 142-43, 158,160, 162,193, knowledge through, 160n, and meng-huan,157-59,157n, with minutiae, 152, with mirror image,

emptiness, 49, 59n, 68-69, 73, 111-12, 142,

226-27, and the moment, 203; perspec­

156, 174, 184, 197, 202, 210, 219-20, un­

tive of, 215, with promise of enlighten­

derstanding through form, 217

ment, 252, and seduction, 4, with vio­

enchantment, 3, 4, 6, 9, 44, 46, 83, 87, 93, 147n, 158, 189-90, 197, 221, 268, combi­ nation of disenchantment and, 164, 190,

lence, 144, 146n, in Wang Kuo-wei's criticism, 159n feeling, 29, 36-^0, 44, 64, 69, 80, 91, 97,

comprehension and, 162, dialectics of en­

104, 119, 123, 141, 156, 166, 177, 178,

chantment and disenchantment, 9, 46, 48,

178n,184, 189n,202,205-9, 210n, 217n,

50, 87-88, 183, 259, 263, disenchantment

218n,224-26, 228-29, 244-45, 251; be­

through, 3, 44, 193, 195n,216, 231, as

yond, 159, broadening of, 92, cult of, 36; depth of, 65, 178; enlightenment through,

fascination with surface, 8; and garden world in HLM r 226; and literary commu­ nication, 9, and lyrical consciousness, 8,

224, 224n, excessive, 182, 207, 268, ex­ pansive, 165, feeling-, 158n, 205, 210,

Index

• 285

feeling n o t - , 1 5 8 n , 2 0 2 - 3 , 2 0 5 , 2 1 0 , 2 2 6 ;

ma H s i a n g - j u , S u n g Y u , T ' a o C h ' i e n ,

h u m a n , 6 1 , 6 5 , 8 9 , 1 2 2 , 1 3 5 , and illusion,

T s ' a o C h i h , Yang H s i u n g

1 5 9 , incipient, 2 4 5 ; l a t e n t , 2 4 6 , m a n of,

Fu S h a n , 2 6 3 - 6 4

6 5 ; m a n i f e s t , 2 4 5 ; m y r i a d things have, 6 5 , n o t , 1 5 9 , object b e y o n d , 2 4 0 , person of deep, 9 0 , reason away, 3 9 , soul of, 5 0 , 2 4 4 , t r a n s c e n d e n c e of, 1 5 6 , 1 8 2 , 2 1 7 , t r u e , 2 0 7 , 2 0 7 n , t r u t h of, 1 1 , wind, 2 3 3 n , 2 3 4 , 2 3 8 n ; w o m e n of, 5 0 . See also m e n t , ch'ing,

attach-

desire; love, passion

Feng M e n g - l u n g , 5 2 n , 7 2 - 7 3 , 9 0 , 9 2 - 9 3 , Sketches

of Love.

Categories

and

(Ch'ing-shih lei-lueh), 52n, 59,

84, 8 9 - 9 0 , l O l n , 187n, 188n, 205n, 244n; discussed, 8 9 - 9 2 ; Dream

of

Han-tan

( H a n - t a n m e n g ) , 9 2 - 9 3 ; The Dream Love

of

(Feng-liu m e n g ) , 5 2 n , 9 2

f i c t i o n a h t y , 1 7 , 2 4 , 4 5 , 1 5 2 , 1 5 5 , 2 1 4 ; and d r a m a , 8 7 n ; exegesis of, 1 6 6 , supplement as, 1 6 7 Final Listing of the C h a r a c t e r s ' Feelings (ch'mg-pang),

189n, 202, 202n, 205,

205n, 210, 226, 255n

G r a h a m , A n g u s C , 13, 1 3 n , 3 6 n Great

Learning,

The (Ta H s u e h ) , 2 4 5 n , 2 4 7

Han Hii, 1 1 9 n H a n s e n , Chad, 15 Hawkes, David, 3 n , 5 n , 8, 2 3 , 3 4 n , 1 8 2 Heart Sutra, 177n H e r v o u e t , Yves, 2 5 n , 3 1 n Hightower, James, 37n, 38n histor-fictor axis, 3 Historian of Love ( C h ' i n g - s h i h shih), 5 2 n , 84n, 89, l O l n , 113n, 1 8 7 n , 2 4 4 Historian of the S t r a n g e (I-shih shih), 9 4 96, 1 0 6 - 7 , 1 0 9 - 1 0 , 109n, 113, 1 1 5 - 1 6 , 1 1 8 - 2 0 , 119n, 1 2 3 - 2 4 , 126, 1 3 0 , 1 3 7 , 141, 148, 150, 154 Ho C h o , 2 2 n , 2 8 , 3 0 , 35

F m e m a n , Joel, 1 6 1 n flaw, 4 0 , 5 2 n , 9 7 , 1 6 3 , 1 6 6 , 1 7 0 , 1 7 0 n , 1 7 1 72, 1 8 0 , 1 8 0 n , 2 5 6 , flawed existence, 1 6 6 6 7 , 1 9 4 , and t h e individual's u n i q u e n e s s , 1 7 0 n ; primal, 2 0 3 - 4

H o Hsin, 3 1 n Ho Shou-ch'i, 113, 120n, 141, 153 Hoffmann, E T A ,

1 2 5 , 2 6 0 , " D e r goldne

Topf," 125, 2 6 0 - 6 1 , " D e r Sandmann," 125

Fletcher, A n g u s , 1 7 0 n f r a m e s : m y t h i c - f a n t a s t i c (in HLM),

156-57,

1 5 9 - 6 0 , 1 8 5 , 2 1 4 , 2 4 7 ; narrative, 1 6 1 ; q u a s i - d r a m a t i c (m fu),

6 6 , 9 0 - 9 1 , 2 5 4 ; Buddhist, 2 1 7 , 2 1 9 -

2 1 , 2 2 2 n , g a m e s of koans and, 2 1 9 , 2 4 7 n

Han Fei T z u , 1 4 n

Feng C h e n - l u a n , 9 7 , 1 2 0 n , 1 3 4 9 3 n , Anatomy

gatha,

1 0 , of reference,

1 5 2 , 1 6 2 , 1 7 9 , 1 9 5 , of s t o r y - t e l l i n g , 1 5 5 ; temporal, 1 7 4 f r a m i n g device, 4 8 n , 8 6 , 1 1 3 , 1 9 8 ; in

HLM,

1 6 0 , 1 9 8 , 2 2 5 ; in LC, 1 0 8 , 1 1 0 , 1 1 2 - 1 3 F r y e , N o r t h r o p , 18 fu, 3, 4 5 , 1 2 0 , 1 4 7 , 1 9 4 n , 1 9 5 n ; and t h e aesthetic illusion, 1 0 - 1 1 ; conceptual s c h e m e s used in discussion of, 9 , criticism of, 11,

H o n i g , Edwin, 1 6 0 n Hsia, C. T . , 5 4 , 6 7 Hsiang H s i u , and critique of Chi K ' a n g ' s " O n N o u r i s h m e n t of L i f e " (Nan Yangsheng lun), 5 1 n Hsiao Ai, 2 5 8 n Hsiao Kang ( E m p e r o r C h i e n - w e n of Liang), 42, 214n Hsiao T ' u n g (Prince C h a o - m i n g of Liang), 1 2 , 4 0 - 4 1 ; Wen hsuan

(Selections of liter-

ature), 1 2 , 2 2 n , 2 5 n , 2 7 n , 2 8 n , 35 Hsiao Yen ( E m p e r o r W u of Liang), 4 2

1 8 - 2 0 , 2 3 , on D i s e n c h a n t m e n t , 1 9 3 - 9 4 ,

hsiao-shuo,

and f i c t i o n a h t y , 16—17, and gender, 1 9 -

Hsieh H s i a o - s h e n , 8 5

2 0 , and H a n c o s m o l o g y , 9 , 2 4 , and lan-

Hsieh L i n g - y i i n , 3 3 n ; "Tu on t h e Lady of

guage as action, 1 5 ; and language as play

156, 167, 185, 210, 214, 215n

the R i v e r " (Chiang fei fu), 3 3 n

and p e r f o r m a n c e , 1 4 , m o r a l a m b i g u i t i e s

Hsin C h i ' i - c h i , 1 0 4 n

of, 2 0 - 4 1 , origins of, 1 1 - 1 4 , 1 6 - 1 7 , 2 4 ,

hsmg

and pleasure, 9 , rhetoric, 1 0 - 1 1 , 17, 1 9 ,

(moral n a t u r e ) , 5 7 , 6 1 , 6 1 n

moral nature

2 2 - 2 3 , and riddles, 1 5 - 1 6 ; s c e n e - s e t t i n g ,

Hsu Feng-i, 2 3 6 n

2 3 3 n , and topos of t h e a m b i v a l e n t divine

Hsu F u - k u a n , 12

w o m a n , 2 3 - 4 1 . See also Juan C h i ; S s u -

Hsu S h e n , 1 4 n

See

also

286

*

Index

Hsu Shuo-feng, 58n

sensual fulfillment, 112, sotenological

Hsii Wei, 84n

function of, 66, 76; theatrical, 48, 76, 82,

Hsiin Tzu i 13, 15, " F u on clouds" (Yiin fu),

84, 86

15; "Fu on knowledge" (Chih fu), 15, "Fu on the needle" (Chen fu), 15; "Fu on rites" (Li fu), 15, "Fu on silkworms" (Ts'an fu), 15

Illusory Realm of Great Void, 3, 156, 159, 162, 182, 184, 190, 193, 197, 203-4, 231, 235-36, 240-41, 244, 247, 249, 253 imagination, 7, 14, 36, 65, 152, 260-61, 266,

Hu Shih, 155, 211

absurd, 176, 230, apotheosis of the poetic,

Hu Ying-lin, 87n h u a n (or m e n g - h u a n ) , 152, 157-62,157n,

160, efficacy of, 107; fictional, 10, 14, fig­

231 Huang T'mg-chien, 120n, 267n Huang Tsung-hsi, 60n

261, cosmological, 16; as decipherment, ment of another's, 176; omnipotence of, 113, poetic, 104, projective, 114 immortal(s), 70-72, 78, 90, 94-96, 102, 107,

Hui-neng (Six Patriarch), 111, 219, 219n

109n,130-31, 130n, 137, 147, 173, be­

Hui Shih, 15

coming one (ch'eng-hsien), 70, 93, 96,

Hung Sheng, 70n, 77-80, 77n, 79n, 86; T h e Palace of Everlasting Life (Ch'ang-sheng tien), 77-81, 77n, 83, 86-87

Eight, 70; Taoist, 62, 71, 85,154, wander­ ing (with) (yu-hsien), 70-71, 75, 85 immortality, 9, 51n, 98, 138-39, 139n, cult, 21, 139n, eroticism and, 5, 137, initiation

i - y i n , 41, 203—4, 210 S e e a l s o lust· of the mind illusion, 9, 24, 29, 32, 46, 50, 60, 62-64, 66,

into, 70, quest for, 5, 138, Taoist, 71, 138, 148,151, 175 inexpressibihty. in Ch'an Buddhism, 219-

68-70, 72-73, 76, 78, 87-88, 90, 105,

20; Chen Shih-yin and, 184; of ch'ing,

112-14,112n, 113n,141-44, 152-61,

209,274

164—65,164n,169,181-82, 184,187, 190-91,194n,196-97, 201, 205n,206, 226, 231, 236, 236n, 246, 257, 259, 264,

I n t i m a t e B i o g r a p h y o f E m p e r o r Wu o f H a n , T h e (Han Wu-ti nei-chuan), 41 irony, 45, 58, 73, 76-77, 87, 92-93, 152,

aesthetic, 4, 10, 45, 48, 83, 152-53, 160,

162,169,171-72, 182-84,194-95, 201,

164, 172,182-83, 230-31, 267, apprehen­

209n, 231, and act of writing, 169, against

sion of reality through, 3, 72, 263; of au­

self, 171, and allegory, 162-63; 162n,

thority, 172; of bliss, 106-7, 124, 214,

163n; analogy and, 259—69, beginning

constitutive power of, 160n, creating and

mythic-fantastic frame as a source of,

manipulating, 3, 9, 17, 19, 30, 48, 62, 83,

156-57, and ch'ing, 209, and conjunction

86, delight in, 53, fascination with, 47,

of futility and necessity, 172, of Disen-

49-50, 142—43, 158, 160, 162,193, fic­ tional, 141,153, 155, 157, 164, 177, 180, 212-13, 215, garden as fragile, 242, and human emotions, 50, and ironic, self-re­ flexive mode, 235n, literary, 9, 84, locus of, 110, love and, 159, 191, 245n, love in, 60, of love, 113n, and magical conjura­ tion, 231, and mirror, 226, narcissistic, 99, of omnipotence, 226; and Pao-yu's consciousness, 227, paradoxical truth of, 184, of permanence, 217, play with, 190, 194n, of plenitude, 111, 114, poetry and, 108, potency of, 113, of power and free­ dom, 3, 5, 30, 84, 86-87, 111-12, 195,

chantment's position, 198, fantasy and, 162, as "infinite absolute negativity," 262; irony of, 194, and language, 209, lit­ erary communication and, 176, menghuan and, 160, nostalgia and, 169, not implying negativity, 210, Pao-yu not ca­ pable of, 203, and the perception of the ordinary, 268, and play with frames of reference, 195, Romantic, 259, 262-63, 267, m seventeenth-century literature, 155, and skepticism, 169, and Stone/Paoyu division, 180

198, 222, provenance of, 3, of reality,

Jaeger, Werner, 10

155, representation of, 49, 84, 152, rheto­

Juan Chi, 37, " F u on Purifying Longings"

ric of, 159, of self-containment, 87, of

(Ching-ssu fu), 337

J u a n Y u , 3 7 , "Fu on P u t t i n g a Stop to D e -

Li C h i h , 8 5 , 1 1 8 n , A Book

Index

• 287

for Burning

(Fen

shu), 8 5

s i r e s " ( C h i h - y u fu), 3 7

Li C h i n g - h a n g , 4 4 , " T h e S t o r y of Li C h a n g w u " (Li C h a n g - w u chuan), 4 4

Kao H e n g , 9 7

Li Ho, 1 6 7 - 6 8 , 1 6 7 n , 1 9 0 , 2 2 8 , " L i P ' i n g

Kao Y u - k u n g , 1 9 6 n

Playing t h e Vertical H a r p " (Li P ' m g

K e r m o d e , Frank, 2 5 1 n

k ' u n g - h o u y m ) , 1 6 7 , " S e e i n g S h e n Ya-

Kierkegaard, S e r e n , 2 6 2 , 2 6 6 - 6 7 Kleist, H e i n n c h von, 1 2 5 n , " O n the M a r i o nette Theater," 125n

" S o n g of t h e B r o n z e I m m o r t a l Taking Leave of H a n " ( C h i n - t ' u n g h s i e n - j e n t z ' u -

K n e c h t g e s , David, 1 4

Han ko), 1 9 0 , 2 2 8 n , " S p r i n g T h o u g h t s "

K'uai-yti t'ang, 55n K ' u n g S h a n g - j e n , 77, 7 7 n , Peach

chih O f f " ( S u n g S h e n Y a - c h i h ko), 1 6 7 n ,

Blossom

Fan ( T ' a o - h u a shan), 7 7 , 7 7 n , 8 1 - 8 3 , 8 6 87, 1 8 6 - 8 7 K u n g - s u n L u n g , 15 Kuo Mo-jo, 4n

( C h ' u n - w a i y m ) , 1 6 7 , " T a l l Carriages P a s s i n g " ( K a o - h s u a n kuo), 1 6 7 Li K u n g - t s o , 6 4 , " T h e G o v e r n o r of N a n k ' o " ( N a n - k ' o t ' a i - s h o u chuan), 6 4 , 1 4 1 , 143-44 Li S h a n , 3 5 , 3 5 n Li S h a n g - y m , 2 4 , 2 8 n , 2 2 8 n

Lackner, M i c h a e l , 5 8 n

Li Yii ( 9 3 7 - 9 7 8 ) , 2 6 7 n

language, 3, 1 3 - 1 5 , as action, 1 5 , of anal-

Li Yu ( 1 6 1 0 - 1 6 8 0 ) , 155

o g y , 2 6 0 , banalized, 1 8 3 , b e y o n d , 6 9 ,

Liang H s i a o - w a n g , 18, 3 2 n

clever and deceptive, 1 4 ; of courtship,

Lieh Tzu, 2 1 n , 2 6 5 n , 2 6 6 n , Lieh

1 3 4 , crisis, 1 5 , of desire, 1 8 3 - 8 4 , dream narrated in factual, 1 4 4 , of the d r e a m world, 1 9 2 , e c o n o m y of, 1 2 2 , emphasizing c o n t i n u u m , 1 0 1 , of e n l i g h t e n m e n t , 2 1 9 , 2 1 9 n , fictive, 1 6 3 , 1 6 5 , 1 7 6 , 1 8 7 - 8 8 , 1 8 7 n , 2 5 4 , of fu, 1 0 , functional, transparent, 1 5 , and t h e g a m e of worlds, 1 9 1 , of gathas,

a b s t r a c t n e s s of, 2 2 0 , illogical, par-

adoxical, 2 1 0 , 2 1 0 n ; and i r o n y , 2 0 9 ; j u x taposition of crude and elevated, 5 7 , of knowledge, 1 7 4 , 1 8 1 , 1 8 5 - 8 6 , 1 9 7 , of love, 2 0 9 , 2 1 9 , of love and s e n s u a l i t y , 6 0 n , low style, 1 8 3 n , low style of Flower G o d ' s , 6 3 , and lust of the mind, 2 0 3 , 2 0 9 , of m y t h , 1 7 3 ; and n o r m a t i v e order, 1 4 ;

170n, 2 6 5 n , 2 6 6 n Ling M e n g - c h ' u , 8 4 , 2 3 3 n Liu A n , 1 3 n , 8 5 n , 1 3 9 n , Huai-nan

Liu C h ' e (Emperor W u of H a n ) , 18, 2 1 n , 4 2 , 4 2 n , " S o n g of Lady L i " (Li F u - j e n ko), 4 2 Liu H s i e h , 1 3 - 1 4 , The Literary the Carving

of Dragons

c h a s t i s e m e n t , 2 5 3 , transition to a n o t h e r kind of, 1 7 7 n ; of w i s d o m , 1 8 9 Lao T z u , 8 6 laughter, 4 5 , 5 7 , 7 7 , 2 0 9 , 2 0 9 n , 2 2 0 , 2 5 7 n , 2 2 5 , subversive potential of, 1 1 0 h (reason), 5 0 , 5 7 Li C h ' a o - w e i , 4 4 , " T h e S t o r y of Liu 1 " (Liu I chuan), 4 4

of the

New

Words

in the Discourse

Human

World

(Shih-hsin-yu), 51n, 114n, 127n,

156n,157 Liu S h i h - h e n g , 5 5 n , 5 8 , 7 4 n Liu W e n - y m g , 5 8 n Lo J u - f a n g , 5 6

scendence of, l l l n ; of transgression and

and

lung), 13

m a n c e , 1 4 , and reference, 1 5 , as response 1 4 , robust, e a r t h y , 2 2 0 , stylized, 1 4 7 ,

Mind

( W e n - h s m tiao-

Liu 1-ch'ing, 5 1 n , 1 1 4 n , 1 2 7 n , 1 5 7 n ,

Lloyd, G . E. R , lOn, l l n

s y m b o l i c , 1 9 1 , and totality, 1 9 1 , t r a n -

85n,

Tzu,

170n

o r n a t e , s e n s u o u s , 8 5 ; as play and p e r f o r to disorder, 1 5 , rhetorical tradition and,

Tzu, 2 1 n ,

longing, 5 1 n , 5 4 , 5 5 n , 5 7 - 5 8 , 6 1 , 6 5 , 7 1 , 2 0 4 , 2 0 8 ; for freedom and u n r e s t r a i n t , 2 0 8 , ineffable, 2 0 6 , obsessive, 2 0 3 - 6 , 2 0 9 Lotus S u t r a , 7 6 love, 1 9 , 3 1 - 3 2 , 3 4 - 3 6 , 3 8 , 5 0 - 5 2 , 5 4 , 5 7 69, 61, 65, 69, 7 2 - 7 3 , 7 7 - 7 8 , 8 0 - 8 1 , 83, 89, 90, 9 2 - 9 3 , 110, 1 2 4 - 2 5 , 1 3 0 , 130n, 1 3 5 - 3 6 , 153, 156, 159, 163n, 177, 1 8 0 - 8 1 , 184, 188n, 190, 196, 196n, 197, 199, 199n, 200, 2 0 4 - 5 , 207, 209, 209n, 218n, 219, 2 2 2 - 2 3 , 225, 227, 233-35, 2 4 0 - 4 1 , 2 4 4 45, 245n, 246, 249, 251, 253, 255n; " A t -

288

·

Index

love ( c o n t )

cal voice in "Encountering Sorrow," 13,

tachment to," 65, carnal, 131; as carnal

and myth-making power, 228-30, 228n,

and transgressive, 233, celebration of, 56,

234, 243, vs rhetorical, 11-13, 24, 29;

"Chaste," 89, complementary facets of,

transformative power of, 229

124, "Daring of," 90, delusions of, 66, dream, 56, in a dream, 50, 53, 58, in dreams and illusions, 60-61, dying for,

Ma Chih-yuan, 70, 70n, 74, Enlightened t h r o u g h t h e Yellow Millet Dream o n t h e

53, end of, 68, enlightenment through, 3,

Han-tan Road (Han-tan tao hsing-wu

44—45, 66, 72-73, 85,160, 184, 216-18,

huang-liang meng), 70, 70n, 74, Lu T u n g -

220-21, 223-24, 241, 263, "Enmity in," 89, "Exhaustion of," 65, 85; fraternal, 149, in the garden world, 234, "Ghosts of," 187n, gift of life and, 180, and illu­ sion, 159, 184, 191, 245n, mclusiveness in Pao-yu's, 217, karma, 180-181, 184, 188, 197, 204, 217n, 221n, 255n, 256; and lifeforce, 57; "Metamorphosis and," 89, 101η, obsession with, 180n; obsessive, 59, 89, 92, 108, 118, 190, paradox of, 190, provenance of illusion in, 3, in quest of, 61, "Repenting of," 78, thoughts of, 54, transcendence of illusion through, 3, 46, "Transference of," 66, transformative power of, 46, "Unrestrained," 90, and words, 234; and worldly ambition, 52 Ser also attachment, ch'mg, desire, feeling, passion Lu Chi, 16n, " F u on Literature" (Wen fu), 16n,104n Lu Chia, 18; "New Words" (Hsin-yu), 18 Lu K'an-ju, 25n Lu Tz'u-yiin, 59-60 Lu Yu,133n Lu Chan-en, 103n, 120n Lu Yu-sheng, 84 Lung Tzu-yu (pseud of Feng Meng-lung), 90-91 lust, 170n, 203-4, 218n, 244, 253; apprecia­

pin Intoxicated Three T i m e s a t Y u e h - y a n g Pavilion (Lu Tung-pm san-tsui Yiiehyang lou), 70, 70n madness, 99n, 109n, 119n, 125, 125n, 149, 182, 188n, 254, 262-63, 268 Master of Discourse on Stone (Hua-shih Chu-jen), 197 mediation and complementary heroines in LC, 122, and incorporation of antithetical urges, 131, through sentimental litera­ ture, 222, textual, 220 Mei Kao, 20n melodramatic gestures, 234, 237, 250 melodramatic style, 146, 231-33, 249 Mencius, 13, 15-16, 245n, 247n metamorphosis, 100-104, 106, 114—17, 121— 24, 131-32, 160n, anguish and horror of, 103, benign, 114, counter-Ovidian, 100, as a deserved punishment, 102, and de­ sire, 100, in "The Dream of Wolves," 95, "Love and," 89, 101η, and magical reali­ zation, 102, and mental state, 103; per­ ception of, 121; and philosophical play,

116 metaphor, 13n, 15, 60, 76n, 92, 167, 171, 176, of the ancients, 95, of beauties and fragrant plants for political aspirations, 230; dramatic, 195, 200; of erotic tension, 32, 32n, of goddess as landscape, 27-28,

tion of beauty free from, 204, of the

goddess as, for secular charmer, 41,

mind, 41, 203—4, 209-10, 241, 246, spiri­

homely, 174, liberalization of, 95, 103,

tual affinities different from, 204

mirror as, for mind, 219, 226, musical,

lyrical consciousness, 203, 207, 212, 217, 220, 222-24, lyrical description, 103, lyri­ cal experience, 29, 44, lyrical expression,

27, 226n, painting, 48n, 213, playful, 191, the"Precious Mirror" as, for HLMf 236, 240, of sprouting, 244

9, lyrical ideal, 11, 88, 202-3, 211, 216,

metaphorical transference, 131

234, 263—64, 267, lyrical intensity, 36, 93,

mirror, 53-54, 86, 192, 204, 253, in gathas

97, 202, lyrical mode, 44, lyrical moment,

of Hui-neng and Shen-hsiu, 219, history

218, 222; lyrical outpouring, 34, lyrical postscript, 104, lyrical solution, 77, 80n,

as, 178n, 235, image of, 54, 178n, 226, 226n, image in world of the Precious Mir­

81, lyrical subjectivity, 34, 222-25, 227-

ror of Love, 235-36; in the Joyous Land of

28, 230, 243, 252, lyrical vision, 213, lyri­

Eternal Truth, 250; for lyrical subjectiv-

Index lty, 2 2 7 , as a magical object, 2 5 0 ; - m i n d ,

• 289

D i s e n c h a n t m e n t , 1 9 3 , of e n l i g h t e n m e n t

2 2 6 , parallel, 7 1 , 2 2 7 , 2 4 6 ; precious, of

t h r o u g h love, 2 1 7 , 2 2 0 , 2 3 1 , of i n n o c e n c e

r e u n i o n , 8 1 , pu-ch'ing

and experience, 2 0 4 , 2 1 1 n , 2 1 3 , 2 1 8 n ,

and, 2 4 0

M o Tzu, 1 4 - 1 5 , 32

2 2 3 ; of P a o - y i i ' s character, 1 8 9 ; of reality

M o h i s t s , 1 3 , 15

and illusion, 2 4 6 , of self-conscious spon-

m o r a l n a t u r e , 17, 6 0 - 6 1 , 6 0 n , 6 1 n , 6 2 n , 8 9 ,

t a n e i t y , 5 1 n ; of s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n t h r o u g h a

244-45

mask, 8 7 , Taoist, of limits and limitless-

Mou Tsung-san, 51n

ness, 9 5 , of u n c o n s c i o u s h e i g h t e n e d con-

m y t h i c - f a n t a s t i c r e a l m , 8 6 , defined by t h e tension b e t w e e n ch'ing

and

pu-ch'mg,

2 4 4 , and e x t e r n a l (or externalized) moral u n i v e r s e , 2 3 4 , m HIM,

152, 1 5 5 - 5 6 , 161,

163, 173, 187, 213, 222, 224, 2 2 7 - 2 8 , 2 3 1 - 3 4 , 2 3 7 , 2 4 0 , 2 4 8 - 5 0 , 2 5 2 , and perspective of pu-ch'mg,

234

sciousness, 57 paradoxical f o r m u l a t i o n , 3 paradoxical language, 1 0 , 15 passion, 9, 2 3 , 3 6 - 4 1 , 5 2 , 5 8 , 6 0 , 6 3 , 6 6 - 6 8 , 7 2 - 7 3 , 7 7 - 7 8 , 8 0 - 8 1 , 8 3 - 8 6 , 89, 9 2 - 9 3 , 101, 117, 121, 123, 125, 130n, 1 3 4 - 3 5 , 178n, 189, 195n, 197, 200, 218, 225, 2 4 4 n , 2 5 1 , 2 5 3 , aesthetic and erotic, 1 0 3 , 1 0 8 ,

neo-Confucianism, 61, 245, 245n

causal efficacy of, 6 8 ; celebration of, 6 3 ,

N e r v a l , G e r a r d , 9 9 n , 2 6 0 , Aurelia,

99n, 260

Nietzsche, Fnedrich, 259, 2 5 9 n " N i n e Songs, T h e " (Chiu-ko), 4, 6 - 8 , 13, 1 3 n , 2 6 , 2 6 n , " T h e Goddess of the R i v e r H s i a n g " (Hsiang C h u n ) , 5 , " T h e G r e a t e r God of F a t e " (Ta S s u - m i n g ) , 4 n , 5 ; " T h e Lady of R i v e r H s i a n g " (Hsiang F u - j e n ) , 4 - 6 , " T h e Lesser Goddess of F a t e " ( S h a o S s u - m i n g ) , 4 , " T h e Lord in the C l o u d s " ( Y u n c h u n g C h u n ) , 1 3 n , " T h e Lord of the F a s t " (Tung C h u n ) , 6 , " M o u n t a i n S p i r i t " ( S h a n Kuei), 5, " R i v e r G o d " (Ho Po), 5 " N i n e Works, T h e " (Chiu chang), 13n, "Crossing the R i v e r " (She-chiang), 13n

obsession, 50, 92, 1 0 6 , 1 1 7 - 2 2 , 118n, 1 1 9 n ; with love, 1 8 0 n , object of, 1 0 3 , 1 0 7 , 1 2 2 , 1 4 9 , 1 7 8 , 2 3 5 , 2 5 3 ; with s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n and t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i v e p o w e r of love, 4 6 otherness, 94, 96, 125, 147n otherworld 94, 96, 150, 2 3 9 , reappropnation of, 4 4 , 9 8 , w o m a n f r o m the, 4 1 , 4 3

and carnal, 2 4 1 ; erotic, 6 6 , 6 8 ,

1 9 0 ; obsessive, 1 9 9 n , 2 3 1 , 2 3 3 , 2 5 3 , 2 5 3 n ; philosophical solution transcending, 6 4 , powers and dangers of, 8 9 ; private, 6 3 , 7 7 , 81, 83; quasi-transcendental dimension of, 1 2 3 , repentence for, 7 8 , 8 5 , of t h e self, 1 7 1 , sexual, 5 7 , 2 0 4 , 2 3 1 , 2 3 3 , subversive implications of, 9 3 , transcendence of, 2 1 8 , transcendence of, t h r o u g h , 3, 4 4 , 1 6 0 , 2 1 6 , warning against, 2 3 2 , 2 3 3 n , 2 3 5 , willful i n t e n s i t y of, 5 4 - 5 5 t a c h m e n t , ch'ing,

See also

at-

desire, feeling, love

Paz, Octavio, 2 5 9 persuader: i t i n e r a n t , 1 7 - 1 8 , 1 7 n , as translation for " T s u n g - h e n g C h i a , " l l n Pi C h i - y u , 1 0 5 piety

Buddhist, 6 6 ; filial, 9 0 , 9 6 , 9 8 , 1 3 9 -

4 1 , 1 4 8 , 2 4 8 ; foolish, 1 4 0 Plaks, Andrew, 1 6 1 , 1 6 1 n Plato, lOn, 2 6 6 pleasure, 7, 2 5 , 6 4 , 73, 9 2 , 1 2 6 - 2 7 , 1 2 9 , 1 3 8 ,

O u - y a n g Hsiu, 1 9 9 n palace-style p o e t r y ( k u n g - t ' i shih),

ch'ing

m o n e y and carnal, 2 3 9 ; n e g a t i o n o f , 1 7 8 n ,

1 4 4 n , 1 7 3 , 1 9 4 n , 2 0 3 , 2 2 8 n , 2 2 9 , aesthetic, 2 3 5 , attitude toward, 2 2 n , 2 6 3 ,

41

avoiding, 3 2 - 3 3 , fate of, 4 0 , forgetting,

P'an C h i h - h e n g , 5 2 Pan Ku, 1 3 n , 18, 1 8 n , 2 0 n , 2 3 n , Han

shu,

20n, 22n, 23n, 121 paradox, 4 1 , 4 4 - 4 5 , 5 7 , 6 9 , 1 2 5 n , 1 5 2 , 1 6 0 , 1 8 4 , 2 3 1 , 2 4 0 , 2 4 9 , of art, 1 9 0 , of artistic

5 1 n , and fu, 9 - 1 1 , 1 9 - 2 2 , 2 1 n , 2 2 n , gaze as invitation to, 4 , imagined, 6 , n o t e n a m o r e d of, 3 2 ; principle of, 9 8 , of reading, 2 5 4 , and the representation of

creation, 1 8 2 ; of B u d d h i s m , 6 8 ; C h ' a n ,

w o m a n , 2 0 - 2 2 , and rhetoric, 1 0 - 1 1 , 1 9 ;

2 2 1 n , of ch'mg

of t h e senses, 1 9 7 , sensual, 2 4 1 , 2 4 9 , use

and pu-ch'mg,

245-46,

c o n s c i o u s n e s s of, 1 6 5 , of d i s e n c h a n t m e n t

of u n c e r t a i n t y to e n h a n c e , 4 2 , vicarious,

t h r o u g h e n c h a n t m e n t , 1 9 5 n , embodied by

42

290

• Index

Po C h u - i , 7 9 n , 8 0 n , 1 0 7 n , 2 5 0 n ; " S o n g of

feng," 152, "Ch'ing-o," 9 7 - 9 8 , 118,

Everlasting S o r r o w " ( C h ' a n g - h e n ko),

" C h u - c h ' m g , " 1 0 1 - 2 , "Ch'u S h e n g , " 96,

79n, 8 0 n , 2 5 0 n

" C o n s o r t V e r m i l i o n " (Chiang Fei), 1 0 4 n ,

P o H s m g - c h i e n , 4 2 , " T h e S t o r y of Li W a "

" A Court C a s e " (Che-yu), 1 5 0 , " C o u r t Decision Based on a P o e m " ( S h i h - y e n ) ,

(Li W a c h u a n ) , 4 2 - 4 3 Poe, Edgar A l l a n , 1 2 5 ; " L i g e i a , " 1 2 5

150; " C r i c k e t " (Ch'u-chih), 1 0 1 - 2 , 102n,

p o e m s on o b j e c t s (yung-wu

" T h e D r e a m of Fox S p i r i t s " ( H u - m e n g ) ,

shih),

42, 103

politician-diplomats, l l n , 1 4 , 1 7 n , 1 8 , and

1 5 2 - 5 3 , " T h e D r e a m of W o l v e s " ( M e n g -

e m e r g e n c e of fu, 1 1 - 1 4 ; and language,

lang), 9 4 ; " F e n g - h s i e n , " 9 4 , " F e n g S a n -

1 5 , and political action, 17

n i a n g , " 1 3 4 , 1 3 8 , " F e r r y m e n at the O l d

Precious M i r r o r of Love- as a n a l o g y for HLM,

2 3 6 , as idea, 2 0 5 n , 2 3 1 - 3 3 , as ob-

ject, 2 3 5 - 3 7 , 2 4 0 , 2 5 3 ; the world of, 2 3 2 Mirror

"Flower Goddess" (Hua-shen), 104, " T h e Gamblers' Talisman" (Tu-fu), 119n, "Goddess" (Shen-nu), 96, " T h e Great

42, 250, 253, 255 Precious

Dragon Ford" (Lao-lung hsiang-hu), 150,

of Love,

The

(Feng-yueh

S a g e Equal to H e a v e n " ( C h ' i - t ' i e n ta-

p a o - c h i e n ) , as title of part of, or o n e ver-

sheng), 1 5 4 , " H e a v e n l y Palace" (T'len-

sion of, HLM,

kung), 9 4 , " H e n g - n i a n g , " 1 3 5 n , " H o - h u a

Precious

Mirror

164, 1 7 8 , 1 7 8 n , 234n of the Heaven

of

Love

1 3 1 - 3 3 , " H s i Fang-p'ing," 150, "Hsi-

(Ch'mg-t'ien pao-chien), 2 0 5 n pu, 1 6 7 - 6 8 , 1 7 8 , 1 8 0 . See also pu-cht

pu-h

supplement

( s i m u l t a n e o u s a t t a c h m e n t and

detachment), 45 pu-ch'tng

S a n - m a n g - t z u " (Third Lotus Lady), 1 0 0 ,

(negation o r transcendence of feel-

ings), 4 4 , 9 3 , 1 5 9 , 1 6 3 n , 1 9 0 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 8 , 210, 215, 222, 224, 2 2 7 - 2 8 , 232, 234, 2 4 0 - 4 1 , 244, 246, 249, 256, m Disenc h a n t m e n t , 2 3 5 , embodied in the m i r r o r and t h e sword, 2 4 0 , and moral d i m e n s i o n , 249

h o u , " 1 0 4 n ; " H s i a n g K a o , " 101, " H s i a n g y i i , " 100, l O l n , 104, 1 2 2 - 2 6 , " H s i a o erh," 137, "Hsiao-hsieh," 127; "Hsiaots'ui," 9 6 , 1 3 0 , " H s m Shih-ssu-niang," 104n, "Hsin Tzu-i," 137, " H u a - k u T z u , " 105, 130, " H u a n - h o u , " 150, " H u a n niang," 104n, 1 3 3 - 3 4 ,

"Huang-ying,"

100, lOln, 1 1 4 - 1 7 , 118, 1 2 1 - 2 2 ,

"Immor-

tal K u n g " ( K u n g - h s i e n ) , 9 4 , 1 3 0 n , " I m perial C o n s o r t C h e n " ( C h e n - h o u ) , 1 0 2 , 1 3 7 ; " I s l a n d of I m m o r t a l s " ( H s i e n - j e n

P'u Sung-ling, 44, 80n, 92, 93n, 94, 94n, 99n, 105, 107n, 1 2 0 , 1 2 6 , 1 4 1 ,

146,150-

tao), 1 0 9 ; " T h e Kingdom of Raksasas

and

the C i t y in the S e a " (Lo-ch'a h a i - s h i h ) ,

5 1 , 153—54, autobiographical preface to

1 0 5 , 1 4 6 - 4 8 , " T h e Kingdom of

L C (Liao-chai t z u - c h i h ) , 9 7 ,

( Y e h - c h ' a kuo), 9 8 ; " K o - c h i n , " 1 0 0 , l O l n ,

chih-i,

Liao-chai

44, 46, 93, 9 6 - 1 0 1 , 1 0 5 - 6 , 118,

122, 123n, 125, 130, 1 3 6 - 3 9 , 1 4 2 ^ 3 , 146, 147n,150-52, 155-56, 264-65 essays

" O n t h e Life and Deeds of Liu

S h i h " ( S h u Liu S h i h h s i n g - s h i h ) , 1 0 7 n ,

Yaksas"

1 0 4 , 1 0 5 - 8 , 110, 113, 114, 116, 122, 137, "Kung-sun Chiu-niang," 104n, 105, " L a d y in G r e e n " (Lu-i nu), 1 0 0 , l O l n , "Lantern Dogs" (Ch'uan-teng), 103, "Leng Sheng," 109n, "Lien-ch'eng,"

" P r e f a c e to ' A p p r e h e n s i o n of the W i l l of

104n, "Lien-hsiang," 1 2 7 - 2 8 , 136, "Lien-

H e a v e n ' " ( " H u i t ' l e n - i " hsu), 9 9 n

s o , " 104n, 136, " L i n S s u - n i a n g , " 104n,

stories f r o m LC

" A - h s i e n , " 101, lOln,

103, " A - h s i u , " 118, " A - p a o , " 99n, 101,

"The Lotus P r i n c e s s " ( L i e n - h u a k u n g chu), 1 4 2 ^ 1 4 , 1 4 6 , " M a C h i e h - f u , " 1 4 6 n ,

118, " A - y i n g , " 100; " A i - n u , " 105, " B e -

" T h e M a d T a o i s t " (Tien T a o - j e n ) , 9 4 ,

c o m i n g an i m m o r t a l " ( C h ' e n g - h s i e n ) ,

" M i a o S h e n g , " 101; " M i s s H u o " (Huo-

80n, 138, " T h e Bibliophile" (Shu-ch'ih),

mi), 1 3 7 , " M r . Lu's D a u g h t e r " (Lu kung

1 2 0 - 2 2 , " C h a n g A - t u a n , " 105, 123,

nu), 1 1 8 ; " T h e Old M a n T u " (Tu W e n g ) ,

" C h ' a n g - o , " 1 2 8 - 3 1 , 138; " C h ' e n Hsi-

1 0 2 , " O n e O f f i c i a l " (I y u a n - k u a n ) , 9 8 ,

chiu," 96, " C h ' e n Yun-ch'i," 125, " T h e

"Pai Ch'iu-hen," 1 0 0 , 1 0 4 n , "Pai Yu-yu,"

Chess G h o s t " (Chi-kuei), 119n, "Chia

1 3 8 , " T h e Painted W a l l " ( H u a - p i ) , 1 0 4 n ,

F e n g - c h i h , " 148—49; " C h i a n g - c h ' e n g , "

1 1 0 - 1 4 , 1 3 8 , "P'ang Hai-ch'iu," 102,

146n, "Chiao-na," 126-27, "Ch'ing-

Index

• 291

" P ' l e n - p ' i e n , " 9 9 n , 1 0 5 , " T h e Princess of

rhetorical strategies, 3, 9

W e s t L a k e " ( H s i - h u chu), 9 6 , " A Sequel

rhetorical structure, 7

to Yellow M i l l e t D r e a m " (Hsu h u a n g -

rhetorical tradition (in C h i n a ) , 1 4 - 1 6

hang), 142, 1 4 4 - 4 6 , 150, 2 6 5 n ; " S h i h

riddle, 1 5 - 1 6 , 1 9 6 , 2 0 1 , 2 4 8 n , 2 5 1 ; l a n t e r n ,

Ch'ing-hsii," 118-19, "Stealing Peaches"

2 2 1 - 2 2 , 2 2 4 , 2 2 6 , prophetic, 2 0 1

( T ' o u - t ' a o ) , 1 3 7 , " A S t r a n g e Tale of Pi-

R o m a n t i c aesthetics, 2 5 9 - 6 0

g e o n s " (Ko-i), 101, 118; " S u - c h ' i u , " 103,

Romanticism, 259

119; " S u m m e r S n o w " (Hsia-hsueh), 9 4 ; " T h r e e Lives" (San-sheng), 102, " T u Hsiao-le," 102, "Tung Sheng," 100, " T h e U g l y Fox S p r u t " ( C h ' o u h u ) , 1 3 6 ; " W a n hsia," 137, " W a n g Kuei-an," 104n, 234n, "Weaving M a i d " (Chih-nii), 135n, 136n; " W h i t e L o t u s S e c t " (Pai-lien chiao), 1 3 7 , " W i n e Madness" (Chiu-k'uang), 119n; " T h e W i t of t h e Fox S p r n t s " ( H u - h s i e h ) , 1 0 9 ; " W u C h ' i u - y i i e h , " 1 3 6 , " Y a n g Tayung," 96, "Yeh Sheng," 119, "Yenchih," 150, " Y m g - m n g , " 108-10, 113, " Y u Ch u - o , " 119, 1 4 9 - 5 0 , " Y u Te," 103, " Y i i e h C h u n g , " 1 3 9 - 4 1 , 142

Said, Edward W , 1 6 3 Satire, 7 6 , 1 4 7 - 1 9 , 1 7 1 Schafer, Edward, 4 1 n Schlegel, F n e d r i c h , 2 6 1 - 6 2 , " O n I n c o m p r e h e n s i b i l i t y , " 2 6 1 , on verisimilitude, 2 6 2 Schopenhauer, Arthur, 259, 259n S c h w a r t z , B e n j a m i n , 15 self-containment, 87, 100, 202; hermetic, 1 1 6 , lyrical, 8 8 , 1 5 6 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 6 , 2 2 4 , 2 3 1 self-expression, 4 6 , 8 6 , 1 6 8 ,

171

self-forgetfulness, 5, 91, 207, 2 1 8 self-reflexivity, 3 4 , 1 5 6 , 2 0 2 - 3 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 7 - 2 8 , 231 self-representation, 5 0 , 8 3 - 8 4

Records

of the Transmission

of the

Lamp

s e n t i m e n t a l i z a t i o n , 2 3 2 , 2 4 2 ^ 3 , and c o n f u sion of t h e m y t h i c and the magical (in

( C h ' u a n - t e n g lu), 2 1 9

HLM),

rectification of n a m e s , 1 4

244

s h a m a n , 4 - 5 , 6, 8, 2 4 , 2 7 , - p o e t , 6, 2 5 , 3 4 n ,

Red I n k s t o n e ( C h i h - y e n Chai), 1 5 8 - 5 9 , 158n, 163, 166n, 167, 172, 1 7 4 - 8 4 , 178n,

229

180n, 187, 189-94, 190n, 196, 198-99,

Shapiro, M i c h a e l and M a r i a n n e , 1 6 2 n , 1 6 3 n

198n, 201-2, 205-7, 209-11, 2 1 0 n , 2 1 3 -

S h e n C h i - c h i , 4 4 , 6 4 , " T h e S t o r y of M s

14, 213n, 2 1 5 n , 217n, 218, 218n, 221,

J e n " (Jen shih chuan), 4 4 , " T h e W o r l d

221n, 226n, 2 2 7 - 2 8 , 230, 232, 235n, 236,

w i t h i n a P i l l o w " ( C h e n c h u n g chi), 6 4 , 6 9 ,

2 3 6 n , 2 4 0 n , 2 4 5 n , 2 4 6 n , 2 5 3 , identity of, 1 5 8 n . S e e also Chih-yen

r e m o n s t r a n c e , indirect, 18, 2 2 - 2 3 , 2 5 also

74n, 141, 144-45, 265n Shen Chi-fei, 69, 7 1 - 7 2

chai See

S h e n C h m g , 9 3 n , The Shared

r e t u r n , 2 3 2 , 2 4 6 , 2 5 5 , to chaos, 2 2 0 , false, 2 4 7 n , to a h i g h e r order, 2 4 7 , to the h u m a n world, 6 4 , 1 4 3 , to origins, 2 4 6 - 4 7 ,

S h e n Fu, 1 2 7 n , Six Chapters

Shen K'uo, 28n S h e n S h i h - h s i n g , 75

2 4 - 2 5 , 2 8 - 3 9 , 3 2 - 3 3 , 3 6 , 3 9 , doggerel, 2 1 5 , fu, 1 0 , 1 3 , 1 6 - 2 3 ; h a r l o t , 1 9 n , of il1 5 9 , in literature and

Floating

Shen-hsiu, 219, 219n

world, 2 6 1 r h e t o r i c , and t h e a m b i g u o u s divine w o m a n ,

of a

Life ( F u - s h e n g liu-chi), 1 2 7 n

real, 2 4 7 n ; t o t r u e n a t u r e , 1 1 5 ; to t h e

lusion (in HLM),

Dream

( T ' u n g - m e n g chi), 9 3 n

criticism

Shen Te-fu, 102n Shen Ya-chih, 4 3 - 4 4 , 167n, " C h e n g Sheng f r o m the Imperial A c a d e m y " ( T ' a i - h s u e h C h e n g sheng), 4 3 , " S o r r o w on the R i v e r

p h i l o s o p h y of late W a r r i n g S t a t e s Period,

H s i a n g " (Hsiang c h u n g y u a n chieh), 4 3 ,

1 3 ; lyrical versus, 9 , 1 2 - 1 3 , 2 4 , o r n a m e n -

" T h e S t o r y of t h e D r e a m of C h ' i n "

tal, 1 8 ; of palace-style p o e t r y , 4 2 ; persua-

( C h ' i n - m e n g chi), 4 3 ^ 4

sive, 1 8 ; and pleasure, 1 9 ; of " t h e t a m i n g

Shih Chih-mien, 25n

of t h e s t r a n g e " (in LC), 1 9 4 , of verifica-

Shih Ch'u-yang, 85

tion (in LC),

152;

war b e t w e e n philosophy

and, 1 1 ; W e s t e r n , 1 0 - 1 1 , lOn, l l n , 1 9 n

S m i t h , Barbara H e r n s t e m , 2 5 6 n Socrates, lOn, 2 6 7

292

• Index

songs on o b j e c t s (yung-wu

tz'u),

S u t r a of Perfect E n l i g h t e n m e n t ( Y u a n - c h u e h

103

ching), 4 5 n

S o p h i s t s , as t r a n s l a t i o n for M i n g Chia ( S c h o o l of N a m e s ) , 1 1 , l l n , 1 5 , G r e e k ,

s y m b o l i c other, 6, 2 4 , 4 1

l l n , S o c r a t e s as a, lOn

S y m b o l i s t aesthetics, 2 5 9 - 6 0

S s u - k ' u n g T ' u , 1 0 3 n ; The Styles

of Poetry

Twenty-four

(Erh-shih-ssu shih-p'm),

103n

Tai C h e n , 2 3 Tai T ' i n g - s h i h , 2 6 3 - 6 4

Ssu-ma Ch'ien, 16n, 18n, 20n, 21n, 94, 94n, 1 2 0 n , 1 3 5 n , 1 6 6 n , 2 6 5 n , " L e t t e r to Jen

T'ai-chou School, 56 t a m i n g of the strange, 9 2 , 9 4 , 9 8

A n " (Pao Jen A n shu), 2 0 n , 1 6 6 , Shih

chi,

13n, 16n, 18n, 20n, 21n, 22n, 265n

Tan M i n g - l u n , 9 9 n , l O l n , 1 0 5 n , 1 1 5 , 1 2 0 n , 1 2 4 , 1 3 0 , 137

S s u - m a H s i a n g - ] u , 9, 1 6 , 18, 2 0 , 2 1 n , 2 5 ,

T'ang Hsien-tsu, 50, 54, 5 6 - 6 2 , 26n, 27n,

2 5 n , 3 2 n , "Fu on t h e B e a u t y " ( M e i - j e n

64, 66, 68, 7 1 - 7 2 , 75, 77, 8 4 - 9 0 , 93, 141,

fu), 2 5 , 3 1 - 3 3 , 3 1 n , 3 6 , 4 0 , "Fu on t h e

143, 192n, 265n

G r e a t M a n " ( T a - j e n fu), 9, 9 n , 2 1 n , on M r

"Fu

N o t - R e a l " ( T z u - h s i i fu), 2 2 n ,

"Fu

on S h a n g - l i n P a r k " ( S h a n g - h n fu), 2 0 - 2 2 ,

essays

" D i s q u i s i t i o n on t h e A c a d e m y

for t h e R e v e r e n c e of L i f e " ( K u e i - s h e n g s h u - y u a n shuo), 5 6 , " S e q u e l t o ' E s s a y on

2 2 n , 1 9 4 n , " T a S h e n g C h ' m wen t s o - f u

Seeking Friends to Join the Lotus S o c i e t y

s h u " (In a n s w e r t o S h e n g C h ' i n ' s ques-

at C h ' i - h s i e n ' " (Hsu C h ' i - h s i e n l i e n - s h e

tions on fu w r i t i n g ) , 1 6 n

c h ' i u - y u w e n ) , 8 4 , " O n the T e m p l e of

S s u - m a K u a n g , 2 3 5 , Comprehensive for the Aid of Government

Mirror

(Tzu-chih

t'ung-chien), 235 Su Shih, 27n, 4 0 - 4 1 , 265 S u n C h ' o , 2 7 n , "Fu on R o a m i n g in t h e T ' l e n - t ' a i M o u n t a i n " (Yu T ' l e n - t ' a i S h a n fu), 2 7 n Sun S h u - y u , 1 7 6 n Sung emperor chen-tsung, 1 2 0 - 2 1 ; "Exhortation t o L e a r n i n g " ( C h ' i i a n - h s i i e h pien), 121n Sung Yii, 13, 18n, 2 5 - 2 9 , 25n, 31, 32n, 33, 3 3 n , 3 5 , 4 1 , "Fu on the G o d d e s s " ( S h e n nii fu), 2 5 , 2 5 n , 2 8 - 3 0 , 3 3 - 3 4 , 4 1 , 1 9 3 , 1 9 4 n , "Fu on G r e a t W o r d s " ( T a - y e n fu), 2 2 9 - 3 0 , 2 3 0 n , "Fu on Indirect C r i t i c i s m " (Feng fu), 2 5 , 3 0 - 3 2 , 3 6 ; "Fu on K a o t ' a n g " ( K a o - t ' a n g fu), 1 3 n , 2 5 - 3 0 , 2 5 n , 2 7 n , 3 2 n , 1 9 4 n , 2 6 5 n , "Fu on M a s t e r T e n g - t ' u E n a m o r e d of B e a u t y " ( T e n g - t ' u T z u h a o - s e fu), 2 5 , 2 5 n , 3 0 - 3 2 , 3 1 n , 3 6 , 4 0 , "Fu on the w i n d " (Feng fu), 1 3 n , " N i n e A r g u m e n t s " (Chiu pien), 2 5 n , " S u m m o n i n g the S o u l " (Chao-hun), 25n supernatural woman, 44, 9 8 , 1 0 6 , 133, 1 3 6 38 s u p p l e m e n t ( p u ) , 1 6 3 , 1 6 7 , 1 8 8 ; aesthetic il-

M a s t e r Pure O r i g i n s , God of A c t i n g , in Ihuang C o u n t y " ( I - h u a n g hsien h s i - s h e n C h ' m g - y u a n S h i h m i a o chi), 6 1 n l e t t e r s : to Ling M e n g - c h ' u , 8 4 , to Lo K ' u a n g - h u , 6 0 n , to S h i h C h ' u - y a n g , 8 5 , to S u n S s u - c h u , 6 4 , to Tsou M e i - y u , 85 plays

The Peony

discussed,

Pavilion,

5 0 - 6 4 , 5 5 n , 5 6 n , 5 9 n , 72, 7 6 , 7 7 n , 7 8 n , 84, 86, 87n, 89, 9 2 - 9 3 , 142, 203, 2 2 2 - 2 3 , 2 5 5 n ; preface to The Peony tan t ' i n g ) , 5 0 - 5 1 , Purple chi), 5 9 n , Purple

Hairpin

(Mu-

Pavilion

Flute

(Tzu-hsiao

( T z u - c h a i chi),

5 0 , 5 9 , 6 2 , 6 3 n , 7 2 , The Story

of

Han-tan,

5 9 - 6 0 , 6 2 - 6 4 , 6 9 - 7 7 , 85, 9 2 - 9 3 , 2 6 5 n , preface to The Story chi), 7 1 , The Story

of Han-tan of Nan-k'o,

(Han-tan 59-60,

6 2 - 6 9 , 7 1 - 7 6 , 8 5 , 1 4 3 , preface to The Story

of Nan-k'o

( N a n - k ' o chi), 6 4 , 2 5 5 n

poems- " D r e a m i n g and A w a k e n i n g , with P r e f a c e " ( M e n g - c h u e h p'len, y u hsii), 8 5 , " T w o P o e m s M o u r n i n g the Lady f r o m Lou-chiang, with P r e f a c e , " 5 6 n T ' a n g Le, 1 8 n , 2 3 0 n T ' a n g M e n g - l a i , 97 T'ao Ch'ien, 36, 37n, 3 8 - 4 0 , 116n, 117, 1 2 0 n , " F i f t h Poem on D r i n k i n g W i n e , " 1 1 6 n ; "Fu on Stilling the P a s s i o n s " ( H s i e n - c h ' i n g fu), 3 6 - 4 1 , 3 8 n , 4 4 , " S u b -

lusion as insufficient, 1 7 2 , 1 7 8 , exegetic,

stance, Shadow, S p i r i t " (Hsing, y i n g ,

1 8 3 - 8 4 , 2 2 0 . S e e also pu

shen), 4 5 , " T w e n t y P o e m s on D r i n k i n g

Surangama Sutra, 59, 84n

W i n e , " 115

Index T a o i s m , 1 2 , 66-67,

192n, 217,

85-86,178n,

2 1 8 n , 2 4 9 , and d e t a c h m e n t , 3 9 ; discourse

Tsou Yang, 18 Tsou Y e n , 1 3 , 1 6 - 1 7 , 1 6 n

of, 2 2 6 , e n l i g h t e n m e n t under, 7 0 n , 1 7 8 n ,

"Ts'ui Hsiian-hui," 104n

1 7 9 , 2 1 7 n ; H u a n g Lao, 1 6 , 1 6 n , and i m -

Ts'ui T ' u , 2 2 8 n , " S p r i n g E v e n i n g , "

m o r t a l i t y , 7 1 ; i m m o r t a l s of, 6 2 , 7 0 - 7 1 ,

Tu M u , 2 0 6 n , 2 2 9 n

8 5 , m e s s a g e of r e n u n c i a t i o n of, 1 4 1 , 2 4 6 ,

T'u Ying, 252n

and paradise, 2 1 n , 6 9 , 7 1 - 7 3 , 7 5 , 1 3 8 ,

Tung Chung-shu, 120n

1 9 2 , principles of, 3 7 ; religious, 1 3 8 , Tao-

T u n g Y u e h , 8 0 n , 1 9 5 n , Supplement

lst Void, 2 1 n ; Taoists, 1 1 , 13, 1 5 ; techn i q u e s of n o u r i s h i n g life, 5 1 n , t h e m e s of, 6 0 n , t h i n k i n g of, 7 3 ; and transcendence,

• 293

ney to the West

228n

to

Jour-

( H s i - y u pu), 8 0 n , 1 5 5 ,

195n T z u - p ' o , 85

9n T h r e e W i v e s J o i n t C o m m e n t a r y edition of The Peony

(Wu Wu-shan san-fu

Pavilion

h o - p ' i n g Mu-tan

t'tng Huan-hun

u n c e r t a i n t y , 7, 3 4 , 4 2 , 1 1 0 , 1 4 5 , 1 9 3 , 2 6 4

chi), W a n g C h i - l i e h , 85

53n, 54, 55n, 77n T'lao-hsi yii-yin, 179n

W a n g C h ' u n g - c h ' i n g , 75

T i e c k , Ludwig, 1 2 5 ; " D e r R u n e n b e r g , " 1 2 5

W a n g F u - c h i h , 6n

Todorov, T z v e t a n , 1 9 n , 3 0 n , 1 6 0 n

Wang Hsi-lien, 186n, 187n, 220n, 221n

Ts'ai Y u n g , 3 6 , "Fu on C a l m i n g the Pas-

Wang Jen-yii, 107n

s i o n s " ( T i n g - c h ' i n g fu), 3 6

Wang Kuo-wei, 158, 230n, 248, 252n, 255n,

Tsang M a o - h s u n , 55n, 70n

2 5 7 - 5 9 , 2 5 8 n , 2 6 7 , 2 6 7 n , CWing

Ts'ao Chih, 33, 33n, 34n, 35, 35n, 37,

"Fu

on C a l m i n g L o n g i n g " ( C h i n g - s s u fu), 3 6 ,

hsien-sheng

i-shu,

chen

267n, "Hung-lou

m e n g p ' i n g - l u n " (An Appraisal and Dis-

"Fu on Feelings for C h e n " (Kan C h e n fu),

cussion of Hung-lou

meng),

3 5 , 3 5 n , "Fu on the Goddess of the River

2 5 5 n , 2 5 9 , jen-chien

tz'u-hua

L o " (Lo shen fu), 3 3 - 3 6 , 4 1 , 4 4 , 1 0 8 n ,

on the lyrics of the h u m a n world), 2 3 0 n ,

1 9 3 , "Fu on M o u r n i n g the A s p i r a t i o n s " ( M i n - c h i h fu), 3 6

159n, 248,

267n Wang Shih-chen, 120n W a n g S h i h - f u , 5 7 n , The Western

T s ' a o P'l, 3 5 , 3 5 n T s ' a o H s i i e h - c h ' i n , 4 5 , 87-88,

87n,

156, 164,

167n, 168, 1 7 1 , 1 7 1 n , 1 7 6 - 7 9 , 182-83,

(Discourse

Chamber

( H s i - h s i a n g chi), 5 7 n , 5 9 n , 8 7 n , 2 0 5 , 218n,222

183n, 1 9 8 - 9 9 , 2 0 2 - 3 , 2 1 0 - 1 2 , 2 1 4 n , 2 2 9 -

Wang Ssu-jen, 55n

30, 232, 237n, 238, 242, 246n, 248, 251,

W a n g T s ' a n , 3 3 n , 3 7 , "Fu on C o n t r o l l i n g

254, 256, 259, 264, 2 6 6 - 6 7 , 267n; lou meng

Hung-

scholarship, 1 7 1 , 2 0 2 , 2 1 1 ,

" P o e m on M y P a i n t i n g of a S t o n e " ( T z u meng,

3, 44, 46, 80, 87, 87n,

99, 152, 1 5 5 - 5 6 , 1 5 9 - 6 3 ,

"Fu on the G o d d e s s " ( S h e n - m i fu), 3 3 n W a n g Yi, 3 n Water

t'l h u a - s h i h s h i h ) , 1 7 1 n Hung-lou

W a y w a r d L o n g i n g " ( H s i e n - h s i e h fu), 3 7 ;

169-70,173,

185, 187, 192, 195n, 199, 2 0 3 - 4 , 209, 211, 231, 233n, 238, 242, 255n, 256, 259, 264,

Margin,

184, 267n

W e n 1-to, 2 3 n , 2 6 n , 3 2 n Wilhelm, Hellmut, 14 wish fulfillment, 3 8 n , 6 6 , 7 7 , 9 8 - 1 0 0 , 1 0 5 , 116—17, 1 3 0 , 1 4 7 ^ 8

2 6 6 - 6 7 , 2 6 7 n ; b e g i n n i n g s of, 1 5 2 - 2 0 1 ,

w o r d - m a g i c , 15, 2 4 , 2 6 , 3 2

e n d i n g s of, 2 4 6 - 5 6 , t h e idea of e n l i g h t e n -

Works

m e n t t h r o u g h love in, 2 1 6 - 3 0 , the last

of Lu Ch'un-yang,

The (Lii C h ' u n -

yang wen-chi, 74

f o r t y chapters of, 2 4 2 - 5 6 , P a o - y u ' s con-

woridness, 17

sciousness, 2 0 3 - 1 0 , preface of, 1 6 4 ^ 6 9 ,

writing, 1 6 5 - 6 9 , 1 7 6 , as attempted reconcili-

S t o n e as n a r r a t o r in, 2 1 0 - 1 6 , the world of

ation with existence, 1 6 7 , b e a u t y of, 1 9 ,

t h e Precious M i r r o r of Love in, 231—42

as being both m o r e and less t h a n reality,

Ts'ao T'ang-ts'un, 164, 178n, 232, 238

1 6 5 , claim of, to redeem lived experience,

Tsou S h i h , 1 3 , 16, 1 6 n

1 7 5 , as d e c i p h e r m e n t , 2 6 0 , and the dialec-

294

• Index Yao hsieh, 1 9 6 n

writing (cont ) tics of e n c h a n t m e n t and d i s e n c h a n t m e n t ,

Yao K ' u a n , 2 8 n

4 5 , e x i s t e n c e justifiable t h r o u g h , 1 9 4 , and

Yeh-ho, 237n

e x p e r i e n c e , 1 7 6 , as expiation and recovery

Yen C h i - t a o , 1 6 9 , 2 2 9 , 2 6 8 , preface to

of past reality, 1 6 8 , as expiatory act, 1 6 6 , as fabrication, 1 6 8 , fu, 1 6 n , 2 0 n , 2 3 , 4 9 , fulfillment in, 1 7 1 , and i r o n y , 1 6 9 , m e t a m o r p h o s i s and, 1 0 4 , pleasure principle

to the West

tz'u,

169

s i o n s " ( C h e n g - c h ' i n g fu), 3 7 Yon, Albert, 19n Yu T ' u n g , 5 9 n

and, 9 8 , wen and, 1 4 Wu Ch'eng-en, 80n, 128n, 129n, 154n, journey

Hsiao-shan

Ying Yang, 3 7 , "Fu on R e c t i f y i n g the Pas-

( H s i - y u chi), 8 0 n ,

128n, 129n, 172-73, 1 7 7 n , 2 3 3 n W u C h i n g - t z u , 1 7 3 , Scholars

(Ju-lin wai-

shih), 173, 185

Yu P ' m g - p o , 2 3 2 - 3 3 , 2 3 3 n Yu T a - k a n g , 1 9 8 n Yu Y i n g - s h i h , 1 5 6 , 1 9 2 , 2 0 5 n , 2 1 1 , 2 2 9 n , 2 4 1 , 2 5 9 n ; The Two meng,

Worlds

of

Hung-lou

156, 205n

Wu Jen, 53n, 61n, 77n

yu (desire), 5 7 , 6 1 , 6 1 n

Wu Mei, 62, 62n

yu (jade/desire), 2 0 4

Wu Shih-ch'ang, 233

Y u a n C h e n , 4 3 , " T h e S t o r y of Y i n g - y i n g "

wu-ch'mg

( w i t h o u t feelings), 2 0 8 , 2 2 2 , 2 4 0 ,

251

( Y i n g - y i n g chuan), 4 3 Y u a n Chiao, 1 9 1 n ; " Y i i a n - k u a n , " 1 9 0 n , 191n

Yang H s i u , 3 3 n , "Fu on the G o d d e s s , " 3 3 n

Y u a n H u n g - l a o , 71

Yang Hsiung, 11, 1 8 - 1 9 , 2 2 - 2 3 , 23n, 40,

Yuan Mei, 211

4 9 n , "Fu on t h e Barricade H u n t " ( Y u - l i e h

Y u e h Kuang, 6 4 , 2 6 4 , 2 6 6

fu), 2 3 ; "Fu on S w e e t S p r i n g s " ( K a n c h ' u a n fu), 2 2 , 2 3 n

Zeitlin, Judith, 5 8 n