Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 1)

“We think that Her Royal Highness is delirious after passing out when she fell,” said Taizong to the palace women. He sent an order to the Medical Academy for some medicinal potions, and helped Yuying into the palace.

When the Tang Emperor was back in his throne-hall, one of his aides came rushing in to report, “Your Majesty, Liu Quan, the man who delivered the pumpkins, is awaiting your summons outside the palace gates.” The startled Taizong immediately sent for Liu Quan, who prostrated himself before the vermilion steps of the throne.

“What happened when you presented the pumpkins?” asked the Tang Emperor.

“Your subject went straight to the Devil Gate with the pumpkins on my head. I was taken to the Senluo Palace where I saw the Ten Kings of Hell, to whom I presented the pumpkins, explaining how very grateful my emperor was. The Kings of Hell were very pleased. They bowed in Your Majesty's honour and said, 'How splendid of the Tang Emperor to be as good as his word.'”

“What did you see in the underworld?” asked the Emperor.

“I did not go very far there so I did not see much. But when the kings asked me where I was from and what I was called, I told them all about how I had volunteered to leave my family and my children to deliver the pumpkins because my wife had hanged herself. They immediately ordered demon officers to bring my wife, and we were reunited outside the Senluo Palace. Meanwhile they inspected the Registers of Births and Deaths and saw that my wife and I were both due to become Immortals, so they sent devil officers to bring us back. I went ahead with my wife following behind, and although I was fortunate enough to come back to life, I don't know where her soul has been put.”

“What did the Kings of Hell say to you about your wife?” asked the astonished Emperor.

“They didn't say anything,” replied Liu Quan, “but I heard a demon officer say, 'As Li Cuilian has been dead for some time her body has decomposed.' To this the Kings of Hell said, 'Li Yuying of the Tang house is due to die today, so we can borrow her body to put Li Cuilian's soul back into.' As I don't know where this Tang house is or where she lives, I haven't been able to go and look for her yet.”

The Tang Emperor, who was now very pleased, said to his officials, “When we were leaving the Kings of Hell, we asked them about our family. They said all its members would be well except for my sister. She collapsed and died under the shade of some blossoming trees, and when we hurried over to support her she came to, shouting 'Don't go so fast, husband. Wait for me.' We thought at the time that she was just talking deliriously after passing out, but when we asked her to tell us more her story tallied precisely with Liu Quan's.”

“If Her Royal Highness died suddenly and came to shortly afterwards talking like this, then it means that Liu Quan's wife must have borrowed her body to come back to life,” said Wei Zheng. “Things like this do happen. The princess should be asked to come out so that we can hear what she says.”

“We have just ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to send some medicine, so we don't know whether it will be possible,” said the Tang Emperor, who then sent a consort into the palace to ask her to come out. The princess, meanwhile, was shouting wildly inside the palace, “I'm taking none of your medicine. This isn't my home. My home is a simple tiled house, not like this jaundiced, yellow place with its flashy doors. Let me out, let me out.”

Four of five women officials and two or three eunuchs appeared while she was shouting and helped her go straight to the throne hall, where the Tang Emperor asked, “Would you recognize your husband if you saw him?”

“What a thing to ask! We've been married since we were children, and I've given him a son and a daughter, so of course I'd recognize him.” The Emperor told his attendants to help her down and she went down from the throne hall. As soon as she saw Liu Quan in front of the white jade steps she seized hold of him.

“Husband!” she exclaimed, “where did you go? Why didn't you wait for me? I tripped over, and all these shameless people surrounded me and shouted at me. Wasn't that shocking?” Although Liu Quan could hear that it was his wife talking, she looked like somebody else, so he did not dare to recognize her as his wife.

“Indeed,” said the Emperor,

“Sometimes mountains collapse and the earth yawns open,

But few men will shorten their lives to die for another.”

As he was a good and wise monarch he gave all of the princess' dressing-cases, clothes and jewelry to Liu Quan as if they were a dowry, presented him with an edict freeing him from labor service for life, and told him to take the princess home with him. Husband and wife thanked him before the steps and returned home very happily. There is a poem to prove it:

Life and death are pre-ordained;

Some have many years, others few.

When Liu Quan came back to the light after taking the pumpkins,

Li Cuilian returned to life in a borrowed body.

After leaving the Emperor the pair went straight back to the city of Junzhou, where they found that their household and their children were all well. There is no need to go into how the two of them publicized their virtue rewarded.

The story turns to Lord Yuchi, who went to Kaifeng in Henan with a hoard of gold and silver for Xiang Liang, who made a living by selling water and dealing in black pots and earthenware vessels with his wife, whose maiden name was Zhang, at the gate of their house. When they made some money they were content to keep enough for their daily expenses, giving the rest as alms to monks or using it to buy paper ingots of gold and silver, which they assigned to various hoards in the underworld and burnt. That was why they were now to be so well rewarded. Although he was only a pious pauper in this world, he owned mountains of jade and gold in the other one. When Lord Yuchi brought them the gold and silver, Mr. and Mrs. Xiang were terrified out of their wits. Apart from his lordship there were also officials from the local government office, and horses and carriages were packed tight outside their humble cottage. The two of them fell to their knees dumbfounded and began to kowtow.

“Please rise,” said Lord Yuchi. “Although I am merely an imperial commissioner, I bring gold and silver from His Majesty to return to you.” Shivering and shaking Xiang Liang replied, “I've lent out no silver or gold, so how could I dare to accept this mysterious wealth?”

“I know that your are a poor man,” said Lord Yuchi, “but you have given monks everything they need and bought paper ingots of gold and silver which you have assigned to the underworld and burnt, thus accumulating large sums of money down there. When His Majesty the Emperor Taizong was dead for three days before returning to life he borrowed one of your hoards of gold and silver down there, which he is now repaying to you in full. Please check it through so that I can go back and report that I have carried out my instructions.” Xiang Liang and his wife just went on bowing to Heaven and refused to take the gold and silver.

“If humble folk like ourselves took all this gold and silver it'd soon be the death of us. Although we have burned some paper and assigned it to various stores, it was a secret. Anyhow, what proof is there that His Majesty-may he live for ten thousand years-borrowed gold and silver down there? We refuse to accept it.”

“The Emperor said that Judge Cui was his guarantor when he borrowed your money, and this can be verified, so please accept it,” replied Lord Yuchi.

“I would sooner die than do so,” said Xiang Liang.

Seeing how earnestly he refused Lord Yuchi had to send a man back with a detailed report to the throne. On reading this report that Xiang Liang had refused to accept the gold and silver, Taizong said, “He really is a pious old fellow.” He sent orders to Yuchi Jingde that he was to build a temple in his name, erect a shrine to him, and invite monks to do good deeds on his behalf: this would be as good as paying him back the gold and silver. On the day this decree reached him Yuchi Jingde turned towards the palace to thank the Emperor, and read it aloud for all to hear. Then he bought fifty mu of land at a place inside the city that would not be in the way from either the civil or the military point of view, and here work was begun on a monastery to be called The Imperially Founded Xiang Quo Monastery. To its left was erected a shrine to Mr. and Mrs. Xiang with an inscribed tablet that read “Built under the supervision of Lord Yuchi.” This is the present Great Xiang Guo Monastery.