The Dragon King's Daughter

" In the Yifeng years a scholar named Liu Yi failed the examinations and turned for home, back toward the shores of the Xiang. A man from his own district was lodging at Jingyang, so he rode out to say goodbye. Six or seven li along, birds burst up out of the grass and his horse took fright and bolted off the road; another six or seven li, and it stood still at last. And there, at the roadside, a woman was herding sheep. He looked, and looked again — because she was beautiful past reckoning, and because the beauty was wrong. Her face would not lift into a smile; her sleeves hung dull and without light; and she stood very still, listening, poised, as if waiting for something." "In the Yifeng years there was a scholar named Liu Yi. Having failed the examinations, he was about to return to the shores of the Xiang. Recalling a man of his district who was staying at Jingyang, he went to take his leave. Six or seven li along, birds started up and his horse bolted, galloping off to the left of the road; after another six or seven li it stopped. He saw a woman herding sheep by the roadside. Liu Yi looked at her in wonder: she was of rare beauty, yet her moth-brows were unsmiling and her sleeves without luster; she stood listening, poised, as though waiting for something."

"'What sorrow,' he asked, 'could bring you to shame yourself like this?' At first, in her distress, she held back and would not answer; then the tears came, and the words with them. 'I am the youngest daughter of the Dragon Lord of Dongting. My father and mother gave me in marriage to the second son of the Jing River. But my husband loved his pleasures, and his servants turned him against me, and each day he thought less of me. When I carried my grievance to his parents, they loved their son too well to check him; and when I would not stop pressing it, I lost their favor too. So they cast me out, and here I am.' She could not hold the weeping back." "Liu Yi asked her, 'What suffering has brought you to demean yourself so?' At first, in her distress, she declined to speak; then, weeping, she answered: 'I am the youngest daughter of the Dragon Lord of Dongting. My parents married me to the second son of the Jing River, but my husband gave himself to pleasure and was led astray by his servants, and day by day held me in contempt. I complained to his parents, but they doted on their son and would not restrain him; and when I pressed the matter, I offended them as well, until they cast me down to this.' Having spoken, she sobbed and could not master her grief."

"She went on. 'Dongting is far from here — how far, I no longer know. The long sky runs on without end, and no word of mine can cross it. My heart and eyes are worn out with looking, and no one alive knows my grief. But I hear you are returning to Wu, which borders Dongting. Would you carry a letter for me?' 'I am a man bound by honor,' Liu Yi said. 'Hearing you, the blood moves in me; I regret only that I have no wings, that I cannot rise and fly there myself. How can there be any question of willing or unwilling? But Dongting is deep water, and I go on foot through the dust of the world. I am afraid the roads of the seen and the unseen do not meet, and I would fail your trust. What way is there for me to reach it?'" "She continued: 'Dongting is far from here — I do not know by how much. The long sky stretches vast, and no message can pass. My heart and eyes are worn out, and no one knows my sorrow. I have heard that you are returning to Wu, which lies close to Dongting. Might I entrust a letter to you?' Liu Yi said: 'I am a man of honor. Hearing your words, my blood is stirred, and I regret only that I have no feathers and cannot fly there. How can there be talk of willing or unwilling? But Dongting is deep water. I walk in the dust of the world — how can I carry word down to it? I fear only that the roads of the manifest and the hidden do not connect, so that I would betray your trust and fall short of my own wish. What art have you to guide me?'"

“They are not sheep, she said. They are rain-workers.”

"'On the south shore of Dongting,' she said, 'stands a great orange tree the country people call the shrine-orange. Take off your belt, bind yourself with something else instead, and strike the trunk three times. Someone will answer. Follow him, and nothing will bar your way.' She drew the letter from inside her dress and gave it to him with a bow, weeping toward the east as though she could not stop. He took it — and then, because a man will ask, he nodded at the flock. 'What are these sheep for?' 'They are not sheep,' she said. 'They are rain-workers.' He asked only that she not shun him when he came to Dongting himself one day. 'Shun you? I will treat you as my own kin.' Then she turned east and went, and before he had gone thirty paces he looked back — and woman and flock alike had vanished from sight." "The woman said: 'On the shaded south side of Dongting there is a great orange tree, which the local people call the shrine-orange. You must take off your belt and bind yourself with something else, then knock on the tree three times, and someone will answer. Follow him, and nothing will hinder you.' Liu Yi also asked, 'What use are these sheep you herd?' She said, 'They are not sheep — they are rain-workers.' He added, 'When one day I return to Dongting, do not avoid me.' 'Avoid you? I shall be as your kin.' With that they parted, and she went east. Before he had gone a few dozen paces, he looked back, and woman and sheep alike were nowhere to be seen."

"That night he reached the town and took leave of his friend; a month or so later he was home, and then he went looking for the lake. On the south shore of Dongting the orange tree stood just as she had said. He unknotted his belt, bound himself with another cord, faced the trunk, and struck it three times. A warrior rose out of the waves and bowed. 'From where has our guest come?' Liu Yi kept his errand to himself. 'I have come to call on your king.' The warrior parted the water like a gate, pointed the road, and led him down. 'Shut your eyes and count a few breaths,' he said, 'and we are there.' Liu Yi did — and when he looked, he stood inside a palace: hall facing hall, gate upon gate by the thousand, and every rare grass and precious tree that grows." "That evening he reached the town and parted from his friend. After a month or so he came home, and then sought the place at Dongting. On the shaded south side of the lake there was indeed a shrine-orange. He changed his belt, faced the tree, and struck three times. Presently a warrior emerged from the waves and bowed, asking, 'From where has our honored guest come?' Liu Yi did not tell the truth, but said, 'I have come to call upon your great king.' The warrior parted the water, pointed out the way, and led him in, saying, 'Close your eyes and count a few breaths, and you will arrive.' He did as told, and reached the palace. He saw towers and halls facing one another, gates by the thousand, and every rare plant and precious tree."

"The warrior set him down in a corner of a great chamber. 'Wait here.' 'What place is this?' 'The Hall of Numinous Void.' When Liu Yi asked for the king, the warrior said, 'My lord is at the Pavilion of the Dark Pearl, going through the Fire Classic with the Daoist of the Sun. He will soon be finished.' Before Liu Yi could wonder at it, the king stood before him — and looked at him and asked, 'Are you not a man of the human world?' 'I am.' Liu Yi bowed; the king returned the bow and seated him beneath the hall." "The warrior halted him at the corner of a great chamber. 'Wait here for him.' 'What place is this?' Liu Yi asked. 'This is the Hall of Numinous Void.' Liu Yi asked where the Dragon Lord was. 'My lord is at the Pavilion of the Dark Pearl,' the warrior said, 'expounding the Fire Classic with the Daoist of the Sun; he will shortly be done.' Before long the king looked at Liu Yi and asked, 'Are you not a man of the human world?' 'I am,' he replied. Liu Yi then bowed, and the king returned the bow and had him sit beneath the Hall of Numinous Void."

"Liu Yi presented the letter. The Dragon Lord read it through, then covered his face with his sleeve and wept. 'This is my fault,' he said, 'an old father's fault — that I could not see or hear clearly, and left a girl shut in her chamber to be wronged a thousand li away. And you, a stranger passing on the road, have come to her aid. While I keep teeth and hair I will not fail such kindness.' He grieved a long while, and all around him wept. Then an attendant carried the letter into the inner palace, and in a moment the whole palace broke into wailing. The king startled. 'Quickly — tell them inside to make no sound. I fear Qiantang will hear of it.'" "Liu Yi then took out the letter and presented it. When the Dongting Lord had read it, he covered his face with his sleeve and wept, saying: 'This is an old father's crime — that I could not perceive and listen, and so, sitting blind and deaf, let a tender girl behind her chamber window suffer harm far away. You are a man of the roadside, and yet you came to her aid. While I keep teeth and hair I dare not fail such kindness.' When he had spoken he lamented a long while, and all his attendants shed tears. A eunuch who attended the king closely was given the letter to convey to the inner palace, and in a moment the whole palace burst into wailing. The king was alarmed and said to those about him, 'Quickly tell the palace to make no sound — I fear Qiantang will learn of it.'"

"'And who is Qiantang?' Liu Yi asked. 'My beloved younger brother,' the king said. 'He was once the lord of Qiantang; now he has laid down that office.' 'Why must he not know?' 'Because his strength is beyond other men's. The flood that drowned the world for nine years in the time of Yao — that was one fit of my brother's anger. Not long ago he fell out with the generals of Heaven and dammed up five mountains. The Lord on High, out of regard for what little virtue I have kept through the ages, pardoned my brother's crime — but he is chained here still, and the people of Qiantang watch for him day after day.'" "'Who is Qiantang?' Liu Yi asked. 'My beloved younger brother,' said the king. 'He was formerly the lord of Qiantang, but has now retired from that charge.' 'Why should he not be told?' 'Because his ferocity surpasses all men. The nine years of flood in the time of Yao were this one's single fit of rage. Lately he quarreled with the heavenly generals and blocked up five mountains. The Lord on High, because I have kept some slight virtue through past and present, pardoned my kinsman's offense; yet he is still bound and tethered here, and so the people of Qiantang wait for him day by day.'"

"He had not finished speaking when a great sound broke loose — the sky split, the earth tore, the palace heaved, and cloud and vapor boiled up out of the floor. A red dragon a thousand feet long went up through it: eyes of lightning, a tongue of blood, scales of vermilion and a mane like fire, a gold chain at its neck and the chain dragging a pillar of jade. A thousand thunders and ten thousand bolts wound and cracked about its body; sleet and snow and hail came down all at once. Then it split the blue sky open and was gone." "Before he had finished speaking, a great noise suddenly burst out: the sky split and the earth cracked, the palace rocked and swayed, and clouds and vapor seethed up. In a moment there was a red dragon more than a thousand feet long, its eyes lightning, its tongue blood, its scales vermilion and its mane like fire; a golden chain hung at its neck, and the chain dragged a pillar of jade. A thousand thunders and ten thousand bolts crackled and coiled about its body; sleet, snow, and hail all fell at once. Then it clove the blue sky and flew away."

"Liu Yi fell to the ground in terror. The king raised him with his own hands. 'No fear,' he said. 'You are in no danger.' After a long while Liu Yi grew calm. He asked leave to go home before the thing returned, but the king said, 'It is not like that. Going out, he is as you saw; coming back, he is otherwise. Stay a little.' He called for wine, and they drank. Before long a mild wind rose and glad clouds gathered, gentle and warm, and out of them came banners and pipes and a music like the ancient hymns — and among a throng of women, one whose brows were a natural beauty, hung all over with bright jewels, wrapped in shifting gauze. He looked closer: it was the woman who had given him the letter. She seemed half glad and half grieving, and her tears fell like threads. Red mist closed at her left and purple vapor unrolled at her right, and in a wreath of fragrance she passed into the inner palace." "Liu Yi fell down in terror. The king himself rose and steadied him, saying, 'Have no fear; there is truly no harm.' After a good while Liu Yi grew calm and composed himself, and asked leave to depart, to avoid the dragon's return. The king said, 'It is not so. When he goes forth he is like that, but when he returns he is not. Stay a little and enjoy our friendship.' He called for wine, and they raised cups to one another. Presently an auspicious wind and glad clouds came, mild and harmonious; delicate banners approached, and pipes and the hymns of Shao followed after. Among a thousand rouged women, laughing and talking merrily, was one with natural moth-brows, her body full of bright pendants, robed in layers of gauze. Coming near, he saw it was she who had entrusted him with the letter. She seemed both glad and sorrowful, and shed tears like threads. Red mist veiled her left and purple vapor spread at her right; a whirl of fragrance surrounded her, and she entered the inner palace."

"The king laughed. 'The prisoner of the Jing has come home.' He excused himself and went in, and soon returned with another to eat and drink: a man in a purple robe holding a green jade tablet, tall and brimming with spirit, who stood at the king's left hand. 'This is Qiantang,' the king said. Qiantang spoke. 'I left the Hall of Numinous Void at dawn, reached Jingyang by mid-morning, gave battle there at noon, and was back here by early afternoon. On the way I climbed to the ninth heaven and told the matter to the Lord on High. Knowing the wrong of it, he pardoned my offense.' 'How many did you kill?' 'Six hundred thousand.' 'And the crops?' 'Eight hundred li ruined.' 'And the heartless husband — where is he?' 'I have eaten him.'" "The king laughed and said to Liu Yi, 'The prisoner of the Jing River has arrived.' He then took his leave and went within. After a while he came out again and ate and drank with Liu Yi. There was another man, robed in purple and holding a green jade tablet, with a towering look and abundant spirit, who stood at the king's left. The king said to Liu Yi, 'This is Qiantang.' Qiantang said: 'At the hour of the Dragon I set out from Numinous Void; by the hour of the Snake I reached Jingyang; at noon I fought there; by the hour of the Sheep I returned here. In between I raced up to the ninth heaven to report to the Lord on High. Knowing the wrong done to her, he pardoned my fault.' 'How many did you kill?' 'Six hundred thousand.' 'Was the harvest harmed?' 'Eight hundred li of it.' 'Where is the heartless husband?' 'I have eaten him.'"

"The next day another banquet was set, at the Pavilion of Clear Light. Flushed with wine, Qiantang sat sprawled and turned to Liu Yi with his color up. 'Have you not heard,' he said, 'that hard stone may be split but never rolled up, and a man of honor may be killed but never shamed? I have something in my heart to lay before you. If you agree, we rise together into the clouds; if not, we sink together into the dung of the earth. What do you say?' 'Let me hear it,' said Liu Yi. 'The wife of the Jing River son is our Dongting lord's beloved daughter — gentle and fine, prized by all her kin. She has had the misfortune to be disgraced by a worthless man, but that is finished now. We would give her to your high honor and be joined to you as kin forever. Would that not be the whole and constant way of a gentleman?'" "The next day another feast was held for Liu Yi at the Pavilion of Clear Light. Warmed by wine, Qiantang sat sprawling and, changing his expression, said to Liu Yi: 'Have you not heard that hard stone can be split but not rolled up, and a righteous man can be killed but not shamed? I have a matter in my heart that I wish to set before you. If it may be, then we shall both be up in the clouds; if not, then we shall both be trampled into filth. What do you think?' 'Let me hear it,' said Liu Yi. Qiantang said: 'The wife from Jingyang is the Dongting Lord's beloved daughter, of pure nature and fine substance, honored by all nine degrees of kin. Unhappily she was disgraced by a base man; but that is now ended. We wish to entrust her to your high honor, and be kin to you for generations — so that she who received your kindness may know where she belongs, and he who cherishes her may know to whom she is given. Would this not be a gentleman's way, first to last?'"

"Liu Yi rose, grave, then gave a short, sharp laugh. 'I had not known Qiantang could be so base. First you split the sky and cross a thousand li to right your niece's wrong — that was well done. But then, with a body all bulk and a nature all violence, riding on wine and borrowed bluster, you would force a man to your will. Is that anywhere near upright? I would sooner be crushed under your claws than be handed a wife by threat.' Qiantang drew back, abashed, and made his apology. 'I was raised in these deep halls,' he said, 'and never learned right speech. What I said just now was wild and rude, an affront to a better man. I look back on it and cannot excuse myself. I beg you will not hold it against me.'" "Liu Yi rose sternly, then laughed abruptly and said: 'Truly I did not know Qiantang could be so craven as this! You split the heavens and crossed a thousand li on your niece's behalf — that was well. But to take a gross body and a fierce nature, and, mounted on wine and borrowed temper, to force your will upon another — is that anywhere near straight dealing? Had I bent to you under threat and given her up as your spoil, I would have wronged the very woman I came to help; I would sooner die than do it.' Qiantang then drew back, abashed, and apologized: 'I grew up in the palace chambers and never heard upright talk. What I said before was reckless and presumptuous, an affront to your excellence. Reflecting on myself, my fault admits no defense. I hope you, sir, will not hold this crooked question against me.'"

"Liu Yi went back to the world of men carrying the dragons' parting gifts, and when he sold a single jewel of them in the markets of Guangling his fortune outran counting. He married a woman of the Zhang family, and she died. He married a woman of the Han family, and within a few months she died too. He moved his household to Jinling. There he took a widow of the Lu family, a woman of Fanyang, and both their houses were great and old. They had lived together little more than a month when, coming in one evening, Liu Yi looked at his wife and thought how deeply she resembled the dragon's daughter." "Liu Yi then went to the markets of Guangling and sold what he had been given. Before he had disposed of a hundredth part, his wealth already ran into millions. He married a woman of the Zhang family, who died; then he married a woman of the Han family, who also died within a few months. He moved his household to Jinling. There was a daughter of the Lu family, a native of Fanyang; both the man's and the woman's houses were powerful clans. They had lived together little more than a month when, coming in late one evening, Liu Yi looked at his wife and felt strongly that she resembled the dragon-woman."

"'I am the daughter of the Dongting Lord,' his wife told him. 'You cleared the wrong done to me on the Jing, and I carried the debt of your kindness and swore in my heart to repay it. My father would have married me to a certain young lord of Zhuojin; I shut my door and cut my hair and made it plain I would have no one else. When Zhang and Han had died in their turn, and you settled here, my parents rejoiced that at last I might make good my wish to you.' Together they went to pay their respects at Dongting. They lived at Nanhai near forty years; then, in the Kaiyuan reign, Liu Yi could not rest, and the two of them returned to the lake. For ten years and more no one knew where they were. In the last of the Kaiyuan years his cousin Xue Gu, banished to the southeast, crossed Dongting and saw a green mountain rise out of the far waves; a painted boat came from it to fetch him, and a voice aboard called, 'Lord Liu is here to receive you.' Xue Gu found Liu Yi standing within palace halls as fine as any in the world, music before him and jeweled women behind, his speech grown stranger and his face younger than ever. He put fifty pills into his cousin's hands. 'Each one is worth a year of life,' he said. 'When these are gone, come back. Do not linger in the world of men and wear yourself out.' Then he feasted him and sent him home; and after that there was no more word of him at all." "His wife said to him: 'I am the daughter of the Dongting Lord. You caused the wrong of the Jing River to be made clear; bearing the debt of your kindness, I vowed in my heart to repay it. My parents wished to marry me to a certain son of the Zhuojin family, but I shut my door and cut off my hair, showing that I had no such intent. After Zhang and Han died one after another and you settled here, my parents were glad that I might fulfill my wish to repay you.' Together they went to pay court at Dongting. Afterward they dwelt at Nanhai nearly forty years; then, in the Kaiyuan era, Liu Yi could find no peace, and the two returned to Dongting. For more than ten years no one knew their whereabouts. At the end of the Kaiyuan era, his cousin Xue Gu, demoted and sent to the southeast, crossed Dongting; gazing over the clear water he saw a green mountain emerge from the distant waves. A painted boat came from the mountain to meet him, and one aboard called, 'Lord Liu comes to receive you.' Xue Gu found Liu Yi standing within palace halls like those of the mortal world, with music before him and jeweled women behind, the splendor of his things far surpassing the human. His speech had grown more mysterious and his face more youthful. He brought out fifty pills and gave them to Xue Gu, saying: 'One of these pills can add a year to your life. When the years are spent, come again — do not linger long in the human world to make yourself suffer.' When the feast was over, Xue Gu took his leave; and after this there was no further trace of him."

柳毅 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact

儀鳳中，有儒生柳毅者，應舉下第，將還湘濱。念鄉人有客於涇陽者，遂往告別。至六七里，鳥起馬驚，疾逸道左。

Opening lines, classical Chinese · 傳奇 · Tang chuanqi, via 太平廣記 Taiping Guangji