CLASSICAL
-€HINE SE
TALES
of the Supernatural
and the Fantastic
Selections from the Third to the Tenth Century
Edited by Karl S. Y. Kao
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Bloomington
©
1985 by Karl S. Y. Kao
All rights reserved
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Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Classical Chinese tales of the supernatural and the
fantastic.
(Chinese literature in translation)
Bibliography: p.
1. Fantastic fiction, Chinese--Translations into
English. 2. Fantastic fiction, English--Translations
from Chinese. I. Kao, Karl S. Y.
PL2658.E8C56 1985
895.1'30876'08
84-47966
ISBN 0-253-31375-9
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The T'ang
357
(94) Nieh Yin-niang
(
by P'ei Hsing (Ch'uan -ch ' i)
Yin-niang was the daughter of Nieh Feng, a general from
Wei-po [covering parts of modern Hopeh and Shantung
Provinces) in the Chen-y\ian reign period [785-804]. When
she was only ten years old, a nun came begging for food at
the house of Nieh. Upon seeing Yin-niang, she was pleased
and said, "Sir, please let me take this girl that I may
instruct her." Nieh was greatly angered and rebuked the
nun, who said, "Even if you hide her in an iron chest, sir,
I will still snatch her away." That night, Yin-niang did
indeed vanish. Nieh Feng was very much alarmed and had her
searched for, but there were no clues to her whereabouts.
Her parents longed for her but could do no more than look
at each other and weep .
Five years later, the nun brought Yin-niang back and
said to Nieh Feng, "She has completed her tutelage. You
may have her ." She then suddenly disappeared . The entire
household cried with delight. They asked her what she had
learned, and she replied, "At first I did nothing but read
sutras and recite incantations." Nieh Feng did not believe
her and persisted in his questioning. Yin-niang then said,
"If I tell you the truth, I am afraid you will not believe
me. What is the use?" Nieh Feng said, "Just tell the
truth then."
She replied, "When I was taken away by the nun, we
traveled I don't know how many miles. At dawn, we reached
a big, bright stone cave. There were no inhabitants for
many paces around, only plenty of apes, pines, and creepers
for a great distance . Two girls were already there, each
also ten years of age.
Both were bright and beautiful .
They did not eat, and could fly over sheer cliffs without
losing their footing, like nimble gibbons going up a tree.
The nun made me take a pill and gave me a sword which she
told me always to keep at my side. It was about two feet
long and so sharp that one could cut a hair by blowing it
against the edge. She directed me to learn to climb by
following two girls who were there, and I gradually felt my
body become as light as the wind .
"A year later, I could attack and kill monkeys without
ever missing a single one. Afterwards, I struck at tigers
and leopards, and I always succeeded in cutt ing off their
358
Classical Chinese Tales
heads.
By the third year I was able to fly, and if I
struck out at hawks and falcons , I would hit them all. The
blade of my sword gradually shrank to five inches .
When
flying birds encountered it, they would not know where it
came from.
"During the fourth year, the nun left the two girls to
keep watch over the cave a nd took me to a city somewhere.
She pointed out a man and enumerated his wrongdongs,
saying, 'Go and sever his hea d for me, and do not let him
y:ea lize what you are doing.
If you calm your nerves, i t
/ ' will be as easy as killing birds.' She gave me a ram's horn
dagger r the blade of which was thr ee inches wide.
I then
hacked off the man's head in broad daylight without anyone
seeing me. , I put the head in a pouch and r eturned to my
mistress, who used a potion to change it into water.
"In the fif t h year, she said, 'A certain major official
is guilty of transgr ession.
For no reason at all he has
brought harm to many . Go a t night to his bed chamber and
cut off his head.' I again took up my dagger and entered
his chamber, passing through the cracks in the door without
difficulty.
I then lay on my s t omach upon a beam.
At
dusk, I made off with his head and r e turned. The nun said
in great anger, 'Why are you so late?' I r ep lie d , 'I saw
him playing with a child.
It was so touching I could not
bring myself to carry out the task right away . ' The nun
scolded me, saying, 'From now on , when you run into his
kind again, yo u are first to kill the loved one, and then
you may slay the man.' I acknowl edged my mistake . The nun
said, 'I will open up the back of your head and secrete the
-dagger there without any harm to you. When you have need
of it, draw it out .' The n she added, 'You have already
mastered your craft .
You may go home. ' Thereupon she
esco rted me back, saying, 'Only after twenty years have
passed will we see each other again . '"
When Nieh Feng heard these words he was very much
afraid . At nightfall she would disappear and then return
in the morning.
Nieh Feng no l o nger dared make inquiries
of her, and as a result, he also came to l ose his affection
for her.
One day, a mirror grinder 1 happened to come by
1
Mirrors were made of bronze and occasionally needed
grinding to recove r thei r luster.
Mirror -grinding was a
specialized craft .
The mirror was heated until it was
red hot.
It was then submerged in water, r emoved, and
put to a grinding s t one .
The T'ang
359
their door.
The gir 1 said, "This man may be made my
11
husband.
She informed her father, who dared not gainsay
her and married her to the man. Since the husband could do
nothing but grind mirrors, her father kept them both
generous ly supplied with food and clothing. They lived by
themselves in a separate house.
Several years later her father died .
The regional
commander of Wei-po, knowing something of her exceptional
qualities, took her into his service by offering her
payments of gold and silk.
Several more years passed in
this way.
In the Yiian - ho reign period [806 - 820], the
regional commander of Wei - po was not getting along well
with Liu Ch'ang - i, 2 viceroy of Ch'en-chou and Hsli- chou
[both commanderies in Honan province].
He thus ordered
Yin-n iang to assassinate him . Yin - niang took leave of the
regional commander and went to Hsli-chou with her husband.
Viceroy Liu, who was an adept in the magic arts, already
knew that she was coming. He summoned one of his officers
and bade him go early the next day to the northern part of
the city , there to await a man and a woman coming up to the
gate as tride a black and a white donkey. They would hear a
magpie screech and the husband would shoot it with a
slingshot bow 3 but fail to hit it. The wife would then
take the husband's bow and slay the bird with a single
pellet . He was to make obeisance to them and say that the
viceroy, wishing to see them , h as bid him to welcome them
at a distance.
The officer went to meet them as directed.
Yin-niang
and her husband said, " His lordship must be versed in the
arcane arts.
Otherwise, how could he have known of our
coming? We wish to see Lord Liu." The viceroy gave them
audience.
Yin-niang and her husband paid their respects
and said, "We deserve ten thousand deaths for plotting
against you!" Liu replied, "Not so. It is a common matter
for each man to be loyal to his master.
But there is no
difference between Wei - po and Hsli - chou now.
I hope you
11
will remain here and will not doubt my intentions·
Yin-niang admitted her fault, saying, "Your Lordship has no
2
J
Liu Ch'ang-i (? - 813) was a military governor supportive
of the central government; for his biography, see Chiu
T'ang shu 151, pp. 4056 - 57 and Shin T'ang shu 170, pp.
5166-67 .--Ed.
A bow- like weapon that projects pellets instead of
arrows.- - Ed.
/
360
Classical Chinese Tales
one worthy at his side. I wish to leave the other lord and
declare my allegiance to you.
Your Lordship's divine
perspicuity has made a convert of me." She knew that the
regional commander of Wei-po was not the equal of Viceroy
Liu. The viceroy asked what she had need of.
She said,
"Two hundred cash a day would suffice." It was done as she
requested.
Not knowing where the donkeys had gone, the viceroy had
them searched after, but no one knew where they we re.
Later on they secretly looked inside Yin-niang's bag and
found two paper donkeys, one black and one white.
After somewhat more than a month had passed, Yin-niang
said to the viceroy , "My former master does not know when
to stop. He will surely send someone in my place. Allow
me to cut off a strand of my hair, tie it to a red tassel,
and place it before the regional commander's pillow, in
order to show him my determination not to return." The
viceroy gave his consent.
During the fourth watc h, she
returned and said, "I have relayed my message.
The night
after tomorrow night he will send Ching-ching-erh to kill
me and carry off your head. When the time comes, I will do
everything to destroy the assailant.
Please do not be
concerned." Viceroy Liu was candid and valiant, and showed
no fear.
That night, in the candle light after midnight, there
appeared two streamers, one red and one white, floating
about as though attack ing each other around the four
corners of the viceroy's bed.
After a long time, someone
fell to the ground from midair, head and body separated.
Yin-niang also came out and said, "Ching-ching-erh has been
slain."
She moved the body outside and used drugs to
change it into water, leaving not a single hair behind.
Yin-niang said, "On the night after tomorrow night he
will send K'ung-k'ung-erh the Adroit.
K' ung-k'ung-erh's
magic is such that no human can understand its use, no
spirit can follow its t ra cks .
He"
can enter the
netherworld from the heavens; he can disappear and l eave no
trace of his shadow.
My own arts are no match for his.
We'll therefore have to rely on Your Lordship's good
fortune.
Please wear a collar made of Khoten jade 5 and
sleep with it.
I will turn into a cootie and concea l
" K' ung- k' ung-erh' s sex , like
·
that of Ching-ching- erh,
not clear from the text.
5
Khoten, a place in Sinkiang r enowned for fine jades.
.
is
The T 'ang
361
myself in your innards to wait it out.
Besides this there
is no escape."
The vice roy heeded her advice. During the third watch,
before his eyes had been closed long, he heard a s harp
ringing sound
from something striking at his neck.
Yin - niang
jumped
out
of
the
viceroy 's
mouth
and
congratulated him, "Your Lordship no longer has anything to
fear ! This person is like a fierce falcon.
If he fails to
accomplish his goal in a single blow, he will turn and go
away, ashamed over the failure.
Before the wa tch is over,
he will be a thousand miles away." Later, they looked at
th~ jade and saw that it had been cut by a dagger, the mark
quite long.
From then o n the viceroy treated Yin-niang
with great generosity.
In the eighth year of the Yuan-ho reign period
(806- 820), when Liu left Hsii - chou t o pay a court visit to
the emperor, Yin -n ia ng c ho s e not to accompany him, saying,
"Henceforth I will roam in the mountains and rivers to
search for Accomplished Persons. "' She asked only that her
husband be given a sinecur e . The viceroy did as they had
agreed and gradua lly came to lose track of her whereabouts.
Whe n the viceroy died in office, Yin-niang came to the
capita l on her donkey and wept before his coffin before
disappearing again.
During the K' ai -ch'eng reign period (836-840), the
viceroy's son Liu Ts ung was made governor of Ling-chou
[roughly the a rea of modern Szec hwan Province].
In his
travels ,
he met Yin-niang on a plank-trail along a
precipice i n the Shu (Szechwan] mountains . Her countenance
was as it had been in earlier days, and she still rode a
white donkey. She wa s pleased to see him, and said, "Don't
go to Ling-chou.
A great calamity is in store for you
there." She took out a p e llet of drugs and bade Liu Tsung
swallow it, saying, "Next year you must resign your post
and return to Loyang (the eastern capital]. Only thus will
you avert disaster . My drugs will protect you for but a
year."
Liu Tsung was not mu c h of a believer in s uch
things. He offered her colored si lk, but Yin-niang did not
accept any of it.
Instead, s he drank with Tsung and left
only when she was inebriated.
' Those who have a tt ained immortality.
362
Classical Chinese Talee
One year later, Liu Tsung still had not resigned, and
indeed soon died at his post in Ling-chou. After this, no
one ever saw Yin-niang again.
(PHCC, pp. 22 -25; Wang, pp. 270 - 72; Chang, pp. 155-58; Hsli,
pp. 389-401; TPKC, 194.5)
Tr. Pedro Acosta
Note:
This is a rare example of a CK story with a
description of the training of a hsis (here an assassin).
The contests of magic between Yin-niang and Ching-ching-erh
and K'ung-k'ung-erh move the story from the category of the
fantastic into that of the supernatural. These episodes
have inspired many imitations by later writers.
The professionalism shown in the nun's attitude towards
assassination is consistent with her aim of ridding society
of evil. But her zealotry also points to an ethical problem
in this time of political disorder.
As reflected in
Yin-niang's amoral criterion in the choice of a master, the
chivalric code of the original hsis has by now totally
disappeared. The skills and magic are here enlisted to
serve the purposes of military governors in rivalry with
each other for power (cf. the next entry, "Hung-hsien").
The plot of a play by Yu T'ung (1618 - 1704) entitled Rei
Psi wei (The Black and White Donkeys) is based on this
tale.
Pedro Acosta, Trans., “Nieh Yin-niang,” in Karl Kao,
ed., Classical Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the
Fantastic (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press,
1985), pp. 357-362.
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