During the reign of Ch'in Shih-huang (221-209 B.C.), a youth of Changan named Wang Tao-p'ing and his fellow villager Wen Yu, the daughter of T'ang Shu-chieh, vowed to become husband and wife. Unexpectedly, Wang was conscripted for a campaign to the south, where he was detained for nine years.
Seeing that his beautiful daughter had grown up and hearing no news of Wang, T'ang Shu-chieh promised her in marriage to Liu Hsiang. Wen Yu resisted determinedly, but was forced by her parents to consent. Depressed and unhappy, she thought of Wang constantly, until three years later she died of a broken heart.
Three years after her death, Wang finally returned home. When he asked of her whereabouts, a neighbor told him what had happened and led him to her grave. Wang wept and wailed as he called out her name three times and circled her tomb in dismay.
"We swore by heaven and earth to remain together for life," he exclaimed. "Who ever expected that I'd be drafted for a campaign and kept from you so long that you'd be forced to marry another? Your heart remained true, and now we're eternally separated. . . . If there's life in the afterworld, may you appear and show yourself; if not, then farewell forever!" With this he began wailing once more.
As he wept, the girl's spirit emerged from the tomb. "Where have you come from?" she asked him. "We were parted so long that I was forced to marry Liu Hsiang despite our vow. For three years I thought of you day and night until death led me down its dark path. Although I was married, I kept my body intact. I can come to life again, and we can still become husband and wife. Open the tomb, break the coffin, and let me cross the bounds of life and death!"
Wang, elated, opened the door of the tomb, touched the girl's body, and found her alive!
Liu Hsiang, astonished at what had happened, filed suit with the county and prefectural authorities. They were unable to find any applicable regulations and appealed to the imperial court, which decided that Wen Yu should be Wang's. Wang Tao-p'ing lived to the age of 130.
These events are surely a case of "a sincere spirit piercing heaven and earth" to produce a response.
This story appears in the Sou-then chi (In Search of the Supernatural) of Kan Pao (fl. 320). The later tales of Meng Chiang-nu and of Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-t'ai are similar in type, but Wang Tao-p'ing has the happiest ending.
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)