JUDGE LU PAN (REVISED 2025)
Scholar Zhu
Erdan ((courtesy name Xiaoming), who lived in Lingyang, was an easy
going, good natured, friendly, handsome young man who was studying diligently
for the local exams. But due to his honest nature and slow wit, furthermore, not
knowing how to fawn (flatter, toady) on the haughty (arrogant) opulent and
influential officials or gentry, he had never attained any academic
distinction.
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| 01-CHU ERHTAN - JP 7 |
Once a study
mate dared him to sneak into the Ten Kings Temple in the middle of the night
and carry out the statue of the menacing looking judgement god, Judge Lu Pan. Having
successfully completed the dare, Zhu Erdan won a feast from his friend, got
very drunk and went home.
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| 02- ENJOYING DRINKING WITH FRIENDS JP 16 |
The next
day, when he remembered what he had done the night before, he felt so bad that
he, erroneously, tried to drawn his sorrow by indulging in spirits; while Zhu
was having a drink in the pagoda, for it was quiet and peaceful there,
especially at night, a gust of wind suddenly broke open the door and in came
Judge Lu Pan. Zhu jumped up with his heart pounding in fear of his life, and exclaimed,
“I committed a great sacrilege last night. For that, I deserve death. You are
here to take my life, aren’t you? “
But the
judgement god grimaced then shook his head. “Not necessarily. And I accept your
inherent (natural, genuine) invitation, from the heart; I was feeling a bit
restless tonight, so I came to share a drink or two with you." Zhu felt
relieved and at once set to preparing some drinks; Zhu and the judgement god,
hence, drank happily that night, landing an ear to the cacophony of insects and
the harmonious sounds of other such nocturnal animals. From then on, Judge Lu
visited Zhu frequently. In time
they become good friends, so much so that they "sometimes slept together
with the soles of their feet touching." However, much to Zhu’s
dismay, the judge constantly criticized Zhu's essays for being "good for
nothing".
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| 03- JUDGE LU PAN- JP 1 |
One night Zhu
was startled awake from his deep sleep, because of an unusual, though somewhat annoying
pain emanating (originating) from his chest and gut. Upon opening his eyes, his gaze sharpened, he
was shocked to find Judge Lu Pan there, bent over his stomach and rearranging
his internal organs. Naturally, Zhu became hysterical and with a trembling voice,
asked for the reason for this perceived injury and harm, begging for Judge Lu
to stop.
Judge Lu,
however, just smiled and said, “You don't write your essays very well. That's
because there is a blind spot in your heart. I’ve replaced it with a good one
which I found in the world of the living."
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| 04- JUDGE LU PAN - JP 7 |
A few days later, Lu returned to review Zhu's latest essays; putting
the papers aside, Lu opined (pronounced) that Zhu will be a successful but not
outstanding scholar. Nevertheless, from then on Zhu did
make tremendous progress in his studies and not long afterwards even attained
first place in the local exam. In autumn he also passed the national exam. His study
and drinking mates, meanwhile, were all very surprised, especially when they learn
that it was all due to Judge Lu Pan.
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| 05- STUDY AND DRINKING BUDDIES JP 7 |
Naturally
they all wanted to meet Judge Lu in person, hoping also to gain some favor; and
so, they pestered (pressured) Zhu till he acquiesced to take them along, the
next time he would go and have a shared drink with Judge Lu Pan.
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| 06--JUDGE LU PAN- JP 8 |
However,
upon seeing the green-faced, red-bearded Judge Lu and looking into his blazing eyes,
everyone was so terrified that they all took to their’ heals (fled, ran away)
in sheer panic.
Zhu, feeling
responsible, apologized profusely to Judge Lu for their rudeness, then invited
him to have another session of drinking with him at his humble abode. Along the
way, pressed to speak about the concern on his mind Zhu finally said, "My
wife is a good sort, but, as you shall see presently for yourself, is rather
plain looking; now that I have achieved a more prominent position, her unattractive
(disagreeable) appearance and clumsy demeanour (image, bearing) has become somewhat
a liability; can you do anything about it?"
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| 07- PLAIN LOOKING WIFE JP 11 |
Judge Lu was
silent for a while, then he smiled and said," It so happens that your
wife’s life span is nearing an end, and within three days she shall expire because
of a freak accident. But there is an error in the books, she wasn’t supposed to
die. I think I have a way to remedy this situation. And since you ask so contritely
(almost penitently, ashamedly), I shall, therefore, honor your request."
As
predicted, two days later Zhu’s wife was suddenly deceased, after having
stepped on a carelessly discarded banana peel on the cobble-stoned garden path;
Zhu forestalling her funerary arrangements, allowed her body to (albeit
temporarily) lie peacefully in repose on her bed, as if in deep sleep. A day later, expectantly at dusk, Judge Lu manifested
in Zhu’s study carrying with him the decapitated head of a beautiful woman and asked
to be taken to Zhu ‘s wife's bed chamber. Once there, Judge Lu without delay, took
out a sharp knife and severed her head from the keck then adroitly
(proficiently, capably) replaced it with the beautiful woman's head. After
careful alignment, he mended the cut with his fingers and placed the head back
on the pillow.
In the morning,
Zhu’s wife suddenly coming to life, opened her eyes, got up and, remembering nothing,
was about to comb her hair, when she suddenly found herself looking at a
stranger in the mirror. Zhu told her the whole story of how Judge Lu had
changed her head. Zhu then took a closer look at his wife. Ah, she was like an
enchanting beauty in a silk painting!
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| 08- BEAUTIFUL GIRL - JP 2 |
It so
happened that, the local Magistrate Wu’s daughter’s corpse, was discovered few
days prior; she’d been murdered and decapitated in a meadow (field), among the
tall grasses (bullrushes), at the edge of town, some distance away from the Magistrate
Wu’s posh dwelling. Previously, Magistrate
Wu had been away on urgent business in the capital, this discovery upon his
return, greatly perturbed him. There were no clues as to who her assailant
(killer, slayer) might be, but in his grief, Magistrate Wu would not listen to
any reason and instead, suspected that his daughter had been secretly abducted
and murdered by Zhu's black magic, so he filed suit against Zhu, and Zhu was
captured and interrogated.
But due to
lack of evidence, the court couldn't pass a sentence and released Zhu temporarily.
That night, drinking together at his study, Zhu politely asked Judge Lu,
curious now, to learn of the details how he’d procured (come by) his present wife’s
head. Nodding in understanding, Judge Lu then succinctly recounted the
beautiful girl’s somewhat tragic story:
She’d once been the beloved daughter of Magistrate
Wu and beautiful though she’d been, she had remained single, till passed (her
prime,) of marriageable age; because some time ago, both of her fiancés had died,
rather ominously, before the appointed matrimonial date. Disheartened, she had from
then on refused any would be suitors. Once
during a Lantern Festival, the lovely girl had visited the Chamber of
Horrors and had been followed back home by a man who first tried to rape her
and then beheaded her. When her corpse had been found, but the culprit was
still unknown and at large, the grief-stricken family, prolonging (extending)
her funeral (burial), had placed her head next to her body, in the hall. And
when Lu had taken the head, Magistrate Wu’s family, for reasons known only to
them, had concealed this fact, while they determinedly continued with their
search of the culprit that had so brutally slayed (murdered) her.
“Now, I understand, “Zhu nodded, when Lu fell silent. “Still,
this has landed me in an inexplicable (bizarre, enigmatic) fix. Though I am temporarily
freed from castigation (criticism, scolding) and incarceration (jail, captivity)
at present, I suspect Magistrate Wu, in his desperation, will persist (remain, continue)
in his adamant course of persecuting me. How can we remedy this?”
"It's
quite simple, “said Judge Lu. "Tonight, I'll have the Magistrate Wu's
daughter’s spirit explain everything to him (her father) to clear away his
suspicion."
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| 09- MAGISTRATE WU- JP 1 |
That night,
the magistrate had a dream, in which, his daughter appeared before him and said,
“I was murdered by that brute Yang Tanien of Suhsi. It had nothing to do with Zhu.
Zhu was dissatisfied with his wife's looks, so Judge Lu Pan used my head to
replace hers; therefore, my body is deceased (departed), but at least my head now
lives on. And in this way, I can exist as the wife of a respectable, gentle,
thoughtful Zhu. Please don't make any more trouble or hold anything against him.
If you must, go after Yang Tanien and avenge my wrongful death."
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| 10 -BEAUTIFUL GIRL - JP 5 |
Sure enough,
more indebt investigation revealed that there was an affluent merchant Yang
Tanien in Suhsi, with questionable, debauched (wicked, decadent) innate attributes,
living in a rather large mansion, in the adjacent town. He had several lucrative
medicinal stores, two of which was established in Magistrate Wu’s town. After
being captured and interrogated, Yang Tanien admitted to the crime of kidnapping
and murdering Miss Wu, after she’d refused all his painstaking efforts to woo
her, saying nothing of, his many improper advances disguised as business
transactions.
With the
case satisfactorily solved, Magistrate Wu brought gifts to Zhu's house to
apologize and found Zhu's wife identical to his deceased daughter. He
immediately adopted her as his own daughter, and Zhu acknowledged the
magistrate as his father-in-law.
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| 11- MAGISTRATE WU- JP 5 |
Thirty years
passed in a blinking of an eye, and Zhu, who was still happily married, furthermore,
had a young son named Wei, was content. One night during a drinking bout (session) with Judge Lu, however,
Lu abruptly turning to face him, with a somber look, informed Zhu: "Your life
span is almost over dear friend; and unfortunately, you have five more days left
to live."
Zhu, at
first aghast, exhaled a long slow breath, then asked: "Is there a way out
of this?”
Judge Lu
frowned and shook his head; he was rather displeased by this request. "One's
life is predetermined. How can I, out of personal favor, save someone who is
destined to die? Besides, an intelligent person should feel natural to death; why
do people celebrate life only and fear death? “
Zhu thought
that made a lot of sense, so he went on to prepare for his own funeral. But of
course, the story of Zhu and his friendship with Judge Lu, does not end here.
The day
after his death, Zhu visited his wife as a ghost and told her that he was now
working for the judge Lu. Subsequently, he continued to visit his family
regularly and, moreover, taught Wei how to read and write. Some time after
Wei's fifteenth birthday, however, Zhu told his wife that he had been assigned
to Mount Hua as its "mountain god" and hence, must bid his family, a
final farewell.
Years later,
Wei, then aged twenty-five, became an "inspecting commissioner”. He was
sent to Mount Hua to perform a series of rituals. On his way there, he was met
by Zhu, who praised him for his accomplishments. Before disappearing, Zhu handed
his son a sword, on whose blade was inscribed: "Be bold, but cautious;
round in disposition, square in action."
Wei
eventually fathered five children: Chen, Qian, Mi, Hun, and Shen. In a dream,
Zhu told Wei to give the sword to Hun. Wei complied, and Hun then became a
celebrated official.
Finally, let
conclude this post with the original author Pu Songling’s famed inscription
(verses, stanzas) in his postscript: "To chop short the crane's legs and
stretch the duck's is the folly of artificiality, but grafting a flower to a
tree is a marvel of creativity."
He, furthermore, added: "Is Master Lu of Lingyang still
around? Does his supernatural power still work as of old? I would like nothing
more than to serve, whip in hand, as his charioteer."
Fin
PS- This is
an intriguing (fascinating) story, just in time for the Hungry Ghost Period and
the Halloween. Judge Lu is a short story originally written by Pu
Songling (1640- 1715) and first published in 1766 in Strange Tales from a
Chinese Studio. Fortuitously, I chanced upon this remarkable book, and thence
(thereafter), these Strange Tales, had made me permanently unafraid of ghosts,
goblins and other supernatural phenomenon.










