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. 

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.

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". 

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."

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. 

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.

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?" 

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!

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."

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."

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.

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. 

THE FIGHTING CRICKET (Revised 2025)

 

THE FIGHTING CRICKET 

(Revised 2025)

 

In the reign of Hsuan Te in the Ming Dynasty, cricket fighting was a popular entertainment in the court.

At that time a poor scholar, Ch'eng Ming, was given the task of procuring crickets for the court. Ch'eng had no money to buy crickets from his neighbors, and he didn't want to beg, so he became very anxious. His wife advised him, “It’s useless to worry. Why don't you go out and hunt for the crickets yourself?"

So, Ch'eng went out with a copper-wired cage, and from morning to night, he searched among the rugged rocks and the weeds. Sometimes he would catch two or three crickets, but they were always too weak to submit to the local government.

When the date for submitting the crickets arrived, Ch'eng had none, and the magistrate gave him a sound whipping. Ch'eng's legs were so sore that he wanted to die.

Meanwhile, Ch'eng's wife went to a fortune-teller who told her to hunt for crickets at a temple near the village, so she urged Ch'eng to get out of bed and resume his search. Ch'eng, leaning on a cane, went to the temple and at last he caught a fine cricket. He brought it home and waited for the magistrate to call for a cricket.

Ch'eng had a nine-year-old son. One day he opened the cage when Ch'eng was away, and the cricket jumped out. The boy tried to catch it but broke one of its legs and soon it died.

Ch'eng's wife turned ashen when she saw it, she cried, “Beast! Troublemaker! Your father will finish you when he comes back!"The child rushed out of the door in tears.

When Ch'eng returned home and found out what had happened, he flew into a rage, but the boy was nowhere to be found.

Ch'eng searched for half a day and finally found his son's body at the bottom of a well. His anger turned to grief, and his wife prepared to bury the child. But that evening, as they undressed the body, they found it warm to the touch. The boy was alive! They put him to bed, but he remained unconscious.

Ch'eng was very anxious, staying awake the rest of the night to take care of the sick child. At dawn, he heard the chirp of a cricket outdoors. He went out and there was a cricket that looked very much like the one he had lost.

The little insect hopped away from him, and then he found it crouching on the wall. Very small and brownish black, it seemed so feeble that Ch'eng lost interest, but suddenly the insect jumped on his sleeve, and he saw it was actually a very fine insect.

To test its abilities, Ch'eng decided to let it fight with a champion cricket raised by his neighbour.

They put the two insects into a bowl, and Ch'eng's cricket stayed motionless. Then, the neighbour burst into laughter and tickled it with a hog's hair

This aroused the little cricket, and it rushed ferociously at the champion and would have destroyed it if the owner had not removed it. Ch'eng was delighted and didn't notice as the little cricket leapt out of the bowl. Suddenly, a rooster came along and snapped up the cricket.

Ch'eng turned pale, but the rooster stretched its neck, screamed and fell to the ground, for the cricket had bitten its comb.

Ch'eng was overjoyed and quickly put the little insect back into its cage.

The next day Ch'eng gave the cricket to the local government. The magistrate saw the size of it and bitterly scolded Ch'eng, but Ch'eng told him about the rooster, and then the cricket displayed its ferocity. Impressed, the magistrate sent it on to the governor.

The governor put the insect in a golden cage and sent it to the emperor along with a report on its unusual quality. The emperor was doubtful but let it fight with various specimens from other places, all of which were defeated.

The emperor was pleased and rewarded the governor with horses and silk clothing. The magistrate was also rewarded and in gratitude, he released Ch'eng from his duties.

Ch'eng's son did not regain consciousness until a year later. When he awoke, he told them he had dreamt he was a cricket, and that he had fought in the emperor’s palace with many famous champions and defeated them all.

 

The Sacred Tree

“The useful declines to be used,

whereas the useless asks to be used.”   Tao.

Once upon a time a well known carpenter named Shih, accompanied by his young and impressionable apprentice, was travelling through the untamed countryside, often taking shortcuts in order to reach the state of Ch’i on time.

Their travels at one point led them to the Shady Circle, where they observed a sacred Li tree in the temple dedicated to the God of Earth.  The tree was immensely huge, so large in fact that it provided shelter to a herd of several thousand cattle and still left room for more. It was a hundred spans in girth, towering up eighty or ninety feet over the hilltop, before it branched out. Countless admiring crowds with their faces turned up, stood there gazing in awe at this miracle on earth.

The apprentice too had halted briefly and fixed his eyes also on this magnificence, thinking how a dozen boats could be cut out of it. He hastened his steps to catch up to his master, who’d continued on his way quite unconcerned. Bit puzzled, he addressed his master tentatively, “Master, in all this time that I’ve been fortunate enough to have handled an adz in your service, I have never seen such superb example of timber. How was it that you, Master, cared not pause a step, to even perfunctorily observe it?”

“Forget about it, it’s hardly worth the mention,” the master shrugged smugly. Observing the puzzled look on the stubborn apprentice’s face however, he relented. “The tree is good for nothing. Made into a boat, it would sink; into a coffin, it would rot; into furniture, it would break easily; into a door, it would sweat; into a pillar, it would be worm-eaten. Despite its size the wood is of no quality, and therefore of no use. That’s why it has survived to attain its present age.”

By dusk of the fifth day, the carpenter and his apprentice had finally reached home. After unburdening themselves of their baggage and washing up, they partook of a satisfying repast. That evening, as he snuggled cozily under the quilts, the carpenter had an unsettling dream.

 He dreamt that the displeased spirit of the tree appeared to him and spoke to him harshly, as follows:

“Your arrogance is unconscionable. What is it tell me you intend to compare me with? Is it with fine-grained wood? Consider the pear, the orange, the pomelo, cherry-apple and all other fruit bearers: as soon as their fruit ripens they are stripped and treated with such indignity. The great boughs are snapped off, the small ones scattered abroad. Thus do these trees by their own value cause injury to their own lives. Sadly they cannot fulfill their allotted span of years, but expire prematurely; all because they are destroyed for bringing forth the admiration of the world."

“Thus it is with all things. In view of this, I’ve strove long and hard to appear useless. Even so, many a time I had a close brush with the peril of being cut down. My wits and my ways however in the end succeeded in deterring them from their aim, and so I endured and grew to these heights; being only useful to myself."

  

“My kindness now propels me to impart on you few facts:

“In your pitifully brief human history Tsech’i of Nan-po was once travelling on the hill of Shang when he chanced upon a huge tree that greatly astonished him. In his mind he accounted that a thousand chariot teams of four horses could seek shelter under its shade. Reining on his horse under it and pointing he therefore shouted: “What sort of tree is this? Surely it must bear an unusual fine timber.” Then as he looked more closely, he saw that its branches were too crooked for rafters; and looking down he noted that the trunk’s twisting loose grain made it valueless for coffins. Reaching he plucked a leaf and tasted it; at once his face crinkled for it took the skin off his lips. The odor meanwhile was too strong that it would make a man insensate for several days. “Ah!” said Tsech’i, “this tree is really good for nothing, and that is how it has attained this size. A spiritual man might well follow its example of useless.”

“You may also recall that in the State of Sung there is a land belonging to the Ching, where thrive the catalpa, the cedar, and the mulberry. Such as are of one span or so in girth are cut down for monkey cages. Those of two or three spans are harvested for the beams of fine houses. Those of seven or eight spans are cut down for the jointless sides of rich men’s coffins. Alas, they do not fulfill their allotted span of years, but perish under the ax, all too young. Such is the misfortunes that overtake the worthy."

“In contrast; for sacrifices to the River God neither pigs with high snouts, nor bulls with white foreheads, nor men suffering from piles, can be used. For every soothsayer regards these as inauspicious. To the wise, however, these are regarded extremely auspicious, if only to themselves."

“I’m reminded of an account of a certain hunchback named Su. His jaws touched his navel. His shoulders were higher than his head. His neck bone stuck out towards the ultimate sky. His viscera were turned upside down. His buttocks were where his ribs should have been. Yet he lived rather comfortably. By sifting rice, or tailing, or washing, he earned his keep and achieved enough to support a family of ten.

“When the orders for conscription came, whether for the army or for public works, the hunchback walked about unconcerned among his peers, for his deformity excluded him from all such. Meanwhile, when the donations of grain for the disadvantaged and the disabled were handed out, the hunchback received as much as three measures, and when firewood was allotted, ten faggots. If physical deformity was thus sufficient to preserve his body until the end of his days, how much more should a moral and mental deformity avail!"

“Alas, it’s a sad fact that mountain trees invite their own cutting down, lamp oil invites its own burning up. Lacquer can be used, there the tree is scraped; cinnamon bark can be eaten; therefore the tree is cut down. All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility.

“As you and I are both created things, I ponder on the soundness of this good-for-nothing fellow: you, who’s in imminent danger of death, passing so demeaning a remark on the supposed good-for-nothing tree.”

The subsequent morning the carpenter Shih awakened with a start, covered with perspiration, and sat up on his bed for a while collecting his thoughts. His mind fastened just then on the well known fact:

That when Confucius was in the Ch'u State, the eccentric Chieh Yu passed his door, saying, "O phoenix! O phoenix! How has thy virtue fallen! Wait not for the coming years, nor hanker back to the past. When the right principles prevail on earth, prophets will fulfill their mission. When the right principles prevail not, they will but preserve themselves. At the present day, they are but trying to keep out of jail! The good fortunes of this world are light as feathers, yet none estimates them at their true value. The misfortunes of this life are weighty as the earth, yet none knows how to keep out of their reach. No more, no more, show off your virtue. Beware, beware, and move cautiously on! O brambles, O brambles, wound not my steps! I pick my way about, hurt not my feet!"

Later on that day when the carpenter Shih, heard his apprentice exclaim, "If the tree aimed at uselessness, how was it that it became a sacred tree?"

"Hush!" he responded gravely. "Keep quiet. I was wrong. It merely took refuge in the temple to escape from the abuse of those who do not appreciate it. Had it not become sacred, how many would have wanted to cut it down! Moreover, the means it adopts for safety are different from that of others, and to criticize it by ordinary standards would be far wide of the mark."

A lesson was well learned!