Chinese Ghost Fables 1 (2 page)

"How about me?" The old bookworm, with impatience, proudly interrupted, "Mind you. You
might also overlook a genius who is standing right here. I have studied for my entire life.
How bright is my spirit? Please, tell me the truth. I would cherish it honesty."

"Well," The ghost, with great difficulty; after dodging and evading the answer for a while;
and, with obvious reluctance and sluggishness, stammered apologetically, "Yesterday, by
chance, I, on my way to a village, accidentally went by your classroom. Hearing a riotous
noise, I curiously dropped by, and investigated. Unsupervised, your pupils were running
amok. And then, I noticed that you were snoring loudly on your desk, with saliva all over
your face. Indeed, you have studied for your entire life. But strangely enough, all that I
observed was excessively dense, pitch-dark smog that was surrounding your roof. Some of
your pupils' incipient light beams were blocked by this impenetrable smog."

The old tutor's face was turning from pale white, crimson red, dark purple, and ash black.
"Believe me," With a tinge of fake dejection mixed with poorly-concealed smirk, the ghost
apologized, "I really tried very hard. But I still couldn't find any trace of light at all." The old
tutor ferociously reproached this ghost, who giggled, and suddenly disappeared into thin
air.

It's not about what you learned but how you learned it. Can you digest the materials
and apply them to handle current challenges?

 

03
DO YOUR BEST

 

Before becoming a mayor, in his youth, Mr. Lee took a boat across a river. He
observed a passenger violently quarrelling with the steersman.

Dressed like a monk, a Taoist whom believed in Taoism, behaved in specific fashions
in compliance with their religion, also noticed that and sighed profoundly, "Life is so brief
and swift. Why bicker over such trivialities?"

While the boat was in the middle of the river, the argumentative traveler was blown
away by a sudden strong gust of wind. He hit the mast and was dead instantly. He fell down
the river and draft away. All of the passengers were dumb-founded by this unforeseen
tragedy. Mr. Lee was amazed and mystified. The wind blew ferociously and almost tumbled
the boat. On the deck, the Taoist solemnly stared at the sky, murmuring, and continuously
cast spells against the violent weather. The storm gradually dwindled down, diminished
and turned into breeze again.

Witnessing the whole episode, Mr. Lee stood on his knees and sincerely praised to that
religious person, "Oh! Thank you very much. You save my life."

"Why thank me?" The Taoist responded, questioningly, with calm and tranquility, "That
person was fated to forfeit his life at that moment. I can do nothing about it. You are a
blessed gentleman and you are destined to be a mayor someday. The Almighty wouldn't
harm you, anyway."

Nodding his head in agreement, Mr. Lee treasured this insightful statement and remarked.
"I learned a valuable lesson today: Fate is inevitable."

"Gee! What are you talking about? Poppycock!" With a face full of surprise and disbelief,
this religious person contemptuously reproached my friend. "Life is always precious;
whether it's long or short, rich or poor. You must cherish every single second of it. As an old
maxim, 'do your best and don't be pestered by any adverse outcomes, even if it is the worst
kind. You can beef up your motivations and enhance your potentials, which could minimize
the calculated risks and smooth the process. However, the upshot could be determinate
only by the Almighty. So, why bother worrying over something that's beyond your control?"

Mr. Lee contemplated it for a long moment and deeply appreciated the religious
person's sagacity. He courteously asked about his name.

 

Mildly shaking his head, the Taoist declined to reveal his identity and answered half-jokingly,
"I don't want to frighten you, farewell, lad!"

The boat crossed and landed on the other side of the river. Passengers left it in throng.
Nobody ever saw that mysterious person again. He simply disappeared into thin air without
a trace. People speculated: Perhaps, he could be a ghost, a fox spirit, or some other kind of
otherworldly creature.
04
ANOTHER SET OF ETHICAL RULES

Living in North village, Mr. Zhan had a weird dream. He dreamed that he was strolling
in the underworld. He noticed that the ghost-master was judging the newly dead. An old
kitchen-maid, who was from Mr. Zhan's neighboring village, appeared. The ghost-master
suddenly stood up, bowed to her, and invited her to sit beside him. A servant ghost brought
green tea to them. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the ghost-master meticulously
instructed two of his most capable assistant ghosts to escort and accompany her to
heaven.

"How could this be true? Am I missing something? I recognize that maid. Poor, unattractive,
and illiterate, she had been a labor hand for all her lifetime. Why is she treated as a noble
person by the ghost-master?" He was greatly mystified and murmured to himself, privately
inquiring one of the ghost assistants.

"Comparing with human's rules and laws, we have a set of much superior moral standards
on evaluating a 'newly-born' soul," The ghost patiently explained, "Instead of physical
appearance, academic achievement, and social status, which are popular bench marks in
the mundane human world, we assess a brand-new ghost's position by examining her
characters and intentions. Allow me to illustrate my point using this kitchen-maid as an
example. In short, she was innocent and broad-minded. These are two of the best qualities
a pure soul could possess. That earned her high score in our world. On the other hand,
selfishness is the sole cause of all troubles. Even the most prominent scholars often could
not understand this simple fact. For short-term personal gain, numerous "smart" persons
are perfectly willing to pull a fast one on others. Not believing there could be any negative
consequences, they thought they could outwit the Almighty. With similar egocentric
philosophy, the victims will retaliate, avenge or trick their opponents to get 'even.' What is
'even' anyway? For those that have artificial fairness and are self-centered people foolishly
waste their limited energy and precious time over those futile and tedious tasks of intrigue.
It's a vicious cycle and eventually everybody lose. She always forgave her adversaries.
This is a rarity among "street-wise" people. This lady is so selfless that even the Almighty
would respect her. That's the reason why my master greeted her with courtesy and
decorum."

With a little puzzlement and disbelief, Mr. Zhan sneaked back to the underworld court. He
observed a formally-dressed county judge arrogantly strode in the middle of the hall.
Gulping a cup of water, he, with displeasure, impatiently announced his titles, vigorously
demanding that he must be accompanied up to heaven, immediately, "This is a mistake. As
a high-ranking official and faultless gentleman, I am the epitome of virtue and my residence
is in paradise. Why should I be here, facing such an undeserved humiliation?"

Irritated and perplexed, he indignantly demanded an explanation, proclaiming, with pride
and arrogance, "I had never embezzled a penny and never mistrial any single case in my
whole life. My record is spotless. How much more can you expect?"

The ghost-master
beamed a smile and calmly asked, "Spotlessness isn't equal
to
perfection. Why people want a county judge instead of a wooden figurine? The later will
never make any false step. Actually, it won't move at all. If no embezzlement is equal to
honesty, why people wouldn't raise a wood figurine instead, who will never even drink a
cup of water?"

"Well," The county judge contemplated it for a while. In stammer, with a trace of
uneasiness, he argued, "I, at least, didn't misjudge any cases. It counts for something."

"You may say so," The ghost-master grinned contemptuously and mentioned, "But you are
too selfish to confront with really challenges. For maintaining a vague reputation of integrity,
you shied away from dealing with tough issues. On a certain case, due to its complexity,
you deliberately ignored some key evidence. On another case, dodging responsibilities,
you reduced the number of witnesses to fit in your time schedule. On a certain date, for
evading mistrial, you prematurely discharged a complaint. In short, you focused on
feathering your own nest. Justice became a sideshow. You are paid to assist your citizens,
not to pursue a vague fame for yourself. Are those people expecting you to short-change
them? Does this a county judge suppose to be?"
Sweating all over his body, the county judge lowered his head in silence.

"Don't worry," The ghost-master smiled and consoled him, "You are not evil-minded and will
not be detained in hell. Being merely mediocre and timid, you are designated to return to
earth. I will send you back there without any delay."
Mr. Zhan was flabbergasted by this decree and suddenly, awakened within. He narrated
this episode to his folks.

From those two incidents, I learned that the Almighty comprehends what we are doing.
He has a different moral yardstick in measuring our performance. Disregarding the
outcomes, He weights our value basically on our initial intentions, metering out his
judgment accordingly. Wealth and fame are favorable indications of "success", only in
human society. They have absolutely no impact in the underworld court. How you acquired
them are keys for your final judgment.
05
LAY A FOUNDATION

Mr. Wu believed that sensual pleasure was the best enjoyment in life. He often visited
brothels for entertainment. One day, he met a female fox spirit and had a relationship with
her. Although they lived together, he kept calling on prostitutes.

"Why are you wasting money on those whores?" The female fox spirit was irritated and
complained, suggesting, "I can transfer myself to their appearances whenever you desire
and that wouldn't cost you a penny." He was delighted and agreed to stay home,
exclusively enjoying the otherworldly creature.

After a few months, Mr. Wu sighed profoundly and remarked, "I really appreciate you for
your effort on satisfying my sexual fantasies. However, the appearances are make-believe.
It is not quite compatible with genuine...."

"What's genuine?" She interrupted. "Whose appearance will last forever? Everything that
you see now will only exist for a very small proportion of time. After three or five years, the
fresh, young female teenagers, whom you are crazy about, will become mature ladies. The
mature ladies will become experienced women, and the experienced women will become
old maids. Appearances are ephemeral, controlled by time. It is like a flowing river. We
pass from one life stage to another: from baby, youth, to maturity, old, then, to senile and
dead. Time gradually leaves traces on us, carving wrinkles on our foreheads, loosening our
skin, slowing down our movement, deepening our tone of voice, retracting our hairline,
removing our teeth one by one and fading away our memory. In less than sixty years, most
of the people whom you known will have gone to graveyards and soon, they will become
ivory-like skeletons and bones. Neither white blossom or green grass nor yellow earth or
brown mountains will stand forever. We can document those changes by seconds, minutes,
hours, days, months, years, or centuries. But there always is an end for everything.
Youngness and beauty is mere a pleasant occurrence belongs to the incipient fraction of
the lifespan, and is transitory. Maturity and oldness are following. Don't waste time in
debauchery. By messing around with whores in the cream of your primetime, you are
undermining your own future, forging your own coffin nails for your later years. No matter
what stage you are in. You must always lay solid foundation for tomorrow. Otherwise, you
are wasting your priceless time and, consequently, will have a miserable future."

Mr. Wu contemplated this for a long while and comprehended it. After this insightful
conversation, he never visited a brothel again.

 

Your good deed or misbehavior will have consequences. It will eventually catch up with you.
It's up to you to plant a seed of hope or chaos.

 

06
TWO OLD TUTORS

Mr. Jeh and Mr. Chan, who were two old tutors, were neighbors. One night, they took a
walk between the North and South Villages. In the route, there were a few deserted
graveyards. Strange noises came from afar. The crescent moon hid itself behind clouds
and wind blew sluggishly. The surrounding became murky and disturbing.

"I can sense something stressful. It's rather spooky," Unnerved and cautious, Mr. Chan
suggested, "I have an eerie feeling. Why don't we go home?"

 

"What does a ghost look like?"

Coming down from the dark, an old man, holding a cane, accosted them and irritably
shouted, in a hollow bass tone, "Ridiculous! You are an embarrassment of the educated.
Living in such an advanced age, I never saw one single otherworldly creature in my whole
life and don't believe that kind of nonsense at all. You two are educated people don't have
any shame! You should be sophisticated enough to look down on that superstition. Why
have you still been influenced by ludicrous Buddhism? It's a superficial philosophy for the
illiterate. Be a humanitarian, you certainly know how to think and how to reach a rational
conclusion. Human beings are the only master of the whole universe. Don't you know that?
Where is your education and self-confidence? Don't act like a couple of faint-hearted dolts.”

The aged stranger was lecturing them vigorously, quoting many renowned examples
from history to prove there were neither ghosts nor otherworldly creatures. Respecting him
for his wise perspective and watertight logic, those two tutors timidly asked a few questions,
attempting to expunge any residue of doubt from their mind. He meticulously explained to
them. Continuously nodding their heads in agreement, they zealously discussed this topic
for hours and even forgot to ask one another's name. It was almost daybreak. From
distance, a number of ox carts were plodding by. They could vaguely hear the ox-bells,
rhythmically jingling.