Record of the Listener by Mai Hong; Zhang Cong Ellen;

Author:Mai, Hong; Zhang, Cong Ellen;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company, Incorporated
Published: 2018-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

{42} 39 • Daughter of the Wens

In the fourth month of the third year of the Qiandao reign period [1167], a daughter of the Wens in Yongzhou [in Hunan] reached her pinning age [i.e., fifteen years old] and was engaged. Two nights before her wedding, she dreamt about a person dressed in yellow leading her to the government office. The judge there, in a green robe and wearing a scarf, greeted her and said, “You are needed here because there was a mistake regarding some official business, which has led to a large lawsuit that has gone on for fifteen to sixteen years. It has involved many people. You go home for now [since it is not your turn yet]. Come back tomorrow.” The girl woke up and told her parents the dream, but neither had any idea what the judge meant.

The next night, the girl again dreamt about arriving at the large hall. A kingly person sat at the desk and the judge presented him with the official documents [involving the girl’s case]. The king decreed, “Correct this [mistake].” Immediately, someone brought a cup of decoction to the court for her to drink. It was extremely smelly and disgusting. The girl woke up as soon as she was out of the door. By then she had turned into a man.

Her parents were shocked and sent a messenger to inform the son-in-law. The in-law’s family thought that Wen was not a woman in the first place and that Wen’s parents had intended to swindle them. They subsequently brought a lawsuit at the prefectural government. Only after an investigation uncovered the truth was the lawsuit dismissed. Wen’s voice and bearing did not differ from when she was a woman; the only difference was that (s)he had changed into men’s clothes. It was said that the in-law’s family once again wished to marry Wen to their daughter and make Wen their son-in-law. (YJZ, bing:1.370–71)

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