an Chuang, the Master

The origin of this priest was as follows: In the reign of the Emperor
T'ai Tsung of the T'ang dynasty, Ch'en Kuang-jui, a graduate of Hai
Chou, in his examination for the doctor's degree came out as _chuang
yuean_, first on the list. Wen Chiao (also named Man-t'ang Chiao), the
daughter of the minister Yin K'ai-shan, meeting the young academician,
fell in love with him, and married him. Several days after the wedding
the Emperor appointed Ch'en Kuang-jui Governor of Chiang Chou (modern
Chen-chiang Fu), in Kiangsu. After a short visit to his native town he
started to take up his post. His old mother and his wife accompanied
him. When they reached Hung Chou his mother fell sick and they were
forced to stay for a time at the Inn of Ten Thousand Flowers, kept
by one Liu Hsiao-erh. Days passed; the sickness did not leave her,
and as the time for her son to take over the seals of office was
drawing near, he had to proceed without her.

The Released Carp

Before his departure he noticed a fisherman holding in his hand a fine
carp; this he bought for a small sum to give to his mother. Suddenly
he noticed that the fish had a very extraordinary look, and, changing
his mind, he let it go in the waters of the Hung Chiang, afterward
telling his mother what he had done. She congratulated him on his
action, and assured him that the good deed would not go unrewarded.

The Chuang Yuean Murdered

Ch'en Kuang-jui re-entered his boat with his wife and a servant. They
were stopped by the chief waterman, Liu Hung, and his assistant. Struck
with the great beauty of Ch'en Kuang-jui's wife, the former planned
a crime which he carried out with the help of his assistant. At the
dead of night he took the boat to a retired spot, killed Ch'en and
his servant, threw their bodies into the river, seized his official
documents of title and the woman he coveted, passed himself off as the
real _chuang yuean_, and took possession of the magistracy of Chiang
Chou. The widow, who was with child, had two alternatives--silence
or death. Meantime she chose the former. Before she gave birth to her
child, T'ai-po Chin-hsing, the Spirit of the South Pole Star, appeared
to her, and said he had been sent by Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy,
to present her with a son whose fame would fill the Empire. "Above
all," he added, "take every precaution lest Liu Hung kill the child,
for he will certainly do so if he can." When the child was born