Доклады Международного конгресса ИИСАА. Т. 1

III. Far East, South and South-East Asia / Дальний Восток, Южная и Юго-Восточная Азия Доклады Международного конгресса по источниковедению и историографии стран Азии и Африки. Т. 1. 2020 489 A beautiful girl Qian-niang ( 倩娘 ) and a youth Wang Zhou ( 王宙 ) are in deep love, but the girl’s father promises her to another man, knowing nothing about their feelings. Deeply insulted Wang Zhou leaves for the capital when of a sudden Qian- niang gains him up and wishes to stay. When after five years the young couple reverts, it turns out that Qian-niang hasn’t left home, being seriously ill for all that time. Then the two Qian-niangs merge together, and it becomes clear that the runaway was just the soul of a real girl [Taiping Guang Ji, juan 358 1 ]. In fact, it has never been explained what combination of souls was meant by Chen Xuan-you or how this spiritual aggregation was enabled to give a birth to a child, while a part of spirit was remaining in Qian-niang’s diseased body, having been left at her parents’ home. Somehow these details have been taken as granted and never demanded a thorough explication. Moreover, the plot of the novelette (that may have also been adopted from some earlier sources) has influenced a lot of writers, especially Song ( 宋 , 960–1279) and Yuan ( 元 , 1271–1368) playwrights (including Zheng Guang-zu ( 鄭光祖 , 1264–?)), who’ve created a number of illustrious plays retelling the story of Qianniang’s love. Presumably this plot has brought to life the well-known Pu Songling’s ( 蒲松齡 , 1640–1715) story «Nie Xiao-qian» ( 聶小倩 ), telling about a beautiful lady’s ghost who wishes to abandon her services for a vicious demon and become an exemplary wife of a young scholar [the story is placed in the 2 nd juan of the classical 12-juan corpus 2 and also in the 2 nd juan of the alternate 16-juan collection 3 ]. But another story by Pu Song-ling, «Student Ye» ( 葉生 ) is surely developing the same outline — a soul replacing a person as a result of extreme emotional disturbance. Though, the main emotion here is not conjugal devotion, but gratitude and loyalty. Student Ye from Henan is talented and hard-working, but his efforts have never been adequately estimated at the government exams. When a high official Ding Cheng-he ( 丁乘鶴 ) appears in their county, he at once takes the talented youth under protection and finds a way to give him an official position and scholarship in the local academic structures. Hence the coming exams also bring mere frustration, and deep disappointment makes Ye seriously ill. He can’t even walk and is positively unable to accompany Ding Cheng-he on his way to the hometown. Ding Cheng-he waits until one morning Ye eventually appears at his doors and declares himself totally recovered and ready for the journey. On arrival Ye becomes a tutor for Ding 1 Taiping Guang Ji ( 太平廣記 , Records of the Taiping Era). V. 4. P. 2831–2832. 2 Pu Song-ling ( 蒲松龄 ). Liao Zhai zhi yi ( 聊斋志异 , Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio) / ZhangYou-he jijiao ( 張友鶴輯校 , compiled and verified by ZhangYou-he). Shang- hai: Guji chubanshe, 2011. V. 1. P. 160–168. 3 Pu Song-ling ( 蒲松龄 ). Xiangzhu Liao Zhai zhi yi tu yong ( 詳注聊齋志異圖詠 , Commented and illustrated Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio) (reprinted Qing original). Beijing: Zhongguo shudian, 1981. V. 1. P. 132–138.