A Chinese Jonah by Pu Songling
During a river storm, an armoured angel displays Sun Pi-chên's name, prompting his fellow passengers to force him into a small boat for fear of sharing his supposed punishment. Their vessel capsizes while his boat survives. A note explains that they misread the character meaning saved in his name as a similar-sounding character meaning struck.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Short Story, Supernatural Fiction · 328 words
First lines
A man named Sun Pi-chên was crossing the river[1] when a great thunder-squall broke upon the vessel and caused her to toss about fearfully, to the great terror of all the passengers. Just then, an angel in golden armour appeared standing upon the clouds above them, holding in his hand a scroll inscribed with certain characters, also written in gold, which the people on the vessel easily made out to be three in number, namely _Sun Pi-chên_. So, turning at once to their fellow-traveller, they said to him, "You have evidently incurred the displeasure of Heaven; get into a boat by yourself, and do not involve us in your punishment. " And without giving him time to reply whether he would do so or not, they hurried him over the side into a small boat and set him adrift; but when Sun Pi-chên looked back, lo! the vessel itself had capsized.[2]
Genres
- Short Story — A brief prose narrative follows a river crossing, the passengers' expulsion of one traveller, and the reversal of their expectations.
- Supernatural Fiction — An angel in golden armour appears above the vessel with a scroll bearing a passenger's name.
Tags
river storms · angels · wordplay · misinterpretation · survival
What this Textopian page supports
A Chinese Jonah is listed on Textopian as a short story by Pu Songling, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Pu Songling
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Short Story, Supernatural Fiction
- Length: 328 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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