A Taoist Devotee by Pu Songling
After his wife dies, Chü Yao-ju leaves home and becomes a priest. Years later, friends withhold his cassock and staff to keep him from leaving after a brief visit, but his belongings fly out of the house to him when he strolls outside the village, allowing him to escape.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Short Story, Supernatural Fiction · 219 words
First lines
Chü Yao-ju was a Ch‘ing-chou man, who, when his wife died, left his home and became a priest.[1] Some years afterwards he returned, dressed in the Taoist garb, and carrying his praying-mat[2] over his shoulder; and after staying one night he wanted to go away again. His friends, however, would not give him back his cassock and staff; so at length he pretended to take a stroll outside the village, and when there, his clothes and other belongings came flying out of the house after him, and he got safely away.
Genres
- Short Story — A brief prose narrative recounts a widower's departure into priesthood and his escape after a return visit.
- Supernatural Fiction — The priest's clothes and belongings fly out of a house to reach him outside the village.
Tags
Taoism · priesthood · bereavement · supernatural escape
What this Textopian page supports
A Taoist Devotee is listed on Textopian as a short story by Pu Songling, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Pu Songling
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Short Story, Supernatural Fiction
- Length: 219 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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