Chang Pu-Liang by Pu Songling
Sheltering from rain and hail in Chih-li, a trader hears a heavenly voice ordering that Chang Pu-liang's crops be spared. Villagers explain that the wealthy farmer lends grain to the poor and accepts repayments without measuring them. They accompany the trader to the fields and find Chang's crops unharmed amid widespread damage.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Short Story, Supernatural, Moral Tale · 270 words
First lines
A certain trader who was travelling in the province of Chih-li, being overtaken by a storm of rain and hail, took shelter among some standing crops by the way-side. There he heard a voice from heaven, saying, "These are Chang Pu-liang's fields; do not injure his crops. " The trader began to wonder who this Chang Pu-liang could be, and how, if he was _pu liang_ (not virtuous), he came to be under divine protection; so when the storm was over and he had reached the neighbouring village, he made enquiries on the subject, and told the people there what he had heard. The villagers then informed him that Chang Pu-liang was a very wealthy farmer, who was accustomed every spring to make loans of grain to the poor of the district, and who was not too particular about getting back the exact amount he had lent, -- taking, in fact, whatever they brought him without discussion; hence the sobriquet of _pu liang_ "no measure" (_i.e._, the man who doesn't measure the repayments of his loans).[1] After that, they all proceeded in a body to the fields, where it was discovered that vast damage had been done to the crops generally, with the exception of Chang Pu-liang's, which had escaped uninjured.
Genres
- Short Story — A single brief narrative follows a trader's discovery of a farmer's generosity and the survival of his crops.
- Supernatural — A heavenly voice orders protection for the farmer's crops, which escape the storm's destruction.
- Moral Tale — The farmer's lenient grain loans explain the divine protection that initially puzzles the trader.
Tags
grain loans · generosity · divine protection · hailstorms · farming · wordplay
What this Textopian page supports
Chang Pu-Liang 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, Moral Tale
- Length: 270 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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