The Priest's Warning by Pu Songling
Mistakenly taken to Purgatory, Chang sees his priest brother tortured for spending religious subscriptions on gambling and debauchery. Returned to life, he finds his brother suffering from a leg abscess at the Hsing-fu monastery and tells him what he saw. The frightened priest gives up wine and meat, devotes himself to religious exercises, and recovers in a fortnight, thereafter living as an exemplary priest.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Supernatural Fiction, Short Story, Moral Tale · 559 words
First lines
A man named Chang died suddenly, and was escorted at once by devil-lictors[1] into the presence of the King of Purgatory. His Majesty turned to Chang's record of good and evil, and then, in great anger, told the lictors they had brought the wrong man, and bade them take him back again. As they left the judgment-hall, Chang persuaded his escort to let him have a look at Purgatory; and, accordingly, the devils conducted him through the nine sections,[2] pointing out to him the Knife Hill,[3] the Sword Tree, and other objects of interest. By-and-by, they reached a place where there was a Buddhist priest, hanging suspended in the air head downwards, by a rope through a hole in his leg. He was shrieking with pain, and longing for death; and when Chang approached, lo! he saw that it was his own brother. In great distress, he asked his guides the reason of this punishment; and they informed him that the priest was suffering thus for collecting subscriptions on behalf of his order, and then privately squandering the proceeds in gambling and debauchery.[4] "Nor," added they, "will he escape this torment unless he repents him of his misdeeds. " When Chang came round,[5] he thought his brother was already dead, and hurried off to the Hsing-fu monastery, to which the latter belonged. As he went in at the door, he heard a loud shrieking; and, on proceeding to his brother's room, he found him laid up with a very bad abscess in his leg, the leg itself being tied up above him to the wall, this being, as his brother informed him, the only bearable position in which he could lie. Chang now told him what he had seen in Purgatory, at which the priest was so terrified, that he at once gave up taking wine and meat,[6] and devoted himself entirely to religious exercises. In a fortnight he was well, and was known ever afterwards as a most exemplary priest.
Genres
- Supernatural Fiction — Devil-lictors mistakenly take Chang to Purgatory and return his soul to his body after he witnesses his brother's punishment.
- Short Story — A brief prose narrative follows Chang's mistaken arrest, his warning to his brother, and the priest's recovery.
- Moral Tale — The priest's misuse of religious donations brings torment, while his repentance is followed by recovery and changed conduct.
Tags
Purgatory · Buddhist priests · religious donations · gambling · repentance · supernatural punishment
What this Textopian page supports
The Priest's Warning 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: Supernatural Fiction, Short Story, Moral Tale
- Length: 559 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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