Notes on a screen with lotus flowers

A young official named Ying set off by water to a duty station. The boatman took a look at their good, threw Ina into the river, killed the servants, and decided to marry the widow, Ms. Wang, as her son.

The young lady, having lulled obedience to the vigilance of the thief, after a short time ran away and reached the convent, where she found shelter.

She was good-natured, and besides, she had a wonderful brush.

Somehow an occasional guest who received an overnight stay in the monastery, in gratitude, donated to the abbess a picturesque scroll with the image of lotus flowers, which she hung on an unpainted screen. Ms. Wang immediately recognized her husband's hand. I asked the abbess about the donor, she named a certain Gu Asya, a boatman.

The widow wrote a poem in memory of her husband on a scroll. Soon, a random connoisseur, admiring the scroll and poetic inscription, bought it with a screen and then presented it to an important dignitary in the city of Suzhou. One day, a merchant appeared to the same dignitary and offered to buy four cursive scrolls, which he allegedly performed with his own hands. The dignitary became interested in an unusual artist-dealer. It turned out that this is the same Yin who did not drown in the river, sailed ashore, where he found shelter with coastal people. Food is mined by drawing and calligraphy.

Then Ying spotted a lotus scroll and recognized his thing and his wife’s hand. The dignitary promised to catch the robber, but in the meantime he settled Ina in his house.

An investigation began, and soon the name of the person who presented the scroll to the monastery and the name of the nun who made the inscription became clear. The dignitary decided to invite the nun to himself - supposedly to read the sutras. His wife asked the guest. She actually turned out to be the wife of Ina. The boatman was monitored, then they seized him, discovering with him all the good of In. The robber was executed, the stolen was returned to the victim. Ying was happy.

But it was time to return to the service. The dignitary suggested And well, get married before a long journey. He refused - he still loved his wife and hoped to meet. Touched by the owner decided to arrange the guest lush farewell. When everyone gathered, he invited a nun. Ying recognized his wife, her husband; they hugged and burst into tears.

All their lives they stayed together and always thanked the fate and the people who united them after separation.

Chang'an Night Walk

This happened in those years when peace and tranquility reigned in the Celestial Empire. Among the successor’s retinue, among others, there were two scientists of outstanding talent - Prince Tang and Prince Wen. It was their custom to gather during leisure hours at the banquet table, or even wander around the neighborhood, visiting abandoned temples and monasteries.

Once they decided to visit the grave hills - the tombs of sovereigns of former dynasties. They volunteered to be accompanied by local government official Uma Qi Ren. Halfway, the horse under Qi Ren limped, and Qi Ren had to lag behind. Lowering the reins, he trusted the horse. It got imperceptibly dark. The area around was deserted. The traveler began to overcome fear. Suddenly, ahead, as if a twinkle in the darkness flickered. Qi Ren arrived - a simple hut, the doors wide open, the lamp in the hut was about to go out.

The servant called the masters. A young man appeared, and then his wife - an extraordinary beauty, even though in a simple dress, without blush and white. Set the table. The items are not rich, but very elegant. The food and drink are excellent.

When the wine was finished, the hostess admitted to the guest that she and her husband were people of the Tang Dynasty and had lived here for about seven hundred years. Few people wander into their house, and therefore they would like to tell something to the guest.

It turned out that in ancient times they lived in the capital city of Chang'an. They kept pancake, although both came from the same estate. It was just that in a troubled time they decided to burrow in obscurity. Unfortunately, a certain mighty nobleman who lived in the neighborhood fell in love with a beautiful pancake man and took her by force to his estate. However, she vowed to remain faithful to her husband, in princely chambers she did not utter a word, did not succumb to promises, while maintaining her firmness. This went on for a month. The prince did not know what to do, and the woman only prayed to let her go home.

The rumor about what happened penetrated the city. Mockers claimed that the pancake man voluntarily gave his wife to the prince. It came to officials in charge of weather records of the capital's events. Those without checking, they wrote down everything and added something on their own, and different scribblers tried: they made all kinds of slander. But in reality, only the persistent requests of her husband forced the prince to let the woman go home.

The story amazed Qi Ren. He was surprised that a similar example of high fidelity passed by the attention of poets and writers. He was also struck by how vividly the miserable people still feel the resentment inflicted upon him. Meanwhile, the offended husband began to remember those who raised a slander on him: all these were small people, who violated duty and ritual. And the prince himself did not even know about virtue. The wine was finished, the lamp burned out. The hosts presented the guest with their compositions, laid him on a couch in the eastern office. Soon the dawn came, in the distant temple the bell struck. Qi Ren opened his eyes. I looked around. Around is empty, no buildings. His dress was covered with thick grass and was wet. The horse slowly chews grass.

He returned home, showed compositions to friends. They admired - the authentic style of the Tang era! They ordered to be printed so that they could be preserved for centuries.