Throughout this Chinese
legend the Chekiang man named Ning, who is presented as an honourable fellow,
gradually succumb to temptations, which is a result of the seductive demons
that appears both physical and psychological. To fight this duality a magic sword
proves it’s worth but it may have it’s sacrifices.
The narrator in this legend
is a third person narrator. The narrator is linked to the main character Ning,
who is described in the beginning of the legend: “NING TS’AI-CH’EN was a Chekiang man, and a good-natured, honourable
fellow, fond of telling people that he had only loved once.”[1]
In this quote we get introduced to main character Ning. We hear that Ning is a
man, who had only loved a woman once and that he is considered an honest and
reliable man. Furthermore it is important for the reader to notice that Ning
had only loved once, because nobody can avoid to be exposed to temptation and
Ning is no excuse. Ning took shelter in a temple in the north of the city of
Chinhua. A way to interpret why Ning goes to the temple is that he is fighting
insecurities in his mind and seeks what will replace this insecurity. Which is
emphasized because Ning is unable to sleep during the nights. At Chinhua he
meets these demons, which only comes out at night. “She then produced a lump of gold which he threw away, and told her to
go after it or he would call his friend. So she had no alternative but to go,
muttering something about his heart being like iron or stone.”[2]
In the story the demons appear in a physical form, which can be seen in
the quote above because the demon appears as a woman named Hsiao-ch’ien, who
tempts Ning but as an honourable man he resists it. But it is also possible to
interpret that they are Nings inner demons. The inner demons can
be interpreted as Nings insecurity problems.
be interpreted as Nings insecurity problems.
After Hsiao-ch’ien tries to
tempt Ning with the lump of gold she realises that he is a man with a
steel-cold heart. This leads them to making a deal, where Ning is to dig up her
bones and bury them a quiet place. After speaking with the demon, Ning is told
to sleep with a Taoist priest, named Yen for the night. Yen and Ning spends the
night in the same room, and thereafter Yen offers Ning a magic sword, that can
protect him against the evil. Ning carries out his promise and brings with him
Hsiao-ch’ien bones, who follows him and appears near his home: “Looking
closely at her, he observed that she had a beautiful complexion, and feet as
small as bamboo shoots, being altogether much prettier now that he came to see
her by daylight.”[3] At this point, Ning realises just how beautiful the
demon Hsiao-ch’ien is. As it emerges from the quote her beauty dazzles and
seduces him and the temptation is too strong for him to handle. He succumbs to
the pressure, and brings her to his home so she can meet his mother and wife.
At first Nings mother is afraid of Hsiao-ch’ien, but as the time passes they
slowly get on well together.”Hsiao-ch’ien
then went into the kitchen and got ready the dinner, running about the place as
if she had lived there all her life.”[4] Hsiao-ch’ien
greases for Nings mother almost like she is winning her over on her side with a
force from deep within. Hsiao-ch’ien has not only affected the mother but also
Nings wife, who by the time is in bed, diagnosed with a serious illness. “By-and-by, Ning’s wife died, and his mother
secretly wished him to espouse Hsiao-ch’ien.”[5] The quote shows
that Ning’s wife little by little dies since Hsiao-ch’ien moved in at Nings
house. A way to interpret this is that his love to his wife slowly fades, which
is underlined by the fact that his mother changed her prejudices against
Hsiao-ch’ien to be such overwhelmed that she asks her son to marry her. Now the
demon has the opportunity to replace the wife, and she can start her
relationship with Ning. Ning is now blinded by the physical demon and it raises
a question about, whether Ning is still an honourable fellow.
Time
passes and Hsiao-ch’ien has been under the influence of surrounding life in
this upper world that she is no more afraid of the sword-case, but she has
though been much agitated because she fears a devil in the temple will carry
her off due to her escape: “Nothing more
was heard, and the sword-case resumed its original size. Ning was greatly
alarmed, but Hsiao-ch’ien came out rejoicing, and said, »There’s an end of my troubles.«”[6] The sword has now killed the evil,
but only in its psychological form. It destroyed the insecurities in Ning’s
mind and made it possible for him to fulfill his dreams and guaranteed him a
family in the future. The sword didn’t kill Ning’s wife Hsiao-ch’ien, but only
the essence of the evil demon inside of her. Ning now has a family, but he is
no longer considered for a man who had only loved once and therefore the usage
of the sword had it’s sacrifices.
Ning now got what he sought, a stable home with a wife and a newborn son. But in the fight against the duality of the demons he neglected his values. His usage of the magic sword, which fought the evil, had its sacrifices since he no longer has only loved once, but has succumbed to temptations. That is to say that Ning changed his set of values and have now become a man with a materialistic point of view.
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