The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2 (98 page)

8
. “Weaving grass ropes . . . mouth”: an allusion to two classic stories on how to repay the kindness of others. In the first story, a certain Wei Ke
in the Spring and Autumn period had been told by his father that his favorite concubine should be allowed to remarry to someone should he die. Later, when the father became seriously ill, the man reversed his decision and wanted the concubine buried alive with him. Reasoning, however, that he should obey his father’s sane command given when he was well rather than the wish made in his delirium (“illness brings disorder; I shall follow his sanity
,
”), Wei Ke prevented the burial and married off the concubine. Hard pushed in battle afterwards, Wei was assisted by an old man, who entangled
his
foe’s cavalry with ropes woven of grass. In his dream that night, he was told that the old man was the concubine’s father. See
Zuo Commentary
, Duke Xuan
, Year 15 (SSJZS 2: 1888). In the second story, one Yang Bao
was only nine years old when he rescued a yellow bird in the mountain from attack by kites and hawks. After staying with Yang for over three months and having fully recovered, the bird flew away. That night, a yellow-robed youth appeared to Yang, bowing repeatedly and saying, “I’m the messenger of the Lady Queen Mother of the West. In gratitude for your kindness and assistance, please accept these four white jade bracelets, which should preserve your descendants from vice and bring them prosperity and success.” The source may be found in the
Xu Qixie ji
(Shanghai, 1937). The two stories provide the formation of the Chinese idiom,
jiecao hanhuan
, a phrase signifying deep and proper repayment of kindness.

9
. “Drawing . . . heron”: references to a common saying, originating from the famous Han general Ma Yuan
, who coined the maxim to caution his nephews from indulging in futile political discussions with flippant companions. See
Hou Han shu
,
j
54, “Ma Yuan zhuan,” in
Ershiwushi
1: 0748. Ma’s maxim says: “when one fails in the drawing a tiger, it will look like a dog; and, when one fails in the carving of a heron, it will look like a duck.”

10
. Local spirit: a pun on the term
tudi
(disciple), which is homophonous to local spirit,
tudi
.