Mouse vs Cat in Chinese Literature Page 24
village of Hole in the district of Foot of the Wall in the prefecture Earth.
He is fifty years of age. The accusation is submitted because the evil cat, without any decent business of his own, abuses and harms the common
people.
Ever since the birth of people, my grandfather has been listed among
the twenty-eight lunar mansions and my father is the lord of the twelve
birth-year images. Originally I am a locally registered citizen, but I
would not dare associate with the people of this world as an equal, so
I live in a hole in the ground, where I lead my life. During the day I keep This content downloaded from 129.174.21.5 on Wed, 17 Jul 2019 13:04:39 UTC
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my gate closed and do not go out, but during the night I spend my time
by making a living. What I eat is some coarse tea and some bland rice,
and I never enjoy any fine dishes or seasoned soups. I keep to my lot and
go in and out with lowered head. I suffer in silence and do not dare raise
my voice. How could I have known that the evil cat would arbitrarily
act the bully? Each time he sees mice, he will grab them alive and take
them still living—when he has eaten one of us, he is waiting for the
next two! His only regret is that he cannot exterminate the grass and
annihilate the roots! During their lives these cats do not have any job,
but they allow themselves to be diligently fed and pampered by their
owners. When it is hot they will rest and doze in high pavilions, and
when it is cold they will stay with young girls. When sleeping they don’t
make any distinction between male and female, and when eating they
don’t care about noble or base. When they hold us mice between their
jaws, they don’t let us die quickly but they still want to play with us.
When I feign to have lost consciousness, he feigns to massage me and
ever so lightly pushes and tickles me. Grasping us with his nails and
swallowing us with his maw, he wants to kill our whole race. The good
and the virtuous he hurts in the same way. He has harmed our whole
family, and we all are filled with hatred, but suffering this injustice
there was no place to which we could appeal. So I cannot but lay my
plaint before Your Excellency Lord Yama. May you perspicaciously
investigate the wrong I have suffered. May you consider the right and
wrong in this case and investigate the right and wrong of this case and
act accordingly.
When the responsible officer had finished writing this statement, he recited it once and handed it over to Old Mouse. When the latter arrived before
Lord Yama, he submitted it. Once Lord Yama had read it, he was overcome
by rage and immediately ordered Yellow-Oriole Ghost and Lucky-Tiger
Ghost to go and arrest Wildcat so he might be interrogated in this case.44
“You two ghosts, take this tally and don’t tarry or dawdle
But quickly go to the world of light to arrest that Wildcat.”
After consulting the head of ghosts and associate judge,
They set out with all speed and left the world of shade.
When they arrived in the world of light and walked around,
They found that each and every family was keeping a cat.
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As they didn’t know which one was named in this case,
The two ghosts were in a quandary and felt perplexed.
But it was fated that the cat was to suffer this ordeal:
The local gods of the soil knew all the ins and outs—
The responsible god of the soil showed them the way,
So they arrested Wildcat and returned to the shades.
Now tell that when Wildcat arrived in the world of shade and had greeted
the responsible officer of the Office of Speedy Retribution, he wanted him
to write a statement but had no money to pay him. The responsible officer
said, “Wildcat, Old Mouse has accused you of being a loafer and a parasite, so who is willing to write a statement on your behalf?” So Wildcat had no
other solution but to appear before Lord Yama and present his defense
orally. But luckily he ran into Master Hu. As soon as Master Hu saw him,
he asked, “Why have you come here?” The cat replied, “I have been accused
by Old Mouse.” When Master Hu heard this, he was overcome by rage and
cursed the mouse:
“In the world it has always been the cats that catch mice,
There never once was a mouse that dared accuse a cat!
This is something that has never been seen in this world:
Involuntarily my heart is feeling as if incinerated by fire!
Because I knew that the traitor Qin Gui had killed Yue Fei,
Hatred was filling my bosom and I raged against Heaven.
Because he had not received any retribution while alive,
I made that journey to the realm of shade down below.
Only when Yue Fei and his sons had been duly rewarded,
Was the boiling rage in my breast dissipated for good.
But now I today come across the case of this Wildcat,
The flames of my rage rise as high as ten thousand rods.
If he can submit a writ of accusation, you can counter:
Let me write a statement for you to submit in defense!”
But Wildcat said, “I don’t have the money for a written statement. Let me
orally plead when I appear before Lord Yama.” But Hu could not suppress
his rage and said, “Wildcat, whom do you take me for? I am the student Hu
Di, also known as Mengdie, who cursed out King Yama because he could
not accept that Qin Gui had killed Yue Fei and his son!” Thereupon he wrote a statement on behalf of the cat, which reads,
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The person who submits this defense statement is Wildcat, a person
from the Thunderclap Monastery in the Western Regions now residing
in the city of Kangton, aged ninety years. This statement is submitted
because a criminal element impoverishes the wise and good and has
lodged a wrongful accusation in lying words.
I, Wildcat, was born in the Western Regions, where I nurtured my
nature by reciting the name of the Buddha. Throughout my life I never
coveted wine, sex, money, or honor. When in the Song dynasty the Five
Rats created chaos, killing and harming the good people and disturbing
the order of the imperial court, the Perfected Person Zhang placed me in
a box at the order of the Buddha.45 The Star of Literature Bao Wenzheng
served as witness when, in front of the Buddha, he swore an oath [that he
would return me as soon as I had killed the Five Rats]. When they took
me to the Eastern Capital, I caught four of the five rats, but allowed one
to escape. This was my mistake of momentarily paying insufficient atten-
> tion. Because of this, they kept me in the Eastern Capital so I could not
return. They condemned me to keeping watch at all times in front of the
hole of the mouse. Ever since the Song dynasty, I have done so, and it
has always been my job to catch mice. But still he has lodged a wrongful
accusation in lying words!
Allow me to tell about the behavior of the mice that makes them
detested by mankind. They bitterly harm the people of this world. They
drink all the oil in the lamps in front of the Buddha, and they dare swal-
low the articles offered before the gods. They chew holes in clothes and
damage books and sutras. They gnaw holes in oil baskets and rice steam-
ers. No matter whether essays or accounts, without distinction between
case files and government documents—when they come across them,
they eat them all till they are finished off. They enrage people to such
extent that they clap their hands and beat their breasts, and our owners
curse us first thing they open their mouths and we feel so ashamed that
our faces turn red all over. We cannot but attentively guard the place and
make our rounds by day and night. During the daytime these mice hide
in their holes in the ground, but when evening comes they cruelly cause
harm. If Your Lordship still doesn’t believe me, just have a look at the
holes in the cloth on your table! They feed on the faces of the dead and
even want to gouge out the eyes of the living. If we cats would not sup-
press them, they would even become monsters and turn into demons!
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When they give birth, it is seven or eight in one go. And still they think
that their offspring is not enough! On the tenth of the First Month of the
current year, they even summoned mountain bandits and plain robbers
for the bride-fetching for their son and rose in rebellion with their armed forces. How would the people of this world have any peace if we cats had
not suppressed them?
They steal flour and rob grain; they cheat the officials and cheat the ruler.
Their myriads of sins flood the heavens and still they falsely accuse good
people. I submit this defense statement, which in each detail is based on
fact, and implore Your Lordship to perspicaciously investigate the facts.
When Master Hu was finished writing, he recited it once. Wildcat was very
pleased on hearing this and expressed his thanks repeatedly. Bowing with
folded hands, he took his leave and went to the office of King Yama. When
he submitted his statement, the clerk in charge of receiving and transmit-
ting documents happened to be Market-Day Rat. When he found out that
this statement concerned a rebuttal of Old Mouse, he secretly thought
to himself, “All mice and rats throughout the whole world are one family.
If I would present this statement on his behalf, that would be a bad thing.
Let me keep it here and suppress it. That would be the best. But let me first demand my fee from him.” So he said to the cat, “Give me the fee.” In his
panic the cat was struck dumb: “Even though I have a perfect statement of
defense, I don’t have any cash on me, so I cannot give you anything.”
But the very moment the cat wanted to walk away, he met with Tail-Fire
Tiger, who said, “If all the mice and rats throughout the whole world are one family, the cats and tigers throughout the whole world are also one family.
Don’t walk away, but follow me inside.”46 When he came to the document
bucket, he shouted, “Who is the one in charge?” “That’s me,” answered
Market-Day Rat. When Tail-Fire Tiger had explained the case of the cat
to him, Market-Day Rat presented the statement to King Yama. When the
latter had read the statement, he issued the order that the case would be
heard the next day at the morning session. The associate judge instructed
the ghostly runners, “Both parties in the case are not allowed to go far away.
Tomorrow they have to be present for the investigation and the verdict.”
The realm of shade and the realm of light are all alike,
Throughout the world they everywhere demand fees.
King Yama was to hear the case in court tomorrow,
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So the ghostly runners hastily informed both parties.
First they told Old Mouse to come and attend the hearing,
Next they ordered Wildcat not to go too far away.
They hastily invited Black Lord to serve as witness,
But they didn’t ask Kaifeng’s47 Star of Literature.48
“Both parties must come together to attend the hearing;
Whoever, despite this order, fails to arrive commits a crime.
The Yellow-Oriole Ghost will submit the order of arrest;
The Lucky-Tiger Ghost will lock the arrested in chains.”
At the third quarter of the fifth watch they all had arrived:
In front of the hall and behind there was quite a crowd.
Now tell that when Lord Yama had ascended the precious hall, he ordered the associate judge to hand him the file. When he had read through it from the
very beginning to the end, he told Wildcat to come forward and asked him,
“Why has Old Mouse lodged this accusation? Now tell your side of the story
in all detail.”
Wildcat stepped forward and then hurried to kowtow,
Then cried out, “Your Lordship, please kindly listen!
I, the cat, while alive don’t have any inherited fields;
I am not a locally established citizen of these parts.
My home is the Thunderclap Monastery in the West,
Where I nourished my nature by reciting the sutras.
I have never paid any attention to wine or to sex
And never concerned myself with money or honor.
In the peaceful reign of the Son of Heaven of the Song
The Five Rats created chaos in the Eastern Capital:
At court none could know the true Son of Heaven;
In the provinces they ravaged the common people.
Demon troops and ghostly officers without number
Tightly surrounded the Eastern Capital on all sides.
One rat took on the shape of the Song Son of Heaven;
Yet another transformed himself into Bao Wenzheng.
After they had killed the Star of Literature Su Zixiang,
They also caused the death of noble Master Guan.
At Su Family Village they created quite a disturbance:
The beans they had shattered turned into soldiers!
No one could tell the number of infantry and cavalry;
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These rats also called up a storm and a downpour.
They trampled the crops in the fields, inspiring fear;
They also robbed people’s w
ives, creating terror.
They separated husbands from wives so they were scattered,
They forced fathers and sons apart so they couldn’t meet.
They killed and wounded government troops and officers,
They harmed and killed common people without number.
The officials and officers at court were at a loss what to do,
So they invited the Perfected Person Zhang from Jiangxi.49
The Perfected Person observed them with his divine eye,
But even he did not know who these demonic spirits were.
The powers of the demonic spirits were quite exceptional:
Nobody knew what their true origin might have been.
The Demon-Beheading Sword could not behead them;
The Demon-Viewing Mirror did not show any shape.
The Demon-Catching Rope this time was of no use at all
To the utter frustration of the Star of Literature Bao.
Together with the Heavenly Master he could not but
Hurry and seek the Buddha’s aid at the Thunderclap.
When they saw the Buddha they implored his assistance,
And the Buddha of course fully understood the issue.
He gave them one red-lacquered box and he told them
To hasten to the Eastern Capital, catch the demons!
The creature that was hidden inside that lacquered box
Was called Cat Number One and was my elder brother.
But while on the road these two men started talking,
Very much afraid that the Buddha was fooling them.
‘These demonic spirits at court are way too terrifying!
By the looks of it, this little box has too little power!’
Halfway back they opened the box to have a look,
And so released the cat—it entered the mountains.
My eldest brother now could not go back to the West,
And so the world till today has to suffer the harm:
Because of this there are now tigers in this world;
Eating men and killing beasts, they’re the big cats!
In this world we often suffer the damage of tigers:
The Perfected Person, all remorse, now went home.
These demonic spirits so turned out to be rodents!
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