Mouse vs Cat in Chinese Literature Read online

  and the birth of a baby boy, who is presented at a shrine, and no cat makes its appearance in these tales.27 These illustrated stories on the wedding of the mice belong to a larger group of picture books that portray the weddings of animals.28 Japan has a rich tradition of paintings showing animals engaged

  in human activities that goes back to the twelfth century and that is without a counterpart on the East Asian mainland. These twelfth-century paintings

  show rats fighting monkeys, but not cats. The prolific printmakers of the

  eighteenth and nineteenth centuries not only depicted mice, rats, and cats

  of all kinds in a realistic manner (including prints of cats catching mice), but also produced many prints showing cats or rodents in human dress and

  engaged in all kinds of human activities.29 The famous artist Utagawa Kuni-

  yoshi (1797–1892) in particular produced many prints of that latter type.30

  Medieval Japanese literature includes several stories of mice who take on

  human shape and in that guise try to marry young women. One story, pre-

  served in a small-format picture scroll of circa 1500, tells the story of a young woman who is eager to marry, so when a handsome suitor presents himself

  she is happy to accept his proposal. But when her mother, an old nun, arrives to attend the wedding ceremony and brings her cat, the groom-to-be turns

  into a rat.31 In a somewhat later story, the main character is the 120-year-old rat Gonnokami, who can take on human shape. Through the intervention of

  the bodhisattva Kannon (Guanyin), he marries a young maiden of only sev-

  enteen. In this story the wedding is consummated, but the bride eventually

  discovers her husband’s true nature and flees. Gonnokami is warned against

  pursuing her because she is now married to a rich man and has a fierce cat, and he decides to become a monk.32 All these stories are known as The Tale of a Rat (Nezumi no sōshi). Under the same title, yet another story has been preserved that most likely dates from circa 1600. In this story an old monk is disturbed in his sleep by scampering rodents; when he dozes off again he

  dreams he becomes a mouse, and when he complains in this guise to the other rodents about their behavior, one of them first complains about their miserable condition that allows them to come out only at night, next complains

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  e pi l ogu e

  about the amoral behavior of humans (including their use of rodents for

  entertainment), then engages in a long diatribe against the pampered lifestyle of the cats, and finally preaches a long sermon on the equality of all living beings as they equally participate in the Buddha nature, which culminates

  in the claim that the rodents are the purest animals on earth. The eloquent rat then undercuts these arguments by stealing the oil in a lampstand and

  breaking a bowl in the process.33

  From the early seventeenth century, we have yet another story called The Tale of the Cat (Neko no sōshi). This tale begins with the historical decree of 1602 allowing all cats in the city of Kyoto the liberty to freely kill mice and rats. An old monk first dreams of a rodent that confesses to him that mice

  and rats cannot change their ways, and in the following night he dreams of

  a cat that confesses to him that cats cannot stop themselves from killing

  rodents, sinful as the taking of life may be. Following this, the rodents meet, and after deliberation decide to vacate the city. The Japanese cat in The Tale of the Cat claims to descend from the tiger, but to have adjusted its size when crossing over to the small country of Japan; it also claims to communicate

  with other cats in Sanskrit.34 While The Tale of the Cat shows some similarity to the Arab tale of the dispute between the mouse and the cat in that both

  the rodent and the feline defend their behavior to a man of wisdom, it should be noted that the Japanese story does not directly confront the two animals as happens in the Middle Eastern tale (and in the Chinese accounts of the

  court case of the mouse and the cat). Even in Ando Shoeki’s (1703–1762) Tales from the World of the Law (Hōsei monogatari), when all animals gather in peace to judge the behavior of humans, the mice smartly keep their distance from the cats, even though the text places them close together.35 Very wisely so, as the cats compare their skills in catching rodents to learn from each other in Issai Chosan’s “The Miraculous Skills of Cats” (Neko no myōjutsu)

  of 1727.36

  For a Japanese description of an all-out war between the cats and the mice, we have to wait until the middle of the nineteenth century. The National Diet Library houses an illustrated woodblock-printed booklet by a certain Yoshitora titled The Battle of the Cats and the Mice (Neko nezumi gassen), which narrates its story in eight pictures with accompanying text. In these pictures, the cats and mice are outfitted as proper samurai.37 The eight illustrations depict the following scenes: The cat monster Nekomata (a mythical cat with

  two tails) decides to wage total war against the rats (1), which is discussed by the mice warriors (2). When Nekomata attacks with his bowmen, the mice

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  C ats a n d M ice i n L ov e a n d Wa r f rom E a st to W e st 181

  cats (4).38 When the cats return and use rat poison (5), the mice bring out a huge paper-mâché figure of a dog that scares off the cats (6), but once they know the dog is fake, the cats return in force. But when the mice are about to be defeated, the deity Daikokuten appears and orders a truce (7). The final illustration is given over to Daikokuten (8).39 Daikokuten, the god of wealth, is one of the most popular deities in Japan and is often depicted with a sack of rice and a white mouse, his favorite animal.40 The story of the battle between the cats and the mice must have been quite popular at that time, because it was treated twice by ukiyo­e artists of the nineteenth century in their color prints: Utagawa Yoshitsuya adapted the theme in a single print in 1843, while Utagawa Yoshitoshi (1839–1892) in 1859 produced a set of six full-color prints devoted to the war between felines and rodents, clearly inspired by Yoshitora’s booklet. In 1895, during the Sino-Japanese War, which was decided by Japan’s destruction of the Chinese Northern Fleet, a certain Utagawa Kunitoshi

  produced a one-page print titled The Sino­Japanese Naval Battle between the Cats and the Mice (Neko to nezumi Ni-Shin kaisen zu), in which warships are replaced by wooden tubs as brave Japanese cats defeat their mice opponents.41 In a print by Kobayashi Kiyochika of the same year, a Japanese cat ship bags a Chinese rat ship. But in Sketches from Hel , Yoshitoshi’s contemporary Kawanabe Kyōsai included one image of mice cruelly taking their

  revenge on a cat.42

  While the theme of the war between the cats and the mice is encountered

  widely in Northeast Africa and from east to west in Eurasia, the literary and visual adaptations of the theme appear to be largely original in each language.

  Each culture chose a local literary genre that allowed for satire, and each culture invented its own details of the story.

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>   Glossa ry of Chinese Ch a r acter s

  An Shigao 安世高

  Daode jing 道德經

  “Axian” 阿纖

  Dazhan Mao’ershan 大戰貓兒山

  Deng Xiaoping 鄧小平

  Bada Shanren 八大山人

  Deng Zhimo 鄧志謨

  Bai Yutang 白玉堂

  Devaraja Li 李天王

  Baijia gong’an 百家公案

  Di Qing 狄青

  Bainiao chaofeng 百鳥朝鳳

  die 蝶 (butterfly)

  Bainiao ming 百鳥名

  die 耋 (septuagenarian)

  Bainiu gaozhuang 白牛告狀

  Ding Yusheng 丁雨生

  Bao Gong 包公

  Diyong Furen 地湧夫人

  Bao Youfu 包柚斧

  Dongfang Shuo 東方朔

  Bao Zheng 包拯

  Dongping geyao yanyu ji 東平歌謠諺語

  baojuan 寶卷

  集

  Beishi 北史

  Duan Zhidi 段志的

  ben 本

  Duke Huan of Qi 齊桓公

  “Benmao shuo” 本貓說

  Duke Wen of Jin 晉文公

  bianfu 蝙蝠

  Bigan 比干

  Eight Cha 八蜡

  Empress Lü 呂后

  cangshu 倉鼠

  Erlang 二郎

  Cao Cao 曹操

  errenzhuan 二人轉

  Cao Ye 曹鄴

  Erya 爾雅

  Cao Zhi 曹植

  Erya yi 爾雅翼

  Caomang shi 草莽詩

  Caoshan Benji 曹山本寂

  Fang Xunshi 方濬師

  Cha jiu lun 茶酒論

  Feihong 蜚鴻

  Chang’e 嫦娥

  Feng Menglong 馮夢龍

  Chao Yuan 晁元

  Feng Xun 馮詢

  Chen An 陳黯

  Fengdu 豐都

  Chen Menglei 陳夢雷

  fu 福 (happiness)

  chou 丑

  fu 賦 (rhapsody, declamation piece)

  Chu Renhuo 褚人獲

  Fubai Zhuren 浮白主人

  Chuangwang 闖王

  Funiao fu 鵩鳥賦

  Chuci 楚辭

  Ciyun baojuan 慈雲寶卷

  Gan Luo 干羅

  Concubine Li 李妃

  Gao Di 高第

  Concubine Liu 劉妃

  Genbenshuo yiqie youbu binaye poseng

  Cui Youfu 崔佑甫

  shi 根本說一切有部畀奈耶破僧事

  gong’an 公案

  Dai Biaoyuan 戴表元

  “Gou mao shu” 狗貓鼠

  dan 旦

  Goujian 勾踐

  183

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  184

  Gl os s a ry of Ch i n e se Ch a r act e r s

  Guan Longfeng 關龍逢

  Jin Ping Mei 金瓶梅

  Guanyin 觀音

  jing 精

  guci 鼓詞

  Jinglü yixiang 經律異相

  Gujing ji 古鏡記

  Jingshi tongyan 警世通言

  Jingwei 精衛

  Han Xin 韓信

  Jingzhiju shihua 靜志居詩話

  Han Yu 韓愈

  Jinpai 金牌

  Han Zhang 韓章

  jinqu 錦曲

  Hao Wanhui 郝万慧

  Jinshu yinmao Li Bao 金鼠銀貓李寶

  haomi 耗米

  Haozi qu mao 耗子娶貓

  Kaiyuan chuanxin ji 開元傳信記

  He 何 (surname)

  kang 炕

  He Zunshi 何尊師

  Heavenly Master Zhang 張天師

  Lady Gao 高氏

  Hong Mai 洪邁

  Lady Gu 顧夫人

  Hongniang 紅娘

  Lady Qi 戚氏

  Hou Han shu 後漢書

  Lao She 老舍

  Hu Di (Mengdie) 胡迪夢蝶

  “Laoshu gao limao” 老鼠告貍貓

  Hualiu 驊騮

  laoshu jianü 老鼠嫁女

  huang 皇 (imperial)

  “Laoshu jianü ci” 老鼠嫁女詞

  huang 黃 (yellow)

  laoshu quqin 老鼠娶親

  Huang Han 黃漢

  Laoshu zitan 老鼠自嘆

  Huang Quan 黃荃

  Laoxue’an biji 老學庵筆記

  Huang Tingjian 黃庭堅

  Laozi 老子

  Huang Zhijun 黃之駿

  li 貍 (cat, wildcat)

  Huangting jing 黃庭經

  li 里 (measure of distance, roughly

  Huayan qule tanxiao jiuling 華燕趣樂談

  one-third of a mile)

  笑酒令

  Li 李 (surname)

  Huiwentang 會文堂

  Li Bao 李寶

  “Huying dazhan wenzai ge” 胡蠅大戰蚊

  Li Deyu 李德裕

  仔歌

  Li Fuyan 李復言

  Li He 李賀

  Im Che 林悌

  Li Jing 李敬

  Immortal Dong 董真人

  Li Jing 李靖 (heavenly king)

  Li Kejin 李克金

  Ji Yun 紀昀

  Li Liangxue 李梁學

  Jia Xishan 賈希山

  Li Mengyang 李夢陽

  Jia Yi 賈宜

  Li Mengyin 李夢寅

  jiamao 家貓

  Li Mi 李密

  Jiang Ping 蔣平

  Li Ping’er 李瓶兒

  Jiang Taigong 姜太公

  Li Shimin 李世民

  Jiang Tingxi 蔣婷錫

  Li Si 李斯

  Jianhu miji 堅瓠密集

  Li Yifu 李義甫

  Jie 桀

  Li Yu 李漁

  Jiemao fu 詰貓賦

  Li Zicheng 李自成

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  Gl os s a ry of Ch i n e se Ch a r act e r s

  185

  Liang Yusheng 梁玉繩

  Master Hu 胡生

  Lianshi 奩史

  Meng Zhang 孟章

  Liao Bingxiong 廖冰兄

  Mengliang lu 夢粱錄

  Liaozhai zhiyi 聊齋志異

  Mi Heng 禰衡

  Liji 禮記

  Minister Wang 王丞相

  “Limao huan taizi” 貍貓換太子

  Minjian wenxue 民間文學

  Limao shan 貍貓山

  mo 末

  Ling Mengchu 凌蒙初

  Mo Hongmei 莫紅梅

  “Lisao” 離騷

  Monk Sha 沙和尚

  Liu Bang 劉邦

  Liu Bei 劉備

  Namao jing 納貓經

  Liu Ji 劉基

  nanguan 南管

  Liu Jinchan 柳金蟬

  Nanquan Puyuan 南泉普願

  Liu Kezhuang 劉客庄

  Nezha 哪吒

  Liu Shizhong 劉時中

  Nichang xupu 霓裳續譜

  Liu Shu 柳舒

  Niu fu 牛賦

  Liu Xiang 劉向

  Niu Sengru 牛僧孺

  Liu Xianting 劉獻廷

  Niu su yuan 牛訴冤

  Liu Yuanqing 劉元卿

  Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元

  Pai’an jingqi 拍案驚奇

  Liuchu xiangfa 六畜相法

  Pan Jinlian 潘金蓮

  Longtu 龍圖

  Pan Peizhong 潘培忠

  Longtu gong’an 龍圖公案

  Pan Renmei 潘仁美

  Lou Ashu 阿鼠

  Pei Kuan 裴寬

  Lu Xun 魯迅
/>   Pei Xu 裴諝

  Lu You 陸游

  Pu Songling 蒲松齡

  Lu’er 騄駬

  Lü’er 绿耳

  “Qian mao” 遣貓

  Lunhui xingshi 輪迴醒世

  Qian Yong 錢泳

  Luo Yuan 羅愿

  Qian Zhongshu 錢鍾書

  Luyi ji 錄異記

  Qiantang sanren An Yushi 錢塘散人安

  遇時

  Ma Tongxiu 馬佟秀

  Qiji 騏驥

  Ma Yiqin 馬一琴

  Qin Gui 秦檜

  mao 貓 (cat)

  Qinding gujin tushu jicheng 欽定古今圖

  mao 髦 (eighty years of age)

  書集成

  mao 卯 (one of the twelve cyclical

  qingqu 清曲

  characters)

  Qinjing 禽經

  Maocheng ji 貓城記

  Qixia wuyi 七俠五義

  “Maogao” 貓誥

  Qu Yuan 屈原

  maoguishen 貓鬼神

  Qutu Zhongren 屈突仲任

  Maosheng 貓乘

  maoxucao 貓鬚草

  ren 仁

  Maoyuan 貓苑

  Ren Ping 任憑

  Master Bin 彬師

  Ren’er 仁兒

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  Gl os s a ry of Ch i n e se Ch a r act e r s

  Saihua 賽花

  Sun Three 孫三

  San Miao 三苗

  Sun Wukong 孫悟空

  Sanbao taijian xia Xiyang ji tongsu

  yanyi 三寶太監下西洋記通俗演義

  Taiping guangji 太平廣記

  Sanguozhi yanyi 三國志演義

  Taohuanü 桃花女

  sanjiao 三教

  Tu’an Gu 屠岸賈

  Sanzang 三藏

  sao 騷

  Wang Baochuan 王寶釧

  Shanxi minjian wenxue 山西民間文學

  Wang Cai 汪采

  shen 神

  Wang Chutong 王初桐

  Shen Qifeng 沈起鳳

  Wang Dousheng 王A生

  Shen Zhou 沈周

  Wang Du 王度

  Shennong 神農

  Wang Jiusi 王九思

  Shenwu fu 神烏賦

  Wang Qiugui 王秋桂

  sheshu 社鼠

  Wang Xizhi 王羲之

  Shi Jun 施俊

  Wang Yanmei 王衍梅

  Shi Yukun 石玉昆

  Wang Yaping 王亞平

  Shiji 史記

  Wang Zhiying 王稚影

  Shijing 詩經

  Wanshou 萬壽

  Shiren yuxie 詩人玉屑

  wei 未