The Concubine of Heng Mansion

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.1

Word count: 589 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

In the pond of the Prince of Heng's mansion in Qingzhou, a hundred thousand taels of silver lie buried; Wang Yuyang's Chibei Outan records it. The affair of the ghost concubine in the mansion is recorded in Liaozhai. Beyond this there are other anecdotes. One concubine in the mansion was over forty. After the Prince of Heng's downfall, she fled among the common people. An old scholar hid her and took her as a concubine. She said that in the mansion she had served in the kitchen, specially in charge of the one dish of fried chicken brains. The scholar said, "Try making it for me, to feast this old glutton." She replied, "In the mansion we kept a number of live chickens; I would pick those equal in male and female, with full and perfect feathers, and cut and cook them, so that color, fragrance, and taste were all complete. You are a poor scholar—how could you get a number of live chickens?" One day a disciple of his passed the examination and sacrificed to his ancestors, sending ten live chickens as a gift. He told her, "Can you choose the finest and cook them?" She looked them over and said, "There are still some fit to eat." Then she took them and cooked. The scholar sat and ate. When he had finished, he could not move or speak. His family looked and saw his tongue drawn back more than eight inches. They quickly pounded his neck and back, and the tongue came down. Asked the reason, he said, "I ate it and it was exceedingly fragrant and delicious, a taste I had never known in my life. Not having enough, I sucked at the remaining juices, and my tongue drew back."

Editor's review

This book takes an old tale of the Heng Prince's mansion in Qingzhou as its starting point, turning an anecdote about "stir-fried chicken brains" into something between a notebook entry and a short story. The heart of the tale lies not in the ghostly concubine herself but in an almost lost culinary meticulousness: choosing live chickens of matching sex and full plumage—details that give the fictional mansion secret a texture of material culture. The ending, in which the old scholar's tongue shrinks eight inches after eating, is absurd yet carries the dry humor typical of notebook fiction, leaving readers both startled and unable to suppress a laugh. Author Chen Hengqing's pacing is unhurried, never rushing to explain the anomaly but letting the strange event unfold naturally, preserving the traditional zhiguai pleasure of "recording the strange without arguing it." Suitable for bedtime or a journey's间隙, a single piece takes only minutes yet leaves a lingering aftertaste. For readers who enjoy Liaozhai-style short chapters and are curious about ancient dietary lore, this small book offers the pleasure of reading somewhere between historical record and imagination.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classical-language notebook-style short stories such as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
Those interested in ancient Chinese culinary lore and the details of mansion life
Casual readers looking for a short story to fill fragmented time
Readers who appreciate the absurd humor in supernatural tales

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a long, continuous plot with character arcs
Those who prefer realistic historical scholarship and reject fictional tales of the strange
Beginners who find classical-language narration alienating

Reading tips

Read through the story once, then return to note how the details of "choosing chickens" and "the shrinking tongue" echo each other.
Compare it with the food-related pieces in Liaozhai to appreciate the differences in how zhiguai notebooks are written.
After reading, look up the original passage in Chibei Outan to see how the author spun a new story from an old record.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
恒府姬

FAQ

What is the relationship between this story and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?

The book explicitly mentions that the matter of the mansion's ghostly concubine is recorded in Liaozhai, but this piece is an independent short chapter built on that old tale. It borrows the narrative tone of zhiguai notebooks; it is not an annotation or sequel to the original Liaozhai text, and can be read as a new work inspired by traditional notebooks.

What is the "stir-fried chicken brains" episode meant to express?

It reads more like a parable about "fastidiousness" and "good fortune." The concubine could select live chickens for refined cooking in the mansion, while the poor scholar receives chickens from a student; the exaggerated reaction of his tongue shrinking after eating makes the cost of appetite both comic and cautionary. There is no need to over-interpret, but one can taste the allegorical flavor customary in notebook fiction.

Is this the only story in the book?

According to available information, the book centers on the anecdote of the Heng mansion concubine, with the stir-fried chicken brains as its core. It is short and suitable as a single notebook story; one should not expect a long continuous narrative.

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About the author

Chen Hengqing Author · Chinese · 1844–1920

Chen Hengqing (1844–1920), courtesy name Zijiu, was a native of Weixian in Shandong (present-day Weicheng District, Weifang). A late Qing official and scholar, he passed the provincial examination in 1873 and the metropolitan examination in 1886. He served successively as a secretary in the Ministry of Works, rising through the Waterways, Construction, and Colonization Departments, and later held posts as Supervising Censor of the Ministry of War, Investigating Censor of the Henan Circuit, and Chief Supervising Censor. In 1908 he was appointed prefect of Jinzhou. He retired at sixty and wrote works including Jianshu Xian Notes (also known as Jili Qingtan) and Unofficial Gleanings of the Late Qing. His extant writings are considerable, with 154 titles held in our collection, many drawing on folk literature and Eastern philosophy. They touch on modern upheavals such as the militia conflicts, the Boxer movement, and the Nian rebels, as well as rural tales and social types like foxes and swindlers, and social issues such as Manchu-Han differences, bearing the documentary flavor of note-style historiography. Public information is limited, and his literary standing and influence await further study.