The Life-Release Pond

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.3

Word count: 337 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Outside Chongwen Gate in the capital lay a fish-releasing pond, several mu in size. In summer the lotus and water-chestnut grew thick, and sightseers thronged. Beside the pond stood a large Buddhist monastery housing an image of the Great Being, resplendent in gold and azure; it had been built on the initiative of my clan-uncle Qinshan when he served as censor. In the gengchen year, when I went up to the capital for the examination, four men from my county lodged there and devoutly sought the god's oracle. The slip read: "The scholar is ashamed that he makes no progress; the farmer rejoices that he has new fields." We could not fathom its meaning. Soon afterward all four failed the examination.

Editor's review

This is a short but suggestive note in the biji style, centered on the fish-releasing pond outside Chongwen Gate in the capital and the monastery beside it. The author first sketches a public space of late Qing Beijing that served both worship and recreation: a lotus pond of several mu, crowds of sightseers, and a gilded image of the Great Being. Then the focus shifts to the gengchen year, when four men from the same county lodged at the monastery, devoutly sought an oracle, and all failed the examination. The oracle's words—"The scholar is ashamed that he makes no progress; the farmer rejoices that he has new fields"—seem plain enough, yet set up a subtle contrast between failure in the examinations and promise in farming, leaving an understated melancholy. Its value lies not in plot but in preserving, with the barest strokes, a slice of old scholar life—traveling to the examination, seeking an oracle, lodging in a temple—and in showing how places like the fish-releasing pond could hold faith, leisure, and human expectation at once. Best read slowly in a quiet moment, as a small window onto the taste of traditional biji and the psychology of the examination age; there is no need to rush toward a conclusion, for the tone and the silences reward close attention.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short biji and anecdotal essays
Readers interested in the lives of scholars in the examination age
Readers who want to experience the silences of traditional narrative through a small text
Teachers who need short material for reading groups or classroom discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a full-length story with strong plot conflict
Readers seeking systematic knowledge of examination history or religious history
Readers who prefer plain modern vernacular and have no patience for classical style

Reading tips

Read it through once, then look back at the echo between the oracle and the four men's failure, and savor what the author leaves unsaid.
Background knowledge of late Qing capital life and the examination journey can help, but there is no need to over-interpret.
Suitable as short bedtime or commute reading; one or two passes are enough.

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
放生池

FAQ

Is this text mainly about the fish-releasing pond or about seeking an oracle and failing?

Both. The first half describes the pond and the monastery; the second tells how the four men lodged there, sought an oracle, could not understand it, and all failed. The pond is the setting, the oracle and failure are the narrative point, and the author links leisure, faith, and examination failure in plain, spare prose.

How should the oracle's words "The scholar is ashamed that he makes no progress; the farmer rejoices that he has new fields" be understood?

The oracle itself sets up a contrast: the scholar is ashamed at making no progress in the examinations, while the farmer rejoices in new fields. The four men did not understand it when they sought the oracle; only after the results were posted and all had failed did its hint at scholarly failure become clear. It need not be taken as proof of efficacy; it is better seen as a narrative way for scholars of the old order to lodge their anxieties in an oracle.

Do I need a foundation in classical Chinese to read this?

The original is a concise classical biji, not long, but it does require some ability to read classical Chinese. General readers can get through it with annotations or reference tools, focusing on the shift of scene and the meaning of the oracle rather than puzzling over every character.

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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.