Governor Lin

Chen HengqingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

3.0

Word count: 357 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

In Weixian wedding custom, when the bride is about to arrive at the gate for the groom's personal welcome, two bundles of grass are tied with red cord and placed on either side of the gate; a pair of red bricks and ten chopsticks are also placed on the eaves. This traces back to before Lin, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicature, from Dengzhou, attained office: his family was poor and had nothing to cook with, so he went to relatives' and friends' homes, borrowed a bundle of grass as fuel for the fire, borrowed ten chopsticks, and picked up several bricks to prop up the cauldron, carrying them home. On the way he met a wedding procession and saw a woman in hemp garments following behind the bridal sedan, which struck him as very strange, so he followed behind. At the gate of the wedding host's house, he placed the grass, bricks, and chopsticks nearby to watch what would happen. The hemp-clad woman hesitated and dared not enter, then suddenly fled far away. The Vice Minister told his fellow villagers, but most could not explain it. The reason was that the day was inauspicious, and an evil spirit was about to follow the bride in and cause mischief; encountering a man of noble destiny, it fled—not because it feared the grass, bricks, and chopsticks. Thus it gradually became a custom. Note: in the Odes of Kuai, 'hemp garments like snow' is linked with 'the lean men laugh and rejoice' in the same poem; at that time the state of Kuai was declining, with deaths following one another, so people used the mayfly as a comparison and lamented the abundance of hemp garments, knowing that many had died. That being so, was the hemp-clad woman perhaps the spirit of mourning?

Editor's review

The piece 'Vice Minister Lin' begins with the Weixian wedding custom of 'binding grass with red cord and placing red bricks and chopsticks on the eaves,' traces it back to Vice Minister Lin of Dengzhou's impoverished early days—borrowing grass, picking up bricks, and borrowing chopsticks—and then explains the custom's origin through the strange tale of a hemp-clad woman following the bridal sedan and fleeing upon encountering a man of noble destiny. The author does not stop at recording the strange; he cites the Odes of Kuai, linking 'hemp garments like snow' with 'the lean men laugh and rejoice' in the same poem, connects this to the decline of Kuai and the succession of deaths, and surmises that the hemp-clad woman may be the spirit of mourning, placing a local legend back into the context of classical scholarship and custom. The text is short but clearly layered: first the custom, then the story, then the examination, and finally the doubt—a typical Qing dynasty notebook style of 'recording the strange while seeking proof.' Suitable for readers interested in folk belief, wedding taboos, and their relation to classical studies, and also as a sample of the 'legend explains custom' type of folklore writing. Because it is short with dense citations, first-time readers should slow down.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in folk belief and wedding taboo customs
Readers who enjoy short notebook writing that combines the strange with textual examination
Folklore enthusiasts studying the origins of local customs and legends
Readers needing material on folk interpretations of the Odes of Kuai in the Book of Songs

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a complete wedding custom monograph or systematic folklore theory
First-time readers lacking patience for classical Chinese citations and scholarly examination
Readers seeking entertaining supernatural stories

Reading tips

Break the text into four layers—custom, story, examination, doubt—and see how the author moves from legend to classical explanation.
At the hemp-clad woman, resist judging truth or falsehood too quickly; note how the author uses the Odes of Kuai to establish the connection.
List the three objects—grass, bricks, chopsticks—and compare them with surviving local wedding customs today, making a short note.
Read alongside 'The Remarried Widow' and compare the author's two approaches to the relation between local custom and ancient ritual.

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
林中丞

FAQ

Where does the wedding custom of placing grass, bricks, and chopsticks by the gate come from?

According to the text, it originates from Vice Minister Lin of Dengzhou's early poverty: he borrowed a bundle of grass and ten chopsticks from relatives and friends and picked up several bricks. On his way home he met a wedding procession and placed the grass, bricks, and chopsticks at the wedding host's gate to watch what would happen; the hemp-clad woman then fled far away, and thereafter it became a custom.

What does the author consider the hemp-clad woman to be?

The author cites the Odes of Kuai, linking 'hemp garments like snow' with 'the lean men laugh and rejoice' in the same poem, notes that Kuai was declining with deaths following one another and many wore hemp, and therefore surmises that the hemp-clad woman was 'perhaps the spirit of mourning,' ending on a note of doubt rather than certainty.

What are the characteristics of this notebook piece's style?

It first records a local wedding custom, then narrates Vice Minister Lin's personal encounter with the strange, then cites the Book of Songs for examination, and finally closes with a question. It records the strange without fully believing it, and seeks proof without forcing a conclusion—a style common in Qing dynasty notebook writing.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

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.