This Transformation

"This Transformation"
19th-century illustration from Xiangzhu liaozhai zhiyi tuyong (Liaozhai Zhiyi with commentary and illustrations; 1886)
Author	Pu Songling
Original title	"丐僧 (Gaiseng)"
Translator	John Minford
Country	China
Language	Chinese
Genre(s)	Zhiguai
Published in	Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
Publication type	Anthology
Publication date	c. 1740
Published in English	2006

"This Transformation", also known as "The Begging Monk", (Chinese: 丐僧; pinyin: Gaì Sēng) is a short story by Pu Songling collected in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (1740). The tale revolves around a monk who begs for nothing in particular and is treated like an outcast. It was first fully translated into English by John Minford in 2006, followed by Sidney L. Sondergard in 2008.

Plot

A reclusive and shabby-looking monk skulks the streets of Jinan, reciting aloud sutras and begging for alms; however, he rejects everything people offer to him, be it food or water. Enquiries on the reason for such, as well as suggestions to relocate to a less-populated area, are ignored, until one day the monk angrily stresses that: "This is the transformation I'm seeking."^[1]^{[lower-alpha 1]} Some time afterwards, the monk is spotted lying near the southern border, motionless to the extent of being corpse-like. The locals try to get a reaction from him, with some criticising the monk; enraged, he gets up and disembowels himself with a short knife.^[3] He is quickly buried but when his coffin is unearthed, the corpse is nowhere to be found.^[3]

Reception

Sidney L. Sondergard, who included the story in the second volume of her translation of the 494 entries in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, suggests that it is criticising people who are not receptive towards the feelings of others, in this case the titular "begging monk"; in real life, Pu Songling was reportedly misunderstood by many.^[4] Zhang Zhongliang concurs with this view, writing that "This Transformation" highlights the social othering suffered by beggars.^[5] A writer for Wenshi Zhishi (文史知识), a Chinese literature-based circular, compares the begging monk to a Buddhist character in Dream of the Red Chamber.^[6]

References

Notes

↑ In Chinese: "要如此化！" Sondergard offers a significantly different translation from Minford's: "I want to collect in this way!"^[2]

Citations

Bibliography

Minford, John (2006). Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140447408.
Sondergrad, Sidney (2008). Strange Tales from Liaozhai. Jain Publishing Company. ISBN 9780895810519.
文史知识 [History of Literature] (in Chinese). Chinese Publications. 2007.
Zhang, Zhongliang (2007). 濟公故事綜合研究 [General analysis of works by Pu Songling] (in Chinese). Xiuwei Publications. ISBN 9789866909542.

Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio

Pu Songling

Volume 1	"Squirting" "Stealing Peaches" "Growing Pears" "Dragon Dormant"

Volume 2	"The Fornicating Dog"

Volume 3	"This Transformation" "The Painted Skin"

Volume 4	"The Weiqi Devil"

Volume 5	"Cut Sleeve"

Volume 6	"Twenty Years a Dream" "Xiao'er" "A Prank"

Volume 7	"The Lamp Dog" "The Purple Lotus Buddhist"

Volume 8	"A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream"

Volume 9	"White Lotus Sect"

Volume 10	"Huaguzi"

Volume 11	"Dragon"

Volume 12	"Zhou the Third" "A Strange Matter Concerning Pigeons"

Volume 13	"Punishing a Lewd Fox"

Volume 14	"The Cattle Plague"

Volume 15	"Feng the Carpenter"

Volume 16	"Chang'e"

Volume 17	"Traveller Tong" "The Black Ghosts" "Turning Soil into Rabbits"

Volume 18	"Zhang Hongjian" "The Imperial Physician" "The Language of Birds"

Volume 19	"Three Incarnations"

Volume 20	"The Southern Wutong Spirit"

Volume 21	"The Bookworm" "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal" "The Frog God"

Volume 22	"Chen Yunqi"

Volume 23	"Mr. Miao"

Volume 24	"Fendie"

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