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Abstract

ll be arriving at the Hostel after dark. These roads can be treacherous after the sun has set.”<figure id="364e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Z0mo0EWEauBKNswQsHrblw.png"><figcaption>photo by Melvin Tan on Unsplash</figcaption></figure>Early the next morning, Master Bao was awakened by Ping knocking on the door to his room in the Hostel of White Clouds.“Master Bao,” Ping entered with a deep bow. “The Warden of this village wishes to speak with you on an urgent matter, so I have told him I would awaken you. If you wish me to accompany you, I will bring you where he awaits.”“Of course, Ping. I’ll come at once.”Ping led Master Bao up to the second floor where four more rooms for travelers were located. The Warden, a tall husky man in full leather uniform, stood at the top of the stairs awaiting the arrival of Master Bao. The government official bowed deeply to Master Bao.“It is the supreme will of Heaven that has brought you to our village of Wu Li this day,” the Warden said. Bao noted the man was young with a circular beard, and his eyes showed a keen intelligence. “There has been a wicked murder of a silk merchant, and I have three suspects. However, one is lying and I can’t be sure which one.”“Start at the beginning, Warden,” Master Bao said. “If I am to help you, I must hear the whole story.”“Four silk merchants arrived at the Hostel of White Clouds last night,” the Warden began. “Because bandits often attack silk merchants on the highway, the men sometime travel in twos. In this case, all four had sold their silk and were on their way home with a sizable amount of gold between them. Two of the men, the murdered man Kou, and his companion Lee, had arrived just before the supper hour. Later, the other two men, Jin and Wang, who were traveling in the opposite direction, arrived. All four claimed they had good luck selling their silk, sat at a table together, and drank several bottles of wine until all were good and drunk. Then, the night well advanced, they went upstairs and each entered his separate room.“This morning, the maid who brings the breakfast tea found Mr. Kou dead with a dagger in his chest. His purse was open, his gold missing. As the upstairs is closed off and a clerk is up all night at the foot of the stairs, only one of the other silk merchants could have killed Mr. Kou. I have searched all the men and their rooms, but have not found Mr. Kou’s gold. Each merchant has only the gold he made selling his silk.”“And you want me to tell you which of the three is lying?” Master Bao said.“Yes. Your reputation for wisdom is well known. Please speak to the men and decide who is not telling the truth.”“Very well,” Master Bao said. “Send the men in one at a time, and I will speak to them. But please have the maid bring me my morning tea first.”The first to speak to Master Bao and Ping was Mr. Lee, the partner of the dead man. “We had both sold all of our silk,” Mr. Lee said. “I carried two gold bars, as did Mr. Kou. Last night, we all had too much to drink, and I slept soundly until the Warden of this village awakened me and told me Mr. Kou was dead.”The next to be interviewed by the Sage and his pupil was Mr. Jin, who told the same story. He also sold all his silk and therefore had two gold bars. When Mr. Wang told the same tale, Master Bao knew he had to trick the murdering thief into confessing.He met with the Warden again in private. “I have sent my pupil

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Ping to set up a tent with two openings,” Master Bao said. “Each man will enter alone through the East entrance and exit through the West entrance where you and I will be waiting. Ping will see to it that the men enter properly. Please call all three and have them meet us at the tent.”Within a few minutes, the three men met at the East entrance of the small tent Ping had erected. “You each know who I am,” Master Bao said. “Some say I can raise the dead and make rivers flow backwards. You can believe what you choose, but I tell you this. My bull ox is not a normal ox. When an honest man pulls his tail, he does nothing. But when a liar pulls his tail, he lets out with a loud bray.“Each of you will enter this dark tent alone, one by one. Each of you will pull the tail of the ox, then you will exit through the door opposite. When the ox brays, we will know who is the murderer and thief.”First, Mr. Wang entered the tent through the East door, and exited through the West. He stood with a smile on his face, because the ox did not bray. Next, Mr. Lee entered into the dark tent, and came out the other side. The ox did not bray. Finally, Mr. Jin nervously entered the tent, but again the ox was silent.All three men, smiles on their faces, lined up in front of the Warden and Master Bao. “Now,” Master Bao said, “show me your hands.”All three men showed the Sage their hands. “Arrest Mr. Lee,” Master Bao said. The Warden, a puzzled look on his face, grabbed Mr. Lee.“On the oxen’s tail,” Master Bao explained, “I spread black soot from the lamp. Both Mr. Jin and Mr. Wang have soot on their hands, but Mr. Lee’s hands are pure white. Because of his guilt, he did not pull the oxen’s tail. Therefore, Mr. Lee’s guilt is shown by his clean hands.”“It’s true,” said Mr. Lee. “Bandits stole my silk so I had none to sell. I met Mr. Kou a day later and, seeing his two gold bars, told him I also had sold all my silk. If I had killed Mr. Kou on the highway and hid his body, I would have been the only suspect when his body was found. So, I waited to attack Mr. Kou until we arrived at the Hostel because I knew other silk merchants would be here. The two gold bars I have are the ones I took from Mr. Kou.”The Warden thanked Master Bao and led away his prisoner.The next morning, as Master Bao and Ping prepared to drink their tea, Ping again bowed deeply and raised his hands in respect.“Please, Master, enlighten this ignorant student. How does a man become so evil he commits a heinous crime for gold?”“Humans are neither good nor evil, Ping. They are subject to the same laws as the beautiful valley we saw on our way to Wu Li village. Would you call it evil if a landslide wiped out the men on the bridge? Would a volcano exploding in the mountain be evil? Mr. Lee mistook gold for happiness, and that set up an imbalance of his Yin and Yang Spirit. Didn’t our revered Lao Tzu tell us to gain you must first give, and to grasp will lead to loss?“The bandits robbed Mr. Lee of his silk and his gold. In the Harmony of Heaven, he had therefore given. If he had had faith in the Tao, which balances out the ten thousand things, he would somehow have received happiness to make up for the gold he lost. But his disharmony made him strike out to grasp what belonged to another.“The very name of this village is Wu Li, which, you know, means “Doing without doing.” To accomplish all, student Ping, have trust in the Tao, and await on the Will of Heaven.”</article></body>

Master Bao and the Ox’s Tale

A story set in China during the Tang Dynasty (618–906 CE)

Tom Hanratty

Photo by Wei Pan on Unsplash

Master Bao rode his ox along a trail that fell away to a narrow river valley. His pupil Ping walked along his Master’s side.

“Tonight we will come to the village of Wu Li,” Master Bao said. “We will stay in the Hostel of White Clouds. It is a famous resting place for merchants who travel these roads.”

“Master Bao,” Ping said, his head bowed and his hands inside his copious sleeves raised in respect. “What is the role of the Sage among the common people?

In answer, Master Bao dismounted his bull ox and waved his arm to encompass the vast landscape they faced.

The two men were standing on a path that wound along a mountain precipice, with a sheer drop to one side of the trail. The view from the path overlooked a deep, wooded valley cut by a rapid river.

“What do you see, Student Ping?” he asked his assistant.

“I see a mountain capped by snow, encircled by clouds,” the young man answered. “I see a river that runs over stones, and creates a mist. The trees of a forest climb both slopes of the hills, and plants of all kinds cover the land.”

“Yes,” Master Bao said as he nodded his head. “And what else do you see?”

“I see men riding horses, a bridge with two men walking on it.”

“Do you see the harmony and flux of Nature’s balance in the valley?” Master Bao asked.

“I see only what I have said,” Ping replied with a another deep bow. “Please enlighten this ignorant pupil.”

Master Bao smiled. “In this valley,” he began, “Yin and Yang are constantly interacting and transforming into each other. It is a balance of the unyielding mountain and tree, and the yielding water and mist. Winter will turn the rushing water, Yang, into Yin ice, just as Spring will melt the ice and return the stream to its Yang motion. The water and people are moving and the mountain and trees are still, all in perfect balance.

“Yet the valley is meaningful only as each element relates to the whole. The mountains are huge compared to the trees and the people, and the river is loud when heard against the quietude of the rocks. The solid and the liquid, the light and the dark. All elements contain their own nature, Yin and Yang, fading and becoming, at the same time.”

“Yes,” Ping said. “I see the balance of Nature in the valley.”

“Remember, pupil Ping, people are both Yin and Yang, yielding and forceful. Sometimes, they become unbalanced, and disruption of the natural way of Heaven and Earth begets violence. Anger, greed, lust, fear are all part of the Nature of Man, but when left to grow unchecked, the very balance of the fabric of society is torn.”

Ping bowed his head. “I understand, Master. When Yang dominates a man’s nature, a despicable act of violence may occur. When Yin becomes overpowering, a man may fall into deep melancholy.”

Slowly, Master Bao nodded his head, happy with the insights of his pupil.

“The role of the Sage, Student Ping, is to travel the country and bring harmony to our august Empire, and repair the imbalance of wayward acts of people.” Master Bao climbed aboard his ox. “Come now, or we will be arriving at the Hostel after dark. These roads can be treacherous after the sun has set.”

Early the next morning, Master Bao was awakened by Ping knocking on the door to his room in the Hostel of White Clouds.

“Master Bao,” Ping entered with a deep bow. “The Warden of this village wishes to speak with you on an urgent matter, so I have told him I would awaken you. If you wish me to accompany you, I will bring you where he awaits.”

“Of course, Ping. I’ll come at once.”

Ping led Master Bao up to the second floor where four more rooms for travelers were located. The Warden, a tall husky man in full leather uniform, stood at the top of the stairs awaiting the arrival of Master Bao. The government official bowed deeply to Master Bao.

“It is the supreme will of Heaven that has brought you to our village of Wu Li this day,” the Warden said. Bao noted the man was young with a circular beard, and his eyes showed a keen intelligence. “There has been a wicked murder of a silk merchant, and I have three suspects. However, one is lying and I can’t be sure which one.”

“Start at the beginning, Warden,” Master Bao said. “If I am to help you, I must hear the whole story.”

“Four silk merchants arrived at the Hostel of White Clouds last night,” the Warden began. “Because bandits often attack silk merchants on the highway, the men sometime travel in twos. In this case, all four had sold their silk and were on their way home with a sizable amount of gold between them. Two of the men, the murdered man Kou, and his companion Lee, had arrived just before the supper hour. Later, the other two men, Jin and Wang, who were traveling in the opposite direction, arrived. All four claimed they had good luck selling their silk, sat at a table together, and drank several bottles of wine until all were good and drunk. Then, the night well advanced, they went upstairs and each entered his separate room.

“This morning, the maid who brings the breakfast tea found Mr. Kou dead with a dagger in his chest. His purse was open, his gold missing. As the upstairs is closed off and a clerk is up all night at the foot of the stairs, only one of the other silk merchants could have killed Mr. Kou. I have searched all the men and their rooms, but have not found Mr. Kou’s gold. Each merchant has only the gold he made selling his silk.”

“And you want me to tell you which of the three is lying?” Master Bao said.

“Yes. Your reputation for wisdom is well known. Please speak to the men and decide who is not telling the truth.”

“Very well,” Master Bao said. “Send the men in one at a time, and I will speak to them. But please have the maid bring me my morning tea first.”

The first to speak to Master Bao and Ping was Mr. Lee, the partner of the dead man. “We had both sold all of our silk,” Mr. Lee said. “I carried two gold bars, as did Mr. Kou. Last night, we all had too much to drink, and I slept soundly until the Warden of this village awakened me and told me Mr. Kou was dead.”

The next to be interviewed by the Sage and his pupil was Mr. Jin, who told the same story. He also sold all his silk and therefore had two gold bars. When Mr. Wang told the same tale, Master Bao knew he had to trick the murdering thief into confessing.

He met with the Warden again in private. “I have sent my pupil Ping to set up a tent with two openings,” Master Bao said. “Each man will enter alone through the East entrance and exit through the West entrance where you and I will be waiting. Ping will see to it that the men enter properly. Please call all three and have them meet us at the tent.”

Within a few minutes, the three men met at the East entrance of the small tent Ping had erected. “You each know who I am,” Master Bao said. “Some say I can raise the dead and make rivers flow backwards. You can believe what you choose, but I tell you this. My bull ox is not a normal ox. When an honest man pulls his tail, he does nothing. But when a liar pulls his tail, he lets out with a loud bray.

“Each of you will enter this dark tent alone, one by one. Each of you will pull the tail of the ox, then you will exit through the door opposite. When the ox brays, we will know who is the murderer and thief.”

First, Mr. Wang entered the tent through the East door, and exited through the West. He stood with a smile on his face, because the ox did not bray. Next, Mr. Lee entered into the dark tent, and came out the other side. The ox did not bray. Finally, Mr. Jin nervously entered the tent, but again the ox was silent.

All three men, smiles on their faces, lined up in front of the Warden and Master Bao. “Now,” Master Bao said, “show me your hands.”

All three men showed the Sage their hands. “Arrest Mr. Lee,” Master Bao said. The Warden, a puzzled look on his face, grabbed Mr. Lee.

“On the oxen’s tail,” Master Bao explained, “I spread black soot from the lamp. Both Mr. Jin and Mr. Wang have soot on their hands, but Mr. Lee’s hands are pure white. Because of his guilt, he did not pull the oxen’s tail. Therefore, Mr. Lee’s guilt is shown by his clean hands.”

“It’s true,” said Mr. Lee. “Bandits stole my silk so I had none to sell. I met Mr. Kou a day later and, seeing his two gold bars, told him I also had sold all my silk. If I had killed Mr. Kou on the highway and hid his body, I would have been the only suspect when his body was found. So, I waited to attack Mr. Kou until we arrived at the Hostel because I knew other silk merchants would be here. The two gold bars I have are the ones I took from Mr. Kou.”

The Warden thanked Master Bao and led away his prisoner.

The next morning, as Master Bao and Ping prepared to drink their tea, Ping again bowed deeply and raised his hands in respect.

“Please, Master, enlighten this ignorant student. How does a man become so evil he commits a heinous crime for gold?”

“Humans are neither good nor evil, Ping. They are subject to the same laws as the beautiful valley we saw on our way to Wu Li village. Would you call it evil if a landslide wiped out the men on the bridge? Would a volcano exploding in the mountain be evil? Mr. Lee mistook gold for happiness, and that set up an imbalance of his Yin and Yang Spirit. Didn’t our revered Lao Tzu tell us to gain you must first give, and to grasp will lead to loss?

“The bandits robbed Mr. Lee of his silk and his gold. In the Harmony of Heaven, he had therefore given. If he had had faith in the Tao, which balances out the ten thousand things, he would somehow have received happiness to make up for the gold he lost. But his disharmony made him strike out to grasp what belonged to another.

“The very name of this village is Wu Li, which, you know, means “Doing without doing.” To accomplish all, student Ping, have trust in the Tao, and await on the Will of Heaven.”