60 Great Writers Tell You Stories

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book selects stories written by sixty renowned authors. To help readers gain a deeper understanding of the authors of these stories, the book includes personal introductions for each story, as well as comic illustrations of each storyteller, incorporating their hobbies into the drawings. Additionally, each story features an inscription from the author, discussing their thoughts on the story or Story Magazine, further enhancing the readers' impression of the. In the 9th issue of Story Magazine in 1998, a new column titled "Celebrity Storytelling" was introduced, primarily featuring stories written by famous authors. Over the five years since its launch, over sixty celebrities have contributed their stories to the column. These authors are mostly well-known writers, including literary giants like Jin Yong, Xi Murong, Feng Jicai, Su Tong, Mo Yan, and Chen Zhongshi. The sixty works in this book are all selected from this column.
A Legend of the Streets
The Guquanju Tea House in this ancient city on the edge of the desert had fallen into disrepair during the Japanese occupation of the Mongolian-Suiyuan region. Most of the tea drinkers were ordinary people from all walks of life, but among them, one could often see a man in his mid-thirties. He had a middle-parted hairstyle, a knife-shaved face, and wore a faded long gown, holding a folding fan that he constantly repaired. This man was polite and rarely spoke to others, giving the impression of a proud, down-and-out scholar. The elders and young alike seemed to avoid him, fearing he might bring bad luck. His name was Fan, and the people of the city, whether (facing him) or (behind his back), called him "Fan the Soul-Leading Sage."
As the name suggests, this was a mysterious messenger who traveled between the realms of the living and the dead, earning a living by dealing with the deceased. Fan was the last inheritor of this trade. Whenever a wealthy or prominent family suffered a death, he could often be seen at the head of the funeral procession, his expression solemn and indifferent, focused solely on his skill with paper money. With a flick of his hand, he scattered silver into the air, then spread white paper money on the ground. But the most impressive was his third throw. With a casual gesture, he scattered paper money that covered the trees on both sides of the coffin, a sight known as "Full Street Filial Piety" or "City-Wide Mourning." It was said that hungry ghosts and resentful spirits, eager to snatch the offerings, would forget to block their path. With Fan leading the souls, even the most evil person could ascend to paradise.
In this remote border city, there weren’t many wealthy or prominent families, so his trade was often "three years of opening, but three years of hardship." After the Japanese arrived, Fan refused to take on clients he disliked, even starving himself, and fell into poverty. During the day, he drank tea to fill his empty stomach, and at night, he lodged in a coffin shop, becoming a permanent resident of the eerie underworld. The elders and young avoided Fan at all costs, but there was an exception!
One day, the city’s chief maintainer sent his steward to meet Fan, treating him with great respect and bringing a large bundle of bright silver dollars. The next day, the news spread through the tea house, and the tea drinkers quickly learned the reason. It turned out that the chief maintainer’s evil father had died, and this traitor planned a grand funeral. The procession would be led by three drummers, carried by sixty-four bearers, and attended by one hundred and eight young women and girls wailing in mourning. The maintainer even planned to use filial mourning cloths as bait to force the poor people to attend the funeral.
In the eyes of the elders and young, the maintainer’s father was utterly evil and deserved to die, and without Fan’s supernatural skill, his soul would surely be dragged down to hell by countless wronged spirits. The maintainer clearly believed this as well, which is why he tossed out five hundred silver dollars without hesitation. Now, the people were discussing: Would Fan take this job? The consensus was: they couldn’t let Fan starve to death. Even the old shopkeeper, who usually discouraged political talk, sighed, "What a pity! A family heirloom of eight generations of supernatural skills!"
At that moment, the maintainer’s steward appeared in the tea house, his face bloated with arrogance. He bellowed loudly, "Everyone should go to the funeral! Eight feet of mourning cloth and half a pound of hemp for each person! Plus each person gets a silver dollar as a reward!" Seeing that the crowd was still quietly drinking tea without a word, the steward immediately turned on them, shouting, "Damn it! If even Fan the Soul-Leading Sage can’t handle it, what are you pretending to be tough for?"
But the crowd remained silent. Enraged, the steward said, "Don’t believe me? I went to the coffin shop yesterday and gave Fan a silver dollar myself. He didn’t refuse, and he promised to give me a definite answer at the tea house today. Elders and young? Learn from Fan the Soul-Leading Sage! First, you’d better fill your bellies!"
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