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threw away the minced fish and from then on never touched that dish. Hsüeh Wei recovered and rose to be assistant magistrate before he finally passed away.
    —
Li Fu-yen

Li Ching and the Rain God
     
    When the great military hero Li Ching was still an obscure and humble man, he would hunt with bow and arrow in the Huo mountains, lodging and dining in a local hamlet. The hamlet elder thought him quite remarkable and treated him more and more bountifully as the years went by.
    Once Li Ching came upon a herd of deer and pursued them. Dusk was at hand. He wanted to give up the chase, yet excitement carried him forward, and soon in the darkness of the night he lost his way. Where was the road home in this bewildering blackness? Vexed, he pressed on, his anxiety increasing. Then on the horizon he saw the glow of lanterns and headed swiftly toward them.
    He arrived at a large mansion with the vermilion gates of wealth and rank. The walls were exceptionally high. After he had knocked for a long time, a servant came out. Li Ching explained that he had lost his way and begged a night’s lodging. “It may not be possible to stay overnight,” he was told. “The young masters have gone, and only the mistress is at home.”
    “At least convey my request,” Li Ching urged.
    The man went inside and then returned. “At first the mistress thought of refusing,” he said, “but considering the blackness of the night and the fact that you are lost, she felt obliged to serve as your host.”
    So Li Ching was invited into the living room. Soon a maid appeared to announce the mistress, who came out wearing ablack skirt with a white jacket. She was something over fifty years of age and carried herself with an air of unaffected elegance. To Li Ching it was like entering the home of a leading member of society. He came forward and bowed. Returning his bow, the mistress said, “Since neither of my sons is here, it is not appropriate that you stay. However, the night is dark and the way home uncertain, so that if I refused you, where could I send you? Still, ours is a simple dwelling in the mountain wilds. My sons come and go all the time. Sometimes they arrive in the night and make a lot of noise. I hope you will not be alarmed.”
    “Not at all,” replied Li Ching. The mistress ordered dinner served. The food was fresh and excellent. Strangely for that mountain setting, there was plenty of fish. After dinner the mistress went into another part of the house. Two maids brought bedding and spick-and-span covers which were most luxurious. Then they closed the gate, barred it, and left.
    Li Ching wondered what could be coming at night and causing a commotion out here on the wild mountain. He was too frightened to sleep and sat upright, listening. The night was almost half over when urgent knocking sounded at the gate. He heard a servant answer and the caller announce, “The heavens command your son to send down rain in a radius of two miles around this mountain; steady rain until the dawn watch should suffice. Do not delay or cause any harm.”
    The servant answering the door brought the written order to the mistress inside. “My sons have not come home yet,” Li Ching heard her say, “and the order for rain has arrived. We cannot refuse, and if we delay we will be punished. It is already too late to send someone to tell the boys. The servants can’t be expected to take it into their own hands. What shall we do?”
    “The guest in the living room seems to be a remarkable fellow,” one of the young maids said. “Why not ask him?”
    Grateful for the suggestion, the mistress knocked at Li Ching’s door. “Are you awake, sir?” she asked. “Kindly come out for a moment.” Li Ching was swift to comply.
    “This is not a human habitation,” the lady then told him. “It is the palace of the dragon whose duty is to make rain.”
    Li Ching was astonished and awed, for the dragon, dwelling in the deep and rising into the clouds, governs