The Ginseng Shapeshifter
In ancient times, two brothers set off to hunt in the mountains. They chose a small gorge with a stream and every summer they laid poles over the abyss, driving wooden stakes into each end of the poles to keep them from falling. Martens and foxes ran across the poles, scurrying about, so they didn’t need to jump from mountain to mountain.When frost set in and the fur of the foxes and martens grew back, the brothers would attach a trap to each stake and even place a small stone underneath. When an animal stepped onto the trap, it would fall into the water and drown. The brothers would sell the pelts and live comfortably.
But one day, on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, snow fell heavily, covering all the mountains. On the plain, it lay three feet deep. The elder brother took a sled and went to the village. He brought back a little wine and some meat. They made dumplings and prepared to celebrate the New Year in style. They finished making the dumplings, but it wasn’t time to cook them yet, so the elder brother decided to take a walk and went to a hut ten miles away. The younger brother was left alone. He waited and waited, but the elder brother didn’t return. Suddenly, a strong wind blew in, picked up the younger brother, and spun him around like a scroll of paper, carrying him off to who knows where. When the young man opened his eyes, he saw a mountain cave before him. Inside the cave was a wide kang, and on the kang sat a girl. The young man didn’t know where he had been taken and wanted to leave, but the girl asked him:
"Where are you going?"
The young man replied:
"Home, to my hut."
The girl asked again, calmly:
"Will you make it?"
The young man got angry and said:
"Why wouldn’t I?"
He said this and walked to the door, wanting to run, but it was no use. He looked down and was stunned. The cave, it turned out, was located on a rocky slope right in the middle of the mountain. Looking up, he couldn’t see the peak; looking down, he couldn’t see the bottom. There was no way back or forward. The younger brother grew anxious, not knowing what to do. He cried bitterly and said:
"Sister, oh sister, show a bit of kindness and help me get out of here!"
The girl climbed down from the kang, approached the young man, took out a handkerchief, wiped his tears, laughed merrily, and said:
"Since you’ve come, don’t fuss. Stay here for a while!"
The younger brother didn’t listen to the girl and cried even harder, insisting:
"I want to go home! I’ll return no matter what!"
The girl said:
"Where will you go? Today is the last day of the old year. Let’s welcome the New Year together, and then we’ll talk."
She said this and pointed to a stone table, where there was fish, meat, wine, rice—everything one could want. The young man looked at the table and grew even sadder. He stamped his foot and said:
"I want to go home! I’ll return no matter what!"
The girl spoke to him even more kindly:
"Look at the snow! If you go back to your hut, what will you do? It’s better to stay here!"
The young man looked around: the bed was covered in silk and satin, and he burst into tears even more. No matter how the girl tried to persuade him, it was no use. She quietly took out a small fan, waved it three times behind the young man’s back, and he immediately calmed down and stopped crying. The girl wiped his tears, and they sat down together to eat and drink, becoming husband and wife.
The young man lived in the cave for fifteen days and fifteen nights, forgetting about his home and his elder brother. On the fifteenth day of the new year, known as the Yuanxiao Festival, the girl gave him new clothes and said:
"You’ve lived here for many days, and your heart must be longing. Today is the Lantern Festival. Let’s go down to the plain, have some fun, and look at the festive lanterns."
The young man was delighted. He was born in the remote mountains and had never seen the Lantern Festival. He closed his eyes as the girl instructed and felt a breeze at his feet. Someone lifted him into the air and quickly set him down on the ground.
The younger brother opened his eyes: what joy surrounded him! Taverns, wine shops, merchants selling round pancakes—people of all kinds, too many to count. Some were shooting firecrackers, others were bargaining at stalls, and still others were walking on stilts. And how beautifully dressed they were! Dresses of all colors and styles, to suit every taste. The lanterns carried through the streets were of every kind imaginable: seven-star lanterns, eight-cornered lanterns, lanterns with nine sons, eight immortals, various birds, embroidered balls, lions, storks… And one lantern—a glowing dragon—was carried by a whole crowd on poles. There were countless small colored lanterns. The younger brother looked at them as if enchanted, almost shouting with joy. But the girl held his hand tightly, not allowing him to talk to anyone or stray from her side. After they had seen enough of the lanterns, the girl said to him:
"We should have a bite to eat!"
She led him to a large wine shop, gave him the fan, and warned him to guard it carefully so as not to lose it. The wine shop was noisy and chaotic: some were blowing into pipes, others strumming strings, some playing the lute, others singing, some guessing games, others performing arias. Bright lanterns and wax candles burned all around, sparkling with light. The younger brother’s ears were deafened by the noise, his eyes blinded by the commotion. As they began to eat, the younger brother absentmindedly placed the fan on the table. Suddenly, a dark-faced youth rushed by—and snatched the fan! The girl saw this and turned pale. She ran upstairs and began to fight with the youth, trying to take the fan back, but she couldn’t. She ran back down and suddenly disappeared—a wisp of light smoke. The younger brother stood up and also began to fight with the youth. They chased each other, overturning all the tables in the shop, spilling rice and snacks everywhere. A crowd gathered to watch. Soon, both were taken to the yamen.
A servant from the shop, the one who served the wine, testified that the fan indeed belonged to the younger brother. The judge took the fan and returned it to the young man. But the dark-faced youth wouldn’t relent, shouting at the top of his lungs that the fan was his—and that was that! The judge grew angry, struck the table with his wooden gavel, and shouted:
"It’s clear to me that you committed robbery in the wine shop, and the witnesses have confirmed it, and the evidence is right here. How dare you argue and deny it?"
The dark-faced youth said:
"If this is truly his fan, let him tell the master what is painted on it. If he can, I’ll admit my guilt at once."
The official began to question the younger brother, but he didn’t know. In the end, the young man had to tell the official everything as it had happened. The judge then turned to the dark-faced youth and asked:
"Well, do you know what’s painted on the fan?"
"I, humble as I am, can say. Mount Changbai is painted, with a high rocky cliff and a cave that hangs in the air. In that cave, a huge root has grown!"
The official unfolded the fan—and indeed, everything was exactly as the dark-faced youth had said.
The judge asked:
"Well, what is the use of this fan?"
The dark-faced youth replied:
"From this painting, one can find the root. It’s an old ginseng, a thousand years old, and it has already turned into a shapeshifter. When I saw that girl in the shop, I immediately realized she was a shapeshifter."
The official then saw the truth and said:
"In my opinion, this fan is no longer needed. Go to the mountains and look for the ginseng. Today is the fifteenth, a holiday, and there’s much to do in the evening. I don’t have time to deal with you."
Something fell to the floor—it was the fan the official had thrown. The drum was beaten, and the official left the yamen.
In the first month, all the mountains were covered in snow and ice. Where could one find that ginseng now?
So the younger brother couldn’t retrieve the fan from the dark-faced youth and decided to return to the mountains. He walked for many days and nights, crossed ten large mountains, and climbed one more before he found his hut and saw his elder brother. The younger brother told him everything that had happened, and the elder brother realized that the younger one had been ensnared by a ginseng shapeshifter. He ordered his brother to hunt in the mountains and not to think about that girl anymore.
Meanwhile, the girl returned home, waited until evening, and sent the wind to fetch the younger brother. Once again, the wind brought the younger brother to the stone cave. When the young man saw the girl, he asked:
"Why did you bring me here again?"
The girl replied:
"I need to talk to you."
The young man asked:
"Is it true that you’re a ginseng shapeshifter?"
The girl answered:
"It’s true."
The young man said to her:
"I’ve heard that all living and non-living things that turn into shapeshifters bring harm to people."
The girl asked:
"Have I caused you any harm?"
The young man said:
"Well, why did you look for me that time?"
The girl replied:
"Because fate decreed that we should be together."
The young man said:
"If it’s fate, let’s go live at my home."
The girl replied:
"I can’t! Once the fan was lost, our bond was broken forever! I must leave here!"
The girl said this and began to wipe away her tears.
The young man looked at her, grew sorrowful, and asked:
"Where will you go now?"
"There’s plenty of space in the mountains. Wherever I want, I’ll live."
The young man asked:
"Will we ever see each other again?"
The girl replied:
"Remember this well: green mountains, a flowing river, a slope to the left, a gorge to the right, and grass and trees in the middle—that’s where my home will be."
The night passed, and morning came. The girl saw the younger brother off. He grew melancholy and said:
"My brother and I must return home in the spring."
The girl also replied sadly:
"When you go, descend from this rocky slope, and I’ll give you something so you won’t be in need and won’t forget me."
And so, in the old, dense forest, the ice melted, the snow disappeared, buds opened on the trees, birds sang, competing with one another. The brothers gathered their pelts and set off for the valley. As they walked past the rocky cliff, they saw pure white ginseng flowers blooming on the cliff. The brothers dug up large and small roots, taking dozens with them to bring home. Later, the dark-faced youth came, brought people, found the stone cave, and tried to dig up the root, but there was nothing there.
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