*3.2. Improvement Strategy*

The improvement in the study means the elevation of existing Daoist characters in the original stories, most of whom are Daoist priests. As will be discussed below, the consistent improvement of Daoist priests is exceptional.

Daoist priests in *Strange Tales* are not always positive but fall into three types based on their moral standards: positive, neutral, and evil (Zhan 2017, pp. 59–68; Wu 1995, pp. 318–19). The triple classification can be more comprehensible in some instances. The Daoist priests in *Chang Ting* 長 亭 (Pu 1979, pp. 577–81) and *Yang Dahong* 楊 大 洪 (Pu 1979, pp. 536–37) belong to the positive type because they fight against monsters or employ their magic to help civilians. The neutral Daoist priests generally play the role of an erudite consultant, or a mystifying illusionist exemplified by the two in *Yu De* 余 德 (Pu 1979, pp. 187–88) and Daoist Priest Shan (*Shan Daoshi* 單 道 士) (Pu 1979, pp. 140–41). Besides, some evil Daoist priests reach their evil purposes at the expense of other people, such as the two in *A Female in Changzhi* (*Changzhi nüzi* 長 治 女 子) (Pu 1979, pp. 282–84) and *Zhou Kechang* 周 克 昌 (Pu 1979, pp. 496–97). The triple classification demonstrates that Daoist priests in *Strange Tales* are not always positive.

However, when it comes to the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, according to available resources, very few evil Daoist priests have been observed, if any. After enumerating surviving materials, Du (2003, pp. 135–36) has demonstrated that the Daoist priests in the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju are always positive. Notably, here arises an intriguing issue. Since Daoist priests in Liaozhaixi are always positive, an issue that should be identified is whether the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju dramatizes only the stories containing positive Daoist priests or has elevated the Daoist priests in the original tales. After a meticulous examination, the present study discovers that the Daoist priests who are flawed or even evil in the original stories have witnessed an enhancement in the dramatization of the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju. A fundamental reason behind the upgradation is probably the conviction in Daoism in Sichuan, a place where the Daoism originated. However, in Chinese literature

history, Daoist priests are often vilified as shown in *The Journey to the West* (*Xiyou ji* 西 遊 記) (Zhang 2009). Thus, the elevation of Daoist priests in Liaozhaixi of Chuanju seems exceptional and worth a deep examination. The present study also chooses two instances to illustrate how Daoist priests have been improved. The first one makes a positive but slightly flawed priest flawless, and the other one elevates an evil priest into an honorable one.

The first instance comes from the script *Drawing the Skin* (*Hua pi* 畫 皮) (Li 2012a, vol. 1, pp. 37–90) that rests on the story with the same name in *Strange Tales* (Pu 1979, pp. 48–51). The Daoist priest in the original story is positive but slightly flawed, while the character has witnessed a remarkable enhancement in the script, and the slight flaw in his character is eliminated. This improvement exemplifies that the Daoist priests are always expected to be ideally positive and flawless under the influence of the local conviction in Daoism. Although the story is well-known, a brief introduction is still necessary:

A gentleman called Wang comes upon a homeless girl who claims to be an ill-treated concubine. Because of her attractiveness and his empathy for her, Wang agrees to let her stay in his studio. Although Wang's wife advises him to send the girl away, Wang does not relent. One day, at a marketplace, a Daoist priest warns Wang that he has been enveloped by an evil aura, but Wang deems it a scam and dismisses his counsel. When he reaches home, he discovers that the girl is a monster in painted human skin. Wang returns to the Daoist priest, pleading with the priest to save him. The priest agrees but is reluctant to take the monster's life, and thus offers Wang only a flywhisk to drive the monster away. Wang hangs the flywhisk outside his bedroom, but it has little effect, and the monster comes and rips out his heart. Knowing the tragic event from Wang's wife, the priest vows to subdue the monster and then decapitates it in combat. Later, the priest informs Wang's wife to visit a lunatic beggar to resurrect her husband. The beggar humiliates Wang's wife by coughing up phlegm and asking her to swallow it. To revive Wang, Wang's wife swallows it. Back home, the phlegm hardens and ascends from her stomach to her throat and eventually becomes a heart. She inserts the heart into Wang's gaping chest wound, and he revives.

In this story, we can clearly see that the Daoist priest is righteous and respectable because he helps Wang subdue the monster and informs Wang's wife how to revive Wang. However, the priest, as some commentators have noted, is at times unsatisfactory because his reluctance to save Wang and the powerlessness of his flywhisk are partly the causes of Wang's death (Ren 2015, pp. 123–24). The incompetence is likely to weaken the capability and respectability of the priest, which seems unacceptable to the local patrons of Daoism. Maintaining the storyline of the original story, the script subtly reconstructs some plots to seamlessly elevate the Daoist priest as below:

A Daoist priest, who meditates in Mountain Hua, has sensed that Wang is snared in a monster's vicious scheme and descended to help Wang. At a marketplace, the priest pretends to accidentally crash into Wang to strike up a conversation. The priest first warns that Wang is trapped by a monster, but Wang does not believe this. To make Wang realize his dangerous plight, the priest points out that the girl is a monster in disguise and helps Wang to debunk the deceitful self-description of the "girl", but Wang rebuffs the priest's advice again. However, Wang soon discovers the truth and returns to the priest for help. The priest unhesitatingly agrees to subdue the monster. The priest first hands over a flywhisk to Wang and starts some preparatory works (the script does not explain what those preparatory works are). However, before the priest starts the exhortation, Wang mistakenly supposes that this flywhisk is adequate to drive the monster away, and he immediately goes home without letting the priest know of his absence. On noting that Wang has left, the Daoist priest instantly pursues Wang to save him. Just before the priest reaches his house, Wang is murdered. The priest subsequently combats the monster and subdues it.

Compared to the original tale, I identify that the script makes three enhancements to the Daoist priest. The first lies in the priest's motive for helping Wang. The priest in the original story just discerns that Wang is trapped by an evil spirit when encountering Wang

in a marketplace, while the priest presented in the script is very different. Meditating by himself in Mountain Hua, the priest senses Wang is in jeopardy and immediately departs to save him. In contrast to the original priest, the priest in the script seems more capable because he could remotely sense the monster's viciousness. Additionally, the priest in the script seems so compassionate because he immediately departs to help Wang, while we do not see this with the priest in the original tale.

The second improvement lies in the conversation between the priest and Wang. In the original story, the Daoist priest only warns Wang against his dangerous situation but offers nothing to make Wang trust the warning, so it does not seem inexcusable that Wang takes his warning as a scam. In contrast, the Daoist priest in the script is far more thoughtful and considerate. In addition to a warning, the priest not only points out that the girl is a monster but also counsels Wang to understand why the self-description of the "girl" is untrustworthy.

The third one is the most significant because the priest's responsibility for Wang's death is exempted. The improvement appears when Wang comes to ask the priest for help. The priest in the original story is hesitant to subdue the monster and finally gives Wang only a flywhisk which is too powerless to drive the monster away, and Wang is consequently murdered. In stark contrast, the priest in the script at first shows no reluctance or mercy but unhesitatingly agrees to fight against the monster. Although the priest gives Wang a flywhisk too, it is clear that the flywhisk is not the only assistance offered by the priest. In this context, we can see the priest has determined to accompany Wang to combat the monster when some preparatory works are finished. Wang, however, overestimates the power of the flywhisk and rashly reaches home before the preparatory works are finished. On noting Wang's absence, the priest does not leave him alone but immediately runs after him to save his life. Although Wang is murdered at the end, his death partially results from his rashness or carelessness but has nothing to do with the priest.

While maintaining the storyline of the original tale, the three improvements have not only cleared away the priest's potential responsibility for Wang's death but also made the priest more thoughtful, considerate, and compassionate. The deliberation behind the seamless improvements also conveys the influence of Daoism that Daoist priests should be ideally positive and flawless.

The other instance of the improvement is *The Case of an Antique Zither* (*Guqin an* 古 琴案) (Ni 1983, pp. 59–83), which is adapted from a story of *Deceits in Scam* (*Juzha* 局詐) (Pu 1979, pp. 442–46). In contrast to the improvement of a positive but flawed priest that we have identified in the preceding instance, the instance has elevated an evil priest into an honorable one. The original story recounts a scam planned by a Daoist priest:

A man named Li is a good player of the zither, and he has accidentally bought an antique zither and hidden it in secret. One day, the newly appointed magistrate named Cheng calls on Li, and the two become friends. A year later, Li visits Cheng's residence and notices a zither on a table. Both Li and Cheng play a piece on the zither. Li is ravished by Cheng's skills and asks Cheng to accept him as a pupil. The following year, Cheng teaches Li the art of the zither, but Li never discloses the antique zither. One night, Cheng visits Li and plays a rare music piece and tells Li that a fine old zither could make the music even better. On an impulse, Li takes out the zither and asks Cheng to replay the piece, and the music is sheer perfection. After this, Cheng tells Li that his wife is even more proficient in playing zither and invites Li to come to his house with the zither the next day if Li wants to enjoy a grea<sup>t</sup> performance. The next day, Li visits Cheng as Cheng's suggestion. Enjoying Cheng's wife's virtuoso performance, Li gets drunk owing to Cheng's overwhelming hospitality. When Li takes his leave, Cheng suggests that Li should come to take the zither the next day because Li is so drunk and the zither would probably be mugged on the way, and Li agrees. Arriving at Cheng's residence the next day, however, Li finds the house empty. After a few years, Li finally realizes that Cheng was not a magistrate but a Daoist priest.

Cheng's scam, which costs him three years, is well-designed and split into four steps. Cheng, at first, fakes an identity to approach Li. Next, Cheng makes Li know and admire his skills in a seeming accident. After worming himself into Li's confidence, Cheng plays a rare music piece to instigate Li to show off the zither. In the final step, Cheng persuades Li to bring the zither to his dwelling to enjoy his wife's performance and then urges Li to drink too much and take the zither away. In the story, Cheng is so thoughtful and patient, and the scam is so well-designed that Pu Songling and some commentators highly praised Cheng and Cheng's scam (Ren 2015, pp. 1454–55).

However, when recontextualized into the cultural context of Chuanju, which has been deeply imbued with Daoism, this evil Daoist priest seems inconsistent and has to be reshaped, regardless of how glorious he and his scam were believed to be. In the script, *The Case of an Antique Zither*, the priest has been reshaped into a positive one. Before discussing how the priest has been elevated, this script itself deserves a further discussion because it is not a traditional play but a modern version authored by Ni Guozhen (1929–2010) in the 1980s. In contrast to the aforementioned three instances that substantially preserve the main storyline of the original tales, the adaption presented in the script is far more thorough because the dramatist reshapes the original story into a detective story (Du 2003, pp. 268–69). On the other hand, although the adapted storyline of the script has been largely reconstructed, the script clearly comes from the story *Deceits in Scam* (Du 2003, p. 272). It is therefore too risky to completely separate the adapted story from the original one, so the study regards the Daoist priest in the script as one adapted from the original tale. The outline of the adapted story in the script can be summarized as below:

A female musician named Yaqin has an old and precious zither, and her family keeps the lute in secret. Zhao, Yaqin's cousin, is a maid of a prince who is fond of playing zither. To please the prince, Zhao visits Yaqin and persuades her to present the zither to the prince. At the same time, a Daoist priest, who is an old friend of Yaqin's family, also visits her for alms. Sensing Zhao's malicious intention after a brief chat, the Daoist priest intimates Yaqin and asks her to secretly deliver the zither to him in the name of alms. Yaqin does this and then places an ordinary zither in the room to confuse Zhao. At midnight, Zhao murders a maid and takes the ordinary zither away. He also shifts the blame onto an innocent relative of Yaqin. After a thorough investigation, the magistrate of the prefecture debunks Zhao's conspiracy and jails him. The zither is then returned to Yaqin.

In contrast to the original story, the script narrates a story with a happy ending in which the villain is punished. Zhao comes to snatch the zither to please the prince even at the cost of murdering a maid. Yaqin does not succumb to Zhao's coercion and successfully keeps the zither. The magistrate, who is impartial and insightful, discovers the truth and imprisons Zhao. Though not a central character, the Daoist priest is a positive character who is thoughtful and honest. Above all, after a brief conversation with Zhao, the Daoist priest astutely discerns Zhao's nasty intention and advises Yaqin to relocate the zither in secret. Moreover, the priest conceals the zither safely until it is returned to Yaqin.

In summary, exemplified in the two preceding instances are the enhancements of the characters of Daoist priests in the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju. Meanwhile, we can see the enhancement is also a result of the local belief of Daoism in Sichuan. The consistent improvement of Daoist priests is fairly exceptional in Chinese folk literature, and also manifests the influence of Daoism on theatre.
