“The Curse of Taoism” by Lin Mengchu in summary
The old peasant constantly thinks about farming; the shepherd boy enjoys honor and glory every night
In a long, long time ago, the wise-daos of Zhuangzi and a certain Mo Guan, a venerable old man, a rich peasant lived nearby. And in the village an orphan was found, who found refuge with strangers. He was called the Foundling. He was an ignoramus, but he was attracted to the attention of the Taoist and ordered every day to repeat the Taoist spell, in order to find joy in a dream.
The Foundling once again repeated mysterious words, and dreamed him a dream. As if he is an educated grandee and is not called a Foundling, but a Blossoming One. And called to the court, and wrote a report highly appreciated by the sovereign. Rides a proud horse with his entourage. But then he woke up and the vision disappeared.
Just at this time, rich man Mo needed a shepherd. He hired a Foundling. He moved to a new dwelling and again before going to sleep he repeated the Taoist spell. Again,
So the life of the guy flowed: in the daytime he grazed oxen, and at night became an important lord, even with his royal daughter became related. Once in a dream he met with a learned scribe and haughtily boasted before him of his happy fate. I woke up, and in real life with the herd of misfortune happened: the oxen perished.
I decided to find a Foundling; if there is joy in a dream, in life there is only grief – and stopped reading the spell. But immediately, in a dream, happiness turned from him, and in the wake of failure continued: the owner’s ass got sick. The shepherd went to the mountains to pick her healing herbs and found a treasure under the bush. He shared his wealth with his master, and he took it into the house and adopted it.
Now everything has changed: the young man prospered during the day, but in his sleep he was tormented by nightmares. The rich man called to him even a doctor. They were the same Taoist who taught the young man a curse. He explained that in this way he wanted to instill in him the concept of imperfection of life.
And then Enes received a real insight. He decided to give up wealth and leave with the Taoist. They both disappeared like clouds in the sky. True, the young man became a celestial.
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