The Cricket

                                                                     P'u Sung-ling, China (1640 – 1715)

Summary in English

This story is based on the Chinese about cricket fighting that began from the Tang Dynasty. It also shows the cultural importance of cricket fight along with the faith on lick and coincidence. It is a bitter satire against the Chinese communism of the past based on dictatorship. In an autocratic system of government, one does not feel security and freedom without any obvious reason, people get punished and torture. They cannot go against the rulers. Therefore, this story is trying to show the importance of freedom.

Cricket fighting was very famous during Ming reign in Chinese Court. Each year ordinary people needed to supply cricket for rich men to test in the battle. In Floral Shade, Magistrate wanted favour from his superiors. He managed on mighty warrior, by which he got appointed a royal supplier of crickets to the court. Naturally the Magistrate handed over this responsibility to neighborhoods heads. Soon crickets became rare and valuable in the country. Many young people kept crickets secretly to sell them at high price. The local government officials searched their houses, took away valuable things and ruined several families while searching for the cricket collections.

In Floral Shade, there used to live an ordinary person named Mr. Make-good. He was appointed as a Neighborhood Head to collect outstanding specimen of cricket to fulfill the quota demanded by the Magistrate and the governor. Mr. Make-good could not fulfill the quota as a result, he was severely punished. He was given 100 strokes. Blood run down from his knees. He was badly wounded. Being entrapped in this frustrating situation, he wanted to die. However, his wife convinced him rather to look for cricket himself with the hope of luck.

Meanwhile a famous fortune teller came to that village. Her door was crowded with people. Mrs. Make-good also went there with some money to offer. When she offered the money and bowed her head, the shook and a place of paper feel in front of her feet. There was just a picture of a neglected shrine behind a small mountain. The rocks were among trees and there was a greenhead cricket sitting near a frog. Being puzzled Make-good's wife returned home to show the paper to her husband. On the paper, there was a Buddhist temple and behind it, there was a large cricket in the thicket. Mr. Make-good understood the meaning of the picture. Then, he followed the instruction and went there behind the Buddhist temple. He really found a large cricket in the bush. Being overjoyed, he captured it and returned back to home. He took good care of it.

One day, his 9 years old son uncovered cricket. Then, it jumped away. The desperate boy hunted it and trapped it under his hand. It was dead. The son frightening with his father run away and jumped away into a wall where Mr.  Make-good found him dead there. So, his anger to him turned into grief.

Mr. and Mrs. Make-good took their son to be buried. Surprisingly, there was a slight sign of breathing. They became happy at this condition and took their son back home and put on the bed. Gradually, he came back to senses.

However, Mr. Make-good was still worried about the lost cricket. But fortunately he found a small cricket next morning. Anyway, he thought the authorities might not be happy with him because of being the cricket very small. But one day small cricket defeated all other larger crickets in the battle. The winner of his cricket made Mr. Make-good very happy.

Next day, Mr. Make-good brought his small cricket to the Magistrate and governor. In the battle, the small cricket became the victorious. The emperor was so happy with Mr. Make-good that he was awarded with several prizes including university degree. He received land, building, sheep and oxen, too. After one year, his son's health and spirit got restored. Finally, Mr. Make-good leads a luxurious life like noblemen of his place.