The mother of Li Sheng, of Xingzhou, was old and somewhat blind, and Li Sheng served her with great filial piety. Whenever he went out, he worried that his wife, née Jin, might fail to serve her properly, so always repeated his instructions to her several times, only setting off after he had done so. The lady Jin did not heed her husband’s advice, and did not observe the proper manners. His mother complained and grumbled about her a great deal, and Jin resented this. When she was preparing to bake shaobing biscuits to give to her mother-in-law, she noticed that dung from their baby son lay next to her. Jin took this and added it to the flour of the biscuit filling. Li’s mother had eaten half of the biscuit when she became aware if a horrible smell and could eat no more, leaving the rest and waiting for her son to return. When Li arrived, he saw that his mother had been fed with filth, so took up a cane and beat Jin until she fled, vanishing into the distance. Suddenly, a disembodied voice reported: “Yesterday the fugitive entered the King Guan Temple.” When Li Sheng went to the temple, he saw a dog lying beneath the offerings table, glowering so fiercely he did not dare approach. He then called for Jin’s mother and father to come and see, at which the hound wept streams of tears and explained: “I ought not to have served up filth to my mother-in-law in such an unfilial manner. When I entered the temple I suddenly turned into a dog!” Several days later she died.
Long ago there was a woman called A Li, whose son travelled for trade, sometimes not returning for years at a time. Her daughter-in-law, Qisao, stayed in the home. Whenever this woman cooked she prepared two dishes; coarse grains for her mother-in-law, but white rice for herself. Li was troubled by the woman’s disobedience, but had to endure her insults. Even accepting the inedible meals presented to her, as Li did not dare speak up. One day the wife went to a neighbouring house, leaving her mother-in-law at home. A monk came holding his alms bowl and begging for rice, but Li said: “I can’t fill my own belly! How can I give alms?” When the monk pointed to the white rice in the kitchen, Li said: “That is what my daughter-in-law Qisao eats. I daren’t give that away. I worry that she would certainly humiliate and insult me when she comes back. I had coarse rice for my breakfast, and have a little left over to prepare for lunch; you could take that.” Before the monk could answer, they heard Qisao arrive outside. When the woman saw the monk eating, she said, quite furiously: “If you want my white rice, you should take off your kasaya robe[1] and hand it over in exchange.” The monk then removed his robe. As the younger woman picked it up, the monk suddenly [21] vanished. The kasaya wrapped around her body and turned into cowhide. Imprisoned within, she could not take it off. A growth of cow hairs grew across the chest opening, and, gradually, body, head, face, all transformed. Her parents were hastily summoned, but when they arrived she had entirely transformed into an ox!
Anon, Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 前1.20-21 (Tale 35)
事姑不孝
邢州李生母，年老目盲，李生事之至孝。每出外，慮其妻金氏侍奉有闕，必再三囑付之而後往。金氏不聽夫語，不盡禮，母甚埋怨，金氏憤之。恰值燒餅欲進母，傍有小兒阿糞，金氏乃以麵裹糞為餅餡以進，母食既半，覺臭穢不可食，遂留以待兒歸。李生歸，見其以穢物食母，持杖擊之，金氏奔走，尋邏不見。忽有人報云：「昨日奔入關王廟中。」李生入廟，見一狗伏於案下，睜目不敢親近。遂呼金氏父母來看，此狗流涕自稱曰：「我不合以穢物奉姑不孝，忽入廟中化為狗矣！」數日而卒。
昔有婦人阿李，有子出外經商，累年不歸，止有兒婦七嫂在家。婦每飯則兩炊，姑飯以麥，婦自白飯。李稍與婦忤，必受辱罵，至於麥飯亦不進食，李忍辱而不敢言。一日婦往鄰家，留姑守舍，有僧持缽至門乞飯，李曰：「我自不能飽，安有捨施！」僧指廚中白飯，李曰：「此我兒婦七嫂自吃底，我不敢以施人，恐歸必辱罵我。我但有早食麥飯，尚有一合留備午餉，如用即取去。」僧未答，聞七嫂外歸。婦見僧乞飯，大怒曰：「汝要我白飯，可脫袈裟換。」僧即脫下。婦纔披之，僧忽 [21] 不見，袈裟著身變為牛皮，牢不可脫，胸閭先生牛毛一片，漸變身體頭面。急執其父母至，則全身化為牛矣！
Yuan Haowen 元好問, Chang Zhenguo 常振國 (ed), Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), and Anon., Jin Xin 金心 (ed.) Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi 湖海新聞夷堅續志 (Continuation of Records of the Listener with New Items from the Lakes and Seas) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986)
[1] On this robe, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasaya_(clothing).
Zhiguai Translations 