Throughout history, tales of human kindness and devotion often emerge from the most difficult circumstances. In times of illness, poverty, or misfortune, the actions of a single compassionate person can change the course of a life — and sometimes even unite two hearts through extraordinary trials. The stories that follow illustrate how hardship, chance, and virtue intertwine to create profound bonds between individuals.
Saved by silver and oil
During the Qing Dynasty, a prefecture (administrative region) in Guangdong had many young women afflicted with leprosy. These women believed they could cure themselves only by infecting a man with the disease — a practice known as “passing the leprosy.” Yet some felt too ashamed to approach men, while others were shunned out of fear. Thus, many afflicted women would ambush travelers in the wilderness at night, offering silver to those who resisted.
One woman afflicted with the disease was sent by her mother to wait by the roadside at night, silver in hand. As dawn approached, she saw a man coming down the road and asked where he was headed. He replied, “My parents died when I was young, leaving me alone and helpless. I am now seeking loans from relatives and friends in order to survive.”
The woman reflected: perhaps her own affliction was divine punishment. To harm another person would only compound her sins. She therefore revealed her true purpose and offered him the silver, saying, “I am but days from the grave. This silver is useless to me. Take it to help with your food and clothing. Please do not refuse my kindness.” Moved by her sincerity, the man accepted the silver and departed.
After returning home, the daughter concealed the truth from her mother. Soon afterward, her illness worsened violently — her limbs festering and emitting an overpowering stench. Enraged by her daughter’s deception and fearing contagion, the mother drove her from the house. The girl wandered from place to place, begging in distant lands.
One day, as she passed through a town, she noticed a shop selling sesame oil. As she approached, its fragrance filled her senses and seemed to penetrate her very being. She begged for a little of the oil. But the townspeople, repulsed by her filth, scorned and cursed her, driving her away.
Only one young man took pity on her and offered her some sesame oil to drink. After she drank it, she felt a coolness wash over her internal organs, and her pain eased slightly. From then on, whenever she came to ask for oil, the young man gave her some without hesitation.
As it turned out, a black snake had drowned in the oil vat, rendering the oil unsellable. The young man had poured oil from that vat into the woman’s cup each time. After drinking it, her sores began to scab over. Within a dozen days, the scabs fell away, revealing skin as smooth as porcelain. The oil had neutralized the serpent’s venom; oil infused with such venom is believed to expel toxins. That the woman should happen upon it at that very moment was truly divine providence.
When the woman first came to the oil shop to beg, she recognized the young man as the same one to whom she had once given silver. There were many times that she wanted to tell him who she was, but she felt too ashamed of her wretched condition and stopped herself each time. The young man, for his part, didn’t recognize her at all — her voice and appearance had changed so completely.
After she recovered, the woman asked a kindly old neighbor to tell the young man her story. Upon hearing this, the young man rushed to see her. When he learned the truth, he could not hold back his tears. “Your kindness long ago saved my life,” he said. “And now to see you reduced to such a state — how could I bear it? If Heaven had not healed you, even if we had met again, I would have lost the chance to repay you. I would have forever remained a faithless man.” The man wept uncontrollably. Bystanders marveled at the scene. They were deeply moved by the woman’s compassion and the young man’s loyalty to her kindness. They soon acted as matchmakers, uniting the two as husband and wife.
The scholar and the rescued concubine
A similar story unfolded during the Qing Dynasty. In Chu Ying (present-day Jiangling, Hubei), a poor scholar named Chen Xugu traveled to Guangling (present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu) with no means of support. By teaching classical texts, he earned enough to marry a woman surnamed Cai and settled there. But soon after, Cai passed away. With no one to manage the household — preparing meals and tending to daily chores — he had to fetch water and pound rice entirely on his own.
Early one morning, he went to the river to fetch water. There, he noticed a leather water bag bobbing on the surface, which felt unusually heavy when he lifted it. He carried it home and poured the water into a vat, only to be startled to find a woman inside the bag, still clinging to life. Upon being brought into the house, she suddenly expelled a gush of water, opened her eyes, and burst into tears.
Chen repeatedly comforted her, and she finally spoke: “I am Zhang Wanlan from Jinling (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu). A merchant from Huizhou bought me for a thousand pieces of gold to be his concubine. But after bringing me home, the mistress (the term used by maids and concubines to address the female master) grew jealous of me. She confined me to a separate room and forbade the master from approaching me. This spring, my master traveled to Hankou and is due to return soon. My mistress got me drunk on strong wine and threw me into the river. I have no idea where you rescued me from. How can I ever repay such a great debt of life-saving kindness?”
Mr. Chen’s lodgings were too modest to accommodate her, so he consulted the owner of the residence, who happened to be a maternal relative of the mistress. She said to him, “I deeply sympathize with this girl’s plight. Now that things have come to this, I know how to resolve the matter.” She then went to see the mistress. After exchanging pleasantries, she asked, “Where has your concubine gone?” The mistress paled with fear and evaded the question with vague answers.
The landlady pressed further: “Do not deceive me. I know everything. If you act promptly, this matter may still be kept hidden. But delay any longer, and once it reaches the court, the truth will be impossible to conceal.” The mistress immediately knelt down and asked what she could do to resolve the situation. The landlady replied, “Mr. Chen is from Chu. His wife has died. If you provide him with a thousand pieces of gold and give Wanlan’s clothes and jewelry so she may remarry and leave, there will be no further trouble.”
Fearing legal consequences, the mistress complied fully, providing the valuables and sending them away. At last freed from danger, Wanlan could reclaim her life. Mr. Chen married her without delay, and together they returned to Hubei to begin their life together.
Kindness and hardship
In the end, these accounts remind us that adversity often reveals what truly lies within the depths of the human heart. Hardship tests the bounds of compassion, yet it also exposes what endures when everything else crumbles. When offered without expectation, kindness carries a quiet strength — it bridges the distance between strangers and restores what despair threatens to destroy. These stories from the Qing Dynasty endure because they show that integrity, kindness, and mercy, though easily overlooked, are the forces through which humanity most fully redeems itself.
Translated by Eva and edited by Tatiana Denning
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