The White Dog of Qingzhou

　　A certain merchant from Qingzhou often traveled for business and would sometimes stay away from home for a year or more. His household kept a white dog. His wife enticed the dog to have sex with her, and the dog grew accustomed to it.

　　One day, the merchant returned home and lay down in bed with his wife. The dog suddenly burst in, leaped onto the bed, and bit the merchant to death. Before long, the neighbors got wind of what had happened. Outraged, they reported the matter to the authorities.

　　The magistrate had the woman tortured, but she refused to confess. She was locked up in jail. The magistrate then ordered the dog to be bound and brought in, and only then had the woman brought out. As soon as the dog saw the woman, it rushed straight at her, tore off her clothes, and assumed the mating position. The woman had nothing more to say.

　　The magistrate sent two constables to escort the prisoners to the provincial court—one constable for the woman, and one for the dog. There were those who wished to see the two of them couple, so they collected money and bribed the constables. The constables then brought the woman and the dog together and made them mate. Wherever they stopped, several hundred onlookers would gather. The constables made a tidy profit this way. In the end, both the woman and the dog were executed by slicing.

　　Alas! Under the vast sky, truly there is nothing that does not exist. But is there only this one woman who, possessing a human face, committed bestiality?

　　The Historian of the Strange comments with this verdict:

　　Trysts at Pǔshàng have been condemned since ancient times; assignations at Sāngzhōng are despised by all. And yet this woman, unable to bear the loneliness of the conjugal chamber, recklessly longed for the pleasure of illicit coupling. A demon lay on her bed—no, it was the female beast of her own household. [Note: The original text here calls the dog “a female beast” (牝兽), even though the dog is male. This may be a scribal error, a deliberate ironic twist, or a rhetorical device. The translator follows the original wording literally.] A certain organ entered her chamber—and became her bedfellow. Before the altar of clouds and rain, a dog's tail wagged wantonly; in the land of tender warmth, a waist swayed again and again. A sharp awl hidden in a sheath—one thrust and it springs forth. A passion knot tied to the arrowhead—no sooner does it pierce than it takes root. To conceive of intercourse with another species is truly an unthinkable fancy. A dog that should bark at an adulterer instead became the adulterer itself, and out of jealousy it killed—such a crime the laws of man cannot properly punish. A woman who is not an animal yet acts like one—her foul lewdness is so rank that even wolves and tigers would not eat her flesh. Alas! When a woman commits adultery and murder, the law can sentence her to slicing. But when a dog commits adultery and murder, the human world has no punishment for it. When a human does evil, he is punished by being reborn as a dog. But when a dog does evil, even the underworld must be at a loss. The dog should be dismembered and its soul dragged before King Yama to ask what to do.


中文如下：

　　犬奸

　　【原文】

　　青州贾某，客于外，恒经岁不归。家蓄一白犬，妻引与交。犬习为常。一日，夫至，与妻共卧。犬突入，登榻，啮贾人竟死。后里舍稍闻之，共为不平，鸣于官。官械妇，妇不肯伏，收之。命缚犬来，始取妇出。犬忽见妇，直前碎衣作交状。妇始无词。使两役解部院，一解人而一解犬。有欲观其合者，共敛钱赂役，役乃牵聚令交。所止处，观者常数百人，役以此网利焉。后人犬俱寸磔以死。呜呼！天地之大，真无所不有矣。然人面而兽交者，独一妇也乎哉？

　　异史氏为之判曰：会于濮上，古所交讥；约于桑中，人且不齿。乃某者，不堪雌守之苦，浪思苟合之欢。夜叉伏床，竟是家中牝兽；捷卿入窦，遂为被底情郎。云雨台前，乱摇续貂之尾；温柔乡里，频款曳象之腰。锐锥处于皮囊，一纵股而脱颖；留情结于镞项，甫饮羽而生根。忽思异类之交，直属匪夷之想。尨吠奸而为奸，妒残凶杀，律难治以萧曹；人非兽而实兽，奸秽淫腥，肉不食于豺虎。呜呼！人奸杀，则拟女以剐；至于狗奸杀，阳世遂无其刑。人不良，则罚人作犬；至于犬不良，阴曹应穷于法。宜支解以追魂魄，请押赴以问阎罗。

　　【翻译】

　　青州某个商人，客居在外地，经常一年到头不回家。家里养着一条白狗，商人的妻子就诱使它与自己交合。狗也对此习以为常。有一天，商人回了家，与妻子一起躺在床上。狗突然蹿进来，跳上床撕咬商人，竟然把他咬死了。后来邻居们渐渐听到了风声，都为此事愤愤不平，报告了官府。官府刑讯那个妇人，妇人却坚决不肯承认，于是把她收进了监牢。长官又命令把狗绑来，才把妇人提出狱。狗忽然见到了妇人，就直奔上前扯破妇人的衣服做出了交合的样子。妇人这才无话可说。官府派两个差役押解案犯去巡抚衙门，一个差役押解人，另一个差役押解狗。有些想看人狗交合的好事之徒，就一起凑钱贿赂差役，差役于是把妇人与狗牵在一起让他们交合。所经过的地方，围观者常常有好几百人，差役因此而得到了不少钱财。后来人和狗都用剐刑处死了。唉！天地之大，真是无所不有。然而有副人的面孔，却去与兽类交合的，难道只有这一个妇人吗？

　　异史氏写的判辞说：幽会濮上，自古受人讥讽；相约桑中，也为人所不齿。竟有某人，不堪忍受独守闺门之苦，放浪地思恋起苟且交合之欢。夜叉伏在床上，竟是家里的雌畜；狗的阳具进了洞，就成为被底的情郎。交合之际，狗尾乱摇；情欢之间，蛇腰屡扭。尖锥处于皮囊之中，一抬腿便脱颖而出；恋情结在箭头之上，刚射进去就落地生了根。忽然想到异类间的相交，真是不可思议。狗在家中对着奸夫应当吠叫示警，却自身为奸夫，嫉妒杀人，这种罪过朝廷的法律难以处置；人本不是兽类却事实上成了兽类，淫乱污秽，连豺狼、老虎也不屑于食其皮肉。唉！女方因奸杀人，可判女方剐刑；至于狗因奸杀人，阳世却没有相应的刑罚。人作恶，则罚他来世作狗；至于狗作恶，阴间恐怕也无法可施。应该肢解后捉拿它的魂魄，押往阴间去请教阎王看怎么办。