In the west of Bianzhou during the Tang Dynasty, there was an inn called Banqiao, run by a woman named San Niangzi. By her thirties, she had become a widow with no children or relatives. She owned several rooms and made a living selling meals, yet her family business was quite prosperous, including many donkeys.Travelers on both personal and business journeys, some exhausted and unable to continue, often had their meals sold to them at discounted prices by San Niangzi as a form of assistance. Everyone praised her as a person of virtue. Thus, many travelers from near and far sought refuge at her inn.

During the Yuanhe period, a traveler from Xuzhou named Zhao Jihe passed through this area on his way to Luoyang to visit an elder and stayed at the inn. There were already six or seven guests occupying the comfortable beds, and since Zhao Jihe arrived later, he had to settle for a bed at the very back, right next to the owner’s wall. After a while, San Niangzi served the guests a plentiful meal. Late at night, she brought out wine to drink with the guests, creating a very lively atmosphere. Zhao Jihe, who usually didn’t drink, joined in their laughter and conversation. When it got very late and the guests were drunkenly fatigued, they returned to their beds to sleep. San Niangzi went back to her room, locked the door, and extinguished the candle.

Soon, everyone was fast asleep except for Zhao Jihe, who was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He heard shuffling sounds from the next room, as if furniture were being moved. Curiously, he looked through a crack in the wall and saw San Niangzi taking a candle from under some covered items and lighting it. Then she pulled out a small plow and a wooden bull and wooden person, each about six or seven inches tall, and placed them in front of the stove. After taking a sip of water, the wooden bull and person began to move, with the wooden person guiding the wooden bull as they plowed a small patch of land in front of the bed, going back and forth several times. San Niangzi then took a packet of buckwheat seeds from the box and handed them to the small wooden person to plant in the ground. Soon, buckwheat sprouted, flowered, and ripened, leading San Niangzi to instruct the wooden person to harvest and thresh it, yielding seven to eight liters. Afterward, she set up a small mill to grind the wheat into flour. Once finished, she put away the wooden figures back into the box and used the flour to make several pancakes.

Shortly thereafter, the rooster crowed, and as the guests prepared to leave, San Niangzi was the first to rise, lighting the lamps and placing the freshly made pancakes on the serving platter for her guests. Zhao Jihe’s heart was stirred, and he quickly took his leave, stepping outside to secretly watch. He saw the guests gathered around the platter, eating pancakes, but before they could finish, they suddenly collapsed onto the ground, braying like donkeys, and soon changed into donkeys. San Niangzi drove them all to the back of the inn and confiscated all their belongings and money. Zhao Jihe did not disclose this incident to others, fearing someone might privately learn this kind of sorcery.

More than a month later, Zhao Jihe returned from the Eastern Capital, Luoyang. As he was about to arrive at the Banqiao Inn, he had prepared some buckwheat pancakes in advance, which were of the same size and appearance as those made by San Niangzi before. When he arrived at the Banqiao Inn, he once again stayed there, and San Niangzi was as cheerful and hospitable as she had been in the past. That night, there were no other guests in the inn, so the innkeeper provided even more lavish hospitality. Late at night, she kindly asked Zhao Jihe if he needed anything. Zhao Jihe said, ‘I will set off tomorrow morning, just prepare some snacks as you like.’ San Niangzi replied, ‘This is not difficult, please just have a good rest.’ After midnight, Zhao Jihe secretly peeked through the wall crack and saw that the San Niangzi was doing the same thing as before.

When dawn arrived, the innkeeper prepared the food tray and indeed placed several pancakes on it. After preparing it, she went to get other items. Taking this opportunity, Zhao Jihe got out of bed and exchanged one of his own prepared pancakes for hers, which she did not notice. As Zhao Jihe was about to leave and started eating his snack, he said to the innkeeper, ‘By coincidence, I brought my own pancakes, please take yours back to leave for the other guests.’ Thus, he took out his own pancake to eat. While eating, the San Niangzi brought tea, and Zhao Jihe said, ‘Please try this pancake made by San Niangzi.’ He then took out the pancake he had just swapped and offered it to the innkeeper. As soon as she took a bite, San Niangzi immediately fell to the ground and let out the braying sound of a donkey, quickly transforming into a donkey herself, and she was quite robust. Zhao Jihe then rode off on the donkey, simultaneously gathering the wooden figures and wooden cattle that were hidden in her chest. However, he did not understand how to use them and struggled for a long time without success. Zhao Jihe wielded the whip and rode the donkey that was once San Niangzi, traveling to many places, walking over half a mile each day without any mistake.

After four years, Zhao Jihe entered the pass on her back and, upon reaching a place five or six li east of Mount Hua, he suddenly saw an old man by the roadside who laughed and clapped his hands, saying, ‘San Niangzi of Banqiao, how could you have turned into this?’ Then he led the donkey and said to Zhao Jihe, ‘Although she has made mistakes, she has endured all your hardships! Please have pity on her and let her go here.’ The old man then reached out with both hands to the donkey’s mouth and nose, forcefully prying it open. San Niangzi jumped out from the donkey skin, returning to her original form, thanked the old man, and then hurriedly left, with no one knowing where she had gone.

 

Citation: https://www.bing.com/search?q=%E6%9D%BF%E6%A1%A5%E4%B8%89%E5%A8%98%E5%AD%90&form=QBLH&sp=-1&ghc=1&lq=0&pq=ban%27qiao%27san%27niang%27z&sc=0-20&qs=n&sk=&cvid=BFF19E986116475E9DC88F7775BE3904

1