When Li Shih-min ascended the throne, in A.D. 627, he called together all the literati of the Empire to take the Doctor’s Examination in the capital.  Our five graduates started for the metropolis, but, losing their way, were robbed by brigands, and had to beg help in order to reach the end of their journey.  By good luck they all met in the temple San-i Ko, and related to each other the various hardships they had undergone.  But when they eventually reached the capital the examination was over, and they were out in the streets without resources.  So they took an oath of brotherhood for life and death.  They pawned some of the few clothes they possessed, and buying some musical instruments formed themselves into a band of strolling musicians.

The first bought a drum, the second a seven-stringed guitar, the third a mandolin, the fourth a clarinet, and the fifth and youngest composed songs.

Thus they went through the streets of the capital giving their concerts, and Fate decreed that Li Shih-min should hear their melodies.  Charmed with the sweet sounds, he asked Hsue Mao-kung whence came this band of musicians, whose skill was certainly exceptional.  Having made inquiries, the minister related their experiences to the Emperor.  Li Shih-min ordered them to be brought into his presence, and after hearing them play and sing appointed them to his private suite, and henceforth they accompanied him wherever he went.

The Emperors Strategy

The Emperor bore malice toward Chang T’ien-shih, the Master of the Taoists, because he refused to pay the taxes on his property, and conceived a plan to bring about his destruction.  He caused a spacious subterranean chamber to be dug under the reception-hall of his palace.  A wire passed through the ceiling to where the Emperor sat.  He could thus at will give the signal for the music to begin or stop.  Having stationed the five musicians in this subterranean chamber, he summoned the Master of the Taoists to his presence and invited him to a banquet.  During the course of this he pulled the wire, and a subterranean babel began.

The Emperor pretended to be terrified, and allowed himself to fall to the ground.  Then, addressing himself to the T’ien-shih, he said:  “I know that you can at will catch the devilish hobgoblins which molest human beings.  You can hear for yourself the infernal row they make in my palace.  I order you under penalty of death to put a stop to their pranks and to exterminate them.”

The Musicians are Slain

Having spoken thus, the Emperor rose and left.  The Master of the Taoists brought his projecting mirror, and began to seek for the evil spirits.  In vain he inspected the palace and its precincts; he could discover nothing.  Fearing that he was lost, he in despair threw his mirror on the floor of the reception-hall.