Pages full of silly litter， Tears a handful sour and bitter； All a fool the author hold， But their zest who can unfold？ female viberator
You have now understood the causes which brought about the Record of the Stone， but as you are not， as yet， aware what characters are depicted， and what circumstances are related on the surface of the block， reader， please lend an ear to the narrative on the stone， which runs as follows：——
In old days， the land in the South East lay low. In this South-East part of the world， was situated a walled town， Ku Su by name. Within the walls a locality， called the Ch'ang Men， was more than all others throughout the mortal world， the centre， which held the second， if not the first place for fashion and life. Beyond this Ch'ang Men was a street called Shih-li-chieh （Ten _Li_ street）； in this street a lane， the Jen Ch'ing lane （Humanity and Purity）； and in this lane stood an old temple， which on account of its diminutive dimensions， was called， by general consent， the Gourd temple. Next door to this temple lived the family of a district official， Chen by surname， Fei by name， and Shih-yin by style. His wife， nee Feng， possessed a worthy and virtuous disposition， and had a clear perception of moral propriety and good conduct. This family， though not in actual possession of excessive affluence and honours， was， nevertheless， in their district， conceded to be a clan of well-to-do standing. As this Chen Shih-yin was of a contented and unambitious frame of mind， and entertained no hankering after any official distinction， but day after day of his life took delight in gazing at flowers， planting bamboos， sipping his wine and conning poetical works， he was in fact， in the indulgence of these pursuits， as happy as a supernatural being.
One thing alone marred his happiness. He had lived over half a century and had， as yet， no male offspring around his knees. He had one only child， a daughter， whose infant name was Ying Lien. She was just three years of age. On a long summer day， on which the heat had been intense， Shih-yin sat leisurely in his library. Feeling his hand tired， he dropped the book he held， leant his head on a teapoy， and fell asleep. vibraors
Of a sudden， while in this state of unconsciousness， it seemed as if he had betaken himself on foot to some spot or other whither he could not discriminate. Unexpectedly he espied， in the opposite direction， two priests coming towards him： the one a Buddhist， the other a Taoist. As they advanced they kept up the conversation in which they were engaged. "Whither do you purpose taking the object you have brought away？" he heard the Taoist inquire. To this question the Buddhist replied with a smile： "Set your mind at ease，" he said； "there's now in maturity a plot of a general character involving mundane pleasures， which will presently come to a denouement. The whole number of the votaries of voluptuousness have， as yet， not been quickened or entered the world， and I mean to avail myself of this occasion to introduce this object among their number， so as to give it a chance to go through the span of human existence." "The votaries of voluptuousness of these days will naturally have again to endure the ills of life during their course through the mortal world，" the Taoist remarked； "but when， I wonder， will they spring into existence？ and in what place will they descend？"