Once upon a time, in ancient China, there lived a man named Su Ki.
One day, he was appointed as the King’s envoy to travel to a distant land. Before his departure, Su Ki spoke to his wife. “I must travel to a far-off country as the King’s messenger. We will not be able to see each other for a long time. However, I vow that I will never be intimate with another woman while I am away. You, too, must not let another man near you.”
“To seal this promise,” he continued, “let us break this mirror in two. You shall keep one half, and I shall carry the other. If I should ever touch another woman, my half of the mirror will surely fly back to yours and become one again. And if you take another lover, your half will fly to mine.”
They made this solemn vow, and the wife happily stored her half in a box. Su Ki kept his half close to his person at all times, left his home, and set off for that distant land.
Not long after, while remaining at home, the wife began an affair with another man.
Su Ki, who was far away in the distant province, knew nothing of this. But suddenly, the half of the mirror he had given his wife flew through the air and snapped together with the half he held. They joined so perfectly that not even a single grain of sand could fit between the cracks.
Seeing this, Su Ki realized, “My wife has broken our promise and found another man so soon.” He felt a deep bitterness toward her for betraying their vow.
Thus, it has been handed down that if one acts with true sincerity, even inanimate objects will respond in such a way.
[Translation]
Kaori Sekijitsu / Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using Gemini to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
●Japanese
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