This is a translation of a section in the 重寫戒淫證輯- A collection of True Records on prohibiting lust: Rewritten , in which the author describes the gruesome karmic retribution meted out to authors of 'obscene' books. This present text was written in 1975, but it probably draws on older buddhist retribution legends.
These legends may seem like puritanical overreaction to us, but they did have a logic in traditional Chinese physiology: As Andrew Schonebaum observed in his book Novel medicine , the chinese believed that one's emotional state had an impact on health. Accordingly, reading overly melancholy novels may have severe health impacts. (see chapter 2 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/75810)
In the case of semi-pornographic books, the impact of health was more direct: as they incited lust, which would in turn cause men to deplete their vital seminal essence by releasing it-- a process which would weaken them much in the same way bleeding weakens a person. Small wonder then, that the author of the book compares such novels to 'poison'
It is interesting to note that most of the works described here (the Peony Pavilion, the Romance of the Western Wing) are now considered classic works of chinese theatre, whilst the Water Margin is considered one of China's four great novels and its 'degenerate' commentator, Jin Shengtan, one of its foremost literary critics.
For what it's worth, this story is being economical with the truth. Jin was not killed in the literary inquisition: instead he was killed in a protest against a corrupt official. Again, his bloodline did not immediately die out, as son survived him (Thanks to Brendon O'Kane for pointing these out)
This is the source of my text https://book.bfnn.org/books/0273.htm
The True Reunion , probably refers to a tale called The tale of YingYing 鶯鶯傳 a Tang-dynasty work that was later turned into the Romance of the Western Wing.
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淫書害人，作者受陰譴. Obscene books harm people; their authors will suffer punishment
牡丹亭一書，是描寫男女青年情奔的書，而且文章華麗，人人愛讀，所以受其影響，誤認追逐情愛，淫奔之事為風雅的人很多。該書作者死後，曾有人死而復甦，親見他被關在暗室，備受蒸心熱骨，有如慾火難禁，膚裂肉開的痛苦。
"The play called The Peony Pavillion (Mudan Ting), described the highs and lows of young love. Because it was so elegantly written, everyone read it, and under its influence, encouraged them to give free rein to their pleasures, causing people to thing obscene lusts were refined and cultured.
After the Peony pavilion’s author died, someone went to the underworld and returned. He saw the Author locked in a dark room, surrounded in burning heat that scorched him to his very bone, a just retribution for igniting the fires of lust, and splitting flesh and blood (through affairs).
而西廂記一書，專描寫男女偷情私會之事，最容易令人見了引起邪思。據說作者因編此書而受陰譴，書未完忽然無故昏倒，自己嚼舌而死。
Again, there was the Romance of the Western Wing (Xixiang Ji), which described illicit romances and secret trysts between men and women, which easily aroused wicked thoughts in whoever viewed it. Thus, as retribution for writing this book, the author suffered Hidden punishment. Before he could complete it, he suddenly collapsed, biting his tongue, and died.
會真記的作者，因欲娶其姨表妹崔鶯鶯不得，憤而作此記，以詆誹其表妹和人有偷情的行為。致使崔鶯鶯無瑕白壁、蒙垢千秋。
Again, the author of The True Reunion , (Huizhen ji) could not marry his cousin Cui YingYing and accordingly, wrote this story in hatred, describing how she carried out an illicit romance. This caused the unstained name of Cui YingYing to become sullied for all time.
又復使後世青年男女，效學偷會之事。據說他死時很痛苦，死後又遭雷光焚屍之報. Again, for causing young boys and girls of later ages to learn how to effectively conduct these secretive meeting, it was said that he suffered greatly whilst dying, and after his death, lightning struck his corpse and reduced it to ashes as retribution.
施耐庵因作水滸傳，其中姦盜之事，描寫如畫，致使其子孫生而啞者有三世。
"Shi Nai'an's 施耐庵 The Water Margin contained [numerous] scenes of rape and banditry, described as vividly as pictures. For this sin, three generations of his family- sons and grandsons- were born mute.
金聖嘆好批水滸傳、西廂記、金瓶梅等誨淫倡亂的書，以其敏絕的才識，不寫砥品勵志的文章，而專好評解稗官詞曲，荒於戲的事。所以後來竟因文字獄，而受殺身滅族之禍.
Jin Shengtan was addicted to The water Margin, The romance of the Western Wing, as well as Jin Pig Mei and suchlike debased and debauched works of literature. Wasting his talent, he did not produce any works of merit, but instead commented on these degenerate poems and trivial plays. [As divine retribution] for this, he was later entangled in the literary inquisition, and later died in prison, extinguishing his whole bloodline!
編者按︰這些都是不信因果報應道理，而反自以為是，並逞一時之快，寫下了流毒人心的小說，以致因遭天譴，作家們當引為戒.
Editor’s note: These are the results of not believing in cause and effect. Rather thinking that they are doing no wrong, and for the pleasures of an hour, create novels that will for evermore poison the hearts of people. Thus, they earned the punishment of heaven—let all authors take this as a warning!