A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In Macgowan’s tale, Kwang-Jui purchases a fish for his sick mother but releases it after noticing its imploring, unusually human expression. The narrator identifies the fish as the presiding God of the River, temporarily transformed for an unspecified purpose and caught in a fisherman’s net. The episode makes the spirit vulnerable to capture in this form; it does not name a fish species or describe a dragon body.

When a boatman murders Kwang-Jui and steals his official identity, the river patrol recovers the victim’s body. Recognizing his rescuer, the god places him in a Crystal Grotto and protects him while his family seeks justice. Eighteen years later, Kwang-Jui’s son Sam-Choang exposes the murderer. The executed man’s heart and the ashes of the indictment reach the river court, where the document is preserved for proceedings before Yam-lo. The god then touches Kwang-Jui and calls him back to his wife. The ending explicitly gives a lasting reunion, although its language moves between murder, unconscious preservation and restoration to the living.

This is the particular river ruler of Macgowan’s 1910 English retelling. Its bureaucratic patrol, archive and grotto belong to this narrative; they are not offered as universal anatomy or institutions of every Chinese water spirit. The chapter supplies no individual storyteller or Chinese-language source text.

Takes the form of a fishReleases a protected man after eighteen yearsCommands a river patrolPreserves an indictment for the otherworld court
01

Origins & earliest records

China, as presented in J. Macgowan’s English literary retelling; individual teller unspecified

02

Records & interpretation

Complete chapter and ending read in the 1910 edition’s Gutenberg transcription; title and contents checked.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Chinese Folk-Lore Tales

    J. Macgowan · 1910

    Chapter II, KWANG-JUI AND THE GOD OF THE RIVER; complete chapter. No printed page range verified.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Complete chapter through ending, title and contents read

J. Macgowan, Chinese Folk-Lore Tales (Macmillan, 1910)

1910 English edition. Chapter II, KWANG-JUI AND THE GOD OF THE RIVER; HTML heading #id00074; printed pagination unverified

Complete cache macgowan-2.txt; master macgowan1910.html. No named individual teller or Chinese original provided here. Source-specific forms and final outcome retained; no merger with other river spirits.

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References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical English literary retellingMacgowan, chapter II: Kwang-Jui And The God Of The RiverResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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