TuTze-Chun

About

A penniless young man in Tang Dynasty China meets a mysterious old sorcerer who offers him a test: endure absolute silence through any torment, and receive the secret of immortality. Tu Tze-Chun agrees — and is led through visions of hell, heaven, and his own deepest attachments while the sorcerer watches. Akutagawa adapted this from a classical Chinese tale, but the emotional center is entirely his own. The story asks what remains when you strip away wealth, status, and even speech — and discovers that the answer is heartbreakingly simple. At barely twenty pages, this is one of Akutagawa's most perfect constructions: a fable that works on a child and devastates an adult.