有渔人于水中得大蚌大蚌巨大的河蚌或海蚌。在中国神话中，蚌中常藏有明珠，蚌修炼成精后可化为人形。，中有明珠，光华灿然。渔人取珠归家，夜有女子至，自云何氏何氏故事中蚌精所化女子的姓氏。"何氏"为古代对女子的通称方式。。
何氏实为蚌精蚌精修炼成精的蚌。在中国志怪传统中，水族修炼可化为人形，与人类产生情感纠葛。，因失珠而至。渔人怜之，遂与同居。后珠归蚌中，何氏亦去，渔人怅然。
A fisherman pulled a great clam大蚌 dà bàngA giant freshwater or sea clam. In Chinese mythology, clams often harbor luminous pearls within; a clam that cultivates its spirit may take human form. from the water. Inside was a radiant pearl, blazing with light. He took the pearl home. That night a maiden appeared, calling herself He Shi何氏 Hé ShìThe surname of the clam spirit in human form. "He Shi" is a conventional way of referring to a woman in classical Chinese..
He Shi was in truth a clam spirit蚌精 bàng jīngA clam that has cultivated spiritual power and taken human form. In the zhiguai tradition, aquatic creatures can transform and form emotional bonds with humans., come to reclaim her pearl. The fisherman took pity on her, and they lived together. Later, when the pearl returned to the clam, He Shi departed too, leaving the fisherman in sorrow.
南海有渔人，日以网鱼为业。一日得大蚌，巨如斗，重不可举。奇之，携归家。剖之，中有明珠明珠发光的珍珠。传说珍珠为蚌所孕育，千年成珠，具有灵性。此处渔人取走了蚌的灵珠。，径寸许，光芒满室，夜如白昼。
渔人大喜，以丝囊丝囊丝绸制成的袋子。古人以丝囊盛放珍贵物品，取其柔软光滑，不伤宝物。裹之，置于枕下。自此夜夜梦一女子，容貌端丽，含泪不语。
In the South Sea there was a fisherman who made his living casting nets. One day he caught a great clam — as large as a bushel basket, too heavy to lift. Intrigued, he carried it home. He pried it open and found within a luminous pearl明珠 míng zhūA glowing pearl. Legend holds that pearls are nurtured within clams for a thousand years and possess spiritual essence. Here the fisherman has taken the clam's vital pearl., about an inch across, filling the room with radiance as bright as day.
Overjoyed, the fisherman wrapped it in a silk pouch丝囊 sī nángA bag made of silk. The ancients used silk pouches to store precious items, as the soft fabric would not damage treasures. and placed it beneath his pillow. From that night on, he dreamed of a woman — beautiful, dignified, weeping silently.
数日后，有女子夜来扣门。渔人启之，见一女子，年可十七八，容色如梦中人。问其姓名，曰：「妾何氏何氏古代称呼女子的方式，以姓氏代称。"妾"为古代女子自称的谦辞。，南海水族也。君取我丹珠丹珠精怪修炼的核心——丹元之珠。失去丹珠，精怪便无法维持人形，甚至性命堪忧。，妾无珠不能活。望君怜而还之。」
渔人见其可怜，欲还之。又恋其容色，不忍遽别。曰：「珠可还，但求与卿同居数月。」何氏颔首颔首点头同意。蚌精的同意既出于无奈（需取回丹珠），也暗示了对渔人的微妙情感。许之。
Several days later, a woman came knocking at his door by night. The fisherman opened it to find a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, her face exactly like the woman in his dreams. Asked her name, she said: "I am He Shi何氏 Hé ShìA conventional way of naming a woman. "Qiè" (妾) was a humble first-person pronoun used by women in classical Chinese., a creature of the South Sea. You have taken my vital pearl丹珠 dān zhūThe core pearl of a spirit creature's cultivation. Without it, the spirit cannot maintain human form and may perish.. Without it, I cannot survive. I beg you, take pity and return it."
The fisherman, moved by her distress, wished to return it. Yet he was captivated by her beauty and could not bear to part so quickly. He said: "I will return the pearl, but I beg you to stay with me for a few months." He Shi nodded颔首 hàn shǒuTo nod in agreement. The spirit's acquiescence stems partly from necessity (she needs her pearl back) and partly from an unspoken affection for the fisherman. and consented.
同居数月，情好日笃。一夕，何氏忽曰：「妾丹珠不可久离，久则形销形销形体消散。精怪的丹珠与形体互相依存，珠离体过久则精怪将魂飞魄散。。今当归矣。」渔人大恸，知不可留。
乃取珠还之。何氏受珠，含泪曰：「君之恩，妾铭于心。然人妖殊途，终难久聚。」言讫，化为白气白气白色的气息或光雾。精怪化形而去的经典描写方式，带有仙气飘然的美感。，冉冉入水中。渔人望水而泣，终身不复娶。
They lived together for months, their affection deepening each day. One evening, He Shi suddenly said: "My vital pearl cannot remain separated from me much longer — if it does, my form will dissolve形销 xíng xiāoThe body dissolves. A spirit creature's pearl and form are interdependent; prolonged separation causes the spirit to disintegrate.. I must return now." The fisherman wept bitterly, knowing he could not keep her.
He took out the pearl and gave it back. Receiving it, He Shi said through tears: "Your kindness, I shall carry in my heart forever. But the paths of humans and spirits are different; we cannot remain together." With these words, she turned into a white mist白气 bái qìA white vapor or luminous mist. A classic description of a spirit departing in ethereal form, carrying a sense of ethereal beauty. and drifted gently into the water. The fisherman gazed at the water and wept; he never married again.
文学价值
《何氏辟珠》是早期志怪中"精怪化形"母题的代表作。故事以珍珠为核心意象——它是蚌精的命根，是人妖之间的纽带，也是最终分别的信物。整个叙事围绕"得珠—失珠—还珠"展开，结构精巧，情感细腻。
这篇故事最动人之处在于渔人的两难：他既有善意愿意还珠，又有私心想要留住何氏。这种矛盾心理的刻画，使一个简单的志怪故事具有了人性的深度。
比较研究
与后世白蛇传说（如《白蛇记》《白蛇传》）的结构相似：都是精怪化为美女与人同居，最终因"异类"身份而分离。但何氏的故事更为温和——没有法海式的外力阻隔，分离的原因纯粹是生理性的（丹珠不能久离）。这反映了早期志怪文学对人妖关系的务实态度：不妖魔化异类，也不美化悲剧。
Literary Merit
"He Shi and the Pearl" is a representative work of the "spirit takes form" motif in early zhiguai literature. The pearl is the central image — it is the clam spirit's lifeline, the bond between human and spirit, and the token of final parting. The entire narrative revolves around "finding the pearl — losing it — returning it," creating an elegant structure with delicate emotional texture.
The most moving element is the fisherman's dilemma: he wishes to be kind and return the pearl, yet selfishly wants to keep He Shi. This psychological conflict gives a simple supernatural tale genuine human depth.
Comparative Study
The structure parallels later White Snake legends: a spirit takes beautiful female form, lives with a human, and is ultimately separated due to their non-human identity. But He Shi's tale is gentler — there is no Fahai-like external force obstructing them; the separation is purely physiological (the vital pearl cannot remain apart from its owner). This reflects early zhiguai literature's pragmatic attitude toward human-spirit relations: neither demonizing the other nor romanticizing tragedy.
中国志怪文学中最核心的母题之一。"精"指修炼成精的动植物，"化形"指它们修炼到一定阶段后可变为人形。化形的程度取决于修炼的深浅：初级的只能保持部分动物特征（如蛇尾、狐耳），高深的则完全与人无异。精怪化形后与人类发生的故事——爱情、报恩、复仇——构成了中国古典小说的重要题材。
One of the most central motifs in Chinese zhiguai literature. "Jing" refers to plants or animals that have cultivated spiritual power; "hua xing" means they can transform into human form after reaching a certain level of cultivation. The degree of transformation depends on spiritual attainment: beginners retain some animal features (serpent tails, fox ears), while advanced spirits are indistinguishable from humans. The stories that follow — love, gratitude, revenge — form a major strand of classical Chinese fiction.
成语，出自《后汉书·孟尝传》。原指合浦郡（今广西北海一带）盛产珍珠，因官员贪婪采捕过度，珠蚌迁徙他处；后孟尝为太守，革除弊政，珠蚌复还。比喻物归原主或好的政治使流散之物回归。在《何氏辟珠》中，"珠还"既是字面意义——珍珠归还蚌精，也暗含了物归其主的天道循环。
An idiom from Book of the Later Han: Biography of Meng Chang. Hepu commandery (present-day Beihai, Guangxi) was rich in pearls, but overharvesting by corrupt officials drove the pearl-bearing clams away. When Meng Chang became governor and reformed the abuses, the clams returned. The phrase means "things return to their rightful place" — or that good governance restores what has been scattered. In this tale, the pearl's literal return to the clam spirit echoes this cosmic principle of rightful restoration.