Some Chinese Ghosts

by Lafcadio Hearn

  It appears that D’Entrecolles mistook the statue of Pou’t’ai, God of Comfort, for that of the real porcelain-deity, as Jacquemart and ­­others observe. This error does not, however, destroy the beauty of the myth; and there is no good reason to doubt that D’Entrecolles related it as it had been told him by some of his Chinese friends at King-te-chin. The researches of Stanislas Julien and ­­others have only tended to confirm the trustworthiness of the Catholic missionary’s statements in ­other respects; and both Julien and Salvétat, in their admirable French rendering of the King-te-chin-thao-lou, “History of the Porcelains of King-te-chin” (a work which has been of the greatest ser­vice to me in the preparation of my ­little story), quote from his ­letters at considerable length, and award him the highest praise as a conscientious investigator. So far as I have been able to learn, D’Entrecolles remains the sole authority for the myth; but his affirmations in regard to ­other ­matters have withstood the severe tests of time astonishingly well; and since the Tai-ping rebellion destroyed King-te-chin and paralyzed its noble industry, the value of the French missionary’s documents and testimony has ­become widely recognized. In lieu of any ­other name for the hero of the legend, I have been obliged to retain that of Pou, or Pu,—only using it without the affix “t’ai,”—so as to distinguish it from the deity of comfort and repose.

  GLOSSARY

  ABHIDHARMA.—The metaphysics of Buddhism. Buddhist literature is classed into three great divisions, or “baskets;” the highest of these is the Abhidharma. . . . According to a passage in Spence Hardy’s “Manual of Buddhism,” the full comprehension of the Abhidharma is possible only for a Buddha to acquire.

  CHIH.—“House;” but especially the house of the dead,—a tomb.

  CHU-SHA-KIH.—The mandarin-orange.

  ÇRAMANA.—An as­cet­ic; one who has subdued his senses. For an interesting history of this term, see Burnouf,—“Introduction à l’histoire du Buddhisme Indien.”

  DAMRI.—A peculiar chant, of somewhat licentious character, most commonly sung during the period of the Indian carnival. For an account, at once brief and entertaining, of Hindoo popular songs and hymns, see Garcin de Tassy,—“Chants populaires de l’Inde.”

  DOGS OF FO.—The Dog of Fo is one of those fabulous monsters in the sculptural repre­sen­ta­tion of which Chinese art has found its most gro­tesque expression. It is ­really an exaggerated lion; and the symbolical relation of the lion to Buddhism is well known. Statues of these mythical ­­animals—sometimes of a grandiose and colossal execution—are placed in pairs ­before the entrances of temples, palaces, and tombs, as tokens of honor, and as emblems of divine protection.

  FO.—Buddha is called Fo, Fuh, Fuh-tu, Hwut, Făt, in various Chinese dialects. The name is thought to be a corruption of the Hindoo Bodh, or “Truth,” due to the imperfect articulation of the Chinese. . . . It is a curious fact that the Chinese Buddhist liturgy is Sanscrit transliterated into Chinese characters, and that the priests have lost all recollection of the antique tongue,—repeating the texts without the least comprehension of their meaning.

  FUH-YIN.—An official holding in Chinese cities a position corre­sponding to that of mayor in the Occident.

  FUNG-HOANG.—This allegorical bird, corresponding to the Arabian phœnix in some respects, is described as ­being five cubits high, ­having feathers of five different ­­colors, and singing in five modulations. . . . The female is said to sing in imperfect tones; the male in perfect tones. The fung-hoang figures largely in Chinese musical myths and legends.

  GOPIA (or GOPÌS).—Daughters and wives of the cowherds of Vrindavana, among whom Krishna was brought up ­after his incarnation as the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Krishna’s amours with the shepherdesses, or Gopia, form the subject of various celebrated mystical writings, especially the Prem-Ságar, or “Ocean of Love”(translated by Eastwick and by ­­others); and the sensuous Gita-Govinda of the Bengalese lyric ­poet Jayadeva (translated into French prose by Hippolyte Fauche, and chastely rendered into En­glish verse by Edwin Arnold in the “Indian Song of Songs”). See also Burnouf’s partial translation of the Bhagavata Purana, and Théodore Pavie’s “Kriçhna et sa doctrine.” . . . The same theme has inspired some of the strangest productions of Hindoo art: for examples, see plates 65 and 66 of Moor’s “Hindoo Pantheon”(edition of 1861). For accounts of the erotic mysticism connected with the worship of Krishna and the Gopia, the reader may also be referred to authorities cited in Barth’s “Religions of India;” De Tassy’s “Chants populaires de l’Inde;” and Lamairesse’s “Poésies populaires du Sud de l’Inde.”

  HAO-KHIEOU-TCHOUAN.—This celebrated Chinese novel was translated into French by M. Guillard d’Arcy in 1842, and appeared ­under the ­title, “Hao-Khieou-Tchouan; ou, La Femme Accomplie.” The first translation of the romance into any European tongue was a Portuguese rendering; and the En­glish version of Percy is based upon the Portuguese text. The work is rich in ­poetical quotations.

  HEÏ-SONG-CHÉ-TCHOO.—“One day when the Emperor Hiuan-tsong of the Thang dynasty,” says the Tao-kia-ping-yu-che, “was at work in his study, a tiny Taoist priest, no bigger than a fly, rose out of the inkstand lying upon his table, and said to him: ‘I am the Genius of Ink; my name is Heï-song-ché-tchoo [Envoy of the Black Fir]; and I have come to tell you that whenever a true sage shall sit down to write, the Twelve Divinities of Ink [Long-pinn] will appear upon the surface of the ink he uses.’” See “L’Encre de Chine,” by Maurice Jametel. Paris, 1882.

  HOA-TCHAO. The “Birthday of a Hundred Flowers” falls upon the fifteenth of the second spring-moon.

  JADE.—Jade, or nephrite, a variety of jasper,—called by the Chinese yuh,—has ­always been highly valued by them as artistic material. . . . In the “Book of Rewards and Punishments,” there is a curious legend to the ­effect that Confucius, ­after the completion of his Hiao-King (“Book of Filial Piety”), ­having addressed himself to Heaven, a crimson rainbow fell from the sky, and changed itself at his feet into a piece of yellow jade. See Stanislas Julien’s translation, p. 495.

  KABIT.—A ­poetical form much in favor with composers of Hindoo religious chants: the kabit ­always consists of four verses.

  KAO-LING.—Literally, “the High Ridge,” and originally the name of a hilly range which furnished the best quality of clay to the porcelain-makers. Subsequently the term applied by long custom to designate the material itself became corrupted into the word now familiar in all countries,—kaolin. In the language of the Chinese potters, the kaolin, or clay, was ­poetically termed the “bones,” and the tun, or quartz, the “flesh” of the porcelain; while the prepared bricks of the combined substances were known as pe-tun-tse. Both substances, the infusible and the fusible, are productions of the same geological formation,—decomposed feldspathic rock.

  KASÍ (or VARANASI).—Ancient name of Benares, the “Sacred City,” ­believed to have been founded by the gods. It is also called “The Lotos of the World.” Barth terms it “the Jerusalem of all the sects both of ancient and modern India.” It still boasts two thousand shrines, and half a million images of divinities. See also Sherring’s “Sacred City of the Hindoos.”

  KIANG-KOU-JIN.—Literally, the “tell-old-story-men.” For a brief account of Chinese professional storytellers, the reader may consult Schlegel’s entertaining introduction to the Mai-yu-lang-toú-tchen-hoa-koueï.

  KIN.—The most perfect of Chinese musical instruments, also called “the Scholar’s Lute.” The word kin also means “to prohibit;” and this name is said to have been given to the instrument ­because music, ac­cording to Chinese belief, “restrains evil passions, and corrects the ­human heart.” See Williams’s “Middle Kingdom.”

  KOUEI.—Kouei, musician to the Emperor Yao, must have held his ­office ­between 2357 and 2277 B.C. The extract selected from one of his songs, which I have given at the ­beginning of the “Story of Ming-Y,” is therefore mo
re than four thousand years old. The same chant contains ­an­other remarkable fancy, evidencing Chinese faith in musical magic:—

  “When I smite my [musical] stone,—

  Be it gently, be it strongly,—

  Then do the fiercest beasts of prey leap high for joy,

  And the chiefs among the public officials do agree among

  themselves.”

  KWANG-CHAU-FU.—Literally, “The Broad City,”—the name of Canton. It is also called “The City of Genii.”

  LÍ.—A mea­sure of distance. The length of the lí has varied considerably in ancient and in modern times. The pres­ent is given by Williams as ten lí to a league.

  LI-SAO.—“The Dissipation of Grief,” one of the most celebrated Chinese ­poems of the classic period. It is said to have been written about 314 B.C., by Kiu-ping-youen, minister to the King of Tsou. Finding himself the victim of a base court-intrigue, Kin-ping wrote the Li-Sao as a vindication of his character, and as a rebuke to the malice of his enemies, ­after which he committed suicide by drowning. . . . A fine French translation of the Li-Sao has been made by the Marquis Hervey de Saint-Denys (Paris, 1870).

  LI-SHU.—The second of the six styles of Chinese writing, for an account of which see Williams’s “Middle Kingdom.” . . . According to various Taoist legends, the decrees of Heaven are recorded in the “Seal-character,” the oldest of all; and marks upon the bodies of persons killed by lightning have been interpreted as judgments written in it. The following ex­traor­di­nary tale from the Kan-ing-p’ien affords a good example of the superstition in question:—

  Tchang-tchun was Minister of State ­under the reign of Hoeï-tsong, of the Song dynasty. He occupied himself wholly in weaving perfidious plots. He died in exile at Mo-tcheou. Some time ­after, while the Emperor was hunting, there fell a heavy rain, which obliged him to seek shelter in a poor man’s hut. The ­th­under rolled with violence; and the lightning killed a man, a woman, and a ­little boy. On the backs of the man and woman were found red characters, which could not be deciphered; but on the back of the ­little boy the following six words could be read, written in Tchouen (antique) characters: TSÉ-TCH’IN-TCHANG-TCHUN-HEOU-CHIN,—which mean: “Child of the issue of Tchang-tchun, who was a rebellious subject.”—Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines, traduit par Stanislas Julien, p. 446.

  PAGAL.—The ankle-ring commonly worn by Hindoo women; it is also called nupur. It is hollow, and contains loose bits of metal, which tinkle when the foot is moved.

  SAN-HIEN.—A three-stringed Chinese guitar. Its belly is usually covered with snake-skin.

  SIU-FAN-TI.—Literally, “the Sweeping of the Tombs.”—the day of the general worship of ancestors; the Chinese “All-Souls’.” It falls in the early part of April, the period called tsing-ming.

  TA-CHUNG SZ’.—Literally, “Temple of the Bell.” The building at Pekin so named covers prob­ably the largest suspended bell in the world, cast in the reign of Yong-lo, about 1406 A.D., and weighing upwards of 120,000 pounds.

  TAO.—The infinite ­being, or Universal Life, whence all forms proceed: Literally, “the Way,” in the sense of the First Cause. Lao-tseu uses the term in ­other ways; but that primal and most important philosophical sense which he gave to it is well explained in the celebrated Chapter XXV. of the Tao-te-king. . . . The difference ­between the great Chinese thinker’s conception of the First Cause,—the Unknowable,—and the theories of ­other famous metaphysicians, Oriental and Occidental, is set forth with some definiteness in Stanislas Julien’s introduction to the Tao-te-king, pp. x–xv. (“Le Livre de la Voie et de la Vertu.” Paris, 1842.)

  THANG.—The Dynasty of Thang, which flourished ­between 620 and 907 A.D., encouraged literature and art, and gave to China its most brilliant period. The three ­­poets of the Thang dynasty mentioned in the second story flourished ­between 779 and 852 A.D.

  “THREE COUNCILLORS.”—Six stars of the Great-Bear constellation (ικ—λμ—νξ), as apparently arranged in pairs, are thus called by the Chinese astrologers and mythologists. The three couples are further distinguished as the Superior Councillor, Middle Councillor, and Inferior Councillor; and, together with the Genius of the Northern Heaven, form a celestial tribunal, presiding over the duration of ­human life, and deciding the course of mortal destiny. (Note by Stanislas Julien in “Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines.”)

  TIEN-HIA.—Literally, “­Under-Heaven,” or “Beneath-the-Sky,”—one of the most ancient of those many names given by the Chinese to China. The name “China” itself is never applied by the Black-haired Race to their own country, and is supposed to have had its origin in the fame of the first Tsin dynasty, whose fo­under Tsin Chí-Houang-tí, built the Great, or “Myriad-Mile,” Wall, twenty-two and a half degrees of latitude in length. . . . See Williams regarding occurrence of the name “China” in Sanscrit literature.

  TSIEN.—The well-known Chinese copper coin, with a square hole in the middle for stringing, is thus named. According to quality of metal it takes from 900 to 1,800 tsien to make one silver dollar.

  TSING-JIN.—“Men of Tsing.” From very ancient times the Chinese have been wont to call themselves by the names of their famous dynasties,—Han-jin, “the men of Han;” Thang-jin, “the men of Thang,” etc. Ta Tsing Kwoh (“Great Pure Kingdom”) is the name given by the pres­ent dynasty to China,—ac­cording to which the ­people might call themselves Tsing-jin, or “men of Tsing.” Williams, however, remarks that they will not yet accept the appellation.

  VERSES (CHINESE).—The verses preceding “The Legend of Tchi-Niu” afford some remarkable examples of Chinese onomatopœia. They occur in the sixth strophe of Miên-miên, which is the third chant of the first section of Ta-ya, the Third Book of the Chi-King. (See G. Pauthier’s French version.) Dr. Legge translates the strophe thus:—

  . . . Crowds brought the earth in baskets; they threw it with shouts into the frames; they beat it with responsive blows; they pared the walls repeatedly till they sounded strong.—Sacred Books of the East; Vol. III., The She-King, p. 384.

  Pauthier translates the verses somewhat differently; preserving the onomatopœia in three of the lines. Hoûng-hoûng are the sounds heard in the timber-yards where the wood is ­being mea­sured; from the workshops of the builders respond the sounds of tông-tông; and the solid walls, when fully finished off, give out the sound of pîng-pîng.

  YAO.—“Porcelain.” The reader who desires detailed information respecting the technology, history, or legends of Chinese porcelain-manufacture, should consult Stanislas Julien’s admirable “Histoire de la Porcelaine Chinoise” (Paris, 1856). With some trifling exceptions, the names of the various porcelains cited in my “Tale of the Porcelain-God” were selected from Julien’s work. Though oddly musical and ­otherwise attractive in Chinese, these names lose interest by translation. The majority of them merely refer to centres of manufacture or famous potteries: Chou-yao, “porcelains of Chou;” Hong-tcheou-yao, “porcelains of Hong-tcheou;” Jou-yao, “porcelains of Jou-tcheou;” Ting-yao, “porcelains of Ting-tcheou;” Ko-yao, “porcelains of the Elder ­Br­other [Thsang];” Khang-hi-nien-t’sang-yao, “porcelains of Thsang made in the reign of Khang-hi.” Some porcelains were distinguished by the names of dynasties, or the ­titles of civic ­office holders; such as the celebrated Tch’aï-yoa, “the porcelains of Tch’aï” (which was the name of the family of the Emperor Chi-tsong); and the Kouan-yao, or “Porcelains of Magistrates.” Much more rarely the names refer ­directly to the material or artistic peculiarity of porcelains,—as Ou-ni-yao, the “black-paste porcelains,” or Pi-se-yao, the “porcelains of hidden ­color.” The word khi, sometimes substituted for yao in these compound names, means “vases;” as Jou-khi, “vases of Jou-tcheou;” Kouan-khi, “vases for Magistrates.”

  CHRONOLOGY

  NOTE ON THE TEXT

  NOTES

  Chronology

  1850


  Born Patrick Lafcadio Tessima Carlos Hearn on June 27 on Lefkada (the ancient Leucadia, also known as Lefkas or Santa Maura), one of the Ionian ­­Islands, to Rosa Antonia Cassimati, a native of Kythira (Cerigo or Cythera), and Surgeon-Major Charles Bush Hearn, of King’s County, Ireland. ­Father had served with the occupying British Army throughout the Ionian ­­Islands. M­other eloped with him from Kythira to Lefkada in June 1849; they had a son, George Rambert, in July, and married in November. ­Father was transferred to the British West Indies three months later; the infant George died two months ­after Hearn was born. ­Father’s family included many military ­officers and claimed gypsy ancestry; his ­brother Richard was a member of the Barbizon circle of artists in France, and his ­grand­­m­other was great-niece of Dr. John Arbuthnot, of Pope’s Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot.

  1852

  ­Father arranges to have Rosa and Lafcadio sent to Dublin.

  1853

  ­Father returns to Dublin. “I can remember seeing ­father only four times—no, five,” Hearn later writes. “He never caressed me; I ­always felt afraid of him.”

  1854

  ­Father leaves Dublin in March to join regiment in the Crimean War. Homesick, pregnant, and distraught, ­mother returns to Kythira, where she gives birth to Daniel James Hearn. (Lafcadio never meets this younger ­br­other, but later writes to him: “do you not remember that dark and beautiful face—with large, brown eyes like a wild deer’s—that used to bend above your cradle?”)