Xu ordered the boatmen to dive in search of him and, as expected, they discovered he was sitting under the boat. When he was first dragged out of the water, his color was the same as when he was alive.
(GXSGC, #248. 427; TPYL, 396. 1829a)
131. GHOSTS PLAYING MUSIC
When Huan Baonu of the Jin was the Governor of Jiangzhou,32 there was an overseer surnamed Gan whose home was under the Linchuan Commandery. At the age of thirteen, his son died of illness and was buried among the tombs east of his home.
Approximately ten days later, people suddenly heard drums and music on the east road. About one hundred people directly went to Gan’s home, asking: “Is Overseer Gan home? We come especially to visit you, and your worthy son is among us.”
People could only hear their voices, yet could not see their forms. They laid out several long-necked jars of wine for them, and in a short while two jars were empty.
When he first heard the drumming, the Governor of Linchuan thought it was someone making fun of him who would certainly come to visit him as well. Yet later it became silent and nobody had arrived. When Gan told him what had happened, he was astonished.
(GXSGC, #97. 381; TPGJ, 319. 2527)
132. A GHOST STOPS FIGHTING
Li Jing, a native of Guiyang Commandery,33 battled Zhu Ping, and Ping ran after him with a halberd. After running for more than a hundred steps, Ping suddenly saw a ghost more than ten feet tall who stopped him, saying, “Li Jing’s life span is not yet exhausted. How could you kill him? Don’t do it! Otherwise, it will certainly hurt your hand.”
Being drunk, Zhu Ping rushed directly to Jing’s home. The ghost followed him. Ping saw Jing. As he was about to cut him with his halberd, he suddenly froze, as if he was tied, and his left-hand fingers were indeed wounded.
Then Ping stood still in the courtyard. At dusk, he was freed and left. The ghost said to him, “I told you in advance. Why didn’t you listen?” After speaking these words, the ghost disappeared.
(GXSGC, #210. 413; TPGJ, 318. 2520)
133. A GHOST DISTINGUISHES HIS CORPSE THROUGH A DREAM
In the early period of the Taiyuan reign (376–396) of the Jin, Fu Jian (338–385) sent General Yang An to encroach on Xiangyang.34 A soldier in the army died. One of his fellow townsmen escorted his coffin back home, and was about to arrive at his house the next day.
The dead man told his wife in a dream, “The corpse being sent to you is not mine. The one under the cabin is mine. The chignon you previously knotted for me is still there. Uncover it and look at it, then you will know which one is mine.”
On the following day, the man who escorted the coffin arrived as expected. The woman told her mother so and so, but her mother was not convinced. Then the woman went to Nanfeng herself and carefully examined the other corpses. She found one with a chignon exactly in the style as she had previously knotted.
(GXSGC, #122. 388; TPGJ, 322. 2551)
134. DRUMBEATS AND HORN MUSIC FROM AN OLD TOMB
Xi Fanghui, the Minister of Works of the Jin,35 was burying his wife in Mount Li, and he sent Shi Ze, the official of Guiji Commandery,36 to build the tomb. Shi Ze razed many old tombs to the ground.
Later, he tore down a tomb with an extremely grand structure and numerous splendid utensils and precious items. When the tomb was unearthed, drumbeats and horn music were heard from it. Since then, this has recurred numerous times.
(GXSGC, #80. 375; TPYL, 338. 1550a–b)
135. GHOST FIGHTING
Whenever Yu Jing, a native of Jiande,37 went to the privy, there would be someone who put grasses into his hand, yet he could never see that person’s form. This had occurred many times.
Later, when he went to the privy again, after quite a while nobody gave grass to him, and he heard the sound of fighting outside. Peeping at them, he saw that his deceased servant and maid were striving to give him the grass. Since the servant was just ahead of the maid, the maid punched him from behind, and because of this they fought.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, Yu Jing intended to go out, yet the servant and the maid were still fighting. Jing berated them in an irritated voice. They vanished like an extinguished fire and never appeared again.
(GXSGC, #172. 402; TPYL, 186. 905a)
136. GHOSTS STEAL MILLET
The Zhuge family of Langye, two brothers, lodged at Jinling.38 Their family was very poor, and they often supported themselves by borrowing money or begging. They put millet in a grain bin and consumed a set portion each day, but it became empty before it should have. At first they thought it was because there was a thief in their family, so they sealed the grain bin and marked the seal. However, the millet was consumed as soon as it had been.
Later, an old friend came to visit from afar. Arriving at the entrance to the lane when it was about dusk, he saw several people, coming out the gate, shouldering millet.
The guest asked, “Is Mr. Zhuge in?”
The reply was, “Both are here.”
The guest entered. Having finished exchanging greetings, the guest asked, “How can you sell so much millet?”
The host said, “We rely on loans and begging for millet to fill our hungry mouths. How could we sell it?”
The guest said, “When I came, I met several men at the gate who went out with millet on their shoulders. If you did not sell millet, what was that for?”
The host brothers looked at each other, and they felt that it was strange. Entering to look at the seal, they found it exactly as it had been. They tried to open the grain bin to measure the millet, and found there was barely any more than ten hu. They knew then that what they had lost from beginning to end was not stolen by humans.
(GXSGC, #191. 407; YWLJ, 85. 1447; TPYL, 837. 3741b)
137. LAUGHING AT A GHOST
In a restroom Ruan Deru once met a ghost39 who was more than ten feet tall, black, and with big eyes. The ghost was in a single-layer white shirt, wearing a flat headdress, and was only inches away from him.
Deru was at ease and calm, saying to the ghost with a smile, “People say that ghosts are disgusting. It is so true.”
The ghost was ashamed and withdrew.
(GXSGC, #66. 371; TPGJ, 318. 2521; TPYL, 186. 905a)
138. TYING UP A GHOST
A boy of an immigrant family from the north, accompanied by several partners, was herding oxen in the wild field. They saw a ghost hidden deep in the grass to set up nets everywhere, intending to trap people in them. Before the ghost finished setting up the nets, the shepherd from the north stole a net and used it to catch him, immediately tying up the ghost.
(GXSGC, #190. 407; TPYL, 832. 3714b)
139. STABBING A GHOST
Liu Daoxi and his younger cousin, Kangzu,40 did not believe in ghosts, while his older cousin Xingbo had seen ghosts when he was young. Neither could convince the other that they were correct.
Once it was said that east of the residence at Changguang Bridge in Jingkou, there was a killer ghost on the eastern twig fence. Daoxi asked where the place was, and dragged Xingbo there.
Holding a long knife, Daoxi intended to hack the ghost. Xingbo shouted behind him, “The ghost is hitting you!”
Before reaching the residence of the ghost, Daoxi heard a big stick hitting something and fell to the ground. He did not wake until the next morning, and it took him over a month to recover.
Later, Xingbo said again, “East of the government office there is a ghost on the mulberry tree.41 It looks young, yet it will certainly harm people when it grows up.” Kangzu did not believe him. He asked Xingbo the height at which the ghost was located, and Xingbo pointed it out clearly to him.
After more than ten days, it was a dark night at the end of the month. Hidden in the dark, Daoxi pierced the place where the ghost lived with a halberd and returned home right away, and no one knew what he had done.
Early the next morning, Xingbo suddenly came and said in astonishment, “The ghost was stabbed by someone last night, and it is alm
ost dead. It cannot move at all and will die in no time.”
Kangzu laughed loudly.
(GXSGC, #213. 414; TPGJ, 320. 2540)
140. GHOST HERB MORTAR
Liu Song was at home when suddenly he saw a ghost. He drew his sword to cut it and the ghost ran away. Song stood up and ran after it.
Seeing the ghost lying on a rock on a high mountain, Song approached and rushed toward it. A crowd of ghosts strove to flee, discarding an herb mortar with herbs inside it. Accordingly, Song brought the items back home.
When preparing medicine for patients, Song always put in a tuft of herb that had been pounded in this mortar, and all of his medicine was effective.
(GXSGC, #187. 406; TPYL, 762. 3384a)
141. DRUNK GHOSTS
In the first year of Jianwu (25–56) of the Han, a native of Donglai Commandery surnamed Mie,42 whose family ran a bar, once entered the bar and saw three strange customers who had arrived together with cooked rice in their hands, scooping wine to drink. Mie was suspicious, and by moving their food holders he changed their dining place. Finally the three ghosts got drunk in the forest.
(GXSGC, #37. 361; Zheng, YML 4. 113; BTSC, 148. 327a)
142. THE SERVANT JIAN
Jian was a household servant of Li Xian, a native of Gaoping in the [Later] Qin dynasty (384–417).43 Once when Jian arrived at Rocky Hill, he suddenly saw a man, who said to him, “My wife committed adultery with another man, and then I was murdered by them. I want to seek revenge. Can you help me?”
The servant followed his words, and truly saw someone come. The ghost held the man’s head and asked the servant to give him a hand [in fighting the man].44 Right then they pushed the man down to the ground. When they left, the man was half dead.
The ghost sent the servant one thousand cash, one pi of yellow-green silk, and a coarse gown, and then exhorted him, saying, “This gown is from the Ding family [who lived] at the western gate of the market. You may wear it yourself, but don’t sell it under any circumstance.”
(GXSGC, #232. 420; FYZL, 67. 2004)
143. THE MAGISTRATE OF PINGYU
Wang Ping of Nandun of the Jin built a new house.45 When he had just moved in, he dreamed of a man who said to him, “Magistrate Wang of Pingyu intended to bribe Pu Shengzhi with a jar of gold but was executed by Pu.46 The gold was buried on top of me, and I have been pressed so harshly. Furthermore, you built a house on it. I will not even have a crack to come in and out now.”
The next morning Wang immediately dug up the earth under the wall. After he had dug down five feet, he found the gold as expected.
(GXSGC, #81. 375; TPYL, 811. 3604a–b)
144. MOVING A TOMB
An adjutant of Xunyang Commandery dreamed of a woman who approached him and kneeled down in front of him,47 saying, “The tomb I was buried in is near water and has been submerged. If you can truly save me, I will let you avoid a minor disaster, though you will not be able to become rich and noble.”
The adjutant responded, “What is the mark [of your tomb]?”
The woman said, “When you see a fish-shaped hairpin on the shore of an islet, it is exactly my tomb.”
The adjutant searched the next morning, and he found a tomb on which there was a hairpin. Thus he moved the tomb to a higher and drier place.
More than ten days later, the adjutant reached the eastern bridge and his ox started to run directly toward the river. Just as his cart was about to drop off the bridge, the ox suddenly changed direction and the adjutant was exactly able to avoid the calamity.
(GXSGC, #184. 405; TPYL, 718. 3182)
145. A GHOST BESTOWS TREASURE
During the Long’an reign (397–404) of the Jin, Yan Cong built a house. At night he dreamed of a man who asked him, “Why did you destroy my tomb?”
The next day, Yan dug through the earth in front of his bed and consequently found a coffin. Then he offered sacrifices to the dead man in the coffin, saying, “Now I’ll move you to a good place and build another small tomb for you.”
The next morning, a man arrived at his door, requesting to see him. The guest was named Zhu Hu. After they sat down, the guest said,48 “I have lived here for forty years. For your handsome offer yesterday, I feel endlessly grateful. Today is an auspicious day. You may dig my coffin out right now.49 In my suitcase I have gold mirrors to assist you.”
Consequently he lifted the suitcase from the front part of the coffin, took out three gold mirrors, and bestowed them upon Yan Cong.
(GXSGC, #146. 395; BTSC, 135. 237b)
146. GHOSTS STRIVING FOR A TOMB50
Wang Boyang died. While building a tomb for him, his son obtained three painted coffins, which he moved to the southern hill and placed there. At night he dreamed of Lu Su,51 who said to him angrily, “I’ll kill your father.”
Not long afterward he dreamed of his father, who said to him, “Lu Su was contending with me for the tomb.”52
Later, he saw several liters of blood on the cushion and he suspected that it was because of the killing by Lu Su. The tomb is now located one li east of the long, broad bridge.
(GXSGC, #176. 403; TPYL, 375. 1733a)
147. HUAN GONG REPAID BY A GHOST
Huan Gong was an adjutant of Huan Shimin (d. 389).53 In front of his bed in his official residence in Dantu there was a dented cave. He looked at it carefully and found it was an old tomb, in which the coffin had rotted. While eating, Huan often threw some of his meal into the cave, and he did this for years.
Later, when he awoke from a nap, he found a man in front of his bed, saying, “It has been seven hundred years since I passed away. My offspring have been extinguished and sacrificial offerings discontinued. While eating, you have always shared your food with me. My gratitude to you is endless. According to the record of your position, you should be the Governor of Ningzhou.”54
Later, Huan truly became the governor, as the man had told him.
(GXSGC, #164. 400; TPGJ, 320. 2539)
148. A DIVINE BIRTH
Hu Fuzhi of Qiao Commandery took a wife from the Li family.55 For more than ten years they had no sons; then the wife passed away.
Hu wept bitterly over her, saying, “You did not leave me even a single son, yet you died. How cruel is this!”
Suddenly the woman sat up, saying, “Touched by your bitter grief, I will not become rotted right away. You may come to me after dusk, as you usually did; then I will give birth to a boy for you.” After finishing, she lay down again.
Following what she said, Fuzhi approached her to make love in the dark, without fetching a light or candle. Further, he said with a sigh, “It is impossible for a dead woman to give birth to a baby. We can just make a side room to put her in, wait for ten months, and then encoffin her for the funeral.”
After that, he felt that the woman’s body was slightly warm, as if she had not died. After ten months, the woman truly gave birth to a baby boy. The boy was named Lingchan, meaning divine birth.
(GXSGC, #175. 403; TPYL, 360. 1660b; TPGJ, 321. 2548)
149. REN HUAIREN’S DEATH
In the first year of the Shengping reign (357–361) of the Jin, Ren Huairen was thirteen, and he became an administrative clerk in the Department of State Affairs. His fellow villager Wang Zu, who became a director in the same department for the second time, constantly bestowed favors [sexually] on him.
When Huairen was fifteen or sixteen, he tended to be rebellious. Harboring hatred toward him, Zu arrived in Jiaxing, killed Huairen, encoffined him, and buried him by the edge of Xu Zuo’s farmland.56
Zuo lodged at his farm at night and saw the tomb. He offered sacrifice separately to the soul in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, yelling, “Ghost in the field, come to me to have some food.” When it was dusk, the time for sleep, he would say, “Come accompany me to sleep.” Zuo did this for quite a long time.
Later, the ghost suddenly showed himself, saying, “Tomorrow, my family shall take off the mourning clothes and offer me sacrifice
, which will be extremely sumptuous. You may go together with me.”
Zuo replied, “I am a stranger, I should not see them.”
The ghost said, “I will conceal your form from them.”
So Zuo went together with the ghost. After walking for the time needed to have a meal, they arrived at his home.
There were many guests in his home. The ghost took Zuo to the seat of the soul. After his gobbling, the food was all gone. All of his family wailed and could not control themselves, assuming their son had returned.
Seeing that Wang Zu was coming, the ghost said, “This is the man who killed me!” Since he was still afraid of him, he walked out right then, and thus Zuo’s form was revealed.
Everyone in the family was terrified, and they all asked Zuo for the truth. Accordingly Zuo told them the story from beginning to end. They then followed Zuo to take the coffin away, and the ghost stopped appearing.
(GXSGC, #260. 433; TPGJ, 320. 2536–37)
150. ROMANCE OF A GHOST
There was a nobleman. After his death, Wang Fengxian, the Magistrate of Yongxing County,57 dreamed of talking with him face to face, as they usually had before.
Fengxian asked him, “Do you still have sex with women?”
The noble replied, “Sometime later, you may go to my home to ask my maid.”
After waking up later, Wang Fengxian went to ask the nobleman’s maid. She replied, “Last night I dreamed of an incubus, my master.”
Hidden and Visible Realms Page 16