Zhiguai Translations

A Snake In A Tangerine 橘中有蛇

Hui Qing of the Tang had a tangerine tree in his Jingzhou courtyard, and at the very tip of its branches there was a single huge fruit, unique among all others. He therefore summoned guests, picked it, and, in preparation for eating, cut it open. Inside was a coiled vermillion serpent.

橘中有蛇

唐惠卿，荊州庭中有橘樹，其末有一實甚大，獨異之。由是會賓客，摘而將食，乃剖之，有一赤蛇蟠於其中。

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories) in Du yi zhi, Xuanshi Zhi 獨異志，宣室志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories, Stories from the Chamber of Dissemination), edited by Zhang Yongqin 张永钦 and Hou Zhiming 侯志明 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983)

Zhao Wei 趙未

Zhao Wei of the Jin, when he was eight sui in age, grew prodigiously in a single night, his body reaching eight chi (c. 2.4m), and whiskers covering his entire chin. Three days later he died.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.4 (Tale 25)

趙未

晉趙未，年八歲，一夕異長，身長八尺，髭鬚滿頷。三日而死。

Jia Bizhi Swaps Heads In A Dream 賈弼之夢中換頭

One night, Jia Bizhi dreamt of a person, his face extremely brandy-nosed and hideous in appearance, who addressed Bizhi, saying: “Thinking of exchanging this; would that be alright?” Within the dream he made a slight show of agreement. On awaking, he approached a mirror and received a great fright, as he saw the person from his dream there. His retinue and family all fled on seeing him. He took up a brush in each hand and set down on paper all the strangeness affecting him, all in a logical order. [4] After he had explained it, his relatives came to believe too.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.3-4 (Tale 23)

賈弼之夢中換頭

賈弼之夜夢一人，面貌極齄醜，謂弼之曰：「思以易之，可乎？」夢中微有所諾。及覺，臨鏡大驚，一如夢中見者。左右家人見之，皆奔走。其所異者，兩手各執一筆，書之於紙，俱有理例。[4] 徐說之，親戚然後乃信。

Yan Gen’s Concubine 嚴根妾

During the reign of Zhang Gui (254-314 CE) of the Former Liang, a concubine belonging to Yan Gen, Governor of Fuhan, gave birth. In the same night she bore a daughter, a dragon and a falcon.[1]

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 22 (上1.3)

嚴根妾

前梁張軌時，枹罕令嚴根妾產，同夕產一女、一龍、一鷙。

[1] The Jinshu 晉書 (Book of the Jin) mentions this same incident, dating it to the fifth month of the fifth year Yongjia (3 June to 2 July, 311 CE; under the Western Jin), and reporting a response, linking such anomalous births to military chaos. See Jinshu 29.909:

五年五月，枹罕令嚴根妓產一龍，一女，一鵝。京房易傳曰：「人生他物，非人所見者，皆為天下大兵。」是時，帝承惠皇之後，四海沸騰，尋而陷於平陽，為逆胡所害，此其徵也。

Gan Bao’s Jealous Mother 干寶母妬

Gan Bao’s[1] mother was jealous, and when the time came to bury his father, she secretly pushed a slave-girl into the tomb. More than ten years later, his mother died, and was to be buried alongside his father. When they opened the grave, the slave-girl was lying on top of the coffin, and she eventually revived. They questioned her, but she was just like she had been before, and would serve as directed without any discernible change.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.3 (Tale 19):

干寶母妬

干寶母妬，當葬父時，潛推一婢於墓中。十餘年後，母亡，與父合葬，開墓，婢伏於棺上，久而乃生。問之，如平昔之時，指使無異。

[1] Gan Bao 干寶 (d. 336 CE) was the compiler of the Soushenji. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gan_Bao.

Riding A Raft, Reaching The Heavenly Crossing 乘槎至天津

Hai Ruo[1] lived on an island in the sea, and every year on the eighth month a raft floated past on the currents. This continued for years without fail. Someone provisioned a raft and set off, arriving at a place where they saw a person watering cattle in a river. There was also a weaving woman,[2] and when they asked her what place it was, her cattle-watering father spoke: “You should go back and ask Yan Junping of Shu;[3] he ought to know.” The person returned and called on Junping. Junping said: “On such-and-such a day, month and year, a comet crossed into the Big Dipper and Altair. Having calculated the dates, it must have been you.” The person then realized that, floating with the current, their raft had reached the Heavenly Crossing.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.1 (Tale 2):

乘槎至天津

海若居海島，每至八月即有流槎過。如是，累年不失期。其人齎糧槎而往，及至一處，見有人飲牛於河，又見織女，問其處，飲牛之父曰：「可歸問蜀嚴君平，當知之。」其人歸，詣君平。君平曰：「某年月日，有客星犯斗牛，計時，即汝也。」其人乃知隨流槎至天津。

[1] Hai Ruo 海若 is a spirit of the sea. See https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B5%B7%E8%8B%A5/9723235.

[2] This ‘weaving woman’ signifies Vega, brightest star in the Lyra constellation.

[3] Yan Junping 嚴君平 (86 BCE -10CE) was a famous Daoist scholar from Sichuan. See https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%A5%E5%90%9B%E5%B9%B3.

Remarkable People, Remarkable Matters 異人異事

Yi Yin[1] had no father and was born in Kongsang. The wife of Yu[2] turned to stone, her stomach later slitting open to give birth to Qi.[3] Laojun (i.e., Laozi) had ears that were seven chi in length (about 2.1m); he spent eighty-one years in his mother’s womb, splitting open her left side to be born, and at birth the hair on his temples was pure white. King Yan of Xu[4] was without bones but possessed sagely virtue. Liu Yong[5] enjoyed eating people’s scabs. King Wen (of Zhou)[6] had four breasts. Gao Yao[7] had a bird’s beak. Yao’s[8] eyebrows were eight-coloured. Tang’s[9] (the Shang founder) arm had four elbow-joints. Yu’s ears had triple openings. Li Lou (aka Li Zhu) could distinguish Qiu from Bo from ten li away. Hong Yan, minister of Wei, opened his own belly to receive Duke Yi’s liver.[10] When King Mu of Zhou ascended as Son of Heaven, the traces of his chariot-wheels and horses spread across ‘all-under-heaven’ and in all he travelled one yi and one wan (100,100,000) li (c.33,033,000 miles).

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.1 (Tale 1):

異人異事

伊尹無父，生於空桑中。禹妻化為石，後剖腹而生啟。老君耳長七尺，在母腹中八十一年，剖左脇而生，及生，鬢髮皓白。徐偃王無骨而有聖德。劉邕好食人瘡痂。文王四乳。臯陶鳥喙。堯眉八彩。湯臂四肘。禹耳三漏。離婁察見秋亳於十里之外。衛臣弘演開己腹納懿公之肝。周穆貴為天子，車轍馬迹遍於天下，凡遊行一億一萬里。

[1] Yi Yin 伊尹 (c.1600-1549 BCE) is famed as a minister under the Shang Dynasty. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Yin.

[2] This is Yu the Great, legendary founder of the Xia夏. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_the_Great.

[3] This is Qi 啟, monarch over the Xia. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_of_Xia.

[4] A king ruling around 944 BCE; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_(state).

[5] This is likely a figure of some note in the Three Kingdoms era. See https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8A%89%E9%82%95_(%E8%9C%80%E6%BC%A2).

[6] 1152-1056 BCE. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Wen_of_Zhou.

[7] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gao_Yao_(minister).

[8] Traditionally c. 2356-2255 BCE. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Yao.

[9] Traditionally r. 1675-46 BCE. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_of_Shang.

[10] Duke Yi died c. 660 BCE. See https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A1%9B%E6%87%BF%E5%85%AC.