Magistrate Li Of Wangjiang 望江李令

Magistrate Li of Wangjiang lived in Shuzhou after his dismissal from office. He had two sons, who were extremely intelligent. The magistrate once went to drink wine, returning at sunset. A hundred paces short of his house, he saw his two sons coming to greet him. On reaching him, they grabbed him between them and gave him a beating. The magistrate was alarmed and angry. He let out a great cry, but it was a place far from other people, so nobody knew of his plight. They kept hitting him as he went, but, just as he was about to reach his home his two sons left him and departed. When he arrived at the gate, however, his two sons were just arriving to meet him below the hall. When he questioned them they both said that they had never stepped outside the gate. A little over a month later, the magistrate again held a drinking party, but this time told his host the whole story, asking if he could stay the night as he did not dare return. His sons, however, fearing that he would return at dusk and be beaten again, set out together to meet him. Halfway there, however, they saw their father, who asked them, angrily: “Why would you go out at night?” He then had his attendants beat them, before letting them go. The next day, the magistrate returned, and was even more shocked at these events. Before several months had passed, father and sons were all dead.

The gentleman says: ‘In Shu there are mountain spirits, and they are cruel in this way. These must have been a crowd of fellows from those grave mounds.’

From Jishenlu.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 353.2797:

望江李令

望江李令者。罷秩居舒州。有二子。甚聰慧。令嘗飲酒暮歸。去家數百步。見二子來迎。即共禽而毆之。令驚大怒。大呼。而遠方人絕。竟無知者。且行且毆。將至家。二子皆却走而去。及入門。二子復迎于堂下。問之。皆云未嘗出門。後月餘。令復飲酒於所親家。因具白其事。請留宿。不敢歸。而其子恐其及暮歸。復為所毆。即俱往迎之。及中途。見其父。怒曰。何故暮出。即使從者擊之。困而獲免。明日令歸。益駭其事。不數月。父子皆卒。郡人云。舒有山鬼。善為此厲。蓋黎丘之徒也。出稽神錄

Zhou Yuanshu 周元樞

Zhou Yuanshu was from Suiyang, and served as Secretary-General to Pinglu, residing in the official dwelling at Linzi. One night, when he was about to go to bed, he suddenly heard the sounds of a great many horses and heavy baggage carts. Knocking on his door he sent someone out, who reported: “Li Sikong waits to call on you.” Yuanshu thought through the people he knew, but this was not among them. He therefore concluded: ‘He must be somebody from my home region I do not yet know.’ He then went out to see the guest, invited him to be seated, and asked politely where he had come from. The reply came: “I come to make my home at this very place, and have not yet anywhere to stop, so seek to dwell in this residence.” Yuanshu was shocked, and asked: “Why come here?” He replied: “This is our former home.” Yuanshu said to him: “I came here on an official post, and the house has long been passed down as a government residence. When did the gentleman live here?” The other replied: “I lived here once in the Kaihuang era under the Sui.” (i.e., 581-601 CE) Yuanshu said: “In that case, must not the gentleman surely be a spirit?” He said: “Yes, indeed. The regional officials have permitted me to establish a shrine here, and therefore ask the gentleman simply to move on.” Yuanshu could not agree, and said: “People ought not to mix with spirits. Can it really be that I am about to die, and the gentleman can therefore bully me? Even if that is so, there are no grounds for handing over this residence to the gentleman. Even were I to die, I should still make my case against the gentleman.” He therefore summoned his wife and children, and told them: “I am going to die. Place plenty of paper and brushes in my coffin, as I am going to engage in a disputation with the gentleman Li.” They provided wine to drink, and the pair made several hundred toasts, their speech growing ever more stern. The visitor seemed about to depart, but stayed back, and, after a long time had passed, a servant came and spoke: “A message for the lady from Sikong. Secretary Zhou is emotionless. How can one dispute with such a person? He invites catastrophe.” At this the visitor then said farewell and departed. They showed him to the door, and he then suddenly vanished. Yuanshu remained in good health.

From Jishenlu.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 353.2796:

周元樞

周元樞者。睢陽人。為平盧掌書記。寄居臨淄官舍。一夕將寢。忽有車馬輜重甚衆。扣門使報曰。李司空候謁。元樞念親知輩皆無此人。因自思。必鄉曲之舊。吾不及知矣。即出見之。延坐。請問其所從來。曰。吾亦新家至此。未有所止。求居此宅矣。元樞驚曰。何至是。對曰。此吾之舊宅也。元樞曰。吾從官至此。相傳云。書寄之公署也。君何時居此。曰。隋開皇中嘗居之。元樞曰。若爾。君定是鬼耶。曰。然。地府許我立廟於此。故請君移去爾。元樞不可。曰。人不當與鬼相接。豈吾將死。故君得凌我耶。雖然。理不當以此宅授君。吾雖死。必與君訟。因召妻子曰。我死。必多置紙筆於棺中。將與李君對訟。即具酒與之飲。相酬數百盃。詞色愈厲。客將去。復留之。良久。一蒼頭來云。夫人傳語司空。周書記木石人也。安可與之論難。自取困哉。客於是辭謝而去。送之出門。倏忽不見。元樞竟無恙。出稽神錄

A Qingzhou Traveller 青州客

During the Later Liang (907-23 CE), a traveller from Qingzhou encountered a gale while crossing the sea. Blown to a very distant place, when he looked into the distance he could make out mountains and rivers and a walled city. A veteran sailor told him: “We have been seized by the wind. I have never been here before, but have heard that the realm of the spirits is in these parts. Could this be it?” After a little while, their boat reached land, so he climbed onto the shore and set off towards the settlement. The houses and residences, fields and plots showed no difference from those of the Middle Realm. Whenever he saw people he bowed to them, but none of those people seemed to notice him. When he reached the town walls, there was a custodian at the gates. When bowed to, he likewise failed to respond. He entered the town, and all of the buildings and people were very dark in colour. When he reached the royal palace, a great banquet was taking place, with several dozen of the monarch’s attendants waiting on the feast. Their robes, hats, utensils, musical instruments and furnishings were diverse, but all of Chinese styles. Ke therefore ascended the hall, and approached close to the king’s seat in order to catch a glimpse of him. Suddenly, however, the king fell ill. His retinue held him up and withdrew him from the room, urgently summoning a shaman to make an examination. When the shaman arrived, he declared: “Someone has arrived from a yang region. Their yang energy presses on the people, and this is the cause of the monarch’s illness. They came here inadvertently, without intending to haunt us. They should be sent away thankfully, with food, drink, carts and horses. This is appropriate.” They then supplied wine and a meal, laying out seats in another chamber. The shaman gathered the group of ministers, and all made prayers and offerings, and Ke ate accordingly. Shortly after, a coachman arrived driving horses. [2796] Ke then mounted a horse and returned, arriving at the shore and boarding the ship, the people of that realm never once having caught sight of him. They caught a favourable wind once more, and managed to return home. At that time He Dejian was military governor of Qingzhou, and was close to Weibo’s military governor Yang Shihou, so sent this Ke to serve Wei. He told Shihou his tale, and Fan Xuangu from Wei heard it in person and informed your servant.

From Jishenlu.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 353.2795-96:

青州客

朱梁時。青州有賈客泛海遇風。飄至一處。遠望有山川城郭。海師曰。自頃遭風者。未嘗至此。吾聞鬼國在是。得非此耶。頃之。舟至岸。因登岸。向城而去。其廬舍田畝。不殊中國。見人皆揖之。而人皆不見已。至城。有守門者。揖之。亦不應。入城。屋室人物甚殷。遂至王宮。正值大宴。君臣侍宴者數十。其衣冠器用絲竹陳設之類。多類中國。客因升殿。俯逼王坐以窺之。俄而王有疾。左右扶還。亟召巫者視之。巫至。有陽地人至此。陽氣逼人。故王病。其人偶來爾。無心為祟。以飲食車馬謝遣之。可矣。即具酒食。設座於別室。巫及其羣臣。皆來祀祝。客據按而食。俄有僕夫馭馬而至。 [2796] 客亦乘馬而歸。至岸登舟。國人竟不見己。復遇便風得歸。時賀德儉為青州節度。與魏博節度楊師厚有親。因遣此客使魏。其為師厚言之。魏人范宣古。親聞其事。為余言。出稽神錄

Shao Yuanxiu 邵元休

During the Tianfu era (901-4), the Han Councillor to the Bureau of the Left Shao Yuanxiu, who was not yet twenty years old, lived in a government residence in Yanzhou. In the house there was only a midwife and a maidservant. At the southernmost end of the wing running west from the hall was a study. When night fell the whole household extinguished the lamps and slept soundly. The lamp in the study was also extinguished, and Shao rested his head on a volume and dozed, but heard, coming from the west of the hall, soft light sounds, like a woman’s footsteps. They ascended the hall stairs, and arrived first at the eastern wing, where the rooms of the female servants lay. Pausing whenever they passed a door, he then heard them continue and reach the south wing. There stood an unbolted door to the chamber, and it pulled open the door and entered. Next he heard a great crash, as if of porcelain thrown to shatter on the floor. Xi then entered the study. Outside the window the moon showed new and thin. He saw something. It seemed extremely large, he could not discern its face, but it was six or seven chi in height (i.e., two metres or more), seeming to have its head swathed in deep black silk, and it stood below the door. Shao, unafraid, rebuked it in a stern voice, and shouted at it several times. It did not make the slightest attempt to respond, but departed, moving like the wind. Shao wanted to pick up his pillow and strike it, but it was already gone. He heard it again, moving to the west of the hall, but the sounds then ceased. When dawn broke, he made a careful examination of the objects inside the southern room, finding, laid on the tea couch, white porcelain that had been smashed against the ground. When he subsequently questioned people about the matter he was told: “A military commissioner frequently stays at this residence. When his daughter died, he used the western hall as a chapel of rest for a time, and she still visits her servants.” There was a near neighbour who had known the girl, and said: “She was very tall in stature; that must have been her mortal soul.”

From Yutang xianhua.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 353.2794:

邵元休

漢左司員外郎邵元休。當天復年中。尚未冠。居兗州廨宅。宅內惟乳母婢僕。堂之西序。最南是書齋。時夜向分。舉家滅燭熟寐。書齋內燈亦滅。邵枕書假寐。聞堂之西。窸窣若婦人履聲。經于堂階。先至東序。皆女僕之寢室也。每至一房門。即住少時。遂聞至南廊。有閣子門。不扃鍵。乃推門而入。即聞轟然。若撲破磁器聲。遂西入書齋。窓外微月。見一物。形狀極偉。不辨其面目。長六七尺。如以青黑帛懞首而入。立于門扉之下。邵不懼。厲聲叱之。仍間數聲。都不酬答。遂却出。其勢如風。邵欲捫枕擊之。則已去矣。又聞行往堂西。其聲遂絕。遲明。驗其南房內。則茶牀之上。一白磁器。已墜地破矣。後問人云。常有兵馬留後居是宅。女卒。權於堂西作殯宮。仍訪左右。有近鄰識其女者。云。體貌頗長。蓋其魄也。出玉堂閒話

Huangfu Mei 皇甫枚

During the Guangqi era (885-87 CE), when Xizong (r. 872-88 CE) was in Liangzhou, in autumn, the ninth month, Huangfu Mei was in temporary accommodation awaiting transfer. In the tenth month, he arrived to the west of Gaoping County from Xiangzhou. 40 li southwest of the county. He was climbing a hill and passing a small brook when the sunlight seemed to become watery, mist and cloud dimming the light, the sun beginning to set and the wind rising. Muddled by numerous forks and turns, he found himself on a long ridge. Below him he caught sight of a thatched cottage, hedges of hibiscus scattered around it, and noisy voices from within. He craned his neck to look, and after a little a village woman emerged to the north of the west wing, wearing yellow robes of antique design, with unkempt hair and battered sandals. He called out to her repeatedly, but she did not turn towards him, instead bowing her head and returning inside. He then followed the slope down to the southeast, but when he reached the residence the gate was entirely crossed and wound about with kudzu vines. Thorns and brambles stretched across the courtyard, showing not the slightest sign of human passage, as if it had lain for a year or two. Mei hesitated, and stood, astonished, for a long time. He climbed the slope once more and looked out. From there he could see the government road, with people passing along it. He thus whipped his donkey towards it, and met a courier clerk of the county surnamed Duan. He told Duan all about it and lodged with Duan that night.

From Sanshuixiaodu.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 353.2792:

皇甫枚

光啟中。僖宗在梁州。秋九月。皇甫枚將赴調行在。與所親裴宜城者偕行。十月。自相州西抵高平縣。縣西南四十里。登山越玉溪。其日行旅稍稀。煙雲晝晦。日昃風勁。惑於多歧。上一長坂。下視有茅屋數間。槿籬疏散。其中有喧語聲。乃延望之。少頃。有村婦出自西廂之北。著黃故衣。蓬頭敗屨。連呼之不顧。但俛首而復入。乃循坂東南下。得及其居。至則荊扉橫葛。縈帶其上。茨棘羅生於其庭。略無人蹤。如涉一二年者矣。枚與裴生。愕立久之。復登坂長望。見官道有人行。乃策蹇驢赴之。至則郵吏將往端氏縣者也。乃與俱焉。是夜宿端氏。出三水小牘

Li Dairen 李戴仁

On riverbanks there are many chan gui, who call out people’s names. Those who reply will surely drown, their dead souls then enticing others in. Li Dairen was once mooring his boat at Qupu in Zhijiang County, the moonlight clear and bright, when he suddenly saw an old woman and a young boy emerge from the water’s surface and look around. Unable to speak, he whispered: “They are humans!” Surprised, they ran across the surface of the water as if travelling on dry ground, climbed the bank and departed.

The governor of Dangyang Su Rui resided in Jiangling. Once, when returning home at night, he saw a beautiful woman with unbound hair. Her clothes were extremely fine, but appeared to be very wet. Rui spoke in jest: “You’re not a chan gui, are you?” The woman replied furiously: “You call me a ghost?!” She then began to run after him, so Rui fled, only stopping when he bumped into a watch patrol. He then saw the woman return down the street from whence she had come.

From Beimeng suoyan.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 352.2788:

李戴仁

江河邊多倀鬼。往往呼人姓名。應之者必溺。乃死魂者誘之也。李戴仁嘗維舟於枝江縣曲浦中。月色皎然。忽見一嫗一男子。出水面四顧。失聲云。此有生人。遽馳水面。若履平地。登岸而去。當陽令蘇汭居江陵。嘗夜歸。月明中。見一美人被髮。所著裾裾。殆似水濕。汭戲云。非江倀耶。婦人怒曰。喚我作鬼。奔而逐之。汭走。遇更巡方止。見婦却返所來之路。出北夢瑣言

Zheng Zong 鄭總

Because his concubine had fallen ill the Jinshi scholar Zheng Zong did not want to sit the civil examination. The concubine told him: “You must not abandon your chance for a woman.” As she was so determined in her request, Zong thus entered the capital. That spring he failed the examinations and returned east. When he got home his concubine had died. Ten months after her burial, late at night, he happened not to have gone to bed, and heard the noise of someone moving outside the room. When he opened the door to look, it turned out to be his dead concubine. He invited her into the room, sat her down, and asked what it was that she needed. She only wanted tea, so Zong personally boiled some for her. When she had finished sipping it, Zong, because their young children were sleeping, asked whether she wanted to go together and see them. The concubine said: “We must not. They are young, and I fear it could be a shock.” When she had finished speaking she said farewell, and, as soon as she reached the threshold, vanished.

From Wenqilu.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), viii, 352.2786:

鄭總

進士鄭總。以妾病。欲不赴舉。妾曰。不可為一婦人而廢舉。固請之。總遂入京。其春下第東歸。及家妾卒。既葬旬月後。夜深。偶未〈未原作來據明抄本改。〉寢。聞室外有人行聲。開戶觀之。乃亡妾也。召入室而坐。問其所要。但求好茶。總自烹與之。啜訖。總以小兒女也睡。欲呼與相見。妾曰。不可。渠年小。恐驚之。言訖辭去。才出戶。不見。出聞奇錄