The senior official Gentleman Yan Heng resided with his household in Yangzhou. His wife, the Lady Yang, was sitting together, in broad daylight, with their sons and daughters in the hall when thunder and rain suddenly burst forth, and a strange apparition fell from the empty air onto the floor. A little over three chi in height (i.e., about a metre), its face and flesh were both black, and it wore a turban on its head, like the head-cloths of the present day, but as if it were made of flesh, this was joined to its forehead. Turning to look at the people, it covered its face as if in laughter. Before long the crowd grew more and more numerous, but its laughter continued without pause. After a moment, a great thunderbolt erupted outside, thick clouds bringing sombre darkness so people could not be distinguished from one another, and it quickly climbed the empty air and departed.
Hong Mai, Yi Jian Zhi, ii, 7.421:
揚州雷鬼
上官彥衡侍郎，家居揚州。夫人楊氏白晝在堂中與兒女聚坐，忽雷雨大作，奇鬼從空隕於地，長僅三尺許，面及肉色皆青，首上加幘，如世間幞頭，乃肉為之，與額相連。顧見人，掩面如笑。既而觀者漸衆，笑亦不止。頃之，大霆激於屋表，雲霾晦冥，不辨人物，倏爾乘空而去。
Hong Mai 洪邁, He Zhuo 何卓 (ed.), Yi Jian Zhi 夷堅志 (Record of Yi Jian) 4 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1981)
