Wu Tao 鄔濤

Wu Tao was from Runan. He had skill and knowledge of ancient writings and was committed to the arts of the Way. While travelling he stopped temporarily at the Yiwu County guesthouse in Wuzhou. After more than a month, there suddenly appeared a girl, who came at night to serve the two maids. One of the maids came forward and told him: “This young lady is surnamed Wang.” That evening she turned and looked at the gentleman. Tao looked at her, and she was extremely beautiful. He thought, ‘this is the daughter of a great noble’, but did not dare speak. The lady Wang smiled, and said: “The esteemed scholar does not value wine or beauty; how can a mere concubine gain his trust?” Tao then rose and bowed to her, saying: “Such lowly scholars would not dare direct their gaze thus.” The lady Wang ordered a maid to bring her clothing and utensils to Tao’s bedchamber, lighting bright candles and laying out wine and food. They drank several rounds, and then lady Wang rose and addressed Tao: “Your servant is a young orphan without anyone to turn to, and would like to serve the gentleman at his pillow and mat. Would that be acceptable?” Tao initially refused in his humility, but then relented and permitted it in his sincerity. The lady Wang departed at dawn and arrived at dusk, and this continued for several months.

 

Yang Jingxiao, a Daoist of Tao’s acquaintance, visited and stayed at the residence. On seeing that Tao’s countenance had altered, he advised: “The gentleman has been deluded by spirits and demons. This must be broken off, or death will follow.” Tao questioned him about this in alarm, and then related the whole story. Jingxiao told him: “This is a spirit.” He then provided two amulets, one to attach to clothing, and the other to be fixed above the gate. He said: “When this spirit arrives, she will become very angry. Be careful not to speak to her.” Tao accepted these instructions. When the young woman arrived that night, she saw the token above the gate, let fly a string of curses, and departed, saying: “Remove that tomorrow, or suffer great misfortune.” Tao called on Jingxiao the next day and told him all about it. Jingxiao told him: “When she returns tonight, you should sprinkle her with this water on which I have cast a spell. That will surely bring things to an end.” Tao returned carrying the water. That night, when the woman returned, she was extremely sad and angry. Tao then sprinkled her with the water Jingxiao had treated. Her visits then ceased.

From Jiyiji.

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), vii, 347.2747:

鄔濤

鄔濤者。汝南人。精習墳典。好道術。旅泊婺州義烏縣館。月餘。忽有一女子。侍二婢夜至。一婢進曰。此王氏小娘子也。今夕顧降於君。濤視之。乃絕色也。謂是豪貴之女。不敢答。王氏笑曰。秀才不以酒色於懷。妾何以奉託。濤乃起拜曰。凡陋之士。非敢是望。王氏令侍婢施服翫於濤寢室。炳以銀燭。又備酒食。飲數巡。王氏起謂濤曰。妾少孤無託。今願事君子枕席。將為可乎。濤遜辭而許。恩意欵洽。而王氏曉去夕至。如此數月。濤所知道士楊景霄至舘訪之。見濤色有異。曰。公為鬼魅所惑。宜斷之。不然死矣。濤聞之驚。以其事具告。景霄曰。此乃鬼也。乃與符二道。一施衣帶。一置門上。曰。此鬼來。當有怨恨。慎勿與語。濤依法受之。女子是夕至。見符門上。大罵而去。曰。來日速除之。不然生禍。濤明日訪景霄。具言之。景霄曰。今夜再來。可以吾呪水洒之。此必絕矣。濤持水歸。至夜。女子復至。悲恚之甚。濤乃以景霄呪水洒之。於是遂絕。出集異記

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.

People of the region say: ‘In Shu there are mountain spirits, and they excel in such cruelty, as they are followers of Liqiu.’[1]

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

[1] Translation revised with generous help from Ofer Waldman. Thanks Ofer!

The Xiao of Geshan 閣山𤡔

In the xinmao year of the Gandao era (1171 CE), no rain fell in Raozhou for a very long time, and the rivers’ flow was blocked. Three fishermen of Geshan Route went empty-handed to the Fan River to catch fish. Two went ahead, but one of them felt his two thighs suddenly turn cold as ice, feeling a slight trace of saliva, and, terrified lest there be the lair of a xiao beneath him, scrambled out urgently.[1] One person alone did not see this and, having told his family he would provide for them, stayed to return at dusk. Two days later, his corpse floated some five li distant, with a fist-sized hole below the left thigh, the whole body entirely white, that being due to a xiao having curled around it and sucked his blood. In shape the xiao is just like an eel, eight or nine chi in length (c.2.7m), and is a kind of flood dragon. Among the Geshan populace, one Li Shi once caught one of these.

Hong Mai, Yi Jian Zhi, ii, 丙17.509

閣山𤡔

亁道辛卯歲，饒州久不雨，江流皆澁。閣山道漁者三人，空手入番江捕魚。二人先出，其一覺兩股忽冷如冰，微有涎沫，懼𤡔穴其下，故急出。獨一人不見，告其家守之，至暮而還。後二日，尸浮於五里外，左股下一穴如拳大，舉體皆白，蓋為𤡔所繞而吮其血也。𤡔狀全與鰻鱺魚同，長至八九尺，亦蛟類也。閣山民李十嘗捕得之。

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)

[1] The character xiao 𤡔 is treated by the MOE dictionary of character variants as a variation on xiao 梟 ‘owl’, but this story clearly indicates a rather interesting and different aquatic nature for the creature in question. See http://dict2.variants.moe.edu.tw/yitia/fra/fra01951.htm.

An Unscrupulous Officer of the Way 法官不戒

Zhang Shengyuan, known as the ‘Sender of Thunder’, diligently followed the Way of Thunder, possessing exceptional power and efficacy; the populace all treated him as a transcendent. He resided in Lingdao Hall. One evening, when he was walking in the mountains, he defiled a village woman. When he returned at dusk, he lit a lamp, but there came the sound of a mouth eating and chewing, and suddenly dead fell to the ground. When the thunder spirits are like this, how can those scholars who follow the Way be disrespectful?

Anon., Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 後1.166 (Tale 289):

法官不戒

張聲遠，名雷發，奉行雷法，甚有靈驗，衆皆神之。寓廬陵道堂。一晚山行，污一村婦。暮歸，堂中焚炷，但口中作吃吃之聲，忽仆地竟死。雷將之靈如此，行法之士忽慢可乎？

Yuan Haowen 元好問, Chang Zhenguo 常振國 (ed), Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), and Anon., Jin Xin 金心 (ed.), Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi 湖海新聞夷堅續志 (Continuation of Records of the Listener with New Items from the Lakes and Seas) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986).

Li Ji’s Daughter 李勣女

In the first year Zhenguan (627 CE), Li Ji’s (594-669 CE)[1] beloved daughter died, and she was buried at Bei Mang, with a servant’s cottage built next to the tomb. One day, the daughter suddenly appeared to the servant and said: “I did not die in the first place, but was rather stolen away by the spirit of a great tree. Now, the spirit having left on a pilgrimage to Xiyue, I have therefore managed to run away. I knew that you were here, so I came. I have already been parted from my parents, and returning from this would be humiliating, so I cannot go back. If you hide me, I can reward you with great wealth.” The servant was flabbergasted, but eventually agreed, and built another room for her. The girl sometimes left at dawn to return at dusk, sometimes left at nightfall to return at dawn, her every step like the wind. A month later, she suddenly brought ten jin of gold (about 5 kg) as a gift, and the servant accepted it. When he went to sell it, however, the family who had lost it seized the servant to report the matter. The governor of Luoyang was determined to get to the bottom of the matter, so the servant told the full story. When they followed him to seize her, the girl had already gone, and the remaining gold had all turned into yellow rock. (Taken from the Sunxianglu).

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), vii, 327.2601:

李勣女

貞觀元年，李勣愛女卒，葬北邙，使家僮廬於墓側。一日，女子忽詣家僮曰：「我本不死，被大樹之神竊我。今值其神出朝西嶽，故得便奔出。知爾在此，是以來。我已離父母，復有此辱恥，不可歸。幸爾匿我，我能以致富報爾。」家僮駭愕，良久乃許，遂別置一室。其女或朝出暮至，或夜出曉來，行步如風。一月後，忽携黃金十斤以賜，家僮受之。出賣數兩，乃民家所失，主者執家僮以告。洛陽令推窮其由，家僮具述此事，及追取，此女已失，其餘金盡化為黃石焉。（出《孫相錄》，陳校本作出《瀟湘錄》）

[1] This seems likely to be Li Shiji 李世勣 (594-669), courtesy name Maogong 懋功, posthumously known as Duke Zhenwu of Ying 英貞武公. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Shiji.

Apes Invite A Physician 猿請醫士

A physician of Shangzhou had taken up his case and was offering treatment on the road. One day, as dusk turned to night, he was seized by several people and taken away so fast they almost flew. The physician yelled out for help, but the villagers who gathered could not wrest him away. His captors having stopped in a narrow defile among crags, the physician touched them and found they were all covered in fur. After several more li, they reached a stone chamber, where he saw an elderly ape laid out on a stone bed and attended by numerous women, all of whom were quite beautiful in appearance. One of the women spoke to the physician: “The general suffers stomach pains.” The physician diagnosed dyspepsia, so gave him a dose of food-dispersing medicine to take. The elderly ape was then able to rise to a sitting position, and instructed the woman to give him a kerchief, and ordered several people to escort him back.

On reaching his home he looked inside the kerchief, and its contents were all silver and gold. The next day he took these to sell, but someone recognised them as their family property, and wanted to go straight to the authorities. The physician told them of their origin, returning all of the property, and the matter was then resolved. It happened that another night several people again requested that he go with them, and then he saw the old ape wore an ashamed expression. The woman gave him another kerchief, saying that these objects had been obtained rather further away, and he could sell them without hindrance. The physician returned with these, and subsequently became very wealthy.

Anon., Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 後2.254 (Tale 458):

猿請醫士

商州醫者負篋行醫，一日昏黑，為數人擒去如飛。醫者大呼求援，鄉人羣聚而不可奪。所擒之人，懸崖絕險，醫者捫其身皆毛。行數里到石室中，見一老猿卧於石榻之上，侍立數婦人，皆有姿色。一婦人謂醫曰：「將軍腹痛。」醫者覺其傷食，遂以消食藥一服與之以服。老猿即能起坐，且囑婦人以一帕與之，令數人送其回歸。抵家視之，盡黃白也。次日持賣，有人認為其家之物，欲置之官，醫者直述其由，盡以其物還之，其事方釋。忽一夕，數人又來請其去，見老猿有愧色，其婦人又與一帕，且謂得之頗遠，賣之無妨。醫者持歸，遂至大富。

Yuan Haowen 元好問, Chang Zhenguo 常振國 (ed), Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), and Anon., Jin Xin 金心 (ed.), Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi 湖海新聞夷堅續志 (Continuation of Records of the Listener with New Items from the Lakes and Seas) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986).

A Spirit Treats A Bone In The Throat 神醫骨鯁

Wang Youliang of Poyang, while eating a spicy pig’s trotter, accidentally swallowed a finger-sized bone which stuck in his throat and for several days could not be gulped down. Despite spitting and salivating being painful, he could take a little drink and soup, but his family were extremely worried about him. At dusk, when he was beginning to doze, he saw a scarlet-robed figure approach and tell him: “It is said you suffer from a bone. I have medicine, which is simply the finest southern pengsha.”[1] Awaking, he requested a small piece, held it in his mouth until it dissolved, and then on eating, was able to swallow freely as before. This can be seen as an example of spirits granting their secrets in the aid of others.

Anon., Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 後2.226 (Tale 403):

神醫骨鯁

鄱陽汪友良因食辣蹄，誤吞骨如指大，鯁於喉間，累日不下，雖咳唾亦痛，但略通湯飲，家人絕憂之。於昏睡次，睹一朱衣來告曰：「聞汝苦骨，吾有一藥，唯南鵬砂最妙。」覺而索砂一小塊，淨洗含化，纔食頃，脫然如失。此殆神明陰授以方濟人云。

Yuan Haowen 元好問, Chang Zhenguo 常振國 (ed), Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), and Anon., Jin Xin 金心 (ed.), Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi 湖海新聞夷堅續志 (Continuation of Records of the Listener with New Items from the Lakes and Seas) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986).

[1] Pengsha 鵬砂 refers to borax, or sodium tetraborate.