A Jiangling Granny 江陵姥

Granny Zhao of Jiangling made her living as a wineseller. During the Yixi era (405-19 CE), humps suddenly rose in the floor of her room. Granny investigated this strange occurrence, and sprinkled wine onto them each day at dawn and dusk. She once saw a thing like a horse’s head emerge, but no holes were left in the floor behind it. When Granny died, her family heard a sound like weeping coming from beneath the earth, and later, when someone dug down, they saw a strange worm-like thing, its size impossible to guess at, which quickly vanished. People call such things Earth Dragons.

From Zhugongjiushi.

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), ix, 418.3402:

江陵姥

江陵趙姥以沽酒為業。義煕中。居室內忽地隆起。姥察為異。朝夕以酒酹之。嘗見一物出頭似驢。而地初無孔穴。及姥死。家人聞土下有聲如哭。後人掘地。見一異物蠢然。不測大小。須臾失之。俗謂之土龍。

出渚宮舊事

Fali the Priest 道人法力

Fali, a priest of the Guangzhou Xianming Temple, once went to the toilet around dawn, and saw a spirit in the doorway. In form it looked like a Kunlun (i.e., a dark-skinned person),[1] its eyes were both entirely yellow, and it was quite naked and unclothed. Fali, who had always possessed great strength, immediately tied it to a column in the hall. He lashed it with a crop until it fell silent, then locked it up with iron manacles and watched to see whether or not it could change shape and escape. When the sun faded to dusk, the spirit disappeared from sight.

From Shuyiji.

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, 327.2595:

道人法力

廣州顯明寺道人法力。向晨詣廁。于戶中遇一鬼。狀若崑崙。兩目盡黃。裸身無衣。法力素有膂力。便縛着堂柱。以杖鞭之。終無聲。乃以鐵鎖縛之。觀其能變去否。日已昏暗。失鬼所在。出述異記

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[1] Here, Kunlun 崑崙 seems likely to refer to Pulo Condore Island, or other southern regions, and dark-skinned people asssociated with these, rather than to the Karakorum mountains. Kunlunguo 崑崙國 may refer to Java, Sumatra, or the region. or as a general reference to islands in the southern seas, natives of which may be termed Kunlunzi 崑崙子 or Kunlunnu 崑崙奴, extended to people with dark skin.

Xiao Mohou 蕭摩侯

In the final years of Empress Dowager Hu (d. 528 CE), in the Later Wei, a family member of the Zezhou peasant soldier Xiao Mohou had washed a yellow jacket and dried it in a courtyard tree, then forgot to bring it in at dusk. In the middle of the night, Mohou and his family arose to see the garment moving in the wind as if there were a person there. Thinking it was a sneak thief, he took up a knife, went forward and struck out, but then saw that it was just clothing. From then on, he felt terror both at home and outside.

After several days had passed, twenty horsemen suddenly appeared, all wearing military attire. They came straight to the house, raised a banner and brandished rods, approaching him and launching an attack, beating him in six or seven places. The family were terrified, and did not know how to resist them. Someone suggested: “According to the apothecaries, burning a black ram’s horn will stop spirits.” They then fetched one from the slaughterhouse and burned it, along with other suitable items. When the strangers returned, they held their noses and said: “We don’t know what this family have been burning to raise such a stink!” They hurriedly turned around and never returned again.

From Wuxingji.

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, 327.2595:

蕭摩侯

後魏胡太后末年。澤州田參軍蕭摩候家人。浣一黃衫。晒之庭樹。日暮忘收。夜半。摩侯家起出。見此衣為風所動。彷彿類人。謂是竊盜。持刀往擊。就視乃是衣。自此之後。內外恐懼。更數日。忽有二十騎。盡為戎服。直造其家。揚旗舉杖。往來掩襲。前後六七處。家人惶懼。不知何方御之。有一人云。按藥方。燒羖羊角。妖自絕。即于屠肆得之。遂燒此等。後來至。掩鼻曰。此家不知燒何物。臭穢如此。翻然回。自此便絕。出五行記

Cui Maobo 崔茂伯

The daughter of Cui Maobo married one Pei Zu’er. Her husband’s home was more than five hundred li distant, and after several years had passed she had still not arrived there. During the eighth month, she died suddenly. Pei was not yet aware of this when, as darkness was about to fall, the woman appeared at Pei’s gate, clapping her hands and requesting entry. Carrying a gold jar a little over two sheng (2 litres) in size, she came to his bed and stood before it. Pei told her to sit, and asked where she had come from. The woman told him: “I am the daughter of Cui, Magistrate of Qinghe. While still young I learned of the gentleman’s betrothal to me. Unfortunately I passed away, so our happy union was not to be. Although our wedding feast will never take place, we are already united in purpose, and I therefore came to inform the gentleman.” She then presented Pei with the gold vessel as a parting gift.

After she had departed, Pei informed his father of the matter. His father wanted to send a message to confirm this, but Pei said: “Betrothed to the Cuis as a child, we should not now react like this. I should go there in person.” His father permitted this. When Pei arrived, the woman had indeed been buried, so they exchanged condolences, and Pei described the whole affair, bringing out the jar to show Maobo. This had been placed with the woman in her grave, so they all went to visit the tomb. More than ten li before they arrived, Pei saw the woman again, and she spoke to him. Those around him all heard her voice, but were unable to see her form. Pei yearned to be united with her, and soon fell ill and died. They were buried together.

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, 324.2574:

崔茂伯

崔茂伯女。結婚裴祖兒。婚家相去五百餘里。數歲不通。八月中。崔女暴亡。裴未知也。日將暮。女詣裴門。拊掌求前。提金罌。受二升許。到牀前而立。裴令坐。問所由。女曰。我是清河崔府君女。少聞大人以我配君。不幸喪亡。大義不遂。雖同牢未顯。然斷金已著。所以故來報君耳。便別以金罌贈裴。女去後。裴以事啟父。父欲遣信參之。裴曰。少結崔氏姻。而今感應如此。必當自往也。父許焉。裴至。女果喪。因相弔唁。裴具述情事。出罌示茂伯。先以此罌送女入瘞。既見罌。遂與裴俱造女墓。未至十餘里。裴復見女在墓言語。旁人悉聞聲。不見其形。裴懷內結。遂發病死。因以合葬。

Zhou Of Linhe 周臨賀

During the Jin era there was a man from Yixing with the surname Zhou. During the Yonghe era (345-57 CE), he set off from Guo on horseback, travelling with two followers. Dusk fell before they had reached the next settlement, but beside the road there stood a small, newly built thatched hut. They saw a woman emerge from the doorway to watch them, aged perhaps sixteen or seventeen, handsome in appearance and wearing fresh and clean clothes. Seeing Zhou pass, she said: “It is already dusk, and the next village is still distant; how could you have reached Linhe?” Zhou then asked if he could lodge there. The woman kindled a fire and cooked him a meal. Around the first watch (7-9pm), the voice of a small child was heard from outside, calling out to Axiang.[1] The woman replied: “Yes?” Soon after, the child said: “The officials call on you to push the thunder chariot!” The woman then departed, saying: “I have some business to attend to, and must go.” The night then filled with thunder and rain, and the woman returned around daybreak. When Zhou had mounted his horse, he looked back at the place where he had spent the night. He saw only a new tomb, with horse urine and straw scattered around the tomb entrance. Zhou sighed to himself in shock and amazement. Five years later, he was indeed serving as Prefectural Chief of Linhe.

From Fayuan Zhulin.

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, 319.2525:

周臨賀

晉義興人姓周。永和年中。出郭乘馬。從兩人行。未至村。日暮。道邊有一新小草屋。見一女子出門望。年可十六七。姿容端正。衣服鮮潔。見周過。謂曰。日已暮。前村尚遠。臨賀詎得至。周便求寄宿。此女為燃火作食。向一更。聞外有小兒喚阿香聲。女應曰。諾。尋云。官喚汝推雷車。女乃辭行。云。今有事當去。夜遂大雷雨。向曉女還。周既上馬。看昨所宿處。止見一新冢。冢口有馬尿及餘草。周甚驚惋。至後五年。果作臨賀太守。出法苑珠林

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[1] Axiang 阿香 is the name of the deity who drove the thunder chariot 雷車 across the skies.

Zhang Yu 張禹

[2518] During the Yongjia era (307-13 CE), the palace guard commander Zhang Yu once travelled through the Great Marsh. The sky had grown dark when he suddenly spotted a mansion with its gates open wide. Yu thus approached and when he arrived before the hall a maid emerged and greeted him. Tu said: “I was passing when the rain started, and would just like to stay over.” The maid entered to report, and soon emerged again, calling Yu forward. He saw a woman, aged around thirty years, seated under a canopy, and waited on by more than twenty maids, their clothing all luminous and beautiful. She asked Yu what he desired. Yu said: “I have my own food, and only need something to drink.” The woman ordered that a shallow pan be brought out and given to him. He therefore kindled a fire to make soup. Despite hearing the water boil, when tried it remained cold.

The woman told him: “I am a dead person, within my tomb mound. I have nobody to share with, only my sense of shame and guilt.” She then began to weep and told Yu: “I am a daughter of the Sun family from Rencheng County, and my father served as Prefectural Chief of Zhongshan. I left to marry into the Li clan of Dunqiu, and bore a son and a daughter. The boy is eleven sui and the girl seven. After my death, the Lis favoured my former maidservant Cheng Gui. Now my son is always beaten, not even sparing his head or face, and pained to the depths of the heart. I wish to kill this maid, but a dead person’s qi force is weak. I have been waiting to find someone on whom I could rely on, and I beg the gentleman to help with the matter. The rewards would be rich.”

Yu said: “Though I cherish Madame’s words, because killing people is a serious matter, I dare not take on this assignment.” The lady replied: “Why would the gentleman be ordered to take up a knife himself? It is only wished that he speak to Li and his family on my behalf, telling them what I have explained. Li will then regret Cheng Gui, and will have to offer prayers to remove this misfortune. The gentleman will then explain that he himself has power to suppress spirits. When Li hears this he will order Cheng Gui to be present for the matter, and I will have the opportunity to kill her.”

Yu made a pledge to her, and set off the next day, telling Li everything he had been told. Li was shocked and terrified, and told Cheng Gui, who was very frightened. They sought help from Yu, but just then he saw the lady Sun coming in from outside, accompanied by more than twenty female attendants. All carried knives and stabbed Cheng Gui, who immediately fell to the floor and died. Before long, Yu passed through the Great Marsh again, and the woman sent her maids out with fifty bolts of zacai coloured silks to reward him.

From Zhiguai.

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, 318.2517-8:

張禹

[2518] 永嘉中。黃門將張禹。曾行經大澤中。天陰晦。忽見一宅門大開。禹遂前至廳事。有一婢出問之。禹曰。行次遇雨。欲寄宿耳。婢入報之。尋出。呼禹前。見一女子。年三十許。坐帳中。有侍婢二十餘人。衣服皆燦麗。問禹所欲。禹曰。自有飯。唯須飲耳。女敕取鐺與之。因燃火作湯。雖聞沸聲。探之尚冷。女曰。我亡人也。塚墓之間。無以相共。慙愧而已。因歔欷告禹曰。我是任城縣孫家女。父為中山太守。出適頓丘李氏。有一男一女。男年十一。女年七歲。亡後。李氏幸我舊使婢承貴者。今我兒每被捶楚。不避頭面。常痛極心髓。欲殺此婢。然亡人氣弱。須有所憑。託君助濟此事。當厚報君。禹曰。雖念夫人言。緣殺人事大。不敢承命。婦人曰。何緣令君手刃。唯欲因君為我語李氏家。說我告君事狀。李氏念惜承貴。必作禳除。君當語之。自言能為厭斷之法。李氏聞此。必令承貴莅事。我因伺便殺之。禹許諾。及明而出。遂語李氏。具以其言告之。李氏驚愕。以語承貴。大懼。遂求救於禹。既而禹見孫氏自外來。侍婢二十餘人。悉持刀刺承貴。應手仆地而死。未幾。禹復經過澤中。此人遣婢送五十匹雜綵以報禹。出志怪

 

Wu Xiang 吳祥

The Han-era clerk of Zhuji County, Wu Xiang, feared exhaustion in official service. He thus fled to hide in a remote mountain area. On his journey he came across a stream. It was getting close to dusk, but he saw a young girl, extremely beautiful and wearing multi-coloured garments. She said: “I live alone, without village or district, with only an old woman, only a dozen or so steps from here.” When Xiang heard this he was very pleased, so set off following her. They had travelled a li or more when they reached her home. Her family were extremely poor, but prepared food for Xiang. He finished by the first watch (7-9pm), at which he heard an old woman call out: “Sister Zhang?” The girl answered: “Yes?” Xiang asked who it had been, and she replied: “A lonely old woman back along the road.” The two slept together until dawn, and Xiang set off at the cock’s crow. The two had fallen in love, and the young woman gave him a purple scarf. Xiang bound it as a kerchief and set off back to the place of their meeting the previous day. When he came to cross the stream, however, the water was rushing violently, and too deep to wade. He thus returned to the girl’s home, but found nothing as it had been the previous night, with only a tomb remaining.

From Fayuanzhulin.

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, 317.2505:

吳祥

漢諸暨縣吏吳祥者。憚役委頓。將投竄深山。行至一溪。日欲暮。見年少女子。彩衣甚美。云。我一身獨居。又無鄉里。唯有一孤嫗。相去十餘步耳。祥聞甚悅。便即隨去。行一里餘。即至女家。家甚貧陋。為祥設食。至一更竟。聞一嫗喚云。張姑子。女應曰。諾。祥問是誰。答云。向所道孤嫗也。二人共寢至曉。雞鳴祥去。二情相戀。女以紫巾贈祥。祥以布手巾報。行至昨夜所遇處。過溪。其夜水暴溢。深不可涉。乃回向女家。都不見昨處。但有一冢耳。出法苑珠林

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, suddenly a girl appeared, with two serving maids arriving at night.[1] 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.

[1] With thanks to Ofer Waldman for the improved translation here.

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.