pregnancy – Zhiguai Translations

Zhang Lu’s Daughter 張魯女

The daughter of Zhang Lu* was once washing clothes at the foot of a mountain when she was enveloped by a fine white mist, and due to this became pregnant. Due to the shame of this she took her own life. Close to death, she told her maid: “Once I am dead you should cut open my belly and look [inside] [3402] it.” When the maid followed her instructions she found a pair of dragon children, which were taken to the Han River. They then buried the daughter on the mountain, after which dragons appeared several times and left footprints before her tomb.

From Daojiazaji.

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, 418.3401-2:

張魯女

張魯之女。曾浣衣於山下。有白霧濛身。因而孕焉。恥之自裁。將死。謂其婢曰。我死後。可破腹視［3402］之。婢如其言。得龍子一雙。遂送於漢水。既而女殯於山。後數有龍至。其墓前成蹊。

出道家雜記

*Zhang Lu 張魯 (d. 216 CE), a Daoist Master of the Eastern Han era. See http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/personszhanglu.html.

Giving Birth to a Dragon 產龍

In Weipo Village, Pingding, in the summer of the yisi year,[1] a woman called Sorceress Ma,[2] over fifty years old, grew pregnant and, after a little more than six years, bore this year a dragon. When the officials asked how this had come about, this woman said her pregnancy having reached three or four years without birth, her husband Cao Zhubu feared that it had turned into something uncanny, so drove her out.

When the birth finally neared, they saw people emerging out of a haze and standing in ranks as if in a government office; one of then came forward and stated: “That which has for several years been entrusted to you, will now be released. Next year will bring happiness to this mother.” When he had finished speaking, a white-robed person took her by the arm and departed; on reaching the gate she fainted and lost awareness of those around her, only recovering after some time has passed. People nearby told of how three thunderclaps were heard in the gloom, and a dragon flew from the woman’s body; signs of the pregnancy then vanished.

[1] Yisi 乙巳, indicating the forty-second of sixty years in the sexagenary cycle, would likely relate to 1245 CE in the context of Yuan Haowen’s lifetime (1190-1257 CE), but the timing of the event is uncertain.

[2] Usage of shipo 師婆 (‘witch, sorceress, shaman’) here seems to denote women active in the summoning of spirits and deities.

Yuan Haowen 元好問, Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), 1.6 (Tale 14)

平定葦泊村，乙巳夏，一婦名馬師婆，年五十許，懷孕六年有餘，今年方產一龍。官司問所由，此婦說，懷孕至三四年不產，其夫曹主簿懼為變怪，即遣逐之。及臨產，怳忽中見人從羅列其前，如在官府中，一人前自陳云：「寄託數年，今當捨去，明年阿母快活矣。」言訖，一白衣人掖之而去，至門，昏不知人，久之乃甦。旁人為說晦冥中雷震者三，龍從婦身飛去，遂失身孕所在。

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)

Wang Wenming 王文明

[2584] Wang Wenming was serving as Magistrate of Jiang’an towards the end of the Song Taishi era (465-71 CE). His wife had been ill for a long time, and their daughter was outside preparing congee for her mother when, just as it was nearly ready, it transformed and became blood. She poured it away and made more, but this too changed in the same way. Her mother soon died, after which, while the children were weeping before her spirit tablet, their mother suddenly appeared, lying atop the bier as if she still lived. All of the children called out in sorrow, at which she immediately vanished. Previously, Wenming had coveted a maid who served under his wife, who was then pregnant and about to give birth.[1] On the day of his wife’s funeral, he sent the maid to look after the house, while everyone else went to see the tomb site. Just as the workers began to open the ground, the wife entered the house and beat the maid. After this his daughters all prepared their father’s food. They killed a chicken, but, after its blood had stopped running, the fowl suddenly leaped up, flew high and called out for a long time. Wenming died soon after, and each of the male relatives who succeeded him was soon buried by his successor.

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, 325.2583-84:

王文明

[2584] 王文明。宋太始末江安令。妻久病。女于外為母作粥。將熟。變而為血。棄之更作。復如初。母尋亡。其後兒女在靈前哭。忽見其母臥靈牀上。如平生。諸兒號戚。奄然而滅。文明先愛其妻所使婢。姙身將產。葬其妻日。使婢守屋。餘人悉詣墓所。部伍始發。妻便入戶打婢。其後諸女為父辦食。殺雞。割洗已竟。雞忽跳起。軒道長鳴。文明尋卒。諸男相續喪亡。出述異記

[1] This sentence revised and improved on the advice of Ofer Waldman (personal communication, 24 May 2021).

Chen Su 陳素

In the first year of the Jin Shengping era (357 CE), the family of Chen Su, of Shan County, were wealthy. After a decade of marriage to his wife, he still lacked a son, so wished to take a concubine. His wife prayed to the ancestral hall’s deities and suddenly became pregnant. The same happened to the wife of their neighbour, a commoner. She therefore bribed the neighbour’s wife, saying: “If I give birth to a boy, that would be the will of heaven. If it is a girl, and yours is a boy, we should swap.” This was quickly agreed between them. The neighbour’s wife had a boy, and three days later Su’s wife bore a daughter. The exchange was quickly made. Su was absolutely delighted with his son. They had raised the child for thirteen years when, during prayers, an elderly housemaid who often saw spirits spoke up and said: “I see the gentleman’s ancestors; they’re coming to the gate and then stopping. But I also see a crowd of commoners who have come and seated themselves to eat our offerings.” The father was extremely alarmed and amazed, and then welcomed the spirits as they arrived. He prayed that they might become temporarily visible, and they told him they were all relatives. Su then went inside and questioned his wife. Terrified, she told him about the swap. The boy was returned to his original family, and their daughter taken back.

From Youminglu.

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, 319.2527:

陳素

晉昇平元年。剡縣陳素家富。娶婦十年無兒。夫欲娶妾。婦禱祠神明。突然有身。鄰家小人婦亦同有。因貨鄰婦云。我生若男。天願也。若是女。汝是男者。當交易之。便共將許。鄰人生男。此婦後三日生女。便交取之。素忻喜。養至十三。當祠祀。家有老婢。素見鬼。云。見府君家先人。來到門首便住。但見一羣小人。來座所食噉此祭。父甚疑怪。便迎見鬼人至。祠時轉令看。言語皆同。素便入問婦。婦懼。且說言此事。還男本家。喚女歸。出幽明錄

Yang Xian 楊羨

Towards the end of the Xiaowu Emperor’s Taiyuan era (376-96 CE), Yang Xian, of Wu County, found a thing like a monkey, with a hairy human face. Whenever Xian ate, this spirit would steal his food away. When Xian’s wife was working at her loom, Xian took up a knife to kill the spirit. The creature ran up to the loom, and Xian’s wife was transformed into a spirit, so Xian thus hacked at her. He then saw the spirit leap away. Clapping its hands and emitting a great cackle, the spirit departed. Xian suddenly came to his senses. He looked at his wife, cut into more than ten pieces. She had been six months’ pregnant, and in her belly the child had already sprouted hair. Xian let out an anguished sigh of pain and died.

From Guang Gujin 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, 318.2517:

楊羨

孝武帝太元末。吳縣楊羨。有一物似猴。人面有髮。羨每食。鬼恒奪之。羨婦在機織。羨提刀殺鬼。鬼走向機。婦形變為鬼。羨因斲之。見鬼跳出。撫掌大笑。鬼去。羨始悟。視婦成十餘段。婦妊身殆六月。腹內兒髮已生。羨惋痛而死。出廣古今五行記

Giving Birth To A Dragon 產龍

In Weibo Village, Pingding, in the summer of the yisi year,[1] there was a woman named Ma who was a sorcerer, aged over fifty, and who was pregnant for more than six years, finally this year giving birth to a dragon. When the officials asked after the cause of this, the woman told them that, after remaining pregnant for three or four years without giving birth, her husband, Registrar Cao, feared that the baby had changed into a demon, so drove her away. When the birth approached, she saw people descend from a haze and array themselves before her, as if they were within a government office. One person spoke to her personally, saying, “What has been entrusted to you over several years will today depart; next year the mother will be happy indeed.” When he had finished speaking, a white-robed person took her by the arm and departed; on reaching the gate, she grew confused and lost consciousness, only reviving after a long time had passed. The people around her said that three thunderclaps had emerged from dark clouds, and a dragon had flown from the woman’s body, leaving its mother behind.

Yuan Haowen 元好問, Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), 1.6

產龍

平定葦泊村，乙巳夏，一婦名馬師婆，年五十許，懷孕六年有餘，今年方產一龍。官司問所由，此婦說，懷孕至三四年不產，其夫曹主簿懼為變怪，即遣逐之。及臨產，怳忽中見人從羅列其前，如在官府中，一人前自陳云：「寄託數年，今當舍去，明年阿母快活矣。」言訖，一白衣人掖之而去，至門，昏不知人，久之乃甦。旁人為說晦冥中雷震者三，龍從婦身飛去，遂失身孕所在。

[1] This would be the forty-second year of the 60-year cycle, so in this case perhaps either 1185 or 1245 CE.

Secret Virtue Makes A Number One Scholar 陰騭狀元

Ping Jing, courtesy name Dangshi, was from Xianning in Ezhou. His father was a merchant, and, when he was in the prime of life but lacking children, he was about to depart for the capital when his wife gave him several silver tablets and said: “The gentleman does not yet have a son; take these as the means to buy a concubine.” When he reached the capital, he bought a concubine, drew up a contract and paid over the money. When he asked the concubine where she came from, she shed tears but refused to speak. When he asked her more firmly, she then said her father held office, but, having suffered shortfalls in his transported goods, had sold her into concubinage as a plan to repay the losses. Grieved by this, he could not bear to touch her, and sent her back to her father, without insisting on the return of his money. When he returned, his wife asked: “Where is the concubine you bought?” He told her the whole story. His wife said: “If the gentleman uses his heart like this, why worry about lacking a son?” Several months later, his wife became pregnant. When the due date drew near, the villagers dreamt that the air was filled with drumming and trumpeting, greeting the number one scholar arriving at the Ping household. The next morning, Jing was born. Taking delight in reading, he came first (yuan) in the provincial examinations, came first (yuan) in the metropolitan examination, and achieved first place (yuan) in the overall ranking; his contemporaries called him ‘Ping Three-Yuan’.

Anon., Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 前 2.108 (Tale 187):

陰騭狀元

馮京，字當世，鄂州咸寧人。其父商也，壯歲無子，將如京師，其妻授以白金數笏，曰：「君未有子，可以此為買妾之資。」及至京師，買一妾，立券償錢矣。問妾所自來，涕泣不肯言。固問之，乃言其父有官，因綱運欠折，鬻妾以為賠償之計。遂惻然不忍犯，遣還其父，不索其錢。及歸，妻問：「買妾安在？」具告以故。妻曰：「君用心如此，何患無子！」居數月，妻有娠。將誕，里人皆夢鼓吹喧闐迎狀元至馮家。次早，生京。喜讀書，領舉為解元，省試為省元，登第為狀元，世號為馮三元。

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).

Government Troops Harm The Populace 官軍殘民

During the Tang, Li You served as General of Huaixi, and in the twelfth year Yuanhe (817 CE) he returned to the country carrying funds. When Duke Pei defeated Wu Yuanji, some among the Han army stripped the clothes of women leaving their bodies entirely naked [9]. You had a new wife, née Jiang, who had reached her fifth month of pregnancy, but was seized by the rampaging troops, who sliced her belly with a blade, and Jiang stopped breathing and fell to the ground. You returned and saw this; her belly gaped more than a chi (c.30 cm), so he removed his jacket and wrapped her. His wife came to soon after, receiving some divine medicine and recovering. After a full ten months she gave birth to a son. The court returned You to serve the realm with honour, and awarded a post to his son. The son was named Xingxiu (‘Cultivating Conduct’), and served as military governor for Nanhai at an age a little over thirty; resigning and returning, he died on the road.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.8-9 (Tale 62):

官軍殘民

唐李祐為淮西將，元和十二年送款歸國。裴公破吴元濟，入其城，漢軍有剝婦人衣至裸體 [9] 者。祐有新婦姜氏，懷姙五月矣，為亂卒所刼，以刀劃其腹，姜氏氣絕踣地。祐歸見之，腹開尺餘，因脱衣襦裹之。婦一夕復蘇，傳以神藥而平。滿十月而產一男。朝廷以祐歸國功，授一子官。子曰行修，年三十餘，為南海節度，罷歸，卒於道。

This story is also found in Taiping Guangji at juan 29, entitled ‘Li You’s Wife’.

此條又見《廣記》卷二一九，題為《李祐婦》。

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)

The Birth Of Dongfang Shuo 東方朔出生

The wife of Zhang Shaoping, née Tian, lived alone as a widow for several years after Shaoping’s death, but suddenly one night dreamed that a person came down from heaven and pressed on her belly, due to which she became pregnant. She therefore said: “Pregnant without a husband; if people hear of this they will abandon me.” She migrated to find a new place to the east. At the new moon of the fifth month, she gave birth to a son. Because she was living in the east, she called him Dongfang Shuo[1] (‘New Moon of the East’). Some say that he was the spirit of Jupiter, multi-talented and boundlessly erudite.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.6 (Tale 44):

東方朔出生

張少平妻田氏，少平卒後，累年寡居，忽夢一人自天而下，壓其腹，因而懷孕。乃曰：「無夫而孕，人聞棄我也。」徙於代，依東方。五月朔旦，生一子。以其居代東方，名之東方朔。或言歲星精，多能，無不該博。

[1] On the Han-era scholar Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 (c. 160 – c. 93 BCE), see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongfang_Shuo. He is also credited with the compilation of the Shenyijing 神異經 – see https://huhaixinwen.wordpress.com/2018/10/18/li-ziangs-strange-encounter-%E6%9D%8E%E5%AD%90%E6%98%82%E5%A5%87%E9%81%87/

Immortal Lü’s Sword Bag 呂仙劍袋

The mother of Chancellor Jia, Lady of the Two Realms, had organised meals for mendicant Daoists, when suddenly a crowd of Daoist priests came supporting a pregnant woman who was about to give birth. Before the refectory could even pause, she gave birth to a baby on the ground. The crowd of priests then picked her up and departed, leaving the infant on the floor. When people picked the baby up, it turned out to be a bag of swords. They then realised that Duke Lü [131] was exercising his spirit to play jokes on common customs.

Anon., Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 後1.130-31 (Tale 227):

呂仙劍袋

賈平章母兩國夫人設雲水道人閒（明刻本、明抄本無「閒」宇。）齋，忽有羣道人扶一孕婦將產而來。齋未罷，產嬰兒在地，羣道人即扶女子而去，只留嬰兒在地。扶起嬰兒，乃一劍袋也。始知呂公 [131] 弄精魂以戲凡俗云。