Nine Husbands’ Grave

Outside the southern gate of Jurong County(句容), there lies a grave known as the Nine Husbands’ Grave. Legend has it that there was a woman, exceedingly beautiful. After her husband passed away, leaving behind a son, their household became very wealthy. So, she remarried and bore another son. The second husband also passed away and was buried beside the first husband. Later, she married a third time, yet this husband, like the others before him, met the same fate. In this manner, she married a total of nine husbands and bore nine sons, their graves forming a circle. When this woman died, she was buried in the middle of the nine graves. Every day at sunset, gusts of cold wind would sweep through the cemetery; at night, there were sounds of shouting and fighting, as if they were envious of each other, jealous, vying for the woman’s attention.

Travelers dared not pass through this place, and the people from the nearby villages felt deeply unsettled, so they collectively reported the matter to County Magistrate Zhao Tianjue(趙天爵). Magistrate Zhao, accompanied by these individuals, arrived at the Nine Husbands’ Grave. He arranged a procession, conducted an investigation, and ordered the bailiffs to strike each grave thirty times with a large plank. From that day forth, peace and quiet reigned in that place.

Translated from《九夫墳》in 《子不語》:

句容南門外有九夫墳。相傳昔有婦人甚美，夫死，止一幼子，家資甚厚，乃招一夫。生一子，夫又死，即葬於前夫之側；而又贅一夫，復死如前。凡嫁九夫，生九子，環列九墳。婦人死，葬於九墳之中。每日落時，其地即起陰風，夜有呼嘯爭鬥之聲，若相媢而奪此婦者。行路不敢過，鄰村為之不安，相率訴於邑令趙天爵。隨至其地，排衙呼皂隸，於各墳頭持大杖重責三十，自此寂然。