Explore tales of courage and encounters with the supernatural in 'Ghost-Hunting and Fox-Shooting,' a fascinating glimpse into ancient Chinese folklore.
Li Zhuoming is the son of Mr. Li Jinzhuo, the magistrate of Suining County. He is a generous and fearless person. He is also the younger brother of Mr. Wang Jiliang, the New City Lord. Mr. Wang Jiliang’s family has many towers and pavilions, and strange phenomena are often seen there. Li Zhuoming once came here to stay in the summer and enjoyed the coolness on the towers in the evening. Someone told him about the strangeness there, but he just laughed it off and didn’t heed the advice. He insisted on having a bed set up there. The host followed his instructions and instructed a servant to accompany him to sleep, but he declined, saying, “I like to sleep alone, and I have never known what fear is in my whole life.” The host then ordered a stick of incense to be lit in the censer, asked him in which direction his feet would point while sleeping, and then extinguished the candle and left after closing the door.
Li Zhuoming lay on the pillow for a while, and in the moonlight, he saw the teacup on the table tilting and spinning, neither falling over nor stopping. With a shout from Li Zhuoming, the teacup made a sound and immediately stopped spinning. Then it seemed as if someone had pulled up incense, and it danced in the air, drawing flower-like patterns with its tip. Li Zhuoming got up and scolded, “What kind of ghost dares to do this!” He got out of bed, naked, intending to grab it. He stretched his feet under the bed to find his shoes, but only found one. Without much thought, he went barefoot towards the moving incense. The incense suddenly inserted itself into the censer, and everything became quiet, leaving no trace. Li Zhuoming bent down and felt around in the dark corners, when suddenly something flew and hit him on the cheek, feeling like a shoe, but he couldn’t find the missing shoe. So he opened the door, went downstairs, called a servant, and lit a candle to search everywhere, but found nothing, so he went back to sleep. When daylight came, Li Zhuoming had a few people look for the missing shoe, but after lifting the mats and moving the bed, they still couldn’t find it. The host had no choice but to provide him with a new pair of shoes. On the second day, he happened to look up and saw a shoe wedged between the rafters. When he took it down and examined it, it turned out to be his missing shoe.
Li Zhuoming was from Yidu and once stayed in the residence of the Sun family in Zichuan County. The residence was large, and most of it was vacant, with Li Zhuoming occupying only half of it. In the southern courtyard, facing a tall pavilion separated by only one wall, one could often see the pavilion’s door opening and closing on its own. Li Zhuoming paid no heed to it.
One day, while Li Zhuoming was conversing with his family in the courtyard, suddenly, the pavilion’s door swung open, revealing a small figure seated facing north, standing at less than three feet tall, dressed in a green robe and white socks. Despite everyone’s attempts to catch his attention, the small figure remained still. Li Zhuoming exclaimed, “This must be a fox spirit!” He hastily fetched a bow and arrow, aiming it at the pavilion’s door, ready to shoot. The small figure, upon seeing this, emitted mocking laughter with a “yaya” sound, and then vanished without a trace.
Li Zhuoming, holding a knife, climbed up to the pavilion, cursing and searching, but ultimately found nothing, so he had to return. The strange occurrences ceased from then on. Li Zhuoming lived here for several years without any further incidents. Li Zhuoming’s eldest son, Li Yousan, is related to me by marriage, and this account is based on his firsthand experience.
Yi Shi said: I was born too late to serve Mr. Li, but I have heard the elderly recount that he was probably a generous and resolute man. From these two aspects, one can roughly glimpse his character. With a noble spirit in his heart, what could ghosts and foxes possibly achieve!
《捉鬼射狐》
李公著明，睢宁令襟卓先生公子也，为人豪爽无馁怯。为新城王季良先生内弟。先生家多楼阁，往往睹怪异。公常暑月寄宿，爱阁上晚凉。或告之异，公笑不听，固命设榻。主人如请，嘱仆辈伴公寝，公辞言：“喜独宿，生平不解怖。”主人乃使炷息香于炉，请衽何趾，始息烛覆扉而去。
公即枕移时，于月色中，见几上茗瓯，倾侧旋转，不堕亦不休。公咄之，铿然立止。即若有人拔香炷，炫摇空际，纵横作花缕。公起叱曰：“何物鬼魅敢尔！”裸裼下榻，欲就捉之。以足觅床下，仅得一履，不暇冥搜，赤足挝摇处，炷顿插炉，竟寂无兆。公俯身遍摸暗陬，忽一物腾击颊上，觉似履状，索之，亦殊不得。乃启覆下楼，呼从人，爇火以烛，空无一物，乃复就寝。既明，使数人搜屦，翻席倒榻，不知所在。主人为公易屦。越日，偶一仰首，见一履夹塞椽间，挑拨而下，则公履也。
公益都人，侨居于淄之孙氏第。第綦阔，皆置闲旷，公仅居其半。南院临高阁，止隔一堵。时见阁扉自启闭，公亦不置念。偶与家人话于庭，阁门开，忽有一小人，面北而坐，身不盈三尺，绿袍白袜。众指顾之，亦不动。公曰：“此狐也。”急取弓矢，对阁欲射。小人见之，哑哑作揶揄声，遂不复见。公捉刀登阁，且骂且搜，竟无所睹，乃返。异遂绝。公居数年，安妥无恙。公长公友三，为余姻家，其所目触。
异史氏曰：予生也晚，未得奉公杖屦。然闻之父老，大约慷慨刚毅丈夫也。观此二事，大概可睹。浩然中存，鬼狐何为乎哉！