Wu Xing In Luoyang’s Shuilu Temple, there was a monk named Da Le, who was quite wealthy. His neighbor, surnamed Zhou, worked in the government office and was very poor. The supervisor of his post often extorted money when collecting taxes, taking advantage whenever possible. Whenever it was time to turn in the collected sum, Zhou would frequently borrow money from Monk Da Le to make up the shortfall. Over a span of a few years, he ended up owing the monk a total of seven taels of silver.
It is a very famous Chuanqi in the Tang Dynasty. Below is a full English translation of the story.
During the reign of Emperor Dezong in the Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Cui Sheng(崔生). His father was a prominent official who had a close relationship with high-ranking ministers of the time. Cui Sheng himself served as a guard in the palace. One of these high-ranking ministers fell ill, and Cui Sheng’s father instructed him to visit.
During the Tang Dynasty, Wei Xinggui(韋行規) recounted an incident from his youth. Once, while traveling in the western capital, he arrived at a shop when it was getting dark. Despite that, he intended to continue his journey forward.
There was an old man working in the shop who advised him. “It’s late. It’s not safe to travel at night; there are many bandits around here.”
“I have prepared my bow and arrows.
Master Ye Fashan(葉法善) was skilled in talismanic magic. The Emperor honored him several times as a Hongluqing(鴻臚卿), bestowing upon him lavish rewards and special treatment.
Ye Fashan resided in the Xuanzhen Temple(玄真觀), often hosting a dozen or more courtiers who would come to the temple, loosen their belts, and stay without intending to leave. The seats would be occupied, and they’d desire wine to drink.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, claiming to be Qu Xiucai.
In Jingxiang, there is a temple nestled close to mountains and water, where a dragon resides. This dragon often stirs up storms, damaging trees. Within the temple, there is an old man named Zhang who strikes the bell; he is a sorcerer, unknown to the monks. Zhang detests the havoc caused by this dragon and desires to capture and kill it, secretly performing magic.
The dragon, aware of this, transforms into a human and secretly informs one of the monks, saying, ‘I am a dragon, living in these waters for many years.
The Flying Head Demon, known as 飛頭蠻/飛頭䝤 in Chinese and Hitouban in Japanese, originates from Gan Bao(干宝)’s records in the Jin Dynasty’s ‘In Search of the Supernatural(《搜神记》).‘
This mythical creature, also called ‘辘轳首’ (rokurokubi), appears normal during the day but transforms at night. Its neck extends longer than a giraffe’s, and the head detaches, flying out the window while the body remains seemingly asleep.
An illustration for the ghost story “The Scribe(司札吏)” in “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”, in Qing Dynasty.
“The Scribe” is a short story from the collection of classical Chinese short stories “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio” by the Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling. The story tells the tale of a tyrannical and superstitious magistrate who had many taboos. One day, the magistrate’s scribe accidentally violated one of his taboos, and the magistrate had him killed.
Wanxia and Aduan were lovers. Dancer Wanxia was reported to have committed suicide by jumping into the river. Aduan was heartbroken, yet he was surprised to find that Wanxia had come back as a ghost.
The story tells of Xin Shisiniang(辛十四娘), a beautiful woman in red who is a kind-hearted fox spirit, aspires to help others and become an immortal.
Although she is a fox spirit, she has a kind heart. She lives with her fox father and 18 sisters in a dilapidated temple. She is named Shishier because she is the 14th of 19 sisters.
The story tells of the encounter between the scholar Zong Xiangruo and the fox spirit. Living with a fox will shorten his lifespan, so she told Zong how to meet the lotus fairy and marry her.
Penglai(蓬萊) is a fairy mountain that lies between reality and imagination. Legend has it that Penglai is located in the Bohai Sea, resembling clouds when seen from afar.
