Wu Xing - Chinese Weird Tales

Borrowing a Coffin for a Carriage

2024-01-052024-01-04 by Wu Xing

Zhang Yuangong(張元公) from Shaoxing(紹興) opened a cloth shop at the Chang Gate(閶門) in Suzhou and employed a helper named Sun, a Shaanxi native known for his honest and diligent nature. Sun managed business affairs that always garnered triple profits, fostering a close relationship with his employer. After three to five years, Sun accumulated a fortune of one hundred thousand guan for Zhang, repeatedly asking to return home. However, Zhang adamantly refused.

The Garlic Seller

2024-01-03 by Wu Xing

In Nanyang County(南陽縣), there was a man named Yang, skilled in martial arts, capable of lifting grain boats with his shoulders. Hundreds of Green Banner soldiers escorted the grain boats, attempting to pierce him with bamboo poles. As the poles struck his body, they broke inch by inch. His fame spread because of this. Yang took his disciples to Changzhou(常州) to teach martial arts. Every time he went to the martial arts arena to teach spear and staff techniques, crowds gathered, forming a human wall.

Qian Yang/羬羊

2024-01-02 by Wu Xing

羬羊 (Qian yang) is a beast on the mountain that looks like a sheep, but has a horse’s tail. The oil from its fat can be used to treat chapped skin.

《山海经·西山经》
华山之首，曰钱来之山，其上多松，其下多洗石。有兽焉，其状如羊而马尾，名曰羬羊，其脂可以已腊。

The Fox Immortal Hangs Itself

2024-01-052024-01-02 by Wu Xing

In the west of the Zhang family house on Jingling’s Judicial Street(金陵評事街), there were three study rooms rumored to house a hanging ghost. No one dared to live there; it remained securely locked. One day, a young scholar, dressed in fine attire, arrived seeking lodging at the Zhang household. The Zhang family, citing the lack of available rooms, refused him. The scholar, angered, said, ‘If you won’t lend me a room, I’ll stay on my own.

Fox Demon in the Belly

2024-01-01 by Wu Xing

Li Yi(李鷁), the son of Minister Li Hefeng(李鶴峰), styled as Yishan(醫山), passed the imperial examination in the 26th year of Qianlong’s reign and was selected to join the Hanlin Academy(翰林). He excelled in poetry and literature, and had a fondness for the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism(宋儒理學).

One day, while Li Yi was studying under the lamp, two exceedingly beautiful women suddenly appeared to tempt him, but he paid them no attention.

Ghost Expelling Ghost

2023-12-302023-12-30 by Wu Xing

In Tongcheng(桐城), there was a scholar named Zuo(左秀才) whose relationship with his wife, Zhang,(張氏) was exceptionally close. When Zhang fell ill and passed away, Zuo couldn’t bear to be separated from her. He spent every night sleeping beside her coffin. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, his family held a ceremony for the deceased, everyone praying and making offerings outside, leaving Zuo alone to read beside Zhang’s coffin.

Suddenly, a chilling wind arose, and a ghost, disheveled with blood dripping and dragging a rope, approached Zuo menacingly.

The Expulsion of the White Sea Hare

2023-12-302023-12-29 by Wu Xing

In the Baihou(白鱟) Cave of Mount Bian in Wuxing(吳興卞山), every spring and summer, a white vapor drifted out of the cave. It resembled a piece of white silk, floating aimlessly in the air. Wherever this vapor passed, silkworm cocoons were destroyed completely. Hence, during silkworm cultivation, people dreaded this white vapor. However, this vapor was particularly afraid of the sound of gongs and drums. During the Ming Dynasty, Han Shao(韓紹), the Minister of Rites(明太常卿), once ordered officials to use poisoned arrows to drive it away, documenting the process in the ‘Expulsion of the White Sea Hare’ found in the ‘Annals of Wuxing Prefecture.'(《驅鱟文》載郡志)

Thunder Strikes the Land

2023-12-312023-12-29 by Wu Xing

During the Kangxi era(康熙), Wang Yixin(汪以炘), the magistrate of Shidai(石埭), had a close relationship with his friend Lin(林某). Later, Lin passed away, becoming the local land deity of Shidai. Every night, Wang and Lin, one in the mortal realm and the other in the afterlife, maintained an intimate connection, just like in the past.

Once, the land deity privately told Wang, “Disaster will befall your family, and I dare not withhold this information.

The Head-Bearing Official

2023-12-302023-12-28 by Wu Xing

Gao Yan(高公岩), a man from Rugao(如臯), served as the magistrate of Gaoling in Shaanxi(陝西高陵令). One of his friends came to visit him but found it getting dusk while still about ten miles away from the city. Worried they wouldn’t make it to the city in time, they spotted an abandoned temple by the roadside. The main hall was closed and locked, but there were two rooms on the west side. There was a small door connecting these rooms to the main hall, also locked.

The Story of the King Yu Stele Swallowing Snakes

2023-12-27 by Wu Xing

During his tenure as the magistrate of Liangdang County(兩當縣) in Shaanxi(陝西), Tu Chiwen(屠赤文) had a cook named Zhang(張某) under his command. Zhang, a powerful and hearty eater, possessed immense strength and a robust stature but lacked his left ear. Tu Chiwen inquired about the cause of his missing ear, and Zhang recounted his experience.

“I hail from Sichuan(四川), where my family for three generations lived off hunting. We owned an extraordinary book passed down through generations, teaching hunters a peculiar skill: by catching a breeze and sniffing it, one could discern the approach of any wild beast.

Reckless Ghost

2023-12-302023-12-26 by Wu Xing

According to the ancient texts: ‘Those with green pupils can see demons; those with white pupils can see ghosts.’

Next to the stone archway of Sanyuan Fang(三元坊) in Hangzhou lived an old lady surnamed Shen. She could often see ghosts. She once said, ‘Ten years ago, I saw a disheveled ghost hiding in the stone embroidery on top of the archway. It held paper money, using it as a dart. The paper dart was over ten feet long, densely packed, resembling a string of beads.

Jiang Yilin

2023-12-25 by Wu Xing

Jiang Yilin(江軼林), a literati from Tongzhou(通州), had been living for generations in Lü Sichang(呂泗場) in Tongzhou. He married a woman named Peng, and their relationship was extremely deep. Peng had been married to Jiang Yilin for three years when he was just twenty years old and hadn’t yet passed the scholar examination.

One night, both husband and wife dreamt that Jiang Yilin would pass the scholar examination on a certain month and day of that year, while Peng would die on the same day.