A collection of Chinese weird tales and mythology stories, recorded in ancient classics. Collected and translated by myself.
Ancient explanations of celestial bodies through the theory of “hun-tian” suggest that heaven and earth are one entity, like an egg. When the yolk and white of the egg are undivided, the world remains in a state of chaos. Once the yolk separates from the white, heaven and earth are formed. Humans cannot exist outside this eggshell. Therefore, the Taoist belief in the existence of thirty-three heavens beyond seems somewhat far-fetched.
A soldier in the imperial guard, fond of riding and hunting, once chased a wild rabbit and galloped to Dongzhimen Gate(东直门). By ill luck, he collided with an old man drawing water from a well, causing the old man to fall into the well. Terrified, the soldier hastily fled back home.
That night, the soldier saw the old man from the well entering his house, accusing him: ‘Though you didn’t intend harm, you didn’t rescue me when I fell into the well.
Ma Feng(馬豐), a scholar who had not passed the provincial imperial examination, taught at the Li family(李家)’s school in the western village of Liyang County(溧陽). Their neighbor(王某), Wang, was known for his vicious and cruel nature, often subjecting his wife to physical abuse. Wang’s wife, often starving, stole a roasted chicken from the Li family once when she couldn’t bear the hunger anymore.
When the Li family discovered it, they informed Wang.
In Shandong(山東), there was a scholar named Lin Changkang(林長康), who, at forty years old, had not yet passed the provincial imperial examination.
One day, just as he was contemplating abandoning his studies, he suddenly heard someone call out, ‘Do not lose heart!’ Lin Changkang was startled and asked who it was. The voice replied, ‘I am a ghost. I have been following you, protecting and watching over you for several years.’
In the prefecture of Hejian(河間府), there was a man surnamed Ding who neglected his proper duties, spending his days idling around. One time, Ding heard of a fox spirit causing mischief somewhere and decided to seek it out alone. He handed over his business card, expressing a desire to become sworn brothers with the fox immortal. That very night, the fox immortal indeed transformed into a human form and introduced himself as Brother Wu Qing.
In the capital, there was a man named Ye(葉某), who was very close to Wang Si(王四) from Yizhou(易州). On the seventh day of the seventh month, it was Wang Si’s sixtieth birthday. Ye rode a donkey to wish him well. When he reached Fangshan County(房山), it was already dark. Suddenly, a tall man on horseback approached him and asked where he was headed. Ye truthfully told him his destination. The man was delighted and said, ‘Wang Si is my cousin; I am also heading there.
Scholar Jiang(蔣生) traveled to Henan(河南) and passed through Gong County(鞏縣), intending to stay overnight. The guest room in the western building of the inn where he planned to lodge was impeccably clean, which Jiang liked, so he decided to move his luggage there. The innkeeper chuckled and said, ‘Sir, are you brave? This western building is not safe.’ Jiang replied, ‘As the wise Yang Jiaoshan(楊椒山) said, every person has their courage.
Guandong(關東) resident Xu Shangen(許善根) made a living by digging for ginseng roots(人參). According to the custom, ginseng diggers had to go up the mountains to dig only when it was late and quiet. One day, exhausted from traveling at night, Xu Shangen fell asleep on the sandy ground. When he woke up, he found himself being held by a hairy man. This hairy man stood about twenty feet tall, covered all over with red hair.
In Shucheng County(舒城縣), Luzhou Prefecture(廬州府), there was a villager named Chen(陳姓者). His wife was suddenly haunted by a female ghost who sometimes strangled her throat with hands and other times tied her neck with straw ropes. No one around her could see the haunting ghost. Tormented and in agony, she frequently clawed at her clothes, pulling out many straw ropes.
Chen gave his wife a bundle of peach tree branches, saying, ‘If the female ghost returns, use these to strike her!’
General Zhao Liangdong(趙良棟)’s son, posthumously named Xiangmin(襄敏公), held the position of Governor of Baoding(保定).
One night, Xiangmin was studying in the west tower with all doors and windows closed. Suddenly, a flat-shaped entity squeezed through the window crack and entered the room. It rubbed itself from head to toe, gradually transforming into a complete form. Wearing a square scarf and red boots, dressed like a scholar, it bowed deeply to Xiangmin, clasping its hands, and said, ‘I am a fox immortal scholar living in this tower for a hundred years, fortunate to have received the permission of the esteemed lords, leading a peaceful existence.
According to folklore, when a wicked person is dying, the King of Hell will send evil ghosts to seize them because only these evil spirits have the power to subdue such wicked individuals.
In Yangzhou(揚州), Tang(唐氏)’s wife was both fierce and jealous, responsible for the deaths of numerous concubines and maids. Shortly after, this fierce woman fell critically ill. Even in her sickness, she continued incessantly cursing and raging just as she did in her normal days.
Liu Yixian(劉以賢) from Hangzhou(杭州) was skilled at painting portraits. He lived next door to a father and son. When the father passed away, the son went to buy a coffin. Before leaving, he asked the neighbor to request Liu Yixian to paint a portrait of his deceased father. When Liu Yixian arrived at their home, he found it empty. Assuming the deceased must be upstairs, he quietly ascended the stairs, approached the bed of the deceased, sat down, took out his brush, and prepared to paint the portrait.
