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.
Legend has it that during the late Ming Dynasty, a magistrate in Nanyang Prefecture(南陽府) died within his office. Since then, his ghost lingered, appearing at dawn, wearing a black gauze hat and an official belt, rushing to sit at the southern end of the hall. When attendants bowed to him, he nodded in approval, mimicking acceptance of their respects. He would vanish only when the day fully dawned.
During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng(雍正), a new magistrate, Magistrate Qiao(太守喬公), took office and upon hearing of this, couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “This person must have an addiction to his official position.
