HIDDEN AND VISIBLE REALMS
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ASIAN CLASSICS
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ASIAN CLASSICS
Editorial Board
Paul Anderer
Allison Busch
David Lurie
Rachel McDermott
Wei Shang
Haruo Shirane
HIDDEN AND VISIBLE REALMS
Early Medieval Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic
COMPILED BY
LIU YIQING
EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY
ZHENJUN ZHANG
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
Columbia University Press wishes to express its appreciation for assistance given by the Wm. Theodore de Bary Fund in the publication of this book.
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
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Copyright © 2018 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
E-ISBN 978-0-231-54705-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Liu, Yiqing, 403-444, author. | Zhang, Zhenjun, editor, translator.
Title: Hidden and visible realms : early medieval Chinese tales of the supernatural and the fantastic / compiled by Liu Yiqing ; edited and translated by Zhenjun Zhang.
Other titles: You ming lu. English | Early medieval Chinese tales of the supernatural and the fantastic | Chinese tales of the supernatural and the fantastic
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, 2018. | Series: Translations from the Asian classics | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017050419 (print) | LCCN 2017059537 (ebook) | ISBN 9780231187169 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Tales—China—Translations into English. | Paranormal fiction, Chinese—Translations into English. | Fantasy fiction, Chinese—Translations into English. | Tales—China—Translations into English. | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.
Classification: LCC PL2666.L55 (ebook) | LCC PL2666.L55 Y813 2018 (print) |
DDC 895.13/24—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050419
A Columbia University Press E-book.
CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e-book at cup-ebook@columbia.edu.
Cover design: Noah Arlow
In memory of
Zhao Qiping 趙齊平 (1934–1993)
and
Wu Xiaoru 吳小如 (1922–2014)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Terms Regarding Weights and Measures
Chronology
Introduction
1. The Wonder of Love
1. Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao
2. The Girl Who Sold Face Powder
3. Pang E and His Infatuated Lover
4. Dream Adventure Inside a Cypress Pillow
5. The God of Rivers Marrying Off His Daughter
6. Zhen Chong and the Local Deity
7. A Ghost Matchmaker
8. The Girl One Saved Becomes His Wife
9. The Marriage Through Catching a Ghost
10. The Marriage of Life and Death
11. Mr. Xu’s Regretful Encounter with the Celestial Girl
12. Daughter of the River God
13. The Golden Jar as a Gift
14. Huang Yuan Encounters Miaoyin
15. The Silver Chain as a Gift
16. A Pinned Painting
17. The Girl Picking Chestnuts
18. The Seduction of a Swan Spirit
19. Fei Sheng’s Affair with a Wild Cat Spirit
20. Chang Chounu Encounters a River Otter Spirit
21. Chicken Tongue Fragrant Gum
22. Guo Changsheng
23. The Demon at Fangshan Inn
24. Chunyu Jin’s Marriage with a Wild Cat Girl
25. Chen Adeng
2. A Garden of Marvels
26. Lord of Mount Lu
27. Exchanging Heads and Faces
28. Pregnancy in a Dream
29. Reporting Death Through a Dream
30. Dry Cholera
31. The Temple of Deng Ai
32. A Man from Earthenware
33. An Illusion
34. Ashes of the Eon Fire
35. Flying Cash
36. Fei Daosi
37. Qian Cheng
38. Zhang Maodu
39. Dispelling Accumulated Distress with Wine
40. Yang Hu Suffered from Headaches
41. Qin Min
42. A Turtledove Enters One’s Arms
43. Crescendos of Music After Death
44. The Man of Anding
45. The Portrait in Taiwu Palace
46. The Lord of the River
47. A Comet
48. Zhou Chao’s Wife
49. Yue Xia
50. A Coffin Cart
51. Meat Becomes Frogs
52. An Abnormal Turtle
53. Zhuge Zhangmin
54. The Black Ox
55. Xi Hui
56. The Transformation of a White Dog
57. The Messenger of Heaven
58. The Monster in Yu Jin’s Home
59. Ge Zuo Averted the Abnormal
60. A Gift of Dates
61. The Wooden Statue Shoots an Arrow
62. Han Gui
63. Zhao Liang
64. Dragon Pearl
65. The Mianyuan Pool
66. Candy from the Immortal
67. White-Haired Old Man
68. Lord of the Northern Dipper
69. Master Chen Xiang
70. A Man Transforms Into a Heron
3. The Spectacle of Monsters
71. Returning Shoes
72. The Maidservant Pina
73. String Music and Songs Under the River
74. A Bleeding Board
75. Stone Mirrors
76. A Dog Demon
77. A Cock Spirit
78. The Girl in Funeral Garments
79. A Bat
80. Losing Knotted Hair
81. An Alligator Spirit
82. A Male Fox
83. A Deer Spirit
84. A Snake Snores
85. The Monk Zhongzuo
86. The Rat Hat
87. The Rat of Qinghe
88. The Fox Spirit
89. A Rooster’s Transformation
90. Escort Chen
91. The Transformation of a Wild Cat
92. The Anomaly of Hidden Rabbit
93. The “Receiving Cloud” Prefect
94. A Divine Tree
95. The Head of a Deity Statue
96. A Nightmare
97. The Frame of a Tilt Hammer
98. Raksasas
99. Qian Teng
100. The Prince of Mount Dou
101. The Deity of Houguan County
102. River Deity
103. The Deity of Gongting Monastery
104. The Deity of Harsh Frost
105. Exorcising Demons
106. Shaman Li
107. Northern Dipper Saved Mr. Gu from Demons
4. The Realm of Ghosts
108. Restoring the Po Soul
109. The Green Substance of Corpses
110. A Tall Ghost
111. A Hairy Ghost
112. A Ghost Stretches His Tongue
113. Evil Ghost in a Towering Tomb
114. A New Ghost Searches for Food
115. A Ghost Living with His Family
116. Wang Ming’er Manifests His Physical Form
117. Ruan Zhan
118. The Deity o
f Yangsha
119. Adjutant He
120. Suo Yuan
121. Wuhuan
122. Disasters from Stealing Coffin Boards
123. Lü Shun’s Wife
124. Old Yao
125. A Deceased Mother Takes Care of Her Son
126. Cheng Biao and His Deceased Brother
127. A Lame Ghost
128. Avoiding a Disaster
129. Dead Friend Guan Shuang
130. Cai Kuo’s Dead Son
131. Ghosts Playing Music
132. A Ghost Stops Fighting
133. The Ghost Distinguishes His Corpse Through a Dream
134. Drumbeats and Horn Music from an Old Tomb
135. Ghost Fighting
136. Ghosts Steal Millet
137. Laughing at a Ghost
138. Tying Up a Ghost
139. Stabbing a Ghost
140. Ghost Herb Mortar
141. Drunk Ghosts
142. The Servant Jian
143. The Magistrate of Pingyu
144. Moving a Tomb
145. A Ghost Bestows Treasure
146. Ghosts Striving for a Tomb
148. A Divine Birth
149. Ren Huairen’s Death
150. Romance of a Ghost
151. Zhong You’s Ghost Girlfriend
152. A Ghost Nurtures a Child
153. A Child in Red
154. Children Striving for a Pot
155. A Ghost Pays a Debt
156. Exchanging a Girl with a Boy
157. Demonic Magic
5. The Netherworld and This World
158. A Nu
159. Wang Zhi
160. Borrowing a Life Span
161. Chen Liang Revives from Death
162. The Thunder God
163. Xu You
164. Wang Ju
165. Wang Wendu Summoned to Be a Ghost Official
166. Liu Qingsong
167. Ji Queshi
168. Oxen Epidemic
169. Gan Qing
170. Shaman Shu Li
171. Kang Ade
172. Se Luzhen’s Experience in the Netherworld
173. Exchanging Feet
174. Shi Changhe
175. Zhao Tai Travels in Hells
176. Scholar Wang Zizhen’s Ghost Friend
6. Animals and Men
177. The Naked Creatures
178. Wood Guests
179. The Young of Big Peng
180. The Breath of Turtles (1)
181. The Breath of Turtles (2)
182. The Dog Diwei
183. A Parrot
184. A Mole Cricket Repays a Favor
185. Golden Geese
186. A Snake Mourns for Its Mother
187. A White Turtle
188. Men in Black
189. Red Words on a Fish’s Belly
190. The Archery Master
191. An Ox Sends a Message Through a Dream
192. Ji Han’s Black Bull
193. An Ox Kowtows in Tears
194. The Bird in a Honey Locust Tree
195. A River Dragon’s Revenge
7. Anecdotes of Notable Figures
196. Guest Star
197. The Jade Girl
198. Lady Feng
199. A Fox Interprets Classics
200. A Rooster Talks About Metaphysics
201. Wang Fusi
202. Wen Weng
203. He Bigan
204. Divining for a Graveyard
205. The Seal of the Marquis of Loyalty and Filiality
206. Purple Air Above a Tomb
207. Lu Su
208. The Three Broken-Armed Dukes
209. Jiaozhou Scissors
210. The Sorcerer Du Yan
211. Three Horses Share One Manger
212. The Melody of Guangling
213. Xi Kang
214. Fa Zu and Wang Fu
215. The Prince of Anxi’s Three Lives
216. Fotu Cheng, the Western Monk
217. Tiger Disaster
218. Guo Jingchun
219. Wang Maohong’s Dream
220. Marquis Jiang Requests Food
221. Magician An Kai
222. Wang Ningzhi’s Wife
223. The Buddhist Nun
224. Jiang Ziwen
225. A Ma
226. Xie Anshi
227. The Daoist Priest Xu Xun (1)
228. The Daoist Priest Xu Xun (2)
229. Aunt Jiang
230. A Dragon Carries a Boat on Its Back
231. Walking on Water
232. The Five-Colored Egg
233. Xu Xianzhi’s Dream
234. A Foreign Monk
8. Local Legends
235. The Husband-Watching Stone
236. Peng E
237. Local Inspectors Strive for Territory at the Border
238. The State of King Gao
239. The Tomb of King Gao
240. Hot Water Spring at Shixing
241. Warm and Cold Water Springs
242. Wells in the Temple of Laozi
244. Tide Pond
245. Reed Pond
246. Rooster Mountain
247. Three Peaks of Mount Heng
248. Golden Terrace in the Sea
249. A Phoenix Head Flies Into the Zhang River
250. The Terrace of Qiao County
251. Bathing in Warm Orchid Water
252. Donglai Wine
253. Ghost Howling
254. The Ghost Wrests a Fish
255. The Prince of Jiangdu’s Tomb
256. The Queen Mother
257. Lamp in the Rain
258. Cao E
259. Crane Gate
260. Cheng Ji
261. Male and Female Tree
262. A Golden Bull (1)
263. A Golden Bull (2)
264. The Dizzying Pool
Appendix
265. Wang Dongting
266. Zheng Zichan
267. Xu Ganmu
268. Salted Dragon Meat
269. The Dilu Horse
270. The Ghost of Fangfeng
271. Chen Zhuang
272. Cao Shuang
273. Tomb of Wang Ziqiao
274. Zhang Heng and Cai Yong
275. Sun Hao
276. Food Becoming Spiral Shells
277. Wei Faji
278. Iron Hammer
279. White Jade of Changshan
280. Du Yu
281. The Immortal Residence
282. Breaking a Promise Causes Loss of Magic Figures
283. Zhang Hua
284. Jia Yong Lost His Head
285. The Mole Crickets
Tales Appearing in Other Renditions
Works Cited
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project started over a decade ago when I was working on an earlier project, Buddhism and Tales of the Supernatural in Early Medieval China: A Study of Liu Yiqing’s Youming lu, though I translated most of the pieces more recently. During the course of finishing this book, I received help from my teachers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues at St. Lawrence University.
I am grateful to Professors William Nienhauser and Victor Mair for their careful reading of my introduction and their valuable suggestions. I am indebted also to my colleagues Sid Sondergard and Roy Cardwell for their many helpful suggestions about the chapters they read over. In addition, I would like to thank my daughters, Yuxi and Kaixi (Jennifer), who read this book as the first readers as well as proofreaders.
A special debt is due to Jennifer Crewe, Christine Dunbar, Christian Winting, and Leslie Kriesel at Columbia University Press for their kindness and sincere help in the process of reviewing and editing my manuscript, as well as to the two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and suggestions.
This volume is publi
shed in memory of my teachers at Beijing University: Professor Zhao Qiping, my academic advisor, and Professor Wu Xiaoru.
ABBREVIATIONS
AGM
A Garden of Marvels. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2015.
BKLT
Bai Kong liutie 白孔六帖. 2 v. Taibei: Xinxing shuju, 1969.
BTSC
Beitang shuchao 北堂書抄. 2 v. Taibei: Wenhai chubanshe, 1961.
CCT
Classical Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.
CLEAR
Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews
CXJ
Chuxue ji 初學記. 3 v. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961.
FYZL
Fayuan zhulin jiaozhu 法苑珠林校註. 6 v. Beijing: Zhonghua shuji, 2003.
GXSGC
Guxiaoshuo gouchen 古小說鉤沉. In Lu Xun quanji 魯迅全集. Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1973.
HJAS
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
KYZJ
Kaiyuan zhanjing 開元占經: Beijing: Zhongyang bianyi chubanshe, 2006.
LLZS
Chongkan zengguang fenlei Leilin zashuo 重刊增廣分類類林雜說. 15 v. No. 1219 of Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書. Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002.
LS
Lei shuo 類說. Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 1988.
SBBY
Sibu beiyao 四部備要
SBCK
Sibu congkan 四部叢刊
SLFZ
Shilei fu zhu 事類賦註. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1969.
SSXY
Shishuo xinyu 世說新語
SSJ
Soushen ji 搜神記. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979.
ST
Selected Tales of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties Periods. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2006.
TPGJ
Taiping guangji 太平廣記. 10 v. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961.
TPYL
Taiping yulan 太平御覽. 4 v. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1960.
YWLJ
Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚. 2 v. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1965.
YML
Youming lu 幽明錄