Hidden and Visible Realms Read online

  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

  cup.columbia.edu

  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 [email protected].

  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

  147. Huan Gong Repaid by a Ghost

  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

  243. Old Well by the Divine Altar

  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