Classical Chinese Literature Popular Reader -- A Dream of Red Mansions (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Pu Songling (Qing Dynasty) / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: There was an old man from Yangxin①, a resident of Cai Store in the county. The village was about five or six miles from the city, where father and son set up a roadside inn to accommodate traveling merchants. Several carters often came and went, carrying goods, and stayed at their home. One day, as dusk fell, four of them arrived together, seeking shelter at the door. However, the old man’s inn was full of guests. With no other place to go, they insisted on being accommodated. The old man pondered and found a place, but he was afraid it might not suit the guests’ needs. The guests said, “We only ask for a place to rest, and we won’t be picky.”
The old man had a newly widowed son-in-law whose body was still in the room, as his son had gone out to buy coffin materials and had not yet returned. The old man, thinking the room was too quiet with the spirit present, led the guests through the street to his home. Upon entering, they found the lamp dim on the table; behind it, a tent was set up with paper bedding⑤ covering the deceased. They also saw the bedroom, where a connected set of beds was available. The four guests, exhausted from their journey, had just settled in bed when their breathing grew rough. Only one guest remained drowsy.
Suddenly, they heard a scraping sound from the bed. Opening their eyes, they saw the light from the spirit table illuminating everything clearly. The woman’s corpse had lifted the bedding and was rising. Soon after, she entered the bedroom. Her face was pale gold, her forehead wrapped in silk⑤. She leaned close to the bed and blew three times on the sleeping guests. Terrified, the guest feared she would target him, so he hid his head under the blanket, holding his breath and listening intently.
Soon, the woman came and blew on the guests as before. She then left, and they heard the sound of the paper bedding. Peeking out slightly, they saw the other guests still lying motionless. Terrified, they quietly tapped the other guests with their feet, but the others remained completely still. With no other option, they decided to dress and flee. Just as they stood up, shaking off their clothes⑦, the scraping sound returned. Terrified, they hid again under the bedding.
They felt the woman come back and blow several times before leaving. A little later, they heard the spirit bed creaking, realizing she had returned to it. They slowly reached out from under the bedding and grabbed a sturdy branch, quickly dressing and fleeing on foot. The woman also rose, as if to chase them. By the time she reached the curtain, the guest had already bolted the door and escaped. The woman chased after him.
The guest ran and screamed, but no villagers noticed. He wanted to knock on the innkeeper’s door, but feared being caught, so he ran toward the county city road as fast as he could. When he reached the eastern outskirts, he saw a temple and heard the sound of wooden fish drums. He rushed to knock on the gate. The monk was surprised by his behavior and did not immediately let him in.
Before long, the woman arrived, standing less than a foot away from him. The guest grew even more desperate. There was a white poplar tree outside the gate, about four or five feet in circumference, so he used it for cover. He dodged left when she moved right, and right when she moved left. The woman grew angrier. However, the guest was too tired to keep running. The woman suddenly stood still. The guest, sweating and gasping for breath, hid behind the tree.
The woman sprang up, stretching her arms through the tree to attack him. The guest fell, but the woman could not grab him and collapsed against the tree, frozen. The monk listened for a long time without hearing anything and then slowly emerged. He saw the guest lying on the ground. Lighting a candle, he found the guest dead but noticed faint movements in his chest. After carrying him all night, the monk gave him water and asked what had happened. The guest recounted the whole story.
By then, the morning bell had already sounded, and the dawn was hazy. The monk looked at the tree and indeed saw the stiff woman. Greatly alarmed, he reported the matter to the county magistrate. The magistrate personally went to examine the scene. When they tried to pull the woman’s hand out, it was firmly stuck. Upon closer inspection, the four fingers were curled like hooks, sunk deep into the wood. It took several men to finally pull her hand free. The finger holes looked like drilled holes.
They sent an officer to investigate the old man’s home and found that the woman’s body was missing and the guest had died. The villagers were in a commotion. The officer explained the situation. The old man followed and brought the body back. The guest wept and told the magistrate, “Four of us came out, but only one returned. How can I convince the villagers of this?” The magistrate gave him a document and sent him home.
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