In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record

314 Pages·1996·6.584 MB·English

by  Kenneth J. Dewoskin, J. I. Crump, Jr.

IN SEARCH OF THE SUPERNATURAL
THE WRITTEN RECORD
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
◎ 1996 by the Board of Trustees of the
Leland Stanford Junior University
Printed in the United States of America
CIP data are at the end of the book
Stanford University Press publications are distributed
exclusively by Stanford University Press within the
United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America;
they are distributed exclusively by Cambridge
University Press throughout the rest of the world.
For our lao-shih
C. T. Hsia
George A. Kennedy
Acknowledgment;
Throughout the years, both translators have been beholden to many—the
two earliest are recognized in the Dedication. However, a number of other
scholars and institutions have played a large part and have earned an
equally large measure of the translators* gratitude for their help in bring­
ing to fruition this English version of one of China’s oldest and most in­
fluential compilations. ^
The Council on Cultural Planning and Development (Wen-chien Hui)
of the Republic of China provided generous support for the translation
and general compilation work, and Michigan’s Horace Rackham School
of Graduate Studies Publication Fund helped make possible the book’s
publication.
Additionally, we wish to thank Professor Perng Ching-Hsi of National
Taiwan University for his staunch encouragement and his efforts as an in­
termediary. Out thanks go also to Mr. Morgan Jones, who labored long
and effectively on the Glossary and Finding List, to Mr. Edward Trager
for the book’s charming grotesques and other artwork inspired by the Ma-
wang Tui tomb decorations, and to our Asia Library’s Wan Wei-ying and
staff for their efforts in locating illustrations for our Sou-s/ien Chi’ to Pro­
fessor Stephen H. West of the Department of Oriental Languages at the
University of California, Berkeley, for his sharp eye and prompt action in
sending the'translators the very helpful Huang 1991.
Finally, we wish to thank the late Professor Emeritus Charles 〇.
Hucker not only for his long and patient labor over the Dictionary of Offi­
cial Tides in Imperial China (which is the source for all our translated titles
in Sou-sfien Chi), but also for providing the two of us with a stable, well-
run department under his chairmanship in which we worked together ef­
fectively and happily for many years.
KJd
I.c

J
Contents
Introduction
In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record
Chapter 1
Shen Nung
Ch'ih Sung-tzu
Ch'ih-chiang Tzu-yii
Ning Feng-tzu
Wo Ch’iian
P’eng Tsu
Shih-men
Peach Trees of Mount Sui
Ts’ui Wen-tzu and Wang Tzu-ch’iao
Kuan Hsien the Fisher
Ch’in Kao Riding a Carp
T’ao An-kung Succeeds in Smelting
The Wooden Awl
Lu Shao-ch’ien Spurns the Emperor
An, Prince of Huai-nan, and the Eight Immortals
Liu Ken Conjures Ghosts of Parents
Wang Ch’iao and the Wonderful Slippers
Su-tzu Hsiin
Yin-sheng the Beggar Boy
Redivivus (P’ing-ch，ang sheng)
Tso Tz’u Catches Fish in a Bucket
,22 Yu Chi Brings Rain to No Avail
,23 Chieh Yen Offends the Ruler of Wu 1
Hsu Kuang and the Smell of Blood 1
,25 Ko HsuanJs Transformations
26 Wu Meng Controls Wind and Water
,27 Yuan K’o and the Spirit Caterpillars
(28 Tung Yung and the Weaving Maid
,29 The Fragrant Corpse
30 Tu Lan-hsiang and Chang Shuo
31 Hsiian Ch’ao Visited by the Jade Lady
Chapter 2
232 Emperor Creates False Ghosts
Fan Ying Puts Out a Fire 20
Hsii Teng and Chao Ping Contest Their Magic 20
r-T 33 Chao Ping Makes His Own Ferry 20
2 Hsu Teng, Chao Ping, and the Gods 21
2 Tung-hai Chiin Weaves a Suit 21
Han Yu’s Premonition 21
34^ Huang-kung and His Red-Gold Sword 21
2 Hsieh Chiu and His Banquet 22
2 0 The Hindu Fakir in Chiang-nan 22
^ 35 Trials by Beast and Fire in Fu-nan 23
Festive and Religious Customs in the Palace 23
2 Han Wu-ti Is Shown Li fu-jen 24
1
2 The Reunion 24
36
Sun Hsiu Deceives His Wizard 25
Two Shamans See Ghostly Clothing 25
2 2 The Omens of Hsia-hou Hung 26
237
Chapter 3

3 Confucius’ Marvelous Message 28
22^ .38 The Wonderful Salve of Tuan Yi
Ominous Events at the Home of Tsang Chung-ying
3 Ch'iao Hsuan Has Visions 29
,534 Kuan Lu and Three Omens from the Yi-ching
23
,54 Kuan Lu Shows Yen Chao How to Lengthen His Life 29
2 0
,55 Kuan Lu Diagnoses Headaches and Frightenings
565 Kuan Lu and the Complaining Ghost
,547 Shun-yii Chih Controls the Rat 30
2
,58 Shun-yii Chih Advises Buying a Whip
9
,596 Shun-yu Chih Empties a Collapsing House
31
,60 Shun-yii Chih Cures Disease Using a Monkey
4
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7
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4 34

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361 Kuo P’u Buys the Handmaid of His Choice
Kuo P’u Revives Chao Kufs Horse
2 Kuo P’u Explains an Old Illness
36 3
^ Kuo P’u Summons a White Ox
6 Fei Hsiao-hsien’s Prophecy
6
3636 Treasure Recovered Through the Yi-ching 3
^rr Han Yu Captures Malign Influences in Leather Sacks
3,48 Yen Ch’ing Manages with a Piebald Dog
3*rr"3, 47-9 Hua T’o Cures an Ulcer with a Dog and Two Horses 36

3 7o Hua T’o Treats a Sufferer with Vinegar
4
3 5 3
Chapter 4 6

The Star Gods 342
4 The Star Goddess with the Giant Breasts
m ^
7^ Wen-wang Dreams of the Storm Woman 37
42
4 7 Hu-mu Pan and the Lord of T’ai-shan
M

7H7 Feng Yi Becomes the Lord of Rivers
4 7 1 The Lord of Rivers’ Son-in-Law 3
4 H 473
The Message Arrives for Shilvhuang’s Death
77^
W 27» Sacrificial Offerings Returned 4
七4 7 Ts’ao Chu Rejects Lu-shan's Daughter 43
H
0^ 3 Mistaken Sacrifice Returned* 49
8 The God Borrows a Rhinoceros-Horn Comb

45
M 4.81) The Strange Creature at Hsuan-ch'eng
4M 4.4 As-You-Like-It, the God’s Serving Maid 49
4 The Temple of Huang-shih Kung
4 45
Fan Tao-chi and Its Witch
5
8 The Heavenly Bird
4 > 0
8 The Fire Messenger 46

>816 The Yin Family’s Sacrifices to the Stove

8 Origins of the Rice-Gruel Sacrifice
4 >9» 70^ The Stone Homunculus 417
9» Origin of the Temple at Chun-shan
4 1
48
8 Chapter 5
1
492 The God Chiang Tzu-wen Receives Homage by Threats 53
9 Liu Ch’ih-fu Offers the God a Substitute 5448
The God Demands Marriage 54
493
Duke Chiang Appears to Wu Wang-tzu 55
0 Duke Chiang Aids a Traveler in Recovering His Wife 5468
494 The Spirit of Young Mrs. Ting 57
1 Wang Yu and the Spirit of Death 58
49
Chou Shih and the Messenger of Death 59
495
2
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5.100 Miracles in the Eye of the Beholder 60
5.101 The Well Under the Posthouse 61
Chapter 6
6,102 A Discussion of Possessions and Anomalies 62
6,103 The Loss of Sacred Mountains 62
6，104 Hairy Tortoise and Horned Hare 64
6.105 Horse into Fox 64
6.106 Jade into Sand-Spitting Yii Mollusks 64
6.107 Growth and Subsidence of the Earth 64
6.108 Woman Gives Birth to Forty Children 65
6.109 Serving Maid Gives Birth to Dragons 65
6.110 The Boar’s 111 Omen 65
6,111
Serpents Battle at the City Gates 65
6,112 Dragons Battle in Town 66
6.113 Mine Serpents Twine Around the Pillar 66
6.114 Horse Gives Birth to Human 66
6.115 A Woman Is Transformed into a Man 66
6.116 Five-Legged Cow 67
6.117 The Twelve Giants 67
6.118 Two Dragons in Wen-ling Well ^ 67
6.119 A Horse Sprouts Horns 67
6.120 A Dog Sprouts Horns 68
6,121 Men Grow Horns 68
6,122 Dog Mates with Swine 68
6.123 Battle of the White and Black Birds 69
6.124 Cow with a Leg on Its Back
6.125 Serpents Battle at the Temple
6.126 The Rat Dances in the Palace Gate
6.127 The Upraised Stone in T’ai-shan Commandery
6.128 Insects Gnaw Writing in Leaves 1
6.129 Dog Wearing Cap Runs Through Palace Gate 1
6.130 A Hen Becomes a Cock 1
6.131 Fan Yen-shou Renders Judgment
6.132 Heaven Rains Grass
6.133 Fallen Pagoda Tree Raises Itself
6.134 Rats Nesting in Trees
6.135 Malevolent Hounds
6.136 The Kite Burns Its Nest
6.137 A Rain of Fish in Hsin-tu
6.138 A Tree Growth in the Shape of a Human Head
6.139 A Horse Grows a Horn in the Imperial Stud
6.140 Swallows Hatch Sparrows
^ 141 The Three-legged Foal
vc The Fallen Tree Raises Itself
Ti
vc Child Cries in the Womb
T 42
vc Transmission of the Queen Mother of the West’s Writings
T
A Male Becomes a Female
vcT 143 Chao Ch’un Returns to Life
vc The Two-Headed Infant of Ch’ang-an
Tvc A^ The Three-Legged Bird
T^ -44 The Serpent atop Te-yang Palace
^
Meat Rains down in Pei-ti Commandery
5
vd"* 45 The Strange Fashions of Liang Chi’s Wife
Cow Gives Birth to Chicken
5 wRed Troubles and Cycles of Three Seventies”
^ 4 Long and Short Garments 80
6
sc 1 Cannibalism Practiced Between Husband and Wife
T
5 The Yellow Man on the Temple Wall
A4 80
vc 7 “丁he Tree Does Not Follow Its Nature1* ■
T
Office of Palace Attendants，Hen Becomes a Cock
5
^ Two-Headed Child Born in Lo-yang 8
1
^ 8 Descendant of Liang-po of Hsia
l
5 Grasses in the Shape of Men and Animals 8
l The Two-Headed Child of L\\i Ts’ang 1
9
The Battle of the Little Birds

5 Elegant Entertainment and Funeral Music 8
A Song Sung in the Capital 2
1 0
^ The Man Named Huan Returns to Life
5 8
^ 1 The 111 Omen of the Chien-an Era
2
^ 1 Children’s Songs from Ching-chou
^ 5 Blood Rows from Chopped Tree 8
^ A Falcon Born in a Swallow’s Nest 2
^ 1 2 The River Horse of Baneful Portent 8
vcT A5 Giant Egg in the Swallow’s Nest
Ch’iao CKou Writes on the Pillar 2
3 The Omen of Sun Ch’iian’s Death 8
5
^ Sun Liang’s Baleful Omen from the Grains
3
^ 1 4 A Great Boulder Raises Itself 8
^ 6 Chiao’s Return to Life
1
vcT Sun Hsiu’s Clothing 83
5
6
Chapter 7
7mX11796 Writings in the Split Stone 8893
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7 82 Crabs Become Rats 90
^
7 Two Dragons in the Arsenal Well 91
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^7 1^ .83 Two-legged Tiger and Other Anomalies 91
^7 1^ . The 〇x，s Skull Speaks 92
m7 1^ .8 The Arsenal and the Flying Fish 92
m7 1^ 4 Sandal Styles 92
^7 1^ ,8 Bound Hair Styles 93
7 1 “Peaceful Chin” Dance 93
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m7 5 Barbarian Felt in Chinese Garments 93
7 0 The Song “Break the Willow” 94
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m7 A Horse Grows Horns in Liaotung 94
7 06 Feminine Decorations 94
^
7 The Bells Weep 94
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7 The Androgyne 95
^ 87
7 The Androgyne of An-feng 95
0
m7 1 The Great Serpent at Lin-tzu 95
8
7 Blood in Lu District 95
^ 8
m7 The High Suppliant Altar-Stone Shattered 95
7 1 The Raven-Topped Crutch 96
^07 &9 Revels Among Fashionable Youths 96
m7 The Floating Stone 96
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^7 9 The Commoner in the Palace 96
7 0 The Ox Speaks 97
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^7 1 Worn Slippers Gather in the Road 97
7 9 Flames from Halberd Tips 98
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7 Monstrous Birth in the Town of Wan-hsiang 98
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7 1 Multiple Births in Yen-ken 98
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m7 2 A Dog Speaks 99
7 The Chameleons from Yen-ling 99
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7 Ill-Omened Dogwood Trees 99
^ 9
7 3 Sow Farrows a Human Child with Two Heads 99
0 00
The Omen of Raw Silk Clothing
^7 1
^7 9 Facelessness in Hat and Hair Styles 00
7 4 Jen Ch’iao’s Siamese Twins 01
^
m7 1 The Unjust Death of Shun-yii Po 01
7 9 The Two-Headed Calf 02
m 5
7 Earthquake and Flood 02
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7 2 Monstrous Calves 02
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7 6 Two-Headed. Colt 03
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7 Anomalies in Women 03
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7 7 The Rebels’ Clothing 03
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