Chinese Ghost Fables 1 (3 page)

The stranger apologetically revealed, "I am afraid that my time is up. Staying in the cold
and damp underground for such a long time, I am bored, need to stretch my limbs and
polish my wits. If I didn't argue against the existence of ghost, I wouldn't have an
opportunity to make conversation with you. I have to leave now. Please, don't be frightened
or get upset with me. Nice chatting with you. Farewell!" In a split of second, the aged
stranger merged himself into darkness without a trace. With eyes widely opened, the two
convinced tutors were flabbergasted.
07
DOUBLE-STANDARD

In traditional Chinese society, many people had double-standard toward male and
female. For example, a male person could make many friends from both genders. That
behavior would be praised as well-connected and sociable. On the other hand, if a female,
especially, an unmarried one, communicated with a number of the opposite sex, she would
be looked down upon and considered as ill-mannered or even, as promiscuous. Under the
unwritten code of conducts, as a lady, she couldn't leave home unaccompanied. This is a
fable mocking such prejudice.

A group of young men traveled in a field and noticed a well-dressed female who was
riding a donkey alone a short distance away from them, which was very unusual in that
time period. Considering her as a female of easy virtue, they attempted to play a plank on
her. Those young men shouted at her and made some derogatory gestures of invitation.
However, being exceptionally calm and unemotional, the lady didn't even turn her head.
Ignoring this hostile commotion, she sped the animal up and tried to ride away from them.

Irritated by this uncommon reaction, those young men vigorous ran after her. The
three men reached her first and initiated a conversation. With reluctance, she was halted
and courteously responded to them. A few minutes later, all of them arrived. Out of great
embarrassment, one of the young people immediately recognized that the well-dressed
female was his wife. However, his wife didn't know how to ride a donkey and had never
traveled in this wild part of the neighborhood before.

How could she travel to this strange land alone? He wondered, feeling annoyed and
humiliated. He severely reprimanded her for her misbehavior. It got weird.

Instead of talking back, the female was totally silent, which aggravated him even more.
He was infuriated, raised his right palm, and attempted to slap her. She cringed, jumped
down the donkey, and suddenly, she transformed herself into a fox spirit.

Holding a whip and pointing at that irate man, she sneered, with contempt and distaste,
"What a bunch of hypocrites! You vigorously chase after and randomly pick up an unknown
young female. But you couldn't tolerate your own wife having a casual conversation with
any males. Is that what you had learned from books? You don't even know fairness and
equality. What kind of phonies are you?" After this invective, she vanished. Amazed and
ashamed, they were in a voiceless slumber.
08
RESCUE A DEVIL

On the way returning to his barracks, a courageous major detected a man. Holding a
dagger on one hand, he used the other hand to press an attractive woman against a huge
flat rock, intending to stab her heart. With great despair and tears all over her face, this
eloquent lady cried and begged for mercy. Without any hesitation, the dauntless officer
indignantly dashed forward and jumped on the man. They vigorously tussled to the ground
and fought each other. At this melee, the graceful victim, unexpectedly turned herself into a
sudden gust of stinky black wind, swirled away, disappeared in a split of second.

"Oh! Holy smokes! You ruin my plan," The man, pushing him aside and hopelessly glaring
at the sky, bellowed, with profound dejection, "Young man. You made a big mistake. She is
not a human being, at all. As a female devil, she can transform herself into any kinds of
human appearance.
For maintaining her evil strength, she has sucked up hundreds of
innocent persons' energy and exterminated them all. I had laboriously stalked her for years,
waiting for this opportunity to corner and destroy her once for all. Your foolhardy
interference saved a devil." Constantly shaking his head and sighing in disbelief, he
sheathed his dagger and sadly departed.

Without the comprehension of the big picture, a hasty action, which is out of kindness
and braveness, will have a negative impact on a heroic deed, inadvertently preserve the
wicked and cause numerous tragedies in the future. To wrongfully spare one demon is to
sacrifice
many
innocent
lives
down
the
road.
A
person
who
always
lives
in
the
circumstances of making tough decisions and by thoroughly studying and meticulously
weighing on the short-term inconveniences against long-term gains, one can make an
informed decision and react accordingly.
09
AN INTRIGUING OFFICIAL

In traditional Chinese society, government officials were highly respected. People
believed that they belonged to the stars in the sky. They were believed to have descended
down to earth to govern the crowd. As the outcome of their divine status, all the evil spirits
and otherworldly creatures dared not to approach them. On the other hand, one would
wonder about how would an otherworldly creature treat an intriguing official?

On an official capacity, Mr. Chan, a government administrator, was sent to Taiwan.
After days of travel by boat, he arrived and checked in a state-operated hotel. One night, he
noticed a lovely young lady glancing at him from the top of a tall wall. Comprehending that
she was a female-devil, he was offended. How could a spirit dare to appear and even glare
at him, a government official? With annoyance and indignation, he looked at and scolded
her severely. She vanished. At midnight, a piece of shingle mysteriously flew in and landed
at his pillow, it missed his head by a few inches.

Frightened, he was awakened, with sweat all over his body, furiously complaining, "How
dare of you rude and low-born devil! Don't you have any common courtesies toward a
government official, a messenger from the Almighty? I am blessed and everyone, from
heaven to hell, must respect me."

"Big deal," A loud and scornful voice interrupted from outside of the windows, "You are a
blessed person, indeed. I was admonished tonight for my prior misdeed and felt remorseful
still. However, I have accidentally observed and noticed that you, in your dream, intrigue to
frame the hotel manager and force his beautiful wife to become one of your concubines.
Your evil-thought degrades your status and creates a hiatus of opportunity for me to get
even with you. The Almighty wouldn't blame me for greeting you, an intriguing official, with
a piece of shingle of warning." Mr. Chan was greatly embarrassed and hastily departed
from the hotel before dawn.

This goes to say that having a name must be matched up with deed. A person is
measured by his behavior, not by his rank. A virtuous person will be respected and an
intriguing official be disrespected by all otherworldly creatures.
10
FROM BIZARRE TO GROTESQUE

In summertime, Mr. Chau visited his friend. They cordially chatted in the study room. At
night, Mr. Chau intended to sleep there.

 

"No, I'm afraid you can't," His friend courteously declined and apologetically revealed, "This
room is possessed."

Disbelieving in spirits, ghosts, and all otherworldly creatures, the visitor was fascinated.
He insisted upon it and was allowed to stay for the night. At midnight, when he was reading
a book, a creature from another world, which was as thin as a piece of paper, meticulously
slipped through the tiny gap of the doors. It dropped to the ground and gradually expanded
itself, converting itself into a human form and eventually, becoming a beautiful young lady.
With a posture of total tranquility, Mr. Chau observed this eerie transformation and
remained unemotional. In a few minutes, maliciously staring at him, this lady grew irritated.
She suddenly turned herself into a ferocious spirit, with long roguish hair and an elongated
tongue. Some blood was dripping from one corner of her mouth. She transferred herself
into a hanged ghost.

"Well! Over all, it is not bad. However, your hair is a little bit too disorganized and your
tongue rather in disproportion with the rest of your body," With great curiosity and
seriousness, Mr. Chau beamed a profound smile and remarked. "Over all, it's presentable if
you can correct those few minor flaws."

Insulted and aggravated, the ghost suddenly snatched and detached her head from
the neck. With impatience, she menacingly placed it on the desk. Obviously amused and
unusually calm, Mr. Chau couldn't withhold his emotion any longer.

With embarrassment, he giggled and criticized, "Well, just look at yourself, a headless
creature! Without it, your appearance is deteriorated from bizarre to grotesque. It became
pathetic to view your torso. How can you expect to frighten any human beings?"

Out of tricks, the ghost was outmaneuvered and in total defeat. With frustration, she
moaned and vanished into darkness. Mr. Chau yawned and went to sleep. A few hours
later, the otherworldly creature returned.

Before
she
could
thoroughly squeeze herself
through
the doors,
disturbed by this
commotion, Mr. Chau awakened, angrily spitted at this unwelcome visitor and reprimanded,
"Give me a break. You are a drag!"

Humiliated, the ghost nervously fled. She quietly relocated herself elsewhere and never
appeared in this room again.

The unafraid is the bravest. When a person fears something, his energy becomes
debilitated and he vulnerable. Any evil spirit that detects this deterioration could explore his
weak spot; violate and molest him.
11
ILL-INTENTION

A
monk,
who
knew
about
dark
magic,
called
on
a
wealthy
merchant.
In
a
demonstration, he made a pig out of ordinary mud and cast a spell upon it. The mud pig
could gradually move its limbs and, after a while, became alive. The host was deeply
impressed and instructed the kitchen to barbecue it. All of his guests were invited to taste
this unusual animal, whose meat was not as tender as ordinary one. After the meal,
everyone felt obnoxious and threw up mud. The monk apologized for this prank.

One well-dressed guest privately inquired, "According to an old book, there is a spell. If we
cast it on a piece of shingle, we can use this shingle to draw a door on any wall and it
becomes a real door. In that way, one can easily sneak into a lady's bedroom without
detection. Can you do that?"

"Certainly," Beaming a trace of contempt mixed with disbelief, the monk smirked and
acknowledged, "It is very easy."
He walked to the backyard garden, picked up a small shingle. He stared at it, murmured
some incantation for a moment and ceremoniously handed it over to the ill-minded guest.
"This is the magic shingle. You can have it," He politely explained. "Here is a word of
warning. You must keep in total silence on your way entering and staying in the wall.
Otherwise, the magic will not work."

With amazement and excitement, the guest expressed his deep appreciation. After
making a lame excuse, he quietly left the party. With exhilaration brims on the edge of
delirium, he searched and located the wall which belonged to an attractive girl's bedroom.
He had an eye on her for months. It's time to test this magic shingle. As the monk promised,
this person successfully walked into the bedroom. Under pitch-darkness, he thankfully
slept with her and dared not to utter a noise. At daybreak, he, with caution, woke up and
discovered that girl was actually his own wife.

How come? He was mystified, felt confused, but, couldn't reveal it to her.

At this awkward moment, the monk called on and lectured him, "The world is in harmony.
Good deed will be rewarded and misbehavior punished. Your action will always have
consequences. Please accept my sincere apology for last night's practical joke. Your
ill-intention was justly documented by the Almighty. Although in this comical occurrence,
the outcome was innocuous. Your future will still be impaired. Be very careful. Don't ever try
to deprive other's reputations in order to satisfy your own carnal desire."

This person tried many years and couldn't pass the government exams. He ended up
as a tutor, and belonged to the lowest caste of the educated, with meager salaries and a
miserable future, periodically seeking employments from village to village for the rest of his
life.
12
INVECTIVE WON'T HELP

Working as a tutor in his advanced age, Mr. Han was very knowledgeable but rather
short-tempered. All villagers respected him. One day, he had a cold and rested in bed. He
soon fell into deep sleep. In his dream, he saw a ghost standing in front of him. With a
straight face, this otherworldly creature solemnly announced that he was dispatched here
by the ghost-master of the underworld to fetch Mr. Han's soul. Reckoning his age, Mr. Han
made no complaint and quietly followed the ghost. They flew hours to an unfamiliar region
and entered a grandiose building. A clerk ghost was verifying the identity of all the newly
arrived souls. With chagrin, he noticed the messenger-ghost made a huge blunder and
picked up the wrong soul. Mr. Han's life was still viable for a few more years. Obviously
embarrassed, the clerk ghost sincerely apologized, instructed two guard-ghosts to give the
absent-minded
messenger-ghost
twenty
spanks,
and
dispatched
another
messenger-ghost to escort the old tutor back to earth.

Not a sociable person who could overlook such an error with tranquility, Mr. Han was irate
and felt profoundly offended. On the top of his bass tone, he vigorously raved, in mockery,
"What's this all about? A tasteless joke? Are you an idiot or what? You must be kidding me
by dispatching this lousy, small-brained ghost to fetch precious souls. If you didn't double
check,
how
many
innocent
souls
would
suffer
untimely
death
by
this
ghost's
incompetence?"