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by Yuan Mei |
| In the town of Yuanhua in Haichang County,
there lived a wealthy family whose habit it was to work on the lower floor
during the day, thus leaving the three bedrooms of the upper floor vacant.
One day, one of the women went to fetch some clothing from the upper floor
and discovered that the door to the stairwell was bolted from the inside.
Puzzled, she thought to herself, “Who could have bolted the door? Everyone is downstairs.” Finding a crack in the wallboards she peeked inside and saw a man sitting on the bed. She assumed he was a thief and promptly called for the rest of the family to come. The man, however, said in a loud voice, “I am moving in to live on this floor and my family will soon be here to join me. I will borrow your beds and tables but the rest of your possessions will be returned to you immediately.” He thereupon threw various boxes and miscellaneous items out the window onto the ground below. Not long after, the family heard a crowd of people milling about. They peeked though the wallboards and saw that the room was filled with people young and old. This crowd soon began clanging bowls and singing, “My lord, my kind host, you have guests who have come from afar but you have not provided even one glass of wine to welcome us.” In trepidation the family quickly prepared four tables with flagons of wine out in the courtyard, and all four tables were magically whisked upstairs. After the guests had feasted, they threw all the unwanted cutlery and china out the window. For a while after this there was no more obnoxious behavior. All the same, this wealthy family decided it best to hire a Daoist priest to perform an exorcism. But in the midst of their discussions, the people upstairs began to sing, “Daoist dogs, Daoist dogs! Which of them would dare to deal with us?” The next day a Daoist priest did come, but just as he was placing his exorcism paraphernalia on the altar, he appeared to be hit by something, He rushed out terrified and unsteady on his feet, his idols and instruments flying out behind him. After this event there was no peace from the top floor, day or night, so eventually the owners went to Jiangzi to seek the assistance of the Daoist high priest, Zhang, who ordered one of his followers, a Daoist cleric, to perform the exorcism. On hearing this news, the demons on the upper floor recommenced their singing: “High Priest, High Priest, your magic won’t work on us. Daoist cleric, Daoist cleric, it’s a waste of time for you to come.” Not long after this the cleric arrived, but suddenly, as if someone had grabbed him by the head, he was tossed to the ground, leaving his face bloodied and his clothes torn. The cleric said with considerable shame, “These demons have tremendous power. We will succeed in expurgating them only if we obtain the assistance of the Reverend Xie.” The Reverend Xie resided in a temple in Chang’an County and was promptly invited to perform the exorcism. He erected an altar and began his task. This time the demons had not recommenced their singing and so the wealthy family was hopeful of success. Suddenly a streak of read light appeared in the sky and with it an old white-haired man. This mysterious visitor went into the stairwell and called, “No need to be scared of this Daoist Xie. I can conquer his magic.” Xie sat at the front of the hall and began chanting his incantations, then threw a bowl onto the floor, where it ran along at a great speed. Several times it spun around the hall and then made as if to go up the stairs, but each time it failed. After a while the sound of bronze bells came from the upper floor, and with this the bowl immediately fell to the ground. No matter what he tried, Xie wasn’t able to get it spinning again. Startled, he said, “I’ve exhausted my powers. I can’t exorcise these specters.” He thereupon picked up his bowl and left. From the upper floor came the sounds of great rejoicing and after this victory the specters’ mischief reached unprecedented heights. And so it continued for half a year, until one midwinter night there was a huge snowstorm. A dozen or so hunters came to the house requesting shelter and received the hesitant reply that although rooms were available, the house was plagued by demons. One of the hunters replied, “I’ll bet they’re fox fairies. You now, hunting foxes is our specialty. Provide enough alcohol for us all to get drunk and we will repay you by driving those foxes out.” So the family supplied them with food and drink and the house remained brightly lit all night while the hunters reveled to their hearts’ content. When they were all thoroughly drunk, they loaded their rifles with gunpowder and fired into the air. Smoke and dust billowed and a huge commotion ensued that lasted though the night. The family was extremely anxious lest this cause the demons to heighten their mischief making, but instead everything was quiet and peaceful by the next morning. Several days passed and still not a sound was heard from the upper floor. The family decided to venture upstairs to investigate. They found the floor scattered with fur and all the windows flung wide open. The demons had gone. |
