Dark Tales is a series of Hong Kong television period supernatural dramas that originally aired on Jade from 18 March 1996 to 1 May 1998, consisting of two installments with 75 episodes. Based on Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling 's series of supernatural tales called Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio , Dark Tales is produced by TVB and stars a cast of mainly Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors.
61-408: Dark Tales I (聊齋) originally aired on Jade every weekday evening from 18 March to 5 May 1996, and is produced by Lau Sze-yu and Chou Ling-kang, consisting of 35 episodes. It features six independent stories, adapted from the first ten books of Pu's novel. Part I (流光情劫; lit. "Stealing Love Through Time") is adapted from the tale Mr. Lu's Daughter (魯公女). Part II (俠女田郎; lit. Heroine Tian)
122-730: A culture-bound syndrome found in southern China and Malaysia in particular. There is mention of the fox spirit in Chinese Chán Buddhism, when Linji Yixuan compares them to voices that speak of the Dharma , stating "the immature young monks, not understanding this, believe in these fox-spirits..." Fox spirits were thought to be able to disguise themselves as women. In this guise, they seduced young men who were scholars or merely intelligent to absorb "life essence through their semen". This allowed them to actually turn into humans, then huxian , and then, after 1,000 years, it would turn into
183-581: A nine-tailed fox god which was able to navigate through higher realms of tiān . A handful of Huli jing also appear in Wu Cheng'en's late 16th-century novel, the Journey to the West: The fox cult survived in northern China in the 20th century, but was suppressed during the anti-superstition Socialist Education Campaign . Gu (poison) Gu ( Chinese : 蛊 ) or jincan ( Chinese : 金蠶 )
244-482: A 系 "rope" tied to a 木 "tree". Groot suggests this meaning of gu , "seems to reveal to us a belief that such a soul, roaming restlessly about because of its corpse being mutilated, must be avenging itself on the living by settling in their intestines in the shape of the same maggots and grubs which gnaw away its decaying head." Unschuld provides historical perspective. As the legal measures of individual dynasties demonstrate, administrative officials viewed ku as
305-404: A 541 BCE story ( 昭公1 ) about a physician named He 和 "Harmony" from Qin explaining gu to the ruler of Jin . The marquis of [Jin] asked the help of a physician from [Qin], and the earl sent one [He] to see him, who said, "The disease cannot be cured, according to the saying that when women are approached, the chamber disease becomes like insanity. It is not caused by Spirits nor by food; it
366-515: A Tang Dynasty story, foxes could become humans by wearing a skull and worshipping the Big Dipper . They would try multiple skulls until they found one that fit without falling off. The Youyang Zazu made a connection between nine-tailed foxes and the divine: Among the arts of the Way, there is a specific doctrine of the celestial fox. [The doctrine] says that the celestial fox has nine tails and
427-403: A baby. It can devour humans. Whoever eats it will not be affected by malign forces." The commentary of Guo Pu notes this creature's meat will make a person immune to the effects of supernatural qi . A Tang dynasty account of Nanyue people describes gu miasma: The majority are diseased, and ku forms in their bloated bellies. There is a vulgar tradition of making ku from a concentration of
488-632: A container" ideograms that combine chong 蟲 or 虫 "wug" and min 皿 "jar; cup; dish; utensil". Early written forms of gu 蠱 range from (c. 14th–11th centuries BCE) Oracle bone script to (c. 3rd century BCE) Seal script characters. The Oracle characters had two or one 虫 "wug" elements inside a container, while the Seal characters had three. Shima's concordance of oracle bone inscriptions lists 23 occurrences of gu written with two wugs and 4 with one; many contexts are divinations about sickness. Marshall concludes, "The oracle-bone character of gu
549-644: A finger-ring, and eat old red silk and flowered silk, just as caterpillars eat leaves; hence, considered in the light of the present day, those insects are gold caterpillars. The Hanyu Da Zidian dictionary defines 9 gu 蠱 meanings, plus the rare reading ye 蠱 "bewitchingly pretty; seductive; coquettish" [ 妖艷 ]. The (early 4th century BCE) Zuozhuan commentary to the (c. 6th–5th centuries BCE) Chunqiu history provides an ancient example of 蠱 's polysemy . It records four gu meanings – 2.5 "grain which (molders and) flies away", 2.6 "insanity", 2.7 "delusion and disorder", and 2.9 "same [hexagram] name" – in
610-492: A general, she was married forcibly to the cruel tyrant King Zhou of Shang . A nine-tailed fox spirit who served Nüwa , whom King Zhou had offended, entered into and possessed her body, expelling the true Daji's soul. The spirit, as Daji, and her new husband schemed cruelly and invented many devices of torture, such as forcing righteous officials to hug red-hot metal pillars. Because of such cruelties, many people, including King Zhou's own former generals, revolted and fought against
671-615: A golden color. It serves in the Palace of the Sun and Moon and has its own fu (talisman) and a jiao ritual. It can transcend yin and yang. The fox spirits encountered in tales and legends are usually females and appear as young, beautiful women. One of the most infamous fox spirits in Chinese mythology was Daji , who is portrayed in the Ming Dynasty shenmo novel Fengshen Yanyi . A beautiful daughter of
SECTION 10
#1733086137447732-446: A good effect. Some think it is 'the efficacious herb', mentioned in the Cheu li . This ranghe 蘘荷 " myoga ginger" is a renowned antidote to gu poisoning, see below. The Shanhaijing ( 山海经 ) says the meat of a mythical creature on Mount Greenmound prevents miasmic gu poisoning, "There is an animal on this mountain that looks like a fox, but has nine tails. It makes a noise like
793-424: A gruesome illustration. The Zhouli commentary of Zheng Xuan (cf. 2.2) notes, "Those who dare to poison people with ku or teach others to do it will be publicly executed". Eberhard says gu , "was also the soul of a dead person whose head had been pitted on a pole. This, too, fits later reports, in so far as the souls of ku victims often are mentioned as servants of the master of ku , if not ku itself served
854-404: A reality, as late as the nineteenth century. The primary host was considered a criminal; a person guilty of the despicable act of preparing and administering ku poison was executed, occasionally with his entire family, in a gruesome manner. In addition to the obvious desire to punish severely criminal practices that could result in the death of the victim, it is possible that Confucian distaste for
915-520: A thousand miles' distance; they can poison men by sorcery, or possess and bewilder them, so that they lose their memory and knowledge; and when a fox is thousand years old, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox. In Duìsúpiān (對俗篇) of the Baopuzi , it is written: Foxes and dholes both can be eight hundred years of age, and when they are five hundred years old, they become enlightened and are able to take up human form. 狐貍、豺狼皆壽八百歲，滿五百歲，則善變為人形。 In
976-445: A total of 300 persons who were involved in the case were executed"; specifically "their heads were all exposed on stakes" (cf. 2.3). This history claims wu 巫 "shamans" from Yue conducted the gu magic, which Eberhard notes, "seems to have consisted, at least in part, of magic human figures buried under the road which the emperor, the intended victim, was supposed to take". Accusations of practicing wugu -magic were central to
1037-497: Is Qingqiu Mountain, where much jade can be found on its south slope and green cinnabar on its north. There is a beast here whose form resembles a fox with nine tails. It makes a sound like a baby and is a man-eater. Whoever eats it will be protected against insect-poison ( gu ). In one ancient myth, Yu the Great encountered a white nine-tailed fox, which he interpreted as an auspicious sign that he would marry Nüjiao. In Han iconography,
1098-442: Is adapted from the tale Chin-se (錦瑟). Part VII (魅影靈狐; lit. "Phantom Fox Spirit ") is adapted from the tale Lian Siang (蓮香). Part VIII (斬妖神劍; lit. "Demon Sword") is adapted from the tale Lady Hua (花姑子). Huli jing Huli jing ( Chinese : 狐狸精 ) are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting , who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore,
1159-501: Is adapted from the tale Tian Chi-lang (田七郎). Part III (古劍幽靈; lit. "Ancient Ghost Sword") is adapted from the tale Chin Sheng-se (金生色). Part IV (狐仙報恩; lit. " Fox Spirit Repays Debt") is adapted from the tale Siao Chui (小翠). Part V (翁婿鬥法; lit. "Fight of the In-Laws") is adapted from the tale Chang-ting (長亭). Part VI (秋月還陽; lit. "Chiu-yue Returns from Death")
1220-445: Is adapted from the tale Wu Chiu-yue (伍秋月). Dark Tales II (聊齋貳) originally aired on Jade every weekday evening from 9 March to 1 May 1998, and is produced by Lau Sze-yu, consisting of 40 episodes. It features eight independent stories, adapted from the first fifteen books of Pu's novel. Part I (陸判奇談; lit. "Interesting Tales of Judge Lu") is adapted from the tale Judge Lu (陸判). Part II (綠野飛仙; lit. "Flying Immortal in
1281-561: Is exemplified in the Modern Standard Chinese words wugu 巫蠱 (with "shaman") "sorcery; art of casting spells" and gudu 蠱毒 (with "poison") "a venomous poison (used in Traditional Chinese medicine ); enchant and injure; cast a harmful spell over". Gu -sorcery allegedly resulted in a debilitating psychological condition, often involving hallucinations. The Zuozhuan ( 宣公8 ) records that in 601 BCE, Xu Ke 胥克 of Jin
SECTION 20
#17330861374471342-514: Is extremely difficult to get rid of it, for even water, fire, weapons or swords can do it no harm. Usually the owner for this purpose puts some gold or silver into a basket, places the caterpillar also therein, and throws the basket away in a corner of the street, where someone may pick it up and take it with him. He is then said to have given his gold caterpillar in marriage. The Bencao Gangmu quotes Cai Dao 蔡絛 's (12th century) Tieweishan congtan 鐵圍山叢談 that "gold caterpillars first existed" in
1403-564: Is presented in works such as the Lunheng by Wang Chong (27–91). As these traditions developed, the fox's capacity for transformation was shaped. Describing the transformation and other features of the fox, Guo Pu (276–324) made the following comment: When a fox is fifty years old, it can transform itself into a woman; when a hundred years old, it becomes a beautiful female, or a spirit medium, or an adult male who has sexual intercourse with women. Such beings are able to know things at more than
1464-401: Is said to inflict death from a distance with excruciating slowness." Groot quotes a Song dynasty description. a gold caterpillar is a caterpillar with a gold colour, which is fed with silk from Shuh (Szĕ-ch‘wen). Its ordure, put in food or drink, poisons those who take it, causing certain death. It can draw towards a man the possessions of such victims, and thus make him enormously rich. It
1525-442: Is that delusion which has destroyed the mind. Your good minister will [also] die; it is not the will of Heaven to preserve him." The marquis said, "May women (then) not be approached?" The physician replied, "Intercourse with them must be regulated." ... [Zhao Meng] (further) asked what he meant by 'insanity'; and (the physician) replied, "I mean that which is produced by the delusion and disorder of excessive sensual indulgence. Look at
1586-594: Is used to refer to the evil power of the ancestors to cause illness in the living." Jincan 金蠶 "gold silkworm/caterpillar" is a gu synonym first recorded in the Tang dynasty . Li Xian 's (7th century) commentary to the Hou Han Shu uses jincan as the name of a funerary decoration cast from gold, and the (9th century) author Su E 蘇鶚 describes it as a legendary golden-color caterpillar from Kashmir. Eberhard (cf. 153) connects gu , jincan , and other love charms with
1647-631: The Duanwu Festival that occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese calendar , which is "the theoretical apogee of summer heat". Among the Miao on the fifth of the fifth month poisonous animals were put into a pot and allowed to devour each other, and they were called 'gold-silkworms'. The more people were killed by the ku , the richer the ku s owner became. In our time the normal term for ku has been 'gold-silkworm'. These animals can make gold. It
1708-607: The Shang dynasty . Finally, King Wen of Zhou , one of the vassals of Shang, founded a new dynasty named after his country. The fox spirit in Daji's body was later driven out by Jiang Ziya , the first Prime Minister of the Zhou dynasty , and her spirit condemned by Nüwa herself for excessive cruelty. Popular fox worship during the Tang dynasty has been mentioned in a text entitled Hu Shen (Fox gods): Since
1769-452: The Shu region (present-day Sichuan ), and "only in recent times did they find their way into" Hubei , Hunan , Fujian , Guangdong , and Guanxi, Hsinchu . Groot also quotes the Tang dynasty pharmacologist Chen Cangqi (713–741 CE) that: ashes of old flowered silk are a cure for poison of ku of insects or reptiles which eat such silk. His commentator adds, that those insects are coiled up like
1830-532: The fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, characteristics, and shapes, including huxian ( Chinese : 狐仙 ; lit. 'fox immortal'), hushen ( 狐神 ; 'fox god'), husheng ( 狐聖 ; 'fox saint'), huwang ( 狐王 ; 'fox king'), huyao ( 狐妖 ; 'fox demon'), huzu ( 狐族 ; 'fox clan'), and jiuweihu ( 九尾狐 ; ' nine-tailed fox '). Fox spirits and nine-tailed foxes appear frequently in Chinese folklore, literature, and mythology. Depending on
1891-555: The lexical gap for the linguistically widespread "class of miscellaneous animals including insects, spiders, and small reptiles and amphibians". Contrast the Wug test for investigating language acquisition of plurals in English morphology . Note that "wug" will translate chong below. The Traditional Chinese character 蠱 and the Simplified 蛊 for gu "demonic poison" are "wugs inside
Dark Tales - Misplaced Pages Continue
1952-430: The phonetic loan character kang 康 "healthy". The (c. 543 CE) Yupian dictionary defines gu as "longstanding grain that transforms into flying insects". Groot connects this gu "grain pest" meaning with 2.1 "internal parasites" and 2.7 "debauchery". Thus the term ku also included the use of philtre-maggots by women desirous of exciting the lusts of men and attracting them into debauchery. And, evidently, ku
2013-587: The (121 CE) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary, cf. 2.3 below. It defines gu 蠱 as 腹中蟲也 , literally "stomach middle wug" "insects within the stomach". However, Duan Yucai 's (1815 CE) commentary construes this definition as "afflicted by abdominal wugs"; and explains that instead of the usual readings zhōng 中 "middle; center; interior" and chóng 蟲 "wug", both terms should be read in entering tone , namely zhòng 中 "hit (a target); be hit by" and zhòng 蟲 "wug bites". The second gu meaning "anciently recorded type of artificially cultured poisonous wug" names
2074-421: The 91 BCE ( Wugu zhi huo 巫蠱之禍 ) attempted coup against crown prince Liu Ju by Jiang Chong 江充 and Su Wen 蘇文 . The Hanshu claims that, "no less than nine long months of bloody terrorism, ending in a tremendous slaughter, cost some tens of thousands their lives!" Traditional Chinese law strictly prohibited practicing gu -sorcery. For instance, during the reign of Tang Empress Wu Zetian , Schafer says,
2135-568: The Ming and Qing dynasties, disruptions in the domestic environment could be attributed to the mischief of fox spirits, which could throw or tear apart objects in a manner similar to a poltergeist. "Hauntings" by foxes were often regarded as both commonplace and essentially harmless, with one seventeenth-century author commenting that "Out of every ten houses in the capital, six or seven have fox demons, but they do no harm and people are used to them". Typically, fox spirits were seen as dangerous, but some of
2196-459: The Standard Chinese words yaogu 妖蠱 "bewitch by seductive charms", gumei 蠱媚 "bewitch/charm by sensual appeal", and guhuo 蠱惑 "confuse by magic; enchant; seduce into wrongdoing". " Ku -poisoning was also associated with demoniac sexual appetite – an idea traceable back to Chou times", says Schafer, "This notion evidently had its origins in stories of ambiguous love potions prepared by
2257-825: The Supernatural" Groot says, In P'o-yang (in the north of the present Kiangsi pr.) one Chao Shen kept canine ku . Once, when he was called on by Ch'en Ch'en, six or seven big yellow dogs rushed out at this man, all at once barking at him. And when my paternal uncle, on coming home, had a meal with Chao Sheu's wife, he spit blood, and was saved from death in the nick of time by a drink prepared from minced stalks of an orange-tree. Ku contains spectral beings or spectres, which change their spectral shapes into those of beings of various kinds, such as dogs or swine, insects or snakes, their victims thus never being able to know what are their real forms. When they are put into operation against people, those whom they hit or touch all perish. Tsiang Shi,
2318-519: The Wilderness") is adapted from the tale Ying (阿英). Part III (鬼母痴兒; lit. "Ghostly Mother, Devoted Son") is adapted from the tale Siang-chun (湘裙). Part IV (陰差陽錯; lit. "Accidental Mistake") is adapted from the tale Wang Lu-lang (王六郎). Part V (花醉紅塵; lit. "World of Drunk Flowers") is adapted from the tale Madam Hsin Shi-si (辛十四娘). Part VI (隔世追情; lit. "Chasing Love Across Time")
2379-723: The aboriginal women of the south". The Zuozhuan ( 莊公28 ) uses gu in a story that in the 7th century BCE, Ziyuan 子元 , the chief minister of Chu , "wished to seduce the widow" of his brother King Wen of Zhou . The Mozi ( 非儒下 ) uses gu to criticize Confucius , who "dresses elaborately and puts on adornments to mislead the people." The Erya (1B/49, cf. 2.5 above) defines gu 蠱 , chan 諂 "doubt; flatter", and er 貳 "double-hearted; doubtful" as yi 疑 "doubt; suspect; fear; hesitate". Guo Pu 's commentary suggests this refers to gu meaning "deceive; seduce". Many later accounts specify women as gu -magic practitioners. Eberhard explains, We know that among many aborigines of
2440-513: The accumulation of material goods, and above all for the resulting social mobility, contributed to this attitude. Indeed, the penalties of the use of ku poison appear to have been more severe than those for other forms of murder. The fourth meaning of "evil heat and noxious qi that harms humans" refers to allegedly sickness-causing emanations of tropical miasma . "There was also an ancient belief that ku diseases were induced by some sort of noxious mist or exhalation", writes Schafer, "just as it
2501-484: The beginning of the Tang, many commoners have worshiped fox spirits. They make offerings in their bedchambers to beg for their favor. The foxes share people's food and drink. They do not serve a single master. At the time there was a figure of speech saying, "Where there is no fox demon, no village can be established." In the Song dynasty , fox spirit cults, such as those dedicated to Daji , became outlawed, but their suppression
Dark Tales - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-544: The character; – it is formed by the characters for a vessel and for insects ( 蠱 = 皿 and 蟲 ). It is also used of grain which (molders and) flies away. In the [ Yijing ], (the symbols of) a woman deluding a young man, (of) wind throwing down (the trees of) a mountain, go by the same name ( 蠱 ; ☶ under ☴): all these point to the same signification." [Zhao Meng] pronounced him a good physician, gave him large gifts, and sent him back to [Qin]. The "poisoning from abdominal wugs" or "abdominal parasites" meaning 2.1 first appears in
2623-506: The complex poison. Gu was used in black magic practices such as manipulating sexual partners, creating malignant diseases, and causing death. According to Chinese folklore , a gu spirit could transform into various animals, typically a worm, caterpillar, snake, frog, dog, or pig. Circa 14th-century BCE Shang dynasty oracle inscriptions recorded the name gu , while 7th-century CE Tang dynasty texts first used jincan "gold silkworm". The term gu 蠱 , says Loewe, "can be traced from
2684-404: The court of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE), which Schafer calls "notorious dramas of love and death". This early Chinese history records that in 130 BCE, a daughter of Empress Chen Jiao (who was unable to bear a son) was accused of practicing wugu and maigu 埋蠱 "bury a witchcraft charm [under a victim's path or dwelling]" (cf. voodoo doll ). The "empress was dismissed from her position and
2745-591: The hundred kinds of crawling creatures, for the purpose of poisoning men. But probably it is the poisonous crawlers of that hot and humid land which produce it – not just the cruel and baleful nature of the householders beyond the mountain passes. The "wug pest that eats grain" or "grain that transforms into wugs" meaning 2.5 is seen above in the Zuozhuan explanation of gu as "grain which (molders and) flies away". The (c. 3rd century BCE) Erya dictionary (6/21) defines gu 蠱 as pests in kang 糠 "chaff", written with
2806-473: The husband of my wife's sister, had a hired work-man in employ, who fell sick and passed blood. The physician opined that he was stricken by ku , and secretly, without informing him of it, strewed some jang-ho root under his sleeping-mat. The patient then madly exclaimed: "The ku which devours me is ceasing to spread"; and then he cried: "It vanishes little by little." The present generations often make use of jang-ho root to conquer ku , and now and then it has
2867-511: The master." The Shuowen Jiezi (cf. 2.1 above) also defines gu as "the spirits of convicted criminals whose heads had been exposed on stakes." This specialized torture term niejie 臬磔 combines nie "target" (which pictures a person's 自 "nose" on a 木 "tree; wooden stand") and jie 磔 "dismemberment". Compare the character for xian 縣 "county; district" that originated as a "place where dismembered criminals were publicly displayed" pictograph of an upside-down 首 "head" hanging on
2928-592: The nine-tailed fox is sometimes depicted at Mount Kunlun and along with Xi Wangmu in her role as the goddess of immortality. According to the first-century Baihutong ( Debates in the White Tiger Hall ), the fox's nine tails symbolize abundant progeny. During the Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD; 25–220 AD), the development of ideas about interspecies transformation had taken place in Chinese culture. The idea that non-human creatures with advancing age could assume human form
2989-579: The north where the inhabitants consume the Five Grains , wear silk and worship foxes that have four legs and nine tails. In chapter 14 of the Shanhaijing , Guo Pu , a scholar of the Eastern Jin dynasty , had commented that the "nine-tailed fox was an auspicious omen that appeared during times of peace." However, in chapter 1, another aspect of the nine-tailed fox is described: Three hundred li farther east
3050-517: The oracle bones until modern times, and has acquired a large number of meanings or connotations". Before discussing gu , it is necessary to introduce the related word chong 蟲 "wug". Chong 蟲 or 虫 (originally a "snake; worm" pictogram ) "insect; bug; pest; worm; spider; amphibian; reptile; dragon; etc." denotes a Chinese folk taxonomy lacking an adequate English translation equivalent. Carr proposes translating chong as " wug " – Brown's portmanteau word (from worm + bug ) bridging
3111-407: The possession of ku poison, like the casting of horoscopes, was cause for official suspicion and action: At that time many tyrannical office holders would orders robbers to bury ku or to leave prophecies in a man's household by night. Then, after the passage of a month, they would secretly confiscate it. This gu meaning 2.7 of "seduce; bewitch; attract; confuse; mislead; bewilder" is evident in
SECTION 50
#17330861374473172-522: The stories in the Qing dynasty book Liaozhai Zhiyi by Pu Songling are love stories between a fox appearing as a beautiful girl and a young human male. In the fantasy novel The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt , a huli jing teaches a young girl magic, enabling her to conjure armies with her spells. Belief in fox spirits has also been implicated as an explanatory factor in the incidence of attacks of koro ,
3233-644: The story, the fox spirit's presence may be a good or a bad omen. The motif of nine-tailed foxes from Chinese culture was eventually transmitted and introduced to Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures. The nine-tailed fox occurs in the Shanhaijing ( Classic of Mountains and Seas ), compiled from the Warring States period to the Western Han period (circa fourth to circa first century BC). The work states: 靑丘國在其北其人食五穀衣絲帛其狐四足九尾。 The Land of Blue Hills lies to
3294-401: The survivor of several venomous creatures enclosed in a container, and transformed into a type of demon or spirit. The Zhouli ritual text ( 秋官司寇 ) describes a Shushi 庶氏 official who, "was charged with the duty of exterminating poisonous ku , attacking this with spells and thus exorcising it, as also with the duty of attacking it with efficacious herbs; all persons able to fight ku he
3355-430: Was a venom -based poison associated with cultures of south China , particularly Nanyue . The traditional preparation of gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede , snake , scorpion ) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held
3416-686: Was also believed that certain airs and winds could generate worms". The Shiji ( 秦本紀 ) records that in 675 BCE, Duke De 德公 of Qin "suppressed ku at the commencement of the hottest summer-period by means of dogs. According to commentators, these animals were for the purpose butchered and affixed to the four gates of the capital." The Tang dynasty commentary of Zhang Shoujie 張守節 explains gu as "hot, poisonous, evil, noxious qi that harms people". Displaying gu dogs at city gates reflects meaning 2.3 above. Besides shapeshifting gu spirits usually appearing as wugs, classical texts record other animal forms. The (c. 350 CE) Soushenji "In Search of
3477-446: Was also used to destroy crops or food-stores, or, as the learned physician expressed it, to make the corn fly away, perhaps in the form of winged insects born therein; indeed, the character for ku is regularly used in literature to denote devastating grubs and insects, including internal parasites of the human body, which exercise a destructive influence like poison. Gu meaning 2.6 "sorcery that harms humans" or "cast damaging spells"
3538-423: Was discharged from office because he had gu , "an illness which unsettled his mind". The Qing dynasty philologist Yu Yue 俞樾 etymologically connects this meaning of gu 蠱 with gu 痼 "chronic, protracted (illness)". Guji 蠱疾 "insanity; derangement; condition caused by excessive sexual activities" is a comparable word. The Hanshu provides details of wugu -sorcery scandals and dynastic rivalries in
3599-438: Was to employ according to their capacities." Zheng Xuan 's commentary explains dugu 毒蠱 "poisonous gu " as "wugs that cause sickness in people". Gu meaning 2.3 "ghost of a person whose severed head was impaled on a stake" refers to the severe Han dynasty " dismemberment (as tortuous capital punishment)" for criminals convicted of practicing gu -sorcery (see 2.6). Groot "Plate VI, Punishment of Cutting Asunder" provides
3660-426: Was typical for the gold-silkworm that people continued to feed this animal in the pot, that humans had to be sacrificed to it, that the animal kept the house clean and worked for its master like a brownie, but that it caused harm to its master if he did not provide proper sacrifices. "For centuries, the Miao, particularly Miao women," writes Schein, "have been feared for their mastery of the so-called gu poison, which
3721-638: Was unsuccessful. For example, in 1111, an imperial edict was issued for the destruction of many spirit shrines within Kaifeng , including those of Daji. On the eve of the Jurchen invasion, a fox went to the throne of Emperor Huizong of Song . This resulted in Huizong ordering the destruction of all fox temples in Kaifeng. The city was invaded the next day, and the dynasty fell after five months. In late imperial China, during
SECTION 60
#1733086137447#446553