法苑珠林 94.13

94.13

唐殿中侍醫孫迴璞。濟陰人也。至貞觀十三年。從車駕幸九成宮三善谷。與魏太師隣家。甞夜二更聞外有人喚孫侍醫聲。璞起出看。謂是太師之命。既出見兩人謂璞曰。官喚璞。曰我不能步行。即取璞馬乘之。隨二人行。乃覺天地如晝日光明。璞怪訝而不敢言。二人引璞出谷。歷朝堂東。又東北行六七里。至苜蓿谷遙見有兩人持韓鳳方行。語所引璞二人曰。汝等錯追。我所得者是。汝宜放彼人。即放璞。璞循路而還。了了不異平生行處既至家繫馬。見婢當戶眠。喚之不應。越度入戶。見其身。與婦並眠。欲就之而不得。但著南壁立大聲喚婦終不應。屋內極明。見壁角中有蜘蛛網中二蠅。一大一小。并見梁上所著藥物。無不分明。唯不得就床。自知是死。甚憂悶恨。不得共妻別。倚立南壁久之。微睡忽驚覺。覺身已臥床上。而屋中闇黑無所見。喚婦令起然火。而璞方大污流。起視蜘蛛網歷然不殊。見馬亦大污。鳳方是夜暴死。後至十七年。璞奉勅馳驛。往齊州療齊王祐疾。還至雒州東孝義驛。忽見一人。來問曰。君是孫迴璞不。璞曰是。君何問為。答曰。我是鬼耳。魏太師有文書追君為記室。因出文書示璞。璞視之則鄭國公魏徵署也。璞驚曰。鄭公不死。何為遣君送書。鬼曰。已死矣。今為太陽都錄大監。故令我召君迴璞引坐共食。鬼甚喜謝璞。璞請曰。我奉　勅使未還。鄭公不宜追我。還京奏事畢。然後聽命可乎。鬼許之。於是晝則同行。夜便同宿。遂至閿鄉。鬼辭曰。吾取過所度關待君。璞度關出西門見鬼已在門外。復同行至滋水。鬼又與璞別曰。待君奏事訖相見也。君可勿食葷辛。璞許諾。既奏事畢而訪鄭公已薨。校其薨日則孝義驛之前日也。璞自以必死。與家人訣別。而請僧行道。造像寫經。可六七日。夜夢前鬼來召。引璞上高山。山巔有大宮殿。既入見眾。君子迎謂曰。此人修福不得留之。可放去。即推璞墮山。於是驚寤。遂至今無恙矣迴。璞自為臨說。

During the Tang, Sun Huipu, Attendant Physician in the Palace Service, was a man of Jiyin. In the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan era (639 CE), he accompanied the imperial carriage to Sanshan Valley at the Jiucheng Palace, where he was a neighbour to Grand Preceptor Wei [Zheng]. Once, during the second watch of the night, he heard someone outside calling for Attendant Physician Sun. Huipu got up and went out to see, thinking it was an order from the Grand Preceptor. When he went out, he saw two men who said to him, "An official summons you." Huipu said, "I cannot walk on foot." He then took his horse and mounted it, following the two men. He then perceived that heaven and earth were as bright as broad daylight. Huipu felt strange and astonished, but dared not speak. The two men led Huipu out of the valley, past the east of the imperial court, and further northeast for six or seven li, arriving at Muxu Valley. In the distance, he saw two men escorting Han Fengfang as they walked along. They said to the two men leading Huipu, "You have summoned the wrong person! The one we have caught is the right one. You should release that man." They immediately released Huipu. Huipu followed the road back, finding it perfectly familiar and no different from where he usually went. When he arrived home and tied up the horse, he saw a maidservant sleeping against the doorway. He called her, but she did not answer. Stepping over her to enter the doorway, he saw his own body sleeping together with his wife. He wanted to go near it, but could not. He could only stand leaning against the south wall and call loudly to his wife, but she never answered. The inside of the room was extremely bright; he saw two flies caught in a spider's web in the corner of the wall, one large and one small, and he also saw the medicines placed upon the beam, all clearly distinct. He only could not go near the bed. Knowing himself to be dead, he was exceedingly distressed and regretful that he could not bid farewell to his wife. Standing leaning against the south wall for a long time, he dozed lightly and suddenly woke with a start. He found that his body was already lying on the bed, but the room was pitch black and nothing could be seen. He called his wife and bade her get up and light a lamp; Huipu was streaming with sweat. He got up and inspected the spider's web, and it was distinctly just as he had seen. He saw that the horse was also sweating profusely. Fengfang died suddenly that night. Later, in the seventeenth year (643 CE), Huipu received an imperial decree to ride post-horses to Qizhou to treat the illness of Prince You of Qi. On his return, when he reached the Xiaoyi Post Station east of Luozhou, he suddenly saw a man come and ask, "Are you Sun Huipu?" Huipu said, "I am. Why do you ask?" The man answered, "I am only a ghost. Grand Preceptor Wei has a document summoning you to serve as a secretarial court gentleman." He then produced the document to show Huipu. Huipu looked at it, and it bore the signature of Wei Zheng, Duke of Zheng State. Huipu was startled and said, "Duke Zheng is not dead; why has he sent you to deliver a letter?" The ghost said, "He is already dead. Now he is the Grand Controller of the Grand Solar Registry; therefore he ordered me to summon you." Huipu invited him to sit and share food with him. The ghost was very pleased and thanked Huipu. Huipu pleaded, "I am on an imperial mission and have not yet returned; Duke Zheng should not summon me. Let me return to the capital to report on my affairs, and after that I will obey the command. May I?" The ghost consented to it. Thereupon, by day they traveled together, and by night they lodged together, until they reached Wenshiang. The ghost took leave, saying, "I will obtain a transit pass to cross the pass and wait for you." When Huipu crossed the pass and exited through the west gate, he saw the ghost already outside the gate. They traveled together again to the Zishui River. The ghost parted with Huipu again, saying, "I will wait to see you after you have finished reporting on your affairs. You must not eat pungent roots or meat." Huipu promised. After he had finished reporting on his affairs, he inquired about Duke Zheng and found that he had already passed away. Reckoning the day of his demise, it was precisely the day before he met the ghost at the Xiaoyi Post Station. Huipu considered that he must certainly die, bade farewell to his family, and invited monks to practice the Way, make images, and copy scriptures. After about six or seven days, he dreamed at night that the former ghost came to summon him. The ghost led Huipu up a high mountain, on the peak of which was a great palace. After entering, he saw many noble gentlemen who came to meet him and said, "This man is cultivating merit; he must not be detained. He may be released." They immediately pushed Huipu down the mountain. Thereupon he awoke with a start, and has remained without illness to this day. Huipu recounted this himself to [Tang] Lin.