法苑珠林 32.53

32.53

In Qin times, in the south there were the Luomin people whose heads could fly. Their tribe had a sacrificial rite called the "Worm-Drop" (Chongluo); hence they took their name from it. In the Wu period, General Zhu Huan obtained a maidservant whose head would fly away every night after she fell asleep. It would exit and enter either through a dog-hole or through a skylight, using her ears as wings, and return just before dawn. This happened repeatedly. Those around her thought it strange. In the middle of the night, they shone a light to look, and there was only a body without a head; her torso was slightly cold, and her breathing barely connected. Thereupon, they covered it with a blanket. At dawn, when the head returned, it was obstructed by the blanket and could not settle; it fell to the ground two or three times, sighing and crying out in great distress, while her body's breathing became hurried, appearing as if about to die. They then removed the blanket; the head rose again and reattached to the neck, and after a short while she was calm and sound. Huan considered it an enormous monstrosity, and fearing it, dared not keep her, so he dismissed and sent her away. Later, upon investigating it carefully, he learned that it was a natural wonder. At that time, commanding generals on southern expeditions also frequently encountered them. There was also a case where someone covered [the body] with a bronze basin, and the head could not enter, so she died.