法苑珠林 75.49

75.49

In the Jin dynasty, Li Zhongwen, the Grand Administrator of Wudu, lost his daughter in the commandery when she was eighteen. She was temporarily buried north of the commandery seat. Zhang Shizhi succeeded him as administrator. Shizhi had a son styled Zichang, aged twenty, who served as an attendant in the stables. He dreamed of a girl aged seventeen or eighteen, of extraordinary beauty, who identified herself as the daughter of the former administrator: 'Unfortunate to die young, I am now destined to be revived. My heart loves you, which is why I have come to join you.' After five or six such nights, she suddenly appeared in broad daylight, her clothes bearing an exquisite fragrance. They became husband and wife and slept together; the garments were stained, just as with a virgin. Later, Zhongwen sent a maidservant to inspect his daughter's grave. Passing by Shizhi's residence, the maid entered the stables and saw one of the girl's shoes under Zichang's bed. Picking it up, she wept and cried out: 'The tomb has been ransacked!' She took the shoe back and showed it to Zhongwen. Shocked, Zhongwen sent word to Shizhi: 'How did your son come by my deceased daughter's shoe?' Shizhi summoned and questioned his son, who related the whole story from start to finish. Both Li and Zhang thought it strange. When they opened the coffin to inspect it, the girl's body had already grown flesh, and her countenance was as it had been in life; her right foot wore a shoe, but the left foot had none. From then on, she died completely, her flesh rotted, and she could not revive. What words could express the myriad regrets in their hearts? Weeping and shedding tears, they parted.