A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A soldier sheltering beside an abandoned temple sees a woman emerge in a dirty red gown, with a chalk-white face. He follows her into a village house, where she slips through a narrow opening in the door. There she tries to persuade a distressed young mother to die, but her child wakes and interrupts her first attempt. The soldier breaks in and saves her. The ghost disappears, leaving behind a cord that he takes away.

The ghost confronts him on his return to the temple. She explains that she has long sought a substitute so she can proceed to the underworld and enter the cycle of rebirth, and demands the cord back. When he refuses to let her endanger another person, her face darkens, her hair comes loose, her eyes become bloodshot and her tongue protrudes. She tries to seize him. During his defence he accidentally injures his own nose; drops of his blood drive her back, although she remains nearby abusing him until cockcrow, when she vanishes.

The rescued woman’s household later finds the soldier outside the village. The cord has become attached to his arm as a red ring of flesh, and the story ends with him riding away at dawn. The collection labels the account traditionally narrated. Its assertions about replacement victims, rebirth and the repelling power of blood belong to this historical ghost story; they are not explanations of actual suicidal distress. No successful replacement, final liberation or later return of the ghost is narrated.

Seeks a replacement before rebirthChanges from pale to dark-faced in angerVanishes at cockcrow
01

Origins & earliest records

Chinese tales mediated by Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and its attached source note read in the retained1921-edition transcription.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    The Chinese Fairy Book

    Richard Wilhelm, editor; Frederick H. Martens, translator · 1921

    The Ghost Who Was Foiled, pp.180–184; New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Complete historical translated tale

Richard Wilhelm/Frederick H. Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book (Stokes1921)

Ghost Stories. The Ghost Who Was Foiled, pp.180–184

Complete source ending/note read in wilhelm-LIII.txt and29939.html. No assumed fixed species anatomy, independently verified Chinese text, or additional ending.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated taleWilhelm/Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book, The Ghost Who Was Foiled, pp.180–184Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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