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Overview
A constable named Dung meets a red-hatted stranger dressed in the same profession’s clothing near Kaiutschou. The stranger identifies himself as a chief constable of the Nether World, subordinate to the Lord of the Great Mountain, and proposes a bond of brotherhood. He enjoys the smell of tobacco and later the odour of food and wine rather than physically consuming them. His explanation presents this as a difference between spirits and humans within the story.
He has come for Wang, an official accused by a dead man of betraying a confidence and bringing about his execution. The spirit describes a jurisdictional procedure: he must report to the city god, who issues a summons and sends a local spirit constable to seize the soul before handing it over. Wang dies shortly afterwards. A further report from a woman who has visited the underworld during unconsciousness corroborates his imprisonment, while Wang’s widow recounts the original betrayal. The tale thus distinguishes the officer’s mission from these later accounts of what happened.
Before leaving, the visitor predicts that Dung will travel to Taianfu in two years. When this occurs, an innkeeper recognizes Dung from the spirit’s prior dream-instructions and receives him generously. The constable then appears beside Dung’s bed without opening the door and visits on successive nights. He reports Wang’s sentence to rebirth as an animal and promises to collect Dung at seventy-eight, securing him an underworld post so they can remain together. The narrative ends with that promise and the visitor’s disappearance; it does not show Dung reaching that age or taking office. The source note calls the tale modern in origin, relative to this1921 collection.
Origins & earliest records
Chinese tales mediated by Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens
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.
- 01
The Chinese Fairy Book
The Constable, pp.168–174; 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
Richard Wilhelm/Frederick H. Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book (Stokes1921)
Ghost Stories. The Constable, pp.168–174
Complete tale including ending/source note read in wilhelm-L.txt and29939.html. Religious offices and reported narrative identities distinguished; no uninspected original-language version claimed.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translated taleWilhelm/Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book, The Constable, pp.168–174Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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