Thirteen poems by Chinese ghosts

Chapters 865 and 866 of the massive Complete Tang Poems contain poems ascribed to 鬼 (guǐ), spirits of the dead. I am of course interested in reading poetry by ghosts—who wouldn’t be?—so I picked a baker’s dozen at random to translate, based on attributions that looked interesting. For bonus folkloric goodness, most of them have editorial headnotes with context, though I had to snaffle those from an alternate source as my otherwise cleaner base text (linked above) omits them.

The order below is random because, well, picked at random. Usually I silently transcribe the author’s name, but since this time I had to translate many ascriptions (作者), I include those with the originals. Texts are revised from rougher drafts posted here.

I honestly do not have the background to do some of these justice, but I translated them anyway because that’s how to get the experience—and besides, poems by ghosts. Including one “thrown at” a general by a suit of armor, and another written in blood in an official’s entrance hall. Srsly, people!

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Poem of Hidden Resentment, A Woman of Anyi Lane

In Upper Dou’an neighborhood was the Lu family’s house, which people commonly called Wicked House. Advanced Scholar Zang Xia rented lodgings there. While sleeping during the day, he had a sudden nightmare in which he saw a married woman in a green skirt and red sleeves with dainty carriage and graceful waist, like a flower in the mist, who cried many tears and said, “Hear this one’s lines of Hidden Resentment.” A long time later, he woke up.

I now divine above the gorge it’s sunny—
This autumn river, wind and waves are many.
Alone in Baling on a rainy night,
A slash in the gut, hearing Mulan’s song.

( In front of his tent, the martial duke saw an armored figure, who threw him a single sheet of paper and left. The martial duke took it and saw it was merely a four-couplet poem. Greatly displeased, he immediately dropped the paper into the fire to become ashes, knowing full well that it was by a ghost. )

A poem written on a wall in blood, folks. This stuff is the best.

Even so, that’s quite enough for one installment. There will be more, as I’ve started working through the rest of the collection in order. Plus there’s bunches of other interesting stuff in the last 100 chapters of CTP to sample, such as the nine! whole! chapters! of poems by women who aren’t royals, and a chapter of poems by specters (怪, who apparently are different from ghosts? —something to find out).

---L.

Index of Chinese translations