Mr. Tan

Mr. Tan, a scholar in the Han Dynasty, was single at forty. He often read the Book of Songs, which invariably stirred his feelings. At midnight one day a girl appeared before him. She was no more than fifteen or sixteen, her clothes were resplendent, and her beauty staggering. She asked him to marry her, saying, "I am different from other women. Please do not put any light close to me, but after three years you can do that." And they became husband and wife. Then a son was born. When the child was two years old, Tan was tempted by curiosity and looked at her one night by the light of a candle while she was asleep. What he saw was a woman with human flesh above the waist but only a skeleton below it. At this moment the woman woke up. "You have failed me," she said. "Otherwise, I would soon revive. Why couldn't you have waited for another year instead of exposing me to the light now?" Tan apologized for what he had done, tears running down his cheeks. "We cannot but part for ever," she said. "But I shall try to provide for my son. Come with me and I shall give you something in case you are too poor to support yourself and him." So Tan followed her as she entered a magnificent, sumptuously furnished house. There she gave him a gown decorated with pearls and said, "With this you will always live a decent life." Then she tore off a part of his sleeve as a keepsake and disappeared.

Later Mr. Tan went to the market with the gown, which was bought by someone for a Mr. Wang of Suiyang. Tan got a large sum of money for it. When Wang saw it, he recognized it, saying, "This used to be my daughter's gown. The man who sold it must be a grave-digger." On his order, Tan was seized and interrogated. Tan told his story in detail, but Wang found it hardly believable. He went to her grave to check and found it intact. When it was opened, part of Tan's sleeve was seen inside the coffin. Wang then had Tan's son brought to him and found the boy took after his daughter. Now that he believed Tan had told the truth, he sent for him, returned the gown to him, and made him a legitimate son-in-law. Later the old man recommended Tan's son to an important post in the court.