Original Text
Shen Linsheng said: an old friend of his was taking a nap one summer day, and while he was in a drowsy haze, he saw a woman lift the door curtain and enter. Her head was wrapped in white cloth, and she wore mourning garments, walking straight into the inner chamber. The old man guessed she might be a neighbor's wife visiting his own, but then thought, why would a woman in mourning clothes suddenly barge into someone else's home? While he was still suspicious and uneasy, the woman came out again. Looking closely, he saw she was about thirty years old, with a sallow, swollen face, knitted brows, and a terrifying expression. She paced back and forth without leaving, slowly drawing near his bed. The old man pretended to be asleep, secretly watching to see what she would do. Before long, the woman lifted her skirt and climbed onto the bed, pressing down on his belly as if she weighed several thousand pounds. Though his mind was clear, when he tried to raise his hand, it felt bound; when he moved his leg, it seemed paralyzed. He urgently tried to call for help, but could not produce a sound. The woman began to sniff his face with her mouth, from cheekbones to nose, eyebrows, and forehead, almost everywhere. The old man felt her mouth as cold as ice, with a chill that penetrated to his bones. In his distress, he thought of a plan: when she sniffed near his lower face, he would seize the chance to bite her. Soon, the woman indeed sniffed near his cheek, and the old man bit down hard on her cheekbone, sinking his teeth into the flesh. The woman, in pain, lifted herself, struggling and screaming. The old man refused to let go, biting even harder. He felt blood streaming down her cheek, soaking the edge of his pillow. As they struggled, he suddenly heard his wife's voice in the courtyard and urgently cried out that there was a ghost. As soon as he loosened his grip, the woman had already floated away. When his wife entered the room, she saw nothing and laughed, saying he had been talking nonsense in a nightmare. The old man recounted the strange event in detail and said there was blood as proof. They examined the bed together and saw that the pillow and mattress were soaked as if by a leaking roof, all drenched in blood. When the old man bent down to smell it, it was extremely foul, and he vomited heavily. Even several days later, the stench still lingered in his mouth.
Commentary
According to the interpretation of modern medicine, during sleep, the brain is in a dormant state. Deep sleep and light sleep continuously alternate. When the brain is in light sleep, a person dreams; during deep sleep, one is in an unconscious state, feeling as tranquil as if sinking in a lightless deep sea.
Under normal circumstances, people awaken from light sleep, but occasionally when roused from deep slumber, the brain's center for receiving information stirs awake while the motor center remains in slumber. At such times, one is awake yet cannot move, able only to blink and breathe, unable even to bite one's own tongue to force full wakefulness. In this half-dreaming, half-awake state, the human mind is prone to hallucinations, that is, nightmares. The occurrence of nightmares arises from both external physiological stimuli and internal psychological wounds. As for external causes, sleep paralysis is often brought on by a blanket covering the mouth and nose during sleep, or by pressing a hand against the chest. Since nightmares produce hallucinations, they are easily taken as truth. Yet to form a story, two conditions must be met: first, there must be a process and plot; second, there must be solid evidence and material proof. In "Biting the Ghost," from the woman "lifting the curtain and entering" to her "fleeing in a blur," not only is there deliberate twist—she was originally heading for the wife, only later setting her sights on the old man—but the woman's appearance, attire, and especially the peculiar process of her attacking the old man, his fierce resistance, and the biting of the ghost are described with exquisite detail. Finally, the blood evidence is given: "Like water leaking from a roof, it flowed over the pillow and soaked the mat. Bending down to sniff it, the stench was extraordinary... After several days, the mouth still held a lingering foul odor." Because it is written with such vividness and lifelike precision, the nightmare becomes not merely a tale, but a story steeped in rich literary color.