Original Text
Li was taking a nap one day when he saw a woman emerge from the wall. Her head resembled a basket filled with tangled straw, with hair hanging down to obscure her face. She approached the bed, and only then did she part her hair with her hands, revealing a face that was both fat and black, hideously ugly. Li was terrified and wanted to flee. Suddenly, the woman climbed onto the bed, forcefully embraced his head, and kissed him, using her tongue to transfer saliva into his mouth. The saliva was as cold as ice, trickling bit by bit down his throat. He tried not to swallow, but could not catch his breath; when he did swallow, it was thick and sticky, clogging his throat. As soon as he breathed again, his mouth was filled once more, and with another gasp, he swallowed again. This continued for a long time until he could no longer bear the suffocation. Just then, he heard footsteps outside the door, and the woman released him and left. From then on, Li's abdomen swelled so that he could hardly breathe, and for dozens of days he could not eat. Someone advised him to try drinking a decoction of ginseng root to induce vomiting, and he brought up something resembling egg whites, after which he recovered.
Commentary
Since the emergence of supernatural tales in the Six Dynasties period, classical Chinese fiction in the literary language has not lacked stories that evoke a sense of horror, whether for religious admonition, moral warning, or mere sensationalism, yet these were all confined to a vague and externalized impression. A tale like "Ghost Spittle," which weaves together a dense and vivid tapestry of fear, disgust, suffocation, and nausea with such delicate realism, may carry little social significance, yet it undoubtedly marks a step forward in literary technique and a spirit of exploration.