Original Text
Doctor Yang of Shanxi was skilled in acupuncture and moxibustion, and could also command ghosts. Whenever he went out, the mules and beasts of burden were all driven by ghosts. One night, he was returning from elsewhere, traveling with a friend. On the road, they saw two figures approaching, exceedingly tall, and the friend was greatly startled. Doctor Yang asked, "Who are you?" The two replied, "Long-Legged Wang and Big-Head Li, respectfully come to greet our master." Doctor Yang said, "Clear the way ahead for me." The two turned and walked in front; when Doctor Yang and his friend walked slowly, they would stop and wait, just like servants.
Commentary
In classical Chinese ghost stories, the theme of ghosts either reveals their terror, concealing a reverence for life, or portrays their human emotions, reflecting an attachment to feelings; yet there is rarely a tone of humor or wit, which requires the author's detachment from and wisdom about life, as well as an unconstrained temperament and a talent for jest. Pu Songling evidently possessed all these qualities. Though this tale is brief, it stands out among the ghost-themed stories in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The depiction of bizarre ghostly attendants like Long-Legged Wang and Big-Headed Li serving as vanguards for Physician Yang on the road may have been inspired in plot by the Kun opera Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister.