Original Text
During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, the magistrate of Licheng County dreamed that the City God required men to serve as laborers, so he wrote the names of eight constables on a bamboo slip and burned it in the temple. That night, all eight constables died. East of the temple was a tavern whose owner had been on friendly terms with one of the constables. That very night, the constable came to buy wine, and the owner asked, "What guests are you entertaining?" The constable replied, "Many of my fellow workers are gathered together; I am buying a bottle of wine to share with them." The next morning, when the owner saw the other constables, he learned that the man had already died. He entered the City God temple, opened the doors, and saw the wine bottle still there, with the wine still full. Returning home, he examined the money the constable had given him and found it all turned to paper ash. The magistrate had statues of the eight constables placed in the temple. Thereafter, whenever other constables were dispatched on duty, they had to first offer sacrifices to these statues; otherwise, they would surely incur the magistrate's punishment.
Commentary
This passage is merely an exaggeration of ghosts and spirits, confirming the actual existence of ghosts and the City God, reflecting the unity of divine and political authority in traditional Chinese culture. The line "He entered the temple, opened the door, and there was the bottle, with the wine stored just as before. Returning home, he looked at the money he had given, and it was all paper ash" demonstrates Pu Songling's extraordinary skill in depicting details.