Ghosts of the Undying Spirit
A volume on ghosts, revenants, underworld wanderers, and remnants of will that refuse to vanish. Here death does not end the story; it changes the form in which memory...
B terms
Bai Wuchang
白无常/谢必安 (Bai Wuchang / Xie Bi'an) 相约桥下因迟到导致兄弟独死,悲恸自缢于桥柱 (Death by hanging from a bridge pillar after returning to find his sworn brother Fan Wujiu...
Bird Beak
鸟嘴 / Bird Beak (Title of the Fowl-Soul Warden) 被猛禽啄食致死 / Pecked to death by raptors Era of Death: Not recorded (pre-dates Ming dynasty folk records...
Black Mountain Old Demon
黑山老妖 / The Ancient Demon of Black Mountain 亡故方式:不明,据传生前是一座坟墓的镇墓兽被阴气侵染成精,死后化为万年鬼王 / Unknown; legends say a funerary beast statue (镇墓兽) was corrupted...
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Fish Gills
鱼鳃 / Fish Gills (Title of the Aquatic-Soul Warden) Drowned after being dragged underwater by aquatic creatures (被水族生物拖入水中溺亡) Era of Death: Unknown,...
Five Unruly Spirits
鬼号/本名: 五通鬼 (Wu Tong Gui / Five Permeating Ghosts) / 五通神 (Wu Tong Shen / Five Unruly Spirits) 亡故方式: 生前是横行乡里的五个恶霸,被天雷击毙后魂魄不散,聚合成邪鬼 (Five local bullie...
H terms
Hanging Ghost
吊死鬼 / The Ghost Who Hanged Died by hanging due to poverty, grievance, or heartbreak (自缢身亡) Era of Death: Varies; most cases recorded in the Ming an...
Headless Ghost
无头鬼 / The Headless One 被斩首处决,或因战斗失去头颅,死后形貌依旧 / Executed by beheading, or lost his head in battle, retaining that form after death Era of Death: Imp...
Hei Wuchang
Hei Wuchang / Fan Wujiu (黑无常/范无救) Death: Drowning while keeping an oath. Fan Wujiu and his sworn brother Xie Bi'an (Bai Wuchang) were on an underwo...
K terms
King Biancheng
卞城王毕 / King Biancheng Bi (Lord of the Sixth Court, also known as King Biancheng) 亡故方式: 非亡故,先天神灵受封 / Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven 亡故...
King Chujiang
楚江王历 (King Chujiang Li) 非亡故,先天神灵受封 (Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven) Birth Era: Beyond reckoning—an innate spirit originating from the...
King Dushi
都市王黄 (King Dushi Huang) 非亡故,先天神灵受封 (Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven) Birth Era: Post-Great Disconnection, during the establishment of...
King Pingdeng
Chinese Ghost Name/Title: 平等王陆 (King Pingdeng Lu) Manner of Death: Not deceased; an innate god enfeoffed by Heaven (非亡故,先天神灵受封) Era of Death: Not a...
King Qinguang
秦广王蒋 (King Qinguang Jiang) Death Cause: Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven (非亡故,先天神灵受封) Epoch of Origin: Post–Great Disconnection, during...
King Songdi
宋帝王余 (King Songdi Yu) Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven. Title: Yama King of the Third Court of the Netherworld. Birth Era: Primordial A...
King Taishan
泰山王董 (King Taishan Dong) 非亡故,先天神灵受封 (Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven) Enfeoffment Era: Unknown (Post-Great Disconnection, during the e...
King Wuguan
五官王吕 (King Wuguan Lü) Non-deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven Epoch of Death: None (timeless origin, born from celestial decree) Current Ghost...
King Yanluo
阎罗王 (King Yanluo) / 阎罗王包 (King Yanluo Bao) 亡故方式: 非亡故,先天神灵受封,民间常认为由包拯死后担任 (Not deceased; a primordial spirit appointed to the office, often popularl...
King Zhuanlun
转轮王薛 (King Zhuanlun Xue) 亡故方式:非亡故,先天神灵受封 (Not deceased; innate god enfeoffed by Heaven) 亡故纪元:N/A (Pre-dates the mortal era) 当前鬼道层级:Youming Diful Zh...
L terms
Leopard Tail
中文鬼号/本名:豹尾 / Leopard Tail (Title of the Beast-Soul Warden) 亡故方式:被猛兽围攻致死 / Mauled to death by wild beasts 死亡纪元:Honghuang Era (洪荒纪元) 当前鬼道层级:Gui Wang...
Lu Zhidao
鬼名/本名: 陆判官/陆之道 (Lu the Judge / Lu Zhidao) 亡故方式: 生前因拒改案卷被诬陷贪赃处斩 (Executed on false corruption charges after refusing to falsify a legal case) Birth...
M terms
Mamian
马面/马头罗刹 (Mamian / Horse-Headed Rakshasa) In life a horse-thief and bandit who delighted in torturing horses; after death condemned to the form of a...
Mang Mountain Ghost King
邙山鬼王 (Mang Mountain Ghost King) / 真名不详 (True name unknown) 在盗墓时被墓主人魂魄反噬杀死 (Killed by the tomb owner's vengeful spirit while grave-robbing) Era of D...
Meng Po
孟婆/忘川神女 Meng Po / The Lady of Lethe Legend holds she was an elderly Han-dynasty woman who mastered herbal medicine, and grew weary of the world; sh...
Mighty Ghost King
Ghost Name: 大力鬼王 / Mighty Ghost King (Title of his lineage) Death: 力竭而亡,在试图举起一座崩塌的山峰时被压垮 / Died of exhaustion, crushed while attempting to lift a c...
N terms
Nie Xiaoqian
聂小倩 / Nie Xiaoqian (Birth name retained as a ghost) 亡故方式:病逝 / Died of illness Era of Death: Qing Dynasty literary setting (mid-17th century, as rec...
Niutou
牛头/阿傍 (Niutou / Abang) 生前为一名屠夫,以杀牛为业,晚年悔恨自己杀业太重,投河自尽,但魂入地狱后仍被罚以牛头之形,永世为地府狱卒驱策亡魂。 (In life a butcher who specialized in slaughtering oxen; filled wi...
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Wasp
中文鬼号/本名:黄蜂 / Wasp (Title of the Insect-Soul Warden) 亡故方式:被毒虫叮咬致死 / Stung to death by venomous insects Era of Death: Unknown age, likely during the...
Water Ghost
水鬼 / Shui Gui (Drowning Ghost) Drowned, the soul trapped at the bottom of the water, unable to leave (溺水而亡,魂魄困于水底,无法脱离) Era of Death: Not precisely...
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Yeyoushen
夜游神/巡夜大神 (Yeyoushen / The Night-Wandering God / The Lord of the Night Patrol) 亡故方式: 生前是一名更夫,在一次火灾中为唤醒全城百姓而被倒塌的房梁砸中身亡 (In life a night watchman who...
Yin Mountain Ghost King
鬼号/本名: 阴山鬼王 / Yin Mountain Ghost King (Title derived from his territory) 亡故方式: 触犯天条,被贬谪至阴山后活活冻饿而死 (Died of starvation and freezing after being exil...
Yingning
婴宁 / Yin-Ning,the Laughing Ghost 因思慕情人不得,抑郁成疾,死后化鬼 / Died of lovesickness after being separated from her beloved, her spirit lingering as a ghost D...