The Mountain Demon

　　Sun Taibai once told this story: His great-grandfather was studying at Liugou Temple in the southern mountains. One autumn, around the wheat harvest, he went home for a while and didn’t return until over ten days later. When he opened the door to his study, dust had gathered on the desk and cobwebs filled the windows. He ordered a servant to clean the place. It wasn't until evening that the room felt fresh and tidy enough to sit in. So he made up the couch, spread out his bedding, shut the door, and lay down. Moonlight was already streaming through the window. He tossed and turned for a long time, and soon the world fell utterly silent.

　　Suddenly, he heard a roaring wind—whoosh—and the temple’s main gate burst open with a loud crack. He thought to himself that the monks must have forgotten to latch it. But while he was still mulling it over, the sound of the wind drew closer to his building. In a moment, the door to his room flew open. He grew deeply suspicious. Before he could collect his thoughts, the noise entered the room, followed by the heavy clatter of boots—clang, clang—coming nearer to his bedroom door. Then fear began to creep into his heart.

　　Next, the bedroom door burst open. He shot a look upward and saw a huge demon, bending low to squeeze through the doorway, then snapping upright right in front of his bed—its head almost touching the beam. Its face was the color of an old gourd rind; its eyes flickered and darted, scanning every corner of the room. It opened a mouth like a washtub, revealing sparse, jagged teeth about three inches long. Its tongue moved, its throat rumbled, and the horrible rasping sound echoed off all four walls.

　　He was frozen with terror. But then he thought: there was barely a few feet between them—no way to escape. He might as well strike first. So he quietly slid his dagger out from under the pillow, yanked it out, and slashed at the demon. He struck its belly—thump—like hitting a stone jar. The demon flew into a rage, reached out its giant claws, and grabbed for him. He shrank back just in time. The demon caught only the quilt, ripped it away, and stormed off in fury. The man tumbled to the floor with the quilt, lying there and yelling for help.

　　His family rushed in with lanterns, but the door was still shut tight as before. They climbed in through the window. When they saw the state he was in, they were horrified. They helped him back onto the bed, and only then did he manage to tell what had happened. Together they examined the room and found the quilt wedged in the crack of the bedroom door. Opening the door and holding up a light, they saw a claw mark as big as a winnowing basket—where the five fingers had pierced through, the fabric was torn clean. At daybreak, he dared not stay a moment longer. He packed his bookcase on his back and went home. Later, when he asked the monks about it, they said nothing strange had ever happened again.



中文如下：

　　山魈

　　【原文】

　　孙太白尝言：其曾祖肄业于南山柳沟寺。麦秋旋里，经旬始返。启斋门，则案上尘生，窗间丝满。命仆粪除，至晚始觉清爽可坐。乃拂榻，陈卧具，扃扉就枕。月色已满窗矣。辗转移时，万籁俱寂。忽闻风声隆隆，山门豁然作响。窃谓寺僧失扃。注念间，风声渐近居庐，俄而房门辟矣。大疑之。思未定，声已入屋，又有靴声铿铿然，渐傍寝门。心始怖。俄而寝门辟矣。急视之，一大鬼鞠躬塞入，突立榻前，殆与梁齐。面似老瓜皮色；目光睒闪，绕室四顾；张巨口如盆，齿疏疏长三寸许；舌动喉鸣，呵喇之声，响连四壁。公惧极。又念咫尺之地，势无所逃，不如因而刺之。乃阴抽枕下佩刀，遽拔而斫之，中腹，作石缶声。鬼大怒，伸巨爪攫公。公少缩。鬼攫得衾，捽之，忿忿而去。公随衾堕，伏地号呼。家人持火奔集，则门闭如故。排窗入，见状大骇。扶曳登床，始言其故。共验之，则衾夹于寝门之隙。启扉检照，见有爪痕如箕，五指着处皆穿。既明，不敢复留，负笈而归。后问僧人，无复他异。

　　【翻译】

　　孙太白曾经讲述过这样一件怪事：他的曾祖父在南山柳沟寺读书。有一年秋天，麦收时节回家中探望，过了十多天才返回寺里。他回到寺院打开书斋的房门，只见书案上落满了灰尘，窗户上布满了蜘蛛网。他就叫仆人来清扫房间，一直干到晚上，才觉得清爽干净，可以坐下来了。于是，他打开行李铺好被褥，关上房门躺下休息。这时，月光已经洒满窗户。他在床上翻来覆去很长时间都没有睡着，四下里静悄悄的，一点儿声音也没有。忽然，他听到“呼呼”地刮起一阵大风，寺院的大门猛地发出一声巨响。他心中暗想，一定是寺里的和尚忘记关门了。正在猜想着，就听得风渐渐地刮到了他的住房门前。不一会儿，房门自动打开了。他心中非常疑惑，还没等想明白，风声已经进了屋，又听见有“铿铿”的穿着靴子的脚步声，逐渐靠近了卧室门。他心里开始恐惧起来。接着，卧室门给打开了，他急忙抬头一看，只见一个大鬼正弯腰挤进房里来，迅速地站到了他的床前。大鬼挺起腰来，个头与房梁一般高，脸面好似熟透的南瓜皮色，两眼忽闪忽闪地转来转去，满屋子里四下察看，张开的大嘴有盆那么大，几颗疏疏落落的牙齿有三寸来长，舌头一翻动，喉咙里发出“呼哧呼哧”的响声，震得四壁都有“嗡嗡”的回响声。他害怕到了极点，又想到自己和大鬼仅仅有一尺左右的距离，势必逃脱不出去，不如乘机拼命刺杀它。于是，他暗暗抽出压在枕头下的佩刀，突然拔出猛砍一刀，正好砍在大鬼的肚子上，发出了碰击石盆似的声音。大鬼被激怒了，伸出巨爪来抓他，他稍稍向后一缩，大鬼抓住了被子，揪扯着被子怒气冲冲地离开了。他随着被子给摔在了地上，趴在地上大声呼叫起来。家人们拿着灯火一齐跑了过来，只见房门像原先一样紧闭着，就打开窗子跳了进去。一见主人的情状，家人们都吓了一大跳。把他扶上床后，孙太白的曾祖才慢慢地说出刚才所发生的一切。大家一齐去察看，只见被子夹在卧室的门缝里。打开门再用灯照着一看，只见上面有个和簸箕一样大的爪印，五指抓着的地方都给穿透了。天亮后，孙太白的曾祖不敢再留在那里，背着书箱回家去了。后来，再找寺里的和尚打听，都说并没有再发生过什么怪事儿。