景城有一位叫姜三莽的人，为人勇猛，胆量过人。一天，他听到村里老人讲了一个捉鬼捉鬼
zhuō guǐ
Capturing ghosts — a recurring motif in Chinese folklore, often involving brave men who attempt to seize spirits with ropes or chains for monetary reward.卖钱的故事，便兴致勃勃地决定效仿。从此以后，他每到夜晚就手持木棒，独自前往荒冢荒冢
huāng zhǒng
Desolate grave mounds — abandoned burial sites far from villages, commonly believed to be haunted in Chinese folk tradition.之间徘徊，想要抓住鬼魂拿去换钱。然而奇怪的是，他从来没有遇见过鬼。
In Jingsheng there lived a man named Jiang Sanmang, known for his extraordinary braverybravery
勇猛 yǒng měng
Jiang Sanmang's fearlessness sets up the story's central irony: a man so bold that even ghosts flee from him.. One day he heard an old villager recount a tale of capturing ghosts and selling them for money. Enthusiastic, Jiang resolved to do the same. Every night thereafter, he would take a wooden club and wander alone among desolate grave moundsdesolate grave mounds
荒冢 huāng zhǒng
Abandoned burial sites outside villages, traditionally believed to be haunted in Chinese folklore., hoping to seize a spirit for profit. Yet curiously, he never encountered a single ghost.
景城有姜三莽者，勇勇
yǒng
Brave, courageous. In classical Chinese, this single character conveys a deep cultural reverence for martial valor and fearlessness.而有胆。一日，闻父老说宋定伯宋定伯
Sòng Dìngbó
A legendary figure from In Search of the Supernatural (搜神记) who famously captured a ghost and sold it at a marketplace, turning it into a sheep.卖鬼事，大喜曰："吾今乃知鬼可缚！如每夜缚一鬼，使变羊羊
yáng
Sheep — in the original Song Dingbo tale, the ghost transforms into a sheep after being spat on with human saliva, a method to break ghostly illusions.，日杀而市之，足供一日酒肉资矣。"
In Jingsheng there was a man named Jiang Sanmang, both bravebrave
勇 yǒng
A virtue highly prized in Chinese culture, associated with the ideal of the gallant hero (侠士). and audacious. One day he heard an elder recount the tale of Song DingboSong Dingbo
宋定伯
A clever man from the classic Soushenji (搜神记) who tricked a ghost, bound it, and sold it as a sheep at market., who captured a ghost and sold it for money. Overjoyed, Jiang declared: "Now I know ghosts can be tied up! If I catch one each night and turn it into a sheepsheep
羊 yáng
In the Song Dingbo legend, human saliva breaks a ghost's power, forcing it into the shape of a sheep., I can slaughter it and sell it the next day — enough to cover my wine and meat expenses!"
自是每夜持棒入墟墓墟墓
xū mù
Ruins and tombs — an evocative classical compound denoting the abandoned, haunted landscapes at the edges of civilization.间，伺鬼出。然竟无一遇。一夜，隔林见数点磷火磷火
lín huǒ
Will-o'-the-wisp / phosphorescent fire — eerie lights hovering over graveyards, scientifically caused by spontaneous combustion of phosphine gas from decomposing remains.，踊跃奔赴。未至，火已散灭，懊恨而返。如是月余，无所获，遂止。
From that night on, Jiang took his club and entered the ruins and tombsruins and tombs
墟墓 xū mù
A classical term evoking desolate, abandoned landscapes at the fringes of settled life — places where spirits were believed to roam. each evening, lying in wait for ghosts to appear. Yet not a single one showed itself. One night he spotted a few flickering will-o'-the-wispswill-o'-the-wisps
磷火 lín huǒ
Ghostly lights over graveyards, caused by phosphine gas from decaying matter. In folklore, these were considered spectral lanterns carried by the dead. through the trees. He leaped up and charged toward them — but before he arrived, the lights scattered and vanished. Frustrated, he trudged home. After more than a month of fruitless effort, he finally gave up.
盖鬼之侮人，恒恒
héng
Always, constantly — a classical adverb emphasizing the habitual nature of ghostly behavior as described by Ji Yun.乘人之畏。三莽意中视鬼甚轻，鬼遇之反畏而避之。纪昀评曰："是知鬼亦畏有胆者。"
The truth is that ghosts bullybully
侮 wǔ
To bully, mistreat, or mock. Ji Yun uses this word to frame ghostly encounters as psychological contests rather than supernatural battles. people by taking advantagetaking advantage
乘 chéng
To seize upon, to exploit. This character reveals Ji Yun's rationalist view: ghosts feed on fear, not on physical power. of their fear. Jiang Sanmang held ghosts in such contempt that when they encountered him, they were the ones who fled. Ji Yun commented: "From this we know that ghostsghosts
鬼 guǐ
In Ji Yun's rationalist framework, ghosts are not powerful supernatural beings but psychological phenomena that thrive on human fear and dissolve under boldness. also fear a man with courage."
纪昀（纪晓岚）是清代乾嘉学派乾嘉学派
Qián-Jiā xuépài
The Qian-Jia School of Evidential Research — an intellectual movement during the reigns of Emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing that emphasized empirical textual criticism over metaphysical speculation.的重要人物，他的思想深受考据学考据学
kǎojù xué
Evidential scholarship — a rigorous, evidence-based approach to classical studies that defined Qing-era intellectual life.影响。《阅微草堂笔记》表面上写鬼狐故事，实际上常借鬼狐来表达对人性和社会的冷静观察。鬼避姜三莽的故事正是这种风格的典范——它表面上是一个奇闻轶事，内核却是一个关于人类心理的寓言寓言
yùyán
Allegory, fable — a story with a hidden moral or philosophical message. Ji Yun frequently uses this technique to encode his rationalist views.。
这个故事与现代心理学中的"暴露疗法"（Exposure TherapyExposure Therapy
暴露疗法 bàolù liáofǎ
A CBT technique where patients gradually confront feared stimuli to reduce anxiety — remarkably parallel to Jiang Sanmang's approach of boldly walking toward ghosts.）不谋而合。恐惧症患者往往发现，当他们鼓起勇气面对恐惧对象时，焦虑感反而会减轻。姜三莽虽然不是在做心理治疗，但他的行为揭示了一个深刻的道理：我们恐惧的，往往并非事物本身，而是我们对事物的想象。
这一主题在中国哲学中有着深远的根源。庄子庄子
Zhuāngzǐ
Master Zhuang (c. 369–286 BCE) — Daoist philosopher who explored the relativity of fear, knowledge, and identity, most famously in the butterfly dream parable.曾说过"至人无己，神人无功，圣人无名"，暗示超脱自我认知的人无所畏惧。纪昀通过姜三莽的故事，以幽默而机智的方式表达了类似的思想：当我们不再被心中的恐惧所束缚时，那些让我们害怕的东西便会自行消散。
纪昀的笔法极具讽刺讽刺
fěngcì
Satire, irony — a literary device that uses humor or exaggeration to expose and criticize human folly. Ji Yun is a master of subtle, understated satire.意味。姜三莽本想捉鬼发财，结果连鬼的影子都没见到。这个反转不仅令人发笑，更引人深思：我们生活中有多少恐惧，其实只是自己吓自己？纪昀以轻描淡写的笔触，揭示了一个普世的心理真相。
Ji Yun (Ji Xiaolan) was a central figure of the Qian-Jia SchoolQian-Jia School
乾嘉学派
An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing empirical textual criticism. Ji Yun's scholarly background deeply shaped his approach to supernatural tales. of evidential research. His thinking was deeply influenced by textual criticismtextual criticism
考据学 kǎojù xué
A rigorous, evidence-based approach to classical studies that defined Qing intellectual life and informed Ji Yun's skeptical worldview.. While his Notes from the Yuewei Cottage appears to be a collection of ghost and fox stories, it often uses supernatural elements as vehicles for keen observations on human nature and society. The tale of Ghosts Fleeing Jiang Sanmang is a paradigm of this style — seemingly a mere anecdote, but at its core a profound allegoryallegory
寓言 yùyán
A narrative with a hidden moral message. Ji Yun frequently employs this technique to encode rationalist philosophy within entertaining tales. about human psychology.
This story resonates remarkably with the modern psychological concept of Exposure TherapyExposure Therapy
暴露疗法
A cognitive-behavioral technique in which patients confront feared objects or situations, leading to reduced anxiety — structurally identical to what Jiang Sanmang does when he boldly approaches ghosts.. Patients with phobias often discover that when they muster the courage to face their fears directly, their anxiety actually diminishes. Jiang Sanmang was not conducting therapy, but his behavior reveals a profound truth: what we fear is often not the thing itself, but our imagination of it.
This theme has deep roots in Chinese philosophy. ZhuangziZhuangzi
庄子
Master Zhuang (c. 369–286 BCE), the great Daoist philosopher who explored the relativity of fear, identity, and knowledge through paradox and parable. declared that "the perfect man has no self, the divine man has no achievement, the sage has no name" — suggesting that those who transcend self-consciousness fear nothing. Through Jiang Sanmang's tale, Ji Yun expresses a similar insight with wit and humor: when we stop being prisoners of our own fears, the things we dread dissolve on their own.
Ji Yun's writing is masterfully satiricalsatirical
讽刺 fěngcì
A literary technique using humor or irony to expose human folly. Ji Yun's satire is always understated — he never lectures, preferring to let the story's irony speak for itself.. Jiang Sanmang set out to catch ghosts and make a fortune, only to find that not even a ghost's shadow would appear. This reversal is not merely amusing — it invites deeper reflection: how many of our daily fears are purely self-generated? With light, effortless strokes, Ji Yun reveals a universal psychological truth.
在中国民间文化中，捉鬼是一个经久不衰的主题。从古代的方相氏方相氏
Fāngxiàng shì
An ancient exorcist official described in the Rites of Zhou, wearing a bearskin mask with four golden eyes, tasked with driving away evil spirits during seasonal purification rituals.驱鬼，到后来的道士画符镇鬼，再到明清小说中的钟馗捉鬼，人类一直在试图控制和征服那个看不见的世界。姜三莽的故事对这一传统进行了善意的嘲弄——他试图用蛮力对付鬼魂，却不知鬼魂的"力量"恰恰来自人类自己的恐惧。
中国文化中对"勇"的理解远比字面意思丰富。孔子孔子
Kǒngzǐ
Confucius (551–479 BCE) — who distinguished between reckless bravery (匹夫之勇) and principled courage (大勇), holding that true courage must be guided by righteousness.说"知者不惑，仁者不忧，勇者不惧"，将勇与知、仁并列为君子的三大德行。但孔子也区分了"匹夫之勇"和"大勇"。姜三莽的勇气虽然接近匹夫之勇——不计后果、仅凭蛮胆——但故事的深意在于揭示：即便是这种最朴素的勇气，也足以让虚幻的恐惧退散。
纪昀（字晓岚，1724—1805）是清代著名学者、文学家，曾任《四库全书》《四库全书》
Sìkù Quánshū
The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries — the largest literary collection in Chinese history, commissioned by Emperor Qianlong, comprising over 36,000 volumes. Ji Yun served as chief editor.总纂官。《阅微草堂笔记》是他晚年所著的志怪笔记小说集，与蒲松龄的《聊斋志异》并称为清代文言短篇小说的双璧。全书以简洁质朴的文笔记录奇闻异事，虽涉鬼神，实则寓含深刻的社会批评和哲学思考。
In Chinese folk culture, capturing ghosts is an enduring theme. From the ancient exorcist Fangxiang ShiFangxiang Shi
方相氏
An official exorcist from the Zhou Dynasty who wore a bearskin mask with four golden eyes and was tasked with driving away evil spirits during seasonal purification rituals (傩 nuó)., to Daoist priests painting talismans to subdue spirits, to Zhong Kui the ghost-catcher in Ming-Qing fiction — humans have always sought to control the unseen world. Jiang Sanmang's tale gently satirizes this tradition: he tried to fight ghosts with brute force, unaware that their "power" comes entirely from human fear.
The Chinese concept of "courage" (勇 yǒng) carries far more depth than its surface meaning. ConfuciusConfucius
孔子 Kǒngzǐ
(551–479 BCE) — who taught that "the wise are free from doubt, the benevolent free from worry, the brave free from fear" (知者不惑，仁者不忧，勇者不惧). paired courage with wisdom and benevolence as the three cardinal virtues of the gentleman (君子). But he also distinguished between reckless bravery (匹夫之勇) and principled courage (大勇). Jiang Sanmang's boldness leans toward the former — impulsive, unthinking — yet the story's deeper point is that even this most elemental form of courage is enough to dispel illusory fears.
Ji Yun (courtesy name Xiaolan, 1724–1805) was a renowned Qing scholar and literary figure who served as chief editor of the Complete Library of the Four TreasuriesComplete Library of the Four Treasuries
《四库全书》 Sìkù Quánshū
The largest literary collection in Chinese history, commissioned by Emperor Qianlong, with over 36,000 volumes. Ji Yun's editorial role gave him encyclopedic knowledge that informs every page of his supernatural tales.. His Notes from the Yuewei Cottage, written in his later years, stands alongside Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio as one of the two great collections of classical Chinese supernatural fiction. Written in a clean, unadorned style, the tales record marvels and oddities — but beneath the surface of ghosts and foxes lie penetrating social criticism and philosophical reflection.