紫玉紫玉吴王夫差之女，名紫玉。才貌双全，与书生韩重私定终身。父亲不允婚事，紫玉郁郁而终。其魂魄后与韩重相会于墓中。，吴王夫差吴王夫差春秋末期吴国末代君主。夫差以穷兵黩武、宠爱西施闻名，最终为越王勾践所灭。此处以其女紫玉的悲剧爱情为主线。之女也。年十八，才貌俱绝。韩重韩重书生，与紫玉相爱。因身份悬殊，求婚被拒。紫玉死后三年，韩重归来，紫玉之魂于墓中与之相会。，年十九，有道术。二人私相悦慕，约为婚姻。
韩重求学于齐、鲁之间，临行嘱父母求婚于吴王。吴王大怒，不许。紫玉结气结气气结于胸，郁结不通。中医认为过度悲伤会导致气血凝滞，此处指紫玉因婚事不成而抑郁成疾，终至身亡。而死，葬于阊门之外。
Ziyu紫玉 ZiyuDaughter of King Fuchai of Wu. Talented and beautiful, she secretly pledged herself to the scholar Han Zhong. When her father forbade the marriage, she pined away and died. Her spirit later reunited with Han Zhong at her tomb., daughter of King Fuchai of Wu吴王夫差 Wú Wáng Fū ChāiThe last king of the state of Wu during the late Spring and Autumn period. Known for his military campaigns and his infatuation with the beauty Xi Shi, he was ultimately destroyed by King Goujian of Yue. Here, his daughter's tragic love forms the main thread., was eighteen, peerless in both talent and beauty. Han Zhong韩重 Hán ZhòngA scholar who fell in love with Ziyu. Due to the disparity in their stations, his proposal was refused. Three years after Ziyu's death, Han Zhong returned and her spirit met him at the tomb., nineteen, versed in the arts of the Way. The two secretly fell in love and pledged to marry.
Han Zhong departed to pursue his studies in the lands of Qi and Lu. Before leaving, he bade his parents seek his bride from the King of Wu. The King, in great fury, refused. Ziyu's breath congealed结气 jié qìQi stagnated in the chest. In traditional Chinese medicine, excessive grief causes blood and breath to stagnate. Here it means Ziyu fell ill from sorrow over the refused marriage and died. and she perished, buried beyond the Chang Gate.
三年，韩重归。问其父母，父母曰：「大王怒，不许。紫玉结气而死，已葬矣。」韩重痛哭，备牲礼牲礼祭祀用的牲畜和礼品。此处指韩重准备祭品去紫玉墓前吊唁。，往吊于墓前。
紫玉魂魂灵魂。中国古代认为人死后魂魄不散，可于世间显现。此处紫玉之魂从墓中而出，与韩重相会。从墓出，见韩重，流涕谓曰：「昔尔行之后，令二亲从王求我。王不许，我陨命陨命丧命、死亡。"陨"本指星辰坠落，引申为生命的消亡，带有悲壮的意味。于今日。自尔之后，梦想感结，何意忽尔，得此幽明幽明阴间与阳间，即生死两界。"幽"指冥界之幽暗，"明"指人间之光亮。此处感叹生死殊途却仍能相见。相会！」
Three years passed, and Han Zhong returned. He asked his parents, who said: "The King was furious and refused. Ziyu's breath congealed and she died — she has been buried." Han Zhong wept bitterly. He prepared sacrificial offerings牲礼 shēng lǐSacrificial animals and ritual gifts. Here Han Zhong prepares offerings to mourn at Ziyu's tomb. and went to mourn at her grave.
Ziyu's spirit魂 húnThe soul. Chinese antiquity held that after death, the hun (ethereal soul) does not dissipate and may manifest in the world. Here Ziyu's spirit emerges from the tomb to meet Han Zhong. emerged from the tomb. Seeing Han Zhong, she wept and said: "After you departed, your parents asked the King for my hand. He refused, and I perished陨命 yǔn mìngTo lose one's life. "Yǔn" originally refers to a falling star — extended to mean the extinguishing of life, carrying an undertone of tragic grandeur. because of it. Since then, my dreams have been consumed with longing. How could I have imagined we would meet — across the boundary of life and death幽明 yōu míngThe realms of darkness and light — the underworld and the mortal world. "Yōu" (dark) refers to the shadowy netherworld; "míng" (bright) to the living world. Here it laments that two beings divided by death can still meet.!"
韩重曰：「死生异路，不敢承命。」紫玉曰：「死生异路，吾亦知之。然一别之后，更无相见之期。今日忽遇，何惜须臾之命，不以款款真诚、诚恳。"款诚"指真心实意。此处紫玉恳求韩重不要因为生死之隔而拒绝她最后的真情相待。？」
韩重感其言，乃送之还冢送之还冢送她回到坟墓。"冢"即坟墓。韩重随紫玉之魂进入墓中，二人在阴间以夫妻之礼相处三日三夜。。紫玉与之饮宴，以夫妻之礼夫妻之礼以夫妻之道相待。此处指紫玉与韩重在墓中以夫妻之礼相处三日，实现了生前未能完成的心愿。相待，三日三夜，尽夫妇之欢。
Han Zhong said: "Life and death walk different paths. I dare not accept." Ziyu said: "That life and death are different paths — I know this too. But after one parting, there shall be no second meeting. Today we meet by chance — why begrudge a moment's life, and not sincerely款 kuǎnSincere, earnest. "Kuǎn chéng" means heartfelt sincerity. Here Ziyu pleads with Han Zhong not to refuse her final true meeting because of the wall between life and death. accept?"
Moved by her words, Han Zhong escorted her back to the tomb送之还冢 sòng zhī huán zhǒngEscorted her back to the grave. "Zhǒng" means tomb. Han Zhong follows Ziyu's spirit into the tomb, where they live together as husband and wife for three days and nights.. Ziyu feasted with him, treating him with the rites of husband and wife夫妻之礼 fū qī zhī lǐWith the courtesies of a married couple. Here Ziyu and Han Zhong live as husband and wife in the tomb for three days, fulfilling the wish denied to them in life. — three days and three nights, the full joy of married life.
临别，取径寸之珠径寸之珠直径一寸的珍珠。古代以寸为计量单位，径寸之珠为稀世之宝。紫玉以明珠赠韩重，既是有形之信物，也是无形之情义的象征。以赠韩重，曰：「既毁其名，又绝其愿，复何言哉！时节自爱。若至吾家，致敬大王。」
韩重既出，遂诣吴王，自陈其事。吴王大怒曰：「吾女既死，而重造诬言诬言捏造的谎言。吴王不信鬼神之事，认为韩重玷污其女名誉。，以玷秽亡灵。此不过发冢取物耳！」乃收重收逮捕、拘押。吴王以为韩重盗墓，将其逮捕下狱。，欲治其罪。
韩重亡走，至紫玉墓所诉之。紫玉曰：「无忧。今归白王。」忽见紫玉之形，至王前。夫人闻之，出而抱之，玉如烟烟烟雾。此处描写紫玉之魂如烟般虚幻——能见不能触，一抱即散。极言阴阳相隔之痛。然而灭。
At parting, she took a pearl as large as an inch across径寸之珠 jìng cùn zhī zhūA pearl one inch in diameter. The inch (cùn) is an ancient Chinese unit. A pearl of this size was a treasure beyond price. Ziyu's gift is both a tangible keepsake and a symbol of intangible devotion. and gave it to Han Zhong, saying: "They destroyed my name and crushed my hopes — what more is there to say? Take care of yourself as the seasons turn. If you visit my home, give my regards to the King."
Han Zhong emerged and went to the King of Wu to relate the tale. The King roared: "My daughter is dead, and this man invents slander诬言 wū yánFabricated lies. The King does not believe in spirits and thinks Han Zhong is defaming his dead daughter's reputation. to dishonor her memory! This is nothing but grave-robbing!" He seized收 shōuTo arrest, to detain. The King believes Han Zhong robbed the tomb and has him arrested. Han Zhong, intending to punish him.
Han Zhong fled to Ziyu's grave and told her. Ziyu said: "Do not worry. I shall go and speak to the King." Suddenly her form appeared before the King. Her mother rushed out and embraced her — but Ziyu dissolved like smoke烟 yānMist, smoke. Here Ziyu's spirit is described as intangible as smoke — visible but untouchable, dispersing at the slightest contact. It is a devastating image of the unbridgeable gap between life and death..
文学价值
《紫玉韩重》是《搜神记》中最凄美的人鬼恋故事。全文以"不许"二字为核心悲剧动因——父亲的一声拒绝，便让一对恋人阴阳永隔。紫玉的死不是因为妖魔作祟，而是因为人伦秩序的冷酷无情。
最令人动容的是结尾：紫玉的魂魄现身于父母面前，母亲冲上前去拥抱女儿，却抱了个空——"如烟然而灭"。这五个字将生死之隔的残酷写到了极致。能见不能触，比永远不见更痛。
比较研究
此篇直接影响了后世无数人鬼恋叙事。《聊斋志异》中的《聂小倩》《连城》等篇，在结构上都可以追溯到此篇的模式：相爱→阻隔→死亡→魂会→离别。不同的是，蒲松龄赋予了女鬼更多的主动性（聂小倩主动弃恶从善），而干宝笔下的紫玉更为被动——她只能以死亡来抗议，以魂魄来相会。
Literary Merit
"Ziyu and Han Zhong" is the most heartrending ghost-love tale in In Search of the Supernatural. The entire tragedy pivots on two words: "he refused." A father's single rejection sunders two lovers across the boundary of death. Ziyu dies not from demon or curse, but from the cold cruelty of patriarchal order.
Most devastating is the ending: Ziyu's spirit appears before her parents. Her mother rushes forward to embrace her daughter — and clasps nothing. She dissolves "like smoke." Five characters that capture the full cruelty of the divide between life and death. To see but not touch — more painful than never seeing at all.
Comparative Study
This tale directly influenced countless later ghost-love narratives. Stories in Strange Tales like "Nie Xiaoqian" and "Liancheng" trace their structural pattern back to this source: love → obstruction → death → spirit reunion → parting. The difference is that Pu Songling gives his ghost-women greater agency (Xiaoqian actively renounces evil), while Gan Bao's Ziyu is more passive — she can only protest through death and reunite through her lingering spirit.
原文紫玉言"梦想感结"，后世以"魂梦为劳"概括此情——灵魂在梦中苦苦牵系，却无法在现实中相聚。这一意象成为中国古典文学中描写生死之恋的核心词汇，常见于诗词中表达阴阳永隔的深情。
From Ziyu's words "my dreams are consumed with longing," later generations coined the phrase "souls laboring in dreams" — spirits entangled in dreams, unable to meet in reality. This image became a core term in classical Chinese literature for expressing love across the boundary of death, frequently appearing in poetry about the unbridgeable divide between the living and the dead.
东晋干宝所撰，中国志怪小说的开山之作。原书三十卷，已散佚，今本二十卷为后人辑录。干宝撰写此书的目的是"发明神道之不诬"，即证明鬼神之事并非虚妄。《搜神记》收录了从上古到东晋的各类神异故事，是后世志怪文学的总源头。
Compiled by Gan Bao of the Eastern Jin dynasty, this is the foundational work of Chinese supernatural fiction. The original thirty volumes have been lost; the current twenty-volume edition was reconstructed by later scholars. Gan Bao's stated purpose was to "demonstrate that the ways of the spirits are not false." The collection spans tales from antiquity to the Eastern Jin and serves as the wellspring for all subsequent supernatural literature in China.