It scurried around like a frightened mouse,
clutching its head.(抱頭鼠竄)
During the Ming Dynasty in China, there was
a famous writer named Feng Menglong who compiled a collection of short stories.
One of the protagonists in this collection
was Wu Hong, who lived during the Song dynasty. Born in Fuzhou, Fujian
Province, he was 22 years old.
Wu Hong opened a private school in the
capital. Through the introduction of an old woman named Wang, he quickly
decided to marry a very beautiful girl.
On Qingming Festival that year, he went
with a friend named Wang Qi to sweep the tombs on the outskirts of the capital.
Afterwards, he and Wang Qi drank Chinese rice wine and had a meal together in
the countryside.
On their way back to the city that night,
they encountered several ghosts and spent a very long night in fear and
tension.
Upon returning to the capital, Wang Qi went
home.
However, Wu Hong couldn't return home
peacefully. Following the events of the previous night, he suspected that his
beautiful, newlywed wife was a ghost.
He went to the home of an elderly woman
named Wang, who had introduced him to his wife, hoping to find out about her
identity and background. But upon arriving, he learned that the elderly woman
had been dead for several months.
Wu Hong was utterly horrified to hear that
the elderly woman was already deceased.
Wu Hong then went to several other places
in the city, searching for people connected to his wife.
As he suspected, everyone connected to his
wife was already dead.
Just when he was at a loss, a Taoist priest
appeared before him.
The priest entered his house and said,
'I am a person who has become a
supernatural being through Taoist cultivation.' "Based on my observations,
you've been feeling uneasy lately. I believe many ghosts are haunting you. If
you're willing, I can use Taoist magic to drive them away."
Upon hearing this, he was overjoyed and
immediately asked the Taoist for help.
The Taoist immediately started exorcising
and capturing ghosts in his house.
He took out special clothes and tools.
After performing his ritual, a tall man dressed as a general suddenly appeared
before him and Wu Hong.
The Taoist then asked the man to help
capture all the ghosts Wu Hong had seen. Upon receiving this command, the man
in the general's uniform suddenly vanished into thin air.
About ten minutes later, he appeared before
the Taoist priest and Wu Hong with the ghosts he had captured. The priest and
the man verified the identities of the ghosts one by one.
Once they had confirmed that there were no
errors, the man took out a large gourd from a bag he was carrying.
The captured ghosts showed expressions of
terror upon seeing the gourd. They clutched their heads and scurried around
like frightened mice.
This was because ancient Chinese people
believed that gourds had mystical powers. When infused with magical energy, a
gourd could become a tool for imprisoning ghosts.
The man in the general's robes recited a
spell and the ghosts... He was drawn into the gourd in his hand by an
incomprehensible force.
At the end of the story, Wu Hong's life
returned to normal. After this incident, Wu Hong's outlook on life and values
underwent a significant change. He gave up the fame and status he had
previously pursued; he did not remarry; and he spent his time studying Taoist
doctrines and practising Taoist cultivation methods. He lived a life of
constant travel.
The idiom translates as "holding his
head and running around like a frightened mouse".
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts did you gain from this story?
Have you ever experienced a major event that changed your values? Do you believe that one can achieve immortality through cultivation?
I hope this story gives you some new insights.
抱頭鼠竄(It scurried around like a frightened
mouse, clutching its head.)
中國的明王朝末年，有一個著名的文學家，他的名字叫做(馮夢龍)，他寫過一本短篇小說集。
他的這本小說集中有一個故事的主角的名字叫做(吳洪)，他生活在中國的宋王朝，他出生在中國的福建省的福州市，他的年紀22歲。
(吳洪)在首都他開設一間個人學堂，經過一個王姓老婦人的介紹，他在很短的時間內決定就跟一個很漂亮的女孩子結婚。
他結婚的那一年的清明節，他的一個名字叫做王七的朋友一起到了首都的郊外掃墓，然後他跟王七一起在郊外喝中國米酒與吃飯。
當天晚上他與王七回城的路上，他們遇到了好幾個鬼，它們在恐懼與緊張的心情中度過了一個非常漫長的夜晚。
回到首都後，王七就回他自己的家。
(吳洪)卻無法安心地回家，因為他經過昨天晚上的事件後，他懷疑他剛娶的漂亮妻子是鬼。
他就到了那個介紹他與他的妻子認識的王姓老婦人的家中，他想找這個王姓老婦人問清楚他的妻子身分與背景，但是當他到了那個王姓老婦人的家中後，他才得知一個信息，這個信息就是王姓老婦人已經死了好幾個月了。
(吳洪)聽到王姓老婦人早已經過世的消息極度驚駭。
(吳洪)接著又去了城內的好幾個地方，他去找那些與他的妻子有關的人。
結果正如他的猜想，原來那些與他的妻子相關的所有人全都早就已經死了。
當他覺得不知道該怎麼辦的時候，有一個道士出現在他的面前。
這個道士進入他家並對他說。
我是一個因為藉著道家的方式修行且已經成為一個超自然的存在的人。
根據我的觀察，你最近非常的不平安，我認為有很多鬼正在纏著你，如果你願意，我可以運用道教的法術來替你把這些鬼趕走。
他聽到這個道士的話後，他非常的開心，他立刻對那個道士說。
我非常需要你的幫助。
那個道士就立刻在他的家中開始驅鬼與抓鬼。
道士拿出穿上特殊的衣服拿出了特殊的器具，他經過做法後，他與(吳洪)的眼前突然出現了一個穿著將軍的衣服的身材很高大的男人，
那個道士就請這個穿著將軍衣服的身材相當高大的男人去幫忙把那些(吳洪)曾經看過的鬼都抓補起來，那個穿著將軍衣服的男人收到這個命令後就又突然消失在空氣中。
大約過了十分鐘，那個穿著將軍衣服的男人就帶著他所抓捕到的那些鬼出現在道士與((吳洪)的面前，這個道士與穿著將軍衣服的男人一一核對這些鬼的身分。
經過兩個人的查核並確認沒有錯誤後，那個穿著將軍衣服的男人就從自己隨身的一個袋子中拿出一個大葫蘆。
那個穿著將軍的衣服的男人所抓捕到的那些鬼看到那個葫蘆後臉上露出驚恐的表情，這些鬼抱著頭像是一隻隻受驚的老鼠一樣的到處亂竄。
這個原因是古代的中國人認為葫蘆是一種具有神秘的力量的果實，當一個葫蘆經過法術的能量灌輸後，就可以變成拘禁鬼的工具，
那個穿著將軍的衣服的男人念了一段咒語，這些鬼就被一種無法理解的力量吸到他手中的葫蘆中。
這個故事的最後，(吳洪)的生活恢復正常，經過這一次的事件後，(吳洪)的人生觀與價值觀出現了很大的變化，他放棄了他以前所想要追求的名譽與地位，他沒有再婚，他利用時間研讀道家的學說與運用道家的修煉方式來進行修煉、他過著每天到處旅行的生活，。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是抱著頭像是一隻受驚的老鼠一樣的到處亂竄。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你曾經因為經歷巨大的事件而改變了自己的價值觀嗎?你是否相信人可以藉由修行成為不朽呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為馮夢龍-警世通言-卷14-一窟鬼癩道人除怪