黑夜與妖眚：明代社會的物怪恐慌

Dark Nights and Ghosts—Terror from Monsters in the Ming Societies

本文探討的是明代一種出現在夜間的妖怪，不具實質的形體，或如霧、或如人，或幻為動物，出現時有類似眼睛的亮光閃爍，或飄浮著火星或火球，並挾帶著細碎的聲音，且有硫磺或東西燒焦的味道。百姓受擾之餘，皮膚上常有鳥爪痕，流血或流黃水，通常會昏迷。其中，婦孺受害最大，甚至因此而死。有學者認為這是一種帶電、帶毒氣的氣體或粉塵，故造成人們的死傷。面對這一超自然的現象，人們普遍採取的是燃火把、持刀械、敲鑼打鼓、大聲喧嘩等驅趕方式；也使用灑石灰、潑水，及以桃枝等樹枝拍擊，而祭祀與貼符咒亦相當常見。在這段期間，由於人們夜間不敢睡覺，生活作息因此大亂，生產與經濟活動停頓，日常用品的價格隨之上漲，蠟燭、燈油等照明材料更是明顯。這種恐慌在地方上往往持續一段時間，有時甚至數個月；且隨著謠言不斷複製，恐慌的氣氛亦不斷往外擴散，甚至出現跨越數省的事例。地方官面對居民這種慌亂的情況，所採取的是尋找代罪羔羊的方式，將僧人或道士視為恐慌的製造者且加以逮捕，以此平息人們的恐慌，並遏阻謠言的一再傳播。 This article discusses a type of monster appearing at night during the Ming Dynasty. They did not have physical bodies. They sometimes looked like a cloud of mist, or they appeared in the shapes of human beings or animals. When they emerged, they seemed to have sparkling lights like eyes, or like floating fire star or fireballs. They even possessed bits of noise and sulfur-like or burning odors. When people were harassed by them, such people had skin that appeared to have scratch marks from birds, bleeding or seeping yellow substances, and they often fell unconscious. Women and children were affected the most and sometimes even death resulted. Some scholars believed these gas or dust particles were electrically charged or poisonous, thus they instigated casualties. To overcome this supernatural phenomenon, people often used torches, knives or other weapons, beat gongs or drums, or made other loud noises to drive them away. Some would scatter lime, splash water, and strike peach tree branches. The most common defenses were the sacrificial ceremonies and affixing amulets. During these times, people were often afraid to fall asleep, daily routine was greatly disrupted, productivity and the economy stalled, prices skyrocketed, especially for illumination materials such as candles and lamp oils. These panic attacks often lasted for a period of time, sometimes even months in a local region. When rumors were passing around unceasingly, this horrific atmosphere would proliferate even through several provinces. In order to calm the flurried residents, the local government officials often used a scapegoat scheme such as imprisoning Buddhist monks or Taoist priests who were alleged to have fabricated the terror and thus the officials stopped the rumors from spreading further.

This article discusses a type of monster appearing at night during the Ming Dynasty. They did not have physical bodies. They sometimes looked like a cloud of mist, or they appeared in the shapes of human beings or animals. When they emerged, they seemed to have sparkling lights like eyes, or like floating fire star or fireballs. They even possessed bits of noise and sulfur-like or burning odors. When people were harassed by them, such people had skin that appeared to have scratch marks from birds, bleeding or seeping yellow substances, and they often fell unconscious. Women and children were affected the most and sometimes even death resulted. Some scholars believed these gas or dust particles were electrically charged or poisonous, thus they instigated casualties. To overcome this supernatural phenomenon, people often used torches, knives or other weapons, beat gongs or drums, or made other loud noises to drive them away. Some would scatter lime, splash water, and strike peach tree branches. The most common defenses were the sacrificial ceremonies and affixing amulets. During these times, people were often afraid to fall asleep, daily routine was greatly disrupted, productivity and the economy stalled, prices skyrocketed, especially for illumination materials such as candles and lamp oils. These panic attacks often lasted for a period of time, sometimes even months in a local region. When rumors were passing around unceasingly, this horrific atmosphere would proliferate even through several provinces. In order to calm the flurried residents, the local government officials often used a scapegoat scheme such as imprisoning Buddhist monks or Taoist priests who were alleged to have fabricated the terror and thus the officials stopped the rumors from spreading further.