Ancient Ghosts and Ghost Points
One of the earliest forms of literature in ancient China were ghost stories. They are believed to be part of the oral tradition during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) and continue to be popular in today’s China. However, ghosts were a serious matter to the ancient Chinese. According to traditional Chinese belief, when a person dies their soul travels across a bridge to the afterlife. On this crossing, they are judged as either worthy or unworthy. If considered “good,” they continued on; if deemed “evil,” they plummet from the bridge into hell. Depending on one’s beliefs, if they reach the [...]