Ghost Blows Out the Light Chapter 1 – The White Paper Doll

My grandfather is called Hu Guohua. His ancestors were large landowners that were famous in the surrounding areas. During their most glorious and prosperous period, they purchased three alleyways in the city that linked together forty houses. They were also involved in politics and trade, donating provisions to the city and a.s.sisting with transportation.

But as the proverb goes: “Wealth never survives three generations.” This saying is very reasonable. Even if a family had mountains of gold and silver, it would still be no match for the extravagant spending of their prodigal offspring.

In the years of the Republic of China (1912-1949), our family had already begun its decline in my grandfather’s generation. First, the fortune was divided. Hu Guohua was allocated quite a bit of the family property, enough to not have to worry about basic needs for a lifetime. But unfortunately, he refused to live a frugal life, and without a doubt, this had to do with the social environment of his time. He first became addicted to gambling, then moved onto smoking Happiness and Longevity Ointment (opium), turning his vast inheritance into nothing.

The young Hu Guohua led a life of drinking, gambling, and s*x. Not to mention he also smoked every kind of drug out there, until there was not even a penny left in his pocket. When a person with a smoking addiction stops suddenly, the pain he must endure is intolerable. But without money, who’s going to let you smoke? In the old days, when he was still wealthy, the owner of the tobacco shop would call him Senior Hu or Master Hu, and greet him politely and respectfully. But once you’re penniless, they’ll treat you as if you were a smelly beggar. They’ll yell at you and shoo you away.

Once a person goes insane from poverty, thoughts such as honor and virtue are no longer important. Thus, Hu Guohua thought of a method to swindle his uncle out of some money. Hu Guohua’s uncle knew he was an extravagant opium demon. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t give a single cent to him, but this time Hu GuoHua said he was about to get married. So his uncle gathered a bit of money to give to him.

When his uncle heard the news, his old tears flowed unhindered. This worthless nephew of his had at long last done something right. If a virtuous young woman properly took care of him and he had a sudden change of heart, then maybe he would someday study properly.

Thus, he gave him twenty silvers and blessed him and his wife a good life telling him to never fall to opium again. After a few empty days, he even insisted on going to Hu Guohua’s house to take a look at his nephew’s wife.

Hu Guohua had many crafty plans in store. In order to deal with his uncle, after returning home to a village, he found a craftsman that made bound paper dolls — the ones burned for the deceased. This bound paper doll craftsman was very skilled. As long as it was something you could describe with words, then he could create it remarkably true to life.

In accordance with Hu Guohua’s request, the craftsman bound a white paper girl and then used watercolor to paint the eyes, nose, clothes, and hair. From a distance, hei, it really did look like a living person.

Hu GuoHua carried the paper doll to his house. He put it on top of the brick bed and covered the paper doll with a blanket. He thought: Everything is going well. After waiting a few days for my uncle to arrive, I just have to say that my wife is sick and that she’s lying in bed unable to greet the guest. Letting him take a quick peek at her is good enough. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but hum a small tune, slipping away to town to smoke opium.

After a few days, his uncle, carrying a prints and pastries, arrived at his door to come and see his nephew’s wife. Hu Guohua followed his initial plan and said that his wife’s body was unwell and wouldn’t be able to greet him. He lifted the hanging screen to let his uncle catch a glimpse of her before letting it down.

But his uncle was unwilling. Oh! Brat, how dare you treat your uncle like this? It won’t do. Today, I must see your new wife. If she’s sick, then I’ll spend some money and hire a doctor to come see her.

But Hu Guohua would not let him see her no matter what. The more he stopped his uncle, the more it looked like there was a problem. His uncle grew more suspicious and the two began to bicker. At this moment, the hanging sheet covering the room rose and a woman came out. Her skin was white and clean and her face was like a plate. She had a large b.u.t.t and small feet. Hu Guohua’s heart thumped in surprise. Woah! Isn’t this the paper doll that I asked for? How did it come to life?

The woman told his uncle: “I haven’t been feeling well these past few days. Just a moment ago, I didn’t come to welcome uncle, please forgive me for my lack of manners. My body has suddenly begun feeling well again. Why you don’t stay and have a meal with us?” Saying this, she turned around and went to cook.

When Hu Guohua’s uncle saw this, he was happy beyond measure. This wife of his is so virtuous and with a beautiful appearance too! If my deceased sister knew of this, she would definitely be happy that her son was able to marry such a good wife. Cheerful, his uncle gave Hu Guohua ten more silvers.

Part 2:

Hu Guohua stood there foolishly. His heart was in turmoil and didn’t know whether to be glad or to be scared. Time pa.s.sed quickly. In the blink of an eye, night came. The paper doll cooked a table full of food. His uncle was so happy that his mouth wouldn’t close, but Hu Guohua was not in the mood to eat. He looked at the woman to his side and felt sick as if he had eaten a fly. Her face was extremely white with not a trace of color. The only red on her face came from the make-up.

His uncle had the blurred vision of an old man and didn’t feel there was anything strange about the woman. After drinking down seven or eight cups of wine, he became helplessly drunk. Hu GuoHua called for a donkey cart and sent him home.

On the way back, the more he thought about it the more afraid he became. So he simply didn’t return home and spent a night at the red-light district in the city. He even used up the ten silvers his uncle had just given him to smoke and visit a brothel.

He finally ran out of money and was kicked out by the owner. Nowhere to go, he had no choice but to summon up the courage and return home. When he returned home, the room was dark and that white paper doll lay motionlessly on his bed covered by a blanket. It seemed as if whatever had happened before never took place.

Hu Guohua thought What should I do if she becomes alive again in the middle of the night? It would be best to burn it to ashes. He brought the white paper doll out to the courtyard and took out a lighter. Just as he was about to burn the paper doll, the paper doll suddenly opened its mouth and said: “You good for nothing! I helped you out of kindness and now you want to burn me!”

Hu Guohua jumped up in fright. In the dead of the night, only the white paper woman could be heard: “I took pity on you. Although you led a life of dissipation, your heart isn’t bad. I want to marry you, are you willing?”

Hu Guohua shook his head as if his life depended on it and asked: “Are you a demon or a ghost?” The white paper doll said: “I’m obviously a ghost. Only I’m temporarily attached to this paper doll, but you’d better not ignore me, you poor person. When I was still living, I was very wealthy. The amount of gold and silver jewelry that was buried with me is enough to let you smoke enough opium for ten lifetimes. Wouldn’t it be a hundred times better to live with a wealthy ghost than live as a poor man?”

With the mention of money, Hu Guohua became somewhat aroused because recently, he really was too poor. He didn’t even have any clothing left, but he didn’t want to be swindled. He once overheard the elderly talk about some female ghosts seducing men. Little by little they sucked their energy dry. The males involved with those ghosts were all left with a mere skeleton in the end. Thus, he told the paper doll: “ Even if you sincerely wish me well, I can’t marry you. After all, a person is a person and a ghost is a ghost. Ghosts are dead and people are alive — they can never be together. Doing so would be going against nature.”

The white paper doll said: “Seeing that you are so stone-hearted, I won’t force you. But you will regret this one day. Remember this, if there is ever a day where you can no longer stand being so poor, come look for me at the desolate grave on 13th Street. There, in the middle of that graveyard, will be a gravestone with no words inscribed. My body resides inside that coffin. As long as you dare to come, the countless treasure that lies inside will all be yours to freely spend.

After saying this, the white paper doll did not move again. Hu Guohua mustered up the courage and burned the white paper doll to ashes.

Afterwards, there were several times where he could no longer bear the poverty and wanted to go to 13th Street to dig out the coffin. But in the end, he was able to restrain himself. Borrowing and swindling left and right, he wasted his life away. After two years, he was at the end of the line. Finally, in desperation, he went to that graveyard. But that's a story for another day.