•
Early in the Qing Dynasty, many people were incriminated in Yu Qi’s rebellion. People in Qixia and Laiyang counties suffered most. A few hundred people were captured each day and all of them were executed. Their blood painted the ground red and their skeletons were stacked in mountain-like piles. The authorities showed their leniency…
•
In Western Halloween traditions, pumpkins are carved into lanterns to ward off wandering spirits, symbolizing a fear or aversion to ghosts. Yet in Journey to the West, Chinese ghosts and underworld kings are depicted as fond of pumpkins—a curious contrast.
•
In Journey to the West, the tales of immortals, demons, mortals, and ghosts unfold across the three realms (Heavenly, Mortal, and Underworld), which reflects the Daoist cosmology.