After reading the story of “Corpse Change” from Strange Tales from Liaozhai Studio, many readers may have the same question. Why didn’t the cart driver wake his companions despite knowing the corpse was haunting?
In “Corpse Change” (or Corpse resurrected), the cart driver’s failure to wake his companions after witnessing the resurrected female corpse stems from physiological instinct and survival logic under extreme terror. This aligns with the story’s horror atmosphere and reflects Pu Songling’s portrayal of human vulnerability in supernatural crises.
Instinctive Response to Fear
As the only awake witness among the four, the driver sees the corpse magically kill his companions but remains silent. This mirrors the paralyzing effect of primal fear:
In non-routine horror scenarios, human behavior shifts from “social morality” to biological survival mode.
Facing an irrational, inhuman threat (the reanimated corpse), self-preservation becomes the sole imperative.
Suddenness and Irreversibility of the Crisis
The corpse attacks with lethal speed. Since companions die almost instantly, shouting is futile–it would only expose the driver. Thus, his silence represents a “lesser of two evils” choice, driven by instinctive self-preservation, not moral indifference.
Later, he tried to kick the other men with his feet stealthily, but none of them moved. This proved he cares for his companions but just too scared and dared not make any noise.
Individual Survival as Metaphor for Systemic Oppression
The survived cart driver’s ordeal symbolizes broader societal failure:
- Isolation during escape: Villagers and monks refuse aid, revealing the cowardice of the oppressed under institutional power.
- Post-survival distrust: The sole survivor was forced to prove innocence, reflecting the social system’s presumption of guilt toward victims.
- The corpse’s final pose–petrified while embracing a tree–metaphorizes how bottom-up resistance is crushed and fossilized by institutional forces.
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