One of the four most well known haunted houses in Beijing is No. 33 Xiaoshihu Hutong. People have talked about the sound of a woman reciting poetry in the night for centuries, and used to be the home of one of the most important authors in Chinese Literature.
Cao Xueqin (曹雪芹) who lived from 1710-1765 was a famous novelist and poet from the Qing Dynasty and used to live in the House that is now known as one of the four most haunted houses in Beijing. He is best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, a family saga about the rise and fall of the family and about the social relations in 18th century China.
Dream of the Red Chamber is considered one of the Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature together with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, The Plum in the Golden Vase and The Scholars.
Like the situation of the family in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber, Cao Xueqin’s family was once important but later purged after the death of the Kangxi Emperor and the ascension of Yongzheng Emperor to the throne. His family’s once affluent family’s assets were confiscated and his family fell into poverty.
Moving into a Haunted House to Write
Cao Xueqin moved into No. 33 Xiaoshihu Hutong, Xidan in Beijing where he started to write and rewrite his novel for over ten years that would once be one of the country’s cornerstones of literature. Back then it used to be No. 7 and No. 8 before being renumbered in the 1960s.
The house is known as one of the four haunted houses in Beijing, the other being Songpo Library, Hufang Bridge Huguang Guild Hall, Chaonei No. 81 and Xi’an Menli Palace.
Many have lived and passed in this house, and the only thing that has seen it all is the Jujube Tree in the courtyard which is said to be more than 600 years old. It even used to be the residence of the Kangxi Princess Jianning, before her family were destroyed and according to legend, left an ominous omen in the place.
Cao Xueqin died suddenly after a time being confined to the bed of what was considered grief after the death of one of his sons or poverty.
The Ghost Reciting Poetry at Night
Although it is now a wedding photography studio, believing locals all over the city claim to hear the ghostly sound of traditional instruments at night being played, accompanied by a woman reciting poetry.
Who is this woman that recites poetry in the night, long after the writers of the house moved out and died? Could it be someone from his family, or perhaps one of his lovers? There is a legend that Cao Xueqin once had a lover that he was separated from by the Yongzheng Emperor that also was the cause of his family’s downfall.
Perhaps the poetic ghost is someone completely else not linked to Cao Xueqin at all, like the Kanxi princess that lived in grief after all of her family was slaughtered
The house had haunted rumors from way back, perhaps even from before Cao Xueqin’s lifetime. However, many attribute this ghost of being someone close to him. A man called Ji Xiaolan once said of the house: “This mansion has been in existence for a long time, so it will inevitably become strange sometimes, but it is not harmful to people.”
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References:
Dream of the Red Chamber – Wikipedia
Classic Chinese Novels – Wikipedia
Cao Xueqin – Wikipedia
北京四大凶宅
北京四大凶宅之一：小石虎胡同33号院，地处西单究竟有何玄机
Princess Jianning in history, her life will make you sigh
京城4大鬼宅／小石虎胡同33號死全家 夜半驚傳女人吟詩| 國際
