Dream Galaxy

Anecdote collection · People & kin

A shirt washed clean by fire

Wu, China · 3rd century (Wu)

病篤，夢見一人，以白越單衫與之，言曰：「汝著衫，污，火燒，便潔也。」卓覺，果有衫在側。

Original text — In Search of the Supernatural, vol. 10, Gan Bao

Gravely ill, he dreamed a man gave him a white shirt of Yue cloth, saying, “Wear this shirt; when it is dirty, burn it in the fire and it will be clean.” When Zhuo woke, there was indeed a shirt beside him.

Translation · Editorial translation (draft)

Open this dream in the galaxy →

Source
In Search of the Supernatural, vol. 10 — Gan Bao, c. 350
Rights
Public domain (ancient text)
Record type
Anecdote collection
Place
Wu, China · Chinese
Date
3rd century (Wu)
Uncertainty
High — Anecdote from Gan Bao’s In Search of the Supernatural (c. 350); reported, not first-hand.
Imagery
A stranger · Fire
Feelings
Wonder · Relief

How traditions have read this kind of dream

Psychological

Family members, friends and strangers populate most dreams. Freud read many such dreams as wishes in disguise; contemporary researchers emphasise continuity with waking relationships and concerns.

Freud, Dream Psychology (1920)

Mythological

Dreams in epic and scripture are often addressed to someone — a wife waiting for a husband, a son receiving a vision for his family — and are told aloud to be understood.

Odyssey XIX; Genesis 37

Chinese traditions

Confucius lamented that he no longer dreamed of the Duke of Zhou; in Chinese letters, dreaming of someone is a measure of how much they are on one’s mind.

Analects 7.5

These are cultural lenses, not a diagnosis.

Dreams that share its images