Dream Galaxy

Anecdote collection · Death & the departed

A masked man asked for his bone back

Huangkeng, China · c. 795

從者夜夢一人，掩面從其索骨曰：“我羞甚，幸君為我深藏之，當福君。”從者驚覺毛戴

Original text — Youyang Zazu, vol. 8 (Dreams), Duan Chengshi

That night the servant dreamed of a man hiding his face, who asked for his bone back: “I am deeply ashamed — please bury it deep for me, and I will bless you.” The servant woke in terror, his hair on end.

Translation · Editorial translation (draft)

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Source
Youyang Zazu, vol. 8 (Dreams) — Duan Chengshi, c. 860
Rights
Public domain (ancient text)
Record type
Anecdote collection
Place
Huangkeng, China · Chinese
Date
c. 795
Uncertainty
High — The skull fragment bore a slave’s tattoo, “runaway slave”, still visible in the bone.
Imagery
A stranger · Faces · Grave · The dead
Feelings
Fear · Grief

How traditions have read this kind of dream

Psychological

Dreams of the dead returning are widely reported after bereavement. Ellis noted how such dreams often move, over years, from disbelief to quiet acceptance; many people describe them as comforting rather than frightening.

Ellis (1911), ch. VIII

Mythological

In Homer, dreams pass through gates of horn and ivory; across many cultures the dead were believed to visit the living in sleep, and dreams were a place where the two could meet.

Odyssey XIX

Chinese traditions

Chinese poets wrote dreams of the departed as acts of remembrance: Su Shi’s “Ten years, living and dead” and Du Fu’s “My old friend entered my dream” are read to this day as elegies.

Su Shi (1075); Du Fu (759)

These are cultural lenses, not a diagnosis.

Dreams that share its images