Reading Notes Part B: China: The Night on the Battlefield

The Night on the Battlefield

Now this story is not what I thought it was going to be about.  When I read the title I assumed it had to do with a battle that was happening at night.  I assumed I would be reading a heroic story about some type of general or regular guy who helped lead his men to victory over the forces of evil but that was not the case.

One thing that I found most interesting about this story is the misdirection the author gives about the title.  Like I mentioned above, it would seem obvious that this story has to do with a battle that is taking place at night.  Once I started to read this story I was hooked.  I am a big sucker for the supernatural and combining that with Chinese storytelling and you have the perfect combination. Now this story starts off differently than most Chinese supernatural stories that I have read.  Usually, you get a backstory and a myth about the place the person is visiting and why they should not be there at night.   What I really enjoyed was just be put right into the middle of the night with a wandering traveler.  When he stopped at the inn I was so confused because I was wondering how this had to do with a battlefield.  That question is answered right away by the arrival of the army in the inn.  What I enjoy was the detail that the story went into when describing the eerie sights and sound that the traveler experienced.  I could picture myself in that place and visualize what he was seeing.  When I read about the general taking off his head, my mind instantly though that he was the God of War but alas that was not the case..  I feel that with a little more backstory this could actually be made into a film that would scare audiences.  While this story was great I just wish we knew more about who the army and general was.  How did they meet their demise? Is there a backstory worth exploring that explains why they only appear at night at the supposed inn?

The Last stand of the Kusunoki at Shijonawate (1857)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Souce: Wikicommons

Bibliography: Gibbs, Laura. China: The Night on the Battlefield. China: The Night on the Battlefield