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Shouguang Hou lived during the reign of Emperor Zhang of Han. He could call all manner of ghosts and spirits to account, compelling them to bind themselves and reveal their true forms. A woman from his home district had been made ill by a spirit. Hou used his powers against it, and a great snake, several dozen feet long, was found dead outside her door. The woman then recovered. There was also a great tree inhabited by a spirit: anyone who rested beneath it died, and even birds flying past would fall from the sky. Hou used his powers against it, and the tree withered and shed its leaves in midsummer. A great snake, seventy or eighty feet long, hung dead among its branches. When Emperor Zhang heard of this, he summoned Hou and questioned him. Hou replied, “It is true.” The emperor said, “There are strange apparitions in the palace. After midnight, several figures often appear in crimson robes, their hair hanging loose, carrying lights and following one another. Can you subdue them?” Hou replied, “These are minor spirits, easily dispelled.” The emperor secretly ordered three men to impersonate them. Hou performed his rites, and the three men instantly fell to the ground, breathless. Alarmed, the emperor said, “They are not spirits! I was merely testing you.” He immediately ordered Hou to release them. Another account says: “During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, strange figures often appeared in the palace, dressed in scarlet, their hair hanging loose, running one after another with candles in their hands. The emperor said to Liu Ping, ‘Can you rid us of these?’ Ping replied, ‘I can.’ He threw a blue talisman at them, and several ghostly figures were seen falling to the ground. The emperor cried in alarm, ‘I was merely testing you!’ Ping released them, and they revived.”