Mož, ki je oživel v krsti

Besedilo

Mož, ki je oživel v krsti

In the twelfth month of the second year of the Xianning era of the Jin dynasty, Yan Ji of Langya, whose courtesy name was Shidu, fell ill and sought medical treatment. Zhang Cuo attended him personally, but he died at Zhang’s house. He had been laid in his coffin for some time when his family came to bring his body home. Yet whenever the funeral banner passed a tree, it would wind itself around the branches and could not be freed. Everyone was deeply moved. Suddenly, the man leading the funeral procession fell to the ground and spoke in Ji’s voice: “My allotted span of life is not yet over. I took too much medicine, and it damaged my five vital organs—that is all. I am about to return to life. Take care not to bury me.” His father laid a hand on the coffin and addressed him: “If you still have life allotted to you and can live again, what more could your own flesh and blood desire? We wish only to take you home now; we will not bury you.” Only then did the banner come free. After they returned home, his wife dreamed that he said to her, “I am going to live again. Open the coffin at once.” She told the others of her dream. That night, his mother and other members of the household also dreamed of him. They wanted to open the coffin immediately, but his father would not allow it. His younger brother Han, who was still a boy, declared with deep feeling: “Extraordinary things have happened since ancient times. Now that we have witnessed such uncanny signs, how can the pain of opening the coffin compare with the wrong we would do him by leaving it shut?” His parents agreed. Together they opened the coffin, and indeed there were signs of life. He had been scraping at the coffin with his hands, leaving his fingers and nails badly injured. His breathing, however, was so faint that they could scarcely tell whether he was alive or dead. They hurriedly used cotton to drip liquid into his mouth. He was able to swallow, so they lifted him out. After several months of devoted care, he gradually began to take more food and drink. He could open his eyes and look about, and bend and stretch his hands and feet, but he could not respond to others or speak. Whatever he needed to eat or drink, he made known through dreams. He remained in this state for more than ten years. His family grew so weary from tending him that they could no longer attend to their other affairs. Han then withdrew from all worldly engagements and cared for him in person, earning renown throughout his province and among his neighbors. In time, Ji grew weaker still, and at last died once more.