Changzhen Li's Books 李常珍开发的儿童中英文教材和其它个人作品

From the book” 100 Cases of Reincarnation Among Dong People“

14. Yuyuan Wu, Formerly Suyan Wu: Died at 30 in a Drunk Driving Accident

Yuyuan Wu in front of Diling Village’s wind-rain bridge

Yuyuan Wu was born on December 1, 2011, in Diling Village, Longsheng County, Guangxi. At the time of our interview, she was four years old. Her parents are Wen Deng and Haiyan Chen, and she was born with a turquoise birthmark on her buttock. Ever since she learned to talk, she spoke of her past life. Based on her account, she was quickly confirmed to be the reincarnation of Suyan Wu. Suyan had lived 700 meters from Yuyuan’s home, and had died in a motorcycle accident just ten months before her birth.

       In an interview, Yuyuan was able to provide a complete and unbroken account of her past life as Suyan Wu, including her spirit’s experiences after death, and what she had seen on the occasions when her spirit took flight and left her newborn body.

In 2011, around the time of the Spring Festival and about ten months before Yuyuan was born, Suyan and two men from his village received an invitation to eat with a man from the nearby village of Xiyao. They each rode motorcycles. Supposedly, they planned to discuss leaving the village for work. Most of the young people in this region earn money by going to Guangdong province in search of opportunities, and only return to their villages to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The trip from Diling to Xiyao is about two hours by motorcycle along a winding mountain road. The road itself is hemmed in on either side by a thick growth of trees, and few vehicles traverse it at night, making it easy to let down your guard.

When Suyan’s party reached Xiyao, their host’s wife fried up three plates of food. There was fish and meat aplenty, and everyone ate, drank, and talked freely. The four men drank almost 1.5 kilos of homebrewed rice wine, all by themselves! Suyan was thoroughly drunk, to the point of throwing up at the table. It was already late by the time they finished, but Suyan and the other two members of his party paid no mind to how intoxicated they were and, without helmets of any kind, drunkenly climbed back on to their motorcycles and tore off into the dim night. During the Spring Festival in this part of China, it is perhaps not uncommon to see people drunkenly careening down mountain roads.

       Their three motorcycles zigzagged along the mountain road heading back to Diling, with Suyan bringing up the rear. At first they rode cautiously, but once they realized there were no other cars on the road, the alcohol fuelled their courage and they started to go faster. It was not long before disaster struck Suyan. He had just whipped around a turn when he collided head-on with a motorcycle coming the other way. Suyan’s head split open and he died on the scene. The driver of the other motorcycle escaped with only minor injuries. Suyan’s spirit rose from his body and moved to the side of the road, where it proceeded to stand and look on as its former body continued to bleed.

       According to little Yuyuan’s recollections, Suyan’s body actually contained two spirits, both of which exited his body at the same time. Identical to one another in every respect, they stood watch together next to his body after he died. For the sake of clarity, we will here refer to the first spirit, the one that now resides in Yuyuan, as the primary spirit, while the other will be referred to as the secondary spirit.

       The primary spirit soon spotted an old man with a white beard, accompanied by three errand-ghosts, ghosts whose mission is to arrest spirits by order of Yama in the human realm. The three errand-ghosts were all extremely ugly. They forced the two souls to cross three bridges and made them both drink a bowl of bitter soup. The primary soul, the one inside Yuyuan, remembers drinking four mouthfuls of the soup. Afterwards, the two souls were taken through the nether realms, although due to Yuyuan’s young age, she was unable to describe this part. The errand-ghosts then took the two souls back to Diling, deposited them at the wind-rain bridge leading into the village, and disappeared.

Standing in front of the bridge, the two souls saw yet another old man with a white beard, different from the one before, sitting at the end of the bridge, smoking and staring at them with great interest. The souls decided to go home, where they found everyone busy preparing for Suyan’s funeral. Many of his former family members were crying. When the hour of the funeral procession arrived, the two souls accompanied Suyan’s coffin to the burial site. When the coffin was lowered into the ground, they joined it, interring themselves alongside their former body.

       Not long after the burial, Suyan’s body started to decompose, and insects began to run wild. Four months after the two souls interred themselves alongside their former body, the primary spirit turned to the secondary one and said, “This is just too horrible, I’m going to go, you stay here and watch over him.” It then dug its way out of the grave and left. It has yet to return. According to Little Yuyuan, “it was too gross, I don’t want to go back.” She also said that when she lived inside Suyan’s tomb, passerby would frequently spit on it, provoking her and causing her to spit back (the locals in this town have a very negative view of those who die from unnatural causes, to the point where residents will frequently spit on the graves of those who died in accidents. Further information on this phenomenon can be found in the story of Yuzhou Wu).

After escaping its foul-smelling and maggot-ridden coffin, the soul sought another body to be born into. Not long after, it saw Yuyan’s paternal grandmother walking past. Deciding to hitch a ride, it hopped on her back and let her carry it home.

       Upon reaching the house, the spirit took up residence behind the door. Three generations lived together in the home. In addition to Yuyuan’s mother, Haiyan Wu, there also lived her paternal grandparents and great-grandparents. At the time, her future father, Dengwen, was working in another province. The spirit ate three meals a day with the family. If it felt hungry, it didn’t bother to use chopsticks, it would just stick its hand into whatever dish it wanted. If it felt thirsty for soup or water, it would simply lean its head over another person’s bowl or dish and drink straight out of it. Sometimes, when no one was home, it would turn on the TV. When the family returned it would rush to turn the TV off and resume its position lying behind the door. It could even open unlocked doors silently.

       One day when Little Yuyuan was two, she was standing by her family’s second floor window when she spotted Suyan’s former home. She suddenly asked, “What happened to the tree that used to be there?” Suyan’s house had been built near an ancient maple tree, but the tree had been washed away in a torrential downpour the summer after he died.

       That same year, Yuyuan overheard the adults in the room discussing pigs and suddenly interjected, “My family has four pigs, two big ones and two small ones.” Her grandfather chided her gently, saying, “We don’t even have a single pig.” Little Yuyuan pointed towards Suyan’s old house and said, “I mean that family of mine.” A few days later, her grandfather confirmed her story with a member of Suyan’s family; they did indeed have two large and two small pigs. This story proves that her spirit could leave her body at will.

According to Yuyuan, although her family does not allow her to visit Suyan’s former home, at night her spirit will often fly over there and look around.

       When asked how to describe how her spirit undertook these flights, she stretched her arms out and flapped them like a bird. She says that her spirit often watches as its former wife holds their daughter, Wu Liwei, in her arms. Suyan never had the chance to hold his daughter or rub her head, and his spirit can only stand and watch.

Usually Suyan’s spirit will stay for two hours, and it never spends the night. Occasionally it will join them for a meal, even though Suyan’s family cannot perceive its presence. When it sees its former wife in distress, it also feels distraught. The spirit doesn’t go there every night, just when it misses its former family. After his death, Suyan’s wife got remarried twice, but both times found her new partner unsuitable, and quickly returned home.

       Yuyuan continues to feel a strong connection to Suyan’s parents, wife, and daughter. Ask her if she loves her current family and she says she does. Ask her about her former family and her answer is no less resolute.

       One day, when she was a little over two years old, she announced to her current family that Suyan’s older sister had given birth to a daughter, and told them to present the new mother with the gift of a chicken. Once her family had confirmed the news, Yuyuan’s great-grandmother indeed gifted the new mother with a chicken and drank some wine in celebration.

       Another time, when she was around the same age, Yuyuan argued with her grandmother about whether or not she should be allowed to visit Suyan’s former home. In an attempt to convince the little girl, the grandmother came up with a lie to try and scare her, saying, “Your former family has a pet cat, and cats like to bite children.”

The next day, her grandmother slung her across her back and took her out for a walk, where they ran into Suyan’s mother. When little Yuyuan saw her, she asked, “Mama, do we have a cat?” Not knowing of the grandmother’s lie, the woman answered truthfully, “No, we don’t have a cat.” When Little Yuyuan heard this she started angrily swinging on her grandmother’s back, screaming, “Nana you lied to me! Nana you lied to me!” This year, during the Spring Festival, Suyan’s family tried to have Yuyuan over to their home as a guest, but the girl’s family politely declined the invitation.

       One day, when Yuyuan was three years old, her grandmother carried her across the wind-rain bridge at the entrance to the village. Yuyuan suddenly demanded to be let down and walk, leaving her grandmother puzzled. In reality, the girl had spotted her “mother” from atop her grandmother’s back. Once her feet were on the ground, she suddenly shot off, running towards Suyan’s old house. Her grandmother, suddenly realizing what was happening, chased after her and was able to drag her back.

       Another time, as her grandmother was carrying her across the bridge, Yuyuan once again caught sight of her “mother”. Seemingly up to her old tricks, she said, “Let me down, I want to walk.” This time, however, she didn’t run. She simply took her “mother” by the hand and brought the woman home with her. Her “mother” sat for a while before saying she had to take care of something at home and needed to go. Yuyuan asked her grandfather to peel a pomelo and give it to her “mother”. After the woman had finished eating and as she was preparing to leave, Yuyuan appeared, clutching another large pomelo, which she gave to her “mother” to take home.

       Whenever Yuyuan saw her “mother,” she would always call her “mama.” The first time this happened, the woman broke down in tears. She doesn’t call her former father “papa,” however, perhaps because she is a little afraid of him.

When Suyan was young he began leaving the village in search of work, often returning home after only a month or two. Not only did he not bring any money home with him, he typically didn’t even have enough to pay for his ride home. Instead he would burst through the doors of his home and ask his mother for money to pay the driver. One day, when Yuyuan was three, her grandmother, Suyan’s aunt, and a number of neighbors were gathered in one of the village’s pavilions, chatting idly. When her “aunt” started talking about this less than illustrious side of Suyan, all the people listening started laughing at the little girl. Enraged, Yuyuan broke free of her grandmother’s embrace, strode over to her former aunt, and slapped her right in the face, before spitting the words, “You’re horrible! I don’t want you saying these things!”

       I imagine Suyan’s father scolded him frequently for his behavior, and now, even with his spirit housed in Yuyuan’s body, it is still cautious around him. Yet she loves him all the same. Once, she saw him on the street and tried to lead him back to her current home, saying, “Come to my home and have a meal with us!” Her “father” consented to being led to her home by the little child, though he excused himself before the meal could be prepared, saying he was busy. Still, every year he always gives her a red envelope with some money inside.

       Yuyuan’s current family has some concerns and fears about her tendency to discuss her past life. Truthfully, her family is afraid to ask her about her past. She used to bring it up constantly, but this year she has discussed it markedly less. As for the birthmark on her buttock, some of the people around her believe it corresponds to the head wound Suyan suffered, just transferred to a different place. She still doesn’t know what happened to the other soul that shared Suyan’s body with her, perhaps it is still guarding his tomb, or perhaps it left to be reborn somewhere else.

Additional Information: Yuyuan has a deathly fear of motorcycles. She’s not just scared to ride them herself, she will also try to stop her friends from riding them as well. One day, she saw one of her playmates, a little girl about her age, riding on a motorcycle, and suddenly began panicking and shouting, “Somebody grab her! Don’t you know that you can fall from a motorcycle and die?”

When she first started talking about her past life, her grandfather didn’t really believe her. Then one day she mysteriously leaned into his ear and whispered, “Let’s go to Xiyao and get some money!” Her grandfather was bewildered, “What money is there in Xiyao?” “There’s a lot of it, still 30,000 yuan!” she responded. Later, her grandfather learned that the driver who had collided with Suyan was from Xiyao, and that he had agreed to pay Suyan’s family 50,000 yuan in compensation. Suyan’s family had received the first 20,000, but he still owed them 30,000 yuan. This was the first time the grandfather had heard of any of this, but Yuyuan was perfectly clear on the details. Perhaps it was something her soul had learned on one of its nocturnal flights? From that time, her grandfather began to believe wholeheartedly in what she said.

Interview Note:1. Virgin Media Interview:Yes; 2. Interviewee: Yuyuan Wu and her grandparents; 3. Location: Yuyuan’s home; 4. Interview Date: 16-Apr-2016; 5. Interviewer/Cameraman: Changzhen Li

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