Case file · High strangeness
Shaoweng shows Emperor Wu a dead consort
The fangshi Shaoweng of Qi conjured the image of the dead Lady Wang for Emperor Wu of Han, who watched it from behind a curtain at night. Later he was exposed and executed.
118 BCE · 34.30, 108.88 · status: account
The account
Sima Qian tells how Shaoweng won the title 'General of Refined Accomplishment' with the séance. He later hid a silk text inside an ox and claimed it as a marvel. His handwriting gave him away. Later retellings swap in Lady Li, who died long after him.
The sceptical view
Chinese historians already suggested the 'ghost' was a lamp-lit figure or shadow play behind the curtain; the ox trick showed his methods.