Strange Tales of Shanhaiguan Pass

Shanhai Pass lies northeast of Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province. One of the northeastern passes of the Ming Great Wall, it was considered the wall’s eastern starting point until 1990. It is known as “The First Pass Under Heaven” and “the throat of the frontier and the shield of the capital.” Its unique location brought together many cultures and folk traditions. In religion alone, Taoism, Buddhism, Shamanism, Confucianism, and even the Western faiths of Catholicism and Islam all took root here. Born in this place, I became an Imperial Exorcist by chance. Fox spirits, huangpi spirits, infant ghosts, evil spirits, and zombies: all kinds of demons and monsters, familiar or unknown to me, became commonplace. Yet among these seemingly ferocious evil spirits, there are all the joys and sorrows of life, and all the warmth and coldness of the human world.