HGB Ep. 568 - Haunted Beijing

Moment in Oddity - Tabitha Babbit Circular Saw (Suggested by: Duey Oxberger)
 
Back in the early 1800s there was a woman by the name of Tabitha Babbit who was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts. She was a member of the Shakers which was a millenarian restorationist Christian sect founded in 1747 in England and then organized in the United States in the 1780s. They were originally known as the "Shaking Quakers" because of their ecstatic worship style which included singing, dancing and shouting during church services. Babbit would often watch men at the local sawmill using two-man whip saws with considerable difficulty. She realized that half of their motion was wasted. She was a smart woman who pondered ways to create the same results as the two-man saws with more efficient effort. A weaver by trade, Babbit's idea was to create a round blade that would rotate by being connected to her pedal powered spinning wheel. Her prototype was then connected to a water-powered machine to maximize the effectiveness of cutting lumber. A larger version was later installed in the sawmill. There are some that dispute whether Tabitha Babbit did indeed invent the first circular saw. Due to the Shaker's religious beliefs, Babbit did not patent her invention. In their society, actions taken such as patents were prohibited due to the thought that intellectual properties should be shared by the entire community without restriction. While some believe that the story of Tabitha Babbit and her invention of the circular saw is simply Shaker lore, the idea of the first circular saw being derived from a spinning wheel, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - Eli Whitney Birth

In the month of December, on the 8th in 1765, Eli Whitney was born in Westboro, Massachusetts. Eli was known as an inventor, manufacturer, mechanical engineer and has often been considered to be the "father of American technology". Despite all of his contributions to American society, Eli is most well known for his invention of the cotton gin. He attended Yale College and graduated in 1792. It was then that Whitney determined that if a machine could clean the seeds from cotton it could be quite profitable for the South. He set about drawing up plans for his invention and in ten days, Eli had a rudimentary model that could separate the cotton fibers from the seeds. In 1794, he received his patent for the cotton gin. Unfortunately for Whitney, Southern planters were not willing to pay for the use of his invention. This was due to the simplicity of the machine's design allowing for the pirating of the idea. This put Eli's company out of business by 1797. His patent was not allowed to be renewed in 1807 which led Whitney to surmise that,"an invention can be so valuable as to be worthless to the inventor". Eli Whitney never sought a patent for any additional inventions.

Haunted Beijing

Beijing is a city with over 3,000 years of recorded history. Not only is this a city with a rich history, it has a rich culture, some of which is surrounded by folklore and the supernatural. There are several haunted locations in this capital city of China. Chaonei (Chow nay) No. 81 is found in the Dongcheng District and is a unique brick structure with an obscure history that seems to be mostly connected to the Catholic church. No one really knows why it is haunted, but it is said to be one of the most haunted locations in China. There is the Huguang Guild Hall, a haunted theater. A home for royalty, the Prince Gong's Mansion, has a couple ghosts stories. The Bell Tower may be connected to a young woman's ultimate sacrifice and now it occasionally rings out her haunting cry. And the Forbidden City itself has some creepy stories. Join us for the history and hauntings of Beijing, China.

The Chinese have a rich culture when it comes to ghosts. On our Legends of Taiwan episode, we discussed the Hungry Ghost Festival that is observed in that region. This festival entails performing rituals that honor dead ancestors. During the festival, it is thought that the spirits of the dead came from the underworld and mingled around the living. This was the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. That day is called Ghost Day and the seventh month is called the Ghost Month. The Chinese believe that after death, a person is split into three different souls. The po part goes with the body to the grave, while another part goes to judgement and the hun part goes into an ancestral tablet. The po and hun make up the elements of a hungry ghost and it is referred to that way because those elements need to be nourished by offerings that are brought by descendants. At some point, the po and hun eventually make it to the underworld. But there are other kinds of spirits in Chinese folklore, at least ten of them. They are similar to what we would think of as demons.

The yāoguǐ is called a Weird Ghost and is said to have been concerned only with material things in life. They can transform into any physical object. The báguǐ (baggooee) is a Drought Ghost and they were full of lust in life and now create hot winds. The mèiguǐ (maygooee) is a Trickster Ghost and they caused people to be confused in life and can become animals in death. The gǔdú-guǐ (gwoodoo gooee) are Venomous Ghosts and they were hateful in life and can transform into insects in death. The lìguǐ (Ligooee) is a Pestilence Ghost that harbored grudges in life and causes disease and decay in death. There is a specific spirit called a Hungry ghost that is èguǐ (ehgooee) in Chinese and these were arrogant people that can now on gaseous forms. The yǎnguǐ Yawn gooee) is a Nightmare Ghost that was a fraud in life and can transform into pure darkness now. The wǎngliǎng-guǐ (wong leeon gooee) are Goblin Ghosts and were corrupted in life and take the essential energy within rocks and trees. The yìshǐ-guǐ (yeeshe gooee) are Servant Ghosts who were corrupted by their desire for accomplishment in life and in death can transform into blinding light. And finally there is the chuánsòng-guǐ (chewann sone gooee) or Messenger Ghosts, which were litigious in life and can transform into any person. With all these spirits hanging around, it isn't surprising that the Chinese have no issue believe that certain locations can be haunted.

Beijing is the capital of China and the discovery of "Peking Man" indicated that humans have been living in the area since the Neolithic period. The first formal city was built in the 11th century BC and was called Ji (Gee) City. Eventually, this connected with Xianyang (Shen Yawng) in 221 BC that was under the rule of the Qin (Chin) Dynasty. There were name changes and different dynasties that ruled through the years. Under the Mongol Yuan (You ahn) Dynasty in 1261, Ji City became the seat of power and thus the capital of China. Beijing would get its name during the Ming Dynasty in 1403. That dynasty would also rebuild the imperial palace and this would become the Forbidden City. The Chinese feudal dynasty period ended in 1911  and Beijing was no longer the imperial capital. By 1949, it would be the capital of China again. Beijing is a city with over 3,000 years of civilized history and one part of that history is the Chaonei (chow nay) Church.

The main building is distinctive and very unChinese in design with a French Baroque style that seems plucked out of the Victorian era. The property is made up of three buildings and is surrounded by a concrete wall that opens up at a pair of opaque metal doors. The plot is 8,100 square feet and has a few deciduous trees that partially conceal the three buildings here. There is the main house, a larger second house and a garage. Three dormer windows and a brick chimney decorate the mansard roof on the main house, which is two-and-a-half-stories with a basement. The exterior is made from brick with a Flemish bond and metal drainpipes run down the facade. The front entrance is framed with two rectangular columns that hold up a small stone balcony. The larger building is three-stories high and has a single-bay tower on one corner. This has the same French Baroque styling with four dormer windows piercing the mansard roof. The garage is a small dilapidated brick building with a gabled roof. Until 2017, all these buildings had been left abandoned and vacant. Vining plants covered most of the exterior walls and most of the windows had broken panes. The interiors featured broken floorboards and peeling plaster.

Finding an accurate history for the building is difficult as any records before the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 have been lost or are incomplete. Most historians believe the building was constructed in 1910 and run as the North China Union Language School. The school mainly taught missionaries from the west how to speak Mandarin. A couple decades later, the teaching program expanded to anybody interested in learning the language, which included businessmen, diplomats and scholars. There are some historians who disagree with that history and say the building was built in 1900 and used as a house by the French manager of the Beijing–Hankou Railway at that time. Another account says that the Imperial Chinese government built the structure and gifted it to either the British government or the Catholic Church. This definitely became the property of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beijing in the late 1930s. When World War II started, a group of Belgian Augustinian nuns moved in and used the place as a clinic until 1946.

The Irish Presbyterian Mission moved in next. Now there is a legend told about the time after this. The house was said to have been given to a Kuomintang officer who fled to Taiwan in 1949, leaving behind a woman who was either his mistress or wife. That woman then hanged herself in the house in dispair. There is no record to support this story. In the 1950s, the Communist government took control of the property and used the buildings for government business. The Red Guards occupied it for a time, but its said that they didn't stay for long because the place scared them. In 1980, the State Administration for Religious Affairs and United Front Work Department put forward an order that any property that had once belonged to a religious organization had to be returned to that organization, along with all their property. It would take until 1994 for the Catholic church to prove their connection to Chaonei and the Beijing Patriotic Catholic Association took ownership. At that point, the buildings were slated for demolition, but the church suggested that perhaps the buildings could be used as a Vatican embassy in China. It saved the complex from the bulldozer, but the property remained neglected. The government listed it as a historic property in 2009 and the Catholic church still owns it. The buildings were renovated starting in 2017 and they can be rented out. Before the renovations, the property was a magnet for urban explorers.  

Author and urban explorer Andy Smart visited the location several times to conduct paranormal investigations. Despite the fact that there are no records to back up deaths in the house, Smart wrote on his blog justturnleft.com in 2015 that he met a guy named ‘Jimmy’ Zhang Sunyin who went to school near Chaonei No 81 and he said, "When I was at school we used to walk past there every day. We all knew of the stories and tales about that place and that they probably weren’t true. However, most of the neighborhood, all the local people living around here and surrounding know that a girl had died in there at some time. They all know! We all think that the house is a very bad place. We don’t know why, we can just feel it." So if there wasn't some officer here who left a woman that hanged herself, what other reason is there that this place would be haunted? Another bit of lore that is shared claims some urban explorers died in the building in 2007. And then, despite the fact that no one knows the origin story of this place, a legend claims a priest who built the place disappeared before it was completed and that he haunts the place. 

The Chaonei No. 81 or Chaonei Church is said to be "Beijing's most celebrated 'haunted house'." The legends about this location inspired the idea to use it as a set for the 2014 3D horror film, "The House That Never Dies." Production began on that in 2011 and would take three years with the filmmakers eventually deciding to film at different locations. But the cast and crew did visit the house and the director studied 3,000 pages of data on the house that helped give him a vision for the film because of the stories of haunting activity. That film would become the highest-grossing Chinese horror film of all time. Stories of hauntings date to the 1970s. A man named Li Jongyie told the New York Times in 2013, "Even in the 1970s, people thought the house was haunted...As children, we would play hide-and-seek in the house, but we didn't dare come in by ourselves." Three construction workers were doing renovation work in 2001 and during that they opened up a hole in the basement and saw a flash of light followed by a ghost appearing. They ran terrified from the building and wouldn't return to work. The ghost most commonly claimed to be haunting the house is a woman. Her screams have been heard throughout the years. The house was always said to be cold, even in the summer and people walking by have always felt uneasy. For years, it was written in chalk outside the gate that there were no ghosts. But locals disagree.

The Huguang Guild Hall is an opera house in the Xicheng District. There are said to be four great theaters in Beijing and this is one of them. The theater was constructed in 1807 and today is part of a complex that includes the theater along with the Wenchang building, Xiangxian Temple and Chuwan hall. The interior has a stone floor and the decor features red, green, and gold. The hall hosts a museum of the opera's history in Beijing. In 1912, the Chinese Nationalist Party was founded here. Sun Yat-sen was the Premier of the Republic at that time and he was chosen as the party chairman. During World War II, the theater was used as a home for the poor. Legends claim that the theater was built over a former graveyard and we already know that is bad news here in America. Now imagine in a place like China where ancestors are so revered and their burials are so well kept. There are some angry spirits said to be here. Screaming is heard in the courtyard and don't throw anything into the courtyard or an audible voice will scold you, but its not coming from anybody who is living.

The Prince Gong Mansion is today a 650,000 square foot museum and tourist attraction with gardens. The mansion was built in 1777 during the Qing (Ching) dynasty for a court official named Heshen, who was apparently a real dirtbag. Historians claim he was the most corrupt official in all of Chinese history. The mansion gets its name from the sixth brother of Emperor Wenzong of Qing (Ching), Prince Gong, who was given the mansion in 1851. In 1921, Prince Gong's grandson offered the property to the Benedictines and they renovated what had become a dilapidated mansion. The Catholic church used it as part of a university until the priests were deported. It was used as a business property and in 1996 became a tourist attraction. The most recent renovations were completed during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Two supernatural stories are connected to the mansion and that corrupt official named Heshen. The Emperor Qianlong (Chee ahn long) was a mischievous little boy and one day he decided to scare one of the imperial concubines. He snuck up quietly behind her while she was putting on her makeup and the shock caused her to jump and she accidentally hit him with her comb. A lady of the court saw the concubine strike Qianlong and she reported it, which resulted in the concubine's disgrace and she committed suicide. Qianlong felt guilty about this and he insisted on seeing her body. He bit his finger and left a mark of blood on her neck, so he would recognize her in the next life. Heshen was born shortly after the concubine's death and he had a birth mark on his neck. Qianlong believed that Heshen was the reincarnation of the concubine. So that's the first paranormal story here. This earned Heshen favor with the Emperor and could be why his corruption went unchecked. The only good thing about Heshen seemed to be his devotion to his wife, Feng Shi. The couple's youngest son died in battle and Shi was completely devastated and became ill. It was said that she died of a broken heart. And that may be why her spirit continues to haunt the Prince Gong Mansion. Her ghostly wails are heard and her apparition is seen wandering in the gardens wearing a white dress.

The Bell Tower in Gulou (Goo low) has a legend going back to the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Yongle wanted a large bronze bell to be built to help keep the city's time and so he ordered a blacksmith named Deng to do the work. There was a ton of pressure on Deng to get this done on a tight timeline. An immense amount of heat was needed and the furnace just wasn't getting the job done. Deng's daughter came to visit and she noticed how stressed her father and his craftsmen were and so she threw herself into the furnace and that act of self-sacrifice gave the furnace the boost it needed and the giant bell was finally cast. The bell seems to have absorbed the spirit of Deng's daughter. This is revealed occasionally when the bell goes xie, xie, xie (“shoe, shoe, shoe”) instead of the normal gong, gong, gong. Why would the bell be ringing about shoes? Apparently, before the young woman leapt into the furnace, a worker tried to grab her and only managed to get one of her shoes, so she is asking for her shoe back.

And then, how could the Forbidden City not be haunted?! The Forbidden City is the imperial palace complex that was commissioned by Emperor Chengzu of the Ming dynasty in 1406 when he made Beijing the capital of China. The imperial family began living there in 1420, but even most of them didn't have full access to the property. Only the Emperor was allowed full access to everywhere and that's why it was called the Forbidden City. The buildings were built with feng shui in mind and the most important buildings honor the sun with their position. Hundreds of buildings were constructed with 980 of them surviving today. A twenty-six foot high city wall was built around the complex with three layers of bricks on each side. The four corners have towers and a legend claims that when one needed to be put back together, the artisans couldn't do it. It was repaired by the immortal patron or deity of architecture in China, Lu Ban. He was an actual person and invented many things during his lifetime from 507 to 444 BC. Upon his death, he became a god in Chinese folk religion. The Forbidden City was an imperial palace until 1924 and had housed 24 emperors in that time. Today, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and a museum. 

One of the spirits here is thought to be a concubine named Zhenfei. The Guangxu Emperor had fallen in love with her in 1887 and this didn't please the aunt of his wife who was the Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi also didn't like that the emperor had plans for political reform. When his plans failed, she somehow was able to assume power. She banished the concubine Zhenfei to a corner of the Forbidden City, where she was forbidden to see the emperor. The Empress Dowager ordered her killed in 1900, so she was drowned in a well and her family wasn't allowed to retrieve the body for a year. An inscription on the well tells this story, but it doesn't share that from that time, a weeping woman dressed in white has been seen walking around the city. Haunting flute music is also heard when no one is in the Forbidden City at night. There are also stories of ghost dogs being seen at the edges of the Forbidden City’s labyrinth. Don't worry too much about the ghosts here though because the doorways have high thresholds that must be stepped over and tour guides will tell you that they are there "because ghosts can’t jump, and they’d be trapped inside the room." How many other ghosts are here? Could be countless as some claim the Forbidden City is cursed because Emperor Yongle was said to have slaughtered over 2800 people in his harem when trying to suppress an alleged sex scandal. A fire broke out a few years later and some saw it as punishment for the Emperor.

Another ghost story shared about the Forbidden City dates to 1995. Apparently, a security was watching TV in the guard's room when two other guards came bursting into the room. They were breathless and scared. They said that they saw a woman dressed in all black walking around, so they went to tell her she needed to leave. She kept walking away from them and they finally managed to corner her at a locked door. They ordered her to turn around and when she did, they saw that she had no face. The guards were so scared, they dropped their flashlights. The other guard joined them to retrieve their flashlights and the woman was gone. The flashlights were still on the floor and still on.

Beijing is a huge city with millions of residents and a rich culture connected to the spirit world. Is it possible that ghosts walk among some of the locations in Beijing? Are these places in Beijing haunted? That is for you to decide.