The Ganying Pian as a talisman: a miracle tale
Here's my translation of a short Chinese miracle tale, about the miraculous power of keeping a copy of the the Taishang Ganying Pian. It is from the 1864 version of the 增訂敬信錄 - Expanded Trustworthy Record (https://www.google.com/books/edition/增訂敬信錄/PI9EAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP42&printsec=frontcover)
杭州湖墅許可素。奉感應篇O*虔。
Xu Kesu of Huye, Hangzhou, held the Ganying Pian in great esteem.
- illegible character
又書一幅懸於中堂。
He also wrote a copy on a scroll, and hung it in his main hall.
一夕有盜三十餘人。突入許宅。只繞堂而走。
One night, thirty or so thieves broke into Xu’s house. But they just walked round the hall and left.
堂後有樓積資於上。若有阻之。不能登者。至三更盜。去不失一物
At the back of the hall there was a building where he stored all his assets, but it was as if something was blocking the thieves; they could not climb up it. At midnight the thieves left. Not a single thing was lost.
The Ganying pian is a fairly short text. If written in a small hand it can fit on a single scroll. Such scrolls are still made.