We have heard a lot about the phenomenon of resurrection after death, and there are also medical explanations for it. However, the 1949 case of Zhu Xiuhua's "borrowing a corpse to return to life" in Taiwan went beyond the realm of science and caused a stir in the world. A young girl named Zhu Xiuhua was killed by pirates, but half a century later, her soul was reincarnated into the body of a dead woman named Lin Wangyao, and returned to the world of the living. Was this a real event or was it partly fictionalized? Today, we will uncover the truth behind the incident.
The "Borrowing a Corpse to Return to Life" Incident of Zhu Xiuhua in 1949
On that day, a woman named Lin Wangyao suddenly fainted and became unconscious. Her husband Wu Qiude discovered her and immediately took her to the hospital. However, by the time they arrived, Lin Wangyao had already died, but the doctor could not find a cause of death. At that time, everyone thought it was an accident, so her husband began to prepare for her funeral.
However, on the day of Lin Wangyao's funeral, her body suddenly rose up in front of everyone, and she said to the crowd, "My name is Zhu Xiuhua. I have come back to life using Lin Wangyao's body." At that time, including Lin's husband Wu Qiude and others, were all stunned by this scene. Later, this incident was widely reported and spread overseas. Paranormal investigators from around the world, including the United States and Japan, came to Taiwan to visit Zhu Xiuhua, making her an international sensation.
So who is Zhu Xiuhua, and why did she borrow a corpse to return to life?
Zhu Xiuhua was born in 1930 and lived in Jinmen New Street. At the age of fifteen, she began practicing Buddhism and became a vegetarian. When she was eighteen years old, she fled due to war and was robbed of her belongings and thrown into the sea, where she died. Later, she was taken in by a prince of Zhang-Li-Mo Sanfu on Haifeng Island. According to the prince's instructions, she had not yet reached the end of her life span, so she could use the body of Wu Lin Wangyao from Mailiao Township to return to life temporarily and stayed at the prince's temple. Soon after, she coincidentally met Wu Qiude during his construction project in Wutiao Harbor and befriended him. After Wu Qiude's project was completed, she followed him back to his hometown to wait for an opportunity. During this time, Lin Wangyao was critically ill and died, and Zhu Xiuhua took the opportunity to borrow her corpse and return to life.
In the article, the author Li Yuhuan believes that the reason for Zhu Xiuhua's "borrowing a corpse to revive the soul" is true, as follows:
Xu Niang, who was around forty years old, became as lively and graceful as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl after being revived.
Lin Wangyao is from Mailiao, and the accent there is the same as that in Lukang. However, after the revival, she spoke with a Xiamen accent. (Note: the accent in Kinmen is the same as that in Xiamen).
Before the revival, Lin Wangyao was illiterate and couldn't write or calculate. After being revived, she could write, calculate, and speak fluent Mandarin.
Before the revival, Lin Wangyao ate meat and fish. After being revived, she became a vegetarian and has not touched meat since. She eats separately from her family.
Before the revival, Lin Wangyao was weak and could only cook. After being revived, she became physically strong and capable of doing heavy work. However, she cannot work in the kitchen and only helps out in the shop.
Mr. Wu Qiude is not a charlatan and did not use the name of "borrowing a corpse to revive the soul" to make a profit. On the contrary, he spent a lot of money on hospitality for his guests.
After the story of Zhu Xiuhua borrowing a corpse to revive her soul came out, many newspapers and magazines scrutinized it. Currently, in addition to Li Yuhuan's interview article, which has been widely circulated online, there are also interview videos with people who appear in person. Many programs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China have followed up on this matter. However, many people believe that this event is entirely fictitious, and their rebuttal reasons are as follows:
The article only has the testimony of "Wu Lin Wangyao's" relatives and no testimony from "Zhu Xiuhua's" relatives in Kinmen. Furthermore, it was written by a Buddhist, which is not convincing.
One of the interviewees in the video circulating online is the neighbor of "Wu Xiuhua" in Kinmen, and the other is Zhu Xiuhua's relative, Ms. Xu.
(1) The neighbor is the director of the local social security bureau in Kinmen. He said that when he was a child, there was a neighbor named Zhu Qing, who cooked for the police station. However, the article states that "Zhu Xiuhua's" father is named "Zhu Qinghai" and is a businessman. The two names differ by only one character, and their professions are different.
(2) Ms. Xu, Zhu Xiuhua's relative, only described the scene when she met "Wu Lin Wangyao" and did not directly confirm that "Lin Wangyao" was "Zhu Xiuhua."
(3) In the video, the reporter asked "Lin Wangyao," "Have your brothers and sisters from Kinmen visited you?" "Lin Wangyao" replied, "They only came once and never came again. They said it was okay to have a place to live."
This indicates that the siblings of "Zhu Xiuhua" do not agree with the idea of "possession" through their conversations with "Lin Wangyao". Otherwise, according to human nature, they would have likely visited their "sister" often.
The skeptic believes that the truth of this incident is likely that "Lin Wangyao" has "multiple personality disorder," with another "young girl" personality in control. The reason she used the name "Wu Xiuhua" may have been a coincidence, or she may have heard of Wu Xiuhua's related experiences.
This is a reaction produced by humans under extreme repression, to depersonalize or create an unreal feeling, resulting in some cases where memories before death cause them to believe they are someone else. This symptom is mentioned in dissociative disorder as multiple personality, also known as possession.
Therefore, we can conclude that there is some truth to the claim that Zhu Xiuhua returned from the dead by taking over another person's body. The question is whether this was due to the Daoist practice of "body snatching" or scientific explanation of dissociative identity disorder. What do you think is the truth behind this?