Gan Bao

Who was Gan Bao?

Gan Bao was a Chinese historian and writer at the court of Emperor Yuan of Jin. He was a native of southern Henan. After diligent study of the classics during his childhood and youth, Gan Bao was appointed head of Office of History at the court. Apparently the position was granted to him in recognition of his skills which he demonstrated in his Chin-chi, presumably a written account of earlier court activities.

Gan Bao subsequently occupied other prominent positions at the court, but today he is best remembered for the book In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record, which he probably compiled. An extremely important early example of the Zhiguai genre, the book comprises several hundred short stories and witness reports about spirits and supernatural events. A contemporary biography mentions that Gan Bao became interested in these matters after a member of his family survived more than 10 years sealed inside a tomb with the help of a ghost which brought her food.