# Ghosts in Ancient China — WHE Article Discussion

**URL:** <https://community.worldhistory.org/t/ghosts-in-ancient-china-whe-article-discussion/12335>\
**Category:** WHE Articles\
**Created:** [April 20, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/ghosts-in-ancient-china-whe-article-discussion/12335 "2016-04-20T15:57:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![emily.mark49](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/emily.mark49/32/290_2.png) [@emily.mark49](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/emily.mark49)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/ghosts-in-ancient-china-whe-article-discussion/12335/1 "2016-04-20T15:57:17Z")

</div>

Ghost stories were the earliest form of literature in ancient China. They were almost certainly part of a very old oral tradition before writing developed during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) and they continue to be popular in China today. Ghosts were taken very seriously by the ancient Chinese.

* * *

_This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/892/ghosts-in-ancient-china/](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/892/ghosts-in-ancient-china/)._

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![emily.mark49](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/emily.mark49/32/290_2.png) [@emily.mark49](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/emily.mark49)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/ghosts-in-ancient-china-whe-article-discussion/12335/2 "2026-07-29T19:19:03Z")

</div>

Unlisted on July 29, 2026, 7:19pm UTC