In such hand-copied folk-literary books as Dunhuang bianwen ( a popular form of narrative literature flourishing in the Tang Dynasty) and Dunhuang ci-poems, Meng Jiangnu was not only the wife of Qi Liang ( an official living in the Qi Kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period), but also the chief priestess in charge of the sacrificial rites for numerous dead people who received no sacrificial offer. In page 5,039 of the Dunhuang bianwen, the dialogue between the skulls of dead people under the Great Wall and Meng Jiangnu inherited the tradition of skull literature starting from Zhuangzi, and also reflected the beliefs and customs of sacrificial rituals in the Tang Dynasty for evocating and pacifying the lonely souls. At the end of the bianwen, Meng Jiangnu read aloud a sacrificial oration which was characteristic of a general official letter, and offered wine and food as sacrifice to the lonely souls. It was true that the sorrow of those husbands who failed to return home because of faraway expeditions was the result of the sudden change of Meng Jiangnu’s story in the Tang Dynasty, the expiation of such lonely souls as Qi Liang was one of the driving forces that promoted the dissemination and variation of Meng Jiangnu’s story. The Dunhuang bianwen about Meng Jiangnu served as an intermediate form evolving from an evocation rite to a sacrificial performance. The role Meng Jiangnu played as a priestess can still be seen now in the sacrificial performance in the rural areas.
