Forgetting a dream from the night before is a frustrating part of the morning ritual for most people.

But one Chinese dream catcher wants to immortalise his in a book after waking up to write down his dreams for more than 14 years.

Peng Xinjian, 74, first made notes following the death of his father in 2001 and his since gone on to document 13,000, according to the People's Daily Online.

Dream catcher: Peng Xinjian has written down 13,000 dreams which he has now turned into a book to share with others

He has filled 30 large notebooks with the various stories - anything from being chased by a frog to carrying rice - even grouping them into categories including family, war, friends and celebrities.

But by far the most frequent dreams to feature in the two million words he has penned in his home in Changsha, south-central China, involve lost loved ones.

He regularly has the same dream involving a strange wedding to someone other than his wife, who is twice his age. Xinjian believes it is because he and his wife never had wedding ceremony and that this is his way of expressing regret.

Storyteller: Xinjian wants to share his 13,000 dreams in a book after writing each one down for 14 years

'Basically I will see my father several times a month as well as my wife who passed away last year. Every year I will see them in my dreams over 100 times,' he said.

WHAT ARE DREAMS? The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood but we know they occur involuntarily during certain stages of sleep. They usually occur during the Rapid Eye Movement of sleep when brain activity is high and it is most like being awake. People are most likely to remember their dreams if they wake up during the REM stage of sleep. While the theories about dreams and what they mean are still debated, Sigmund Freund's The Interpretation of Dreams remains one of the most famous. In it, he explained dreams as manifestations of our deepest desires and anxieties. Advertisement

But rather than being saddened by the memories they evoke, Xinjian says they allow him to live a more fulfilled life.

'Dreams are actually a gift from the heavens,' he said. 'Even without a huge extension of life, through my dreams I have lived another life, occupying two worlds at the same time.

'Compared to those who do not dream I have experienced much more.'

Xinjian, who often has several dreams during one sleep, has gone on to study dream interpretation and hopes to turn them into a book.

'My granddaughter would tell me every morning her dream. My family find it interesting that I have this habit.