Strange Tales from Liaozhai - Vol. 2The weird and whimsical short stories in Strange Tales from Liaozhai show their author, Pu Songling (1640-1715), to be both an explorer of the macabre, like Edgar Allan Poe, and a moralist, like Aesop. In this first complete translation of the collection's 494 stories into English, readers will encounter supernatural creatures, natural disasters, magical aspects of Buddhist and Daoist spirituality, and a wide range of Chinese folklore. Annotations are provided to clarify unfamiliar references or cultural allusions, and introductory essays have been included to explain facets of Pu Songling's work and to provide context for some of the unique qualities of his uncanny tales. This is the second of 6 volumes. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 87
... became just two of ten kings of the underworld (the fifth and seventh, respectively). The earliest surviving paintings of the hell kings appear on the walls of the Dunhuang caves (Shimbo 477-81), in Gansu province, dating from both the ...
... became the “ruler in the underworld in both Buddhist and Daoist cosmologies,” hence the very name of “King Yama” or the “Hell King” came popularly to be synonymous with any one of the ten kings (Kucera 88). Perception of the Hell King ...
... became a common occurrence for them. Even when Zhang was going to take the exams, Diamond Sutra: In this sutra, the Buddha helps the monk, Subhuti, reconsider his beliefs about reality; in Section III, for example, he teaches about ...
... became as bald as a boy's face, just like a fifteenor sixteen-year-old. He often wandered about carefree and made fun of things, also like a boy. He was no longer particular about the way he dressed; his two sons often redressed him ...
... became angry and went back inside without turning back to look at him. Han heard a pounding at the door for some time, then asked who it was, and his servant described the situation. But before he'd finished explaining, the Daoist had ...