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
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... drink that smelled as fragrant as orchids. Then a boy was directed to lead him to a pond where he could bathe. The pond water was so perfectly clear that one could count the number of fish swimming in it and he entered its pleasant ...
... drink.” Han ordered a cup to be brought for him. The Daoist proved able to drink a prodigious amount. Xu looked at the priest's dirty, ragged clothes, became quite disdainful, and wasn't very courteous to him. Han also treated him as a ...
... drinking when he found wine, while Han, meanwhile, became rather vexed with his frequent presence. One time when they were drinking, Xu mocked the priest by saying, “You're always ready to be the guest, so why don't you ever serve as ...
... drink more. The younger girl beat the rhythm and sang while the older one played the xiao, their sounds pristine and delicate. Each time they finished a song, the priest would solicitously urge the others to drain their cups, then he'd ...
... drink, money, or treats, he wouldn't accept them; when he was asked what he needed, he wouldn't answer. All day long, he was never seen eating a meal. Someone asked him, “Since you're not eating meat or drinking alcohol, and you'd be ...