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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... night. One night, having just studied under a lantern for his evening reading, he suddenly raised his head— and there was the girl wearing a smile, standing in the lantern's light. Startled, Zhang jumped up and asked what had happened ...
... night to do so. As Zhang was just about to leave to take the provincial examination, the girl told him, “You have no luck, so it will be a futile effort for you to go there and take the exam.” After listening to her words, he didn't go ...
... night he dreamt that someone dressed as a servant requested that he follow, till he saw a person sitting in a palace who looked like the bodhisattva, Guanyin, and who welcomed him by saying, “Your deeds Guanyin: The goddess of mercy ...
... night, Zhang dreamt that the girl came to him and said, “Was the man I saw that day really you? Your age and looks are strangely at odds, but if we'd seen each other, we'd have been inseparable. I was so distraught afterwards that I ...
... night; though the doors were bolted shut and no one heard him knock for them to open the door, he was always able to get back into his room. Consequently they knew that he was a fox. But when they watched him carefully, they confirmed ...