Strange Tales from Liaozhai - Vol. 6The 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 sixth of 6 volumes. |
From inside the book
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... concubine—a warning of his vulnerability to powers from the spirit realm—and the news that his shipment of six hundred thousand taels “has already been received into the accounts of the imperial treasury.” The Strange Tales from Liaozhai ...
... concubine to death. These vicarious punishments in lieu of more overt dissidence and call for change are reminiscent of advice from the Confucian Book of Rites: “In dealing with important matters, [the scholar] is cautious and careful ...
... concubines: when he kills the titular scribe in anger for using the womens' old nicknames instead of their new, derogatory ones, the scribe's ghost shames and mocks him with a calling card Strange Tales from Liaozhai xvii.
... concubine he had illegally taken from her original household. In the addendum to “Wang Da,” Pu declares that injustice is largely due to “officials who overreact in response to wrongs” or who are “basically servants of the powerful ...
... concubines acquired by the husband is a matter of organizational practice, not of moral superiority.2 He Zhaorong, a favored concubine, gives birth to a son (the title character of“Danan”), but is forced out by of the home by cruel wife ...