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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... daughter he sired by seducing a maidservant, depicting Wei as “a villain and a beast” who is punished by succumbing to a debilitating disease; amidst his suffering, Wei finally acknowledges his debauched deeds, pounding his chest while ...
... daughter of the frog god, marries mortal Xue Kunsheng (in “The Frog God” [qingwa shen]), yet doesn't perform all of the requisite women's work (suggesting that she simply can't attend to it all), obliging Xue's mother to take care of ...
... daughter-in-law and mother-in-law is a relatively common feature in Chinese literature, perhaps as the “normal consequences of living and working so closely together, competing for the affection of the son” (Gross and Bingham 89). “The ...
... daughter-in-law opposing an atypical mother-in-law who carries on a sordid affair with a village troublemaker. The daughter-in-law tries to dissuade the man from staying all night with the mother-in-law, so in retribution her angry ...
... daughter. Tao often drank prodigious quantities of wine, but never became drunk or disoriented. He had a friend named Zeng, who had a similar capacity for drinking. He happened to be passing by Ma's house, so Ma sent Tao out to invite ...