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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... Scholar” Miao .......................................... 2285 457. The Scorpion Merchant .............................. 2292 458. Du Xiaolei ................................................. 2293 459. Mao Dafu ..........
... merchant beaten to death in a pique of anger over a minor legal violation in “The Home Wrecker” (chai lou ren), he's punished with the birth of a dissolute son who makes the magistrate's life a physical torment, while Pu warns at the ...
... merchants swindle people by jacking up prices and then extorting money from them through salt tax “inspectors” who beat and shackle the people—it's legal for smugglers “to sell the local salt to other towns,” explains Pu, but illegal ...
... merchant Zhou, explaining, “I didn't take from you according to whether you were poor or rich, whether you had money to spare or didn't . . . but determined the amount that guilt could force you to give.” And merchant Zhou, as you'll ...
... merchant/scholar husband, Mu Changong, make a fortune thanks to her ability to anticipate commodity prices. Sheng Yunmian performs her mother-inlaw's household labor in “Chen Yunqi,” attending to the receiving and paying of all bills ...