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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... Centipede .................................. 2154 430. The Examination Official ........................... 2155 431. The Black Ghosts ........................................ 2159 432. Zhicheng ......................
... for the moral lessons that he communicates in many of his stories, he consistently works “to expose all official abuses he knew of and to lash out at social injustice without reservation” xii Strange Tales from Liaozhai.
... official sanction, since they'd never been submitted for censor's approval and publication. The hope behind transmitting personal attitudes through written work is dependent on the author's perception that readers bring “some mapped ...
... official named Kang Lizhen from his post. At any rate, as a scholar who was failed while witnessing men of lesser talent succeed thanks to bribes offered to corrupt officials, Pu exploits the protection of being a mere “collector” of ...
... official who mocks a hard-of-hearing schoolmaster and tries to extort a bribe from him in “The Examination Official” (sixun) is made into a target of ridicule when the schoolmaster misunderstands his request and is seen giving him ...