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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... who, walking the mundane world one moment, in an instant find themselves in the presence of wonders. My laoshi and colleague, Cai Hong/Anne Csete, has been keenly supportive of my efforts to translate Pu Songling's stories, and I wish ...
... who's hired to do some work by Zhou Youde, in Zhou's capacity as provincial governor, becomes involved with a chicken spirit who adopts a seductive female appearance and begins to destroy his health, until Feng hires a sorcerer to help ...
... who tries to punish an aide when a huge monetary bribe destined for the capital disappears, is contacted by a mysterious monarch who sends him a box containing the hair of his favorite concubine—a warning of his vulnerability to powers ...
... who makes the magistrate's life a physical torment, while Pu warns at the end, “For anyone who's in a position of authority over other people, it's never too soon to begin acting with caution!” He similarly castigates the title ...
... who beat and shackle the people—it's legal for smugglers “to sell the local salt to other towns,” explains Pu, but illegal for the locals “to buy it from [the other towns]—such an injustice!” The main story takes a supernatural revenge ...