Strange Tales from Liaozhai - Vol. 3The 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 third of 6 volumes. |
From inside the book
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... asked Gu. “He's still meeting with the Fuluo god, so he hasn't returned home yet.” Then Jia asked, “For what crime is my nephew supposed to be sentenced?” “I don't know,” the man replied. “But the Hell King is quite angry with people ...
... asked the gentleman if he might build a hut there, subsequently building one out of straw and taking up residence in it. After the hut had been there for several years, when it was drawing close to the time for Xue's mother to give ...
Pu Songling. Later, Xue's father came outside and the officers asked him, “What's been happening here?” He announced to them that his wife had just given birth. They asked about the baby, and he replied, “It's a boy.” The officers were ...
... asked all of his subordinates for volunteers to capture the tiger. One servant, named Li Neng, who was quite drunk, approached the magistrate, and said, “I can do it.” As soon as Li took the official decree in hand, the old woman ...
... asked for an official decree to authorize the recruitment of hunters. The magistrate complied. Li gathered all the hunters in the area, and they hid in waiting day and night among the mountain ravines, watching for a tiger, so they ...