Home » Sunday » Now and Then
聊斋志异 Strange Stories of Liaozhai - Spooky tales brewed over cups of tea
April 28, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
"LIAOZHAI Zhiyi," or "Strange Stories of Liaozhai," is a collection of more than 500 supernatural folk tales that appeared during the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Authored by Pu Songling (1640-1715), a renowned writer, the collection has been widely deemed the pinnacle of short story writing in Chinese literature.
The stories are all written in classical Chinese. Liaozhai was the name of the author's studio.
The stories were first circulated in manuscript form and not published until 1766.
Pu was born into a scholar-merchant family whose star had faded, in today's Zibo in east China's Shandong Province.
He obtained the degree of Xiucai at the age of 19, after passing the imperial public service examination at county level.
But in the years that followed, Pu repeatedly failed the imperial examinations at higher levels. In fact, it was not until he was 71 that Pu finally received his next degree - Gongshi, a national degree.
Pu spent most of his time working as a private tutor for children of government officials. The exception was when a friend was appointed magistrate of a county in a province to the south of Pu's hometown and invited Pu to be his assistant.
After he retired at the age of 60, Pu opted for a life of leisure at home, writing poems and idling away his time drinking.
But Pu had always been greatly interested in folk tales of ghosts, spirits, and animals - especially foxes - and their interaction with human beings. In total, he spent nearly 40 years collecting such stories. He even opened a teahouse next to his home and offered free tea to any visitor who could tell him a strange or colorful story.
Then he would include these in his "Strange Stories."
In these, Pu tells of friendships and love affairs between human and supernatural characters, shows his deep sympathy for ordinary people struggling against the corrupt establishment and satirizes immoral or unethical conduct.
Many of his stories also reflect the author's disillusionment with society.
In his "Strange Stories," Pu created hundreds of vivid characters, human and supernatural, many becoming household names in China.
For instance, in "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan," Pu describes how a young man begs a Taoist priest to teach him magic, such as walking through a solid wall. After a few months of hearing his pleas, the priest finally agrees.
He teaches the young man to say magic words before walking into a solid wall. At first, his attempts fail, and he simply bumps into the surface. But one day, however, under the direct instruction of the priest, the young man succeeds in walking through a wall, as though passing through an empty space.
After thanking the priest, the young man rushes home in excitement, eager to show what he has learned. However, he could never repeat the feat again.
In another story, "Painted Skin," Pu describes an affair between a young scholar and a young girl he meets one day on the road. The scholar brings the girl home and hides her in a concealed chamber, ignoring warnings that she is actually a demon.
However, he soon discovers that the warnings were true and that the girl is a demon with a terrifying face and saw-like teeth. Every day, the demon paints a human form on paper and on wrapping this around his body, turns himself into the girl.
Once the demon knows that the scholar has seen his true face, he kills him. However, with the help of a Taoist priest the demon is eventually destroyed and the scholar brought back to life.
Pu concludes the story by saying: "How foolish humans are to take a demon for a beautiful woman, and how muddle-headed a foolish man can be, regarding sincere advice as tales."
The stories are all written in classical Chinese. Liaozhai was the name of the author's studio.
The stories were first circulated in manuscript form and not published until 1766.
Pu was born into a scholar-merchant family whose star had faded, in today's Zibo in east China's Shandong Province.
He obtained the degree of Xiucai at the age of 19, after passing the imperial public service examination at county level.
But in the years that followed, Pu repeatedly failed the imperial examinations at higher levels. In fact, it was not until he was 71 that Pu finally received his next degree - Gongshi, a national degree.
Pu spent most of his time working as a private tutor for children of government officials. The exception was when a friend was appointed magistrate of a county in a province to the south of Pu's hometown and invited Pu to be his assistant.
After he retired at the age of 60, Pu opted for a life of leisure at home, writing poems and idling away his time drinking.
But Pu had always been greatly interested in folk tales of ghosts, spirits, and animals - especially foxes - and their interaction with human beings. In total, he spent nearly 40 years collecting such stories. He even opened a teahouse next to his home and offered free tea to any visitor who could tell him a strange or colorful story.
Then he would include these in his "Strange Stories."
In these, Pu tells of friendships and love affairs between human and supernatural characters, shows his deep sympathy for ordinary people struggling against the corrupt establishment and satirizes immoral or unethical conduct.
Many of his stories also reflect the author's disillusionment with society.
In his "Strange Stories," Pu created hundreds of vivid characters, human and supernatural, many becoming household names in China.
For instance, in "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan," Pu describes how a young man begs a Taoist priest to teach him magic, such as walking through a solid wall. After a few months of hearing his pleas, the priest finally agrees.
He teaches the young man to say magic words before walking into a solid wall. At first, his attempts fail, and he simply bumps into the surface. But one day, however, under the direct instruction of the priest, the young man succeeds in walking through a wall, as though passing through an empty space.
After thanking the priest, the young man rushes home in excitement, eager to show what he has learned. However, he could never repeat the feat again.
In another story, "Painted Skin," Pu describes an affair between a young scholar and a young girl he meets one day on the road. The scholar brings the girl home and hides her in a concealed chamber, ignoring warnings that she is actually a demon.
However, he soon discovers that the warnings were true and that the girl is a demon with a terrifying face and saw-like teeth. Every day, the demon paints a human form on paper and on wrapping this around his body, turns himself into the girl.
Once the demon knows that the scholar has seen his true face, he kills him. However, with the help of a Taoist priest the demon is eventually destroyed and the scholar brought back to life.
Pu concludes the story by saying: "How foolish humans are to take a demon for a beautiful woman, and how muddle-headed a foolish man can be, regarding sincere advice as tales."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
