Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio - (Twenty-four Volume Manuscript)

Author: Pu Songling (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio is a famous collection of short stories in the history of Chinese literature. The author, Pu Songling (1640–1715), was from Puzhuang Village, Zichuan, Shandong Province (now Zibo City), styled Liuxian, and styled Liuquan, known as the "Chatting Studio Master." In addition to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, his works include Poetry of Chatting Studio, Essays of Chatting Studio, and Folk Songs of Chatting Studio. Although Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio discusses ghosts and monsters, it actually exposes the darkness of feudal society, criticizes the unreasonable imperial examination system and marriage system, and embodies the author's deep-seated "lonely indignation." The works are mostly written using romanticism, characterized by rich imagination, unique composition, intricate plots, and extraordinary realms. However, the works also promote feudal ethical concepts such as loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness, as well as elements. Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio was "copied and sought far and wide" during the author's lifetime, but those manuscripts have since been lost. The existing important versions number over ten, with the most significant being the half-handwritten manuscript, the Casting Snow Studio manuscript, and the Qingke Pavilion edition. This twenty-four-volume manuscript discovered in Zhoucun District, Zibo City, near Pu Songling's hometown in 1962, is an important manuscript little known to the world. The twenty-four-volume manuscript is written in one person's handwriting, with neat calligraphy, and contains traces of patches for correcting mistakes, but without any marks or notes regarding copying, annotation, or collection. Based on the avoidance of taboos and the poems inscribed, this manuscript was likely copied between 1750 and 1765 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, or possibly during the Daoguang and Tongzhi reigns, as a re-copy based on Qianlong-era manuscripts. Compared to the Casting Snow Studio manuscript, the twenty-four-volume manuscript has the same number of chapters but different titles. The chapters missing in the twenty-four-volume manuscript are mostly those described as "single chapters and sentences" with "shallow meaning," while the additional chapters are generally longer and often works with more profound ideological content. By comparing the twenty-four-volume manuscript, the Casting Snow Studio manuscript, and the Qingke Pavilion edition with the differences in Pu Songling's handwritten manuscript, it appears that the twenty-four-volume manuscript is closest to the original manuscript. It is therefore evident that the twenty-four-volume manuscript has significant value in textual criticism and is a valuable new source for studying Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.