Appreciation of the Art of Writing in Liaozhai

Author: Lei Qunming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Critics have long been more praising than criticizing Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The earliest critic, Wang Yuyang, read the manuscript and was greatly impressed, reportedly even offering 30,000 taels of silver to buy the manuscript to publish it himself. Later, many critics even praised it as a "masterpiece unparalleled in history," with "writing skills that are unparalleled in the ages," believing that "contemporary fiction would surely set the standard with this work, surpassing all others, including those below Guo Moruo." It is noteworthy that almost everyone affirmed Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio from the perspective of writing art, saying, "The way of writing, one gains great enlightenment from this." (But Minglun, Preface to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio) Some said that there had been such a "fervor for Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" in history: "Scholars with mouths would speak of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio; scholars with eyes would read Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio; and scholars with hands and pens were also bound to imitate its style." (Preface to the Complete Collection of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio) Some said that Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio was "equipped with all methods, reaching perfection in every aspect." (Feng Zhuanlan, Reading Miscellaneous Notes) Even critics like Ji Yun and Yu Yue, who had some reservations about Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, had to admit that it was a "genius's brushwork," "ornaments that were not without ancient charm."