Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Volumes 1, 2, and 3) (Complete Illustrated Edition)

Author: Pu Songling
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: A collection of classical Chinese fiction, consisting of twelve volumes, with some sources stating sixteen volumes. The author, Pu Songling (1640-1715), was a Qing Dynasty scholar from Zichuan (now Zibo City, Shandong Province). At the age of nineteen, he passed the county, prefectural, and provincial exams consecutively but failed the imperial examinations multiple times. He served as a clerk for a year and then spent several decades as a private tutor in his hometown. Over the decades, he extensively collected folk tales and supernatural stories, writing them down as he heard them, which eventually became this compilation. Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio () includes nearly five hundred works, mostly depicting flower spirits, fox fairies, ghosts, and immortals, creating a unique artistic realm with a strong romanticism. The stories are ingeniously crafted, rich in imagination, vivid in language, and full of varied plots that are captivating, reaching the pinnacle of classical Chinese fiction. Using the ghost and fox world to satirize the real society, Pu Songling harshly criticized the corrupt governance and the flaws of the imperial examination system. His tales of young men and women falling in love sincerely are poignant and moving, while stories about social customs reflect his views on morality. Some chapters are purely descriptive of strange objects and events. The book exists in numerous versions. The earliest manuscript is the Licheng Zhang Xiji "Zhushu Zhai" copy, and the earliest printed edition is the "Qingke Pavilion" edition from the thirty-first year of the Qianlong reign (1766). The two versions differ in their division of chapters and slight variations in titles. The present edition was compiled by carefully selecting and improving from various versions, aiming to create the best version available. The illustrations in the book are mostly selected from fine examples of embroidered versions from past dynasties, with contemporary renowned painters replicating the styles of the Ming and Qing periods.