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 renowned 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 known by the sobriquet Liuquan. He was widely referred to 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 plots, intricate narratives, 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 all the manuscripts were later lost. The existing versions are over ten, with the most important 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, not far from Pu Songling's hometown, in 1962, is an important manuscript unknown to the world. The twenty-four-volume manuscript is written in a single hand, with neat calligraphy, and contains traces of patches for correcting mistakes, but lacks any marks or notes regarding copying, annotation, or ownership. Based on the avoidance of taboos and the poems inscribed, this manuscript was likely copied between the 15th and 30th years of the Qianlong reign (1750–1765), or possibly during the Daoguang and Tongzhi reigns, as a re-copy of a manuscript from the Qianlong era. Compared to the Casting Snow Studio manuscript, the twenty-four-volume manuscript has the same number of entries but different titles. The missing entries in the twenty-four-volume manuscript are mostly those described as "single chapters or sentences" with "shallow meaning," while the additional entries are generally longer and often works with more profound 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. It follows that the twenty-four-volume manuscript has significant value in textual criticism and is a new and valuable resource for studying Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.