Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Stories_from_a_Chinese_Studio

Liaozhai Zhiyi (Liaozhai; Chinese: ; WadeGiles: Liaochai chiyi), translated variously

as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio or Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio is a collection of
Classical Chinese stories by Pu Songling comprising close to five hundred "marvel tales" in the
zhiguai and chuanqi styles which serve to implicitly criticise societal issues then. Dating back to the
Qing dynasty, its earliest publication date is given as 1740. Since then, many of the critically lauded
stories have been adapted for other media such as film and television.

History

The compilation was first circulated in scribal copies but it was not published until after the author's
death. Sources differ in their account of the year of publication. One source claims Liaozhai was
published by Pu's grandson in 1740. Pu is believed to have completed the majority of the tales
sometime in 1679, though he could have added entries as late as 1707.

The earliest surviving print version of Liaozhai was printed in 1766 in Hangzhou. The Martin
Bodmer Foundation Library houses a 19th-century Liaozhai manuscript, silk-printed and bound
leporello-style, that contains three tales including "The Bookworm", "The Great Sage, Heaven's
Equal", and "The Frog God".

Content

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Themes
The main characters of this book apparently are ghosts, foxes, immortals and demons, but the
author focused on the everyday life of commoners. He used the supernatural and the
unexplainable to illustrate his ideas of society and government. He criticized the corruption and
injustice in society and sympathized with the poor. Four main themes are present in Strange
Stories.

The first is a complaint about the skewed feudal system. The author argued that many officers and
rich people committed crimes without being punished, because they enjoyed privilege and power
granted to them by the government, purely by their status and/or their wealth. This theme can be
found in short stories such as The Cricket, Xi Fangping, and Shang Sanguan. It is fairly clear
that the author resents the feudal government, skewed and unfair as it was.

Secondly, the author revealed the corrupt examination system at the time. Pu had taken imperial
exams and discovered that the exams were unfairly graded. He postulated that many students
cheated and bribed examiners or the grading officers. The education system, thus, became
pointless in Pu's eyes, as it had destroyed the scholars minds and ruined their creativity, as
illustrated in such stories as Kao San Sheng, Ya Tou (The Maid), and Scholar Wang Zi-an.

Pu's third theme was a clear admiration of pure, faithful love between poor scholars and powerless
women, writing many stories about the love between beautiful and kind female ghosts and poor
students to illustrate the allegory. The author highly praised women who took care of their
husbands lives and helped them achieve success, as can be found in chapters such as Lian
Xiang, Yingning and Nie Xiaoqian.

Lastly, Pu criticized the peoples immoral behavior and sought to educate them through Strange
Stories. He embedded Confucian-styled moral standards and Taoist principles into parables; some
examples are Painted Skin and The Taoist of Lao Mountain.