Pu Songling (1640–1715)
Author of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
About the Author
According to the man who wrote P'u's epitaph, on their first meeting, he was expecting someone as brilliant and charming as his stories, only to find an old man who was very precise in his habits and low in his speech, and who found it rather difficult to say what was on his mind. The writer goes show more on to say, however, that, after knowing P'u a while, he came to appreciate the breadth and depth of his knowledge and the boldness and daring of his ideas. In his own preface to his Strange Tales from Make-do Studio, a work that is now considered one of the great achievements of Chinese fantastic narrative, P'u writes in moving terms what that narrative represents to him, the only vent for his feelings in a world where he feels totally alone and surrounded by poverty and contempt, where he is "a bird terrified by the winter frosts and nestling against the tree which can afford him no warmth." And yet, in his miserable little room with its smoky lamp and table "cold as a sheet of ice," he spins marvelous tales and through them vents his indignation against the arrogance of the rich, the subjugation of women, and the plight of the poor peasants, from whom he was distinguished by education but not by condition. Though P'u writes in a classical and highly artificial style, studded with literary allusions, there is something disconcertingly modern about his view of the world, with all its cruelties and carefully chosen and subtly realistic detail, and yet illuminated by an unspoken set of very untraditional principles that shines through the supernatural story lines. In P'u's imaginary world, the ideal woman is not a captive, but a bold and independent actor who, unfettered by convention, is free to love a man as her equal. And, although corruption spreads beyond earthly bounds all the way to the underworld, the God of War himself punishes an evil office seeker after his death, so that justice eventually does prevail. P'u had a hard life and wrote out of his own experience. As the youngest son, he was left with little when family frictions necessitated the division of property, and, having been unsuccessful in the examinations, he was forced to eke out a living as a tutor to various prominent gentry families who treated him as contemptuously as they did their servants. It was only in later years, after his book of tales was completed, that he finally found a comfortable position in a wealthy family who treated him with respect and friendly intimacy. But by that time he was already well into middle age. It is a great testament to the human imagination that a man in such a setting could weave such unusual tales. Unlike many Chinese writers of fiction P'u did not borrow heavily from tradition, but instead made fairy tales out of real life, where, as Jaroslav Prusek, the great Czech Sinologist has written, "the frontiers between the world of man and the world of other creatures of nature disappeared, . . . and he hinted at something mysterious behind every apparently natural and simple phenomenon, and . . . he flooded the whole of life with an air of inexplicable but unlimited possibilities." (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Pu Songling
selections from strange tales from the liaozhai studio (Library of Chinese Classics) (2008) 5 copies
Umgang mit Chrysanthemen : 81 Erzählungen der ersten vier Bücher aus der Sammlung Liao-dschai-dschi-yi (1987) 2 copies
Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 2 copies
Der Pantoffel der kleinen Yen-Dschi: Zwei chinesische Novellen aus alter Zeit (Wiener Bücherei) 2 copies
Deceiving Shadows 1 copy
Invitado tigre, El 1 copy
Candle Game:™ Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: Weird Stories of the Ghosts and Spirits of Classical China (Volume… (2018) 1 copy
Painted full-color phonetic version of the Chinese students grow classic read: Strange Tales 9787511216489Y34.(Chinese… (2000) 1 copy
聊齋誌異(修訂新版) 1 copy
新白話聊齋志異 下冊 (第2版) 1 copy
新白話聊齋志異 中冊 (第2版) 1 copy
新白話聊齋志異 上冊 (第2版) 1 copy
A Queer Cricket 1 copy
Besuch bei den Seligen (Geister- und Liebesgeschichten aus der Sammlung Liao-dschai, Band 3) (1991) 1 copy
Kontakte mit Lebenden: Die letzten 109 der chinesischen Geister- und Liebesgeschichten (Geister- und Liebesgeschichten… (1992) 1 copy
Fiabe cinesi 1 copy
Zkazky o šesteru cest osudu 1 copy
Schmetterlinge fliegen lassen: Weitere 158 der chinesischen Geister- und Liebesgeschichten (Geister- und… (1992) 1 copy
The Emperor of China in a House of Ill Repute: Songs of the Imperial Visit to Datong (The Hsu-Tang Library of Classical… (2023) 1 copy
Das Wandbild 1 copy
聊斋志异 (Chinese Edition) 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Pu Songling
- Legal name
- 蒲松龄
- Other names
- P'ou, Song-ling
P'u Sung-ling
Pú Sōnglíng - Birthdate
- 1640-06-05
- Date of death
- 1715-02-25
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- China
- Birthplace
- Zichuan, Zibo, Shandong, China
- Places of residence
- Zichuan, Zibo, Shandong Province, China
Members
Discussions
Read-along: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio in Ancient China (October 2015)
Reviews
Risa eterna historias extraordinarias desde un… by Pu Songling
25000
Lots of fun stories. The most notable theme is sex with fox spirits although there's a good variety of stuff too, with varying morals and conclusions even when the set-up is pretty similar. There's nothing here that made me think "woah that's amazing" hence the 4 star but I enjoyed reading every single story here - there's a lot of cool ideas and overall there's an amazing and absorbing atmosphere that really takes you into the world of the Chinese studio.
The Penguin edition I was using has very helpful notes and a good glossary that help you understand the setting for each story as well as pointing out allusions to classic Chinese literature - although I'd note it relies notably on 19th century sources and stuff quite a bit, dunno how some of the explanations of concepts stand up to modern scholarship. 1 story adds the commentary which is apparently standard in the full original Chinese editions.… (more)
The Penguin edition I was using has very helpful notes and a good glossary that help you understand the setting for each story as well as pointing out allusions to classic Chinese literature - although I'd note it relies notably on 19th century sources and stuff quite a bit, dunno how some of the explanations of concepts stand up to modern scholarship. 1 story adds the commentary which is apparently standard in the full original Chinese editions.… (more)
This slim volume contains a number of delightfully weird stories taken from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" by Pu Songling (1640 - 1715). Apart from the fact that they are populated by supernatural beings (ghosts, poltergeists, shapeshifters and fantastic beasts), what makes these tales "weird" is that they defy Western conventions of the ghost or gothic story. Those expecting elaborate scene-painting or profound psychological probing will be disappointed. Instead, atmosphere and character are evoked in a few broad brushstrokes and the reader is immediately thrust into the narrative. The most otherworldly of happenings are described in matter-of-fact prose of fable-like simplicity - as if the boundary with the supernatural were but a veil which can be easily brushed away. The brevity of the tales needs some getting used to (some of the stories are only a couple of pages long) but the style grows on you and becomes unexpectedly addictive. Fans of the gothic who wish to read something different should look no further.… (more)
I'm giving it two stars purely for the cultural education obtained from within these pages. The stories themselves were quite rubbish.
Lists
scav (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 101
- Also by
- 13
- Members
- 1,179
- Popularity
- #21,803
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 35
- ISBNs
- 141
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 2
