Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (1766) 聊齋誌異

Author: Pu Songling

Translator: John Minford

Publisher: Penguin Books

Format: Novel

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Date: 1766

Pages: 608 pages

Number of issues: 1

ISBN: 9780140447408

ASIN: 0140447407

Language: Chinese / English

Also known as: Liaozhai zhiyi / Liaozhai / Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio / Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio / Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio / Strange Tales from a Studio of Leisure

Adaptation: Cameo

Summary:

With their elegant prose, witty wordplay and subtle charm, the 104 stories in this selection from The Strange Tales of Pu Songling (1640-1715) reveal a world in which nothing is as it seems. Here a Taoist monk conjures up a magical pear tree, a scholar recounts his previous incarnations, a woman out-foxes the fox-spirit that possesses her, a child bride gives birth to a thimble-sized baby, a ghostly city appears out of nowhere and a heartless daughter-in-law is turned into a pig. In his tales of humans coupling with shape-shifting spirits, bizarre phenomena, haunted buildings and enchanted objects, Pu Songling pushes back the boundaries of human experience and enlightens as he entertains. John Minford's superb translation captures the consummate skill and understated humour of the Strange Tales, while his introduction discusses Pu Songling's sources, literary style and discreet eroticism, and his depiction of spirits and the supernatural. This edition also includes illustrations, further reading, a glossary and notes.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Tales_from_a_Chinese_Studio