Strange Tales from a Chinese Study
The original Chinese name of this book is Liaozhai Zhiyi. It means “Creepy Stories from Master Liao’s Study.” The author’s real name is Pu Songling. “Liaozhai” is the pseudonym of the writer Pu. According to one record, Pu sets up a bench in front of his house, prepares tea and snacks, and calls passing travelers to stop for a rest. White the traveler sits and enjoys his tea; Pu asks him if he has any strange stories to tell. You must have listed thousands of travelers. The stories he published are 490.
Most of the stories are paranormal or mystical in nature. In many Asian countries, in ancient times, people believed that foxes lived more than 100 years and developed tails more than two. Then, they acquire magical power to transform into human beings. There are many fox stories in Liaozhai Zhiyi. Another topic is “who”, which means ghost. In Liaozhai Zhiyi, many ghosts appear and interact with the living. There are stories about spirits, animals other than foxes, and simply inexplicable phenomena.
Although all the stories focus on paranormal activities, the main themes are love, life and living. It is well known that one of Pu’s stories became the basis for the world famous film “A Chinese Ghost Story”. As many will know, this is the story of a young common merchant who falls in love with a beautiful ghost girl. In the process of fulfilling his mission, the ghost girl helps him. With the help of the ghost, he accomplished his mission.
My favorite story is about the fox bride. It is the story of a student who wants to pass the exam to become a Chinese government official. Because the student is not wealthy, he has difficulty continuing his studies.
One day when the student was working on a mountain, he saved a fox that was almost killed by hunters. Even though he didn’t have much money, he spent what he had to buy the fox from the hunters and then released it into the forest. That night, he was visited by a beautiful girl. She confessed that she was the fox she had saved that very day. She said she wanted to help him pass his exam. He gladly accepted her offer. He didn’t know where he worked, but she went out in the morning and brought him money so that he wouldn’t have to work anymore and could spend more time studying.
He passed his exam the following year. Then the girl told him that she would leave now since she had finished her homework. He asked the girl to marry him. She said she couldn’t marry him because he was a fox, but he told her he didn’t care. He really wanted to marry her, he said, and he didn’t expect to marry anyone else, because he knew he couldn’t have passed the exam without her help. They married and lived happily ever after.
One day, when a visitor came to their house, the wife did not have time to hide her tail. This surprised the visitor. Later, she gave birth to two children, both with a mysterious power: to predict the future.
The story is supernatural. However, it teaches us the importance of gratitude. The fox man and woman built a happy life together because they were grateful to each other.