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Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Penguin Classics)
£8.60£12.30 (-30%)
The Strange Tales of Pu Songling (1640-1715) are exquisite and amusing miniatures that are regarded as the pinnacle of classical Chinese fiction. With their elegant prose, witty wordplay and subtle charm, the 104 stories in this selection 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.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Illustrated edition (25 May 2006), Penguin Classics |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 562 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0140447407 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0140447408 |
| Dimensions | 19.56 x 12.7 x 2.29 cm |
by Lance
Simplicity is key to success. Unlike most academics these days, the intelligent authors do not need to strain a point.
by Graham
I would not have heard of this book had not Amazon pestered me with one of their (usually) wretched recommendations!!! Having swallowed the bait and ordered it, I found it a fantastic read, entertaining, informative, and downright bizarre. It opens up a whole new aspect of Chinese culture. The translation is excellent. I don’t read Chinese, but one can tell, as the stories flow so well. Read the book, then read all the notes and the introductions, then read it again! Although there are a lot of them, they enhance the experience. Buy this book.
by Peter S
This is a series of short stories which reflect Chinese superstitions and beliefs and also cast light on the human condition. The bizarre and supernatural events depicted often read like a living nightmare where normal rules of nature and reason are suspended. I called it “perfect bed-time reading” safe in the knowledge that readers prone to bad dreams can be assured that their sleep will not be disturbed by anything worse than the misadventures set out in this collection.
by Julian Waldron
Firstly, this was not the book I reviewed, the review of which was rejected – The Kalevala.
This is a completely different book from the Orient consisting of many short tales of magic.
It is illustrated, but, reading on Kindle, these are in mid-chapter and spoil the flow.
An excellent book.
Now, if, Amazon let me, I shall revisit The Kalevala…
by Nigel Jackson
‘Midnight finds me, here in this desolate studio, by the dim light of my flickering lamp, fashioning my tales at this ice-cold table…’ ~(Author’s Preface)
Writing at the troubled close of the Ming period and the inception of the Manchu era in China, Pu Songling, the Chronicler of the Strange, penned these exquisite tales, each one an encapsulation of the strange, the unusual and the uncanny in the sense of the Chinese word ‘yao’, meaning the weirdly alluring, the spooky and the strangely seductive: accordingly Pu Songling’s tales range from short anecdotal accounts to complete narratives, folk-stories and intricate, beguiling tales involving courtesans, scholars, Taoist sages, peasants, monks, sorcerers, fortune-tellers and officials, strange creatures,spirits, birds and beasts – a pervasive theme is that of ‘fox-trouble’, the disturbing incursions of fox spirits and were-foxes and thus of what the metaphysician Rene Guenon commented upon in regard of Taoist traditions concerning ‘wandering influences’, the animic agencies of the psychic or subtle intermediate realm, intangible forces pressing in upon men and women (and corresponding with what Islamic lore calls the djinn): these polished tales, like delicate miniatures or ivory carvings thus display Pu Songling’s meditations upon human vanity, pride, weakness, greed and desires, upon illusion, the causal repercussions of karma and the cycles of transmigration, often bringing in the idea of ‘pre-destined affinity’between individuals. The tales often have a moral-cautionary aspect to them and often a strain of melancholic beauty, but this selection certainly highlights the perfect artistry of Pu Songling as he evokes a world of ghostly atmospheres, wine-drinking midnight revels, macabre prodigies, eerie revenants and oftimes illicit erotic encounters, suffused with a delicate poetic quality which only whets the appetite for more of this outre fare. Tales such as ‘Flowers of Illusion’, ‘Silver Over Beauty’,’The Girl in Green’ and ‘Lust Punished by Foxes’ linger in the mind like a rare scent, piquantly bizarre but always articulated via a refined and controlled artistry. The tales selected here also afford a window into the rarified world of the late Ming-period scholar-gentleman’s studio, a space where intellectual, esoteric and sensual pleasures sometimes converged. And as the perfect accompaniment to this array of 104 dishes chosen from Pu Songling’s lavish 17th century Chinese feast each tale is illustrated with delectable period woodcuts. John Minford’s translation, notes and glossary enhance a highly satisfying and unusual literary and aesthetic experience and this anthology of Pu Songling’s tales is certainly a wonderful book.The 19th century comentator Feng Zhenluan remarked that ‘One enters this book with a lantern, in the shadows of night’, and that read in the right manner, these tales dispel oppression of the spirits.
by Astrid
These stories are concise yet packed full of charming surprises – sometimes heartwarming, sometimes tragic and often wonderfully uncanny. There’s a lot of variety there so you’ll never get bored. The stories are quite subtle so you often do have to think a bit about what they’re trying to say, but that makes them memorable and fun – you can reread them again and again and play with different interpretations. Many scenes and images are so vivid and moving they really stay with you long after you’ve stopped reading. The language has an elegant simplicity to it that’s not usually the case with translated works. In fact, this is a translation that does not read like a translation at all: translated works often come across too dry/clinical
or too mannered/clumsy – this is neither. I know there are many different translations to these stories so if you’re unsure which translation to pick, definitely give this one a go!
by Mariella Munden
The tales are certainly an interesting reading and the translater has done a great job. I find the section with the added notes explaining some traditional Chinese beliefs very useful and informative. Sadly the book itself did not arrive in excellent condition as expected, hense the 4 stars.
by Amazon Customer
Let me say where I’m coming from with this review – I’ve a deep amateur interest in Chinese history and culture. Now that’s out of the way …….this is a fabulous book. I can’t read or speak Chinese but the translation seems to me to be spot on – literate but not difficult and with enough clarity to make the stories very readable and enjoyable. What stories they are, fusing the everyday with the supernatural and other-wordly, in an accepting and magical way. Each tale is short and told without judgement or authorial comment. They read, in fact, as modern short stories. If you share my interest in China you’ll love this.