Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
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€18.50
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.
John Minford is an emeritus professor of Chinese at the Australian National University. He has produced renowned translations of some of the most beloved works of Chinese literature, including The Story of the Stone, The Art of War and the Tao Te Ching. John Minford is an emeritus professor of Chinese at the Australian National University. He has produced renowned translations of some of the most beloved works of Chinese literature, including The Story of the Stone, The Art of War and the Tao Te Ching.