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Soushen Ji
The ''Soushen Ji'', variously translated as ''In Search of the Sacred'', ''In Search of the Supernatural'', and ''Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals'', is a Chinese compilation of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, Chinese ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena. Although the authorship of the book is not made explicit in the text, it is believed to have been written and compiled by Gan Bao, a historian at the court of Emperor Yuan of Jin (sometimes wrongly referred to as Yü Pao) around AD350. It was reissued in numerous editions, including in 1593. The book usually consists of 464 stories. Stories Notable stories include: * Gan Jiang Mo Xie〈干將莫邪〉 * Wu Wang Xiao Nü〈吳王小女〉 * Li Ji Zhan She〈李寄斬蛇〉a legend about serpent-slaying: ''Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent'' (''Li Chi Slays the Serpent''), similar to the legend of Chen Jinggu. * Han Bing Fufu〈韓憑夫婦〉 The collection also contains a variant of the st ...
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Swan Maiden
The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, typically by some body of water (usually bathing), then snatches away the feather garment (or some other article of clothing), which prevents her from flying away (or swimming away, or renders her helpless in some other manner), forcing her to become his wife. There are parallels around the world, notably the ''Völundarkviða'' and ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' KHM 193 " The Drummer". There are also many parallels involving creatures other than swans. Legend Typical legend The folktales usually adhere to the following basic plot. A young, unmarried man steals a magic robe made of swan feathers from a swan maiden who comes to bathe in a body of water, so that she will not fly away, and marries her. Usually she bears his children. When the chil ...
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Jin Dynasty (266–420)
The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previously been declared the King of Jin. The Jin dynasty was preceded by the Three Kingdoms period, and was succeeded by the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China and the Liu Song dynasty in southern China. There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The (266–316) was established as the successor to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne from Cao Huan. The capital of the Western Jin was initially in Luoyang, though it later moved to Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi province). In 280, after conquering Eastern Wu, the Western Jin reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the Han dynasty, ending the Three Kingdoms era. However, 11 years later, a series of civil wars known as the War of the Eight Princes erup ...
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4th-century Books
The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...) was the time period which lasted from 301 ( CCCI) through 400 (Roman numerals, CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the Constantine the Great and Christianity, first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. Gaining sole reign of the empire, he is also noted for re-establishing a single imperial capital, choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 (over the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by Diocletian's reforms to Milan in the West, and Nicomedia, Nicomedeia in the East) to build the city soon called Nova Roma (New Rome); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor. The last empe ...
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4th-century Documents
The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 ( CCCI) through 400 ( CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. Gaining sole reign of the empire, he is also noted for re-establishing a single imperial capital, choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 (over the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by Diocletian's reforms to Milan in the West, and Nicomedeia in the East) to build the city soon called Nova Roma (New Rome); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor. The last emperor to control both the eastern and western halves of the empire was Theodosius I. As the century progressed after his death, it became increasingly apparent that the empire had changed in many ways since the time of Augustus. The two emperor system originally established by Diocletian in the previous century fell int ...
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Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of books or individual stories in the public domain. All files can be accessed for free under an open format layout, available on almost any computer. , Project Gutenberg had reached 50,000 items in its collection of free eBooks. The releases are available in Text file, plain text as well as other formats, such as HTML, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket, MOBI, and Plucker wherever possible. Most releases are in the English language, but many non-English works are also available. There are multiple affiliated projects that provide additional content, including region- and language-specific works. Project Gutenberg is closely affiliated with Distributed Proofreaders, an Inte ...
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Strange Stories From A Chinese Studio
''Liaozhai zhiyi'', sometimes shortened to ''Liaozhai'', known in English as ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' or ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'', is a collection of Classical Chinese stories by Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling, comprising close to 500 stories or "marvel tales" in the ''zhiguai'' and ''chuanqi'' styles, which according to some critics, served to implicitly criticise societal problems. Written in the late 1600s, its earliest publication date is given as 1740. Since then, many of the critically lauded stories have been adapted for other media such as film and television. Publication history Pu is believed to have completed the majority of the tales sometime in 1679, when he wrote the preface to the anthology, though he could have added entries as late as 1707. However, according to Chinese scholar Zhang Peiheng (), the original ''Liaozhai'' comprised eight volumes, the earliest and latest of which were completed around 1681 and 1707 to 1714 respect ...
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Pu Songling
Pu Songling (, 5 June 1640 – 25 February 1715) was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty, best known as the author of '' Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (''Liaozhai zhiyi''). Biography Pu was born into a poor merchant family from Zichuan (淄川, in Zibo, Shandong). At the age of 18, he received the Xiucai degree in the Imperial examination. It was not until he was 71 that he was awarded the '' Gongsheng'' ("tribute student") degree for his achievement in literature rather than for passing the Imperial examinations. He spent most of his life working as a private tutor, collecting the stories that were later published in '' Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' in 1740. Some critics attribute the Vernacular Chinese novel ''Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan'' ("Marriage Destinies to Awaken the World") to him. Translations of his work * ''Strange Tales from Liaozhai'' (tr. Sidney L. Sondergard). Jain Pub Co., 2008. . * ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (tr. John Minford). ...
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Chen Jinggu
Chen Jinggu () is a Chinese Protective Goddess of women, children, and pregnancy, and was a Taoist priestess. She is also known as Lady Linshui (臨水夫人 Linshui furen). Chen Jinggu is a deity worshipped in Fujian, Taiwan, South China, and across East and Southeast Asia. The legend of Chen Jinggu originated in Fuzhou prefecture. She was also a Taoist priestess of the Lushan School (閭山派). She was virtuous and worshipped as a goddess after her death. She was acquainted in mediumship or spirit channeling. Taiwan has more than 130 temples dedicated to Madam Chen, and Fujian has many ancestral temples dedicated to her as well. Today she is revered as a Taoist and Confucian deity. History Chen Jinggu was born Chen Jing (陳靖) and was called Chen Jinggu (陈靖姑). She was born in Xiadu (下渡), Fuzhou, nowadays Cangshan District around 766 CE. One source claims she was born in the 2nd year of Dali during the Tang dynasty. Another source says she was born at the end of ...
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Harvard Drs 53916197 新刻出像增補搜神記 V
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly ranked universities in the world. The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus Harvard Radcliffe Institute. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic disciplines, and other faculties offer only graduate degrees, including professional degrees. Harvard has three main campuses: the Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. Harvard's endowment is valued at $50.9 billion, making it the wealthiest academic institution in the world. Endowment inco ...
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Li Ji Slays The Giant Serpent
''Li Ji slays the Giant Serpent'' (李寄斩蛇) is a Chinese tale. It was first published in the 4th century compilation named ''Soushen Ji'', a collection of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, Chinese ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena. The collection is attributed to Chinese official Gan Bao (or Kan Pao). Li Ji (or Li Chi) also appears as the character of "Chinese tales and ballads". Alternate names Alternate names for the tale are: * ''The Girl-Eating Serpent''; * ''Li Chi slays the Serpent''; * ''Li Ji slays the Great Serpent''; * ''Li Ji Hacks Down the Snake''; * ''Li Chi Slays the Great Serpent''; * ''Li Chi, the Serpent Slayer''; * ''Li Ji, the Serpent Slayer''; * ''The Serpent Sacrifice''. Synopsis In the Yung (Yong) mountains, in the province of Fukien (or in another translation, in Eastern Yue, in Minzhong, or in the province of Minchung, in Tungyeh), there lived a serpent that demanded the sacrifice of maidens from the village below. O ...
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