|
The Black Ghosts (short Story)
"The Black Ghosts" () is a short story written by Chinese author Pu Songling collected in ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (''Liaozhai''; 1740). It concerns a Chinese official who purchases a pair of "black ghosts" (a pejorative for African slaves), and details how they are exploited. The story was fully translated into English by Sidney L. Sondergard in 2014. Plot Li Zongzhen (李总镇), a government official stationed in Jiaozhou (now Jiao county in Shandong), purchases two African slaves, described as "black ghosts" who can step on sharp daggers unscathed, owing to their wiry feet. They father children with Chinese prostitutes but, upon realising that their skin is not dark, they kill them; after the act, however, they regretfully realise that their children's bones were actually black. Li also frequently commands them to perform for him, and "the sight was really something impressive". Background The theme of the story is slavery, which during Pu's time was legal in C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuanqi (short Story)
''Chuanqi'' is a form of fictional short story in Classical Chinese first formed in the Tang dynasty. The term often refers specifically to fictions written in the Tang dynasty, in which case the fictions are also called ''Tang chuanqi'' or ''chuanqi wen''. ''Chuanqi'' originated from the ''Zhiguai xiaoshuo'' of the Six Dynasties, was first formed in Early Tang dynasty, became popular in Middle Tang and dwindled in the Song dynasty. ''Chuanqi'' has four main themes: love, gods and demons, ''xiayi'' (heroes and knights-errant) and history. Well known works of ''chuanqi'' include '' The World Inside a Pillow'' and '' Renshi zhuan'' (The Story of Lady Ren) by Shen Jiji, ''Yingying's Biography'' by Yuan Zhen, ''The Tale of Huo Xiaoyu'' by Jiang Fang, '' The Tale of Li Wa'' by Bai Xingjian, ''The Governor of Nanke'' by Li Gongzuo, ''Chang hen ge zhuan'' by Chen Hong, ''Hongxian zhuan'' by Yuan Jiao and ''The Tale of the Curly-Bearded Guest'' by Du Guangting. Unlike general ''Biji xiaosh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strange Tales 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a term is regarded as pejorative in some social or ethnic groups but not in others, or may be originally pejorative but later adopt a non-pejorative sense (or vice versa) in some or all contexts. Etymology The word ''pejorative'' is derived from a Late Latin past participle stem of ''peiorare'', meaning "to make worse", from ''peior'' "worse". Pejoration and melioration In historical linguistics, the process of an inoffensive word becoming pejorative is a form of semantic drift known as pejoration. An example of pejoration is the shift in meaning of the word ''silly'' from meaning that a person was happy and fortunate to meaning that they are foolish and unsophisticated. The process of pejoration can repeat itself around a single concept, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiaozhou City
Jiaozhou (), formerly Jiaoxian or Jiao County, is a county-level city of Qingdao sub-provincial city, Shandong Province, China. It gained its current county-level city designation in 1987. It has an area of and a population at the 2000 Census of 783,478. History Jiaozhou, which belongs to Qingdao, Shandong, is located in the southwest of Shandong Peninsula and the northwest coast of Jiaozhou Bay. Chengyang District in the east, Jimo District in the west, Gaomi in the west, Huangdao District in the South and Pingdu in the north. The city is situated between 36 00 - 36 30 N, 119 37 - 120E, 51 kilometers across the East and west, 54.3 kilometers in the north and south, with a total area of 1324 square kilometers. As of 2016, there were six streets and six towns in Jiaozhou, with a total resident population of 89,3000. Local GDP reached 103.59 billion yuan, of which the added value of the primary industry was 4.944 billion yuan, the added value of the secondary industry was 53.815 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and a site with one of the longest histories of continuous religious worship in the world. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius and was later established as the center of Confucianism. Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient and modern n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perform some form of work while also having their location or residence dictated by the enslaver. Many historical cases of enslavement occurred as a result of breaking the law, becoming indebted, or suffering a military defeat; other forms of slavery were instituted along demographic lines such as race. Slaves may be kept in bondage for life or for a fixed period of time, after which they would be granted freedom. Although slavery is usually involuntary and involves coercion, there are also cases where people voluntarily enter into slavery to pay a debt or earn money due to poverty. In the course of human history, slavery was a typical feature of civilization, and was legal in most societies, but it is now outlawed in most countries of the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria (modern-day Northeast China and Outer Manchuria). It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing dynasty lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Raksha Country And The Sea Market
"The Raksha Country and the Sea Market" () is a short story by Pu Songling first published in ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio''. Told in two parts, the story follows the adventures of scholar-merchant Ma Ji, and is one of the first ''Strange Tales'' entries to be translated into English. Some critics have argued that "The Raksha Country" serves as social commentary on topics including hypocrisy, conventional standards of beauty, and nationalism. The story was likely inspired by both ancient Hindu mythology and early Chinese literature; it has been adapted for the stage. Plot Ma Ji (马骥), courtesy name Longmei (), is a handsome scholar who graduates at fourteen while "(acquiring) the sobriquet of the Beauty" with his fine manners and appreciation of the arts. However, his ageing father dissuades him from continuing his current lifestyle, and advises him to be a trader instead. Out at sea, the junior Ma encounters a typhoon and is shipwrecked on an island inhabited by gro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stories Within Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio
Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British English), a floor or level of a building * News story, an event or topic reported by a news organization Social media *Stories (social media), a collection of messages, images or videos, often ephemeral ** Facebook Stories, short user-generated photo or video collections that can be uploaded to the user's Facebook ** Instagram Stories, a feature in Instagram that let the user post vertical images that will disappear in 24 hours ** Snapchat Stories, a feature in Snapchat which allows users to compile snaps into chronological storylines, accessible to all of their friends Film, television and radio * Story Television, an American digital broadcast television network * Story TV, a South Korean television drama production company * ''Stor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
