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 respectively.

The compilation was first circulated in scribal copies but it was not published until after the author's death in 1715. Shandong financial commissioner Yu Chenglong reportedly offered Pu a thousand taels circa 1693 in exchange for his ''Liaozhai'' manuscript, but Pu declined his offer. The final manuscript was "carefully preserved" by the Pu family after his death, with many different individuals, including the local magistrate, requesting to make copies of it. The earliest surviving print version of ''Liaozhai'' was printed in 1766 in Hangzhou by publisher Zhao Qigao (), who claimed that Pu originally intended for his anthology to be titled ''Tales of Ghosts and Foxes''（). Although Zhao also alleged that his publication was based on the "original manuscript" as was copied by a friend, it did not contain all the stories found in the original manuscript; in the preface to his publication, he writes, "I have expunged simple and brief notes which are dull and commonplace, forty-eight in all." Moreover, Zhao censored stories that had "brief references to sensitive topics". Nonetheless, the Zhao edition was well-received and was first republished by scholar Li Shixian () in 1767.

At some point after 1871, Pu Jieren (), a seventh-generation descendant of Pu Songling, had the original manuscript, which was reportedly made up of twenty volumes, rebound in eight volumes. They were then kept in two boxes, one of which disappeared "under circumstances which are still obscure". In 1950, the Pu family donated the surviving four volumes, which contained some 237 short stories, to the Liaoning Provincial Library.

Themes

''Liaozhai'' differs from many other Chinese and Western horror fiction in that the "scary stories" in the collection are not necessarily intended to be frightening, but rather many of these lush romantic tales explores the philosophical concept of ''qing'' (情), the passionate and emotional entanglement of the world, be it human or supernatural.

Literary significance

''Liaozhai zhiyi'' is the most acclaimed Chinese "supernatural tales" collection since the three major Ming dynasty ''hua'' (話) collections, which are the ''Jiandeng Xinhua'' (剪燈新話) by Qu You, the ''Jiandeng Yuhua'' (剪燈餘話) by Li Changqi, and the ''Mideng Yinhua'' (覓燈因話) by Shao Jingzhan; these three had a far-reaching impact across East Asia. Early commentary on ''Liaozhai'' regarded it as a "superior but typical example" of the ''zhiguai'' genre. Subsequent critics and writers disagreed with such a view, instead focusing on the allegorical nature of the stories instead; for instance, Yu Ji, who was Zhao Qigao's secretary, wrote in his preface to Zhao's edition of ''Liaozhai'': "... saying that it differs little from collections of rare phenomena or strange tales is a very shallow view and one that greatly contradicts the author's intent." Pu's grandson, Pu Lide (), viewed the work as "an act of serious self-expression". Still later critics in the nineteenth-century focused on the "literary style and narrative technique" of ''Liaozhai''. Qing dynasty critic Dan Minglun () writes in the preface to his 1842 interlinear commentary of ''Liaozhai'': "From ''Liaozhai'', I also gained insight into literary methods." Around the same period, ''Liaozhai'' also attracted critical attention from Western writers, for example, Samuel Wells Williams mentioned ''Liaozhai'' in his writings as "a perfect work with pure language and elegant style" and its "beautiful writing style" has also received praises from the likes of William Frederick Mayers and Karl Gützlaff.

Since the 20th-century, its literary status was further elevated. Guo Moruo said of ''Liaozhai'' that "The writing of ghosts and demons is superior to all others; the satire on corruption and tyranny is penetrating to the marrow." Yuken Fujita of Keio University wrote in 1954 that "Among the many literary works that are descended from ancient Chinese fiction .e._''Bowuzhi'',_''Soushen_Ji.html" ;"title="Bowuzhi.html" ;"title=".e. ''Bowuzhi">.e. ''Bowuzhi'', ''Soushen Ji">Bowuzhi.html" ;"title=".e. ''Bowuzhi">.e. ''Bowuzhi'', ''Soushen Ji'', ''Shishuo Xinyu'', ''Lieyi Zhuan'', ''Shi Yi Ji'', etc.], it [''Liaozhai''] has already established a reputation as the most outstanding short story collection." Hiromasa Imai describes ''Liaozhai'' as "the pinnacle of ghost literature." ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' was also listed by Jorge Luis Borges as one of his favorite books.

Select translations

English

* ''Strange Tales from Liaozhai'' (tr. Sidney L. Sondergard). Jain Pub Co., 2008. .
* ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (tr. John Minford). London: Penguin, 2006. 562 pages. .
* ''Strange Tales from the Liaozhai Studio'' (Zhang Qingnian, Zhang Ciyun and Yang Yi). Beijing: People's China Publishing, 1997. .
* ''Strange Tales from Make-do Studio'' (Denis C. & Victor H. Mair). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1989. .
* ''Strange Tales of Liaozhai'' (Lu Yunzhong, Chen Tifang, Yang Liyi, and Yang Zhihong). Hong Kong: Commercial Press, 1982.
* ''Strange Stories from the Lodge of Leisure'' (George Soulie). London: Constable, 1913.
* ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'' (tr. Herbert A. Giles). London: T. De La Rue, 1880. .

Giles's translation

John Minford and Tong Man describe Herbert Giles's translation as "prudish",Minford and Tong Man, p. 1. because he chose not to translate "anything connected with sex, procreation, blood, sometimes indeed the human body in any of its aspects" and often made "extraordinary lengths to cover up his traces, showing considerable craft and cunning."Minford and Tong Man, p. 11. In the Giles translation fox spirits wish to chat and share tea with people rather than trying to seduce and engage in sexual intercourse, and romantic partners at most exchange kisses. They wrote that "Giles was a creature of his time" since he was required to follow Victorian Era morality, and urged readers to "not get Giles' bowdlerising of ''Liao-chai'' out of proportion." They added that "the widely distributed Commercial Press (HK) edition of the stories makes many of the same prudish cuts as Giles."

Minford and Tong Man write that people have continued reading Giles's translations even though they "have been at best quietly tolerated, more often derided, and dismissed as orientalist bowdlerisations..." Lydia Chiang describes Minford and Tong Man's essay as a "post- Saidian re-evaluation" that compares the Giles translation to traditional and modern Chinese representations of the story.

German

Martin Buber made the first German translation of the work, included within his ''Chinesische Geister- und Liebesgeschichten''.Chiang, Lydia, p
62
Buber had assistance from a person named Wang Jingdao. Buber stated in the preface of his translation that his translation had portions previously untranslated in Giles work because Giles, according to the "English custom", had "omitted or paraphrased all passages which seemed to him indecorous".Chiang, Lydia, p
72
The ''Chinesische Geister- und Liebesgeschichten'' was translated into English by Alex Page, published in 1991 by the Humanities Press.

Other translations

Vasily Mikhaylovich Alekseyev published an acclaimed translation of Pu Songling's stories in Russian in two volumes, ''Fox's Wiles'' (1922) and ''The Wizard Monks'' (1923). It has been cited as the most accomplished translation of the book into a foreign language. The book was translated into Manchu as ''Sonjofi ubaliyambuha Liyoo jai jy i bithe''. Lodovico Nicola di Giura (1868–1947) produced a complete Italian translation of the 1766 edition.

Adaptations

* ''Liaozhai Zhiyi'' has inspired many Chinese film adaptations, including those by King Hu (''Painted Skin'', ''A Touch of Zen''), Gordon Chan (''Painted Skin, Mural''), Ching Siu-tung (''A Chinese Ghost Story'' series) and the Taiwanese director Li Han-Hsiang ('' The Enchanting Shadow'').
* Jonathan D. Spence. ''The Death of Woman Wang.'' (New York: Viking Press, 1978). . Uses material from ''Liaozhai Zhiyi'' to set the background.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*
* Chiang, Lydia Sing-Chen (2005).
Collecting The Self: Body And Identity In Strange Tale Collections Of Late Imperial China
' (''Sinica Leidensia'' Volume 67). Brill. , 9789004142039.
*
* Chang, Chun-shu and Shelley Hsueh-lun Chang (1998) ''Redefining History: Ghosts, Spirits, and Human Society in P'u Sung-ling's World, 1640-1715''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
* Luo, Hui (University of Toronto Department of East Asian Studies).
The Ghost Of ''liaozhai'': Pu Songling’S Ghostlore And Its History Of Reception
" (PhD thesis)
Archive
2009.
* .

External links

Selection of stories as translated by Herbert Giles, 1916
from Google Books

''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'', 1880, translated and annotated by Herbert A. Giles
at Internet Archive
*
*
* (Giles translation)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio

1740 short story collections
Books published posthumously
Chinese mythology
Chinese short story collections
Collections of fairy tales
Horror novels
Literature featuring anthropomorphic foxes
Short stories set in Imperial China
Qing dynasty literature
Romantic fantasy novels
Shenmo fiction