Pu Songling (, 5 June 1640 – 25 February 1715) was a Chinese writer during the

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-speak ...

, best known as the author of ''

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, ...

'' (''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 The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

. It was not until he was 71 that he was awarded the ''

Gongsheng The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

'' ("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 ''

'' in 1740. Some critics attribute the

Vernacular Chinese Written vernacular Chinese, also known as Baihua () or Huawen (), is the forms of written Chinese based on the varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China, in contrast to Classical Chinese, the written standard used during imperial China up ...

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). 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 Leisures'' (George Soulié). London: Constable, 1913. * ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'' (tr. Herbert A. Giles). London: T. De La Rue, 1880. .

Movies

* '' The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang 2019,

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

as'' Pu Songling

References

Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...

, – P'u Sung-ling * Death of Woman Wang 1978, – Johnathon D Spence

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pu, Songling 1640 births 1715 deaths 17th-century Chinese novelists 18th-century Chinese novelists Chinese male short story writers Collectors of fairy tales Qing dynasty short story writers Short story writers from Shandong Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio Writers from Zibo 17th-century Chinese musicians