Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: Eerie and Fantastic Chinese Stories of the Supernatural by Pu SonglingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fascinating look into Chinese folk lore of the supernatural.
Pu Songling (1640-1715) was a Qing Dynasty author who collected and rewrote native stories that eventually became known as "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio". Herbert A. Giles (1845-1935) a famous sinologist translated them into English.
One learns about Chinese beliefs of the afterlife, the interaction between the spiritual and physical world and a social commentary on how Chinese society was constructed as well as the value placed on education and advancement.
These stories are also strongly moralistic in that almost every story involves a corrupt city official or magistrate or people who try to cheat the system.
In these tales, there is a fluidity between the living and the dead. Spirits of people now passed come back to humans for a variety of reasons and sometimes even intermarry with the living.
One gains a good understanding of the afterlife, in that hell and its various levels are described in particular terms and there is a strong current of justice.
Buddhist monasteries and monks play an important role in society as does honoring dead ancestors. Also the belief in reincarnation is prevalent and doing things to make reparation in the present life to atone for a previous life.
There are over hundred and sixty tales and the index has a methodical description of the different levels of the dead, the various magistrates in hell and their specific responsibilities and authority.
If one is interested in Chinese culture as it existed in the 17th century or earlier, particularly their belief system concerning the supernatural, this is an excellent source.
View all my reviews
10 comments:
This post is full of interesting things Sharon. I love folklore. I know very little about the sort that has come from China. The moralistic messages in the tales also sound interesting. It is curious that they center around corruption.
Thanks for posting the Estas Tonne. I also like it.
Hi Brian. I have always believed that if you really want to get inside of another culture you need to read their folk lore and mythology. Those are the stories that reveal how people think.
Glad you liked the Tonne.
as i type, i'm looking at my copy of Strange /Tales sitting on the top shelf of the nearest bookcase... i've been saving it for a post sometime; but i'm elated that you've already done it! your description makes it sound pretty interesting and i will tackle it in the near future, i trust... (one never knows what ramifications lie in the immediate novelistic future)
the music sounds like some i've listened to from Brazil: kind of a Portuguese/ native combo... interesting but i couldn't hear the guitar work too well: it looks like he's doing a lot of digitation but it doesn't come across... i bet the drummer gets tired...
Hi Mudpuddle. I was thinking that the drummer must have some real guns on her from all the playing.
I don't know what digitation means, and even though I like his music, I find it a little repetitive. But nice background music when you're doing something else like reading.
I must say that at first I wasn't sure what to make of these stories, probably because I was expecting something more in the line of Victorian ghost stories. But as I progressed, I really got to liking the formula and the fluidity between the material and supernatural.
Hmmm. Sounds a bit like something by Dante. Too much of a stretch?
Not at all, Tim. I am fascinated by different cultures' beliefs in the after life and how similar they are to each other, even though the country and culture may be disparate.
I've got this on my TBR - not yet got a copy though. I'll try and get one soon, really looking forward to it now after reading your post :)
Hi O. I hope you get a chance to read them. You'll enjoy the collection.
Post a Comment