Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Volume 2


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.6 stars; 9 reviews)

"Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" or "Strange Tales of Liaozhai" is a collection of nearly five hundred mostly supernatural tales written by Pu Songling during the early Qing Dynasty. It was written in Classical Chinese rather than Vernacular Chinese. Pu is believed to have completed the majority of the tales sometime in 1679, though he could have added entries as late as 1707. He borrows from a folk tradition of oral storytelling to put to paper a series of captivating, colorful stories, where the boundary between reality and the odd or fantastic is blurred. The cast of characters includes vixen spirits, ghosts, scholars, court officials, Taoist exorcists and beasts. Moral purposes are often inverted between humans and the supposedly degenerate ghosts or spirits, resulting in a satirical edge to some of the stories. Ghosts and spirits are often bold and trustworthy, while humans are on the other hand weak, indecisive and easily manipulated, reflecting the author's own disillusionment with his society. ( Wikipedia) (9 hr 50 min)

Chapters

63 - The Lo-Ch‘a Country and the Sea-market 28:11 Read by Nick J. Gold
64 - The Fighting Cricket 11:59 Read by Holly Jenson
65 - Taking Revenge 4:12 Read by ToddHW
66 - The Tipsy Turtle 9:28 Read by ToddHW
67 - The Magic Path 4:21 Read by realisticspeakers
68 - The Faithless Widow 5:17 Read by Gerwin Kramer
69 - Princess of the Tung-t‘ing Lake 23:29 Read by Mary Escano
70 - The Princess Lily 14:11 Read by Christi Lupher
71 - The Donkey’s Revenge 13:40 Read by James K. White
72 - The Wolf Dream 10:27 Read by realisticspeakers
73 - The Unjust Sentence 5:45 Read by realisticspeakers
74 - A Chinese Rip van Winkle 7:14 Read by James K. White
75 - The Three States of Existence 7:24 Read by Eva Davis
76 - In the Infernal Regions 15:10 Read by Mayah
77 - Singular case of Ophthalmia 5:31 Read by Holly Jenson
78 - Chou K‘o-ch‘ang and his Ghost 5:08 Read by Mayah
79 - The Spirits of the Po-yang Lake 2:11 Read by Mayah
80 - The Stream of Cash 1:28 Read by Idan M
81 - The Injustice of Heaven 2:16 Read by realisticspeakers
82 - The Sea-serpent 1:36 Read by jftocanada
83 - The Magic Mirror 3:00 Read by James K. White
84 - Courage Tested 5:24 Read by realisticspeakers
85 - The Disembodied Friend 11:08 Read by Gerwin Kramer
86 - The Cloth Merchant 4:22 Read by Kalynda
87 - A Strange Companion 1:22 Read by Kalynda
88 - Spiritualistic Séances 6:16 Read by Kalynda
89 - The Mysterious Head 1:45 Read by Kalynda
90 - The Spirit of the Hills 1:37 Read by Kalynda
91 - Ingratitude Punished 1:40 Read by Kalynda
92 - Smelling Essays 3:36 Read by Kalynda
93 - His Father’s Ghost 11:53 Read by timli
94 - The Boat-girl Bride 12:02 Read by Gerwin Kramer
95 - The Two Brides 11:57 Read by Holly Jenson
96 - A Supernatural Wife 4:45 Read by Gerwin Kramer
97 - Bribery and Corruption 10:41 Read by Kalynda
98 - A Chinese Jonah 2:24 Read by Holly Jenson
99 - Chang Pu-liang 1:48 Read by Gerwin Kramer
100 - The Dutch Carpet 1:28 Read by jftocanada
101 - Carrying a Corpse 1:46 Read by Gerwin Kramer
102 - A Taoist Devotee 1:07 Read by Gerwin Kramer
103 - Justice for Rebels 1:50 Read by Gerwin Kramer
104 - Theft of the Peach 5:12 Read by Gerwin Kramer
105 - Killing a Serpent 3:54 Read by Gerwin Kramer
106 - The Resuscitated Corpse 5:50 Read by Kalynda
107 - The Fisherman and his Friend 10:15 Read by Chee Sing Lee
108 - The Priest’s Warning 2:52 Read by Gerwin Kramer
109 - Metempsychosis 5:01 Read by Eva Davis
110 - The Forty Strings of Cash 2:24 Read by Gerwin Kramer
111 - Saving Life 2:24 Read by Gerwin Kramer
112 - The Salt Smuggler 5:05 Read by Gerwin Kramer
113 - Collecting Subscriptions 7:20 Read by jftocanada
114 - Taoist Miracles 6:21 Read by Eva Davis
115 - Arrival of Buddhist Priests 3:26 Read by Kalynda
116 - The Stolen Eyes 2:01 Read by Gerwin Kramer
117 - The Invisible Priest 3:15 Read by Gerwin Kramer
118 - The Censor in Purgatory 4:58 Read by Gerwin Kramer
119 - Mr. Willow and the Locusts 3:01 Read by jftocanada
120 - Mr. Tung; or, Virtue Rewarded 3:32 Read by Gerwin Kramer
121 - The Dead Priest 2:19 Read by Gerwin Kramer
122 - The Flying Cow 1:57 Read by jftocanada
123 - The ''Mirror and Listen'' Trick 2:44 Read by Gerwin Kramer
124 - The Cattle Plague 4:58 Read by Gerwin Kramer
125 - The Marriage of the Virgin Goddess 2:52 Read by Gerwin Kramer
126 - The Wine Insect 3:19 Read by Harry Benjamin
127 - The Faithful Dog 2:43 Read by realisticspeakers
128 - An Earthquake 2:11 Read by Kalynda
129 - Making Animals 3:11 Read by Mayah
130 - Cruelty Avenged 1:45 Read by Gerwin Kramer
131 - The Wei-ch‘i Devil 5:48 Read by Kalynda
132 - The Fortune-hunter Punished 2:18 Read by Chuck Williamson
133 - Life Prolonged 4:04 Read by Gerwin Kramer
134 - The Clay Image 4:22 Read by Gerwin Kramer
135 - Dishonesty Punished 4:08 Read by ToddHW
136 - The Mad Priest 4:37 Read by Chuck Williamson
137 - Feasting the Ruler of Purgatory 3:18 Read by Christi Lupher
138 - The Picture Horse 3:44 Read by Christi Lupher
139 - The Butterfly’s Revenge 1:58 Read by Nemo
140 - The Doctor 4:12 Read by Gerwin Kramer
141 - Snow in Summer 1:18 Read by jftocanada
142 - Planchette 7:10 Read by timli
143 - Friendship with Foxes 5:15 Read by timli
144 - The Great Rat 2:36 Read by Chuck Williamson
145 - Wolves 2:51 Read by Nemo
146 - Singular Verdict 1:46 Read by Gerwin Kramer
147 - The Grateful Dog 2:52 Read by Nemo
148 - The Great Test 4:03 Read by timli
149 - The Alchemist 8:58 Read by timli
150 - Raising the Dead 7:24 Read by timli
151 - Fêng-shui 5:06 Read by timli
152 - The Lingering Death 2:06 Read by Nemo
153 - Dreaming Honours 3:37 Read by ToddHW
154 - The She-wolf and the Herd-boys 2:03 Read by Gerwin Kramer
155 - Adulteration Punished 3:10 Read by ToddHW
156 - A Chinese Solomon 6:18 Read by ToddHW
157 - The Roc 2:28 Read by Nemo
158 - The Faithful Gander 1:51 Read by jftocanada
159 - The Elephants and the Lion 2:20 Read by Gerwin Kramer
160 - The Hidden Treasure 4:27 Read by ysevechan
161 - The Boatmen of Lao-lung 3:53 Read by Gerwin Kramer
162 - The Pious Surgeon 5:19 Read by Eva Davis
163 - Another Solomon 3:26 Read by Eva Davis
164 - The Incorrupt Official 2:09 Read by Gerwin Kramer
Appendix A Part I - Taoist Temples 9:29 Read by realisticspeakers
Appendix A Part II - The Ten Courts of Justice 1:04:12 Read by realisticspeakers

Reviews

thanks librivox for yet another enlightening collection.


(3.5 stars)

interesting stories with very good reading, the anthology somewhat spoiled by the constant repetition of credits at beginning of every chapter. Is this really necessary when some chapters are so very short?


(5 stars)

Fantástico registo de histórias orais de um povo milenar. Muito rico na diversidade e tem um role de histórias e tradições interessantes. Obrigada!

"Princess Lily" was enjoyable & very sweet. All were well read.


(4 stars)