Strange Stories From a Chinese Studio (selections from Volume 1)
Songling Pu
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
"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. (Summary from Wikipedia) (5 hr 28 min)
Chapters
Introduction | 31:19 | Read by Jc Guan |
Examination for the Post of Guardian Angel | 7:37 | Read by David Barnes |
The Talking Pupils | 7:48 | Read by Ashwin Jain |
The Painted Wall | 9:15 | Read by Ashwin Jain |
Planting a Pear-Tree | 7:07 | Read by Ashwin Jain |
The Taoist Priest of Lao-Shan | 9:29 | Read by Alan Davis Drake (1945-2010) |
The Buddhist Priest of Ch'angch'ing | 8:12 | Read by Alan Davis Drake (1945-2010) |
The Marriage of the Fox’s Daughter | 12:33 | Read by Jennie Hughes |
Miss Chiao-No | 23:46 | Read by Jennie Hughes |
Magical Arts | 12:44 | Read by David Barnes |
Joining the Immortals | 26:58 | Read by David Barnes |
The Fighting Quails | 16:37 | Read by TriciaG |
The Painted Skin | 16:37 | Read by Vivian Chan |
The Trader’s Son | 10:40 | Read by Scott Carpenter |
Judge Lu | 25:34 | Read by Scott Carpenter |
Miss Ying-Ning, or the Laughing Girl | 30:06 | Read by TriciaG |
The Magic Sword | 25:00 | Read by Vivian Chan |
The Shui-Mang Plant | 11:35 | Read by TriciaG |
Little Chu | 20:06 | Read by HC |
Miss Quarta Hu | 10:06 | Read by TriciaG |
Mr. Chu, the Considerate Husband | 4:55 | Read by Vivian Chan |
Reviews
Especially enjoyed Ying-Ning, Laughing Girl, an enchanting tale.
MargaRose