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Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio

Published
Nov 2006
Main Genre
Literary Literary
Rating
Pages
562

About This Book

Written during the early Qing Dynasty, "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" is a collection of nearly 500 mostly supernatural tales by Chinese author Pu Songling. The work, which was published posthumously sometime between 1740 and 1766, is comprised of stories varying in length. While the main characters of this book apparently are ghosts, foxes, immortals, and demons, Pu Songling is more focused on the real lives of common folk of his time. Four main themes run throughout the book. The first is the author's complaint with the existing feudal system, which he finds to be unjust and skewed towards the elite. Secondly the author is concerned with the corruption that exists in the Imperial examination system. Thirdly the author shows his admiration of pure, faithful love between poor scholars and powerless women. And lastly is the overarching theme of morality for which Pu Songling intended "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" to be instructive towards bettering. This work of classical Chinese literature is presented here in a translation by Herbert A. Giles.

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Paperback

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Nov 2006 Penguin ISBN 0140447407
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Jan 2013 Digireads.com ISBN 1420948849
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Mar 2017 Tuttle Publishing ISBN 0804849080
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Feb 2020 Neeland Media ISBN 1420966790
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eBook

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eBook
May 2006 Penguin ISBN B002RI9JPA
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May 2006 Penguin (UK) ISBN 0141928522
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May 2006 Digireads.com Publishing ISBN 1420966804
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Jan 2013 Digireads.com Publishing ISBN 1420948857
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Jan 2013 Digireads.com Publishing ISBN B00FVE9WL8
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Audio

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Audible
Nov 2017 BOVCM ISBN B07611Z33C
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