The original Chinese name of this book is Liaozhai Zhiyi. It means “Creepy Stories from Master Liao’s Study”. The author’s real name is Pu Songling. “Liaozhai” is the pseudonym of writer Pu. According to a record, Pu sets up a bench in front of his house, prepares tea and snacks, and calls passing travelers to stop for a rest. White the traveler sits and enjoys his tea; He can ask her if he has strange stories to tell. He must have listened to thousands of travellers. The stories he published are 490.
Most of the stories are paranormal or mystical in nature. In many Asian countries, in ancient times, people believed that foxes lived for more than 100 years and developed more than two tails. Then, they acquire a magical power to transform into human beings. There are many fox stories in Liaozhai Zhiyi. Another theme is “who”, which means ghost. In Liaozhai Zhiyi, many ghosts appear and interact with the living. There are stories about spirits, animals other than foxes, and simply unexplained phenomena.
Although all the stories focus on paranormal activities, the main themes are love, life and living. It is well known that one of Pu’s stories became the basis for the world famous movie “A Chinese Ghost Story”. As many of you know, this is the story of an ordinary young merchant who falls in love with a beautiful ghost girl. In the process of fulfilling his mission, the ghost girl helps him. With the help of the ghost, he accomplished his mission.
My favorite story is about a fox bride. It is the story of a student who wants to pass the exam to become a Chinese government official. Because the student is not rich, she has difficulty continuing her studies.
One day, when the student was working on a mountain, he saved a fox that was almost killed by hunters. Even though he didn’t have much money, he spent what he had to buy the fox from the hunters and then released it into the forest. That night, he was visited by a beautiful girl. She confessed that she was the fox that she had saved earlier that day. She said that she wanted to help him pass his exam. She gladly accepted her offer. He didn’t know where she worked, but she would go out in the morning and bring him money so he wouldn’t have to work anymore and could spend more time studying.
He passed his exam the following year. Then the girl told him that she would go away since she had finished her homework. She asked the girl to marry him. She said that she couldn’t marry him because she was a slut, but he told her that he didn’t care. He really wanted to marry her, he said, and he didn’t expect to marry anyone else, because he knew he couldn’t have passed the exam without her help. They got married and lived happily ever after.
One day, when a visitor came to their house, the wife did not have time to hide her tail. This surprised the visitor. Later, she gave birth to two children, who had a mysterious power – to predict the future.
The story is supernatural. However, it teaches us about the importance of gratitude. The fox man and fox woman built a happy life together because they were grateful to each other.