It means: "Liaozhai" is the name of Pu Songling's bookstore. "Zhi" means to record events, and "idiosyncratic" refers to strange, bizarre and grotesque stories. The stories are full of irony and reference to reality. significance. To a certain extent, it reveals social contradictions and expresses its wishes for the real society.
The book "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" has nearly 500 chapters with rich content, which are mainly divided into the following types:
The first is the love story, which occupies the largest proportion of the book. Most of the main characters are not afraid of feudal ethics and bravely pursue free love. Such famous works include "Lotus Fragrance", "Xiao Xie", "Liancheng", "Eunuch", "Crow's Head", etc.
The second is to criticize the imperial examination system for its devastation of scholars. As a victim of the imperial examination system, Pu Songling has a strong say in this aspect. "Ye Sheng", "Si Wenlang", "Yu Que Evil", "Wang Zi'an", etc. are all famous works of this type.
The third is to expose the cruelty of the ruling class and the oppression of the people, which is of great social significance, such as "Xi Fangping", "Promotion of Weaving", "Dream Wolf", "Plum Girl", etc.
Extended information:
The love affairs in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio"
1. "Nie Xiaoqian"?
The scholar Ning Caichen is a person Be bold, clean and self-respecting. ?
Once he was sitting in a temple in Jinhua, and sitting with him was a scholar named Yan Chixia, who had a miraculous ability to subdue demons. A female ghost came to seduce Ning Caichen at night, but he sternly rejected her.
The next day, two passers-by from Lanxi died mysteriously next door. That night, the female ghost came again, telling him that her name was Nie Xiaoqian, that she was being coerced by evil spirits, and begging him to help her escape from the sea of ??suffering. Ning Caichen moved her body not far from her home as Xiaoqian said. Xiaoqian followed him back home. After Ning Caichen's wife died, Ning Caichen married Xiaoqian. ?
One day, Xiaoqian told Ning Caichen that the monsters from Jinhua were coming to seek revenge. So Ning Caichen took out the evil-proof cowhide bag Yan Chixia gave him and hung it in front of the bed. By this time Xiaoqian had gained popularity and was no longer afraid of things that could ward off evil spirits. The next night, the monster arrived and was subdued in a cowhide bag and turned into several buckets of water.
Later Nie Xiaoqian gave birth to two sons for Ning Caichen, both of whom were famous. ?
2. "Xin Shisi Niang"?
During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, a scholar named Feng met a charming beauty in the early morning. In the evening, he saw the beauty coming from a ruined temple. Out and back again. So Feng Sheng went in to find out what was going on. He told an old man that he admired the woman, and forced his way into the boudoir but was kicked out. On the way home, he accidentally entered the haunted house of his grandmother's brother. The old lady in the ghost house agreed to propose marriage to her nephew. ?
Sure enough, Feng Sheng and Shi Si Niang formed a good relationship between Qin and Jin. ?
Later Feng Sheng offended Chu Yintai several times and was imprisoned. Only with the efforts of Xin Shisiniang was he able to escape. But after this incident, the Fourteenth Mother was very disappointed with Feng Sheng and saw through the fate of the world. The next day, her appearance changed drastically, and she became older and older. After half a year, she looked like an eighty-year-old old woman. Although Feng Sheng took good care of him, he fell ill and passed away suddenly. The girl was left behind to become Feng Sheng's wife. ?
Later, the old servant saw Xin Shisi Niang riding a green mule in Taihua Mountain, and said to the old servant, "How is Mr. Feng? Go back and tell him that I have become an immortal." "?
3. "Gongsun Jiuniang"?
During the Shunzhi period, a scholar from Laiyang went to Jinan to worship his relatives and friends. When he met the deceased Zhu Sheng from the same county, he begged him to give him a gift. He acted as a matchmaker and married Lai Yangsheng's niece, who was also a ghost. After Lai Yangsheng agreed, he met the fairy-like Gongsun Jiuniang at his niece's house. Zhu Sheng pulls the red thread, and humans and ghosts combine. ?
One day, Jiuniang cried and asked Lai Yangsheng to move her bones to her mother's grave again. She told him that people and ghosts have different paths and should not stay for a long time. She gave him a pair of socks as a farewell. ?
But in the end, Lai Yang was unable to find her because she was buried in a mass grave after her death, which ultimately led to the failure of their love. ?
Half a year later, Lai Yangsheng went to Jinan again. The sky became dark and only a will-o'-the-wisp was seen. It was extremely melancholy to revisit the old place. Faintly seeing Gongsun Jiuniang between the graves, Lai Yangsheng called out repeatedly: "Jiuniang, Jiuniang..." But Gongsun Jiuniang never answered.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
People's Daily Online-[Connect Ghost Fox] Top Ten Love Stories in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio"