Introduction to Pu Songling: Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio represents the artistic peak of Chinese classical novels

Pu Songling was an outstanding novelist in the Qing Dynasty. Liu Xian, a native of Chen Jian, also known as Liu Quan Jushi, a world-famous Liaozhai teacher, was born in Zichuan, Shandong. Pu Songling became famous at a young age and was highly praised by Shi and Wang Shi. But they failed in the provincial examination: they failed in the imperial examination. He became a tribute student at the age of 71. Except for being a doorman in Baozhou in his middle age, he has been a school teacher in his hometown all his life. Live in poverty and sympathize with the suffering of the people. His works are mainly poetry and prose, and he is good at producing slang songs: pop songs. It took more than 20 years to write the short story collection Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. There are also collections of Liaozhai essays, poetry collections and popular books written for farmers. Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio represents the artistic peak of Chinese classical Chinese novels and has had a great influence on novel creation since the early Qing Dynasty. Yuan Mei's novel Xin Qi Xie and Shen Qifeng's novel Xie Duo are both imitation works. When Pu Songling was young, he was famous for his literary works because of his intelligence. When he was young, he studied under his father. He could read and memorize classic poems clearly. Entered Zichuan County at the age of 19. Jinan Prefecture and Shandong Province ranked first in the third-level academic examination, which immediately attracted the attention of Shandong Province. Examiner Shi at that time was a famous writer in the early Qing Dynasty, sometimes called the Southern Song Dynasty. Shi Aicai is like fate. Therefore, he admired Pu Songling very much and praised his articles as filling the air with fragrance and immortality for a hundred years. Reading is like the moon, writing is like a phoenix, and I have the joy of traveling. It can be seen that Pu Songling's article has a literary foundation. Winning three first prizes in a row, he became a scholar and was highly respected. It should be said that Pu Songling's talent was at its peak, and it was also his prime. However, fate is good: this situation is not good. It wasn't until he took the exam for the last time at the age of seventy-two that he failed. He once wrote a sentence lamenting his experience. He felt that he was talented, just like Bian He who had his feet cut off as a jade sacrifice in the Spring and Autumn Period, and he couldn't help but have the opportunity to show them. What hindered him was the corrupt imperial examination system. He had no choice but to write the book in desolate famine. However, it was in such poverty that he used all his life and energy to complete the immortal masterpiece Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Perhaps this is the different missions that history has given to ancient Chinese writers, top scholars, and civil servants. Pu Songling knew that he had no future in Qingyun due to repeated trials and errors, and his family was at odds with his sister-in-law, so he separated and made a living on his own. His livelihood was teaching. The two things that had the greatest impact were: first, being a guest, and second, being our family for the past 30 years. Pu Songling's father passed away and he was separated from his brothers. To make a living, he taught for a while. Later, at the invitation of Sun Hui, a fellow from Baoying County, I served as a guest for a year, writing books, official documents, and speeches for him. This is Pu Songling's only trip away from home in his life. Bao should be located in the Huaihe River Basin. He has been able to travel to many places, which has not only broadened his horizons but also enriched his experiences. Moreover, he was able to personally witness the darkness of officialdom and have personal experience of corrupt official management and wealthy life. During his stay in Baoying, Pu Songling also expressed his love for the scenery of Jianghuai and wrote some beautiful, fresh and charming poems. However, looking for a job outside the home is not a long-term solution. After staying in Baoying for one year, I resigned and returned to my hometown. From then on, forced by family planning, Pu Songling began a 30-year family career in XJTLU. Bi was thrown into prison in the third year of Shunzhi, and was later promoted to the magistrate of Tongzhou in Jiangnan. In the second year of Kangxi's reign, he was dismissed from office for settling his accumulated grain debt. After returning to the fields, he lived a secluded and leisurely life. Bi Jiyou has a garden in the west called Yinshi Garden. The garden is full of flowers and trees, and the scenery is beautiful. Pu Songling moved to this park in midsummer. Hello

For example, during the Four Books period, historians often mentioned Bi Ci, and some of the servants and servants in the works provided by Bi Ci historians have been preserved. For example, the Five Classics were taught by servants of the Bi family. , Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. At the end of the article, it is clearly stated that it was written by Teacher Bi Zaiji. After Bi Jiyou's death, Pu Songling and his son Bi still maintained a deep relationship. He stayed at Bi's library for 30 years, a long time that took nearly half of Pu Songling's life. It was not until he was 71 years old that he ended his decades of teaching life and withdrew his hukou and returned home. From then on, he began his home life in his later years. Soon, the wife died of illness, and the couple: spouses, husband and wife. Pu Songling, who was deeply in love, was undoubtedly a heavy blow. From then on, he was depressed and rarely smiled. Pu Songling's wife is a good wife. It is said that Pu Songling was frail and sickly since childhood. As he grew up, his health remained poor. Coupled with his poor family, he concentrated on his studies, hoping to gain fame and find a way out.

Who knows, Sun Shan was named several times in the provincial examination. When he proposed marriage, he was often laughed at by outsiders. But he was lucky enough to marry a virtuous wife who helped him with housework and shared his worries, allowing him to have time to write books and achieve success in literature. Pu Songling's wife Liu has a gentle and unpretentious personality, and is deeply loved by Weng Gu. His sister-in-law Han Shi is smart and cunning. I am jealous, so my sister-in-law is at odds with her and often quarrels. Later they separated and gave him a very poor house. His life is very difficult, and Pu Songling cannot control his family. Therefore, the life of this poor family depends entirely on Liu Qinjian's textiles: and generally speaking, the economy. He stayed frugal and worked hard to raise his four sons. Pu Songling sat outside the pavilion and went home to Eve every New Year. Although there wasn’t much delicious food, the whole family sat together, laughing and making trouble, and the atmosphere was lively. He was very satisfied with this kind of family happiness. Sometimes, because Pu Songling was happy, he drank glass after glass of home-brewed rice wine and felt like a god. When you are in a good mood, sing an impromptu song to your wife. Time flies. In the blink of an eye, Pu Songling is 50 years old. Even so, Pu Songling still did not forget his fame. Liu saw through his mind and said to him: Don, stop thinking about fame. If you were destined to be famous, you would have paid your respects by joining the cabinet by now. The mountains and forests have their own joy, why bother with fame. Pu Songling was relieved after hearing his wife's thoughtful words and thought her words made sense. Seeing that my children and grandchildren are all enrolled in school, there is still hope for their glory, so I often show some pride. One day, Pu Songling got carried away and said to his wife: Don't people with no dignity want to be your wife? After hearing this, Liu replied: I have no special skills. Now four sons and one grandson can inherit the career of studying. If they win, they will no longer be hungry and cold. The reward from heaven can not be said to be generous. The so-called contentment is always happy. Why don't we keep this happiness for a long time, but we should make a lot of trouble about nothing. The poverty of life and the failure of the imperial examination were a huge blow to Pu Songling, making him overwhelmed. He forced Pu Songling to write books and teach reading in his spare time. He pinned his grief and anger on his pen and worked hard to create Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. He started writing when he was around 20 years old and completed the book when he was 40 years old. Legend has it that when he was teaching in a private school in the village, in order to collect stories, he and his wife would carry a potted porcelain poppy on their backs every morning, fill it with bitter tea, take a handful of tobacco leaves, sit down on the roadside at the entrance of the village, and entertain passers-by for free. Most of the passers-by are vendors, porters, and wandering scholars. When they are thirsty and tired, they drink some tea, smoke a pack of cigarettes and sit for a while. They really feel comfortable. Pu Songling was wearing shabby clothes, sitting there and smiling at everyone. When someone went to thank him, he asked that person to tell him the stories he heard and the new things he saw in his hometown and on his travels. Those pedestrians were running around, they were well-informed, and the stories they told were certainly novel. Pu Songling took out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone that he had prepared in advance, and wrote down while listening. This way. O

Due to strict ideological control at that time, the author could not openly expose the dark reality. He could only use the story of gods, ghosts and foxes to expose and ridicule in twists and turns to express his loneliness and anger. Therefore, although "Zhu Weng" is a legendary novel, it greatly surpasses all predecessors and contemporaries in its true reflection of real life, especially in breadth and depth. Such as the Six Dynasties novels, although they all criticize the cruelty of the ruling class. Reflecting the wishes and sufferings of the working people and exposing the evils of the feudal marriage system are all involved, but the works involving this aspect from 0755 to 79000 are not only more numerous, but also more concentrated in content, reflecting and exposing more profoundly. It is like exposing the cruelty of the ruling class, and its length exceeds the sum of all the legendary novels of the Six Dynasties, such as Wu_Dafu and Yugui. Among them, the more famous ones are Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Zhiyi, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Sou Shen Ji, Shu Yi Ji, Qi Xie Ji, such as Promoting Weaving, describe that the government forced money to promote weaving, which led to the breakdown of the family, and then his son's soul became to promote weaving, and he Governments that get rich. Through this typical example, the work exposes the social reality of officials' greed and abuse, and points the finger at the emperor. For an emperor's plaything, the people were ruined. Zhu Zhanji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, liked to fight to promote weaving. According to Lu editor Xi Fangping's records, Xuanzong was very cool in promoting brocade and sent envoys to the south of the Yangtze River, spending dozens of gold. and record similar events that occurred at that time. Of course, Dream Wolf is not a documentary, but a typical novel based on folk tales. There is also Mei Nu, who offended Yang in writing. A sheep dies first, and then a ghost official is bribed to kill Lian.

Xi Lian went underground to avenge his father's death. After accepting the bribe, the city god, county magistrate and Hades guard tortured Xiping, which truly described the feudal government's bribery and cruelty to the people. In addition to the above-mentioned exposing the darkness of feudal politics and condemning the crimes of corrupt officials who oppressed the people, another important content is to expose the various shortcomings of the imperial examination system in feudal society and its poison on intellectuals. Such as Gongsun Xia, Luling, Cui Meng, Shang Sanguan, Hongyu, etc. The works are clear about love and hate, have a strong flavor of life, and have high ideological and artistic achievements. Write a blind monk. After burning the article to ashes, he could smell the article with his nose and mock the examiner for being blind. It mocked those who were obsessed with fame and fortune in the imperial examinations. After the exam, Wang Zi'an was teased by a fox in a drunken dream, thinking that he was a high school student, so he showed off his hometown, insulted his long class, and exposed all kinds of ugliness. It vividly depicts the mental state of a scholar eagerly waiting for the results after taking the imperial examination. The ideological content is also reflected in the opposition to feudal marriage and the shackles of feudal ethics. Describing the love and married life of men and women is another important theme of the book, and it is also the most extensive content in Shi Qingxu. Such as Xiang Gao, promoting weaving, Xiaoshi of the Ming Dynasty, promoting weaving, Xi Fang is equal. It depicts the pure and innocent image of Ning, a girl who is not bound by feudal ethics: beautiful, innocent, gentle and passionate, leaving a strong impression on readers. Writers Mu Shimeng and Bai Qiulian fell in love, but they fell ill because of reciting poems. They also recited poems to each other to heal their illnesses, fell in love and got married. It is written that Huang Sheng fell in love with the white peony flower fairy Xiangyu in the Qing Palace at the foot of Laoshan Mountain, and became friends with Kang Donghua Jiangxue. Unfortunately, Xiangyu was moved away, and Huang Sheng's infatuation moved the Flower God to resurrect Xiangyu. After Huang Sheng died, he sent his soul like a flower to live beside Xiangyu and Jiangxue. It writes about Liancheng and Shengqiao's opposition to the feudal forces' interference in love and marriage, and praises their persistent love for knowing each other. It not only has profound ideological content, but also has a unique artist

Mr. Lu Xun once commented: Although Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio is like similar books of the time, it only records the story of fairy foxes and ghosts, but the description is tortuous. It narrates the era in an orderly manner, using legendary methods to capture the strange shapes of today's people; or it changes the tone very easily, not talking about perverted people who walked out of the demonic realm and came into this world; the occasional anecdotes are rich and concise, refreshing to readers. Most of the protagonists in his works are flower demons and ghost foxes. The author uses his rich fantasy to organize unreal things in these ghost realms into real life. The various fantastic and unpredictable conflicts in the work are reflections of countless realistic contradictions. For example, Si Wenlang wrote from Weng Meng's dream that he was appointed to the official position of his eldest son Jia. He saw a giant wolf guarding the door, so he entered a door and looked at the two rooms above and below. He saw that the people sitting and sleeping were all wolves. In the eyes, the bones are like mountains, which is good for fear. A messenger was called to prepare food, and suddenly a huge wolf brought the carcass into the room. Weng started fighting and said, "Who is this Hu Wei?" Answer: Let’s talk about Bubble Kitchen. Later, the golden warrior emerged from the black rope armor. A man plunged into a tiger and his teeth exploded. It all seemed like a dream, but in real life it was not. In fact, these are all reflections of social reality. As the author said in the last comment, those who secretly lament that the officials in the world are like tigers and wolves are all Bibi. Even if the official is not a tiger, the official will still be a wolf, and the situation is stronger than the tiger! These works only express the author's loneliness and anger, and place his personal ideals on them. In addition, Pu Songling creatively inherited the tradition of ancient Chinese narrative literature and formed an elegant and lively language style, thereby breaking through the fair and decent pattern of ancient Chinese language and greatly enriching the expressive power of language. Not only that, he is also an outstanding master who is good at creating literary language. The large number of vivid and beautiful literary vocabulary he created greatly enriched the treasure house of Chinese language arts. Pu Songling never held an official position in his life, which helped him. He continued to write until his death at the age of seventy-six, leaving behind a wealth of writings. In addition to Yu Que evil, there are more than 1,000 poems, more than 100 words, more than 400 essays, as well as slang, scripts, novels, and popular daily newspapers. As precious heritage of our national culture, these works will always be cherished by people around the world.