Status
Available
Call number
Publication
PENGUIN GROUP (2015)
Description
'...revealing great shining fangs more than three inches long.'Some of the most macabre and wonderful of all Chinese stories, including 'The Golden Goblet', 'Scorched Moth the Daoist' and 'The Black Beast'Introducing Little Black Classics- 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Xleptodactylous
Very short Chinese tales from Pu Songling, from Zibo in the 17th century concerning ghosts, ghoulies and quite a lot of fox-spirits.
If short, Chinese tales are your thing (or you think they may be) then these are definitely for you. Personally I found them to be repetitive, badly written and akin
If short, Chinese tales are your thing (or you think they may be) then these are definitely for you. Personally I found them to be repetitive, badly written and akin
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to many such other stories of a similar length. It is, however, nice to enjoy another culture, particularly when it's obvious there are themes that are genuinely universal and can be seen in tales like these all over the world. Show Less
LibraryThing member SashaM
The best of these little black classics I've read so far ( reading in numerical order) short ghost stories from ancient china are part old urban legend part Chinese mythology. Several stories in this book and none are truly scary by modern standards but all entertaining
LibraryThing member greeniezona
(This Little Black Classic selection was really an impulse grab, influenced by its Chinese origins (as my oldest son is learning Chinese, I'm a soft touch for authentic Chinese fairy tales and folklore.)
The first two stories were really pretty dry, so I was a bit concerned. But the rest of the
The first two stories were really pretty dry, so I was a bit concerned. But the rest of the
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stories were more in line with what I expected -- trickster monks, foxes, and fairies. A lovely little collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
A selection of very short supernatural tales. More of interest in that they take you into the mind of 17th century China than for any huge literary merit. The first two are definitely the worst, then it picks up to be perfectly readable...a world of monsters, sprites magic and 'foxes' (ghostly
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beings). Show Less
LibraryThing member AngelaJMaher
Superb little bites of the supernatural.
LibraryThing member pivic
The form and style of these short stories fascinated me somewhat; having said that, if one bars what merely is exoticism to me, the stories are really moralistic at their core: one shan't lull outside one's allotted life or misery will follow, one should not dream for something higher in life or
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death will follow, et cetera. I feel that these stories are written with a lot of passive aggression burning in the back, as though the author wanted to fire the results of his unrealised dreams towards the protagonists of these stories with moral fire. Anyway, all in all, the style and simple tales are admirable in a way; I dig the curtness, the inherent sense of honour that follows everything, and the symbolic meanings strewn throughout. Show Less
LibraryThing member JosephCamilleri
This slim volume contains a number of delightfully weird stories taken from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" by Pu Songling (1640 - 1715). Apart from the fact that they are populated by supernatural beings (ghosts, poltergeists, shapeshifters and fantastic beasts), what makes these tales
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"weird" is that they defy Western conventions of the ghost or gothic story. Those expecting elaborate scene-painting or profound psychological probing will be disappointed. Instead, atmosphere and character are evoked in a few broad brushstrokes and the reader is immediately thrust into the narrative. The most otherworldly of happenings are described in matter-of-fact prose of fable-like simplicity - as if the boundary with the supernatural were but a veil which can be easily brushed away. The brevity of the tales needs some getting used to (some of the stories are only a couple of pages long) but the style grows on you and becomes unexpectedly addictive. Fans of the gothic who wish to read something different should look no further. Show Less
Language
ISBN
0141398167 / 9780141398167