Strange Stories From a Chinese Studio, volume 1


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

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"Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" (or "Strange Tales of Liaozhai") is a collection of nearly five hundred mostly supernatural tales written by Pu Songling during the early Qing Dynasty. It was written in Classical Chinese rather than Vernacular Chinese. Pu is believed to have completed the majority of the tales sometime in 1679, though he could have added entries as late as 1707. He borrows from a folk tradition of oral storytelling to put to paper a series of captivating, colorful stories, where the boundary between reality and the odd or fantastic is blurred. The cast of characters includes vixen spirits, ghosts, scholars, court officials, Taoist exorcists and beasts. Moral purposes are often inverted between humans and the supposedly degenerate ghosts or spirits, resulting in a satirical edge to some of the stories. Ghosts and spirits are often bold and trustworthy, while humans are on the other hand weak, indecisive and easily manipulated, reflecting the author's own disillusionment with his society. (Summary by Wikipedia)

In this project, Librivox volunteers read from Volume 1 of Herbert Giles' English translation of these classic stories. (0 hr 6 min)

Chapters

Introduction 29:40 Read by Availle
Examination for the Post of Guardian Angel 6:54 Read by Availle
The Talking Pupils 5:59 Read by Sonia
The Painted Wall 6:30 Read by Sonia
Planting a Pear-tree 3:38 Read by Sonia
The Taoist Priest of Lao-shan 6:56 Read by Sonia
The Buddhist Priest of Ch'ang-ching 4:49 Read by William
The Marriage of the Fox's Daughter 10:38 Read by JaneHackathorn
Miss Chiao-no 19:48 Read by JaneHackathorn
Magical Arts 7:41 Read by JaneHackathorn
Joining the Immortals 20:04 Read by Amy Sun
The Fighting Quails 16:39 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Painted Skin 10:50 Read by Lucy Perry
The Trader's Son 16:58 Read by J. Olpecre
Judge Lu 15:46 Read by Anna Roberts
Miss Ying-ning; or, the Laughing Girl 29:29 Read by Availle
The Magic Sword 22:22 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Shui-mang Plant 12:29 Read by Lian Pang
Little Chu 15:17 Read by JaneHackathorn
Miss Quarta Hu 8:57 Read by JaneHackathorn
Mr Chu, The Considerate Husband 3:38 Read by LisaRubio
The Magnanimous Girl 7:13 Read by Lucy Perry
The Boon-Companion 4:26 Read by Sonia
Miss Lien-Hsiang, The Fox-girl 27:15 Read by Availle
Miss A-Pao; or, Perseverance Rewarded 15:20 Read by JaneHackathorn
Jen Hsiu, The Gambler 8:41 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Lost Brother 15:36 Read by Becca
The Three Genii 3:37 Read by Sonia
The Singing Frogs 1:27 Read by LisaRubio
The Performing Mice 1:31 Read by LisaRubio
Tiger of Chao-Ch'eng 5:58 Read by VfkaBT
A Dwarf 3:24 Read by J. Olpecre
Hsiang-Ju's Misfortunes 23:11 Read by John Burlinson (1950-2024)
Chang's Transformation 15:02 Read by VfkaBT
A Taoist Priest 7:41 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Fight with the Foxes 9:58 Read by VfkaBT
The King 10:22 Read by J. Olpecre
Engaged to a Nun 13:58 Read by Amelia Chesley
The Young Lady of the Tung-t'ing Lake 12:36 Read by Lian Pang
The Man who was changed into a Crow 13:14 Read by Availle
The Flower-nymphs 15:28 Read by Lian Pang
Ta-nan in Search of his Father 19:29 Read by John Burlinson (1950-2024)
The Wonderful Stone 12:55 Read by jftocanada
The Quarrelsome Brothers 20:56 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Young Gentleman who couldn't spell 5:54 Read by Piotr Nater
The Tiger Guest 10:42 Read by Tony Addison
The Sisters 10:52 Read by JaneHackathorn
Foreign Priests 3:53 Read by J. Olpecre
The Self-punished Murderer 3:14 Read by J. Olpecre
The Master-thief 5:59 Read by J. Olpecre
A Flood 3:10 Read by J. Olpecre
Death by Laughing 4:09 Read by J. Olpecre
Playing at Hanging 2:41 Read by J. Olpecre
The Rat Wife 22:05 Read by J. Olpecre
The Man who was Thrown Down a Well 14:36 Read by larryhayes7
The Virtuous Daughter-In-Law 18:29 Read by Kalynda
Dr Tseng's Dream 16:36 Read by Availle
Country of the Cannibals 22:49 Read by J. Olpecre
Foot-ball on the Tung-t'ing Lake 7:51 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Thunder God 8:03 Read by Michael L
The Gambler's Talisman 3:45 Read by Michael L
The Husband Punished 9:28 Read by JaneHackathorn
The Marriage Lottery 7:47 Read by JaneHackathorn