About Pu Songling

Pu Songling (1640 ~ 1715), the word Liuxian, also known as Jianchen, alias Liuquanju Shi, known as Mr. Liaozhai, the Qing Dynasty, an outstanding literary figure, Zichuan County, Shandong Province (now Zibo City, Zichuan District, Hongshan Town), Pu Jiazhuang people. Born in a gradually declining landlord family. 19 years old should be a child test, to county, province, road three exams are first and famous in the country, make up the doctor's disciples. However, he failed to pass the provincial exams until he was 71 years old, when he became a yearly tribute student.

A lifetime of enthusiasm for the imperial examinations, but no ambition, 72 years old only made up a year-old tribute student, so the irrationality of the imperial examination system of deep experience.

He completed 8 volumes of Liaozhai Zhiyi (Liaozhai's Stories), 491 articles, and more than 400,000 words in his life. The content is rich and colorful, and most of the stories are taken from folklore and anecdotes, personifying and socializing flowers, demons, foxes and things in the underworld, fully expressing the author's feelings of love, hate and good ideals. The work inherits and develops the excellent tradition and presentation methods of Chinese literature, the plot is fantastic and twisted, with many changes, the writing is concise, the narrative is well organized, and it is regarded as the most accomplished collection of short stories in the ancient Chinese language. Mr. Lu Xun said in "A Brief History of the Chinese Novel" that this book is "the most famous of the special collections"; Mr. Guo Moruo inscribed a couplet for Pu's former residence, praising Pu's writings as "writing about ghosts and demons, and stabbing greed and cruelty into the bone".

"Liaozhai Zhiqi" after the book, Pu Songling because of the family's inability to print, until 1766 (Qing dynasty Qianlong thirty-one years) before the publication of the world. After a number of competing reprints, a variety of domestic and foreign versions of more than 30 kinds, the famous version of the Qing Ke Ting this, casting snow Zhai, etc., nearly 20 countries have translations published. National "Liaozhai" publications have more than 100 kinds of, to "Liaozhai" story as the content of the drama, film, TV series up to more than 160 out (Department).

Besides "Liaozhai Zhiyi", Pu Songling also has a large number of poems, dramas, slogans and writings on agriculture and medicine. There are 13 volumes of collected writings, more than 400 articles; 6 volumes of poems, more than 1,000 songs; 1 volume of lyrics, more than 100 songs; 3 plays (kao word nine turns of the goods Lang'er, Zhongmei celebration of longevity, haunted pavilion); 14 kinds of slang songs (the wall of the record, the aunt woman song, the song of mercy, the song of the cold Sen, nightmare disaster, the qinxue music, Penglai Banquet, the Jun Night Fork, the word of the poor man, the ugly Jumba, the fast song, the superstitions and jealousy spells, the rich and wealthy gods and goddesses change again the song of the trials and tribulations, and supplement the fortunate clouds song), as well as A variety of miscellaneous writings, such as The Book of Agriculture and Mulberry, Common Characters for Daily Use, Quotations for the Saving of the Body, The Book of Medicine Chong, The Fugue of Typhoid Medicine, and The Biography of Grasses and Trees, totaling nearly two million words.

Early years

Pu Songling's life less traveled to foreign countries, his family was poor, living in poverty, but he often stayed in Jinan. During his stay in Jinan, he left a lot of writings, including a poem entitled "Morning Cooking in the Guest House":

"On the Daming Lake on the smoke and haze,

Maohuya three rafters leased to the writer.

Corn draws water to cook white porridge,

Garden vegetables are brought to the table with yellow flowers."

In a few short lines, it illustrates the vivid scene of Pu's living on the shore of Daming Lake, cooking in the morning sun. In particular, the last two lines describe the boiling of corn porridge in spring water and the cutting of vegetarian vegetables, including yellow cauliflower, on the table for snacks. One can imagine the breakfast situation of Pu Songling at that time, when he cooked and ate his own food with great relish.

Pu Songling's account of cooking millet congee, accompanied by vegetables for breakfast, is also the daily dietary practices in most parts of Shandong. Shandong folk in the morning like to eat porridge, porridge varieties, millet porridge, rice porridge, millet and mung bean porridge, rice porridge, bean juice porridge, red bean porridge, lotus leaf porridge and so on.

Pu Songling and Liaozhai Zhiyi - Prof. Ma Ruifang's Lecture at Shandong University

If you ask a question, which is the best novel in ancient China? Without a doubt, the vernacular novel Dream of Red Mansions. If you ask another question: which novel is different from Dream of Red Mansions in art form and comparable in achievement? A collection of short stories in the literary language, Liaozhai Zhiyi. Liaozhai Honglou, one short and one long, one literary and one white, form the twin peaks of ancient Chinese fiction.

Liaozhai Zhiyi is not only the pride of Chinese literature, it is also a very influential work in world literature, often to the surprise of sinologists.

Family of four women worry about poverty

Pu Songling, throughout his life, always struggled on the poverty line. He dug his heels in for food and clothing; he spent decades of his life sitting for imperial examinations, losing many battles and battles, which was very painful; he suffered a lot to write "Liaozhai Zhiyi".

"Liaozhai Zhiyi" is a very magical novel, and the author of "Liaozhai Zhiyi" itself was born with a few magical colors. In the thirteenth year of the Ming dynasty Chongzhen, A.D. 1640, on the night of the sixteenth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Pu, a merchant from Pu Jiazhuang in Zichuan, Shandong Province, had a strange dream. He saw a robed monk, thin and bony, sickly, into his wife's inner room, the monk's bare chest there is a copper coin large plaster, Pu woke up. He heard a baby crying, and it turned out to be the birth of his third son. "Holding the child and washing the couch, the moon slopes over the southern chamber." Under the illumination of the moonlight, Pu was surprised to find a clear mole on the chest of his newborn third son, the size and position of which matched exactly the anointing of the sickly monk he had seen in his dream. The sick monk entered the room, which was Pu Songling's description of his birth when he was forty years old. Ancient writers in China liked to make their births mysterious. Li Bai, the great poet, said he was born when his mother dreamed that the Great White Star had entered her bosom. And Pu Songling was born of his father's dream of a sick monk entering his room. He also explained that the fact that I have been so unpopular and poor all my life is probably because I am the reincarnation of an ascetic monk. The reincarnation of an ascetic monk is a story made up by Pu Songling in Liaozhai Zhi Zhi, but when we look at the life of Pu Songling, we can see that he was indeed very miserable. He lived a very poor life, he was always struggling on the poverty line, he dug his head in the sand for food and clothing; he spent decades of his life to take the imperial examinations, and lost many battles, lost many battles, very painful; he suffered a lot of pain in order to write Liaozhai Zhiqi. That's why we say Pu Songling had three sufferings --- a bitter life, a bitter examination, and a bitter writing.

Let's first look at how his life was bitter. When Pu Songling was young, his life was not very bitter, because his father abandoned Confucianism and became a businessman, and his family was a well-off family. Under his father's protection, the young Pu Songling could study at ease and start a poetry club with his friends. But the good times didn't last long because he split up his family. Why did he split up? Because of family conflicts. Pu Songling's two brothers were both scholars, but his two sisters-in-law were both shrews. Pu Songling once said in his book, "At the head of every bed, there is a night fork." His two sisters-in-law were really typical of nightmares, and they often made the house in chaos over trivial matters. Pu Songling's father had to divide his son's family. The family was divided and divided very unfairly, because the two sisters-in-law and can fight and can scream and can rob, and Pu Songling's wife Liu's very virtuous, reticent to hide on the side. The result of the division of the family is Pu Songling to share the old farm house three, so broken that even the door is not, Pu Songling had to borrow the door plate on. He was allocated twenty acres of thin fields, two hundred and forty pounds of grain, only enough to eat for three months. In this way, Pu Songling will have to earn his own living, he then began a 45-year career as a private school teacher.

Private school teachers are rural elementary school teachers, and is to teach in private homes, treatment is very low. Doing the math on the specifics, how much can you get paid per year as a private school teacher? At most eight taels. What is the concept of eight taels of silver? At that time, a family of four in the countryside needed twenty taels to maintain a year's living. This account was calculated by Liu Lou Lou in Dream of Red Mansions when she was counting the crab feast in the Grand View Garden. So, our great writer Pu Songling worked hard for one year to teach, but the money he earned was not enough for half a crab feast in the Grand View Garden. At the age of 30, when his father passed away, Pu Songling had to support his mother, how poor was he? How poor was he? "A family with four walls and a woman who worries about her poverty". He has a poem, called the "meal in the day", written to the time of the wheat harvest, the family did not have food, had to cook a pot of rice, he had three sons and a daughter, the eldest son looked at the cooked rice, grabbed the first spoon to grab the hand inside, to the bottom of the pot to find the thickest to the side of their own bowls, the second son did not do it, go up and brother to grab. Pu Songling's daughter stood there pitifully, looking at her father from a distance. Pu Songling was very distressed, how can I feed these poor children of mine ah! Pu Songling also wrote an article called Offering to the God of Poverty. He said, "Poor God, poor God, I and you have what relatives, how do you follow me all day long without moving an inch, I am one of your guards of the house of the family, I am the general of your escort, you have to let me a few days of vacation ah, but you do not relax a step, as if it is two entangled hot lovers?" This is the pain of life of Pu Songling.

The painstaking science and technology road is long

Pu Songling was 19 years old, to participate in the Xiu Cai exam, he was in Zichuan County Jinan Province Shandong Province, the first of the three tests, became a Xiu Cai. After the first of the three tests, Pu Songling four consecutive times to participate in the examination for lifters, all failed. Until the age of 72, still only a tribute. This is why?

We will look at Pu Songling's suffering in the imperial examinations. Pu Songling had no ambition in his life, and this ambition of his happened to start from his youthful ambition. Pu Songling 19 years old, take the Xiu Cai exam, he was in Zichuan County Jinan Province Shandong Province, the first of three tests, became a Xiu Cai. Accepted Pu Songling is Shi Leunzhang, the Shandong school government. Shi Leunzhang is a great poet, the early Qing Dynasty, known as the poetry world of "South Shi Northern Song", "South Shi" is the Anhui Shi Leunzhang, "Northern Song" is the Shandong Song Wan. Shi Leunzhang to the first test questions called "fleas", this topic is from the "Mengzi" "Qi people have a wife and a concubine" to come. The imperial examinations were based on the eight-legged essay, which required you to try to understand the tone of the sages and speak on behalf of the sages. Since the title is "Flea Rising", as the name suggests, you have to elaborate on what Mencius said in "Flea Rising" about cultivating one's body, keeping the family together, ruling the country and calming the world. How did Pu Songling write it? He used the literary language, and we put it in the vernacular. Pu Songling said, "I have observed those who chase after wealth and riches, the gentleman pursuing the gold list, the villain pursuing petty gains. As for those who are not rich themselves, but are often impatient to guard the doors of rich and noble families, there are also many of them. The only ones who are not interested in fame and fortune are those women in the boudoirs, who can sleep at ease and do not go after fame and fortune". Pu Songling's description is very vivid, like a small piece of writing describing the human condition. Next, Pu Songling went even farther and simply fictionalized it. He wrote about how a woman of the Qi Ren tossed and turned at night, wondering how to follow her husband, with psychological descriptions of the characters, as well as monologues and dialogues between the characters, which was very much like a novel. Such writing style, of course, does not meet the requirements of the eight-legged essay, but Pu Songling encountered the examiner is the love of talent Shi Leunzhang, a great literary scholar, he very much appreciated Pu Songling's article, picked up the pen to write criticism, said Pu Songling's article "will be a moment of wealth and ugliness in the two words above," the kind of people who chased fame and fortune through the flea this ugly attitude The two words were written absolutely, written alive, and then wrote a comment of eight words: "Viewing the book as the moon, the pen as the wind". "Observe the book like the moon" means to look at the works of the predecessors, to see clearly and thoroughly; "Pen like the wind" means to write an article easily and happily, very smooth. Shi Leunzhang big pen, Pu Songling Shandong Xiu Cai first place. After the first of the three tests, Pu Songling was very famous. He hesitant, unhesitatingly embarked on the road to further seek fame, the next step to test the lift.

Historical records, Pu Songling three tests after the first, four consecutive times to participate in the examination, all failed. Pu Songling article written so well, why he would still four times failed the examination? We now look back, Shi Leun Zhang admitted Pu Songling is simply a kind of misdirection and misjudgment, because Pu Songling is not in accordance with the eight-legged essay that strict requirements to write an essay, Shi Leun Zhang because of the love of talent and admitted him to the first place. Shi Leunzhang accepted him as the first place because of his love for talent. Pu Songling therefore thought that he would be able to achieve a higher rank if he wrote in this way. But Pu Songling did not realize what kind of people the other examiners were. These examiners used the stereotypical, corrupt, uninspired, ropey eight-legged essay as a knockout to gain a meritocracy, and he himself would only write this kind of essay, which was what he liked to write. He himself would only write such essays, and that was what he liked. How could he appreciate essays written in a style like Pu Songling's? So Pu Songling was off the track from the very beginning of his examination for Xiu Cai.

How long had Pu Songling been a scholar? More than half a century. Xiu Cai is the lowest rank in the imperial examinations. But it's the hardest thing to do, because you have to take the exams every year. According to the imperial system, a province's term of office for three years, the school government, the first to organize the examination, which is called the annual test. The results of the annual examination are divided into several grades, and the first grade can become a granary student. What is the concept of GGS? Grange student is still a Xiucai, but the court gives you a certain amount of money every month to subsidize your life. So, does getting the first grade necessarily mean you are a granary student? Neither. Because there is a limit to the number of places available for GGs. After you have passed the first class examination, you have to wait until there is a vacant place before you can fill the GG. Therefore, after Pu Songling won the Candidate of the Xiu Cai exam, he took the first class exam many times, and waited for almost twenty years before he became a GGS, and only then did the imperial court give him that little subsidy. In the second year after the annual examination, the imperial examination was held. The examination is to prepare for the examination. The examination is to prepare the candidates for the examination. The results of the examination are divided into six classes, two classes before the examination can participate in the examination, and two classes after the examination will have to be downgraded to the Qingyi. Pu Songling to participate in the countryside examination, once every three years, how many times the examination? Ten times or so, some experts say a dozen times. In this way, Pu Songling had thirty years to take the test every year. When he was 48 years old, he took the examination again. He thought he was a very good writer and he wrote very fast, so he got the questions and wrote them down with a swish. But when he finished writing, he looked back and saw that he had gone too far. The term "overstepping the bounds" is a term used in the imperial examinations, which means that the rules of writing have been violated. The imperial examinations have very strict requirements on the form of text, a page can only write 12 lines, a line can only write 25 words, and have to write the first page to write the second page, write the second page to write the third page. Pu Songling write fast, the first page is finished, a quick flip, the second page over, write to the third page, which is separated from a, the more, not only to disqualify, but also to be announced. We now see, simply too ridiculous, the article is well written, separated by a page, to be disqualified! What was Pu Songling's own feeling about this "overstepping"? He said in the word: "Delighted book, turn back to the big mistake, how this situation, feel a thousand cold sweat stained clothes, a wisp of soul flying out of the house" --- stunned.

Pu Songling in the imperial examination of this road to 50 years old, his wife advised him to say: Forget it, do not test, if you are destined to have a merit, even the prime minister did, why must go to the test? Why do you have to take the exam? We are living in the village, isn't it good? Why do we have to listen to the voice of the magistrate who beat the board to urge the people to pay taxes? Pu Songling thought his wife had a good point. But there are some experts who testify that just after his wife persuaded him, he also took the examination and still failed.

Pu Songling became a Xiucai at the age of 19, and by the age of 72, a Gongsheng. What is the concept of gongsheng? Gongsheng is equivalent to the vice list of lifters. There are several kinds of tribute students, Pu Songling is "age tribute", also known as "by the tribute". That is to be a granary student for a long time, queuing up by the number of tribute to the student. After doing the tributary theoretically can be an official, Pu Songling got a false title "Confucianism training guide". What is the meaning of Confucianism instructor? At that time, the feudal society's schools were divided into several levels, the national level is the State Scholarship, the province is the prefectural school, the county is the county school. The Confucian instructor was the deputy governor of the county school, which was equivalent to the vice principal of a middle school nowadays. However, Pu Songling added two words "alternate" in front of this Confucianism instructor. That is, although you have this qualification, but also depends on Shandong Province, in addition to Zichuan County, the other counties have no vacant places to. For the 72-year-old Pu Songling, there is no value, Gongsheng just bring him a little comfort, a little very practical interests: the court to give Gongsheng four silver. And the county officials preferred neither to go to Pu Songling to give him a plaque, a flag, nor to send him silver. Pu Songling had to write submissions and reports to ask for it again and again. This is what Pu Songling suffered during the imperial examinations. We now think he was very funny, very sad, very pitiful. But at that time, he could only seek such a way out. Because the imperial examination system was the only way for poor intellectuals like Pu Songling to change their destiny, the so-called "one's life is to be a scholar in the fields, and one's life is to be in the halls of heaven".

Writing Liaozhai for a lifetime

The famous French writer Victor Hugo once said, "Imagination is the great diver". A writer, a novelist can write fascinating works, although there must be a certain life foundation, but more rely on his imagination. Liaozhai Zhiyi" is the concentrated expression of a writer's genius of imagination and artistic talent.

Why did Pu Songling always fail the examination? This has something to do with the fact that he has been writing "Liaozhai Zhiyi" painstakingly. Pu Songling was a native of Zichuan, Shandong Province. Zichuan is dozens of miles from Linzi, the former capital of Qi, and has a lot of beautiful folklore. Pu Songling was five years old when the dynasty changed. The Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the country, massacred in Yangzhou, in Shandong to suppress the peasant revolt, but also produced a lot of rare events, which all affect the "Liaozhai Zhiyi". Pu Songling probably started writing Liaozhai Zhiyi when he was working as a private school teacher after the separation of his family. His good friend Zhang Duqing found Pu Songling because of writing "Liaozhai Zhiyi" affect the examination for a candidate, he wrote a poem to advise him: "Liaozhai and do not race to talk about the empty", do not write a novel, focus on the examination. But Pu Songling did not listen, or write, no matter which friend heard what anecdotes, he had to understand, write to their own works.

About "Liaozhai Zhiyi" you may have heard a widely spread a statement that Pu Songling in order to write "Liaozhai Zhiyi", in his hometown of Willow Springs next to the tea stalls, passers-by are invited to tell the story, told the home processing, it became "Liaozhai Zhiyi". This statement is "three borrowed hut pen talk" said Mr. Lu Xun has long been analyzed, not right, will not be such a thing. We now think about it, Pu Songling poor to that extent, 45 years outside as a private school teacher, the family sometimes can not even open the pot, how to have free time to leisurely set up tea, set up cigarettes, you tell me a story, I write novels? No way. But Pu Songling no matter what he heard people say, hear what rare things, he collected to write a novel, this is certainly. He also had another way to get material from the ancient people's books. There are about one hundred novels in Liaozhai Zhiyi, which are rewritten from the works of the previous generations. The works of predecessors are sometimes very simple to remember. For example, in the novels of the Six Dynasties and the Tang Dynasty, there are three short stories called "The Paper Moon", "Taking the Moon", and "Keeping the Moon". The paper moon is a person who can cut a paper moon to illuminate the moon, another person takes the moon and puts it in his arms to illuminate the moon when there is no moon, and the third person keeps the moon and puts the moonlight in his own basket and takes it out to illuminate the moon in the darkness of the day. It's all very simple, a hundred or so words, dozens of words. Pu Songling used it to write The Taoist Master of Laoshan. This is a very familiar story of Liaozhai.

Let's look at what Pu Songling's emotional experience was like. Pu Songling's wife was very virtuous, virtuous to what extent? When Pu Songling went out to work as a tutor, his wife was at home in the old age, down to raise children, living in the desolate farm inside the old house. At night the wolves may run into the yard, she stayed up all night spinning, if there is a little bit of good food, for Pu Songling to save, sometimes left for a long time, are bad. Such a good wife, but a wife of wood, rice, oil and salt, chaff wife. So some experts who studied Pu Songling found a clue that Pu Songling had a second wife, what is the basis? Pu Songling anthology has a "Chen Shuqing small like inscription", this article is said: the author of the article and Chen Shuqing free love, parents do not agree, and finally the two eloped, and then a tragedy. But soon there are experts and test out, Chen Shuqing is Pusongling returned from the South in Zichuan Fengquan Township Wang family sitting to a person called Wang Min into the article, so that Pusongling's so-called second wife no longer exists. We have to ask, then why can he write so many so beautiful love stories? The famous Taiwanese writer LIN Yutang once speculated. I have also speculated, I am so speculative: Pu Songling day after teaching students, sitting in the deserted study at night, outside the moon is hazy, the leaves there clattering, the distant sound of foxes barking, that time there are many foxes. At that time, Pu Songling could easily have fantasies. He imagined that there was a scholar, just like him, a very poor and unpopular, but also very talented and emotional scholar, sitting in a deserted lounge, and at this time a beautiful woman pushed the door in. Are you studying here? I'll read with you, I'll write poems and lyrics with you, I'll play Go with you, I'll comfort you, a poor and lonely scholar, do you need to be famous? I'll help you to win the gold medal. Your wife doesn't have children? I will give you a child to carry on the family line, and this woman does not need the order of parents, does not need the words of matchmakers, does not want the wife's name, and does not want the scholar's money, and even gives you money in return. In Pu Songling lived in that society, the combination of men and women that is to be the parents' orders, matchmakers, like this don't want anything, unconditional dedication to the man's woman there? It is impossible to have, she can only be thought out in the head, can only be the author's imagination. She came down from the sky, she came out from the bottom of the sea, she came from a deep cave, she even came out from the underworld; she may have been changed by a bird, she may have been changed by a flower, she may even be from a book. Wasn't the scholar reading a book there? From the bookshelf to move down a book "Han Shu" set here, turn over the eighth volume, the inside of the clip a small beauty, yarn and silk cut, written on the back of the four small words, "heavenly weaving girl". Suddenly, this yarn cut little beauty, folded waist and up, floating down, to the scholar as a wife, looks beautiful, understanding, and the scholar introduced himself, my name is Yan Ruyu, "Han Shu" out of Yan Ruyu, this is really "the book has its own Yan Ruyu".

Western theorist Sigmund Freud said, "Dreams are the fulfillment of wishes". The beautiful women in Liaozhai Zhiyi are the daydreams of the poor scholar Pu Songling. He had this kind of dream to express that kind of wishful male fantasy, the poor scholar's fantasy. A famous French writer, Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, once said, "Imagination is the great diver". A writer, a novelist can write a fascinating works, although there is a certain life foundation, but more to rely on his imagination, Pu Songling, although so poor, so unattractive, he also wrote and his own life related to a number of things, but he is particularly good at imagining, Liaozhai Zhiqi is a writer of genius and artistic talent of the concentrated expression of the imaginative talent.

Pu Songling, our great writer, suffered all his life, struggled on the poverty line all his life, was down on his luck in the imperial examinations, and struggled all his life in writing novels. In the fifty-fourth year of the Kangxi period, at the hour of the twenty-second day of the first lunar month, the great writer sat in front of the window of his cool Chatelaine and left this world forever. Pu Songling poor scholar out of the generals to soar this dream finally became a bubble, and with the excellent Chinese culture to feed up, and become a representative of Chinese culture in the world of "Liaozhai Zhiqi" shine brightly. History is just.