Stories from a Chinese Studio episode one: Pu Songling and Liaozhai Zhiyi

Where should we start then? It would be interesting to start with stories from the Qing dynasty, officially the last imperial dynasty of China, which was established in 1636 and lasted all the way until 1912. The author’s name is Pu Songling, born in 1640 and dead around 1715. Pu Songling wrote this very famous collection of short stories called Liaozhai Zhiyi, which has enjoyed quite a literary afterlife following its completion around 1705. It has been adapted into many movies and television shows that I watched over and over again growing up. His stories also lent inspiration to world-renowned writers such as Franz Kafka, Lafcadio Hearn, Jorge Luis Borges, and Mo Yan. Many consider him as the crowning achievement of the Chinese classical tale.