Whose Strange Stories? P'u Sung-ling (1640 - East Asian History

48
1fistorica(
oriain of the
story, and
haw P'u
Suna-{ina
came to
hear it and
record it.
Comment
6y the
Chronic(er
of the
Stranae.
What a fine person was lien-hsiang! I have
seldom seen a woman of such rare quality. let
alone a fox! (Wang Shih-chen)
John Minford and Tong Man
Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies
and Centre for Translation Studies
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hung Hom, Hong Kong
John.Minford@libertysurffr
nickytong@hotmail.com
JOHN MINFORD AND TONG MAN
I learnt the above when travelling [South]
through I-chou [in the year keng-hsu (1670)],
where I was detained at an inn by rain, and read
a biography of Mr Sang written by a comrade of
his named Wang Tzu-chang. It was lent me by a
Mr Liu Tzu-ching, a relative of Sang's, and was
quite a long account. This is merely an outline of
it.
[The Chronicler of the Strange writes: Alas!
The dead seek life, the living seek death! Is not this
human body the most coveted thing in the world?
Unfortunately those who possess it do not cherish
it; they live with less shame than foxes, and
vanish into death with less trace than ghosts! ]
How Can I Dispel These
Emotions? .tit 1!'t filJ W
Ji: -seal carved by
Huang Ching-jen
Master oj Autumn Sound
Lodge tlc§Wl±-seal
carved by Hsi Kang
1Ul.I(J746-1803)
EAST ASIAN HISTORY 17/18 (1999)