Amazing Tales: The First Series is a collection of vernacular short stories by Ling Mengchu, a Ming Dynasty writer. Ling Mengchu was a renowned popular-fiction writer and dramatist in the late Ming Dynasty, and he produced a great many works throughout his life. Amazing Tales: The First Series and Amazing Tales: The Second Series are collectively known as the Two Amazing Tales, representing his outstanding achievements in popular literature.
This book contains 78 stories covering a wide range of subjects, including love, marriage, officialdom, and commerce. It features tender and moving love stories, gripping tales of strange cases, and social stories that reveal the fickleness of human nature.
Historically, the book reflects society and the ideas of the common people in the late Ming Dynasty. It is an important source for studying Ming society and also helped advance the development of vernacular short fiction.
I’ll adapt these stories into clear, accessible vernacular Chinese for middle-aged and older readers. At the end of each story, I’ll also include lessons for modern readers, so that along with enjoying the stories, everyone can take something away and learn a little about how to conduct themselves and get along with others.
Good! Easy to read! Everyone comes to study!