[This book is a collection of linked stories, each a self-contained episode. Most are gathered from folk legends told by others, old tales from the countryside, and strange urban occurrences.]
Confucius said, "I cannot understand the affairs of spirits and ghosts."
Hence the saying, "The Master did not discuss strange things, extraordinary powers, chaos, or spirits." It was the caution of a sage who would not speak carelessly about what he did not understand.
But we common folk of this world, gathered in the streets and lanes or by the ridges of the fields, mostly talk of strange tales and odd happenings, ghosts and spirits and such.
They may not be fit for refined company, but they do no real harm. They're just a little something to talk about over tea.
There are no ghosts or monsters in this world. It's all the workings of the human heart.
Joy, anger, sorrow, and fear, all part of life's grand pageant.
It was midnight in midsummer. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and rain fell in torrents.
Unable to sleep, I sat at my desk and wrote down miscellaneous accounts of things I'd witnessed in the countryside. I named it "Tales from the Alleyways at Night," hoping to amuse my readers.
