Written in the style of Pu Songling, this book tells stories exploring people's character, conduct, and social phenomena. It contains 28 short stories, divided into two parts: the main text, written in a semi-classical style, and translations derived from that text. Together, each story and its translation explore the same central theme.
The stories touch on loyalty, filial piety, righteousness, courage, kindness, sincerity, and greed; debts owed to the dead, embroidered souls, blood embroidery, withered bones, false and genuine goodness, haunted clothes, a mirror of words, the Mirror of Bright Virtue, prisoners, artisan souls... They feature underworld officials, judges, Yama, jade maidens, divine messengers, Bodhisattvas, mirror spirits, fox immortals, envoys, plague ghosts, locust tree spirits, and mirror demons... They offer satire, exploration, warnings, questions, and faith. They tell of filial piety shown through lonely courage, filial piety born of betrayal, and filial piety that can never be repaid; of a mother's love expressed through letting go, a father's love expressed through ultimate sacrifice, and a mother's love pushed to the extreme. They explore the Eastern philosophy that true love transcends life and death, while hatred ultimately returns to the earth. They also ask the reader: When the rules of the game themselves are a lie, should we strive to become winners, or see clearly and refuse to play? They question the way of Heaven and the human heart, and ask whether goodness can be utterly sincere...
Each line below introduces a story, leading you into this colorful new world of strange tales:
Ghost lanterns guide the way on the Ghost Festival; a filial son offers blood to preserve family ties.
A white-haired mother embroiders with blood and tears; a soul-summoning formation secures the realm.
A rebellious son forgets his roots amid wealth and status; a father's love in the underworld costs him years of life and shakes the heavens.
A poor family's zither player performs a good deed; a fox immortal and a divine messenger repay Heaven's grace.
A nameless mirror from the Tang dynasty reflects every heart under Heaven; today's keyboard warriors are all people in the mirror.
With blood for thread and bones for puppets, three thousand souls of Youzhou are sent home.
A rainbow robe devours its master; a patched robe protects the heart. As the world falls into ruin, clothing reveals a person's true nature.
Immortals, gods, ghosts, demons, spirits, creatures, and humans together discuss the endless affairs of the world, past and present.
Theme: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: AI Yueshi is about humans and strange beings, meaning nonhumans such as immortals, gods, ghosts, demons, and spirits, discussing the affairs of the human world, listening to the echoes of mortal life, and seeking the Way throughout the world. Its central themes are: 1. Satirizing reality: exposing the nature of flashy facades, staged performances, shortcuts, and condemning people based on their words; 2. Interpreting what is genuine: using the past to illuminate the present, reconsidering traditional morals and standards of behavior, celebrating sincere and heartfelt authenticity, praising the utmost sincerity and goodness, and conveying an optimistic outlook; 3. Searching one's own heart: asking what constitutes the righteous way of Heaven and earth, the natural order of human relations, the essence of marriage, and the conscience of the human heart. To gain Heaven's favor is to gain the human heart; sincerity can span past and present; 4. Offering caution and warning: be content and find joy in life, identify the essential nature of things, and recognize that time and the human heart are the ultimate measures of things and actions. Using the strange to examine people, and the strange to observe the mortal world, the work is suffused with questions about reality and a yearning for ideal human nature, perfectly blending strange tales with reality.
