Stories From A Ming Collection: The Art Of The Chinese Storyteller

The popularity of the Chinese storyteller goes back to the marketplace of the Tang dynasty, but the familiar figure came into its own in the 12th and 13th centuries. This selection of stories from Feng Menglong’s collection, Stories Old And New (originally published in 1624), includes representative types of the storyteller’s traditional art. 'The Pearl-Sewn Shirt' is a cautionary romance describing the tragedy of a broken marriage; the heroic biography, which depicts a neglected man of high worth gradually receiving recognition, is represented by 'Wine And Dumplings'; an authentic 12th-century forerunner of the detective story is found in 'The Canary Murders.' The other tales concern traffic in the supernatural, didactic admonitions to observe morality in sex and loyalty in friendship, and realistic accounts of the meanness and corruption of official life. Also includes 'The Lady Who Was a Beggar,' 'The Journey Of The Corpse,' 'The Story Of Wu Pao-An,' and 'The Fairy’s Rescue.'