by Pu Songling
First published 1740
A Taoist monk waves his hand and a pear tree materializes from thin air, its branches heavy with fruit. A scholar sits by candlelight, remembering his past lives with startling clarity. A clever woman matches wits with the fox spirit that has invaded her body, determined to reclaim herself. These are just three of the inhabitants of Pu Songling's supernatural China, where ghosts walk freely among the living and spirits take human form to seduce mortals. A child bride delivers a baby no bigger than a thimble. An entire city shimmers into existence, then vanishes without trace. A cruel daughter-in-law awakens to find herself transformed into a pig. In this world, magic intrudes on daily life at every turn. Scholars fall in love with fox spirits who shift between animal and human form. Enchanted objects possess their owners. The dead refuse to stay buried. Each story reveals how thin the boundary between the natural and supernatural truly is, and how humans must navigate a reality where nothing stays fixed for long.
Genres: short-stories, fantasy, magical-realism, folklore
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: magical-realism, supernatural-elements
Setting: China
Period: 19th-century
608 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books