Record of the Listener (Yijian zhi) is a renowned zhiguai collection from the Song Dynasty written by Hong Mai during his later years. Recording stories of the strange circulated by word of mouth, it is the largest zhiguai compliation of the Song period-originally comprising 420 chapters. Its rich content includes topics such as gods and ghosts, injustice and retribution, fantasy and the uncanny, as well as regional customs. The Record of the Listener has enjoyed a privileged place in Chinese literary history; indeed, numerous vernacular short stories and dramas have sought inspiration from its storylines. It also preserves much precious research material on daily life during the Song.
I have read the entire surviving corpus of Record of the Listener by Hong Mai (1123-1202)of the Southern Song Dynasty(1127-1279)and have eslected waht Iconsider the cream oif unusual accounts which Ipresent as trandslation in the present volume Throuht this window may we catch a fleeting glimpse of things past of abduction adultery murder of a time when ghosts stalked the night when trees and rocks were imbued with spirits all long gone yet still existent to the time traveler ——Alister D.Inglis(USA)
Table of Contents
Foreword Sun Jiuding The Man from Three Rivers Village Madame Zhang The Three Taoists of Jade Ford Li Shangren Young Master Wu The Governmental Post of Sun Juyuan Controller-General Jiang's Daughter Ye Ruogu The Villager from Jiangyin Luo Gong Is Reprimanded by the Netherworld Good and Bad Fortune May Not Be Avoided Island Woman Great Fish of the Ocean The Strange Woman of the Capital Saved by the Buddha from Past Enmity Su Dongpo Transcribes the Diamond Sutra Xiang's Ancestral Temple Fan Dreams of a Son Dong Bai'e The Monster of Jiande The Old Bottle of Yiyang The Immortal of Luofu The Blue Wave Hall Pu Dashao's Calligraphy The Official Rest-Post at Shengping Market Third Daughter Xie Meng's Palace Women Xu Guohua The Mountain of Crabs The Honourable Meritorious Minister The Warrior Woman The Taoist of He Prefecture The Strange Monk's Magic Symbol The City Tower of Qian Prefecture The Strange Land near Minqing Pine Cones Zhang the Rice Seller Fahui Burns His Eye The Blue Wave Pavilion Sun Devil's Head Jiang Anshi The Wine of Phoenix Tree Creek Geng Yu's Maidservant Stone People of the Dream Fang's Daughter Miss Lan Junior Guardian Wang Wang Dalang's Horse Zhang Zhu's Dream Fifth Brother Sun The Woman in Black Villagers Kill Barbarian Horsemen The Maidens of the Yang zhou Thatched Cottage The Lady from Golden Mountain Qu Xiaoshi's Family Anomaly Madame Zhao's Fragrant Slave Controller-General Yu of E Prefecture The Dim-Lazy Taoist The Tong's Golden Duck The Fmal Daughter of Wuhu Biography of the Righteous Courtesan Zhao Shanyi's Dream-warning Master Li's Mourning-Hut Dog Nine-headed Birds The Pavilion of Abundance and Pleasure Magistrate Wu Yue Princess Precious Pearl Temple of the Ancestors Hu Qimai Wang Xuan's Soldier The Mad Monk of Suzhou Xu Xin's Wife Guo Lun Views the Lanterns The Ghost Wife The Little Taoist of Cai Prefecture Shen Ziyu's Servant The Kui Star Petitions the Emperor Notes Appendix：Index to Chinese-English Titles of the Stories Afterword
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It was during the Period of Great Vision（1107-1110）that the brothers Qian，gentlemen from Suzhou，traveled to study at the Imperial University.Spring had just blossomed and，as they had some time to spare while waiting for an exam，they went on a jaunt to the Jade F0rd Gardens. There they met three Taoists who greeted them，and they began a conversation.The Taoists had prominent foreheads and long eyebrows Thek words were pure and fresh-pleasing to the ear.After a while they took their leave，saying,“We have a brew of some small renown which we would like to share With you，but unfortunately the sun is already low.Let us meet here again tomorrow at high noon and we can entertain you then.Don't be late or you may miss us” The Qians agreed.Then，with a laugh, the smallest Taoist remarked，“Should you miss the appointed time，you Can dig up the ground and find US here” Thinking this a joke，the two of them laughed heartily and took their leave.The following day the Qians were detained on other business，and it was evening by the time they reached the place of rendezvous.There they found the remains of a feast strewn untidily about.
Record of the Listener--Selections of Chinese Supernatural stories
