Strange Tales of the Make-do Studio
《聊斋志异》
At the beginning of the eighteenth century，there appeared an extremely famous novel called Liaozhaizhiyi，which may be translated as Strange Tales of the Make-Do Studio.It is about the fairy-tales of ghost-fox. Pu Songling (1640-1715)was a litterateur in Qing Dynasty. He was born in a merchant family，and lived on teaching for his whole life. He had produced a large number of literature works，and Strange Tales of the Make-Do Studio was one of those. There are altogether four hundred and thirty-one chapters，the shortest of which has only two to three hundred words，while the longest has thousands of words. The book，on one hand，criticizes the bondages of feudal courtesy and the corruption of imperial examinations，and on the other advocates freedom and personality. The love stories are the favorite part of the readers. These stories feature in the love between humans and ghost-foxes，showing the wishes of the young men and women to break those feudal bondages. In a word，Pu Songling has written many female characters in the name of foxes，but placed on them some virtues，which may not be found in humans. Strange Tales of the Make-Do Saudio is a success in the history of Chinese literature. It has been translated into versions in more than twenty Ian-guages，which are now very popular worldwide. Some chapters of this novel have even been made into movies and televisions，liked by many people.
18世纪中期，中国文学史上出现了一部有名的小说《聊斋志异》。故事是以狐仙鬼怪为主题的。作者蒲松龄(1640-1715)是清朝时著名的文学家。他出生在商人家庭，终生以教书为业。他一生有很多的创作，《聊斋》只是其中的一部，此书共包含431篇故事，最短的只有儿百字，最长的有几千字。这部书一方面批评了封建礼教的束缚和科举制度的腐败，另一面又呼吁自由和个性。其中广为传颂的是爱情故事，这些故事讲述狐仙和人之间的爱情故事，表达了青年男女冲突封建束缚的欲望。总之，蒲松龄笔下的狐仙都具有人身上没有的性格特征。《聊斋》在中国文学史上是成功的，它被译成20多种语言，在世界上广为流传，有些故事已被改编成为电影、电视，成为烩炙人口的娱乐节目。
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