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The alchemy of friendship in “Gong Mengbi”
Strange Tales from Liaozhai (a Chinese Studio): Gong Mengbi explores enduring friendship, gratitude, and karmic justice through the bond between wealthy Liu Fanghua of Baoding, Hebei, and his steadfast friend Gong Mengbi from Shaanxi.
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Gong Mengbi
Liu Fanghua lived in Baoding, Hebei Province, and was the richest man in this village. His generosity often attracted hundreds of visitors to his house. He was always ready to help others and never spared an expense. Relatives and friends often failed to pay back the money borrowed from him. Only one visitor from…
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Scholar Huo
Scholar Huo and Scholar Yan of Wendeng County, Shandong Province, were playmates in their childhood and often teased each other even after they grew up, trying hard to get the upper hand in those exchanges.
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Love beyond life and status in “Lian Cheng”
Strange Tales from Liaozhai (a Chinese Studio): Lian Cheng tells a poignant love story between the talented scholar Qiao and the wealthy maiden Lian Cheng. Though Lian Cheng admires Qiao’s brilliance, her father, Shi Xiaolian, rejects their union due to Qiao’s poverty, instead betrothing her to Wang Huacheng, son of a rich salt merchant.
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Lian Cheng
Scholar Qiao of Jinning was hailed as a genius at an early age, but was still frustrated and unrecognized in his twenties. He was a man of chivalrous qualities.