My friend Bi Yi’an is a free, easy-going, optimistic and straightforward man. He is also fat and has a thick beard. He is well-known among men of letters. When his uncle, Bi Jiyou, served as a prefect, he often visited him at his villa.
Strange Tales from Liaozhai: Ye Sheng (Scholar Ye) is a poignant tale centered on “unfulfilled talent”. Through scholar Ye’s journey — “struggling in life, lingering in death” — it depicts intellectuals’ spiritual torment under the imperial examination system while elevating “the debt of mentorship” to sacred heights.