imperial examination system

  • Unrecognized genius and Spiritual devotion in “Scholar Ye”

    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.

  • Pu Songling and Liaozhai

    Pu Songling was a Qing Dynasty scholar, storyteller, and chronicler of the uncanny, whose life embodied the frustrations of China’s educated class.