Mei Ouchang, a juren from south of the Yangtse River, once told me of a strange case which his friend Sun from the same hometown had handled, while he was an official at Dezhou, in Shandong Province.
The story Forty Thousand Coins from Strange Tales from Liaozhai by Pu Song ling serves as a karmic allegory, illustrating the Buddhist-Confucian principle that debts — whether material or moral — must inevitably be repaid.
In the household of Minister Wang of Xincheng, his chief steward — wealthy though untitled — dreamed suddenly of a man charging into his room, declaring: “You owe forty thousand coins. Repay it now!”
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.
There was in Huaiyang County a scholar surnamed Ye. His given name I do not know. Although he was the most outstanding literary talent in the county, his luck always proved fickle and he failed the imperial civil service examination repeatedly.
Jiaona, a seminal tale in Strange Tales from Liaozhai, redefines human-fox dynamics by transcending conventional romantic tropes common to the collection.
Liu, a juren, remembered things from his former lives (Note: Juren is the title conferred on those successful candidates at the provincial level in the imperial examination) and confided in my deceased cousin, Pu Wenfen, as they both became juren in the same year.
The story “Wild Dogs” from Strange Tales from Liaozhai is set against the backdrop of a rebellion led by Yu Qi in Qixia County, Shandong Province.