•
The verse — “With flowers and wine, spring ever stays; Without lamp or candle, night self-illumines” — originates from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: The Examination for the Post of City God (Kao Cheng Huang or Candidate for the City God).
•
The maxim — “Intentional good deeds deserve no reward; unintentional wrongdoings warrant no punishment” — originates from Strange Tales from Liaozhai Studio: The Examination for the Post of City God (Candidate for the City God). It was Song Tao’s answer during his underworld examination.
•
In “The Examination for the Post of City God” from Strange Tales from Liaozhai Studio, why would Song Tao go to Changshan to inquire about Scholar Zhang?
•
In “The Examination for the Post of City God” from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Liaozhai by Pu Songlin, the story begins with Song Tao bedridden by illness.
•
My brother-in-law’s grandfather Master Song Tao, a local recipient of a government stipend for bachelors of letters, was lying sick in bed one day when an officer bearing a summons and leading a white-blazed horse came to him and said, ”You are requested to be present at the examination.”