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Slapping the Table in Amazement: A Ming Dynasty Story Collection PDF

926 Pages·2018·17.27 MB·English
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Slapping the Table in Amazement 拍案驚奇 s l a p p i n g t h e t a b l e i n a m a z e m e n t A Ming Dynasty Story Collection Ling Mengchu (1580–1644) translated by Shuhui Yang and Yunqin Yang introduction by Robert E. Hegel University of Washington Press Seattle and London Slapping the Table in Amazement was made possible in part by generous grants from Bates College, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, and the James P. Geiss Foundation, a nonprofit founda- tion that sponsors research on China’s Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Copyright © 2018 by the University of Washington Press Printed and bound in the United States of Amer i ca Composed in Alegreya, typeface designed by Juan Pablo del Peral Jacket design: Michel Vrana Jacket illustration: Based on the illustration Zhang Derong Encounters a Tiger Sent by the Gods as a Matchmaker, from a facsimile edition of the 1628 edition of Pai’an jingqi. 22 21 20 19 18 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. University of Washington Press www . washington . edu/ uwpress Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data on file isbn (hardcover): 978-0-295-74212-0 isbn (paperback): 978-0-295-74213-7 isbn (ebook): 978-0-295-74214-4 Contents Acknowle dgments ix Introduction by Robert E. Hegel xi Translators’ Note xix List of Illustrations xxi Chronology of Chinese Dynasties xxiii Slapping the Table in Amazement Preface [1628 Edition] 3 Five Editorial Princi ples for This Collection 5 1. The Man Whose Luck Has Turned Chances upon Dongting Tangerines; The Merchant from Persia Reveals the Secrets of a Turtle Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2. Yao Dizhu Flees from Disgrace Only to Incur More Disgrace; Zhang Yue’e Uses a M istake to Advance Her Own Interests. . . . . . . . 37 3. Liu Dongshan Brags about His Prowess at the City Gate; Eigh teenth Brother Leaves His Mark in the Village Tavern . . . . . . . . 65 4. Cheng Yuanyu Pays for a Meal at a Restaurant; Lady Eleventh Explains Swordsmanship on Mount Cloud. . . . . . . . . 79 5. Zhang Derong Encounters a Tiger Sent by the Gods as a Matchmaker; Pei Yueke Becomes the Lucky Mate Just in Time for the Blissful Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 6. Zhao the Nun Drugs a Beauty into a Stupor; Jia the Scholar Takes Revenge in a Brilliant Move. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 7. Emperor Minghuang of Tang, a Daoist Devotee, Seeks Out Eminent Daoists; Consort Wu, a Buddhist Disciple, Witnesses Contests of Magic Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 8. General Wu Repays the Debt of One Meal; Chen Dalang Re unites with Two Loved Ones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 9. In the Director’s Garden, Young Ladies Enjoy a Swing- Set Party; At Pure and Peaceful T emple, Husband and Wife Laugh and Cry at Their Reunion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 10. Scholar Han Takes a Wife in a Wave of Panic; Prefect Wu Makes a Match for a Talented Scholar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 11. An Evil Boatman Commits Blackmail with a Dead Body; A Heartless Servant Wrongfully Presses Murder Charges . . . . . . . . 215 12. Mr. Tao Takes In Strangers Seeking Shelter from the Rain; Jiang Zhenqing Gains a Wife with a Jest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 13. Mr. Zhao Spoils His Son and Dies as a Result; Magistrate Zhang Sentences an Unfilial Son to Death in an Ironclad Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 14. To Steal Money, Yu Dajiao Does Vio lence to a Drunken Man; To Confront the Culprit in Court, Yang Hua Attaches Himself to a Woman’s Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 15. With His Merciless Heart, Squire Wei Plots to Seize Another Man’s Property; With His Clever Plan, Scholar Chen Wins Back His House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292 16. Zhang Liu’er Lays One of His Many Traps; Lu Huiniang Severs a Bond of Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310 17. Prayer Ser vices Are Held at West Hill T emple for a Departed Soul; A Coffin Is Prepared in the Kaifeng Yamen for a Living Criminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 18. An Alchemist Turns Half a Grain of Millet into a Nine- Cycle Pill; A Rich Man Squanders Thousands of Taels of Silver to Win a Beauty’s Smile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 19. Li Gongzuo Ingeniously Reads a Dream; Xie Xiao’e Cleverly Snares Pirates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 20. Li Kerang Sends a Blank Letter; Liu Yuanpu Begets Two Precious Sons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 21. Yuan’s Face- Reading Skills Impress the High and Mighty; Zheng’s Good Deed Wins Him a Hereditary Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 22. With Money, a Commoner Gains an Official Post; Out of Luck, a Prefect Becomes a Boatman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 23. The Older S ister’s Soul Leaves Her Body to Fulfill a Wish; The Younger Sister Recovers from Illness to Renew a Bond. . . . . . . 483 24. The Old Demon of Yanguan County Indulges in Debauchery; The Bodhisattva on Mount Huihai Puts the Evil Spirits to Death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .503 25. Revenue Man ag er Zhao Leaves Word for His Love a Thousand Li Away; Su Xiaojuan Achieves Happiness with a Single Poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 26. In a Competition for Sexual F avor, a Village W oman Is Murdered; In Claiming Celestial Authority, a Judge Solves a Case . . . . . . . . . . . 541 27. Gu Axiu Donates to a Nunnery with Joy; Cui Junchen Is Shown the Lotus Screen through a Clever Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 28. The Master of Golden Light Cave Recalls the Past; The Venerable Elder of Jade Void Cave Is Enlightened about His Previous Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 29. They Remain Loyal to Each Other through Their Trysts; His Success Is Announced at the Jail house. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .602 30. Commissioner Wang Rides Roughshod Over His Subordinates; Adjutant Li Gets His Comeuppance from a Reincarnated Victim. . . 633 31. Priest He Commits Fornication via Black Magic; Registrar Zhou Wipes Out Rebels via Fornication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .648 32. Mr. Hu Corrupts a Fellow Man in a Wife- Swapping Scheme; A Chan Master in Meditation Explains the Princi ple of Retribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .688 33. Squire Zhang, in His Noble- Mindedness, Adopts an Orphan; Judge Bao, in His Wisdom, Recovers a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .709 34. Scholar Wenren Shows His Prowess at Cuifu Nunnery; The Nun Jingguan Goes in Glory to Huangsha Lane . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727 35. A Pauper Keeps Temporary Watch over Another Man’s Money; A Miser Resorts to Tricks When Buying His Nemesis’s Son. . . . . . . 756 36. The Monk of the Eastern Hall Invites Demonic Spirits during a Lapse in Vigilance; The Man in Black Commits Murder in an Abduction Attempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 37. Qutu Zhongren Cruelly Kills Other Creatures; The Yunzhou Prefect Helps His Nephew in the Netherworld. . . . . . 797 38. To Stake His Claim on the Family Fortune, a Jealous Son- in- Law Plots against the Rightful Heir; To Continue the Bloodline, a Filial Daughter Hides Her B rother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811 39. Heavenly Preceptors, with Their Theatrics, Claim to Subdue Drought Demons; A County Magistrate, in His Sincerity, Prays for Sweet Rain from Heaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829 40. On the Huayin Trail, Li Meets One Extraordinary Man; The Jiangling Commander Opens Three Mysterious Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .848 Notes 871 Acknowle dgments We are profoundly grateful to Robert E. Hegel and Lorri Hagman for their enthusiasm and support for the translation of Slapping the T able in Amaze- ment: A Ming Dynasty Story Collection (Pai’an jingqi). Our thanks are also due to Guan Daoxiong and Wu Xiucheng, for solving some prob lems with the original text for us, and to David Rolston, for his more than two thousand valuable comments and suggestions. The manuscript also benefited greatly from an anonymous reader’s input. We also wish to thank our eagle- eyed copy editor, Laura Iwasaki, for her meticulous preparation of the manuscript for press, and Liu Lu, for preparing the manuscript in the format required for submission. Our thanks also go to Bates College, for its consistent support for all our translations published by the University of Washington Press, not only for this collection, but also for the Sanyan collections (Stories Old and New, Stories to Caution the World, and Stories to Awaken the World). ix

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Slapping the Table in Amazementis the unabridged English translation of the famous story collectionPai'an jingqiby Ling Mengchu (1580-1644), originally published in 1628. The forty lively stories gathered here present a broad picture of traditional Chinese society and include characters from all soc
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