Chinese Short

Stories

Kerbie Lloyd Suyat

12 STEM B1
STRANGE TALES FROM
LIAOZHAI The “Strange Tales from Liaozhai”
(Liao zhai zhi yi 聊齋誌異 ) by
( 聊齋誌異 ) Pu Songling 蒲 松 齡 ,written in
classical Chinese, is a collection of
short stories from the early Qing
dynasty (1644-1912). It consists
of 491 tales in 16 volumes, mostly
stories about fox-fairies, flower-
spirits, ghosts, and goblins, which
are the dominant theme of the
entire collection.
Nie Xiaoqian
聶小倩
Nie Xiaoqian
聶小倩 Nie Xiaoqian is a ghost story of
Pu Songling’s classical Chinese
short stories collection “Strange
Tales of Liaozhai” and it is in
the volume II.

The beautiful love story

between the female ghost Nie
Xiaoqian and scholar Ning
Caichen.
SETTING

Temple located in
north of Jinhua,
Zhejaing
CHARACTERS
Nie Xiaoqian

Ning Caichen

Monster Yasha
(Jinghua monster)

Ning’s Family
 EXPOSITION

PLOT

Nie Xiaoqian was a beatiful

female ghost, she died when she
was only 18 years old. She was
buried in a desolate temple that
was located in north of Jinhua,
Zhejiang after her death.
 RISING ACTION

PLOT

Unfortunately, she was

intimidated by the monster Yasha
to harm people. Later, Ning
Caizhen who came from Zhejiang
lived in the temple temporarily.
 CLIMAX

PLOT

Nie Xiaoqian came to harm

Caichen instructed by monster,
but she was moved by his
righteousness. She told Caichen
the truth and helped him out of
the crisis. Caichen also didn’t let
Xiaoqian down and helped her
out of the monster’s control.
 FALLING ACTION

PLOT
Caichen adopted Xiaoqian to
take care of his mother and ailing
wife.The Ning’s never said a
single word about Xiaoqian’s
identity. After dying of an illness
of Ning Caichen’s wife, Xiaoqian
married Ning Caichen.
 RESOLUTION

PLOT

Xiaoqian gave Caichen directions

to wipe out the Jinghua monster
who came to revenge. After
several years, Ning Caichen
successfully became a Jinshies
and Xiaoqian gave birth a son.
CONFLICT

Man versus Man

THEME

Admiration of pure,
faithful love.
POINT OF VIEW

Third Person Point

of View
Twenty Years A
Dream
(Liansuo)
連瑣
Twenty Years A
Dream
"Liansuo" Liansuo is a ghost story of Pu
( 連瑣 ) Songling’s classical Chinese
short stories collection “Strange
Tales of Liaozhai” and it is in
the volume IX.

The story of a bachelor's

romantic relationship with a
female ghost.
SETTING

Apartment next to
cemetery

Inside a dream
CHARACTERS
Yang Yuwei

Locket

A vile monster

Wang
 EXPOSITION

PLOT Yang Yuwei, a bachelor who

resides in a derelict apartment next
to a cemetery, is visited by a
female ghost one night. She
introduces herself as Locket, a
Gansu local who died of sickness
in her teenage years and now
fated to live as a desolate soul.
Yang immediately takes a liking to
her and they strike a friendship.
However, she warns him to never
reveal her existence to anybody
else.
 RISING ACTION

PLOT
Gradually, Yang's behaviour
changes. His friends notice this
and quickly learn of Locket,
thanks to her signature on a
poem she wrote for Yang. They
demand to meet her and behave
rowdily while attempting to lure
out the ghost.
 CLIMAX

PLOT
Locket severs her ties with a
hapless Yang. A month later, She
returns to Yang and beseeches
him to help her. A vile monster
wishes for her to be his
concubine against her wishes.
Yang readily agrees to defend
her. He dreams of a hideous
being "with bristling moustaches,
wearing a red hat and a black
gown” attacking him and Locket.
 FALLING ACTION

PLOT
They are saved when his friend
Wang, passes by and slays the
creature with his bow and arrow.
Yang wakes up and corresponds
with Wang to learn that he had a
similar dream. Locket confirms
that the events of the dream
were in fact real, and presents
Wang with her father's dagger as
a token of appreciation.
 RESOLUTION

PLOT
Locket informs Yang that for her
to be resurrected, she requires
"the seed and blood of a living
man", to which he gladly
obliges. She tells him to dig up
her grave. Yang dutifully carries
this out and finds her in the
coffin, living and breathing.
Locket exclaims, "Those twenty
years were like a dream".
CONFLICT

Man versus Man

THEME

Abiding quality of
romantic love.
POINT OF VIEW

Third Person Point

of View
The Painted Skin
"Huapi"
( 畫皮 )
The Painted Skin
(Huapi)
Huapi is a ghost story of Pu
畫皮 Songling’s classical Chinese
short stories collection “Strange
Tales of Liaozhai” and it is in
the volume I.

The story of a young

intellectual seduced by a
demon who is disguised as a
beautiful young maiden.
SETTING

Town of Taiyuan

Wang house
CHARACTERS
Wang

Young maiden

A maniac

Wang's wife
 EXPOSITION

PLOT
A scholar from Taiyuan named
Wang met a young lady who
claimed to be an ill-treated
concubine. Wang helped her and
he invited her to stay with him.
Later on, Wang fell for the
beautiful young maiden.
 RISING ACTION

PLOT
At the town, a Taoist priest
informed Wang that he has been
bewitched. Wang didn't believed
him. When he returned, the door
was shut so he climbed over the
wall. He looked through the
window and saw the girl who is
actually a green-faced demon, a
ghoul with great jagged teeth like
a saw. All this time, she had been
wearing a mask made of
 CLIMAX

PLOT Wang returned to the Taoist

priest and begged him to help.
The priest agreed to exorcise the
demon. The Demon reverted to
its original form and killed Wang.
The priest fought the demon and
beheaded it with his wooden
sword. The demon's remains
dissolved into smoke and the
priest stored it in his pouch. He
also rolled up the demon's
painted skin and stored it away.
 FALLING ACTION

PLOT

Wang's wife begged the priest

to bring her husband to life. The
priest told her to visit a maniac at
the town. At the town, Wang's
wife asked help to the maniac to
revive her husband.
 RESOLUTION

PLOT
Wang's wife disgorged a
throbbing heart, which she
places into the gaping wound in
Wang's chest and his life was
slowly restored. Wang was alive
again, though disturbed in mind
as if awaking from a dream, and
feeling a pain in his heart.
CONFLICT

Man versus Man

THEME

Fallen to desire and

beauty
POINT OF VIEW

Third Person Point

of View
~ E N D