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Pu Songling

Type Figure Region Zichuan, Shandong Time 1640–1715 Also known as Liuxian、Hermit of Liuquan、Master Beneath the Willows

Pu Songling (1640–1715), courtesy name Liuxian, was a Qing-dynasty writer from Zichuan, Shandong, who compiled the classical Chinese tale collection …

Timeline

  1. 1640–1679Zichuan · ShandongBorn to a poor family in Zichuan, he passed the xiucai examination at nineteen, thereafter repeatedly failing the provincial examinations; he taught at a local school for years, living on meager tuition, with his examination failures becoming a defining experience of his life.
  2. 1670–1715Zichuan · ShandongIn his spare time from teaching he widely collected strange tales, writing short stories about flower spirits and fox demons; over decades he produced nearly five hundred pieces in Liaozhai Zhiyi, using supernatural tales to satirize worldly affairs, achieving extraordinary artistic accomplishment.

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