Tales from Tang Dynasty China: Selections from the Taiping Guangji. Edited by Alexei Kamran Ditter, Jessey J.C. Choo, and Sarah M. Allen. Hackett Publishing Co., 2017

Tales from Tang Dynasty China Selections from the Taiping Guangji

Edited, with an Introduction, by Alexei Kamran Ditter, Jessey Choo, and Sarah M. Allen

Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indianapolis/Cambridge

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Acknowledgments We would like to thank the contributors to this volume for all their work over the past few years. Thanks also to the two anonymous readers for Hackett, who provided valuable suggestions for improvement, and to Rick Todhunter, our editor, for his enthusiasm for this project from its inception. Finally, we thank our families for their support on so many fronts, and for their patience during the many hours of Skyping that made our collaboration from multiple cities and two coasts possible. AKD, JJC, SMA Copyright © 2017 by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 20 19 18 17      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 For further information, please address Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. P.O. Box 44937 Indianapolis, Indiana 46244-0937 www.hackettpublishing.com Cover design by Rick Todhunter Interior design by Elizabeth L. Wilson Composition by William Hartman Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data TO COME FROM PRODUCTION

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.

∞

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Contents

Timeline ix Note on Translation Conventions xiii Introduction 1

This World “The Woman in the Carriage” 車中女子 introduced and translated by Linda Feng

“Xiao Yingshi” 蕭穎士

introduced and translated by Alexei K. Ditter

“Ming Siyuan” 明思遠

introduced and translated by Alexei K. Ditter

“The Record of Master Shenxiu’s Predictions” 秀師言記 introduced and translated by Jessey Choo

“Du Mu” 杜牧

introduced and translated by Manling Luo

“Di Weiqian” 狄惟謙

introduced and translated by Alexei K. Ditter

“General Pan” 潘將軍

introduced and translated by Linda Feng

“The Female Slave of Li Fu” 李福女奴

introduced and translated by Alexei K. Ditter

“Pengyan” 捧硯

introduced and translated by Alexei K. Ditter

31 37 39 43 48 56 62 67 70

v

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vi

Contents

Between Worlds: Otherworldy Encounters in the Human World “Yao Hong” 姚泓

introduced and translated by Sarah M. Allen

“Tang Xuan” 唐晅

introduced and translated by Jessey Choo

“Cao Weisi” 曹惟思

introduced and translated by Natasha Heller

“Dou Yu” 竇裕

introduced and translated by Jack W. Chen

“Scholar Wang” 王生

introduced and translated by Sarah M. Allen

“Shentu Cheng” 申屠澄

introduced and translated by Sarah M. Allen

“Scholar Hu” 胡生

introduced and translated by Manling Luo

“The Clan of Xingyang” 滎陽氏

introduced and translated by Natasha Heller

73 76 86 90 92 97 102 105

Between Worlds: Travel to Other Worlds “Vice Magistrate of Liuhe District” 六合縣丞 introduced and translated by Jessey Choo

“Dong Guan” 董觀

introduced and translated by Jessey Choo

“Yang Jingzhen” 楊敬真

introduced and translated by Sarah M. Allen

“Lu Yong” 陸顒

introduced and translated by Linda Feng

“Master Yang” 楊大夫

introduced and translated by Timothy Davis

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109 112 118 124 132

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Contents

vii

Appendix 1: Tales Organized by Chronology 139 Appendix 2: Sources for Tales within the Taiping guangji 141 Appendix 3: Tales by Categories within the Taiping guangji 145 Appendix 4: Tales Categorized by Theme or Topic 147 Bibliography 151 Index 159

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