Pu Songling's life experience and emotional tendency largely determine the ideological content of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, as its name implies, is the name of Pu Songling's study, and Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, as Mr. Lu Xun said, "Remember the Story of the Fairy Fox and the Ghost? The contents of "fairy tales of ghosts and gods" can be roughly divided into the following categories: first, love stories of talented people and beautiful women; The second is the friendship story between people or non-people (such as foxes, beasts, ghosts, etc.). ); The third is the story of resisting the reality of dark society; The fourth is the moral exhortation story that satirizes bad behavior. What needs to be added is that there are some stories, and a story itself may contain the above types.
"Promoting Weaving" tells the story of great joy and great sorrow caused by an ordinary family paying tribute to the court. National Museum.
The first category is the love stories of talented people and beautiful women. This kind of story is the most in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, and it can also arouse readers' interest, such as Ying Ning, Qing Feng, Chain Store, Liancheng and Lu Gongnv. Most of these stories are about talented people or sons who meet beautiful women transformed from ghosts and foxes in the process of sending away lonely reading life. After falling in love at first sight, we were temporarily separated for various reasons, and after suffering, we finally got married. Some scholars have pointed out that Pu Songling's personal life has reason to think that this is a fantasy born of his own lonely experience. Pu Songling spent most of his life away from his wife and children and taught alone in the gentry's home. In his long lonely single life, he had the illusion of seeking extramarital affairs. However, his fantasy is impossible to realize, so he comforted himself with the story of the ghost fox. It is worth mentioning that although the plots of these stories are similar, the characters are different. Ying Ning is innocent, Qing Feng is gentle and shy, and even trivial talents are outstanding ... They can leave a deep impression on people. Generally, they are ghost foxes, but they are not evil spirits, but "more human and amiable." On them, the author's yearning for ideal women and ideal love is pinned. They are both talented and beautiful, gentle and kind, loyal and infatuated, and have good female conduct. They choose their lover not by family background, but by talent and virtue. Most importantly, they can make self-sacrifice in pursuit of their own happiness, break through the barriers of reality and finally reunite with their lovers.
The second category is friendship stories between people or between people. Friendship stories are also part of Pu Songling's values, such as Ye Sheng, Tian Qilang, Jiao Na and Snake Man. The second story is different in style and content. For many scholars, Ye Sheng is a work about the author's life experience. At the same time, this story also tells the story of Ye Sheng's gratitude for meeting him. Tian Qilang's report is not the kindness of a bosom friend, but the help of a friend. Although there are love stories in Jiao Na's stories, friendship stories are also a main line. This is a kind of friendship between men and women, which is different from the friendship between the same sex and the love between husband and wife. "Snake Man" is the friendship between man and snake, snake and snake, which reflects the warmth and coldness of human feelings with the deep friendship between man and snake and snake.
The third kind of stories are stories against the reality of the dark society. Although most of these stories are about ghosts and foxes, they are actually used to reflect a wide range of social content. There are two main aspects: one is to criticize the corruption and darkness of the imperial court, which is autocratic and tyrannical, and the people's grievances are deep and cannot be extended. In the end, we can only take extreme measures, or use the magic of the ghost fox or sacrifice the lives of the avengers, so that good and evil can be rewarded, such as Xi Fangping, Dream Wolf, Redjade and Shang Sanniang. "Xi Fang Ping" wrote that Xi's father offended the rich sheep. After his death, the sheep bribed the officials of the underworld and swept Xi's father to the underworld. Xi Fang Ping went to the underworld to avenge his father and even sued the third class, all of which ended in failure. It turns out that underworld officials have long been bribed. They are corrupt and in cahoots, and they beat Xi Fangping, who was not wronged. Although it is a story about the underworld, the moral of this world is quite obvious. Dream Wolf profoundly reveals the brutality and cruelty of officials at that time. Redjade tells the story of a fox named Redjade who helps her lover punish the wicked. As for Shang San Niang, it is even more tragic. This is the story of a weak woman who sacrificed her life for revenge. The second is to expose the drawbacks of the imperial examination and the corruption in the imperial examination field, and also to express the helplessness and injustice of the imperial examination, such as Si Wenlang, Jia, and Lian Dou. Such stories are often expressed in a sarcastic way. Both "Si Wenlang" and "Jia" satirize the examiner's incompetence in a playful way. However, the continuation of Wang Zian and Huang Liang. Revealing the tried and tested literati, even in their dreams, is miserable. Perhaps they can only be "a mirage to show off their wealth and be sought after" like Luo Cha.