Pu Songling was born into a family of businessmen and small and medium-sized landlords. He should have lived a well-off life, but his family's economic situation was not satisfactory and went from bad to worse. The Pu family is a famous Zichuan family. Pu Songling's young people are ambitious and bent on changing their lives through the imperial examination system. However, Pu Songling grew up in a very turbulent environment. 1644, the Qing army entered the customs, and the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, peasant uprisings broke out in various places, but when the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it issued a brutal and brutal massacre order. There are massacres in different degrees all over the country. The Qing army said, "Keep your hair and don't leave anyone behind" and ordered the slaughter. Coupled with the plague and famine at that time, there were countless casualties in the Central Plains. It's turbulent outside, and there are no conditions for doing business at all. It is speculated that the decline of Pu Songling's family was closely related to the social environment at that time.
Portrait of Pu Songling
Nineteen-year-old Pu Songling began to take the exam. At that time, the county, government, and Taoist examinations were the first, and they were famous for their outstanding talents. However, just like fate, Pu Songling never became famous again. He tried again and again and failed again. In the seventeenth year of Shunzhi, two years after winning the first place in the county politics, Pu Songling took part in the provincial examination with confidence, but was poured with cold water. PuSongling was upset that he had not been admitted to fame, so he went home and continued to study hard, intending to take another rural examination. But he didn't expect that he was full of real talent and learning, but he didn't get the care of fate.
It was not until the age of 46 that it was compiled as a food student, and it was compiled as a tribute student at the age of 72. Pu Songling, who worked hard for fame all his life, never became an official. In order to make a living, we have to find something else to do. Studying every day, he didn't become a businessman like his father, but became an official adjutant who was admitted to others. I plan to earn a living while preparing for the imperial examination. Pu Songling, who has not been admitted to the staff for several years, went home to teach.
This private school teacher's job is not far from home. Besides teaching, she also writes books every day. It's no use learning. Some people send their feelings to mountains and rivers in order to send away this loneliness. Pu Songling sends his feelings to strange books. Pu Songling liked to write such stories when he was a teenager. When Pu Songling, 24, wrote this story, he was laughed at by his classmate Zhang, who was two years younger than him. He wrote poems to satirize Pu Songling's unprofessional work and wrote some strange things, which was not beneficial to the imperial examination.
Illustration of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio
Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, which was completed around the age of 40, became his masterpiece and classic. After writing, the most he does is to add or delete content. The story of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio is very short, but there are nearly 500 stories in total. The content inside is mostly ghosts and gods, foxes and the like, but the content is all-encompassing, and the things expressed and conveyed in the article are quite different. Many exposed and criticized the corruption and darkness of the ruling class, and also expressed people's yearning for a better life. There are many things in the story that guide people to live actively and establish correct values, and there are also many things that are nothing. The beauty of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio is that there are many things that he wrote or were false, but many of the ideas he conveyed are extremely ironic.
Some of Pu Songling's works were invented by his own brain, some were processed from ancient books, and more were told by others. There is a saying that when Pu Songling wrote Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, he opened a tea stall at home, which specially invited passers-by to tell stories, polished it and compiled his own book. In fact, although Pu Songling is not too poor to expose the pot, he doesn't have so much time and spare money to do it.
Pu Songling married early, studied hard for his dream, and wrote wonderful books because of his interest. The wife silently takes care of the elderly and children at home. It is because such a virtuous wife works hard at home that he can continue to finish such a book.
Illustration of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio
Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio became a hit as soon as it was published. Everyone likes this story very much, and many companies compete to reprint it. Even Ji Xiaolan's Notes on Yuewei Caotang was written under the influence of Pu Songling's works and style. Up to now, Liaozhai in various languages has sold well abroad. It even had a great influence on the development of Japanese literature.
Wang Shizhen, a fellow countryman friend of Pu Songling, wrote a poem for Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio: "After listening to idle talk, it rained like silk in the bean shed. I should be tired of talking, and I like to listen to autumn grave ghosts singing poems. " Pu Songling, who loves to listen to nonsense and write poems, is also famous in history. His works have been handed down to this day. Guo Moruo also commented on Pu Songling and his works. "Writing ghosts and writing demons is superior, and it is greedy and abusive."
17 15, 76-year-old Pu Songling died of illness, and his works will continue to influence future generations. The literary, artistic and ideological values conveyed by his works can give us more inspiration. Well, that's the story of Pu Songling today. See you next time.