User:Zuorizhiribukeliu/What the Master Would Not Discuss

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Title

"Zi Bu Yu" consists of 24 volumes, and its sequel, "Xu Zi Bu Yu," has 10 volumes, totaling 34 volumes with over 1,200 short stories. The first line of Yuan Mei's preface in "Zi Bu Yu" states: "Strange, powerful, chaotic, and spiritual matters, Confucius did not discuss." This serves as an explanation of the title, indicating that the author discusses matters of the supernatural, bravery, disorder, and spirits.

"Zi Bu Yu" is filled with bizarre stories about reincarnation, vengeful spirits seeking retribution, and malevolent ghosts causing harm. Figures like city gods, land spirits, vengeful ghosts, and ghostly officials appear throughout, and stories without any supernatural elements are few, often promoting superstitious beliefs about karma and fate. Through these ghostly characters and strange tales, Yuan Mei presents readers with a complete vision of an underworld society.

Yuan Mei

Yuan Mei (1716–1798) was a Qing dynasty poet, novelist, and drama theorist from Qiantang, Zhejiang (modern Hangzhou). Known by various sobriquets, including Zicai and Suiyuan Elder, he became a jinshi (advanced scholar) in 1739 and served as a county magistrate before retiring to Jiangning, where he built his famed Suiyuan Garden. Influenced by late-Ming thinker Li Zhi, Yuan rejected orthodox scholarship and promoted emotional expression in poetry through his Xingling theory. His notable works include Suiyuan Poetry Talks and the ghost-story collection Zi Bu Yu, both influential in their respective genres.

Background

Zibuyu was completed during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, a period when China was at the height of its power but also marked by severe feudal cultural despotism. Emperor Qianlong enforced a policy of governance through literature, controlling the behavior and thoughts of the people, requiring them to "not think beyond their position." Officials dared not speak rashly on current affairs, and scholars avoided writing lightly. Fear of literary persecution made writers cautious, as even slight transgressions could lead to the loss of their lives. The literary inquisitions launched during Qianlong's reign were the most extensive, far-reaching, and prolonged in the Qing era.

Under this unprecedented cultural pressure and tense social atmosphere, novels—considered casual chatter and hearsay—were generally left unbanned so long as they avoided political issues of the day. However, this environment significantly constrained the themes and styles of classical Chinese fiction. Some writers turned to imaginative and fictional literary creations, exemplified by works like Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi) by Pu Songling, which had a profound influence on contemporaneous and later literature.

After the success of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, many imitations emerged, including Yuan Mei's Zibuyu. Unlike Pu Songling, who expressed his frustrations and ambitions through his work, Yuan Mei, despite an unsatisfactory official career, lived a carefree life. His observations of human joys and sorrows were naturally imbued with light-heartedness and warmth rather than sorrow. In the preface to Zibuyu, Yuan Mei remarked:

"I have few hobbies in life. Whether it be drinking, singing, or playing games that bring joy in company, I am incapable of them all. Beyond literature and history, I have no other means of amusement. So, I extensively collected strange tales and stories that shocked the ear and entertained the heart, writing them down without believing or questioning them, merely for preservation."

This reveals that Yuan Mei wrote Zibuyu primarily out of personal interest. His record of strange anecdotes was largely meant for entertainment, providing lighthearted amusement for both himself and his readers.

The material for Zibuyu mostly came from oral accounts of Yuan Mei's friends and relatives, as well as events he personally witnessed or experienced, which he then adapted. A smaller portion was drawn from official gazettes or documents of the time, and some were borrowed from other works. Yuan Mei acknowledged his sources. For instance, in the opening of "Chang Ge's Tale of Injustice" in Volume 1, he specifies: "On the third day of the eighth month of the sixteenth year of Qianlong, I read the official gazette." In "Seeing Niangbao" in Volume 13, he concludes: "This account is recorded in Jiang Ximing’s collected works, and Han Shangshu wrote his epitaph."

Chapter Content

Chapter one

The Assistant Prefectural Magistrate Li, Scholar Cai, Scholars of Nanchang, Zeng Xuzhou, Scholar Zhong, The Stubborn Stone of South Mountain, The Magistrate of Fengdu County, The Skull Takes its Revenge, The Skull Blows on People, General Zhao Stabs the Impudent Monster, The Fox Scholar Persuades People to Follow the Path of Self-Cultivation to Reach Immortality, The Killer-Demon 35 Being Shackled, Zhang Shigui, Mr. Du of the Ministry of Public Works, Hu Qiu Being a Ball Kicked by Ghosts, The Third Son of the River God, Chaste Woman Tian, The Ghost Is Netted When It Puts on Clothes, A Long, Buddhist Master Extreme Joy, Wang Er of Shanxi, Having Not Yet Enjoyed Great Fortune, Guanyin Hall, Chang Ge Voices His Grievance, Salt Smugglers of Puzhou, A Girl from Lingbi County Comes Back to Life by Using the Body of a Dead Person, Gao Zu of the Han Dynasty Killed Emperor Yi, Earth End Palace, A Stone Box in the Prison.

References

Zibuyu, What the Master Would Not Discuss , According to Yuan Mei (1716 - 1798): a Collection of Supernatural Stories (2 Vols)