Record of the Listener: Selections of Chinese Supernatural Stories

by Hong Mai, Alister D. Inglis (Translator)

A rich compilation of oral histories and storytelling traditions, Record of the Listener (Yijian zhi) is a renowned zhiguai collection dating from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) and attributed to Hong Mai (1123-1202 AD). It is the largest zhiguai compilation of the Song period, originally comprising over 400 chapters. Its rich content includes topics such as gods, ghosts, and the supernatural; injustice and retribution, fantasy and the unusual, as well as the unique regional customs and traditions of China. Record of the Listener has enjoyed a privileged place in Chinese literary history, where numerous vernacular short stories and dramas have long sought inspiration from its myriad storylines. It also preserves much precious research material on daily life during the Song. For this volume, 107 stories have been selected. These typify the collection’s overall nature. All of the stories feature a rich narrative quality while greatly increasing the understanding of Chinese literature during the late Northern to early Southern Song era.

244 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2012