Zhenjun Zhang - Hidden and Visible Realms: Early Medieval Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic

HIDDEN AND VISIBLE REALMS

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ASIAN CLASSICS

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ASIAN CLASSICS

Editorial Board

Paul Anderer

Allison Busch

David Lurie

Rachel McDermott

Wei Shang

Haruo Shirane

HIDDEN AND VISIBLE REALMS

Early Medieval Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic

COMPILED BY
LIU YIQING

EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY
ZHENJUN ZHANG

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

Columbia University Press wishes to express its appreciation for assistance given by the Wm. Theodore de Bary Fund in the publication of this book.

Columbia University Press

Publishers Since 1893

New York Chichester, West Sussex

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Copyright 2018 Columbia University Press

All rights reserved

E-ISBN 978-0-231-54705-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Liu, Yiqing, 403-444, author. | Zhang, Zhenjun, editor, translator.

Title: Hidden and visible realms : early medieval Chinese tales of the supernatural and the fantastic / compiled by Liu Yiqing ; edited and translated by Zhenjun Zhang.

Other titles: You ming lu. English | Early medieval Chinese tales of the supernatural and the fantastic | Chinese tales of the supernatural and the fantastic

Description: New York : Columbia University Press, 2018. | Series: Translations from the Asian classics | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017050419 (print) | LCCN 2017059537 (ebook) | ISBN 9780231187169 (cloth : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: TalesChinaTranslations into English. | Paranormal fiction, ChineseTranslations into English. | Fantasy fiction, ChineseTranslations into English. | TalesChinaTranslations into English. | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.

Classification: LCC PL2666.L55 (ebook) | LCC PL2666.L55 Y813 2018 (print) |

DDC 895.13/24dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050419

A Columbia University Press E-book.

CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e-book at .

Cover design: Noah Arlow

In memory of

Zhao Qiping (19341993)

and

Wu Xiaoru (19222014)

CONTENTS

T his project started over a decade ago when I was working on an earlier project, Buddhism and Tales of the Supernatural in Early Medieval China: A Study of Liu Yiqings Youming lu, though I translated most of the pieces more recently . During the course of finishing this book, I received help from my teachers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues at St. Lawrence University.

I am grateful to Professors William Nienhauser and Victor Mair for their careful reading of my introduction and their valuable suggestions. I am indebted also to my colleagues Sid Sondergard and Roy Cardwell for their many helpful suggestions about the chapters they read over. In addition, I would like to thank my daughters, Yuxi and Kaixi (Jennifer), who read this book as the first readers as well as proofreaders.

A special debt is due to Jennifer Crewe, Christine Dunbar, Christian Winting, and Leslie Kriesel at Columbia University Press for their kindness and sincere help in the process of reviewing and editing my manuscript, as well as to the two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and suggestions.

This volume is published in memory of my teachers at Beijing University: Professor Zhao Qiping, my academic advisor, and Professor Wu Xiaoru.

dou , a decaliter

hu , bushel, 10 dou before the Tang dynasty; 5 dou since the Song dynasty

sheng , pint, 1/10 of dou

jin , catty, half a kilogram

liang , tael, 1/10 of jin

dan , bushel, 10 dou

yi , 24 liang

chi , foot

cun , inch, 1/10 chi

duan , 20 chi

fen , 1/10 cun

li , half a kilometer, or approximately one-third of a mile

zhang , pole, 10 chi , approximately 3 1/3 meters

pi , bolt [of cloth]