Trover

[flemmings]

Cleaning up yesterday I moved the sofa and found a couple of books that had fallen down behind it. (My bad habit is to put the book I'm reading face down on top of the sofa cushions. Of *course* they fall down behind.) One was Spence's The Death of Woman Wang that I'd been slogging through last September, disheartened by all these mortality statistics of earthquake, flood and Manchu invasion. People kept killing themselves in 17th century Tan-ch'eng? Gee I wonder why.

Decided to give it another run and was rewarded by, among other things, a number of retellings of P'u Sung-ling's (Pu Songling, 蒲松齡, 蒲松龄) stories. This gives me hope that my other Spence, Treason by the Book, will eventually stop being about the paranoia of Qing officialdom and start being about people I'm interested in, though I doubt it will do that soon. But something's bothering me about Woman Wang.

There's a story there about a vulgar wastral who persuades the mother of a young girl to let her marry him, by pretendiing great solicitude for the two of them when they're visiting a temple. Of course he squanders her dowry and then decides to sell her to a brothel. She asks to be allowed to say good-bye to her mother so the two go to her mother's house, which is a rich mansion. The girl then denounces him and the maids attack him. The wastrel loses consciousness and wakes to find himself sprawled on the edge of a cliff that crumbles beneath him.

I know I've read this story just recently but I can't think where. Memory says it's a story some character tells within a fantasy novel, but I haven't read any fantasy novels lately. In Spence's retelling the wastrel is pulled up by a monk. In the version I read he falls to his death. Does this ring any bells with anyone here?

And speaking of P'u Sung-ling:

Here is an interactive website with illos of various stories. My computer doesn't like moving images, may be why I can't interact with it, but maybe you can. Here's the movie version in eight DVDs. I fancy the web illos are more evocative. And for my own reference, here's where one can get translations and bilingual texts of this and that.

Comments

[i-am-zan.livejournal.com]

Now you've got me wondering too!

I don't think I read it in a book, I could have actually seen it in a film somewhere a while back.

It also sounds like something that might have been a retelling in a side story in one of Hughart's books but of course I can't be sure and could be mixing it up with something else!

Sorry dear, the brain is made of fail lately. Everything is jumbled up inside, it's a mess! >.<

But it is nice to find books isn't it.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Finding books is always nice. So is finding money, notebooks, the other glove, the other sock (especially when your socks run $25 a pair) and DVDs. My house is a chronic source of delight because I lose so many things in it. In fact, like my mother, I lose things in my bed and am always happy when they materialize.)

[baka-neko.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, that's from Liaozhai! And my favourite story to boot! I did the recap over here (http://baka-neko.livejournal.com/181999.html#cutid1), but my abridged version doesn't anything beyond the bare bones.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Thanks for solving the mystery. So *that's* where I read the story recently. Must remember to remember online reading when next I'm trying to place something; and note also that lj impresses me as a fantasy setting... -_-

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

Oh cool. I've known some of those stories from when I was little, but never knew they were actual Stories! I'll have to go get the movie, kids will watch movies were they won't read books.