Tales from a Chinese Academy of Fine Arts

A collection of supernatural stories written in literary style by Pu Songling, the first Chinese writer of the Qing Dynasty. It was highly acclaimed during the author's lifetime and continued to be read in manuscript form, but the first published version, the Qingke Ting edition, was published in 1766, 51 years after his death. The 16-volume edition of this edition, which contains 445 stories, is the most widely circulated of the various editions, but the best edition today is the edition published by the Huixiao Huizhui Compendium, which contains over 500 stories. These supernatural stories were written over a period of many years, and some of the stories date from after 1679, when the author's preface was written, but the main stories may have been completed by that year.

All of the stories in the series are related to gods, foxes, ghosts, monsters, strange people and events, and many of them are based on folk tales. Among them, there are far more tales about negotiations between the present world and the underworld and tales about foxes than the other stories. Moreover, there are many love stories that revolve around the relationships between monsters and humans. Some of the most representative works include "Renkou," in which a fox woman and a ghost woman compete for the favor of a young man, and in the end, all three of them form a bond that will last two generations; "Einei," the story of a wise fox woman who never loses her smile and brings comfort to humans; and "Kogyoku," the story of a man who falls infinitely in love with the beautiful flower spirits of peonies and honeysuckle. These main chapters belong to the same genre as the Tang Dynasty legends and the Ming Dynasty's "Xiandeng New Tales," but they were written with a clear creative consciousness to depict unique stories, rather than simply collecting folk tales. As a result, they are cleverly structured, with detailed descriptions in unique, concise expressions that effectively utilize referenced terminology, and well-organized narratives. The world of the supernatural and the world of the human are beautifully intertwined, and the charm of eroticism is added, giving a sense of the truth and beauty of humanity that cannot be felt in novels that depict reality, making them the greatest masterpieces of Chinese supernatural literature. In addition to the works of legend, there are also many simple records of strange tales similar to the ghost stories of the early Qing Dynasty, but the author's literary talent gives them a flavor not found in other works.

In China, the phrase "Study Liaozhai" (talking about Liaozhai) means to tell tales of the supernatural, and it is regarded as the representative work of supernatural novels. It was imported to Japan two years after the Qingketing edition was published. There are several adaptations, but its influence on Japan since the Meiji period has been remarkable, and its romance and excellent descriptions have had a major impact on many modern and contemporary writers and the literary world, surpassing that of the Edo period's "Jiandeng Xinhua." There are also three complete translations, and it has gained many readers.

[Yutaka Fujita]

"Wataru Masuda, Shigeo Matsueda, et al., Translated "Chinese Classical Literature Series 40 & 41: Stories from a Liaozhai" (1970, 71, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Tenma Shibata's translation of "Stories from a Liaozhai" in four volumes (Kadokawa Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)初の文人蒲松齢(ほしょうれい)の文語体の怪異小説集。作者の生存中から評判をよび、写本によって読み継がれていたが、死後51年を経た1766年に最初の刊本青柯亭(せいかてい)本が刊行された。445編を収めたこの版本の系統の16巻本が諸版本のなかでもっとも流布したが、現在では500編以上を収めた会校会注会評本が最良の版本である。この怪異譚(たん)の執筆期間は長年月にわたり、自序の書かれた1679年以後の作品もあるが、主要な編はこの年までに成立していたのかもしれない。

　全編ことごとく神仙、狐(きつね)、鬼(コエイ)（幽霊）、化け物、不思議な人間や事柄などに関係した話で、その多くは民間の話に取材している。なかでも現世(このよ)と冥界(あのよ)との交渉の物語と狐の物語が他のものに比べてはるかに多い。しかも妖怪(ようかい)と人間との交情を中心に展開される情話が多い。狐女と幽霊の女が1人の青年をめぐって寵(ちょう)を争い、最後に3人とも二世にわたる縁を結ぶ「蓮香(れんこう)」、いかなるときにも笑いを失わずに人間に慰めを与える賢い狐女の物語「嬰甯(えいねい)」、牡丹(ぼたん)と忍冬(にんどう)の美しい花の精に無限の愛情を寄せる男の物語「香玉」などは、その屈指の代表的作品である。これらの主要編は唐代の伝奇や明(みん)の『剪燈新話(せんとうしんわ)』の系統に属するが、民間の話などをそのままに採録しないで、特異な物語を描き出そうとする明確な創作意識をもって執筆されている。その結果、巧妙な構成をもち、典拠のある用語を効果的に駆使した独自の簡潔な表現による精細な描写が行われ、叙次も整然としている。そこには怪異の世界と人間の世界との交錯が美しく展開され、エロティシズムの魅力も加わって、現実を写した小説からは味わえない人間の真と美とを感じさせ、中国怪異文学のなかで最高の傑作となっている。伝奇系の作品のほかに、清初の志怪小説に似た簡単な異聞の記録も多いが、作者の文才によって、やはり他書のものにみられない味わいをもっている。

　中国では「説聊斎(シユオリヤオチヤイ)」（聊斎を語る）ということばが怪異譚を話す意味を表し、怪異小説の代表としての地位を占めている。日本には青柯亭本の出た翌々年にはすでに舶載されている。いくつかの翻案があるが、日本に与えた影響は明治以降に注目すべきものがあり、そのロマン性と優れた描写とが多くの近代・現代の文学者や文芸界に、江戸期における『剪燈新話』を凌駕(りょうが)する大影響を与えた。3種の全訳本もあり、多くの読者を獲得している。

［藤田祐賢］

『増田渉・松枝茂夫他訳『中国古典文学大系40・41　聊斎志異』（1970、71・平凡社）』▽『柴田天馬訳『聊斎志異』全四冊（角川文庫）』

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