Stories_to_Caution_the_World

<i>Stories to Caution the World</i>

Stories to Caution the World

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Jingshi Tongyan (警世通言, Stories to Caution the World) is the second of a trilogy of widely celebrated Ming dynasty (1368–1644) vernacular story collections, compiled and edited by Feng Menglong and published in 1624.[1] The first compilation, called Gujin Xiaoshuo (古今小説) (Stories Old and New), which is sometimes also referred to as Yushi Mingyan (喻世明言) (Stories to Enlighten the World or Illustrious Words to Instruct the World) was published in Suzhou in 1620. The third publication was called Xingshi hengyan (醒世恒言) (Stories to Awaken the World), and was published in 1627.

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These three collections, often referred to as Sanyan (三言, "Three Words") because of the character yan (言) found at the end of each title, each contain 40 stories.

Genre

Jingshi Tongyan is considered to be a huaben (话本), that is, short novel or novella. The huaben genre has been around since the Song dynasty (960-1279). The huaben genre includes collections of short stories, like Jingshi Tongyan, historical stories, and even stories from Confucian classics.

Format

The format of Jingshi Tongyan follows the rest of the Sanyan, in that it contains 40 chapters, with each chapter being a different short story. Ling Mengchu, under the direct influence of Sanyan, wrote 2 more collections under the same format, known as Erpai (二拍). Together, sanyan and erpai are one of the greatest ancient Chinese vernacular literatures.

Versions

There are two surviving original versions of Jingshi Tongyan, one located in Japan, belonging to Waseda University, and one in Taiwan, located in the National Library in Taipei. Because this collection was banned by the Chinese government at some point, almost all of the original copies were burned. By the early 20th century, when the Republic of China emerged, this collection was already lost. It was not until a scholar from China visiting Japan in the 1930s discovered an original copy of the collection did Jingshi Tongyan becomes popular again. The scholar had taken pictures of each page of the book and brought back to China, where it was republished again.

List of Stories

Translated titles in this table mainly follow those by Shuhui Yang and Yunqin Yang in Stories to Caution the World: A Ming Dynasty Collection, Volume 2. University of Washington Press. 2005. ISBN 9780295985688. Titles used by other translators are listed as bullet points.

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Popularity

Jingshi Tongyan proved to be popular in China after its republication. Many of the stories from the collection were used as the basis of Chinese Opera in the 60s before the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Jingshi Tongyan also proved to be popular in Japan as well, where stories were taken and transformed into Japanese tales by changing the setting to Japan.

Notes

  1. [1]
    Martin W. Huang (2001). Desire and fictional narrative in late imperial China. Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 63. ISBN 0-674-00513-9.
  2. [2]
    Bishop, John Lyman (1956). "Wang An-shih Thrice Corners Su Tung-p'o". The Colloquial Short Stories in China: A Study of the San-Yen Collections. Harvard University Press.
  3. [3]
    Yang, Richard F.S. (1972). Eight Colloquial Tales of the Sung, Thirteenth Century China. The China Post.
  4. [4]
    Wang, Chi-chen (1944). "The Jade Kuanyin". Traditional Chinese Tales. Columbia University Press.
  5. [5]
    Yang Hsien-yi; Yang, Gladys (1957). The Courtesan's Jewel Box: Chinese Stories of the Xth–XVIIth Centuries. Foreign Languages Press.
  6. [6]
    Lung, Conrad (1978). ""Artisan Ts'ui and His Ghost Wife"". In Ma, Y. W.; Lau, Joseph S. M. (eds.). Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations. Columbia University Press. pp. 252–263. ISBN 0231040598.
  7. [7]
    Dolby, William (1976). "Li Bai (Li Po), God in Exile, Drunken Drafts His 'Letter to Daunt the Barbarians'". The Perfect Lady by Mistake and Other Stories by Feng Menglong (1574–1646). P. Elek. ISBN 0236400029.
  8. [8]
    Wieman, Earl (1986). ""Loach Fan's Double Mirror"". In Ma, Y. W.; Lau, Joseph S. M. (eds.). Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations. Columbia University Press. pp. 293–302. ISBN 0887270719.
  9. [9]
    Chang, H. C. (1973). "The Clerk's Lady". Chinese Literature: Popular Fiction and Drama. Edinburgh University Press.
  10. [10]
    Yang Hsien-yi; Yang, Gladys (1981). Lazy Dragon: Chinese Stories from the Ming Dynasty. Joint Publishing. ISBN 9620401360.
  11. [11]
    Jones, Morgan T. (1986). ""A Mangy Taoist Exorcises Ghosts"". In Ma, Y. W.; Lau, Joseph S. M. (eds.). Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations. Columbia University Press. pp. 388–399. ISBN 0887270719.
  12. [12]
    Lieu, Lorraine S. Y.; et al. (1978). ""The Sung Founder Escorts Ching-niang One Thousand Li"". In Ma, Y. W.; Lau, Joseph S. M. (eds.). Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations. Columbia University Press. pp. 58–76. ISBN 0231040598.
  13. [13]
    Yang Hsien-yi; Yang, Gladys (July 1959). "The White Snake". Chinese Literature: 103–139.
  14. [14]
    Yu, Diana (1978). "Eternal Prisoner under the Thunder Peak Pagoda". In Ma, Y. W.; Lau, Joseph S. M. (eds.). Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations. Columbia University Press. pp. 355–378. ISBN 0231040598.
  15. [15]
    Ho, Richard M. W. (1978). "Tu Shih-niang Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger". In Ma, Y. W.; Lau, Joseph S. M. (eds.). Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations. Columbia University Press. pp. 146–160. ISBN 0231040598.
  16. [16]
    Hsia, C. T.; Zonana, Susan Arnold (Spring 1974). "The Case of the Dead Infant". Renditions (2): 53–64.
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