The Drunken Man's Talk

"This translation of Zuiweng tanlu deserves a larger audience beyond that of sinologists."

"Inglis’s rendition of The Drunken Man’s Talk is a pleasant and enlightening read and highly recommended to anyone interested in medieval Chinese short stories."

"a valuable contribution to the field of classical Chinese tales and may also be enjoyed by lay readers."

"Discovered in 1940 in a private library in Japan, this long-lost The Drunken Man’s Talk (Xinbian zuiweng tanlu新編醉翁談錄) attracts readers’ attention primarily for two reasons: (1) its initial chap-ter offers a valuable introduction to professional storytelling, and (2) it is a rich collection in Classical Chinese that covers short stories from the Six Dynasties (420–581) to the Southern Song (1127–1279). Through Alister D. Inglis’s exquisite translation, English readers can enjoy these amazing stories today... [I]t provides readers with a full picture of a collection of anecdotal fiction (biji xiaoshuo筆記小說) in middle-period China."

"These stories and anecdotes provide valuable information about marriage and sexuality in Song/Yuan society. The translator has done a remarkable job in rendering the text into readable English."

"An important contribution to the field. There are very few translations of biji xiaoshuo [anecdotal fiction] from the Tang, Song, and Yuan periods.The Drunken Man’s Talk stands out because it offers a complete translation of a single collection, which offers insights into the compiler’s interests and agendas, in particular, his selection, presentation, and arrangement of stories."