Acknowledgments
Introduction by Robert E. Hegel
Translators’ Note
List of Illustrations
Chronology of Chinese Dynasties
Slapping the Table in Amazement
Preface [1628 Edition]
Five Editorial Principles for This Collection
1. The Man Whose Luck Has Turned Chances upon Dongting Tangerines; The Merchant from Persia Reveals the Secrets of a Turtle Shell
2. Yao Dizhu Flees from Disgrace Only to Incur More Disgrace; Zhang Yue’e Uses a Mistake to Advance Her Own Interests
3. Liu Dongshan Brags about His Prowess at the City Gate; Eighteenth Brother Leaves His Mark in the Village Tavern
4. Cheng Yuanyu Pays for a Meal at a Restaurant; Lady Eleventh Explains Swordsmanship on Mount Cloud
5. Zhang Derong Encounters a Tiger Sent by the Gods as a Matchmaker; Pei Yueke Becomes the Lucky Mate Just in Time for the Blissful Date
6. Zhao the Nun Drugs a Beauty into a Stupor; Jia the Scholar Takes Revenge in a Brilliant Move
7. Emperor Minghuang of Tang, a Daoist Devotee, Seeks Out Eminent Daoists; Consort Wu, a Buddhist Disciple, Witnesses Contests of Magic Power
8. General Wu Repays the Debt of One Meal; Chen Dalang Reunites with Two Loved Ones
9. In the Director’s Garden, Young Ladies Enjoy a Swing-Set Party; At Pure and Peaceful Temple, Husband and Wife Laugh and Cry at Their Reunion
10. Scholar Han Takes a Wife in a Wave of Panic; Prefect Wu Makes a Match for a Talented Scholar
11. An Evil Boatman Commits Blackmail with a Dead Body; A Heartless Servant Wrongfully Presses Murder Charges
12. Mr. Tao Takes In Strangers Seeking Shelter from the Rain; Jiang Zhenqing Gains a Wife with a Jest
13. Mr. Zhao Spoils His Son and Dies as a Result; Magistrate Zhang Sentences an Unfilial Son to Death in an Ironclad Case
14. To Steal Money, Yu Dajiao Does Violence to a Drunken Man; To Confront the Culprit in Court, Yang Hua Attaches Himself to a Woman’s Body
15. Squire Wei, with His Merciless Heart, Plots to Seize Another Man’s Property; Scholar Chen, with His Clever Plan, Wins Back His House
16. Zhang Liu’er Lays One of His Many Traps; Lu Huiniang Severs a Bond of Marriage
17. Prayer Services Are Held at West Hill Temple for a Departed Soul; A Coffin Is Prepared in the Kaifeng Yamen for a Living Criminal
18. An Alchemist Turns Half a Grain of Millet into a Nine-Cycle Pill; A Rich Man Squanders Thousands of Taels of Silver to Win a Beauty’s Smile
19. Li Gongzuo Ingeniously Reads a Dream; Xie Xiao’e Cleverly Snares Pirates
20. Li Kerang Sends a Blank Letter; Liu Yuanpu Begets Two Precious Sons
21. Yuan’s Face-Reading Skills Impress the High and Mighty; Zheng’s Good Deed Wins Him a Hereditary Title
22. With Money, a Commoner Gains an Official Post; Out of Luck, a Prefect Becomes a Boatman
23. The Older Sister’s Soul Leaves Her Body to Fulfill a Wish; The Younger Sister Recovers from Illness to Renew a Bond
24. The Old Demon of Yanguan County Indulges in Debauchery; The Bodhisattva on Mount Huihai Puts the Evil Spirits to Death
25. Revenue Manager Zhao Leaves Word for His Love a Thousand Li Away; Su Xiaojuan Achieves Happiness with a Single Poem
26. In a Competition for Sexual Favor, a Village Woman Is Murdered; In Claiming Celestial Authority, a Judge Solves a Case
27. Gu Axiu Donates to a Nunnery with Joy; Cui Junchen Is Shown the Lotus Screen through a Clever Scheme
28. The Master of Golden Light Cave Recalls the Past; The Venerable Elder of Jade Void Cave Is Enlightened about His Previous Life
29. They Remain Loyal to Each Other through Their Trysts; His Success Is Announced at the Jailhouse
30. Commissioner Wang Rides Roughshod Over His Subordinates; Adjutant Li Gets His Comeuppance from a Reincarnated Victim
31. Priest He Commits Fornication via Black Magic; Registrar Zhou Wipes Out Rebels via Fornication
32. Mr. Hu Corrupts a Fellow Man in a Wife-Swapping Scheme; A Chan Master in Meditation Explains the Principle of Retribution
33. Squire Zhang, in His Noble-Mindedness, Adopts an Orphan; Judge Bao, in His Wisdom, Recovers a Document
34. Scholar Wenren Shows His Prowess at Cuifu Nunnery; The Nun Jingguan Goes in Glory to Huangsha Lane
35. A Pauper Keeps Temporary Watch over Another Man’s Money; A Miser Resorts to Tricks When Buying His Nemesis’s Son
36. The Monk of the Eastern Hall Invites Demonic Spirits during a Lapse in Vigilance; The Man in Black Commits Murder in an Abduction Attempt
37. Qutu Zhongren Cruelly Kills Other Creatures; The Yunzhou Prefect Helps His Nephew in the Netherworld
38. To Stake His Claim on the Family Fortune, a Jealous Son-in-Law Plots against the Rightful Heir; To Continue the Bloodline, a Filial Daughter Hides Her Brother
39. Heavenly Preceptors, with Their Theatrics, Claim to Subdue Drought Demons; A County Magistrate, in His Sincerity, Prays for Sweet Rain from Heaven
40. On the Huayin Trail, Li Meets One Extraordinary Man; The Jiangling Commander Opens Three Mysterious Envelopes
Notes
