Fox Legends
Reading edition
Many interesting fox legends are to be found in a collection of stories entitled Liao chai chih i, by P’u Sung-ling (seventeenth century A.D.), part of which was translated Page 371into English many years ago by Professor H.A. Giles and appeared in two fascinating volumes called Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. These legends were related to the Chinese writer by various people as their own experiences.
Notes in this chapter
Note 1 · A certain man had an enormous stack of straw, as big as a hill, in which his servants, taking what was daily required for use, had made quitNote 2 · A certain labourer, named Ma T’ien-jung, lost his wife when he was only about twenty years of age, and was too poor to take another. One dayNote 3 · A few months passed away, and then one day the young lady came and gave Ma three ounces of silver, saying, “You have often asked me for moneNote 4 · At Chin-ling there lived a young man named Ku, who had considerable ability, but was very poor; and having an old mother, he was very loth tNote 5 · Once upon a time there was a young man named Ch’ê, who was not particularly well off, but at the same time very fond of his wine; so much so