LITERARY TEXT

Author

Pu Songling

• Pu was born into a poor merchant family from Zichuan (Zibo, Shandong).
• At the age of 18, he received the Xiucai degree in the Imperial examination; it was not until he was 71 that he was awarded the Gongsheng (“tribute student”) degree for his achievement in literature rather than for passing the Imperial examinations.
• He spent most of his life working as a private tutor, collecting the stories that were later published in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio in 1740.
• Some critics attribute the vernacular Chinese novel Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan (“Marriage Destinies to Awaken the World”) to him.

Place and date of publishing

• The story is titled “Planting a Pear-tree” in Giles’ 1880 publication; Giles later retitled it “The Wonderful Pear Tree” in his 1911 anthology, Chinese Fairy Tales, which features eight Liaozhai stories, including “The Painted Skin” and “Stealing Peaches.”
• Author    Pu Songling
• Original title    “種梨 (Zhongli)”
• Translator    Herbert Giles (1880)
• Country    China
• Language    Chinese
• Genre(s)    Zhiguai Chuanqi
• Short story
• Published in    Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
• Media type    Print (Book)
• Publication date    1740
• Preceded by    “Stealing Peaches (偷桃)”

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