The Foreign Monks Contents Plot Literary significance References External links Navigation menuStrange Tales from Liaozhai聊斋志异纵橫谈Unabridged text in Chinesee

Stories within Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio


Chinesepinyinshort storyPu SonglingPrefectmonasteryarhatspagodarelicsThis TransformationThe Monk's Medicine


























"The Foreign Monks"

The Foreign Monks.png
19th-century illustration from Xiangzhu liaozhai zhiyi tuyong (Liaozhai Zhiyi with commentary and illustrations; 1886)

AuthorPu Songling
Original title"番僧 (Fanseng)"
TranslatorSidney L. Sondergard (2008)
CountryChina
LanguageChinese
Genre(s)

  • Zhiguai

  • Chuanqi

  • Short story

Published inStrange Tales from a Chinese Studio
Media typePrint (Book)
Publication date1740
Preceded by"A Brilliant Light (犬灯)"
Followed by"The Fox Concubine (狐妾)"

"The Foreign Monks" (Chinese: 番僧; pinyin: Fān sēng) is a short story by Pu Songling first published in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio in 1740. It concerns two foreign monks and their amazing feats.




Contents





  • 1 Plot


  • 2 Literary significance


  • 3 References

    • 3.1 Citations


    • 3.2 Bibliography



  • 4 External links




Plot


Pu Songling narrates a story told to him by a monk named Ti Kong[1] (體空): Two monks claiming to be from the West arrive in Qingzhou, where they are received personally by two servants of the local Prefect and hosted at a nearby monastery. However, a high-ranking monk named Lingpei[1] (靈轡) gives the foreign monk poor treatment, despite the veneration Lingpei's servants have for them.


Given the enigmatic and legendary nature of the West, the foreign monks, referred to as arhats, are asked to demonstrate their supernatural powers. Readily obliging, the first monk flings a miniature pagoda from his sleeves towards a crevice in the temple ceiling, and "Buddhist relics inside the pagoda (begin) to emit a glow that (illuminates) the entire room".[2] The second monk can extend his left arm to some six or seven chi and shrink his right hand to virtual nothingness, and vice versa.



Literary significance


"The Foreign Monks" is one of the few Strange Tales entries that revolve around monks; others include "This Transformation" and "The Monk's Medicine". Pu likely encountered many monks in real-life and this provided inspiration for such works.[3] Unlike most other stories in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Pu Songling alleges to be recounting a first-hand narration from a monk Ti Kong verbatim in "The Foreign Monks".[4] Sidney Sondergard writes that it is "intriguing to consider the implications of Pu functioning as a kind of ethnographer of this specific culture-sharing group".[5]



References



Citations




  1. ^ ab Sondergard 2008, p. 558.


  2. ^ Sondergard 2008, p. 559.


  3. ^ Xu 1987, p. 150.


  4. ^ Sondergard 2008, p. xii.


  5. ^ Sondergard 2008, pp. xii-xiii.




Bibliography



  • Sondergard, Sidney (2008). Strange Tales from Liaozhai. California: Jain Publishing Company. ISBN 9780895810434..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em


  • Xu, Junhui (1987). 聊斋志异纵橫谈 [Discussion of Liaozhai zhiyi] (in Chinese). Guangxi People's Publications.


External links


  • Unabridged text in Chinese










-

Popular posts from this blog

Can't initialize raids on a new ASUS Prime B360M-A motherboard2019 Community Moderator ElectionSimilar to RAID config yet more like mirroring solution?Can't get motherboard serial numberWhy does the BIOS entry point start with a WBINVD instruction?UEFI performance Asus Maximus V Extreme

Image
"One can do his homework in the library" Why does Deadpool say "You're welcome, Canada," after shooting Ryan Reynolds in the end credits? Potential difference and current flow It's a yearly task, alright Co-worker team leader wants to inject the crap software product of his friends into our development. What should I say to our common boss? Touchscreen-controlled dentist office snowman collector game What to do when during a meeting client people start to fight (even physically) with each others? What options are left, if Britain cannot decide? How could our ancestors have domesticated a solitary predator? Professor being mistaken for a grad student When two POV characters meet Replacing Windows 7 security updates with anti-virus? What has been your most complicated TikZ drawing? Can the word "advantage" be used as an adjective? How could a female member of a species produce eggs unto death? Can the druid cantrip Thorn
Read more

Identity Server 4 is not redirecting to Angular app after login2019 Community Moderator ElectionIdentity Server 4 and dockerIdentityserver implicit flow unauthorized_clientIdentityServer Hybrid Flow - Access Token is null after user successful loginIdentity Server to MVC client : Page Redirect After loginLogin with Steam OpenId(oidc-client-js)Identity Server 4+.NET Core 2.0 + IdentityIdentityServer4 post-login redirect not working in Edge browserCall to IdentityServer4 generates System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an objectIdentityServer4 without HTTPS not workingHow to get Authorization code from identity server without login form

Image
How to make healing in an exploration game interesting What's the meaning of “spike” in the context of “adrenaline spike”? Welcoming 2019 Pi day: How to draw the letter π? Do I need life insurance if I can cover my own funeral costs? What do Xenomorphs eat in the Alien series? Python if-else code style for reduced code for rounding floats My adviser wants to be the first author Do I need to get involved in office politics to get ahead? Why one should not leave fingerprints on bulbs and plugs? How to change two letters closest to a string and one letter immediately after a string using notepad++ Why doesn't the EU now just force the UK to choose between referendum and no-deal? How to deal with taxi scam when on vacation? Recruiter wants very extensive technical details about all of my previous work What is the least resource intensive way to generate the luatex font cache for a new font? How Could an Airship Be Repaired Mid-Flight Why did it take so
Read more

2005 Ahvaz unrest Contents Background Causes Casualties Aftermath See also References Navigation menue"At Least 10 Are Killed by Bombs in Iran""Iran"Archived"Arab-Iranians in Iran to make April 15 'Day of Fury'"State of Mind, State of Order: Reactions to Ethnic Unrest in the Islamic Republic of Iran.10.1111/j.1754-9469.2008.00028.x"Iran hangs Arab separatists"Iran Overview from ArchivedConstitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran"Tehran puzzled by forged 'riots' letter""Iran and its minorities: Down in the second class""Iran: Handling Of Ahvaz Unrest Could End With Televised Confessions""Bombings Rock Iran Ahead of Election""Five die in Iran ethnic clashes""Iran: Need for restraint as anniversary of unrest in Khuzestan approaches"Archived"Iranian Sunni protesters killed in clashes with security forces"Archived

Image
Sheikh Khazal (1924)Unrest (1925)Unrest (1928)Unrest (1940)1943 revolt1945 revoltInsurgency (1956-70)Insurgency (1979)Embassy siege (1980)Unrest (2005)2005–06 Ahvaz bombingsDay of Rage (2011)Uprising of Dignity (2018) Arab rebellionsProtests in Iran2005 riotsPolitical riots2005 in IranAhvazKhuzestan conflictHuman rights in IranAhwazi Arabs Iranian ArabsAhvazKhuzestanbombingsPersian GulfKhuzestanShadeganHoveyzehSusangerdMahshahrKhorramshahrAbadanAhvazConstitution of IranPersianofficial languageconstitution of the Islamic RepublicconstitutionIranian ArabsAmnesty InternationalConstitution of the Islamic Republic of IranMohammad-Ali AbtahiMohammad KhatamiAmnesty InternationalAli ShamkhaniAhvazIranian ArabsprotestAhvazNobel Peace PrizeShirin Ebadi 2005 Ahvaz unrest Part of Arab separatism in Khuzestan Iranian Khuzestan province Date 15–18 April 2005 Methods demonstrations, riots Status Unrest quelled Parties to the civil conflict Iranian Arabs Iranian Government Lead figures Ali Khamen
Read more