Pu Sung-ling (1640-1715) was born Zichuan (today Zibo) in Shandong. In order to support his family, he spent most of his time teaching at the home of one of the wealthy families in his district, where he also wrote most of the stories – some five hundred in number – included in his book Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai zhiyi). This collection of the stories turned the supernatural story genre, which has a long tradition in China, into a high level of art. Pu’s book is still considered the pinnacle of writing in classical Chinese prose. Pu Sung-ling also wrote many other works: plays, poetry, and essays.
