The Artistry of Love in Classical Chinese Literature

When Johann Wolfgang von Goethe observed that true art lies in capturing the particular rather than the generic, he might well have been describing the genius of Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异). This 17th-century collection of supernatural tales revolutionized Chinese fiction by blending poetic lyricism with sharp social commentary, particularly in its depictions of love. Unlike conventional storytelling that focused on realistic portrayals of romance, Pu Songling infused his narratives with ethereal beauty, psychological depth, and a paradoxical mix of progressive ideals and entrenched feudal values.

The Paradox of Jealousy: “Tigresses” in a Confucian World

One of Strange Tales’ most striking features is its gallery of fiercely jealous women—characters so vivid they seem to leap off the page. Stories like Jiangcheng, Ma Jiefu, and Shao Nü showcase wives whose jealousy borders on the monstrous. In Ma Jiefu, the tyrannical Lady Yin abuses her meek husband so relentlessly that even supernatural intervention barely restores order. Pu Songling’s fascination with this archetype culminates in a virtuosic epilogue to Ma Jiefu, where he catalogs historical anecdotes about jealous wives, effectively composing a “History of Jealousy in Classical China.”

These “tigress” characters defy Confucian ideals of feminine submission, yet Pu Songling neither wholly condemns nor celebrates them. Instead, he exposes the tensions within Qing-dynasty marriages, where strict patriarchal norms often bred resentment. The妒妇 (jealous women) become tragic figures—products of a system that denied them agency, yet punished them for rebelling against it.

Love as Poetry: The Ethereal Romances

If jealousy represents love’s darker facets, Strange Tales equally excels in portraying its transcendent possibilities. Take Wanxia (“Evening Glow”), where the lovers’ reunion unfolds like a dance:

> “She raised her sleeves and tilted her hair, performing a scattering-petal dance. As she twirled, blossoms of five hues drifted from her garments, filling the courtyard like colored snow.”

Their meetings occur in a lotus pond with leaves “broad as mats” and petals piling “a foot high”—a setting blending sensuality with spiritual purity. Similarly, Bai Qiulian frames love through poetry; the heroine, a white dolphin spirit, heals her human lover by reciting verses. In Huan Niang, music bridges the human and ghostly realms. These tales reject mundane realism, instead crafting love as an almost sacred force that dissolves boundaries between life and death, human and spirit.

The Shadow of Feudalism: Polygamy and Patriarchal Bargains

Yet for all its lyricism, Strange Tales remains rooted in its era’s constraints. Pu Songling frequently idealizes polygamous arrangements, as in Lin Shi, where a wife orchestrates her husband’s affair with a maid to secure an heir—a plot presented as virtuous under Confucian mores. The “twin beauties” trope (二美一夫), where two women share one man, recurs obsessively, reflecting the era’s obsession with male lineage.

These contradictions reveal Pu Songling’s duality: a romantic visionary who nonetheless upheld feudal norms. His stories critique jealousy and oppression, yet often resolve with conservative endings—wayward wives tamed, childless couples rewarded with sons. This tension makes Strange Tales not just art, but a mirror of Qing society’s unresolved conflicts.

A Beauty Contest of the Supernatural: The Tale of Axiu

Among Strange Tales’ many heroines, the fox spirit Axiu (A Xiu) stands out as Pu Songling’s most nuanced exploration of beauty. The story pits two Axius against each other: a mortal girl and a fox spirit who mimics her appearance out of admiration. When the mortal Axiu is kidnapped during a rebellion, her supernatural rival rescues her, declaring:

> “Let your beloved come to you. I shall not compete—though I fancy I am no less fair.”

Here, Pu Songling subverts expectations. The fox spirit, typically a predatory figure in folklore, becomes a selfless benefactor. Her pursuit of physical perfection evolves into moral growth, suggesting that true beauty lies in magnanimity.

Legacy: Why Strange Tales Endures

Centuries later, Strange Tales remains seminal because it dares to confront love’s complexities—its capacity for both cruelty and transcendence. Modern adaptations, from films to operas, continue mining its themes: the ghost story A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) echoes Nie Xiaoqian’s undying devotion, while Painted Skin (2008) reimagines Hua Pi’s erotic horror.

More profoundly, Pu Songling’s work prefigures contemporary debates about agency and gender. His jealous wives resonate in discussions of marital inequality, while tales like Axiu anticipate feminist reclamations of mythological women. As Goethe noted, universality springs from the particular—and in painting love’s many shades, Strange Tales achieves timelessness.

To read Pu Songling is to ask, as his characters do: What is love? It is defiance and sacrifice, poetry and possession. It is, as he writes, “a flower that never withers, even on winter’s snow.”