{"product_id":"strange-tales-kuo-valentin-saric-9798247592020","title":"Strange Tales \/ \u0026#25324;\u0026#30064;\u0026#24535; (Kuo Yi Zhi): First English Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrange Tales (Kuo Yi Zhi, 括異志) is a remarkable Song-dynasty collection of supernatural accounts, moral anecdotes, and extraordinary events - now presented in English for the first time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten in the 11th century by the scholar-official Zhang Shizheng, this work belongs to the classical Chinese tradition of zhiguai (\"records of the strange\"), blending historical observation with ghosts, omens, karmic retribution, prophetic dreams, and unexplained phenomena. Court officials, monks, soldiers, villagers, spirits, and wandering immortals all appear in brief yet vivid entries that reflect a world governed by fate, moral consequence, and unseen forces.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike later fictionalized ghost stories, Kuo Yi Zhi occupies a liminal space between history and the supernatural. Many accounts are presented as sober records rather than imaginative tales, revealing how educated Song-dynasty readers understood Heaven's will, justice, and cosmic order. The collection was cited in official bibliographies of the Song dynasty and survives today in multiple fragmentary editions, some preserving unique and otherwise lost material.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis first English edition is based on the modern critical Chinese text, collated from Song, Ming, and Qing sources and supplemented with recovered entries preserved in encyclopedic compilations. It offers English-language readers direct access to an influential but little-known classic of Chinese literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdeal for readers of: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Classical Chinese literature and history\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Ghost stories and supernatural folklore\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Daoist, Buddhist, and karmic traditions\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Scholars and general readers seeking primary sources\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Fans of Liaozhai Zhiyi, Soushen Ji, and early East Asian weird fiction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis edition preserves the concise, record-like style of the original while remaining accessible to modern readers - allowing the strange, the moral, and the uncanny to speak for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Valentin Saric,Shizheng Zhang\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798247592020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/09\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 148\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.46lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.32d","brand":"Valentin Saric","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48997451006207,"sku":"9798247592020","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/strange-tales-kuo-valentin-saric-9798247592020","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}