The compilation was first circulated in manuscript form before it was published posthumously. Sources differ in their account of the year of publication. One source claims the Strange Tales were published by Pu's grandson in 1740. However, the earliest surviving print version was printed in 1766 in Hangzhou.Pu is believed to have completed the majority of the tales sometime in 1679, though he could have added entries as late as 1707.ThemeThe main characters of this book apparently are ghosts, foxes, immortals and demons, but the author actually focused on people’s real life. He used those oddities to illustrate his ideas of the society and the government. He criticized the corruption and unjustness in the society and sympathized on those poor people. There are four main themes in this collection.First is to complain the feudal system where everyone is not equal. The author exposed that many officers and rich people committed crime without punishment just because they had privilege. This theme can be found in these stories, such as “the Cricket”, “Xi Fangping”, and “Shang Sanguan” The author was angry with the unfairness of the feudal government.Secondly, the author disclosed the corrupt examination system at that time. Because Songling had taken imperial exams, he had real experience and found that the exams were unfair. Many students cheated and bribed examiners or the officers who graded their paper. In addition, this education system has destroyed the scholars’ mind and ruined their creativity. Stories, such as “Kao San Sheng”, “Ya Tou”, and “Scholar Wang Zi-an”, contain this theme.Third theme is to admire the pure and faithful love between the poor scholars and powerless women. Songling wrote many stories about the love between beautiful and kind female ghosts and poor students. The author highly praised those women who helped their lovers or husbands to achieve success and took care of their husbands’ life. Readers can find those good-looking and kind-hearted female ghosts or foxes in the stories like “Lian Xiang”, “Yingning” and “Nie Xiaoqian”.Fourth is to criticize people’s immoral behavior and to educate people by those stories. The author embedded some moral standards and Taoist principles into the stories, so they are like parables, such as “Painted Skin” and “The Taoist of Lao Mountain.
Peppa and George were very excited that day. It was snowing outside. Peppa asked her Mummy if they could go and play outside. Mummy Pig advised to put on warm clothes. also Peppa and George had to wear their hats and scarves and gloves. At first, Peppa and George made footprints in the snow. Peppa offered George to play snowballs. They had a lot of fun. Then they decided to make a snowman. The snowman had a carrot as its nose and looked funny. It had a scarf and gloves and Mummy Pig was wearing them too. but Daddy Pig wasn't wearing a scarf and gloves because they were on the snowman!
Last winter I went to the Red sea with my parents. I was interested why it is called like this. My father explained to me that people invented a name to describe places in some way. It was the same with the Red sea. So now I want to tell you about the name of this sea. There are a couple of versions. One of the reasons for the name was its algae. During the time they grow they color the water in reddish-brown color that is why people called it red. The second reason was the red rocks around the sea. In the ancient times sailors were amazed with this unusual color of the rocks which were reflected in the water. That is why the water looked red and they called it the Red sea. Перевод: зимой я ездил на Красное море со своими родителями. Мне было интересно, почему оно так называется. Мой папа объяснил мне, что люди придумывали названия местам, чтобы можно было описать это место по-особенному. То же самое случилось и с Красным морем. Поэтому теперь я хочу рассказать вам о названии этого моря. Существует две версии. Одной из причин, почему его так назвали, послужили водоросли. Во время своего роста они окрашивают воду в красно-коричневый цвет, поэтому люди назвали его красным. Второй причиной были красные скалы, которые расположились на побережье моря. В древности моряки были поражены этим необычным цветом скал, которые отражались на поверхности волы. Поэтому вода выглядела красной, и они назвали море Красным.
