The Soushen houji

The Sushn huj (Latter Notes on Collected Spirit Phenomena), attributed to the celebrated poet To Qin (365-427), is a compilation of anecdotes and stories known as zhgu i ('records of the anomalous') that document strange and unusual phenomena the author observed in his lifetime. Intended to serve as a sequel to Gn Bo's (d. 336) Sushnj (Collected Spirit Phenomena), the original text was lost but was reconstructed in the late Mng dynasty. This volume presents an annotated translation of the entire Mng version of the Sushn huj as well as of an additional set of surviving stories that were identified and restored to the text by the modern scholar L Ji ngu . The book also includes a history of the Sushn huj text, an examination of its linguistic style and characteristics, a discussion of the historical nature of its contents and how it fits into the zhgu i genre, providing a window onto medieval Chinese society and culture, and a brief overview of recent zhgu i scholarship to guide readers who hope to continue their exploration of the genre.