Chinese Strange Stories

"The Changqing monk of the Changqing Temple,
By error falls as a mortal into the fray;
The unfeeling multitude on the unfeeling path,
Yet with compassion ferry the dust away."

When chaos first was cleaved apart, the myriad things began to live. Man born under the time of Yin, the other lives came forth in many forms—born of womb, born of egg, born of shape, born of breath, born of spirit, born of ghost-essence, born of damp, born of flight—and day by day, year upon year, they filled the space between heaven and earth. It is also said: "All things possess feeling, be they demon or ghost." And having feeling, there arose countless partings and reunions, joys and sorrows, rights and wrongs, debts of gratitude and grudges. At that time there lived a lofty scholar, styled the Recluse of Willow Spring, whose disciples included many extraordinary persons, whose sole purpose was to act on Heaven's behalf in upholding justice—treating man and demon alike, without distinction. The things seen and heard in this realm were compiled and arranged by Master Willow Spring into a collection, passed down to the world, bearing the name "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio".