The Painted Wall and Other Strange Tales. Michael Bedard. Toronto, ON: Tundra Books, 2003. 109 pp., cloth, $22.99. ISBN 0-88776-652-8. Subject Headings: Pu, Songling, 1640-1715-Adaptations-Juvenile literature. Ghost stories, Chinese. Love stories, Chinese. Grades 6 and up / Ages 11 and up. Review by Cora Lee. *** /4 Reviewed from prepublication copy.

excerpt

One evening, when he got back from work, Wang found the master sitting drinking with two strangers. The sun had gone down and it was dark, but the lamps had not yet been brought in. The master took a pair of scissors and cut a circle from a piece of paper. He stuck it on the wall, and instantly it became a brilliant moon. By its light even a fine hair could be seen." (From "The Taoist Priest of Lao Shan")

We eat dim sum and congee, race dragonboats each summer, and easily shout "Gung Hay Fat Choy" to celebrate Chinese New Year. With Michael Bedard's The Painted Wall and Other Strange Tales, we now sample Chinese literature. The Painted Wall finds its beginnings in the Liao Chai: Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, by the mid 17th century Chinese scholar Pu Song ling. Bedard's title tells true, for the stories are bizarre indeed, and it is this foreignness that will strike and attract Canadian readers most.

     Pu Song ling's original collection was vastly popular in China throughout his time. It's still widely known there, but Canada's young readers won't likely be familiar with the stories, with perhaps one exception, "A Case of Possession," retold by Laurence Yep in Ghost Fox. The stories in Bedard's collection are gentle stories that generate unease through the inexplicable and unspectacular quite unlike the grisly horror stories we've come to know. The Chinese stories are simpler too, devoid of the description, detailed introspection and dialogue found in many western short stories. Bedard retains the Chinese ideals of brevity and balance to give the book authentic charm, as well as a slight formality that says, "I am not from here."

     The main characters in the 23 tales are scholars and other men, but the beings they encounter are supernatural: ghosts and the undead, fairies and priests with magical powers, foxes, unnaturally canny tigers and crows. The situations they encounter are odd as well, with "The Talking Eye Pupils” easily the most bizarre. The stories in the original Chinese collection were written with various purposes, some easier to fathom than others. Many of the stories disguised criticism of the government and condemned the corruption of the time. "Missing Silver" is the most obvious of these. Many others were written as guides for living. "Past Lives," which recounts a man's rebirth several times over is a tall tale, with perhaps an admonition to live life wisely. "Planting a Pear Tree" counsels generosity and compassion over greed. "Jen Shui the Gambler" doesn't preach against the dangers of gambling but warns against reneging on promises to the dead. One of the most intriguing stories is also one of the most puzzling and raises questions about what might have been lost in adapting for children stories originally intended for adults; "The Painted Wall" ends with the loaded and mysterious words "Visions have their origins in those who see them," a monk's response to Chu's mysterious (and conjugal) visit beyond the painted monastery wall.

     A survey of the stories simply for entertainment or as a sampling of Chinese literature does not do the stories justice. A reading would be enriched a thousand fold by some background in the societal, cultural and spiritual beliefs during that period in China, and about the relationships believed to exist between humans and both the divine and demonic. The stories were told to the most common of Chinese labourers, barely educated but living the context. Without at least some background, our readers won't have the same appreciation.

Recommended with reservations.

Cora Lee is a Vancouver, BC, writer and editor.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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