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The Former Residence of Pu Songling.
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Pu Songling, also known as Pu Liuxian or Liuquan Hermit, was a famous writer in China in the 17th Century, reputed as “King of Short Story Writers in the World”. He was extraordinarily bright from his childhood and had a camera eye. His aptitude智能 for writing was the best of his time, but his talent had not been favored all along. He attended imperial examinations for 30 years but only to fail each time. Failure in examinations and poverty in life gave him a deep understanding of the society. Being an honest and frank man, he was highly critical of the society. So he translated all his resentments and indignations into his writings. He wrote a lot in his life, of which his representative work is the Strange Tales from Make-do Studio, famed all over the world and enjoying great popularity. A great classical work in the combination of realism and romanticism, the novel attacks the then corruptive and dark society with the help of stories about fox and ghost. In the book there are more than 400 short stories, which have been handed down since more than 200 years ago and very popular with readers at home and abroad. Besides, his writings include 13 volumes of collected works, 14 kinds of popular music and songs, 3 plays and 5 notes.
The Former Residence was the place where Pu Songling was born, lived and died. On the doorhead hangs a horizontal tablet inscribed five powerful and bright Chinese characters “蒲松龄故居” (meaning Former Residence of Pu Songling), written in 1962 by Guo Moruo, a famous scholar and writer of modern China. • Facing south, the Former Residence consists of three interconnected courtyards, where the rooms are well spaced. It is attached with a side courtyard on the west. Inside the courtyards, the round gates and tracery walls月门花墙 are arranged at random but compact. The rockery contrasts finely with the pond.
(Make-do Studio) • We are now at the northern courtyard, the center of the Former Residence. These three principal rooms are the make-do studio t. It was the place where Pu Songling was born and his study as well. On the middle of the wall opposite to the door is hung a horizontal tablet inscribed with two Chinese characters “聊斋” (meaning make-do studio) writen by 路大荒. Below the tablet hangs the portrait of Pu Songling, on which there is an inscription in his own handwriting. This color portrait was painted by Zhu Xianglin朱湘鳞, for his 74th birthday. His portrait is flanked by a perfect antithetical couplet written by Mr. Guo Moruo, meaning: Pu Songling is a cut above others in describing ghost and demon, by which he bitterly satirizes the corruption and brutality in the real society. “写鬼写妖高人一等，刺贪刺虐入骨三分”.
(Willow Spring) • The clear spring which comes into our sight is the Willow Spring, also known as Full Well满井. It was the place where Pu Songling collected material for writing in those days. According to records, in early years clear gurgling springs bubbled up from the well. The overflowing water gathered into a stream, which was not dried up even when severe droughts took place. Hence the spring got its name Full Well, after which the village was named Full Well Village. In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, there was a gradual increase of the family name “Pu”. As a result, the name of the village was changed into Pujiazhuang Village. In those days, the well was surrounded by hundreds of willow trees, hence another name Willow Spring. Legend has it that Pu Songling frequently came here with a teapot and teacups. He asked the passersby to stop on the way for a rest and treated them to tea. At the same time, he asked them to chat away about the folk customs, local conditions, anecdotes and fantastic stories in their hometowns. Then he wrote them down as material for writing. His masterpiece Strange Tales from Make-do Studio was an outcome of his chatting with others. Pu was so fond of this place that he called himself “Willow Spring Hermit”. In 1980, a thatched pavilion and an arbor were built by the spring while a railing was set up around the well. The two Chinese characters “柳泉” (meaning Willow Spring) on the stele were written by Shen Yanbing, a famous writer in China. In the past, there was a Dragon King Temple to the north of the spring, where there used to stand a stele with Pu Songling’s personal inscriptions.
(Pu Songling’s Graveyard) • Now here we are at Pu Songling’s Graveyard. Surrounded by a brick-stone wall, it is shaded by more than ten verdant ancient pines and cypresses. It is the graveyard for the Pu Family, where there are tens of ancient tombs. Located in the north of the graveyard, Pu Songling’s Tomb is covered with a two-meter-high mound. The tomb pit stretches from southwest to northeast. In front of the tomb stands a tombstone with inscriptions erected in the Qing Dynasty. The square pavilion was built in 1954 and the stele was set up in 1979 with inscriptions of Shen Yanbing.
