Some Chinese Ghosts
by Lafcadio Hearn
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Ghost stories aren't always the province of creaky old Victorian hotels and medieval palaces. This fascinating collection brings together some traditional tales of the supernatural from China. If you're a horror buff who's looking to expand your horizons a bit, Some Chinese Ghosts is a must-read..
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An interesting little collection of ghostly short stories. They're based on Chinese stories that circulated in Japan while he lived there, though according to his notes, he's essentially rewritten them rather than simply translating a Japanese version. They're characterful and appealing. Some, such as the story of tea, are very peculiar.
"A sound of gongs, a sound of song,-the song of the builders building the dwelings of the dead..."
Book Description: The Modern Library NEW YORK 1927. A very good copy. 4 1/4" x 6 1/2" Written while Hearn was still living in New Orleans.
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Ghost Stories That Thrill Us
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393+ Works 5,649 Members
Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was a fiction writer, critic, amateur engraver, and journalist. He wrote extensively about the cultures of Louisiana and is considered the first major Western chronicler of Japanese culture Delia Labarre is an independent scholar of Lafcadio Hearn and Louisiana culture. She lives in Baton Rouge Jefferson Humphries is show more chair of French studies at Louisiana State University show less
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Modern Library (130.1)
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Common Knowledge
- Important places
- China
- Epigraph
- If ye desire to witness prodigies and to behold marvels,
Be not concerned as to whether the mountains are distant
or the rivers far away.
-Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan - Dedication
- To my friend
HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL
THE MUSICIAN
WHO, SPEAKING THE SPEECH OF MELODY UNTO THE
CHILDREN OF TIEN-HIA, -
UNTO THE WANDERING TSING-JIN, WHOSE SKINS
HAVE THE COLOR OF GOLD, -
MOVED THEM TO MAKE S... (show all)TRANGE SOUNDS UPON THE
SERPENT-BELLIED SAN-HIEN;
PERSUADED THEM TO PAY FOR ME UPON THE
SHRIEKING YA-HIEN;
PREVAILED N THEM TO SING ME A SONG OF THEIR
NATIVE LAND, -
THE SONG OF MOHLI-HWA,
THE SONG OF THE JASMINE-FLOWER - First words
- I think that my best apology for the insignificant size of this volume is the very character of the material composing it. In preparing the legends I sought especially for weird beauty; and I could not forget this stri... (show all)king observation in Sir Walter Scott's "Essay on Imitations of the Ancient Ballad": "The supernatural, though appealing to certain powerful emotions very widely and deeply sown amongst the human race, is, nevertheless, a spring which is peculiarly apt to lose its elasticity by being too much pressed upon." -Preface, New Orleans, March 15, 1886
The water-clock marks the hour in the Ta-chung sz', - in the Tower of the Great Bell: now the mallet is lifted to smite the lips of the metal monster, - the vast lips inscribed with Buddhist texts from the scared Fa... (show all)-hwa-King, from the chapters of the holy Ling-yen-King! Hear the great bell responding! - how mighty her voice, though tongueless! - KO-NGAI! All the little dragons on the high-tilted eaves of the green roofs shiver to the tips of their gilded tails under that deep wave of sound; all the porcelain gargoyles tremble on their carven perches; all the hundred little bells of the pagodas quiver with desire to speak. KO-NGAI! -THE SOUL OF THE GREAT BELL - Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.4
- Canonical LCC
- PS1917 .S6
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- Popularity
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- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.78)
- Languages
- English, Polish, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 31
- ASINs
- 9
