A Brilliant Light

"A Brilliant Light"
Short story by Pu Songling
The servant reencounters his fox lover; 19th-century illustration from Xiangzhu liaozhai zhiyi tuyong (Liaozhai with commentary and illustrations; 1886)
Original title	犬灯 (Quandeng)
Translator	Sidney Sondergard (2008)
Country	China
Language	Chinese
Genre(s)	Zhiguai Chuanqi Short story
Publication
Published in	Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
Media type	Print (Book)
Publication date	1740
Chronology
Stealing Ghosts (谕鬼)   The Foreign Monks (番僧)

"A Brilliant Light" (simplified Chinese: 犬灯; traditional Chinese: 犬燈; pinyin: Quǎndēng; lit. 'Dog Light') is a short story by the Chinese writer Pu Songling collected in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Plot

A servant of gongsheng Han Maochun (韩茂椿) is awoken from his slumber by a bright light that turns into a dog before morphing into a woman. Deducing that she must be a fox spirit, the servant develops a romantic relationship with her; however, his love is put to the test when Han demands for her capture. Later at midnight, the servant attempts to restrain the fox by grabbing onto her blouse, which she rips off before fleeing. Thereafter, he reencounters her along the roadside where she raises the possibility of reconciliation between them and invites him into a large mansion for a drink. Some time later, the servant makes his move – only to realise he had been in the middle of a sorghum field.

Publication history

Originally titled "Quandeng" (犬灯), the short story was written by Pu Songling, and first appeared in his anthology of close to 500 "marvel tales" written in the zhiguai or chuanqi style, published in 1740. It was fully translated into English by Sidney Sondergard in her second volume of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio published in 2008.

References

Bibliography

• Pu, Songling; Sondergard, Sidney (2008). Strange Tales from Liaozhai. Fremont, Calif.: Jain Publishing Company. ISBN 9780895810434.