6 h 1 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 1 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A fortune can turn, a charge can be false, and justice can depend on solving a puzzle.
In Slapping the Table in Amazement, Ling Mengchu brings together two collections of short tales about luck, cunning, money and judgment. Merchants, scholars, wives, officials, thieves and monks fill his world. Drawn from older tales and stories circulating in his time, these quick narratives place ordinary lives within reach of something strange and wonderful.
Both the first and second collections draw on the art of the street storyteller. Trade offers the chance to rise, but fortunes can fall just as quickly. Several stories turn on crimes, false charges or puzzles an official must solve. Through these sharp turns, Ling Mengchu gives you a lively view of Ming society, from its money to its courts.
What you’ll discover
- Fortune on the turn Follow merchants through a world where money and luck can change their prospects in a season.
- The search for justice Enter tales of false charges and crimes, where fair judgment is something to hope for.
- A storyteller's lively manner Enjoy quick tales shaped by the spoken rhythms of street and teahouse storytelling.
- Daily life in Ming China Meet scholars, wives, thieves and monks in stories alive with trade, money and cunning.
- Something strange and wonderful Discover the unexpected turns behind a title that invites listeners to strike the table in amazement.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy stories told aloud will love these tales of swindlers, clever judges, ghosts and brave women. Those curious about daily life in Ming China will find surprises and morals.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Fortune is settled by fate, not effort
- An unlucky merchant sells oranges for silver
- A matching face can fool a household
- Brave women prove strength needs no beard
- Marriages arrive by strange roads and exact dates
- A quiet plan can answer a cruel trick
- Immortals and magicians test an emperor
- Kindness comes back from unexpected hands
- Courts and ghosts bring hidden crimes to light
- A storyteller's voice guides every tale
Who’s who
- Wen RuoxuA talented but unlucky Suzhou merchant who joins a sea voyage with one tael and a basket of oranges, hoping only for some company and fun.
- Zhang DaThe seasoned overseas trader known as the Connoisseur, generous to decent people, who brings Wen aboard and later guides him through the Persian's shop.
- Yao DizhuA pampered sixteen-year-old bride who flees her harsh in-laws at dawn and wants only to reach her parents' house.
- Wang XiA ferry rogue nicknamed Maggot in the Snow, who lures runaway women to a hideout and sells them to rich men.
- Liu YuanpuAn old, childless official who shelters his dead friend's family and a ruined official's daughter, and hopes for an heir.
- Pei YuekeA young Tang scholar promised to Zhang Derong, racing by river toward a wedding date a fortune-teller has set long before.
- Scholar JiaA learned husband who guards his wife's good name and plans a quiet, careful answer to a scheming nun.
- Zhang GuoA Daoist who seems more than a thousand years old and laughs off every test the emperor devises.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Battere il tavolo per lo stupore
by Ling Mengchu · 1628
A struggling merchant sells a basket of oranges for silver and brings home something a Persian wants.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
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In short
What would you do if the silver you saved for a lifetime got up and walked out of your bedroom? In the first tale of this book, an old merchant named Jin Weihou ties eight ingots with red thread.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Fortune is settled by fate, not effort
Ling Mengchu opens with a claim. Fame, rank and wealth are set by fate, he says, and a clever man can starve while a dull one prospers. If everything is fixed, why work at all? His answer is that fortune often shows up in the blink of an eye, and nobody can predict it.
To prove it, he tells of Jin Weihou, who saves every hundred taels as one silver ingot tied with red thread. In his whole life he makes exactly eight. That night he dreams of eight tall men in white. They say their time in his household is up, and they name a man called Wang in another village. Jin wakes, and the ingots are gone.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1628
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 3 h 55 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Ling, Mengchu. Slapping the Table in Amazement. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/slapping-the-table-in-amazement.
Ling, M. (2026). Slapping the table in amazement. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/slapping-the-table-in-amazement (Original work published 1628)
Ling, Mengchu. Slapping the Table in Amazement. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/slapping-the-table-in-amazement.
@book{ling2026slapping,
author = {Ling, Mengchu},
title = {Slapping the Table in Amazement},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/slapping-the-table-in-amazement},
note = {First published 1628}
}
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What is Slapping the Table in Amazement about?
It is a collection of forty tales from Ming dynasty China about luck, greed, love and justice. Merchants, scholars, judges, ghosts, swordswomen and immortals appear, and each story ends with a surprise or a moral drawn by the storyteller.
What does the title Slapping the Table in Amazement mean?
The title names the reaction of a listener who hears something so astonishing that he slaps the table. The author promises tales strange enough to cause that reaction, from shells filled with pearls to ghosts who testify in court.
Who wrote Slapping the Table in Amazement and when?
Ling Mengchu wrote it in the late Ming dynasty, and he died in 1644. He retold older notebook tales, gossip and market stories, then added poems, comments and a storyteller's voice. A second series followed this first one.
The author
Ling Mengchu
1580–1644 · Chinese Ming dynasty writer
Ling Mengchu (1580–1644) was a Chinese writer of the Ming dynasty. He was born in Wucheng, now part of Huzhou, Zhejiang. He wrote short stories and plays. His two collections known as Slapping the Table in Amazement appeared in 1628 and 1632. He also served as a government official.
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