{"product_id":"anthology-of-the-strange-and-extraordinary","title":"Anthology of the Strange and Extraordinary","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat happens to the ordinary world when the strange refuses to stay outside it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnthology of the Strange and Extraordinary gathers brief tales from China, credited to the Ming scholar Wang Shizhen. Odd happenings, uncanny meetings and marvels take their place beyond the boundaries of official history. Each story offers a small glimpse of a world where the familiar and the unsettling lie close together, inviting you to pause over what does not quite fit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe collection belongs to zhiguai, the Chinese tradition of recording anomalies. Its accounts of strange encounters and extraordinary events offer more than a passing shiver: they open a way into Chinese literary culture. Read a tale at a time, and consider how learned writers make room for wonders that ordinary accounts leave out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eInside this book\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOdd happenings and marvels\u003c\/strong\u003e – Explore tales that give the unusual a place outside the boundaries of official history.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe uncanny close at hand\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enter a world where the line between ordinary life and strange encounters feels thin.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA long literary tradition\u003c\/strong\u003e – Discover zhiguai, a Chinese practice of setting down accounts of anomalies and wonders.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA scholar's literary world\u003c\/strong\u003e – Approach the marvelous through a collection credited to Ming poet and critic Wang Shizhen.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrief tales worth lingering over\u003c\/strong\u003e – Take each complete story on its own, and leave room for it to settle.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers who enjoy folklore, ghost stories and brief old tales, and anyone curious about Chinese literary culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page now, and let one strange tale draw you beyond the familiar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534641004892,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/01263_en_ebook-front_c24.jpg?v=1792174994","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/products\/anthology-of-the-strange-and-extraordinary","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}