1 h 24 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 1 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What stories do neighbors tell when old certainties collapse and the summer heat draws them into the shade?
In Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor, neighbors gather beneath climbing bean vines on hot summer evenings. They cool off, talk, and trade stories. Ainajushi draws twelve linked tales from this simple meeting place, each growing out of the conversation before it. Jealousy, loyalty, fate, and everyday folly give the gathering plenty to discuss—and plenty to laugh at.
The collection belongs to the unsettled world of the late Ming and early Qing, when readers live through war and a change of rulers. Its answer is humor rather than sermons. Old stories get a new twist, familiar morals invite another look, and jealousy poisons households and friendships. Beneath the easy talk, the tales explore what happens when trusted certainties no longer hold.
What you’ll discover
- Neighbors under the vines Enter a shaded village meeting place where summer conversation opens into story.
- Old stories turned over See familiar figures, episodes, and morals examined for what lies beneath their surface.
- Jealousy close to home Follow a destructive feeling as it poisons the bonds of households and friendships.
- Humor amid upheaval Meet a world of shaken certainties through sly comedy rather than solemn instruction.
- One tale at a time Let each conversation lead you onward, reading as though you sit among the listeners.
Who will love it
For readers who love tales told aloud, comic satire, ghost and fate stories, and a clever storyteller working a crowd on a summer afternoon.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Neighbors gather beneath the bean vines
- Jealousy reaches beyond the grave
- Famous praise deserves another look
- A foolish gift may conceal purpose
- Hidden virtue is an inheritance
- Goodness does not depend on rank
- Reputation can hide the real person
- Fraud and war demand watchfulness
- Look twice at every reputation
Who’s who
- Shi YouJie Zitui's wife, who cannot forgive his nineteen years of absence, and whose jealousy hardens into a stone.
- Wang XinggeA seemingly dull merchant's son who gives away silver freely and follows brocade pouches handed to him at the sea.
- Yan ChiA commissioner's son who returns his father's stolen deeds, spends wildly, and tries to repay his family's bad karma.
- Ding'erA beggar boy who feeds his blind mother first and refuses riches that would shame her.
- ShuqiYounger brother of Boyi, who leaves Mount Shouyang hungry and hopeful of office under the new dynasty.
- Jia JingshanA Suzhou hanger-on who founds a society of Old Freebies and schemes to earn silver from a retired official.
- Dang YiyuanA generous, upright militia chief who defends his sister's honor against a lustful rival.
- Chen GangA school director from the city who walks into the arbor and argues against monks, immortals, and ghosts.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor
by Ainajushi · 1668
Under a village bean arbor, twelve tales of jealous ghosts, schemers and a beggar boy cool a hot summer.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Picture a hot summer in Jiangnan, the damp land south of the Yangtze. Households plant sheep-eye beans, raise a few poles, and let the vines make a shade cooler than any pavilion.
Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 15 min4 h 10 min fast, 6 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 74,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1668by Ainajushi
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A bean arbor turns idle talk into stories
The book opens with a preface in which the author names an earlier poet, Xu Jutan, whose Songs Under the Bean Arbor was loved and then lost. The author does not care to write poems. He gathers a few odd tales worth a smile instead.
The arbor then takes on a life of its own. Villagers plant beans, and soon the vines spread over the frame. Men and women sit under them on cool mats, and the listeners bargain with the storyteller over tea and pastries. As the tales go on, the first pods are boiled as a prize for a good story, autumn winds fill the pods, and frost comes.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
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
- 1668
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Ainajushi. Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/idle-talk-under-the-bean-arbor.
Ainajushi. (2026). Idle talk under the bean arbor. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/idle-talk-under-the-bean-arbor (Original work published 1668)
Ainajushi. Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/idle-talk-under-the-bean-arbor.
@book{ainajushi2026idle,
author = {Ainajushi},
title = {Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/idle-talk-under-the-bean-arbor},
note = {First published 1668}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor about?
It is a book of twelve linked tales told by villagers sitting under a bean arbor through one summer and autumn. The stories deal with jealousy, loyalty, fate, false monks, bandits, and swindlers, with short comments after most of them.
Who wrote Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor and when?
It was written by a Daoist who used the pen name Ainajushi, in the Ming and Qing period. The record gives no year of death. The author says he wrote it to carry on an earlier poet's bean arbor songs.
What does the bean arbor mean in the book?
The arbor is a shade made of bean vines where neighbors gather to cool off and talk. It is the frame for the whole book, and its growth from sprouts to withered stalks marks the seasons in which the tales are told.
The author
Ainajushi
Chinese writer
Ainajushi is a pen name, meaning roughly the Daoist who cannot help speaking idly, and the record gives no year of death. The commentary in the book says he also wrote poetry collections and popular plays. The book itself shows a writer of the Ming and Qing period, steeped in history, local lore, and satire.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
