1 h 49 minAudiobook3 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A clever answer can save you from trouble—or show just how foolish you are.
In Xie Duo, Shen Qifeng brings together short Chinese tales of wit, morality and human folly. Qing dynasty China provides the setting: markets, teahouses, busy courts and villages shaped by the farming year. Scholars, officials, merchants and families face the small scrapes of daily life, where a quick mind can help—or hurt.
The collection draws on a storytelling tradition that makes people laugh, then makes them think. Clever remarks, foolish choices and sly bargains bring questions of right and wrong close to home. Honesty, kindness and fair dealing sit beside greed, vanity and cruelty. The pleasure lies in seeing how comedy gives a moral question its edge.
What you’ll discover
- Wit with a sting Discover how a clever answer can offer escape, while too much cleverness invites trouble.
- The comedy of ordinary lives Meet students, clerks, servants and neighbors in stories rooted in everyday scrapes.
- Morals beneath the laughter Consider honesty and kindness through tales that place human faults beside familiar virtues.
- A world of small encounters Enter markets, teahouses and villages where daily life provides the ground for humor.
- Short tales, pointed pleasures Enjoy brief stories whose clever remarks and foolish choices leave you something to consider.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy short tales, dry humor and stories about right and wrong, and listeners who like a story that ends in a point.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Qing China is the stage for these tales
- Wit is the main tool of the storyteller
- Morality hides inside the comedy
- Ordinary people make the human comedy
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- 15-minute summary
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Xie Duo
by Shen Qifeng · 1791
Scholars, officials and villagers reveal what foolish choices cost in tales where a laugh becomes a lesson.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Xie Duo is a collection of short Chinese tales linked to the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China, which ruled from the seventeenth century into the early twentieth. Its author is given as Qifeng Shen.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Qing China is the stage for these tales
The Qing dynasty ruled a vast and crowded country. Its cities had markets, teahouses and busy courts, and its villages followed the rhythm of the farming year. Stories from this age often draw on that mix of grand order and small daily struggle.
Examination culture shaped much of life. Families hoped a son would pass the civil service tests and rise to office. That hope gave writers rich material, since pride, study, money and rank all pull at people in comic ways.
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What is Xie Duo about?
Xie Duo is a collection of short Chinese tales tied to the Qing dynasty. The stories use humor and clever turns to show human habits and teach simple lessons about right and wrong.
Who wrote Xie Duo?
The author is given as Qifeng Shen. The book belongs to the Chinese tradition of short, witty tales that were told and written down for entertainment and moral instruction.
What was the Qing dynasty?
The Qing was the last imperial dynasty of China. It ruled from the seventeenth century until the early twentieth century, and its society shaped many tales of scholars, officials and common people.
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