The compilation was first circulated in manuscript form before it was published posthumously. Sources differ in their account of the year of publication. One source claims the Strange Tales were published by Pu's grandson in 1740. However, the earliest surviving print version was printed in 1766 in Hangzhou.Pu is believed to have completed the majority of the tales sometime in 1679, though he could have added entries as late as 1707.ThemeThe main characters of this book apparently are ghosts, foxes, immortals and demons, but the author actually focused on people’s real life. He used those oddities to illustrate his ideas of the society and the government. He criticized the corruption and unjustness in the society and sympathized on those poor people. There are four main themes in this collection.First is to complain the feudal system where everyone is not equal. The author exposed that many officers and rich people committed crime without punishment just because they had privilege. This theme can be found in these stories, such as “the Cricket”, “Xi Fangping”, and “Shang Sanguan” The author was angry with the unfairness of the feudal government.Secondly, the author disclosed the corrupt examination system at that time. Because Songling had taken imperial exams, he had real experience and found that the exams were unfair. Many students cheated and bribed examiners or the officers who graded their paper. In addition, this education system has destroyed the scholars’ mind and ruined their creativity. Stories, such as “Kao San Sheng”, “Ya Tou”, and “Scholar Wang Zi-an”, contain this theme.Third theme is to admire the pure and faithful love between the poor scholars and powerless women. Songling wrote many stories about the love between beautiful and kind female ghosts and poor students. The author highly praised those women who helped their lovers or husbands to achieve success and took care of their husbands’ life. Readers can find those good-looking and kind-hearted female ghosts or foxes in the stories like “Lian Xiang”, “Yingning” and “Nie Xiaoqian”.Fourth is to criticize people’s immoral behavior and to educate people by those stories. The author embedded some moral standards and Taoist principles into the stories, so they are like parables, such as “Painted Skin” and “The Taoist of Lao Mountain.
But in my opinion it isn't an easy thing to be a true friend and before somebody can name you his best friend you should prove your friendship. To my mind everyone can have only one or two true friends, because a friend to all is a friend to none. I believe that faithful friend can brighten your life and make it more interesting, vivid and enjoyable. You are interested in your friend with all his positive and negative traits of personality and your friend in his turn can understand and forgive you everything. You shouldn't tell a lie to your friend, there mustn't be hypocrisy in your speech and even in thoughts. Before telling your friend something, before doing anything you should think a lot and guess what kind influence it will render on him and on his life. So I think that it is difficult to be a real friend, but to my mind all of us try to achieve the ideal of a true friend. может быть так?
может быть так?