AN ALBUM OF THE STRANGE TALES OF LIAOZHAI (LIAOZHAI TUSHUO) QING DYNASTY, GUANGXU PERIOD

comprising fourteen loose album leaves, each illustrating supernatural tales from Pu Songling's Liaozhai Zhiyi, exquisitely painted with details highlighted with gilding on the right page, and the original text in lishu script above the explanation in kaishu script to the left, all mounted on embroidered blue silk, with five seperate dividing leaves of gold-flecked pink paper, all set between brocade textile-covered hardwood front and back covers

Each of the fourteen loose album leave numbered in the bottom left hand corner, with the numbers 2, 14, 15 and 17 not accounted for, suggesting that four pages from the original album are lost. The majority of the album leaves in excellent general condition, with the silk surround, paper, pigments and gilding exceptionally well retained. Some light foxing and staining to the left hand calligraphy pages (most extensively to number 1); minor nibbling to the mounting of pages number 8, 7 and18, as well as to two of the pink gold-flecked pages; very light surface wear to other pages. The two wood covers both cracked, with some re-gluing. The brocade covers in very good general condition, with some light fading and tears to threads.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Liaochai Tushuo (Strange Stories of a Chinese Studio) is a collection of nearly five hundred tales written by Pu Songling (1640-1715) during the early Qing dynasty which were written in Classical, rather than Vernacular, Chinese.  It is believed that he completed most of the stories in 1679, although he may have added entries as late as 1707. Colourful and enchanting, they are written in the folk tradition of oral storytelling where the boundary between reality and the fantastic is blurred. The main characters consist of both natural and supernatural beings to tell the real life stories of commoners. Pu remarked on the corruptness, immorality and injustice of society while sympathising on the poor, while revealing his admiration for Confucian-style moral standards and Daoist principles.

 

The present album appears to belong to a group commissioned in 1894 by Xu Run (Xu Yizhang) as a gift to the Dowager Empress Cixi to commemorate her sixtieth birthday. An official merchant from Guangdong, Xu enlisted various artists to complete the ambitious task. Forty-eight albums were created in total, which told 420 stories over 725 paintings, with one to five pages allocated to each story. The National Museum of China holds forty-six of the albums, which are on permanent display in Classical Paintings of Ancient China, National Museum of China, Beijing, Gallery S12.