Background

These strange stories by Pu Songling are rich in imagination. The language, both tasteful and vulgar, is vivid and free and easy. While talking about ghosts, these stories criticize the harsh ways of the society and eulogize the noble moral characters in order to educate the people. Of them, the masterpiece" Taoist Priest from Laoshan" tells a person who loves ease and hates works. Wishing to succeed by luck, he comes to Lanshan to learn skills but fails. Reading the story people do not know whether to laugh or cry. But from it people draw inspirations. In the past several hundred years, the book has spread widely.

State Post Bureau issued a set of four special stamps under the title"Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,One of China's Famous Classical Literary Works(First Group)"on Aprial 21,2001.Their combined face value is five yuan and titles are "Ying Ning","A Bao","Mask of an Evildoer"and "Stealing Peach".At eht same time,a souvenir sheet was issued under the title"Taoist Priest from Laoshan"with a face value of eight yuan.

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