Strange Tales of Liaozhai, a collection of fox-fairies, ghosts and other short stories from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is one of the most popular Chinese classics in the world as it has the largest number of foreign language editions.

Prof. Ma Ruifang with Shandong University said at a recent international seminar on the classic that the book has been translated into over 20 foreign languages including English, French, German, Italian, Russia, Korean, and Vietnamese.

The ghost classic has nearly a hundred editions in foreign languages, she said.

Until now, articles from the collection are still found occasionally in newspapers and other publications in foreign countries, she said.

The collection started to be introduced to east Asia in the late 18th century and to western countries in the mid 19th century.

Pu Songling, the author (1640-1715), was regarded as a world-renowned master of short stories.

The earliest English version was named Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio by H. Giles in 1916. And the newest English version is entitled Stories from the Make-Do Study.

(www.eastday.com.cn 05/08/2001)