初刻拍案惊奇
2005-1
Foreign Language Press
Ling Mengchu
359
温晋根
本书是《中国古典小说名著普及版书系》之一，是明朝末年凌濛初编著的拟话本小说集。成书于明朝天启七年，与《二刻拍案惊奇》合称“二拍”。其内容很复杂，思想倾向也不心相同。故事题材虽多出自前代著述，但经过凌氏的再创作，却表现着晚明的社会现实和时代气息，浸含着凌氏本人的思想观念和愤世俗的不平之气。书中主要是描写商人思想行径、命运遭际的作品和描写婚恋的作品，这些作品都具有认识价值和积极意义。《初刻拍案惊奇》题材内容方面存在的问题主要有两点。其一是露骨的色情描写。许多作品，如《西山观设度亡魂，开封府备棺追活命》、《乔兑换胡子宣淫，显报施卧师入定》、《奇风情村妇捐躯，假天语幕僚断狱》等都有猥亵描写。这类作品表现出市民的庸俗情趣。其二是浓厚的宗教迷信、因果报应、宿命论思想。《王大使威行部下，李参军冤报生前》、《酒谋财于郊肆恶，鬼对案杨化借尸》、《李克让竞达空函，刘元普双生贵子》、《感神媒张容遇虎，凑吉日裴越客乘龙》等充满了感神遇鬼，善恶报应等的描写…… 《初刻拍案惊奇》是明朝末年凌蒙初编著的拟话本小说集。 成书于明朝天启七年（1627），第二年由尚友堂书坊书坊刊行问世。其后凌蒙初又编著《二刻拍案惊奇》，于明朝崇祯五年（1632）刊行。二书合称“二拍”。《初刻拍案惊奇》本为四十卷四十篇，原本已失，今所见最早且最为完整的本子是藏于日本内阁文库的尚友堂刻本，全书存三十九卷（缺二十三卷），即实有小说39篇。
IntroductionTale 1 Mr Fortune Comes Across Red Fruit from Dongting;A Persian M erchant Discerns the Shell of a Drum DragonTale 2 Escaping Disgrace Yao Dizhu Encounters Disgrace;Making an Error Zheng Yue'e Utilizes the ErrorTale 3 Liu Dongshan Brags of His Prowess at a City Gate;Eighteenth Brother Shows off Marvels in a Village TavernTale 4 Nun Zhao Ensnares a Beauty with Narcotic Wine;Scholar Jia Take His Revenge with an Ingenious PlotTale 5 General Woolly Pays the Debt of a Dinner; Chen Dalang Reunites with His Lost KinfolkTale 6 Schoolar Han Acquires a Pretty Wife Amidst the Chaos; Prefect Wu Confirms a Marriage Contract in Favor of TalentTale 7 An Evil Boat Owner Takes Money for an Unidentified Corpse;A Base Servant Files an Accusation about an Alleged MurderTale 8 Zhao the Sixth Dies at the Hand of His Pampered Son;Magistrate Zhang Punishes the Evil with an Irrevocable Death VerdictTale 9Tale 10Tale 11Tale 12Tale 13Tale 14Tale 15Tale 16Tale 17Tale 18
A Perennial Bestseller on Townsfolk Life Amazing Tales-First Series together with Amazing Tales-Second Series authored by Ling Mengchu￡¨1580-1644）, a famous writer of vernacular stories, have topped the best-loved works of Chi- nese fiction in the past centuries. Stories from the collections are known to almost everyone in China. In close-knit plots, often punc-tuated with surprising denouements, and vivid colloquial language, these stories cover a wide range of subjects, from young men and women in love and family disputes to complicated legal cases. Now both books have been translated into English. In Amazing Tales-First Series 18 stories are selected from the original 40 to sing the praise of fidelity of love and all-weather friendship, ex-pose the greed of some nefarious monks and nuns for sex and wealth, and urge the authorities to uphold justice in handling cases. While enjoying these fascinating tales, the reader can get a glimpse of the ethics, customs, and social life of seventeenth-century China.
