The Shadow Book of Ji Yun: The Chinese Classic of Weird True Tales, Horror Stories, and Occult Knowledge
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- Create Date：2021-08-10 09:51:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Yun Ji
- ISBN：1953124011
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Summary
"A new and wholly fresh mother lode of 'true weird tales，' 。。。 the only real comparisons to Shadow Book's treasure trove of bizarre stories， full of humour， horror， suspense， magic and mystery， are Japan's Kwaidan， the Thousand and One Nights， and most certainly Pu Sung-ling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio。" ―Fortean Times
"Written more than two centuries ago， Ji Yun's 'true weird stories' prove that humanity's greatest fears are timeless。"
—Rue Morgue
Imagine if H。P。 Lovecraft were Chinese and his tales were true。 Or if a national， political figure like Benjamin Franklin was also a paranormal investigator—one who wrote up his investigations with a chilling， story-telling flair that reads like a combination of Italo Calvino， Lafcadio Hearn， and Zhuangzi。
In China， at roughly the same time that Franklin was filling the sky with electrified kites， a figure existed who was a little bit of both these things。 He was Special Advisor to the emperor of China， Head of the Department of War， Imperial Librarian， and one of the most celebrated scholars and poets of his time。 His name was Ji Yun。
Beginning in 1789， Ji Yun published five volumes of strange tales that combined supernatural and frequently moving autobiographical accounts with early speculative fictions and ghost stories。 By turns darkly comic， terrifying， and transcendentally mystical， they revolutionized Chinese speculative fiction AND nonfiction and portrayed a China never before depicted: one poised between old ways and new， where repeating rifles shared the world with Tibetan black-magic， Jesuit astronomers rubbed elbows with cosmic horrors， and a vibrant sex trade of the reanimated dead was conducted in the night。
Combining insights into Chinese magic and metaphysics with tales of cannibal villages， sentient fogs， alien encounters， and fox spirits， alongside nightmarish narratives of soul swapping， haunted cities， and the “jiangshi” （the Chinese vampire）， there is no literary work quite like that of Ji Yun。 Designed by him to be both entertainment and an occult technology that awakens readers to new dimensions of reality， one cannot walk away from these stories unchanged。 The Shadow Book of Ji Yun is a literary translation of Ji Yun’s most masterful tales。
Awards and Honors of Individual Pieces
*Finalist for the 2020 [Gabriel García Márquez] “Gabo” Award for Literature in Translation
*Selected for New England Review’s 2020 Haunting and Haunted Issue
*Selected for Strange Horizons’ Samovar Quarterly Special Issue
*Nominated as “Best Microfiction” by Cincinnati Review
*Nominated as “Best of the Net” by Passages North
*Nominated as “Best of the Net” by Cincinnati Review
"Written more than two centuries ago， Ji Yun's 'true weird stories' prove that humanity's greatest fears are timeless。"
—Rue Morgue
Imagine if H。P。 Lovecraft were Chinese and his tales were true。 Or if a national， political figure like Benjamin Franklin was also a paranormal investigator—one who wrote up his investigations with a chilling， story-telling flair that reads like a combination of Italo Calvino， Lafcadio Hearn， and Zhuangzi。
In China， at roughly the same time that Franklin was filling the sky with electrified kites， a figure existed who was a little bit of both these things。 He was Special Advisor to the emperor of China， Head of the Department of War， Imperial Librarian， and one of the most celebrated scholars and poets of his time。 His name was Ji Yun。
Beginning in 1789， Ji Yun published five volumes of strange tales that combined supernatural and frequently moving autobiographical accounts with early speculative fictions and ghost stories。 By turns darkly comic， terrifying， and transcendentally mystical， they revolutionized Chinese speculative fiction AND nonfiction and portrayed a China never before depicted: one poised between old ways and new， where repeating rifles shared the world with Tibetan black-magic， Jesuit astronomers rubbed elbows with cosmic horrors， and a vibrant sex trade of the reanimated dead was conducted in the night。
Combining insights into Chinese magic and metaphysics with tales of cannibal villages， sentient fogs， alien encounters， and fox spirits， alongside nightmarish narratives of soul swapping， haunted cities， and the “jiangshi” （the Chinese vampire）， there is no literary work quite like that of Ji Yun。 Designed by him to be both entertainment and an occult technology that awakens readers to new dimensions of reality， one cannot walk away from these stories unchanged。 The Shadow Book of Ji Yun is a literary translation of Ji Yun’s most masterful tales。
Awards and Honors of Individual Pieces
*Finalist for the 2020 [Gabriel García Márquez] “Gabo” Award for Literature in Translation
*Selected for New England Review’s 2020 Haunting and Haunted Issue
*Selected for Strange Horizons’ Samovar Quarterly Special Issue
*Nominated as “Best Microfiction” by Cincinnati Review
*Nominated as “Best of the Net” by Passages North
*Nominated as “Best of the Net” by Cincinnati Review
Reviews
Joe
，
This collection of Ji Yun’s strange tales entertained me， but none of the stories sucked me in or left me with the eerie feeling I was hoping for。 The stories were brief and easy to read thanks to a solid translation which makes it very accessible to modern readers。 It was interesting to learn more about Chinese beliefs and practices in relation to the paranormal and unexplained。 I just wish the stories had been more suspenseful overall。 My favorite story in the collection by far was Playmates， This collection of Ji Yun’s strange tales entertained me， but none of the stories sucked me in or left me with the eerie feeling I was hoping for。 The stories were brief and easy to read thanks to a solid translation which makes it very accessible to modern readers。 It was interesting to learn more about Chinese beliefs and practices in relation to the paranormal and unexplained。 I just wish the stories had been more suspenseful overall。 My favorite story in the collection by far was Playmates， which was the only installment that came close to creeping me out a bit。 Overall， it was a nice light read that probably won’t stick out or be memorable on a long-term basis。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC！ 。。。more
Sabrina Burton
，
Imagine if H。P。 Lovecraft were Chinese and his tales were true。 Or if a national， political figure like Benjamin Franklin was also a paranormal investigator—one who wrote up his investigations with a chilling， story-telling flair that reads like a combination of Italo Calvino， Lafcadio Hearn， and Zhuangzi。 Ji Yun published five volumes of strange tales that combined supernatural and frequently moving autobiographical accounts with early speculative fictions beginning in 1789 revolutionising Chin Imagine if H。P。 Lovecraft were Chinese and his tales were true。 Or if a national， political figure like Benjamin Franklin was also a paranormal investigator—one who wrote up his investigations with a chilling， story-telling flair that reads like a combination of Italo Calvino， Lafcadio Hearn， and Zhuangzi。 Ji Yun published five volumes of strange tales that combined supernatural and frequently moving autobiographical accounts with early speculative fictions beginning in 1789 revolutionising Chinese speculative fiction。 The Shadow book of Ji Yun is the literary translation of some of these stories。This is a fantastic book of creepy tales， the writing is beautiful and the translations keep the unsettling tone that must have been present in the originals。 The combinations of Taoist， Buddhist and other ideas of the supernatural and the after life are fascinating and added to the stories as they are no longer just ghost stories but tales steeped in fact and belief which makes them all the more strange。 The lengths of the stories vary but they are all the perfect length and all of them make you want to read the next one。This collection shows off the incredible power of Zhiguai， true tales of strangeness beyond our reality， and I can't wait to read more by the authors。 Another book by these authors is "Zhiguai: Chinese True Tales of the Paranormal and Glitches in the Matrix" which is another incredible book！ 。。。more
Shangread-La
，
The Shadow Book of Ji Yun is the English translation of an eclectic collection of weird and purportedly true tales of the paranormal and unexplained in 18th century China as told by celebrated scholar， poet， and respected government advisor Ji Yun。 While I wouldn’t necessarily describe all of these stories as horror， a few of them are truly disturbing， even to the modern reader。Ji Yun delves into the world of spirits， the nature of life and death， the process of reincarnation， and the underbelly The Shadow Book of Ji Yun is the English translation of an eclectic collection of weird and purportedly true tales of the paranormal and unexplained in 18th century China as told by celebrated scholar， poet， and respected government advisor Ji Yun。 While I wouldn’t necessarily describe all of these stories as horror， a few of them are truly disturbing， even to the modern reader。Ji Yun delves into the world of spirits， the nature of life and death， the process of reincarnation， and the underbelly of human behaviour in short story form。 Most of these tales are only a handful of pages， but explore many oddities as experienced by or told to Ji Yun throughout his long and eventful life。 Ji Yun’s comments and thoughts on the paranormal and unexplained are very insightful in light of the time in which he lived。 The translators give some background on Ji Yun in the preface to the collection to put the stories into context。 At the conclusion of the translation， there is a section providing insight into specific spirits and other subjects touched on in the original stories， a timeline of major events in Ji Yun’s life， and some history of the genre as a whole。 Their contributions to this edition definitely add value to the collection。Even though The Shadow Book was not exactly what I was expecting， it was a great read。 I found the majority of the stories intriguing and entertaining， but not particularly scary， although I have to admit that a couple of them did make me squirm！ This may be due in part to their brief nature， as it’s difficult to build suspense in just a few pages。 It also may be that Ji Yun was more interested in sharing similar collected experiences in an attempt to explain or confirm various paranormal phenomena than providing entertainment， as later became popular with greatly embellished stories of a similar nature。 If you are a fan of the weird， paranormal and disturbing， this collection is for you！ It’s easy to pick up， read a few stories， and come back to it later。 They also lend themselves to reading aloud， as my husband and daughter can attest！ 。。。more
Shiliang
，
I grew up reading Ji Yun and this crazy good translation is the only one I've seen do his work justice。 I don't want to write a bunch of spoilers。 But the stories show off the weird power of zhiguai and are full of haunting ideas。 Also an incredible tour of Chinese occult philosophy and folklore。 So glad this is available in English。 Fans of Junji Ito and Mieko Kawakami and Franz Kafka would love this。 I grew up reading Ji Yun and this crazy good translation is the only one I've seen do his work justice。 I don't want to write a bunch of spoilers。 But the stories show off the weird power of zhiguai and are full of haunting ideas。 Also an incredible tour of Chinese occult philosophy and folklore。 So glad this is available in English。 Fans of Junji Ito and Mieko Kawakami and Franz Kafka would love this。 。。。more
K。P。 Kulski
，
A treasure trove of the strange， creepy， and wise。 Each story is unique to itself。。。 interesting accounts， unexplainable claims， and moments of emotional truth that are hidden like gems。 Special acknowledgement to the editors and translators for their painstaking attention to detail。 They succeed wonderfully at communicating this work to an English speaking audience while maintaining the spirit of each piece。 The Story Notes provide an excellent enrichment to understanding the pieces in a deeper A treasure trove of the strange， creepy， and wise。 Each story is unique to itself。。。 interesting accounts， unexplainable claims， and moments of emotional truth that are hidden like gems。 Special acknowledgement to the editors and translators for their painstaking attention to detail。 They succeed wonderfully at communicating this work to an English speaking audience while maintaining the spirit of each piece。 The Story Notes provide an excellent enrichment to understanding the pieces in a deeper cultural and historical context。 I was totally delighted by this entire collection and thankful for the translation so that I could have the opportunity to discover and experience these stories for myself。 Absolutely， one of my new favorite literary works。 。。。more
Sammi
，
The Shadow Book of Ji Yun is a wonderful collection of weird tales， horror stories and myths。 It;s creepy， fantastical and bizarre。 I grew up reading Grimm's Fairy Tales and adored them。 I re-read them all over again a couple of years ago in my adulthood and they still held a special place in my heart。This book hit the same feelings for me， but gave me something new and interesting to read too。 This book gives us an insight into what life might have looked like for people living in 18th/19th cen The Shadow Book of Ji Yun is a wonderful collection of weird tales， horror stories and myths。 It;s creepy， fantastical and bizarre。 I grew up reading Grimm's Fairy Tales and adored them。 I re-read them all over again a couple of years ago in my adulthood and they still held a special place in my heart。This book hit the same feelings for me， but gave me something new and interesting to read too。 This book gives us an insight into what life might have looked like for people living in 18th/19th century China。 It was so interesting reading these stories and seeing the differences between them and the western counterparts。 Though they still had the same feel about them。Thank you to the publishers， the authors and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
A。Y。 Chao
，
Growing up I have heard many of the Chinese ghost stories， but have never found a satisfying English version of these stories， so was delighted to come across The Shadow Book of Ji Yun。 The translation is smooth and the voice is compelling， so much so Ji Yun felt like a real person to me recounting these tales。The stories themselves are a fun mix of observations and anecdotes， with some rather poignant insights。I enjoyed this so much I'm going to pick up the authors' other work Zhiguai: Chinese Growing up I have heard many of the Chinese ghost stories， but have never found a satisfying English version of these stories， so was delighted to come across The Shadow Book of Ji Yun。 The translation is smooth and the voice is compelling， so much so Ji Yun felt like a real person to me recounting these tales。The stories themselves are a fun mix of observations and anecdotes， with some rather poignant insights。I enjoyed this so much I'm going to pick up the authors' other work Zhiguai: Chinese True Tales of the Paranormal and Glitches in the Matrix。 Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine。 。。。more
ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
，
Content 4 starsTranslation 2 starsI feel as though Yun Ji is slowly revealing his occult secrets through parable。 Incredibly interesting， and while I'm thankful to the editors for bringing this to light， the work deserves a better translation。 Poor syntax and word choice distracts from the content。 There are also a number of typos and mistakes。 The story notes and extra content are oddly juvenile and amateur （though at times very helpful）， and the editors even manage to smuggle in fashionable so Content 4 starsTranslation 2 starsI feel as though Yun Ji is slowly revealing his occult secrets through parable。 Incredibly interesting， and while I'm thankful to the editors for bringing this to light， the work deserves a better translation。 Poor syntax and word choice distracts from the content。 There are also a number of typos and mistakes。 The story notes and extra content are oddly juvenile and amateur （though at times very helpful）， and the editors even manage to smuggle in fashionable social cause issues in a forced， possibly even anti-historical way。 Indeed， the obvious ideological bias calls the accuracy of the translation into question。 To reiterate， I appreciate the editors for making this work available。 Hopefully Penguin Classics gives Yun Ji the same treatment as Pu Songling。 。。。more
Francisco
，
The Shadow Book of Ji Yun: The Chinese Classic of Weird True Tales， Horror Stories， and Occult Knowledge[Blurb Goes Here]Now， this was a very interesting read。 According to the book， Ji Yun， a man who lived in the late eighteen century， compiled these stories of "the strange"。 What makes this book different to an anthology is that anthologies are just compendiums of different genres， with good to bad stories。These stories of the strange， in contrast， are lifeless narrations of events， events tha The Shadow Book of Ji Yun: The Chinese Classic of Weird True Tales， Horror Stories， and Occult Knowledge[Blurb Goes Here]Now， this was a very interesting read。 According to the book， Ji Yun， a man who lived in the late eighteen century， compiled these stories of "the strange"。 What makes this book different to an anthology is that anthologies are just compendiums of different genres， with good to bad stories。These stories of the strange， in contrast， are lifeless narrations of events， events that are later explained by Ji Yun as if he was trying to leave the reader with a moral and a "rational" explanation， only rational if you believe in the things depicted in the stories。Still there's much to learn in this Shadow Book of Ji Yun， since the Chinese legends he mentions are similar to the ones from other parts of the world。 The existence of a creature akin to big foot， UFO abductions， vampires， just to name a few。Thank you for the advanced copy！ 。。。more
L。S。 Popovich
，
An important work of world literature。 Chinese weird tales and supernatural folklore have been around for a very long time。 They are a source of breathtaking variety in storytelling and a root cause of addictive page-turning。 Stop watching Ghost Hunters and start reading Pu Songling and Yun Ji。 You may be treated with little bits of enlightenment amid the relentless entertainment of a thrilling tale well told。
Nancy Oakes
，
more on this one later。
Karen Kohoutek
，
Excellent collection of short tales from the 18th century， a combination of folklore， personal experience， and urban legend-like "friend of a friend" narratives。 I frankly tore through them like a bag of chips， aided by the length， since some are only like a page long。 Reading this made me think a lot of our ideas about things like story structure have become really limited。 There's no reason you can't tell a really imaginative， reality-bending tale in a factual tone， in a short space！ Judging b Excellent collection of short tales from the 18th century， a combination of folklore， personal experience， and urban legend-like "friend of a friend" narratives。 I frankly tore through them like a bag of chips， aided by the length， since some are only like a page long。 Reading this made me think a lot of our ideas about things like story structure have become really limited。 There's no reason you can't tell a really imaginative， reality-bending tale in a factual tone， in a short space！ Judging by the brief statements at the end， this new translation was a labor of love， and it's a real contribution to the Chinese "weird tales" genre （along with "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio，" which I read some years back）。 Definitely recommended for anyone interested in ghost stories and the paranormal， either fictional or nonfictional。 。。。more
D L
，
This collection of stories by Yi Jun are a fascinating insight into the lives of the Chinese people of the late 18th and 19th century。 The horror stories take up about a third of the book and what follows is a collection of broad moral fables， ghost stories and superstitions。 I very rarely saw the Lovecraftian connection， but that might be just me。 The most interesting aspect of the book was when the stories touched on the traditions and lifestyles of the Chinese people。 A man with a house built This collection of stories by Yi Jun are a fascinating insight into the lives of the Chinese people of the late 18th and 19th century。 The horror stories take up about a third of the book and what follows is a collection of broad moral fables， ghost stories and superstitions。 I very rarely saw the Lovecraftian connection， but that might be just me。 The most interesting aspect of the book was when the stories touched on the traditions and lifestyles of the Chinese people。 A man with a house built on a lucky day and pointing in the correct direction can be treated better than someone who builds his house on an unlucky day。 Then there are the levels of cannibalism during this time。A good read with an interesting collection of stories。 This book was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review。 。。。more
Raven の Nest
，
I've posted my review of The Shadow Book of Ji Yun on my blog （link here）I will be really glad if you check it outI received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 I've posted my review of The Shadow Book of Ji Yun on my blog （link here）I will be really glad if you check it outI received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Tess Lloyd
，
This book is utterly fascinating。 It gripped me from the start and I devoured it in one sitting。 A must read！
Jennifer Ackerman
，
I really liked this。 Riffing off the publisher's description， think Pu Songling and Zhuangzi get jiggy with Ben Franklin and Lovecraft。 Franklin in the eruptions of dry wit and wandering mind。 Lovecraftian in the sense of cosmic horror and forces beyond the limits of the human mind and in terms of what Lovecraft says when he argues that Kwaidan is a stellar example of weird fiction （in Supernatural Horror in Literature）。 Recommended for fans of flash fiction/nonfiction， the weird， metaphysical p I really liked this。 Riffing off the publisher's description， think Pu Songling and Zhuangzi get jiggy with Ben Franklin and Lovecraft。 Franklin in the eruptions of dry wit and wandering mind。 Lovecraftian in the sense of cosmic horror and forces beyond the limits of the human mind and in terms of what Lovecraft says when he argues that Kwaidan is a stellar example of weird fiction （in Supernatural Horror in Literature）。 Recommended for fans of flash fiction/nonfiction， the weird， metaphysical philosophy， the paranormal， East Asian horror and spec prose。 Or very strange memoir。 In terms of the translation， I think the translators did a marvelous job of tackling the original classical Chinese too， the depth and power of which was underplayed in most translations to modern Chinese。 It's not easy to unpack Ji Yun's thick classical language and at the same time craft a translation that speaks to a modern audience， but I think the translators pulled this off brilliantly。 Though not mentioned elsewhere， I have to say also that I really like its depiction on non-binary gender identity via some of the supernatural creatures （fox spirits， apricot spirits， etc。） in this collection。 I found that fascinating 。。。more
Annarella
，
I found it fascinating， creepy and gripping。 The world building is fascinating and the stories are great。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine
Horace Derwent
，