The Former Residence of Pu Songling is located in Pujiazhuang Village, Zibo City in east China's Shandong Province.
Pu Songling (1640-1715 AD), known as the "king of short stories in the world," is an outstanding writer and novelist in Qing Dynasty. He was born in a downfallen landlord family. Despite repeatedly participation of the provincial exam, he failed each time and wasn't granted "Gongsheng" (a yearly Imperial Academy student) until he was 71, so he was frustrated in his whole life. His frustrations and indignation drove him to pour out his feelings on paper. He wrote the book "Liaozhai Zhiyi" (Strange Tales of Liaozhai) for decades, and called it his "book of loneliness and resentment". The work includes 431 short stories written in classical Chinese, and is regarded as "the No.1 book about spirits and ghosts."
The Former Residence of Pu Songling is simple but graceful, with four courtyards connected by moon gates, which is typical of residences in north China. The main room in the courtyard in which Pu Songling lived is named "Liao Zhai" (literally talking room); that's the place where the great writer created one vivid story of ghosts and spirits after another, with which he indirectly described the social contradictions and people's thoughts and wishes of the 17th century China.
