Miss a-Pao; or, Perseverance Rewarded
The poor scholar Sun Tzŭ-ch‘u falls in love with the wealthy A-pao, and his spirit leaves his body to follow her, later inhabiting a dead parrot. A-pao promises to marry him if he returns to human life, overcomes her parents’ objections, and manages their household after the wedding. When Sun later dies, she attempts to hang herself; he revives after an encounter with the Great Judge, then excels in the examinations by studying subjects his friends supplied as a prank.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Supernatural Fiction, Romance, Short Story · 3,456 words
First lines
In the province of Kuang-si there lived a scholar of some reputation, named Sun Tzŭ-ch‘u. He was born with six fingers, and such a simple fellow was he that he readily believed any nonsense he was told. Very shy with the fair sex, the sight of a woman was enough to send him flying in the opposite direction; and once when he was inveigled into a room where there were some young ladies, he blushed down to his neck and the perspiration dripped off him like falling pearls. His companions laughed heartily at his discomfiture, and told fine stories of what a noodle he looked, so that he got the nickname of Silly Sun.
Genres
- Supernatural Fiction — Sun’s spirit travels apart from his body, inhabits a dead parrot, and returns from the Great Judge’s court.
- Romance — Sun’s pursuit of A-pao develops into mutual devotion and marriage despite her parents’ objections to his poverty.
- Short Story — A compact prose narrative follows Sun’s courtship, marriage, revival, and examination success.
Tags
courtship · marriage · wandering spirits · parrot possession · return from death · scholarly examinations
What this Textopian page supports
Miss a-Pao; or, Perseverance Rewarded is listed on Textopian as a short story by Pu Songling, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Pu Songling
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Supernatural Fiction, Romance, Short Story
- Length: 3,456 words
- Structure: 1 section, 19 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for Miss a-Pao; or, Perseverance Rewarded by Pu Songling
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