"Scholars who know classical Chinese have been reading and citing
Hon Mai's wonderful collection for many years. Now students can
access these informative materials through Zhang's lively English
translations. They are both fun to read and deeply informative
about daily life, religion, markets, and multiple social groups in
the twelfth century. The comprehensive thematic guide allows
readers to locate tales by subject matter, making this collection
of 100 narratives ideal for classroom use." --Valerie Hansen, Yale
University