View source for In Search of the Supernatural

{{Short description|4th-century CE Chinese compilation of legends and stories}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:SSID-11126092 搜神記 一、二、三.pdf|thumb|Cover of a 1937 printed edition of ''In Search of the Supernatural'' (volume one)]]
[[File:Harvard drs 53916197 新刻出像增補搜神記 v.2.pdf|thumb|page=7|Pages from a Ming dynasty Wanli period printed edition of ''In Search of the Supernatural'']]
'''''In Search of the Supernatural''''' ({{zh|first=t|t={{linktext|搜|神|記}} |s=搜神记|p='''Sōushén Jì''' |w=Sou-shên Chi |mi={{IPAc-cmn|s|ou|1|sh|en|2|-|j|i|4}} |j=sau2 san4 gei3|l=Record(s) of Searching for the Spirits}}), is a 4th-century [[Chinese language|Chinese]] compilation of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning [[Chinese gods]], [[Chinese ghost|ghost]]s, and other supernatural phenomena in the ''[[zhiguai]]'' and ''[[chuanqi (short story)|chuanqi]]'' styles. Although the authorship of the book is not made explicit in the text, it is believed to have been written and compiled by [[Gan Bao]], a historian at the court of [[Emperor Yuan of Jin|Emperor Yuan]] of the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]] around AD{{nbsp}}350. It was reissued in numerous editions, including in 1593. The book usually consists of 464 stories.

The English translation by Kenneth J. DeWoskin and J. I. Crump, Jr. was published in 1996. The book is also known as ''In Search of the Sacred'' and ''Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals''.

==Stories==
Notable stories include:

* "Gan Jiang Mo Xie"〈干將莫邪〉
* "Wu Wang Xiao Nü"〈吳王小女〉
* "Li Ji Zhan She"〈李寄斬蛇〉a legend about serpent-slaying: ''[[Li Ji slays the Giant Serpent|Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent]]'' (''Li Chi Slays the Serpent''), similar to the legend of [[Chen Jinggu]].<ref>Gan Bao. ''In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record'', translated into English by Kenneth J. DeWoskin and James Irving Crump. Stanford University Press, 1996. pp. 230-231. {{ISBN|0-8047-2506-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maeth Ch. |first1=Russell |title=El cuento de li ji |journal=Estudios de Asia y Africa |date=1990 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=537–539 |jstor=40312235 |url=https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/index.php/eaa/article/view/1207 }}</ref><ref>''Journey of a Goddess: Chen Jinggu Subdues the Snake Demon''. Translated, edited, and with an introduction by Fan Pen Li Chen. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. 2017. p. 31. {{ISBN|978-14384-6-7078}}</ref><ref>Idema, Wilt L. ''Personal Salvation and Filial Piety: Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her Acolytes''. University of Hawai'i Press. 2008. p. 205. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-3215-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=He |first1=Saihanjula |title=Critical fantasies: structure of Chinese folk tales |date=2000 |oclc=44808453 |url=https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/1609/ }}</ref>
* "Han Bing Fufu"〈韓憑夫婦〉

The collection also contains a variant of the story of a [[Swan maiden|Swan Maiden]] (or Heavenly/Celestial Bride) who marries a mortal man.<ref>Hsieh, Daniel. ''Love and Women in Early Chinese Fiction''. The Chinese University Press. 2008. pp. 123-136. {{ISBN|978-962-996-305-7}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[Pu Songling]] cites Gan Bao's work as a far greater work than his own, the now famous ''[[Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio]]''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Gan Bao. ''In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record'', translated into English by Kenneth J. DeWoskin and James Irving Crump. Stanford University Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-8047-2506-3}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Xie |first1=Wenjuan |chapter=Encountering Ghost Princesses in Sou Shen Ji: Rereading Classical Chinese Ghost Wife Zhiguai Tales |pages=244–260 |jstor=j.ctt83jj2k.18 |title=Unsettling Assumptions: Tradition, Gender, Drag |date=2014 |publisher=University Press of Colorado |isbn=978-0-87421-897-8 }}

== External links ==
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/g#a2398 搜神記 (Sou Shen Ji)] at [[Project Gutenberg]] (in Chinese)
* {{cite journal |last1=Bodde |first1=Derk |title=Again Some Chinese Tales of the Supernatural: Further Remarks on Kan Pao and His Sou-shên chi |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1942 |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=305–308 |doi=10.2307/594034 |jstor=594034 }}

{{Chinese mythology}}
{{Jin dynasty (265–420) topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chinese literature]]
[[Category:4th-century documents]]
[[Category:4th-century books]]
[[Category:Jin dynasty (266–420)]]
[[Category:Chinese mythology]]
[[Category:Chinese folklore]]
[[Category:Chinese short story collections]]
[[Category:In Search of the Supernatural|*]]

{{China-myth-stub}}
{{China-lit-stub}}