Painted Skin is one of the most influential chapters in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. The novel tells the story of a "fool-obsessed" scholar, who lured an unknown woman into the house to live together because of her lust for beauty, and was later killed by evil spirits, which effectively exposed the double-sided snake-hearted trick of deceiving others in real life and warned people to be good at seeing through all kinds of harmful disguises and avoid being deceived.
Extended data:
Creation background
Pu Songling was born in a scholarly family. In his early years, he also wanted to use the imperial examination to be an official. Unfortunately, he tried again and again and could only make a living by teaching. He has been interested in folk ghost stories since childhood.
It is said that Pu Songling once opened a teahouse in front of his house in order to collect materials. People who come to drink tea can use a story instead of tea money. Pu Songling collected a large number of bizarre stories in this way, and after finishing and processing, they were included in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio.
According to the notes of the Qing Dynasty, "Three Borrowing Lu Bi Tan", Pu Songling spread a mat on the ground next to the avenue every morning and set up a yancha, waiting for passers-by to collect anecdotes. Every time I hear something, I whitewash it when I go home.
In the first year of Kangxi (1662), Pu Songling began to write stories about foxes and ghosts at the age of 22. In the spring of the eighteenth year of Kangxi, forty-year-old Pu Songling compiled the manuscript into a book Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio for the first time, with a preface in the south. Since then, it has been added frequently. It was not until around 239 and 46 years of Kangxi that there were several addenda in the book. The writing of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio lasted more than forty years, and Pu Songling devoted most of his energy.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio