Masterpiece. Compare a story or some stories from PuSongling with Chuang Tau

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Masterpiece
The authors Pu Songling and Chuang Tzu have made very great and significant contributions to the literary world through their individual works. In many ways, their works show large similarities particularly in the areas of themes, use of allegories, and the idea of Taoism. In addition, the ideas of transformation and contradiction exist in the works by the two. However, while they both touch on the idea of death, their approaches and ideas on the issue are somewhat different. In this paper, the short story “Painted Skin” by Pu Songling will be analyzed from the perspective of some of the aspects discussed in Chuang Tzu.
Chuang Tzu and Songling’s story “Painted Skin” speak on the same theme of spontaneity whereby actions are taken impulsively without sparing time to meditate on the truths surrounding an issue. Chuang Tzu speaks against the practice of getting into something hurriedly without considering it well. On spontaneity, the article points out that, “great understanding is broad and unhurried; little understanding is cramped and busy,” (37). By this, the author implies that for an individual to understand a thing he or she needs to take adequate time to delve into the details of the same without rushing. When this is interpreted from the perspective of Songling’s story, the character Wang failed to abide by the truth of this aspect by choosing to only base his decision depending on what he could see and not what the actual truth was. In Painted Skin, there is no question that the move taken by Wang is spontaneous. It is very surprising that one can meet a stranger just for the first time and fall for them to the point of taking them to their house. Evidently, this is an impulsive move since we are told that immediately Wang began talking to the girl, her beauty struck him. This therefore means that every action he engaged in after the encounter was motivated by Wang’s lust for the girl. Strangely, he did not consider asking where the girl was staying previously and instead, believed every word she says even offering her a place to stay.[Tzu, Chuang. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu.]
Both Songling and Chuang Tzu use the idea of Taoism in their stories although in slightly different perspectives. In Tzu’s “Discussion on Making All Things Equal”, the author shows this aspect by discussing the interdependence between the world and human beings. For instance, it is noted that for all things to exist, there must be a higher power, a god in charge of all the creation. In this, it is further pointed out that, all the creation must live in harmony since all were dependent on each other. In reference to this, the article says, “without them we would not exist; without us they would have nothing to take hold of,” (38). This harmonious co-existence is what brings in the idea of Taoism. The same aspect is present in The Painted Skin whereby the priest is used as a means of creating harmony in the society. When the demon refused to leave Wang’s house, all of them were in a state of despair. The situation was made worse when the demon killed Wang and disrupted the already existing peace. The priest in this case represents this idea of Taoism whereby he helps in bringing about harmony by killing the demon and assisting in bringing Wang back to life.[Songling, Pu. Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. 3. Translated by Herbert Giles. 1916.]
The aspect of transformation can also be used in comparing the works of the two authors. In Chuang’s dream about the butterfly, we get to learn about the transformation that comes as a consequence of encountering the strange or the supernatural. For example in the passage, after Chuang Chou wakes up, he was not sure whether it was him, in his human body that had dreamt about having been a butterfly or if he was already existing in the butterfly form and dreamt that he was Chuang Chou (49). This kind of transitioning from one state to another Chuang sees it as a transformation since he points out that “between Chuang Chou and a butterfly there must be some distinction!” (49). The same idea of transformation is evident in Songling’s story whereby the girl that Wang invited to his house transformed from the beauty she was believed to be into an ugly devil. In describing her, Songling refers to the girl as “a hideous de...