Written around 1660, the unique Chinese short story collection Idle
Talk under the Bean Arbor (Doupeng xianhua), by the author known only
as Aina the Layman, uses the seemingly innocuous setting of neighbors
swapping yarns on hot summer days under a shady arbor to create a series
of stories that embody deep disillusionment with traditional values. The
tales, ostensibly told by different narrators, parody heroic legends and
explore issues that contributed to the fall of the Ming dynasty a couple
of decades before this collection was written, including
self-centeredness and social violence. These stories speak to all
troubled times, demanding that readers confront the pretense that may
lurk behind moralistic stances.
Idle Talk under the Bean Arbor presents all twelve stories in English
translation along with notes from the original commentator, as well as a
helpful introduction and analysis of individual stories.