The Book Of Swindles: Selections From A Late Ming Collection (translations From The Asian Classics)

This is an age of deception. Con men ply the roadways. Bogus alchemists pretend to turn one piece of silver into three. Devious nuns entice young women into adultery. Sorcerers use charmed talismans for mind control and murder. A pair of dubious monks extorts money from a powerful official and then spends it on whoring. A rich student tries to bribe the chief examiner, only to hand his money to an imposter. A eunuch kidnaps boys and consumes their "essence" in an attempt to regrow his penis. These are just a few of the entertaining and surprising tales to be found in this seventeenth-century work, said to be the earliest Chinese collection of swindle stories. __The Book of Swindles__, compiled by an obscure writer from southern China, presents a fascinating tableau of criminal ingenuity. The flourishing economy of the late Ming period created overnight fortunes for merchants—and gave rise to a host of smooth operators, charlatans, forgers, and imposters seeking to siphon off some of the new wealth. __The Book of Swindles__, which was ostensibly written as a manual for self-protection in this shifting and unstable world, also offers an expert guide to the art of deception. Each story comes with commentary by the author, Zhang Yingyu, who expounds a moral lesson while also speaking as a connoisseur of the swindle. This volume, which contains annotated translations of just over half of the eighty-odd stories in Zhang's original collection, provides a wealth of detail on social life during the late Ming and offers words of warning for a world in peril. History Cover 1 Front Matter 2 Contents 6 Maps 11 Translators’ Introduction 14 Type 1: Misdirection and Theft 39 Stealing Silk with a Decoy Horse 40 Handing Over Silver Before Running Handing Over Silver Before Running Off with It 44 A Clever Trick on a Pig Seller 47 Pilfering Green Cloth by Pretending to Steal a Goose 49 Type 2: The Bag Drop 52 Dropping a Bag by the Roadside to Set Up a Switcheroo 53 Type 3: Money Changing 56 A Daoist in a Boat Exchanges Some Gold 57 Type 4: Misrepresentation 61 Forged Letters from the Education Intendant Report Auspicious Dreams 62 Using Broom Handles to Play a Joke on Sedan Bearers 66 Type 5: False Relations 70 Inciting a Friend to Commit Adultery and Swindling Away His Land 71 Type 6: Brokers 75 A Conniving Broker Takes Paper and Ends Up Paying with His Daughter 76 A Destitute Broker Takes Some Wax to Pay Off Old Debts 80 Type 7: Enticement to Gambling 84 A Stern Warning to a Gambler Provokes Others to Entice Him to Relapse 85 Type 8: Showing Off Wealth 89 Impersonating the Son of an Official to Steal a Merchant’s Silver 90 Flashy Clothing Incites Larceny 94 Type 9: Scheming for Wealth 97 Stealing a Business Partner’s Riches Only to Lose One’s Own 98 Haughtiness Leads to a Lawsuit That Harms Wealth and Health 103 Type 10: Robbery 109 Robbing a Pawnshop by Pretending to Leave Goods There 110 Type 11: Violence 113 Sticking a Plaster in the Eyes to Steal a Silver Ingot 114 Type 12: On Boats 116 Bringing Mirrors Aboard a Boat Invites a Nefarious Plot 117 Porters Run Off with Cargo from a Boat 122 Type 13: Poetry 126 Swindling the Salt Commissioner While Disguised as Daoists 127 Chen Quan Scams His Way Into the Arms of a Famous Courtesan 132 Type 14: Fake Silver 136 Planting a Fake Ingot to Swindle a Farmer 137 Type 15: Government Underlings 141 Swindled on the Way Out of a Court Hearing 141 An Officer Reprimands a Captured Criminal in Order to Halve His Flogging 146 Type 16: Marriage 148 Marrying a Street Cleaner and Provoking His Death 149 Taking a Concubine from Another Province Leads to a Disastrous Lawsuit 154 Type 17: Illicit Passion 157 A Geomancer Uses His Wife to Steal a Good Seed 158 Type 18: Women 166 Coaxing a Sister-in-Law Into Adultery to Scam Oil and Meat 167 Three Women Ride Off on Three Horses 172 A Buddhist Nun Scatters Prayer Beads to Lure a Woman Into Adultery 175 Type 19: Kidnapping 181 A Eunuch Cooks Boys to Make a Tonic of Male Essence 182 Type 20: Corruption in Education 187 Pretending to Present Silver to an Education Commissioner 188 Affixing Seals in a Functionary’s Chambers 191 Silver with Sham Seals Is Switched for Bricks 194 Robbed by a Gang While Sealing Silver in an Unoccupied Room 197 A Fake Freeloader Takes Over a Con 201 Money Stashed with an Innkeeper Is Burgled 205 Type 21: Monks and Priests 210 A Buddhist Monk Identifies a Cow as His Mother 211 Eating Human Fetuses to Fake Fasting 216 Type 22: Alchemy 223 Trusting in Alchemy Harms an Entire Family 224 A Foiled Alchemy Scam Leads to a Poisoning 229 Type 23: Sorcery 232 Using Dream Sorcery to Rob a Family 233 Type 24: Pandering 237 A Father Searching for His Wastrel Son Himself Falls Into Whoring 238 Appendix 1: Preface to A New Book for Foiling Swindlers: Strange Tales from the Rivers and Lakes (1617) 246 Appendix 2: Story Finding List 252 Bibliography 260 Back Matter 264 The Book Of Swindles, A Seventeenth-century Story Collection, Offers A Panoramic Guide To The Art Of Deception. Ostensibly A Manual For Self-protection, It Presents A Tableau Of Criminal Ingenuity In Late Ming China. Each Story Comes With Commentary By The Author, Who Expounds A Moral Lesson While Also Speaking As A Connoisseur Of The Swindle.