Jiandeng Xinhua (, lit. New Stories Told While Trimming the Wick or New Stories After Snuffing the Lamp; 1378) is an early Ming dynasty collection of Chinese stories by Qu You ().not Zhu Yu (朱彧; Wade–Giles: Chu Yü) as incorrectly cited in some sourcesRania Huntington - Alien Kind: Foxes and Late Imperial Chinese Narrative 2003 p25 "Foxes were not a frequent topic in the long poetic romances of the early Ming, the most famous collection of which was Jiandeng xinhua 剪灯新话 (New stories told while trimming the wick, 1378)." The book consist of 21 stories in 4 volumes. It was succeeded by a second book Jiandeng Xinhua wai er zhong.Anne Gerritsen Ji'an Literati and the Local in Song-Yuan-Ming China 2007 p240 "Jiandeng Xinhua (wai er zhong) .. (New tales written while trimming the wick, two further versions) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962)"
Background and precursors Jiandeng Xinhua came from a long line of Chinese story collections that goes back to the end of the Han dynasty. Notable Chinese story collections that date from at least the 3rd century include: Bowuzhi, Soushen Ji, Xijing Zaji, Lieyi Zhuan, A New Account of the Tales of the World, You Ming Lu, Shi Yi Ji, Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, Taiping Guangji, Yijian Zhi, etc.
Some of the most famous Chinese and East Asian folk or fairy tales, such as Li Ji slays the Giant Serpent, Renshi zhuan, The World Inside a Pillow, The Governor of Nanke, The Tale of Li Wa, and Hongxian can be found in these collections.
Influence Jiandeng Xinhua, a major success at the time, proved to be highly influential later on, as it directly inspired some of the most popular fictional literature in other places. It became the model for the first fiction in Korean literature, Kŭmo sinhwa, also written in the Chinese language,Dae-Sook Suh Korean Studies: New Pacific Currents - 1994 p123 "Kumo shinhwa, written during the author's five years as a recluse on Mt. Kumo in Kyongju, is believed to have been modeled on Zhu Yu's (1341-1433) Jiandeng xinhua (New Anecdotes Under the Lamplight), which appeared during the early and it was also the model for the Vietnamese collection Truyền kỳ mạn lục, and the Japanese Otogi Bōko and Ugetsu Monogatari, etc.
References