Slapping the Table in Amazement

Seventy-eight tales of the extraordinary hidden within ordinary life — merchants, thieves, lovers, prostitutes, and common people caught up in astonishing twists of fate.

Written by Mengchu Ling in 1627 during the late Ming dynasty, Slapping the Table in Amazement (初刻拍案驚奇) is one of the great vernacular story collections of classical Chinese literature. These tales were drawn from folk legends, court records, romances, and unofficial histories, capturing the social upheavals and moral complexities of seventeenth-century China with vivid characters and surprising plot turns.

This is the first complete English translation of the First Collection, rendered directly from the Ming dynasty original. Part of the Epic Library of China series from Canvas Editions.

Rediscover the great epics, mysteries and chronicles of dynastic China: gods and generals, swindlers and scholars, courtesans, ghosts and emperors, in complete English translations.