gems, jade, China, Broken Bangle

Notes from the Cottage of Close Observations is a collection of classical Chinese short stories in the zhiguai (tales of the strange) genre from the Qing dynasty. Written in the form of anecdotes, it was compiled by Ji Yun, a Hanlin Academy scholar, between the 54th year of the Qianlong reign (1789) and the 3rd year of the Jiaqing reign (1798). Chronologically, the work gathers supernatural folk tales of fox spirits, ghosts, immortals, karmic retribution, and moral teachings that were circulating during that period, along with extraordinary stories personally heard by the author. Geographically, its scope extends across China, reaching as far west as Ürümqi and Yining, and as far south as Yunnan and Guizhou.