What was the general content of the Painted Skin of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio was a collection of short stories from ancient China. It contained many fantastic stories about gods, ghosts, immortals, and so on. The Painted Skin was one of the more famous stories. It told the story of a man named Xu Xian who encountered a ghost at night and was troubled by the Painted Skin Ghost. At the beginning of the story, Xu Xian heard some strange sounds on his way home at night. Then a ghost appeared in front of him. The Painted Ghost looked beautiful but it made people feel uneasy. It told Xu Xian that it was originally a fox who had stolen human food and was cursed by humans to become a painted ghost. Xu Xian was moved by the story of the Painted Ghost and decided to help it escape its bad luck. After discussing with the Painted Ghost, Xu Xian decided to let it leave the Painted Ghost and start anew. Therefore, Xu Xian spent a lot of money to hire a Taoist priest to help the Painted Ghost escape from the Painted Skin and regain its freedom. In the end, Xu Xian and the Painted Ghost helped the vixen get rid of its bad luck and regain its freedom. At the end of the story, Xu Xian and the Painted Ghost sent the fox spirit to its original place of residence and let it return to nature.
