Compared to the provincial graduate, Pu Songling of Shandong recognized his own "weight" after failing repeatedly and decided to abandon the civil service examinations. Instead, he became Mr. Liaozhai and wrote strange, fantastical tales. It was not merely to pass the time: the female ghosts under his pen were graceful, tender as water, and gifted in both virtue and art—every one of them an object of men's longing.
More specifically, his readers were scholars preparing for the civil service examinations but with no hope whatsoever of becoming officials. Like the provincial graduate and Pu Songling, they dreamed of placing their names on the golden list and spending their wedding nights amid candlelight. But after failing time and again, they gained neither office nor lovely young women. Surely getting a few female ghosts and fox fairies was acceptable?
Men fantasized about these "goblins" because they were not living "women," who worried over firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Jacob had once had a fiancée, but the woman left him as soon as she learned he had failed to secure a loan to open a bakery. Jacob was not sad. Instead, he heaved a genuine sigh of relief.
Later, he met Queenie and quickly fell in love with her, even knowing that Queenie was a witch.
Looking broadly at the female ghosts written by Pu Songling, they treated their male protagonists exceptionally well. Even a female ghost such as Nie Xiaoqian, who specialized in seducing passersby so the tree demon could absorb their vital essence, spared Ning Caichen.
Wang Yangming had a disciple named Lu Cheng. One day, Lu Cheng asked Wang Yangming, "Why are some people afraid of ghosts at night?"
Wang Yangming replied, "Because they usually fail to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and thus feel