Tale 1Turtle Shell Makes a Persian Man RichTale 2Husband Dumped to Help One’s Lookalike “Twin” to Find LoveTale 3Brag One’s Prowess until He Comes Cross Heroic MenTale 4Swordswoman Paid in YungangTale 5Tiger Helps One Marry as ScheduledTale 6Scholar Takes Revenge for Wife Drugged and Procured by the NunTale 7Tang Emperor Xuanzong’s Consort Wu Upholds Buddhism and Beats HereticsTale 8Meal Paid with Help to Reunite with His WifeTale 9Predestined Marriage Renewed after Swing PartyTale 10Talent Helps Betrothed Man Saved His MarriageTale 11Evil Boatman Accused of MurderTale 12Jiang Zhenqing Blessed to Get a WifeTale 13Zhao Liulao Killed by his Spoiled SonTale 14Poverty-stricken Yang Hua’s Soul Returns to Seek ReliefTale 15Scholar Chen Manages to Get Back his Lost PropertiesTale 16Lu Huiniang Remarries to Escape a TrapTale 17Taoist Priest Huang Seduces Wu Leading to DeathsTale 18A Pill-Making Addict Falls into the Honey TrapTale 19Riddles Solved to Help Catch KillersTale 20Blank Letter Help Gets Two ChildrenTale 21Title of Nobility Inherited Through One’s MeritsTale 22Prefectural Governor Serves as a Punter when the Good Luck is OverTale 23Sick Sister-in-Law Recovers to Continue the Foreordained RelationshipTale 24People Join Hands to Kill EnchanterTale 25Xiaojuan Gets Happiness with PoemsTale 26Lawsuit Settled under the Guise of Heaven’s AssistantsTale 27Enjoying a Lotus Painting by ChanceTale 28Venerable Man Realized His Predecessor as the Master of the Yuxu CaveTale 29Burst into the Jail to Report the News of VictoryTale 30Envoy Demonstrates Power and Military Officer Suffers a WrongTale 31Robber Killed under Guise of a RobberTale 32Game of Exchanging Wives Ends after Getting SickTale 33Bao Zheng Judges WiselyTale 34True Love Met in the Nunnery by ChanceTale 35A Pauper Gets Rich Quickly by Acquiring Filthy LucreTale 36Robber in Black Rapes and Kills an Innocent GirlTale 37Magistrate Saves His Nephew in the HellTale 38Dutiful Daughter Manages to Save Her Half-brotherTale 39Devotional Magistrate Calls in Timely RainfallTale 40Three Letters Forecast One’s Destiny
Er Pai refers to two collections of short stories,each containing 40 pieces. Its writer was Ling Mengchu. The stories of the book came from various sources and were refined and polished by the writer. In subject matter, the book sets its attack against the social evils and malpractices in the background of the social customs. Therefore,it relays a sharp and strong sense of social criticism. Many of the pieces of the book display brilliant characteristics of the time. Some of the stories about love and marriage advocate the concept of equality between men and women ; some depicting,from a positive point of view, the commercial activities of the townspeople of the Ming Dynasty reflect the merchants' desire for profit making and building up wealth. The language of the stories is simple and natural,its narration lively and moving.