Curses of the Kingdom of Xixia

Xue Mo , the pen name of Chen Kaihong, was born in Liangzhou, Gansu province. The author of many works of fiction, poetry, and prose, he is a six-time winner of the Dunhuang Literature and Art Award and has been nominated three times for the Mao Dun Literature Prize. Fan Pen Li Chen is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She is the author of Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion, and Women Warriors. Her previous translations include Journey of a Goddess: Chen Jinggu Subdues the Snake Demon and Marionette Plays from Northern China, both also published by SUNY Press.

• Translator's Introduction 1. Origins of this Book2. The Iron Hawks of Xixia 3. The Barbarian Hag 4. Stealing Crops 5. The Technique of Execution in Nightmares6. Origin of the Flying Thief 7. The Old Mountain Beyond the Horizon 8. The Angry Ravens 9. The Monk Who Went on a Pilgrimage 10. The Black Dragon Demons 11. The Crunching of Fava Beans in the Dead of Night 12. The Crime 13. The "Buddhist Head Shaving Ritual" in Nightmares14. Monk Wu's Sheep Hearts 15. The Captured Flying Thief 16. The Dharma-Protecting Divine Bullock 17. The "Gonpo" in Nightmares18. The Old Mountain 19. The "Nirvana" of Nightmares 20. The Pilgrimage 21. Chicken Feather Notices 22. The Vanished Water of Xixia 23. The Broken Shoes on the Monastery Gate 24. The Wooden Donkeys of Diamond Clan 25. The Butcher's Heart 26. The Fifth "Nightmare": The Curse of Ajia 27. Another Way Snow Feather or Her Mother Died 28. The Leather for Ritual Implements 29. The Monk Who Broke His Vow 30. Cave of the Red Bats 31. Cripple Big Walking the Leather 32. The Sunshine of Early Winter 33. The Bodhisattva 34. Issuer of the Curse 35. Searching for One's Origin, or a Prophecy 36. The Destined Illusory Bliss37. The Soul's Progress 38. A Ritual from Antiquity 39. Coda Postface: "Shattering" and "Transcendence"