Zhang Yingyu (fl. 1612–1617) lived during the Wanli period (1573–1620) of the Ming dynasty.Bruce Rusk is an associate professor of Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. He is coeditor of Literary Information in China: A History (Columbia, 2021), among other books.Christopher Rea is a professor of Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. His books include Chinese Film Classics, 1922–1949 (Columbia, 2021).Rusk and Rea are the translators of The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection (Columbia, 2017).

• Translators’ IntroductionExplanation of Images at the Heads of Chapters in The Book of SwindlesType 1: Misdirection and TheftEncountering the Village Head and Then Stealing a TeapotTaking Advantage of the Bustle in a Shop to Brazenly Steal a Bolt of ClothBorrowing a Storefront to Steal ClothA Fake Carpenter Fixes a Moneychanger’s Desk DrawerType 3: Money ChangingSwapping Fake Silver for a Pure IngotType 4: MisrepresentationGulling People by Impersonating an Envoy from the Netherworld and Burning a RegisterStealing Cloth by Pretending to Purchase It at an Alley EntranceType 5: False RelationsIncitement to Drinking and Whoring Ruins Health and ReputationDebts Accumulated Against a Friend’s Property Bankrupt a FamilySpurring a Friend to Launch a Fornication Suit to Ruin a FamilyType 7: Enticement to GamblingPosing as a Wealthy Scion and Enlisting a Prostitute in a Gambling ScamA Gambling Addict Falls Prey to an Ingenious TrickType 9: Scheming for WealthSedan Bearers Take a Confucian Apprentice off the Beaten PathJacking Up the Price of Goods Only to End Up RuinedType 10: RobberyA Fake Scion Rents Rooms and Robs a WidowHighway Robbery at a Shop in the CapitalType 11: ViolenceAcquiring a Bedroll by Marking It in SecretStealing Silver by Throwing Lime in the EyesRobbed by Crooks in Broad Daylight While Taking a DumpType 12: On BoatsLuggage Aboard a Boat Disappears, Along with a ServantA New Concubine Is Kidnapped from a Boat at NightA Purchase of Copperware Incites Boatmen to MurderLoading Cargo Onto the Wrong BoatType 14: Fake SilverPassing Whitewashed Ingots in MaozhouType 15: Government UnderlingsA Trumped-Up Death Sentence Is Commuted to ExileType 16: MarriageMatchmakers Defraud a Provincial Graduate Seeking to Marry a Lady of RankA Marriage Scam of Passion Comes to Light Because of a FrogType 17: Illicit PassionMoney and Guile Buy a Paper Maker’s WifeA Monk Seduces a Tenant Farmer’s Wife with a Length of SilkRobbed of Silver After Fornicating with a MaidservantFleeced After an Affair with a Broker’s DaughterType 18: WomenA Man Rapes His Daughter-in-Law and Then Tricks Her Mother Into SexA Tenant Farmer’s Wife Is Prostituted to Steal the Master’s LandType 19: KidnappingA Gang Blinds and Amputates Children, Leaving Them MaimedType 21: Monks and PriestsBelieving a Deceitful Monk Leads to a Chain of CalamitiesA Buddhist Monk Impersonates a Guardian Deity to Scam a DonationScamming a Silk Robe with Feigned ForesightType 22: AlchemyAn Alchemist in a Pit Uses Talismans to EscapeType 23: SorceryMagic Reflections in Water Incite a RebellionA Villain Kidnaps Boys by Touching Their FaceAppendix: Story Finding ListBibliography

Like every society characterized by long-distance trade, early modern China presented ample opportunities for deceit, and so had to confront endemic challenges to interpersonal trust. This book provides an extraordinary array of morality tales from the early seventeenth century, probing the variety of duplicitous schemes bedeviling Ming China and illuminating key frictions in a patriarchal, commercial society. The collection further illustrates the enduring dilemmas associated with efforts to instruct readers in how to look sharp in a world of sharpers, since its stories also serve as how-to guides for the unscrupulous.