# Stories to Awaken the World

Stories to Awaken the World (醒世恆言; Xingshi Hengyan), is a Chinese story anthology compiled by Feng Menglong and published in 1627, composed of 40 vernacular stories. It follows Stories Old and New (1620) and Stories to Caution the World (1624).

## List of stories

Translated titles in this table mainly follow those by Shuhui Yang and Yunqin Yang in Stories to Awaken the World: A Ming Dynasty Collection, Volume 3. University of Washington Press. 2014. ISBN 9780295993713. Titles used by other translators are listed as bullet points.
| # | Title(s) of English Translation(s) | Chinese Title | Notes |
| 1 | "Two High-Minded County Magistrates Vie to Take On an Orphan Girl as Daughter-in-Law" Dolby 1976: "Two Magistrates Vie to Marry an Orphaned Girl" | 兩縣令競義婚孤女 | |
| 2 | "Three Devoted Brothers Win Honor by Yielding Family Property to One Another" Wang 1944: "The Three Brothers" | 三孝廉讓產立高名 | |
| 3 | "The Oil-Peddler Wins the Queen of Flowers" Wang 1944: "The Oil Peddler and the Queen of Flowers" Yang & Yang 1957: "The Oil Vendor and the Courtesan" Lieu et al. 1978: "The Oil Peddler Courts the Courtesan" Hanan 2006: "The Oil Seller" | 賣油郎獨占花魁 | |
| 4 | "The Old Gardener Meets Fair Maidens" Wang 1944: "The Flower Lover and the Fairies" Yang & Yang 1957: "The Old Gardener" | 灌園叟晚逢仙女 | |
| 5 | "The Grateful Tiger Delivers the Bride at Big Tree Slope" Dolby 1976: "On Big Tree Slope a Faithful Tiger Acts Best Man" | 大樹坡義虎送親 | |
| 6 | "Divine Foxes Lose a Book at Small Water Bay" Yang & Yang 1957: "The Foxes' Revenge" | 小水灣天狐貽書 | |
| 7 | "Scholar Qian Is Blessed with a Wife through a Happy Mistake" Yang & Yang 1957: "Marriage by Proxy" Dolby 1976: "The Perfect Lady by Mistake" | 錢秀才錯占鳳凰儔 | |
| 8 | "Prefect Qiao Rearranges Matches in an Arbitrary Decision" Hanan 2006: "Marriage Destinies Rearranged" | 喬太守亂點鴛鴦譜 | |
| 9 | "Chen Duoshou and His Wife Bound in Life and in Death" Acton & Lee 1941: "The Everlasting Couple" Kelly 1978: "The Couple Bound in Life and Death" | 陳多壽生死夫妻 | |
| 10 | "The Liu Brothers in Brotherhood and in Marriage" Acton & Lee 1941: "Brother or Bride?" Yang & Yang 1957: "The Two Brothers" | 劉小官雌雄兄弟 | |
| 11 | "Three Times Su Xiaomei Tests Her Groom" | 蘇小妹三難新郎 | |
| 12 | "Four Times Abbot Foyin Flirts with Qinniang" | 佛印師四調琴娘 | |
| 13 | "The Leather Boot as Evidence against the God Erlang's Impostor" Lieu 1978: "The Boot That Reveals the Culprit" | 勘皮靴單證二郎神 | |
| 14 | "The Fan Tower Restaurant as Witness to the Love of Zhou Shengxian" Hanan 2006: "Shengxian" | 鬧樊樓多情周勝仙 | |
| 15 | "In Eternal Regret, He Daqing Leaves Behind a Lovers' Silk Ribbon" Acton & Lee 1941: "The Mandarin-duck Girdle" | 赫大卿遺恨鴛鴦縧 | |
| 16 | "In Defiance, Lu Wuhan Refuses to Give Up the Colored Shoes" Hanan 2006: "The Rainbow Slippers" | 陸五漢硬留合色鞋 | |
| 17 | "Zhang Xiaoji Takes in His Brother-in-Law at Chenliu" | 張孝基陳留認舅 | |
| 18 | "Shi Fu Encounters a Friend at Tanque" | 施潤澤灘闕遇友 | |
| 19 | "Bai Yuniang Endures Hardships and Brings about Her Husband's Success" | 白玉孃忍苦成夫 | |
| 20 | "Zhang Tingxiu Escapes from Death and Saves His Father" | 張廷秀逃生救父 | |
| 21 | "With Her Wisdom Zhang Shu'er Helps Mr. Yang Escape" | 張淑兒巧智脫楊生 | |
| 22 | "With His Flying Sword Lu Dongbin Attempts to Kill the Yellow Dragon" | 呂洞賓飛劍斬黃龍 | |
| 23 | "Prince Hailing of Jin Dies from Indulgence in Lust" Sukhu 1986: "How Hailing of the Jurchens was Destroyed through Unbridled Lust" | 金海陵縱欲亡身 | Missing from one edition |
| 24 | "Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty Is Punished for His Life of Extravagance" | 隋煬帝逸遊召譴 | |
| 25 | "Mr. Dugu Has the Strangest Dreams on His Journey Home" | 獨孤生歸途鬧夢 | |
| 26 | "Magistrate Xue Proves His Divinity through a Fish" | 薛錄事魚服證仙 | |
| 27 | "Li Yuying Appeals for Justice from Jail" | 李玉英獄中訟冤 | |
| 28 | "Young Master Wu Goes to a Tryst in the Next Boat" de Fornaro 1929: "The Marriage of Ya-Nei" Acton & Lee 1941: "Love in a Junk" Hanan 2006: "Wu Yan" | 吳衙內鄰舟赴約 | |
| 29 | "With His Passion for Poetry and Wine, Scholar Lu Scorns Dukes and Earls" Yang & Yang 1957: "The Proud Scholar" | 盧太學詩酒傲公侯 | |
| 30 | "In a Humble Inn, Li Mian Meets a Knight-Errant" Jackson 1922: "Li, Duke of Ch'ien and the Poor Scholar Who Met a Chivalrous Man" | 李汧公窮邸遇俠客 | |
| 31 | "Regional Commander Zheng Renders Distinguished Service with His Divine-Arm Bow" | 鄭節使立功神臂弓 | |
| 32 | "Scholar Huang Is Blessed with Divine Aid through His Jade-Horse Pendant" | 黃秀才徼靈玉馬墜 | |
| 33 | "Over Fifteen Strings of Cash, a Jest Leads to Dire Disasters" Wang 1944: "The Judicial Murder of Tsui Ning" Yang & Yang 1957: "Fifteen Strings of Cash" Dolby 1976: "A Joke Over Fifteen Strings of Cash Brings Uncanny Disaster" Kelly 1978: "The Jest That Leads to Disaster" | 十五貫戲言成巧禍 | |
| 34 | "For One Penny, a Small Grudge Ends in Stark Tragedies" | 一文錢小隙造奇冤 | |
| 35 | "In Righteous Wrath, Old Servant Xu Builds Up a Family Fortune" Zonana 1978: "Old Servant Hsü" | 徐老僕義憤成家 | |
| 36 | "Enduring Humiliation, Cai Ruihong Seeks Revenge" | 蔡瑞虹忍辱報仇 | |
| 37 | "Du Zichun Goes to Chang'an Three Times" | 杜子春三入長安 | |
| 38 | "Daoist Li Enters Cloud Gate Cave Alone" | 李道人獨步雲門 | |
| 39 | "Magistrate Wang Burns Down Precious Lotus Monastery" de Fornaro 1929: "The Monastery of the Most Excellent Lotus" | 汪大尹火焚寶蓮寺 | |
| 40 | "The God of Madang Conjures Wind to Blow Wang Bo to Prince Teng's Pavilion" | 馬當神風送滕王閣 | |