The New Chronicles of Ghost-Slaying/别有天地·新斩鬼传

'''Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies School'' & Representative Bestsellers of Republican China鸳鸯蝴蝶派代表作品The New Legend of Slaying Ghosts ''is a satirical supernatural novel written by modern Chinese author Zhang Henshui in 1926. This work is based on the classical masterpiece ''The Legend of Slaying Ghosts'' and uses absurd and humorous ghost fables to allude to the social chaos in the early years of the Republic of China. It is one of Zhang Henshui’s representative works of ''using the past to satirize the present'' in his early years.《新斩鬼传》是中国现代作家张恨水（Zhang Henshui）于1926年创作的讽刺性神魔小说。这部作品以古典名著《斩鬼传》为蓝本，通过荒诞幽默的鬼怪寓言，影射民国初年社会乱象，是张恨水早期''借古讽今''的代表作之一。The novel ''Another World'' tells the story of a local wealthy man named Song Yangquan who aspires to become an official, but is unaware of the existence of another world in the officialdom and is deceived twice. Under the instigation of Mr. Tang Yaoqing, a rural tycoon named Song Yangquan decided to raise money to seek official positions in the city. Song Zhongshu, the elder brother of the provincial capital, and his friends expressed that they could find a job for Song Yangquan at the Finance Department Director’s office. With the introduction of these people, Song Yangquan met fake Director Zhao, Director Hao, Director Zhang, and others, as well as Miss Du and the prostitute Yurong who extended an olive branch to him. He was deeply immersed in the social circle and gentle countryside arranged by these people. Unexpectedly, everything was a scam. These people used fake officials to swindle all their money and fled. At this time, Tang Yaoqing’s cousin Lai Guoheng, who was an official, returned to the province and expressed his willingness to assist in seeking official positions. Under the protection of borrowed soldiers, Song Yangquan returned to his hometown and raised foreign money under the guise of prestige. He successfully bought an official position in the province and became the director of the Egg Donation Bureau. However, he did not know that the tax was not collected, and he fell into a scam again. Getting rich is always a dream.《别有天地》 ：小说叙述土财主宋阳泉一心想做官，却不知官场别有天地而两度受骗的故事。乡村土财主宋阳泉在乡先生唐尧卿的的怂恿下决定筹钱进城谋官。省城的族兄宋忠恕及其朋党表示能为宋阳泉在财政厅长处谋得差事，宋阳泉在这帮人的引荐下见到了假冒的赵处长、郝科长、张厅长等人，并遇到了向他抛出橄榄枝的杜小姐和妓女玉容，在这帮人安排的交际官场和温柔乡里沉醉不已。哪知一切都是骗局，这帮人以假官骗光钱财后逃之夭夭。这时唐尧卿做官的表兄赖国恒回省，表示可以帮忙谋官。宋阳泉在借来的士兵护卫下回乡，假借威风筹得洋钱，回省顺利买官，当上鸡蛋捐局长，哪知捐税无收，自己再次落入骗局，发财总是一场幻梦。