Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930) worked as a teacher and pastor in the German colony of Tsingtau since 1900, where the studied sinologist gained a deep understanding of the language and culture of China. During this time, Wilhelm compiled this collection of Chinese fairy tales and ghost stories and translated them into German; the collection was published just before the outbreak of war in 1914. Since 1927, he was a full professor of Chinese philosophy in Frankfurt am Main and also distinguished himself as a translator of classical Chinese texts such as the "Tao Te Ching" and the "I Ching.".