Written over a period of forty years from the late 1600s and ending in the early 1700s, it circulated in manuscripts that were copied and recopied among the author's friends but did not appear in print until 1766.

[5] The final manuscript was "carefully preserved" by the Pu family after his death, with many different individuals, including the local magistrate, requesting to make copies of it.

[11] Unlike much Chinese and Western horror fiction, the "scary stories" in Liaozhai are not intended to be frightening, but to blur the borders between the supernatural and everyday reality, using physical and psychological detail to make the move between these realms seem natural.

[12] These tales, which are "works rich in romanticism", explore the philosophical concept of qing (情), the passionate and emotional entanglement of the world, be it human or supernatural.

[24] Following Liaozhai zhiyi's critical and commercial success, other well-received "wonder tale" and "fantasy" story collections also soon appeared, creating a publishing craze for such literature in China well into the 19th century.

Some notable major collections include Yuan Mei's Zibuyu (What the Master Would Not Discuss, 1788), Shen Qifeng's Xie Duo (1791), Ji Yun's Yuewei caotang biji (Notes of the Thatched Abode of Close Observations, 1789-1798 & 1800) and Wang Tao's Songyin manlu (1875).

"[26] In the Giles translation fox spirits wish to chat and share tea with people rather than trying to seduce and engage in sexual intercourse, and romantic partners at most exchange kisses.

"[27] Minford and Tong Man write that people have continued reading Giles's translations even though they "have been at best quietly tolerated, more often derided, and dismissed as orientalist bowdlerisations..."[25] Lydia Chiang describes Minford and Tong Man's essay as a "post-Saidian re-evaluation" that compares the Giles translation to traditional and modern Chinese representations of the story.

[29] Vasily Mikhaylovich Alekseyev published an acclaimed translation of Pu Songling's stories in Russian in two volumes, Fox's Wiles (1922) and The Wizard Monks (1923).