（蒲松齡 [1640—1715年]《聊齋志異》紅毛毯 Translated from Modern Chinese Edition of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi) by Pu Songling (1640–1715)

The people of a country known as the Red-Haired Country had once promised that they wished to establish trade with China. When a large number of them arrived, however, the frontier commander, concerned about the security of the coast, refused to let them come ashore.

The Red-Haired people pleaded with him again and again:

“All we ask is a piece of land no larger than a carpet.”

The commander thought to himself, A carpet can hold only a handful of people. He therefore agreed.

The foreigners laid a carpet on the shore. At first, it was large enough for only two men. They stretched it, and it became large enough for four or five. Then, while continuing to stretch the carpet, they began coming ashore from their ships.

In a matter of moments, the carpet had expanded to more than an acre, large enough to accommodate several hundred people.

Suddenly, all the Red-Haired men drew short swords.

Caught completely off guard, the defenders were unable to stop them. The foreigners seized and plundered several miles of territory before finally withdrawing.

Historical note: Pu Songling (1640–1715) lived through one of the most turbulent transitions in Chinese history. His lifetime spanned the final years of the Ming dynasty, the period of the Manchu conquest from beyond the Great Wall, and the reigns of the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors of the Qing dynasty.