在古代文学的瑰宝中，《聊斋志异》以其独特的魅力占据了一席之地。这部由清代作家蒲松龄所著的作品，不仅以奇幻的故事吸引着读者，更通过这些故事揭示了人性的复杂与社会的百态。其中，《画皮》是《聊斋志异》中非常著名的一篇，它以一个离奇而深刻的故事情节，探讨了善恶之间的界限以及人心的复杂性。

以下是《画皮》的原文与翻译：

原文：

王生者，邑之东鄙人也。少贫苦，好读书，虽家徒四壁，而志向高远。一日，游于郊外，见一女子，年约二十许，容颜绝美，衣衫褴褛，似有难言之隐。王生素性仁厚，怜其处境，遂邀至家中暂居。女子自言姓李，名娇娘，因家道中落，流落至此。王生见她温婉贤淑，便欲纳为妾室。

然怪事渐起。每夜，娇娘必外出，不知所踪。王生疑之，暗中窥探，竟见娇娘化作一白皮鬼怪，披发吐舌，状甚可怖，于墙上涂绘人脸，以欺世人。王生大骇，急告邻人，共擒此妖。后经道士点化，方知此妖乃借人形迷惑人心，实则祸害人间。

翻译：

Wang Sheng was a man from the eastern outskirts of the county. In his youth, he was poor and struggled to make ends meet, yet he loved reading and had lofty aspirations. One day, while wandering in the countryside, he encountered a woman around twenty years old with an extraordinarily beautiful face but wearing tattered clothes, as if burdened by some unspoken misfortune. Wang Sheng, being kind-hearted, felt pity for her situation and invited her to stay at his home temporarily. The woman introduced herself as Li Jiaoniang, claiming that she had fallen on hard times due to her family's decline and thus ended up here. Seeing her gentle demeanor, Wang Sheng decided to take her as his concubine.

However, strange things began to happen. Every night, Jiaoniang would leave the house without explanation. Suspicious, Wang Sheng secretly spied on her one evening and discovered that she transformed into a white-skinned demon with disheveled hair and a protruding tongue, appearing extremely frightening. She then drew human faces on walls to deceive people. Frightened, Wang Sheng immediately informed his neighbors about this monster. With the help of a Taoist priest, they managed to subdue the demon, revealing that it had been using its human form to deceive others while actually causing harm to society.

这篇故事虽然带有浓厚的传奇色彩，但它却深刻地反映了人性中的弱点和道德的选择。通过这个虚构的故事，《画皮》提醒我们不要被表面的现象所迷惑，要保持警惕，同时也要坚守内心的善良与正义。这样的主题至今仍具有现实意义，值得我们深思。