Chinese Fairy Tales And Fantasies (1980) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a collection of 100 different fairy tales and short stories of Chinese origin. It contains a large variety of stories, from lengthy and in-depth tales with many characters and complex plots, to brief reflections by Chinese philosophers, such as Lieh Tzu. Some of the fairy tales have common themes such as family honor and social status in China. This book provides a good look at Chinese culture from a lot of different perspectives. And in addition to the 100 enjoyable fairy tales, the introduction by Moss Roberts tells us about the different recurring themes in the collection, and what they mean in Chinese culture. It's a very enjoyable read, particularly if you are interested in China, and the Confucian and Taoist philosophies. The fairy tales are enchanting and interesting and the notes by Moss Roberts provide a lot of great information on the translation and origin of the material.
This is a good read, a collection of folk and fairy tales about different subjects. Some are very short while others are longer, but it was definitely worth a read.I was hoping for more cultural notes, like there were in the book of Arab folk tales from the same series, but cultural notes were minimal, with just a bit at the beginning. Much of the setting detail and interactions between individuals are self-explanatory, of course, and some things were explained within the stories themselves, but it's good to get a heads-up of what to look for, or some notes about what something means or signifies; when a culture is not your own, it's easy to misinterpret things.This is definitely worth a read, though, and if you enjoy fairy tales as pure entertainment, this is a good book to read at leisure.
What do You think about Chinese Fairy Tales And Fantasies (1980)?
The Missing AxeA man whose axe was missing suspected his neighbor's son. This boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief. But the man found his axe while he was digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked, and spoke like any child.Lieh Tzuhmmm.....Our perception of people comes from our past experiences and encounters. This is our cultural lens. Only by knowing what has influenced us can we begin to change our perception. Perception is one of the most difficult things to change about ourselves. This book is full of countless gems that will make you think... a long long time!
—Jerjonji
The common thread seems to be mostly either beautiful women who aren't what they seem and people turning into a variety of animals. I was surprised at how similar the Chinese fairy tales seemed to be to traditional Western ones.I really enjoyed getting an overview of these sorts of stories from China. Many of them were quite beautiful, though some made no sense and others had terrible morals. For instance, why would your son committing suicide after killing your prize fighting cricket bring you good fortune and make you the richest dude in the province? There was even a Snow White tale... but it involved a parrot.
—Andi
