Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
New York : Dover Publications, 1994.
Description
Fiction. Literary Anthologies. Folklore. HTML: The West's first encounters with the folk tales and myths of the East proved to be a heady experience, as they were based on an entirely different value system and worldview than those that are reflected in the Greek myths and most subsequent Western folk tales. In Myths and Legends of China, author E.T.C. Werner offers up a rich tapestry of Chinese folk narratives. A must-read for fans of world myths, fairy tales, and legends..
User reviews
LibraryThing member iayork
China at it's worst: Filled with intellectual babble and snide personal comments of the Chinese culture, this author definitely sheds an angry light on Chinese culture. If you must buy this book head straight to the stories because the first half of this book is more suited for the opinion section
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of a newspaper and will leave a bad taste in your mouth. Show Less
LibraryThing member JosephLYoung
Good for overview of China history through it's Myths and Legends. A catalog of historical characters since 2100 B.C. Mostly covers the multitude of "Gods" who populate the underworld and overworld and are recognized daily by the Chinese people. Gives definition to what the west sees as strange
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physical distortions in depicted representations. Many of the "Gods" are successful leaders who are advanced in stature when they die. Good contrast to Greek or Norse mythology which changes to mono theism from poly theism that still prevails in China. Worth reading although profusion of multiple names and evolving names makes it difficult to follow or retain any relation between principle characters or the Dynasty they are associated with. Would be more useful if real effort was taken to map the various players and associate them with a temporal reference. Worth reading for perspective on the emerging political and economic world force, China! Show Less
LibraryThing member redcoat668
It's difficult to decide how to rate this book, especially after reading Paul French's 'Midnight in Peking' and discovering the author was a superhuman figure who not only spent virtually his entire working life in China, but was capable of navigating the Shanghai underworld, pulling off midnight
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B&E jobs on brothels, and surviving a Japanese internment camp - all while in his seventies. The book is still a decent survey, but time has passed it by and there are much better and more recent studies out there, notably Eberhard's 'Chinese Folktales'. Show Less
LibraryThing member redcoat668
It's difficult to decide how to rate this book, especially after reading Paul French's 'Midnight in Peking' and discovering the author was a superhuman figure who not only spent virtually his entire working life in China, but was capable of navigating the Shanghai underworld, pulling off midnight
Show More
B&E jobs on brothels, and surviving a Japanese internment camp - all while in his seventies. The book is still a decent survey, but time has passed it by and there are much better and more recent studies out there, notably Eberhard's 'Chinese Folktales'. Show Less
Language
Original language
Chinese
Original publication date
1922
Physical description
453 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
0486280926 / 9780486280929