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Available
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Publication
Folio Society (2014). 256p.
Description
Includes one hundred tales collected from Chinese literature spanning more than 2,500 years.
User reviews
LibraryThing member iayork
unique and special: I just had to come in here and pen this to counterbalance the so-and-so who assigned this opus but a single star. The stories are often short, but that should not detract from them, nor should the simplicity of some. They are, after all, CHINESE. The culture is different; the
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values are different; the symbology is different. I found the collection delightfully refreshing, and I particularly found some of the pieces extremely funny. This book is a definite keeper that the reader will remember for some time--both for its difference from the common European traditions and for its similarities thereto. Show Less
LibraryThing member Czrbr
Book Description: New York: Pantheon Books, 1979. Paperback. Fine. First Edition. 8vo - over 7�" - 9¾" tall. Light edge wrinkles. pgs 359.
LibraryThing member neurodrew
Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies
Moss Roberts
September 15, 2016
A lovely Folio book, consisting of usually brief stories, sometimes a paragraph or epigram, concerning ghosts, justice served, ironic outcomes, and imaginings of the natural world. Many are moral tales, proverbs and sayings of the
Wagging My Tail in the Mud
The hermit poet Chuang Tzu was angling in the River Pu. The king of Ch'u sent two noblemen to invite Chuang to come before him. 'We were hoping you would take on certain affairs of state' they said. Holding his pole steady and without looking at them, Chuang Tzu said, 'I hear that Ch'u has a sacred tortoise that has been dead three thousand years, and the king has it enshrined in a cushioned box in the ancestral hall. Do you think the tortoise would be happier wagging his tail in the mud than having his shell honored?' 'Of course' replied the two nobleman. 'Then begone,' said Chuang Tzu. 'I mean to keep wagging my tail in the mud.'
Moss Roberts
September 15, 2016
A lovely Folio book, consisting of usually brief stories, sometimes a paragraph or epigram, concerning ghosts, justice served, ironic outcomes, and imaginings of the natural world. Many are moral tales, proverbs and sayings of the
Show More
philosophers. The introduction is by a Chinese novelist who recalls her grandfather, even in the years of the Cultural Revolution, reading and enjoying tales from Pu Songling, the Record of Things Strange from a Makeshift Studio. Wagging My Tail in the Mud
The hermit poet Chuang Tzu was angling in the River Pu. The king of Ch'u sent two noblemen to invite Chuang to come before him. 'We were hoping you would take on certain affairs of state' they said. Holding his pole steady and without looking at them, Chuang Tzu said, 'I hear that Ch'u has a sacred tortoise that has been dead three thousand years, and the king has it enshrined in a cushioned box in the ancestral hall. Do you think the tortoise would be happier wagging his tail in the mud than having his shell honored?' 'Of course' replied the two nobleman. 'Then begone,' said Chuang Tzu. 'I mean to keep wagging my tail in the mud.'
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Language
Original language
Chinese
Original publication date
1979
Local notes
Interweaving the lives of mortals with the animal kingdom and the realm of gods and ghosts, these tales range from fables to stories of enchantment and magic. Aimed at adult readers, they are often the work of great philosophers; many are by the venerable P’u Sung-ling, who opposed the rigid orthodoxies of Confucianism; over 20 are by the Taoists Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu. Taoists believe that all things are created equal, rejecting the hierarchical worldview of the Confucians. Among Lieh’s tales are ‘Black and White’ and ‘Man or Beast’, which promote respect for animals. ‘The Golden Toothpick’ – the brief, sad tale of a hapless serving maid – warns against aligning lowly social status with lack of virtue. The Buddhist stories similarly espouse compassion towards all living things, perceiving human and animal forms as fluid and interchangeable. In ‘Three Former Lives’, the errant scholar Liu is reincarnated as a horse and then as a dog before finally, having atoned for his ills, being reborn as a man. The Confucians, conversely, view social order in terms of inherited status. The imperial family occupied the highest stratum, women, children and animals the lowest. Tales such as ‘A Clever Judge’ reinforce this doctrine, illustrating that stability and justice is achieved when social obligations are properly assigned and fulfilled.
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