حكايات صينية قديمة

by Yang Xianyi, يحيى لو وان شنغ (Translator)

يضم هذا الكتاب مائة و واحدا و عشرين حكاية منتخبة من حكايات الصين الغابرة يرجع معظمها الى القرنين الرابع و الثالث قبل الميلاد . و القرنين السادس عشر و السابع عشر الميلاديين . وهذه الحكايات لا تزال متداولة بعضها على ألسنة الناس و بعضها في المدونات المختلفة.

93 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Saladin Saladin · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب لطيف يضم أكثر من مائة قصة صينية قديمة، تلك القصص في مجملها عبارة عن أمثال و حكم لا يستغني عنها عاقل في حياته اليومية ، و بالرغم من أن بعضها تجاوز الألفين و الأربعمئة عام إلا أنها لم تفقد رونقها و لم تذو ثمرات فوائدها ، فالنفس البشرية بأطماعها و أهوائها و خيرها و شرها ظلت كما هي رغم ما تعاقبت عليها من السنون.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancient fables are a staple of all cultures of long standing, reading them can be one of the most effective ways to learn some of the fundamentals of how the people think. For the influence of them never fades, witness the phrases “sour grapes,” “united we stand, divided we fall,” and “necessity is the mother of invention” that are still present in western societies 2.5 thousand years after Aesop stated them.
These fables also originated in the fourth or third centuries B. C. in ancient China. All have a moral that is clear but not explicitly stated at the end. They involve the quirks of human nature and how the difference in perspectives can be very significant. My favorite in the collection appears on page 39 and has the title “The Use of Parables.” It is a succinct statement of why parables are so valuable in that they allow things to be explained in a manner that is understandable by comparing the known to the unknown.
This book is a worthy addition to basic literature studies in the K-12 area. Not only is it great literature, it also provides some valuable multicultural experience.

[Nandha Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the childhood books that I remember to this day, the book had been the moral guide for many a year till I could reason. It can be seen as a counterpart to Aesop's fables, for those accustomed to western literature. An essential reading for young people, if I was to be asked, it also shows that most of the moral values are shared by people round the globe. Seasoned readers are bound to dislike this book for its concise stories each with a unique moral.

[Truly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The golden age of chinese fables was during the third and the fourth century B.C

Sejak dahulu, fables selalu mampu memukau yang membacanya. Jika tidak diketahui melalui bacaan, bisa, melalui dogeng yang disampaikan secara lisan.

Lebih dari 60 fabel bisa ditemukan dalam buku ini. Ada The Tomtit and The Giant Roc; Three Chestnuts or four; The Lord Who Loves Dragons; Drawing A Snake With Legs; Buying A Good Horse; The Pig With White Head; hingga The Holly Eel.

Beberapa kisah hanya terdiri dari 3-5 paragraf. Walau singkat, pesan moral tetap tersampaikan.

Ilustrasinya menarik. Sayangnya, dalam buku ini hanya ada terjemaham Bhs Inggris. Padahal dengan menyajikan versi asli, akan membuat pembaca semakin tertarik. Apalagi mereka yang sedang mempelajari tulisan Hanzi.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These fables aren’t too different from Aesop’s and other familiar fables. Interesting, since I’ve read some fables and folktales from Lappish, circumpolar from and/or other nomadic peoples, many of which were inscrutable. I don’t intend on drawing overarching conclusions but it would be interesting to know if there are significant differences in either what is considered common sense or what is worth recording and translating.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each fable from this collection is about a couple paragraphs long. I thought that the collection was quite comprehensive and each of the fables quite detailed. However, this collection could have been a better bridge for Chinese and English literature. I was curious to know what was the Chinese title of the fables and I found some English language phrasings a bit awkward.

[Helmut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kurzweilige Zusammenstellung

Eine nette kleine Sammlung von chinesischen Fabeln, meist aus vorchristlichen Jahrhunderten, also wirklich "ancient". Viel Lesestoff erwartet den Leser nicht, und auch vom Inhalt handelt es sich um sehr kurze, zumeist nur aus wenigen einzelnen Sätzen bestehende, Geschichtchen und Anekdoten. Nur einige wenige sind Fabeln mit Tieren als Protagonisten, doch die anderen Kriterien der Gattung Fabel sind erfüllt - sie lehren und unterhalten über Dinge des Lebens, aber auch der Politik.

Von Liezi über Menzius bis zu Anekdoten der Streitenden Reiche, viele unterschiedliche Quellen zeigen auch eine gewisse unterschiedliche Stilistik und Verwendungsweise der Fabel.

Aufgelockert durch kleine Illustrationen ist dies eine kurzweilige Lektüre, die allerdings bereits in einer Mittagspause durchgelesen ist.

[Siti Zafira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Setiap hari adalah hari-hari tugasan (so-called busy huh?) dan saya terpaksa 'mencuri' masa selama satu jam setengah pada pagi ini untuk membaca semula Ancient Chinese Fables bermula muka pertama sehingga ke muka akhir. (Asalnya, naskhah mula dibaca pada 20 November yang lalu sebelum saya 'hold' sebentar).

Seperti yang pernah saya katakan sebelum ini, membaca Chinese Fables ketika zaman kanak-kanak jauh lebih mudah difahami dan menyeronokkan. Saya masih ingat, naskhah yang saya baca suatu masa dahulu merupakan edisi yang ada kualitinya. Edisi yang saya baca kali ini pula tidak 'smooth' pada terjemahan dan pemilihan kata dalam bahasa sasaran.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but I would have appreciated better organization and introduction to the authors, footnotes, etc.