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Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends
An elegantly packaged new edition of a classic Chinese folktale collection that responds to the contemporary fascination with the ancient culture of the Far East.
This elegantly presented edition of Richard Wilhelm & Frederick H. Martens’s classic collection of 73 Chinese fairy tales has been re-edited by a leading Chinese historian to heighten its appeal to the modern Western reader. China has a rich oral tradition and these stories, passed down through hundreds of years, not only enthrall and delight but also cast light on the country’s ancient culture.
Chinese folklore is as colorful and captivating as the Arabian Nights or the work of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, yet the stories themselves remain largely undiscovered in the West. Written with economy and wit, the short one- or two-page tales exhibit those distinct aspects of the Chinese character and approach to life that derive from the values of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
The stories are arranged thematically under headings such as nursery fairy tales, nature and animal tales, and myths. Some, such as the legend of the ghostly general and haunted battlefield, engage with the supernatural, while others are dramatic tales featuring flying ogres and cunning demons. Intriguing titles, such as “Why Dog and Cat Are Enemies,” “The Dragon Princess,” “The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away,” and “The Bird with Nine Heads,” sit next to tales familiar to all Chinese children, including “The Lady of the Moon” and “The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden.”
This elegantly presented edition of Richard Wilhelm & Frederick H. Martens’s classic collection of 73 Chinese fairy tales has been re-edited by a leading Chinese historian to heighten its appeal to the modern Western reader. China has a rich oral tradition and these stories, passed down through hundreds of years, not only enthrall and delight but also cast light on the country’s ancient culture.
Chinese folklore is as colorful and captivating as the Arabian Nights or the work of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, yet the stories themselves remain largely undiscovered in the West. Written with economy and wit, the short one- or two-page tales exhibit those distinct aspects of the Chinese character and approach to life that derive from the values of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
The stories are arranged thematically under headings such as nursery fairy tales, nature and animal tales, and myths. Some, such as the legend of the ghostly general and haunted battlefield, engage with the supernatural, while others are dramatic tales featuring flying ogres and cunning demons. Intriguing titles, such as “Why Dog and Cat Are Enemies,” “The Dragon Princess,” “The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away,” and “The Bird with Nine Heads,” sit next to tales familiar to all Chinese children, including “The Lady of the Moon” and “The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden.”
279 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 18, 2020
These were interesting stories but I couldn't escape the feeling of the western writer having influenced them, in the way they chose to introduce them, present them and explain them. I would like to read more to understand the culture and tradition better
August 15, 2021
Chinese mythology and folktales aren't really my area of expertise, but I feel like there are probably better collections out there. The selection is pretty broad (no fault with that) but the writing style seems a bit dumbed down, Westernized, or both, depending on the story. The first section, "Nursery Fairy Tales" especially seemed to be a collection of traditional Western fairy tales with a thin veneer of Chinese culture slapped over them. Considering that the original version of this collection was written by a German in 1922, I' m suspicious of the stories than feel like Orientalized Grimm's Fairy Tales. This edition has been "re-edited by a leading Chinese historian to heighten its appeal to the modern Western reader." So... possibly this 21st Century version is even more Westernized? I did like the later sections, especially "Nature and Animal Tales," "Ghost Stories," and "Historical Legends," which felt (at least to me) closer to the source material. Basic 3 stars.
March 9, 2022
Granted, I didn't finish this, but the writing just isn't great. This book is a collection of Chinese stories, translated to German, to then be translated to English, and it reads just a bit clunky. And it's way more just short summaries of the stories than actual fairy tales. It's just the plot, very limited text to explain the setting, create the people, etc. Though it would possibly be decent as a reference book, I don't recommend reading it as a fairy tale book.
October 26, 2021
Literally me when I was reading this: 😐🥱😪😴
My actual rating is 1.5 stars ✨
My actual rating is 1.5 stars ✨
August 29, 2024
Monsters, gods, and legends. I initially picked up this title due to the release of Black Myth: Wukong, a video game about the Chinese legend Sun Wukong–the Monkey King–and featuring many other myths and legends.
As a fantasy writer, this book of fairy tales is a wondrous fuel for my creativity. Almost instantly I was imaging my own legends, new ways to worldbuild, and fantastic beasts to feature in my future stories. This is definitely a book I will find myself referring back to when creating.
Unfortunately, this was not the most pleasant piece of copy to read. Originally written in German and later translated into English, the translation presents some challenges. While I acknowledge the difficulty of translation, the westernizations of certain elements is evident throughout the text. Familiar character names, such as Guan Yu and Erlang Shen, were oddly translated to Guan Di and Yang Oerlang. Beyond odd names, the prose itself is quite clunky, detracting from the reading experience.
As a fantasy writer, this book of fairy tales is a wondrous fuel for my creativity. Almost instantly I was imaging my own legends, new ways to worldbuild, and fantastic beasts to feature in my future stories. This is definitely a book I will find myself referring back to when creating.
Unfortunately, this was not the most pleasant piece of copy to read. Originally written in German and later translated into English, the translation presents some challenges. While I acknowledge the difficulty of translation, the westernizations of certain elements is evident throughout the text. Familiar character names, such as Guan Yu and Erlang Shen, were oddly translated to Guan Di and Yang Oerlang. Beyond odd names, the prose itself is quite clunky, detracting from the reading experience.
December 14, 2023
I did not like how this book was written. Felt like a translation of a translation and though I’m sure the original Chinese is beautiful, I don’t much care for this copy. I got through a third of the book and won’t read any more, which is a shame because of how much I love fairy tales and myths.
Hope I can find another book that can tell the myths and stories in a more enrapturing way.
Hope I can find another book that can tell the myths and stories in a more enrapturing way.
December 29, 2021
“Fearless heroes, feisty princesses, sly magicians, terrifying dragons, talking foxes and miniature dogs. They all feature in this enthralling compendium of Chinese fairy tales and legends, along with an array of equally colourful characters and captivating plots.”
This was a great book. I love fairytales and this certainly did not disappoint. It was a long read for me, as I picked it up and put it down over the month. There were short stories within the book which meant I could do this. I have to say I’d like to find more books I can do this with.
This was a great book. I love fairytales and this certainly did not disappoint. It was a long read for me, as I picked it up and put it down over the month. There were short stories within the book which meant I could do this. I have to say I’d like to find more books I can do this with.
January 15, 2023
This review will be a little different from my previous ones; I am not nearly ostentatious enough to review the merits of Chinese folk tales, so this review will mainly focus on the book itself.
It is a little troubling when the book itself fails to tell you how many fairy tales are included within its volume; the cover promises 73, while the back cover hints at "70-plus". In actuality, 74 fairy tales are included in this book.
The fairy tales are a frustrating blend of enjoyable to read and a slog to burn through. When told as a traditional fairy tale (a la Grimm's), the folk tales are delightful. However, a good portion of the fairy tales are a strange hybrid of story as well as the origin of the fairy tale itself; the stories are so concerned about telling themselves, that they lose the charm of what makes them enchanting. Every fairy tale included in this book is preceded by a brief excerpt about the fairy tale, and then contains notes regarding the fairy tale after its conclusion. While the context is appreciated, this often becomes more redundant than beneficial and feels as if it solely exists to lengthen the book, or tries to reach an imaginary word count.
There's a lot to like about this collection of Chinese fairy tales, but even more to dislike that keeps it from being a quality read.
It is a little troubling when the book itself fails to tell you how many fairy tales are included within its volume; the cover promises 73, while the back cover hints at "70-plus". In actuality, 74 fairy tales are included in this book.
The fairy tales are a frustrating blend of enjoyable to read and a slog to burn through. When told as a traditional fairy tale (a la Grimm's), the folk tales are delightful. However, a good portion of the fairy tales are a strange hybrid of story as well as the origin of the fairy tale itself; the stories are so concerned about telling themselves, that they lose the charm of what makes them enchanting. Every fairy tale included in this book is preceded by a brief excerpt about the fairy tale, and then contains notes regarding the fairy tale after its conclusion. While the context is appreciated, this often becomes more redundant than beneficial and feels as if it solely exists to lengthen the book, or tries to reach an imaginary word count.
There's a lot to like about this collection of Chinese fairy tales, but even more to dislike that keeps it from being a quality read.
October 10, 2022
Although the hardcover was beautiful, I did not enjoy this book. I grew up with many of these fairy tales and have read them in both Chinese and English, so I did not find that the translations did the stories justice. The Romanizations of character names are outdated. The presentation is skewed and heavily influenced by the Western translators.
On page 120, the notes say "Salix: the names of the ... In the translation the play on words is indicated by the Latin names." Why was Latin chosen to indicate the play on words? Could the notes have explained the play on words instead? Does the intended audience understand the Latin word play?
tl;dr I should have paid more attention to the book synopsis of "re-edited by a leading Chinese historian to heighten its appeal to the modern Western reader." This book is not meant for anyone already familiar or trying to revisit stories they grew up with.
On page 120, the notes say "Salix: the names of the ... In the translation the play on words is indicated by the Latin names." Why was Latin chosen to indicate the play on words? Could the notes have explained the play on words instead? Does the intended audience understand the Latin word play?
tl;dr I should have paid more attention to the book synopsis of "re-edited by a leading Chinese historian to heighten its appeal to the modern Western reader." This book is not meant for anyone already familiar or trying to revisit stories they grew up with.
January 23, 2021
While this book is a fascinating, not to mention pretty, book about Chinese fairy tales and legends, I can't help feel that while it does what it sets out to do effectively, namely telling its stories and providing some context where needed, it doesn't say anything about Chinese culture beyond what one can glean from the stories.
An absolutely fantastic read for those that want more stories to read from other cultures, even one I would recommend to a lot of people into myth, legend, and fairy tales, but I wouldn't put it high on my list simply because there are better books that make a better effort retelling the stories and adding cultural context.
An absolutely fantastic read for those that want more stories to read from other cultures, even one I would recommend to a lot of people into myth, legend, and fairy tales, but I wouldn't put it high on my list simply because there are better books that make a better effort retelling the stories and adding cultural context.
January 31, 2020
A good mix of legends, stories, and fairy-tales. The middle was a little slow, but it ended on a good set of stories
October 18, 2020
There are several reasons why I think this got 4 stars, even as some of the stories disappointed me.
1) I think the hardcopy only has a hardcover edition, and it is splendid. The gold lettering and shiny image is impressive against the black background.
2) There are the additional footnotes and annotations that give a nice educational aspect to the Chinese culture.
3) The stories were nice.
Sure there were some that irked me because I didn't think proper justice was given. Like Notscha...personally I thought the father was wrong for not helping his son, and kind of felt sorry for Notscha. Then there was the Cave of the Beasts. Seriously, I know the animals would have eaten the girls, but for the girls to then steal their treasures and the horrible father to benefit from it...that's just wrong.
Here are some of my favorite stories:
-Giauna the Beautiful (One of the few fox stories in the book, and then this one is a romance)
-The Golden Canister (a smart female heroine)
Overall, what I really enjoyed was learning about the ancient Chinese customs.
1) I think the hardcopy only has a hardcover edition, and it is splendid. The gold lettering and shiny image is impressive against the black background.
2) There are the additional footnotes and annotations that give a nice educational aspect to the Chinese culture.
3) The stories were nice.
Sure there were some that irked me because I didn't think proper justice was given. Like Notscha...personally I thought the father was wrong for not helping his son, and kind of felt sorry for Notscha. Then there was the Cave of the Beasts. Seriously, I know the animals would have eaten the girls, but for the girls to then steal their treasures and the horrible father to benefit from it...that's just wrong.
Here are some of my favorite stories:
-Giauna the Beautiful (One of the few fox stories in the book, and then this one is a romance)
-The Golden Canister (a smart female heroine)
Overall, what I really enjoyed was learning about the ancient Chinese customs.
December 11, 2023
In all honesty, I contemplated DNF-ing this book. However, I lied to myself and forced myself to finish reading it, believing that it would help me with my PGCE course. I was wrong, it bore me out of my mind.
This was not an enjoyable book to read, to say the least. I tried so hard to convince myself that it was. But it was tormenting to finish. On many good days, I forgot this book even existed in the first place. But then I rediscovered it not too long ago and forced myself to finish reading it. I have almost begrudged myself for that.
The short stories in this collection are not of great relevance to me, in any way. I know they are all meant to teach individuals of their morality and encourage people to improve their own. But I was too frustrated with this book to analyse it and educate myself, even when the messages seemed simple. This collection tried too hard to be intellectually stimulating.
I would not recommend this book to anyone, sorry. And I most definitely will be avoiding this particular genre of children's literature.
This was not an enjoyable book to read, to say the least. I tried so hard to convince myself that it was. But it was tormenting to finish. On many good days, I forgot this book even existed in the first place. But then I rediscovered it not too long ago and forced myself to finish reading it. I have almost begrudged myself for that.
The short stories in this collection are not of great relevance to me, in any way. I know they are all meant to teach individuals of their morality and encourage people to improve their own. But I was too frustrated with this book to analyse it and educate myself, even when the messages seemed simple. This collection tried too hard to be intellectually stimulating.
I would not recommend this book to anyone, sorry. And I most definitely will be avoiding this particular genre of children's literature.
December 17, 2023
I'm gonna say upfront that I didn't read every single story in this, mostly because some of them weren't as interesting to me as others.
I enjoyed reading the ones that I did, though it felt like they were either rushed or dumbed down a bit. I'm not sure if this is a result of the original author/translator and his decisions, or if that's how they are in the original Chinese language as well and it's simply a cultural thing. That's not to say I didn't have fun reading them, it's just how they came off.
The collection is interesting in the way it introduced a few different themes and, I think, regions. It's also really cool to see what elements you can pick up that are present in other areas of the world as well! Very cool!
I think you could probably find a better source if you are really interested in learning more about Chinese fairy tales and legends, but if nothing, this is still a pretty good introduction for anyone new.
I enjoyed reading the ones that I did, though it felt like they were either rushed or dumbed down a bit. I'm not sure if this is a result of the original author/translator and his decisions, or if that's how they are in the original Chinese language as well and it's simply a cultural thing. That's not to say I didn't have fun reading them, it's just how they came off.
The collection is interesting in the way it introduced a few different themes and, I think, regions. It's also really cool to see what elements you can pick up that are present in other areas of the world as well! Very cool!
I think you could probably find a better source if you are really interested in learning more about Chinese fairy tales and legends, but if nothing, this is still a pretty good introduction for anyone new.
February 15, 2021
I’ve been trying to expand my mythology horizons, and Chinese myths have done if the most compelling stories. While this edition is pretty and has many different stories, I couldn’t help but wonder how accurate they are to the original sources.
Usually what I found in many mythology books is that certain details can vary from book to book. Usually they’re small, but they can change the retelling in vital ways. Since I don’t have much knowledge of Chinese myths, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were accurate or if they had been changed to fit a Western audience.
Usually what I found in many mythology books is that certain details can vary from book to book. Usually they’re small, but they can change the retelling in vital ways. Since I don’t have much knowledge of Chinese myths, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were accurate or if they had been changed to fit a Western audience.
January 19, 2025
I am not sure how true to form and original these are and I did not like the parts that were translated into English/western form.
Motives were at times confusing and hard to follow since so many names tend to repeat in different stories. I would have liked more footnotes and explanations on the cultural meanings and differences.
I understand that these were collected quite a while ago.
The cover is beautiful but the rest of the artwork was melancholy.
Motives were at times confusing and hard to follow since so many names tend to repeat in different stories. I would have liked more footnotes and explanations on the cultural meanings and differences.
I understand that these were collected quite a while ago.
The cover is beautiful but the rest of the artwork was melancholy.
May 6, 2025
I am not at all familiar with Chinese mythology and was looking for a book to get better acquainted with it. This book fell a bit short; many of the stories were not told as stories but more felt like a summary of a story. Whether this was intended, or the result of being the English translation of a German book based on Chinese stories, I am unsure.
There were quite some enjoyable and memorable stories in it, and I will definitely be on the look out for another book on Chinese mythology.
There were quite some enjoyable and memorable stories in it, and I will definitely be on the look out for another book on Chinese mythology.
October 22, 2025
Did not fully finish because the retelling is not very good. Maybe there is something lost in translation, or the stories have been summarized too much, but I don't think it's a good introduction or window into Chinese fairy tales.
There are also some illustrations spread between stories but they don't line up with the content.
It was given to me as a present and I really wanted to like it (the cover is really beautiful), but not enough care was put into writing it.
There are also some illustrations spread between stories but they don't line up with the content.
It was given to me as a present and I really wanted to like it (the cover is really beautiful), but not enough care was put into writing it.
August 31, 2021
2.5 stars
this was originally written by a German in 1917 (not a great time for east-west relations, so hardly an unbiased account), and rewritten by another western man to appeal to a 'wider audience'... 'wider' in this case means western.
this is a topic I want to know more about, but definitely not in a Eurocentric format.
this was originally written by a German in 1917 (not a great time for east-west relations, so hardly an unbiased account), and rewritten by another western man to appeal to a 'wider audience'... 'wider' in this case means western.
this is a topic I want to know more about, but definitely not in a Eurocentric format.
September 30, 2024
The way I had to absolutely drag myself through this book, good grief. The tales/myths/legends were interesting to learn about, which is why I got this book in the first place, but the writing is a hot mess. Next time I’ll dive into this topic, I’ll make sure to pick a text collected/written by an actual Asian author. 2.5 stars at best.
March 11, 2022
A nice book that talks about some interesting Chinese fairy tales.
Though it doesn't talk much about Chinese culture, that was not what the book set out to do. What it was trying to do, however, it does almost flawlessly.
Though it doesn't talk much about Chinese culture, that was not what the book set out to do. What it was trying to do, however, it does almost flawlessly.
September 27, 2025
A collection of short stories/summaries of Chinese legends and fairy tales, easy to read in stints and informative of various aspects of the stories told. Works well as an introduction to Chinese myths and the cover is pretty!
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March 22, 2020This ruled! Sea Dragon kings for all!
February 17, 2021
Whilst not overly comprehensive and a touch too westernised, this is a decent introductory book for Chinese legends. The middle third was rather dry though, and it made the experience lag.
March 9, 2021
Book rich in wonderful tales (70+). Love Chinese & Japanese folklore.
May 2, 2021
Expected more of it
December 14, 2021
One of my faves on my folklore shelf. Loved it.
April 29, 2022
A mixed bag. Some of the stories made sense, but most had too much "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" in them, and a cultural logic that defeated me.
June 21, 2022
Has some pretty interesting tales. Tried it best to be coherent, but was not enough. The writing is pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews