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The Ch'i-lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories
A Storytelling World magazine award winner, a delightful collection for children as well as adults.
In turns funny, poignant, and wise, these nine lively stories are peopled with an array of unusual characters, including a young woman raised as a boy who is then faced with the complicated business of marriage; a carp-fish spirit who changes herself into a young woman for love's sake; a Miracle Doctor who can cure all illnesses except one; and a shopkeeper who learns the hard way the true meaning of justice.
In turns funny, poignant, and wise, these nine lively stories are peopled with an array of unusual characters, including a young woman raised as a boy who is then faced with the complicated business of marriage; a carp-fish spirit who changes herself into a young woman for love's sake; a Miracle Doctor who can cure all illnesses except one; and a shopkeeper who learns the hard way the true meaning of justice.
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
24 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Linda Fang
2 books3 followersLinda Fang is a professional storyteller who grew up in Shanghai. She specializes in bringing Chinese folkstories to a diverse audience, adults and children from around the world. She is inspired by stories from historical anecdotes, Chinese folktales, Chinese theatre and oral traditions.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 1, 2017
Can money buy love? Chen’s life is tragic, everybody is happy except for him. He and his fiancee Miss Peony Chin had an engagement through matchmaking. Mr. Chin wanted to cancel the engagement. Chen was too poor to support his betrothed. A carp fish that Chen was feeding felt sorry. The carp fish’s spirit deceive her looks to become an impostor of Miss Peony. The carp finds an confusion on Chen face when he faces the truth. My favorite part of the story was when the carp transformed into Miss Peony. It shows that someone is willing to do something for you even if it means to sacrifices their life. This book has many stories, I enjoyed reading, The Two Miss Chin Peony. I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading easy stories and also if someone struggled in life. .
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March 29, 2016 In the book of chi-Lin purse have some great stories one that I like it was THE MIRACLE DOCTOR (Hua T'o) I love this story because is of one doctor that he help people when they ore sick and he doesn't take money from they and one person that he save was "Lan Ying", he safe her life when she had a accident whit father and his father though that his was death but the doctor tell him that she wasn't died so she was really sick but he save his life
April 27, 2016
This is a beautiful collection of nine ancient Chinese stories retold by Linda Fang which is very pleasurable to read; I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Chinese literature and wisdom.
September 12, 2020
This is a collection of old Chinese folk-tales. It was a pretty good read, interesting and exotic, with some good morals. But (for better or worse) some of the stories are a lot better than others. I don't normally scrutinize every single story, but, since they're so different it seems worth doing so.
The Ch'i-lin Purse; about a woman being generous to the less-fortunate and being rewarded for it later. I enjoyed it, but it was pretty generic and predictable.
Dog Steals and Rooster Crows; was a strange one about a wealthy man who makes a couple former criminals his guests, and later they save him from a tricky pinch.
The Two Miss Peonys; absolutely my favorite, and the fun made it my daughter's favorite too - a bizarre story of a poor student living with the family of his fiancee. A carp fish spirit tries to encourage him, taking the form of the fiancee, only to fall in love with him. There is a certain absurd Shakespearean feel to this story, with things escalating out of control at the end - the story and moral were good, so it was a good read for my daughter while my wife and I were quietly cracking up in the background.
The Ho-Shih Jade; definitely the weakest, the king has a wise man help him in negotiations with another king. The constant talk of diplomacy and reputation were dull and went over my daughter's head.
The Prime Minister and the General; is the return of the wise man from the Ho-Shih Jade, a slightly better story, but still lackluster.
The Clever Magistrate; a magistrate twists the law so a poor man is not overly punished. Also generic.
Mr. Yeh's New Year; Mr. Yeh, a teacher, generously gives away all his money, and must find a way to keep himself and his wife from starving. Another 'generosity is rewarded' tale, the weird twists made it fun and novel.
The Miracle Doctor; the titular doctor can cure almost anything, except for one terrible sickness. He infiltrates a temple to get the cure for that sickness. Why the monks of that temple are dead set on never sharing their cure... well, it's an okay story about doing the right thing and being rewarded in the end.
The Royal Bridegroom; another one that felt like it should be adapted to Shakespeare's style! A princess is married, but her clever groom has a secret.... that I'm not going to spoil, this was another fun story for kids and grown ups.
The Ch'i-lin Purse; about a woman being generous to the less-fortunate and being rewarded for it later. I enjoyed it, but it was pretty generic and predictable.
Dog Steals and Rooster Crows; was a strange one about a wealthy man who makes a couple former criminals his guests, and later they save him from a tricky pinch.
The Two Miss Peonys; absolutely my favorite, and the fun made it my daughter's favorite too - a bizarre story of a poor student living with the family of his fiancee. A carp fish spirit tries to encourage him, taking the form of the fiancee, only to fall in love with him. There is a certain absurd Shakespearean feel to this story, with things escalating out of control at the end - the story and moral were good, so it was a good read for my daughter while my wife and I were quietly cracking up in the background.
The Ho-Shih Jade; definitely the weakest, the king has a wise man help him in negotiations with another king. The constant talk of diplomacy and reputation were dull and went over my daughter's head.
The Prime Minister and the General; is the return of the wise man from the Ho-Shih Jade, a slightly better story, but still lackluster.
The Clever Magistrate; a magistrate twists the law so a poor man is not overly punished. Also generic.
Mr. Yeh's New Year; Mr. Yeh, a teacher, generously gives away all his money, and must find a way to keep himself and his wife from starving. Another 'generosity is rewarded' tale, the weird twists made it fun and novel.
The Miracle Doctor; the titular doctor can cure almost anything, except for one terrible sickness. He infiltrates a temple to get the cure for that sickness. Why the monks of that temple are dead set on never sharing their cure... well, it's an okay story about doing the right thing and being rewarded in the end.
The Royal Bridegroom; another one that felt like it should be adapted to Shakespeare's style! A princess is married, but her clever groom has a secret.... that I'm not going to spoil, this was another fun story for kids and grown ups.
July 20, 2020
This is a good collection in standard paperback dimensions, suitable for read aloud from maybe kindie up (if your young child will sit still without loads of illustrations... I'm told some do that), and definitely a good choice if the large format picture book collections by Tuttle are going to put off your older kid. I don't see any reason to avoid read-to-self, either.
As is common in Chinese tales, emphasis is on using one's mind and heart rather than one's physical attributes to achieve a goal or defeat a foe. A clever ruse is preferable to violence and death. Sometimes, Westerners take issue with tricksters of this sort... if you fall into that camp, then some of these tales will not suit you.
Another recurring theme is that generosity, whether with material goods or with knowledge, is behavior to be lauded.
I also enjoyed Dog Steals and Rooster Crows which points out that every person has something to offer the community, no matter how useless the majority thinks his peculiar talent may be.
I don't think there was a tale I disliked, to be honest, which is very unusual. Some I liked better than others, but none rated meh or lower.
If you are in the market for one and only one book of Chinese tales for an elementary aged kiddo, this probably isn't the one I would pick -- Chinese Myths and Legends by Shelley Fu wins for that scenario. But for read to self, or middle school ages, or as an additional title, this one would be great. If this is the only book of Chinese stories your library carries, and you're torn... don't fret. It will do a plenty good job imparting Chinese wisdom and flavor.
As is common in Chinese tales, emphasis is on using one's mind and heart rather than one's physical attributes to achieve a goal or defeat a foe. A clever ruse is preferable to violence and death. Sometimes, Westerners take issue with tricksters of this sort... if you fall into that camp, then some of these tales will not suit you.
Another recurring theme is that generosity, whether with material goods or with knowledge, is behavior to be lauded.
I also enjoyed Dog Steals and Rooster Crows which points out that every person has something to offer the community, no matter how useless the majority thinks his peculiar talent may be.
I don't think there was a tale I disliked, to be honest, which is very unusual. Some I liked better than others, but none rated meh or lower.
If you are in the market for one and only one book of Chinese tales for an elementary aged kiddo, this probably isn't the one I would pick -- Chinese Myths and Legends by Shelley Fu wins for that scenario. But for read to self, or middle school ages, or as an additional title, this one would be great. If this is the only book of Chinese stories your library carries, and you're torn... don't fret. It will do a plenty good job imparting Chinese wisdom and flavor.
July 9, 2017
Classic Chinese stories retold by Linda Fang. Got this for R, it's still a bit early for him to listen to stories this long, but maybe in a few years.
November 1, 2018
I really like this book because it is about a very important person that esch'i-lin was one of the best protagonists of the best opera
March 11, 2020
Read this with my students. They enjoyed the stories. A good collection of folklore. There’s a lot you can do with this book in the classroom.
May 9, 2022
Easy fun read. Managed to finish the book in 1 day. Tales of ancient China, not sure if it’s myth or legend haha. But the stories are interesting!
September 12, 2023
short sweet tales.
April 9, 2018
These stories varied in their purposes and were mixed with cleverness, greed, power and all the good elements needed for good folk tales.
August 15, 2011
These stories were short and sweet. Linda Fang based her retelling of these ancient (I almost want to call them fairy tales, some are and some are more like fables) tales on sources ranging from Ming dynasty novels to classic Chinese operas and famous historical events. The subject matter ranges all over the place and includes a sweet potato stealing teaching, a magical medicine man, and a fish spirit who turns herself into a girl for the sake of love (ancient Chinese precursor to Disney's Little Mermaid? Seriously... it even had a talking crustacean) My least favorite were the stories from the Warring States period - just not enough magic and too much political intrigue for my taste. The best one by far was the Ch'i-lin Purse (after which the book is named) and the moral of that story...? Even the most spoiled of children have good hearts ;-)
July 30, 2013
This is a good collection of short Chinese folktales. It's a nice change from the standard fare I grew up with. The decription is spare and character development is told more than show, as is often the case with fairy and folktales. This makes the individual stories quick to read, and easy to expand on if desired.
Instead of pinyin, the author chese to use the Wade Giles system. There is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book (which I unfortunately discovered after I finished).
Instead of pinyin, the author chese to use the Wade Giles system. There is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book (which I unfortunately discovered after I finished).
October 13, 2009
This lady came to our school, and told us this story. She recomended this book to us. I bought it and read it. I lost it, and while cleaning my room, found it. She told us this story when i was in 2nd grade. That was 6 years ago. This book is truely something that still stick in your mind for a very long time.
February 11, 2016
The ch'I-Lin purse by Linda Fang was a really interesting book, it's my favorite book so far it's a collection of a short Chinese stories that shows how one person's act of kindness can change another person's life for ever,, it's talking a clever characters who help strangers and character who are fair to everyone!! I really liked this book and it's highly recommend.
April 27, 2014
I really enjoyed this! Featuring adaptations of folk tales and traditional Chinese opera, each story was told very well. There's even a pronunciation guide in the back for those unfamiliar with Chinese names as well as a glossary.
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May 27, 2014delightful
December 31, 2014
A collection of folklore from China that includes The Two Miss Peonys, The Miracle Doctor,/i> and The Royal Bridegroom.
December 11, 2015
It was a good book full of entertaing magic and funny imagery.
March 31, 2017
I read it for school.
December 21, 2010
it was pretty good,
though i had to read it for school
though i had to read it for school
January 1, 2012
The stories were interesting, but I didn't think it was all that well written.
April 3, 2017
This book has several stories, there was one stories I like about; the two miss poeny, a crash-fish transformed into a beautiful women to love a poor man, whose parent pass away, and travel all the way to his engagement wife. My favorite part was when they got to meet each other. I recommend this book to anyone who like a demon transforms as human for the sake of love.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews