Chinese classic fairy tales

Author: Chen Puqing, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Fairy tales are fantasy stories that suit children's psychological characteristics. Fantasy is a special imagination directed toward the future, and a love for fantasy is an innate nature of children. In developing children's fantasy abilities to nurture their healthy growth, fairy tales play a unique role that no other literary forms can replace. If fantasy abilities shrink, there can be no healthy minds and creativity, which would result in a large number of mediocre and vulgar people. That would not only be a tragedy for individuals but also a tragedy for a nation and its people. Fantasy is the cradle of future thinkers, writers, and scientists. Therefore, any excellent nation should cherish children's fantasy abilities and develop their healthy imagination. Consequently, fairy tales naturally deserve attention. Some say that the Chinese Han ethnic group is an early-maturing nation, and that ancient Chinese culture is an ethical and agricultural culture. Therefore, ancient Chinese fairy tales were not developed, or even did not exist. The nature and characteristics of ancient Chinese culture is a significant academic topic, and this article will not delve into it for now. However, to claim that ancient China had no fairy tales or that they were underdeveloped contradicts the facts. Chinese orthodox philosophers and educators did indeed not pay much attention to fairy tales or other stories. Yet, this is only a part of Chinese culture and cannot represent its entirety. In our nation's daily life, adults telling stories to children is a common occurrence. The elderly call this activity "telling old tales." Whether on summer nights or winter days, during breaks at work or sitting around a fireplace at night, children love to listen to adults tell "old tales." Among these ancient stories, many are filled with extraordinary fantasies, and they are the folk fairy tales. Many literati loved listening to stories as children and continued to do so as adults. During the Jin Dynasty, there was Gan Bao; during the Tang Dynasty, there were Li Gongzuo and Duan Chengshi; during the Song Dynasty, there were Su Dongpo, Hong Mai; during the Ming Dynasty, there were Qu You and Feng Menglong; and during the Qing Dynasty, there were Pu Songling and Shen Qifeng. These were all figures who retained their childlike hearts. They recorded the stories they heard, many of which were excellent fairy tales. This book selects, annotates, and translates one hundred and nineteen fairy tales from the pre-Qin period to the Qing Dynasty. These fairy tales come from sixty-two ancient works.