Witch on the stone ship

Author: (British) Andrew Lang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Andrew Lang (1844–1912), a renowned scholar who graduated from Oxford and translated The Iliad and The Odyssey, would dedicate nearly half his life to editing and compiling what some might consider rather childish fairy tales. We can find the answer in his own words: "If the world of children had no magical and beautiful fairy tales, their lives would be unimaginable, and their innocent hearts would not be perfectly shaped!" In the West, Andrew Lang's fairy tales are as celebrated as Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales and Grimms' Fairy Tales, primarily because the fairy tales he selected are more comprehensive and represent a wider range of cultures, nearly encompassing traditional myths and classic fairy tales from all countries and ethnic groups around the world. His unbiased editorial approach, combined with his profound cultural background, enables children to receive subtle moral and life education from these fairy tales. Adding to this, the exquisite illustrations by the world-famous artist Henry Ford for each story make them deeply beloved by children. This collection was first launched in 1891, named in 12 different colors such as red, yellow, and blue. Considering the reading habits of Chinese children, we have re-edited and organized these fairy tales, naming them as follows: The True Prince, The Knight of the Golden Fish, The Witch on the Stone Ship, The Blue Parrot, The Invincible Hero, The Magical Musician, Journey to Lilliput, The Snow Queen, The Bag of Sprites, The Gift of the Magician, The Death of the Sun God, and The Magic Ring. Fairy tales are beautiful stories; fairy tales are the kingdom of children's joy. Children everywhere in the world love fairy tales. Under the moonlight, in the shade of trees, or by the fireplace, they snuggle close to their grandmothers and mothers, listening to them tell one beautiful story after another with great passion. In this way, they gradually form their concepts of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, integrity, and wickedness. These treasures of oral tradition were first meticulously compiled by the famous French fairy tale collector Perrault, forming a collection of up to 60 volumes titled The Cabinet of Fairy Tales. Later, Andrew Lang, a renowned Scottish writer and anthropologist, was captivated by this collection of human wisdom compiled by Perrault. With the assistance of his wife, he translated, organized, and edited these fairy tales, launching them for the first time in 1891, named in 12 different colors such as red, yellow, and blue. Since then, they have been continuously reprinted, becoming one of the world's most enduring and best-selling fairy tale collections. A famous Western educator once praised Andrew Lang's fairy tales: "If the world of children had no magical and beautiful fairy tales, their lives would be unimaginable; if this fairy tale paradise had no fairy tales compiled by Andrew Lang, their innocent hearts would not be perfectly shaped." Due to information discrepancies in cultural transmission, Chinese children have primarily had access only to Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales and Grimms' Fairy Tales. In fact, in the Western world, which places great emphasis on using fairy tales to impart moral and life education to children, Andrew Lang's collected and translated fairy tales have brought children wonderful dreams and endless joy. Compared to Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales and Grimms' Fairy Tales, Andrew Lang's selections are more comprehensive and representative. He gathered nearly 500 traditional myths and classic fairy tales from all countries and ethnic groups, allowing children to read the authentic, concentrated wisdom of fairy tales from around the world. This collection tells the legends of various characters from all angles—there are imaginary fairies, witches, devils, monsters, and flying dragons, as well as cruel stepmothers, beautiful or ugly princesses, lucky or unlucky princes, giants, dwarfs, and various magical spells and sorcery. The stories often begin with characters that children love—such as an old man with a blue beard, a little cat in boots, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and even the annoying toad and the beautiful pearl. Children can also enjoy 900 exquisite illustrations by the world-famous artist Henry Ford in these 12 books. After years of careful translation and editing, Andrew Lang and his world-class fairy tales have finally met with the children of China! Considering the reading habits of Chinese children, we have reorganized and edited these fairy tales into 12 volumes, naming them as follows: The Magic Mirror, The Copper Ring, The Blue Parrot, The Headless Dwarf, The Green Knight, The Glass Mountain, The Mayflower Princess, The Little Fairy, Beauty and the Beast, The Forest Prince, Aladdin's Magic Lamp, and The Iron Rod. We sincerely hope that this treasure trove of world fairy tales will accompany children through an interesting and imaginative childhood!