Tales from Within the Clouds: Nakhi Stories of China

by Carolyn Han

South of the clouds, in the land of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, dwell the descendants of a once pastoral people, the Nakhi. In ancient times, family names were passed from mother to child, there were no marriages, and women alone raised children. (In the Nakhi language, there is no word for "father.") Today there are still Nakhi who follow these traditions, and Nakhi folktales reflect these beliefs. In the legends presented here we are introduced to a fantastic cast of plants, insects, animals-all of them female! We discover why the Sun, hot-tempered and impetuous, is unpleasant to look at, while the graceful Moon attracts us with her silvery light; why the goat complains and her sister, the sheep, only murmurs "ba-ba"; why the azalea, for all her beauty, lives the shortest and saddest of lives. The ten stories, each illustrated with delightful paintings by celebrated artist Li Ji, welcome us into the unique and little-known world of the Nakhi.

64 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations were lovely, the stories were cute and well-told. The strong female representation was refreshing.

*Five stars with the caveat that I am rating the book as a contained unit. I am unsure about the authenticity of the stories as representative of Nakhi people as it was written by a non-Nakhi author and translated by a non-Nakhi speaker and illustrated by a non-Nakhi illustrator (as far as I can tell from the informational blurbs in the back, in any case)*

[Eric Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good stories. Good 8pm read I would say :)))))))))))))))))

[Csenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book, with beautiful pictures. The stories have been collected from the Nakhi, a matriarchal minority group in southwestern China. They have been re-written (although I am not sure to what extent) by Carolyn Han. The stories are interesting; they mostly deal with nature - insects, flowers, worms, the Sun and the Moon, and birds. I especially liked the Nakhi creation story.