South of the Clouds: Tales from Yunnan

by Lucien Miller (Editor), Xu Guo (Editor), Xu Kun

The tales included here represent all of Yunnan Province's officially designated ethnic minorities, and include creation myths, romances, historical legends, tales explaining natural phenomena, ghost stories, and festival tales. The tales are peopled by memorable characters, such as the Tibetan mother who, reborn as a cow, comforts and helps her daughter into her harsh life as a slave girl; the two Kucong sisters who marry snakes; and the bodiless Lahu "head-baby" who grows up to win one of the earth-god Poyana's daughters in marriage. Chosen for their representativeness, aesthetic appeal, and variety, the stories provide rich examples of the folk traditions of Southwest China.

South of the Clouds includes introductions and an appendix which describe the places and people of Yunnan, analyzethe literary and psychological characteristics of their stories, give the sources of the tales, and explain the methodolgy of collecting folk literature in China.

Genres: China

342 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1994

Reviews

[Emily O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this to perform research for my thesis, but I found myself reading through section after section beyond what I needed. The tales were captivating, and I appreciated the thorough representation of Indigenous groups in Yunnan Province, many of whom are often overlooked in anthologies such as these.

[Joe Isler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Folktales of rural village life in Yunnan. Feudal lords, ogres, princes, strongmen, demons, beautiful maidens and gods mix it up.

[Csenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy detailed and academic folktale collections, and this one definitely fulfilled all possible requirements. Not only does it contain 54 folktales from 25 minorities, it also has the full sources for each of them (storyteller, place, collector, translator, etc.), as well as extensive notes, a great introduction, and separate sections introducing all 25 of the minorities. Includes several maps, a separate chapter on how the stories were translated, and pretty much everything else a researcher might need at her fingertips.
The stories themselves are well chosen - entertaining, unique, and likable. Some of them are beautiful, while others are funny; there are separate sections for myths, legends, love stories, animal tales, etc. I especially liked that there were several version of the flood myth in there, as well as quite a few genius tricksters.
Honestly, the only thing I missed from the book was pictures. Each section describes the traditional garments of each minority, but I wish I could have seen them in images.