Tales from China

by Cyril Birch, Rosamund Fowler (Illustrator)

This collection of Chinese stories begins with the great legends of how Earth and Heaven came into being, and of how the archer Yi rid the Emperor Yao of the menace of the ten suns. Engrossing folk tales about ghosts and rainmakers, poor students and magicians, and the man who was nearly made
into fishpaste flesh out Chinese culture, character, and customs. Throughout all these stories, the author has kept the subtle oriental flavour of the originals, bringing to life all the magic and mystery of China.

Genres: China

195 pages, Paperback

First published February 3, 2000

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 3 out of 5]

(ISBN 9780192750785 has just 195 numbered pages)

I hated this, mostly, until Aunt Piety...!

Graphic attempts at infanticides, femicide, references to suicides, accompany retellings of familiar Chinese mythological tales (Hu Li Jing, the 9-tailed fox spirit wife; Yi the greatest ever archer vs. 10 suns; the River Snail Wife in the jar, etc.).

I genuinely disliked most of these tales. It isn't that they weren't well told (they were - Cyril Birch has done well), it's just the content and endings.

For example, Wei Ku is insulted that his prophesized bride to be was "a grubby child of 2 or 3" in tattered rags, carried on the back of a one-eyed peasant woman with a barrow full of vegetables. So he hires a man to slash and stab the toddler to death. The attempt ultimately fails (but leaves a facial scar), and years later:

..he told her the whole story of his meeting with the old man in the moonlight and his attempt to have her killed in the market-place. His wife marvelled at the story. She forgave him for the crime he had attempted, and during the whole of their long and happy life together neither of them referred to it again.
(the end)

I'd accept a rewrite where the wife bided her time and had her revenge, because I have serious troubles believing she'd be HAPPILY married to this much older, psychopathic man who tried to have a baby stabbed to death, let alone the fact that it was her he had had disfigured in the process, too.

Too many "eew, ick" moments for me. As others have noted, there is no context given (date or source or original story, for example: which dynasty? Where? No notes), so it's even harder to accept these tales as they are today.

I was about to write this off, but I do like tales of Taoist magic, and Chinese ghosts generally (A Shiver of Ghosts contains several very short stories). And I thought that The Inn of Donkeys was a great little spooky tale of witchcraft.

And then I reached page 109 (of 195): The Revolt of the Demons, beginning with Chapter 1, Aunt Piety.

I know that name from Ruth Manley's The Plum-Rain Scroll, which I LOVE. Is this Aunt Piety also a clever middle-aged vixen-in-human-guise? Yep! Eggborn was new to me, but Aunt Piety has a daughter (Eterna) and son (Blackfoot, a drunken carouser), and all are fox spirits like Hu Li Jing (like Kitsune, in The Plum-Rain Scroll).

Unlike The Plum-Rain Scroll, this has more of a Grimm's Fairytale vibe, and so those crafty and clever fox demons and those they interact with all seem to pay high prices (usually their lives) by the time the story is over.

But it's GREAT for Taoist (and Buddhist!) magic, and Sanskrit scrolls of antiquity, and fantastical armies and sieges and paranormal battles.

And it's great because Aunt Piety is in it. She's one of my all-time favourite characters in the whole of literature, and I didn't know she existed outside of Ruth Manley's trilogy (1978 and onwards, the last two books of which I can't afford to read...). Cyril Birch's Tales from China was first published in 1961, so it's entirely possible that Manley took Aunt Piety from Birch's retelling - I can't find any other references with that name.

So I'm absolutely chuffed - I stumbled upon the original mythological source material purely by chance. I have had great book luck lately, and I'm glad I persevered with this book that I found lacking. (NB: not a single typo that I noticed, and I would like to credit OUP for their quality publications, even in mass market pb format. It's appreciated)

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have been reading Tales from China for a while now. It was used as a bedside book to read a short tale every night before bed. Would of been nice to have a bit of background information about the origins of each myth but not bad.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tales from a wonderful country full of ghosts, magic and spirits.

[Benjamin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some nice tales from a different culture. Gootld topic book

[Rob Calkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an enthralling rhythm to the storytelling that I couldn't help but read all the tales in one sitting.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good collection, but without historical context, I'm not sure exactly where these stories are coming from. Other collections I've read tell the cultural source, have glossaries, pronunciation guides… Just seems a bit lacking.
Also, the back description reads "These magical tales from China will bring to life all the mystery and wonder of the East." Very Orientalist description. I'd be careful of using this in any academic research.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

would have liked some historical background to these