Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales (Part A, Week 9)

Story source: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

1. The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck

  • proud prince with a daughter, but the daughter was unlucky
  • she threw a ball of red silk into a crowd of princes and one beggar
  • whoever caught the ball would be her husband, and she threw it to the beggar
  • the father was angry, and sent her away from the castle
  • the beggar found his fortune and became an emperor
  • the wife did not recognize him, but the emperor saw how faithful she had been and revealed himself
  • she died after being empress for eighteen days

2. The Cave of the Beasts

  • family with seven daughters; father found seven wild duck eggs
  • he intended to eat them himself, with his wife
  • the mother gave the daughters the eggs, one at a time, and told each one not to let her sisters know 
  • the father was angry and intended to let wolves devour them
  • the older daughters were suspicious, but the younger ones went along because they thought they were going to grandma's house
  • the girls outsmarted the wolf and fox and lived happily for a while in the cave

3. The Panther

  • widow had two daughters and one son
  • panther combed her hair, and tore off a bit of her skin
  • tricked the woman's daughters by putting on her clothes after he killed her
  • they realized he was not their mother, and tried to get away
  • needles in chair, scorpion, died

4. Why Dog and Cat are Enemies

  • man and wife with ring of gold
  • sold the ring for a small sum
  • cat caught a mouse
  • dog swam with the cat
  • cat reached home before the dog and brought their masters the ring
  • dog grew angry at the cat

5. Yang Oerland

  • second daughter of the Ruler of Heaven came down to earth and became the wife of a mortal man named Yang
  • son, Oerland, was gifted
  • he could control 72 transformations

6. The Lady of the Moon

  • prince, Hou I, was a mighty hero and good archer
  • he was ordered by the emperor to shoot down 9 of the 10 suns
  • he was given the herb of immortality
  • but his wife ate some of it and reached the moon and has lived as the Lady of the Moon

7. The Girl with the Horse's Head or the Silkworm Goddess

  • one man went on a journey; only left his daughter and white stallion at home
  • she was lonely, and the horse ran away, saw the horse, and went back with it
  • she told the horse she'd marry him if he brought her father back
  • temples were built in her honor and sacrifices are offered to her during the silkworm season
(Image Information: placing silkworms on screens)

8. The God of War

  • Guan Di, was really named Guan Yu
  • three met in a peach orchard and swore to be brothers to one another
  • Guan Yu was faithful, honest, upright, and brave
  • Tsau Tsau was evil
  • in Guan Yu's death, he became a wise god who still did not understand fate

9. The Miserly Farmer

  • farmer carted pears to the market
  • an artisan saw the whole argument and bought a bear for the bonze
  • the pit rapidly grew
  • the farmer was angry and went after the bonze (priest)

10. The King of the Ants

  • scholar wandered to the Emmet village; found a beautiful house and hired it, even though it was said to be haunted
  • several hundred knights came galloping into his room one evening
  • they brought serving-men with cups and plates and curtains
  • he struck them with his book because he was angered 

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