Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part B
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
The Little Hunting Dog
There once was a man who did not like to be surrounded by others. He moved into a temple, only to be plagued by gnats and fleas. One night, two knights on horses rode in, only they were two inches tall and their horses were the size of grasshoppers. They had hunting falcons and hunting dogs with them. The falcons ate the gnats and the dogs ate the fleas. When the knights left, they left one hunting dog, which stayed with the man until one day it died and became as flat as paper.
Fox-Fire
There was a young farmer walking home when he saw a glowing ball being tossed up and down. Moving towards it, he saw a fox blowing it up in the air. The farmer stole the ball, as it was the elixir of life, and swallowed it. Because of this, he was able to interact with the spirit world, call people out of comas, and see the dead. One day, after thirty years of earning money with this stolen gift, the now old man laid down to sleep. The fox found him and took back his gift.
The Talking Silver Foxes
There once was a fox who tried to trick a farmer. The farmer hit him with his whip. A few years later, the fox possessed a woman and resisted all attempts to remove him. The people sent for the farmer, who scared the fox away. The fox was eventually killed by an archer.
Retribution
There once was an old man who shoved a young man carrying water pails down a hill. The old man did not tell anyone what he had done, and the only witness was a young boy who did not tell anyone either. Everyone assumed the water carrier had fallen and hit his head. When that boy was grown, he saw the ghost of the water carrier going into a house and followed, only to find that the water carrier had been reborn into the son of a wealthy family. Eventually, the son threw a rock and hit the old man in the head. The son did not tell anyone, and everyone assumed the old man had fallen and hit his head.
The Night on the Battlefield
There once was a man who stumbled across an inn during a storm. He stayed there for the night, listening to soldiers tell stories of campaigns he had never heard of. He saw a general go into a room and come apart, essentially. In the morning, he woke on the ground. He ran to the nearest inn, where the innkeeper told him the neighborhood was full of old battlefields, and the dead often come back at night.
The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away
There once was a beautiful young maiden who was kidnapped by an ogre disguised as a handsome young man. The ogre trapped her on a mountain top and would not let her leave until she agreed to marry him. The maiden caught the attention of someone passing by, who recognized her. The maidens brother went looking, killed the ogre, and brought the maiden home.
The Flying Ogre
An ogre was disguised as a young girl wearing red, who ran into a monk. She told him there was a man chasing her and asked him not to tell the man he had seen her. The monk continued down the path and ran into a knight. The knight told him the truth, and the monk told him where the ogre was hiding. The knight killed the ogre.
The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge
There once was as sorcerer with great power, who turned one of his students into a pig and sold him to a butcher. The townspeople asked for help, and a thousand soldiers were sent to help. They took the sorcerer and his wife and son. They ran into a mountain spirit on the way back. The sorcerer said that his wife could defeat it, so they unchained his wife and gave her a spear. The spirit swallowed his wife. Then it was his son’s turn. The spirit swallowed his son. The sorcerer went next. The spirit swallowed him, and the townspeople realized they had been tricked.
The Three Evils
There was a man who caused trouble wherever he went. A new mandarin came to town and listened to the townspeople’s complaints of three evils—the dragon, the tiger, and Dschou Tschu himself. Dschou Tschu killed the first two evils and enlisted as a soldier. He gained a good reputation, and died fighting.
How the River God’s Wedding was Broken Off
The sorcerers and witches of a town were supposed to sacrifice a maiden to be the River God’s bride. The rich could bribe them to choose someone else. One day, Si-Men came into office and heard of this. He attended the next ‘wedding’ and cast two people into the river. The sorcerers and witches were quite frightened and swore to never sacrifice anyone ever again.
Yang Gui Fe
The Little Hunting Dog
There once was a man who did not like to be surrounded by others. He moved into a temple, only to be plagued by gnats and fleas. One night, two knights on horses rode in, only they were two inches tall and their horses were the size of grasshoppers. They had hunting falcons and hunting dogs with them. The falcons ate the gnats and the dogs ate the fleas. When the knights left, they left one hunting dog, which stayed with the man until one day it died and became as flat as paper.
Fox-Fire
There was a young farmer walking home when he saw a glowing ball being tossed up and down. Moving towards it, he saw a fox blowing it up in the air. The farmer stole the ball, as it was the elixir of life, and swallowed it. Because of this, he was able to interact with the spirit world, call people out of comas, and see the dead. One day, after thirty years of earning money with this stolen gift, the now old man laid down to sleep. The fox found him and took back his gift.
The Talking Silver Foxes
There once was a fox who tried to trick a farmer. The farmer hit him with his whip. A few years later, the fox possessed a woman and resisted all attempts to remove him. The people sent for the farmer, who scared the fox away. The fox was eventually killed by an archer.
Retribution
There once was an old man who shoved a young man carrying water pails down a hill. The old man did not tell anyone what he had done, and the only witness was a young boy who did not tell anyone either. Everyone assumed the water carrier had fallen and hit his head. When that boy was grown, he saw the ghost of the water carrier going into a house and followed, only to find that the water carrier had been reborn into the son of a wealthy family. Eventually, the son threw a rock and hit the old man in the head. The son did not tell anyone, and everyone assumed the old man had fallen and hit his head.
The Night on the Battlefield
There once was a man who stumbled across an inn during a storm. He stayed there for the night, listening to soldiers tell stories of campaigns he had never heard of. He saw a general go into a room and come apart, essentially. In the morning, he woke on the ground. He ran to the nearest inn, where the innkeeper told him the neighborhood was full of old battlefields, and the dead often come back at night.
The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away
There once was a beautiful young maiden who was kidnapped by an ogre disguised as a handsome young man. The ogre trapped her on a mountain top and would not let her leave until she agreed to marry him. The maiden caught the attention of someone passing by, who recognized her. The maidens brother went looking, killed the ogre, and brought the maiden home.
The Flying Ogre
An ogre was disguised as a young girl wearing red, who ran into a monk. She told him there was a man chasing her and asked him not to tell the man he had seen her. The monk continued down the path and ran into a knight. The knight told him the truth, and the monk told him where the ogre was hiding. The knight killed the ogre.
The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge
There once was as sorcerer with great power, who turned one of his students into a pig and sold him to a butcher. The townspeople asked for help, and a thousand soldiers were sent to help. They took the sorcerer and his wife and son. They ran into a mountain spirit on the way back. The sorcerer said that his wife could defeat it, so they unchained his wife and gave her a spear. The spirit swallowed his wife. Then it was his son’s turn. The spirit swallowed his son. The sorcerer went next. The spirit swallowed him, and the townspeople realized they had been tricked.
The Three Evils
There was a man who caused trouble wherever he went. A new mandarin came to town and listened to the townspeople’s complaints of three evils—the dragon, the tiger, and Dschou Tschu himself. Dschou Tschu killed the first two evils and enlisted as a soldier. He gained a good reputation, and died fighting.
How the River God’s Wedding was Broken Off
The sorcerers and witches of a town were supposed to sacrifice a maiden to be the River God’s bride. The rich could bribe them to choose someone else. One day, Si-Men came into office and heard of this. He attended the next ‘wedding’ and cast two people into the river. The sorcerers and witches were quite frightened and swore to never sacrifice anyone ever again.
Yang Gui Fe
Yang Gui Fe was the favored wife of the emperor. She invited her cousin, who was a gambler and a drinker, to court. Because of this, the people revolted and the emperor was forced to flee. The emperor’s people killed the cousin, and eventually Yang Gui Fe. The emperor sent for Yang Shi Wu, who could speak to the dead. Yang Shi Wu found Yang Gui Fe in the blessed realms, and she told him she was a blessed sky fairy and the emperor was blessed as well. She gave Yang Shi Wu her half of the ring the emperor had broken in two, and told Yang Shi Wu to tell the emperor they would see each other in twelve years. The emperor saw that Yang Shi Wu was telling the truth and rewarded him.
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