Stories from a Ming Collection: The Art of the Chinese Storyteller

By Jessica Cage and Reese Ryan

Book Overview

The popularity of the Chinese storyteller goes back to the marketplace of the T'ang dynasty, but the familiar figure came into its own in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This selection of stories from Feng Menglong's collection, Stories Old and New (originally published in 1624), includes representative types of the storyteller's traditional art. The Pearl-Sewn Shirt is a cautionary romance describing the tragedy of a broken marriage; the heroic biography, which depicts a neglected man of high worth gradually receiving recognition, is represented by Wine and Dumplings; an authentic twelfth-century forerunner of the detective story is found in The Canary Murders. The other tales concern traffic in the supernatural, didactic admonitions to observe morality in sex and loyalty in friendship, and realistic accounts of the meanness and corruption of official life. Also includes The Lady Who Was a Beggar, The Journey of the Corpse, The Story of Wu Pao-an, and The Fairy's Rescue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802150314
• ISBN13: 9780802150318
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Delightful Collection

This is a delightful collection of six Chinese folktales. These span the range from historical tales to morality tales to outright fairytales. These tales come from the tradition of the streetside storytellers that populated the streets of old China. The streetside stories reflect the earthy nature of the people who listened to them as highlighted in the story "The Pearl-sewn Shirt", a tale of seduction and intrigue. Despite the earthy nature of the tales, there is always a moral ending to the story which leaves the reader with a sense that all is right in the world. I recommend this to those who would like to read tales from old China. These were created for the general public, so they are very entertaining and easy to read. I believe anyone would find these a pleasure to read.

Cyril Birch's excellent introduction to the San Yan

Compared to Dr. Birch's two main collections of Chinese literature, this work is smaller and more focused, but no less fun. Here he presents translations of works that appear in Feng Menglong's great collection. I've often heard complaints from peers when Chinese literature courses offer stories in translation, but it is a brilliant introduction that a student needs to propell him to further sinological pursuits; to learn language well enough so he can read the original. This work provides that source of inspiration well.