The Ch'i-Lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories

By Linda Fang

Book Overview

A Storytelling World magazine award winner, a delightful collection for children as well as adults.

In turns funny, poignant, and wise, these nine lively stories are peopled with an array of unusual characters, including a young woman raised as a boy who is then faced with the complicated business of marriage; a carp-fish spirit who changes herself into a young woman for love's sake; a Miracle Doctor who can cure all illnesses except one; and a shopkeeper who learns the hard way the true meaning of justice.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374411891
• ISBN13: 9780374411893
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Square Fish
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Disappointing

Guided by the cover(. "Never judge a book ..."), and the description, I assumed( again, not wise) that this would be a beautifully illustrated children's book of "Ancient Chinese Stories". It is a children's book, but only in terms that it is written on, possibly, a 3rd grade level. It is more of a guided reading, with a provided glossary to explain certain specific, possibly unfamiliar phrasing. This is, unfortunately, a rather pedantic textbook, complete with guided questions about plot, inference, conclusions, etc. As a former teacher, I cannot imagine using this with a class of children. As a grandmother of a curious and bookloving 5year old, this fails for us as a fun or beautiful reading experience. The exquisite cover picture is belied by the poorly rendered black and white photo copies inside the covers. The language of the stories themselves, seems appropriate and involves enough speech and detail for children to experience the story, if you could ever convince them to open the book! I am so disappointed in the presentation that I will not even show her the book. We have spent many delightful hours, reading and rereading stories of faraway cultures and historic times, but sadly, this will not be one of them. All of the joy and delight has been sucked out of these tales by the seemingly intentionally oppressive(?) presentation.

Excellent collection of Chinese folktales

This collection is fantastic for reading to children, or for letting middle-schoolers read. It give a clear, readable form of each story, including Chinese terms to keep the Chinese flavor. I really loved it- and so do my little guys!

Awesome short stories w/ many helpful guides at end of book!

I certainly agree with the mother who is letting her adopted child know about her heritage, and I too can not wait for my daughter to be old enough to hear these short stories. My favorites where Dog Steals & Rooster Crows, Clever Magistrate and Mr . Yeh's New Year. Also what I would like to tell all readers is to be aware of the pronounciation guide, Glossary and the Source Guide as you read each story. They will help you with Chinese words you are unfamiliar with.

A wonderful book for youngster

This book was given to my son as a Christmas gift last year and he didn't bother to read it at first. But once he started he couldn't put it down! The stories are very interesting and a Chinese friend told me these are the authentic Chinese stories, unlike some that were Americanized, she herself heard of these stories when she grew up. Absolutely a good book for young adults.

How to celebrate a childs heritage.

As the mother of a daughter adopted from China I struggle with keeping her background alive in her day to day life. This is just one of many books I read to her at night to celebrate her homeland. Its very well written and easy to understand. She was adopted at three, so often she corrects my pronunciation, and it warms my heart !! I recomend this book to all families of chinese adoptees.

I really enjoy this book.

This book is wonderful. It is a collection of Chinese folktales, as told by Linda Fang, a Chinese story teller. The stories are interesting and thought provoking. The main characters are varied. One is a doctor, one is a clever ambassador, one is a woman who had been disguised as a man, one is a rich woman who falls on hard times, etc. The plots of the stories are as varied as the characters. I recommend this book to anyone.