Chinese Fairy Tales

Lü BoyouThe Commercial Press · ChinaOct 2021

3.4

Word count: 49K words
Chapters: 24

Summary

A selection of fairy tales from the Republic of China era, gathering ancient legends popular at the time, including "The Zhongshan Wolf," "Yellow Stone," "The Ant King," "Peach Blossom Spring," "The Pear Taoist," "Wuyi Lane," "The Tomb of the Three Kings," and others—twenty-three tales in all.

Editor's review

This Republican-era fairy tale collection brings together twenty-three pieces, including "The Zhongshan Wolf," "Yellow Stone," "The Ant King," "Peach Blossom Spring," "The Pear Taoist," "Wuyi Lane," and "The Tomb of the Three Kings," drawn from ancient legends popular at the time and weaving tales of the strange, immortal lore, local customs, and the reward of good and punishment of evil into short stories. Unlike invented fairy tales, it serves more as a window onto how early twentieth-century editors adapted ancient legends into texts suitable for children, with both selection and narrative voice bearing the marks of their era. The pieces are short and the plots clear, suited to casual reading and to use as material for understanding the circulation of folk tales and early children's literature. As you read, note which motifs recur in later storybooks; that sense of familiarity is the vitality of legend made visible.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in ancient legends and folk tales, as light reading
Researchers of Republican-era children's literature and reader compilation, as browsing material
Upper primary school students and above, encountering traditional motifs through short stories
General readers who enjoy classical imagery like "Peach Blossom Spring" and want adapted versions

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, continuous narratives and find short-story collections disjointed
Very young children; some pieces contain tales of the strange and require parental selection and explanation

Reading tips

Start with familiar pieces like "Peach Blossom Spring" and "The Zhongshan Wolf," then expand to unfamiliar stories.
As you read, note differences from versions heard today and record the changes.
Read two or three pieces at a time, leaving intervals between them to avoid confusing plots.
When reading tales of the strange with children, have an adult narrate first, then discuss the moral the story conveys.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

The Commercial Press is a publisher known for classic works and academic publishing, with titles spanning Eastern philosophy, foreign literature, world history, social culture, and applied psychology. Its list includes classical commentaries such as Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Analects and Wang Bi's Commentary on the Zhouyi, as well as modern annotated translations like Zhuangzi with Modern Notes and Translation. In foreign literature it offers War and Peace and Crime and Punishment, while in world history it carries Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Applied psychology is represented by Irvin D. Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy, and ethical texts include a Greek-Chinese-English edition of the Nicomachean Ethics. Its authors and translators include Zhu Xi, Wang Bi, Yalom, Braudel, and translators such as Huang Zheng, Zhang Yiling, Shen Dongyu, and Tang Jialong, balancing the editing of original texts with academic translation.

版权信息
中山狼
黄石
蚂蚁王
桃花源
梨道人
乌衣巷
三王墓
潘扆的把戏
蟋蟀
商人的猫
作祟的大蛇
崂山上的道士
紫荆树
旁竾
枕中的世界
义狗的故事
长须国
洞庭红
老虎儿子
竹叶船
隋侯珠
银鱼的来历
泥马渡江

FAQ

Are these stories original to the editor or adapted from ancient legends?

According to the title and introduction, this is a Republican-era fairy tale collection gathering ancient legends popular at the time; it is an arrangement and adaptation of traditional material rather than original fairy tales in the modern sense, which is why it reads with the familiarity of folk tales.

What age of child are the twenty-three stories suitable for?

Pieces with simpler plots can be attempted independently by middle primary school children; those containing tales of the strange or more obscure morals are better for older children or read with a parent. Overall it suits children who already have some reading patience.

How does it differ from common Chinese fairy tale anthologies today?

It preserves the Republican-era eye for selection and narrative voice; most pieces come from ancient legends, and the language bears traces of the old style. Readers can see how early children's literature told traditional stories, and reading it alongside contemporary anthologies is all the more interesting.

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About the author

Lü Boyou Author · Chinese

Lü Boyou was a modern Chinese editor, educator and children's literature writer from Zhejiang, and a student of Li Shutong. He worked as an editor at Zhonghua Book Company, edited children's periodicals such as Children's World and Little Friend, and wrote An Introduction to Children's Literature, giving him a representative place in the history of children's literature theory and criticism in twentieth-century China. Public information on his life, including birth and death dates, is limited. Judging from the works held here, his writing was aimed at children and general readers and drew largely on myth, ancient history and classical fables: he produced readable surveys such as Ancient Myths and Talks on Ancient History, and also retold traditional stories in fairy-tale form in Chinese Fairy Tales and Fairy Tales from Han Feizi. Overall, he was skilled at turning classical texts and legends into plain, accessible narratives that combined information with interest, and his editorial and creative work helped promote children's publishing and the popularization of folk literature in his time.