once upon a time in a certain place there lived three men who all had the same name — Genjia. One was the tribal chief, the second a carpenter, and the third the chief’s steward.
Category: Chinese Folktales
Mr.Chang and the Yellow Robe
Each day Mr. Chang went about his business dressed in his plain colored clothes, black hat and black shoes. One day he decided he was tired of looking like everyone else and wanted to dress in bright beautiful colors.
Yeh-Shen, a Cinderella Story
During the time of the Qin and Han dynasties, a cave chief named Wu married two wives and each gave birth to baby girls. Before long Chief Wu and one wife died leaving one baby, Yeh-Shen, to be reared by her stepmother.
A Chinese Creation and Flood Myth
The Miao Chinese have no written records, but they have many legends in verse, which they learn to repeat and sing. The Hei Miao (or Black Miao, so called from their dark chocolate-colored clothes) treasures poetical legends of the creation and of a deluge. These are composed in lines of five syllables, in stanzas of unequal length, one interrogative and one responsive. They are sung or recited by two persons or two groups at feasts and festivals, often by a group of youths and a group of maidens. The legend of the creation commences:
The Golden Reed Pipe – A Yao Folktale
once upon a time there lived in the mountains a woman and her daughter. The daughter liked to dress in red. And her name is Little Red.
Legends of Spring Festival
Spring Festival is also called Guo Nian in Chinese. Guo means pass over and the Nian or "Year" in Chinese refers to a mythical beast that will bring bad luck.
Ximu Spider – Happiness Dropped from Heaven
Spiders were called "ximu" (meaning "happy insects") in ancient China. Even in today’s folk culture, spiders are believed to bring
Manas – The Heroic Epic of Khalkhas
Manas is a heroic epic of Khalkhas and one of the three major heroic epics in China. Manas is a famous hero and leader in the legend of Khalkhas and the incarnation of prowess, bravery and wisdom. This epic eulogizes the story that hero Manas and his seven future generations led Khalkhas people to fight with intruders and evil forces for freedom and happiness. It reflects Khalkhas’ bravery, chivalry, unswerving national spirit and character.
Larenbu and Jimensuo – A Love Epic of the Tu Minority
Larenbu and Jimensuo is a long folk poem of the Tu minority. It is the most popular and influential epic of the Tu minority, and can be compared to the Tu version of Butterfly Lovers (Liangshanbo and Zhuyingtai). With more than 300 lines, the epic tells a tragic love story. It is composed and sung in the Tu dialect, and has been orally passed down among the mass. It is still an active oral literature. The long poem, with deep and tragic tune as well as beautiful and touching lines, recounts the pure love of Larenbu and Jimensuo and their yearning for freedom and happiness.
Folklores of Guyuyan
A small town named Eerjiegou near the estuary of Liaohe River has served as the foothold and colony of a special fishing group – "Guyuyan" – for all ages. Fishers belonging to the group have no fishing capacity at high seas. They have to migrate along the coast like migratory birds, catching fish and shrimp on mudflats and epeiric seas close to the estuary. They are called "Guyuyan" by common people living near the estuary of Liaohe River, due to the unlocated primitive means of subsistence (fishing) they have succeeded to. Over the thousands of migrating years, they have experienced crudeness of the nature and created the precious and profoundly-connoted Yuyan culture.
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