Tales of China (9780804856737)

Lose yourself in the bewitching world of Chinese stories from long ago…

This unique collection of traditional Chinese stories conjures a bygone world where fairies, spirits, ghosts and witches inhabit everyday life. Gorgeously illustrated with specially commissioned artwork by award-winning Chinese artist Ailun Jiang, this handsome hardcover volume makes a perfect gift or collector's item.

The nineteen tales in this book are by Canadian author Michael David Kwan, Qing Dynasty master storyteller Pu Songling, and the early Western curators of supernatural tales Lafcadio Hearn and Frances Carpenter, among others. The stories include:

• The Fox Fairy's Wedding: A young man spends the night in a dilapidated mansion and attends the wedding of mysterious fox fairies
• The Fisher's Tale: A spirit tries to gain eternal peace by tricking a fisherman into drowning but cannot bring himself to commit the deed
• The Tale of the Porcelain God: A potter hurls himself into his furnace to create the perfect vase demanded by the emperor
• A Night on the Battlefield: A traveling merchant visits a ghostly inn on an ancient battlefield where a company of ghost soldiers are staying
• Plus fifteen other enchanted tales

About the Author:
Ailun Jiang was born in Nanjing and moved to Germany in 2014 to continue his study of art at Berlin-Weissensee Art Academy. He has exhibited his work in Germany, Austria, Italy and China and has served as a jury member for the Japan Illustration Award in 2021. He is the winner of numerous awards for graphic design and illustration.

Michael David Kwan (1934-2001) was born in Beijing and spent his later life in Vancouver. He was a translator of Chinese literature and the author of plays, memoirs and The Chinese Storyteller's Book.

Pu Songling (1640-1715) spent the bulk of his life working as a private tutor and collecting the stories later published to great acclaim as Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.

Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930) spent a quarter century in China as a missionary and translator. He is the author of Chinese Fairy Tales and Legends.

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was one of the earliest English-language writers to publish stories about the supernatural in Japan and China. His books include Some Chinese Ghosts as well as In Ghostly Japan and Kwaidan.

Frances Carpenter (1890-1972) traveled widely and collected folktales from around the world, including those in Tales of a Chinese Grandmother.