Chinese Folk Tales

Ling Dang was the name of a poor boy who lost his mother when he was only five. Seven years later, his father also died. His stepmother, very much fond of her own son, Bao Dan, treated Ling Dang badly. Fortunately, the two brothers themselves loved each other. Whenever Ling Dang was in trouble, Bao Dan would lend a hand. But that further annoyed the stepmother who reacted by being more cruel to Ling Dang.

On the grasslands of northwestern China, there lived a girl named Ageyisha and her old father. The poor family’s only possession was an ancient cow that no longer produced milk. One day, the father planned to sell a bunch of firewood for five coins so he loaded his cow and drove it to the market.

In old China, when a new county magistrate took office, it was customary for him to do three good deeds to win the support of the local people. In this episode, we have the story of one magistrate who handled matters a little differently. This new court official issued the unusual order that three men be arrested: A quick-tempered man, a lazy slowpoke and a con artist.

Meet the clever farmer Fan Qiangshan who is hero of wisdom and courage among the Miao people of southwest China.

Once there was a farmer whose name was Fan Qiangshan. He worked for a landlord. Every day he got up at dawn and returned from the fields at dusk. He was very hard-working but was given only the poorest kind of food.

The Zhuang people of China have a festival called “the third day of the third month.” The Zhuang celebrate it by holding song fests in the mountains near their villages. They also wait for the arrival of Third Sister Liu. Who is Third Sister Liu?

Many years ago, there lived an excellent hunter and trapper. He was kind and gentle and was always ready to share what he caught with others. He was loved and respected by everybody in his village. One day he was out hunting in the forest. Suddenly a cry for help came from above him. Looking up. He saw a crane is getting by with a little white snake in its claws.

The princess' husband was left with nothing after exchanging his scarf for a horse, the horse for a goat, the goat for a duck and the duck for a whetstone, which he had also lost while trying to catch some wild ducks to give to his wife.

The king of an ancient land was puzzled because a white swan flying about his palace seemed to be calling to him. He sent two courtiers to determine the meaning of the phenomenon. “Give me a satisfactory answer in three days,” the king said, “or you will be killed.” The two men racked their brains for two days and two nights without success.

Long, long ago, herdsmen of the grasslands were often forced to suffer through harsh winters. After weeks of violent storms, thick snows covered everything. There will be no firewood. There would be no food for the animals. Many lambs and calves froze to death, if they were not killed by hunger. All these, people said, were the work of the snow demon living at the foot of the QiLian Mountains. To save the grasslands, a young man called Mola volunteered to go to the Sun God for help.