Chinese Folk Tales

Once upon a time, there lived two close friends who always did things together. When one of them unfortunately died from a serious illness, the other was so sad that he soon died, too. Then they transformed to a phoenix with two heads, one green and the other yellow.

One day, a Buddhist monk and a Taoist priest met in a tea house and started chatting. Each boasted of his own exploits and looked down on the others. The monk held that the soul of the dead goes west, while the Taoist priest insisted that it goes east to the sun.

A long time ago, hunchback granddaddy lived alone near a winding river. He planted dozens of banana trees on the banks of the river. Since he had no children of his own, he tended the trees as if they were his children.

The story happened a long time ago in the village near the Zu Li River. A boy named Golden Chisel has saved his village with the help of a magic stone ram. But how did the boy get the ram? And what kind of magic did this stone ram have?

Zhong Kui is a legendary figure who defeats ghosts. In the old days, people in China used to hang a picture of Zhong Kui in their homes during the Dragon Boat Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The picture of Zhong Kui was supposed to ward off evil spirits. But who was Zhong Kui, and why did people believe he could get rid of ghosts?

Once, there was a rich landlord called Pepper Peel who was very mean to his farm hands. This can be seen from one example. Zhao Da had toiled like a beast for Pepper Peel for more than 10 years without ever getting enough to eat. One day, Zhao Da fell seriously ill.

A long, long time ago, old mother Li and her husband lived in a remote village near a large river. They had a daughter whose skin was as white as goose feathers and whose eyes were so bright they looked like twinkling stars.

Bao Zheng was a historic figure who lived during the Song Dynasty about 1,000 years ago. He was known for his fairness and courage. There are many stories about this upright official who always defended the innocent. This story titled Chen Shimei is one of them.

In this episode of Chinese Folk Tales, you’ll hear more stories about the witty and humorous Effendi Nasreddin who has been a folk hero of the Uyghur people in northwest China.

Effendi Nasreddin long has been a folk hero of the Uyghur people in northwest China. Many tales have been told about this witty and humorous fellow and how he outsmarts the stupid and greedy upper class.