Chinese Folk Tales

We all know about the Big Bang Theory, but to say that our world was created from a big explosion sounds a bit too catastrophic for the taste of the ancient Chinese. So how did the world start the Chinese way? We will have to start with the giant named Pan Gu.

A million, a billion or maybe a gazillion years ago, a giant hacked open an egg. Then there was the sky, the earth, and the world as we know……Welcome to season 2 of Chinese Folk Tales and we will explore the ancient mystical world together, available in September.

Today we have a story from the Tibetan people who live in southwest China. Once upon a time, there lived three men who all had the same name, Ganjier. One was the tribal chief, one a carpenter, and the other the chief steward.

The Tibetans have a special festival called Linka. It begins on May 15 and last several days. During this period, people leave their homes and stay in the countryside. Once, a group of people went to celebrate Linka in a very beautiful villa. It was located in an out-of-the-way area. The group included an aristocrat, an official, a merchant and a landlord. There was also a cook and four servants.

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?