Chinese Folk Tales

Long, long ago, in the forests of the northern hills, there lived a most remarkable talking bird. People came here from all directions with the hope of possessing it. Even though they all left empty-handed, more people arrived to try their luck.

There was once a young man named Wang who had admired Taoists since he was a little boy. One day he heard that there were immortals on Mt. Laoshan. Hoping to meet at least one of them, Wang bade farewell to his wife and headed for that holy site. Arriving at the top of Mt. Laoshan, Wang saw a secluded temple inside which sat a wise looking old priest.

It’s a beautiful sunny day along the banks of the Zhanghe River. Thousands of people have gathered for the grand wedding ceremony that’s about to be held. The bride will be put on the raft which will glide down the river for hours until it finally sinks. What a horrible idea! But wait to hear it out on this episode of Chinese Folk Tales.

There is said to be a Crabapple Tree that grows in the center of the Jade Dragon Lake in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

A long time ago, there was a poor boy named Yan Ran. When he was very small, disease and hunger took his parents.

There once was a miserly landlord known as Skinflint. To him, the smallest coin was like a fortune. He never felt he had enough money.

Long long ago, the Zhuang ethnic people in southern China knew there was a sun in the sky and all creatures on earth could not live without it. But at that particular time, the Zhuangs were completely denied sunlight. The place they lived in was wrapped in absolute darkness and devoid of warmth.

In ancient China, the hours were announced with huge drums which were housed in so-called drum towers. In Beijing, a bell tower was added in the 15th century. At first, a large iron bell was used. But it wasn’t satisfactory, so the emperor ordered a larger one to be cast.

Many years ago, there lived a beautiful princess who had a magic mirror. It enabled her to see everything, anywhere in any direction she wanted. The princess has decided that whoever wanted to marry her must first find a place to hide for three days.

On the plains of western Sichuan Province, there is a river that has 24 sandbars. This episode tells you how those shoals were formed.