The Chinese Wonder Book. Norman Hinsdale Pitman

The Chinese Wonder Book - Norman Hinsdale Pitman


Скачать книгу

      

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      Copyright © 2011 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data in Progress

      ISBN: 978-1-4629-0866-0 (ebook)

      Distributed by

      North America, Latin America & Europe

       Tuttle Publishing

       364 Innovation Drive

       North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436 U.S.A.

       Tel: 1 (802) 773-8930

       Fax: 1 (802) 773-6993

       [email protected]

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      Japan

       Tuttle Publishing

       Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor 5-4-12 Osaki

       Shinagawa-ku

       Tokyo 141 0032

       Tel: (81) 3 5437-0171

       Fax: (81) 3 5437-0755

       [email protected]

       www.tuttle.co.jp

      Asia Pacific

       Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.

       61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12

       Singapore 534167

       Tel: (65) 6280-1330

       Fax: (65) 6280-6290

       [email protected]

       www.periplus.com

      First edition

       15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Printed in Singapore

      TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

      CONTENTS

FOREWORD 4
THE GOLDEN BEETLE OR WHY THE DOG HATES THE CAT 8
THE GREAT BELL 16
THE STRANGE TAILE OF DOCTOR DOG 23
HOW FOOTBINDING STARTED 29
THE TALKING FISH 35
BAMBOO AND THE TURTLE 43
THE MAD GOOSE AND THE TIGER FOREST 50
THE NODDING TIGER 57
THE PRINCESS GUANYIN 63
THE TWO JUGGLERS 68
THE PHANTOM VESSEL 73
THE WOODEN TABLET 78
THE GOLDEN NUGGET 63
THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT SCOLD 86
LUSAN, DAUGHTER OF HEAVEN 91

      FOREWORD

      BY SYLVIA LI-CHUN LIN

      My mother was a wonderful storyteller. On summer evenings, when it was too hot to stay indoors, my sisters and I would hose down our cement front yard with cool water. Then, after dinner, we would spread straw mats on the ground, bring out a chair for our mother and a tin of coiled mosquito incense, and lie on the mats, looking at the twinkling stars as my mother told us many of her stories. One of her favorite stories was called The Gentleman Snake, a Chinese version of the Beauty and the Beast. Whenever we asked her to tell this story, she would first say that we’d heard it so many times that our ears were probably filled up with it. But then she would slowly wave her palm leaf fan and begin the story, complete with interruptions—silly questions and comments—from us:

      “A long, long time ago, there was a merchant who had three daughters. One day he was going on a business trip and asked what they wanted him to bring back. The first two wanted beautiful clothes and fancy jewelry, while the youngest one asked for nothing but the first pretty flower he saw on his way home.

      [“Mom, why does the youngest daughter want only a flower?” I asked.

      “Because she likes flowers.”]

      “The merchant finished his business in the city and found the gifts for his first two daughters before setting out for home. But he did not see any flowers, let alone a pretty one. Just when he was despairing over the likelihood that he would have to disappoint his favorite daughter, he saw a great mansion encircled by a high, red-brick wall, over which the most beautiful flower he’d ever seen was hanging.

      [“Mom, what kind of flower was it?” I asked.

      “I don’t know.”

      “Was it a rose?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “What does it matter? Why can’t you just listen to the story?” one of my sisters said.]

      “He ran over and picked the flower, and


Скачать книгу