Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part B

Another set of reading notes for this week, now Part B!


Bibliography: All readings are from the Chinese Fairy Tales unit in the Un-Textbook. Notes regard stories from The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).


I'll be focusing on starting a story for this set of notes. Starting story is sometimes the hardest part, and it might be really helpful to consider how other writers have started their stories in these Chinese fairy tales.

The first story I read, The Little Hunting Dog, had an enjoyable start: "ONCE upon a time, in the city of Shansi, there lived a scholar who found the company of others too noisy for him. So he made his home in a Buddhist temple." This start engaged me instantly. I think a lot of us can relate to the feeling of being worn out by people and just wanting some peace and quite at times! This man withdraws from the busy world of society and creates his home in a tranquil setting, a temple. This start gives readers a good introduction to the character as well.

       Chinese Buddhist monastery. Gouache painting by a Chinese artist, ca. 1850. Source: Wikimedia

The next story that had a start that really grabbed my attention was The Night on the Battlefield. It began like this: "ONCE upon a time there was a merchant who was wandering toward Shantung with his wares, along the road from the South. At about the second watch of the night, a heavy storm blew up from the North." I enjoyed how it introduces a "wandering" character, on a road. Classic start! And then a problem quickly emerges: a storm. There is already an interesting character and potential for trouble. I liked the framing here.


Another story from the unit, The Flying Ogre, began like this: "THERE once lived in Sianfu an old Buddhist monk, who loved to wander in lonely places." This is a great character description. Some of the most captivating introductions are not detailed descriptions of the setting, but rather descriptions of a central character. The phrase "loved to wander in lonely places" stuck out as especially interesing and nostalgia-inducing.


These fairy tales had some excellent starts! The idea of beginning a story with character descriptions instead of just setting is an element I hope to work into my own tales.