Together with the noted Tang dynasty tales, Song dynasty tales have long been highly valued and widely read in the Chinese world. As the first English translations of a selected collection of 12 Song dynasty tales, this book opens a window into the world of literature, culture, and the colorful lives of the royal house and common people in the 10th- to 13th-centuries. In addition to the translation and meticulous annotations, it offers a general introduction as well as commentaries on each tale.

"Temjuin the Tiger is the Terror of the East. He's wrought a trail of destruction and fine dining from Mongolia right up to the gates of the Grand Imperial Palace in China! But Princess Precious is pretty awful as well, with a talent for tantrums and an ear-piercing scream! Watch what happens when two irresistible forces collide in this latest funny and fabulous Chinese Calendar Tale!"--P. [4] of cover.

Take a journey to the Far East in these twenty-four clever and concise tales from China that are sure to amuse, enlighten, and entertain. Fables, parables, and jokes spanning the last two thousand years come together to create a tribute to the age-old tradition of storytelling. Whether enjoyed piecemeal or read all in one sitting, this delectable collection is a treasure to be savored. Book jacket.

IN a beautiful distant kingdom, in which the sun never goes down on its everlasting green gardens, ruled, from the beginning of time even to the present day, Queen Phantasie. With full hands, she used to distribute the abundance of her blessings among her subjects. She did this for many hundreds of years, and was beloved and respected by all who knew her. The heart of the Queen, however, was too great to allow her to stop at her own land with her charities. One day a messenger brought her news of a place called Earth. There she heard that men lived there; who passed their lives in sorrowful seriousness, in the midst of care and toil. In the royal attire of her everlasting youth and beauty, the Queen descended upon the earth. Unto these she sent the finest gifts from her kingdom, and ever since the beauteous Queen came through the fields of earth, men were merry at their labours, and happy in their seriousness. Her children, she also sent forth to bring happiness to all mankind. ….and so the scene is set for the stories and tales in the Oriental Story Book. Herein you will find the Oriental tales of: The Caravan The History Of Caliph Stork The History Of The Spectre Ship The Hewn Off Hand Fatima’s Deliverance Little Muck The False Prince A great read for children. Not to be missed - Download your copy NOW! 10% of the publisher’s profit is donated to charities. ============== KEYWORD/TAGS: oriental story book, books for children, Folklore, Fairy Tales, myths, legends, children’s stories, storyteller, fables, lore, Adventure, Action, Caliph, Captain, Caravan, castle, chamber, city, classic fairy tales, cloak, companion, companions, cottage, dagger, dark, earth, eastern, fairytales, far, Fatima, Florence, forgotten stories, fortune, garment, gold, Grand Vizier, great, happiness, Happy ever after, heart, horses, journey, joy, King, Labakan, Little Brother, Little Muck, lord, orient, oriental, mantle, Märchen, merchants, Mighty, mountains, Muley, Mustapha, old fashioned, Omar, Orbasan, palace, physician, poor beggar, prince, Prophet, Queen, Quin, return, rivers, royal, sea, Selim, ship, ship, slaves, strange, stranger, sultan, sultana, tailor, tales, Thiuli, Zaleukos,

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Compiled during the Song dynasty (960-1279) at the behest of Emperor Taizong, the Taiping Guangji anthologized thousands of pages of unofficial histories, accounts, and minor stories from the Tang dynasty (618-907). The twenty-two tales translated in this volume, many appearing for the first time in English, reveal the dynamism and diversity of society in Tang China. A lengthy Introduction as well as introductions to each selection further illuminate the social and historical contexts within which these narratives unfold. This collection offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in medieval Chinese history, religion, or everyday life.