Chinese Myths - From Cosmology And Folklore To Gods And Monsters by Xueting C Ni
Publisher – Amber
Published – Out Now
Price – £24.99 hardback
Chinese mythology has been passed down in written and oral form over many millennia, emerging from a range of cultural traditions that often have their origins in Daoism and Buddhist religion. At times merging history and folklore, Chinese myths are rich in symbolism and teach us about the complexities of an ancient culture that stretches back more than 4000 years. <br />In this book, learn about Pangu, the creator being, who sprang from an egg after the forces of yin and yang emerged out of a formless chaos; or Hou Yi, the greatest archer of all time who shot down nine of the ten suns; or Fuzanglong, the treasure dragons, who are said to live underground guarding massive hoards of gold and jewels; or the mad monk Ji Gong, a man of great appetites who used his supernatural abilities to seek justice for the poor; and enjoy the adventures of the short-tempered, super-human Monkey King, who after being defeated by the Bodhisattva Guanyin, gains modesty and becomes a disciple of the monk Tank Sanzang.
Illustrated with 120 photographs and artworks, Chinese Myths is an accessible, entertaining and highly informative exploration of the fascinating mythology underlying one of the world’s oldest and most influential cultures.
I don’t know about you but while I was always looking for SF and fantasy books I also in my local library found the mythology section fascinating. Tales of gods, folk tales and I can see no way this at all influenced my future reading choices…ahem. Now I know many of those glossed over the legends and the problematic aspects (we’ll call them Zeus). But the world is full of legends and in Xueting C Ni’s interesting nonfiction collection Chinese Myths - From Cosmology and Folklore to Gods and Immortals we get a fascinating set of insights into a vast and ancient and intriguingly evolving mythology I can see myself returning to again and again.
For this book the exploration focuses initially on the core beliefs underpinning the wider book. We get an explanation of the Dao and a variety of creation myths. Always fascinating to explore the commonalities and differences between so many other cultures to explore what is a common human experience. The way nature is linked – rainfall, mountains and the core elements are often key. We also get exploration of how over time characters evolved moving from amore non-human appearance to more human-like figures in art and sculpture. Its also worth noting the lengthy timescales this happens over which is fascinating. This myth is also evolving not just with many types of unusual creatures such as dragons and giant turtles but also real life figures whose life becomes legends and myths such as The Eight Immortals who may be based on real people but also Laozi the famous scholar and philosopher. It’s a giant interlinked mythology that also seeks to create its own sense of order and structure.
We do get one of my favourite Tricksters The Monkey King explored and what I really enjoyed was how the book provides succinct history and commentary on each one. Often a little story told to give us a sense of how the characters, objects or creature gets used and what they also represent to society in the past and even now. We get exploration of heroes, ghosts and monsters and all in a clear order ad we et to see how these interlink into wider beliefs – plus there is a lot of gorgeous artwork or real life statues and objects to enjoy.
Its always interesting, gives a very helpful insight into the history that develops the mythology and feels a book I can see myself coming back to Well worth a look for mythology fans!
