China · Folktales and oral traditions
Dashed lines show parallels. Direction is shown where a source documents the transfer.
The map stays centred on the selected country. You can zoom or open a tale’s records. Pins show written records, editions and places associated with the tales. Locations are approximate. Natural Earth
China
- Tales
- 5
- Dated records
- 5
- Tales linked to multiple countries
- 2
Counts reflect the Atlas catalogue. A link may represent a recording, a publication or an association with a local tradition.
The China page brings together two kinds of sources. The Cave of the Beasts can be read from start to finish in its 1921 English edition. The Gesar record documents a performance tradition in which storytellers choose episodes from a long epic and alternate prose and verse. One preserves a text and the other describes a way of telling.
Tales in the Atlas
Cinderella
9th century · Duan Chengshi · Ye Xian
The Cave of the Beasts
1921 · Richard Wilhelm / Frederick H. Martens · The Chinese Fairy Book
The Epic of King Gesar
2009 · UNESCO · Gesar epic tradition · 4.COM 13.14
The Ballad of Mulan
c. 5th–6th century · Ode of Mulan · Asia for Educators, Columbia University
A-Ma and the Rescue at Sea
2009 · UNESCO · Mazu belief and customs · 4.COM 13.18
Tales found across countries
| Tales | Countries and regions |
|---|---|
| Cinderella | China Italy France Germany United Kingdom Bulgaria United States Serbia |
| A-Ma and the Rescue at Sea | China Macao SAR China |