Classics for kids
My Favourite Chinese Stories by Pamela Youde, Chinese University Press, $210 PAMELA Youde, the wife of Hong Kong's former governor, Edward Youde, is steeped in Chinese culture, having studied it and spent many years living and working in China before she moved to Government House.
She now shares her knowledge by retelling three classic Chinese stories for young readers aged 12 and over. Each is illustrated by Lo King-man, the director of the Academy for Performing Arts.
Most Chinese people will know these popular stories. Youde offers English-speaking children the chance to enjoy this important heritage too. The stories are easy to read and packed with the mix of fantasy and adventure that is typical of all mythology.
The book begins with 'The Great Archer and the Moon Goddess', a Chinese myth about the sun and moon. The Supreme God sends the immortal archer to Earth to quell his rebellious Sun Children who are burning the world. But the god is furious when the archer has to kill nine of the 10 suns to accomplish his task. He metes out punishment by removing the archer and his wife's immortality. She then selfishly drinks an elixir which makes her a goddess again but also leaves her residing in icy loneliness on the moon.
The two other stories come from Wu Chengen's Xiyou Ji, or The Journey to the West, written more than 400 years ago.
In 'The Dragon King It Was That Died', the Emperor Tang Taizong travels to hell and back. 'Monkey Borrows the Palm Leaf Fan' is based on the pilgrimage of the monk Xuan Zhuang to India to receive the Buddhist scriptures. On the way, the magical Monkey has to find a way to quell the fires of the Flaming Mountain that must be crossed.
The stories are entertaining enough but would have been more interesting if they had an introduction about their background and place in Chinese culture.
