Overview

Chinese myths were primarily a diffuse and fragmentary oral tradition, eventually preserved in writing only in a piecemeal fashion. Many classical texts are unavailable in translation, and the stories have been unknown to Western readers. Anne Birrell here introduces the general reader to a selection of narratives organized by themes and motifs that help set Chinese myths in the context of world mythology. The contents include: Origin and creation myths Myths of the flood The divine cosmos Gender in myth Metamorphoses Mythic heroes and heroines Fabled plants and animals Major sources of myth

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