Cloud Weavers
Ancient Chinese Legends
By Rena Krasno and Yeng-Fong Chiang

$22.95

This unique collection of 23 legends and myths from China will introduce young readers to magic monkeys, goddesses and immortals, heroines and patriots, poets and philosophers. These stories have entertained and educated many generations of Chinese children and provide today’s readers a window to China's traditional values and beliefs.

The first four stories are ancient legends about deities whose behavior and actions affected the world and the lives of humans. They relate ideas from very ancient times. Next are eight stories that reflect China’s three great traditions of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Following are nine tales from history about real people still admired by the Chinese people. The last two stories are excerpts from tales that became the basis for two of China’s best-loved novels.

China’s legends reflect the dreams, history, and values of the Chinese people. And they link today with the past. Many of these tales are more than a thousand years old, but they are still popular today. In China, depictions of legendary characters are printed on greeting cards and calendars, carved on door and window frames, and painted on vases. Children learn these stories in school, and through comic books and cartoons. Legends are often the basis for plays and operas. The Moon Maiden, Monkey King, and other characters advertise products on television.

The illustrations are from rare advertising posters of the 1920s and 1930s in the collection of Yeng-Fong Chiang. .

Hardcover, 96 pages, full color, index, Chart of China's Dynasties, 2003, ISBN 1-881896-26-9, LC 2002035911
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Author Rena Krasno, was born and educated in China and moved to Israel in 1949. A simultaneous translator, she has lived and worked in Japan, Germany, Korea, the Philippines, and the United States. She now works to preserve the history of Shanghai's Jewish and European communities, through writing, collecting archival materials and lecturing in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Her previous books include Strangers Always: A Jewish Family in Wartime Shanghai, Kneeling Carabao and Dancing Giants: Celebrating Filipino Festivals, That Last Glorious Summer: 1939, Shanghai--Japan, and Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines: Celebrating Japanese Festivals. E-mail Rena Krasno at rena@renakrasno.com

Author Yeng-Fong Chiang was born in China, grew up in Taiwan, and received her M.A. in mathematics from John Hopkins University. She studied art history at the Fine Arts Academy in Beijing. An authority on popular Chinese commercial art, her previous publications include the classic Chinese Calendar Posters (in Chinese) and several children's books (in Chinese). She lives with her family in Northern California, writes for the World Journal (in Chinese), and continues to develop her extensive poster collection. E-mail Yeng-Fong Chiang at yfbooks@hotmail.com.
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This welcome book opens a window through which the reader views a fascinating culture—one whose depiction of heroes, both heavenly and mortal, offers guidelines for living without a semblance of preachy morality. Education and family loyalty meld with tales of adventure and virtue rewarded. Word descriptions of exquisite sights and sounds echo the elegant and exotic posters illustrating each story.

—Ruth Carleton, Educator


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