ABC-CLIO Handbook of Chinese Mythology (World Mythology)

Review ABC-CLIO's wonderful handbooks on world mythology offer in-depth explorations linking traditional cultural myths to insights on behavior and ideals. . . . Handbook of Chinese Mythology is an essential reference for any high school to college-level collection with a Chinese studies program.-- "Midwest Book Review"Information about Chinese mythology has been limited by language and access to primary sources. This volume attempts to fill a gap by providing a resource written in English by Chinese mythologists. . . . The authors' credibility and in-depth scholarship offer a rare opportunity to experience Chinese mythology through Chinese eyes.-- "Booklist"Overall, The Handbook of Chinese Mythology is an important and interesting work that will appeal to popular audiences. . . . [I]t is a significant contribution to the study of mythology, folklore, and East Asia.-- "Journal of Folklore Research" Product Description An informative work of historical and contemporary Chinese myths, including a useful collection of historical documents, detailing myths as they live and change in China today.Compiled from ancient and scattered texts and based on revelatory new research, Handbook of Chinese Mythology is the most comprehensive English-language work on the subject ever written from an exclusively Chinese perspective.This work focuses on the Han Chinese people but ranges across the full ethnic spectrum of ancient and modern China, showing how key myths endured and evolved over time. A quick reference section covers all major deities, spirits, and demigods, as well as important places (Kunlun Mountain), mythical animals and plants (the crow with three feet; Fusang tree), and appurtenances (Xirang―a kind of mythical soil; Bu Si Yao―mythical medicine for long life). No other work captures so well what Chinese mythology means to the people who lived and continue to live their lives by it.Primary source documents include translations of important historical records on Chinese myths, excerpts from national sources collected since the 1980s (unique to an English-language book), plus contemporary research from the authors' field research and the research of other Chinese scholars30–40 illustrations from the Ming dynasty edition of Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), plus 10–15 photos from the authors' personal collections and field research, including the new statue built in honor of Nuwa in northern China, people gathered at a contemporary temple fair, women dancers at the Renzu Temple, and more About the Author Lihui Yang, PhD, is associate professor of folklore and mythology at the College of Chinese Language and Culture at Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.Deming An, PhD, is associate professor of folklore at the Institute of Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China.Jessica Anderson Turner is a PhD candidate in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.