Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Part A
I didn't like the idea behind the first story. Someone shouldn't be born doomed. I also noticed a plot hole. If the beggar/emperor had endless good luck, how could his wife die? This would surely be bad luck for him. She was good and faithful, but then died. I would rewrite this with the wife living on with her husband due to his good luck.
If I were the little girls from the next story, I would not have returned home with my father. What kind of parent leaves their children alone in the mountains because they ate something intended for themselves? The mother is the one who gave the eggs away anyways. The children didn't steal them. I would rewrite this with the father accidentally losing the children and searching for them tirelessly once he realized they were gone.
I really loved the way that each piece from this story fit together. At first, it felt like it had gone off on a tangent with the children crying. Then, it became clear that the plot had a purpose. I could see myself creating a similar story with pieces that fit perfectly together in the end. However, my protagonist would cleverly plot this out instead of it all happening by chance.
I like the way the sun story described why the portulacca plant and rainworm react the way they do to the sun. It would be interesting to write something similar for animals that roam during the day and those that roam at night. Maybe the sun and moon would have a battle and the animals who chose the moon could only come out at night.
I enjoyed the amount of detail put into describing the setting on the moon. I wanted to go there myself. It would be fun to put my own spin on the wonderful description of the moon land.
In the story of the god of war, it found it very interesting that he was so well respected in life as well as death. I could create a story on a smaller scale, but not the same as this god/king. It would be very difficult for a character to gain such respect.
The story of the pears was basically about karma. The farmer was selfish, so he ended up with nothing. It would not be hard to do something similar
The last story of this section reminded me a bit of "The Nutcracker." If I wrote on this, I might extend the story. The fire failed to kill all of the ants and they rebuild their forces to attack the scholar. He would awake in the middle of the night under siege.
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, link to the reading online.
If I were the little girls from the next story, I would not have returned home with my father. What kind of parent leaves their children alone in the mountains because they ate something intended for themselves? The mother is the one who gave the eggs away anyways. The children didn't steal them. I would rewrite this with the father accidentally losing the children and searching for them tirelessly once he realized they were gone.
I really loved the way that each piece from this story fit together. At first, it felt like it had gone off on a tangent with the children crying. Then, it became clear that the plot had a purpose. I could see myself creating a similar story with pieces that fit perfectly together in the end. However, my protagonist would cleverly plot this out instead of it all happening by chance.
I like the way the sun story described why the portulacca plant and rainworm react the way they do to the sun. It would be interesting to write something similar for animals that roam during the day and those that roam at night. Maybe the sun and moon would have a battle and the animals who chose the moon could only come out at night.
(Image Information: Sun and Moon
Source: Flickr)
I enjoyed the amount of detail put into describing the setting on the moon. I wanted to go there myself. It would be fun to put my own spin on the wonderful description of the moon land.
In the story of the god of war, it found it very interesting that he was so well respected in life as well as death. I could create a story on a smaller scale, but not the same as this god/king. It would be very difficult for a character to gain such respect.
The story of the pears was basically about karma. The farmer was selfish, so he ended up with nothing. It would not be hard to do something similar
The last story of this section reminded me a bit of "The Nutcracker." If I wrote on this, I might extend the story. The fire failed to kill all of the ants and they rebuild their forces to attack the scholar. He would awake in the middle of the night under siege.
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens, link to the reading online.
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