Donia Zhang
Chinese fables are originally folktales of oral creations that were very popular in the Spring and Autumn (770‒476 BCE) and the Warring States (475‒221 BCE) periods. Many Chinese fables are from the works of Chinese philosophers of the pre-Qin (before 221 BCE) era, and many Chinese tales are collected from the books of Chinese historians, most of which have been extracted and crystallized into Chinese idioms or phrases. These selected 180 Chinese fables and folktales are from various historical records and classical sources arranged in pinyin alphabetical order. They are commonly used in everyday Chinese language (written and spoken) and form the bedrock of Chinese culture. During the translation, many stories were found to have different modern versions from different sources. Therefore, selecting and synthesizing the sources were necessary to create a more comprehensive translation. Like the Christian parables in the Holy Bible, the Chinese fables and folktales aim to admonish and enlighten people as they can reflect on the meaning of life while reading them and embrace them to increase their knowledge and wisdom. This bilingual edition with original Chinese texts can help Westerners learn the Chinese characters while they attempt to deepen their understanding of these short stories.
