Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales Part B

 One story that I really liked was Retribution.  In the end, things turned out about how I expected.  I thought it was really neat how the story was told, though.  We see things unfold throughout the years through the eyes of Ma.  That being said, I found this story particularly interesting because Ma, besides witnessing accidents take place years apart, isn't necessarily the main character.  We instead get to see interactions between three different characters (though two different people, as one of them is reborn) as Ma sees it.  I like this concept; even a simple story could be special depending on how it's told.  This story broadened my perspective on storytelling in a way.  I hope to incorporate this style of story-telling at some point down the road! The Night on the Battlefield was another story that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I can't imagine what I would be thinking if I peeked into the next room and saw man getting taken apart.  Especially if I already had a feeling that something was unnatural, as the merchant did.  I am surprised the man decided to sleep until dawn, though I suppose he felt as though he had nowhere else to go.  Still, after witnessing something like that I think I may prefer to sleep outside as opposed to sleeping next to a zombie general.  It would be perplexing though--an unfamiliar army sharing the same inn as you and speaking of conquests that you had never heard about would be extremely bizarre.  The ending was fun :) Maybe not as fun for the merchant, who discovered that the inn he had stayed at was actually an old battlefield.  Was the whole set-up just a ghost hotel? I would be happy to be alive, if I was the merchant! Naturally, The Sorcerer of White Lotus Lodge stood out to me for its elements of fantasy.  Why would the pupils lie to a sorcerer! That does not seem like a very good plan hahaha! The sorcerer clearly doesn't put up with nonsense--turning your student to a pig and selling them to a butcher is savage! The ending is great as well--the sorcerer is always one step ahead.  I was surprised he let himself get caught in the first place!   

bibliography: The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

A beautiful picture of a white lotus flower.

source: commons