The Demon King and Other Festival Folktales of China

by Carolyn Han

The festival folktales in this collection take readers of all ages on a fascinating journey to the remote villages of the Dai, Xizang, Miao, and Hani, four minority groups of southwest China. In addition to the Han (ethnic Chinese) majority, 55 national minority groups live within China's borders, each with its own language, beliefs, festivals, and folktales. The delightful and entertaining legends behind the Dai Water Splashing Festival, the Xizang...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824817079
• ISBN13: 9780824817077
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.4" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 7 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 2 and higher

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Tales from Chinese Minority Cultures

We are so used to thinking of China as a single Han culture that we forget the existence of other cultures, such as the Tibetans (Xizang), Diao, Miao, and Hani -- not to mention the Islamic peoples of the far west. When I read SOUL MOUNTAIN, I received my first education in the subject.Now I have received quite by chance this children's book from University of Hawaii Press. Upon looking at it, I was drawn in by the excellent illustrations and started reading. I can't speak for what a child would think (and I don't have one to act as a guinea pig), but I loved it. The book consists of four folk tales, each from a minority culture. After each tale is a description of how it has given birth to a festival, and how that festival is celebrated today. In a society such as ours which has so little understanding of other cultures, this would be a particularly painless way of introducing children to a wider, more colorful, and fascinating world. My congratulations to Carolyn and Jay Han and the excellent illustrator Li Ji.