The Columbia anthology of Chinese folk and popular literature

Preface . . xiii
Acknowledgments . . xv
Chinese Units of Measure . . xvii

"I Sit Here and Sing for You": The Oral Literature of China . . 1

1. Folk Stories and Other Spoken Traditions . . 13
A Ginseng Tale from Jilin . . 16
A Folk Story of the Daur . . 20
Folk Stories from the Tai Lue of Sipsongpanna . . 29
A Folk Story in "Funeral Lament Lyrics" of the Luo People, Yunnan . . 39
A Story from the Nuosu of Sichuan . . 43
Tales of Dragons . . 48
A Mosuo Story from Lake Lugu . . 53
A Story of the Pumi of Yunnan . . 56
Folk Stories of the Uyghur . . 58
A Tu Folk Story . . 65
A Tale of the Amis . . 69
Stories of Tu Ritual . . 75
A Namzi Tale . . 81
Namzi Riddles . . 83
Tibetan Flirting Words and Tongue Twisters . . 84

2. Folk Song Traditions . . 90
Flower Songs from Northwestern China . . 93
Kazakh Marriage Songs of Lament and Sorrow . . 100
Qing Dynasty Mountain Songs . . 115
Folk Songs from Jiangsu Province . . 124
Saltwater Songs of Hong Kong . . 145
Songs of the Mindong She People . . 148
Mountain Songs from Liuzhou, Guangxi (Interethnic) . . 158
A Sani Ballad . . 166
Two Folk Songs of the Dong (Gaem) People . . 169
Songs of the Tu . . 174
Mountain Songs . . 174
Folk Song . . 177

3. Folk Ritual . . 179
A Chaoxian Lunar New Year Exorcism Ritual . . 182
Manchu Shaman Songs from Northeastern China . . 184
A Wa Soul-Calling Chant . . 190
A Lahu Marriage Prayer . . 193
Yi Chants from Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan . . 198
A Nuosu Myth from Sichuan . . 203

4. The Epic Traditions . . 213
An Excerpt from the Epic Geser Khan . . 216
Introductory Cantos from the Mongol Epic Jangar . . 222
A Daur Ballad . . 232
Selections from a Yi Epic . . 236
A Tradition-Oriented Yao Creation Epic . . 244
Two Miao (Hmong) Song Flowers . . 276

5. Folk Drama . . 279
Hand-Puppet Theater . . 282
A Postmidnight Shadow Play from Shaanxi . . 288
A Rice-Planting Drama . . 295
A Local Drama from Shaoxing . . 303

6. Professional Story telling Traditions of the North and South . . 309
Northern Prosimetric . . 314
A Medley Song from Northern China . . 314
An Anonymous Work from the Tune Book of the Manor House of Lord Che . . 326
An Oral-Connected Drum Song from the Tune Book of the Manor House of Lord Che . . 353
"The Precious Scroll of Chenxiang" . . 380
A Peking Drum Song . . 406
A Peking Drum Song . . 413
An Excerpt from journey to the West in Fast Bamboo Clapper-Tale Style . . 420
Two Shandong Fast Tales . . 429
Two Versions of "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" from the Yangzhou Pinghua Tradition . . 433
Southern Prosimetric . . 472
Hangzhou Storytelling and Songs . . 472
Jingjiang "Telling Scriptures" from the San Mao Precious Scrolls . . 479
An Eighteenth-Century Version of "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" from Suzhou . . 503
An Excerpt from a "Women's Chantefable" . . 552
A Suzhou Chantefable Opening Ballad . . 563
A Suzhou Chantefable Classic from Pearl Pagoda . . 565
A Suzhou Chantefable from the 1950s . . 585
A Wooden-Fish Song . . 604
An Excerpt from a Great Volumes Script of the Bai People, Yunnan . . 609
An Excerpt from a Great Volumes Script of the Bai People, Yunnan . . 614

Further Reading . . 619
Contributors and Translators . . 627