13 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 286 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 286 pagesAbout this book
What if the stranger at the inn belongs to a world you cannot see?
The Chinese Fairy Book, gathered by Richard Wilhelm, brings together tales from China's oral and written traditions. Fox spirits, ghosts and immortals share the world with poor scholars, clever youths and officials who are less wise than they think. A traveller stops at an inn; a student reads in an empty house. The ordinary moment opens onto something strange.
The collection moves from spirits living beside people to dragon kings ruling rivers, lakes and seas. Kindness and cleverness matter: generosity, honesty or loyalty can bring unexpected help, while wit gives a humble youth a way to face stronger rivals. These short, plainly told stories move quickly, leaving their lessons for you to discover rather than spelling everything out.
What you’ll discover
- Spirits close to home Follow familiar paths where a chance meeting may bring help or harm.
- The fox spirit's disguises Meet a shape-changing being who may appear as a lovely woman or an old man.
- Rulers of hidden realms Encounter dragon kings who command rain and flood, and mountain sages who offer lessons.
- Wit against strength Watch humble young people rely on cleverness when their rivals hold wealth or power.
- Small tales, quiet lessons Discover brief stories where strange events invite you to think about kindness and loyalty.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy myths and fairy tales from around the world, stories of dragons, ghosts, and magic, and clever heroines.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Small choices carry real consequences
- Clever words can overturn appearances
- The heavens explain earthly experience
- Devotion can raise people to gods
- Lasting life belongs to those who release
- Good fortune can conceal a test
- Courtesy reaches beyond the visible world
- Courage needs wisdom and kindness
- Power still needs a humble heart
Who’s who
- Sun Wu KungA stone ape born on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits who learns magic, seeks eternal life, and challenges even Heaven.
- NotschaA wild, powerful boy born as a ball of flesh, who fights dragons and later takes a new body from lotus plants.
- Li DsingA general of Heaven and father of Notscha, called the Pagoda-bearing King of Heaven, who wants peace with his unruly son.
- Little Golden DaughterThe beggar king's clever daughter, who loves a scholar husband and then must deal with his heartless ambition.
- MosuA poor scholar who marries into a beggar king's family and wants to hide his low in-laws once he becomes a mandarin.
- Du Dsi TschunA spendthrift who receives copper coins three times from an old man and then must keep silent through terrible trials.
- Old DragonbeardA mysterious swordsman with a curling mustache who meets Li Dsing and the fan-bearer and has a great goal of his own.
- Liu IA young scholar who carries a dragon princess's letter to her father at the Sea of Dungting.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Chinese Fairy Book in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Chinese Fairy Book
by Richard Wilhelm (editor) · 1914
A stone ape crosses a waterfall, and a giant bird takes a farmer to an island of gold and silver.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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“Moderation protects you from harm.”
In short
What happens when a giant Roc offers a farmer all the gold he can carry, and the farmer's greedy brother will not leave while the sun climbs? The first tale answers at once, and it sets the tone for all that follows.
The Chinese Fairy Book at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 10 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 88,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1914by Richard Wilhelm (editor)
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Greed costs more than it gains
The opening nursery tales share one lesson. Taking too much can lose you what you already have. In the first tale, two brothers live in one house. The older listens to his wife, and she boils the seed grain she gives the younger brother. One grain stays raw and grows.
The younger brother waters that single shoot until it bears an ear of millet big enough to shade half an acre. A Roc carries him across the sea to an island of gold and silver. He pockets a few small pieces, and the bird tells him that moderation protects you from harm. He goes home and lives well. The jealous older brother copies every step, but on the island he cannot stop. He fills his arms and asks the Roc to wait again and again, while the sun climbs. What the sun does to him is left for the reader to find.
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- Paperback
- Light and easy to carry. A real book for the bedside table and the beach.
- Hardcover
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- Bigger, clearer type. Easy on the eyes for long evenings and for reading aloud.
- Large print hardcover
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A stone ape crosses a waterfall, and a giant bird takes a farmer to an island of gold and silver.
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Details
- First published
- 1914
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 286 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 286 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 452 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 452 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Wed 2 Dec to Tue 8 Decto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
The Chinese Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chinese-fairy-book.
The Chinese fairy book. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chinese-fairy-book (Original work published 1914)
The Chinese Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chinese-fairy-book.
@book{anonymous2026chinese,
title = {The Chinese Fairy Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chinese-fairy-book},
note = {First published 1914}
}
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What is The Chinese Fairy Book about?
It collects seventy-four Chinese tales, from short nursery stories to legends of gods, immortals, dragons, ghosts, swordsmen, and loving couples. Many of them carry a clear lesson about greed, loyalty, kindness, or cleverness.
Who is Sun Wu Kung?
Sun Wu Kung is the stone ape of the final tale. He is born from a rock on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, learns seventy-two transformations, and uses a magic iron rod to challenge Heaven itself.
Who are the Eight Immortals?
They are eight Taoist figures, including Dschung Li Kuan, Li Tia Guai with his iron crutch, and the peasant girl Ho Sian Gu. Their accounts describe unusual lives and magical powers, though some origins remain unknown.
The author
Richard Wilhelm
Editor
Editor.
“Moderation protects you from harm.”
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