Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: Asian Units

Showing posts with label Asian Units. Show all posts

Myth-Folklore Unit: Japanese Mythology

Overview. This unit includes stories from The Romance of Old Japan about the gods Izanagi and Izanami and their children: the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother Susanowo. You will see what happened when Amaterasu withdrew her light from the world, and you will also read about the death of Izanami and how Izanagi ventured into the land of the dead, hoping to rescue her. The unit includes tales of the progeny of the gods also, such as Ninigi, who brought the sacred Jewels, Sword, and Mirror of heaven down to the earth, and his sons, the rivalrous brothers Prince Fire-Fade and Prince Fire-Flame who quarreled over a magical fishhook. There are hero legends, too, such as the story of Yamato, his devoted wife Tacibana, and the sea goddess Benten who brought such grief into their lives. You will also meet the great Empress Jingu who, transformed by the goddess Amaterasu into an indomitable warrior, captured the Jewel of Heart's Desire and brought it back to Japan in triumph.

Language. Most of these stories are retellings in modern English prose, although there are also a few stories here which are told in verse, and there are some translation of Japanese poetry included in the prose stories.

Story Length. Most of these are two-page stories, with a first set of stories being about the primordial gods and goddess, and then a second set of stories about the hero Yamato. There are also several famous legends at the end of the unit.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Japanese Mythology. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

(Susa-no-wo and the Serpent)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

Overview. These Japanese fairy tales retold by Andrew Lang focus on the adventures of the tanuki, a shape-shifting trickster sometimes called a "raccoon dog" in English, along with other magical creatures such as a supernatural sparrow (although she is not really a sparrow after all!), and the cat demons who dread the dog named Schippeitaro. There are love stories too, like the Japanese Cinderella-type story of "The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet," along with a very sweet love story about two devoted cats. Finally, you will read about the adventures of Urashimataro who rides on the back of a giant turtle into the depths of the sea and falls in love with the lovely princess Otohime, daughter of Ringu, the god of the sea.

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. These are all single-page stories, but on the long side, so there are only twelve of them.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang).

Free audiobooks available:

Violet - Crimson - Pink

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

Overview. Yei Theodora Ozaki, as you can guess from her name, was of mixed heritage: her mother was English, and her father was Japanese. She grew up in England and later moved back to Japan, making her an ideal person to retell these Japanese Fairy Tales for an English audience. This unit contains such famous stories as Kintaro, the super-strong "golden boy" and future samurai, along with tales of warriors who battle supernatural monsters such as the "Goblin of Adachigahara" or the "Ogre of Rashomon." There is also the lovely story of Princess Hase who endures her stepmother's cruelty with great bravery, along with the tale of the virtuous Tawara Toda and the origin of his name, which means "My Lord Bag of Rice" or "Rice-Bag Toda."

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. These are all multi-page stories, mostly three or four pages in length, for a total of six different stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki). Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(Hase temple)

Myth-Folklore Unit: The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung

Overview. Sun Wu Kung, the "Monkey King," is one of the most famous characters in Chinese folklore and literature. In the first part of this unit (taken from Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book), you will read about the Monkey King's miraculous birth, his training as a magician and warrior, and then his audacious rebellion against heaven — so audacious that only the intervention of the Buddha himself is able to put a stop to Sun's antics. Then, at the end of the unit, there is a synopsis of the classic Chinese novel known in English as "The Journey to the West" (from Wikipedia and Werner's Myths and Legends of China) which provides a quick summary of Sun's later adventures, culminating in a well-earned enlightenment when Sun himself becomes a Buddha at last.

Language. This book consists of a retelling of the story of the Monkey King, not a direct translations of the ancient Chinese text, so the language used should not cause any difficulties.

Story Length. This is a single continuous story about the Monkey King, so make sure you will be able to do both parts of the reading to get the full story.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: The Monkey King. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

(The Monkey King, by Yoshitoshi)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Chinese Fairy Tales

Overview. In this selection of stories from Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book, you will find fairy tales (some that end happily ever after, and some not so), animal legends (including the reason "why the dog and cat are enemies"), plus many stories of magic and the supernatural, including a legend about a ghostly general and a haunted battlefield, as well as tales of flying ogres and shape-shifting demons. You will meet the heavenly hero Yang Oerlang, along with Guan Yu, the god of war, and other heavenly beings such as the "Silkworm Goddess." There are talking silver foxes, too, including the story of a farmer who was bold enough to steal the fox-fire, the elixir of life itself breathed out by one of these mythical creatures.

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. These are all single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Chinese Fairy Tales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

Myth-Folklore Unit: Tibetan Folk Tales

Overview. These Tibetan Folk Tales were collected by Albert Shelton, a doctor and explorer who lived in Tibet for two decades in the early 20th century; he died there in 1922, and his wife published this book in 1925 based on his notes. You will find Buddhist legends here, along with traditional stories of Tibetan gods and goddesses, as well as magicians and wonder-workers. There are stories of ghosts and demons, plus many animal stories, including animal tricksters like the frog who is able to trick a tiger, or the rabbit who is able to trick a lion. There are fairy-tale stories, too, along with stories of human drama, both comical and tragic. Each of the stories is prefaced by a Tibetan proverb, and there are lovely illustrations for many of the stories, as you can see here in the first story when the frog confronts the tiger.

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. These are all single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Tibetan Folk Tales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

The Tiger and the Frog.
The Cony Who Got into Bad Company.
The Story of the Donkey and the Rock.
How the Fox Fell a Victim to His Own Deceit.
The Ingratitude of Man.
Covetousness.
The Wise Carpenter.
The Story of Drashup and the Goddesses.
The Man and the Ghost.
The Story of the Two Devils.

READING B:

How the Rabbit Killed the Lion.
The Story of the Three Hunters.
How the Raven Saved the Hunter.
The Golden Squash.
The Man with Five Friends with Different Colored Eyes.
The Story of the Violinist.
How the Sacred Duck Got His Yellow Breast.
The Two Little Cats.
How the Wolf, the Fox and the Rabbit Committed a Crime.
A Rabbit Story.
The Man and the Monkeys.

Myth-Folklore Unit: Folklore of Laos

Overview. Laos is located in southeast Asia, bordered by China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar (Burma). It is a tiny country, not much bigger than Kansas in size, but it has a marvelous storytelling tradition as you will discover in this selection of stories from Fleeson's Laos Folk-Lore. There are Buddhist stories here, along with legends of native Laotian spirit-beings. You will find love stories and other tales of human drama (some that end happily, while others end sadly), plus legends of gods and giants, wizards and wise men, and delightful origin stories that explain why rice grains are so small, where lightning comes from, how the elephant got its funny-looking lips, and why parrots just repeat what they hear, not daring to say what they are really thinking!

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. These are all single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Folklore of Laos. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

(rice fields in Laos)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Filipino Popular Tales

Overview. These stories come from Dean Fansler's monumental Filipino Popular Tales, published in 1921. In addition to the actual stories, Fansler's book contains numerous story variations and detailed comparative notes, tracing the migration of these stories through the different native cultures of the Philippines while also identifying connections to different Asian and European storytelling traditions. So, if you are interested in folklore studies, this is a great unit to choose, and it's also a great unit to choose if you just want to read some wonderful and unfamiliar fairy tales, animal legends, and all kinds of origin stories, including why mosquitoes hum, why the sun is brighter than the moon, and why your thumb sits apart from the other fingers on your hand!

Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.

Story Length. These are all single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Filipino Popular Tales. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

READING A:

READING B:

(Tagalog couple, 16th-century codex)

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