Handbook of Chinese Mythology cover

Handbook of Chinese Mythology

by Lihui Yang

Compiled from ancient and scattered texts and based on revelatory new research, Handbook of Chinese Mythology is the most comprehensive English-language work on the subject ever written from an exclusively Chinese perspective.||This work focuses on the Han Chinese people but ranges across the full ethnic spectrum of ancient and modern China, showing how key myths endured and evolved over time. A quick reference section covers all major deities, spirits, and demigods, as well as important places (Kunlun Mountain), mythical animals and plants (the crow with three feet; Fusang tree), and appurtenances (Xirangoa kind of mythical soil; Bu Si Yaoomythical medicine for long life). No other work captures so well what Chinese mythology means to the people who lived and continue to live their lives by it.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?