The Ancient Man

The Chinese Fairy Book

Chinese

Once upon a time there was a man named Huang An. He

must have been well over eighty and yet he looked like a
youth. He lived on cinnabar and wore no clothing. Even in
winter he went about without garments. He sat on a
tortoise three feet long. Once he was asked: “About how
old might this tortoise be?” He answered: “When Fu Hi first
invented fish-nets and eel-pots he caught this tortoise and
gave it to me. And since then I have worn its shield quite
flat sitting on it. The creature dreads the radiance of the
sun and moon, so it only sticks its head out of its shell
once in two thousand years. Since I have had the beast, it
has already stuck its head out five times.” With these
words he took his tortoise on his back and went off. And
the legend arose that this man was ten thousand years
old.
Note: Cinnabar is frequently used in the preparation of the
elixir of life (comp. No. 30). Fu Hi is “the life-breeding
breath.” Tortoises live to a great age.
 The Fox and the Raven
The Chinese Fairy Book
Chinese

The fox knows how to flatter, and how to play many

cunning tricks. Once upon a time he saw a raven, who
alighted on a tree with a piece of meat in his beak. The fox
seated himself beneath the tree, looked up at him, and
began to praise him.
“Your color,” he began, “is pure black. This proves to me
that you possess all the wisdom of Laotzse, who knows
how to shroud his learning in darkness. The manner in
which you manage to feed your mother shows that your
filial affection equals that which the Master Dsong had for
his parents. Your voice is rough and strong. It proves that
you have the courage with which King Hiang once drove
his foes to flight by the mere sound of his voice. In truth,
you are the king of birds!”
The raven, hearing this, was filled with joy and said: “I
thank you! I thank you!”
And before he knew it, the meat fell to earth from his
opened beak.
The fox caught it up, devoured it and then said, laughing:
“Make note of this, my dear sir: if some one praises you
without occasion, he is sure to have a reason for doing
so.”
Note: Traditionally narrated, it may be taken for granted
that this is simply Æsop’s fable in Chinese dress. The
manner of presentation is characteristically Chinese. For
“the wisdom of Laotzse” compare, p. 30, “The Ancient’s
Book of Wisdom and Life”: “Who sees his light, yet dwells
in darkness.” Master Dsong was King Dsi’s most faithful
pupil, renowned for his piety. The raven is known in China
as “the bird of filial love,” for it is said that the young
ravens bring forth the food they have eaten from their
beaks again, in order to feed the old birds.
Sun Wukong, (The Monkey King) is a monkey born from a heavenly stone who acquires
supernatural powers. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain
for 500 years, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to India. Thus,
according to legend, Buddhism is brought to ancient China. This much beloved story, is as
much a part of Asian culture as The Iliad and The Odyssey or The Wizard of Oz are to the
West. This first installment in a trilogy of live action 3-D movies is actually a prequel to The
Journey To The West, the much told story of the Monkey Kings adventures on the road to
India. The Monkey King: Havoc In The Heavenly Palace will be released in the U.S. as The
Monkey King. The first movie is the origins story -- beginning with the birth of Sun Wukong
and ending with his imprisonment for his crimes under the Five-Peaked Mountain. Along the
way he acquires incredible powers, battling the armies of the gods and the armies of the
demons to find his rightful place in the Heavens. It is a classic story of the scorned
underdog who acquires great abilities but uses them recklessly and ultimately must pay a
huge price to find redemption. The Monkey King captures the drama, beauty, humor and
fantastic action of the folk legend and brings it to the screen in a way never before possible.