When the eldest son fell in the well and most of the time getting help was spent pronouncing the name of the one in trouble, the Chinese, according to legend, decided to give all their children short names.

"Winston Chu saves the owner of a curiosities shop from a robbery only to be gifted a broomstick and a dustpan for his trouble--items that turn out to be more a curse than a blessing when they sweep away important stuff, like his baby sister."--

"Twin siblings journey through the City of Ashes and visit the Jade Rabbit to save their grandpa in this Chinese folklore-inspired fantasy adventure"--

The six stories in this captivating collection, published in 1887, are retellings of classical Chinese myths and legends. In his preface, Hearn writes that he "sought especially for 'weird beauty' in these phantom tales." Among those included are "The Soul of the Great Bell," the story of a young girl's sacrifice for the creation of the Emperor's sublime bell; "The Story of Ming-Y," a phantom tale about a young man's love for a woman long-dead, as...

When her ailing father is conscripted to fight invaders from the north, Mulan dresses as a man to take his place in the army. Chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling, they cross the Great Wall to face the enemy beyond. An old enemy and an attraction for her troop's commander complicate her mission. -- adapted from jacket

A collection of fables about the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Sung, a brave man who is not afraid of ghosts, meets one on a dark road and tricks it into revealing its secret weakness.

When the emperor is imprisoned in a high tower, his smallest daughter, whom he has always ignored, uses her kite to save him.

Relates how the Jade Emperor chose twelve animals to represent the years in his calendar. Also discusses the Chinese calendar, zodiac, the qualities associated with each animal, and what animal rules the year in which the reader was born.