Tales of the Taoist Immortals

Asa girl growing up in Hong Kong, Eva Wong heard and memorized many tales told toher by Hong Kong's finest professional storytellers, by actors on the radio,and by her grandmother. These popular tales of the Taoist immortals were alsooften dramatized in Chinese operas.

Thestories are of famous characters in Chinese history and myth: a hero's battlewith the lords of evil, the founder of the Ming dynasty's treacherous betrayalof his friends, a young girl who saves her town by imitating rooster calls.Entertaining and often provocative, these tales usually include a moral. Theimmortals are role models in Chinese culture, as well as examples ofenlightenment. Some of the immortals were healers, some were social activists,some were aristocrats, and some were entrepreneurs. The tales chosen by EvaWong here are of the best-known immortals among the Chinese. Their names arehousehold words and their stories are told and retold by one generation to thenext.