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Author
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Comment
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ManWithNoName
Registered User
(7/9/06 12:25 am)
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Bridge of Birds
Good day!
What an interesting discussion forum! I found this place by accident
but love what I have seen of it. Anyway, I have a question. Any
folks interested in Chinese folklore/myth? I just finished a fine
novel called [i]Bridge of Birds[/i] by Barry Hughart. It is subtitled
"A Novel of Ancient China that Never Was" but I wonder
how true that is? Anyone read it? Can anyone comment on any of the
myths in the story?
It was a wonderful blend of mystery, adventure and just good old storytelling. It starts out as a mystery and the narrator (who is one of two main characters) tells us that all the kids in his village of a certain age (like 9-14 or something like that) fall simultaneously into a coma. He is sent to procure the services of a Wise Personage with the village's only money. He finds a cranky old man who is described, by the character himself, as "having a flaw in his character." The book follows the exploits of these two as they travel the length of China to find the secrets.
It contains a lot around the history and mythology of gingeng roots. THE gingeng root, actually. It has a lot of stories about celestial beings like the Star shepherd who ushers the stars on their way. Lots of little stories blend into it.
So I wondered if anyone on here, with an intense interest in fairy tales and such, may know much about this novel and what in it pertains to Chinese folklore and what is the author's fancy. He is certainly a westerner who showed a great interested in the east when he traveled there in the Navy but it would be cool to know how close it is to Chinese fairy tales.
Thanks! If folks haven't read it, I can't recommend it enough.
Thanks!
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pinkolaestes
Registered User
(7/25/06 7:45 pm)
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Re: Bridge of Birds
hello there
Attar el AlDinn/ Din's work from medieval Persia is very reminiscent of the long travel, also with a motif of birds, but they are the main characters rather than human beings. There are a lot of books on Chinese mythos and tales that you can delve into to find the answers to your research questions. Start anywhere ... and go to Gale Authors' Biographies too and look up the author of this book you love. I personally am unfamiliar with it, but. I feel certain your research will help you to answer your questions.
With kindest regards,
cpe
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pinkolaestes
Registered User
(7/25/06 11:40 pm)
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Re: Bridge of Birds
sorry, I should have put a comma after Attar and a forward slash between el and Al. His names are Farid al-Din Attar, sometimes it is spelled el-dinn.
again, and the same,
cpe
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