The cloak of dreams : Chinese fairy tales / Bela Balazs; translated and introduced by Jack Zipes; illustrated by Mariette Lydis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Balázs, Béla, 1884-1949.

Contributor:

Zipes, Jack, 1937-

Series:

Oddly modern fairy tales.

Oddly modern fairy tales

Standardized Title:

Mantel der Träume. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tales--China.

Tales.

Fairy tales--China.

Fairy tales.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (167 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A man is changed into a flea and must bring his future parents together in order to become human again. A woman convinces a river god to cure her sick son, but the remedy has mixed consequences. A young man must choose whether to be close to his wife's soul or body. And two deaf mutes transcend their physical existence in the garden of dreams. Strange and fantastical, these fairy tales of Béla Balázs (1884-1949), Hungarian writer, film critic, and famous librettist of Bluebeard's Castle, reflect his profound interest in friendship, alienation, and Taoist philosophy. Translated and introduced by Jack Zipes, one of the world's leading authorities on fairy tales, The Cloak of Dreams brings together sixteen of Balázs's unique and haunting stories. Written in 1921, these fairy tales were originally published with twenty images drawn in the Chinese style by painter Mariette Lydis, and this new edition includes a selection of Lydis's brilliant illustrations. Together, the tales and pictures accentuate the motifs and themes that run throughout Balázs's work: wandering protagonists, mysterious woods and mountains, solitude, and magical transformation. His fairy tales express our deepest desires and the hope that, even in the midst of tragedy, we can transcend our difficulties and forge our own destinies. Unusual, wondrous fairy tales that examine the world's cruelties and twists of fate, The Cloak of Dreams will entertain, startle, and intrigue.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Béla Balázs, the Homeless Wanderer, or, The Man Who Sought to Become One with the World

A Note on the Mysterious Illustrator Mariette Lydis

The Cloak of Dreams

1. The Cloak of Dreams

2. Li-Tai-Pe and the Thief

3. The Parasols

4. The Clumsy God

5. The Opium Smokers

6. The Flea

7. The Old Child

8. The Robbers of Divine Power

9. Li-Tai-Pe and Springtime

10. The Ancestors

11. The Moon Fish

12. The Friends

13. The Revenge of the Chestnut Tree

14. Tearful Gaze

15. The Clay Child

16. The Victor

Appendix A. A Beautiful Book / Mann, Thomas

Appendix B. The Book of Wan Hu-Chen / Balázs, Béla

Bibliography

Notes:

"A portion of this book was first published in German under the title Der Mantel der Traume by Bischoff in 1922."

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-282-69220-8

9786612692208

1-4008-3603-4

OCLC:

650873927