Preface . . xiii 
Acknowledgments . . xv 
Chinese Units of Measure . . xvii 

"I Sit Here and Sing for You": The Oral Literature of China . . 1

1. Folk Stories and Other Spoken Traditions . . 13 
A Ginseng Tale from Jilin . . 16 
A Folk Story of the Daur . . 20 
Folk Stories from the Tai Lue of Sipsongpanna . . 29 
A Folk Story in "Funeral Lament Lyrics" of the Luo People, Yunnan . . 39
A Story from the Nuosu of Sichuan . . 43 
Tales of Dragons . . 48 
A Mosuo Story from Lake Lugu . . 53 
A Story of the Pumi of Yunnan . . 56 
Folk Stories of the Uyghur . . 58 
A Tu Folk Story . . 65 
A Tale of the Amis . . 69 
Stories of Tu Ritual . . 75 
A Namzi Tale . . 81 
Namzi Riddles . . 83 
Tibetan Flirting Words and Tongue Twisters . . 84 

2. Folk Song Traditions . . 90 
Flower Songs from Northwestern China . . 93 
Kazakh Marriage Songs of Lament and Sorrow . . 100 
Qing Dynasty Mountain Songs . . 115 
Folk Songs from Jiangsu Province . . 124 
Saltwater Songs of Hong Kong . . 145 
Songs of the Mindong She People . . 148 
Mountain Songs from Liuzhou, Guangxi (Interethnic) . . 158 
A Sani Ballad . . 166 
Two Folk Songs of the Dong (Gaem) People . . 169 
Songs of the Tu . . 174 
Mountain Songs . . 174 
Folk Song . . 177 

3. Folk Ritual . . 179 
A Chaoxian Lunar New Year Exorcism Ritual . . 182 
Manchu Shaman Songs from Northeastern China . . 184 
A Wa Soul-Calling Chant . . 190 
A Lahu Marriage Prayer . . 193 
Yi Chants from Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan . . 198 
A Nuosu Myth from Sichuan . . 203 

4. The Epic Traditions . . 213 
An Excerpt from the Epic Geser Khan . . 216 
Introductory Cantos from the Mongol Epic Jangar . . 222 
A Daur Ballad . . 232 
Selections from a Yi Epic . . 236 
A Tradition-Oriented Yao Creation Epic . . 244 
Two Miao (Hmong) Song Flowers . . 276 

5. Folk Drama . . 279 
Hand-Puppet Theater . . 282 
A Postmidnight Shadow Play from Shaanxi . . 288 
A Rice-Planting Drama . . 295 
A Local Drama from Shaoxing . . 303 

6. Professional Story telling Traditions of the North and South . . 309 
Northern Prosimetric . . 314 
A Medley Song from Northern China . . 314 
An Anonymous Work from the Tune Book of the Manor House of Lord Che . . 326 
An Oral-Connected Drum Song from the Tune Book of the Manor House of Lord Che . . 353 
"The Precious Scroll of Chenxiang" . . 380 
A Peking Drum Song . . 406 
A Peking Drum Song . . 413 
An Excerpt from journey to the West in Fast Bamboo Clapper-Tale Style . . 420 
Two Shandong Fast Tales . . 429 
Two Versions of "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" from the Yangzhou Pinghua Tradition . . 433 
Southern Prosimetric . . 472 
Hangzhou Storytelling and Songs . . 472 
Jingjiang "Telling Scriptures" from the San Mao Precious Scrolls . . 479 
An Eighteenth-Century Version of "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" from Suzhou . . 503 
An Excerpt from a "Women's Chantefable" . . 552 
A Suzhou Chantefable Opening Ballad . . 563 
A Suzhou Chantefable Classic from Pearl Pagoda . . 565 
A Suzhou Chantefable from the 1950s . . 585 
A Wooden-Fish Song . . 604 
An Excerpt from a Great Volumes Script of the Bai People, Yunnan . . 609 
An Excerpt from a Great Volumes Script of the Bai People, Yunnan . . 614 

Further Reading . . 619
Contributors and Translators . . 627