Chinese myths were primarily a diffuse and fragmentary oral tradition, eventually preserved in writing only in a piecemeal fashion. Many classical texts are unavailable in translation, and the stories have been unknown to Western readers. Anne Birrell here introduces the general reader to a selection of narratives organized by themes and motifs that help set Chinese myths in the context of world mythology.

The contents include:

• Origin and creation myths
• Myths of the flood
• The divine cosmos
• Gender in myth
• Metamorphoses
• Mythic heroes and heroines
• Fabled plants and animals
• Major sources of myth