Let's be clear from the start: this isn't a novel. There's no single plot. Instead, think of Myths and Legends of China as a grand, organized tour through the attic of Chinese culture. E.T.C. Werner acts as your guide, taking you room by room. He starts with the big ideas—how the Chinese saw the universe being created, who the major gods were, and what they believed about heaven and earth. Then he gets into the good stuff: the wild stories. You'll meet the Jade Emperor ruling his heavenly bureaucracy, follow the mischievous Monkey King on his quest, and learn why dragons are more like water department managers than treasure-hoarding monsters.

The Story

There is no traditional story arc. The book's "plot" is Werner's own journey of understanding. He systematically presents myths, but he's always trying to connect them. Why do some gods have both Buddhist and Taoist versions? How do folk tales about fox spirits relate to official state religion? He pieces together fragments from ancient texts, local folklore, and his own observations to build a picture of a complete spiritual world. The narrative is his attempt to solve the puzzle of Chinese mythology for himself and his readers.

Why You Should Read It

I love this book for its unique perspective. It's not a modern, polished retelling. You can feel Werner's genuine fascination and sometimes his confusion. His writing comes from a place of respect, but it's also a product of its time (the early 1900s). Reading it is a double experience: you learn incredible myths, and you also see how a Western scholar a century ago tried to understand a culture vastly different from his own. The myths themselves are timeless—full of clever heroes, tragic love, divine punishment, and cosmic humor. Werner gives you the context to appreciate why these stories mattered so much.

Final Verdict

This is the perfect book for curious world-builders, fantasy fans who want to go deeper than pop culture references, and anyone interested in cultural history. It's for the reader who sees a dragon in a movie and thinks, "I want to know what they really believed about those." Be prepared for an older writing style and some outdated terms—it's a historical document as much as a story collection. But if you can meet it on its own terms, it opens a door to a breathtaking world of imagination. Keep it on your shelf next to Bulfinch or Edith Hamilton.