Chang’an, Han dynasty China, late 2nd century
The Chain Stratagem
No army can reach Dong Zhuo. An old minister kneels to a singer of his household and asks her to try.
The Teller’s journal
Stories from the book
Some tales ask to be heard. Others keep you company on the page.
Here are the stories I have told so far, gathered with the old texts that brought them to me.
6 tales on these pages
Mount Wutai, Song dynasty China, early 12th century
Lu Zhishen on Mount Wutai
Lu Da finds shelter on Mount Wutai. His new name cannot quiet his old temper.
Illustrative Near East literary frame, An unnamed legendary kingdom in the Arabian Nights
The Fisherman and the Genie
A copper vessel, four speaking fish and a city changed into a lake. An abridged reading from the Arabian Nights.
the Icarian Sea, Bronze Age Aegean, the age of heroes
Daedalus and Icarus
A father makes wings for his son. At the boy’s grave, a partridge remembers another fall.
Knossos, Bronze Age Crete, the age of heroes
Theseus and the Minotaur
Fourteen young Athenians sent to Crete, a clue of thread, and a sail that no one remembered to change.
Weizhou, Northern Song China, early 12th century
Lu Da and the Butcher
A stranger’s tears, three impossible orders, and the day an officer became a fugitive.
