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Folktales Across Asia’s Many Cultures

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East Asian Folktales

A panorama of dragons, ancestral spirits, and moral wisdom from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Tibet.

Niulang and Zhinü meeting on the magpie bridge under the Milky Way, Chinese folktale scene.

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

by Elizabeth Fabowale

October 13, 2025

Asian Folktales·Chinese Folktales·East Asian Folktales

Long ago, in the quiet countryside of ancient China, there lived a gentle young man named Niulang. Orphaned at a young age, he owned little more than an old ox and a small plot of land. Yet his heart was pure, and his kindness shone brighter than any gold. Each morning he led his faithful ox to graze on the

the clever girl defeating Aunt Tiger with boiling water in this Taiwanese folktale.

Asian Folktales·East Asian Folktales·Taiwanese Folktales

The Legend of Aunt Tiger (Hó͘-ko͘-pô)

Long ago in a small village in Taiwan, nestled at the foot of a misty mountain, there lived two young children with their mother. Their home was simple but filled with warmth, laughter, and the scent of rice porridge cooking over a small fire. The children were playful and curious,

Akhu Tönpa feeding food into his robe sleeves to teach humility during a Tibetan village feast.

Akhu Tönpa the Trickster

In the high mountains of Tibet, where the wind carries the sound

Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo transforming into butterflies beside a blossoming tree, Chinese folktale scene

The Chinese Legend of The Butterfly Lovers

In ancient China, during the Eastern Jin dynasty, there lived a young

Yugong and his family digging at the base of towering mountains in an ancient Chinese tale.

Yugong Moves the Mountains

December 2, 2025

Asian Folktales·Chinese Folktales·East Asian Folktales

In ancient times there lived an old man named Yugong whose home stood near two enormous mountains. These mountains rose so high that their snowy peaks disappeared into the clouds. Their rocky slopes were steep and treacherous. Most of all, they blocked the only path his family and neighbors could

Hou Yi aiming his bow at multiple suns in the sky, ancient Chinese myth.

Hou Yi and the Ten Suns

December 2, 2025

Asian Folktales·Chinese Folktales·East Asian Folktales

Long ago when the world was still young, the sky was home to ten suns. They were the radiant children of Heaven, each one shining with golden fire. According to the ancient order of the cosmos, they were meant to rise one at a time so that the earth would

The Dragon King’s Daughter

December 2, 2025

Asian Folktales·Chinese Folktales·East Asian Folktales

In the southern coastal regions of China, where the sea glimmered like sheets of jade and fishing boats drifted gently across rolling waves, people often told stories of the Dragon King’s palace beneath the waters. They said its walls glowed with pearls, its gardens shimmered with coral, and its halls

Ma Liang using a magical paintbrush to help villagers, Southern Chinese folklore.

The Magic Paintbrush (Ma Liang)

December 1, 2025

Asian Folktales·Chinese Folktales·East Asian Folktales

In a small southern village, where bamboo groves swayed gently in the wind and narrow stone paths wound between humble cottages, lived a poor boy named Ma Liang. He was gentle, kind-hearted, and loved to draw. With nothing more than a few scraps of paper and charcoal, he would sketch

Yue Lao with a red thread connecting a scholar and girl, Han Chinese folklore.

The Old Man Under the Moon (Yue Lao)

December 1, 2025

Asian Folktales·Chinese Folktales·East Asian Folktales

Long ago in a quiet village surrounded by soft mist and rolling green hills lived a young scholar named Wei Gu. He was gentle in nature and devoted to his studies but a quiet loneliness followed him like a shadow. His friends often told him that marriage was a matter

The Origin of the Tibetan People

October 15, 2025

Asian Folktales·East Asian Folktales·Tibetan Folktales

Long before the snows settled over the Himalayas and the rivers carved their silver paths across the land, Tibet was a vast wilderness of mountains and forests. No human voice echoed across its valleys, and only spirits, animals, and gods walked upon its sacred peaks. It was a place of

a clever hare tricking a roaring lion into jumping into a forest well.

The Hare and the Lion

October 15, 2025

Asian Folktales·East Asian Folktales·Tibetan Folktales

Long ago, deep in the green valleys and misty forests of Tibet, there lived a great lion, fierce, proud, and feared by all creatures. He was the strongest and most terrible beast in the land. Every day, he prowled through the forest, roaring with hunger and devouring any animal that

King Gesar riding his divine horse across the Tibetan mountains, symbolizing courage and justice.

The Epic of King Gesar of Ling

October 15, 2025

Asian Folktales·East Asian Folktales·Tibetan Folktales

In the vast and windswept highlands of Tibet, where the snow-capped mountains meet the endless sky, there lived a hero whose name echoed across generations, King Gesar of Ling. He was no ordinary man, but a divine being sent by the gods to restore balance and justice to a world

King Jangar on horseback leading warriors into battle across the Mongolian steppe.

The Jangar Epic – The Hero of Western Mongolia

October 15, 2025

Asian Folktales·East Asian Folktales·Mongolian Folktales

Across the wide grasslands of Western Mongolia, where the wind whispers through the endless steppe and eagles circle above snow-capped peaks, the legend of Jangar lives on. His name is sung in long epics by Oirat bards who carry the stories from generation to generation, their voices echoing across the

swan maiden ascending above a lake as a hunter plays his fiddle in this Mongolian folktale.

The Swan Maiden of the Steppes

October 15, 2025

Asian Folktales·East Asian Folktales·Mongolian Folktales

Long ago, when the grasslands of Mongolia stretched endlessly under the blue sky, there lived a young hunter named Erden. He was known among the nomads for his skill with the bow and his kind heart. Erden lived alone in a felt tent near a silver stream. Each day, he

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East Asian Folktales

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

The Legend of Aunt Tiger (Hó͘-ko͘-pô)

Akhu Tönpa the Trickster

The Chinese Legend of The Butterfly Lovers

Yugong Moves the Mountains

Hou Yi and the Ten Suns

The Dragon King’s Daughter

The Magic Paintbrush (Ma Liang)

The Old Man Under the Moon (Yue Lao)

The Origin of the Tibetan People

The Hare and the Lion

The Epic of King Gesar of Ling

The Jangar Epic – The Hero of Western Mongolia

The Swan Maiden of the Steppes

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