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