When the eldest son fell in the well and most of the time getting help was spent pronouncing the name of the one in trouble, the Chinese, according to legend, decided to give all their children short names.

Myths and legends from China. Features include information about the history and culture behind the myths, pronunciations, lists of deities, word glossary, further information, and index--

Introduces the Chinese zodiac and relates how each of its twelve signs was named for an animal selected by the Jade Emperor. Includes a table showing the signs for the years 1900 through 2007, and the character traits of each sign.