Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales, Reading B

 The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge—Character Traits of the Sorcerer

1. Deceiving—He doesn't explain to his students what they are doing until they mess it up, and then he becomes angry, instead of either explaining what he's doing from the start or patiently explaining it afterwards. He lies to one of his students' fathers, saying that the student left and not admitting that he turned him into a pig and sent him to the butcher. Finally, the sorcerer deceives the soldiers delivering him to the capital, escaping via a giant mountain spirit.
2. Magical Capabilities—He has the ability to link his ship to a tiny one in a bowl, and his light on a nighttime journey to a candle. The sorcerer also seems to be able to teleport through space, and can transform other people into animals at will. The mandarin believes the sorcerer can also make himself invisible. He seems to also have an alliance with mountain spirits, or at least control over one.
3. Powerful—Even though the sorcerer has students trying to learn his ways, he is the most powerful of all. When a pupil insulted him, he turned him into a pig and sent him to be slaughtered, showing that he has a need to feel powerful. The district mandarin fears taking action against him, so thousands of soldiers had to be sent to the sorcerer's house instead. 

Questions About the Sorcerer to Explore in Retelling:

1. Where was the sorcerer going on his journeys?
2. Who are his wife and son? Do they have powers too?
3. How did the sorcerer acquire his powers?
4. Why does he use his skills to deceive people?
5. What are the extent of the sorcerer's powers? Why couldn't he have found an easier way to escape from a wooden cage?
6. Was the sorcerer able to get away with more because he has high social status? Would a poor person or woman been looked down upon more by the community?

Story Source: "The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge" in The Chinese Fairy Book by R. Wilhelm, translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

Image Source: Yellow Mountain in China (1998) by whitecat sg on Flickr.