This volume provides English translations of some 300 representative myth narratives selected from over 100 classical texts. Organizing the narratives according to themes and motifs common to world mythology, Anne Birrell addresses issues of source, dating, attribution, textural variations, multiforms, and context. Drawing on work in comparative mythology, she surveys the development of Chinese myth studies, largely in the West; summarizes the contribution of Chinese and Japanese scholars to the study of Chinese myth since the 1920s; and looks at special aspects of traditional approaches to Chinese myth. The result is a guide to the study of Chinese myth for specialists and non-specialists alike.