China covers nearly 4 billion square miles in Asia, roughly 14 percent of the world’s landmass. It has grasslands and deserts, a long coastline, and some of the highest mountains in the world. Its rich river valleys have hosted civilizations for thousands and thousands of years. When Rome was still young, China’s ancestors were wrestling with the problems of governing an empire as populous and diverse as any ever known. When Europe was struggling to recover from the Dark Ages, China was outfitting merchant vessels to sail across the oceans. So it is not surprising that China has a long history, rich with events and achievements. This long history has produced a tapestry of interwoven myths, religious stories, legends, and folk beliefs, which have all changed over time. Even today, as the stories are told to a new generation, the tellers transform them in the very process of preserving them— one more reminder that myths and mythmaking are a vital part of the human experience.