Nie Xiaoqian (Level 1) - Graded Readers for Chinese Language Learners (Folktales) (500 words)

The series Graded Readers for Chinese Language Learners is composed of 50 books, divided into three subseries, namely folktales, literary stories and historical stories, corresponding to Levels 1-3 respectively. The rich and fun content and easy-to-understand language makes it easy for everyone, whether they are foreigners learning Chinese, children with parents of Chinese origin, ethnic minority students of the Chinese language, or even primary school students in China, to read this series. It enables the readers to gradually improve their Chinese reading skills and enhance their understanding of Chinese culture by reading and enjoying stories. The “Folktales” subseries includes 10 stories, hence 10 books, adapted from folk legends, each book written in 20,000-30,000 Chinese characters. The titles of the 10 books are Hua Mulan, Lady White Snake, The Cow Herder and the Weaver Girl, A Golden Millet Dream, Chang’e Flying to the Moon, The Old Man under the Moon, The Butterfly Lovers, Nie Xiaoqian, Chen Shimei, and Beauty from the Painting. The book Nie Xiaoqian tells the love story between the ghost maiden Nie Xiaoqian and the young scholar Ning Caichen. In the story, Nie Xiaoqian died at the age of 18 and became a ghost who was forced by a vampire to hurt people. She was saved by Ning Caichen and brought to his home. The two of them got married and shared a happy life together. Later when the vampire came to their door, they killed it with the help of a swordsman called Yan Chixia.