Episode #110: Special Lunar New Year Episode: “The Legend of Fortune Gods” storytime with Grace Lin

Welcome back to a very special episode! I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel When the Sea Turned to Silver and the picture book A Big Moon Cake for Little Star.

Hello Everyone! It’s children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin and today I have a super special episode for you! To celebrate the Lunar New Year, we’re doing a special story time  episode!  Instead of answering kid questions like I usually do, today—in honor of the Lunar New Year—I thought I would share with you one of my favorite Chinese legends. 

Just in case you don’t know, the Lunar New Year is a very important Asian holiday! Many countries celebrate it—China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and more! It is when the new year begins according to the moon calendar. The calendar that we use today is based on the sun but in ancient times, most people followed a calendar based on the moon. It was called the Lunar calendar. And when the year began according to that calendar it was called the Lunar New Year!

Now the story I am going to tell you is a story I was told as a child and since then I have read many different versions of it. So I’m going to tell you my own personal adaptation. This is the “Legend of the Fortune Gods” by me, Grace Lin.

In Chinese culture there are many gods and goddesses who can bestow good fortune upon humans. But when you say the Fortune Gods, usually people immediately imagine an image of three gods standing together—the God of Happiness—who holds either a red sign with a Chinese lucky character or child (because children were considered happiness), the God of Wealth—who holds a gold ingot or gold coin and the God of Longevity—who holds a peach, which is a Chinese symbol of long life.  These three Gods are considered the Fortune Gods and they are almost always together. And this story explains why. 

So, once long, long ago, at the end of the Lunar new year, the God of Happiness, the God of Wealth and the God of Longevity descended to earth. As they were good friends, they decided to journey together amongst the people to better judge who was most deserving of their gifts. At one village, they were surprised to see that even though there had been a drought that year, the people were still healthy and well fed. 

“How have you survived the drought so well?” they asked one of the villagers.

“It is generous Master Zhang!” the villager replied, “He had extra grains from past years and has been sharing it with all of us.”

“Master Zhang is a good man,” the God of Longevity said as he nodded in approval.

“Yes,” the God of Wealth said, “We should visit him and bestow him our blessings.”

“I agree,” said the God of Happiness. “However, I wish to spend some time with that child over there. You two go ahead to Master Zhang’s residence and I will meet you there.”

So, the God of Wealth and the God of Longevity made their way to the Zhang residence. They knocked on the door of the gate and called out, “It is the God of Wealth and the God of Longevity! We are here to bestow our blessings.”

A man appeared through the gate’s window. The man smiled and bowed respectfully, but did not open the door. Instead, he silently waved them on. 

“He is not letting us in!” the God of Wealth gasped.

“Can he not want our blessings?” the God of Longevity sputtered in disbelief. “How can this be?”

At that moment the God of Happiness arrived. 

“I am here, I am here!” He called out as he ran up from behind them, “The God of Happiness is here!”

With those words, the door flew open. The man who had been at the window, was in fact Master Zhang and he now ushered all three in with the warmest of welcomes. Generous offerings for the Gods were quickly presented, but the God of Wealth and the God of Longevity were confused. 

“Why did you not let us in before?” the God of Wealth asked. 

“Yes,” the God of Longevity said, “Why did you wave us away?”

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Master Zhang said humbly, “Please do not be offended. But when I saw that the God of Wealth and the God of Longevity were without the God of Happiness, I did not wish for your gifts. For what is wealth and a long life without happiness? Your blessings would have only brought me sorrow.  I knew I could  not welcome you without the God of Happiness.”

The three Gods looked at each other, nodded and smiled. 

“Ah,” the God of Happiness said, “Master Zhang, not only are you kind but you are also wise. May you have have a long, fortunate and happy life!”

And that is why, now, whenever you see a picture or dolls of the Fortune Gods, it is usually the three Gods--the God of Longevity, the God of Wealth and the God of Happiness together in a group. They are very rarely separated.  That is because the Fortune Gods realized that they must give their gifts in unison if they wish them to be true blessings. 

So that was the Legend of the Fortune Gods. I hope you liked it!  If you did, let me know and maybe I’ll do more episodes like this! 

Let’s end this episode with a Kid Book review!:

The Year of the Dog review by Clara

My name is Clara. The book I would like to talk about today is The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. This book is about a girl named Pacy who is Taiwanese American and has an older sister and a younger sister. Pacy has trouble fitting in at school because she looks different than almost everybody else. But then she meets another girl her age named Melody, who is also Taiwanese American. Almost immediately, they become best friends. Here are some things I really liked about this book: I really liked the stories that Pacy’s parents tell about their family, for instance, about Pacy’s grandmother’s paper piano. I like the pictures that are drawn in the book and the way they are labeled. I also like how the foods are described, because I like a lot of those same foods too. 

Wasn’t that a great review? Grown-ups, remember, if you know a kid that has a question, a book review, very short story, a poem or even a joke they would like to share on this podcast, please submit it to kidsaskauthors.com and if you’d like to reach me,  follow me on twitter and Instagram where I use the handle @pacylin or sign up for my author newsletter. https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/kEmJMT3/newsletter

Also if you enjoy this podcast, please spread the word! Tell your friends and colleagues to listen and of course please leave a review on apple podcasts. That really helps me know that you like what we’re doing so we can keep doing it!

Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.

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