Chinese Folklore

Chinese Folklore takes many well known Chinese myths and theatrical stories and turns each into a self contained television episode. Rather than retelling them exactly, the series reshapes familiar plots like "The Butterfly Lovers" and "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" into compact dramas that highlight everyday joys, grief, loyalty and betrayal in older times. Some endings are bittersweet rather than tidy, yet moral balance is usually restored and wrongdoers meet fitting consequences. The show favors traditional staging, clear moral lines, and emotional scenes, which helped it become a holiday favorite for families watching together in the 1970s and beyond.

Released in 1974, the series adapts dozens of folk tales and stage dramas for television, with episodes featuring performers Shek Sau, Mary Hon Ma-Lee, Sandra Lang, Susanna Kwan, and Cheung Ying-Tsoi, among others.

There are no widely reported major international awards tied to the series, but it earned steady popular recognition in its home markets. Its status rests more on cultural memory and frequent rebroadcasts than on trophy cases, making it a touchstone of early televised folklore.

The show's cultural impact is notable in Cantonese speaking regions; many scenes and melodies became part of festival viewing. Its straightforward moral storytelling and familiar character types influenced later anthology series, and older viewers still cite particular episodes when recalling holiday television traditions.

Critics and audiences tended to appreciate its faithfulness to source material and theatrical presentation, though some modern viewers find the pacing dated. Core themes include love, sacrifice, justice, and the interplay between human choice and fate. Costuming and music often lean traditional, giving each episode a stagelike feel that emphasizes emotion and moral consequence over modern realism.