The Paper DragonMi Fei is a humble painter of scrolls. Between each day's sunrise and sunset, he paints scenes of the gods and their festivals' portraits of heroes and their deeds. Although the scrolls bring him fame, Mi Fei is content to live in his village, surrounded by people he loves. But one day a messenger enters the village with terrible news: the dragon Sui Jen has awakened from its hundred years' sleep and is destroying everything in its path. Someone must find a way to return Sui Jen to its slumber. To the villagers, only one among them is wise enough to confront the scaly beast -- Mi Fei. The power of the artist's vision and the ever-sustaining nature of love are brought together in Marguerite W. Davol's beautiful story, strikingly interpreted by Robert Sabuda in a series of gatefold illustrations that convey the storytelling majesty of the Chinese narrative scrollmaker's art. |
Common terms and phrases
beast began to paint bring brushes bundle candle carefully carried in paper coiled continued to paint created crowd cut the paper deeds devour dragon laughed face the dragon Fei found Fei knew Fei looked Fei stared Fei's festivals fire flame folding and fashioning friends and neighbors frightened glow gods and heroes huge humble inks Jen's fiery breath knife and cut lashing tail loved Lung Mountain messenger Mi Fei found Mi Fei looked mist mountaintop Mu Wang mulberry trees nodded nostrils pack Paper Dragon paper scroll past poem portraits red eyes rice roar rock ruins scenes scorched the tea shape shelter shook his head silkworms simple artist sleep once small knife smiled Smoke Someone stop strongest thing Sui Jen sundown sunset tea leaves teeth three tasks took trampled UNIVE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN unrolled uprooted the mulberry village Wang wind captured worried faces