a literary genre. Stories with allegorical or obvious moral significance. Its structure is short. The hero can be human, animal or inanimate. Use metaphors to make instructive themes or profound truths reflected in simple stories.
fables were originally written orally by the people. China was quite popular in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In hundred schools of thought's works in the pre-Qin period, there were many excellent fables that were popular at that time, such as: Death, Angry Chicken, Song People's Miao Miao, Contradiction, Zheng People's Buying Shoes, Waiting for the Rabbit, Carving a Boat for a Sword, Painting a Snake to Add Foot, and so on. After the Han and Wei Dynasties, some writers often used fables to satirize reality in their creations. In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan used fable to create prose. In Three Commandments, he satirized those who were arrogant, blind and complacent by relying on pets with stories of three animals, such as elk, donkey and mouse, and achieved profound effects. Modern writers in China also created fables, especially children's literature.
China's folk fables are extremely rich. In addition to the Han nationality, there are fables of ethnic minorities. Most fables created by people of all ethnic groups take animals as the protagonists, and use their activities and relationships to throw in a lesson or metaphor to achieve the purpose of allegory. It reflects the healthy and simple thoughts of the working people and shines with the infinite wisdom and noble moral light of the people.
The earliest collection of fables in the world is Aesop's Fables.