At Snow Pavilion, Xueting Ni writes about how Chinese Xian became fairies in European thought. “The modern idea of the fairy, buzzing round the bottom of your garden on butterfly wings, dressed in couture petals, you know, that Victorian and Edwardian creation, aligned historically with this increased interest in The Orient. Gentlemen explorers and collectors would gather the folk stories and beliefs of China, both from visits to the Far East, and Chinese immigrants, who were beginning to find a place in the world. These collections were often heavily interpreted, or relayed to people who didn’t have the language skills or cultural knowledge to get every nuance. They were not published in the grandiose style of Greek and Roman legends, but made their way into children’s books, with quaint titles such as The Marvellous Adventures of the Mandarin Fun Hoan, Chinese Fairy & Folk Tales, and Fables & Parables of China. Many of them were by scholars like the German American sociologist Wolfram Eberhard. Whilst Eberhard may have had the best of intentions in his various publications, which contributed to setting the direction of 20^th century Sinology, he is one the culprits in reducing the myriad of ethereal Chinese beings and creatures to ‘Fairies.'”

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