Shen of the Sea is set in China during the time of the emperors, sometime after the building of the Great Wall. The stories have a timeless quality; several claim to have occurred "thousands of years ago," although others make vague references to America and to the invention of the airplane.

The stories tell of royalty and peasants, city dwellers and common country folk.

They illustrate a society where parents pamper their children and astrology predicts a person's fate. In this society, Barbarians and Tartars invade; emperors and kings compete for power; and soldiers are continually on the march.

A major feature of this ancient Asian setting is the belief in dragons and demons. Characters in the tales trap water demons in bottles or fight the twenty-eight dragons on the moon. They beat copper pans to scare away the demons and protect their homes by placing charms over...