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The Wallet of Kai Lung is a collection of fantasy stories by Ernest Bramah, all but the last of which feature Kai Lung, an itinerant story-teller of ancient China. It was first published in hardcover in London by Grant Richards in 1900, and there have been numerous editions since. Its initial tale, The Transmutation of Ling, was also issued by the same publisher as a separate chapbook in 1911. The collection's importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by the anthologization of two of its tales in the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, edited by Lin Carter and published by Ballantine Books; "The Vision of Yin" in Discoveries in Fantasy (March, 1972), and "The Transmutation of Ling" in Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II (March, 1973).

Although the collection is presented in the fashion of a novel, with each of its component stories designated chapters, there is no overall plot aside from each of the first eight tales being presented as narratives told by Kai Lung at various points in his itinerant career. The final tale is represented as being from a manuscript left by its own separate first-person narrator, Kin Yen.

Contents:

• 1 - The Transmutation of Ling - [Kai Lung] - novella
• 121 - The Story of Yung Chang - [Kai Lung] - short story
• 141 - The Probation of Sen Heng - [Kai Lung] - novelette
• 173 - The Experiment of the Mandarin Chan Hung - [Kai Lung] - short story
• 203 - The Confession of Kai Lung - [Kai Lung] - short story
• 229 - The Vengeance of Tung Fel - [Kai Lung] - novelette
• 263 - The Career of the Charitable Quen-Ki-Tong - [Kai Lung] - short story
• 295 - The Vision of Yin, the Son of Yat Huang - [Kai Lung] - short story
• 317 - The Ill-Regulated Destiny of Kin Yen, the Picture-Maker - short story

As with other Kai Lung novels, the main plot serves primarily as a vehicle for the presentation of the gem-like, aphorism-laden stories told by the protagonist Kai Lung, an itinerant story-teller of ancient China. In Kai Lung's Golden Hours he is brought before the court of the Mandarin Shan Tien on charges of treason by the Mandarin's confidential agent Ming-shu. In a unique defense, Kai Lung recites his beguiling tales to the Mandarin, successfully postponing his conviction time after time until he is finally set free. In the process he attains the love and hand of the maiden Hwa-Mei.

Contents:

• ix - About Kai Lung's Golden Hours and Ernest Bramah: Teller-of-Tales - essay by Lin Carter
• 1 - The Encountering of Six Within a Wood - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story
• 9 - The Inexorable Justice of the Mandarin Shan Tien - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - novelette
• 13 - The Story of Wong Ts'in and the Willow Plate Embellishment - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 32 - The Degraded Persistence of the Effete Ming-shu - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - novelette
• 36 - The Story of Ning, the Captive God, and the Dreams That Mark His Race - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 60 - The Inopportune Behaviour of the Covetous Li-loe - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story
• 61 - The Story of Wong Pao and the Minstrel - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - short story
• 69 - The Timely Intervention of the Mandarin Shan Tien's Lucky Day - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story
• 72 - The Story of Lao Ting and the Luminous Insect - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 88 - The High-Minded Strategy of the Amiable Hwa-mei - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story
• 92 - The Story of Weng Cho; or, The One Devoid of Name - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - short story
• 105 - Not Concerned with Any Particular Attribute of Those Who Are Involved - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story
• 108 - The Story of Wang Ho and the Burial Robe - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 125 - The Timely Disputation Among Those of an Inner Chamber of Yu-ping - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - novelette
• 129 - The Story of Chang Tao, Melodious Vision and the Dragon - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 153 - The Propitious Dissension Between Two Whose General Attributes Have Already Been Sufficiently Described - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - novelette
• 156 - The Story of Yuen Yan, of the Barber Chou-hu, and of His Wife Tsae-che - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 179 - The Incredible Obtuseness of Those Who Had Opposed the Virtuous Kai Lung - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - novelette
• 183 - The Story of Hien and the Chief Examiner - [Kai Lung] - (1922) - novelette
• 208 - Of Which It Is Written: "In Shallow Water Dragons Become the Laughing-Stock of Shrimps" - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story
• 214 - The Story of the Loyalty of Ten-teh, the Fisherman - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - novelette
• 214 - The Out-Passing Into a State of Assured Felicity of the Much-Enduring Two with Whom These Printed Leaves Have Chiefly Been Concerned - [Kai Lung] - (1900) - short story

The book is broken up into 3 sections, "The Protecting Ancestors", "The Great Sky Lantern" and "The Bringer of Good News". Each section contains linked stories.

In the first, Kai Lung's village has been pillaged by the evil Ming Shu, and not only have his house and garden been destroyed, his wife has also been taken away. It is left to the story-teller's wits to think of a plan to defeat Ming Shu, and reclaim his property.

In the second part, Kai Lung overhears a neighbor using an improper analogy, and decides to educate him by providing an example of a properly composed piece of prose.

In the third part, Kai Lung receives the distinction of being allowed to practise his craft before any official within three and a half li of his residence, provided that official is not engaged in important business at the time, and is authorized to style himself as "Literary Instructor to the Shades of Female Ancestors". He then finds a suitable occasion to launch into one of his narratives.

This early work by Ernest Bramah Smith was originally published in 1911. "The Moon of Much Gladness Related by Kai Lung" is the fourth book in the Kai Lung series. The China which Kai Lung inhabits has numerous features of the fantasy Land of Fable, and many of the embedded tales are fantasy; all are told in an ornate manner which ironically, often hilariously, exaggerates the old Chinese tradition of understatement and politesse.

Bramah found commercial and critical success with his first novel, "The Wallet of Kai Lung", but it was his later stories of detective Max Carrados that assured him lasting fame.

Ernest Brammah Smith is best-known for two series, the Max Carrados books about a blind detective, all of whose Perceptions are enormously enhanced, and a series of tales in which the Chinese Kai Lung tells stories -- often to stave off some unpleasant fate, like Scheherazade.

This collection of eight Kai Lung stories came out in 1940, two years before the author's death. They show the same wit as the earlier ones. The China which Kai Lung inhabits has numerous features of the fantasy Land of Fable, and many of the embedded tales are fantasy; all are told in an ornate manner which ironically, often hilariously, exaggerates the old Chinese tradition of understatement and politesse. The main sequence begins with "The Wallet of Kai Lung" and ends with "Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry-Tree"; of the posthumous collections, "Kai Lung Raises His Voice" usefully assembles all the remaining series stories.

Contents:

• The Story of Prince Ying, Virtuous Mei, and the Pursuit of Worthiness - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Three Recorded Judgments of Prince Ying, from the Inscribed Scroll of Mou Tao, the Beggar - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Ignoble Alliance of Lin T'sing with the Outlaw Fang Wang, and How It Affected the Destinies - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Story of Yin Ho, Hoa-mi, and the Magician - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Story of Ton Hi, Precious Gem and the Incospicuous Elephant - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Story of Sam-tso, the Family Called Wong, and the Willing Buffalo - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Story of Sho Chi, the No-Longer Merchant Ng Hon, and the Docile Linnets - [Kai Lung] - short fiction
• The Story of the Poet Lao Ping, Chun Shin's Daughter Fa, and the Fighting Crickets - [Kai Lung] - short fiction