Here is the author note from my picture book.—Aaron
This tale is retold from “The Piece of Chuang Brocade” in Folk Tales from China, Third Series, Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1958.
Brocade is woven cloth with raised patterns resembling embroidery. Though often confused with tapestry, it is made in an entirely different way. Brocade has been woven in China since at least the third century. There it is used for waistcoats, quilt covers, bedspreads, and other household items.
