Author: P’ang Tao.
Title: [Flat Peaches]: Eight Fairies Festival (A Festival Held on the 3rd of the 3rd Lunar Month in Honor of the Goddess Hsi Wang Mu).
Publisher: No publisher, no date (circa 1930).
Language: Text in Chinese and English.
Size: 8.5 x 6 inches.
Pages: Complete – 20 accordion (concertina) pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good wooden boards with Chinese characters in relief to the covers; hinges sound; preserved under a removable protective cover.
Content: Very good content, bright and clean, with bilingual explanatory text accompanying each scene.
Illustrations: Complete with ten beautiful hand-colored illustrations depicting the legendary Immortals of Chinese mythology.

Each unfolding panel reveals a vividly hand-colored depiction of one of the Eight Immortals, those beloved Taoist figures who symbolize longevity, prosperity, and transcendence. The accordion format, bound between wooden boards, evokes traditional East Asian bookmaking and gives the work a sculptural presence, halfway between an illustrated manuscript and a ceremonial object.

Such bilingual editions were often intended both as cultural introductions for Western audiences and as refined souvenirs celebrating Chinese folklore and seasonal festivals. The harmony of English commentary and Chinese script, combined with the delicate coloring on cloth or paper, transforms this small volume into a portable gallery of mythological art.

Today, copies survive as evocative witnesses to early twentieth-century cross-cultural publishing, blending traditional Chinese iconography with formats accessible to an international readership. Elegant, tactile, and steeped in symbolism, this example offers both aesthetic delight and folkloric richness.

The author: Little is definitively recorded about P’ang Tao, whose name is associated with several early twentieth-century bilingual publications presenting Chinese legends and seasonal festivals. These works were often produced for collectors, travelers, and students of Eastern culture, serving as bridges between classical Chinese mythology and Western curiosity about Taoist lore and symbolism.