Mark Bender is an associate professor of Chinese literature and folklore at The Ohio State University. He has published on Suzhou professional storytelling (Suzhou pingtan) and the oral and written literatures of several Chinese minority cultures, such as the Yi, Miao (Hmong), and Daur. His books include Plum and Bamboo: China’s Suzhou Chantefable Tradition (2003), Butterfly Mother: Miao (Hmong) Creation Epics from Guizhou Province, China (2006), and The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature, co-edited with Victor Mair (2011).