After I read these two different versions of Cinderella, I found there are many similarities and differences between them. First, I will go over the common things that these two books have. They both have very similar characteristics. For example, Cinderella is always a very beautiful and nice girl. She has to do all the hard and dirty work under the discipline of bad characters. Bad characters are commonly involved in these stories. For example, Yeh-Shen had a wicked stepmother, who promoted her own child, but was very mean to her. Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl living in Egypt, had her companion servants who made fun of her appearance and kept distance from her. Second, they have both have a similar plot and theme. Both stories have a good ending toward their destiny. In both versions of Cinderella, they finally get great rewards and marry to the royalties. Third, there are always some belongings being taken away from Cinderella. Elegant dresses, shoes, and rose-red slippers often play important roles in these stories. For example, in the Chinese version of Cinderella, Yeh-shen lost the gold shoes in a huge parade. The king got the shoes and found a long way to find the right person who could fit in it. Fourth, they are all attributed to the supernatural or animals. In the Chinese version of Cinderella, Yeh-Shen was helped by the Fish spirit, and Rhodopis was helped by the falcon. Fifth, the most but not the least, they are both illustrated by beautiful colors and textures to describe the story of Cinderella. This is especially true in the story of the Egyptian Cinderella, which presents great details of life in ancient Egypt. Certainly, there are also some differences between these two books. The Egyptian Cinderella was based on a true story of ancient Egypt to some extent .This is unlike other fairy tales, which use a lot of imagination. In the history of ancient Egypt, Rhodopis did marry to the King Pharaoh Amasis. Furthermore, there is no punishment to bad characters in the Egyptian version of Cinderella.
I like the Chinese version of Cinderella better because it originated from China. I have heard this type of story a long time ago. It has some sort of traditional Chinese culture values and elements inside the story as well. In addition, it was illustrated by Ed.Young whom I have very strong respect for. To conclude, no matter whether they are western or eastern versions of Cinderella, they all tell the great fairy tales that we like. One thing I have learned from these fairy tales is that we need to be optimistic when we encounter problems in our life. The final outcome will turn out great if we try very hard towards our goals and make it happen.