Legends of the Building of Old Peking is a study of a series of unique popular legends surrounding the building of the imperial cities in old Peking, including the Nazha City legend of the Yuan "Great Capital" and the Ming "Northern Capital, " and the Mongol legend of "sitting by bowshot to locate the capital city" and its Chinese adaptations. These legends reveal a rich tapestry of religious and cultural traditions surrounding the Chinese and non-Han people's conceptions of the origins of their capital cities, they are very distinct from imperial ideologies and dynastic traditions, and are constantly evolving under changing political and cultural circumstances. The book is a unique study of the historical origins of the building of old Peking as well as the genesis and efflorescence of related popular culture in the modern capital of China.