History
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Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China, and includes songs, poetry, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phenomena and distinctive landmarks. [1] Along with Chinese mythology, it forms an important element in Chinese folk religion.
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The main influences on Chinese folk tales have been Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. Some folktales may have arrived from Germany when Grimm brothers had contributed some materials for the folktales regard to the country life of the German dwellers since the 1840s; [2] others have no known western counterparts, but are widespread throughout East Asia. [3] Chinese folktales include a vast variety of forms such as myths, legends, fables, etc. A number of collections of such tales, such as Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio , now remain popular.
Each Chinese folktale includes the representation of various objects and animals and uses symbolic messages through its characters and usually strives to convey a message that instills the reader with some sort of virtuous insight. These messages are vital to Chinese culture and through these folktales, they will be passed down to future generations to also learn from. [4]
The Great Race is a folk story that describes the creation of the Chinese zodiac calendar that includes twelves animals each representing a specific year in a twelve-year cycle.
Chinese folklore contains many symbolic folk meanings for the objects and animals within the folktales. One example of this is the symbolic meaning behind frogs and toads. Toads are named Ch'an Chu (蟾蜍) in Chinese, a folklore about Ch'an Chu illustrates the toad imports the implication of eternal life and perpetual. Chinese folklore unfolds the story of a Ch'an Chu (toad) is saved by Liu Hai, who is a courtier in ancient Chinese period. For recompense the gratitude to Liu Hai, Ch' an Chu divulge the secret of eternal life and being immortal to Liu Hai. And this is the origin of Ch' an Chu as a symbol of eternal in traditional Chinese folklore culture. [5]
In the "Chinese myth of the Moon Goddess, Chang'e", frogs and toads are a symbol of wealth and prosperity as well as symbolize fertility, regeneration, yin, and immortality. It is said that there were ten suns exposing the earth in the ancient times. Hou Yi who was an archer as well as the husband of Chang'e, he shot down nine suns from the sky with his bow and arrow. For expressing gratitude god rewarded him with pill which is an immortal elixir. In some versions of this tale, Chang'e took the pill for in avarice and she transformed into a three-legged Ch'an Chu and eventually flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his wife so much that God allowed him to reunite annually with Chang'e at moment of the full moon on the 15th of August in Chinese lunar calendar, which is the celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival. From then on, the moon and Chang'e relate to the toad comprise the significance eternal and reunion. [6]
Formal academic study of Chinese folklore began to gain popularity in the 1910s with the New Culture Movement, which advocated Vernacular Chinese as the language of education and literature. Because most folklore was created in the spoken language, this movement brought scholars' attention to the influences of folklore on classical literature. Hu Shi of Peking University, a strong advocate of Vernacular Chinese, concluded that when Chinese writers drew their inspiration from traditional tales and songs, Chinese literature experienced a renaissance. When writers neglected these sources, they lost touch with the people of the nation. An emphasis on the study of folklore, Hu concluded, could usher in a literary renaissance. A rising sense of national identity also spurred the new interest in traditional folklore. The first issue of the Folk-Song Weekly, a publication issued by the Folk-Song Research Society, stated that "Based on the folk songs, on the real feeling of the nation, a kind of new national poetry may be produced." [3]
The Folksong Studies Movement became a key contributor to establishing Chinese folklore as a modern academic discipline. This movement was founded by Hu Shi's students and colleagues at Peking University, such as Gu Jiegang. They were successful in creating a field of study that focused on literature pertaining to Chinese folklore and attempted to bring to light the early traditions and culture of Chinese folklore in order to reestablish China's national spirit.; [7] The May Fourth Movement in 1919 sparked patriotic students and scholars to collect and record historical folklore in both rural and urban areas. Folklore collections in the May Fourth Movement had a broad territorial sweep, including not only the ethnic Han, who form the majority, but also the minority areas. [8] Folksong collection was carried by Peking University one year before the May Fourth Movement, started in 1918. [9]
Some folklore enthusiasts also hoped to improve the condition of the Chinese people and believed it necessary to understand their ideas, beliefs, and customs. [3] Communist activists and scholars collected songs and local lore, often, reinventing and reinterpreting them to emphasize such themes as the virtue of the working commoner and the evil of aristocracy, while they left out stories that expressed praise for the emperor or traditional Confucian values from their collections. Widely circulated stories of today may have been treated in this way. [3] Some claimed that folksongs played a significant part in the integration of folklore culture in the early twentieth century of China, as well as a functional tool to convey the spirit of socialism and communism after the Liberation period. [10] After China emerged from the Maoist period in the late 1970s, the state adopted a more accepting position toward academic research on China's cultural traditions and folklore. Forbidden traditions and practices in early Chinese history became more relevant and accepted. [7]
The Classic of Poetry , the earliest known Chinese collection of poetry, contains 160 folk songs in addition to courtly songs and hymns. One tradition holds that Confucius himself collected these songs, while another says that an emperor compiled them as a means to gauge the mood of the people and the effectiveness of his rule. [11]
It is believed that Confucius did encourage his followers to study the songs contained in the Classic of Poetry, helping to secure the Classic of Poetry's place among the Five Classics . After Confucian ideas became further entrenched in Chinese culture (after about 100 BCE), Confucius's endorsement led many scholars to study the lyrics of the Classic of Poetry and interpret them as political allegories and commentaries. [12]
Folksongs are divided into three major parts which are shan' ge (mountain songs), xiaodiao (little tunes), and chang'ge (long songs). Regarding shan'ge the mountain songs are having a deviation to represent the specific regional level, concentrating on rural rather than urban region. Xiaodiao can be considered as the mainstream folksongs among the genres, which are introduced to the general public with familiarity. Always accompanied by performs and professional stage shows presenting to the public. In terms of the chang'ge, long songs, which is a certain kind of narrative songs utilized mostly by the national minorities in some special events as a narrative form in singing. [13]
Chinese folklore has provided inspiration for visual imagery by Chinese weavers, painters, water colorists, and florists. One of the most striking examples is a silk funerary banner (circa 168 BC) that contains a number of stories from early China. [14]
Modern iterations of traditional Chinese stories can be found internationally as well as in native Chinese literature. Laurence Yep's The Magic Paintbrush , Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior , and Walt Disney Pictures' Mulan (based on Hua Mulan) all borrow from Chinese folklore traditions.
Chinese folklore has provided inspiration for Chinese writers and poets for centuries. Folk songs, which were originally accompanied by dance and other styles of performing arts, provided inspiration for courtly poetry. Classical fiction began in the Han dynasty and was modeled after oral traditions, while Yuan and Ming era dramatic plays were influenced by folk plays. [3]
The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales, popularizing stories such as "Cinderella", "The Frog Prince", "Hansel and Gretel", "Town Musicians of Bremen", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Snow White". Their first collection of folktales, Children's and Household Tales, began publication in 1812.
A fairy tale is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons, dwarfs, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, merfolk, monsters, monarchy, pixies, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, witches, wizards, magic, and enchantments.
Chinese mythology is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers, these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies, Chinese mythology has historically been regarded, at least partially, as a factual record of the past.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of autumn.
English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, dance, balladry, and folktales that have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural heritage of the country. This body of folklore includes a diverse array of characters, such as heroic figures like Beowulf or Robin Hood, legendary kings like Arthur, and mythical creatures like the Green Man and Black Shuck. These tales and traditions have been shaped by the historical experiences of the English people, influenced by the various cultures that have settled in England over centuries, including Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Norman elements.
The folklore of India encompasses the folklore of the nation of India and the Indian subcontinent. India is an ethnically and religiously diverse country. Given this diversity, it is difficult to generalize the vast folklore of India as a unit.
Irish folklore refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland. It is the study and appreciation of how people lived.
"The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Traditionally, it is the first story in their folktale collection. The tale is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 440.
The Frog Princess is a fairy tale that has multiple versions with various origins. It is classified as type 402, the animal bride, in the Aarne–Thompson index. Another tale of this type is the Norwegian Doll i' the Grass. Eastern European variants include the Frog Princess or Tsarevna Frog and also Vasilisa the Wise ; Alexander Afanasyev collected variants in his Narodnye russkie skazki, a collection which included folk tales from Ukraine and Belarus alongside Russian tales.
Pakistani folklore encompasses the mythology, poetry, songs, dances and puppetry from Pakistan's various ethnic groups.
Frogs play a variety of roles in culture, appearing in folklore and fairy tales such as the Brothers Grimm story of The Frog Prince. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, frogs symbolized fertility, while in classical antiquity, the Greeks and Romans associated frogs with fertility, harmony, and licentiousness.
Wolfram Eberhard was a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley focused on Western, Central and Eastern Asian societies.
Punjabi folklore are a core part of the Punjabi culture. Other important components of Punjabi folklore are farces, anecdotes, idioms, folktales, and sayings.
A Russian fairy tale or folktale is a fairy tale in Russian culture.
Danish folklore consists of folk tales, legends, songs, music, dancing, popular beliefs, myths and traditions communicated by the inhabitants of towns and villages across the country, often passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth. As in neighbouring countries, interest in folklore grew with an emerging feeling of national consciousness in 19th century Denmark. Researchers travelled across the country collecting innumerable folktales, songs and sayings while observing traditional dress in the various regions. Folklore today is part of the national heritage, represented in particular by national and local traditions, songs, folk dances and literature.
The Jin Chan, also called Chan Chuy or "Zhaocai Chan Chu", is most commonly translated as "Money Toad" or "Money Frog". It represents a popular feng shui charm for prosperity.
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are characters found in Chinese mythology and appear eponymously in a romantic Chinese folk tale. The story tells of the romance between Zhinü and Niulang. Despite their love for each other, their romance was forbidden, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day. Though there are many variations of the story, the earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to a poem from the Classic of Poetry from over 2600 years ago:
Canadian folklore is the traditional material that Canadians pass down from generation to generation, either as oral literature or "by custom or practice". It includes songs, legends, jokes, rhymes, proverbs, weather lore, superstitions, and practices such as traditional food-making and craft-making. The largest bodies of folklore in Canada belong to the aboriginal and French-Canadian cultures. English-Canadian folklore and the folklore of recent immigrant groups have added to the country's folk.
"Li Ji Slays the Giant Serpent" is a Chinese tale first published in the 4th-century compilation Soushen Ji attributed to the Jin-dynasty official Gan Bao. The story concerns a young heroine named Li Ji who bravely rids her village of a terrible snake.
Zhong Jingwen was a Chinese folklorist. Sometimes called the "father of Chinese folklore studies", Zhong pioneered folklore studies from the 1920s to 1980s. Born in Eastern Guangdong in 1903, he attended Sun Yat-sen University and co-founded the Folklore Society of SYSU, the first folkloristics society in China, alongside prominent academics such as Gu Jiegang and Dong Zuobin. He briefly served as the chief editor of two folklore periodicals and published a monograph on folk arts. He was fired from the university in 1928, and later served as a visiting professor at Waseda University in Tokyo.
