Chinese folk tales as a reflection of the figurative thinking of the people

Being an integral part of folk folklore, fairy tales serve as a support, a source of knowledge about any nation, nation, as they reflect the way of life of the environment in which they originated, natural conditions and the peculiarities of original culture and historical development. And Chinese folk tales are no exception. In the fairy-tale repertoire of the Chinese, the greatest place is occupied by fairy tales, which are divided into separate semantic categories:

• The abduction of the beloved protagonist and her subsequent salvation;
• About marrying a sorceress, an unearthly wonderful girl (for example, "Red Lily");
• About the victory of the unfortunate orphan (the disastrous hero) over selfish and cruel relatives.

About the search for the disappeared beautiful bride

One of the most ancient cycles, of which Chinese folk tales are composed, are the narratives about the search for the missing brides: "How a young man searched for a loved one," in which an evil werewolf was stolen, or "The Tale of the Crafty W-gen and the Faithful Shi-e", in Which the heroine was abducted by the Black Eagle. Perhaps, in the view of the ancient Chinese, the abduction of a lover was seen as a punishment for neglecting the tradition of choosing a girl as wife only from a kind. All Chinese folk tales of this type had the same structure and further development of the plot. It consisted in the fact that the hero went on a quest for a fiancé, at any cost he tried to take her away from the villain-razluchnik and return to the world of people. Naturally, the legend ended with an absolute happy ending - a happy return home as a winner and with a beloved bride. In comparison with the European analogues of such fairy-tale subjects in Chinese, there is no ornate description of the beautiful (royal) life, excessive pomp of the syllable, and the main characters are not princes and enchanted princesses, but ordinary peasant couples.

On the path and tests

There are fairy tales about the test, which the fathers of daughters invent in their kingdom for the future son-in-law. A fairy tale called "Heavenly Drum" is an example. In it, the main character takes the heavenly fairy as his wife, but this marriage is not considered fair by the fairy's father and takes her daughter to heaven, where she keeps her in heavenly prison. For the return of his beloved, the young man must pass through the kingdom of his father-in-law numerous trials that were not passed before the marriage, which violated the sacred marriage ritual. Only after fulfilling all the tasks assigned to him by his beloved father, the hero will again be able to see his wife.

Another example is the fairy tale "Red Lily", in which the protagonist, the poor peasant Dulin, having married a beautiful fairy, a girl who emerged from a flower, did not appreciate his happiness to the full: he became lazy, arrogant. The payment did not take long. The fairy, unable to bear his disdainful attitude, fled on a peacock to the moon. It took Doolin a year to realize and correct his mistake. Once he began to work again, as his wife returned to him and their life became "sweet as honey" again.

Fighting evil relatives

Chinese tales for children include those that tell of the "victory" of the unfortunate protagonist over their horrible relatives: a self-interested and hated elder brother and his wife, over stepmother or stepfather. In such stories there is a pronounced characteristic for many folklore legends of different nations trait - the idealization of the younger brother. And the Chinese folk tales also represent this hero as the guardian of patrimonial traditions and the family hearth, for example, as in "The Tale of the younger brother". In it, the younger brother inherits a piece of unsuitable land, a dog on which he plows, and a rooster. From hatred, the elder brother kills the unfortunate dog and the bird. A grief-stricken hero bury friends near his hut. And next morning at the burial place grows a wonder tree, instead of foliage on which - a coin.

Household and satirical tales

Chinese folk tales, belonging to the category "household", include frankly satirical stories, for example, "The Beautiful Wife" and "The Magic Chan". In everyday fairy tales, the dominant role is played by all sorts of magical objects, around the features of which the storyline unfolds. However, in comparison with Russian satirical tales, in the Chinese fairy-tale character the judge is usually wise and positive. An example can serve as a collection of tales of a just judge Bao-guna, who was famous for his honesty and incorruptibility.

The Chinese folk tale "The Liu Brothers" deserves special attention. According to her story, the mother had five twin sons, called all Liu and after added a serial number - the first, second, etc. The boys had each separate magical property. They lived happily and happily until the evil ruler, angered by the spoiled hunting, arrested one of the brothers. But the heroes stood up for their brother's defense, using their fabulous super abilities. They not only liberated their younger son, but also rescued the population of the region from the evil ruler and his entire suite.

Reflection of figurative thinking

There are several types of Chinese tales: a fairy tale is called "xianhua", a mythical tale is "gushi", children's tales are "tunkhua". The most interesting are the fairy tales, which are called "Shenhua". Often they have a connection with the concepts of "fiction", "myth" and "legend". In ancient times, people tried to explain the incomprehensible phenomena of nature by any available means. Therefore, the fairy tale is a reflection of the figurative thinking of the Chinese people, which is based on imagination.