Chinese folk tale types

Author: (German) Erbowa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-02-01
Features: The history of the production and dissemination of folk tales is very long. However, its faithful recording, especially scientific research, is a modern phenomenon. According to the general views of scholars (with some minor differences in recent years), the emergence of faithful records of folk tales occurred in the early part of the last century, that is, with the publication of the Grimms' Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm in Germany. In the mid-part of the last century, Wilhelm Grimm proposed his own theories on the origins of folk tales, suggesting that they were transformed remnants of ancient myths in later times. Since then, numerous theories and schools of thought have emerged regarding folk tales, such as the Linguistic School, the Indian Origin School, the Anthropological School, and even the historically influential Finnish School, also known as the Historical Geographical School, which remains quite popular worldwide. The classification and exploration of folk tales through types is one of the research methods of the Finnish School. Since its introduction by scholars like Arne and others, this method has been adopted by folk tale scholars in many countries. The AT Classification of Folk Tale Types is a representative work in this regard.
Excerpt: "Tiger Grandma" ("Tiger and the Children") (1) A mother of many children leaves home to visit relatives. (2) She cautions the children not to let strangers into the house. (3) On the way, she encounters a woman who asks her many questions. (4) This is a beastly demon, which devours her whole. (5) The beast gains the children's permission to enter the house. (6) To hide its tail, it sits on a barrel, which surprises the children. (7) At night, it allows the youngest child to sleep beside it. (8) It eats the child. (9) The older sister hears a noise and asks what her mother is cooking. (10) She sees a child's finger and realizes the visitor is not her mother. (11) She and the other children pretend to need the bathroom and escape up a tree. (12) The beast also emerges. (13) The children call for help. (14) The beast follows the children's advice and rubs oil on itself, making it unable to climb the tree. (15) The children tie the beast in the middle of the tree.