First index of Chinese tales (1876)
https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-5294-2022-5-4-91-111
Abstract
The article examines the sources and specifics of the first attempt at a systematic description of Chinese folklore for comparative purposes. The index of Chinese folk tales in the 12th chapter of NB Dennis’s monograph “The Folklore of China” (1876) was based on a scheme by S. Baring- Gould, attached to the collection of English folklore by W. Henderson (1866). In turn, Baring-Gould improved the model created by J.-G. von Hahn that was published in the first volume of the Greek and Albanian tales’ collection (1864). The 1876 index is shorter than its predecessors: it has 15 “roots” (approximately corresponding to the tale types), 9 of which Dennis identified himself; von Hahn had 40 such types, and Baring-Gould had 51. If von Hahn and Dennis in their constructions considered the position of migrationists, Baring-Gould proceeded only from the early ideas of the mythological school about a single ancient source of Indo-European folklore. Dennis had a broader perspective that allowed him in his book to take into account the parallels between the mythological traditions of all inhabited continents; however, in the index, he compares Chinese tales mainly with Indo-European, which reflects the influence of the “Sino-Aryan” movement, popular among Sinologists in the 1870s.
About the Author
A. B. Starostina
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Science
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Aglaya B. Starostina, Cand. of Sci. (Philosophy)
bld. 12, Rozhdestvenka St., Moscow, 107031
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Review
For citations:
Starostina A.B. First index of Chinese tales (1876). Folklore: Structure, Typology, Semiotics. 2022;5(4):91-111. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-5294-2022-5-4-91-111
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