Folklore

①Legend of Dayu. Ancient folklore. Yu is the legendary founder of the Xia Dynasty. His main performance is to cure water. According to the ancient records, when Emperor Yao was in the era of flooding, the emperor ordered father and son to cure the flood. Jiu Ji replied, "Father is son, father is son", and his son Yu succeeded his father's work, and after 13 years, he finally recovered from the flood. After that, Shun Zen is located in Yu, and the Xia Dynasty is established. In addition, there are also legends that he chased the ****worker, killed XiangCao, and YingLong helped him to cure the water, etc. Jiu Ji is the son of Yu. The legend of Yu originally contained more mythological elements, but in the long run, the myths and legends about him were "historicized" and more political activities appeared, such as his sending people to measure the earth, summoning his subjects to meetings and deliberations, rewarding and punishing the guilty, and seeking talents and appointments, etc., and a prominent genealogical lineage was created for him. This gradually detached the legendary character of Yu from his original nature and made him a model of an emperor in line with Confucian concepts. Among the people, however, Dayu remained primarily a water-ruining hero with divine overtones.

Legends about Yu's water-control activities are often associated with local scenery. For example, it is said that he took 99 loads of stones from Mount Tai to build a weir to keep out the water, and these stones were later turned into nine sections of Mount Changbai in Shandong. In Shanxi, there is also the legend of Dayu ruling the Jinyang Lake. These legends emphasize his great spirit of braving difficulties and dangers to benefit the people, so as to educate future generations.

②The legend of Yugong Yishan. Ancient folklore. Allegedly: in ancient times, there is a nearly ninety-year-old Beishan Yugong, because of the suffering of the door Taihang, Wangya two mountains hinder access, it is determined to level these two mountains. Family members and neighbors came to help. They spent their days splitting the mountains and transporting soil between Bohai Sea and Taihang for years. The wise old man of Hequ ridiculed Yugong for his "stupidity". Yugong said to Zhisuo, "Even though I die, I have a son who lives on. Their spirit of digging the mountain every day touched God, and God sent two gods, Kua and Moth, to carry the mountain away. This legend contains the idea that "where there's a will, there's a way", and that man can win. Literary scholars, artists and politicians of the past and present have all used this legend. Mao Zedong used the story of Yugong Yishan to inspire and educate his people to carry forward the spirit of hard work.

③Lu Ban legend. Ancient folklore of skilled craftsmen. Luban is the late Spring and Autumn period of the State of Lu craftsman, the name of Gongtu般. He had excellent skills and was a native of the state of Lu, so later people called him "Lu Ban (like)". He was recorded in ancient books and some notes and square records. During the Warring States period, Gongbang, who was originally a historical figure, was gradually transformed into a legendary figure in folklore.

There are two types of legends about Lu Ban. One is the story of his inventions. The other is about his construction of famous bridges, halls, temples and other buildings around the world. Successive generations of craftsmen, wishing to improve their ability to conquer nature and improve their craftsmanship, imagined Luban as a technician with marvelous skills and infinite wisdom. In the old days, carpenters, masons and stonemasons also honored Luban in their folklore activities by worshiping him as their "ancestor" and building temples for him to be enshrined. The legend of Lu Ban played a great role in educating and uniting the craftsmen.

4 Meng Jiangnu legend. Ancient folklore. This legend has been passed down for more than 2,000 years, and after several evolutions, the plot has been enriched and the theme has become more and more distinctive. Meng Jiangnu prototype for the Spring and Autumn Period Qi Qi Liang's wife, in the Spring and Autumn Period Zuo's biography is a woman who knows the image of etiquette. In the Northern Qi Dynasty, when the Great Wall was built repeatedly, the labor was heavy, and there were a lot of conscripts and discontented women among the people. The people associated the reality with the drudgery of building the Great Wall in the Qin Dynasty, which turned the legend into a new form of the theme of anti-construction labor. From then on, Qiliang from the sacrifice of Qi's war generals, turned into a beaten and killed by the construction of the city, Qiliang wife will become a search for their husbands to recognize the bones, crying down the Great Wall of the legendary character.

After the Ming and Qing dynasties, the story of Meng Jiangnu is said to be born of a gourd, and because the gourd is implicated in the next door of Meng Jiang's two families, because of the name Meng Jiangnu. After Meng Jiangnu cried down the Great Wall, Qin Shi Huang saw her beauty and wanted to take her as his consort, and accepted the three conditions put forward by Meng Jiangnu, wearing sackcloth and mourning, holding a funeral staff, mourning for Qiliang. In the end, Meng Jiangnu threw herself into the sea and died.

In recent times, the story of Meng Jiangnu has spread almost all over the country, with far-reaching influence, and a lot of different writings have appeared in different places. Due to the different times, the themes and ideological tendencies of the works are also more complex.

In 1928, Gu Jiegang edited a collection of studies on the story of Meng Jiangnu, which was published. The anthology is a special collection of research on the legend of Meng Jiangnu. The questions and conclusions raised by the study of the historical evolution of this legend still have considerable scientific value. In its research methodology, it linked historical documents with folk oral legends and made historical and geographical comparisons, which had a considerable impact on the later studies of folklore and myth in China.

⑤The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden. Cowherd and Weaving Maiden are derived from the names of the stars Cowherd and Weaving Maiden. Between the Han and Wei Dynasties, there was a folk story in which Cowherd was the earthly cowherd and Weaving Maiden was the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor. The Weaving Maiden and the Cowherd were married and had a boy and a girl, and finally the Queen Mother caught them back and made a heavenly river between them, so that they could only meet each year on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh month by a magpie bridge.

The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden has been a household name for more than a thousand years. Its origins can be seen in the "Classic of Poetry - Xiao Ya - Da Dong". There are also songs about it in Nineteen Ancient Poems - Long Long Altair Star. This story has also given birth to many variations in the oral folklore, some of which are combined with the two-brother type story, which describes the Cowherd as a younger brother abused by his brother and sister-in-law, and the feathered-clothes type story, which describes the Weaving Maiden as a celestial maiden descending from heaven to take a bath, and the old cow tells the Cowherd to hide the Weaving Maiden's clothes and get married, and in the end, the Weaving Maiden finds her clothes and flies back to the sky, and the Cowherd, clad in an old cow's skin, goes up to the sky to meet the Weaving Maiden. The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden is an artistic reflection of the economic life of small farmers in feudal China, where men ploughed and women wove. It takes the feudal family life as the background, through the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden are united and separated, and can only meet once in the sky on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh month of the fantasy plot, reflecting the family relationship under the feudal patriarchal system and the marriage tragedy caused by it. Later generations of literati used this legend to write operas such as "The Match of the River in Heaven", which further expanded its influence. It is known as one of the four most famous legends in China, together with the legend of Meng Jiangnu, the Legend of the White Snake, and the Legend of Liang Zhu.

6 The Legend of the White Snake. It mainly describes the tragedy of the love and marriage between the White Snake and the young Xu Xian. The White Snake and her maid, Xiaoqing, encountered rain at West Lake in Hangzhou during the Qingming Festival, and Xu Xian lent her an umbrella to them, so they got to know each other and set up a marriage bond. The monk Fa Hai of Jinshan Temple saw Xu Xian and said that his face had a demonic aura, and told him to let the White Lady drink xionghuang wine at the Dragon Boat Festival. The White Lady manifested herself and scared Xu Xian to death. The White Lady and Xiaoqing stole the immortal grass to revive Xu Xian, but Fahai separated the couple again. However, Fa Hai separated the couple again. The White Maiden went to ask for her husband and met Xu Xian at the Broken Bridge after the water flooded San Francisco, and the couple was reunited. But Fahai again destroyed the bridge and put the White Lady under the Leifeng Pagoda.

The legend of the White Snake originally originated from the rumor that a giant python was found in the folklore. It was also influenced to some extent by the Tang legend "The White Snake Story". It also absorbed some of Jinshan's original legends of monks and dragons fighting. The synopsis of the story of the White Snake was further reflected in the "Three Pagodas of West Lake", and the story was colored with the idea that man and demon could not **** live together. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Feng Menglong compiled the "Alarmist Tongyin" in which there is a popular novel of "White Snake Forever Zhen Leifeng Pagoda", and the tendency is also the same. The Leifeng Pagoda Legend of the early Qing Dynasty diminishes the demonic aura of the White Snake and highlights her courageous character of resolutely pursuing free love. The story has a certain anti-feudal significance. The Legend of the Righteous Demon and the White Snake Treasure Scroll also show the same tendency, in which Fahai becomes the representative of evil forces. After the Legend of the White Snake entered the opera, the plot was richer and the characters were more fleshed out. The development of the White Snake legend from its initial embryonic form to its basic finalization involved both changes in the circulation of folklore itself and the influence of popular literature such as raps, novels, treasure scrolls, and operas.

7 Liang Zhu legend. A famous Chinese folk legend. The story shows a pair of young men and women in the feudal system failed to unite the marriage tragedy of hate. The earliest known in the early Tang Dynasty Liang Zaiyin's "Ten Roads and Four Fan Zhi". In the late Tang Dynasty, Zhang Read's Xuanluo Zhi recorded the story in its entirety, titled "The Mound of the Righteous Woman". The basic plot of the story is: Yingtai, a woman from the Zhu family in Shangyu, traveled to school in disguise as a man, and attended school with Liang Shanbo, a man who was a member of the Liang Shanbo family. I wish to return first, two years, Shan Bo visit, Fang know it as a woman, told his parents to seek employment, and Zhu has been word of Ma's son carry on. Shan Bo after the Yin order, died of disease, buried in ancient city west. Wish suitable for Ma's, boat over the tomb, the wind and waves can not enter. Asked to know the tomb of Shan Bo. Zhu Den mourn, the ground suddenly cracked and sank, Zhu was buried. Jin Prime Minister Xie An played table his tomb said: righteous woman mound. Feng Menglong of the Ming Dynasty, a collection of short stories, "Ancient and Modern Novels - Li Xiuqing righteousness knot Huang Zhen female" "into the story" lists a few female disguised as men in the legend also has Liang Zhu story. In addition to being told in the storybook, the legend has also been compiled into an opera. After the playbook and opera re-creation, the anti-feudal significance was increased. The Legend of Liang Zhu is based on real life and has a legendary color, and the tragic ending and the idealized ending reach a harmonious unity. It exposes the evils of feudal arranged marriages and celebrates the purity and freedom of love. The story of Liang Zhu is an important development from the beginning of the female disguise to the later anti-feudal theme. The anti-feudal ideas in the legend grew stronger and thus more popular among the people.

⑧ Liu Sanjie legend. Chinese Zhuang folklore. According to legend, Guanxi Yishan area in the village of the San River in the San, there is a ranking of the third woman surnamed Liu, due to the name of Liu Sanjie, Sanjie Department of the yellow warbler reborn, like to sing songs. Young people from near and far sang songs with her, but no one could win. Youth Li Shitian, hard-working and simple, asked to learn the song from the third sister. The rich man Mo Huairen, see the third sister looks beautiful and good at singing, want to take as a concubine, hire someone to sing with the third sister, for the third sister was defeated. At this time, Li Shitian had already learned a good song, and often sang with the third sister. Mo Huai Ren had a grudge against her. In the end, she fell into the river. The third sister floated to Liuzhou, and Li Shitian song, sang for three days and three nights, floating away. Later, she sang with Li Shitian at the Seven Star Rock in Guilin for seven days and seven nights, and became a pair of yellow warblers and flew away.

The legend of Liu Sanjie fully embodies the thoughts, aspirations and creative talents of the Zhuang people. It is of reference value to the study of the history of social customs and folklore of various ethnic groups in southern China.

9 local legends. Refers to a region of mountains, rivers, scenery and other interpretive legends. The basic feature is: through the vivid storyline, for a particular natural or artificial objects, the origin, characteristics, naming reasons, etc., to explain the explanation. It often combines three elements: introduction of the scenery, story and explanation.

China's famous mountains and rivers, famous buildings, local specialties and customs, etc. have vivid legends to explain. Local legends contain a lot of knowledge about specific scenery, mountains and rivers, architecture, specialties, folklore, etc., and reflect a wide range of social life. It expresses the people's arduous struggle to conquer nature and change the appearance of mountains and rivers, as well as the people's bitter life under the oppression of the ruling class and various forms of resistance in the past. The people express their sorrows and joys, express their ideals of life, and affirm their faithful love in the local legends.

There are a large number of works in the local folklore which are created by using marvelous fantasies, supernatural images and magical changes. It is also a fascinating method of creating narratives of real life. The localization of local legends is very obvious, and many legends are unique to a certain place, but some stories are widely circulated.

Many of the local legends are localized stories of historical and mythological figures, and sometimes anthropomorphize mountains and rivers using allegorical techniques, or implement general folk tales to specific local features, forming a variety of forms and unique folklore of a variety of characteristics.

⑩ Anti-imperialist legends. Refers to China's modern opposition to the invasion of the Great Powers of the legend. From 1840 to 1949, China has been repeatedly invaded by the powers, the Chinese people repeatedly anti-aggression war. During this period, the people of the masses produced a lot of opposition to the invasion of the Great Powers as the theme of the legend, collectively referred to as anti-imperialist legends.

The anti-imperialist legends can be divided into two categories: the first category is taken directly from the anti-aggression wars. Such as "Boxer's ambition never die", "Commander Yang wisdom to take Tonghua" and so on. The second category does not directly reflect a specific war, but widely expose the plundering activities of the invaders. Most of the foreign invaders to steal the treasure as the center of events, such as "Golden Phoenix", "can not steal the treasure ship" and so on.

Anti-imperialist legends mainly glorify the bravery and resourcefulness of anti-enemy heroes, including well-known historical figures and the general public, and some stories, although they speak of some kind of physical objects, landscapes, or take material from a certain war, or even speak of the battle stories of a real person, but the storylines are not all historical facts, and the second type of stories are more imaginative. The historical value of such legends lies mainly in its expression of the strong will of the Chinese people to oppose aggression and the spirit of patriotism against foreign enemies.

The legend of the Peasants' Revolt. China's long-term feudal society broke out in a number of peasant uprisings. Some of these large-scale movements have left a profound impact on the masses. And after people continue to recall and tell, gradually evolved into a legend. Such legends in the early stages of its formation, often dependent on real people.

The main content reflected in the legend of the Peasants' Uprising is either based on historical events, focusing on reflecting the process of the rise and growth of the struggle; or based on characters, focusing on the heroic image and character of the uprising leaders or rebel characters; or based on a battle, focusing on describing the uprising troops' resourcefulness, bravery, and tenacity of the battle; or highlighting a matter and a thing, focusing on reflecting the relationship between the uprising troops and the masses; or reflecting the general masses of people's civil-military relations. The story is about the relationship between the army and the people, or the nostalgia of the masses for the insurgent army.

As an oral art creation of the masses, the legend of the Peasants' Uprising does not have a strict scientific history. It is an important literary tool used by the working people to reflect the history of their own revolutionary struggle. Through the hearing and seeing and personal feelings of many contemporaries, they are often able to make a fairer evaluation of the insurrectionary movement and its leaders, and truly reflect the essence of the society at that time, as well as the people's sufferings and expectations from different aspects of life.