Comparative Study On The Taboo Motifs In Chinese And South Korean Tales

Taboo motif is the irreplaceable functional unit in the developmentof folk tales. There has been much achievement in the research of taboomotifs in both China and South Korea, such as the study on the origin fromthe field of Communication; the structural analysis and the study on themeaning and the function based on the variation and distribution; theexploration of the structure of awareness for collective transmission,etc. However, the research is either focusing on some specific tales, orstudying the extensive tales of one of the two countries, that is Chinaand South Korea, which highlights the necessity of the comparative studyon the taboo motifs in Chinese and South Korean tales. In this paper, thetaboo motifs in Chinese and South Korean tales are classified into eight-categories: restrictions on lasciviousness, restrictions on touch,restrictions on view, restrictions on space, restrictions on time,speaking restrictions, sex restrictions and abstentions; and then, thetaboo motifs of totem, folk-custom and religion are comparatively studiedon the basis of psychology.The taboo motifs of totem are composed of dietary restrictions andrestrictions on lasciviousness, which represents the awareness of totemprotection in China and South Korea respectively. In China, dragon, dog,wolf, and deer, etc, the totems of Han-Chinese and other ethnic minorities,are the objects of restrictions. In South Korea, bear, tiger, and snakeare both the national totems and the objects of godliness. While in both China and South Korea the awareness of totem protection is expressed inthe stories of reversed narration in which the violators of the taboo arepunished because of hurting totem animals, the standpoints and charactersof these totem animals in China are different from those in South Korea.For example, although the deer is a victim in Chinese tales of taboo, itis a trapper in South Korean tales of taboo. Reverent as the people inSouth Korea are to the deer out of their belief in nature and its values,the reverence is not as deep as the Chinese people, who stress theimportance of the reversed narration. For example, the dragon, which isa character of passiveness in China, represents an active violation inSouth Korea. That is to say, the dragon is embodied to be the safeguardof the whole country and the law system in South Korea, but in China, thedragon emphasizes the characters of kings and generals. The other taboomotifs of totem should be regarded as the results of the different livingenvironment in a one-nation country and a multi-nation countryrespectively. For example, in China, there are hardly any taboo motifsabout the tiger or the snake.The taboo motifs of folk-custom in both Chinaand South Korea, whichrepresent the archetype symbolism and the collective unconsciousness, arehighly characterized by the aboriginality. More specifically, in China,there are quite a few taboo motifs of animals and plants that are usedin the production activities or related to living circumstances; but inSouth Korea, bear, tiger, and snake, etc Which are the archetypalsturdiness and fearfulness. The interaction between a spirit and a humanbeing is believed both in China and in South Korea, and the taboo, whichis very similar to the superstition, is used in taboo tales in bothcountries. However, there exist some differences: in China, the fear ofthe spirits is used to depict the objects of restriations to expressfaithfulness in mind; while in South Korea, the worries about life and emphasis on existence are connected to the objects of restrictions.Overall, since the taboo motifs of folk-custom reflect the daily life ofthe people in both countries, there are few differences between twocountries, which are well expressed in sex taboo motifs. Moreover, inChina, the development of taboo motifs happens to the tales of ethnicminorities, instead of the tales of Ham-Chinese, while in South Korea,the development happens to the places, other than Seoul.In this paper, the taboo motifs of religion are classified intoConfucian taboo motifs, Buddhist taboo motifs and Taoist taboo motifs.Seeing that Confucianism forms the mainstream culture of China and SouthKorea, the Confucian taboo motifs have the tendency to the realizationof moral value. Namely, Confucianism has linked the taboo motifs to themorality. If China's taboo motifs mainly embody the benevolence, filialduty, and reason in Confucianism, South Korea's taboo motifs mainlyrepresent the sex taboo and the social participation taboo imposed onwomen. Concerning the Buddhist taboo motifs, the Five Buddhist Principlesare used to make the explanation. Especially, the taboo motifs of killing,rape and stealing are noticeable. Even though the taboo motifs of rapeare repeatedly used both in China and South Korea, China's taboo motifsof rape are more conservative by comparison. The taboo motifs of killing,which refers to the taboo of killing totem animals, have varied regionalfeatures in both countries. Concerning the taboo of stealing, in Chinamaterial desire and sexual desire form half of the taboo motifs of stealingrespectively, while in South Korea sexual desire and emotional jealousyform most of the motifs. Wild talk, one of the speaking restrictions, inBuddhist taboo motifs exists only in South Korea. Moreover, it is foundthat the taboo motifs of speaking restrictions in China in South Koreahave great disparity in quantity of these two countries, which exposesboth the different developing tendency of restrictions and the varied self-introspections. That is to say, in the field of Buddhist taboo motifs,except for the taboo motifs of rape, the other four Buddhist Principlesall exhibit the great disparity of the awareness of taboo and livingcustoms in these two countries. Taoism, being a Chinese traditionalreligion, has many different taboo motifs. In South Korea, China's Taoismis combined with the traditional witchcraft; therefore, South KoreanTaoist disciplines are different from Chinese Taoist disciplines. Forexample, although wild talk is one of the Buddhist taboo in South Korea,it belongs to Taoist taboo in China. That is to say, the religiousdisciplines give birth to the different taboo. The most noticeable inTaoist taboo motifs is the exhibitions of taboo in the believer's dailylife and the process of practice. While China's Taoist taboo motifs areregular and varied, South Korea's taboo motifs are closely connected withdaily life, such as living, agedness, illness and death, and keeping awayfrom disasters, etc.Overall, China's taboo motifs relating to the Violation and punishmentof villains are somehow severe and tough, while South Korea's one makesuse of sarcasm in addition to humor. The analyses show Chinese people'smorality and the sharp contrast between good and bad in their thinkingand South Korean people's optimistic dispositions and the supple way ofthinking. In this paper, the comprehensive comparison of the taboo motifsin Chinese and South Korean Tales unveils their customs,behavioral formsand awareness. The further study on this subject in the future will bemore successful.