The Research Of China's Deluge Story Circle

The Deluge Regenerative Story (usually called deluge story) is a world famous story type. The main idea of this story is that a big flood destroyed the whole world, only a small group of people survived, and after conquering many flexures they multiplied a new generation of human beings. At present, there are over 180 countries or nations have discovered this type of story. In China, this type of story is also very popular. Only the number of the deluge story texts collected by the author is 568, and these texts are distributed among 41 nationalities. Since the 19^th century, the deluge story has been the hotspot of international academe, the correlative work and paper is an immense number of books, only the number of works about china's deluge story is over 400.If we want to solve the secret of the deluge story, at first we have to do the modal analysis of the deluge stories all over the world in order to compare the common and difference among their contents and parse their distinctions and relations, make them connected one by one just like smithing the link. However, until now the China's deluge stories have not already been roundly trimed and described scientifically. From the view of morphology, the purpose of this paper is trying to present the external face of the China's deluge story circle and deluge story layers and make a preparation for the further study, with the method which combines the microcosmic analysis and macroscopical analysis.The method that this research adopted is the motif analysis method which is ameliorate on the basis of historical geography school. The concretely operations are:At first, the author concluded the structures of more than 560 deluge stories into 4 plot segments, and parsed each segment's fixed motives and alterable motives: 1. because the reason A, the god destroyed the human beings with the flood; 2. because the reason B, C got the bless of the god or other ways of help, and use the way D to be survived in the flood; 3. With the bless or help of the god, C passed the test and built up a family; 4. C make the human beings multiplied again in the way E, and this became the origin of thing G.Secondly, make the key words table and database. The author used the motif code and Arabic numerals to present the variational value of the 7 alterable motives, such as A1 original water, A2 visitation of Providence, A3 the confliction between gods, and so on. If there is change in this level variable, we can add the number after the code, such as, A21 rainstorm, A22 ground water, A23 the dilapidation of the sky and the crack of the land, and so on. In this way , it forms a key words table which can outspread inimitably. Then the author input every code which has materialvariational value in each version into the database ACCESS of the computer work software OFFICE, in order to form a china's deluge stories database that can be added or amended casually. Therefore,the author can do freewill combination searches, and make the different depth modal description according to the story feature of the different data the author gets.Thirdly, make description to of the changes of the motives in each plot segment. The author made the analysis on the quantuy, distribution, family, time deepness and culture implication of the motives and did the correlative judgment, on the basis of researchful result that the academia has already gotten. At the same time, with the example of the motives in the deluge story, the author also clarified the folk narration theory that begins with the motif logically contains, the immanent contradiction of motif, the immanent value view of motif, the relation between motif and collectivity mentality antetype, and the problem of universality and particularity of motif.At last, according to the above analysis on the quantity, geography, family, text record and historical textual research of the different motives, the author studied the built-up relations among different motives, and made the recapitulation and description of the types and redactions of the China's deluge regenerative story.On the basis of the research result of this paper, the models of China's deluge story represent the following types:1. Han nationality type. The skeleton of story is: visitation of Providence + stone tortoise(or stone lion) avoiding the water+ nipping the mud people(OR cutting up the oaf) to regenerate the human beings + the origin of the family names of china. The code combination is: A2+B2+C2+D12+E1+F31 (or F51) +G12. This type distributes in the Han nationality living region which the centre is central china, north to the northeastern China, south to Xiang-Gui, east to Taiwan, west to Sichuan. And this type is also found in the area in which Han nationality and some minorities live in a mixture.2. Miao-yao Zhuang-dong type. The skeleton of story is: Leigong started up a flood for revenge + the Jiangyang brother and sister avoided the flood with the calabash + brother and sister married for the result of augury + gave a birth to an oaf and cut up it to regenerate the human beings + the reason of that many nationalities only have one common origin. The code combination is: A4+B23+C21+D23+E1+F51+G11. This type focuses the centre which is the south Leigongshan mountain in East Qian to radiate towards the outside. And this type is mainly seen among the nationalities which speak Miao-yao Zhuang-dong language in Qian, Gui and Xiang these three province, and the nationalities which live with them in a mixture.3. Tibeto-Burman type. It is mainly seen among the Yi nationality, Naxi nationality and the nationalities which speak Tibeto-Burman language live with them in a mixture. And there are two redactions in this type: (1) brothers open up wasteland + avoiding the flood with wood...