Comparative Study On Cinderella-type Story Of Zhuang & Thai

The investigation on the Cinderella-type story is one of the hot topics in the comparative studies on folktales. Numerous scholars have researched this type of story but the abundant research findings only focus on its origin and transformation. The purpose of this investigation is not the repetition of source region or the prototype of the Cinderella-type story, but of it's connotation in the mainstream culture of Zhuang & Thai local circle.This thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter One is Introduction, summarizing the academic achievements on this subject, illustrating the researching range and methods as well as the involved theories and basic concepts. Chapter Two is the representation of the basic contents in the Cinderella-type story of Zhuang & Thai. Different versions of Cinderella-type story are popular in areas of Zhuang nationalities in Guangxi province, such as Yijia and Yileng in Baise, Dajia and Dalun in Longzhou, The Story of Dajia in the west of Guangxi, Dazhadalun in Tianyang, and The Story of Zha and Lin in Donglin Village of Debao County. In Thailand, the widespread Cinderella-type stories include Golden Carp in the central part of Thailand, Wutala or Turtle in Golden Armor in the north. Ten of more representative versions are selected in this thesis for study. In Chapter Three, the structure of the Cinderella-type story of Zhuang & Thai is specifically analyzed in a comparative way. The survey found that most types of stories are in a combined mode. Their motif compositions are extremely similar with each other. Comparing the core motifs of the Cinderella-type story of Zhuang & Thai, it is obvious that the plots of the stories are also astonishing parallels. The mutual chore motifs are abuse by stepmother, the assistance by miraculous power, special authentication, hypergamy, murdering heroine, heroine's embodiment of birds, restoration to origins, couple reunion, punishment on stepmother and her daughters. In Chapter Four, both the similar and different motifs on the Cinderella-type story are contrasted in details. The national cultural features and mental consciousness reflected by each motif is also discussed in depth. Chapter Five is the comparative analysis of the cultural connotation in this type of story presented from three aspects—the modes of production and life styles, folk beliefs as well as value perspectives. Chapter Six is Conclusion. From its morphological structure, the basic feature of the Cinderella-type story is compound and the motif composition is quite similar, especially the motifs like Village festival , Song bazaar, shoe-authentication, Bodhi-authentication, wife identification by flower series modifying the rich and varied cultural events in Zhuang & Thai nationalities. Variation, abuse by stepmother and the end of stepmother and stepsisters' fate mirror the mutual believes and moral evaluations by Zhuang & Thai people on transmigration and "One good return deserves another."...