A Comparative Study Of The Images

Whether in the East or West, the history of monsters has never been shorter than that of humanity; mankind came into existence at the same time as when monsters started to roam free on earth. Thus, peculiar appearance has long been a part of human culture. This paper emerges against a backdrop of monster studies of the East and the West. Sometimes, fear of monsters is a necessity; for through the wonders of monsters and fright caused by confrontation with monsters, we are able to authentically analyze humanity’s psychological states and its fundamental views. This paper was born out of this line of thought as it specifically compares the appearance of strange animals found in Sanhaijing and Tribhumikatha. The peculiarity of these strange animals deeply reflects the cultural significance in their respective differing nations. In the two canonical texts mentioned above, we discovered the fourfold relationships between humans, humans and animals, humans and nature, and, lastly, the Self and the Other.Sanhaijing is one of China’s important pre-Qin classics although its complete edition did not come out in the pre-Qin era and was compiled by more than one person. Its handed down version consists of three parts subdivided into eighteen chapters:Part Shanjing contains five chapters, another twelve chapters belong to Part Haijing, and one chapter serves Part Haineijing. Its main content revolves around geographical knowledge in folklore, including mountains and riverlands, ores, ethnicities, products, medicines, rituals, astronomy, flora and fauna, and strange animals. Shanhaijing preserves a number of ancient myths, legends, and tales such as Nuwa Patches the Sky, Kuafu Chases the Sun.Research on China’s ancient history, geography, culture, Chinese and international interaction, folklore, mythology and etc. embodies the great value of Sanhaijing as the text provides the plethora of academic work with such wealth of material.Tribhumikatha is one of Thailand’s important Sukhothai-era classics. It was written by King Lithai in 1864. Its original script was lost in the second Burmese-Siamese War but was later recomposed by royal masters by order of King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty. This version in circulation has a total of thirteen chapters which can be broken down into ten chapters of primary content and three chapters of secondary content. A substantial part of the text encompasses Buddhist cosmology and the fundamentals of things, depicting the three realms:the desire, the form, and the formless; Apayabhumi, Manussabhumi, Avinibhogarupa, therein are also explored. Tribhumkatha is the Thai public’s Buddhist literary canon. From the nineteenth century up until now, it has served as a major wellspring of Buddhist knowledge for Thai people.The first chapter introduces the authors and gives synopses of Sanhaijing and Tribhumikatha, including some of their background information. The second chapter touches upon American professor of English Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s monster theory, Japanese philosopher Inoue Enryou’s study of Yokai and theories and concepts relating to the Strange. The theories and concepts discussed in this chapter form the basis of the description and analysis of the appearance of strange animals in Sanhaijing and Tribhumikatha. An enquiry into the distinctive physical features and supernatural powers of the strange animals is also incorporated into the chapter and provides the basis for the classification of the strange animals. The examination of the relationships between the strange animals and the Otherness of natural phenomena, disability appearance and medical treatment of diseases is additionally given. In the third chapter, I detail the similarities and differences between strange animals in Sanhaijing and Tribhunikatha. The similarities can be enumerated as follows:the appearance of hybrid animals and the appearance of non-object hybridized animal. Accordingly, Sino-Thai cosmologies and the condition of strange people from afar can be explained with the imagery of these strange animals. As for the differences, the chapter elaborates on the descriptive order of the appearance of strange animals, the strange animals’strange powers and the naming of these animals in the two national holy scriptures.Finally, I summarize and discuss the international cross-cultural implications of the appearance of Sino-Thai strange animals, while pointing out existing research problems and proposing some future research ideas. I personally believe that "the doubt", "the difficult", "the strange" of strange animals in Sanhaijing and Tribhumikatha, in reality, are "not doubt", "not difficult", "not strange". The true meaning of "the strange" is not dependent on spatial and temporal dimensions; it is, contrary to popular belief, timeless and without boundary. Sometimes, "the strange" is merely a tool with which people provoke conflicts. However, the imagery of Sino-Thai strange animals still reflects Sino-Thai people’s life, beliefs, spiritual worlds, traditional folklore, literature and arts, it can thus be called "the unity of good and evil".