Typological Study On Ancient Chinese Myths

ABSTRACT:China started the studies on myths in the early Chinese history. With the influence of the trend of western academic thoughts, the idea of "myth" was built in Chinese academy, which made the scholars accessible to a new kind of view in the ancient history studies. At the same time, mythology was also built and began to be specific. Scholars had made achievements on each field in Chinese myth study. Mao Dun, Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren took myth as one particular kind of literature. They made some explanation on the historical context, implication and cultural sense of myths. Gu jiegang, Fu Sinian and Xu Xusheng took myths as historical literatures, then made historical and literal analysis based on their characteristics. Mao Dun, Wen Yiduo and Chang Renxia decoded the early Chinese culture gene with some new academic methods like archeology, historical comparative linguistics; ethnography; comparative anthropology and so on. After1950, enhance of academic level and more and more discovery of unearthed materials, Chinese mythology entered a new era. Scholars have concluded the studies ever before and combined the academic methods all above. On the other hand, they have also accepted some new methods like motif-prototype theories, hermeneutic theories and structuralism, thus made a scientific and complete system on Chinese mythology. Yuan Ke, Zhang Guangzhi, Wang Xiaodun and Ye Shuxian were the main represents of mythology after1950.In the history of Chinese mythology, typological view of study was especially focused on by scholars. The motif theory, for the sake of its classic, flexibility and maneuverability, becomes one of the most important part of typological methods. Motif classification method was widely used in the Chinese folktale studies. There were also many achievements on motif classification such as Zhong Jingwen, Wolfram Eberhard and Ding Naitong’s folktale classification index. Motif method in folktale studies should be introduced into mythological studies. For the characteristics of Chinese written myths, they always appeared to be the combination of the tiny emic units. These tiny emic units, generally, can be transported independently as some single stories or units in the myth texts, as well as interchange in different myths as different function. Thus, using the concept of motif may well explain Chinese myths, and discover their historical and cultural implements. But scholars are still using plain classification methods and making conclusions by their self-conscious in classification works of Chinese myth, they seem not to tend to use motif classification methods and to make system based on types of Chinese myths. From the side of view of myth-classification, taking motif as stand will make us directly discover the between-the-myths relationship of thoughts, culture and race. So the typological side of view and the motif classification methods can found an material and historical coordinate system for Chinese myth. And also, it can build a firm basis for theoretical research and hermeneutic studies on early Chinese history and classics.