Oral Tradition Journal

Asian Origins of Cinderella: The Zhuang Storyteller of Guangxi

Issue: Volume 25, Number 2
Author(s): Fay Beauchamp
Article: View PDF | Download PDF
Citation: http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/25ii/beauchamp

Abstract

The acceptance and understanding of the Asian origins of the “Cinderella” story should replace the widely held belief that the story is fundamentally Western or universal. The Zhuang, an ethnic group at the intersection of China and Vietnam, combined ideas from their own traditions and experiences with motifs from Hindu and Buddhist narratives circulating in their area during the Tang Dynasty, and should be credited with creating this subversive, virginal, talented, and compassionate heroine.

eCompanion

Fishponds outside Guilin, Guangxi Province.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

A niche with a statue identified as a Tang Dynasty Guanyin.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

“Pond of Mercy” where small red fish are currently released to acquire good luck.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

Amulets bought on the steps leading up to the Yongshuo terraced rice paddies.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

Terraced rice paddies in Yangshuo.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

Two historic lakes within Nanning.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

Fish at Dragon Pond.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

Table of Contents

1/7: Figure 1. Fishponds outside Guilin, Guangxi Province, identified as created by and belonging to the Zhuang.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

2/7: Figure 2. A niche with a statue identified as a Tang Dynasty Guanyin. The niche is at the base of Elephant Hill which has the remains of a Buddhist pagoda on the top. The statue was said to be moved to this location after the original Tang Dynasty statue was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

3/7: Figure 3. Directly below the Guanyin statue in Figure 2 is a “Pond of Mercy” where small red fish are currently released to acquire good luck.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

4/7: Figure 4. Amulets bought on the steps leading up to the Yongshuo terraced rice paddies. The seller explained that one carving inside shows a Bodhisattva Guanyin figure; the other side shows a child. The current amulets are made of inexpensive plastic, but a magnifying glass shows a feminized Guanyin figure.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

5/7: Figure 5. (not referenced in the text) Terraced rice paddies in Yangshuo, up the Li River from Guilin, created by the Zhuang beginning in the ninth century. These terraces were made when the Zhuang were displaced from riverside farms. The picture was taken in November when the terraces were dry; in the summer they are flooded to grow rice and stocked with red fish.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

6/7: Figure 6. (not referenced in the text). There are two historic lakes within Nanning. The larger, South Lake, was created in the Tang Dynasty after a flood when an official Lu Ren, in charge of military, created a water storage project to guard against further damage (according to a sign near the lake). In the middle of a park there is a second smaller “White Dragon Lake” with a sign saying “Enjoying Fish at Dragon Pond. General Di Qing in the Song Dynasty named the lake.” The sign further says that the fish died due to pollution and the lake was stocked with 10,000 Koi in 1998 (The word “Koi” was used on the sign in English).
In the photo’s background is a young man holding a baby; nearer to the photographer is a young couple feeding the fish. Their child, not in this picture, came up to the author to give her bread to give to the fish.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

7/7: Figure 7. (not referenced in the text). The size of the fish that came to be fed at Dragon Pond, if not five nor ten feet long as in the Yexian story, was impressive.

Photo by Fay Beauchamp, November, 2007.

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