英文摘要 |
There is no doubt that folklore possesses a tension that cuts across time and space. From“Donghai Xiaofu”(The filial women in East China Sea 東海孝婦)in Hou Hanshu(Book of later Han《後漢書》)and Soushen Ji( Search of the Sacred《搜神記》)to“Dou E”(竇娥)by Guan Hanqing (關漢卿), the theme of the wronged filial woman has been emphasised through various literary elements. Approximately 500 years after the publication of Guan Hanqing's“Dou E”, a similar folklore circulated amongst the villagers of an island in Malaya. According to the story, a beautiful maiden known as Mahsuri was falsely accused of adultery, and later sentenced to death. Before being stabbed, Mahsuri cursed the island. She tells the villagers that the island will suffer desolation for seven generations as a sign of her vindication.
Although the injustices and exoneration of Donghai Xiaofu, Dou E and Mahsuri share similar motifs, structures and significance, it should not be seen as a method of simple reproduction. Rather, these stories reveal a mutation of the archetype. These three ladies share a same motif of injustice/exonerate, yet slightly difference on prominence of their filial piety and chastity. As a folklore, both of Donghai Xiaofu and Mahsuri reveal the similar structure cuts across time and space. Besides, with originate from Donghai Xiaofu, Dou E show a strong contrastive of red and white colour as the symbolic of injustice and exonerate. This phenomenon shows that in addition to a unity of internal themes, there is also an interflow and discrepancy of cultures. |