What's the difference between fairy tales and myths?

The dictionary defines fairy tales like this-

Fairy tales are a kind of children's literature. Through rich imagination, fantasy and exaggeration to shape the image, reflect life, and carry out ideological education for children. General stories are magical and tortuous, vivid and simple, and descriptions of natural objects are often anthropomorphic, which can adapt to children's acceptance. (Cihai)

Fairy tales are an important type of children's literature. It is a fictional story with a strong fantasy color, and uses exaggeration, personification, symbolism and other expressions to weave strange plots. Fantasy is the basic feature of fairy tales, and it is also a special artistic means for fairy tales to reflect life. Fairy tales mainly describe virtual things and realms, in which the "characters" are not real imaginary images, and the stories told are impossible. But all kinds of fantasies in fairy tales are rooted in reality and a reflection of life. Fairy tale creation generally adopts exaggeration and personification, follows certain logic to develop bizarre plots, produces a strong fantasy atmosphere and transcends the constraints of time and space, which is also virtual and real, and seems to be virtual and true. In addition, it often uses symbolic techniques to create imaginary images to insinuate and summarize realistic interpersonal relationships. Myth (children's literature dictionary)

abstract

Myth is the earliest fantasy oral prose of human beings. The product of human childhood and the precedent of literature. Myth is based on the low level of productivity in ancient times, and people actively demand to know and dominate nature in order to survive and improve productivity.

Myth is full of magical fantasy, which casts a strange color on the wishes of primitive workers and the growth and change of everything in the world. Most of the mythical images of gods have superhuman strength and are the idealization of primitive human knowledge and wishes. It is imagined according to the image of primitive workers, their production conditions and their understanding of natural forces. Most mythical figures created by tribes with relatively developed hunting economy are related to hunting. Most of the mythical figures created by tribes with developed agriculture are related to agriculture. People use knives, axes, bows and arrows as weapons, and mythical characters become heroes armed with such tools. The hero in the myth is imagined as superman, but sometimes he will encounter setbacks and bad luck. It reflects the realistic constraints of myth and fantasy. Through the refraction of myth and fantasy, we can see the actions and struggles of people at that time from the actions and struggles of mythical characters.

Myth comes from primitive society, and human beings explain natural phenomena through reasoning and imagination. However, due to the very low level of understanding at this time, it is often shrouded in a mysterious color.

Myth is the expression of people trying to conquer nature with fantasy. Most of the mythical images of gods have superhuman strength, which is the idealization of primitive human understanding and desire.

Most of the characters in mythology come from the images of primitive humans themselves. Most of the mythical figures created by tribes with more developed hunting are related to hunting; Most of the mythical figures created by tribes with developed agriculture are related to agriculture. Mythical heroes also use knives, axes, bows and arrows as weapons. From myths, we can see some deeds of our ancestors.

No matter whether it is the primitive society nation in the area where the world civilization first occurred or the nation still in the primitive society in the world today, many fairy tales they spread are similar.

Myth has certain regionality and regionality, and different civilizations or nations have their own mythological significance. However, in all parts of the world, there have been myths that describe the same phenomenon with amazing similarity. For example, the myth about the global flood thousands of years ago has similar descriptions in many areas at the same time.

Definition of myth

What is a myth? Does it only refer to the story of the hero of the Buddha? Academically, the so-called scholar myth refers to a single event or story that happened in the primitive period of mankind, that is, the early stage of human evolution; Moreover, the inheritors must believe these events and stories, and scholars distinguish between myths and legends, myths and folk stories according to this definition.

In other words, myth must meet the following conditions at the same time.

First, it must be a story of early human evolution. According to this definition, it would be wrong if we regard the deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana as myths. Because they are "legends" at best, not "myths". In fact, if we look at such a message in English, we should use "legend" to express it instead of "myth" to define it. Take Japan as an example. The reservoir dug by Master Hon Hai (an empty sea monk) or the place where he once stopped can only be regarded as a "legend" explaining the deeds of great men, and we will not regard it as a "myth".

Secondly, myth must be a single event. According to this definition, those "folk stories" that begin with "Once upon a time, once upon a time …" cannot be regarded as "myths". General folk stories, usually without a specific place, a specific time, no specific characters and story content, may appear repeatedly. But the myth is different. A myth must be a story about a specific person (or Buddha) with a specific place and time (even if neither is clear).

Besides, the inheritors of myths must believe what they say. According to this definition, many so-called myths of modern people are not myths at all. Those stories are about gods who have no believers at all. Strictly speaking, such a story should not be called a myth.

But then again, this classification is not strict. Because many stories are just sandwiched between "legends" and "myths". For example, in Okinawa, Japan, people call legends and folk stories "Itsuki". Because for Okinawa people, legends and folk stories are the same. In addition, for example, the Pawnees among American Indians also have their own classification. Boni people do not divide stories into myths, legends and folk stories, but only into true stories and fictional stories.

However, although the classification is different, it at least proves the fact that every nation in the world has its own "myth".

There were myths in ancient China, but the word "myth" never existed. What is a myth? Mr. Mao Dun once gave a definition: "Myth is a popular folk story in ancient times, and it is beyond human ability to describe the behavior of God. Although absurd, the ancients praised each other, but they were convinced of its truth. " (Myth Research, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House, 198 1: 63).

-Understanding of myths in different academic fields-

The word myth in English comes from the Greek mythos, and its original meaning includes words, words, stories and fictional stories/novels. Because of its unquestionable validity, it is often the opposite of the Greek word "logos". In modern academic research, myths are often not synonymous with "false stories" and "misunderstandings". In different academic research, the word "myth" has three main uses, namely etiquette/anthropology, literature and semiotics:

Etiquette/anthropological usage holds that myth is an anonymous narrative, which provides an explanation of why the world is like this and why people are like this. It is an important means to transform nature into culture and an explanation of human identity, so it has its cultural implications.

In literary theory, myth is a story or symbol of some eternal human truth, which usually belongs to the category of morality or aesthetics. This symbol or prototype has cross-cultural significance. Religion and literature have extremely similar social functions, that is, to convey the values of this eternal truth through stories.

Semiotics' understanding of myth is different from the above two usages. It refers to a series of related but inconsistent concepts. Only through this concept can members of a certain culture understand some important themes of mankind. Myth operates in the state of unconsciousness and intersubjectivity, which naturalizes culture.

Classification of myths

Myths are generally divided into three categories: creation myth, deity myth and hero myth. Among them, the creation myth is the most important.

The so-called creation myth refers to the myth that time is set in the primitive period of mankind and records the origin of things and systems. Among them, there are generally three kinds: world origin myth, human origin myth and cultural origin myth.

The myth of the origin of the world refers to the myth that describes the origin of the world and the universe. Take the Bible as an example, Genesis belongs to this kind of myth. Because the content involves the origin of cosmic phenomena such as the earth, the sun and the moon.

However, not all national myths contain the myth of the origin of the world. For example, the myth of American Indians is a myth based on the existence of the universe. There are also some national myths, not only about the origin of the world, but also about the origin of culture.

However, no matter what kind of myth, all myths have a big theme when they begin to understand the meaning, that is, the universe has evolved from "the beginning of chaos" to "the rules of order"

Almost all myths are based on creating mountains and rivers from chaos. Japanese mythology is a typical example of the myth of world origin. It is mentioned in Japanese mythology that the great god stirred the turbid universe with a spear, so the earth came into being and the mountains and rivers took shape. Similar myths also appear in the myths of other nations in the world.

As for the so-called myth of human origin, it usually describes the whole process that human beings gradually separate from animals and then gradually become a special species in the world. For example, the myth of how humans learn to use language, how humans know how to use fire, how humans began to build nests and houses, and how humans were separated from animals. These myths are actually the beginning of a world order and rules.

Through these myths, people will have a clear understanding of the historical evolution of the world and understand how the world evolved from chaos and ignorance to countless orders and rules.

Compared with the myth of creation, the myth of gods and buddhas and the myth of heroes are more dramatic, recording the deeds of gods and buddhas and heroes. Generally speaking, the more civilized the region, the less the proportion of creation myths, while the relative proportion of gods and buddhas and hero myths will increase in reverse proportion. This is a natural trend, but it does not mean that the content of the creation myth is reduced, but because the content of the myth of gods and buddhas and the myth of heroes is constantly expanding. In contrast, the proportion of the creation myth is much less important. Greek mythology is a typical example. In Greek mythology, the proportion of creation myth is very small, and a large number of stories of gods, buddhas and heroes have become the vast majority of stories in Greek mythology after long-term accumulation.

Because myths circulating in civilized areas are widely known, many people think that the so-called myths refer to the stories of these gods, buddhas and heroes. But unfortunately, this myth with a large number of gods, buddhas and heroes actually accounts for only a very small part of the world myth; In other words, this myth is only a special case of world mythology, but it is not normal.

From a religious point of view, the myth of gods and buddhas is actually a staged product of intellectuals in civilized areas who lost interest in the history of creation and began to believe in God. After this transitional stage, what followed was the so-called heroic narrative poem. Because later intellectuals gradually lost interest in the gods, they turned to worship the heroes around them, and heroic myths and heroic narrative poems prevailed.

Modern people are not interested in the genesis in the Bible, but only spread among the apostles. It is generally believed that this is exactly the same as the evolution theory of fairy tales. (Of course, the inclusion of Genesis in the Old Testament is another major reason. )