What else is a folktale?

Folk stories are one of the important categories in folk literature. Broadly speaking, folktales are oral literary works in the form of prose with fictional content created and disseminated by the working people. They are the collective name for all folk prose works. In some places, they are also called "false stories", "ancient stories" and "ancient scriptures". "etc. Folktales are narrative stories that have been passed down orally by people since ancient times and use strange language and symbolic forms to tell various relationships between people. They have a wide range of themes and are full of fantasy. Folktales start from life itself, but are not limited to actual situations and what people think is true and reasonable. They often contain natural, whimsical elements.

Fantasy stories

Contain rich imaginative elements and are full of romance. It originated from primitive society and continued to develop in class society, reflecting people's lives, customs and beliefs, relationships between people and certain social contradictions in ancient society. The protagonists of fantasy stories are mostly ordinary workers, and the plots, things and some characters that appear in them are mostly of a supernatural nature. It often presents certain things that are impossible in real life as possible. With the help of spells and treasures, it realizes the wishes and aspirations of the poor and honest protagonist, and punishes the wicked and greedy. Most of the treasures in such stories are everyday objects, and their magical properties are actually the idealization of human knowledge and skills, and are manifested in material form through fantasy. Fantasy story plots often adopt the "three-paragraph structure method"; the characters, plots, and language are basically stereotyped, with variations in different regions; the narratives are often mixed with rhymes. "Sweater Girl" in Qian Bao's "Sou Shen Ji" (Volume 14) of the Jin Dynasty, "Baishui Sunu" in Tao Qian's "Sou Shen Ji", "Zhi Nuo", the sequel to "Youyang Zazu" by Duan Chengshi of the Tang Dynasty "Ye Xian" and "Pan" in "Gaoshang" and "Wu Kan" in "Yuan Hua Ji" all record fantasy stories spread in ancient times.

Animal stories

Animals are the protagonists. Animals in stories are often anthropomorphized. Some of these stories use the entanglements between animals to express certain social phenomena and relationships between people; some focus on explaining the habits of animals; and some contain more obvious lesson meanings.

Secular stories

Life stories are fictional stories based on real life. They are also called "secular stories" or "realistic stories". It is more realistic. Stories often praise honest, hard-working, kind and intelligent people; criticize lazy, selfish and stupid people; and also satirize exploiters and oppressors. Many life stories reflect the clever struggles of farm laborers against landlords, craftsmen against workshop owners, and people against the government. Many of the stories about women complained about the pain caused to them by feudal ethics and ethical concepts, and put forward demands for autonomy in marriage and love. Some even showed their courage to challenge feudal imperial power. Some stories are humorous and interesting, showing the intelligence and wisdom of working people. Stories about witty characters circulated among many ethnic groups fully demonstrate the people's wit and optimism. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many new folk tales appeared, reflecting the lives and aspirations of the people in the new era, expressing their noble spiritual outlook, and developing the artistic characteristics of traditional folk tales. Life stories are generally short, with simple characters and often use contrasting techniques. Sometimes the "three-stage structure method" is also used. Its style is relatively simple and lively.

Folk fables

are oral prose stories created by the masses of people and containing obvious moral lessons. It is the crystallization of people's wisdom and experience.

Folk fables probably first developed from animal stories. Pre-Qin writings record or quote many fables with humans and animals as the protagonists. Such as "Pluck the seedlings to help them grow", "Sit back and wait for the rabbit", "Carve the boat to seek the sword", "The snipe and the clam fight" etc.

Folk fables mostly express their themes through life fragments, and the plot and moral of the works are often integrated. The style is subtle, humorous and thought-provoking.

Folk jokes

They are short stories that are humorous and comical. Some of them are satirical at the stupid and greedy rulers, but most of them are satirical about certain shortcomings in the people's internal life and character. works. What do folktales express about working people? Folktales generally express working people’s yearning for a better life and a better future.

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The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is one of the most famous folklores in our country and the earliest story about stars by our people.

There is this passage in "Shu Yi Ji" written by Ren Fang during the Southern and Northern Dynasties: "To the east of the river, there is a beautiful woman. She is the son of the Emperor of Heaven. She is a skilled female worker who works hard year after year to weave clothes made of clouds and silk. There was no joy in the hard work, and there was no time to tidy up the appearance. The Emperor of Heaven took pity on him and married him to Hexi Petunia. From then on, he wasted his efforts in weaving and was greedy for pleasure. The Emperor was angry and blamed him on Hedong. They met once a year. "

The Legend of the White Snake

The legend of "The Legend of the White Snake" has a long history and is well-known to every household. It is one of the four major folk legends in China (the other three are "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" and "Meng Jiangnu" "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl"). The Legend of White Snake matured and became popular in the Qing Dynasty and is a model of Chinese folk collective creation. It describes the tortuous love story between a snake spirit who cultivates into a human form and a human being. The story includes the story of borrowing an umbrella from a tent boat, the white lady stealing Ganoderma lucidum, flooding the Jinshan Mountain, the broken bridge, Leifeng Pagoda, Xu Xian's son Shilin offering sacrifices to the pagoda, and Fa Hai escaping into the belly of a crab to escape death. It expresses the people's praise and yearning for the free love between men and women and their hatred for the unreasonable restraint of feudal forces. It is included in the "first batch of national intangible cultural heritage".

Meng Jiangnu Cries at the Great Wall

It is a famous folk legend in ancient my country. It has been widely circulated in the form of dramas, ballads, poems, raps and other forms, and it can be said to be a household name. It is said that during the reign of Qin Shihuang, labor was heavy. Three days after the wedding of young men and women Fan Xiliang and Meng Jiangnu, the groom was forced to set out to build the Great Wall. He soon died of hunger, cold and fatigue, and his bones were buried under the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnu, carrying cold clothes on her back, went through many hardships and traveled thousands of miles to find her husband and came to the Great Wall, but what she got was the bad news about her husband. She cried bitterly under the city for three days and three nights. The city collapsed, revealing Fan Xiliang's body. Meng Jiangnu threw herself into the sea in despair and died.

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai

The legend of Liang Shanbo is the most radiant oral inheritance art in my country, and it is also the only Chinese folklore that has had a wide impact in the world. People often call "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" "the "Romeo and Juliet" of the East" --- however, "Butterfly Lovers", which also embodies the human spirit of loyalty to love, is not only older than "Luo Zhu" Thousands of years later, the content of the story is also more tortuous and vivid.

Chinese folklore. The story of Butterfly Lovers has been circulating among the people for more than 1,460 years. It is a household name in China and has far-reaching popularity. It is known as the eternal song of love.