This commentary was originally published in two parts.
History of Yeh-Hsien
Probably the first recorded
version (c. 850-960 C.E. [1]) of a Cinderella tale, Yeh-Hsien was first
written down by Tuan Ch’eng Shih[2], though the story itself appears to
come from aborigines in the extreme south. Surprisingly, the story was
largely ignored until 1911, when attention was drawn to it by Japanese
folklorist K. Minakata [3].
In contrast to many other early
folklorists, Tuan Ch’eng Shih not only made no effort to ‘literise’
tales but also went to great effort to preserve the authenticity of his
collections. In the case of Yeh-Hsien, this has provided a clean text,
though it must be noted that in other tales he has ‘corrected’ stories,
believing that later versions, even those collected from a different
region, are bastardisations of earlier, ‘authentic’ tales.
But
Ch’eng Shih’s Cinderella is particularly interesting, providing more
motivations and explanations etc. than common, more detail about
Yeh-hsien (good at making pottery on the wheel) giving her more
character (consider today's modern, snappy one-lining protagonists)
than our modern cinderellas.
About Yeh-Hsien
Certain
details of this tale’s setting are unique. While European Cinderellas
usually involve a mother or step-mother, a sometimes orphaned and poor
girl, and a wish-granting spirit. Yeh-Hsien, however, contains elements
and motivations outside the norm. Interestingly, the story continues
past the ‘happily ever after’, detailing the fate of the step
family—flying stones, then the tomb of the distressed women, prayed to
by bachelors who then succeeded with whomever they sought to court; the
king used the bones for a year then, when they stopped answering,
buried them royally by the sea; during a mutiny a general opened them
up to provide for his army; finally, the bones were washed away by the
sea.
Over time, many tellings have lost the detail of the cave,
that Yeh-Hsien’s father had two wives , and that the name of the
neighbouring island kingdom (T’o’han), and. It’s possible that such
details have been omitted in an attempt to refine the story (consider
Perrault’s Cendrillion). But each of these details has its own
significance in terms of placing the story and learning about its
origins. First, we shall deal with the cave.
In the Tuan Ch’eng Shih version, the story begins:
Among the people of the south there is a tradition that before the Ch'in and Han dynasties there was a cave-master called Wu. The aborigines called the place the Wu cave.
On first reading, ‘cave’ is surprising, if not a little disturbing. As we continue to read the story, it becomes clear that Yeh-Hsien’s home is not literally a cave. Why, then, such a beginning?
According to Arthur Waley[4], aborigines in the south of China did live in caves but, when this tale was recorded (c. 9th century), the aborigines had come to live in small villages and ‘cave owner’ had come to mean ‘in the native lands’, i.e. it was used in an ethnic sense rather than a literal one.
With regard to Yeh-Hsien’s father and his two wives:
The aborigines called the place the Wu cave. He married two wives. One wife died...She had a daughter Yeh-hsien...After some years the father died, and she was ill-treated by her step-mother...
Some
versions describe Yeh-Hsien’s step-mother as her father’s ‘co-wife’.
Historical record shows us that Chinese men took only one wife. Chiefs
and high ranking aborigines in the south, however, were sometimes
documented as taking more than one wife, and modern aborigines have
been shown to have more than one wife also, adding to the idea of the
tale’s provenance being from this area.
It has been suggested that Yeh-Hsien
is set in what is now modern day Nan-ning, approximately 100 miles
north of the frontiers of Annam. Much of this comes from anecdotal
evidence; Waley points out that many of the elements in the tale,
particularly the existence of a cave-master Wu[5] and a great festival
around springtime are both historically recorded facts about the
region. But here we must be wary of euhemerism, i.e. a method of
rationalising interpretation such that accounts (particularly
mythological accounts) are seen as a reflection of true historical
events shaped through retelling and societal values. So, although Waley
provides an interesting argument, I suggest retaining a healthy amount
of scepticism with regard to his notes on this story.
Before we
continue, I’d like to take a moment to talk about how fairy tales
circulated within China during this time. As we know, Tuan Ch’eng Shih
collected Yeh-Hsien from a
family servant; folk and fairy stories often reached the upper classes
in this way, travelling through the tongues of wet nurses, singing
girls, and personal valets. If someone in a higher class was taken with
such a story, they would then write it down, possibly refining and
tweaking it. Eventually, such writings were adapted into plays and
performances, many of which were attended by commoners.
Fish
One
of the defining elements of a Cinderella story is a magical,
wish-granting thing. In many cases, the wish-granter is associated with
the heroine’s dead mother[6], and may take a variety of forms,
including but not limited to a cow, a set of bones, a fish, and a tree.
The cow and tree appear to be the most common, though Yeh-Hsien shares the distinction of using a fish with a Portuguese version of the story [7].
In
some versions of the story, it is the spirit of Yeh-Hsien’s dead mother
that speaks to her; in some the wizened old man tells her the fish was
the spirit of her dead mother; and in others no mention of Yeh-Hsien’s
dead mother is made. The story usually makes note of the fish’s
luminous golden eyes or golden colour along with its length and
fatness. The practice of keeping carp (koi) is not a new one, and it is
likely this is the type of fish to which the story refers.
The
fish, especially the carp is associated with prosperity (the Chinese
character for ‘fish’ may also be translated as ‘abundance’). But the
carp is especially known for its strength and bravery also, so
perceived because it swims against the current. Together, these traits
make the role of the fish and its bones in the story—bringing comfort
and solace, encouraging strength and bravery, and supplying Yeh-Hsien
with necessary riches and the ever present footwear—particularly
fitting.
About Cinderella
Finally, a brief note on Cinderella,
arguably the world’s most famous fairy tale. Cinderella stories appeal
to almost everyone. But why the ongoing appeal? Why are there literally
hundreds of versions of the fairy tale from a plethora of countries?
Why has it spawned books, plays, films, and poetry?
Some scholars say that in the modern world, Cinderella
has been reduced to something between a rags-to-riches story and a
makeover show, with the heroine becoming nothing more than an object, a
girl who waits for the prince to show up, then, without thought, rides
away into the happily ever after. The 1950s Disney version of the story
certainly supports this, as Cinderella’s work is accomplished by birds
and mice; her personality is thin and wanting, with the film’s
character provided by two mice and the ugly stepsistsers; and her
transformation is effected by the fairy godmother. In short, the Disney
Cinderella has little to do except wish and look pretty. But real women
know this already, and know, moreover, that life is not simply wishing
and hoping and singing, yet they still return to the myriad Cinderella
stories of the modern world. Why? Is it some form of escapism?
When
we strip the fairy tale of its outer elements, with what are we left?
An unhappy, sometimes motherless, sometimes orphaned girl. A life of
drudgery. Change. A happy ending. Seen this way, the story no longer
appears superficial but rather as a real life, a true life to which
most people can relate—except that in real life, we’re told, there are
no happy endings.
But what if there were? And how do I get one?
These
are the questions which Cinderella forces us to ask. She digs deep into
our consciousness, reminding us that we, too, are marking time[8],
planning and working toward our own happy ending—a raise, a family, a
nicer house, a batch of picture-perfect Julia Child style scones. And
while she reminds us of this, she shows us that such an ending is
possible, despite the ugly stepsisters, the cruel mother/step-mother,
despite even the unknown future with its choice between marriage and
independence. Cinderella tells us that we are not alone, that others
have walked before us and succeeded, and that we, too, will succeed.
Let
us consider an earlier point here: there are literally hundreds of
Cinderella stories from all over the world. Why? If the earliest
recorded version of the story is Yeh-Hsien[9],
then how did it travel forth into the world? Was it carried upon the
backs of traders? There is no clear answer, but I think not. Tales are
spread about by people, true, but Cinderella stories are so far flung
that it seems unlikely they can all be traced back to one or two early
sources.
Carl Jung described the theory of the collective
unconscious, a part of the psyche which does not “owe its existence to
personal experience and consequently is not a personal
acquisition…[10]”. It is derived from ancestral memory and
experience—i.e., experiences all humanity shares. Humans recognise
story patterns; tales seem so familiar to us because we remember them
as part of this collective unconscious. It is not unreasonable then, to
suggest that certain stories and explanations will be ubiquitous
amongst humans, and Cinderella is an excellent example of this.
Finally, a note on Bruno Bettleheim and his book, The Uses of Enchantment.
A Freudian, Bettelheim described fairy tales as a ‘soul journey’ in
which children learn about themselves. Through tales, children are able
to identify and talk through certain emotions and fears. According to
Maria Tatar, “Fairy tales connect with all kinds of adult secrets…They
tell children about death, which is something that adults talk about in
hushed tones. They tell them about romance and marriage and in some
cases, they'll tell them about sex and violence.[11]" When children are
deprived of such a fantasy world, they create their own—massively
multiplayer online games are a good example of this.
Returning to Cinderella—it
is the original underdog story, the fairy tale that speaks to our
fears, hopes, and dreams. We recognise it from variant to variant, we
identify with it, and we learn through it.
Notes:
Everyone knows the story of little cinder-girl, as Ashenputtel, as
Yeh-Hsien, as Cendrillion, as Rhodopsis, as Anne de Fernandez. In the
following weeks, I’ll be posting several versions of the story, along
with a little history about the authors associated with each. Note that
the tale of Rhodopsis is particularly interesting—from around the 6th
century B.C. it is the other noted ‘origin story’ of Cinderella.
I
have made no notes on Cinderella’s slippers in this commentary. As much
of the scholarship regarding the importance of her footwear references
Perrault, I will write about it after I have posted Cendrillion.
Footnotes:
Footnotes:
[1] Waley, p.1
[2] ibid.
[3] ibid.
[4] ibid.
[5]Wu was the name of a rebellion leader in the extreme south, around the area of modern day Nan-ning, Kwangsi province.
[6] Heidi Anne Heiner, Tales Similar to Cinderella.
[7]ibid.
[8]See
my notes on the princess and the role of the heroine in Mother Holle: Commentary.
[9]The tale of Rhodopis, from around the 6th century B.C. is the other noted ‘origin story’ of Cinderella.
[10]Carl G. Jung, excerpted from http://www.timestar.org/collective.htm
[11]Maria Tatar, Harvard Gazette.
References:
Beth Potier, Harvard Gazette, Once Upon A Time: Maria Tatar's 'Annotated Classic Fairy Tales' offers new insights on familiar old tales...http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/04.10/18-tatar.html
Waley, Arthur, 1947, The Chinese Cinderella Story, Folklore, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 226-238. Text kindly provided by JSTOR.
Terri Windling, 2007,Ashes, Blood, and the Slipper of Glass, Journal of Mythic Arts, Endicott Studio, pp1-2, http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forashs.html
Heidi Anne Heiner, Tales Similar to Cinderella, http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/other.html
Foley, Louis,1954, A Princess And Her Magic Footwear, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 38 No. 8., pp.412-415. Text kindly provided by JSTOR.
Dr. Rouhier Willoughby, http://www.uky.edu/~jrouhie/rae370_web4.html
Jung, Carl G., The Archetypes And The Collective Unconscious. Text kindly provided by http://www.timestar.org/collective.htm