1480
Dong Chi: 2486-2488). He also tried to unveil the different layers of meanings
in some folk stories such as My Chau and Trong Thuy, Truong Chi... "on one
layer, the My Chau and Trong Thuy story points toward a moral lesson on
vigilance; the enemy is found right inside one
'
s heavily fortified citadel, the
enemy is found close by one
'
s side on retreat, the gains painstakingly
accumulated by the father end up in disaster by the very act of his own child...
However, the second layer of meaning which focus on the love between My
Chau, a Vietnamese princess, and Trong Thuy, a Chinese prince is of no less
importance. The love was depicted as being innocent and the lovers fell victim
to an ambitious conspiracy and ruthless conqueror. In the end, the aggressor was
to be condemned and unselfish love was to be praised. That reflects a generous
folk view on the tragedy. The story has it that the water from the well where
Trong Thuy committed himself has the magical effect of making pearls (formed
by the drops of blood of My Chau) shine. This is magnificent artistic symbolism
which could not have been created if it had just been inspired by the Confucian
concept of nationhood alone". (Nguyen Dong Chi: 2461-2462).
The same can be said about Truong Chi. "The romantic story ends in a motif
typical of depicting utter despair (his heart turned into a transparent deep-red
crystal). And here, again, the closing outcome is broken by the last detail: the
tear drops of My Nuong broke the cup made out of that red block. Is it the
positive symbolism typical of Eastern optimism - a dissolved despair or the
implication that any love passion, however great, cannot break down social class
barriers?" (Nguyen Dong Chi: 2515). The reader can also see humanistic
feelings and the love for natural justice behind the rational strains of thought.
Nguyen Dong Chi also warns against taking rigid contemporary views in
analyzing folk tales, for example, attaching ideological "labels" as it has been
done with written literature, because folk stories came into being as result of
naive artistic inspiration, "the expression and implication" are "the realities of
the folk culture" (Nguyen Dong Chi: 2463).
Nguyen Dong Chi was also successful in presenting even the minute details in
a systematic way. Commenting on the active roles of female characters in
Vietnamese folk stories, various stereotypes (motifs) are identified in terms of
their behaviour and role relationship. Two main types are: rebellious and
defending females. From these two, three sub-types are derived:
. Rebellious female: awakening / riotous / heroic.
. Defending female: persevering / witty / martyr.
His classification has summarized all the characteristics and personalities of
the female characters in Vietnamese folklore.
