1481
The link between folk stories and the geographical features of the region
where whey came from were also identified in Nguyen Dong Chi
'
s work. This is
a two-way relationship, Le, life provides the background and the inspirations,
the popular sayings, limericks which have been "coded" as the soul of the story.
And it turns, folk stories bring back to life its legendary places and people: Vong
phu (a waiting - husband) peak, Kim nguu (Golden Buffalo) River, witty and
expressive sayings and proverbs which are "decoded"... Nguyen Dong Chi said
"Life, in turn, imitates folk stories, in other words, folk arts again become a
source of inspiration for people
'
s artistic recreation to further refine the art of
folk stories and enrich life." (Nguyen Dong Chi: 2449-2450).
Especially Nguyen Dong Chi spent a chapter to compare carefully about the tif
and the motif between Vietnamese folk stories and "Treasure of folklore" that is
has ever under influenced deeply such as folk stories of China, India and
neighbouring countries. Through schemes that Vietnamese folk stories have
under influenced, Nguyen Dong Chi tried to discover similar schemes through
changing and step by step distinguished forms of indigenous schemes. This is a
hard painstaking work but very interesting, although for Nguyen Dong Chi it is
the only first step. It promises a good prospect. That is: it points out rationally
the development process of nation
'
s folk stories. In fact, so far these stories have
still been covered by the historical development between types of folklore in the
Indochina region and the South - East Asia, of which the important propulsive
and gravitational force is two types of Chinese folklore and Indian folklore.
The research on Vietnamese folklore is a long and worthy enterprise. Nguyen
Dong Chi has made a significant contribution to the study of Vietnamese
folklore. His insights and suggestion shall be of great value to present as well as
future folklore researchers. His achievement in the study of Vietnamese culture
has been the result of extensive and profound knowledge the fields of oriental
and western studies, classical Chinese study, history and rich personal
experience. His profound understanding of the national characteristics and its
typical folk culture are derived from that broad knowledge. That is also what
brings the readers closer to the nation, the people and their daily life, although,
he never uses such term as "struggle", "overthrow", "class exploitation",
"landlords versus peasants" which are often found in other works on Vietnamese
folklore. "He has demonstrated his firm grasp of this unique form of art without
relying solely any foreign theory. Nevertheless, it is always beneficial to be
exposed to other views and research method. "
1
HY TUE
1
. Vu Ngoc Khanh. On "A Treasure Chest of Vietnamese Folklore". Literature No 22, 28.
V.1994. Hanoi.
