Peacock Princess

The Peacock Princess, also Kongque Gongzhu, is a folktale of the Dai people in China,[1] with shared origins with other similar tales found throughout Southeast Asia.[2] The tale is also considered to be a version of the international "swan maiden" narrative.[3]

Peacock Princess
Folk tale
NamePeacock Princess
MythologyDai people
Published in1960

History
See also: Kinnara

The tale originated within the people of the Dai ethnic group who worshiped peacocks,[4][5] and is reported to have circulated among them for centuries.[6] The Dai people worship peacocks as being messengers of peace, kindness, love and beauty.[7]

Names

The tale is celebrated amongst the Dai people of China and was recorded as a poem and folk story known under several names, such as Shaoshutun, The Peacock Princess, Zhao Shutun and Lanwuluona,[8][9][10] Zhao Shu Tun and Nan Nuo Na,[11] or Zhao Shudeng and Nanmu Nuonuo.[12]

Plot
See also: Manimekhala, Nyai Roro Kidul, and Preah Thong and Neang Neak

The tale follows the story of a young prince named Zhao Shutun (and variations; see above), who is looking for a bride. One day, he is guided to a lake where seven peacock maidens are bathing (or dancing), and he falls in love with the seventh and youngest of them, the Peacock Princess. The prince steals her peacock feathers while she is distracted and waits for the other birds to fly away before he appears to her. The prince returns her feathers and she agrees to become his bride.

They fly back to his kingdom and marry. On their wedding night, the evil wizard puts a spell on the king and starts a war. The young prince leaves for battle and while he is gone his princess is sentenced to death by the king. Before she is executed, she takes on peacock form and escapes. When the prince returns from battle, he kills the evil wizard and releases the king from the spell, but begins a long quest to the Peacock Kingdom to regain his wife. Fortunately, he finds his wife again, and everyone lives happily ever after.[13][14][15][16]

Ngày xưa, ở nước Lào có một hoàng tử tên là Phonnavong, rất đẹp trai, tài giỏi và có đạo đức. Vua và hoàng hậu rất yêu quý.
Em là Nyang Nyali, con gái út vua nước Champa ; Còn tôi là Phonnavong con trai vua nước Lào. Gặp nhau đây âu cũng là duyên trời, tôi muốn cùng nàng kết nghĩa vợ chồng. Chẳng hay nàng có vui lòng không ?
Ở nước Champa có tục lệ ai bị xử tội chết đều được mặc áo lông công múa hát chúc phúc cho mọi người ở lại. Xin phụ vương ban ơn cho con được theo tục lệ đó.
Hôm bước lên giàn thiêu, Nyang Nyali mặc áo lông công lộng lẫy múa điệu Lào Phên chúc phúc cho mọi người và nói lên nỗi oan ức của mình. Điệu múa uyển chuyển và giọng hát du dương làm cho người xem ai cũng mê say và xúc động. Bất thình lình, thuận đà, nàng vỗ cánh vút lên cao, nhắm hướng nước Champa bay thẳng.

— Stories for Grade 3,[17] Education publishing, Hanoi, 1995

Culture

This legend was made into a Chinese film in 1963[18] and 1982 with the same title.[19][20]

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peacock princess.

References
  1. Yuan, Haiwang. Princess Peacock: tales from the other peoples of China. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. p. 158.
  2. Qing Xiaoyu. "Dai Opera Troupe Creates 'The Peacock Princess'". In: China Reconstructs. July 1982. p. 52.
  3. Bäcker, Jörg. "Schwanjungfrau". In: Enzyklopädie des Märchens Band 12: Schinden, Schinder – Sublimierung. Edited by Rudolf Wilhelm Brednich; Hermann Bausinger; Wolfgang Brückner; Daniel Drascek; Helge Gerndt; Ines Köhler-Zülch; Lutz Röhrich; Klaus Roth. De Gruyter, 2016 [2007]. p. 313. ISBN 978-3-11-019936-9.
  4. Yuan, Haiwang (2008). Princess Peacock: tales from the other peoples of China. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1-59158-416-2.
  5. Wilcox, Emily (23 October 2018). Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy. Univ of California Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-520-30057-6.
  6. Li, Jing (2012). "The folkloric, the spectacular, and the institutionalized: Touristifying ethnic minority dances on China's southwest frontiers". Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. 10: 79–80 (footnote nr. 7). doi:10.1080/14766825.2012.658809. S2CID 144959661.
  7. Chinese Clothing. Cambridge University Press. 3 March 2011. ISBN 978-0-521-18689-6.
  8. Wilcox, Emily. Revolutionary Bodies: Chinese Dance and the Socialist Legacy. University of California Press. 2019. p. 277. ISBN 9780520971905.
  9. Hua Mei. Chinese Clothing. Cambridge University Press. 2011. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-521-18689-6.
  10. Li, Jing (2012). "The folkloric, the spectacular, and the institutionalized: Touristifying ethnic minority dances on China's southwest frontiers". Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. 10: 69. doi:10.1080/14766825.2012.658809. S2CID 144959661.
  11. Zhao, Wuxing. The Chinese ethnic minority literature. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 2008. p. 66.
  12. Mackerras, Colin. Chinese drama: a historical survey. Beijing, China: New World Press, 1990. Distributed by China International Book Trading Corporation. p. 194.
  13. Folk Tales from China. Third series. Peking: Foreign Language Press. 1958. pp. 16–46.
  14. Yuan, Haiwang. Princess Peacock: tales from the other peoples of China. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. pp. 158-160, 263.
  15. Li, Jing (2012). "The folkloric, the spectacular, and the institutionalized: Touristifying ethnic minority dances on China's southwest frontiers". Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. 10: 69–70, 74–75. doi:10.1080/14766825.2012.658809. S2CID 144959661.
  16. Dolch, Edward W. Stories from Old China. Champaign, Ill., Garrard Pub. Co, 1964. pp. 138-145, 146-153, 154-165.
  17. Legend of Laotian peacock dance
  18. Macdonald, Sean (2017). "Jin Xi: Master of puppet animation". In: Journal of Chinese Cinemas, 11:2, 160, 165. DOI: 10.1080/17508061.2017.1322785
  19. Li, Jing (2012). "The folkloric, the spectacular, and the institutionalized: Touristifying ethnic minority dances on China's southwest frontiers". Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. 10: 79–80 (footnote nr. 7). doi:10.1080/14766825.2012.658809. S2CID 144959661.
  20. Yuanyuan Chen (2017). "Old or new art? Rethinking classical Chinese animation". In: Journal of Chinese Cinemas, 11:2, 178. DOI: 10.1080/17508061.2017.1322786

Books

Further reading
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