The Function Of Magic Characters And Their Cultural Ideas In The Folk Fantasy Story

This paper is aimed at a comparative study of Chinese and Bulgarian fairytales. The theoretical basis of the research is Aarne-Thompson classification system of folktales (AT tale type index) and the functions/characters theory of Vladimir Propp in his "Morphology of the Folktale". The method used in the paper follows the principles of comparative fairytale studies. The basic framework of this work is analysis of the Chinese and Bulgarian AT301tale type and the different function of the dragon in it so as to discuss the cultural differences in the two countries. The paper consists of three chapters. In the first one the author observes the term "tale type", the term "fairytale" as well as types of fairytales in both countries. In the second chapter the author compares24Chinese and34Bulgarian versions of AT301in order to introduce the different functions of the Chinese and the Bulgarian dragon-supernatural opponent and supernatural helper respectively. The last chapter compares the dragon in the two countries in terms of origin, types, supernatural abilities and status so that the author can prove that cultural differences between China and Bulgaria explain the opposite functions of the dragon in AT301.