A Comparative Study Of "Zhuangzi" And "Aesop’s Fables"

Fables originated from the culture of word-of-mouth before the birth of words.Word-of-mouth literature is the basis of a nation’s literary creativity and the basis of recording literature in various forms.Fable has a firm foothold as word-of-mouth literature in the history of literature for a long time.The literary form of fables occupies an important position in the history of world literature.From the point of view of the world,Greece,India and China are the three birthplaces of fable culture.According to the existing data,the place where the fable began was around the 6th century B.C.,from the semi legendary figure presumed to be the slave of Ionia iadmon to Thorpe.In India,Buddhists use fables as a means of enlightenment.For example,The collection of fables of Panchatantra has been translated into Eastern and Western languages,which has made a great contribution to the history of world literature.In China,since ancient times,many philosophers often use the form of fables in order to express their thoughts.In the 4th and 6th centuries,people borrowed stories from folk heritage or fables from Indian Buddhist temples to make it easier to explain the teachings of Buddhism to believers.As can be seen from the definition of fable,its one-dimensional purpose is to convey moral lessons to readers through stories that are easy to understand.Chinese fable literature has a history of more than 3000 years,especially the Warring States period is the golden period of Chinese fable creation.Many fables are found in Mencius,Liezi,Zhuangzi,Hanfeizi,Lu’s Spring and Autumn period and the Policy of the Warring States,among which there are more than 200 fables of Zhuangzi,myths or folklore handed down from ancient times to one of the representative works of various fables in the country.From this point of view,Aesop’s Fables and Zhuangzi are the most influential fables in the West and the East.Aesop’s Fables is a literary genre that people have come into contact with since childhood,and it is also a must-read in modern society.When reading fables,readers can interpret and accept the lessons differently through the constraints of different times,values and knowledge structure,which may also be the charm of fables.This thesis will make a comparison between Zhuangzi and Aesop’s Fables.The paper is divided into five chapters.The first chapter is the introduction,which mainly expounds the purpose and significance of the comparative study of Zhuangzi and Aesop’s fables,the previous research status,research scope and research methods.The second chapter includes the background and identity of the author,the formation process,status and influence of the works,which are all related to the background study of Zhuangzi and Aesop’s fables.The third chapter is about the comparison of the structure,theme and artistic style of the two works.The fourth chapter compares of protagonists in the two works and the cultural differences between the East and the West.The last chapter,the fifth chapter is the conclusion.By using the method of parallel research,this paper discusses Zhuangzi and Aesop’s Fables from the aspects of theme,structure,artistic style and the type of protagonist.the development and complexity of modern society cannot be compared with that of the past.As a result,depraved and violent human nature,corrupt and indifferent societies,and uncontrollable natural destruction are more serious than ever before.From this point of view,for modern people,the way of satirizing reality by using Zhuangzi’s fables is still effective.Among them,these questions are memorable.Therefore,the stories in Zhuangzi and Aesop’s fables based on fables can easily resonate with the public.Therefore,the comparative analysis of the two works based on fables is a very valuable and interesting work.In a word,as a representative collection of fables in the East and the West,Zhuangzi and Aesop’s fables have brought far-reaching influence on the inheritance of human wisdom and the creation of fables.