The National Ubrary supplies copies of thisarticle under licence from the CopyrightAgency Um~ed (CAL). Further reproductionsof this article can only be made under licence.

The Kaleidoscope of the Re-Presentations ofYeh-hsien (the Chinese 'Cinderella' Story)

BinHu

TIe story of Cinderellawould surprise no-onetoday, but the number of

its analogues-stories of thesame pattern-and the varietyof the subtle changes in itsretellings may indeed astonishreaders. As many as 345 similarnarratives are listed in MarianRoalfe Cox's Cinderella (Cox1893). The earliest prototype ofthe Cinderella story, 'Yeh­hsien', the Chinese storyoriginating more than elevenhundred years ago (DuanChengshi 1980, pp. 172-173),seems to have attracted asmuch attention from itsretellers as from its readers.

Too many changes and re­shapings of the story exist toenable a comprehensive studyin a brief article, so I willattempt here to characterise thedifferences and similarities inre-presentations of the storypattern, culture and ideologyby taking a close look at twoEnglish-language picture bookversions: Ai-Ling Lauie's Yeh­Shen: A Cinderella Story fromChina (Louie 1982) and BarbaraKer Wilson's Wishbones: A FolkTale from China (Wilson 1993).For the sake of convenience,Arthur Waley's (1947) transla­tion of the original story is citedin order to compare andcontrast these representations,though Waley's translation ofthe ending of the story is ratherinaccurate.1 From the compari­son, it will emerge that bothretellings have been produced

Papers 7: 2 1997

under the influence ofPerrault's Cinderella, and ofWestern folk tale conventionsin general, though this is muchmore evident in Wilson'sversion than in Lauie's.

The impact of Perrault's versionof the Cinderella story isevident both in the verbal textsand the pictorial art (Perrault1888). In part this re-shapingmay be prompted by impulsesto make the story more accessi­ble, to eliminate culturally alienelements (such as polygamy),or to enhance the presumeduniversal qualities of the story.As John Stephens and RobynMcCallum point out, however,such re-versioned stories'arealways already shaped by somekind of metanarrative, and theirstatus makes them a good siteon which to imposemetanarratives expressingsocial values and attitudesprevailing in the time and placeof the retelling' (Stephens andMcCallum 1998). Such changesand re-shaping are evidentfrom a comparison of suchaspects as the personality of thecharacters, the description ofthe shoe, the transformation ofthe clothes, the age of the king,the treatment of the supernatu­ral, and the good qualities ofthe Cinderella character(henceforth referred to by theChinese name, Yeh-hsien).

When the two recent versionsof the story are compared withthe original Chinese version,

5

the influence of Perrault'sversion is evident in thedescription of the characters ofYeh-hsien and her stepsister(s}.In the original Chinese story,no comparison is made be­tween the characters of Yeh­hsien and her stepsister. In hisversion, however, Perraultmakes a point of contrastingthe personalities of the step­mother and her daughters withthose of Cinderella: the step­mother is 'the most haughty,stuck-up woman you ever saw'and her two daughters are- 'justlike her in everything'.Cinderella is 'gentle and sweet­natured, taking after hermother, who was the bestperson in the world'. Featurefor feature, 'despite every­thing', Cinderella is 'still ahundred times prettier than hersisters for all their sumptuousclothes'. In Louie's version,Yeh-Shen (sic) is 'a bright childand lovely too, with skin assmooth as ivory and dark poolsfor eyes', a description in whichthe terms are also reminiscentof the constitutive descriptorsof Snow-White. The stepmotheris 'jealous of all this beauty andgoodness, for her own daughterwas not pretty at all'. Thoughno comparison is made in thetext of Wilson's version, it isstrongly evident in Meilo So'sillustrations. The haughty andugly stepmother and stepsisterare frequently presentedtogether, the latter being anexact replica of the former.

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

Such a change in the retelling ofthe story indicates how it hasbeen reshaped under theinfluence of Perrault.

In addition to the comparisonof the characters' personalities,the treatment of clothing, andespecially of the lost shoe, alsodemonstrate how the story hasbeen re-shaped. All versionspivot on the incident of the lostshoe, but the change occurs inthe description of the shoe andthe choice of signifiers referringto it. In the original Chinesestory, the lost shoe is describedin detail. It is unusual not onlyin size (being so small that inthe kingdom of T'o-han there isno-one that it fits), but also insubstance (being made of gold),and in function-it was 'light asdown and made no noise evenwhen treading on stone'. It isreferred to throughout simplyas 'xie'-a 'shoe' or 'shoes'. InPerrault's story the place of thegold shoe is taken by a littleglass slipper. The description isrelatively brief-'the prettiest inthe world', In Louie's versionthe material of the shoe ispreserved-'a tiny goldenshoe'i so is its size-'impossiblysmall'; and so is its specialfunction-making 'no soundwhen touched to stone'. Thesignifiers which designate it,however, disclose a flexibilityor propensity for change inLouie's version: 'one of hergolden slippers', 'a tiny goldenshoe' and 'sandal' are usedinterchangeably. The hesitation

Papers 7: 2 1997

grows into a certainty inWilson's version where thegolden shoe becomes'a silkenslipper'. The description of theslipper is even briefer than thatin Perrault's story. The variousdescriptors in the two versionsagain reflect Perrault's influ­ence in the re-shaping of thestory.

As with the shoe, the transfor­mation of Yeh-hsien's shabbyclothes also displays how thestory has been reoriented in itsre-presentations. In the originalChinese story there is notransformation of the clothes.By praying to the fish's bonesYeh-hsien is able to obtain hersplendid dresses, which shethen keeps in her special place.Even at the climax of the storywhere the king has found her,Yeh-hsien comes forward'wearing her cloak spun fromhalcyon feathers and hershoes', which, instead of beingtransformed, have been kepthidden by her. Perrault's storyhas the recurrent motifwhereby Cinderella's clothesare touched by her Godmoth­er's magic wand and conse­quently 'changed into garmentsof gold and silver cloth,embroidered all over withjewels'. At the conclusion,Cinderella's clothes are turnedinto 'garments even morestunning thsn all the others'.While Wilson's version makesno mention of any transforma­tion of Yeh Hsien's clothes, thetransformation motif has been

6

borrowed into Lauie's versionwhere Yeh-hsien's clothes are'transformed once more intothe feathered cloak and beauti­ful azure gown' when the kii\gasks her to try the goldenslippers on her feet. This bearsa striking resemblance to thetypical description in Perrault'sstory.

Other elements of the storywhich seem to be re-shapedunder Perrault's influence arethe ages of the characters andthe nature of the supernatural.The age of the king, in particu­lar, appears to be determinedby the contemporary assump­tion that romantic, same-age,companionate marriages are acultural norm. For a discussionof this principle in relation tofairy tale, with reference toBeauty and the Beast, see Warner(1994, Chapter 17, especiallypp.278-79). In the originalChinese story no definite age isattributed to the king, thoughhis soldiers 'had subduedtwenty or thirty other islands'and his country 'had a coast­line of several thousandleagues'. Judging from this fact,the king's age may be estimatedat something over 40, allowingfor One battle in each year for'twenty or thirty' continuousyears after he comes to thethrone. In Perrault's story therole of the king in the originalChinese story is played by aprince. This accords with theWestern fairytale pattern basedon an outcome which pairs a

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

beautiful princess and a brave,young and handsome prince. InLouie's version there is likewiseno information about the king'sage. However, the king is notpresented as being especiallyold in that he is able to continue'his vigil into the night' whenhe is bent on finding out theowner of the lost slipper. Whenthe story is retold in Wilson'sversion the matter of the king'sage is directly addressed: he isa 'young king', in accordancewith Wilson's pervasivetendency to mould her story onthe pattern of Perrault's.

The representation of super­natural elements and magicpowers in folk tales is handleddifferently within differentcultural traditions. In theoriginal Chinese story no suchword as 'magic' or its equiva­lent appears in the descriptionof the supernatural power ofthe fishbone. In Perrault's storythe magic power of Cinderella'sgodmother is elaboratedvividly and thoroughly. InLouie's version the bones of thefish are described as having'wondrous powers', andWilson takes this a stagefurther with the information,'But those bones are magic'.Here the word 'magic' assimi­lates the supernatural elementto a motif typical in Westernfairytales. In the originalChinese story the man frorr. thesky gives plain instructions toYeh-hsien: 'You go back, takethe fish's bones and hide them

Papers 7: 2 1997

in your room. Whatever youwant, you have only to pray tothem for it. It is bound to begranted'. No such words as'magic' or 'spiritual' are used.Further, in Louie's version theman from the sky is presentedas 'a very old man' (againapparently in conformity withconventional association of oldage and power in Western fairytales and evident in the fairygodmother of CinderellaJ. In theinstructions given to Yeh-Shenby the sky man, the keysupernatural term is spirit: 'Thebones of your fish are filledwith a powerful spirit'. InWilson's version the word'spirit' is replaced by the word'magic': 'But those bones aremagic. Hide them and what­ever you wish for will begranted'. Again the man fromthe sky is presented as being'an old man'. The gradualemergence of the word 'magic'and the old age of the manfrom the sky indicate thereorientation of the story in itsretellings.

As well as the outward appear­ance of characters, directions inthe re-presentations of the storyare also evident in Yeh-hsien'smoral qualities and behaviour.In the original Chinese story,she begins to 'render service tothe king' and is brought back tohis country. Nothing is saidabout the future relationsbetween Yeh·hsien and herstepsister or stepmother, andall that is related is the fact that

7

the stepmother and stepsisterare 'shortly afterwards struckby flying stones' and die. InPerrault's story, however,Cinderella is so virtuous thatshe forgives her stepsisters'with all her heart', and on herwedding day takes them to livein the palace and marries them'the same day to two greatlords of the court'. Louieintroduces this motif, but in akind of cultural compromise:'Since they [the stepmother andstepsister] had·been unkind tohis beloved, the king would notpermit Yeh-Shen to bring themto his palace'. Obviously Yeh­Shen forgives her stepmotherand stepsister, but the kingremains inexorable. Wilson.does not draw on this motif,but instead endows Yeh-hsienwith a different virtue-shechides her husband-king for hisavarice. The effect of thischange is to accentuate themoral implication of thenarrative once the fish-bonescease responding to the king'sdemands for material goods.Either way, the attempt toenhance Yeh-hsien's virtues is afurther indication of how thestory is reshaped under theinfluence of Westernmetanarratives.

The juxtaposition of the origi­nal Chinese Cinderella storywith its later versions not onlyshows how the same story is re­shaped, but also providesinsight into diverse cultures.This is evident in the depiction

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

of family structure, the descrip­tion of magic power, the waythe search for the owner of thelittle slipper is carried out, theking's attitude to the girl, andthe concept of retribution.

Family structures change indifferent versions. In theoriginal Chinese story Yeh­hsien's family is polygamous,which was a common practicein China at the time. The fatherhas two wives, each of whomhas a daughter. When bothYeh-hsien's parents have diedand she has thus become anorphan, she is helplesslyexposed to the maltreatment ofher jealous step-mother. InPerrault's story the structure ofthe family is monogamous andthe conflict is produced byserial marriage, as Cinderella'sfather takes as his second wife'the most haughty, stuck-upwoman you ever saw'. InLouie's version the familystructure is the same as in theoriginal Chinese story, whereasin Wilson's version the familystructure is re-shaped on themodel of Perrault's, so that thestory is more easily accepted bythe Western reader.

The reflection of differentcultures can also be found inthe way the search for Yeh­hsien is carried out. In theoriginal Chinese story the kingof T'o-han is bent on findingthe young woman who has lostthe gold shoe:

So he [the king! threw it down

Papers 7: 2 1997

at the wayside. Then they wenteverywhere through all thepeople's houses and arrestedthem. If there was a woman'sshoe, they arrested them andtold the king ofTo-hen. Hethought it strange, searched theinner-rooms and found Yeh­hsien. He made her put on theshoe, and it was true.

(A more accurate translation ofthe last sentence would read,'and he was convinced [thatYeh-hsien was indeed theowner of the lost shoe]' ratherthan 'and it was true'.) Herereaders are shown rougharrests, forced searches andstem orders, all of which werecommon under the regime of aking or emperor in ancientChina.

In Perrault's story the search iscarried out without any arrest.Rather, the whole activity hasthe atmosphere of celebratingsomething happy or at least ofholding a fair and open compe­tition, as 'the Prince had it criedto the sound of trumpets thathe would marry the girl whosefoot filled the slipper'.

In Louie's version the savageactions are replaced by moredramatic and more romanticarrangements. The king firsthas all the ladies of his ownkingdom try on the littlesandal, and all fail. Undaunted,the king orders the searchwidened 'to include the cavewomen from the countrysidewhere the siipper had been

8

found...'. In order to find thegirl, the king uses the slipper asa bait and has it placed by theside of the road, announcingthat it is to be returned to itsoriginal owner. He even goesso far as to keep vigil himself.When he finds out the owner ofthe shoe, he lets her go awaywithout arresting her, insteadordering his men to follow herhome quietly. The search ismore like courtship.

In Wilson's v,ersion the searchprocess is accommodated evenfurther to the events ofPerrault's story:

The young king commanded allthe women ofhis household totry on Ihe slipper, but il provedtoo small for even the tiniestfoot .... He sent out messengerswith the precious slipper tosearch the countryside. At lastthey came to Wu's cave. FirstYeh-Hsien's stepmother triedon the slipper: it was far toosmall for her. Next her daugh­ter thrust it on her fOOl, but itwas too small for her too. Lastofan Yeh Hsien tried theslipper. It fitted her tiny footperfectly.

Again there are no barbarousarrests. Nor are there harshcommands. The culture is re­shaped to that of the westernworld when the same story isre-presented in English (seePlate 1).

The difference in culture is alsoreflected in the description of

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

the king's attitude to Yeh-hsienin different versions of thestory. In the original Chinesestory the king of T'o-han takes'the fish-bones and Yeh-hsien...to his country', andeventually makes Yeh-hsien hischief wife. Polygamy is main­tained and the profit-producingfish-bones are mentionedbefore Yeh-hsien. Readers arenot told how much more, or if,the king loves Yeh-hsien thanher fish-bones. In Perraul!'sstory the prince is head overheels in love with Cinderellaand becomes 'so wrapped up'in her that he 'couldn't eat athing'. In Louie's version theking's attitude to Yeh-Shen isalso marked with love: 'Herloveliness made her seem aheavenly being, and the kingsuddenly knew in his heart thathe had found his true love. Notlong after this, Yeh-Shen wasmarried to the king'. InWilson's version Yeh Hsien istaken back to 'the young Kingof T'o Huan', who makes her'his wife and queen of all theland'. In all the English ver­sions monogamous marriagereplaces polygamous marriageand love is emphasised.

The issue of retribution alsoreveals cultural difference. Inthe original Chinese story thestepmother and stepsister are'shortly afterwards struck byflying stones' and die. Suchpoetic justice is typical of mostChinese fairy tales. In CharlesPerrault's story, however, the

Papers 7: 2 1997

two stepsisters, having'[thrown] themselves at[Cinderella's] feet and askedforgiveness for all the harshtreatment they had made hersuffer', are married to two greatlords of the court. This ischaracteristic of the biblicalprinciple of forgiveness.Though in Louie's versionpoetic justice is preserved, whatis stressed is the hinted forgive­ness from Yeh-Shen and aninevitable arrangement of fate:'But fate was not so gentle withher stepmother andstepsister...they were crushedto death in a shower of flyingstones'. In Wilson's version noretribution is mentioned at all,and this helps shape theretelling of the story into aculture where forgiveness isvalued above retribution.

Just as the verbal text expressessignificant cultural differences,so the pictorial discourse alsopresents cultural information.As cultural discourses, the twopicture books vary greatly intheir effectiveness. Through hisillustrations for Louie's version,Ed Young incorporates asignificant cultural belief: it istraditional in Chinese folklorethat the spirit of a murdervictim haunts the murderer,and here the picture bookenhances the supernaturalpower of the magic fishbone byincorporating the haunting fishinto almost every page. Theartist does it in such a subtleway that sometimes the image

9

of the fish escapes the reader'seyes if a picture is looked at ina cursory way.

On the contrary, however, themore carefully readers look at •the pictures, the more they willobserve of the hidden imageand implication embedded inthe book. For instance, whenthe picture juxtaposes how Yeh­Shen's stepmother embracesher own daughter with greatlove and how Yeh-Shen has totoil alone, the backgroundimage of the fish seems to beweeping. When Yeh-Shen losesone of her golden slippers, thebackground image of the fishappears to be shouting in greatsurprise. When the owner ofthe slipper is being sought, allwho try it on are subject to thefish's control (see Plate 2). Thehaunting fish remains activethroughout the book until thestory comes to an end, wherethe muted background image ofthe fish seems to be restingcontentedly beside the tomb ofthe stepmother and her daugh­ter. With such a strong back­ground image, the bookeffectively presents the signifi­cance of the magic fish.

In addition to the strongbackground image of the fish,Louie's version successfullybrings the haunting fish to theforeground in the carefulreader's mind by the highfrequency of the appearance ofthe fish image. Compared withYeh-Shen's stepmother and

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

~~~,.

\ H,~

Papers 7: 2 1997Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

Papers 7: 2 1997 11Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

Plate 4

Papers 7: 2 1997 12Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

stepsister, who appear on onlythree out of twenty-nine pages,the image of the fish is pre­sented on every doublespread,so focussing readers' attentionon this image.

Another pictorial strategy inthe Louie/Young versiondeserves comment. While somepictures are contained withintheir frames, most break theframe and 'bleed' so much thatthey intensify the power of themagic fish and draw viewersinto the story, making themparticipants rather than merespectators. As Jane Doonanremarks when explaining theeffect of a bleeding picture, 'theeffect suggests a life going onbeyond the confines of the pageso that the beholder becomesmore of a participant in than aspectator of the pictured events'(Doonan 1993, p.81). Forexample, when Yeh-5hen isgetting water from a deep anddangerous place, which is oneof the 'heaviest and mostunpleasant chores' imposed onher by her stepmother, thepicture bleeds on the bottomedge, where the girl is depictedbending low pulling the bucketin such a prominent foregroundposition that beholders are aptto be drawn into strong empa­thy with Yeh-hsien in herdifficult and dangerous situa­tion (see Plate 3). The bleedingeffect is most powerful whenthe image of the fish goesbeyond the frame of the layout,and accentuates the supernatu-

Papers 7: 2 1997

ral power of the fish.

A careful look at the picturesalso enables readers to learnmore about family structureand other aspects of everydaylife, which have also beensubject to variation in theprocess of re-presentation. InMeilo So's illustrations forWilson's version, for example,the stepmother and the stepsiS­ter of Yeh-hsien are depictedisomorphically. They both lookharsh, cruel and ugly and eachof them has a black mole on herleft cheek. The stepsister'sbehaviour is mapped on hermother's when the mother anddaughter glare at YeI'. Hsien.Such a depiction evokes theverbal description of the two inPerrault's story: '[The step­mother] had two daughters ofher own type, just like her ineverything'. In contrast withthis, the original Chinese storydoes not comment on thecharacter of the stepmother andstepsister. The change in thepictorial expression reveals thetendency to re-shape thecharacters of the story so as tocater to a different tradition in adifferent culture.

The pictorial re-shaping of thestory indicates a motivation tointroduce one culture toanother. Again, take Wilson'sversion for an example. Thedesire to present a differentculture to the English reader isstrongly displayed by thepictures. The original Chinesestory is set in 'the south' of

13

China, a cave that is 'near to anisland in the sea'. In Louie'sversion the story is set in'southern China', where theclimate is mild. But in Wilsonj;version readers find in morethan one place the depiction ofthe 'kang'-a brick bed that canbe heated by fire from be­neath-which is peculiar to thepeople in North China (seePlate 4). To make this logical,the story in Wilson's version isset'among the hills of Chinasouth of the c1ouds'-and southof the clouds could be any­where. Thus the artist is free tocreate any style that may beregarded as typical Chinese.

Within this generalised setting,So depicts a pastiche oficonically 'Chinese' customsand artefacts: the shoulder­pole, the long bamboo pipe, thecooked rice, the chilli as a dishon the table (which is a well­known favourite dish of mostpeople in such southernprovinces of China as Sichuan,Hunan, etc), and fur overcoats,which are peculiar to people innorth-east China.

The desire to display an exotic(even outlandish) culture seemsso strong in So's illustrationsthat sometimes the pictorialpresentation borders on thebizarre or absurd. For instance,the stepmother is depicteddriving a horse-carriage to goto the Cave Festival. Through­out the recorded history ofChina, however, no woman has

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

ever beenJrnown to havedriven a horse-drawn vehicle.

There is also a mismatchbetween everlasting summer orautumn environments andnever-changing winter cloth­ing. In the illustrations readerssee green grass on the pasture,pink blossoms on the trees, andripe fruit in the orchard; theyalso see, at the same time, thewann fur overcoats peoplewear, the fire under the brickbed, and people's self-warmingmethod of putting each hand inthe sleeve of the other arm.Typical ancient Han officialcostumes are worn by theofficials of a different nation­the Kingdom of T'0 Huan (seePlate 1). Logic is sometimesoverlooked owing to a strongdesire to present a foreignculture which is other thanEnglish.

The same thing happens in theWilson/So version whenchieftain Wu is painted in abackground corner, standingservilely while the stepmotherand the stepsister of Yeh-hsiensit on the 'kang', commandingYeh-hsien to go and get waterfor the family. This is a verystrange representation ofbehaviour in the Chinesetradition where men have beenregarded as more importantthan women and consequentlyhave enjoyed greater privilegesthan women do, let alone a'chieftain' in andent China.This again shows that logic or

Papers 7: 2 1997

facts are sometimes overlookedwhen the intention of present­ing a foreign culture becomesoverwhelmingly strong.

While the pictures displaymany cultural differences, theverbal texts exhibit the similari­ties and dissimilarities of thestory pattern and ideology. Amarked effect, especially in theWilson/So version, is that thereis an internal contradiction in aprocess which attempts tocombine a pastiche exoticism(in the illustrations) with anarrative shaped by Westernmetanarratives. In more generalterms, an examination ofpictorial expression and verbaltexts leads to the conclusionthat the retellers have shapedtheir re-presentations of thestory of Yeh-hsien in such away that it becomes morecompatible with the values,customs and tradition of theculture into which the story isintroduced, and that suchchanges are sometimes sodrastic that the social values orcustoms of the original may bedistorted. The story of Yeh­hsien may be the forerunner ofthe 'Cinderella' story, arisingwithin a culture utterly differ­ent from that of late seven­teenth-century France, but inthe retellings Yeh-hsien is, tovarying degrees, apt to becomeCinderella. The various re­presentations of the story,along with their techniques,presented to readers' eyes afascinating kaleidoscope of a

14

wide range of attempts made tointroduce the story into adifferent culture-a kaleido­scope that reflects the differentresponses of cultures. ..

Notes1 The original story ends withan implicit mild punishmentfor the king's selfishness and anoblique moral about the vanityof avarice, as the rich splendourof wealth dissolves into noth­ingness:

Later a troop' sent out by theking to conquer another statemutinied and the king intendedto open the hiding-place inorder to make better provisionfor his army (so as to appease orwin over the soldiers). Onenight, however, before the kingwas able to do that, all thetreasures, along with the fishbones, were washed away by thetide.

(Translated by Bin Hu)

In this context, the archaicChinese phrase zheng zu means'soldiers or a troop dispatchedfor a military expedition'. In anisolated case, however, the twoseparate words may mean 'toconscript soldiers', which isobviously out of context here.Another tricky usage is theChinese word jiang, which mayserve as a modal verb (wouldor intend) when pronouncedwith the first tone to help formfuture tense, or as a nounmeaning'a general' whenpronounced with the fourthtone. In this context, it is clearly

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.

used as a modal verb, with thesubject of the sentence (theking) being consistentlyomitted. These two trickyarchaic Chinese usages, alongwith the common technique ofomitting the subject in archaicChinese syntax, account forWaley's different translation:

lAter there was a mutiny ofsome soldiers who had beenconscripted and their generalopened {the hiding-placel inorder to make better provisionfor his army. One night they{the bonesl were washed awayby the tide.(Translated by Arthur Waley)

In this (mis)translation it seemshard to explain how the hidingplace the king has secretlychosen is so easily found, howthe king has appointed a'general' who rebels againsthim if the mutiny is caused bynothing more than 'somesoldiers who had been con­scripted', and how the tide isable to wash away what hasalready been given to thesoldiers. Fortunately, however,this discrepancy in translationis insignificant in regard to themore important theme andpattern of the story.

Papers 7: 2 1997

References

Cox, Marian Roalfe (1893)Cinderella. London, The Folk­lore Society.

Doonan, lane (1993) 1A0king atPictures in Picture Books. Stroud,Thimble Press.

Duan, Chenghi ([850-860]1980)'Ye xian', Zhi nuo gao shang, thesequel to You Yang Za Zu(Miscellany offorgotten lore),Selected readings in folkloreliterature: Book 1. Shanghai ArtPress.

Louie, Ai-Ling and Ed Young(1982) Yeh-Shen: A CinderellaStory from China. New York,Philomel Books.

Perrault, Charles (1888)'Cendrillon, or, the little glassslipper', Perrault's Popular Tales,ed. Andrew Lang. Oxford,Clarendon Press.

Stephens, John and RobynMcCallum (1998, in press)Retelling Stories, FramingCulture: Traditional Story andMetanarratives in Children'sLiterature. New York, GarlandPublishing, Chapter 1.

Waley, Arthur (trans.) (1947)'The Chinese Cinderella story'.Folk-Lore 58, London, TheFolklore Society.

Warner, Marina (1994) From theBeast to the Blonde. London,Chatlo & Windus.

Wilson, Barbara Ker and MeiloSo (1993) Wishbones: A Folk Talefrom China. Sydney, Hodder &Stoughton.

15

AcknowledgementsPlates 2 and 3 taken fromYeh-Shen A Cinderella Story fromChina retold by Ai-Ling Louie,illustrated by Ed Young.Published by Philomel Books inNew York. Text copyright ©1982 by Ai-Ling Louie. illustra­tions copyright © 1982 by EdYoung.

Plates 1 and 4 taken fromWishbones A folk-tale from Chinaretold by Barbara Ker Wilson,illustrations by Meilo So.Published in Australia andNew Zealand in 1993 byHodder & Stoughton (Aust) PtyLtd. Text copyright © BarbaraKer Wilson 1993. Illustrationscopyright © Meilo So 1993.

Biographical NoteBin Hu obtained his M.A. inEnglish from Liaoning Univer­sity, P.R.China. Interested incomparative literature, he iscurrently working for his Ph.D.degree with Associate ProfessorJohn Stephens, who suggestedthat he write this article. Mr Huhas a keen interest in compar­ing Chinese folklore with itsWestern counterparts.

Dow

nloa

ded

from

sea

rch.

info

rmit.

org/

doi/1

0.33

16/ie

lapa

.980

3026

72. D

eaki

n U

nive

rsity

, on

07/1

6/20

21 1

2:23

PM

AE

ST; U

TC

+10

:00.

© P

aper

s: E

xplo

ratio

ns in

to C

hild

ren'

s L

itera

ture

, 199

7.