Dongyong Legend
01 · Historical Records
In the long course of oral transmission the legend changed with place, time and teller, continually evolving; in its development it showed a tendency to evolve into a love story, yet its theme and matrix did not greatly change. Through the hundred years since the twentieth century the Dong Yong story has been a subject eagerly sought by popular literature with a broad audience, such as narrative-singing and opera, and by the later film and television literature, producing such far-reaching works as the Huangmei opera film A Fairy Match.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Dong Yong legend is first recorded in Liu Xiang's Biographies of Filial Sons (with illustrations) of the Western Han; afterwards Cao Zhi's Lingzhi of the Three Kingdoms and Gan Bao's In Search of the Supernatural of the Eastern Jin also record it. Because of its prominent theme (the practice of filial piety) and complete plot—the deer cart carrying the father, selling himself to bury his father, and the heavenly maiden marrying him to help repay his debt—Gan Bao's account circulated widely in the rural areas of China and became the matrix for the story's mutations and literary transplantations over more than two thousand years, exerting a profound influence on later ages. As the story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy is a folk legend at once edifying and romantic—its edifying content answering the popular longing for lasting peace and order, its love story answering the inner feeling that seeks happiness in marriage—its artistic feature of skilfully blending marvellous fantasy with human reality is deeply loved by the people. Through more than two thousand years of long transmission the Dong Yong legend has continually combined with the life of the people in every place. In Wanrong county in Shanxi, Dongtai in Jiangsu, Wuzhi in Henan and Xiaogan in Hubei there are not only relics connected with Dong Yong but frequent records in the local gazetteers, all claiming Dong Yong as a native; Boxing in Shandong has a Dong family village and Dong Yong's tomb; Xiaohuai village in Wanrong, Shanxi has a plaque Dong Yong's Native Place, and the people still weave the marriage cloth; Wuzhi county in Henan holds a grand temple fair in worship of the filial son on the third day of the second lunar month and the tenth day of the eleventh month each year; and Dongtai in Jiangsu has a Dong family homestead, recorded as early as the Southern Song geography Fangyu Shenglan as the former dwelling of the filial son Dong Yong. The snowballing phenomenon of circulation in many places and continual attachment is a common feature of legends. The edifying function of the Dong Yong legend has a certain practical significance for today's building of socialist spiritual civilisation and a harmonious society.
The Dong Yong Temple Fair at Wuzhi
The grand temple fair worshipping the filial son Dong Yong on the third day of the second lunar month and the tenth day of the eleventh month each year.
Dong Yong's Tomb
A relic in Wuzhi connected with the Dong Yong legend.
Selling Himself to Bury His Father
One of the core episodes of the Dong Yong legend.
The Legend of the Seventh Fairy
The story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy current in the Wuzhi area.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Through the seepage of popular feeling and the attachment of oral tradition there arose legends rich in local colour, leaving behind customs handed down from generation to generation and relics—objects, stelae, villages and place-names—connected with Dong Yong's life.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The historical and literary materials contained in the Dong Yong legend have a certain value for the study of the society, economy, politics and culture—especially literature and art—of the various historical periods of China.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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