Did Cinderella Come From China?
... and lost her shoe on the way to Europe? 👠
Idiom of the week: 一见钟情 (yījiàn zhōngqíng):
Meaning: love at first sight
Growing up, we were all told the story of Cinderella, a kind girl who rises from ashes to palaces thanks to her kind heart and… extremely small feet. But is it possible that Cinderella could actually be a second Disney princess of Chinese origin, alongside Mulan?
Ye Xian and Cinderella, one and the same? Photo: Shen Yun Arts
As it turns out, different renditions of Cinderella’s story have appeared in various cultures, as the famous shoe-dropping girl seems to be a keen traveler. The earliest version of Cinderella already appeared in Tang’s dynasty China! Her name was Ye Xian (叶限) and yes, she also gained love thanks to the size of her feet.
民间童话是民间创作和流传的，是适合儿童阅读的幻想故事。其故事情节奇异动人，具有浓厚的幻想和丰富的想象力，为小朋友所欢迎。这些童话往往成了相关国家与民族文学的标志性精神产品，甚至能够成为代表该国形象的文化符号。
民间童话 (mínjiān tónghuà) - folk tale / folk fairy tale
幻想 (huànxiǎng) - fantasy
情节 (qíngjié) - plot, storyline
奇异 (qíyì) - strange, unusual, peculiar
标志性 (biāozhìxìng) - iconic, symbolic
精神产品 (jīngshén chǎnpǐn) - literary/cultural product
文化符号 (wénhuà fúhào) - cultural symbol
Folktales are stories created and passed down among the people, suitable to read to children as fantasy stories. Their plotlines are strange and captivating, filled with rich fantasy and imagination, which makes them popular among young readers. These folktales often become iconic literary products of their respective countries and ethnicities, even evolving into cultural symbols that represent the nation's image.
灰姑娘这样的童话传说，不仅在欧洲地区，在亚洲、非洲都有发现。其中，成文最早的一个版本就在公元九世纪的中国唐朝。
成文 (chéngwén) - Written form
The story of Cinderella, for example, is not only found in Europe but also in Asia and Africa. One of the earliest written versions can be traced back to China's Tang Dynasty in the 9th century.
上世纪30年代，祖籍江苏 (Jiāngsū) 的著名翻译家杨宪益 (Yáng Xiànyì) 先生就曾撰文指出：“世界上最早的一个灰姑娘”传说见于中国唐代的《酉阳杂俎》中的《叶限》(Yèxiàn)。而西方人知道的这个故事，至少比中国晚了八百年。他认为，德国格林童话故事集里面，灰姑娘的名字前半部Aschen的意思就是“灰”，这个词的读音与“叶限”音近。因此，很可能是“叶限”的音译变成了“灰姑娘”。
祖籍 (zǔjí) - ancestral home, place of family origin
撰文 (zhuànwén) - to write an article
灰姑娘 (Huīgūniang) - Cinderella
见于 (jiànyú) - To appear in, to be found in
《酉阳杂俎》 (Yǒuyáng Zázǔ) - Youyang Zazu (a Chinese literary work from the Tang Dynasty)
格林童话故事集 (Gélín Tónghuà Gùshìjí) - Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales
音译 (yīnyì) - transliteration
In the 1930s, the famous translator from Jingsu Mr. Yang Xianyi wrote an article pointing out that "the world's earliest Cinderella" appeared in the Tang Dynasty's Youyang Zazu in the tale of "Ye Xian." The Western version of this story, as known today, appeared at least eight hundred years later than the Chinese version. He believed that the name "Aschen" in the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale collection, meaning "ash," is phonetically similar to "Ye Xian," suggesting that the name might have been a transliteration that evolved into the "Cinderella" we know today.
《酉阳杂俎》书中的《叶限》故事简述：勤劳可爱的姑娘叶限饲养有一条金鱼，金鱼和叶限关系亲密，只在叶限每次走到池边时，才浮上水面伸出头来。后来金鱼被叶限的后母所杀，叶限按天神的指引将鱼骨保存好，并因此得以穿着体面的衣裳，偷偷参加了某个节日盛会。当匆忙回家时，叶限落下了一只鞋子，岛国“陀汗” (Tuóhàn) 的国王拾获了鞋子，借此找到了叶限，并与叶限相爱娶她为妻。
勤劳 (qínláo) - hardworking, diligent
饲养 (sìyǎng) - to raise, to keep (animals)
后母 (hòumǔ) - stepmother
指引 (zhǐyǐn) - guidance
体面 (tǐmiàn) - decent, presentable
衣裳 (yīshang) - clothing, clothes
盛会 (shènghuì) - grand event, festival
匆忙 (cōngmáng) - hasty, hurried
拾获 (shíhuò) - 拾 (pick up, recover) and 获 (obtain, gain) - to find and acquire, often used in the context of finding or retrieving something.
The story of "Ye Xian" in the Youyang Zazu is briefly as follows: The diligent and lovable girl Ye Xian raised a goldfish, with whom she was close friends. The goldfish would only surface when Ye Xian approached the pond. When goldfish was killed by Ye Xian's stepmother, following the guidance of a deity, Ye Xian saved the fish bones, which allowed her to dress well and secretly attend a festive event. As she hurriedly returned home, Ye Xian lost a shoe, which was found by the king of the island nation "Tohan." The king used the shoe to find Ye Xian, fell in love with her, and married her.
我们可以打开想象的空间。《叶限》明确记载这个故事出于邕州，即今天的广西壮族自治区南宁。叶限与岛国“陀汗”的国王结为伉俪，据考证岛国是在吴越地区。随着海上丝绸之路的发展，《叶限》故事逐渐被带进了欧洲。从最初给大人讲，到后来小孩子也爱听，为了简化故事和保护小孩子的心灵，删减了一些过度残忍的情节，如鱼被杀了只留下鱼骨的情节，增加了更多浪漫色彩的爱情，王子舞会对灰姑娘一见钟情的场景等等。1812年，经过格林兄弟的改编，就形成了现在耳熟能详的《灰姑娘》的故事。
邕州 (Yōngzhōu) - Yongzhou (an ancient administrative region in what is now Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China)
伉俪 (kànglì) - husband and wife, couple
考证 (kǎozhèng) - To investigate, to verify
吴越 (Wúyuè) - Wu and Yue (historical regions in China)
丝绸之路 (Sīchóu zhī Lù) - Silk Road
删减 (shānjiǎn) - To cut, to delete
残忍 (cánrěn) - Cruel
过度 (guòdù) - Excessive
增加 (zēngjiā) - To add, to increase
一见钟情 (yījiàn zhōngqíng) - Love at first sight
改编 (gǎibiān) - To adapt, to revise
耳熟能详 (ěrshú néngxiáng) - Well-known, familiar
Now we have room for imagination. "Ye Xian" is explicitly recorded as originating in Yongzhou, which is today's Nanning in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Ye Xian's marriage to the king of the island nation "Tohan," which has been identified as being in the Wuyue region, suggests that with the development of the Maritime Silk Road, the story of "Ye Xian" gradually spread to Europe. Initially told to adults, the story eventually became popular with kids. To simplify the story and protect the children, some excessively cruel details, such as the killing of the fish and leaving its bones, were removed, and more romantic elements were added, like the prince falling in love with Cinderella at first sight during the ball. In 1812, after being adapted by the Brothers Grimm, it became the familiar story of "Cinderella" known today.
Do you think Cinderella's story arrived in Europe from China, or did it develop independently from Ye Xian's tale? 👠🐠
Antoine & Dorota
