Folktales and Reality: The Social Construction of Race in Chinese Tales

Author

Lily Kong, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Elaine Goh, Port of Singapore Authority

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

9-1995

Abstract

This paper illustrates how folktales are a repository of primary material for the geographer. Using the example of The Strange Tales of Liaozhai, we discuss how these tales are not purely fictive constructs but constitute instead fictive, historical and projected realities. As an example of the value of such analysis, we discuss Chinese constructions of race as revealed in the tales.

Keywords

Fairy tales, Racism, Folk literature, Social constructs, Folk culture, Epistemology, Civilization

Discipline

Asian Studies | Human Geography | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Area

Volume

27

Issue

3

First Page

261

Last Page

267

ISSN

0004-0894

Publisher

Wiley

Citation

Kong, Lily, & Goh, Elaine.(1995). Folktales and Reality: The Social Construction of Race in Chinese Tales. Area, 27(3), 261-267.

Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1719

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://www.jstor.org/stable/20003582