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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:lang="ru"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">eposvfu</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="ru">Эпосоведение</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>Epic Studies</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="epub">2782-4861</issn><publisher><publisher-name>Северо-Восточный федеральный университет имени М.К. Аммосова</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.25587/2782-4861-2025-2-60-71</article-id><article-id custom-type="elpub" pub-id-type="custom">eposvfu-318</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>Статьи</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>Articles</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>Война пигмеев с журавлями в китайских источниках до XV в.</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>War of the pygmies and cranes in Chinese sources up to 15th century</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2421-2484</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ru"><surname>Старостина</surname><given-names>А. Б.</given-names></name><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Starostina</surname><given-names>Aglaia B.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>Аглая Борисовна Старостина, кандидат философских наук, ведущий научный сотрудник ФГАУН «Институт Китая и современной Азии Российской академии наук»,</p><p>Москва.</p><p>Scopus Author ID: 57224807594.</p></bio><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Aglaia B. Starostina, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Leading Researcher at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences,</p><p>Moscow.</p><p>Scopus Author ID: 57224807594.</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">abstarostina@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff-1"><aff xml:lang="ru"><institution>Институт востоковедения РАН</institution><country>Россия</country></aff><aff xml:lang="en"><institution>Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences</institution><country>Russian Federation</country></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2025</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>13</day><month>06</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>0</volume><issue>2</issue><fpage>60</fpage><lpage>71</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>Copyright &amp;#x00A9; Старостина А.Б., 2026</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Старостина А.Б.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Starostina A.B.</copyright-holder><license xml:lang="ru" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.</license-p></license><license xml:lang="en" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://www.epossvfu.ru/jour/article/view/318">https://www.epossvfu.ru/jour/article/view/318</self-uri><abstract><p>Прояснение механизмов, с помощью которых происходит миграция сюжетов и мотивов, остаётся одной из актуальных задач фольклористики. Условие её успешного выполнения – наличие достаточного объёма сравнительного материала. Сюжет борьбы карликов с птицами, отсутствующий в указателе Аарне – Томпсона, но отмеченный в указателе Ю. Е. Березкина и Е. Н. Дувакина под индексом K22 («Журавли и пигмеи»), отличается древностью и широким распространением в Евразии, обеих Америках и в Африке. Несмотря на то, что исследователи давно обратили внимание на его присутствие в китайских географических и энциклопедических памятниках, начиная с «Шэнь и цзин» («Канона чудесных странностей», конец II в. н. э.?), и было опубликовано несколько текстовых подборок, общего обзора этих фрагментов не существовало. Цель настоящей статьи – дать такой обзор. В ходе работы были систематизированы найденные ранее данные, сняты дубликаты, появившиеся из-за цитирования более ранних источников в энциклопедических сводах, добавлены новые материалы, определена структура китайских нарративов о войне с перелётными птицами и показано разнообразие содержащихся в них мотивных наборов. Для этого были использованы компаративистский метод и методы текстологического анализа, включая структурный, в том числе мотивный разбор источников. Исследование ограничено хронологическими рамками условного китайского раннего средневековья (с конца правления Ханьской империи до XV в.). Древним памятникам противостояние отличного от людей народа и хищных перелётных птиц неизвестно, а более поздние работы могут носить следы реинтродукции сюжета иезуитами.</p><p>В результате исследования подтвердилась гипотеза о том, что сюжет был интродуцирован в китайскую традицию неоднократно и с разных направлений, и в сжатом, и в развёрнутом виде. Вариативность мотивных наборов и деталей сюжета высока. Птицы в китайских источниках могут быть журавлями, «морскими журавлями» или лебедями; народ карликов носит разные названия, нет никакой определённости относительно расположения их страны; сами они оказываются то охотниками, то земледельцами. Часть фрагментов не содержит упоминаний о вооружённом или ином противостоянии с птицами: пигмеи оказываются пассивными жертвами. При расширении параметров поиска в китайских источниках можно найти и другие примеры реализации этого сюжета.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="en"><p>One of the significant tasks in folkloristics is clarifying the mechanisms through which plots and motifs migrate. To accomplish this successfully, we need a great deal of comparative material. The war between dwarves and birds is not included in the Aarne-Thompson index but is mentioned by Yu. Berezkin and Ye. N. Duvakin’s classification system under K22 (“Cranes and Pygmies”). This plot is characterised by its ancient origins and widespread presence in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. Although researchers have noted its presence in Chinese geographical and encyclopaedic monuments, beginning with the “Shen Yi Jing” (“Canon of divine marvels”, late 2nd century AD), and several compilations of texts have been published, a general overview of these fragments has yet to be conducted. This article aims to provide such an overview. During the research, previously collected data was systematised. Duplicates arising from citing earlier sources in encyclopaedic compilations were removed, new materials were added and the structure of Chinese narratives about the war with migratory birds was established. The diversity of motifs contained within these narratives was demonstrated. To this end, comparative methods and textual analysis techniques were employed, including structural and motifbased analyses of sources.</p><p>The scope of this research is limited to the chronological framework of early medieval China (from the end of the Han dynasty to the 15th century). Ancient sources do not describe conflicts between non-human peoples and predatory migratory birds, and later works may bear traces of the plot being reintroduced by Jesuits.</p><p>The findings confirm the hypothesis that the plot was introduced to the Chinese tradition multiple times from various directions, in both concise and detailed forms. There is significant variability in motifs and plot details. In Chinese sources, the birds may be cranes, “see cranes”, or swans; the dwarves are referred to by different names; and there is no definitive information about the location of their country. The pygmies are depicted as either hunters or farmers. Some fragments do not mention any form of confrontation with the birds: the pygmies appear as passive victims. Expanding the search parameters in Chinese sources reveals additional examples of the plot’s implementation.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>гераномахия</kwd><kwd>китайская мифология</kwd><kwd>китайский фольклор</kwd><kwd>кросс-культурные контакты</kwd><kwd>миграция сюжетов</kwd><kwd>сравнительная мифология</kwd><kwd>сравнительная фольклористика</kwd><kwd>парадоксография</kwd><kwd>Да-цинь</kwd><kwd>этнонимы</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>geranomachy</kwd><kwd>Chinese mythology</kwd><kwd>Chinese folklore</kwd><kwd>cross-cultural contacts</kwd><kwd>migration of plots</kwd><kwd>comparative mythology</kwd><kwd>comparative folkloristics</kwd><kwd>paradoxography</kwd><kwd>Daqin</kwd><kwd>ethnonyms</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><back><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="cit1"><label>1</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="ru">Hansen W.F. Ariadne’s thread: A guide to international tales found in classical literature. 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