War of the pygmies and cranes in Chinese sources up to 15th century

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.

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.

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.

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