The Roles of Animals in Chinese Flood Myths

To cite this article: LIAN Zelei. (2021). The Roles of Animals in Chinese Flood Myths. Asia-Pacific Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 01:3, 008-019, DOI: 10.53789/j.1653-0465.2021.0103.002

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.53789/j.1653-0465.2021.0103.002

Abstract: This paper offers an original and systematic explanation of the roles animals played in the main Chinese flood myths. It investigates the significance of their roles as a signifying exponent of the flood myth repertoire as they were recorded from high antiquity to early imperial times in the hope of deepening our understanding of the interesting and peculiar roles animals play in culture, politics, and human-animal relationship on the one hand, and myth narratives on the other. They are classified into four main categories: animals as causes of the flood, animals as the embodiment of the flood, animals as obstacles, and animals as assistants. And it is argued that these roles reveal how humans perceive their relationship with the animals.

Keywords: animals; flood myths; human-animal relationship 

LIAN Zelei Number 3 APJHSS.pdf