Folktale of Lin Tou Sister

• Main Authors: Shu-Ching Hwang, 黃淑卿
• Other Authors: Yi-Yuan Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/23153927294589705227

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 中國文學系碩博士班 === 94 === 「Lin Tou Sister」is a wide spread classic folktale about a female ghost taking her revenge﹒ With a view to excavating the prevailing level of the folktale， this thesis focuses on the written records and also refers to the published audio media plus the interviews from field trip，so as to wholly understand the legendary content and its cultivation﹒ The spreading dimension of the folktale is not limited to ages or social classes and also far beyond imagination， Furthermore， the thesis formulates and compares the differences between each popular version at various stages to delve into the characteristics of its opulence﹒ In order to precisely elucidate the progress of this folktale， this thesis first interweaves as weft all the information on written materials， according to its time sequence，and then as warp the cases of transformation， dividing the development of the folktale into five stages： beginning, nurturing, maturing, altering, and scriptwriting﹒ The thesis thereafter studies and analyzes these five parts and depicts the process of evolvement﹒ That the features in the contents presented by the audio media differ from those written by literati shows that the fascination of this folktale lies widely in adapting itself to social fluctuation﹒ Next， the thesis discusses in detail the legends and folklores which have similar essence to「Lin Tou Sister」﹒ As far as the traits in a legend is concerned， is it reasonable for Lin Heng Dao to assert 「Lin Tou Sister」is transplanted from a 「Wang Fu」(expecting a husband) legend？ Besides，notebook novels such as 「Liu Yi Pian Shan」， and 「Yuan Bao」， or even the folktale 「Jhou Cheng Guo Tai Wan」， whose content is almost alike to 「Lin Tou Sister」， are discussed and compared simultaneously on this thesis because of their close relation in time and space﹒ It’s a sure thing that a tragedy happens for some certain factors﹒ This thesis probes from a female’s viewpoint the failure in a marriage resulting from the ungratefulness of man﹒ Due to the bondage and chain which traditional social moral sets on women, females are subordinate to males in marriage﹒ A female is disciplined since her early age how to serve her future husband and show filial piety to his family﹒ Once becoming prosperous by taking advantage of the wife’s support and assistance, can the husband return her favor and treat her well？ This is the critical turning point to the attribution of a marriage﹒Moreover, from this tragic story of an unthankful husband extracts the notion that a woman would try to look for judicial justice in the nether world when she dies and get even with her husband if she fails to do so while alive﹒ This corresponds with the karma concept 「A bad penny always comes back」﹒ At the end of this thesis it sums up the developing structures of 「Lin Tou Sister」and reviews retrospectively the moral between the lines in this folktale﹒