한 · 중 건국 시조신화 비교 연구 - 상고시대 신화를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This study is to compare the founding myths between Korea and China. Thirteen founding myths from two countries were analyzed for this study. The feature of the founding myths was examined and then common points and differences of two countries' founding myths were studied. The result is as following. There are two common points between Korea and China founding myths. First, it is diversity. The way the characters appear and come into the world is various. Second, it is a growth process. The way the characters grow up has the same pattern. After the character in the myths is born in a marvelous way, he is abandoned, protected by animals and then comes back to become a great man and make a succeed through many struggles. There are three different things in the myths. First, while the characters in Korean myth usually come down from heaven, or come up from earth, or they are recognized by sunlight, in Chinese myths they appear by having holy relations with God symbolized such as lightening, footprints, a dragon, rainbows. Second, in Korea the motif of the myths consists of the god of heaven! and the goddess of earth having a holy marriage, but in China there is an ordinary marriage motif. This means the maternal side had a different statue in two countries. Third, while there are various motives which are related to death because of the influence of Confucianism, hermit worship, shamanism in Korea, Chinese myths show more Confucian influence than Taoism. This is due to the cultural and ideological difference between the two countries. Korean founding myths include similar motives repeatedly, which means that the myth transmitter wanted to retain its original form even in its diversity. On the other hand, Chinese founding myths are various but lack motives, since the myth transmitter sought to unify its original form into Confucianism with diversity.