Cantonese folktales are

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

s associated with the

Cantonese people The Cantonese people () or Yue people (), are a Yue-speaking Han Chinese subgroup originating from or residing in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang), in Southern Mainland China. Although more accurat ...

, the dominant

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

subgroup in the Southern Chinese twin provinces of

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

and

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

. This body of folktales have been influenced both by the culture of Han Chinese and that of

Nanyue Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establis ...

, the original

Baiyue The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, b ...

inhabitants of the region before

sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

occurred.谭达先, 徐佩筠 (1980). 廣東民間故事. 香港世界出版社.

Stories

The more well-known stories in Cantonese folktales include: *

The Legend of Five Goats The Legend of Five Goats comes from the ancient Guangzhou city, and is an origin of Guangzhou's nicknames like 'City of Five Goats', 'City of the Goat', 'City of the Rice'. It is also the origin of many Guangzhou local brands' names. The name 'Five ...

*Ah Xiang and His Pet Snake *Cuckoo *The Legend of Wangfu Rock *The Bamboo Grove of the Loyal Dog *The Porcelain Lion *In a Bowl of Rice *Bao Gu and Cui Wei *The Owl Seeks a Wife

Figures

Lady Sin

Lady Sin (Jyutping: Sin² fu¹ jan⁴; Traditional Chinese: 冼夫人), or "Madame Sin", is a well-known historical figure among Cantonese and an important figure in Cantonese folklore. Widely hailed as "the holy mother of Lingnan", she was a skilled military leader among 6th century Baiyue peoples. She helped the

Sui Empire The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

contain the mutiny of various Baiyue tribes and start the sinicization of the region, indirectly helping Lingnan evolve into her current form. There are many temples dedicated to her in the Lingnan region, resulting in her becoming a deity-like figure.

Yun Sung-wun

Yun Sung-wun (Jyutping: Jyun⁴ sung⁴ wun⁶; Traditional Chinese: 袁崇煥) is another prominent Cantonese historic figure. Born in late 16th century, he was a general to the Ming Empire, known for participating in campaigns against the then invading Manchu people and several military engineering programs. He was later falsely accused of treason under the

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...

and executed. However, he still remained a heroic figure to many Cantonese. Nowadays, Cantonese have built many monuments for Yun across Lingnan, and his catchphrase "掉哪媽，頂硬上！" (Jyutping: Diu⁶ naa⁵ maa¹ ding² ngaang⁶ soeng⁵; literally "fuck his mom, hit it hard!"; Note: this is

Cantonese profanity The five most common Cantonese profanities, vulgar words in the Cantonese language are '' diu'' (/), ''gau'' (//), ''lan'' (/), ''tsat'' (//) and ''hai'' (/), where the first literally means '' fuck'', "Diu" (or Jiu) is literally the word for fuck ...

), which he said whenever he was facing an enemy force, is common knowledge among Cantonese people. The Chinese government's removal of this phrase from one of his monuments even sparked a massive protest by Cantonese.

Others

Ten Tigers of Canton Ten Tigers of Canton or Ten Tigers of GuangdongKim, Sun-Jin. Tuttle Dictionary of the Martial Arts of Korea, China & Japan. 996(1996). Tuttle publishing. Korea. . refers to a group of ten Chinese martial artists from Guangdong Province lived arou ...

Wong Fei-hung Wong Fei-hung (born Wong Sek-cheung with the courtesy name Tat-wun; 9 July 1847 – 17 April 1925) was a Chinese martial artist, physician, and folk hero. His recent fame was due to becoming the subject of numerous martial arts films and televis ...

Amah Rock Amah Rock (, ''Mong Fu Shek'', "husband-watching stone") is a naturally shaped rock located on a hilltop in southwest Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. Description The rock is approximately 15 meters in height, and is shaped much like a woman carr ...

External links

Chinese Folktales: "The White-Nosed Cat" and Other Tales From the Chinese-Speaking World

References

{{Guangdong topics Cantonese folklore