THE MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIF OF DROWNING IN RUSSIAN AND CHINESE MYTHOLOGICAL PICTURES OF THE WORLD

Abstract

The work is carried out with the financial support of social science foundation of Jilin province (project 2018B30) and NOI of department of education of Jilin province ([2015]518), China. The study of mythological motifs is considered an important way for comparative and comparative research of the mythological pictures of the world of different peoples. This article examines one of the common motifs of Russian and Chinese mythology – the motif of drowning, which carries important cultural significance, but little attention is paid in the field of comparative research in the two countries. The author compares the content of the mythological motif of drowning, the forms of its expression in myths, and the mythological worldviews of the Russian and Chinese peoples, reflecting the peculiarities of the worldviews of the two peoples: different concepts of life, the concept of nature and the relation of man to nature, and the concept of man and society. The Russian motif of drowning shows “humanity”, corresponding to the laws of nature, and in Chinese – “superhuman” and “super-natural”, which are fighting with nature.