“A CENTURY OF REVISITING THE STORY OF THE OTTER'S SON” BY LIU SHOU HUA AND COMPARATIVE RESEARCH ON THE LEGEND OF ĐINH TIÊN HOÀNG IN THE EAST ASIAN SINOSPHERE

Abstract

The legend of Đinh Tiên Hoàng belongs to the Otter's hybrid Son Tale type - a well-known legend type associated with the founding emperors of East Asian cultures. However, this tale type remains largely unknown in Vietnam, and Đinh Tiên Hoàng’s purported descent from an otter has received little attention from a cultural perspective. The article “A Century of Revisiting the Story of the Otter's Son” by Liu Shou Hua consists of three main parts: an overview of the plot structure of the tale type; the influence of fengshui practices on its narrative structure and their historical and cultural significance; and several discussions focusing on perspectives from Korean Chinese and Japanese scholars. His study provides valuable references and suggests new directions for the comparative analysis of the legend of Đinh Tiên Hoàng within the East Asian Sinosphere based on a type–motif approach combined with textual analysis and an interregional perspective. In particular, it raises questions concerning the tale’s genesis and the identification of its principal sphere of influence, whether Sinicization or Southeast Asian; and the problem of narrative agency in the construction of variants; and the structuring of political and fengshui layers of meaning within the legend.