Legend of Xi Shi

Name of Chinese national intangible cultural heritage: Legend of Xi Shi

Applicant: Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province

Item No.: 10

Project No.: I-10

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Zhejiang Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province

Protected by: Zhuji Cultural Center

Introduction to the legend of Xi Shi

Applicant: Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province

Xi Shi, the first of the four beauties in ancient China, is the symbol of beauty in Chinese traditional culture. Zhuji, the birthplace of the legend of Xi Shi, was the ancient capital of Yue in the spring and Autumn period.

The legend of Xi Shi came into being in the late spring and Autumn period and originated from oral narration among the people. The earliest written records can be found in Mozi and Mencius, etc. The legend of Xi Shi takes the war between Wu and Yue as the historical background, takes the legendary experience of Xi Shi's life as the main body, and takes the legend of characters (such as "Dongshi imitates Mei"), the legend of place names (such as "baiyutan"), the legend of products (such as "Torreya grandis eye"), the legend of Customs (such as "Sanjiangkou lantern") as branches and leaves. From different angles, it praises the beauty, kindness and dedication of Xi Shi God.

The legend of Xi Shi has a long history and has been handed down for more than 2500 years. It is widely spread throughout Zhuji, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and even the whole country, and even to Southeast Asian countries and regions such as South Korea, Japan and Singapore, as well as Chinese communities all over the world. The legend of Xi Shi is rich in content, involving characters, place names, products, customs, etc., covering almost all fields of folk literature.

As one of China's rich and diverse legends of characters, the legend of Xi Shi has other important values besides the academic significance of folklore itself: (1) literary value: as a popular literary reading material, legend is widely spread, suitable for all ages, and has always been the source of creation of various literary styles. There are a variety of literary works with the legend of Xi Shi as the theme, Through the spread of literary forms, the influence of the legend of Xi Shi was expanded and the content of the legend was enriched. It is of great significance to study the complementary relationship for the prosperity of literature and art. (2) Aesthetic value: as an aesthetic symbol, Xi Shi occupies a unique position in the aesthetic history of the Chinese nation, which is worthy of in-depth study from the perspective of aesthetics. (3) Cognitive value and historical value: The Legend of Xi Shi was produced by the war between Wu and Yue. It is a folk interpretation of the history and culture of ancient Wu and Yue, and has important reference value for the study of spring and autumn history. (4) Humanistic Value: Legend praises truth, goodness and beauty, advocates heroism and dedication, which is of positive significance to carry forward excellent humanistic spirit.