The representation of “fate” in the folk mythology in Serbia and in China

Abstract

The study is devoted to the notions of fate in the traditional folk mythology of China and Serbia. The article analyzes the folk rites and the related terminology, the name and image of mythological characters denoting the fate of a person. Folk customs, native and funeral rites, folklore (proverbs, songs, riddles) became the material for considering the mythological image of fate. The work shows how the mythological perception of fate is reflected in the cultural code and in the linguistic image of the world. The article demonstrates how the mythological perception of fate is reflected in the linguistic images of the world of different peoples. Serbs believe that the fate of a person is given by God and other supernatural powers, in particular, the fate of a newborn child is determined by three mythological characters. In the Chinese tradition, fate is influenced by the heavenly will, the time of birth, an amulet, the lord of hell etc. In folk mythology, the soul will be reborn and will receive the fate, determined by the deeds of the person during the lifetime. The article is mainly devoted to the comparative analysis of the linguocultural meaning of fate in Chinese and Serbian mythology. The article compares the typological similarities and differences reflected in the mentality, ethnic memory, folk psychology. As a result, linguistic and extralinguistic factors have been identified that have unambiguously influenced the terminology of the perception of fate (for example, the names of mythological characters). The purpose of the study is to examine the logical-semantic and linguistic features of the appeal to the mythologeme of fate in the Chinese and the Serbian languages, in the reconstruction of folk spiritual culture.