Studio/Reseach: BVA 316 - 28/02/2019
Cinderella Story
My question: How by uncovering my cultural identity through drawings reflect cultural acceptence in nowadays diversified society?
Using Cinderella's story from different country to reflect on diversity through series of illustration.
Short story on Cinderella from chosen country: China, Malaysia, Europe.
Brief concept of Cinderella
Chinese Version: Ye Xian
Long before the Qin and Han Dynasty, in a small community of cave-dwellers called Wudong, their chief by the name of Wu had two wives by custom and a daughter by each of them. Ye Xian is Wu's daughter of one wife, and she is extremely beautiful, kind and gentle, and gifted in many skills such as pottery and poetry. In contrast, her half-sister Jun-Li is plain-looking, cruel and selfish, and both she and her mother, Wu's other wife, envy the attention Wu lavishes upon Ye Xian. Ye Xian's mother died while she was still a baby, so Wu did all he could to raise his motherless daughter.
Unfortunately, Ye Xian's father dies from a local plague, and a new chieftain was appointed to take his place, as Wu had no sons. With her family reduced to poverty, Ye Xian is forced to become a lowly servant and work for her scheming stepmother and envious older sister (in the original tale, it is her younger sister, because of the value of superiority in Chinese culture. But due to later influence, Ye was cast as the youngest child). Despite living a life burdened with chores and housework, and suffering endless abuse at her stepmother's hands, she finds solace when she ends up befriending a beautiful, 10 foot long fish in the lake near her home, with golden eyes and scales. The fish was really a guardian spirit sent to her by her own mother, who never forgot her daughter even beyond the grave.
One day, Jun-Li follows Ye Xian to the lake, and discovers her talking to the fish. Angry that Ye Xian has found happiness, she told her mother everything that she had seen. The cruel woman tricked Ye Xian into giving her the tattered dress she wears, and by this, catches and kills the fish and serves it for dinner for herself and Jun-Li. Ye Xian is devastated until the spirit of an old man, possibly one of her ancestors or her maternal grandfather, in a white robe with white hair, appears and tells her to bury the bones of the fish in four pots and hide each pot at the corners under her bed. The spirit also tells her that whatever she needs will be granted if she talks to the bones.
Once in a year, the New Year Festival was to be celebrated. This is also the time for the young maidens to meet potential husbands. Not wishing to spoil her own daughter's chances, the stepmother forces her stepdaughter to remain home and clean their cave-house. After her step-family has left for the festival, Ye Xian is visited by the fish's spirit again. She makes a silent wish to the bones and Ye Xian finds herself clothed magnificently, in a gown of sea-green silk, a cloak of kingfisher feathers and a pair of tiny golden slippers.
Ye Xian goes to the festival by foot. She is admired by everyone, in particular the young men who believed her to be a princess, and enjoys herself until she realizes that Jun-Li may have recognized her and leaves, accidentally leaving behind a golden slipper (in the original version Ye's sister tells her that she resembles her elder sister). When she arrives home, she hides her finery and the remaining slipper under her bed. The fish bones were silent now, however, for it warned Ye Xian before not to lose even one of her slippers. Sadly, she falls asleep under a tree. Her step family return from the festival and mention a mysterious beauty who appeared at the festival, but are unaware that it is Ye Xian they are speaking of.
The golden slipper is found by a local peasant who trades it, and it is passed on to various people until it reaches the hands of the nearby king of the To'Han islets, a powerful kingdom covering thousands of small islands. Fascinated by the shoe's small size,[5] he issues a search to find the maiden whose foot will fit into the shoe and proclaims he will marry that girl. The search extends until it reaches the community of the cave-dwellers, and everyone, including Jun-Li, the late chief Wu's firstborn, tried the slipper. No maiden's foot can fit the shoe. Despondent that he could not find the woman he was searching for, the king made a great pavilion and placed the shoe there on display. Ye Xian arrives there late in the evening to retrieve the slipper, but is mistaken as a thief. Ye Xian then was brought before the king, and there she told him everything about her life, how she lost her friend, the gold-eyed fish, and now her slipper. The king, struck by her good-nature and beauty even though she lived in the land of the savages, believed her and allowed her to go home with the slipper.
The next morning, the king goes into Ye Xian's house and asks her to come with him into his kingdom. Ye Xian then wears both her shoes, and appears in her beautiful sea-green gown. The stepmother and Jun-Li, however, insist that Ye Xian could not have clothes of that kind...for she is only their slave. The stepmother says that the finery is Jun-Li's, and that Ye Xian stole them. The king dismisses her lies, and invites Ye Xian to marry him and live in his palace. She accepts, but her cruel step-family is left with the worst possible fate: each other. The stepmother forces Jun-Li, who has lost all hope of marrying rich, into the same state of servitude that Ye Xian suffered for so many years. When Jun-Li promptly and bitterly rebels against her lot, it starts a violent quarrel...the result of which is a cave-in that buries both women and destroys their home. Meanwhile, the king takes Ye Xian's hand in marriage and makes her his queen.
Story telling video:
Apparel Example:
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Chinese clothing during Qin and Han dynasty.
http://www.qulishi.com/huati/qinhanfushi/
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Malay Version: Bawang Putih Bawang Merah
The story takes place in a simple village household. The head of this family has two wives, and each wife has their own daughter. The older of the two is Bawang Putih, while the younger one is Bawang Merah. Bawang Merah and her mother are jealous of the attention the father gives Bawang Putih and her mother, who is also older than her co-wife. When the father dies, Bawang Merah and her mother take charge of the household and bully both Bawang Putih and her mother into servitude. Bawang Putih’s mother stands up for her daughter but she soon dies prematurely. One day, while washing the family's laundry in the river, Bawang Merah's mother pushed her into the water and left her to drown.
With her biological mother and father dead, the gentle and obedient Bawang Putih is left alone to be tortured by her cruel stepmother and half-sister. Though Bawang Putih suffers, she is patient. One day, when she is out in the woods, she sees a pond containing a live fish. The fish is able to speak, and tells her that it is her mother who has come back to comfort her. Bawang Putih is overjoyed to be able to speak with her mother again, and secretly visits the pond whenever she can.
One day Bawang Merah sees Bawang Putih sneaking off and secretly follows her to the pond, where she witnesses Bawang Putih talking to the fish. After Bawang Putih leaves, Bawang Merah lures the fish to the surface of the pond and catches it. Bawang Merah and her mother kill the fish, cook it and feed it to Bawang Putih without telling her where it came from. Once Bawang Putih finishes eating, her stepmother and stepsister reveal where they obtained the fish. Bawang Putih is repulsed and filled with remorse over this revelation.
Bawang Putih gathers the fish bones and bury them in a small grave underneath a tree. When she visits the grave the next day, she is surprised to see that a beautiful swing has appeared from one of the tree's branches. When Bawang Putih sits in the swing and sings an old lullaby, it magically swings back and forth.
Bawang Putih continues to visit the magic swing whenever she can. One day, while she is on the magic swing, a Prince who is hunting nearby hears her song. He follows the sound of her voice, but before he approaches her, Bawang Putih realizes that she is not alone, she quickly runs back home.
The Prince and his advisors eventually find the home of Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah. (In some versions this happens immediately after the Prince's first sighting of Bawang Putih, but in other versions it happens after a long search made by the Prince's advisors). Bawang Merah's mother, seeing the opportunity, orders Bawang Putih to stay hidden in the kitchen. The Prince asks about the swing and the girl who sat in it. Bawang Merah's mother says that the girl he heard is her beautiful and talented daughter Bawang Merah. Though the Prince agrees that Bawang Merah is beautiful, he requests that she show him how she sang in the magical swing.
Bawang Merah and mother reluctantly follow the Prince and his advisors back to the magic swing. Bawang Merah sits in the swing and attempts to sing so that it will move, but she cannot. The Prince, now angry, ordered Bawang Merah's mother to tell the truth. Bawang Merah's mother is forced to confess that she has another daughter hidden in her house.
The Prince brings Bawang Putih back to the swing, and as she had done many times before, the magic swing starts moving as soon as she begins singing. The Prince is overjoyed and asks Bawang Putih to marry him. She agrees and they live happily ever after.
One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written in French by Charles Perrault in 1697, under the name Cendrillon. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story, including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of "glass" slippers.[17]
Plot:
- A wealthy widower marries a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She has two daughters, who are equally vain and selfish. The gentleman has a beautiful young daughter, a girl of unparalleled kindness and sweet temper. The man's daughter is forced into servitude by the girl's stepmother, where she is made to work day and night doing menial chores. After the girl's chores are done for the day, she curls up near the fireplace in an effort to stay warm. She often arises covered in cinders, giving rise to the mocking nickname "Cinderella" by her stepsisters. Cinderella bears the abuse patiently and does not tell her father, who would have scolded her.
- One day, the Prince invites all the young ladies in the land to a royal ball, planning to choose a wife. The two stepsisters gleefully plan their wardrobes for the ball, and taunt Cinderella by telling her that maids are not invited to the ball.
- As the sisters depart to the ball, Cinderella cries in despair. Her Fairy Godmother magically appears and immediately begins to transform Cinderella from house servant to the young lady she was by birth, all in the effort to get Cinderella to the ball. She turns a pumpkin into a golden carriage, miceinto horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turns Cinderella's rags into a beautiful jeweled gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Godmother tells her to enjoy the ball, but warns her that she must return before midnight, when the spells will be broken.
- At the ball, the entire court is entranced by Cinderella, especially the Prince. At this first ball, Cinderella remembers to leave before midnight. Back home, Cinderella graciously thanks her Godmother. She then innocently greets the stepsisters, who had not recognized her earlier, and talk of nothing but the beautiful girl at the ball.
- Another ball is held the next evening, and Cinderella again attends with her Godmother's help. The Prince has become even more infatuated with the mysterious woman at the ball, and Cinderella in turn becomes so enchanted by him she loses track of time and leaves only at the final stroke of midnight, losing one of her glass slippers on the steps of the palace in her haste. The Prince chases her, but outside the palace, the guards see only a simple country girl leave. The Prince pockets the slipper and vows to find and marry the girl to whom it belongs. Meanwhile, Cinderella keeps the other slipper, which does not disappear when the spell is broken.
- The Prince tries the slipper on all the women in the kingdom. When the Prince arrives at Cinderella's home, the stepsisters try in vain to win him over. Cinderella asks if she may try, but the stepsisters taunt her. Naturally, the slipper fits perfectly, and Cinderella produces the other slipper for good measure. Cinderella's stepfamily pleads for forgiveness, and Cinderella agrees. Cinderella had hoped her step-family would love her always.[18]
- Cinderella married the Prince as her stepsisters are married to two handsome gentlemen of the royal court.
The first moral of the story is that beauty is a treasure, but graciousness is priceless. Without it, nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.[19]
However, the second moral of the story mitigates the first one and reveals the criticism that Perrault is aiming at: That "without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother."[19]
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