GIẢI CẤU TRÚC DIỄN NGÔN KÌ ẢO TRONG LĨNH NAM CHÍCH QUÁI VÀ NHẬT BẢN LINH DỊ KÍ

Abstract

The article focuses on analyzing and deconstructing the fantastic discourse in the two narrative collections Lĩnh Nam chích quái (Vietnam) and Nihon Ryōiki (Japan). The study employs comparative methodology, discourse analysis (based on Michel Foucault’s theoretical framework), and close reading (in the deconstructive spirit of Jacques Derrida). The findings indicate that the process of textualizing folk narratives in both works is, in essence, a process of discourse construction. The fantastic discourse must pass through various “filters” of knowledge and power: only those fantastic elements that align with medieval ideological systems (Buddhism and karmic causality in Japan, and Confucianism in Vietnam) are preserved and legitimized. However, when examined closely at the textual level, the binary opposition of the sacred/profane reveals that its “center” is far from stable, constantly shifting and reversing. In Nihon Ryōiki, the sacred becomes dependent on profane human actions; in Lĩnh Nam chích quái, the profane is overturned by the intervention of the sacred. From these observations, the article aims to contribute to expanding interpretive possibilities for fantastic discourse within the cultural context of East Asia.