[KS] Re: Golem/Frankenstein Motif in Korean or Other Asian

[Andrew P. Killick]

David-

Not an East Asian example, but a Western one more than 1800 years old is the
legend of Pygmalion, as popularized by Shaw in his play of that name and its
derivative, my favorite musical My Fair Lady.

Best

-Andrew

At 03:26 PM 3/14/00 +0900, you wrote:
>
>I've been thinking recently about the folklore motif of the Golem, in
>which human beings use God-like powers to create a human being from a lump
>of clay (Hebrew `gelem' = lump).  The notion has been explored in the
>Jewish tradition for at least 1800 years, and its influence in the
>Christian world can be found in all manner of `black magic' stories,
>Frankenstein, Sorcerer's Apprentice, and so on.  Renewed interest in this
>notion has come from popular journalism about robotics and artificial
>intelligence, and most recently the advent of cloning.
>
>What I'm trying to learn is whether the Judeo-Christian tradition is
>uniquely obsessed with humans taking on God-like creative powers, or
>whether the same idea finds expression elsewhere. To that end I would
>appreciate any examples that any list-members can supply of Golem-motif
>folklore in Korean or other Asian traditions. Any, say, Taoist
>wonder-tales where a sage creates a human or quasi-human being?
>
>With thanks,
>
>David Kosofsky
>Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
>Seoul
>
>
>
>
>



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