The Fatal Confrontation of Rustam and Esfandiyār——Comparison of Three Versions of the Legend in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Tarikh al-Tabari and the Story Narrated in Davani Dialect

This paper is a comparison and analysis of three versions of the fatal confrontation of Rustam and Esfandiyār in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and Tarikh al-Tabari as well as the one narrated in Davani dialect. In the first part, a general yet comparatively complete summary of the story in Shahnameh is given, which contains the most details and plots of the story. The second part and the third part investigate the confrontation as presented in Tarikh al-Tabari and in the story told by a villager in Davani dialect;both of these two versions are compared with the one in Shahnameh separately. Following that, a comparison of the three versions is conducted in terms of the content, forms of narration and images of the characters as presented in them. Apart from that, the possible reasons for these differences among the three versions of the story are also investigated. The last part concludes the significance of the story as both in Shahnameh and in Iranian folklore tradition, and also attempts to look into the metaphor behind the story and more importantly the essential conflicts that lie in the confrontation between these two heroes.

试论塔吉克文化中的四大象征

在古老的中国塔吉克文化中,慕士塔格阿塔山被尊为神。鹰在塔吉克文化中占有极为重要的地位。鲁斯塔木是位民族英雄形象。马在塔吉克族文化中的地位更为突出。文章对此从文化历史渊源上进行了阐释。