Semantics and symbolism of the crane in Chinese folk tales

This article deals with the peculiarities of Chinese folk tales associated with the image of the crane. Particular attention is paid to the semantics and symbolism of the analyzed image. The aim of the study is to investigate the image of the crane in Chinese fairy tales and to outline a typology. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that in examining the image of the crane, it uses Chinese folk tales as the main material and archaeological documents as supporting material. The author concludes that the semantics of the image of the crane in Chinese folk tales is classified into four categories. Despite the fact that the image of the crane has different symbolic meanings, its semantics does not go beyond the context of Chinese traditional culture and national psychology.