Забавные народные истории об умниках Южного Вьетнама: развитие и особенности жанра

The article presents a relatively new genre of South Vietnamese folk funny stories about wise men called "truyen trang", which is literally translated from Vietnamese as tales about wise folk wits, and has not yet been sufficiently studied by Vietnamese folklorists. The author explores South Vietnamese tales about a birdcatcher named O from Ben Tre province (26 tales) and tales about Uncle Ba Phi from the Ca Mau region, which is located in the extreme south of Vietnam (54 tales). Their typical plot structures, basic techniques of composition and organization of artistic space are explored. A comparative analysis of Chuyen Trang tales with similar tales from the northern and other regions of Vietnam is carried out. This article is the first step towards getting acquainted with the genre of funny stories about truyen trang smart guys, which became widespread in South Vietnam. For the first time, it examines the history of the emergence of this genre, its development and features.