Fish forming East Light’s escape bridge in Korean Fairy Tales, 1922
Fish mass their backs into a bridge beneath East Light and his companions. The troops’ dress and the fishes’ appearance are this anonymous illustrator’s choices; Griffis does not identify a zoological species.
Overview
Pursued by a jealous king, East Light reaches an impassable river with three companions. After invoking his solar and river ancestry, he shoots arrows into the water. Fish converge from the stream and crowd together so closely that the four fugitives can cross on their backs. Immediately afterward the fish disperse, preventing the pursuing riders from following.
The fish act collectively as a saving bridge, rather than forming a permanent structure or being identified as a single enormous fish. Griffis names no species or individual fish and gives no direct speech by them: their apparent invitation to step onto their backs is the narrator’s comparison. The episode belongs to his English literary account of East Light’s foundation of Fuyu.
Origins & earliest records
Korean tale in an English literary retelling
Records & interpretation
Full relevant tale and collection preface directly read.
In the literature
“on their spines a bridge was soon formed”
East Light and the Bridge of Fishes, printed p.14
The fish gather tightly enough to support the fleeing men.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Korean Fairy Tales
East Light and the Bridge of Fishes, pp.11–16
- 02
Korean Fairy Tales — East Light and the Bridge of Fishes
NewYork:ThomasY.Crowell selected edition with copyright1911 and1922 explicitly printed; year1922 describes selected historical witness, not ancient origin. Full selected tales3/4/7/14/16/20 plus introductory note read independently. William Elliot Griffis is English reteller, not a documented individual Korean narrator. His fictional Grandma Kim/Mrs.Crinkles frames are distinguished from oral-source evidence.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
William Elliot Griffis, Korean Fairy Tales (1922)
East Light and the Bridge of Fishes. East Light and the Bridge of Fishes, pp.11–16
Complete chapter directly read. Griffis literary framing and absence of documented individual narrator retained; original paraphrase of public-domain-US historical witness. No original-language names or image verification invented.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Korean Fairy Tales
NewYork:ThomasY.Crowell selected edition with copyright1911 and1922 explicitly printed; year1922 describes selected historical witness, not ancient origin. Full selected tales3/4/7/14/16/20 plus introductory note read independently. William Elliot Griffis is English reteller, not a documented individual Korean narrator. His fictional Grandma Kim/Mrs.Crinkles frames are distinguished from oral-source evidence.
- A servant’s child survives a jealous king’s attempts through pigs’ warmth and mares’ care. Raised as East Light, he excels in archery and flees the king with three companions. At an impassable river he invokes solar/river ancestry and shoots arrows; fish converge, form a bridge and disperse once all four cross. Pursuers cannot follow. East Light becomes Fuyu’s ruler, marries and has children; the narrator links later national naming and topknots to him.
East Light and the Bridge of Fishes, printed pp.11–16, complete tale
Fish speech is an as-if comparison, not explicit dialogue. No single giant bridge fish, species name, verified national etymology or independent first-attestation assertion.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English literary retellingGriffis, Korean Fairy Tales, East Light and the Bridge of Fishes, pp.11–16Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationFish forming East Light’s escape bridge in Korean Fairy Tales, 1922
Fish mass their backs into a bridge beneath East Light and his companions. The troops’ dress and the fishes’ appearance are this anonymous illustrator’s choices; Griffis does not identify a zoological species.