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Abstract In the southeast coast， especially the coast of Fujian and Guangdong， there is a popular saying and folklore about “sinking Dongjing， floating ××”， and there is even the “Dongjing Road Monument” pointing at the sea. Legend has it that local people have always identified a certain area of the sea as the site of the “City of Dongjing”， but geological research has repeatedly confirmed that there are no sunken towns in these areas. If the places where the saying of “sinking Dongjing” are pinpointed on a map， it will constitute a diaspora route of the “Song Dynasty in exile” towards the end. In addition， Book of Min from Ming Dynasty also clearly points out the close relationship between “Dongjing” and the traveling dynasty in the late Song Dynasty. Based on historical and folklore investigation， it can be inferred that “sinking Dongjing” is actually a linguistic metaphor for the fall of Song Dynasty， and related legends are the result of what Max Müller called a “language disease”. The legend of “sinking Dongjing” and a large amount of legends about Emperor Bing of Song bear the collective memory of the people of Fujian and Guangdong for thousands of years about the collapse of the Southern Song Dynasty， and express their sympathy and grief for this tragic history.
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Received: 28 March 2023
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2023, Vol. 62 
