History Literature / Aladdin

"Aladdin" is a folktale originally composed by Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab sometime in the early 18th century. Although popularly known as part of ''[[Literature/ArabianNights A Thousand and One Nights]]'', it is neither one of the core stories nor incorporated in the finalized version of the collection that came about later in the 18th Century. It first appeared in print in the French translation by Antoine Galland, who had Diyab as an uncredited oral source for some additional tales. Diyab told Galland the story in 1709 and it appeared in print in 1710. No earlier version of the story is known.

A version of the tale, as translated and published by Sir Richard Burton in his famous 19th Century edition of the ''1001 Nights'', may be found [[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Aladdin;Or_The_Wonderful_Lamp_(Sir_Richard_Burton) here]]. An Indian variant may also be found.

** In the case of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, they had a great identification with China. Their monarchs called themselves "Khan of China", "King of the East of China" and "Sultan of the East and China"; their early coinage featured Chinese-styled square hole coins combined with Arabic writing; much of their territory, including Transoxiana and the western Tarim Basin had previously belonged to the Tang dynasty; their monarchs formed marriage relations with the Liao dynasty; and the area around Kashgar, then a part of the Khanate, was referred to as "Lower China."

* BigBad: The Sorcerer who spends the book trying to steal the lamp.

A version of the tale, as translated and published by Sir Richard Burton in his famous 19th Century edition of the ''1001 Nights'', may be found [[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Aladdin;Or_The_Wonderful_Lamp_(Sir_Richard_Burton) here]].

A version of the tale, as translated and published by Sir Richard Burton in his famous 19th Century edition of the ''1001 Nights'', may be found [[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Aladdin;Or_The_Wonderful_Lamp_(Sir_Richard_Burton) here]].

* ChastityDagger: When Aladdin kidnaps the princess, he puts a big sword between them in bed to ensure he won't touch her.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in {{UsefulNotes/China}} (theoretically InNameOnly, as while the setting is completely Islamic, it should be noted the western edge of China or Xinjiang is Islamic and highly influenced by the Middle East with the Uyghur language using the Arabic script). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in China (theoretically InNameOnly, as while the setting is completely Islamic, it should be noted the western edge of China or Xinjiang is Islamic and highly influenced by the Middle East with the Uyghur language using the Arabic script). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

"Aladdin" is an Arabian folk tale originally composed by Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab sometime in the early 18th century. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually not one of the original stories found in ''[[Literature/ArabianNights A Thousand and One Nights]]'', as it first appeared in print in the 1704 French translation by Antoine Galland, who had Diyab as an uncredited oral source for some tales including this and [[Literature/AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves "Ali Baba"]], and they're not traceable from Arabic sources earlier than that. More on this in the Other Wiki.

Note that, thanks to its adaptations to Theatre/{{Pantomime}} and [[Franchise/{{Aladdin}} assorted very successful movies]], this story has been severely prone to AudienceColoringAdaptation verging on AdaptationDisplacement. For example, the evil vizier Jafar (however spelled) is basically a movie addition (his name comes from a whole different place), and the idea that Aladdin's mother is called "Widow Twankey" is a pantomime joke (based on the name of a cheap brand of China tea).

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in China (theoretically InNameOnly, as while the setting is completely Islamic, it should be noted the western edge of China or Xinjiang is Islamic and highly influenced by the Middle East with the Uyghur script itself using Arabic). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Though the setting still has a large dose of artistic license, it isn't completely implausible because [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_China China does in fact have Muslims.]] If the story was always set in China, it was most likely set in one of China's far western provinces, such as Xinjiang, which has a culture similar to that of other parts of Central Asia. Or it could have originated in Central Asia among people with some but not complete knowledge of Chinese and Muslim traditions. Any number of intermediate versions could also be to blame as it could have been turned more Muslim as it spread through that part of the world but still kept the China as a vague far-east. Or Galland just goofed[[note]]For what it's worth, the Russian version of the story, directly translated from Arabic, also says that the story is set in China[[/note]]. Needless to say, with many tales like this with so much uncertainty it's really unknown whether these aluminum Christmas trees have a practical or chance explanation.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Aladdin himself, though part of it may be ValuesDissonance -- a lot of the heroes of the 1001 Nights won the day with callous or ruthless deeds. Most notably: in order to get the princess away from her betrothed Aladdin sends his djinn to kidnap and torment them every night, until they come to the conclusion that the marriage is cursed and split up -- at which point he swoops in and romances her.

* RingOfPower: Which has a Djinn of its own, although less powerful than the lamp's one.

* AmbiguousSituation: The setting might not be China as we understand it. In early Arabic usage, "China" was used in an abstract sense to designate an exotic, faraway land, meaning the setting could be somewhere else entirely. Cool History Bros has even suggested it is actually the Turpan Khanate and with the Islamic Golden Age setting, the Kara-Khanid Khanate and Mongol Empire are other candidates.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Though the setting still has a large dose of artistic license, it isn't completely implausible because [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_China China does in fact have Muslims.]] If the story was always set in China, it was most likely set in one of China's far western provinces, such as Xinjiang, which has a culture similar to that of other parts of Central Asia. Or it could have originated in Central Asia among people with some but not complete knowledge of Chinese and Muslim traditions. Any number of intermediate versions could also be to blame as it could have been turned more Muslim as it spread through that part of the world but still kept the China as a vague far-east. Or Galland just goofed[[note]]For what it's worth, the Russian version of the story, directly translated from Arabic, also says that the story is set in China[//note]. Needless to say, with many tales like this with so much uncertainty it's really unknown whether these aluminum Christmas trees have a practical or chance explanation.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Though the setting still has a large dose of artistic license, it isn't completely implausible because [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_China China does in fact have Muslims.]] If the story was always set in China, it was most likely set in one of China's far western provinces, such as Xinjiang, which has a culture similar to that of other parts of Central Asia. Or it could have originated in Central Asia among people with some but not complete knowledge of Chinese and Muslim traditions. Any number of intermediate versions could also be to blame as it could have been turned more Muslim as it spread through that part of the world but still kept the China as a vague far-east. Or Galland just goofed. Needless to say, with many tales like this with so much uncertainty it's really unknown whether these aluminum Christmas trees have a practical or chance explanation.

Aladdin is an Arabian folk tale originally written by Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab sometime in the early 18th century. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually not one of the original stories found in ''[[Literature/ArabianNights A Thousand and One Nights]]''. More on that in the Other Wiki.

Like most folktales, "Aladdin" has undergone some major revisions, but the original story is as follows: Aladdin is a poor young man living in China (Theoretically InNameOnly, as while the setting is completely Islamic, it should be noted the western edge of China or Xinjiang is Islamic and highly influenced by the Middle East with the Uyghur script itself using Arabic). He has no job and lives off the little money his widowed mother can bring in; his father died from grief at such an irresponsible son. One day, an evil Maghreb sorcerer approaches him, claiming to be his father's brother but in fact seeking to use him for his own benefit. He gives Aladdin a ring and sends him into a magic cave to retrieve [[MacGuffin an old oil lamp]], but when Aladdin struggles on the last step, the magician's impatience gets the better of him and he seals the cave with Aladdin and his lamp inside. Fortunately, he's still wearing his [[RingOfPower Magic Ring]] which, when rubbed, releases a [[GenieInABottle Jinn]] who brings him out. When he gets home, Aladdin's mother starts cleaning the lamp, releasing a far more powerful Jinn who grants Aladdin his every wish.

* GenieInABottle: Both the genie of the lamp and the genie of the ring are bound to serve whomever possesses their containers.

* AmbiguousSituation: The setting might not be China as we understand it. In early Arabic usage, "China" was used in an abstract sense to designate an exotic, faraway land, meaning the setting could be somewhere else entirely. Cool History Bros has even suggested it is actually the Turpan Khanate and with the Islamic Golden Age setting, the Kara-Khanid Khanate is another candidate.