A Historical Quest for Little People (Hobbits) in English and Chinese Literature

Abstract

Written records on little people (Homo floresiensis) or ‘Hobbits’ are legions in either occidental or oriental history, let alone the excavation finding of a 1.06 meter (3.6 feet) 30-year-old adult female at Liang Bua cave on the remote Indonesian island of Flores in 2003. In English and Chinese literature, there are indeed no meagre narratives of little people, let alone the records found in the Chinese historical documentation and Buddhist scriptures as early as 770 BC. The main thrust of this qualitative research is to examine the little people in literature believed to be a different species or new human by comparing English and Chinese mythologies, literary creations with historical documentations and current archeological findings in light of historical research—an approach which identifies social and cultural history drawing from three main sources, namely, primary, secondary and oral tradition where accessible.