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

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.


INTRODUCTION
Little people (Homo Floresiensis), commonly known as 'Hobbits', have been mentioned in written records and mythologies as well as literature over the centuries, not least in archeological findings of late. In the archaeological excavations between 2001 and 2004 at Liang Bua (cool) cave in island Flores of Indonesia archipelago conducted by a joint team of Indonesian and Australian archaeologists led by Peter Brown and Michael Morwood, a 1.06 meter 30-year-old adult female (Homo floresiensis) remains were unearthed together with several individuals. This discovery provides strong evidence for the existence of little people as reported on written documentations over the centuries in both occidental and oriental world, beside the unearth teeth and bones of the Homo luzonensis in Callao cave of the Philippines between 2007-2015 (Greshko & Maya, 2019), as well as the excavation of one-meter-tall Elephas falconeri or pygmy elephant (Sukumar, 2003;Hadjisterkoti, 2012) fossils and the like. This human-like hominin fossils which had small-bodied and small-brained were found together with stone tools and other extinct mammals and birds, including the elephant-like Stegodon. The scientific announcement of 'a new human' from these discoveries virtually shook the intellectual foundations of palaeoanthropology (Jungers & Baab, 2009, p. 160). As documented, the fossils of Homo floresiensis discovered were between IJCLTS 9(2): [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] and unknown species from Africa (Jungers and Baab, 2009, p. 164).
Notwithstanding the 'still more ancient and unknown species' conclusion, skepticism remains as the height of little people in the written reports in the pre-statistical period like the reputed encyclopedia of Buddhism Fa Yuan Zhu Lin (法苑珠林) and Taoism classic Lie Zi (列子) and authentic history documentation Shi Ji (史记) ranged from 1 chi 5 cun (53.7 cm) to 3 chi tall (107.4 cm), yet the skeletal remains unearthed in 2003 at Liang Bua cave is 106 cm tall which can hardly prove that less than one chi (35.8 cm) little people ever existed but can only show that an unknown species of humans with a height of 3 feet 6 inches had ever existed as informed by the Liang Bua cave discovery previously. In this sense, the 2003 discovery is evidently a proof that shorter than four feet 'new human' once lived on earth. On the other hand, it is noticed that in both Chinese and English literature, fictional little people are used to ridicule social ills to quest for Arcadia which is believed to be free from human vices. Besides all these sources of bias, Shi Ji (史记), the authentic records of Chinese history and the reputed encyclopedia of Buddhism Fa Yuan Zhu Lin (法苑珠林) as well as the Taoism classic Lie Zi (列子) likewise reported little people in various height ranging from 12 cm to 3 chi (107.4 cm) which corroborates the existence of little people in history.

Stories of little people are aplenty in both English and
In addition, since Jinghuayuan and Gulliver's Travel are nautical fictions, or popularly known as maritime fictions, they will be examined under this framework but not domestic literature. Nautical literature is a genre which focuses on human relationship with the sea and sea voyages; it highlights sea-related scenarios in these contexts. In the west, one of the basic characteristics of nautical literature is its 'predominantly male, anti-domestic universe' (Soren, 2014, p. 319). The ship represents freedom symbolically; its crew, in similar way, delight in the challenge of the voyage. Yet in Chinese literature, Shan Hai Jing is reckoned the first nautical fiction, and maritime literature is defined as 'a genre of literature dealing with the portrayal of the sea or directly writing about seafaring through the depiction of the life of island, humans and the human relationship to the sea' (Duan Wuhan/段汉武, 2009).
Further, the term 'little people' in Chinese bears the following implications and connotations: (1) ordinary people; (2) inferior men with despicable personality; and (3) a humble self-address term.

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH
Mythologies and literary creations are employed in this study to cross examine the historical reports of little people from the English as well as Chinese speaking region. Simply put, the objective of this paper is twofold: to comparatively cross examine fictional reports with authentic history inter-disciplinarily on little people to discern the possibility of the past existence of little people in the world, as well as examining the use of fictional little people to mock social ills satirically and perhaps, if not more, to fulfil the desirous quest for a utopia in both Chinese and English literature. For the purpose of this postulation, little people as a fictional creation in both Jinghuayuan by Li Ru Zhen and Gulliver's Travel by Jonathan Swift will be specifically singled out for interpretation.

FRAMEWORK OF THE INVESTIGATION
The historical research methodology adopted for this study identifies with the cultural approach. Traditionally, diplomatic, economic, and political history were the research interests of historians yet they changed over time. Lately newer approaches, particularly social and cultural studies was seen. In British universities, of 5,723 faculty in the History Departments, 1,644 (29 percent) identified themselves with social history and 1,425 (25 percent) identified themselves with political history in 2007 (Archived 2006-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, http://www.history. ac.uk/ihr/resources/ Teachers/a27.html). From 1975 to 1995 in American universities, an increase from 31 to 41 percent was noted in the proportion of professors of history identifying with social history, whereas political historians decreased from 40 to 30 percent (Haber et al., 1997). As justified by Glassberg (1996), there saw a special interest in the memories and commemoration of past events since the 1980s.
Buckley's (2016, p. 879) claim that "A critical analysis of all ''texts'' (sources), time series analyses, comparative methods across time periods and space, counterfactual analysis and the examination of outliers are shown to have the potential to improve research practices," and the primary concern of historical research methods, the role of time (Buckley, 2016, p. 880) likewise holds water in this study.
Further, Kipping et al. (2014) argue, the fundamental to any historical research is source criticism and that reliability cannot be assumed. Therefore, an author's trustworthiness establishes a basic level of credibility for each statement, as long as every element is evaluated separately. That said, the examination of the provenance of the text and its internal reliability is required, comprising attention to language translation issues if pertinent. In addition, the use of at least two independent sources to triangulate the evidence is important (Kipping et al., 2014).
On the other hand, Mahoney (2004, p. 82) posits, "comparative-historical methodology offers tools well adapted to the analysis of necessary and sufficient causes", meaning, the method needs not rely on deterministic logic because necessary and sufficient causes can be expressed in a probabilistic framework as well as aligning with expressing variables in a continuous rather than in a dichotomous fashion and these techniques are helpful in this research.

RESEARCH METHOD
For this study, a historical research methodology identifying with the cultural approach is adopted. More precisely, the methodology employed in this investigation attends to the temporal factor (chronological attention), sequencing and process and is an internationalization research-the process of deliberately incorporating international, intercultural and global dimensions into the research. Moreover, for the convenience and reference of foreign readers, a glossary for terminological translation was appended. Tolkien (1937Tolkien ( , 1954Tolkien ( -1955 describes hobbits in his fictions as between two and four feet (60-120 cm) tall, with the average height being three feet six inches (107 cm). In this paper, little people or tiny people are defined below the height of four feet (120 cm). In addition, English literature in this study only refers to that within the United Kingdom and the United States of America, not other native English-speaking countries.

LITTLE PEOPLE IN ENGLISH MYTHOLOGIES AND LITERARY CREATIONS
To begin with, terms such as brownies (Scottish), pixie (British), leprechauns (Irish) and knocker (Welsh) are household names in English mythologies yet these mischievous figures are only near-human stature or human-sized mythical creations except knockers (two feet tall) and not little people; while in English literature, Gulliver's Travel (1726) by Jonathan Swift, J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Hobbits (1937) and The Lord of the Ring (1954Ring ( -1955, The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1952), The Nome Trilogy (1989)(1990) by Terry Pratchett, The Spiderwick Chronicles (2003-2004 by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, et cetera are the accessible literary creations on little people. Besides further definition of these terms, the literary creations will likewise be discussed in turn chronically in the forthcoming. In Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic, AD 500), a brownie or broonie is a household spirit which come out at night to do chores and farming tasks when everybody is asleep. Characteristically, brownies are mischievous. They are generally human-sized or larger in the oldest stories yet in recent times, they are small and wrinkled.
Pixies, mythical creatures of British folklore drawing origin from the Celtic, are believed to be found in the high moorland areas around Devon and Cornwall. They are generally benign, naughty, short and childlike and they enjoy dancing and gathering in large number outdoors. Near-human stature Pixies sometimes wrestle to celebrate through the night as in the medieval period.
A diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore (the Middle Age, 5 th to 15 th centuries), a leprechaun is usually thought as a mischievous, little bearded men with coat and hat classed as a type of fairy. They are in later times depicted as shoe-makers owning a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The knocker in Welsh, Cornish and Devon folklore, is a mythical human-like being. It is a two feet tall human-like creature with larger head, longer arms, wizened skin, and white whisker. Characteristically, mischievous knocker wears a miner's garb and steals miner's unattended tools and food.
On the other hand, in Gulliver's Travel the English novel, Lilliput and Blefuscu are two island nations inhabited by tiny people (one-twelfth the height of human beings). The two neighboring islands-ruled individually by an emperor-are separated by a 730-meter-wide channel in the South Indian Ocean.
Hobbits in Tolkien's classic The Hobbits and The Lord of the Ring are small furry footed creatures; they tend to their gardens, fish and spend the days in their cozy holes. Some hobbits are adventurers despite their tendency to live boring respectable lives. In Tolkien's later books, halflings and kenders who "borrow" other people's possessions right out of their pockets and pouches are introduced.
Similarly, in The Borrowers, some resourceful tiny beings only 6 inches (15 cm) tall secretly live underneath the kitchen floor of an old English country manor and "borrow" necessities from the house owners tromping above them every day. These little guys are members from the Clock family: Homily, Pod, and their daughter, Arrietty.
Also known as The Bromeliad Trilogy, The Nome Trilogy is a trilogy of children's books authored by Terry Pratchett the British writer; the books Truckers (1989), Diggers (1990) and Wings (1990) made the trilogy. The trilogy is an account of 10.16-cm tiny people from another world living secretly among humans.
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's The Spiderwick Chronicles (written from 2003 to 2009) tells the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory. It goes that after they had moved into the Spiderwick Estate, a world of fairy was discovered. Obviously, the species of fairies in The Spiderwick Chronicles are taken from European mythology and folklore and Medieval bestiaries, including brownies, goblins, dragons, sprites, and elves, among others.
Quoting from the said literature, the height of the little people can be tabulated as in Table 1.
Obviously, the height of the little people documented in English literature ranged from 10 cm to four feet (120 cm). In sequence, Gulliver's Travel evidently is the trailblazer of all the following novels on little people, namely, The Hobbits, The Borrowers, The Lord of the Ring, The Nome Trilogy, The Spiderwick Chronicles alike which owed tribute to the regional lore. In England, despite the circulating lore of two-feet tall knockers or short stature pixie besides other mythical creatures, spirit or diminutive supernatural beings which can be traced as early as the Celts (600 BC), it was only late until 1726 then little people were mentioned in literary creation (Gulliver's Travel). In this vein, no authentic document-for instance, verbal recounts, photos and videos, etc.-is available for the presence of little people in English in the measurable past notwithstanding the available mythological and literary records, yet they cannot be the testifiable proof of the existence of little people in the United Kingdom or the US alike.

LITTLE PEOPLE IN CHINESE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION AND LITERARY CREATIONS
Zhang (丈), otherwise known as chang (Wade-Giles), is an old Chinese measure of length equal to 10 chi (尺), or 3.58 meters (11 feet 9 inches). In two treaties (1842-1844 and 1858-1860), the value was agreed upon by China with France and England. Since then, this value was used by Chinese maritime customs as the standard value for all tariff duties assessment. As informed, the length of one chi varied throughout China from 27.9 to 40 cm (11 to 15.8 inches). This treaty chi was defined as 35.8 cm or 14.1 inches for customs purposes (Britannica, https://www. britannica.com/ topic/zhang-ancient-unit-of-measurement).
Using this standard value, the approximate height of the little people recorded in both official Chinese historical document and literary creations will be roughly as follows ( Table 2): From Table 2, it is prominent that the written records of little people in Chinese illustrious documents can be traced as early as 770 BC (Guan Zi, Lie Zi). The height of the little people ranged from 1 cun (3.58 cm) to 3 chi (107.4 cm). To further quote evidence from historical records and authentic documents in China, the manuscripts are tabulated in Table 3 for discussion.
As can be seen from Table 3, the authentic documents or historical records of little people in China are of height between 1 cun (3.58 cm) to 3 chi (107.4 cm). These little guys had all the features of humans (Fa Yuan Zhu Lin: Chapter Eight); some dressed in yellow, wearing yellow hat beside yellow hood and rode on tiny horse and enjoyed fast ride. If you called it by its name, it would ride a thousand li (500000 m) within a day to and fro (Guan Zi: Shui Di). They ducked when they were against the wind; they lied flat with face down when the wind came from behind (Fa Yuan Zhu Lin: Chapter Eight). They lived either outdoor or in caves (Fa Yuan Zhu Lin: Chapter Eight) and knew the importance of unity fighting against their natural enemies, for instance, cranes (Shi Ji: Da Wan Lie Zhuan). Table 4 further exhibits the scripts dwelled on little people in Chinese mythology and literary creations.
In Shan Hai Jing, a 3.3 cun (11.81 cm) tiny man donned in white gown was found in the crop of a great swan, yet in Er Tan, a some 6 cun (21.48 cm) tall old man was discovered in the stomach of a softshell tortoise; about 1 chi (35.8 cm) little men who rode on cart or walked were spotted in Chiyang, Shanxi province (Sou Shen Ji, Chapter 12). The

Stories of Emperor Han
Wu otherwise reported little people derogated from heaven to earth; Su Yi Ji informed a 2 chi (71.6 cm) little man tributed from abroad who squeaked like a monkey when deliberately touched. Moreover, a 6 cun (21.48 cm) tall human specimen was witnessed being sold   The dwarf did not reply him but only pointed at Dong Fang Su and told Emperor Han Wu: "The Queen of Heaven grows peach and it fruits only once in every three thousand years. I regret to have stolen the fruits three times and therefore she gradually distrusted me and later derogated me here." Emperor Han Wu was astounded to be informed and came to realize that Dong Fang Su was not an earthling. The dwarf then proceeded, "The Queen of Heaven appointed me here to tell your majesty that the correct approach for your quest of the truth is to be clean and pure and should not be impetuous and impatient. Five years later, we will meet again." After having said this, the dwarf vanished. De province caught a softshell tortoise weighted 8 Jin (0.6 kg). A restaurant bought the tortoise and hanged it in the room. In the middle of the night, human voice was heard. The following day, when the tortoise was slaughtered for cooking, a some 6 cun (21.48 cm) tall old man was found in its stomach. The little man had all the features of a human and wore a skin hat, everybody was shocked to see it. When the county magistrate was told, he immediately informed the region head, his highness Yang Ting Gao. When Yang later had an audience with the emperor in the palace, he had the little man placed in a wooden box and brought it along. All the nobles in the palace witnessed the little man, it had skin like that of a human, let alone hair and beards and such like.
In the remote mountains of Urumqi (Xinjiang, China), horse wranglers always spotted onefoot-tall little men, young and old with human features. When the rose willows blossomed, they would make willow wreaths and wear it on their head and dance together uttering melody-like rhymes. Sometimes they would stealth the wranglers' tents ransacking for food. They would kneel and sob when caught. If you chained them, they would fast to death; you set them free, initially they would walk away slowly, looking back every few yards. If you chased after them ranting, they would kneel and sob. Only when they were far from reaching, they would cross brooks and disappear into the mountains. Yet their resting quarters could never be found. These living creatures are not trolls or wild animals and thus could be the little men told in mythology over the centuries. I do not know what they are called and since they look like children and enjoy wearing rose willow wreath, I would call them 'the rose willow toddler'.  (Contd...) on the street in Yuan dynasty. In the remote mountains of Urumqi (Xinjiang, China), according to Yueweicaotangbiji, horse wranglers always met one-foot little men, young and old with human features. The novel Jinghuayuan told of 8 to 9 cun (28.64-32.22 cm) tiny people with frivolous and heartless social norm and the words these little guys uttered were just the opposite of the truth. Zi Bu Yu related a ninegrid coffin unearthed in Qing dynasty with two one-foot-tall authentic corpses (young and old in age and gender) placed in each grid.

APPLICATION OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH APPROACH ONTO THE DATA
Applying historical research onto the documented data, viz., to compare the data in the light of time, sequencing and process in a probabilistic framework, it is sayable that little people were first recorded in China as early as 770 BC, whereas in the west it was 270 years later (500 BC) if not less. Moreover, the data also show the difference in traits of little people in England and China: in China, they were friendly, peaceful and hardworking tiny living creatures (ran errands for human when their name was called; grew crops, rode on tiny horse; well-donned and mannered), at other times heartless and untrustworthy (Jinghuayuan), yet in England in particular, they were mischievous, playful and vindictive little guys (take for instance, leprechaun, brownie, pixie, etc.) and in Gulliver's Travel, they were narrow-minded and selfish. Despite the aforementioned records and documentations of little people, there was no sources from journal articles, biographies, media like film or tape recordings for triangulation and therefore their existence cannot be testified. But the excavation discovery of Liang Bua caves technically supports the plausibility of their existence and thus it is only fair to conclude that a more ancient and unknown species of humans 1.06 meter (3.6 feet) in height did live on earth in between 100,000 and 60,000 years ago and in this vein backs the existence of little people recorded in China as early as 770 BC despite the inaccessibility of triangulation source. In English literature, little people were of a height from 10 cm to four feet (120 cm); whereas in China, they were between 1 cun (3.58 cm) to 3 chi (107.4 cm).
On the other hand, the term 'little people' in China translates ordinary people (Shu Jing: Wuyi); inferior people with despicable personality (Yi Jing: Jicixia); and a humble self-address term (Zuo Zhuan: Yungongyuannian). Drawing the derogatory sense of little people in Chinese, viz., inferior people with despicable personality, it also reveals the satirical function of little people as a fictional creation in both Chinese and English society.

镜花缘 (李汝珍)
Jinghuayuan (Li Ru Zhen) (Qing dynasty, 1636(Qing dynasty, -1912 唐敖等人走了几日，到了靖人国。唐敖道："请教九公：小弟闻得靖人，古人谓之诤人， 身长八九寸，大约就是小人国。不知国内是何风景？"多九公道："此地风俗硗薄，人最 寡情，所说之话，处处与人相反。即如此物，明是甜的，他偏说苦的；明是咸的，他偏说 淡的：教你无从捉摸。此是小人国历来风气如此，也不足怪。" 二人于是登岸，到了城郭，城门甚矮，弯腰而进，里面街市极窄，竟难并行。走到城内， 才见国人，都是身怪不满一尺；那些儿童，只得四寸之长。行路时，恐为大鸟所害，无论 老少，都是三五成群，手执器械防身；满口说的都是相反的话，诡诈异常，唐敖道："世 间竟有如此小人，倒也少见。"游了片时，遇见林之洋卖货回来，一同回船。 After Tang Ao and others had sailed for some days, they reached the country of Jing. Tang Ao asked, "Jiu Gong, I have a question: I heard that Jing people was called Zheng previously and they are the so-called little people with a height of 8 to 9 cun (28.64-32.22 cm). How will the country be like?" Duo Jiu Gong replied, "In this country, the social custom is frivolous and people are heartless. The words they utter are just the opposite of the truth. For instance, for a sweet thing they will call it bitter; salty thing will be told as insipid, and thus making things unintelligible and intangible. This is in fact the way of life here and has become a norm over the years. And later the two men went ashore. Once they reached the city walls, they found the city entrance too short and had to bend to enter. In the city, the streets were extremely narrow and they could not walk two abreast. Only when they reached the center of the city, then they witnessed little people not more than 1 chi (35.8 cm) and the children were 4 cun (14.32 cm) tall. It was told that attributed to the threat of huge birds flying above, whether young or old would group themselves into three to five and hold weapon for self defence; they spoke in contrary way and were tremendously cunning and sly. Tang Ao said, "what a rare opportunity to witness these little people on earth." After touring for some times, they met Lin Zhi Yang with all the goods readily bought and so they got on board together.

乾隆四年，山西蒲州修城，掘河灘土，得一棺，方扁如箱。啟之，中有九槅，一槅藏二 人，各長尺許，老幼男婦如生，不知何怪。
On the fourth year of Qian Long (emperor title for Qing dynasty, 1711-1799), city renovation was undergone in Puzhou of Shanxi province. A rectangular wooden coffin was unearthed while the workers were digging the moat. When the coffin was opened, nine grids were found in it. Two one-foot-tall authentic corpses were placed in each grid and these unknown creatures were young and old in age and gender. (Translated by author) To delve deeper into Jinghuayuan and Gulliver's Travel in this connotation as nautical literature, be it Gulliver's Travel or Jinghuayuan, obviously little people are the fictional symbols for social ills, as well as vices like narrow-mindedness, selfishness and injustice alike finely presented in the topical allusions and witty strokes of satire.
Like Gulliver's Travel, Jinghuayuan took place in maritime location, the mythological places and creatures depicted in the novel were obviously taken from Shan Hai Jing alike. In the novel, Tang Ao resolved to join the seafarers for a sea voyage despaired by being degraded in his academic title for having connection with a rebel of the kingdom. The social custom of little people found in a faraway land out in the sea was frivolous and people were heartless. The words they utter were just the opposite of the truth. This was their way of life and had become a norm. In this sense, these little heartless guys can be read as the reflection of his despicable contemporaries and his contradictory dream for a better world presented in a non-traditional manner; whereas in Part One of Gulliver's Travel, Gulliver (sounds like gullible, meaning easily persuaded to believe something) was able to win the trust of the little people Lilliputians (in Latin, 'lilli' means pure and passion) and get along well with them at the outset but due to their narrow-mindedness and selfishness-such as the Lilliputians would stage wars over the correct way to break open an egg incited by their enemy Blefuscuans; the king appointed ministers depending merely on their skill of rope dance-eventually he had to leave the utopia he discovered. The author Jonathan Swift in the novel sets himself 'to vex the world rather than to divert it' (Rawson, 1995) while showing what humans are really like; take for instance, humans tend to reject and refuse people who are unidentical in size and status with them. Swift suggests, the only way to counter enemies is to let go of prejudice and compromise for their own safety or else, mutually destructed. Gulliver's Travel, written by Jonathan Swift during the reign of King George I in 1726 stirred an overnight sensation after its launch in London. Jonathan had factually gathered up all his experience of the ways of the world (kings, ministers and courts) and his observations of humans, as well as putting these together into this book of seafaring taking place in 'South Indian Ocean' satirically.
Nonetheless, the despicable little people also imply the authors' underlying wish for a better world out in the sea which is free of greed, anger, poverty, sadness and stupidity where everyone enjoys a life of opulence, satisfaction, equality and harmony or, in Soren's (2014) words, to compromise with the sea will translate 'attempts to re-enchant an otherwise disenchanted world through their intensifies orientation towards concrete place and the human body' (Soren, 2014, p. 330).

CONCLUSION
The 2003 Liang Bua cave discovery backs authentically the existence of little people on earth in between 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, and tools made in stone by this species excavated between 190,000 and 50,000 years old apart from the extant historical documentation in Chinese history and Buddhist sutras. Though only unauthentic sources are available in English mythology and literature, it similarly suggests the possibility of the existence of little people or the postulation that humans have always had a curiosity for little people in their imaginative pursuits. Another possibility could be that our ancestors in time immemorial had genuinely witnessed little people and thus it was passed down verbally and later recorded, perhaps distorted over time, in the form of mythology.
Finally, what is clear from the discussions in the light of historical framework may be summarized. In short, little people existed on earth backed by Fa Yuan Zhu Lin, Shi Ji, Guan Zi and Lie Zi would further ring true and self-explain the Liang Bua cave and Callao cave archeological discoveries. In other words, it is evident that little people did exist on earth in the measurable past, at least they were recorded in authentic written documents, in spite of the little people skeleton discovery in Indonesia Liang Bua cave. Furthermore, the fictional little people in both Chinese and English nautical literature likewise carry the implication for the quest of a utopia and are used to 'criticise their respective cultural traditions and glorious philosophies' (Wang, 1995) thus attacking and mocking social ills and evils, among other vices of humans in a non-traditional way.