Abstract：Beowulf is a national epic in the Middle Ages, while Old Man of Eastern Sea Huang Gong is claimed to be the waterhead of Chinese opera. Widely different in literary genres, one is making a grand narrative as a hero epic, while the other evolves from a hero narrative into an allegorical narrative. Based upon heroic narrative, with a comparative literature approach to a series of parallel comparisons in terms of plots, narrative themes, archetypal images, genesis language and narrative motivation etc, some shared narrative functions as well as historical and cultural values of these two works would be unveiled.

Keyword：Beowulf;Old Man of Eastern Sea;grand heroic narrative;allegorical narrative;compara-tive literature;