The tale of a devout Buddhist girl who separates from her family and through suffering and death finally achieves divine status is a myth of religious celibacy, of filial piety, and of ritual salvation of the dead. It also presents a major symbol of the tension in women's lives between individual spiritual fulfillment and the imperatives of family duty. This is a new edition of the first full study of this important and influential Chinese legend.
Myths and legends are deeply rooted in the world's literature, language, and history. But what does the phrase "Achilles heel" refer to, and what did Oedipus or Beowulf actually do? Gather round for enthralling stories of gods, danger, heroes, and great cosmic events. With over 1000 illustrations, Myths and Legends explores epic global stories, bringing to life the greatest creation myths of all time, such as that of Brahma and Vishnu, and the Inca god Viracocha. It brings you monstrous creatures and terrifying people including the witch Baba Yaga, as well as epic adventures such as King Arthur's search for the Holy Grail and Jason's capture of the Golden Fleece. It tells how the Masai first got their cattle, or how the Greeks discovered fire and shares legends that explain death, including the story of the Maori god Tane. Originally passed down from one generation to the next, these sagas from all over the world are part of our heritage and touch our hearts. Myths and Legends provides context and meaning to each one, and is a treasure trove for everyone interested in their cultural legacy.
One of the few full-length regional studies of popular religion in late imperial China, this book presents the history of the cult of Marshal Wen, a plague-fighting deity whose cult flourished through Chekiang and its neighboring provinces. The author provides a lively account of the rise of Wen's cult during the tumultuous years of the Southern Sung dynasty, as well as its spread during subsequent dynasties. In exploring the roles played by scholar-officials, merchants, and Taoist priests in the growth of Wen's cult, the author pays special attention to the various representations of this deity held by different social groups, and shows that these were constantly interacting in a process he calls "reverberation." His analysis of plague expulsion festivals featuring Marshal Wen reveals that they functioned as rites of affliction designed to both achieve communal purification and resolve social crises. This book draws on a wide variety of sources, including Taoist scriptures and liturgical texts, stele inscriptions, literati writings (including poetry), manuscripts from local archives, as well as popular novels and folktales. The author also supplements his historical research with data gathered during fieldwork in Chekiang and Taiwan
In recent years, the assumption that traditional songs originated from a primarily oral tradition has been challenged by research into ’street literature’ - that is, the cheap printed broadsides and chapbooks that poured from the presses of jobbing printers from the late sixteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth. Not only are some traditional singers known to have learned songs from printed sources, but most of the songs were composed by professional writers and reached the populace in printed form. Street Ballads in Nineteenth-Century Britain, Ireland, and North America engages with the long-running debate over the origin of traditional songs by examining street literature’s interaction with, and influence on, oral traditions.
The phrase “The Black Legend” was coined in 1912 by a Spanish journalist in protest of the characterization of Spain by other Europeans as a backward country defined by ignorance, superstition, and religious fanaticism, whose history could never recover from the black mark of its violent conquest of the Americas. Challenging this stereotype, Rereading the Black Legend contextualizes Spain’s uniquely tarnished reputation by exposing the colonial efforts of other nations whose interests were served by propagating the “Black Legend.” A distinguished group of contributors here examine early modern imperialisms including the Ottomans in Eastern Europe, the Portuguese in East India, and the cases of Mughal India and China, to historicize the charge of unique Spanish brutality in encounters with indigenous peoples during the Age of Exploration. The geographic reach and linguistic breadth of this ambitious collection will make it a valuable resource for any discussion of race, national identity, and religious belief in the European Renaissance.
Offering a provocative glimpse into a world dominated by traditional rules of etiquette and inhabited by demons, dragon-gods, and spirits, this volume presents a wealth of information illuminating the ideas and beliefs that governed the daily lives of Chinese people long before the revolutions of the 20th century. Engrossing and informative, the book will appeal not only to lovers of folklore but to everyone interested in Chinese art, culture or philosophy. 32 b&w illustrations.
