Reformer, Saint, and Savior: Visions of the Great Mother in the Novel Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan and Its Seventeenth-Century Chinese Context
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Abstract
The theme of the Great Mother emerges as a leitmotif in the seventeenth-century vernacular Chinese novel Xingshi yinyuan zhuan. This paper analyzes the portrayal of the protagonist Mme. Chao as a mother-figure, her transformation from a virtuous widow to a local leader, and her posthumous apotheosis, while placing her representation within the literary and historical context of the novel. The characterization of Mme. Chao as a reformer, saint, and savior in times of disaster dramatizes a millenarian ambience that appears to have prevailed during the last years of the Ming dynasty, reflecting the apprehension of the apocalypse and the search for a new kind of moral leadership.
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Reformer, Saint, and Savior: Visions of the Great Mother in the Novel Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan and Its Seventeenth-Century Chinese Context
In: NAN NÃSearch for other papers by Daria Berg in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
The theme of the Great Mother emerges as a leitmotif in the seventeenth-century vernacular Chinese novel Xingshi yinyuan zhuan. This paper analyzes the portrayal of the protagonist Mme. Chao as a mother-figure, her transformation from a virtuous widow to a local leader, and her posthumous apotheosis, while placing her representation within the literary and historical context of the novel. The characterization of Mme. Chao as a reformer, saint, and savior in times of disaster dramatizes a millenarian ambience that appears to have prevailed during the last years of the Ming dynasty, reflecting the apprehension of the apocalypse and the search for a new kind of moral leadership.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 601 | 193 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 99 | 1 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 123 | 1 | 0 |
