Chinese Mythology - Major Concepts

Major Concepts

Some myths survive in theatrical or literary formats as plays or novels. Important mythological fiction, seen as definitive records of these myths, include:

  • Verse poetry of ancient states such as "Lisao", "Jiu Ge", and "Heavenly Questions" traditionally attributed to the authorship of Qu Yuan of Chu
  • Fengshen Bang (Investiture of the Gods), a mythological fiction dealing with the founding of the Zhou dynasty
  • Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, published in the 1590s; a fictionalized account of the pilgrimage of Xuanzang to India to obtain Buddhist religious texts in which the main character encounters ghosts, monsters, and demons, as well as the Flaming Mountains
  • Baishe Zhuan, a romantic tale set in Hangzhou involving a female snake who attained human form and fell in love with a man

Read more about this topic:  Chinese Mythology

Famous quotes containing the words major and/or concepts:

    “We all drew on the comfort which is given out by the major works of Mozart, which is as real and material as the warmth given up by a glass of brandy.”
    —Rebecca West (1892–1983)

    “Germany collapsed as a result of having engaged in a struggle for empire with the concepts of provincial politics.”
    —Albert Camus (1913–1960)