Many faces of Mulian
Subtitle: the precious scrolls of late imperial China
By: Rostislav Berezkin
Contributors: Modern Language Initiative
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9780295742526; 9780295742519
Subjects: Chinese Folk drama; History and criticism; Legends; Bao juan (Buddhist song-tales)
Description: The story of Mulian rescuing his mother's soul from hell has evolved as a narrative over several centuries in China, especially in the baojuan (precious scrolls) genre. This genre, a prosimetric narrative in vernacular language, first appeared around the fourteenth century and endures as a living tradition. In exploring the evolution of the Mulian story, Rostislav Berezkin illuminates changes in the literary and religious characteristics of the genre. He also examines material from other forms of Chinese literature and from modern performances of baojuan, tracing their transformation from tools of Buddhist proselytizing to sectarian propaganda to folk ritualized storytelling. Ultimately, he reveals the special features of baojuan as a type of performance literature that had its foundations in multiple literary traditions.
Notes: "The Modern Language Initiative"--Page [4] of cover.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / by Victor H. Mair; title: Introduction; title: Baojuan about Mulian and performance literature; title: The Mulian story in Chinese literature; title: An early example in baojuan; title: Sectarian examples in Dizang baojuan and baojuan of benefiting living beings; title: Beliefs and practices in sectarian baojuan; title: Late examples in baojuan of three rebirths and precious account of Mulian; title: The religious and performative context of late baojuan about Mulian; title: Conclusion.