The Death and RebirthIn The Liao-chai Chih-I

• Main Authors: Lu, Maolan, 呂茂蘭
• Other Authors: Luo ,Tzung- Tao
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/20855161739057702710

碩士 === 玄奘大學 === 中國語文學系碩士在職專班 === 100 === This thesis mainly discusses how the stories about “rebirth” from the book “Liao-chai Chih-I” inherited and evolved, and considers their meanings in social, conventional, and cultural aspects. The research method is to analyze the description from the documents, and to take as reference the development from the traditional mythology, “the Zhiguai Stories ( Tales of the Supernatural) of the Six Dynasties," the Legends in Tang and Song Dynasty, to “The Study of the book in Buddhist auxiliary teaching.” The purpose is to explore the passing down of the theme , “the death and rebirth, ” and further, to understand the main idea “ rebirth” implied in the book “Liao-chai Chih-I.” With regard to the genre, “Liao-chai Chih-I” inherited the merits of “the Zhiguai Stories ( Tales of the Supernatural) of the Six Dynasties, and the Legends of Tang Dynasty. Furthermore, it adopted the writing experience from the Chinese historical biographical literature and developed its unique artistic style, which led ancient Chinese classic short novels to the summit. In Qing Dynasty, “Liao-chai Chih-I” was the most outstanding and influential masterpiece, and it even excelled any other Zhiguai (supernatural) fictions and anecdotal novels throughout Chinese literature history. This book is considered an integration of Chinese classic novels. The variety and abundance of the content were able to reflect the living condition and common ideology in early Qing Dynasty. Through the research of various aspects, we can acquire more information about ancient culture of death and people’s viewpoints about death during that period. Through the positive idea about “resurrection,” the “death and rebirth” stories in “Liao-chai Chih-I” displayed former view of life, customs and beliefs, ethics, social and political conditions. This masterpiece is a valuable document for life-death literature, notions of life and death, and life philosophy in Chinese as well as in the world. Those “death the rebirth” stories , such as those about striving to survive , dispelling the fear of death, transmigration, karma (retribution for sin), and the journey to the hell, originated from ancient people’s inflexible thoughts on life. These thoughts , though presented through the various kinds of characters, fox spirits, and phantoms, revealed author’s perception and experiences of real life.