The Reconstruction of Ethical Relations in Li Wa Chuan ─ In The Light of Intertextuality with The Myth of NuWa

Author: Miao-Chen Tsai(Department of Chinese Literature, National Chung Hsing University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 55, No. 1
Date：March 2010
Pages：133-154
DOI：10.3966/207451922010035501006

Abstract：

It is said that Po Hsing Ch’ian wrote Li Wa Chuan, but the tale was based on a folk story named ‘I chih Hua’. That’s why the happy ending of LiWa Chuan is so different from the other T’ang prose tales. There are many similarities between LiWa Chuan and the myth of NuWa. First of all, both of them gave birth to human beings, for LiWa, she revived Cheng Sheng and made him go back to his high-bred society. The second, both of them pieced up the sky, for LiWa, the sky symbolized ethical relations. The third, their marriages were abnormal. The fourth, LiWa got the feudal title ‘Madam Ch’ian Kuo’, and Ch’ian Kuo very closely correlated to the myth of NuWa.
So, the tale of LiWa was a literarily recurrence of the myth of NuWa, and the translation of this myth now focused on the rebuilding of social norms, especially the ethical relations in marriage. That’s also a main issue of T’ang culture.

Keywords：myth of NuWa, LiWa Chuan, create human beings, piece up the sky Corresponding

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