Description
Book SynopsisThe essays collected in Fate and Prognostication in the Chinese Literary Imagination deal with the philosophical, psychological, gender and cultural issues in the Chinese conception of fate as represented in literary texts and films, with a focus placed on human efforts to solve the riddles of fate prediction. Viewed in this light, the collected essays unfold a meandering landscape of the popular imaginary in Chinese beliefs and customs. The chapters in this book represent concerted efforts in research originated from a project conducted at the International Consortium for Research in the Humanities at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Contributors are Michael Lackner, Kwok-kan Tam, Monika Gaenssbauer, Terry Siu-han Yip, Xie Qun, Roland Altenburger, Jessica Tsui-yan Li, Kaby Wing-Sze Kung, Nicoletta Pesaro, Yan Xu-Lackner, and Anna Wing Bo Tso.
Table of ContentsForeword: Chinese Literati and Intellectuals on Mantic Arts: A Philosophy of Divination? Preface Notes on Contributors Introduction: Fate and Prognostication in the Chinese Literary Imagination Kwok-kan Tam, Michael Lackner, Monika Gaenssbauer and Terry Siu-han Yip 1 Fate and Destiny: Yuan as Ming in “Matrimony Inn” and Eileen Chang’s Half a Lifelong Romance and “Love in a Fallen City” Terry Siu-han Yip 2 Prophecy, “Ming” and the Lost Self in The Legend of Mi Yue Xie Qun 3 Popular Response to Natural Disaster in Eighteenth Century Shandong: Views from below as Represented in Prosimetric Vernacular Narrative Roland Altenburger 4 Fate, Reincarnation and Medicinal Cannibalism in Lillian Lee’s Dumplings Jessica Tsui-yan Li 5 Recurring Fate in Two Hong Kong Films: Life after Life and Reincarnation of Golden Lotus Kaby Wing-Sze Kung 6 Dream-Scenes, the Concept of Time and Prognostication in Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time Monika Gaenssbauer 7 Psycho-Fatalism in Xi Xi’s Story “A Girl Like Me” Kwok-kan Tam 8 The Clash between Personal Fate, Future, and Society in Ge Fei’s Latest Fiction Nicoletta Pesaro 9 The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Historical Allusions and Oracles Yan Xu-Lackner 10 Divination or Death Traps? The Semiotic Language in Chinese Folklore and Fortune-Telling Anna Wing Bo Tso Index
