Journey of a Goddess

Fan Pen Li Chen

Description

This book offers the first translation into English of the Chinese novel Haiyouji, as well as excerpts of a marionette play based on the cult lore of the goddess Chen Jinggu (766–790), a historical shaman priestess who became one of Fujian's most important goddesses and the Lüshan Sect's chief deity. The novel, a 1753 reprint of what is possibly a Ming dynasty novel, was both a popular fiction and a religious tract. It offers a lively mythological tale depicting combat between the shaman goddess and a snake demon goddess. Replete with the beliefs and practices of the cult of this warrior goddess, the novel asserts the importance of Shamanism (i.e., local religious beliefs) as one of the four religions of China, along with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. To further develop the links between literature and local religion, Fan Pen Li Chen includes translations of two acts from a Fujian marionette play, Biography of the Lady, featuring the goddess.
List of Plates

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Subjugation of Snake Demons: The Snake Cult and the Hagiography of Goddess Chen Jinggu

Journey of a Goddess: Chen Jinggu Subdues the Snake Demon

Appendix I: Passing through Nanjiao, Pacifying the Demons, and Stabilizing Beijiao

Appendix II: Chen Jinggu Leads an Army to Pacify the Barbarians

Bibliography

Sujets

• East Asian religions
• Puppetry

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 27 octobre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438467092
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

Extrait

JOURNEY of a GODDESS
JOURNEY of a GODDESS
Chen Jinggu Subdues the Snake Demon
Translated, edited, and with an introduction by
Fan Pen Li Chen
On the cover: Detail of photos of Chen Jinggu as a statue ( left ) and as a string puppet ( right ). Photos by Fan Pen Li Chen.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2017 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Dana Foote
Marketing, Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wugenzi, active 1573 author. | Chen, Fan-Pen Li, 1953– translator.
Title: Journey of a goddess : Chen Jinggu subdues the Snake Demon / translated, edited, and with an introduction by Fan Pen Li Chen.
Other titles: Xin ke quan xiang xian fa jiang she hai you ji zhuan. English | Chen Jinggu subdues White Snake
Description: Albany, NY : State University of New York, 2017. | A translation of Haiyouji, a short Ming dynasty novel originally published in northern Fujian — Acknowledgments. | “The complete title of the novel (translated here as Journey of a Goddess) is Xinke quanji xianfa jiangshe haiyou jizhuan. … However, it is generally referred to as Haiyouji. … The version translated and reprinted here is based on a 1753 wood block reprint (which was itself most likely based on a version originally printed by Zhongzheng Tang during the Ming dynasty” — Introduction. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016054532 (print) | LCCN 2017011496 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438467078 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438467092 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PL2698.W86 X55413 2017 (ebook) | LCC PL2698.W86 (print) | DDC 895.13/46—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017011496
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to my granddaughter, Matilda Stonechen
Contents
List of Plates
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Subjugation of Snake Demons: The Snake Cult and the Hagiography of Goddess Chen Jinggu
Journey of a Goddess: Chen Jinggu Subdues the Snake Demon
Appendix I: Passing through Nanjiao, Pacifying the Demons, and Stabilizing Beijiao
Appendix II: Chen Jinggu Leads an Army to Pacify the Barbarians
Bibliography
Plates
Plate 1. The main statues of Goddesses Chen, Lin, and Li at the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 2. White Snake’s hole under Goddess Chen’s main statue.
Plate 3. Inside the snake hole underneath Goddess Chen’s main statue at the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 4. The Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 5. Statue of the goddess slaying White Snake at the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 6. Incense burners at the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 7. Statue of a traditional Lüshan priest.
Plate 8. Murals depicting episodes of the goddess’ legend.
Plate 9. Smaller, older statues of Lady Chen.
Plate 10. Statues of Lady Chen (surrounded by smaller statues of the same) and Lady Lin.
Plate 11. The Three Ladies/Goddesses on horseback at Temple of the Ladies.
Plate 12. A shaman priestess blows a small conch shell in place of the dragon horn.
Plate 13. Shaman priestesses at Temple of the Ladies.
Plate 14. Announcement of a new child being named and adopted by Goddess Chen.
Plate 15. First page of a prayer invoking the Three Ladies.
Plate 16. A talisman at Temple of the Ladies.
Plate 17. Divination blocks at Temple of the Ladies.
Plate 18. A print block with the surnames of the three goddesses at Temple of the Ladies.
Plate 19. Statues of Chen Jinggu and her brothers at the Taiyin Temple in New York City.
Plate 20. Ingots made by devotees at the Taiyin Temple in New York City.
Plate 21. Marionette puppets of Chen Jinggu, her brother (in red), and her husband (in white).
Plate 22. Table with offerings in front of Xu Maobao’s stage.
Plate 23. Old puppets of Lady Chen, her mother, and brother worshipped as deities at the home of a puppeteer.
Plate 24. Another view of Wang Cunyi’s puppets of Lady Chen, her mother, and brother.
Plate 25. Wang Cunyi with a newer puppet of Lady Chen.
Plate 26. The Taishun County Troupe’s puppet of Lady Chen.
Plate 27. White Snake in a local opera on the legend of Goddess Chen.
Plate 28. Lady Chen and her husband in the same local opera.
Plate 29. Daoist priests playing music at the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 30. Devotees from Zhejiang making a pilgrimage to the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 31. Ritual of “Pacing the Dipper.”
Plate 32. Parade of the goddess’ statue at the Linshui Ancestral Temple.
Plate 33. Lüshan priest in the ritual “Opening Lüshan Gate.”
Plate 34. Lüshan priest in the ritual “Crossing the Passes.”
Plate 35. “Climbing Honglou” with a performance of “The Foster Mother Paces the Dipper” on top of stacked tables.
Plate 36. Girl handling a snake during the Snake Festival of the Snake God Temple.
Plate 37. Lian Gong, also known as the Snake God, at the Snake God Temple.
Plate 38. Dragon horn, a ritual implement.
Plate 39. Rope with snake head.
Plate 40. Dragon horn and bronze bells.
Plate 41. Gong and drum for music.
Plate 42. Cymbals at Temple of the Ladies.
Plate 43. Broad knife, a Lüshan ritual implement.
Plate 44. Ritual implements: the snake hemp whip, the divine bamboo whip, the Faba, a signature implement of central Fujian, and the Five Thunder Command Tally.
Plate 45. Painting of Chen Jinggu with some priests and priestesses wearing the Forehead Mirror.
Plate 46. Suona horn for music.
Acknowledgments
Inspiration for this project commenced during my attendance at the 2014 NEH Summer Daoist Seminar, organized by Terry Kleeman and Stephen Bokenkamp, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I’d casually brought along to the seminar a copy of Haiyouji 海游记 , a short Ming dynasty novel I was considering translating. How very fortunate that I did. Chang Chaojan 张超然 and Hsieh Shuwei 谢士维 , consultants at the seminar, met with me regularly to explain several difficult terms and assist with their translation. My sincere thanks to both of them. One of the slides Hsieh presented during the seminar was of a painting depicting priests wearing “forehead mirrors” (which were mentioned in the novel I’d brought). Hsieh arranged for me to obtain a photo of the painting (which belonged to Li Fengmao 李丰楙 ) for this book. I am deeply grateful to Terry Kleeman and Stephen Bokenkamp for providing me with the opportunity to meet Chang and Hsieh and to learn extensively about Daoist history and literature. I completed my first draft of the translation of this novel while I was at the seminar.
Ye Mingsheng 叶明生 was instrumental in assisting my research concerning this particular goddess. When he first agreed to conduct fieldwork with me about Chinese puppetry, he warned that I would eventually end up conducting research on local religions. Sure enough, the puppet theaters of southern China (particularly those of Fujian) ultimately opened up a rich and many-layered world of local religions to me. Three very extensive Fujian marionette plays (translations of two scenes from one of these plays are included in the appendices of this book), edited by Ye, are hagiographies of Goddess Chen Jinggu. While conducting fieldwork on puppetry, we also watched a marionette play about this goddess (in Zhejiang), and another about the snake god, Jiaomang 蕉蟒 (in northern Fujian). These plays inspired the main ideas in “Subjugation of Snake Demons: The Snake Cult and the Hagiography of Goddess Chen Jinggu” included in this book. A Chinese version of this article was presented at the first academic conference (organized by Ye), held at the site of the goddess’ ancestral temple in Gutian 古田 , Fujian. Although originally published in northern Fujian, the original text of the translated novel would have been lost to posterity if it had not been discovered by Ye in the remote reaches of western Hunan. His knowledge of local Fujian culture and religions is reflected in many of the footnotes of my translation. Indeed, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Professor Ye (as I call him) for including me on many of his fieldwork trips, inviting me to many conferences he organized, and making available to me the less accessible of his prodigious published scholarship. The local gazetteer on Gutian and the numerous conference volumes and ritual texts edited by Professor Ye have all been essential for my gaining familiarity with the cult of this important goddess.
Huang Jianxing 黄建兴 , a Master’s Degree student when he first accompanied Ye Mingsheng and me on our fieldwork trips, has since obtained a PhD from the University of Hong Kong and is now an Associate Professor at the Normal University of Fujian. He remains a helpful friend and has generous