Course Description
The study of the development of traditional East Asian fantasy fiction. Throughout the class, students will read mythological accounts, accounts of anomaly, Buddhist and Daoist treaties, popular religious tales, and masterpieces of fantasy fiction and explore how the structure of Chinese fiction is related to religious and mythological visions and the functions of gods, ghosts, and demons in fantasy fiction.
Athena Title
Gods in East Asian Literature
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Through writing short essays, posting questions and comments online, doing presentations, and in-class discussions, students will learn to think and write critically. After the course, you will have a firm grasp of East Asian mythology, Buddhism, Daoism, and fantasy fiction in traditional East Asian society.
Topical Outline
1. Queen Mother of the West in the Mythological Account Guideways through Mountains and Seas 2. King Mu's Religious and Military Journey in the Romance of King Mu 3. The Cult of Dragon and the Invocation of Rain 4. Records of Searching Deities in the Jin dynasty 5. Demons in the Records of the Listener in the Song Dynasty 6. The Cult of Guanyin 7. God of War, Guangong 8. Goddess of Nine Heavens, Goddess of War and Romance 9. Journey to the West 10. Ghosts and Demons in Feng Menglong's Vernacular Stories in the late Ming 11. Pu Songling's supernatural tales in the Qing