Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
•
Han Feizi is the title of a foundational philosophical text and the culminating work of pre-Qin Legalist thought. Although attributed to Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE), a prince of the state of Han during the Warring States period, the book was compiled posthumously by later scholars who collected his surviving writings and supplemented them…
•
“The Peasant” is a highly allegorical story in Strange Tales from Liaozhai (Liaozhai Zhiyi). Through a tale of “long-standing enmity” spanning years between a peasant and a fox demon.
•
They often quarrel and seem to disagree with each other on the surface. However, they are actually a great team. Although they tease and argue a lot, they never leave each other behind when facing dangers. They have different personalities but complement each other well. They go through all kinds of difficulties together and…
•
In the “True and False Monkey King” chapter of Journey to the West, readers face puzzling questions: Why did the imposter possess an identical Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod? Why did he wear a Tight-Fillet that responded to the spell? How dared he confront celestial, underworld, and Buddhist authorities — risking exposure before deities like the…
•
In Journey to the West, Devaraja Li (also known as Heavenly King Li, Li Jing, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King or Devaraja Pagoda-Bearer) is the supreme military commander serving the Jade Emperor. His character merges the Buddhist deva-king archetype (Buddhist guardian deity Vaiśravana, one of the Four Heavenly Kings) with the historical General Li Jing from…
•
In Journey to the West, power manifests in multiple forms, making it difficult to rank deities and demons by dominance alone. The novel distinguishes three key types of power.