Journey of a Goddess, livre ebook

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