Myths are not only witnesses of early human history, but also the embodiment of cultural identity and spiritual activities, which influence the development of contemporary culture and society in different ways. It has important cultural and historical value for understanding and studying the social form, production, life, art, and belief of prehistoric human beings.
Mythology is not only the source of literature and art, but also the foundation of culture as a whole, providing the archetype for the imagination and vocabulary of a particular cultural tradition.
There are myths and monsters in Chinese mythological novels, which are represented by the four major mythological novels and the four great monsters.
1. The four major mythological novels of China
Mythology is the story of ancient people's understanding and imagination of natural and cultural phenomena. Its content often makes people awe and worship, thus leading to the belief cognition and ritual activity system, which is a kind of spiritual sustenance.
There is no official conclusion on the four major Chinese mythological novels, among which the most widely circulated are: "Romance of the Gods", "Journey to the West", "Mirror Flower" and "The Biography of Jigong".
1. "Seal God Enno"
"The Romance of the Gods", commonly known as "The Gods of the Gods", is a mythological novel written by the Ming Dynasty Taoist Lu Xixing or Zhong Lin. The book uses historical concepts and political concepts as a supporting framework to describe the story of King Wu's war. It is mixed with a lot of grand imagination, myths and strange ideas, which are widely circulated among the people, and have a huge impact on folk beliefs, folk operas and folk legends.
2, "Journey to the West"
"Journey to the West" is the first romantic chapter hui style mythological novel in ancient China. Lu Xun, Dong Zuobin and others, based on the records of "Huai'an Mansion Chronicles" and other records, finally concluded that its author was Wu Chengen. The novel is based on the historical event of "Xuanzang Learns the Scriptures", and through the author's artistic processing, it profoundly depicts the social life of the people in the Ming Dynasty, and is a classic of Chinese gods and demons novels, reaching the peak of ancient romantic novels, and is known as one of the four famous works.
3, "Mirror Flowers"
"Mirror Flowers" is a novel written by Li Ruzhen, a literati of the Qing Dynasty. The first half of the novel describes the story of Tang Ao, Duo Jiugong and others traveling overseas by boat; The second half of the book writes the story of Wu Zetian's selection of talented women, Tang Xiaoshan, who was born by the Hundred Flower Fairies, and a hundred talented women from other Flower Fairies, and made a difference in the court. Its fantastical and witty creative techniques are based on classics, and wonderfully outline a gorgeous and colorful color picture of the heavenly wheel.
4, "The Complete Biography of Jigong"
"The Complete Biography of Jigong" is a long novel of gods and demons written by Guo Xiaoting, a literati in the Qing Dynasty. It mainly tells the story of the monk Jigong who traveled the world, encountered all kinds of injustices, punished evil and promoted good, and helped the poor along the way. Since the novel came out, various editions have emerged one after another, and there are more than 20 kinds of sequels, which have been widely circulated among the people.
2. China's Four Great Monster Novels
Zhiwei novels are one of the forms of classical Chinese novels, which mainly narrate the stories and legends of supernatural ghosts and ghosts, and their sources are mostly the strange theories of wizards and monks.
The four great Chinese novels generally refer to "Sou Shen Ji", "Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Romance of the Feng Gods" and "Strange Tales of Liao Zhai".
1, "Sou Shen Ji"
"Sou Shen Ji" is a collection of novels written by the Eastern Jin Dynasty historian Gan Bao, which records the strange stories of gods in ancient folklore. The main content includes stories in the form of immortals, monsters, ghosts, etc., and some Buddhist and Taoist plots are also mixed in. This book has an extremely far-reaching influence on the history of Chinese novels, and is known as the originator of Chinese Zhiwei novels.
2, "Strange Tales"
"Strange Tales of Liao Zhai" is referred to as "Liao Zhai", commonly known as "The Legend of the Ghost Fox", is a collection of short stories written by Pu Songling, a novelist in the Qing Dynasty of China. It contains a lot of strange and strange content, in the form of writing ghosts and demons, profoundly exposing the darkness of feudal rule, or criticizing the decay of the imperial examination system, or rebelling against the shackles of feudal etiquette and religion, with rich and profound ideological content, it can be called the pinnacle of Zhiwei novels.
3. "Seal God Enno"
"The Romance of the Gods" is a novel of gods and demons written by the Ming Dynasty Taoist Lu Xixing or Zhong Lin. The book contains many myths and strange stories, and the ideological scenes are grandiose, which are widely circulated among the people, and have had a great impact on folk beliefs, folk operas and folklore.
4、《山海经》
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was written in the Warring States period to the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the author is unknown, and the "Book of Changes" and "Yellow Emperor's Neijing" are known as the three great books of antiquity. Its content covers a wide range of ancient mythology, geography, witchcraft, religion, etc. Although its status as a novel of chivalriad is somewhat controversial, the myths and stories in it have had a profound impact on later generations.