Pastiche and Parody of Religious Elements in Journey to the West
Date Issued
2016
Date
2016
Author(s)
Chen, Pin-Yuan
Abstract
This thesis begins with analyzing the use of religious elements in Journey to the West, attempting to point out the symptom ignored by former religious interpreters. Then I will investigate how the fiction manages these religious elements, where the thinking derives from and what’s the value of this technique. My thesis starts from the formation of religious elements in the fiction. I analyze it through three aspects, the frame of universe, order and theogony. Then I conclude the formation is a “pastiche” technique. The author puts different religious elements in the same frame regardless of contradictions. It seems that the fiction doesn’t adhere to any strict religious view and whether it conveys a religious narration is also in doubt. In fact, the religious pastiche shows strong characters of folk religion, such as polytheism, multiple creeds, secularity and utilitarian. Then I analyze the function of these religious elements in the fiction and how the context modifies the meanings of these elements. Journey to the West is full of play, satire and subversion. I analyze these symptoms through the aspect of “parody.” I divide it into three parts: relation between heaven and men, religious deities, and religious practice. “The Parody of Relation between Heaven and Men” focuses on Wu-Kong’s rebellion in the opening seven chapters. The author places universal wishes and aspiration for freedom on Wu-Kong, letting Wu-Kong breaks out nature law and deities’ ruling. However, the author doesn’t totally consent Wu-Kong’s behavior. The ambiguous attitude also shows in “The Parody of Religious Deities”. While the fiction reveals deities’ flaws, it doesn’t mean to topple the whole system. The fiction remains a critical but dependent relation to the original objects, which is the main character of parody. “The Parody of Religious Practice” studies the conversion of Xuan-Zang’s pilgrimage. The fiction diminishes the original religious teaching and converts it into a fantasy play. Through the above-mentioned analysis, my thesis connects Journey to the West’s religious pastiche and parody writing. Because the religious pastiche holds an ambiguous attitude toward three religions, it leads to multiple interpretations. My thesis doesn’t stick to any religious interpretation, but goes back to the original text and observes how the fiction uses these religious elements. Then, through the perspective of parody, I analyze the new meanings created by the fiction’s new context. In this way, my thesis tries to cover the whole different aspects of the fiction and makes the interpretation corresponding to the text.
Subjects
Journey to the West
Parody
Pastiche
Folk Religion
Play
Type
thesis
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