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The concept of “Pilgrimage” in the texts of Taoist rites originates from a folk tale, “The Journey to the West”. It is a novel about the journey of SanZang, a monk in Tang dynasty, who travelled to the west regions of China (Central Asia and India) for searching the Buddiest Sutra. This story is combined with people’s religious perspective, hopes and desires, and their imagination to the world of after death. As time goes on, it gradually has its own position in literature. This article, then, is to discuss the fantasy and metaphor behind it in literature and drama performances.
In Taoist rites, “Pilgrimage” is a part of the rites of dedicating merits for the dead in funeral ceremonies. The dedication of merits for the dead in funeral ceremonies in Taiwan has a close relationship with Xianghua Foshi (Buddiest rites of burning incense and flowers) in China. Therefore, it is important to know the historical background of their relationship before discussing “Pilgrimage” in the texts of Taoist rites.
The focus of this article is on analyzing how the structure of the story and the personalities of characters are written in the texts of Taoist rites. The reason that “The Journey to The West” is appealing to readers is because of the description of the vivid personalities of characters and its attracting storyline. Comparatively, the depiction of characters’ personalities in the texts of Taoist rites is comparatively plain because of its restriction in its way of presenting things. However, the religious elements, improvisational performances of Taoists, and the use of folk languages that do not exist in other texts of “The Journey to The West” also makes it special in literature.
Furthermore, Taoists’ improvisational performances in dramas, which is “not arranged in advance”, also genuinely present the perspectives of genders in Hakka society. Nonetheless, it is because the “improvisational performances” which is “not arranged in advance” that we are able to analyze the differences of personalities in issues and desires of genders through the “Pilgrimage” in the texts of Taoist rites of Hakka in their early society. | en_US |