Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: May 21, 2021 at 10:27:15 PM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Buddhism]: Breitwieser Goehr on Dong and Dong, > 'Further Adventures on the Journey to the West' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Yue Dong, Sizhang Dong. Further Adventures on the Journey to the > West. Translated by Qiancheng Li and Robert E. Hegel. Seattle > University of Washington Press, 2020. 278 pp. $30.00 (paper), ISBN > 978-0-295-74772-9. > > Reviewed by Alia Breitwieser Goehr (The University of Chicago) > Published on H-Buddhism (May, 2021) > Commissioned by Jessica Zu > > A Journey through Myriad Realms of Desire, with Nothing Wanting > > As Qiancheng Li states in the introduction to his and Robert Hegel's > translation, "_Further Adventures on the Journey to the West_ (Xiyou > bu 西遊補, 1641) is a short but philosophically and artistically > sophisticated novel" (p. xiii). Thanks to the erudition and > meticulous care with which the translators have breathed life into > this novel's fresh incarnation, this sophistication is now in full > evidence for any reader of English. Li and Hegel's contribution > affords a valuable opportunity to teachers of East Asian and world > literatures, for this work's brevity and complexity make it uniquely > well suited to introducing students and scholars outside the field to > early modern Chinese thought--in all of its historical particularity, > with all of its lasting intellectual and aesthetic appeal. This > translation leads readers onto a journey through myriad realms of > desire, with nothing wanting. > > That the translators manage to conjure this novel into English in the > form of a self-sustainingly excellent work of art is remarkable given > that the sixteen-chapter _Further Adventures_, as its title would > suggest, arose out of a relation of dependence on the longer and more > famous _Journey to the West_ (Xiyou ji 西遊記, 1592). The earlier, > hundred-chapter novel is an extravagantly fictionalized account of > the monk Xuanzang's 玄奘 (602-64) historical excursion to Buddhist > lands. In _Journey to the West_, Xuanzang travels in the company of a > handful of monsters-turned-disciples, most notably Sun Wukong > 孫悟空, a mischievous, violence-prone monkey endowed with cosmic > superpowers and a capacity for enlightenment. Partway through the > pilgrims' journey, in chapters 59 through 61, their path westward is > blocked by a mountain of flames. Hoping to extinguish this > impenetrable fire, Sun Wukong visits Lady Rākṣasī, the wife of > his former sworn brother, to borrow a palm-leaf fan. When Lady > Rākṣasī refuses, the monkey transforms into an insect and > torments her by crawling into her belly. He subsequently obtains the > fan and puts out the flames so the pilgrims can continue their > mission. As Qiancheng Li points out, from the standpoint of Buddhist > symbolism this is an unsatisfying resolution, for "if the fire > represents burning human desire, in particular sexual desire, it > seems that Sun Wukong had sought an easy--but problematic--solution. > He simply extinguishes the fire, without recognizing it for what it > is" (p. xvi). > > The author of _Further Adventures_, whom Qiancheng Li conclusively > identifies as Dong Sizhang 董斯張 (1587-1628), pursued a more > meaningful resolution to this symbolically charged narrative episode. > The intercalary narrative of his sequel, which occurs between > chapters 61 and 62 of the parent novel, forces Sun Wukong (now named > Pilgrim 行者) to confront precisely that which he evades in > _Journey to the West_ by drawing him into a dream journey through > manifold realms of desire. In so doing, Dong weaves a complex > psychological narrative exploring the themes of desire, dream, and > illusion that permeate early modern Chinese aesthetics; and he does > so in a manner profoundly informed by late-Ming Buddhist discourse. > > At the center of Pilgrim's varied forays into delusion stands the > Gallery of a Million Mirrors (_wanjing loutai_ 萬鏡樓台), each > mirror of which contains an entire world, several of which Pilgrim > enters. The Gallery is at once a brilliant literary conceit and a > figure derived from the "Chapter on Entry into the Realm of Reality" > (_Ru fajie pin_ 入法界品, Skt. _Gaṇḍ__avyūha_), the climax > of the _Flower Ornament Sutra_ (_Huayan jing_ 華嚴經, Skt. > _Buddhâvataṃsaka__-sūtra_).[1] For some reason, the translators > do not explicitly reference this source, though Qiancheng Li > discusses it at some length in the introduction to his excellent > Chinese variorum edition of the novel (which this reviewer deems a > must-have for any Chinese fiction enthusiast). In the sutra, the > pilgrim Sudhana enters the Tower of Maitreya, an architectural > figuration of the original mind as Suchness, wherein three thousand > worlds can appear in a single thought instant. Early in his journey, > our simian Pilgrim comes upon the Gallery in the land of New Tang--a > counterpart to the historical Tang dynasty in which the parent novel > is set. By means of the Gallery's mirrors, Pilgrim journeys through > diverse realms in a manner that defies conventional and corporeal > logic, swiftly transiting through a sensuously evocative array of > situations, all of which are ultimately but projections of his own > desire. The demon of Pilgrim's desire achieves its apotheosis in the > image of the Qing Fish (_qingyu_ 鯖魚, whose name is a compound of > homophones for desire, _qing_ 情 and _yu_ 欲), which Pilgrim > battles face-to-face at the end of the novel to symbolically defeat > his attachments to delusion. > > The temporal and spatial fluidity of these scenes, as well as the > uncanny ways they interweave familiar episodes from history and > literature with spectacular new layers of fabulation, seem aimed to > disorient the reader alongside the desire-entangled Pilgrim. And yet, > through an array of expedient strategies, Li and Hegel manage to > illuminate the delicate threads that render this work coherent to a > degree unrealized in its earlier English translation. > > For one, the translators seem to have a strong conception of who > Pilgrim is. This clarity of character may have been bolstered by the > fact that the translators drew on Qiancheng Li's Chinese variorum > edition of _Further Adventures_ (_Xiyou bu jiaozhu > _《西游补》校注, 2011), not to mention the literary and > philosophical insight Robert Hegel has gleaned from his decades-long > engagement with the novel, upon which he wrote his MA thesis. Their > shared labor contributes to the reader's pleasure: Pilgrim's > distinctive presence is clearly felt throughout the story, such that > the reader has a stable companion on this dream journey, even as the > dreamworld through which they venture together is topsy-turvy. > > Throughout the novel, the thread that runs throughout the dazzling > tapestry of the monkey's mindscape is desire, which glimmers upon the > page through homophones of _qing_, flashes of crimson, and manifold > other symbols of that which, according to Buddhist teachings, traps > beings in _sa__ṃ__sā__ra_, the cycle of birth and death. The > translators graciously assist the reader in keeping track of this > constant thread by noting in parentheses those places where _qing_ > and its homophones appear and with endnotes that alert the > uninitiated to the many faces of desire in Chinese symbolism. > > The work's coherence is further enhanced by the translators' decision > to incorporate two historical commentaries into the text (also > present in the Chinese variorum edition). Such commentaries, normally > printed in the upper margins of the page or in line with the text, > were a common feature of Ming- and Qing-dynasty publications but are > often excised from modern editions and translations. Li and Hegel > have thankfully abandoned this modern convention to include the > commentaries from the Ming Chongzhen-era and Qing-dynasty Kongqingshi > 空青室 editions of the novel (published in 1641 and 1853, > respectively). The Chongzhen commentary, which David Rolston > attributes to Dong Sizhang himself, are relatively restrained. They > occasionally point out narrative features but often just remark > enthusiastically on the text. Such comments resemble the general > approach Dong's friend Feng Menglong 馮夢龍 (1574-1646) employed > in his vernacular story collections of the 1620s. The Kongqingshi > commentary, by contrast, intercedes far more frequently and at > greater length. While the Kongqingshi edition was a collaborative > effort, Qiancheng Li explains that the bulk of these comments were > the work of Qian Peiming 錢培名 (nineteenth century, dates > unknown). In certain aspects of phrasing as well as their emphasis on > clarifying the narrative's literary and philosophical coherence, > Qian's comments betray the influence of the famous > seventeenth-century commentator Jin Shengtan 金聖歎 (1608-61). > While some present-day readers might initially find this additional > voice obtrusive, Qian's comments are often both funny and helpful, > contributing to the original work's entertainment value while also > illuminating how disparate moments in the text relate to one another > or to the parent novel. Those approaching this novel from an > interdisciplinary or intellectual historical standpoint should also > note that the Kongqingshi commentary foregrounds the work's Buddhist > implications, such that the novel seems to operate simultaneously as > a literary and philosophical work. > > The author--a dedicated lay Buddhist who taught his son to recite > Buddhist sūtras before instructing him in the Confucian > classics--clearly intended his readers to engage in this sort of > interdiscursive reading. One of the translators' greatest > contributions to this work and the intellectually syncretic world out > of which it was born is their readiness to engage in such a reading > themselves, both by explaining the work's Buddhist import in the > introduction and through exquisitely detailed endnotes. Especially > valuable for situating the novel in its intellectual context is > Qiancheng Li's observation that Dong Sizhang was acquainted with > several prominent monks, including the eminent cleric Hanshan Deqing > 憨山德清 (1546-1623). This point is of such intellectual > historical significance--and of such significance to the novel > itself--that I wish Li had gone into it in slightly more detail, > though space might not have allowed for such a focused intellectual > historical foray. Li's introduction does excerpt an important passage > from Hanshan Deqing's famous _Dream Journey Collection_ (_Mengyou ji_ > 夢遊集) discussing the karmic harm that ensues from attachment to > dreamlike delusions, which one must overcome to return to the purity > of the original mind. But there are several other points of overlap > between _Further Adventures_ and Hanshan Deqing's writings which > deserve consideration. I will discuss these below. More general > readers may skip to the end of this review for suggestions regarding > how _Further Adventures_ might be incorporated into an undergraduate > syllabus. > > Perhaps the most significant connection between _Further Adventures_ > and Hanshan Deqing's thought entails a dream recorded in Deqing's > autobiography (_Nianpu_ 年譜, dictated to a disciple in 1623). For > Deqing, this dream marked a pivotal moment in his spiritual progress. > It took place in 1578, when he was in the midst of copying out the > entirety of the aforementioned _Flower Ornament Sutra _in his own > blood mixed with gold dust. According to Lynn Struve's account, in > this dream Deqing: > > _comes to rest on a ground flat like a mirror and translucent as > glass, the only thing visible being a distant, multistory structure, > each chamber of which was as extensive as space itself. Within each > chamber all manner of worldly things and activities could be > seen--people of various occupations, markets and wells, and petty > affairs in progress ... Enraptured, Deqing wants to draw nearer. But > he also wonders how, in this realm of chill clarity, there can also > be such confusion and dirtiness, and as this discriminating thought > occurs, the structure becomes more distant. Deqing is able, however, > to self-correct with a second thought--'purity and filth are but > [conceptions] generated by my mind' 淨穢自我心生耳--and the > structure comes nearer_.[2] > > According to Struve, this dream contributes to Deqing's > autobiographical self-fashioning as the pilgrim Sudhana. For those of > us engaged with _Further Adventures_, Deqing's dream also shines a > light upon the fictional narrative's axial feature: the Gallery of > Mirrors. This climactic moment in Deqing's autobiography clarifies > the soteriological aim of Pilgrim's journey (and, by association, > that of the reader who accompanies him). At the same time, it offers > a late-Ming Buddhist rationale for employing such "dirty" and "petty" > worlds as those which appear in the tower--worlds which clearly > parallel those of fiction--as an expedient means (_fangbian_ 方便, > Skt. _upāya_) of clearing away deluded thinking. > > Deqing himself proposed such an application for poetry, specifically > exile poetry depicting hellish scenes. Here we encounter another > intriguing parallel between the themes of the novel and Deqing's > life. Starting in 1595, Deqing spent sixteen years in military exile > in Leizhou in western Guangdong. Overwhelmed by the oppressive heat > of this tropical region, Deqing's writings associate the area with > the element of fire and the flames of _saṃ__sā__ra_. Deqing came > to conceive of this hellish period in his life, and the poetry he > composed around it, as crucial to his spiritual progress. As Corey > Bell relates in "Genuine Anguish, Genuine Mind": > > _Hanshan felt that by capturing the "hellish nightmare" that is > exile, poetry could, like one's memories of an unpleasant dream, > prompt one to reflect on the idea that subjective consciousness and > the objects that have been perceived are of one substance--that they > are all mind-only. Poetry of this type could hence lead to the > intuitive verification of the "unadulterated genuine mind," which > represented for Hanshan the un-bifurcated ideal substratum of all > mental and perceptual reality--the tathāgatagarbha, or the Buddha > nature_.[3] > > In light of this historical detail, we could read Hanshan Deqing as > having fully confronted and spiritually overcome the mountain of fire > that Sun Wukong fails to negotiate in _Journey to the West_. In > _Further Adventures_, Pilgrim's determination to eliminate the > infernal mountain leads him into exactly the same chiliocosmic tower > that played an important role in Deqing's spiritual progress. Through > this historical interweaving of fiction and monastic autobiography, > the figures of Sun Wukong, Hanshan Deqing, and Sudhana--all > pilgrims--collide to produce a psychologically and philosophically > satisfying narrative. > > Numerous other features of _Further Adventures_ could be meaningfully > related to the life and writings of Hanshan Deqing, including > Pilgrim's fixation on acquiring a "mountain-ridding bell;" the > narrative's frequent (often critical) allusions to Tang Xianzu > 湯顯祖 (1550-1616), who was a spiritually lax lay disciple of > Hanshan Deqing's close friend Zibo Zhenke 紫栢真可 (Daguan > 達觀, 1543-1603); and the narrative prominence granted to the theme > of political fealty. These will have to be considered elsewhere. But > Qiancheng Li and Robert Hegel do this novel a great service by > bringing its historical context and literary allusions to light in a > way that renders such connections visible. > > Those hoping to incorporate this excellent work of literature into > their teaching or research will benefit not only from the > introduction and endnotes included in Li and Hegel's translation, but > also from the monographs these scholars have written on related > subjects, which might serve as valuable secondary reading for > undergraduates or as references for preparing a series of lectures. > Hegel's still timely monograph _The Novel in Seventeenth-Century > China_ (1981) provides a comprehensive examination of the world out > of which this novel was born and includes a section entitled "Further > Adventures" (therein referred to by its former English title, "Tower > of Myriad Mirrors," see pp. 141-66). Another of Hegel's monographs, > _Reading Illustrated Fiction in Late Imperial China_ (1998), offers a > scholarly accompaniment to another exciting feature of this > translation: its incorporation of sixteen riddle-like illustrations > originally published with the Chongzhen edition. These images alone > could provide the material for an entire lesson, especially if paired > with Hegel's essay "Picturing the Monkey King: Illustrations and > Readings of the 1641 Novel _Xiyou bu_" in _The Art of the Book in > China_ (2006). Qiancheng Li's _Fictions of Enlightenment_ (2004) > offers an excellent overview of this novel (pp. 90-109), and his > recent book _Transmutations of Desire: Literature and Religion in > Late Imperial China_ (2020) is sure to offer rich insights into the > aesthetic and intellectual influence of this novel's defining theme. > Those who are interested in considering this novel specifically in > relation to Buddhist thought should consider including Hanshan > Deqing's autobiography alongside this work. > > In the context of a world literature course, _Further Adventures_ > would pair well with other literary journeys that combine > psychological, cultural, and political themes. Dante's _Inferno_ > (completed in 1320) would pair especially well, given that both works > feature extended descriptions of the hellish punishments to be > endured by political traitors. Nonspecialists should not hesitate to > bring this Chinese work into their classroom, for the translators' > contributions, along with the historical commentators' insights, > provide ample support for venturing into the unfamiliar territory of > early modern Chinese thought. > > Previously, my undergraduate students in comparative literature have > been tempted to read this work in relation to Freudian > psychoanalysis. While such a forthright application of a European > theoretical framework would risk overwriting the novel's own, equally > nuanced, intellectual underpinnings, it would be exciting to place > this novel and its attendant philosophical backdrop alongside > psychoanalytic theory and an accompanying literary work, such as > Wilhelm Jensen's serial novel _Gradiva_ (1902), to consider how > disparate systems of thought and literature negotiate the broad > humanistic themes of desire and illusion differently. > > Notes > > [1]. To be philologically accurate, the Sanskrit reconstruction of > the Chinese chapter title is _Dharmadhātu-praveśana-parivarta._ > Early Chinese catalogues, however, identified this chapter as an > independently circulating sūtra, _Luomoqie jing_ 羅摩伽經 > _Gaṇḍavyūha sūtra_ (T 294). This chapter in _Huayan Jing_ is > consequently commonly referred to as _Gaṇḍavyūha_. > > [2]. Lynn A. Struve, "Deqing's Dreams: Signs in a Reinterpretation of > His Autobiography," _Journal of Chinese Religions_ 40 (2012): 1-44; > 25-26. > > [3]. Corey Lee Bell, "Genuine Anguish, Genuine Mind: 'Loyal' Buddhist > Monks, Poetics and Soteriology in Ming-Qing Transition-era Southern > China" (PhD diss., University of Melbourne, 2016), 45. > > Citation: Alia Breitwieser Goehr. Review of Dong, Yue; Dong, Sizhang, > _Further Adventures on the Journey to the West_. H-Buddhism, H-Net > Reviews. May, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56160 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#8689): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/8689 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/83002300/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
