{"title":"Chinese Tales of Epidemics: In Search of Hope amid Despair","authors":"Juwen Zhang","doi":"10.2979/jfolkrese.60.1.07","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Tales (gushi in Chinese, including all narrative genres) are like living fossils—preserving not only historical events in general, but also behaviors and beliefs in specific places and in specific cultural groups. Therefore, Chinese tales of epidemics reveal fundamental beliefs in and life-views toward not only epidemics, but also the meaning of living a life. The three parts in this paper are intended to tell a long story: first providing some basic terms and concepts related to epidemics; second presenting, for the first time in English, seven tales spanning a two-millennia history up to the present day which show the struggles between the human and the god/ghost/wu-shaman of epidemics; and, finally, offering some reflections upon the realities we are facing in the current COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":44620,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF FOLKLORE RESEARCH","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF FOLKLORE RESEARCH","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2979/jfolkrese.60.1.07","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"FOLKLORE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract:Tales (gushi in Chinese, including all narrative genres) are like living fossils—preserving not only historical events in general, but also behaviors and beliefs in specific places and in specific cultural groups. Therefore, Chinese tales of epidemics reveal fundamental beliefs in and life-views toward not only epidemics, but also the meaning of living a life. The three parts in this paper are intended to tell a long story: first providing some basic terms and concepts related to epidemics; second presenting, for the first time in English, seven tales spanning a two-millennia history up to the present day which show the struggles between the human and the god/ghost/wu-shaman of epidemics; and, finally, offering some reflections upon the realities we are facing in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Folklore Research has provided an international forum for current theory and research among scholars of traditional culture since 1964. Each issue includes topical, incisive articles of current theoretical interest to folklore and ethnomusicology as international disciplines, as well as essays that address the fieldwork experience and the intellectual history of folklore and ethnomusicology studies. Contributors include scholars and professionals in additional fields, including anthropology, area studies, communication, cultural studies, history, linguistics, literature, performance studies, religion, and semiotics.
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