Fengshen Yanyi

Author: Xu Zhonglin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The extraordinary and thrilling divine and demonic world depicted in Fengshen Yanyi is a world that suddenly reveals imagination and creativity. This way of thinking is not only a challenge to the closed and conservative old feudal mindset but also, we might as well say, there is some inherent connection between this ancient fantasy and technological development, and it is also somewhat related to modern technology. Reading Fengshen Yanyi for the first time might make people feel that the characters and events in the book have nothing to do with the social life of that time, not even a trace of reality can be found, what we see is the author's fantastical imagination. However, it is this imagination that attracts readers' interest, gradually revealing deeper meanings, and has made this novel popular both at home and abroad,. Since the Jiajing era in the Ming Dynasty, the feudal autocratic system had developed to the point of being unbearable. Corruption among officials, oppression of the people, and increasing social crises were becoming increasingly severe. Meanwhile, capitalist economy was further developing in the southeastern coastal areas of China, and the urban class was beginning to show its strength in places like Suzhou and Hangzhou. Against this backdrop of widespread public grievances, Xu Zhonglin used the Yuan Dynasty storytelling Wang Wang Fa Zhou Pinghua as the basis, and referred to the Western Zhou part of Lie Guo Zhi that was later passed down among the people, combining folk myths, legends, unofficial histories, anecdotes, Buddhist stories, and other related plots, adding many brilliant fantasies, and created the 100-capter, 700,000-character Fengshen Yanyi, criticizing the autocratic Ming Dynasty by attacking the tyrannical King Zhou of Yin. This is precisely the ideological significance of Fengshen Yanyi. Some plots, such as the description of Nezha's bone and meat restoration, also critically touch upon the feudal moral and ethical order. In terms of ideological content, Fengshen Yanyi also has its shortcomings. Throughout the book, we can find that every chapter and every character's fate is inevitably subject to the arrangement of the "destiny," the outcome is "fated," no matter how people (including the powerful gods and demons) struggle, it is largely in vain, helpless against the predetermined outcome. This fatalistic idea is the dross of the entire book, and this idea undoubtedly has a negative impact on readers. This should be pointed out and paid attention to. Fengshen Yanyi is a romantic fantasy novel about gods and demons, using absurd fantasies to shape characters, present stories, and arrange details. The author's imagination is astonishing.