Separation Between Humans and the Supernatural
By Yvonne Tran
I noticed that humans and the supernatural exist with the willingness to help one another in the Yue opera performances that we have seen, which is the opposite of how the supernatural and humans interact in Western stories. In the opera version of Peony Pavilion, Du Liniang is presented with incense of revival by goddesses. Beneficial involvement between humans and the divine are rare in Western stories. In Liu Yi Delivers a Letter for the Dragon King’s Daughter, Liu Yi, a human, voluntarily helps an otherworldly princess. By doing this, he enters into the affairs of higher beings—crossing the line of human issues to the problems of beings more divine than himself. Later, Sanniang’s uncle tries to convince Liu Yi to marry Sanniang. Although supernaturals and humans marrying one another is a popular theme in Chinese theatre, Western stories see heavy involvement between humans and supernaturals disdainfully unnatural. For example, the two distinct classifications of characters in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream are humans and fairies. The humans and fairies have separate storylines dealing with the affairs of their own species despite being in the same universe and occupying the same space. The play starts with humans and fairies minding their own business and end like that as well, emphasizing separation between the two. In general, there is an openness and willingness to help between humans and spiritual beings in Chinese literary traditions than in Western stories. In Western stories, there is emphasis on separation of humans and otherworldly beings.
Separation Between Humans and the Supernatural
Separation Between Humans and the Supernatural
By Yvonne Tran
I noticed that humans and the supernatural exist with the willingness to help one another in the Yue opera performances that we have seen, which is the opposite of how the supernatural and humans interact in Western stories. In the opera version of Peony Pavilion, Du Liniang is presented with incense of revival by goddesses. Beneficial involvement between humans and the divine are rare in Western stories. In Liu Yi Delivers a Letter for the Dragon King’s Daughter, Liu Yi, a human, voluntarily helps an otherworldly princess. By doing this, he enters into the affairs of higher beings—crossing the line of human issues to the problems of beings more divine than himself. Later, Sanniang’s uncle tries to convince Liu Yi to marry Sanniang. Although supernaturals and humans marrying one another is a popular theme in Chinese theatre, Western stories see heavy involvement between humans and supernaturals disdainfully unnatural. For example, the two distinct classifications of characters in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream are humans and fairies. The humans and fairies have separate storylines dealing with the affairs of their own species despite being in the same universe and occupying the same space. The play starts with humans and fairies minding their own business and end like that as well, emphasizing separation between the two. In general, there is an openness and willingness to help between humans and spiritual beings in Chinese literary traditions than in Western stories. In Western stories, there is emphasis on separation of humans and otherworldly beings.
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