The Lady of Linshui Pacifies Demons

A Seventeenth-Century Novel

Kristin Ingrid Fryklund

• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780295748344
• eBook ISBN: 9780295748368
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Asian Religions
• Index: Literature

The dramatic story of a girl who became a goddess The Lady of Linshui—the goddess of women, childbirth, and childhood—is still venerated in south China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. Her story evolved from the life of Chen Jinggu in the eighth century and blossomed in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) into vernacular short fiction, legends, plays, sutras, and stele inscriptions at temples where she is worshipped. The full-length novel The Lady of Linshui Pacifies Demons narrates Chen Jinggu's lifelong struggle with and eventual triumph over her spirit double and rival, the White Snake demon. Among accounts of goddesses in late imperial China, this work is unique in its focus on the physical aspects of womanhood, especially the dangers of childbirth, and in its dramatization of the contradictory nature of Chinese divinities. This unabridged, annotated translation provides insights into late imperial Chinese religion, the lives of women, and the structure of families and local society. The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Translator’s Note and Acknowledgments
• Introduction by Mark Edward Lewis and Brigitte Baptandier
• Chapter 1. Wang Yanbin Builds Luoyang Bridge / Duanming Scholar Cai Completes the Work and Returns to the West
• Chapter 2. Chen Jinggu Studies Magic at Mount Lü / The Ravine Demon Takes on Illusory Forms at Xue Mountain
• Chapter 3. Jiang Shanyu Renounces Her Selfhood to Obtain the Way / Chen Jinggu Cuts Out a Piece of Her Flesh to Save Her Parents
• Chapter 4. Cinnabar Cloud Is Captured and Converts to Buddhism to Earn Good Karma / Madame Shen Is Rescued by Being Given a Soul Taken from a Dead Person
• Chapter 5. At Lingxiao Pan the Rock Press Women Are Captured / At Guojie Mountain We Meet Jiang Hupo
• Chapter 6. The Spider Fiend Is Captured and Dies / The Ravine Demon Uses a Stratagem to Seek Refuge
• Chapter 7. Bringing an End to the Auspicious Period, Jinggu Eliminates the Fiend / Meeting Misfortune, Liu Encounters a Demon
• Chapter 8. The Snake Monster Having Been Expelled, Future Calamity Is Left Behind / The Husband Having Been Saved, Their Prior Karma Is Assisted
• Chapter 9. In the Old Temple the Fiend Monk Works His Evil Magic / The Lian River Clam Monster Creates a Spectral Tower
• Chapter 10. As the Old Ruler Is on His Deathbed, the People Grieve / The New Lord Inherits the Throne, and the Common People Encounter Misfortune
• Chapter 11. Wang Yanbing Is Routed at Fuzhou City / Chen Shouyuan Proposes to Build the Baohuang Palace
• Chapter 12. [Yanbin] Ascends to the Emperorship, and All the Officials Offer Congratulations / [Chen Jinggu] Kills the White Snake and Receives Her First Honorary Title
• Chapter 13. Madame Chen Retires to Linshui / Yuan Guangzhi Leaves Mount Mao for the First Time
• Chapter 14. Xue Wenjie Spreads Rumors in the Palace / Wang Jitu’s Army Surrounds Fuzhou City
• Chapter 15. Yuan Guangzhi’s Army Suffers Defeat / Madame Chen Receives a Second Title
• Chapter 16. Praying for Rain, the People Feel Grateful / Perfecting the True Way, a Third Title Is Granted
• Chapter 17. Avenging Deep Hatred by Capturing the Ravine Demon / Weeping Tears of Blood and Gathering Again at the Bridge of One Hundred Flowers
• Dramatis Personae
• Glossary of Chinese Characters
• Notes
• Bibliography