Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo

Notes to Pages 33–36 203
person narrative by the protagonist. After Miaoshan has been strangled at her
royal father’s orders, Huang Long zhenren takes her to see the female deity Yaochi
Jinmu (the Metal Mother of the Jaspis Pond); he next is her guide on her
tour through the Ten Courts of Hell. See Che Xilun, ‘‘Ming Qing minjian zongjiao
di ji zhong baojuan,’’ in Che 1997, p. 110. For a more extensive discussion
of the Guanyin jidu benyuan zhenjing, see Dudbridge 2004, pp. 83–87. The
Guanyin jidu benyuan zhenjing is occasionally reprinted under the title Xiangshan
baojuan.
Another indication of a sectarian background of The Precious Scroll of
Good-in-Talent and Dragon Girl may be found in the description of meditation
techniques on pp. 22a–23a, which has a strong Daoist coloring. One may also
note that Guanyin is referred to as ‘‘Mother Guanyin’’ (Guanyin mu) on p. 1b,
pointing to an identification of the bodhisattva with the Eternal Mother of sectarian
belief.
113. The Lotus Sutra already mentions that Avalokiteśvara will save one
from snakes.
114. For a short discussion of this legend see Yü 1990, pp. 236–237; and
Yü 2001, pp. 443–447. For a more detailed treatment of this tale, see Sawada
Mizuho, Chūgoku dōbutsu dan (Tokyo: Kōbundō, 1978), pp. 211–235; Wilt L.
Idema, ‘‘Guanyin’s Parrot: A Chinese Buddhist Animal Tale and Its International
Context,’’ in Alfred Cadonna, ed., India, Tibet, China: Genesis and Aspects of
Traditional Narrative (Firenze: Leo S. Olschki, 1999), pp. 103–150; and Wilt L.
Idema, ‘‘The Filial Parrot in Qing Dynasty Dress: A Short Discussion of the
Yingge baojuan [Precious Scroll of the Parrot],’’ Journal of Chinese Religions 30
(2002): 77–96.
115. Some folktales on the relation of Guanyin to Mt. Putuo relate that
Guanyin took possession of the island only after subduing its original deity, a
huge snake.
116. Antii Aarne, The Types of the Folktale: A Classification and Bibliography.
Antti Aarne’s Verzeichnis der Märchentypen, transl. and enl. Stith Thompson
2nd rev. (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1973), p. 56, no. 155; Nai-tung
Ting, A Type Index of Chinese Folktales in the Oral Tradition and Major Works of
Non-religious Classical Literature (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1978),
p. 34, no. 155.
117. Zheng Zhenduo, ‘‘Zhongshan lang gushi de yanbian,’’ in his Zhongguo
wenxue yanjiu (Hong Kong: Guwen shuju, 1961), 3: 1123–1124. Also see ‘‘Ondank
is ’s wereld loon,’’ in Ton Dekker et al., eds., Van Aladdin tot Zwaan kleef
aan. Lexicon van sprookjes: ontstaan, ontwikkeling, variaties (Nijmegen: SUN,
1997), pp. 266–272.
118. For the Chinese text see Lu Ji, ed., Gujin shuohai (Shanghai: Shanghai
wenyi chubanshe, 1989, reprint of 1909 edition), no continuous pagination.
It has been translated into English by James R. Hightower as ‘‘The Wolf of
Chung-shan,’’ in Cyril Birch, ed., Anthology of Chinese Literature, vol. 2: From
the Fourteenth Century to the Present Day (New York: Grove Press, 1972), pp.
46–52. Hua-yuan Li Mowry, ‘‘The Wolf of Chung-shan,’’ Tamkang Review 11.2
(1980–1981): pp. 139–159, discusses the Indian origin of the story, its analogues
in Western literature, and the Chinese dramatic adaptations.
119. Cf. Madeline K. Spring, Animal Allegories in T’ang China (New Haven: