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

20 Introduction
the object of the gaze of the whole population of the capital, from
emperor to common citizen.
At the very last moment, however, the execution of Miaoshan
is postponed for one day, and she is once again locked up in the
garden of the palace. After a series of visits by the queen, her
sisters, and the palace ladies, none of whom succeed in changing
her mind, her father comes to visit her at midnight in her prison
cell, where he appeals to her one last time. Cazelles describes the
function of forced enclosure in her texts in the following terms:
‘‘The narrowing of space experienced by the women martyrs . . .
serves to stress the intimate, and therefore dangerous, dimension
of the encounter between heroines and tormentors. Temporary
imprisonment ...is a narrative device that amplifies the erotic element
inherent in these stories.’’ And she adds, ‘‘In Passions devoted
to persecuted daughters (Christina and Barbara), enclosure is an ordeal
imposed by incest-minded fathers who become tyrants out of
sexual frustration.’’ 73 Many of these elements have their counterpart
in The Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain. Miaoshan’s father is described
as a typical tyrant who flies into a rage if his orders are not
immediately obeyed. He can also be said to suffer sexual frustration
as he has been unable to sire a son, despite the number of his
concubines; his behavior toward Miaoshan is certainly overly possessive,
and it is not difficult to detect incestuous motives in his
behavior and language—his repeated reference, for example, to
his daughter as ‘‘a slut’’ (dizi) and ‘‘a she-devil’’ (yaojing). During his
nighttime visit to his naked and shackled daughter in her cell, he
describes to her the pleasures of the flesh in great detail. And even
if we grant that the father himself may not be aware of the full implications
of his complex and strong emotions toward his daughter,
his daughter is fully aware of her father’s unconscious intentions
and repulses his advances in the terms that leave little room for
doubt:
When Marvelous Goodness heard this, she replied: ‘‘My
father the emperor, dear daddy, you are misled and deluded
and unenlightened, and your perverse heart is all ablaze.
This is not the behavior of a lord and emperor in possession
of the Way! Daddy, you are the ruler of the myriads of
people, the lord of the whole nation. If you cannot control
your family, how can you control the nation? If you are a