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

26 Introduction
may ascend to heaven. 93 The Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain
may therefore also be seen, despite its surface narrative, as a tract
designed to persuade daughters to accept marriage, to accept being
sacrificed for the sake of the patriarchal family. It is for this reason,
I would suggest, that the virgin Guanyin can also be a bestower of
sons. 94
The existence and widespread popularity of the legend of Mulian
and the legend of Princess Miaoshan might be taken as proofs
of the universality of the family-complex tale. However, the origin
and development of these two legends during a specific period in
Chinese history may also be taken as arguments against the universality
of the family-complex tale. I would argue that only after the
establishment of the patriarchal family at all levels of Chinese society
could these tales have acquired their massive importance. In
this respect one could easily point to developments in Song-dynasty
(960–1278) society (such as the strengthening of lineage organization
and the rise of neo-Confucianism) as explanations for the rise
of these legends. On the other hand, one could also cite the spread
of these legends as proof of the growing importance of the patriarchal
family outside elite circles. In any case, the historicity of the
development of these legends is an undeniable fact and so would
seem to deny the universality of the family romance.
The development of the Mulian legend (and the subsequent development
of the legend of Miaoshan), in accordance with historical
changes from the Tang to the Song, has a close parallel in the
development of the legend of Shun, China’s primordial filial son.
The various early versions of the legend of Shun have recently
been revisited by Robert G. Henricks in ‘‘The Three-bodied Shun
and the Completion of Creation.’’ 95 In this article, Henricks argues
that the legend of the filial son Shun may be interpreted as a reworking
of an ancient creation myth, in which first the fire of
heaven has to be dominated by elevating heaven, and next the
waters of the earth have to be regulated. Only after these two feats
have been successfully carried out can the third feat—agriculture—
be instituted. Henricks sees a parallel between Shun’s escape from
the top of a burning barn by floating down by means of two winnowing
baskets and legends of men who become birds and elevate
the sky. In passing, Henricks remarks that in the early versions of
the tale he studies, Shun’s stepmother plays only a minor role in the
machinations against Shun. 96