Abstract

The article takes as its point of departure a central story from oral and written genres of fiction: the tale of the hero Wu Song and his life-and-death struggle with the man-eating tiger on Jingyang Ridge in Shandong. In its Gilgamesh-like primordial resonance of the battle between man and nature, the story has kept audiences spellbound for about seven hundred years. The episode is among the most popular Chinese tales, told and retold, written and rewritten, in a wealth of oral, oral-related, and written genres since the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. While much has been said about Wu Song, the human hero of this tale, little attention has been given to his worthy opponent, the tiger. In this article the focus is on the King of Beasts, the Lord of the Mountain. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Details

Title
The Man-Hunting Tiger: From "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" in Chinese Traditions
Author
Børdahl, Vibeke
Pages
141-163
Publication year
2007
Publication date
2007
Publisher
Nanzan University
ISSN
03852342
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
224529605
Copyright
Copyright Nanzan University (Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture) 2007