Religious Beliefs and Mass Entertainment in the Sinosphere

My specialty is the popular literature and traditional performing arts of the Sinosphere. My research focuses specifically on works that are deeply connected to religious beliefs.

Recently, I published a Japanese translation of "Fengshen Yanyi" with some friends (Bensei Publishing, 4 volumes, 2017–2018). This is a novel set against the backdrop of the fall of the Yin dynasty in the 11th century BCE, in which many immortal sages divide into two factions and battle using supernatural powers. From the perspective of "literary value," it is inferior to contemporary Chinese works like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Journey to the West," and it is certainly impossible to read it like a Western bildungsroman. You might wonder if such a work has any research value or think that I should be doing more "useful" research. But that is not the case.

First is the relationship between the work and religion. This novel is closely related to the religious beliefs of the Ming dynasty Sinosphere, where it was created, and many of the immortal sages who appear were actually worshipped in temples and shrines. The novel also creates "interest" by deliberately altering their "normal" images. For readers in the Ming dynasty, the immortal sages who appeared were "well-known" figures, and they could enjoy reading about them, including the fact that they were "slightly different." While some aspects may be less clear to modern Chinese people, the basic experience is the same. However, this is not clear to foreign readers. Therefore, to understand the work, it is necessary to study the religious situation in the Sinosphere from the Ming dynasty to the present day. Conversely, through such work, we can understand "religion," which is the most important part of any ethnic group's culture.

Second is its element as mass entertainment. "Fengshen Yanyi" enjoys popular acclaim in the Sinosphere and has been adapted into plays and puppet shows, which are widely circulated. This can be seen as a parallel to the situation in Japan, where it has been adapted into manga and anime. In these adaptations, it is clearly valued for something other than its "literary value." Mass entertainment has its own logic, and the work needs to be analyzed from that perspective. For example, it would be easy to dismiss fast food as "low-class" from a gourmet perspective. However, we must consider why people eat fast food. This perspective is also applicable when examining modern Japanese subcultures, and if we are to speak of "practicality," it is directly useful in marketing strategies that consider "what people like."

Some of you students may think that research in the "humanities" is boring and useless. But that is not the case. Let's think together about mass entertainment and the culture of the Sinosphere.