Study On Subjugation Of Demons

As a famous Chinese classical fiction, Subjugation of Demons (Ping Yao Zhuan) is compiled mainly based on the historical nucleus of the rebellion of Wang Ze and its subjugation in the Song Dynasty. There are two versions which spread in the history, one is an original version of twenty-chapter written by Luo Guanzhong, the other is a version of forty-chapter supplemented by Feng Menglong. According to the investigation of existing versions, it can be seen that the version of twenty-chapter has been revised by posterity even though it is written by Luo Guanzhong. The version of forty-chapter has prevailed after the supplement made by Feng Menglong, and hence most of the transcripts are made from the version of forty-chapter.Based on the historical fact of the rebellion of Wang Ze in the Song Dynasty, Subjugation of Demons assimilates folk fairy tales, legends, former scripts and stories, and then is sorted out and compiled into a book, which embodies the compilation but not creation character of early vernacular stories. Through the comparison of historical records and the fiction, a better understanding of the true situation about the rebellion of Wang Ze can be achieved. Subjugation of Demons has a non-ignorable historical value because it provides more information which helps people to know about the society of the day.Although Subjugation of Demons largely preach these cause-and-effect and samsara thoughts, such as"doom","destiny"and"fate"etc, it explains, to some extent, the reason of rebellion of Wang Ze, reflects the social reality of the day, and also depicts the former social custom. The author treats these rebels, including Wang Ze and Hu yong'er , as"sorcerers", but these sorcerers have humanistic character through Feng Menglong's depiction, especially the successful depiction about St Aunt and Hu Yong'er.The narrative of Subjugation of Demons is excellent while the plot is twisty and weird, so this literature has definite influence over the creation of later dramas and fictions.