Abstract
In this article I will read Yangsze Choo’s speculative fiction novel The Ghost Bride (2013), which not only refers to the ancient Chinese tradition of “ghost-marriage” or “spirit-weddings” but also traverses the phantasmic world of the Chinese afterlife and an imaginary land conceived as the “Plains of the Dead”. I will examine how Choo effectively utilizes Chinese myths and folklore in order to construct the parallel worlds of the living and the dead. I will particularly focus on the fictional character, the mysterious guardian spirit, Er Lang, who evokes the myth of Er Lang Shen, the great Chinese warrior God of Heaven who possesses an esoteric Third-Eye of Enlightenment on his forehead. In the course of my analysis, I will explore the problematics of the concept of reality in relation to the genre of speculative fiction, which stereotypically embodies elements of fantasy. However, I will argue, through my reading of The Ghost Bride, that human perceptions of reality should not be constrained by what can only be seen with mortal eyes, but what can also be discerned through the eyes of the inner mind.
Highlights
In this article I will read the fourth-generation Chinese-Malaysian diasporic author Yangsze Choo’s speculative fiction The Ghost Bride (2013) as a novel that references the ancient Chinese tradition of “ghost-marriage” or “spirit-weddings” and traverses the phantasmic world of the Chinese afterlife and an imaginary land conceived as the “Plains of the Dead”
In the course of my reading, I will explore how Choo deftly utilizes Chinese mythology and folk beliefs in order to evoke a parallel universe in her novel; my particular focus will be on the fictional character, the mysterious guardian spirit Er Lang, whose perennial presence in both the mortal and the spirit worlds of the novel is significantly instrumental in assisting the young female protagonist, Li Lan, to envisage an unusual future for herself — in quest of an illusory happiness
As the fictional name Er Lang is reminiscent of Er Lang Shen, the great Chinese warrior God of Heaven who embodies justice and righteousness and can be uniquely distinguished from the other Gods in the Chinese Pantheon through his possession of an esoteric Third-Eye of Enlightenment on his forehead, I will attempt to argue, through my reading of The Ghost Bride, that human perceptions of reality should not be constrained by what can only be seen with the mortal eyes, but what can be discerned through the eyes of the inner mind
Summary
In this article I will read the fourth-generation Chinese-Malaysian diasporic author Yangsze Choo’s speculative fiction The Ghost Bride (2013) as a novel that references the ancient Chinese tradition of “ghost-marriage” or “spirit-weddings” and traverses the phantasmic world of the Chinese afterlife and an imaginary land conceived as the “Plains of the Dead”.
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