UNREACHABLE IDEALS: BETWEEN SATIRE AND UTOPIA IN OTHER WORLDS OF LIAOZHAI ZHIYI

Abstract

Luosha Haishi 羅殺海市 (Lz 132) is a very emblematic tale of Pu Songling’s (蒲松齡, 1640–1715), as it involves emblematic themes of Liaozhai zhiyi (聊齋誌異): a critical view of society, an adventure into enchanted lands, and a complex relationship to an independent, powerful woman. The tale tells about the journey of a man who, after having been lost at sea, visits two imaginary worlds. Luosha Haishi reveals its originality when comparing both these places. The first one, the Country of Rakshasas, is a state in which physical appearance determines one’s social status. This society is a satirical portrayal mirroring Pu’s vision of Qing China officialdom. Conversely, the City of the Sea, the character’s second place of stay, is a utopian undersea place where the character knows immediate success. Luosha Haishi thus makes the bitter statement of the impossibility to access glory and richness when one does not wish to hide behind appearances, while for it to occur it would require an ideal world that exists only in imagination.