MYSTICISM AND FOLKLORE IN LIU ZHENYUN’S NOVEL LAUGHTER AND TEARS

Abstract

The article examines the elements of mysticism and folklore in the novel Laughter and Tears (2021) by Chinese writer Liu Zhenyun (born 1958). In modern Chinese literature, there are many works in which everyday reality is described with the help of mystical and folklore elements. Examples of this kind of narration are the prose of Mo Yan, Jia Pingwa, Chen Zhongshi, Han Shaogong. In Liu Zhenyun’s novel Laughter and Tears mysticism and folklore are not so much auxiliary means as a kind of framework and play a plot-forming role. The legend of Hua Erniang, the legend of the White Snake, the Yanjin “tales”, the reincarnations of the souls of the dead, the relocation of ghosts into the bodies of people, traditional divination practices — all these are the tools by which the fates of people, ghosts and immortals intersect and merge in the novel. This kind of narration perfectly reflects the current state of folk culture and customs in the Chinese hinterland, which in the novel is represented by Yanjin. Liu Zhenyun skilfully uses folk tales and mystical elements to overcome the barriers between reality, imagination and fantasy, blurring the line between life and death. Having studied the motives of the author’s use of elements of mysticism and folklore in the novel Laughter and Tears, it can be argued that they are the driving force of the narrative and are pivotal for the plot of the novel, developing and deepening it’s theme about the fate of people and interpersonal relationships.