From monomyth to localized narrative: features of universality and uniqueness of Chinese heroic narratives

This article examines Chinese heroic narratives, identifying both their universal characteristics within the framework of Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" model and their cultural specificities. The aim of the work is to overcome the limitations of the Western "monomyth" theory and to substantiate the necessity of constructing a localized theoretical framework for the adequate analysis of Chinese source material. Representative samples from classical Chinese literature, myths, legends, and folktales were selected as the research material. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining theories from cultural studies, narratology, and Chinese philosophy to investigate Chinese heroic narratives. A key innovation lies in the systematic identification of the specific features of the Chinese hero through the lens of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. It is demonstrated that the hero's "Departure" is often motivated by duty rather than a personal calling; the "Initiation" involves moral self-cultivation and adherence to the "Golden Mean"; and the "Return" can be tragic or expressed as a withdrawal from the world, reflecting the Daoist concept of "non-action" (wuwei) and the Buddhist notion of karma. The results show that Chinese philosophical ideas, such as Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist concepts, have exerted a significant influence on the narratives of indigenous Chinese heroes. Confucianism shapes the heroes' ideal personality and moral code, Daoism endows the heroes with a natural, transcendent temperament, and the Buddhist concept of karmic retribution enriches the narrative content. This study introduces a Chinese research perspective into the study of heroic narratives and emphasizes the unique value of Chinese heroic literature.

characters' images, monomyth, hero's journey, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, localized narrative, glocalization, universals, uniqueness