The Making of Myths: Legends of the Building of Old Peking

A talk by University of Washington's Professor Hok-lam Chan on his recent book, Legends of the Building of Old Peking.

Tuesday, December 2, 12:00PM, Cherpack Lounge

This talk is based on a review of Hok-lam Chan's recent book, Legends of the Building of Old Peking , jointly published by the Chinese University Press in Hong Kong and the University of Washington Press in 2008. It examines a series of popular legends surrounding the building and rebuilding of imperial cities in modern Beijing --most commonly known as Peking in Western literature-- that served as the capital of a succession of dynasties. They included the Nazha or Nezha City of the “Great Capital” (Dadu) of the Mongol-Yuan dynasty (1272-1368) and the “Northern Capital”(Bei-jing) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644);. and the Mongolian legend of “siting by bowshot to locate the capital city” and its Chinese adaptations. Within a historical context, these legends feature the miraculous deeds of supernatural beings such as the Tantric Buddhist child deity Nazha (Nezha), Heavenly King Vaisravana, the Daoist Dark God (Zhenwu), and the sea demon Dragon King, all of which are intertwined with the exploits of romanticized historical personages such as Liu Bingzhong, Liu Bowen (i.e. Liu Ji ), Yao Guangxiao, and Shen Wansan. Meticulous research in Chinese and Mongolian historical and folkloric materials reveal in these legends a rich tapestry of religious and cultural traditions surrounding the Chinese and non-Han perceptions of the origins of the capital cities and within these contexts the aspirations for an ideal habitat and cultural environment. The legends and their evolution over several centuries are quite distinct from imperial ideologies and dynastic designs as they are transformed under changing political and cultural circumstances through the skillful recycling of old traditions. They unveil a unique dimension of the historical origins of the building of old Peking as well as the genesis and efflorescence of related popular culture in the modern capital of China .