Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T00:18:23.769Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Chinese Ghosts in Comparative Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2022

Mu-Chou Poo
Affiliation:
The University of Hong Kong
Get access

Summary

As has been discussed in Chapter 1, we consider ghosts as cultural constructions, yet they also helped to construct the cultural landscape that they belonged to. Although ghosts have an imaginary existence, the world would not be complete without them. Some of the most important messages and most profound reflections about life are done with the agency of ghosts. The descriptions about the nature and behavior of ghosts, whether in literary texts or in religious documents, help us to trace and identify these messages and reflections. These reflections could be understood as comments on ethical or moral values, or the fairness of justice. They could also express specific personal grievances or general remarks on worldly affairs, and they often could not avoid the themes of the love of life or the meaning of death. Although these reflections may be generally found in and are applicable to many cultures, their specific contexts dictate how they were formulated. Each culture therefore constructs its own types of ghost according to its predilections. By studying these, and comparing one with the others, it is possible to dig deeper into the cultural psychology and gain some understanding of certain aspects of the uniqueness of each culture, and, moreover, through the identification of shared values, to appreciate this uniqueness within the context of a common humanity.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×