Uniwersyteckie Czasopisma NaukoweMityzacja świata przedstawionego w powieści "Kroniki Eksplozji" Yan Lianke
Abstrakt
This article discusses the function of mythologisation in the fictional universe of The Explosion Chronicles by the Chinese writer Yan Lianke. The novel contains numerous references to phenomena and situations of a phantasmagorical nature, which at the same time bear the hallmarks of myth. Knowledge of the constitutive features of myth makes possible a more complete understanding of the function of the literary devices employed by Yan Lianke in the above-mentioned novel, as well as an analysis of the myth-forming elements at various levels of the creation of the fictional world, including the narrative, characters, time, and place. The article describes two types of narrative used in the novel and how they complement each other to reveal the absurdities of the Chinese reality to which the novel refers. The next part introduces Joseph Campbell’s concept of “masks” enveloped in his theory of myth, and explains how characters in the novel create their own or other people’s perceptions.
The article also touches on the aspect of mythological time, explaining why the plot does not follow a logical time sequence, while elaborating on the symbolic meaning of the different seasons and the function of time inconsistencies in the novel. The last part of the article focuses on the place and space described in The Explosion Chronicles. The author of the article explains the role of Chinese symbolism in describing space, as well as the directions taken by certain characters, and use the concept of imago mundi to explain the significance of mythical creation in relation to the characters’ sense of confusion in the dynamically developing city of Explosion.
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