Ritual and Narrative: An Analysis of Survival Resilience in Folk Shamanic Rituals in Tales of Hulan River
Qi Zhao, Ruijia Zhang
Religions July 16, 2026 DOI: 10.3390/rel17070852 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Narrative Resilience materials science Contingency Psychological resilience Oral literature Aesthetics Folk culture Anthropology |
| Key points | Argues that folk shamanic rituals in Tales of Hulan River embody a mechanism of survival resilience across material, spiritual, and cultural dimensions, which has been overlooked in prior scholarship. |
Abstract
Due to its brilliant literary narrative and profound ideas, Xiao Hong’s Tales of Hulan River has had a profound influence on the history of Chinese modern literature. Academia has conducted in-depth discussions on Tales of Hulan River, but these have largely overlooked the folk shamanic rituals and their crucial significance in this novel. The expression of literary narrative ideas cannot be studied independently without the folk shamanic ritual’s survival resilience. Starting from the dimensions of material, spiritual, and cultural resilience, this article discusses the folk shamanic rituals in Tales of Hulan River, and is dedicated to constructing the mechanism of survival resilience. Material resilience is reflected in the most reasonable choice under limited material conditions, the cultivation of critical thinking, and the understanding of contingency and eternity; spiritual resilience is reflected in the pursuit of transcendence, the provision of psychological comfort, and the emphasis on the motivation of goodness; cultural resilience is reflected in establishing the common goal of the community, cultivating pragmatic cultural values, and maintaining the sustainability of folk shamanic rituals.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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State of the evidence: Shamanism Supports
Argues that folk shamanic rituals in Tales of Hulan River embody a mechanism of survival resilience across material, spiritual, and cultural dimensions that prior scholarship has overlooked.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |