Ritual and Narrative: An Analysis of Survival Resilience in Folk Shamanic Rituals in Tales of Hulan River

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.