The Legend of Miaoshan

The tale of a devout Buddhist girl who separates from her family and through suffering and death finally achieves divine status is a myth of religious celibacy, of filial piety, and of ritual salvation of the dead. It also presents a major symbol of the tension in women's lives between individual spiritual fulfilment and the imperatives of family duty. This is a new edition of the first full study of this important and influential Chinese legend.