Prototypic Analysis And Regenerative Myth "Journey To The West"

Prototypic analysis which was introduced into China in the late 20th century has been accepted by Chinese scholars. The research based on prototypic analysis attempts to find out the imagery, the structure of story, and prototype of characters repeated in the literature works, the underlying prototype of myth, as well as the aesthetic contribution made by prototype of myth to the literature.The journey to the west, which is the great literature work created in the later Ming Dynasty, is not only one of the most important classic novels in ancient China, but also a literature work of myth which represents a transitional period in ancient China's myth. The work embodies the writer's own thoughts and times' characteristics. There are various elements that contribute to the prototype of myth in the work, the cultural annotations of which and the ways in which these elements contribute to the creation of work's aesthetic values is worthy our studies.Based on the theory of prototypic analysis, this paper attempts to analyze the prototype of myth created in The journey to the west, which will unveil the aesthetic contribution made by prototype of myth to the work of myth.The paper consists of 3 relatively independent chapters which are supported with each other in their representation of objective research. The research made in the paper is based on not only theoretic studies but also textual analysis. It is an attempt to analyze the Chinese ancient classic works with the west literature criticism.