Dreaming the Seven-Colored Flower: Eastern and Western approaches to dreams in Chinese folk literature.(Critical Essay)

THE ROLE OF DREAMS in Chinese folktales is an ambiguous one with no definitive answer as to whether the portrayal of dream states seems to fit what has been said in the West (Freud, Jung, and others), or whether non-Western (Native American, Asian) conceptions of dream states and their significance are better suited to understanding the significance of dreams in Chinese folk literature. Underlying any discussion of dreams in Chinese folk literature, however, are considerations of universality related to concerns regarding the appropriateness of using "alien" (that is, foreign) thought systems to examine aspects of cultures whose roots lie outside the Western tradition, and whose application might be regarded as a type of cultural imperialism. While many feel that using Western theoretical constructions to examine and make sense of non-Western literature, thought, and art is acceptable, warnings must be taken seriously and used in an effort to avoid erroneous conclusions resulting from cultural chauvinism. (1)

Dream interpretation has long held importance in the culture of China, a practice perhaps encouraged by the central role of ancestor worship in Chinese society since the most ancient times. It is speculated that ancestor worship strengthened the belief that dreams carried crucial messages necessary for performance of duties toward one's ancestors, and that through dreams the departed offered instruction in the affairs of the living (FANG and ZHANG 2000, 11). As early as the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth to eleventh centuries BC), official positions in the imperial courts existed for those specializing in dream interpretation and other forms of divination, and though such official positions disappeared by the Han, dream interpretation remained central both in the court and daily life of the people (FANG and ZHANG 2000, 16; ONG 1985, 29-36).

While the history of dream interpretation in Chinese culture is complex, and approaches to understanding dreams changed throughout the centuries, (2) dreams in folk literature, I will argue in this paper, appear to preserve certain archaic elements from the earliest periods in Chinese society of a shamanic nature involving contact with the spirit realm. (3) Specifically, I suggest that particular elements that are preserved in some dreams in Chinese folklore are similar in structure and form to shamanic experiences as elaborated by Mircea Eliade, and that this similarity allows for an analysis of these elements as genuine representations of a type of shamanic experience (within the context of the folktale, of course).

The following is a curious tale of a young girl who seems, for a period of time, to move into another dimension, and upon returning finds she has a gift that will allow her to help others in a profound way. This story is interesting for several reasons, not the least being that it combines a profound lesson with a genuinely strange voyage that brings into question accepted ideas about the nature of reality.

 
   THE SEVEN-COLORED FLOWER 
 
   Long, long ago, there was a pretty little girl who lived beside 
   the sea. She was bright and lovely. There were three people in her 
   family: her mother, her father, and her. Her parents loved her 
   very much, and she loved them too. They lived a happy life in a 
   little house by the sea. 
 
      Every evening the girl sat by the shore and looked at the wide 
   sea. She often thought about the things on the other side of the 
   sea and wondered what happened there. She longed to go there very 
   much. 
 
      One night she had a beautiful dream. She saw a big, magnificent 
   ship coming from the other side of the sea, stopping near her 
   house. She was interested in the ship, so she boarded it and hid 
   herself in a corner. The ship set out and, after six days, arrived 
   at the shore. People began to take things out of the ship and 
   found the girl, whom they took to see the king at his palace. At 
   the palace, the girl saw an old man in golden clothing who turned 
   out to be the king. This king had no daughter, so when he saw the 
   little girl and found her to be lovely, he wished her to stay with 
   him in his palace. The king asked her where she was from, and she 
   replied, telling him all about her home and her family. She agreed 
   to stay on and live as his daughter. 
 
      At first the girl lived happily in the palace, but after a 
   month she thought about her parents and began to cry. The king 
   asked her what was wrong, so she told him that she missed her 
   family and wished to go back home. This made the king very sad, 
   for he knew that he would never see the lovely little girl again. 
   At last he agreed. Before she left, however, he wished to give her 
   a present, so he took her to his treasure room and told her to 
   choose something that she found beautiful. As she gazed into the 
   room, she found it full of fabulous treasures. Suddenly her eyes 
   fell upon a dazzling seven-colored flower made of jewels. She 
   liked it very much so she chose it, and the king told her that the 
   flower would allow her to make seven wishes come true. She thanked 
   the king and went off to sleep for the night. 
 
      When the girl awoke in her own bed, she found the seven-colored 
   flower lying by her side. She recalled her strange and beautiful 
   dream as she lay there. When she finally got up, she accidentally 
   knocked a vase off the table that belonged to her mother, a vase 
   her mother treasured. The girl was frightened, but then she 
   remembered the flower and the king's promise. She picked one petal 
   of the flower and said, "Make my mother's vase as good as new." No 
   sooner had she said this than the vase appeared in perfect 
   condition on the table. The girl was happy and thanked the king in 
   her mind. 
 
      The next day the girl was playing with a companion who had a 
   toy, while she had none. This made her angry, so she picked 
   another petal of the flower and said, "I want to have many toys." 
   Immediately a pile of toys appeared. The pile of toys got bigger 
   and bigger without stopping. The girl quickly picked another petal 
   and said, "Please, flower, take these toys back," and the toys 
   promptly disappeared. Her companion was dumbfounded. 
 
      After a year, the girl had only one petal of the seven-colored 
   flower left. One day she saw an unfortunate boy who had no legs. 
   The girl asked him what had happened, and he replied that when he 
   was a child, an accident took away his legs. From that day on, he 
   told the girl, he never played with other children or even by 
   himself, but he dreamed of walking and playing ...