Use this Template for your Abstract Exercise I. Do not create another word document, otherwise I will return your paper.
Grading Template: Each abstract will earn you 10 points.
5 points for your correct understanding of the article (Don't get anything wrong from the article);
3 points for comprehensiveness (Don't miss anything significant in the article);
2 points for your writing (40-60 would be a safe range. If your abstract is shorter than 40 and longer than 60 words, you lose 1 point. Please write coherent sentences, otherwise you lose 1 point.)
Writing Tips:
Don't repeat the title of the article, but the title always indicates what the subject matter of the article is.
Browse the article, paying particular attention to introduction, conclusion, and section titles.
Compare your abstract with the abstract that appears before the main content of the article. Make sure you do not miss or misunderstand anything.
Go to the Writing Center should you need any help, especially if you write in a non-native language. This course is an opportunity to improve ACADEMIC reading and ACADEMIC writing skills.
Abstract Exercise I
Robin Mcneal, “Constructing Myth in Modern China.” (50-word, 10 points)
This paper is a study of Chinese scholars as they try to modernize Chinese myths. Inspired by the significance of Western mythology, modern Chinese intellectuals have been trying to reintegrate mythological traits to legendary Chinese figures. Modernizing these myths led to the construction of monuments that celebrate these myths, which shows how the role of Chinese myth has changed.
Isomae Jun'ichi, "Reappropriating the Japanese Myths: Motoori Norinaga and the Creation Myths of the Kojiki and Nihon shoki.” (50-word, 10 points)
Japanese scholar Motoori Norinaga interpreted Japanese myth to fit his own stylistic preferences for emotionality. Instead of emphasizing what might have been the original purpose or meaning of a Japanese myth, he chose instead to emphasize the Kojiki version of the myth instead of the Nihon shoki, for the purpose of expressing his theory of mono no aware.
Mark Meulenbeld, “Invention of the Novel: From Stage Act and Temple Ritual to Literary Text.” (50-word, 10 points)
This chapter looks into how Western Christian missionaries have found in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries that the Chinese novel and theater is the foundation of history and belief system or religion. Novels describe protagonists as historical figures instead of literary ones, and the theater is the medium for which the Chinese would exercise traditions in religious festivals.
Mark Meulenbeld, “King Wu’s Sacred History: the Conquest of Inimical Gods.” (50-word, 10 points)
This chapter analyzes Canonization of the Gods in relation to Daoist ritual principles. A novel about violent spirits that threaten the fabric of society, Canonization actually uses historical figures to tell the story of the fall of the Shang dynasty with supernatural elements mixed into it. The inclusion of gods and mythic beings is thus an expression of Chinese religion.
Please summarize what you have learned in this unit. (100-word, 10 points)
In this assignment, I felt that I have written very vague abstracts in order to fit them within the 40-60 word range. As far as Chinese and Japanese religions are concerned, they seem to follow a trend of mixing spiritual and supernatural elements to their histories and historical legends. However, it seems that over time, the relationship with those myths have fluctuated. For a time, there was complete removal of any supernatural elements from these historical accounts, and the return to these themes is influenced heavily by modernist scholars. They are using their own theories to create a new way to understand these old myths instead of reviving them to their true forms.
