On Religious Views and the Author's Contradictory Attitude Toward Religions in LIN Lan-xiang

A number of description concerning religions is involved in the novel LIN Lan-xiang which, however, has the contradictory attitude toward religions. And the author of the novel holds negative attitude toward them. He adheres to the orthodox Confucianism, and takes Buddhism and Taoism as heresies. He has revealed emptiness of them, and shown the evil and ugliness of monks and Taoist priests. But at the same time he has been influenced by the two religions. In his work are shown some Buddhist and Taoist concepts, especially the interpretation of life which also falls into the worldly exclamation “life like a dream”. The novel has described the YAN Meng-qing's change from exclusion of Buddhism to becoming a Buddhist. It expresses the author's passive and gloomy life through the protagonist's experience, which has immerged the whole book in a strong color of disillusion and gloom.