Wonder in the Sou shen ji

This thesis explores the applicability of theories and notions of the fantastic, the uncanny, the strange, and the uses of wonder in Six Dynasties zhiguai texts. By re-examining Freuds notion of the uncanny and Todorovs notion of the fantastic, used by other scholars in their analysis of zhiguai, this thesis attempts to achieve a better understanding of the Sou shen ji in its own context. This thesis proposes, as an alternative to Freud and Todorov, that Aristotles notion of wonder plays a significant role in Gan Baos fourth-century Sou shen ji. It concludes that Western theory can be used to discuss Six Dynasties Chinese literature, but only after the assumptions of Western theory are accounted for and compared closely with the assumptions of the historical Chinese context in question.