It is unnecessary to labour the point further, because after the Sung
epoch we do not meet with any period of new mythological creation,
and its absence can be ascribed to no other cause than its defeat at
the hands of the Sung philosophers. After their time the tender plant
was always in danger of being stunted or killed by the withering blast
of philosophical criticism. Anything in the nature of myth ascribable
to post-Sung times can at best be regarded only as a late blossom
born when summer days are past.


Myth and Doubt

It will bear repetition to say that unless the myth-builder firmly
believes in his myth, be he the layer of the foundation-stone or one
of the raisers of the superstructure, he will hardly make it a living
thing. Once he believes in reincarnation and the suspension of natural
laws, the boundless vistas of space and the limitless æons of time are
opened to him. He can perform miracles which astound the world. But
if he allow his mind to inquire, for instance, why it should have been
necessary for Elijah to part the waters of the Jordan with his garment
in order that he and Elisha might pass over dryshod, or for Bodhidharma
to stand on a reed to cross the great Yangtzu River, or for innumerable
Immortals to sit on 'favourable clouds' to make their journeys through
space, he spoils myth--his child is stillborn or does not survive to
maturity. Though the growth of philosophy and decay of superstition
may be good for a nation, the process is certainly conducive to the
destruction of its myth and much of its poetry. The true mythologist
takes myth for myth, enters into its spirit, and enjoys it.

We may thus expect to find in the realm of Chinese mythology a large