**3. The Two Approaches: Transplantation and Improvement**

At the outset, I would like to briefly clarify the methodology before the main discussion. As the study aims to examine the influence of Daoism in the dramatization of Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, the argumen<sup>t</sup> mainly rests on the comparison between the original tales and the adapted scripts. The comparison enables us to clearly recognize how Daoism has shaped the Liaozhaixi's adaption of the original tales.

Moreover, I do not want to reduce the forthcoming argumen<sup>t</sup> to an unsorted and simple insertion of some Daoist characters, plots and doctrines. Instead, to highlight how Daoism has shaped the dramatization of Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, the study has sorted the relevant resources and summarized the influence of Daoism into two typical adaptation approaches or manners: "transplantation" and "improvement". Before the main discussion, it is necessary to clarify what the two approaches mean in the study and why they are so important and could contribute to our understanding of the relation between Daoism and Chinese theatre.

Transplantation, in the present study, manifests an attempt at linking or integrating the storyline of the original tale with the beliefs and worships of some inserted Daoist immortals and mythologies. Technically, most scripts of the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju have substantially preserved the storyline of the original tale. At the same time, because Chuanju has long been imbued with Daoism, some Daoist characters, most of whom are Daoist immortals, are transplanted into the stories in the adaptation. I term the insertion of Daoist immortals as "transplantation" instead merely "insertion" because the dramatization does not merely insert some Daoist immortals. It emphasizes the seamless incorporation of the belief and worship of these transplanted immortals into the storyline of the original tale. As will be discussed below, the transplantation makes the original stories and the inserted Daoist immortals and the worship of themselves inseparable. The other adaptation approach, improvement, is more straightforward and means that Daoist characters in the original tales, most of whom are Daoist priests, are commonly improved and even refined into flawless figures. As can be seen, the two adaption approaches are likely to be shaped by the local belief of Daoism in Sichuan.

Furthermore, the two approaches are fairly exceptional when it comes to the landscape of Chinese theatre, particularly concerning the period of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties (1644–1911). For one thing, in Chinese theatre, apart from those plays adapted from Daoist tales, the insertion of Daoist characters in other themes of dramas is not uncommon though, while notably, these dramas more often employed Daoist immortals as a simple tool to convey the esteem of loyalty, filial piety, and richness (Wang 2007, pp. 45–96). Such a plain and unsophisticated insertion hardly makes a significant difference to the adapted story, nor does it reflect an adequate influence of Daoism upon dramatization. The transplantation of Daoist immortals derived from the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, in contrast, is so exceptional because it manifests a deliberate and sophisticated attempt at linking the storyline and Daoist beliefs and worship which will be unfolded in the forthcoming discussion. For another, in Chinese folk literature, the deconstruction and vilification of Daoism and Daoist priests are often observable probably due to the discouragement of Daoism since the establishment of the Qing Dynasty and other reasons (Wang 2007, pp. 45–96). In contrast, the consistent improvement of Daoism and Daoist priests derived from the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju is therefore fairly exceptional and notable. In summary, although it is less controversial to say that Buddhism outweighs Daoism in its influence upon Chinese theatre today, the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, however, offers an exceptional sample in that Daoism outweighs Buddhism. After clarifying what the two approaches are and why they are so exceptional, the following argumen<sup>t</sup> is also developed from the two approaches.
