*Article* **Ritual, Legend, and Metaphor: Narratives of the Willow in Yuan** *Zaju*

**Qian Wang 1,\* and Qiong Yang 2**


**Abstract:** Narratives of willow trees in Yuan *zaju* 雜劇, or variety play, largely come in three types, namely, the ritual performance of shooting willows; the deliverance of willow spirits by Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoism; and the use of the word willow to refer to women. The willow shooting ritual depicted in Yuan *zaju* was highly reminiscent of the willow shooting ritual popular throughout the Song (960–1279), Liao (916–1125), Jin (1115–1234), and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties, with its conceptual origins traceable to the ancient shamanic belief in the willow as a sacred tree prevalent among the Khitans and Jurchens who lived in what is now northeastern China. The legend of Lü Dongbin delivering a willow spirit to immortality is a recurring motif in Han Chinese folklore and Daoist hagiography, which also finds expression in the iconic image of Guanyin Pusa or Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara holding a willow branch with which they cure diseases for people and bring fulfillment to their wishes. The frequent use of "willow leaf-shaped eyebrows" (*liumei* 柳 眉) and "willow-like waist" (*liuyao* 柳腰) in Yuan *zaju* as metaphorical references to women can be seen as a continuation of the grea<sup>t</sup> literary tradition of *Shijing* 詩經 (The Book of Songs) and also as a dramatic enactment of the fertility cult of the willow and women in Chinese folk religion. Evidence abounds that the narratives about the willow in Yuan *zaju* were not a new creation but an artistic manifestation of centuries-old folk belief and literary tradition.

**Keywords:** willow; Yuan *zaju*; shamanism; legend; ritual; metaphor
