**4. Conclusions**

The two approaches, transplantation and improvement, have illustrated how Daoism has shaped the adaptation of the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju. Because of the conviction in Daoism in Sichuan, dramatists of the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju usually transplant Daoist immortals to adapt the original tales. For the same reason, it has been argued that Daoist priests are always positive in the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, and many improvements in these characters can be observed in the dramatization. Furthermore, the influence of Daoism upon Liaozhaixi can be more fully understood under the argumen<sup>t</sup> of the "eventual

confluence" between religions and dramas in Chinese folk culture (Zhang 1993, pp. 1–10). The term of eventual confluence means that religions and dramas will unite and become inseparable as the final stage of their development because dramas have to rely on religions for survival, and religions also see dramas as an advocacy tool to attract more believers. As regards the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, we can clearly find an eventual confluence of the dramas and religions. For the dramatists of the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, an indispensable consideration is how to make their works more popular and acceptable in a new cultural environment. Daoism is probably an excellent tool for the dramatists because it not only frequently appears in *Strange Tales* but also has suffused the folk culture and belief in Sichuan. Therefore, incorporating Daoism in the dramatization is likely to enhance the acceptability and popularity of the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju. In turn, the plots concerning Daoist characters derived from these scripts also embellish Daoism and advocate Daoist ideologies.

Furthermore, the study does not merely argue the influence of Daoism upon the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju but also illustrates the grea<sup>t</sup> academic potential of Liaozhaixi, which needs to be further examined. Because of the exclusive conviction in Daoism, the Liaozhaixi of Chuanju, as this study has argued, provides an exceptional insight to broaden the argumen<sup>t</sup> of the influence of Daoism upon Chinese theatre. In the same vein, it can be expected that the Liaozhaixi of other operas or other areas could provide some exclusive and insightful research potential as well. Since Liaozhaixi, as discussed at the beginning of the study, spans no fewer than 150 types of traditional Chinese operas, depending on the grea<sup>t</sup> number, the research space is also promising. As time goes on, more scripts of Liaozhaoxi could become available to us, and more discoveries can be expected there.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
