Individual Autonomy and Responsibility in Late Imperial China By ...

inner inconsistency of the cause-effect relation and certain contradictions reveal that “the entire framework of karmic retribution may be reduced to essentially a structural function, one of aesthetic rather than doctrinal significance.”¹⁸⁷ Thus in terms of their ideological inspiration Plaks sees the karmic references rather as the syncretic “Confucianization” of the Buddhist discourse as “the causal link between actions and consequences as worked out through the dynamics of human relations.”

Apparently discordant voices on moral responsibility may be found in various passages where life is compared to theater, and men to puppets: “The world is a Pear Garden and human beings are puppets. Once we play our roles on a stage, no matter what the plot is—grief or joy, separation or union—we have to fully live up to the billing. We cannot stop playing until the song ends and the audience leaves” (大地梨園, 人生傀儡, 但使登場扮演, 無論悲歡離合, 務使各盡關目, 曲終人散而後止). ¹⁸⁸ Even though this image may be considered a stereotyped metaphor, this comparison implies the idea of absence or great limitation of human autonomy. Nevertheless, it could be used from different perspectives. For instance, Wang Yangming uses the same allegory in one of his poems, but he does not intend to question human responsibility as he stresses the consequences of becoming a slave to passions and desires. Other cases point out the illusory nature of life like a theatrical performance, as Buddhist warning.

The Jinghuayuan 鏡花緣 (The Destiny of the Flowers Reflecting in the Mirror), by Li Ruzhen 李汝珍 (1763–1830), is a novel of 100 chapters and opens with the punishment of the Spirits of Flowers, banished to the world below to live as mortal girls, and ends with the restoration of the Tang dynasty. Fate is very present, as well as the concern with how future events are predetermined; “Since fate was like this, there was nothing to be done about it” (這是氣數如此，莫可如何). Predestination is confirmed on the basis of the existence of natural processes like roots determining the blossoms, and iron being attracted to magnets.¹⁸⁹ Nevertheless, humans have the possibility to change their destiny, thanks to the magic