The Allure of the Mystical

Alma M. Karlin (1889–1950), a world traveller and German-language travel fiction writer, cultivated keen interest in religious beliefs practices of the places she visited, believing Romantic notion religion as distilled soul nations well Theosophical presumption that all religions are just particular iterations an underlying universal truth. For this reason, topic was central to both her personal professional identity explorer writer. This article examines attitudes East Asian religio-philosophical traditions, by focusing on two versions unpublished manuscript Glaube und Aberglaube im Fernen Osten, which presents attempt turn successful writing into ethnographic text. The content discourse analyses demonstrate influence comparative studies late 19th century, newer ethnological approaches from century. On one hand, adopts binary opposition (represented Buddhism, Shintoism, Daoism Confucianism) or somewhat more broadly conceived belief, superstition (e.g. wondering ghosts, fox fairies), assumes purity textual traditions over lived practices. At same time, is fascinated what perceives mystical practices, finds creatively inspiring marketable subjects writing.