茅盾以現代文學家名世，然而他對中國神話也會有過一番深刻精闢的研究，學界已普遍認同他在中國神話學史上為重要奠基者之一的地位。而從茅盾的神話研究著作中，往往可看出他對中華民族的熱忱及強烈的使命感。從茅盾在文學上欲借鑑西洋以創立一中國自有的新文學開始，到他將文學上的訴求反映到他的神話研究中，採用富有理性、科學進步意義的人類學派神話理論，並排除他認為是封建迷信的道教仙話，以至於透過中西神話比較以顯示中國神話並不遜色，甚而不滿西方對中國神話錯誤的界定，企圖從散雜的材料中，建立中國自我之神話體系的一系列過程中，茅盾的國族情結皆反映在其中，而這些國族情節的表現，也正反映著晚清末年、民國初年這大時代中國知識份子救國、建立民族自信心的熱切訴求

Mao Dun had painstakingly researched into Chinese myths and hence gains popular acknowledge from the academic circle that considers him one of the key founders of Chinese mythology. Mao Dun's writings about fairy tales often reveal the nationalism, and this study will discuss this point in the following lines. He used western literatures for reference to create a neo-Chinese literature in order to apply his appeal to his study of mythology. He first analyzed Chinese mythology in a rational, scientific aspect of anthropology by excluding feudal, superstitious Tao fairy stories. He also emphasized the equality of Chinese myths with western ones by comparing the two. He even created the system of Chinese mythology by compiling up scattered related literatures. These demonstrate Mao Dun's nationalism, and it is this very complex that reflects intellectuals' fervent patriotism in early years of the Republic of China