Textual Criticism And Discuss About The Novels Of Talent And Learning Of The Qing Dynasty

On the basis of the previous study by excellent elites and through the survey on thecultural ecology of the scholarship novels, the comparison of the scholarship novelswith the other types of novels and the detailed text analysis of six famous scholarshipnovels from the early Qing Dynasty to mid-Qing Dynasty, I try to recover the truefeatures of the scholarship novels and at the same time explore the gist and aestheticcharacteristics, as well as the cultural connotation and cultural evolution of thescholarship novels in order to have an objective judgment on its status in thedevelopmental history of ancient China.In the first chapter I aim to clarify the origin of this type of novel and embark on adiachronic study on the novels. In its origin, I believe the recorded history of thesenovels corresponds with the function of the unofficial while in its valuing the rhetoricand research it is influenced by the tradition of Chinese poetry and history. In therheological aspect, I hold that the novel is undoubtedly influenced by the ghost novelsin Han and Wei dynasties, the legend novels in Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties,Huaben fictions in Song and Yuan dynasties and other traditional novels. Thus this typeof novels has absorbed a wide range of strong points from others'.The second chapter aims to reveal the relationship between this type of novelsinitiating from the early Qing Dynasty till booming in the mid-Qing Dynasty and thetradition of studying classics in Confucian as well as the cultural ecology in the QingDynasty. It was believed that the novel's change in Qing Dynasty is a result of not onlythe development and evolution of the ancient novels themselves, but also the influenceof atmosphere of real learning, epistemology of inquiring and the imperial examinationsystem in the Qing Dynasty. The scholarship novels, the development of the idealistphilosophy of the Ming and Qing and Qing Dynasty academic trend are a dynamic andinterdependent combination of ecological and cultural systems.In the third chapter I aim to compare and contrast the subject matters of scholarshipnovels in talking about learning, showing off knowledge and rhetoric and that of otherschools of ancient novels such as the worldly novels, historical novels, ghost stories andhero novels and embark on synchronic study of scholarly novels. It was believed that the general tendency of the scholarly novels from the early Qing Dynasty to mid-QingDynasty is to follow the structure of the four great masterpieces of Ming dynasty.Meanwhile, in subject matters it presents a fusion of them, that is, to break theboundaries of four great masterpieces of Ming dynasty and mix several subjects up inthe novel. It argues on the levels of style, technique of expression and theme ofscholarship novels, their aesthetics characteristics is fiction-centered with many otherstyles, presenting the beauty of the language and rhetoric, the history of learning andother miscellaneous kinds of arts and its aim is to achieve the purpose of expressingideas and emotions by shaping the characters.The fourth chapter aims to study two works of scholarship novels from the earlyperiod: Continued Golden Lotus is known as a scholarship novel combined withGuicang Buddhism, history and school of Golden Lotus and The Vegetation in Springand Autumn is a novel showing Chinese herbal medicine knowledge. According to threehistorical data about The Vegetation in Spring and Autumn found in local chronicles ofShanghai library, the author of The Vegetation in Spring and Autumn isn't Jiang Hong,but Wang Jia in late Ming and early Qing Dynasty.The Chapter Five mainly studies the four-six style novel Yan Shan Wai Shi. It is ascholarship novel to display the beauty of language, paralleled to Zhang Zhuo's FairyCave in Tang Dynasty as the longest paralleled prose novels. The three real themes ofYan Shan Wai Shi are to present free love and independent marriage, to show theallegory and reflection in the imperial examination system, not negative or critical, tohold the attitude toward bureaucracy and the court, not only revealing, but also thinkingabout how to protect the people and the country.The sixth chapter mainly studies The History of Yin, the longest classical Chinesenovel in the history. The book is a popular scholarship novel marked with rhetoric. Itargues that the motive of Tu Shen showing off his talent and learning is that he got hisachievement in his early time but his official career was full of ups and downs, hence hewrote such subject matters to vent out his anger. The History of Yin is based on thehistorical materials during the times of Qianlong and Jiaqing and is characterized byhistory but aims at persuading. The focal point of the novel is the issue of order anddisorder in the so-called prosperous periods of Qianlong and Jiaqing, whose core isaround the talent. The author expressed the view of those who devalue the talent will perish and those who value the talent will prosper, that is, the talent is the key of thenation's prosperity.Chapter Seven studies Ye Sou Pu Yan, a peak masterpiece in the novel of showingoff talent and learning, whose Guicang knowledge obviously belongs to school ofphilosophical connotation. Xia Jingqu's academic thinking is mainly from the influenceof this school. In the narrative method, Ye Sou Pu Yan used unity-of-home-and-countrynarrative pattern and its line is the hero Wen Suchen' life and concept of value. Theaesthetic characteristic feature in Ye Sou Pu Yan is the art of writing strangeness, withwhich writing learning and writing love and ambition have an influence on Ye Sou PuYan at three different levels, making it an artist whole with strong taste. Ye Sou Pu Yan'scultural characteristic feature lies in excluding Buddhism and Taoism but valuing theConfucian, which inherits the idealist philosophy of Cheng and Zhu and returns to theoriginal Confucian school, and stand up to mental philosophy of Lu and Wang as anequal, belonging to a rising neo-Confucianism in the Qing Dynasty among the three.This is also its nature of thought and cultural evolution.Chapter Eight mainly studies Jing Hua Yuan so called Encyclopedia of all Treasures.The book follows the path of school of textual criticism to show off the talent andlearning. According to historical materials in Record of Jinshi in the Same Year made byLi Weichun, Li Ruzhen's family background is careful verified and it is confirmed thatLi Ruzhen was appointed twice as an alternative county magistrate in Henan, but didn'tobtain the permanent status after the one-year expiration. It argues that the scholarshipin Jing Hua Yuan is mainly about the historical classics, intelligence and fun learning.On the aesthetic level Jing Hua Yuan has a comment of san shi and si shi whose natureis a sacred wording, one of China's traditional narrative concept. Cultural spirit ofUtopia in Li Ruzhen's writing is Confucian-outside and Taoism-inside, showing thecharacteristics of regression in the Confucian fundamentalism.