The Study On Imperial Examination Novels Of Xie Duo

Shen Qifeng,a writer in the Qing Dynasty,regarded the imperial examination as one of the important themes of his novel Xie Duo.Shen Qifeng wrote about the social reality of the imperial examination with the mentality of guiding people and the humorous writing style,and expressed his thinking and criticism of the imperial examination system.The description of the imperial examination in Xie Duo is quite typical both in quantity and quality,and it is a text material that can not be ignored in the study of the imperial examination and the novel,with very rich connotation.Taking Shen Qifeng’s experience,writing content and artistic technique as the starting point,this paper analyzes how the writer integrated individual life into text creation,and constructed a broad space for the criticism of the imperial culture based on individual experience,and then explores the role and status of Xie Duo of imperial examination novels in Qing Dynasty.As far as Shen Qifeng’s experience is concerned,the road of his imperial examination was very difficult.After more than ten years of hard work in the examination,the writer’s attitude of drifting away and withdrawal was born.However,the operation mechanism of the imperial examination system in the feudal society made countless scholars under the shadow of the imperial examination.Shen Qifeng ’s imperial examination thought did not break away from the shackles of the times.The recognition of the imperial examination system reflected the universal imperial examination value of literati in the Qing Dynasty from an individual perspective.In addition,the multiple identities of scholar,dramatist and teacher made writer’s reflections on the imperial examination system more complex and pluralistic.In the peaceful world,the official career was congested,the living space of the lower literati was squeezed,and the upper lost the basic decency and morality.Based on this,it became the inevitable writing choice for Shen Qifeng to reveal the inner heart of the literati,criticize the lack of humanistic spirit and the accumulated disadvantages of the imperial examination system.Shen Qifeng took the characters as the core,examined the various forms of scholars,and outlined the group of imperial scholars.Shen Qifeng wrote about the pain of failed scholars,looked directly at the pale spiritual world of the declining generation of scholars,denounced the officials skilled in flattery,and extended his writing to the celebrities,staff and women who were in contact with the imperial examination culture.In a panoramic manner,Shen Qifeng restored many contradictions and crux of the imperial examination society.His active reconstruction of the ideal scholar image showed strong social concern and humanistic care.The novels about the imperial examination in Xie Duo also had considerable attainments in artistic techniques,and the organic integration of the humorous plot and the seriousness of the main theme was its most prominent feature.The funny but solemn writing style was the key to avoid shallow narration.Behind the elaborate and elegant scenes was writer’s conscious pursuit of the art of imperial examination novels.The penetration of eight-part essay elements made the novel fully demonstrate the writer’s ingenious literary thinking in the aspects of structure,language and cultural connotation,which showed the influence of eight-part writing on the creation of novels from one side,and could also be regarded as a meaningful attempt of the writer’s creation.From the perspective of comparative study,the similarities and differences between Xie Duo and Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio and The Scholars showed that the novels about the imperial examination in Xie Duo had their own features,and the novelists in Qing Dynasty had extremely complex thoughts and emotions towards the imperial examination system.Shen Qifeng and Pu Songling showed different themes and styles in writing the imperial examination subjects because of their different understandings of the imperial examination system.Xie Duo abandoned the romantic fantasy in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio and replaced it with a more cold and rational criticism;Xie Duo and The Scholars showed the style characteristics of deliberate and tactful in the art of imperial examination irony respectively.However,in terms of the connotation of the novels,both works exposed the alienation of scholars’ behaviors and style of learning due to the imperial examination with a calm attitude,and made a difficult exploration of the spiritual way out of the literati.