A Study On The Mentalities Of Scholars Of Northern Dynasty

Northern Dynasty literature has been least explored in ancient literary studies for a variety of complicated reasons. The present dissertation, starting from the perspective of the mentality of men of letters, delves into the mentalities of scholars of Northern Dynasty, a non-organizational group, in different historical periods. This dissertation aims to explore the universal or representative mentalities of scholars in different periods of Northern Dynasty and the impacts different social circumstances had on the mentalities of the scholars, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a better understanding of the evolution of the mentalities of these scholars and its influence on the development of literature. After briefing the perspective and methodologies adopted for the present study in the introduction, this dissertation presents in the seven chapters, which constitute the main body of the study, a detailed analysis of various aspects of the mentalities of the scholars in different periods of Northern Dynasty, anatomizing the research into literature of various periods from the viewpoint of mentality to explore the inherent relationship between the changes in mentality on the part of these scholars and the development of the literature of Northern Dynasty. Methodologically speaking, the present study draws upon research methods in history, psychology (group psychology in particular) and sociology in combination with Chinese traditional literary theorizing; equal attention is paid to analyzing the universality of group mentality and prominent individual mentality, and special emphasis is placed on integrating textual criticism and theoretical analysis of historical data.