A Study On The Influence Of Buddhism On The Chuanqi Fiction In Tang Dynasty

The Chuanqi fiction is like the exotic flower among the literature in TangDynasty. It is called one of the two wonders in Tang Dynasty. The occurrence ofChuanqi is the marking of the independence of the Chinese ancient fiction. As anarrative literary type, Chuanqi can show the social features, religious beliefs and thepsychology and life of the literati and officialdom in a more direct and vivid way. TheChuanqi fiction originated from the elegant literature such as the historical literature,Zhu-zi prose and fiction in Six Dynasties (that belongs to the prose by nature) etc.Passing the transitional period of the early Tang Dynasty, the Chuanqi fiction came toits prosperity in the middle of Tang Dynasty. Compared to the fiction before TangDynasty, there were weaker sense of religion, the utilitarian color, however, strongertrait of entertainment in the Chuanqi fiction. The Chuanqi tended to be popularized inthe aspect of characters, plot and thought, which could be seen from the fact that thecharacters such as prostitutes and servants who weren’t be accepted by the orthodoxliterature turn to the protagonists in the Chuanqi fiction.Buddhism developed to its heyday during the Sui and Tang Dynasty when thebelief of Buddhism had overspread among the court and the commonalty. Buddhismhad influenced the social life, customs, the scholars’ thought and the literary creationin some way. Buddhism that came to China between Western Han and Eastern HanDynasty had undergone the conflicts and reconciliation with traditional Chinesethoughts and culture during the Six Dynasties period. In the process of conflicts andreconciliation, Buddhism had become one important part of the traditional Chineseculture and thoughts. With the rise of the Zen founded by Huineng in Tang Dynasty,the process of Sinicized Buddhism came to an end. Until the middle of the TangDynasty, the secularization of Buddhism reached the climax that had never occurred before. The track of the sinicization and secularization of Buddhism was inaccordance to that of the formation and development of the Chuanqi fiction. Thepopularization of the Chuanqi fiction was the result of many factors, among which theinfluence of Buddhism couldn’t be ignored. The gradual popularization of theChuanqi fiction had been greatly fuelled by The sinicization and secularization ofBuddhism.In recent years, the research on the influence of the secularization of Buddhismon the popularization of the Chuanqi fiction were lack of the systematic and completestudy. This paper tries to discuss the relationship between the spreading process ofBuddhism in China and the formation and development of the Chuanqi fiction,therefore to expound the influence of the secularization of Buddhism on thepopularization of the Chuanqi fiction.The introduction covers the significance of the topic and the literature review,summarizes the content of the paper and the research methods. Since Buddhism cameto China, the process of sinicization began. During the passed about a hundred yearsof transmission, it had infiltrated into every aspect of life. The Chuanqi fiction in TangDynasty is the mark of the independence of the fiction style. The fermentation andformation of the Chuanqi fiction had close relationship with the sinicizaiton ofBuddhism. The secularization of Buddhism in Tang Dynasty had come to a new phase,which had exerted a subtle influence on the creation of the Chuanqi fiction. Thesecularization of Buddhism had promoted the popularization of Chuanqi. Themethods used in the paper include the combination of the literary and historical study,the combination of the macro analysis and the micro analysis, and the comparativeway.In Chapter Two, the historical and cultural sources leading to the formation of theChuanqi fiction is discussed. From the perspective of the interior factor and need ofthe development of the fiction, the relationship between the historical literature,Zhu-zi prose, Six Dynasty fictions, the fictions in the early Tang Dynasty and theformation of the Chuanqi fiction is expounded. This chapter is divided into three parts:first, the embryo of the Chuanqi fiction was seen in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties’ works. Second, the Chuanqi fiction originated from the fictions in Six Dynasties,especially mystery novels. Third, in the early Tang Dynasty, the fiction had possessedthe basic features of Chuanqi fiction. In the High Tang Dynasty, the mystery fictionwas combined with the features of the historical literature, thus a new literary stylecame into being, that is the Chuanqi fiction.In Chapter Three, the relationship between the sinicization and secularization ofBuddhism and the formation of the Chuanqi fiction is discussed. The secularization ofBuddhism has greatly promoted the formation of the Chuanqi fiction. The route of thespread of Buddhism is in agreement with the development of the Chuanqi fiction.This chapter includes four parts. First, the process of the sinicization of Buddhism andits influence on the development of Chinese fiction. Second, the secularization ofBuddhism and its promotion to the formation of the Chuanqi genre. Third, theBuddhist novels and the occurrence of the Chuanqi fiction. Fourth,the agreement inroute between the spread of Buddhism and the development of the Chuanqi fiction.In Chapter Four, based on the book named The Collection of Chuanqi fictions inTang and Song Dynasty （the first four volumes）, that is proofread by Lu Xun, therelationship between Buddhism and the creation of the Chuanqi fiction was analyzedin a lateral and micro way. The purpose is to expound the influence of thesecularization on the popularizaition of the Chuanqi fiction. The content includes fiveparts: the first four parts analyzed the Chuanqi in Tang Dynasty one by one in thebook The Collection of Chuanqi fictions in Tang and Song Dynasty （the first fourvolumes）, the last part is the conclusion of this chapter.In Chapter Five, the novels from the collection of Chuanqi fictions collected inTai Ping Guang Ji was discussed. By exploring the origin sources between the motifsof Chuanqi in Tang Dynasty and the Buddhist stories, we try to expound the folktalk,which is one of the important forms of the secularization of Buddhism, hadgreatly promoted to popularize the Chuanqi fiction. Many Buddhist stories wereproduced by the Buddhist folk talk, they enriched the materials of Chuanqi andbroaden the room of imagination. This chapter tries to discuss the accelerant influenceof the Buddhist stories on the motifs of the Chuanqi fiction, so as to prove the secular transmission of Buddhism in China did help to popularize the Chuanqi fiction. Thischapter had chosen three motifs to discuss, namely,“the motif of the transfomation”,“the motif of the chivalrous animals’ gratitude” and “the motif of interactions betweenHeaven and Mankind”.The Conclusion part summarized and sublimated the previous content. The paperhas discussed how the transmission of Buddhism in China had promoted thepopularization of the Chuanqi fiction from two aspects: the internal factors, whichcover the formation, development and tendency of the Chuanqi fiction, and theexternal factors, which include the sinicization and secularization of Buddhism.