A Comparative Study Of Chinese And Western Modern Satirical Humorous Novels

The thesis selects the topic from the view of comparative literature and starts from the literary typology,pitching into the deep research between modern Chinese satirical and humorous novels and those western ones.Meanwhile it is making efforts on taking into account the"Influence research","Parallel research" and"Translation-Inflence research".Nowadays,in China,it is a age in which the satirical and humorous novels bloom into flourish,giving birth to such famous satirists and humorists as Lu Xun,Lao She,Zhang Tianyi,Sha Ting,Shen Congwen,and Qian Zhongshu and so on.While in western,this kind of novel also runs a long history.However,many novels are studied in a unilateral and small-quantity comparative way.It is a pity that there are few studies could grasp the deep and central identity and difference between Chinese novel and the westerns,wholly and comprehensively.Based on this fact,the thesis aims at the mutual communication and value judgement of Chinese and western modern satirical and humorous novels,at the premise of individual and microcosmic research.The fundamental framework consists in "influence comparative research","parallel comparative research","macroscopic comparative research","microcosmic comparative research",including translation,transmission,acceptance,impact and effect study.The thesis will be discussed from five parts.Chapter one:this part will state the developing history and excellent achievement of western satirical and humorous novels,including the situation that they are translated,transmitted,accepted and the echo in China.It is the novels in 19th century that influence the novels of China most obviously.However,studies say that the novels in 20th,some of them having been synchronized with Chinese modern satirical-humour novels,some latter than Chinese,are translated and popularized in the contemporary in China,especially after the time of reform and opening-up.Consequently,they have no mighty to form "influence relationship" withChinese modern satirical-humour novels,instead,the two of them can be studied comparatively in a parallel relation.Chapter two:this part will analyze the relationship between the origination of Chinese modern satirical-humor novels and the western,covering the kinship,intersection,and parallelism.From these relations we can see that how the Chinese fuse the western comic wisdom,so much so that the native novels could achieve the further art expansion.Therefore,Lun Xun is so correspond to Gogol and Chekhov that make him have a unfeigned preference to them,instead of Tolstoy and Golgi.English and Russian writers make a great contribution to the creation of Lao She.Fortunately,as a humorist and satirist,Lao She’s literary nutrition is spontaneously integrated with Charles Dickens.Meanwhile,the novels of Qian Zhongshu most partially derive from the English and French,which has tight relation with his experience and education.Chapter three:this part will discuss comprehensively the identified characteristics between Chinese and western satirical-humor novels.The thesis will make inductive research from the aspects of type of writing,narrative mode,comic expression and laughing art,and indict that the Chinese and western both have realistic and allegoric novels in type of writing;both of them can present objectively and deform subjectively in narrative mode;it is a common characteristic to combine the sarcasm and humour with realism,exposure,caricature,hyperbole,irony,absurdity and grotesque in comic expression for them;both of them denote a kind of aesthetic feature which fusing the pain and pleasure or joy n tear in laughing art.Based on this,the essay will discuss the common laws of creation of satirical humour novels between the two individuals.Chapter four:this part will discuss comprehensively the difference characteristics between Chinese and western satirical-humor novels.As far as the author’s concerned,the two of them denote the obvious difference in normal and hyper-normal,realistic and fictional,restrained and exotic,calm and flappy,serious and joking,while these features are mainly resulting from nation,history,geography,environment,personality,thinking mode and mentality and so on.The thesis makes efforts to complete mutual communication and find out national difference via this comparison so much so that the whole study could involve in the mutual understanding,demonstration and complementary.Chapter five:this part will focus on the experience and inspiration of Chinese and western satirical-humour novels.At the precise of it,we could generalize the new cognition and conclusion by concluding their respective pros and cons,achieving the value judgement of them.The thesis insists that both of them,whatever Chinese or western,have respectivly goodness and weakness.Just as LuXun says,"The French are adept in eloquence,the Russian are adept in sarcasm,the Anglo-American are adept in humour.As a matter of fact,Chinese modern novels of satire and humour pay more attention to sarcasm,realism,objection,while seldom focus on humour,imagination and subjection.The degree of Chinese satirical novel is of great power,while the degree of humour is grave and serious.Compared with the western,the humour in Chinese novel is not so mature.We may ignore much light-hearted humour,energetic comedy and cheerful mind,but concentrate on the irony of politics,society,custom,morality and even humanity.In addition,by comparing the Chinese and the western,we also can figure out the "travel notes" and "comments" are popular and mature,it is rare phenomenon in China.We can conclude the experience of creation of them to find that though sarcasm and humour seem "twines",sometimes appearing simultaneously,sometimes intertwining with each other,but they are by no way conjoining baby.Humour and sarcasm exist in a complex state.Some reach a balance perfectly between humour and sarcasm;some centralize the sarcasm,or centralize the humour,even if two of them co-exist in the novel;some are inclined to satirize purely,while pure humour is not very often.The excellent satirical-humour novels are inclined to combine the sarcasm and humour.As LuXun and Mark Twin thought,if the sarcasm refused humour,it tended to be condemn;if humour refuse sarcasm,it tended to be joking.It was the perfect integration that causes the perfect art effect.We also find out another fact that there are many prejudice and defame to sarcasm and humour no matter in China and western.Thus,LuXun says,"Satirist is in risk." Lao She also agrees with the danger of humour.In the western,forbidding the satirical-humour works and threatening their writers are more common than modern China.This situation really makes us realize that it is difficult,even impossible to insist on creating satirically and humorously.We can draw the inspiration from this,that is:to make the satirical-humour novels into prosperity,we have to emancipate our mind,form an atmosphere of freedom,harmony and containment.Based on them,the writers endeavor to free their heart and body,transcend restrain and fear.