The Decline And Fall In Flourishing Age

The thesis is a monographic study of the potential crisis in Kang Qian flourishing age in Qing Dynasty reflected by the folk customs.Through comparing and analysing the true folk customs from phenomenon to essence , the writer approaches a further miniature of the decline and fall in KangQian flourishing age of Qing Dynasty on the basis of folk customs of catering and buildings and traditional opera. The KangQian flourishing age of Qing Dynasty is hung over by a cloud of decline and fall in the life of luxury and dissipation of upper ruling class.There are three parts in the thesis:I .Aanalysing and explaining the reason why the description of folk customs can reappear the true decline and fau sight in KangQian flourishing age. The reason is explained from three aspects:1.The basic feature of "The Dream of Red Mansion" is realism, which has been confirmed by Lu Xun and Yu Pingbo and Wang Guowei from different angles. Just the realistic creative style assures the true discription of folk customs.2. Cao Xueqin' s life experience enables him to reappear the life of ruling class in Qing Dynasty. His special and arduous life experience makes him have a sober understanding of the degeneration of ruling class from which he comes. So that he can show us an exact and lively pictune of the social life in KangQian flourishing age.3. The class difference and history nature of folk language can reveal the cause of the decline and fall of Qing domination. It is necessary to compare and analyse carefully the class nature of folk custom standing for the evil essence of explorting. The history nature of folk custom makes the folk customs reasearchanalysed with the time background and develpoment. the reason of the decline and fall of Qing Dynasty can be found out through the analysis of the class difference of folk customs in the development of history, with the combination of the class and history nature.II. Explaining those flok customs through which the sight of decline and fall can be reappeared in "The Dream of Red Mansion". This part is mainly analysied from two aspects which are very important in economy life.1.The sight of decline and fall shown by economic folk language. The economic folk customs can not be neglected because it is related to the social development, reflects the production relations and effects the common custom of all kinds of social relation .The writer analyses this point of view from the following aspects :(1)The feature of going for ostentation and extravagance in the catering folk customs. The writer begins with three kinds of catering system to compare the common points and similarity of the palace banquet, everyday meals of emperor and imperial concubine, and the usual system of catering in Jia mansion, and then show us the common feature of the upper ruling class in Qing Dynasty in catering folk customs.(2)The grand and magnificent feature in folk customs of building. The commom living folk custom feature of upper ruling class in Qing Dynasty are shown through the things in common and similarity of construction, inner structure, decoration function of Palace gardens, private mansion of bureaucrat and grand palace.2. The sight of decline and fall reappearing in traditional opera folk customs. Cao Xueqin describes lively the performance of the family theatrical troup, and its emergence, development, flourish and disintegration, so we can feel the folk customs feature of traditional opera in Qing Dynasty.Through the explanation in second part, the sight of decline and fall in KangQian flourishing age can be sumarized as: extravagance and decadence.III. Explaining the source of decline and fall revealed in "The Dream of Red Mansion" .After providing a general analysis and comparison of the folk customsin " The Dream of Red Mansion" , the writer delineats the philosophical thoughts of Cao Xueqin; and draws a conclusion to the reason causing the decline and fall of KangQian flourishing age.1. Extremely centralized system. At the beg...