The Study Of Festival Description In Chinese Classical Popular Fictions

The whole thesis is composed of the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The introduction part gives a brief description of the reason why the topic isselected and of the angle of view which is demonstrated. As festivals, on a large scale, entered the field of Chinese classical popular fictions,these fictions have presented peculiar value of appreciation of beauty and culturalvalue. Some problems about festivals have probably been involved when severalspecific works were analyzed. However, up to now, we have never seen that someonetouched the field of monographic study on popular fictions from the angle of festivalsand folk customs. Therefore, this paper tries to, from this angle, discuss profoundly thedescription of festivals in Chinese classical popular fictions in order to reveal itsliterary function and cultural significance. The body is made up of two parts, which discuss exploringly the literary functionof festival description in these fictions. Part One: The function of plot conception of festival in Chinese classical popularfictions. To begin with, macroscopically, this part inspects the three functions of festivaldescription in the whole plot conception of the fictions. The three functions are thatfestival description can be used to make plots, to promote or postpone plots, and to bethe framework which supports the whole plot building. Then, microscopically, therelationship between festival and festival story (festival description) is discussed.That is to say, the type of festival determines the type of plot; however, as thedevelopment of festival, different festivals may mold the similar type of festival story(the plot) later on. Therefore, the study of the relationship between the type of festivaland the type of festival story enables us to see more clearly the function of festivals inthe conception of partial plot. Part Two: The function of morality of festival in Chinese classical popular fiction. This part is discussed from two aspects. The first aspect is that festival descriptioncan deepen the theme of the fiction. The second aspect is that it can deepen theconnotation of the figures in the fiction. Another theme is to briefly discuss the cultural meaning and the writers'attitudeof festival description in Chinese classical popular fictions.