On Buddhist Monk And Nun Characters In Chinese Popular Novels Of The Late Ming Dynasty

There has been a very long period since the first appearance of Buddhist monk and nun characters in Chinese popular novels. As a special character, it gradually developed unique artistic characteristic and vivid tradition from Wei Dynasty to Ming Dynasty. In late Ming Dynasty it became great literary scenery for its abundance and complicacy.The late Ming Dynasty is a flourishing period of Chinese popular novels. At this time, Buddhist monk and nun characters in Chinese popular novels inherited positive characteristics of the same characters in novels of former dynasties. Therefore, some chivalrous monks and great monks presented themselves in the novels. Moreover, it developed some inconspicuous characteristics, more and more Buddhist monk and nun characters had close relationship with mundane property and sex. So there were more carnal, avaricious and evil Buddhist monk and nun characters in popular novels. They not only appeared in temples, but also presented themselves in mundane society. For their status, they related with comeuppance and metempsychosis concepts of Buddhist. Buddhist monk and nun characters in Chinese popular novels of late Ming Dynasty succeeded to the characteristics of same characters of former dynasties and was influenced by the decay of politics, the variance of vogue, the changeover of the social thoughts and the vulgarization of Buddhist in late Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the characters were tied up with the author's writing purpose and the reader's reading psychology. Therefore Buddhist monk and nun characters in popular novels of late Ming Dynasty formed its unique characteristicsThese characters exhibited the mixing together of Confucianism and Buddhist, revealed the rouse of man's libido and expressed the aesthetic interesting of the townspeople, and so on. It enriched the pictures of ancient social life and became a very important part of Chinese traditional culture.