Study Of "Accounts Of Avenging Spirits" By Yan Zhitui

"Accounts of Avenging Spirits" is a prominent Buddhism supplement book during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It emphasizes on describing spirit avenges, and showing slaughterous person with bad endings and misfortune to his offspring, which testifies principle of the cause and effect and retribution to be deserved. However, Yan Zhitui is a Confucius scholar, holding in esteem of the Confucius thought all through his life, which is also shown in "Accounts of Avenging Spirits". "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" is not only a ghost and spirit novel but also contains in-depth historic and philosophy concept and enjoy unique status and meaning in Chinese literature history.The first chapter is the brief introduction of "Accounts of Avenging Spirits". Stories in "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" are mostly taken from old classical books and events happened at that time, with many formal historical document. Have depicted the darkness of politics and the brutality of the government officials, It gives profound reflection of social problems during Southern and Northern Dynasties, and has certain social significance. Through drawing the phenomena of rulers' contending for power, the author condemns the temporal ugliness at that time, and denounces the ruin of ethos and the moral deterioration, and represents the tribulation of the people during the war years. Thus, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" is not only avenging spirit stories, but also sings the praise of the traditional virtues and punishment of evil, and deep sympathy to those people under ruling. This chapter is the studying premises the author carries out. The second chapter is the Buddhism supplement book. As a representative Buddhism supplement book, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" always describes the circulation of the cause and the effect, which has reflected Yan Zhitui's deep belief in Buddhism and his endeavor to propagate the idea of the circulation of the cause and the effect. However, the author holds Yan Zhitui pushes though praising highly Buddhism but not discriminating against Confucianism, by comparing with the same kind of works in the cotemporary time, and he looks on Buddhism as the Confucianism's supplement. Read the "Accounts of Avenging Spirits", we can found that the evil retribution it portrays is repaid by this life. Standing on position of the Confucianism, Yan Zhitui understands the Buddhism in the Confucian's way. He insists on the Confucian's position, and does not exclude Buddhism, all which are to embody the Confucian outlook and values. Therefore, the Confucianism, especially the Confucian realism ideas, has established the unique characteristic of "Accounts of Avenging Spirits", which also is the emphasis of the article.The third chapter studies Yan Zhitui's Statecraft ideology. Yan Zhitui is an undoubted Confucian scholar who is wise for personal survival, however, he criticizes the current affairs straightforwardly and inexorably condemns the temporal aristocrats,the high officials and even the monarchs. It is seemingly incompatible with Yan Zhitui's view for personal survival, but actually it is not contradictory in certain sense, on account of his in-dept Statecraft ideology, which is to resume interpersonal trust lost since Han Dynasties so as to establish a social relationship with honesty and trust.The fourth chapter is analysis of narration of "Accounts of Avenging Spirits". "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" is different with other Buddhism supplement books which simply propagates Buddha's magical efficacy and the circulation of comeuppances, and it displays new styles in narrators,the angle of narration,narrate time,narrate structure, etc.. First, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" having adopt the narrator of "the style of historian official", namely the writer is the same with narrator, which can not only know every thing about the narrator but portray what happens with an objective view. Secondly, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" narrates the stories in the way of writing history, and historical facts in novel are mostly selected so as to relate to the theme the writer is to express. Therefore, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" has mostly adopted the point of view without limitations, namely the traditional entire points of view to carry out description. In addition, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" still have the inclination combining with inner visual angle each other, go deep into to the person's heart to take some simple mental depiction. It is very valuable. Thirdly, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits",being narrating time, adopts to give first place to order, complement with flashback once in a while , in advance introductory description sequence. At last, "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" has special combination of shallow structure and deep structure: representation of the shallow structure is the identical narrating style; the one of deep structure is the idea of comeuppances. Further, we may discover that the shallow structure is determined to the deep one, namely the idea of comeuppances. This chapter takes the stories in "Accounts of Avenging Spirits" as the basis, and carries out all-round narrating analyses, so as to unfold the narration significance of "Accounts of Avenging Spirits".