Zhou Liang Working Life Thinking And Prose Writing Research

Zhou Lianggong's a famous writer and scholar at the turn of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. Focusing on Zhou's life, thinking and essay composition, the paper is intended to analyze the effect of dynastic shift and personal experiences on Zhou's personality and psychology, to explore his academic thoughts, position and influence as a well-known scholar, and to investigate his creation of essays and biographies which possess great aesthetic value and unique cultural individuality.The paper consists of four chapters.Chapter one, Considering the social backgrounds at the turn of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, emphasizes on the reason why Zhou chose to secure an official position in the new dynasty and his experience of being a prisoner three times.Chapter two, based on the textual research in the first chapter, digs out the great impact of Zhou's experiences on his personality and psychology. The circumstances of turncoat officials at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty and the complex psychology of Zhou as a turncoat official are mainly tackled so as to recognize the living and thinking realities of the literators at that time.Chapter three mainly explores Zhou's academic orientation and achievements and his profound influence on contemporary and later scholars. The analysis of Zhou's academic value and the affirmation of his academic position are implemented through setting Zhou against the social and academic thoughts at the turn of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.Chapter four investigates and his creation of essays and biographies. Considering the social backgrounds at the turn of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, this chapter appreciates the great aesthetic value of his essays and the artistic features of his biographies and points out his unusual literary specialty and cultural individuality through the comparison with other writers.Besides, the paper has four appendixes. The first narrates Zhou's works and their circulation; the second collects his losing essays, all being prefaces written for others; and the third compiles biographical materials that are not included by his masterpiece "Lai Gu Tang Collection".