The Research On The Prohibition And Destruction Of Novels Of The Qing Dynasty

In two hundred years, the Qing Dynasty adopted various measures to prohibit and destruct novels, and issued nearly 30 central laws and other regulations, in order to strengthen the control of ideology and culture and maintain its rule. The prohibition and destruction of novels of the Qing Dynasty can be divided into five stages. It started in Shunzhi to early Kangxi period and carried out fully in late Kangxi to Yongzheng period, then it reached the top in Qianlong period, and it aggravated in Jiaqing to Xianfeng period and became invalid in Tongzhi to Xuantong period. The causes and characteristics of each stage are different. The prohibition and destruction of novels influenced the development of novels. The prohibition and destruction of novels postponed the development of novels, but it also affected the process of content and promotes the innovation of the art skills. It affected the publication of novels, but also caused the phenomena that hiding the publisher’ name and the publication date or publishing again by changing the topic. It influenced the spread and acceptance of novels, which made some novels into incomplete or lost and guided the society to make various public opinions.