Stylistic Research On WANG Tao’s Essays

In Chinese modern history, WANG Tao was an important figure with multiple identities, involved in different fields so widely that every single title for him could be inaccurate on closer inspection. Among all the uncertainties, his image as a representative of the early reformers stands out the most. Therefore, a lot of studies positioned as intellectual history research follow. The existing history of modern Chinese literature is also inevitably affected, in which WANG Tao appears as the pathfinder of modern newspaper political essays. No doubt WANG Tao’s political essays have a high value, but if we unconsciously simplify the changes of form and expression just because we place too much emphasis on his new ideas in these essays, that is not enough for the study of the development of styles. Similarly, it is not enough for us to only emphasize WANG Tao’s pioneering achievement in newspaper political essays, but to some degree overlook his practices in various styles.This article aims to build a research system which gives consideration to both public and private essays by WANG Tao. With some use of the viewpoints and methods of stylistics for reference, the stylistic innovation or small changes in WANG Tao’s political essays, travel notes, note-style essays and letters will be analyzed. Close attention will be paid as well to the strategies and their influencing factors behind his writing by comparing different styles. Through all these studies, we can find out more about WANG Tao’s deep spirit and his representative meaning in that era.