A Comparative Study Of Pu Songling’s And Ueda Akinari’s Mystery Novels

Pu Songling and Ueda Akinari are the representative writers of the mystery of literature in China and Janpan. Pu Songling’s Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio standed for the ancient mystery novels of China,and it was never seen before or even after his time; Ueda Akinari’s Tales of Rain and the Moon was also the representative work of this kind of novels at that time,even being called “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio of Japan”.Ueda Akinari also wrote a novel which named Tales of Spring Rain in his later years,and poured his experience as well as insights from his whole life into this book, with high ideological education. For these reasons,Ueda Akinari became the first person in the yomihon genre in Edo period. The time and social background two writers living was very similar, combined with their life experiences, made the similarities in their work. On the other hand,since they were individuals, differences were unavoidable. By comparing their novels, we can know the different of the writers themselves, the social economic as well as culture, and help us to take care of the present.In this paper, research is based on comparative literature and literary theory, useparallel study and influent study as well as folklore and narratology to clarify the different of the works. The dissertation to this content contains there aspects. Firstly, define the meaning of mystery and mystery novels, and point out the value. Secondly, compare the differences from their novels’ theme,characters as well as writing styles. Thirdly, analyze the reason of these differences. This paper aims to help people realize the aesthetic tradition and national psychology of China and Janpan through the comparison of Pu Songling and Ueda Akinaris’ mystery novels, to take care of the present, think about the reality.