Study On Retributive Fictions In The Tang Dynasty

The criterion of “Retribution” is a kind of relationship between good and evil, that is, good deeds were rewarded with good, and evil with evil. Based on the concept of good and evil, people in the Tang dynasty extensively created works, therefore, there are considerable retributive fictions. This paper will analyze what predecessors studied on those retributive stories in an integrated way. The first chapter will explain why those retributive fictions were prosperous in the Tang dynasty from two perspectives, one is the evolution of “Retribution” at home and abroad, the other is literati’s conscious creations in the Tang dynasty.The second chapter will summarize the classification of the topic contents of retributive stories. There are primarily two parts, Buddhism worship and social life. “Buddhism worship” elaborates in the fulfillment of buddhist scriptures, Buddhist statues and religious disciplines; “social life” includes ethics and social problems, and focuses on the moral concepts, life problems, and so on.The third chapter will outline the writing features of retributive fictions in the Tang dynasty with a view of character setting and narrative framework. Novel characters are usually divided into beauty and ugliness; writing model is oath-to-fulfillment or narrative-to-recurrence.The fourth chapter will discuss the connotations of retributive fictions in the Tang dynasty in the old days and its modern influence, analyze the hidden social connotations and illustrate that the connotations play a promoting role in the development of classical novels and modern moral construction.