A Study Of Late Qing Liaozhai Vernacular Propaganda Novels

In order to civilize the people,the rulers of the Qing Dynasty established the system of preaching holy scriptures,and various holy scripture interpretation texts came into being.Liaozhai preaching novels are the preaching novels adapted from Liaozhai,which were produced in this context.As a basis for preaching activities,the Liaozhai preaching novels evolved from the official biblical interpretation texts and creatively absorbed and transformed the stories of Liaozhai in terms of re-creation of story plot,the use of narrative strategies and oral performance programs,which not only had the function of persuading goodness required for preaching activities but also became popular folk art among the people.The emergence of Liaozhai preaching novels is the result of the transformation of the folkloric interpretation of texts.The decline of the official oracular preaching system led to the transfer of preaching power to the people,and local gentry led preaching to energize folk preaching activities.The preaching texts adapted to the folkization of the preaching system and also shifted to storytelling,which led to the combination of preaching novels and Liaozhai,forming the Liaozhai preaching novels.In terms of story texts,the Liaozhai preaching novels were adapted from the motives of adapting to performance situations,establishing moral practices,and strengthening cause-and-effect relationships,and the Liaozhai stories were adapted through three strategies: side branch expansion,deletion and correction,and pinching and splicing,forming story texts aimed at guiding people to persuade them to do good.In terms of narrative strategies,Liaozhai preaching novels simulate daily life situations for audiences by choosing ethical topics close to life;the setting of titles provides listeners or readers with simple and clear plot hints and paths to understanding;and the integration of narrative subjects makes Liaozhai preaching novels absolutely reliable narratives.These narrative strategies make it less difficult for the people to understand and accept moral admonitions,and make the novels different from other works of Liaozhai literature in their strong ideological propaganda function.In the form of expression,as a work of rap literature with performance contexts,Liaozhai preaching novels are rich in oral programs,and the oral programs presented in the texts are adapted to the performance scenes,which ensure improvisation and message transmission during the preaching performances and help the preachers to carry out persuasive activities.Although presented in the form of vernacular rap literature,Liaozhai preaching novels involved the transformation from literary to vernacular and from desk to oral in the process of formation,carrying both official ideological propaganda and popular aesthetic interests,and their emergence reflected the adaptation and transformation of the grassroots to "elegant literature" and the will of the state.Starting from the text,the study of the late Qing Dynasty vernacular novels can grasp their internal thinking logic and style of writing,which is great significance for understanding the social cultural control of Qing Dynasty society and the literary and artistic interests of the grassroots.