| Shi Tuo’s unique literary style is characterized by many meticulous and detailed descriptions that are done through the mastery of color.Shi Tuo’s conscious use of color gives his novels a peculiar style that differs from the harsh and restless left-wing and the timeless and light-hearted Beijing School.The use of color has been discussed by many scholars since the beginning of Shi Tuo’s fame,but the discussion on the use of color in Shi Tuo’s novels has been limited to the style of painting,without forming a valid topic for further discussion.Therefore,this paper would like to take the old thesis of previous scholars as a starting point,and adopt a close reading of the text of Shi Tuo’s novels to reasonably evaluate his use of color and depiction.The thesis is divided into five main sections for discussion.The introductory section analyzes the origins of the study of color depiction in Shi Tuo’s novels,the current state of research and ideas,as well as the significance,innovation and difficulties of the topic chosen for this dissertation.Chapter 1 focuses on the color characteristics of environmental descriptions in Shi Tuo’s novels.There are many panoramic environmental descriptions and scenes with hazy tones in Shi Tuo’s novel.The novel paints a large number of macroscopic or subtle scenes of the daily life of the people of the Yudong Plain,shaping three typical locations of imagery: "poisonous land","peaceful land" and "ruinous furnace".The characters’ living environment is constructed with color.Chapter 2 mainly explores Shi Tuo’s use of color to shape the characters.This chapter mainly focuses on the three aspects of coloring the outer appearance and clothing,the facial color of the characters,and the coloring of the characters’ souls.Clothing is a symbol of the character’s status and position,facial expression is a window to see the character’s emotion,and spiritual outlook is the external manifestation of the character’s inner soul,so the element of color is seized to restore the character’s most realistic spiritual state and life experience.Chapter 3 explores the correlation between the use of color and plot setting in Shi Tuo’s novels,and how to use color skillfully to regulate and control the rhythm of the narrative.This chapter takes the three aspects of color change and plot ebb and flow,folklore color to create narrative atmosphere,and paving color to make the novel prose as the entry point to analyze the role of color as a meaningful form in advancing plot development,creating narrative atmosphere,and breaking the boundaries of genre.In the concluding section,the main features of the use of color in Shi Tuo’s novels are outlined,and the rationality and necessity of the use of color in Shi Tuo’s novels as an independent research topic are answered. |
