VOL. 2 OVERVIEW - EARLY MODERN CHINESE VERNACULAR LITERATURE-2

VOL. 2 OVERVIEW - EARLY MODERN CHINESE VERNACULAR LITERATURE

Early Modern Chinese Vernacular Literature

  1. The status of Chinese vernacular literature was for a long time well below the status of Chinese classical literature.
  2. Vernacular literature ranges widely in theme, since it is not as highly prescribed as its classical counterpart.

The Mongols and the Rise of Vernacular Literature

  1. Chinese vernacular literature, including plays and prose fiction, began during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).
  2. Mongol rule in China during the Yuan Dynasty was a time of great change, particularly the way in which an elite group was educated in a classical tradition as preparation for entry into government service.
  3. Classical literature lost its central place in Chinese public life during the Yuan Dynasty.

Vernacular Literature of the Ming Dynasty: Plays, Stories, Novels

  1. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the earlier Chinese system of educating an elite class through a grounding in classical texts as preparation for a political career reemerged. Thus, classical Chinese literature regained some of the importance it had once held in public life.
  2. This reemergence, however, occurred simultaneously with increasing interest in vernacular literature, especially in urban centers.
  3. Vernacular drama (sometimes called chuanqi or "Kunqu Opera") reached its height during the Ming Dynasty.
  4. Unlike the Greek literary tradition, Chinese literature had no ancient drama; rather, it was an entirely new genre.
  5. As with drama, prose fiction also grew in sophistication during the Ming Dynasty.
  6. Often, writers of this period were not concerned to invent entirely new stories. They were just as likely to elaborate on existing stories, interweaving plots, and historical details with which readers might already be familiar.
  7. The historical romance in particular was a genre that allowed for expansive, interweaving narratives.

Literature and the Intellectual Climate During the Qing Dynasty

  1. Non-Chinese Manchu armies would form the Qing Dynasty, ruling from 1644 to 1911 (when the Republican Revolution ended the Chinese dynastic tradition for good).
  2. Since the Qing Dynasty was non-Chinese, there was considerable resentment among the native Chinese population.
  3. State censors examined literature for any perceived slight against the dynasty. This had a chilling effect on writing at the time, which became known as the "literary inquisition."
  4. The Qing intellectual climate turned away from earlier emphasis on subjective individualism (which was prized in the previous Ming Dynasty).
  5. The Qing Dynasty was much more concerned with establishing a shared, public moral code and with approaching canonical texts as historical documents, rather than sources of personal spiritual revelation or transcendence.
  6. Vernacular literature of this period often exposed the hypocrisy of Confucianism (or at least those who preached it as dogma) and its associated texts, which had otherwise provided a framework for Chinese culture (including politics, education, and religious practice) for centuries.
  7. While earlier twentieth-century Chinese revolutionaries often proclaimed that vernacular literature should replace classical literature as the "true" representation of the Chinese people, modern scholars are more likely to see both vernacular and classical literature as complementary and coequal products of China's literary history.