Humorous Sketches: Critical Analysis of the Essence

Author: Du Zhijun
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The term "xiapin" first appeared during the Six Dynasties period, where it referred only to concise copies of Buddhist scriptures. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, literati began using "xiapin" to denote short prose pieces that were "unbound by conventions and expressed individual spirit." Humor is an inherent part of life, so when a culture reaches a certain level of sophistication, humorous literature naturally emerges. As human wisdom awakens, people not only address various issues but also have surplus capacity to handle them with composure, giving rise to humor—or sometimes, when intelligence blossoms, they develop doubts about human wisdom itself, observing everywhere the foolishness, contradictions, obsessions, and arrogance of humanity, which also gives birth to humor. It aims to make everyone in the world experience a "smile of understanding."
The term "xiapin" first appeared during the Six Dynasties period, where it referred only to concise copies of Buddhist scriptures. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, literati began using "xiapin" to denote short prose pieces that were "unbound by conventions and expressed individual spirit." The number of collections named "xiapin" or selected as "xiapin" increased, giving the term a clear literary significance. In terms of its stylistic features, xiapin belongs to the category of prose, encompassing a wide variety of forms such as travelogues, prefaces, eulogies, notes, poetry discussions, letters, biographies, jokes, fables, diaries, and more. There are multiple criteria for classifying xiapin. It can be categorized by subject matter into landscape xiapin or biographical xiapin, by chronological period into late Tang xiapin or late Ming xiapin, or by artistic style into humorous xiapin, satirical xiapin, and so on.